The Felix and Oscar of DC sports

March 4, 2010 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ 1 Comment

The NHL’s trade deadline passed yesterday, and the Washington Capitals acquired four new players to add depth to a team that already has the best record in hockey. A few weeks back, the NBA trade deadline saw the Caps’ roommates, the Washington Wizards, dumping their best players, waving the white flag in an effort to get better next season.

If you would have asked a Washington sports fan to imagine that scenario just a few years ago, they might have required heavy hallucinogenic help. The Wizards were a playoff-caliber team, though never a serious championship contender; the Capitals had a half-full arena, the fans were lackadaisical, and the only place to see playoff hockey inside the beltway was on a TV screen.

In the background of these two teams going in different directions, Caps owner Ted Leonsis is trying to buy out the Pollin family for control of the Wizards. Though the deal has hit stumbling blocks over how each side values the team, sports fans in Your Nation’s Capital should be eager for it to go through.

Having been a Yankee fan for 31 years and nine months tomorrow, I’ve been spoiled in many ways by George Steinbrenner. The once-mercurial owner has taken on a gradually lessened role in the pure baseball decisions and has relinquished much of the control of the team to his sons, but has never wavered in the Yankees’ larger organizational goal of winning championships. That means that at baseball’s trade deadline, if the Yankees need a player, they’re going to be buyers and not sellers.

Caps fans are getting a taste of that this year. How many owners, sitting on the NHL’s best record, would sit on their hands and count their money from ticket sales? Leonsis has told the DC hockey faithful loud and clear that he’s going for a championship. It’s the right way to run a sports team. And, as the richest team in baseball can attest, excellence is good for business.

Isolation brings people together

December 21, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

This past weekend dropped a foot and a half of snow (or more) on the Washington, D.C. are. And since six inches is enough to grind Your Nation’s Capital to a halt, the Blizzard of ’09 was dubbed the DC Snowpocalypse.

The weather event was a fitting way to end a year that has seen an increased level of attention paid to online social networks. Those of us glued to the local NBC news coverage found elfin weekend meteorologist Chuck Bell giddily inviting users to get involved by emailing him pictures and name suggestions (his favorite was “Shopper Stopper”). A Snowpocalypse page quickly popped up on Facebook, and those on Twitter used the hashtags #snOMG and #DCsnowpocalypse to discuss the onslaught.

The Year in Google

December 3, 2009December 3, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Google has released their 2009 Zeitgeist report – a summary of popular search trends along various topics. Lists like this are usually predictable – the most-searched-for baseball team was the Yankees; the alphabet soup of AIG, GM, and TARP led bailout-related searches.

But search results can also give a good concept of popular thinking on key news topics. For instance, the top term used in healthcare-related searches is “Obama.” That seems to indicate that, for better or worse, people are closely identifying the President with the health care reform issue. Also interesting is that the Heritage Foundation was the #5 search term in this category – which could mean that Americans are open to hearing alternatives to what has been circulating on Capitol Hill.

Google also looks at localized search topics for several major cities. Movie theaters and school websites dominated the results, especially colleges. In DC, the top term was “fcps blackboard” – the portal for the Fairfax County public school system. This actually says a lot about the Washington, DC workforce and commuting patterns. (I knew I had company on my daily commutes into and out of Your Nation’s Capital from Merrifield, but had no idea it was enough to alter search results; Metro clearly needs more trains.)

That education websites are so popular also notes another trend. Around the Thanksgiving table this year, my soon-to-be brother and sister in law commented that they hadn’t seen their daughter’s recent report card, despite the marking period having ended. They explained that they just check her grades online.

Pollsters can call voters, ask questions, track answers, and get a pretty good idea of what folks are thinking. Still, there’s an element of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in that method – that the very act of measuring could affect the responses to poll questions. Internet searches are somewhat anonymous.

As the old saying goes, you are who you are when no one is watching.

Wait – Marion Barry actually has supporters?

July 10, 2009July 10, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Marion Barry’s defenders in his latest flap are accusing the Washington City Paper of racism. The free weekly fronted their coverage of Barry’s latest public embarassment with a quote his former girlfriend apparently left on his voicemail: “You put me out in Denver ’cause I wouldn’t [perform a specific sex act which, if I wrote it, might get my blog flagged as ‘not safe for work’].”

It’s a legitimate question for people in neighborhoods to wonder why the City Paper – which again, is free and readily accessibly to kids – should use such vulgar language. Barry and his minions have no beef. They may complain that a white politician would not be covered the same way – as if late night talk show hosts hadn’t chewed up and spit out John Edwards, Mark Sanford, Bill Clinton, etc. (Also: other politicians who don’t get this kind of coverage include the ones that don’t kick their mistresses out of hotel rooms for refusing to perform sex acts.)

If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, apparently racism is a close second-to-last. Those who would cry racism in this case forget that Barry’s latest public embarrassment is just that – his latest, and not his only, public embarassment.

It should be noted that charges that Barry was stalking his former girlfriend were dropped, and that the legal side of the dispute appears to be an overreaction to a private situation. Given this, I was a little surprised that Barry didn’t resort to his tried and true defense when it comes to girlfriends who get him into hot water with the law.

Barry’s “Civil War”

May 5, 2009May 5, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

City Council Member Marion Barry was the lone vote against a Washington, D.C. city ordinance to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other jurisdictions (i.e. real states). Barry further warned of a coming “Civil War” over the issue because the black community’s opposition to gay marriage.

From the Washington Post’s DC Wire blog:

“What you’ve got to understand is 98 percent of my constituents are black and we don’t have but a handful of openly gay residents,” Barry said. “Secondly, at least 70 percent of those who express themselves to me about this are opposed to anything dealing with this issue. The ministers think it is a sin, and I have to be sensitive to that.”

Before resorting to the “What is he smoking?” jokes, I’d like to hold this up as another example of the Tip O’Neill Axiom – all politics is, indeed, local. Marion Barry is in office today – after getting caught with drugs, serving time in jail, and multiple charges of tax evasion – because the voters of the Eighth Ward feel like he represents them. If his next campaign finds his messages falling on deaf and distrustful ears, he’d be dragged out of office like he was dragged out of that hotel room (by police who were arresting him for smoking crack).

[Sidebar: do you realize how hard it is to find that video of Marion Barry getting busted on YouTube – or anywhere on the internet?]

Marion Barry may find some folks are alienated by his dissenting vote today, but it likely won’t cost him any votes the next time his name is on a ballot. Perhaps Barry’s own campaign slogan – from when he first ran for city council after getting out of jail for possession – says it best: “He Mot Be Perfect, but He’s Perfect for DC.”

Power vacuum

January 26, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

The Washington Post painted a great picture of the evolution of Your Nation’s Capital in a piece that ran yesterday.

The Post‘s Joel Kotkin points out that DC is unique among national capitals in that it was not a significant city before it was chosen to house the federal government – and even afterward, its growth was slow because American federalism concentrated power elsewhere. But as power became more centralized in the 20th century – especially in the last 30-40 years – Washington has grown in size and cultural significance.

At the same time, Kotkin reminds us, other American cities have suffered crises of identity; Detroit’s auto makers, New York’s financial barons, and others have been “forced to kiss Washington’s ring.” Businesses are moving their corporate headquarters here to be closer to the machinations of government.

Like most federal initiatives, Washington is synthetic. Cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston sprang up on their own because of their access to ports and commerce; Washington was placed strategically; it has planned by a relatively small committee of officials; and its growth has been fueled by money taken from other parts of the country.

Is DC ready?

January 16, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Your Nation’s Capital has been scrambling to prepare for Tuesday’s inauguration day. Restaurants are getting ready for crowds, the homeless have been swept under the rug, and Metro is issuing more expensive fare cards and telling people to walk.

Nope. This is what the Farragut West Metro platform looked like on Thursday night, without the crush of people who will be in town today through Tuesday. And those are just people waiting to get on a westbound train heading out of the district at 6:00 p.m.

Earlier that day, I picked up Metro’s guide to getting around during the inauguration. Tips included looking for alternate means of transportation – including walking.

In a December WTOP interview, Metro’s head conductor, General Manager John Catoe, said the system can move up to 1 million people but that “a million and a half is not a number we can physically move.” Metrorail handles about 750,000 commuters daily, and the disctrict is expecting an influx in the millions. So do the math: Metro cannot handle the crowds they know are coming.

Is DC ready?

January 16, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Earlier that day, I picked up Metro’s guide to getting around during the inauguration. Tips included looking for alternate means of transportation – including walking.

Merchandising! Merchandising!

January 11, 2009 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ 3 Comments

The countdown to the Obama inauguration is in its final week. Your nation’s capital is getting more excited by the day about the opportunity this presents to make a few extra bucks.

It started after the election with street vendors selling random items – t-shirts, prints of Obama and his family, and things like that. Then, while Christmas shopping, I started to notice that stores in the Pentagon City Mall are selling cardboard cutouts and other Obama-themed novelties. Metro is even offering a commemorative fare card that is twice the price of a normal fare card.

Now businesses are getting into it who would otherwise not comment on politics – the picture here is from the Farragut North Metro station, which is currently awash in Ikea ads touching on the theme of “change.” (Apparently, the historic events of the next week should inspire us all to look to a future with brand new bedroom furniture.)

Of course, none of these money-making efforts are commissioned by the Obama transition team, which offers an important lesson for discussion of stimulus packages and other economic policies. The Obama White House should similarly recognize the innovation and opportunism of business owners.

Office Paper Police

September 25, 2008 ~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

On Tuesday, October 7, the building managers are sending inspectors through the office where I work. Their mission: to look at how much paper we throw away. I’m not making this up.

Our office manager just made the rounds to alert us that our company could be fined up to $2,000 if we have white office paper in our trash buckets rather than our recycling buckets.

But we don’t have recycling buckets. Where do you think we get those? Well, luckily, the building management is selling recyclying buckets. Who says there aren’t free market solutions to environmental challenges?