via Shy Nightlife and dcfab.thefabempire.com/

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Via the Queen on the Scene, Miss DC Fab posted her recap in pictures form of Devin Thomas' b-day party at Club Lima after the big win over the Broncos. Lima had to be bumping at another notch given the Skins first win in over a month. If we beat Dallas, I will not be looking NEARLY as sober, in fact, I won't be making it to work (crap, I hope my employer doesn't read this site). Happy Birthday Dev and keep up the good work.

More pics after the jump, including CP,  Fred Davis, and future defensive Rookie of the Year, Brian Orakpo.

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Tomorrow, at FedEx Field, between 12 noon and 2 pm EST, the Washington Redskins and Joe Theismann are working with GlaxoSmithKline to call a Time Out for Veterans' Health for the second year and counting to help increase awareness about the prevalence of chronic diseases.

Through this health screening event, along with other childhood obesity prevention and health awareness programming, GlaxoSmithKline and the Redskins are helping to increase awareness among the D.C. veteran community within D.C. and across America of the importance of a Triple Solution--prevention, intervention and innovation--in combating chronic diseases.

"A lot of my friends are veterans, so I feel a personal connection. I'm excited to participate in this program," Theismann said. "Veterans have protected our country--and now I would like to help them make sure their health is protected, too. Getting appropriate health screenings is the first step to learning more about chronic diseases and how they can stay healthy."

For more information, check out: www.forahealthieramerica.com

Hogs Haven will be in attendance and will be getting an exclusive interview with Joe Theismann. We look forward to bringing that to you early next week.

Bill Simmons signs a copy of his book and adds in his thoughts on the Redskins.

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There's not much to say. Cooley is lost for the year and the Redskins predictably lost to the Eagles. Some friends I tailgate with decided to leave the game early since Bill Simmons was doing a book signing at the ESPN Zone downtown. Sounded like a good plan to me and off we went.

I have never experienced Fedex traffic before since I usually tailgate post-game, but oh man. It took us an hour to get out of the lot and we left at the beginning of the fourth. Anyway, we got to the ESPN Zone and the line outside stretched 4 people wide and two city blocks. I'm not much one for lines (since ESPN was about to close) and amazingly I walked straight up to Bill Simmons table without any hassle. (It helped that a friend was near the front by coincidence).

In our brief conversation I asked him what he would do if Dan Snyder invited him to his vacation house...and Simmons replied jokingly "kill him." He shares the sentiment of a lot of fans that the Skins need to "reset" and "get rid of everybody."

Haynesworth post-game: "Urgency, heart, 'want-to,' whatever. I don't know. We're lacking a lot of stuff right now...So once we get to that point, to where we wanna do something, then we'll do something. But if we just keep going our separate ways, then we'll just keep getting slaughtered like we have."

Cooley's broken foot [Picture]

Reports of Fans getting their signs confiscated [Riggo’s Rag]  

The comedy and jokes were plentiful last night. There was Matt Millen's quote: "You can't blame people upstairs for Redskins problems." How does Millen have a job or any credibility to talk about personnel decisions?

Funny Anti-Snyderatto ESPN sign [Sports bog]

'Fire Cerrato' Highway Sign by Redskins Park [Sports Bog] 

You have all been asking me what the next step is in this thing, and I am here to lay it out for you today. I am still not ready to lead any kind of universal boycott of all things Redskins but I think we have found an interesting concept that might be a happy medium at these early stages of our struggle.

For those who attend games as season ticket holders, you have witnessed countless Sundays when fans of the opposing teams have found tickets ridiculously easy to come by. Eagles fans, Giants fans, and Cowgirls fans have all infiltrated our home field and with the added insult of paying less to see the game than we paid up front.

Our suggestion is very simple: If your season tickets are up for renewal at the end of this season, DON'T RENEW. Tickets will still be readily available for thegames you wish to attend. Many of you came to this decision already without the need of a Revolution to guide you. Our idea is rooted in a few things:

1) The "Waiting List" is total crap. As a current season ticket holder, I was offered additional season tickets at the beginning of this season for 50% off! HALF-PRICE! Does that sound like a business that has tens of thousands of fans lined up to pay top dollar for their product? This story has been repeated to me by countless fellow season ticket holders.

2) The secondary market has become a primary means of securing tickets. And right now that market is flush with fans of opposing teams. Wouldn't it be great if Redskins fans were the ones looking to purchase those tickets? We all know people who sell their tickets. We all know that true Redskins fans would prefer to sell to only true Redskins fans. Well, the problem is, the majority of Redskins fans who are willing to pay money to support Dan Snyder's team have already paid in full, up front. We know tickets would be available to us for each and every game that we wanted to go to, and we would pay up to full value on a game-by-game basis if the market for that game warranted such a price. The market has NOT warranted that for a very long time. I see people giving away their tickets for pennies on the dollar every week. The difference between what they can get for their ticket and what they paid for it all goes to one place: Dan Snyder. We need to re-capture those dollars.

This would mean a little more uncertainty about planning your falls for the next year or so, because you wouldn't get your book of tickets. But I am confident that on the Craigslist-type places, Redskins fans could become a little more savvy about how to both sell and buy the tickets that are out there to ensure that the true fans are getting access to them.

I do worry about the brokers and speculative buyers dominating the market, but as we recently found out, that was happening already. And most of those brokers were unloading tickets at a loss anyway. It should be Redskins fans getting those savings! While I know we here at Hogs Haven could not become any kind of ticket broker or market, I am sure that if we banded together, we could ensure fair treatment to everyone on board the Revolution with brokers and secondary market sellers.

3) Everyone who intends to continue buying season tickets--even the year-to-year folks--we would be confident that you would be going to the games. After all, you are essentially losing money when you stroke the check for a season ticket. It is worse than buying a new car! You could be losing up to 50% of your money from a value-perspective just by mailing in your check to buy season tickets! And our mission is always to pack home games with true Redskins fans. So if it continues to be worth it to you to pay up front to go to games, we look forward to seeing you there--we just hope you won't hold it against us that we are going to pay less for our tickets than you.

If we are right and the "Waiting List" is a complete joke, the decline in season ticket renewals will have a very material impact on Dan Snyder's operation. Then we would be able to go to him and demand things like:

a) Fire Vinny Cerrato

b) Hire a proven, credentialed football mind to run this team

Once the team finds a new direction and commits to it, we could then begin the second phase of this plan, which is for the Redskins to embrace what so many other sports venues in this country have: a huge section of the stadium that everyone (opposing teams, Redskins players, fellow fans) knows is for the hardcore fans, named appropriately and rabidly attended. The Revolution will have its own section at Fedex...oh yes it will. It will be constant pandemonium and noise (except when our offense is on the field), with nobody asking you to sit down or be quiet in the middle of a freaking football game. And no Eagles fan, or Cowgirls fan would dare show up to our section and cause a stir. Some of the character lacking at Fedex that was always part of RFK experiences is lost because the fans have been divided and conquered. We have no "Dog Pound", "Black Hole", or "Screaming Eagles" type of section that helps get the stadium pumped up. All we have is the PA announcer making sure the sleepy fans know it is 3rd down. It is an embarrassment and a shame because Redskins fans deserve to have such a fan presence at games. It could only enhance the gameday experience and it could only add to the character of the stadium. We love the team and our fan leadership would be a welcome change to the direction of the PA announcer that drives most of us nuts.

If and when the team finds itself needing to find a home for gigantic blocks of tickets that aren't being sold to the "Waiting List" or to brokers, they can fill a whole section (or more) with just members of the Revolution, at a price that we all agree is acceptable. And only after the franchise pursues a direction that inspires the most ardent fans to attend in force. If they hired a bona fide GM and empowered him to move the team forward, I would feel a LOT better about shelling out dough to this team...wouldn't you?

We will be posting our second letter to Dan Snyder tomorrow with the address for anyone that wishes to print it out and send it off. I will also link to last week's letter as well (which has been edited and proofed by as many people as I could find...hehehe.)

Thanks for all your emails and kind words of encouragement and support. I look forward to the suggestions and ideas in the comments section that will make today's post even better. I will implement any and all good ideas into the letter tomorrow. We can get through this dark period together and if we play our cards right, we can have a positive impact on the team we all love. Keep your heads up Redskins fans. The Revolution is rolling.

Die-hard Redskins' fan, John, continually gets harassed by Fedex event staff for cheering for the Skins. Nowhere on the ticket does it say he can't do what he does.

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Man, o man. Another woeful loss to a woeful team. The Fedex Field experience continues to get worse in ways I did not think possible. Losing is something I have become used to with the Redskins, but when the fun is taken out of the game, then what is left?

Our once proud section of 306, loaded with Redskins fans we enjoy seeing game in and game out are now gone. Tons of empty seats and a healthy mix of Chiefs fans. All that aside, the continued ads over the P.A. system have worn out my patience. I paid to see the game LIVE and avoid watching commercials. Nope. "This Washington Redskins first down is brought to you be Geico." At that point I headed to the bar. It was about five minutes before half-time, and I never went back. The Saints game was a lot more exciting, so why would I go back? Especially when I noticed TC was under center. 

Post-game Fedex was another story. Meet John. He's a 6-year Redskins' season ticket holder and a fan we should be proud to know. He's the captain of section 439 and "sits" at the very last row at the top. He prefers the last row so he can stand up without having to block anyone's view. Sundays are meant to be glorious days, especially given the weekly commute to Fedex from Frederick, MD, John makes. John's method of cheering is by running up and down the aisle and riling up the burgundy and gold faithful (including that frigid, wet Dallas game when he had no shirt or shoes on). HAIL!

So, how do the Fedex yellow jackets treat him? They threaten to kick him out and tell him to sit down EVERY game. A caller in the Junkies this morning said that his 16-year old son put a paper bag over his head as he was leaving the game this week. The yellow jackets approached him and forcefully confiscated it. Why are the fans continually treated so poorly? John made it clear that no one was offended by his actions, and he would happily retreat to his seat if people asked him to, but cheering for his team he gets muted? 

When you own a team that is ranked bottom 5 of the NFL, you can not afford to treat your fans like a filled diaper. I know this much...I will always be a Redskins fan, but this is my last year of paying for my season ticket. DirectTV, you just got yourself another NFL Ticket customer come 2010.

More sad pictures from my day at Fedex after the jump...and the new Miss Fedex contestant...

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To all the faithful Redskins fans out there, welcome to Day 16 of The Revolution. Beyond a few very broad brush strokes painted two weeks ago, we have spent little time on what it is. That ends today of course--I lay out our great cause in an open letter to Daniel Snyder. Do I expect an immediate response? Of course not. But they will know the measure of our resolve because this will not be a one time thing. We will not go away, and we do hope this becomes something very big--not for Kevin and I, but for the fans of this team that deserve more than they are getting today. The Revolution really begins after the jump...

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In my weekly "Sights and Sounds" post from pictures of the Rams game, I posted this picture with the appropriate title of "Reigning Miss Fedex Field." A couple things have happened since this post. First, it made it's way around the net with the help of twitter and Mr. Irrelevant. Second, I received an email from Miss Fedex herself, Sabrina, elated with the bragging rights of her current title. This led me to the brilliant idea to have a Miss Fedex competition each Redskins home game. I'll interview and take a picture of a new contestant each week, and we'll put a poll up to let the Hogs Haven readers decide who should advance. I'd imagine Sabrina is on the cusp of a long run here. If the Skins can't win, at least we can cheer for her! Part of the process will be a short Q&A. Thanks again to Sabrina for contacting me, playing along, and sending a front shot. We'll announce the prize when we think of them, but a "Miss Fedex 2009" sash has already been ordered. Hopefully I can keep Ken from wearing it around his house all the time.

1.) What is your favorite and least favorite Redskins memories?

 My favorite Redskins memories are going to the games when it is freezing outside, and at halftime going to the warm cigar lounge, smoking cigars with our Old Virginia Tobacco friends, and watching the game on the big screen surrounded by hundreds of other fans. My least favorite Redskins memory is losing to the Cowgirls.  :-(

 2.) If you could meet any Redskin past or present, who would it be and why?

Joe Salave'a, because he got cut for no reason, he was my favorite defensive player, and he was a monster!

 3.) What is your prediction for the Redskins vs Lions game this weekend?

 We are going to crush them!

 4.) If you got to meet Dan Snyder...what would you want to talk to him about?

 Stepping down.

 5.) You mentioned your fiancée is an Eagles fan. I give you props for not being the girlfriend that cheers for whoever her boyfriend is rooting for. Having said that, will your first born child be leaving the hospital in a Redskins onesie or an Eagles onesie? (From all the Eagles friends I have, I would think your hubby would be pretty sincere about the kids being Eagles fans)

 Lol, thank you. Redskins for sure! As you can imagine, every Sunday, and sometimes on Monday, we get into the heated Redskins/Eagles discussion. I always end up having to go with the one hitter quitter that I was born in DC and he wasn't born in Philly.

Week 1 - Sabrina - Northern Virginia

Well, up to game-time it was a perfect day. Sun was shining, beer pong balls were bouncing, music was blaring, and girls were dancing. It was a very festive scene pre-game at Fedex Field...almost as if we'd had already won the game. For the second straight week, however, the Redskins were losing at half-time, which put me into the mode of enjoying the sights and sounds of the Fedex Club Level.  I think we can crown "Miss Fedex" already at only week 2 (picture after the jump).

So back to the tail-gate. After hitting the bushes for a "pit stop," I couldn't help but notice this gentleman manning the grill in a Hunter Smith jersey.

Kevin: OK, I gotta hear the story on your Hunter Smith jersey! You're a special teams fanatic?

Johnny Smith: Haha, no. My favorite player has always been Mark Moseley and my last name is Smith.

Kevin: Ah....#3 and Smith...nice. I assume it's a custom?

Johnny: Yea, my daughters had it specially made for me.

Bravo. I hope by week 5 Johnny is also sporting the Hunter Smith red cleats.

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