Washington is a two-faced town, swinging between its federal and local identities. Inaugural night for Nationals Stadium showcased local Washington—from the party hosted by the Lerner Family, hometown owners of the baseball team, to the food and the crowd in the stadium.

True, President George Bush threw out the first pitch. And a sprinkling of usual suspects from national Washington made the scene, but the Lerners put a local stamp on the affair, starting with their VIP party.

Many of the “very important people” invited to the spare affair on the unfinished top floor of the Lerners' office building on M Street were lifelong friends of Ted and Annette Lerner. There was much more Chevy Chase and Bethesda than K Street and Capitol Hill.

After spending free-agency money like a drunken sailor with little to show for it, the Washington Redskins owner may finally be growing out of his fan phase—as in “Let’s sign Deion Sanders—he’s a star!” The Redskins have been wallflowers at this year’s free-agency dance.

With his team already capped out and with every starter signed for next year, Snyder resisted the temptation to bring in some fading star by private plane and sign him to a multimillion-dollar deal. The early signings always are the most expensive and the most overpaid.

Collaborations, launched by management consultant Angela Drummond, seeks to meld the best of sports, entertainment, dining, and a private club. With rates as high as $250,000 a year for six people (three-year minimum membership required), she’s finding an audience.

The club was created when the Verizon Center ripped out eight luxury suites on the third level of the arena and Collaborations renovated the 5,000-square-foot space into a venue one could easily confuse with a power setting like the Tower Club in McLean. Dark-paneled walls and an expansive bar overlooking the National Portrait Gallery greet the club’s members, who can amuse themselves during events with a pool table, conduct business in a conference room, dine in a room on food prepared by a chef hired from the Ritz-Carlton, or just watch the game from large leather seats. Don’t want to sit for the game? Flat screens broadcast the entertainment throughout the club—even in the men’s restroom.

Drummond says she hopes to sell 60 to 70 memberships—she’s about a quarter of the way there—targeted toward such dealmakers as developers, lawyers, recruiters, and government contractors.

Photograph by Matthew Worden.

As an eighth-grader playing basketball in Silver Spring, Roy Hibbert was something of a liability for his team. The then-six-foot-eight player kept racking up technical fouls for dunking, which CYO rules forbid. But when the hoop is that close, what’s a kid to do?

These days, when he’s center for the Georgetown Hoyas, no one minds Hibbert’s dunking. Last season he averaged 13 points a game, sometimes offering the performances of which high NBA draft picks are made.

“He has great hands and passing ability, good footwork, and great timing,” says Alonzo Mourning, another star center who played for Georgetown and who is now with the Miami Heat.

Hibbert submitted his name for the draft in mid-April alongside fellow junior Jeff Green but pulled it back a few weeks later, deciding to finish his final year at Georgetown. Green was the number-five pick in the draft and went to the Seattle SuperSonics.

“The opportunity will hopefully be there for me next year,” says Hibbert. “I’m committed to Georgetown and getting my degree.”

That degree will be in government. His interest in politics explains why one former teammate took to calling him “governor”—as in a future governor of Maryland. “Hopefully that’s down the line after a basketball career,” says Hibbert.

The Adelphi native has been playing on the Hilltop since he was a freshman at Georgetown Prep, scrimmaging with college players. “The older guys knocked me around,” Hibbert says. But he kept going back, and those matchups helped improve his coordination and low-post skills enough to earn the attention of Georgetown recruiters.

The NBA waits while Hibbert is enjoying his time being a college senior: getting up for morning classes, playing Xbox, and experiencing the celebrity afforded a Big East champion. Hibbert says he doesn’t relish the spotlight.

“People will come up to me and give me high-fives, but I’m just a guy that’s real quiet,” he says. “I don’t like to be the center of attention.”

When Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder looks at the NFL free-agent market, he’ll see big names.

New England cornerback Asante Samuel, Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs, Indianapolis safety Bob Sanders, and Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca are likely to be available.

Snyder likes big names—any extra cash burns a hole in his pocket. And while his Six Flags fiasco has cut into his cash flow, the Redskins still make enough money to enable him to buy big in free agency.