During a recent conference call with theme-park-fetishist bloggers, Six Flags CEO and Dan Snyder protege Mark Shapiro talked up the glories of buying a 2010 season pass, called a Play Pass. The best deal came from the chain's Kentucky Kingdom Park for just $29.95.

Forget that his company's in bankruptcy, Shapiro said, tell all your roller coaster freak friends that this is the best buy of all time.

Yesterday, Snyder's chain announced it had closed Kentucky Kingdom for good. Nicely done!

***

The Caps win. Streak's at 12.

Just a week ago, I was sure Washington Capitals fever had taken over not just the city, but the whole world. Now, I'm equally sure it hasn't.

Last Friday I went to meet a friend in Baltimore around happy hour. While waiting in the basement bar at the fabulous Matthew's Pizza on Eastern Avenue for a table, a guy came in and asked the bartender to put the Caps/Florida pregame on the house TV.

Without complaint, the bartender made the switch. That alone shocked the crap outta me: Baltimore has always been a place where everything about D.C. is despised, and only saying nice things about Bob Irsay was more certain to bring derision and probably a beating to a visitor than talking up any of our town's sports teams.

But things really got amazing after the Caps broadcast came on.

(AFTER THE JUMP: There are Caps fans in Baltimore? What about the Clippers? Who knew the Baltimore Blast were still alive? Remember Dwight Anderson? Tom Brookshier, RIP?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Are the Caps Bringing About a Baltimore/DC Detente?" »

The Wizards lost at home to the Mavericks by a single point. This team is now about three months and as many worlds away from the team that fairly routed Dallas in Dallas on Oct. 28, 2009, the first game of the season. The New York Times gives some hints today at how far and fast the Wizards fell in a write-up of Javaris Crittenton, who is called "The Other Player" in the Gilbert Arenas guns-in-the-locker room debacle. The Times describes Crittenton as a "neat freak." Let's see if he can get out of his current troubles with a clean record.

Back to me: While other, positiver souls celebrated the Wizards first-game win in October as an indicator of fab things to come, I sipped til my glass was half-empty and typed this about the new season:

Oh, right. The Wizards win, 102-91, on the road, led by Gilbert Arenas, the man fans really, really want to love.

Things can't get better than this. And, as all Bullets fans will tell you, they won't.

Whoa! Who gave Nostradamus our wordpress password?

'Course, nobody ever went broke underestimating the Bullets/Wiz chances. And I also once wrote that Carrie Underwood had zero chance at a real career. I'd've bet money.

***

Speaking of bad bets: The Mavericks are owned by Mark Cuban, one of the highest profile and most vocal supporters of Dan Snyder's bid to take over the Six Flags theme park chain.

(AFTER THE JUMP: Mark Cuban said what about Six Flags? How'd that work out? Mike Miller cut his hair? Did he pull any muscles in the barber's chair? More on the Jumbotron at FedEx? Was Dan Snyder holding out for Abe Pollin money? The Redskins stop trumpeting the waiting list in press releases? What's the weather forecast for hell today? Kyle Shanahan finally confirms he'll keep up the like-father, like-son tradition at Redskins Park?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Why Won’t Mark Cuban Talk About Six Flags Anymore?" »

I've been saying the Six Flags/Dick Clark Productions deal stank for a long time. Now, some big folks are looking into it.

In 2008, Dan Snyder bought Dick Clark Productions for $175 million for Red Zone, a private equity fund he controlled. Snyder then immediately sold 40 percent of Dick Clark Productions to Six Flags, a public company he also controlled.

That means to make that deal, Snyder was essentially negotiating with himself, in a situation where he could potentially use Six Flags stockholders money to enrich himself and his buddies in Red Zone.

Making matters worse, Six Flags was well on its way to bankruptcy when Snyder brokered this deal with himself. Now that Six Flags is actually in bankruptcy, lawyers for folks who are owed hundreds of millions of dollars are asking questions about the transaction, and there are allegations that Snyder tried to hide a transfer of Six Flags' portion of Dick Clark Productions in a division of the theme park corporation that would make it harder to get at in bankrupcty proceedings. This could get good!

***

The rest of the sporting world is obsessed with a DC sports story, but not the Mike Shanahan Story.

No, the big story for everybody else: Gilbert Arenas and his arsenal. David Letterman does a Top 10 on Agent 0 007. (Letterman came out of the Top 10 list playing Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns and Money." Good golly, what a song!) And Al Sharpton wants the NBA to give Gilbert Arenas the business. Stephen A. Smith sorta writes about Gilbert Arenas, but it's mostly about,well, crap. Smith says again and again that whatever Arenas did is really going to hurt the "Black Community." (Capitalization Smith's.)

Problem is, Smith doesn't explain real well how whatever Arenas did is going to hurt the Black Community. Smith doesn't even explain what the Black Community is.

Given the upper case "Community," I assume Smith is talking about an upscale subdivision somewhere around here where Arenas and fellow gazillionaires live. If I'm right, well, then I guess I can see Smith's point: If the charges against Arenas are true, then the Black Community really will be hurt.

Nobody's gonna wanna live near a quirky gun toter.

(AFTER THE JUMP: What's preventing Mike Shanahan from signing? Is it the forced arbitration clause? DimWitsGate's antagonist survived the whole season? What, you forgot DimWitsGate? Michelle Rhee's Boswell goes after Jim Zorn? How's Jeff Ruland doing at UDC? That bad? Really?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Gilbert Arenas Reminds Us of the Greatness of ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’?" »

It's not clear to me which is the bigger travesty: Vinny Cerrato keeping his job so long after running the Redskins into the ground, or Dan Snyder staying atop Six Flags despite making all the wrong moves since taking over the now-bankrupt theme park chain in 2005.

Six Flags' reorganization is nowhere near complete, and god only knows what's beneath the surface of this debacle. But from the sound of things, when all's said and done Snyder will still be chairman of Six Flags board of directors when that company comes out of bankruptcy.

How can this be? In Snyder's world, what do you have to do to lose your job?

One small aspect of the fiasco: Would somebody PLEASE explain to me how Snyder was allowed to pay a whopping $175 million for Dick Clark Productions using private equity money from Red Zone Capital, a fund he controls, then turn around and sell 40 percent of Dick Clark Productions to Six Flags, using public equity money, which he also controlled? And Snyder did this deal, remember, in 2007, while Six Flags was on the way to the bottom and he was already blaming the company's woes on its billions of dollars of debt.

Snyder made the Dick Clark Productions sale around the time he made a licensing deal between Johnny Rockets, another Red Zone-owned company and controlled by Snyder, and Six Flags. Again, would SOMEBODY please explain to me how that's allowed?

I mean, I make a lot of fun of Lindsay Czarniak and Dan Hellie working for Snyder's Redskins Broadcast Network and WRC News at the same time. And that really does bug me. But Czarniak and Hellie's conflict of interest ain't a hair off the ass of the conflict of interest Dan Snyder had in dealing with himself during Red Zone's sale of a huge chunk of Dick Clark Productions to Six Flags. Let alone the Johnny Rockets deals.

How hard a bargain do you think private-money Dan Snyder drove with public-money Dan Snyder in making these deals?

(AFTER THE JUMP: More on Dan Snyder, Red Zone and Dick Clark? DeMatha sends more jocks to college? Remember Harvey Grant? The DC Armor are gonna just disappear? Somebody's still kvetching about the El Al/FedExField comparison?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Hey, Dan Snyder: How’d That Dick Clark Deal Work Out for Six Flags Stockholders?" »

Hate to stomp on the weather beat that others at City Desk are already covering with gusto. But I'll stick to forecasts, and stay away from the retrocasting favored by the boss.

So, Sunday in Landover at kickoff: 47 degrees, rainy, winds 13 miles an hour from the north and 100 percent cloud cover. That used to be called "Redskins Weather!" around here. Now, it's called "You Can Get a Redskins Ticket for 17 Cents Weather!"

On a related note...

Redskins Ticket Watch: More than a thousand ads for Skins/Chiefs tickets on Craigslist this morning. Asking prices in just the first few listings I found went from "Way below face value!" to "Half Price!" to "75 percent off!" to "Make an offer!"

Face value's a pipe dream. Come to think of it, with 47 degrees and wet on the horizon, 17 cents might look like a windfall by kickoff. In any case, folks who intend to show up at FedExField might need to bring something to cover their heads from all the precipitation.

Like, bags or plates, maybe?

(AFTER THE JUMP: Vinny Cerrato is told it's the talent, stupid? Snyderatto = Rosie Ruiz? Snyder changed the copy in the cheerleader car wash contest AGAIN? Will the Great Dan Steinberg fall for the not-actual-cheerleaders picture bait AGAIN? Ronnie Mervis and Dan Snyder use the same advertising firm?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Remember When This Was Called ‘Redskins Weather’?" »

Dan Snyder's Six Flags debacle has taken a turn toward the contentious.

We couldn't be happier!

The bankrupt company's creditors are asking the courts to hold up proceedings until they can investigate the relationship between Six Flags and Red Zone LLC, an investment group Snyder formed with a lot of Redskins Park, including team bigwigs Vincent "Vinny" Cerrato and Karl Swanson. Snyder used the group's Six Flags stock holdings take over the amusement park chain via a stockholder coup in 2005. Snyder anointed Mark Shapiro, also a Red Zone member, as made CEO of Six Flags.

The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that in recent filings with the court, attorneys for the firms holding notes for Six Flags, which is now more than $2 billion-plus in debt, singled out as questionable several actions made under Snyder's tenure that involve Red Zone.

Among the dubiousest: Red Zone's sale of a chunk of Dick Clark Productions to Six Flags, a deal that took place shortly after Snyder acquired the production company.

Back to us: SIX Flagging pegged that sale as fishy long ago. In a July 2008 post in this space, we called it "a bizarre transaction that essentially amounted to one of Snyder’s private equity outfits (Red Zone) making a $40 million sale to one of Snyder’s public equity outfits (Six Flags)."

Think the Private Snyder, playing with his own money, would strike a fair bargain with the Public Snyder, who was spending stockholders' loot?

Sure he would....IN OPPOSITE LAND!

Read More "Update: SIX Flagging" »

The Washington Post reports that Dubai has gone to hell.

On a related note: Dan Snyder's Six Flags announces that despite its bankruptcy, plans to build a park in Dubai will "proceed as planned."

Keep the dial right here for all the breaking news in Dan Snyder's Six Flags soap opera.

The Arena Football League ain't ever coming to DC after all.

Sports leagues, like romantic relationships, can't survive taking a break. Last year AFL owners thought they were different, announcing that while they'd be spending the 2009 season apart, they weren't breaking up.

Again: Just need some space. Just taking some time off from each other before getting back together.

Well, this week, several AFL owners leaked to the press the date that they'll be getting back together: The 12th....OF NEVER!

The AFL is dead.

The disbanding means, alas, Dan Snyder won't ever bring us the AFL team he promised back in 1999.

(AFTER THE JUMP: MMA is the next arena football? How many Redskins blogs are out there? Dan Steinberg marvels at whose muscles? The Washington Times toasts Bruce Smith? Michael Vick is partying where? The Nats are still playing?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Washington Warriors Won’t Ever Play in the AFL?" »

I'm getting the feeling that maybe Six Flags HASN'T REALLY TURNED IT AROUND?

Team Snydiro -- Chairman Dan Snyder and CEO Mark Shapiro -- have now been telling the world for almost four years that Six Flags has gotten things together.

Today, more proof that Six Flags hasn't gotten things together.

Read More "Update: SIX Flagging" »

Where art thou, Mark Shapiro?

Dan Snyder's business partner and protege was named CEO of Six Flags when Snyder took over the amusement park chain by leading a stockholder coup in 2005. And for a long time, Shapiro was front and center whenever the company was in the news. Shapiro generally came off like Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic," hanging off the bow of the big boat and boasting that he was on top of the world; for as long as Shapiro talked Six Flags up, everybody knew his ship was eventually gonna sink.

Read More "Update: SIX Flagging" »

Cheap Seats Daily has learned...that new Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman's boyhood fight song was STOLEN!

From GIRLS!

As reported in this space the other day, Riggleman's baseball team at Richard Montgomery High School used a special cheer to get fired up before games:

Thunder, Thunder, Thunderation
We’re the Rockets Delegation
When we fight with determination
We create a soul sensation!

Well, I'm saddened to report that the schoolboy jocks filched the tune from...the Girl Scouts?

(AFTER THE JUMP: Original lyrics to the tune Riggleman et al stole? Should the Nats steal the same fight song? Snyder's own cheerleaders used against him? RIP, Six Flags Cheerleaders? Don MacLean used steroids? Slow news day?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Riggleman’s Fight Song Stolen From Young Girls!" »

After decades a couple weeks of rumors, this afternoon at the Verizon Center WJFK-FM brass will officially announce the station's flip from man talk to sports talk.

All the highlights of the new lineup -- eight hours a day of Mike Wise and LaVar Arrington --  and the date of the switch, July 20, have already been leaked.

***

On the team's downest day of the season, the Wall Street Journal kicked the poor Nats in the nads. Here's the lede of the paper's coverage of the Sonia Sotomayor coverage, a story titled "Hearings Reflect Broader Struggle":

Much like the Washington Nationals baseball team, which has known since springtime that it has no realistic chance of winning a pennant this year, Republicans in the Senate knew before they took the field Monday that they had no realistic hope of defeating Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

So GOP senators, like the Nationals, are left to ask themselves: What are we playing for here anyway?

"What are we playing for here anyway?"

They're really asking themselves that? Well, if the GOP Senators are at all like the Nats, specifically .196 hitter Austin Kearns, then they could answer themselves: "We're playing here for $8 million a year!"

(After the jump: Six Flags goes with mayo substitute? Jim Riggleman's high school cheer? DC Divas back on top?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Six Flags Recommends a Condiment to Go With Your Mattress!" »

Every now and then a story comes along that's too good to be true. Usually,  those stories involve Dan Snyder.

Yesterday, Snyder's theme park chain, Six Flags, announced yet another sponsorship deal. This one makes some bedding company called Anatomic Global the "Official Mattress" of Six Flags. And you can buy the official mattress straight from Six Flags for $1,299 in queen size.

Why would a theme park chain need an "official mattress," let alone start selling them, did you ask?

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Dan Snyder Will Sell You a Mattress to Hide Your Money Under" »

You just knew Dan Snyder would get his hands on some stimulus money!

Six Flags has just signed a new sponsorship deal with Chrysler. According to a press release issued by Snyder's theme park chain earlier today, this means cars produced by Chrysler will remain "the Official Vehicles of Six Flags." Also under the new deal, the littlest of what was once the Big Three automakers will subsidize Fourth of July celebrations at Snyder's theme parks.

Birds of a feather, you could say: Six Flags filed for bankruptcy protections about two weeks ago. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protections in late April, but only after getting about $12 buh-buh-buh-billion in handouts from the federal government.

Now Snyder's getting a taste.

What's wrong with this country?

Keep the dial right here for all the breaking news in Snyder's Six Flags soap opera.

(If either of my readers is wondering why the usual One Big Dump has come in multiple big dumps today, it's because we're trying something new to fool Google. And because, well, we were worried about beating the Manny Acta firing to print.)

The great Thom Loverro rips Rob Dibble a new one and then some in the Washington Times.

I love listening to Dibble's work on the Nats' TV broadcasts, but I just plain love Loverro, who is about the nicest guy still typing.

If Loverro is going after you -- and boy o boyo, does he go after Dibble -- then something's up.

***

LeBron James is coming to town tonight, in the flesh.

Read More "Cheap Seats Semi-Daily: Dibble Needs a New One? LeBron in DC? Did Dan Snyder Lose Your Money?" »