I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that Len Bias had died. All I can remember being told was that Bias had died after using cocaine. And that it had been his first time. It was a scary story. And it worked as a scary story. I never tried cocaine; I always cited Bias as the reason. But, of course, there's a lot more to Bias' life and death.

Thankfully, Without Bias, the moving documentary on his life, has finally been released. Unlike the recent Marion Barry doc, this one is loaded with moving interviews with all the major players from his family to the friends who were with him in that dorm room that night. No portrait of Bias comes closer to getting at the truth about Bias' cocaine use and the political impact of his death. [the tragedy played a role in the creation of mandatory minimum sentencing laws].

The documentary  had apparently sat on shelves for years. The movie's trailer has been up on youtube since February 2008. Only late last month did the movie have its premiere on University of Maryland's campus. It's now airing on ESPN. It's a must see.

Another Redskins game that ain't a sellout. Another Redskins game that won't be blacked out.

The graphic above is from the latest installment of the now regular email blasts that precede every home game.

But no matter what your head tells you, remember: Dan Snyder says the Redskins have a waiting list of "over 200,000" names of folks who want tickets but can't get them.

And remember this, as your watching the Skins/Eagles game on local TV and see a sea of empty seats: The NFL has a blackout policy!

What's going on around here is sorta amazing, ain't it? A "Monday Night Football" game against the hated Eagles -- a rematch of the Body Bag Game opponents! -- and Skins management feels it has to lie ("visiting team returns," "limited number," etc.) to try to get folks to take tickets?

How low has Snyder taken the operation? Well, if the Redskins were a dance, you could lay the limbo pole on the floor and Snyder could still sneak his franchise under it.

***

Vinny Cerrato opened his radio station on Dan Snyder's sportstalker, WTEM, declaring he wanted to be "perfectly clear" about some things: Jim Zorn is the Skins head coach for the rest of the season "and hopefully into the future." Sure, "perfectly clear" is a Nixon tag line. And Cerrato sounded crazy while he delivered it.

(AFTER THE JUMP: Snyder doesn't talk to the media? Did anybody tell the New York Times? Snyder tells Brian Mitchell he's sorry? Brian Mitchell believes it? Debbie Yow wants you to call her Dr. Yow? She's a doctor? Really? Charlie Brotman can tell stories? Ron Jaworski doesn't blame Jim Zorn, either? Why do races get such scary names?)

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Jim Zorn Will Definitely Be the Head Coach, Hopefully?" »

Since its founding last year, the Amethyst Initiative, a campaign to initiate a public debate about the merits of a 21 year old drinking age, has been growing every day.  The Initiative, started by John McCardell, President Emeritus of Middlebury College, now boasts the support of the Presidents and Chancellors of a whopping 135 colleges and universities across the country.

But where do local schools stand on the initiative's goal of lowering the drinking age?

Read More "Where Do Local Schools Stand On the Amethyst Initiative?" »

There's quite a line in today's Washington Post Metro story on the crackdown on partying at the University of Maryland.

Campus police confiscate kegs. They ask students not to congregate in the streets. Also among the things officers do during a night shift described by reporter Jenna Johnson: "check parking garages for rocking cars."

Read More "The Best Line in Today’s Washington Post" »

"Nothing's slower than a sick turtle," reads an anti-swine flu advert at the University of Maryland, reminding student Terps to practice proper coughing-and-sneezing etiquette and to wash their hands often.

Still, as of yesterday, there were 172 suspected cases of H1N1 at the university, according to the Associated Press. And the health center has canceled all non-emergency appointments (except for allergy and immunization services) for the rest of the week "due to the high incidence of influenza-like illness."

Read More "Swine Flu Hits University of Maryland: Will Students Really Wipe Down Doorknobs?" »

There's been a change in the sports pecking order around here, for those who haven't noticed. "DC was a basketball town," says Vernon Davis "It's a football town now."

You gonna argue with him?

Davis, a 6'3", 253-pound former University of Maryland star and now tight end with the San Francisco 49ers, has done his share to speed the city's transition away from hoop-centricity and toward the gridiron.

He and his little brother Vontae, a University of Illinois defensive back and recent first round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 2009 NFL draft, grew up on Emerson Street in Petworth, and can now make a claim on being the best sibling athletes ever to come out of DC. Vernon, 25, and Vontae, 21, are only the third pair of brothers, behind the Mannings and the McDougles, ever to be chosen in the first round in NFL.

Read More "Vernon and Vontae Davis, DC’s Best Brother Act, Come Home for Football Camp" »

I wrote this week that Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good. (That's allegedly him in red on a recent recruiting trip to DeMatha in the fuzzy photo.)

The Washington Post ran a story today on the front of the sports section that says Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good.

Read More "Gary Williams Is Hotttttt!" »

According to a "campus alert" sent today to University of Maryland students and staff, a "possible cougar" has been sighted on the College Park campus. The possible cougar has been described as "light tan and tawny brown, about 4 feet long with a 4 foot tail, and weighing about 50 pounds."

Captain John Brandt of UMD's Department of Public Safety confirms that the possible cougar was first sighted yesterday. "The first [sighting], which happened a day ago, was not reported to the police department," says Brandt. "The person who made the report initially wasn't believed. But then we got a call this morning, around 6 a.m., of another sighting [of the possible cougar]."

Since the release of the campus alert, Brandt says his department has received word of an additional possible cougar sighting. At press time, Brandt's officers---and the campus's video security system---have yet to spot the possible cougar.

The possible cougar is a new threat for UMD, says Brandt. "We have never dealt with this before," he says. "[Possible] cougars are not an indigenous species of the state of Maryland. . . . They're just not seen around here. We will get the occasional report of a coyote on campus, which usually will end up just being a fox."

Brandt does not know where the possible cougar came from. "Your guess is as good as mine," he says.

Any sightings of the possible cougar should be reported to university police, at (301) 405-3555.

Full campus alert after the jump.

Read More "Possible Cougar Sighting on UMD Campus" »