‘Introducing Gilbert Arenas’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

“It think it’s exactly what the team needed,” said the team’s new owner, Ted Leonsis. “Just kind of a jolt of adrenaline.” ~Associated Press, 9/28

Midnight Madness is a college thing. And not every university with a major basketball program does it, either. It’s reserved for the big time programs. It’s definitely not a pro hoops kind of event, though.

Try telling that to the 3,500+ who rolled into the Patriot Center last night to watch the Wizards kick off their 2010 training just a shade after the clock struck twelve. Announced last month, the concept was to rejuvenate a team base that had been fast asleep for years. Enter Ted Leonsis, John Wall and a convenient location on campus, and the idea to do something not normal to the NBA came to fruition. Continue reading →

‘Flight 1722’
courtesy of ‘Two Ladies & Two Cats’

Let the bargain airline battle begin at National. Earlier this year, JetBlue announced that it would start running shuttles from Reagan National to two cities – Boston and Orlando. For any who prefer the discount line, saving a trip out to Dulles was an automatic plus. Depending on your airline preference, though, that may not have solved your bargain hunting ways.

As noted yesterday in Patrick’s Twitter round-up, the first question many DCites had about Southwest’s acquisition of Airtran involved what the future would hold for the latter’s existing gates at DCA. Well, wonder no more: Southwest CEO Gary Kelly appeared on Good Morning America this morning and commented that his airline would assume service of those gates at Reagan. SeekingAlpha even highlighted this among reasons why Southwest was attracted to the airline in the first place.

Group A, you may now board without first trekking to Baltimore.

Update: This did in fact originally read ATA. Corrected thanks to our commenters.

Photo by Cheryl Nichols / Nationals News Network

If there was a Nats game in Washington tonight, you never would have known it. It was no Opening Day take over Monday night at Nationals Park when the Phillies clinched their fourth consecutive National League East Division title, but it was pretty close. Continue reading →

‘day 7.10/10’
courtesy of ‘giiviak’

Last month, we were talking about bed bugs as the creepy crawlies making you uncomfortable at night. This month, there’s now an even grosser phenomenon taking over the DMV: stink bugs. From NBC Washington’s report over the weekend:

Smelly, pesky bugs known as stink bugs have been swarming the Washington, D.C. area — and when you try to kill them, they just smell worse. “When you try to kill them, before death, they stink,” said Michael Raupp, an entomology professor at the University of Maryland. “They want to find a place to chill out for the winter. They’re not coming in for warmth, they’re coming in for refuge.

By no means is this an outstanding year for stink bug infestations, but in some of the surrounding areas that do rely on agriculture, they can actually lead to some issues. According to an article from this weekend’s article from the New York Times, the bugs have been taking over fields “in flocks” in some parts of Maryland.

Worried you aren’t protected enough? WTOP has you covered with this guide on how to get rid of stink bugs.

And to think, all of this at the same time as Congress is finally back in session.

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‘Close-up of the Iron Chef America poster’
courtesy of ‘Nicole Lee’
Last night, a couple of our hometown heroes made an appearance in Kitchen Stadium. Chefs Katsuya Fukushima (formerly of Minibar and Cafe Atlantico) and Ruben Garcia (culinary director of THINKfoodGROUP) went to battle against the newest Iron Chef, Jose Garces, in Battle Mahi-Mahi. Previously undefeated, Garces went down 55-50 with Fukushima and Garcia outscoring him on plating and originality. And with their first course complimented by the ubiquitous Minibar cotton candy, who is really surprised?

The Chairman was unfortunately unavailable for last night’s battle (I like to think he was somewhere handing out an employee of the month plaque or trying to work on the FY 2011 budget), but Alton Brown filled in with his best Chairman impression. He tried his hardest, but the impression ends up somewhere between the Chairman and a constipated gorilla. Eater National has the video here. Battle Mahi-Mahi will rerun this Thursday at 9pm on the Food Network.

‘Fojol Bros. Of Merlindia Truck’ courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Today is the last day to vote in our food truck contest. Tell your mother, tell your brother, tell your sister, tell your friend…to vote. Continue reading →

‘circling segways’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

J. Freedom du Lac has an interesting article in today’s Post about DC’s tour guide licensing restrictions and the tour company operators who are contesting them on First Amendment grounds. I find myself torn on the issue- as a person who writes things for publication on the Internet, I’m a cranky First Amendment zealot. But as a person who writes things about DC for publication on the Internet, I find misinformation propagated by tour guides to be particularly maddening.

Despite leaning toward the side of the tour operators due to aforementioned zealotry, there was one quote in the article that really didn’t do much to endear the tour guides to me:

On a recent afternoon, Edwards was at the Segs in the City kiosk next to the Old Post Office Pavilion – “the second-tallest building in Washington,” she says in a lilting Australian accent.

Why did this annoy me? The Old Post Office Pavilion is NOT “the second-tallest building in Washington.” At 329 feet tall, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the second-tallest. The Old Post Office Pavilion is 315 feet tall, making it third.

Photo by Ian Koski / Nationals Daily News

The Nationals bullpen shut Bobby Cox’s Braves down by throwing three scoreless innings on Sunday. Both Sean Burnett and Drew Storen had spotless performances from the mound against Atlanta as Washington took two of three from a club attempting to salvage a Wild Card berth. Continue reading →

Photo by Cheryl Nichols

Atlanta Braves starter Tim Hudson is among the cream of the crop in this year’s National League Cy Young contenders. He is in shared company beside the Cardinals’ Adam Wainright, the Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez, and the Phillies’ Roy Halladay as some of the best in the game. Not only that but Hudson has dominated the Nationals previously going 10-1 with a 1.55 lifetime ERA against the club. But on Friday night, that was of no consequence in Washington.

It took nearly six months but the Nationals finally strung together a season-high four game win-streak in front of a crowd of 22,515. The 8-3 victory over a Braves squad fighting for a Wild Card berth was a direct result of some sizzling at-bats from the Nats likely suspects at the plate. Continue reading →