Redskins beat Bears, 17-14; DeAngelo Hall ties NFL record with 4 interceptions

By Jason Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 25, 2010; 12:51 AM

CHICAGO – With their outstanding work completed, cornerback DeAngelo Hall and defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth celebrated briefly together late Sunday afternoon while the Washington Redskins’ offense finished a 17-14 victory over the Chicago Bears.

The close friends definitely were entitled.

Hall tied the NFL record with four interceptions – including one that resulted in a 92-yard go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter – and Haynesworth dominated the Bears’ offensive line, providing the biggest contributions in Washington’s superb defensive performance before 62,155 at Soldier Field.

“DeAngelo . . . DeAngelo was incredible,” inside linebacker and defensive captain London Fletcher said. “I mean, four interceptions, and one for a touchdown when they’re driving on us, you can’t say enough about that. And Albert, he played some major football for us today. I told the big fella, he played some dominant football for us.”

Often lightning rods for controversy during their brief careers with the franchise, Hall and Haynesworth had – by far – their best performances in Redskins uniforms in leading the defense’s six-takeaway outing. Washington last had six takeaways on Jan. 1, 2006, against the Philadelphia Eagles.

All of Hall’s interceptions came in the game’s final 24 minutes. The two-time Pro Bowler helped the Redskins (4-3) overcome a four-point halftime deficit and match their win total from last season. Hall also scored Washington’s only touchdown in the season-opening victory over the Cowboys when he stripped running back Tashard Choice and returned the fumble 32 yards as time expired in the first half.

The seven-year veteran, who has a team-leading five interceptions, became the first Redskins defensive player to score two defensive touchdowns in a season since Andre Collins (two interception returns) accomplished the feat in 1994. Hall has two defensive touchdowns in a season for the first time in his career.

So who do the Redskins play next week? The Detroit Lions in Detroit. The Redskins lost to the Lions last year 19-14. Oh mercy

I wasn’t one of the 1,500 people who were there by the 7:00am opening. I got there around 9:15am. Getting there wasn’t a problem. The police were directing traffic at the intersection of St. Joseph’s Drive and Route 202 (Landover Road). But once you got into the shopping center there were plenty of cars and the Wegmans parking lot is huge. Thankfully they had the police and other folks directing traffic within the shopping center as well. While driving I noticed that the Costco gas station was open. Costco opens tomorrow.

The first chore was trying to find a parking space. After driving around I finally found one. The second chore was trying to find a big shopping cart cause I had some serious grocery shopping to do They had several types of shopping carts and the one I was looking for was difficult to find. That’s how busy they were. I finally followed an employee who was putting a cart back.

I usually do my grocery shopping at Giant on Saturdays but since Wegmans was opening I decided to wait until yesterday. Once I got in, OMG I was in awe. Wegmans is huge. And of course it was so crowded you really had to maneuver your shopping cart around so you wouldn’t run into other shoppers. I was a very patient person since I got there early and took my time getting around the store. I tried to go down as many aisles as I could but that was somewhat difficult due to the crowds. I did notice that the produce area was one of the most crowded. But I made my way through so I could buy my greens They had regular and organic greens.

The Food Bar areas were even more crowded than the grocery area. The Food Bar areas include the Asian Bar, Vegetarian Bar, Fresh Food Bar, Veggie Bar, places that sell pizza, subs, sushi and coffee, the prepared food area and the Market Café. I did try out the Asian food bar and the food was very good.

There were quite a number of grocery items I bought that were cheaper than the prices at Giant. Uh oh!!! I was glad to see that they had a variety of brands including name brands and Wegmans brand. Overall I really enjoyed my shopping adventure even if it was extremely crowded. I was there for over an hour. I’m hoping that next time I go there which will probably be this Saturday it won’t be as crowded as opening day. That way I can really take my time, go down every single aisle and check out the areas that I missed out on yesterday including the Seafood area. I’m gonna try my best to stay away from the bakery area but that might be a difficult task

The Woodmore Wegmans is located at 9001 McHugh Drive in Lanham, Maryland. If you’re taking the Beltway take Exit 17A to Landover Road (Route 202 East). You will make a left at the first light which is St. Josephs Drive.

I also checked out the Petrie Ross Ventures website where you can see a site map of the new shopping center. Check it out here. You need Adobe Acrobat to see the site map. Just go to Detailed Information in the right column, scroll down and you will see Complete Media Package. Click on the link and you’ll see a sixteen page marketing package including the site map. I enlarged it to about 400% so I could read the names of some of the stores and restaurants since the lettering is very small for some of the retail stores. There are alot of nameless restaurant spots.  Some of the eating establishments listed include Sam Louie (a pizzeria), Noodles & Company (I love that place), Irie Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant and Subway. Other stores listed include Beauty Mart, Party City, Woodmore Wine Store, Super Spa and Nails, Old Navy, Centre Cleaners, Capri (never heard of this place), Ultimo (never heard of this place) and plenty of other nameless retail spots. There’s also a police/security area (thank goodness) and several banks.  And lets not forget that there is plenty of parking.

On the bottom left of the site map under site data I saw Fitness mentioned that’s over 45,000 square feet (almost the same size as Best Buy). I’m wondering if a fitness center like Bally’s or some other fitness place will be there.

Woodmore Towne Centre looks like what many folks thought The Boulevard was gonna be.  A really nice shopping center.  Well we all know how The Boulevard turned out.  The riff raff took over that shopping center.  The Boulevard is located next to the Largo Town Center metro which many folks say is part of the problem.  Woodmore Towne Centre is located a few miles from the Largo Town Center metro.  That would be one serious walk on Lottsford Road, Route 202 and then St. Josephs Drive.  Hopefully the riff raff will stay put at The Boulevard and Woodmore Towne Centre will be a nice, safe shopping center for the rest of us.

I’ve been watching the show since it premiered. The pilot episode was somewhat slow but I try not to give up on a show based on the pilot.  I thought the episodes after the pilot were better.  But the ratings for the show haven’t been that great.  Undercovers usually ranks fourth on Wednesday nights in it’s 8:00pm timeslot.  I did read in Deadline Hollywood that NBC has ordered six more scripts for the show so hopefully that’s good news.

All remaining freshman series on NBC got some good news today. Three, The Event, Law & Order: Los Angeles and Outsourced, have been picked up for the rest of the season with back-nine orders. A similar pickup for Chase is said to be pending, while I hear Undercovers is close to receiving an order for additional scripts, said to be about 6.

At least it made it past the 2nd episode.  A couple of new shows on network tv have already been cancelled and they only aired twice. Nowadays if a new tv show doesn’t capture the number one rating in it’s time slot the networks cancel the show within a couple of weeks.

Anyway I’m sticking by Undercovers. I hope NBC doesn’t bail out on this show. It’s nice watching black folks in leading roles for a change instead of being relegated to the background as the best friend or shoulder to cry on.

Washington Redskins come up short against Peyton Manning and Indianapolis Colts in 27-24 loss

By Jason Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 18, 2010; 2:14 AM

Seeking a championship-caliber quarterback, the Washington Redskins traded for Donovan McNabb on Easter Sunday and started a process, they hope, that will one day culminate in another Super Bowl appearance for the franchise.

Early in his Redskins career, McNabb has, at times, exhibited the leadership and clutch play so lacking in these parts for so long. On Sunday night, however, the Redskins and their fans watched the position of quarterback played in its highest form as Peyton Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to a 27-24 victory.

“He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” said cornerback DeAngelo Hall. “I don’t think that was a secret.”

Manning provided the difference in front of an announced crowd of 87,883 at FedEx Field. He completed 66 percent of his passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns to help the Colts, who lost three fumbles and had to hold off the Redskins in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Redskins pulled within three points, 27-24, on McNabb’s eight-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Keiland Williams with 2 minutes 46 seconds remaining in the fourth. Place kicker Graham Gano’s successful point-after attempt capped a 12-play, 92-yard drive – but the Redskins would get no closer. Colts strong safety Aaron Francisco intercepted McNabb’s final pass with 24 seconds showing on the clock.

There was one bright spot in watching this game and his name is Ryan Torain. The 24 year old running back ran for 100 yards last night. He replaced Clinton Portis who is out with an injury.

Torain punishes Colts’ defense for 100 yards

By Rick Maese
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 18, 2010; D10

When it was finished, a flock of cameras followed Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb off the field and into the tunnel. Just a few yards back was Ryan Torain – like much of the night, with no one around him – quietly walking to the locker room after a strong outing in a losing effort.

For much of the night, Torain bounced off defenders and slipped tackles, but his team was unable to sneak by the Indianapolis Colts, losing 27-24. Despite the final score, Torain posted the best game of his young career, rushing for 100 yards on 20 carries. He scored the Redskins’ first two touchdowns of the game.

“When my number is called, I just try to do my best. It felt good out there, [but] I just wish we could’ve got the ‘W’,” Torain said.

Torain replaced Clinton Portis in the starting lineup in Week 5 against Green Bay and made his second start of the season Sunday night. While Washington Coach Mike Shanahan can at times be cautious when it comes to praise, he’s said Torain could be an elite running back in the NFL. Sunday night marked the first time the 24-year-old Torain showed that potential for an entire game.

He became the Redskins’ first rusher to crack 100 yards in the team’s past 13 games. Ladell Betts had 114 yards on Nov. 15, 2009, against Denver, which came just three weeks after Portis’s last 100-yard game.

I did go into the Best Buy and looked around. It’s nice, spacious and it’s huge. I also bought a new pair of ear plugs for my mp3 player since my old pair died on me last Friday.

I saw a one page ad in the Prince Georges Gazette that the new Costco will be opening on Tuesday October 26. Two days after the Wegmans grand opening which takes place next Sunday October 24.

Speaking of Wegmans I received this flyer in the mail.

I received my shoppers club card in the mail a few weeks ago. I applied as soon as I saw the first Wegmans ad in the back of the Washington Post Sunday Arts section last month. Check out the Wegmans Woodmore Grand Opening page at the Wegmans website here.

And there’s more news.  According to the site Citybizlist, the grand opening of the Woodmore Towne Centre is Friday, October 22.

Woodmore Towne Centre Grand Opening Set for Friday, Oct. 22

Petrie Ross Ventures will host “Leading the Way” on October 22 at the new Woodmore Towne Centre. The event will mark the Grand Opening of Prince George’s County’s first Wegmans and support The Prince George’s Community Foundation and Hospice of the Chesapeake.

The Centre is located just off I-495 and Landover Road,/Rte. 202 and is situated on 245 acres. The project will include 800,000 square feet of retail space, 1 million square feet of office space, two hotels, and 1,100 residential units. The retail complex will be anchored by a 140,000 square foot Wegmans grocery store – the county’s first – as well as a 148,663 square foot Costco and a 96,446 square foot JC Penney.  Best Buy and Petco are also tenants at the new center.

You can read it all here.

Idris Elba stars as the self destructive detective John Luther.

According to BBC America:

Luther is a gripping, psychological thriller driven by a brilliant and emotionally impulsive detective tormented by the darker side of humanity.

A self-destructive near-genius, Luther might just be as dangerous as the depraved criminals he hunts. In each episode, the murderer’s identity is known from the start, focusing the drama on the psychological duel between predator and prey.

Luther shines a light into the hearts and minds of psychopaths and killers, and the shadowy spaces of his own soul.

The six part miniseries first aired on BBC One in England earlier this year. A second series for Luther will air in England 2011.  It will air as 2 two hour long movies.

I enjoyed part one.  A nice change of pace to hear Idris talk in his native British accent.  The actress who plays Alice Morgan looked familiar.  Her name is Ruth Wilson.  After doing a google search I recognized her from a PBS miniseries I saw earlier this year starring Naomie Harris titled Small Island.

If you missed part one you can catch it again on BBC America on Thursday October 21 at 9:00pm.  New episodes of Luther air on Sundays at 10:00pm.