RFK Stadium Turns 50!

An old DC favorite, RFK Stadium, turns 50 this week.

To celebrate, DC officials and althletes commemorated the occasion with a press conference today announcing the 'I Remember Campaign'.

Through campaign, fans can share videos, photos and comments on their most memorable RFK Stadium stories and experiences. Fans can also vote for the RFK All- Stadium Team - a roster of the 50 greatest athletes and entertainers in stadium history.

To participate, fans can visit www.RFKStadium50.com or www.facebook.com/RFKStadium.

Those attending the announcement included Vincent C. Gray, Mayor, District of Columbia, Kwame R. Brown, Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia, Jack Evans, Councilmember, Ward 2, Council of the District of Columbia, William N. Hall, Board of Directors, Events DC, Gregory A. O’Dell, President and CEO, Events DC, Charles Mann, Washington Redskins, Kevin Payne, President and CEO, D.C. United, Ben Olsen, Head Coach, D.C. United, Gregory McCarthy, Vice President, Washington Nationals, and Norm Neverson, George Washington University.

RFK Stadium was home for 36 seasons to the Washington Redskins. It is currently the home of the city's soccer team DC United. Other sporting events continue to take place at the stadium, to include last month's Maloof Money Cup skateboarding championship, the inaugural AT&T National rival college football contest between Howard University and Morehouse College, and the annual Northrup Grumman Military Bowl.

On October 12, a bipartisan Congressional Flag Football Team will meet the U.S. Capitol Police Flag Football Team for a charity game. Former NFL players will serve as coaches and players during the game. The list includes Art Monk, Rick “Doc” Walker, Ken Harvey, Gary Clarke and Cliff Russell of the Washington Redskins, John Booty (Philadelphia Eagles) and Renaldo 'Skeets' Nehemiah (San Francisco 49ers). (Visit www.CongressionalFootballGame.org for info).

History Behind RFK Stadium
The stadium was renamed in January 1969, for U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated in Los Angeles the previous June. As Attorney General, Kennedy's Justice Department played a role in the racial integration of the Redskins. Along with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, Kennedy threatened to revoke the team's lease at the federally-owned stadium until it promised to sign African American players.

RFK was the first major stadium designed specifically as a multisport facility for both football and baseball.

During the Nationals' tenure at the stadium, it was the fourth-oldest active stadium in Major League Baseball behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.

(Source)

Orakpo Named NFC Defensive Player of the Week

The National Football League announced today that Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Redskins’ 17-10 victory against the St. Louis Rams in Week 4.


Orakpo registered five tackles (four solo), two tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits against the Rams. The Redskins’ coaching staff also credited Orakpo with a forced fumble. His 2.5 sacks in the game represent the second-highest single-game sack total of his career and are the most by a Redskins player since he registered four sacks against the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 13, 2009.

The award marks the 32nd time a member of the Redskins has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week since the NFL began awarding weekly honors in 1984. Orakpo is the team’s first winner since cornerback DeAngelo Hall earned the award after a four-interception performance against the Chicago Bears in Week 7 of the 2010 season.

Orakpo previously won weekly honors following Week 14 of the 2009 season while listed on the roster as a defensive end/linebacker. Prior to Orakpo, no Redskins linebacker had won the award since Ken Harvey following Week 13 in 1997. Orakpo is now one weekly honor shy of tying Wilbur Marshall for most by a linebacker in team history (three).

Orakpo, a two-time Pro Bowler, leads the Redskins in sacks this season with 3.5. The Redskins have 15 sacks on the season, tied with Philadelphia for most in the NFL. Orakpo has 23 career sacks, the fifth-most in the NFC and ninth-most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2009.

The 3-1 Redskins have a bye week, before facing Mike Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday October 16th at FedEd Field.

On how the guys will spend their time off, Mike Shanahan weighs in:

“These guys have come in in very good shape coming into camp with the lockout. I’ve asked them to get at least a couple of days of running in and told them, ‘God is watching.’ We’ll have to go with the honor system. We have guys that understand – we’re four games into the season and we have a lot to get done. I want their bodies to rest and mentally get away from football a little bit even though some may watch on the weekend. But, when they come back Monday, they’ll be ready to go against Philadelphia.”

But before that, family first. Right coach?

“I think there is time for everything. You have to make time, especially when you have kids and family. You better make time. Those are an important part of your life. I think as you get a little bit older, like I am now, and the kids are grown, it’s not as important, but now there are grandkids. It’s budgeting time and making sure you get a little bit of time for everything and have some priorities – you better make that a priority.”

1968 Olympic Champion John Carlos at the University of Maryland

John Wesley Carlos and author Dave Zirin are on a book tour discussing The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World.

John Carlos (far right) and Tommie Smith (middle) in 1968.
Seen around the world, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s Black Power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Yet their show of defiance remains one of the most iconic images of Olympic history and the Black Power movement.

The pair will speak tonight at the University of Maryland and will be at the National Portrait Gallery tomorrow, Wednesday, October 5th from 6-7pm.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Celebs, Political and Sports Figures Help Celebrate

Tanya Snyder, wife of Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder, along with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, joined cancer advocates and survivors Tuesday, Oct. 4 to emphasize the importance of breast cancer awareness and recognize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP).

NBCCEDP has given low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women access to lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings since 1991. The program will perform its historic 10 millionth screening this fall.

The event, held at the Capital Breast Care Center, featured Mrs. Snyder; Secretary Sebelius; Christopher W. Hansen, President, and John Seffrin, PhD and CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), Dr. Louis Weiner, Director of Georgetown Cancer Centers; Stacey Ferguson, high-risk recipient of cancer screenings through the NBCCEDP; and breast cancer survivors.

The Capital Breast Care Center is an initiative of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. It provides comprehensive, culturally appropriate breast cancer screening services and health education to women in the Washington, D.C. area regardless of their ability to pay.

This event is one of several initiatives upon which Mrs. Snyder and the Washington Redskins will be embarking on during the month of October in support of the NFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.

On Monday, Sebelius joined Dr. Jill Biden , wife of Vice President Joe Biden, in several events to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to highlight the affordable and accessible preventive care made possible by President Obama's Affordable Care Act.

The two, along with actress Jennifer Aniston, toured the Inova Breast Care Center in Alexandria, Virginia and hosted a viewing of the Lifetime movie Five, which explores the stories of families whose lives have been impacted by breast cancer.

Breast cancer will kill nearly 40,000 women in America this year, making it the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, but greater awareness about and access to early detection measures can save lives.

At sunset yesterday evening, both the White House and the Vice President’s Residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory was lit pink to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Announcing: The Return of DC Boxing!

UNIFIED SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION AMIR "KING" KHAN SET TO FACE DC'S OWN LAMONT "HAVOC" PETERSON ON HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®

LOCAL UNDEFEATED HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER SETH MITCHELL ALSO TO APPEAR

Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson," a 12-round Unified Super Lightweight World Title Fight for Khan's WBA World Super Championship and IBF World Championship.

The boxer plan to announce their upcoming world championship fight set for Saturday, December 10 from Washington DC and televised live on HBO's World Championship Boxing.

The HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast begins at 9:45 p.m. ET/ 6:45 p.m. PT.

A press conference is scheduled for this Thursday, October 6th at 2pm at the world famous DC W Hotel - rooftop level.

"2011 CHOCOLATE CITY VS. THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE" LOCKOUT EXHIBITION

The battle for I-95 continues as NBA superstars Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) and John Wall (Washington Wizards) team up to represent the nation's capital against Philadelphia's cast of all-stars on Saturday, October 15 at Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the game begins at 6 p.m.



Durant and Wall - who also competed with the Goodman League All-Stars - are less than a month removed from playing with Team DC in a friendly, inner-city exhibition and look to represent the District again alongside Jeff Green (Boston Celtics), Michael Beasley (Minnesota Timberwolves), Nolan Smith (Portland Trailblazers), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings) and Greg Monroe (Detroit Pistons).

Wall, Durant and LeBron James also competed in the Chris Paul Charity Basketball Event in North Carolina. The event was hailed as 'The Best Game of the Lockout' by HoopMixTape.com.

Watch and decide.

John Wall, upon being presented with the DC vs Philly opportunity, responded right away with three simple words, “Let’s do it”!

Prior to the game, children 12 years old and younger can enjoy interactive activities, including a mini-camp where participants will experience NBA-level skill instruction from local basketball trainer Hanif Hill. Registration for the camp is $20 (includes game admission) and will begin at 3 p.m. Adults accompanying their children will be required to purchase a game ticket.

Event tickets start at $30 and are available in advance online at http://dcphillytickets.eventbrite.com or at the door on event day.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to local youth sports programs and recreation centers. For additional ticket information, please email DCPhillytickets@gmail.com.

Live game streaming will be available at http://ilinksports.com.

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Lockout or not: Basketball Never Stops.

The NBA Lockout Does Funny Things To Players

It's October and the NBA lockout still looms.

NBA players (who don't get to take their basketball talents to Italy for $2-3 million, or play in various summer leagues) are getting restless.

We find one NBA player (whom you might be all too familiar with) dressing early for Halloween (or something else), and his significant other gives us all the details (thanks to Twitter).

NBA's Gilbert Arenas dressed in a MS looking cop outfit, complete with handcuffs. Hopefully, the ensemble doesn't come outfitted with guns.
Arenas' on-again/off-again girlfriend, Laura Govan, tweeted this (among other things), "OMFG, so when I pull up he's singing, "Mrs. Officer, Mrs Officer!" Upon seeing Arenas in the get up, she also tweets, "Please end the lockout. I can't take another outfit".

NBA and player negotiations continued this weekend with both sides saying they are willing and able to negotiate terms - yet no agreement has been made, so the lockout continues.

Serious NBA players collectively meet the press after another round of negotiations.
Players want to keep 53% share of the league’s basketball-related income. NBA owners don't want players making more money than they already are, want player salaries at capped at 43%.


Here are more tweets that we found interesting on the subject.



**updated Monday, Oct 3, 2011
Blake Griffin voices his opinion
@blakegriffin: First day of training camp finally here can't wait for. Oh what's that NBA owners? You won't let us play? Sorry everybody.

Millionaires arguing with billionaires, while the rest of America is at a 9% unemployment rate.

Skins (Barely) Regain Their Top NFC East Standing

Beat St. Louis 17-10

Just when you thought Washington would serve up a good ole fashioned beatdown to a winless St. Louis Rams, the team's lead starting slipping away. But like a 'miracle' at Edward Jones Dome the Skins managed to squeak by to get a win on the road, edging out St. Louis, 17-10.


Redskins' Ryan Torain dives in for more yardage against the Rams. He had 135 on the day. (Hightower watch out).
Assisting in the effort was Santana Moss who caught a six yard pass from Grossman in the first quarter. The touchdown was the Redskins’ first first-quarter touchdown of the season. With kicker Graham Gano connecting on a 38-yard field goal, the Skins were on the board first with a 7-0 lead.

Washington seemed to get ahead of themselves in the second half, and encountered a few setbacks. Most noticeably two Grossman interceptions that lead the way for a Rams comeback.

Rams' cornerback Justin King intercepted a Grossman pass at the Rams’ 18 returning it 51 yards in the third quarter to Washington’s 31 before being pushed out of bound by Tim Hightower.

Said Rams' QB Sam Bradford, “There was no doubt when he got that interception I thought we were going to score."

Oddly (or is it?) the Rams would have another opportunity when James Laurinaitis stepped in front of another Grossman pass to return it to the Redskins’ 19 yard line with 5:30 seconds to play.

Those turnovers were costly mistakes for the Skins who could have easily scored more points.

"We're going to consistently work to get better throughout the year" said Skins' quarterback Rex Grossman.

Defensively, Washington held the Rams to 172 yards, seven sacks on Sam Bradford, and a forced fumble by Ryan Kerrigan, (the NFL's rookie defenseman for the month of September).

Running back Ryan Torain rushed for just as many yards as Grossman passed for, with 135. He scored a 20-yard touchdown run, the longest touchdown run of his career, and his first of the season. (Check out one he had on the day,
here).

"He went out there and played like he was possessed", said head coach Mike Shanahan.

Punter Sav Rocca set a season long with a 64-yard punt in the second quarter. Rocca placed three punts inside the 20-yard line, improving his league-leading total to 12.

Washington is holding steady in the NFL standings joining other 3-1 teams like Houston, Tennessee, and New Orleans; however, their old nemesis, putting points on the board, still remains an issue for this team.

The Redskins only had 17 points against a team who hadn't won a game all season. Last week they were pummeled by the Baltimore Ravens, 37-7. With the talent this team has the Skins should have scored more than 17 points.

While St. Louis drops to 4-0 the Skins, who regained the first place ranking in the NFC East with today's win, will have figure out a much better game plan against better coached teams in the National Football League if they want to remain in first place.

Perhaps they can do so during the upcoming bye week, before playing Mike Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles (1-3), a team that is also struggling to respectfully get wins.


Related
Highlights: Redskins v Rams

Highlights: Mike Vick passes for 412 yards in 24-23 loss to San Francisco. Watch. Asks media: "Do you really want me to tell you how I feel right now?"

Good to Note
Today's win marks the 11th time the Redskins have been better than .500 entering the bye, since 1990. The Redskins have never finished with a losing record in seasons in which the team entered the bye with a record above .500.

At Washington Caps Convention: Kids Dougie

At last weekend's Washington Capitals, Convention fans came out in droves to see their fav Caps players and participate in a full day of Caps' activities.

Speaking of activities, check out the this little girl doing the Dougie.

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The Caps took on the Blackhawks today winning 4-1 at home. The Caps are 3-3-1 on the preseason. The team opens up the regular season next Saturday (Oct 8) against the Hurricanes.