Lost in the Flood: There was a time when it seemed like it hadn't rained in the District for weeks; grass dried up and died, it was unbearably hot, and weather officials were issuing drought warnings for the region. That time was August. Since then, it basically hasn't stopped raining. Which means today, like all days that end in "-day," brought a fresh round of flood warnings, watches, and downpours. The city was giving out sandbags all afternoon; no word on when they'll switch to issuing arks. -2

White (Powder) Clam Sauce: Clams—they're not just for steaming anymore. At Dulles International Airport, officials intercepted a man allegedly trying to smuggle $10,000 worth of cocaine into the United States from El Salvador by hiding it inside clam shells, which were then glued shut. Next time, we advise any would-be smugglers hoping to use the same tactic to try National; they've got a Legal Seafoods there, so the clams might attract less attention. -1

Dupont Circle, Now Northbound Only: One of the most dramatic entrances to any Metro station in the whole system is the elevator into Dupont Circle at Connecticut Avenue and Q Street NW. A huge pit, complete with a concrete cap and a Walt Whitman quote, ushers riders onto the Red Line; the southern entrance, wedged next to an office building on the bottom of the circle, can't quite compete. And in fact, for a while next year, it won't even try: Metro officials announced today that they'll close the southern entrance to replace all three of its elevators at some point. Bad news for Krispy Kreme; good news for Kramerbooks. -1

Terp-a-Porter: On Monday night, the University of Maryland played the University of Miami in a nationally televised fashion show. Technically, it was a football game, but the hideousness of the Terps' Maryland flag-themed uniforms dominated any and all conversation about the game (which Maryland won). Finally some good news on the sartorial front out of College Park: The Terrapins will never wear that awful get-up again, as the school plans to auction the uniforms off. Jerseys will start at $200; helmets at $500. Presumably, if any UMD undergraduates buy the jerseys, they'll just set them on fire. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 54 Today's score: -3 Today's Needle rating: 51

Remember Jack McKenna? The 21-year-old University of Maryland student whose videotaped post-game pummeling by riot police in March sparked local outrage and generated national headlines?

Turns out, McKenna, seen here pumping his fists and skipping in the direction of cops on horseback just prior to the beatdown, was singing another school's fight song at the time.

"Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame," McKenna can be heard chanting on a cellphone video recording of the incident, according to lawyers preparing his forthcoming lawsuit against the Prince George's County Police Department. (Prior video footage contained unclear audio.)

McKenna and other students had taken to the streets that night in celebration of the Terapins' stunning upset of college basketball powerhouse Duke. (The University of Notre Dame had no apparent involvement in the game or the ensuing ruckus.)

One of McKenna's lawyers, Terrell Roberts, tells City Desk that the new audio component will prove that his client wasn't saying anything disrespectful before he was pushed against the wall and "just brutally, savagely struck multiple times." 

Prosecutors had initially charged McKenna with assaulting the cops and their horses. Those charges were dropped after video surfaced indicating the opposite. Officers involved in the incident were suspended as a result of the video. The FBI was called in to investigate.

Could the cops have misinterpreted McKenna's singing "shake down the thunder from the sky" as a threat? Full lyrics after the jump:

Rally sons of Notre Dame,
Sing her glory, and sound her fame
Raise her Gold and Blue,
And cheer with voices true,
Rah! Rah! For Notre Dame.

Footage of the incident, released yesterday by McKenna's attorney, has now found its way onto YouTube, along with additional footage showing more revelery turned to chaos that night:

In the video, he appears to approach mounted police officers while skipping and raising his arms. One second, McKenna's just fooling around; the next, he's on the ground being hammered by cops in riot gear.

Though McKenna was arrested after the incident, charges were ultimately dropped.

Footage of McKenna's beating comes on the heels of  another alleged beatdown involving Prince George's cops. On March 31, 20-year-old Prince A. Duncan-Lolliswas, of District Heights, was reportedly injured by police outside a Papa John's in the Largo area. The Washington Post reports:

"I didn't do anything. I was trying to get a job," Duncan-Lollis said. He said an officer who escorted him out of the pizza shop asked for identification, and when Duncan-Lollis reached toward his back pocket to get it, the officer knocked him to the ground.

"I turned my head to the right and saw another officer coming. I was [pepper-sprayed], and I couldn't see anymore," Duncan-Lollis said. After that, he said, he felt blows to his face and torso.

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?)

Cerrato also was manic when he said Snyder doesn't have to come out and address the mess he's made of what was once among the top shelf of NFL franchises but is now among the most despised. "Dan has never spoken to the media for a decade now," Cerrato says.

Huh. I thought Snyder posed for photos and talked to the New York Times a few weeks ago.

***

Brian Mitchell has been declawed. In an interview during the "John Thompson Show" on Dan Snyder's sportstalker, WTEM, Mitchell said he'd just had a conversation with Snyder, and that the owner apologized for cutting Mitchell in 2000 to make room for Deion Sanders.

Mitchell, who ripped Snyder brutally on WTEM for a couple years before Snyder bought the station and fired him, sounded genuinely touched by the words of contrition.

Then again, Snyder needs Mitchell right now a lot more than Mitchell needs Snyder. So during the Eagles game this Monday, Snyder is installing Mitchell into the FedExField "ring of fame" or "hall of stars," or whatever the hell that list of names at the stadium is called now,

Mitchell's appearance on the field should be, like so much about the "Monday Night Football" outing, very odd. Until recently, hardcore Skins fans thought of Mitchell as a turncoat because he was so tough on his former team after Snyder cut him.

But the way the Skins have played this season, what once seemed like hate now just sounds like the truth.  And the fans are so united in despising Snyder, any enemy of the owner is a friend of theirs. So cheering Mitchell is the same as booing Snyder.

That means Mitchell's appearance might provide the only cheers from Skins fans all night.

***

Before Cerrato's desperate announcement, Rick Snider of the Examiner wrote what everybody's feeling: Jim Zorn ain't gonna make it through the season. Snider's piece is mean and fun, like so much of the Redskins coverage these days.

***

Ron Jaworski went on "The Tony Kornheiser Show" to talk about the upcoming telecast of "Monday Night Football," where Jaworski still works.

Asked about the home team's bizarre off-field behaviors in recent weeks, Jaworski said that he'd "gone through every single play" of Redskins games this season, and came to the conclusion that everybody knows:  "It's not about the play-calling."

But: Jaworski picked the Skins to cover the spread.

(If I quote one more radio interview, I'm going to have to pay royalties to the Great Steinographer...)

***

Debbie Yow's official University of Maryland bio refers to her as "Dr. Yow." I didn't know she was a doctor. And, after reading the bio, I still don't. It says she's got a masters degree from Liberty University and "a doctorate (honorus causa) from the United States Sports Academy and an honorary doctorate for professional achievement from Elon University."

Sounds here like Yow just showed up and sat on a stage to get her ceremonial sheepskin. So why would she use "Dr. Yow" as a title? Any psychologists out there explain these behaviors?

***

Charlie Brotman's PR firm, Brotman-Winter-Fried Communications, held its 40th anniversary party last night. I've stolen a bunch of stories from them over the years, with a drag racer with a colostomy bag and a family that makes its living pulling each other's hair coming to mind first.

At the party, I got Brotman to start talking about the old days, which ain't hard, and in no time flat he told tales about picking up Ted Williams at a local hotel and taking him to a real estate extravaganza in 1969 and working with Ray Leonard before the Thomas Hearns rematch and getting Nixon to sign a ball at RFK (which Brotman still has in his office) and bringing in Tiger Woods when he was 16 years old for a charity function and so on and so on. What a life. I could have listened all night, but Charlie had other duties. He's a DC treasure.

***

I got a press release from Brotman's firm today about something called the Gynecologic Cancer Half-Marathon, scheduled for DC on Nov. 8. I gotta say, as noble as the cause is, the race's name is jarring. When's the Scurvy Run-Walk? Or the Crushed By a Metrobus 10K? Or the Trust Me This Is Really the Worst Way to Die Tri?

'Course, I wouldn't have noticed the press release if the event were called the Life Is Great Race. And no matter the name, I ain't entering. No pain, no pain!

***

Story tips? Wanna Play the Feud? Tube amps for sale? Send to: cheapseats@washingtoncitypaper.com

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

The Amethyst Initiative bases their goal of rethinking the drinking age on the fact that the law, as it currently exists, is not working.  In fact, they claim it has been counterproductive, stating, “A culture of dangerous, clandestine ‘binge-drinking’—often conducted off-campus—has developed.”  Anyone who has been to a college campus can certainly agree with that.  While 21 year olds are able to go to bars and drink as little, and as slowly, as they choose, the majority of college students don’t have that luxury.  Instead, 18-20 years olds (read- Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors) are forced to drink on the sly, usually at a far more rapid (and dangerous) pace than their 21 year old counterparts.

As for D.C. schools, there does not appear to be any consensus.  The entire University of Maryland system, which includes UMD- College Park, has signed on to the Initiative’s petition.  George Washington University, through new President Steven Knapp, appears to be hedging, at least for now.  In the GW Hatchet, Knapp explains, "I would like to have a fuller study and discussion with my staff before deciding if this is the best way to approach the issue of underage alcohol consumption.”  However, he does add, “A lower drinking age would mean more traffic fatalities and, frankly, a rise in the overall consumption of alcohol.”

Other area schools are more blatant in their disagreement with the Initiative.  Howard University is a dry campus, and does not support the Amethyst Initiative.  American University will not be signing-  school President Neil Kerwin questions, to the American University Eagle, whether lowering the drinking age will “deter the epidemic of destructive behavior prompted by alcohol abuse that we’ve seen on our own campus.” Georgetown will not be signing on, either, citing the University’s focus on health and safety concerns.  Curiously, Georgetown President John DeGioia adds, to the Georgetown Hoya,“We’re a nation at war, we’re having some real difficulties with our economy. There are just a range of issues on which I could offer my perspective and my engagement, and I just feel that right now my priorities have to be placed elsewhere.”   Maybe we can wish that one day, President DeGioia can find a couple of minutes to involve himself in an issue that directly affects the safety of his students.

Despite the various Universities’ skepticism, the sad fact remains- binge drinking is a significant and growing problem on college campuses.  And being a dry campus, though maybe ideal, does not absolve any school from its responsibility in stemming the tide of the binge drinking epidemic that has enveloped college life.  In fact, the two ideas- being a dry campus and advocating a public discourse on the drinking age- are not mutually exclusive.  There is no conflict in discussing a drinking age law and still prohibiting alcohol on campus.  Finally, this is far too important an issue for schools to be so cautious.  George Washington University’s non-answer answer is frustrating, and as a current student of the school, I think I deserve better.  Georgetown’s health and safety concerns should be applauded, but as the goal of the initiative is to curb the effects of binge drinking, there's no reason not to engage the idea.

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."

Rocking cars?

Writing suggestions for next time: "check parking garages for cars where fuel is being injected," or "check parking garages for cars in which the engine's in overdrive," or "check parking garages for cars in which students are engaging in an act of sexual intercourse, thus causing the vehicle to rock."

"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."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month issued a guide for higher ed institutions that outlined strategies to minimize the incidence of the flu. The strategies – sneeze into your sleeve, provide adequate supplies of soap and paper towels, have students "self-isolate" if they're sick, wipe down high-touch surfaces – make perfect sense from a public health perspective.

But here's the thing: These are students! And this is university life! I just can't see many people wiping down the study carrel at the library before sitting down, or doing the same when borrowing a friend's laptop. And will encouraging students living together to "regularly clean frequently used surfaces such as doorknobs, refrigerator handles, remote controls, computer keyboards, countertops, faucet handles, and bathroom areas" really make them do it? Students tend not to be big on cleaning.

There is one other strategy – "increase social distances" – that would also seem near impossible on campus, let alone, actually, anywhere. The CDC writes:

The goal should be for there to be at least 6 feet of distance between people at most times. This is not a simple or easy strategy and would typically require considerable flexibility. Possible options to increase the amount of space between students include moving desks farther apart, leaving vacant seats between students, holding classes outdoors, and using distance learning methods.

Maryland's plan does include potential use of a "'social distancing' protocol that allows only classes and essential group gatherings." Something called the Incident Response Team "will determine what activities are deemed essential."

Strategies or no, more flu cases are on the way. At Washington State University, some 2,500 students have already called health services to report symptoms.

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.

The Davises were back in their hometown over the weekend to run a free youth football clinic at their shared alma mater, Dunbar Senior High School.

"With the success of the guys coming out of DC, me being a high draft pick and then my brother being a number one pick, that's brought a lot of attention to the football here, to the talent and people all over respect that now," says Vernon. "I'm excited what DC has done with football, what's happening here now."

The athletic facilities here have never lived up to the talent level, both brothers told me. Vernon says he wasn't even the best athlete in his neighborhood growing up. But for reasons that by now just sound cliche, we'll never hear about the kids who had better tools. "Guys went in a different direction than I did, to the streets," he says.

Things have improved quite a bit in recent years around Petworth and on the city's football scene, however. The field at Dunbar has gone from dirt to artificial turf, the bubbled and worn out track surrounding the gridiron has been replaced, and the locker rooms and training facilities have been upgraded since the Davises toiled for the Crimson Tide.

But they're not complaining about the lot they were dealt."I was just talking about this with my brother, remembering the locker rooms, and how small the [Dunbar] workout room used to be," says Vernon. "But we were talking about how much we got done in those little spaces. We worked so hard, and we had the the coaches behind us. So it's not about the size of the room, it's about the work you put in, and the people, and we had incredible support from the people here."

"But I tell the guys there now: it's a blessing they have the facilities that we didn't have," adds Vontae. "Things were a lot rougher when we were here. The locker rooms, the field, all of it. But if we had the fields they've got, we probably would have been even faster than we were."

The Davises admit that their profession will keep them away from DC except for an occasional fall Sunday.

"I love DC," Vontae says. "But I'm moving to Miami to live. You can't beat that."

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.

And the Washington Post tells readers it's going to run another story tomorrow that says Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good.

And the Washington Post boasts it will run another story the next day that says Gary Williams doesn't recruit real good.

This keeps up, and Gary Williams is gonna get a reputation as a guy who doesn't recruit real good.

He might have to start carrying that fuzzy photo in his wallet.

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.

Subject: Campus Alert / Sighting of Possible Cougar on Campus

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND 20742-6011
301-405-3555
EMERGENCY / DIAL 911
http://www.umdps.umd.edu

CAMPUS ALERT

July 31, 2008

There have been several reliable sightings of an animal fitting the description of a cougar on the campus. The description of the sighted cat is: light tan and tawny brown, about 4 feet long with a 4 foot tail, and weighing about 50 pounds. Several sightings have been reported from the area of Cole Field House, near the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and continuing through the wooded areas to the area of the Comcast Center and Arena Drive Garage. There has been no report of aggressive behavior on the part of the animal, but community members are warned that cougars are a predatory species and that, if seen, the animal should not be approached.

If you see the animal, please contact the university police at 301-405-3555. University police are working with other agencies to remove the animal from the campus area.

Prepared by:

Captain John Brandt
Crime Prevention Unit
jbrandt@umpd.umd.edu