“Let’s Move!” First Lady Michelle Obama tells young Americans, but the National Park Service is just saying “Move!” to Ultimate Frisbee players on The Ellipse. That open field in the southern part of President’s Park has been the site of active Ultimate games for years, but NPS wants to plant trees there, and nothing slows down a Frisbee game like smacking into a spruce.
Former Washington Wizard Javaris Crittenton has been charged with a handgun murder in Atlanta.The highlight of his time with DC’s NBA team was his misdemeanor gun charge for brandishing illegal firearms in the Wizards locker room after a disputed card game.
More:
“Javaris Crittenton, Ex-Wizards Player formerly involved in Gilbert Arenas Gun Saga, Indicted on Murder, Gang Charges,” Simon Landau, WUSA-9 News
“Bourré-Playing Former Wizards Player Charged With Murder,” Will Sommer, Washington City Paper blog
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“Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen said Thursday that the team has no plans to change its name despite ongoing controversy and a recent spike in debate about whether it is offensive to Native Americans.
Speaking to reporters in Richmond after the groundbreaking ceremony for the team’s new training camp site, Allen said the Redskins do not see any reason to change the name.
‘We’re not a new franchise. We’re 81 years old. … There’s nothing that we feel is offensive, and we’re proud of our history,’ Allen said, according to 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen.”
– ”Bruce Allen: No plans to change Redskins’ name,” Mike Jones, Washington Post blog
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“The Redskins were founded and owned for 37 years by George Preston Marshall, a virulent racist and anti-semite who initiated the NFL’s gentleman’s agreement to not hire black players, and made the Redskins the last team to integrate only after being threatened by the federal government.”
– “The Redskins Really, Really Want You To Know Their Team Name Is About Pride,” Barry Petchesky, Deadspin
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“Simply put, it’s not OK to rally behind a racial slur like ‘redskin.’ It’s not okay to depict an entire group of people (outside of the confines of humor or satire) as a literal cartoon, morphing them into your unfounded conceptions of a savage race prepared to take your scalp. ….
There are plenty of instances throughout the history of humanity where history has been left behind, rather than being saved, because it’s not consistent for what we should strive for as a society. Likewise, as a society, we should strive for something greater than needing to root for logos with generalizing, untrue, racist roots.”
– ”Native American Logos and Monikers Need to Finally Be Removed From Sports,” Zach Stoloff, NESN.com
Super Bowl stories you may have missed:
“What Happens to the Losing Team’s Championship Shirts?” Matt Soniak, Mental Floss
“This Year’s Super Bowl Will Be Gayer Than Last Year’s,” Rich Juzwiak, Gawker
“Astronauts Will Watch Super Bowl from Space,” Tariq Malik, space.com via Discovery News
“Remembering Up With People: The Gayish Quasi-Cult That Invented The Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Jonathan Mahler, Deadspin
“Ray Lewis Isn’t the Only One Bringing Religion to Super Bowl Sunday,” Joanna Brooks, Religion Dispatches
“This Year’s Illuminati-Super Bowl Connection is More Sinister Than Ever,” Mallory Ortberg, Gawker
“Keep These Food Safety Tips In Mind While Serving Snacks On Super Bowl Sunday,” Mary Beth Quirk, Consumerist
“The Brutal Physics of Football,” Ainissa Ramirez, Big Think
Sarah Palin, former part-time Temp-Governor of Alaska, has ended her relationship with Fox News. Mrs. Palin impersonated a political commentator on the cable news outlet with the same authority she brought to the 2008 GOP presidential campaign, and Fox was tired of looking like John McCain.
Sarah Palin was on Fox for three years, a year longer than she was Alaska’s governor, but may draw on her other past experience in future endeavors. The former Miss Wasilla would be a great spokesmodel for products like Naughty Monkey high-heeled shoes or Bushmaster assault rifles. And Mrs. P, who now has a home studio, was once was a sportscaster on an Anchorage TV station. Here’s an aircheck we’re submitting to ESPN:
“Before he lay in a hospital bed, convalescing after reconstructive knee surgery, I thought that Robert Griffin III would be the perfect person to take on a problem that’s been plaguing Washington for decades: our football team’s ill-considered, objectionable, offensive, racist, totally unacceptable name.”
– “Only RGIII can make the Redskins change their name. Here’s why he won’t.” Mike Wise, Washington Post
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Playwright and film director John Grissmer has written a play about the invention of Basketball by James Naismith in 1891. It’s a musical.
Yago Colás teaches comparative literature, philosophy, and the Cultures of Basketball at the University of Michigan. He’s reviewed the play:
“Basketball, The Musical,” Yago Colás, The Classical
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Lance who?
“Lance Armstrong deserves to be forgotten, says UCI,” First Post
More:
“Armstrong ‘has no place in cycling,’” Euronews
“World Cycling Body Strips Armstrong of Titles,” John Revill and Vanessa O’Connell, Wall Street Journal
“Lance Armstrong Is Stripped of His 7 Tour de France Titles,” Juliet Macur, New York Times
“Cycling’s governing body agrees to strip Lance Armstrong of his 7 Tour de France titles,” AP via Washington Post
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Image: Parody Livestrong bracelet from The Onion.
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“Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him. Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner.
Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer.”
