Posts Tagged ‘Sports’
Cheap Seats Daily: Remember When This Was Called ‘Redskins Weather’?
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?)
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BogusHogetteGate® Update: Real Hogettes® Blast Stephette Hogette’s Photo Evidence!
I'm now hearing from more old Hogettes about Stephette Hogette, a fellow cross-dressing Skins fanatic who has been accused of being -- big gulp! -- a bogus Hogette.
These Hogettes aren't happy about the photo that Cheap Seats Daily ran earlier this week, which was supplied by Stephette, real name Steve Rasnikov (though he also goes by a rap name, Snow Rap G, as well as a witness-protection name, Carmine Fischetti, which Stephette came up with to ward off vigilantes and the Hogette Police).
The shot above shows Stephette with other Hogettes (he's in the middle). Stephette says the photo was taken years ago at a Redskins game, and claims that it proves that the other Hogettes accepted him before they went "so corporate" and started hanging out with other sponsored mascot types, including Bird Man of the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
But other Hogettes say the photo means nothing, and that Stephette, who has been wearing his pig snout since at least 1992, when the NY Times wrote about his Skins fanaticism, has acted disgracefully with the ladies during Redskins tailgate parties, and that he has no real affiliation with their gang.
After seeing the shot, Joevette Hogette, behind the snout to the left in the above photo, emailed Cheap Seats Daily to downplay its significance:
"THAT PIX WAS TAKEN ON THE FLY," wrote Joevette Hogette, described as the oldest of the Original Hogettes. "[Stephette] CAME UP BEHIND PORKCHOP AND ME AND HIS BUDDY SNAPPED THE PIC......NOTICE HOW BLURRED AND OUT OF FOCUS IT IS.....DEFINITELY NOT A POSED SHOT."
And Howard Churchill, another longtimer who goes by Howiette Hogette (or, rather, Howiette Hogette®, as he apparently prefers), also threw his pooh-pooh at the photo:
Read More "BogusHogetteGate® Update: Real Hogettes® Blast Stephette Hogette’s Photo Evidence!" »
Cheap Seats Daily: Stephette Hogette, the Bogus Hogette, Now Fears Real Hogettes!
I heard again last night from Stephette Hogette. He's the guy who stands accused of being a bogus Hogette.
He sent along a photograph, shown above, which he says was taken years ago at a Redskins game and, he says, proves that Stephette Hogette used to be accepted by the same folks who are now calling him a counterfeit.
While Stephette Hogette's disheveled drag ensemble---he's the one in the middle---does indeed blend with the garb of the folks he's with in that photo, he couldn't name the other Hogettes he's hanging with in the shot.
Perhaps they're unsanctioned Hogettes also! I don't know which Hogette to trust anymore!
(AFTER THE JUMP:Where will the real Hogettes be tailgating come Sunday? WTEM tones down its Redskins Cheerleader pride giveaway? D'Anthony Batiste ain't worth a D'amn? D'Anthony D'Ances with D'An D'Aly? Nobody told the Washington Post that "Remember the Titans" was a load of crap?)
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The Mystics President and Her Mock-aca Video
Sheila Johnson has jumped in some hot water that she can't swim out of.
The Washington Mystics have been rotten throughout Johnson's run as team president, having finished in the bottom half of the WNBA's Eastern Conference all five seasons under her, and not winning even a single playoff game.
But Johnson has gotten a pretty free ride through all the on-court suckitude. She's hailed by the gay community for not pretending the grandstands ain't laden with lesbians, and, not coincidentally, she brought the Mystics back to the top of the league in attendance.
Perhaps the lack of criticism in the face of such lousiness let Johnson feel empowered to mock Creigh Deeds, the Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, as a stutterer during a fundraising appearance for Republican opponent Bob McDonnell. But she's finding out she's not bulletproof after all.
Cheap Seats Daily: Will Sherm Lewis Fail? Or Will Sherman Lewis Fail?
Cheap Seats Daily and its inferiority complex ravaged sister publication remain the go-to news organs for coverage of what the Redskins have officially dubbed the Cheerleader Car Wash Sweepstakes.
Yesterday, in this very space, we blew the lid off the latest listener contest for Dan Snyder's sportstalk station, WTEM-AM, in which the Redskins owner promises to send his cheerleading squad over to winners' houses and make them wash cars.
And in this week's analog edition, we blow the lid off Dan Snyder's cheerleader past, from his 2000 rackumentary "Beauty on the Beach," all the way up to his latest scheme, which tells the cheering crew to put down their pom poms and pick up sponges and service his 25-54 male audience.
And, as promised, throughout all this lid-blowing we've run the same photograph of all those sudsy blondes, again and again and again.
That's the shot that got The Great Dan Steinberg so lathered up he rudely barged into the comments section to pooh-pooh our Snyder/T&A expose. TGDS basically accused Cheap Seats Daily of hypocrisy and of being as exploitative as Dan Snyder!
Just because we ran this photo of sudsy blondes!
That hurts.
What kind of message does that contest (and this photo) send to the Little Ladies of Football? Think of the children, Dan and Dan!
(AFTER THE JUMP: Could Snyder's layoffs at Redskins Park have helped this car wash debacle along? Is it Sherm or Sherman? Dan Steinberg reveals Lewis' bingo past? Dan Steinberg conceals reveals his own bingo past? How loaded is the Skins' 2009 schedule with Snyder humiliatees? Yankee Stadium ain't the only ballpark in use this October? Nationals Park gets loaded with readers?)
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Cheap Seats Daily: How Bad Is Dan Snyder Pimping the Redskins Cheerleaders?
"How would you like to see the Redskins take on the Cowboys? --- AND have the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders soap up and scrub down your car???"
Well? How would you like that?
Check out that ad!
It appears on the Web site for WTEM, Dan Snyder's sports talk station, to promote the latest listener contest. Top prize will bring the Redskins cheerleaders over to wash your car.
Kinda yucky?
The radio ads are just as outrageous, with panting males and all sorts of breathy talk of scrubbing and rubbing. The campaign is also just the latest evidence of Snyder's thing for cheerleaders. He took over the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders shortly after buying the team, and has increased their role in his global marketing scheme ever since.
The car wash campaign marks a new level of subservience for the Redskins Cheerleaders, and cheerleaders in general. The message is: "Put down your pom poms and grab a sponge!" That tells the world that Snyder can force his troupe to put on something skimpy and service Joe Sixpack.
Basically, Snyder's pushing a Madonna/Whore image for his cheerleaders.
Well, minus the Madonna.
(AFTER THE JUMP: More on the Redskins cheerleaders? Snyder is being called "Lord Farquaad"? PhotoGate update: Snyder really did censor Dan Steinberg? Isn't the Leonsis worship getting outta hand? Guaranteed Win Night proves AGAIN that it's a sure thing? Remember "The Sure Thing"?)
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Clarification: Traffic Situation at FedExField for U2 Was Indeed Snyder’d Up
Earlier today, Cheap Seats Daily reported that J.P Szymkowicz, an expert on Dan Snyder's parking operations, had no problems getting to and from FedExField for the U2 show.
By reporting Szymkowicz's anecdotes, Cheap Seats Daily could have left the impression with readers that Snyder had, after 10 years of owning the stadium, come up with a way to get people to their seats on time.
But, upon further review, it seems traffic at FedExField was as Snyder'd up as ever. A quick reading of the comments section of Washington Post rock critic Chris Richards'* review of the show reveals that about as many concert goers are venting about their commute as are praising the band's performance.
After the jump, some of the early returns.
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Cheap Seats Daily: If You’ve Got U2 Tickets, Don’t Read This! Just Leave Now!
J.P. Szymkowicz has a prediction for tonight's U2 concert at FedExField:
"It's going to be a mess," he says. "By 6 p.m. they'll start turning people away from the parking lots. It's going to be another Radiohead."
In concert go-er parlance, "another Radiohead" means "way @#$%^&*'d up!" A lack of usable parking spaces for the precious British band's performance at the Bristow, Va., hellhole caused thousands of ticketholders to miss the entire show.
Szymkowicz personally witnessed that Nissan Pavilion debacle. But that's not the only reason to have faith in his prediction of another Radiohead tonight. Nobody outside Redskins Park knows more about Dan Snyder's parking set up than Szymkowicz. He's the guy who spearheaded the lawsuit against the Redskins for the game-day ban on pedestrian traffic around FedExField.
Because of his litigation, in 2004 the team had to reverse its policy and allow folks who found ways around Snyder's outrageous parking charges to walk into Skins games.
(AFTER THE JUMP: FedExField has HOW many parking spaces? Capitol Hill interns are going to be to blame for the U2 mess? Some buffoon's looking for a parking pass to tonight's show? The New York Times and Dan Snyder are in bed together? Audi is Dan Snyder's new mattress?)
Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: If You’ve Got U2 Tickets, Don’t Read This! Just Leave Now!" »
Cheap Seats Daily: Could Chief Zee Sway Supreme Court Case?
There's trouble in maroon-and-black-and-yellow land. The mood is so toxic that even a nice plea to help out Chief Zee, the headdress-wearing longtime unofficial mascot of the Redskins and among the nicest, naivest, old-school mega-racists you'd ever meet, turned real ugly real fast.
Somebody posted a notice on Dan Snyder's message board, Extremeskins, alerting fans that a fundraiser will be thrown in Arlington next week to help pay medical bills for Chief Zee (real name Zema Williams).
Time was, such a post in these friendly confines would elicit nothing more controversial than "How much does he need?" But these days, even wins are booed. So the thread immediately disintegrated into an interrogation of the original poster, with some folks wondering why Williams needs another fundraiser---"He can afford season tickets, but not medical bills?" huffed the poster brianm23---and others asking why give money to a guy Chief Zee's age, since he should have all his health care covered by those socialist programs, Medicare and Medicaid.
(AFTER THE JUMP: That blogger called Chief Zee WHAT? Would Justice Scalia cringe at Chief Zee's costume? WJFK's crushing WTEM? It's a good time to unaffiliated with Dan Snyder? The last Guaranteed Win Night of 2009?)
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Cheap Seats Daily: Are the Redskins Using Robert Henson to Protect Zorn, Campbell, Snyder, FedEx, Etc…?
Dim WitsGate™ makes it to the front page of the Washington Post! That means the story of Robert Henson's Twittered insults of Redskins fans -- calling them "dim wits" and saying they "work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds" -- occupies the same real estate where Watergate became the original -Gate!
Bottom line: Cheap Seats Daily's hype of Dim WitsGate™ is validated!
From all the hate going Henson's way on Sunday's postgame shows on local sportstalk stations, I was certain this was going to develop into the biggest Redskins controversy ever generated by an inactive linebacker using new media. Or at least one of the biggest Redskins controversies ever generated by an inactive linebacker using new media.
And now it's on the front page!
Also, it's always nice to see former longtime DC resident the Great Dan Steinberg, the Woodward & Bernstein of Dim WitsGate™, on A1.
(Full disclosure: I still have my 35-year-old "Nixon Resigns" issue of the Washington Post in my paperboy bag in the basement. I'll get 'em out for Halloween. Hence the "-Gate" fetish...)
***
There they go again. Dan Snyder is using his web site to go to war with the Washington Post.
(AFTER THE JUMP: Is Henson being used to take heat off the real Redskins villains? Pravda's Ashburn bureau strikes again? How would you copy-edit multiple Twitters? Leonard Shapiro now using out-of-town newspapers to blast Dan Snyder? The NFL's blackout policy is as big a sham as the Skins waiting list?)
Cheap Seats Daily: A Win That Sounds Like a Loss?
Best story of the Rams game: Dim WitsGate!
Robert Henson is in a bad place right now. The Skins sub-benchwarmer used Twitter to go after home fans for booing at the game, and cast the disgruntled masses in the stands as "dim wits" and folks who "work 9 to 5 at mcdonalds."
Henson, who wasn't even on the active roster for the game, went from unknown to reviled in a matter of keystrokes.
When I first heard of Henson's comments during the postgame shows -- WJFK gave a running account of the naive blasts -- I was sure somebody hijacked his twitter account. Unfortunately for him, it looks like nobody did. Henson's twittering later claimed he went after the fans only because he had things thrown at him.
Nobody's buying it.
From the sound of things, this could be a deal breaker between the rookie and the fans, at least those that really are dim wits or really do work 9 to 5 at mcdonalds.
In any case, Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell should buy Henson a meal before he leaves town. Henson is going to take a whole lot of heat that woulda gone their way today.
Some writers also expressed befuddlement over the crowd's behavior. Like Henson, writers don't pay to get into the games.
(AFTER THE JUMP: Snyder's the root of all booing? Jim Zorn: Read My Lips? Sonny Jurgensen vs. Jim Zorn, Round II? Juwan Howard is still in the NBA? How much would you pay for Juwan Howard's pants? The Nats are on the entrance ramp for the Road to 100 Losses?)
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Cheap Seats Daily: If Nobody Else Does, John Thompson Gives Elgin Baylor His Due
Yesterday's John Thompson Show on WTEM was amazing. Thompson devoted much of the program to talk about Elgin Baylor, who turned 75 years old Wednesday.
Thompson told listeners he phoned Baylor in Southern California on his birthday just to say thanks for inspiring him and so many other DC kids in the 1950s when he went off to college to play ball. Baylor's style of play was a revelation to players from anywhere and everywhere. But around here, Baylor's influence transcended the court. Before Baylor, Thompson said, kids on the city's playgrounds never thought of going off to college. He made the world a bigger place for a whole generation.
Thompson, now 68, recalled being at the playground one day when Baylor, already a legend here after carrying the University of Seattle to the NCAA Final Four, showed up with a big friend: Wilt Chamberlain. Thompson, then a skinny and awestruck teenager sitting courtside, was the last guy picked for the game. "Elgin remembered it!" Thompson said, as if he never played in a game that mattered more.
The story led to all sorts of calls from other aging children to talk about Baylor's greatness and other boyhood heroes.
Because the mainstream media pretended black schoolboy athletes didn't matter, Baylor never got talked up enough when he lived here.
(AFTER THE JUMP: How come Baylor doesn't have a statue? Tamir Goodman retires? From what? If Linda McMahon comes back to DC, will Vince follow?)
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Cheap Seats Daily: An Awful Ending to Monk and Mann’s Neverending Story?
In case you missed it: "Art Monk and Charles Mann Sell Former City Property for Millions, Bail On Anacostia Job Training Center."
Over the years, there aren't many things I've written about more than Monk and Mann's training center.
For a decade, the beloved former Redskins said the Carver Theatre building was going to be rebuilt by their non-profit organization, called the Good Samaritan Foundation, and promised that the building would become an epicenter of goodwill in a neighborhood historically lacking in it.
It never happened. But every time I wrote that the training center still wasn't open -- almost like "Saturday Night Live"'s repeating that Francisco Franco was "still dead" in every fake newscast -- officials of the organization continued insisting that their actions would soon back up Monk and Mann's words.
It's not like they didn't use Good Samaritan Foundation to make themselves look good. Monk's son even spoke of the organization in the speech he gave during Dad's Hall of Fame induction in August 2008.
(AFTER THE JUMP: Still more on the neverending story? Karl Swanson holds no grudge against the Washington Post? Roger Phegley DIDN'T mess up the Bullets forever and ever? Clearing on the Road to 100 Losses?)
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Art Monk and Charles Mann Sell Former City Property for Millions, Bail On Anacostia Job Training Center
A decade ago, Art Monk and Charles Mann came to a neighborhood meeting in Anacostia and said they were going to open a job training center in one of the city's neediest neighborhoods.
They never followed through on that pledge.
The former Redskins raised millions of dollars, both in federal grants and private donations, after saying they would locate the center at the old Carver Theatre building.
The DC Government gave control of the property, at 2405 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, to the Good Samaritan Foundation, a non-profit group fronted by Monk and Mann, in the belief that it would house the job training operation.
After initially leasing the historic theater site to the foundation, the city sold it outright to Monk and Mann's group in 2004 for $255,235.
For years before and after the sale, the old theater lot sat vacant, despite all the do-gooder dollars thrown at it.
Cheap Seats Daily: It’s 9/11! Did You Pay $23.99 Plus Shipping for Dan Snyder’s Commemorative Hat?
Great Moments in Capitalism™, Special 9/11 Edition
On this date in 2005: Get your Tragedy Hats!
None of the Redskins marketing endeavors under Dan Snyder dropped the jaw faster than the "Redskins Flag Hat" that went on sale on the team's web site and at FedExField at the beginning of the 2005 season.
For $23.99 plus shipping where applicable, Snyder would sell you a Redskin baseball cap with a red, white and blue Pentagon stitched on the side to tug the heart strings and stir more nationalism at a time when the country was already crippled by an oversupply. The hats were a great way, according to the radio ads that ran on the sports stations owned by Snyder, to "commemorate Sept. 11."
The punch line: The proceeds weren't earmarked for any charity or cause. Unless you consider the owner's wallet a charity or cause.
Genius!
***
(AFTER THE JUMP: Bankers going for Michael Vick haters? Bob McDonnell, you lie? Boswell basking in the afterglow of his Snyder bashing? DC Divas become video stars? A bump in the Nats' Road to 100 Losses? Jaycee Dugard jokes?)
