Well who at the beginning of the year would think that American University and the University of Maryland would be our only Men’s tournament teams? 

The Golden Eagles will be opening up against Villanova (March 19, 7:20p)-which may give Georgetown fans an incentive to root for the Red Line team, and UMD will play the University of California out in Glendale (March 19, 2:55p) .  Although UMD has been hot lately-I just don’t trust this team.  I think the ACC was kind of weaker than advertised this year.

I’m personally hoping for American to pull the upset.  Last year they gave 2 seed Tennessee a run for their money-and may be they can topple might Big East ‘Nova and make it interesting. 

For now though-these are our hope DC-a 10 seed and a 14 seed.  Yikes.

Some of the teams that didn’t make this years tournament?  After the jump: 

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From: p_pho@hotmail.com
Subject: Nationals Talk
Date: March 5, 2009 1:59 PM EST
To: Frank J. Lattuca

Alright,

Time to start the Nationals talk:

The Nats are 3-3 in Spring Training- could this be their best record all year?

The latest odds have them with the longest odds to win the World Series.

I’m looking at the current Nats depth chart and things look pretty much how I expected they will end up this April- but what’s Nick Johnson’s role going to be this season with Dunn now on 1st?

From: Frank J. Lattuca
Subject: RE: Nationals Talk
Date: March 5, 2009 2:49 PM EST
To: p_pho@hotmail.com

Spring Training: The Nationals are 3-3 right now, but that wouldn’t have been their best record last year. The Nationals started hot, winning their first 3 (including in dramatic fashion at National’s Park’s Inaugural game). They did lose their next 9 though-so their winning record (or .500) record didn’t last past the first week of baseball. They didn’t recover, and I don’t think this team will either. If they get above.500 it’ll be in April, and it will last about as long as the Cherry Blossoms.

Odds: Yeah, that article is great-and look what $10 can do for you! That said-D.C. needs economic stimulation too-so before you go lining Vegas’ pockets, think about plunking that $10 down on a ticket to a ball game or a beer and a half at the stadium. Not that the Lerners are actually hurting for money, but at least you’ll get something for your money other than a pipe dream.

Depth: Nick Johnson is the great question mark. He’s not a guy who is going to want to be in a back-up role, nor do the Nationals want to be paying him as much as they are at that position. I think Steve, our guest blogger earlier this week, hit it on the head-Johnson’s role will be trade bait. He’s not really athletic enough to play anywhere else and, barring injury, Dunn is going to be a better fit-that’s why they spent so much on him. I expect to see the two of them split time until Dunn secures the job. This will showcase Johnson a bit and then prep him for a trade.

The only real positive about the roster is a healthy Ryan Zimmerman and the fact that a lot of these guys are young. So hopefully as the next few years go by they’ll develop into nice players.

From: p_pho@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: RE: Nationals Talk
Date: March 5, 2009 4:21 PM EST
To: Frank J. Lattuca

Obviously records don’t mean shit when you are playing prospects against prospects, what I really hope to see is a contasnt pace of 10-15 games below 500, it’s really depressing to see a slide in the middle of July.

Talking about tickets- now that the new stadium has a year under it, is the is the year that attendence takes a dive? The Red Sox won’t be around every month. Are we going to be an away team park all season long?

Johnson prolly will be trade bait- I can’t wait to see that happen. You know who doesn’t have a real power hitting 1st Basemen? Los Angeles.

From: Frank J. Lattuca
Subject: RE: Nationals Talk
Date: March 5, 2009 10:32 PM EST
To: p_pho@hotmail.com

Actually I just read on Nationals.com that Dunn will “likely” start in Left Field since Johnson is healthy. Even still I stick to my guns that this arrangement will only last as long as a.) Johnson stays healthy or b.) someone wants to give something good for Johnson. Unless the Nationals somehow become an offensive juggernaut with Johnson, Zimmerman, Dunn and Guzman (who all could put decent numbers) I don’t see that arrangement lasting.

Between the recession, the Nationals being terrible and the stadium not being new you can count on a dip in attendance-but I think everyone will take a dip. I’ll tell you what though-the Nationals have made a great park for people to go to-including the non baseball fans. I’m not ashamed to admit that I spend most of the game up at the Red Porch drinking and watching the game from the deck, just chatting the game away. It really is built for a place to be social and my guess is that some aggressive promotion of the “fun” to going to park coupled with tourists, not raising the ticket prices, fans of other teams and the just plain old “I’d like to drink outside tonight” attitude of DC Happy Hour folk should send some people to the park.

But yeah-don’t expect Nats fans to out number Mets, Phillies, Cubs or Red Sox fans this year.

Especially Red Sox fans.

Interesting thought on the LAD-what would you want from them. I mean, you know, aside from anything.

From: p_pho@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: Nationals Talk
Date: March 11, 2009 10:48 PM EST
To: Frank J. Lattuca

Check out this article on the Nationals crowded outfield.

I totally forgot we had Josh Willingham- I can’t believe our outfield is so crowded that we have no space for him, he’s a serviceable bat- in fact I think he’d be better than an Austin Kearns or something, I don’t know…

Regarding LAD- I have no idea, I’m not caught up yet on the teams to start shouting trades- however I totally see some random team getting Johnson for cheap- we’re going to get ripped off.

From: Frank J. Lattuca
Subject: RE: Nationals Talk
Date: March 12, 2009 9:32 AM EST
To: p_pho@hotmail.com

The really disappointing thing is we gave up Bonifacio to get him-who I thought was a great prospect. I’d never seen a guy that fast.

I agree-we are going to get hosed because we have a surplus and no one really needs one of these five guys. Good thing is he’s a bit like Dunn-he can play catcher and 1B, so if Johnson goes then that helps out the outfield as well.

Just like the Nationals to have a plethora of mediocre talent and be unable to decide among them.

Remember when I said Brangelina was in town and it was kind of a big deal to people that care about that sort of thing? Well I found a couple of clips of what the couple were doing in the district.

While Angelina was filming scenes from her upcoming movie Salt…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT_pLLdhkR4[/youtube]

Brad was meeting with Nancy Pelosi and being all George Clooney like.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfFIVNvvtfg[/youtube]

That’s right DC, with Georgetown bowing out of the Big East tournament early, and George Washington not even qualifying for the A-10 tourney (yuck), the only DC proper team left to root for is the American University Eagles-who are in a “win and in” game tonight against Holy Cross.  With a 13-1 in conference record, and winning the last game against Holy Cross 56-50, AU looks poised to make the tournament-something the two Georges couldn’t do.

And yes-Maryland, UVA and VA Tech are all alive (George Mason is done) but their hopes are slim (at best) and they are (also at best) suburb schools.  DC’s only chance at a champion is in Tenlytown.

Tune in at 4:45p tonight to cheer our hometown team along.

Union Station Interior*

In recent months, you may have read about photographers who have reported being harassed by Amtrak police/personnel, and sometimes even having their photos destroyed, while trying to work inside picturesque Union Station in DC.  Well, Photo District News just tweeted that Amtrak (in cooperation with the National Press Photographers’ Association [NPPA]) has finally revamped their photography policy and published new guidelines for everyone to follow, nationwide.  Hooray!

Best of all in my book, is the news that “[a]n important aspect of the new photo guideline says that while nothing in the new photo policy limits or expands the authority of Amtrak police to investigate what a photographer is doing, ‘the taking of photographs and/or video may not, in and of itself, rise to the level of reasonable suspicion or probable cause.’”  Many of us have seen innocent tourists get harassed around town, and it is nice to see someone acknowledge that tourists like to, you know, take pictures.

Now, Union Station (as well as many other stations and rights-of-way around the country) is operated, in part, by a private management company….which has been the source of much of the confusion inside Union Station.    And while Amtrak is trying to help us out, it looks like that confusion might continue.   Though Jones Lang LaSalle, the management company for the commercial section of the station, does have a published form to request Union Station as a film or photo production site (for movies or professional photo shoots), there’s still no stated policy about amateur photography inside the managed portion of the building….though the JLL website does contain a photo gallery.   Confusing!

As the NPPA’s counsel stated, “My only caution is that while Amtrak operates nationwide many of its stations and right-of-ways throughout the country are operated by an array of property management companies…Those companies may or may not adopt these guidelines. Unfortunately the public has no way of knowing that when all they see is the familiar Amtrak logo. I still strongly believe that regardless of the ownership public areas are considered a public forum where first amendment protections for photography would apply.”

So, shutterbugs, be on the lookout for zealous JLL security personnel when trying to shoot inside and around the station…and let us know if you notice any changes with the implementation of the new policy!

* Photo used under a Creative Commons License by flickr user morning_rumtea

"Hilton Embassy Row" courtesy Flickr user adriaan bloem

Not that I was wondering who was going to fill the void left by AOL, it now appears that another huge corporation will moving their headquarters to Northern Virginia.

Hilton Hotels signed a 10-year lease with a Tyson’s Corner office building and will be moving their headquarters across the country from Beverly Hills to Virginia.

After hearing about the move I started to think, “does that mean Paris might come by to visit the family business?”

After some extensive Wikipedia-ing I found out that Paris’ grandfather Barron is the co-chairman of the Hilton chain. Her father Richard dabbles in real estate instead. It also appears that Barron’s grandchildren won’t get a whole lot of the estate when he dies- he’s already designated most of his estate to charity.

You never know though- she might enjoy shopping in Friendship Heights.

The company that excels at signing athletes to endorsement deals have done it again. In their latest cheesy/terrible TV spot, Caps Superstar Alexander Ovechkin shows that he should stick to scoring goals and taking shots of vodka:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK1yeT1f2jg[/youtube]

Not many Presidential catch phrases become part of the mainstream. President Clinton has his “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” debacle; President Bush has his “Mission Accomplished” banner which is now enshrined for all eternity in Wikipedia; and President Obama will forever be known for “Yes We Can.”

But how about now? In the face of economic chaos will we forever remember the words “stimulus package?” Is this going to be on of those vocab words high school students will have to remember years from now?

The moment I realized that those words were going to become a part of pop culture for the next year (maybe more) is when I received a free gift certificate in the mail for the local Champps restaurant. See where they cleverly referred to the current economic times in their copy?

So many places are having sales and bargains and just dropping the phrase, or perhaps playing with it to seem hip and cool. Last week the Orioles unveiled their Birdland Stimulus Package, a promotion to help raise declining attendance numbers.

I know there are so many more retailers and businesses using the stimulus package phrase, however they have glossed over me right now as most advertising does. Anyone else know who else is playing the stimulus package card?

"aafad 154/365 sexed-up" courtesy of Flickr user lamont_cranston

Looks like somebody may have been watching Burn Before Reading too many times.  I read over at WRC-TV’s website about a southern Maryland couple who were experimenting with a home-made sex toy. According to TheBayNet, the couple were using a sex toy that was mounted to a sabre saw, and gosh darn it the saw cut through the toy while in use.

When I read that part of the story I was immediately grossed out. The woman was airlifted to a PG county hospital and is recovering, albeit probably embarrassed and unwilling to try anything in bed again.

This is definitely one of those, “what were you thinking moments?” I imagine this the work of a young redneck couple (I mean it is southern Maryland) thinking it would be a good idea to save some money in the recession by making your own sex toys. Even as a guy I wouldn’t want a saw in any form anywhere near my sex parts.
In a Daily Item update, remember that guy who punched The Crime Dog in the face? Well he was finally fired for his actions. Now you know that crime against mascots don’t pay. I’m looking at you Thomas Jefferson- you gotta play fair when racing Teddy, or at least learn gansta celebratory moves like Abe.

Springhill Lake Elementary School Cleanup. Photo by Cindy Murray.

Mark your calendar for Saturday morning, April 4 for the Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, organized by the Alice Ferguson Foundation.  The goal is to pick up as much trash as possible before spring rains wash it into the creeks, streams, rivers, and bays (and eventually back into our drinking water and recreational areas).  According to their website, “since 1989, more than 40,000 volunteers have teamed with 300 partner organizations to tug over 1,500 tons of trash from the watershed´s streams, rivers and bays. Last year´s haul of over 291 tons included more than 18 tons of recyclables, 2,625 tires, 13,000 balls, 25 bicycles, 26 shopping carts, 100lb of metal piping, 6 TVs and 2 bathtubs!” 

This is a fun event for all ages and abilities, with 22 sites in the District ready to roll, and lots more across the region. But this is only part of what individuals can do as part of the Trash-Free Potomac Watershed Initiative.  Here’s a handy checklist for everyone to improve the health and human enjoyment of rivers and streams of the Potomac River Watershed.  Consider pledging to do your part by:

• properly disposing of trash
• picking up one piece of litter each day
• purchasing products made of recycled materials and with less packaging
• recycling at home, office, school, and any public event
• using reusable shopping bags
• limiting use of single-use beverage containers

My personal goal this year is to limit (or eliminate) purchases of things that don’t go in the recycling bin, compost vegetable scraps, and always carry a reusable shopping bag.  I’m also pledging to talk about this to people in my neighborhood, neighborhood businesses, my officemates–and you.  I’ll be posting more about technologies that turn waste into resources, so stay tuned!