Tag Archives: DC United

The Daily Feed
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FREE FOOD ALERT: Taylor Gourmet Hoagies and Gardein Food Truck

Photo courtesy of
‘9th Street Italian @ Taylor Gourmet, DC’
courtesy of ‘Plantains & Kimchi’

Today, you’re in luck: there are TWO free food alerts.

If you’re down on H st. NE, DC United is giving out free Taylor Gourmet hoagies today from 12-1 PM. The 6-inch hoagies are in honor of the 4th of July and for DC United’s game against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at RFK Stadium. Go DC United! Now grab a hoagie and let’s go show Philadelphia what we’re made of on Saturday.

If for some reason meat isn’t your thing, there’s a food truck in town from July 1st through 4th bringing you some free and meatless grub. Gardein Party, a food truck from the frozen-food producer focused on providing protein in meatless meals, will be giving out free samples at the Humane Society on 21st and L NW in Gaithersburg, MD (700 Professional Drive) today from 11 AM til 1 PM. Some of the samples include seven grain crispy tenders, the mandarin orange crispy chick’n and the ultimate beefless burger.

Gardein is doing demonstrations throughout the city, and plans on donating meatless meals to a local nonprofit (no word on which one in DC) for the first 10,000 people that pledge to give up meat one day per week for the summer. If you miss them today, they’ll also be at Freedomfest on July 3rd and 4th. I’m guessing that their twitter account will be your best bet for tracking them down.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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D.C. United Rolls in Season Opener


‘Barra Brava’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

They said he was lucky to be alive. They said he would never walk again, much less play. But 522 days after a devastating car accident killed a friend and nearly claimed his life, D.C. United forward Charlie Davies played in his first competitive game since the accident and scored two goals in United’s 3-1 win over Columbus to open the 2011 season. With the scars on his head still visible, Davies was on the verge of breaking down while being interviewed after the game by Comcast SportsNet. (Ed. – This is a must watch)

18,132 were present at RFK Stadium for the scene, as a slow first half with few chances for either team got the game off to a choppy start. Early in the second half, fellow United newcomer Josh Wolff sent it past Columbus keeper Will Hesmer for the first D.C. goal of the season in the 51st minute. Davies came on to replace Joseph Ngwenya in the 52nd, and United was awarded a penalty kick just ten minutes later when Chris Pontius was fouled in the box. In postgame interviews, Davies was quoted as having insisted to captain Dax McCarty that he needed to take the penalty kick. Davies easily slotted it home to give United a 2-0 lead.

It was then the 77th minute when Davies got loose, showed the speed that enthralled American fans in 2009, and beat the keeper in a one-on-one for his second goal of the evening, and sent D.C. well on their way to a victory on opening night. Robbie Rogers would score for Columbus in the 78th off a penalty kick, the only negative to an otherwise fantastic showing by United assistant coach-turned-goalkeeper Pat Onstad.

D.C. sees action next Saturday with their first road game of the season, kicking off with New England at 4:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution open their season tonight at Los Angeles.

Sports Fix
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DC United 2011 Season Preview


’10/23/2010 DC United vs Toronto FC’
courtesy of ‘Paul Frederiksen’

While for most people the arrival of March means looking ahead to whether the Nationals and Orioles will lose 95 or 97 games, for others, it beckons the start of the season for D.C. United, the most successful franchise in Major League Soccer.

Entering their 16th season of play, one of the charter members of the league and four-time MLS champion United have much to look forward to as the 2011 campaign begins on March 19 at RFK Stadium against Columbus. After winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield (given to the team with the best regular season record) in 2006 and 2007, the Black and Red have fallen off the last three seasons, with 10th place finishes in 2008 and 2009, before ultimately bottoming out last year with a 6-20-4 record, settling them firmly in last place.

The excitement for 2011 comes with the first full season under head coach Ben Olsen. After the release of Curt Onalfo as head coach following a 3-12-3 start, Olsen took the reins of United and turned the team around considerably, finishing the season with a still-disappointing 3-8-1 record, but enough of a turnaround was shown that team management felt it appropriate to retain Olsen.  Not included in the record was a Cinderella run to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a tournament open to nearly all American professional, semi-professional, and amateur clubs. Olsen, 33, nicknamed “The General”, had an illustrious playing career for D.C., scoring 29 goals in 221 games for the Black and Red, as well as suiting up for the United States national team 37 times, including seeing action in the 2006 World Cup. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Still Seats Left for United’s Friendly with AC Milan

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United vs Chicago Fire 06’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

I have a soccer on the brain, I’ll admit it. The World Cup starts three weeks from right now, and it’s like Christmas Eve for anyone who loves joga bonito. Before all that gets going, though, there is a chance to catch some global soccer right here in the District. As announced earlier this spring, one of Italy’s Serie A squads, AC Milan, will be in town next week to face off against United at RFK Stadium. Good news if you were thinking of going to the match on Wednesday: it looks like there are still some seats available.

If you’re looking for the reason why I’m thinking about soccer so much today, it’s completely related to this epic three-minute commercial/feature from Nike. 1 million views on YouTube and counting (although I’m probably responsible for about 137,000), I still look for any excuse to share it:

YouTube Preview Image
Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Gearing Up

Photo courtesy of
‘Center Ice’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

With the 2010 Vancouver Olympics kicking off Friday night and continuing throughout the weekend, it’s kind of hard to recall the significant happenings that have occurred over the last two weeks in DC sports.

Capitals
Record: 41-13
Last Two Weeks: 4-3
Place:1st in the Eastern Conference

The Caps continued their winning streak with spectacular W’s against both the Penguins and the Rangers, but were stopped at 14 wins on February 10th by the Montreal Canadians in a 5-6 squeaker in OT.

Since their loss to the Canadians, the Caps have lost their last 3 games heading into the two week break for the Olympic games. They still lead the Eastern Conference with 90 points, and their next game will be away versus the Sabres on March 3.

Despite this minor downturn, Mr. Ovechkin is still the NHL’s leading offensive player in both goals (42) and overall points (89). And Alexandar Semin is on a super hot streak, sniping goals left and right, and racking up 5 goals and 4 assists in the last 4 games. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: The Heat Is On

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_4085’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

It’s been a busy and eventful last two weeks in the Washington DC sports world.   The Caps are ON FIRE!!!  The Wizards might be getting there. And we’ve had  some solid developments for those out-of-season teams, some expected, some not so much.

Capitals
Record: 37-12
Last Two Weeks: 7-0
Place:1st in the Eastern Conference

With yesterday’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Capitals are on a 10 game wining streak tying their 1984 franchise record.

Defender Mike Green will be out for the next two games for an elbow to the head of Michael Frolik during Friday night’s game. Green’s absence yesterday was a huge disadvantage for Washington, as Green is the league’s leading defensive scorer. However, with Ovechkin’s third period goal, they managed to pull out the victory.

Over the next two weeks, the Caps are out of town quite a bit, traveling to Boston, Ottawa and Atlanta. Look for a solid match against the Penguins at the Verizon Center on February 7th.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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DC United in Talks to Build Stadium (Again)

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United at RFK – Now and Forever -5858’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’

Now and forever, not so much? Washington Business Journal reports today that DC United CEO Kevin Payne has restarted his discussions with DC council member Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton, D-D.C., about the potential of a new soccer stadium being built in the district around Poplar Point near the Anacostia river. Payne’s been here before, as he was in talks several months ago with Mayor Fenty, but the Mayor abandoned talks when it was evident they could not possibly swing funding a project of this magnitude.

The hope of United officials is to build a 20,000-seat stadium costing at least $175 Million so they can leave the archaic RFK, where DC United has won 100 games in 13 seasons (not too shabby!) With their $1.2 Million lease expiring after the 2010 season, commissioner of Major League Soccer, Don Garber, suggested the team relocate if they can’t find adequate funding to build a new stadium. Booo!!!! Bad idea. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: Almost Dog Days Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United vs Rapids’
courtesy of ‘veni markovski’

D.C. United
Record: 6-3-9
Last Two Weeks: 2-0-0
Place: 2nd in the East

Just two games for United these past two weeks, an MLS win against the Colorado Rapids and an Open Cup win against the Harrisburg City Islanders. Sure, Brian Namoff put one in his own net against the Rapids, but overall, it’s looking better and better for United. They’re headed to the Open Cup quarterfinals this Tuesday night against the Rochester Rhino at the SoccerPlex, then it’s out west against the Quakes in San Jose, then a CONCACAF Champions League game against the C.D L.A. Firpo. Three leagues, four games, two weeks. Here’s hoping that Namoff can keep up his scoring streak, and not just on his own goal…

Kastles
Record: 5-6
Last Two Weeks: 5-4
Place: 2nd in the East by a half match

There are just three matches left in the swift 2009 World TeamTennis league: one on the road versus the undefeated Springfield Lasers, and a pair at home against the Lasers and the New York Buzz. On the line? A playoff spot and a winning record for the season. While the Kastles are in 2nd place in the East, it’s a precarious position just a half match ahead of the Boston Lobsters, and a game and a half in front of the Freedoms and Buzz. It’s going to take some “Refuse to Lose,” to make sure they make it to the Playoffs.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Top of the Heap Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Jaime Moreno, DC United’
courtesy of ‘geraintwn’

D.C. United
Record: 5-3-8
Last Two Weeks: 1-1-1
Place: 1st in the East

D.C. United played three games since we’ve talked last. Three very different games from what seem to have been three wholly different team. The first, a victory over the Chicago Fire, was a triumph of defense and striking offense. It also put them on top of the Eastern Conference, thanks to Josh Wicks’ goaltending. The second, a tie with the Seattle Sounders was thanks to late-game heroics, and a big mistake. The third, a 3-0 shutout at the hand of the Colorado Rapids left a lot to be desired.

So, who are D.C. United at this point? The team that knocked off the Fire and claimed first place? Or the team that nearly lost to the Sounders and did lose to the Rapids, who are both middle of the pack teams from the West? There’s a lot of distance between the two teams, and United will have to figure out which one they are before they go forward. Injuries have hurt United, with Fred and Jaime Moreno out each for a few games,

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Hangin’ By A Thread Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Rock the Red’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

Capitals
2nd Round: 2-3, facing Game 6 on Monday night in Pittsburgh.

It’s down to the raggedy edge again for the Caps. After starting 2-0 against the Penguins, the Pens have picked up 3 running, two of them in Overtime. The Caps are short on momentum right now, and that may well be their undoing. Ovechkin has been en fuego, and leads the NHL in post-season goals, but a pair of costly mistakes have cost the Caps their lead on the series.

Tonight, they’ll face elimination in Pittsburgh, much as they faced it two weeks ago in New York. Varlamov will need to be superlative, and the Caps will have to play aggressive & razor-sharp hockey. The good news is, Brashear’s coming off the bench after the end of his suspension, so that’ll return some hard-hitting power to the Caps’ side. The puck drops at 7pm, and can be seen on Versus. C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS! Endanger the Penguins!

Nationals
Record: 10-19
Last Two Weeks: 6-6
Place: Last in the NL East

Well, we’re still the worst team in major league baseball. But, in the last two weeks, the Nats have played a lot better than their opening two weeks. Shairon Martis has been pretty much amazing, his last outing with a 5-hit complete game over the Cardinals last week. Jordan Zimmermann’s still 2-1, and though his ERA is over 5, he’s still got a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. And, of course, mid-season number-one-draft-pick-to-be Stephen Strasburg threw a no-hitter last week against Air Force. If the Nats can get together with a decent deal with Scott Boras, he’ll be up and pitching in DC by the end of the summer. Ryan Zimmerman’s got a 28-game hitting streak as it stands right now, as well. Get that up to 30 games and maybe he’ll get the credit he’s due. The Nats have three more games on the road against the Giants before coming home for a long homestand. Just think, 9 more wins and they’re at .500.
Continue reading →

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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DC United Ladies Night Tix Winner

Photo courtesy of
‘Three points taken’
courtesy of ‘BehindTheBadge.com’

What are all those cute boys cheering about in that picture? Well, they’re all cheering for the winner of our contest, Maggie who has won two tickets to Ladies Night this Saturday to watch DC United take on Toronto FC.

We asked readers to come up with a good Barra Brava cheer to use on Saturday in exchange for the tickets, and our staff voted to determine the winner. Congrats, Maggie, I’ll be emailing you with details soon.

Maggie’s winning cheer? Glad you asked. In appropriate fashion for Ladies Night (where they are offering manicures, amongst other fun things):

Who’s your manicurist?
Who’s your manicurist?
Who’s your manicurist, referee?

Never had one, never got one,
ragged cuticled referee!


Special Events, The Daily Feed
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See Cute Boys Play Soccer For Free!

Photo courtesy of
‘Ready, set..’
courtesy of ‘BehindTheBadge.com’

Oh hai, cute soccer boys! It’s going to be Ladies Night on Saturday, May 9 at RFK when DC United takes on Toronto FC. And we’re giving away two tickets to said Ladies Night for the best Barra Brava chant. We’re looking for the best DC United-related cheer, chant or song for the stands, which you can leave in the comments now. Writing your drum solos and illustrating your song with streamers and flags and smoke bombs is optional.

Ladies Night will be full of soccer, but also frivolity. Ladies get the chance to try a couple of beers, partake in a wine tasting, chocolate fountain, appetizers, manicures, chair dancing lessons and the chance to go field-side after the game to meet Devon McTavish and rookie Chris Pontius (and get their jersey!). Hawt. (Sidenote: Chris Pontius was recently in CosmoGirl. Seriously.)

So, let the chanting begin in the comments… the deadline for entries will be noon on May 7th, the ever-enthusiastic WLDC staff will vote on the winner, and we’ll announce it on the 8th so the winner can plan thier Saturday evening accordingly. For examples, you can check out Barra Brava’s songs and chants site. Men, you can enter too.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The District
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DC Versus New York Tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of
‘Capitol – In Pre-Dawn Light – 3-9-09’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Tomorrow pits the best of DC sports against the best of New York sports:

  • Nationals at Mets at 1:10pm (on MASN)
  • Capitals at Rangers at 2:00pm (on NBC4)
  • DC United at Red Bulls at 3:00pm (on WTOP 1050AM & Telefutura)

So, who’s for taking down those feckless thugs in New York? Bring the spirit DC! See you at the sports bars!

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Four Sport Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘00001201’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

Wizards
Record: 17-59
Last Two Weeks: 1-8
Place: Last. Still and Always.

It’s nice to see that Gilbert Arenas is back off the bench and in uniform again, but I’ve got to ask: shouldn’t we let him wait so we can guarantee a #1 draft pick? I mean, it was great to see him on the court on Saturday, putting up 15 points and 10 assists at the Phone Booth, but shouldn’t we be conserving at this point? I don’t mean throw in the towel and throw the games, but c’mon. Let Agent 0 play in the summer leagues, don’t risk our draft pick, okay?

Just six games left for the Wizards, and I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen just about the worst performance in years. If they take 3 of the last 6 games, they’ll tie for the worst record in the 36 years they’re been here in DC. I’d put good money that they don’t win more than 2. Sad.

Capitals
Record: 47-23-7
Last Two Weeks: 4-2-1
Place: 2nd in the East, 1st in the Southeast

The Caps have clinched their playoff spot, and with just 5 games left in the season, it’s all about jockeying for opponents in the first round. As it stands, the Caps would face the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs, a team they’re 3-1 against this season, outscoring them 14-11. In the unlikely event they finish in third, they’d be facing Carolina, who they’re more evenly matched with.

Can Ovi lead the Caps to the Stanley Cup? We’ll see.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Round One: Posturing

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United at RFK – Now and Forever -5858’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’

There was a time in my life when I might actually have been naive enough to be reassured by this story about the PG County General Assembly committee voting 5-0 to oppose the proposed stadium development. In particular I would have noted the quote “Council member Eric Olson (D-College Park) said he is not convinced that the stadium, slated to cost $180 million to $195 million, will become the economic engine for the county that its backers describe,” given my personal belief that nobody has ever produced a quality study demonstrating a tangible economic return from a publically financed stadium.

I’ve been through this dance enough times by now, however, to know that this is almost certainly just the first step for the local politicians. Once they’ve beat their chest a few times to set up their fiscal responsibility credibility they’ll use this faux reluctance to garner some campaign contributions and trivial consessions from the team managment. Then before you know it everyone’s a booster. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: A Plethora

united.jpg
Crew VS DC United by tuxxme

DC United

This Week: 0-2
Current Record: 11-15-4
Current Place: Out of the Playoffs

It’s a game of inches, sometimes, and yesterday’s final & decisive match against the Columbus Crew came down to the ruler. Unfortunately for us, the two near misses for United, with both shots hitting the goal posts, lead United to elimination. The last week’s been something of a rollercoaster for the club, as it was looking fairly grim a week ago that they’d even have the chance to make the playoffs under their own steam. However, it all lead up to yesterday’s showdown with the Crew. The loss moves United out of the playoff picture entirely, for the first time since 2002. DC’s winningest franchise is done for the season. It’s not all bad, though, as the return of Santino Quaranta is nothing short of amazing. He’s almost a shoo-in for the Comeback Player of the Year, after his multi-year bout with addiction.

The Redskins

This Week: Victory.
Current Record: 6-2
Current Place: 2nd in the NFC East

Another victory for the Skins this weekend in Detroit, but it was probably the ugliest I’ve seen. At halftime, they were down to the Lions. The Lions! The Hapless Lions! I’ve got a feeling it takes a special level of emotional resilience to be a Skins fan. At one point, things were getting pretty tense on the sidelines, as Jim Zorn let Clinton Portis have it with both barrels on the sideline as the star running back swooped a towel over his head and ignored the head coach.

It was Santana Moss who got things going for the Skins in the second half, with a pair of TDs. His 50-yard TD reception, burning the Detroit secondary like so many rioters burning houses, got things off on to a good start in the second half. His second TD, an 80 yarder, on a punt return, took the last of the fight from the Lions. Jason Campbell looked solid again, over 300 yards and just five incompletes against Detroit’s last in the universe Defense. They’ll face the Steelers in an election-week grudge-match that will likely have die-hard Skins and Steelers fans rooting for the other guys. The Redskins are one of the best sports/politics indicators. If the Redskins win the week before the election, the incumbent party keeps the White House. If they lose, it goes to the challenger. So, Skins fans, will you be putting your fanaticism before party, or vice versa?

Read on for Capitals, Wizards & Nationals News
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Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: A Rough Weekend

RedskinsCheerleaders.jpg
Redskins Cheerleaders by culhane

The end of the Redskins game yesterday was abysmal. Check that. The whole game yesterday was abysmal, but the end defies description. The hapless 0-4 Rams came to Washington and ended up the 1-4 Rams. That’s right, the Redskins couldn’t even beat one of the worst teams in the NFL (sorry Chris) and embarrassed themselves at Fedex in front of 90,000. And they ousted me from my suicide pool, as well. So, I’ll be carrying a grudge.

The turnovers and special teams were big gaping holes in the effectiveness of the Redskins offense. 3 fumbles, abysmal punt and kick returns, and a secondary that gave up the big play with under two minutes to go. The big play in question was a 43-yard pass on 3rd and 13, and that setup the field-goal-as-time-ran-out cliché that was dominate in the NFL this week.

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