Who’s got spirit? These Washingtonians do. They cheered, yelled, and sweated as mascots for their team. Here’s the good, the bad, and the downright strange of their time inside a big, fuzzy costume.
Vincent Ricardel talks about his experience photographing legendary Redskins players in this audio slideshow. Scroll down for extended interviews with Redskins players like Art Monk, Dexter Manley and more.
Photographer Vincent Ricardel talks about his behind-the-scenes experiences shooting Redskins legends
For Redskins fans, the Hall of Fame weekend was a chance to relive great memories. They got a chance to cheer for Darrell Green and Art Monk and remember the days when the Redskins were winning Super Bowls.
Those golden days are becoming a distant memory. The team has won only two playoff games since Joe Gibbs retired the first time in 1992. Even Gibbs couldn’t recapture the magic his second time here.
And now owner Dan Snyder has passed on big-name coaches like Bill Cowher and hired an untested one in Jim Zorn. Will Snyder give Zorn the time to make quarterback Jason Campbell a star and build the Redskins into a winner?
Let’s look at how Zorn’s first season is likely to play out:
Preakness history is loaded with examples of Kentucky Derby winners who couldn’t lose two weeks later at Pimlico. Remember Barbaro? He was 1-2 in the Preakness after an awesome Derby victory but broke down just a few hundred yards after leaving the starting gate.
Before Barbaro there was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. He was an awesome Derby winner and he went off at 3-10 but only attracted seven challengers. Fusaichi was beaten that day by Red Bullet, a 6-1 shot who didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby and who was never heard from again. Last year, impressive Derby winner and Preakness favorite Street Sense lost a stirring photo finish to Curlin.
That brings us to #7 Big Brown. His Kentucky Derby win was very impressive—he won from a bad post position and had a wide trip. He ran on an atypical Derby day when all the front-runners seemed to hold on. His Beyer Speed Figure, 109, is mundane for Derby champions, who frequently score between 112 and 117. There are indications that the Beyer figure would have been higher if he had not run so wide. On the other hand, the Derby field was unusually weak.
Fernando Murius and Rebecca Taylor at the Cup of Polo. All photos by Chris Leaman.
Polo went glam at America's Cup of Polo this past weekend, where the fashionable folks came out for a polo match between Italy and America, live music, fireworks and more. Check below for our photo slideshow.
For many years Washington Post horse racing writer Andrew Beyer was my hero. For a time, after the publication of his influential handicapping book Picking Winners, I became a virtual stalker, leaving messages on his answering machine and trying to sidle up next to him during the Daily Double at the old Sports Palace at Laurel Race Course.
Over the years, our relationship has cooled, largely because now we actually know each other.
Be that as it may, Andy never has been able to really get a handle on the Kentucky Derby. For many years, he admitted to his Derby cluelessness. Meanwhile, my own list of Derby successes has been pretty impressive. I picked the Derby winners in 2006 and 2007, Barbaro and Street Sense. I have nailed such unlikely winners as Winning Colors in 1998, Sunday Silence in 1989, Strike the Gold in 1991, Silver Charm in 1997, and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 (See Kim's current Derby picks here). I doubt whether Beyer had any of them.
For those who don’t closely follow racing, Andy is the guru, the Einstein who created the “Beyer Speed Figures.” From the mid 1970s until last year, the Beyer Speed Figures were the greatest advance in the history of gambling. For many years one had to buy his book and figure out how to compute them. I spents hundreds of hours of my life doing that. Then the Daily Racing Form decided to buy the Beyer Speed Figures and print them next to the entries and past performances for every horse at every track in America.
Washingtonian National Editor Kim Eisler has been picking Derby winners since Carry Back in 1961. He has covered the Triple Crown chase for the past 20 years.
The Kentucky Derby will be run Saturday afternoon. A field of 20 is expected to compete. The horse with the solidest local connections is #15 Adriano, ridden by former Laurel jockey Edgar Prado, and trained by Marylander Graham Motion. Another jockey familiar to local horseplayers is Ramon Dominquez, who will be aboard #14 Monba.
Of the 20 horses starting, only eight have any realistic shot of winning. Here are my top picks:
We stopped diners exiting the new bar and restaurant next door to Ben's Chili Bowl to find out how chef Rock Harper's crab cakes compare to the famous half-smoke.
more
Here’s our list of galas, balls, and parties happening around town during inauguration time. We’ll be updating this on a rolling basis as events are confirmed.
more
- Sports
