Somber morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to what will probably be my last Freedom Friday. Henceforth, I'll be doing the morning roundups on the Arts Desk. In genuinely somber news, Major Nidal M. Hasan, prime suspect in yesterday's shootings at Ft. Hood, was home-grown. WaPo's reporting reveals a rather mundane yet devout religious man who didn't want to see his theological brethren slain in a pointless war, but whose ultimate expression of that anxiety was not only pointless, but grotesque and heartbreaking. In other words: Sick shit begets sick shit.

Prepare yourselves for all kinds of anti-Islam vitriol in the coming days and weeks; stuff that will likely dwarf anti-teabagger sentiments and provide some sort of twisted justification for prolonging our military's stay in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: ‘Hasan Was an Avid Redskins Fan’" »

Maybe WaPo is on to something. Maybe Redskins fans are abandoning the team. One Shepherd Park resident is trying to sell some prime seats to the Dallas game. Just a few years ago, this would have been unthinkable!

Shepherd Park resident "Carole" writes on the listserv:

"Great Christmas Gift! Anybody interested in tickets to Redskins vs Dallas in December? They
are Club house Premium Seats with parking."

A "Great Christmas Gift?" Nice try.

Read More "The Hardest Sell: Redskins Tickets" »

Yesterday I posted a thoughtful piece on the season-opening tilt between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. Commenters loved it, and so I thought I'd dip back into the well with a bit more analysis on a key aspect of the game.

Read More "Giants Linebacking Corps: Worst in NFL?" »

Sunday at 4:15 pm, the Redskins will kick off the season against the New York Giants. Here's all you need to know about the Skins' first opponent:

*Giants DT Jay Alford messed up his knee and is out for the season. This doesn't matter much to the defense, but it'll play a pivotal role in the game. That's because Alford was the team's snapper for field goals. His replacement is virtually guaranteed to screw up when the pressure's on.

Read More "Redskins-Giants Insider Preview" »

The Washington Post's Paul Farhi, a great pariah in bloggerville, is just as outraged/bemused as Washington City Paper's own Dave McKenna about the attire of the supposedly independent local broadcasters at Redskins games. Have a look:

Read More "Pro-’Skins Sportscasters: A Grand Tradition" »

Broadcasting from Beaujon Acres this morning, where a cold has laid me out flatter than one of Tim Carman's jokes. But I'm not too sick to link!

• Does anyone else find this kinda poignant and sad? Also kinda related: Post computers drive tech writer to cloud.
• Ruth Samuelson corner: 1) Now that's "getting" Results! 2) Madness in Capitol Hill: Is it Acker Place NE or Acker Street NE? Please help us out if you can. Amanda Hess corner: CP sex columnist accidentally sets Coeur d'Alene ablaze on her way out.
• Doing more with less: famous people reduce cup sizes.
• Throwing a hot dog down Middle America's hall: "Hipster Grifter" Law & Order episode planned?
• My wife is British, and her family members complain, often justifiably, all the time about the NHS. It is a royal (fnar) pain in the ass, you have to schedule OB/GYN visits a year in advance, you don't get private rooms in hospital. BUT: I for instance pay about $800/month for my employer-"provided" health care. And when my kid got sick last time we were over, they treated him no questions asked. Health care, like roads, is basic infrastructure stuff, one of the few things government can do well. So I'm with the Brit Twits here.
• Nats lose. And Redskins prepare to embark on another wacky season. Hey, why's there a Michael Vick Skins jersey for sale? It's the curse!

Brett Favre's gone, so Michael Vick talk dominates.

Vinny Cerrato yesterday told the Washington Post that the Redskins will not pursue Vick, doggedly or otherwise. But Cerrato has fibbed so many times about personnel matters, most blatantly while acquiring Jason Taylor from Miami last summer, that his credibility in these situations is less than zero. So over at Dan Snyder's message board, extremeskins.com, the should-we-or-shouldn't-we talk raged on. Vick has a surprising amount of support among the Skins fan base, probably from a combination of loyalty from Virginia Tech alums and Jason Campbell's lack of a strong following.

But the anti-Vick crowd around here is much more passionate. The poster Bostic Hog spoke for a bunch of folks when he wrote: "Do you think Danny will offer us a refund on our season tickets if he signs Vick? Kind of like a breach of contract thing, or maybe a morals clause, like the players have."

I'm guessing the chances of Vick signing with the Redskins are better than the chances that Snyder will offer refunds to fans if he does. And no matter who Vick plays for, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should make him wear jersey #K9.

(AFTER THE JUMP: Vick programs cable TV? Nats feel more thunder? Weequahic High School was a bunch of losers?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Michael Vick Inspired ‘Whale Wars’?" »

Michael Vick was "conditionally reinstated" by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday. So the Vick-to-Redskins barkers got louder.

I know from dumbass arguments, and here's one of the dumbassiest on why Vick could fit in here as training camp opens this week:  Signing the free agent, says the Sporting News, "would give Vick an opportunity to play close to his home state of Virginia." Good point! The Skins play closest to where Vick did his best animal slaughtering, too!

Dan Snyder wouldn't. Would he?

I mean, sure, he tried hiring Pepper Rodgers, traded for Brandon Lloyd, and founded a chain of boutique kiddie barber shops for a theme park chain just before it went bankrupt.

But, he wouldn't.

Would he?

Gosh, I hope so!

(After the Jump: Snyder makes a good deal? Billick makes case for not signing Vick without mentioning Vick? Nats have more grand slams than your local Denny's? Divas finish on top after all? No Tasering for Scott Van Pelt giveaway?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Who’ll Let the Dog In?" »

The Washington Kastles lost to the Philadelphia Freedoms, the team named after an Elton John song or vice versa, in their home opener last night. The big stories were the sellout crowd that filled Empty Parking Lot Arena, or whatever the temp downtown stadium is called, and the appearance of tireless Venus Williams, who gave a clinic to local kids by day and starred on the court at night.

The loss puts the Kastles at 0-3. Amazing how quickly they've blended into the DC sports scene.

***

Speaking of: The Nats lost again in Colorado. Just another day at the office for the boys: Three errors for Washington (none for the Rockies), one-run loss.

Austin Kearns, he of the $8 million 2009 salary, had a huge pinch hit single in the 8th inning. Huge not for the Nats, but for Kearns, since it put his batting average above .200 for the first time in a while. Alas, the team's mandatory all-star slot has already been filled by Ryan Zimmerman.

The Nats have a death grip on the 1st Pick in next year's draft, and are now 14.5 games out of second-to-last place in the NL East. The team can boast a record -196-run run differential differential (R2D2™) with the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manny Acta et al will try to fight off the broom with a getaway-day game this afternoon in Denver.

AFTER THE JUMP: Inevitable Chris Cooley backlash starting already? The guy who taught us "Macaca" still thinks he's righteous? Alberto Gonzales banished to an American archipelago? The Irish play basketball?

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Alberto Gonzales Banished to American Siberia?" »

Sounds like Rob Dibble has already seen enough.

Dibble, the Nationals color commentator, spoke for every fan yesterday. He went off when second baseman Anderson Hernandez jumped out of the way of a fine throw from pitcher Jesus Colome on a routine sacrifice attempt in the eighth inning and the Nats up a run over Philly.

Hernandez's merkel let the Nats blow yet another lead to give the Phillies a sweep of the four-game series.

"[Toronto pitcher] Roy Halladay may pass us for wins by the All Star break," Dibble huffed. "Have you ever seen a play like THAT?"

In an age when team owners have a lot of control over who announces their games, that's about as off the reservation as a commentator's going to get.

Looks like fans have seen enough, too: Hell if Nationals Stadium didn't look empty during the game telecast.

***

"It's a great day for the Redskins," an attorney for the team, Bob Raskopf, said on Friday.

Not a great day for redskins, however: A federal court ruled in favor of the team in a lawsuit filed years ago by a group of Native Americans alleging that the name "Redskins" is too racially offensive to be afforded trademark protections.

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Another Bad Day for Nats, Another ‘Great Day’ for Skins" »

Robin Ficker, who sued to get Redskins seasons tickets 20 years but turned them back into the team a few weeks ago, isn't going into hibernation.

As Fickerphiles know, making a scene at sporting events ain't his only fetish: So is running for political office.

As Ficker, a ruthless and tireless campaigner who has run for every public office from dog catcher to U.S. Senator since the 1980s, was dumping his Skins seats, he was also competing for a seat of another sort.

Last month he won the Republican primary in the race to fill the Montgomery County Council slot left empty since Don Praisner's death in January.

The special election will be held May 19.

Running runs in the family. When I asked him how he's going to fill all the time he used to spend on Redskins games, Ficker told me his big pastime these days is traveling around the globe to watch his daughter. Desiree Ficker, who grew up in Potomac and trained with her father as a kid when he wasn't screaming at Charles Barkley, is a world class triathlete.

She's finished second in the Ironman Kailua-Kona in Hawaii.

And, oh, yeah, she was also named Hottest Triathlete 2008.

Who knew?

Vinny Cerrato got creative with his team's fifth-round pick. Uh oh!

The Redskins' GM-with-a-longer-title-and-less-power-than-a-typical-GM selected Cody Glenn, a converted linebacker whose Nebraska career was most notable for injuries and the way it ended: by getting kicked off the team last year for an undisclosed off-field incident.

As Lawrence Phillips or any honest Husker fan can tell you, if you can play some ball, it's tough to get suspended in Lincoln for anything short of a war crime.

Cerrato said Glenn was investigated thoroughly before the draft. But that claim looked shaky when Glenn told reporters his troubles came when he was caught illegally selling football tickets. That story quickly fell apart, however, and Glenn admitted the suspension wasn't for selling tickets, and apologized for lying.

He did not, however, 'fess up to whatever it is that got him booted. The rumors have been flying ever since.

And they're ugly.

Read More "So Maybe the Redskins Drafted Cody Glenn So He Could Sell Tickets?" »

The Redskins are having another draft party at FedExField tomorrow.

If you can avoid the folks on commission who are trying to sell you club seats and get you on the bogus season ticket Waiting List, it's a fine event.

Even if you don't get caught up in the Sanchez vs. Campbell debate, you can marvel at the marketing monster that is the NFL as you're standing among several thousand average-looking people each wearing an average of several hundred dollars worth of licensed Redskins apparel, watching nothing take place on Dan Snyder's, um, not-so-JumboTrons.

Believe it or not, there are worse ways to spend a Saturday.

As everyone knows by now, a man was assaulted a few days ago after taking down a Cowboys flag off of someone's car. The story made the local news but merited only an AP story in the Post. This should have landed on the front page! This may just mark a turning point in Redskins fandom.

First, here's what the AP wrote:

"Police said a man was punched in the face after grabbing a Dallas Cowboys flag from a car in downtown Washington. D.C. police Lt. Eric Hayes said someone snatched the flag from a car as it was stopped in traffic Tuesday evening and apparently threw it to the ground.

Police and witnesses said that by the time the man crossed the street, someone exited the car and struck him in the face before driving away."

All I have to say is the assault victim deserves a key to the city or some kind of parade from D.C. to Raljon. This guy is a hero, the ultimate extremeskins fan.

Read More "My Hero Of The Week" »

All this news about Jay Cutler possibly joining the Redskins is killing me. I've generally ignored the rumors in favor of March Madness and the impossible hope that Skins management have learned its lessons about paying too much for either mediocre players (Archuleta) or over-the-hill stars (Bruce Smith, Jason Taylor, Prime Time). But now I can't look away. The underachieving Skins appear poised to get the not-quite-great Cutler from the underachieving Broncos. I feel bad for Jason Campbell.

Campbell is still a young quarterback with a promising arm. He has yet to really take hold of the team. He doesn't win games in the last seconds. He fumbles. He tosses interceptions. He makes 4th Quarters incredibly frustrating. But I still think he's the best quarterback the team has had in a long time (not saying much, I know).

Read More "I Pity Jason Campbell" »