Smithsonian Exhibits Celebrate Elvis in DC, LA

On the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth, the Smithsonian Institution is showcasing the King of Rock 'n' Roll's ubiquitous image through exhibits opening Friday in Washington and Los Angeles.

"One Life: Echoes of Elvis" will be on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington through August. The one-room exhibit is devoted to the evolution and influence of Presley's image after his death.

"Think of all the entertainers you know, and how many of them do you know the names of their homes?" said curator Warren Perry. "Everybody needs to have a moment with Elvis."

The exhibit features portraits, images from Graceland, Elvis merchandise and a reminder that Elvis' manager put his face on just about anything that could be marketed. The commercial images include an Elvis-imprinted lunch box, nutcracker, action figure and snow globe.

Original artwork from a 1992 Elvis stamp design competition is on view, along with the 1993 stamp with Presley's likeness that became the most popular U.S. postal stamp of all time, with a printing of 500 million.

A gold bust of Elvis as Julius Caesar by sculptor Robert Arneson anchors another wall. A museum docent recently discovered a surprise in the sculpture that had been in storage at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum: A small heart was carved in the back.

"The people who call themselves Elvis fans, I'm sure there are fanatics, but these people have a loving affection for Elvis," said Perry, who is from Memphis, Tenn., where Elvis lived after his family moved from Mississippi. "It's conversational. It's intimate."

One of Perry's favorite pieces is a scrapbook found in an abandoned Chicago warehouse with newspaper headlines and pictures carefully cut out and pasted in a thick book shortly after Presley's death at age 42 in 1977.

"You can tell it was put together by a fan," Perry said.

Presley sat for only one portrait painter. A painting by Ralph Wolfe Cowan, usually on display in the gallery's entertainment section, is the exhibit's central image. It was completed from sketches Cowan made in 1969 while creating another portrait that hangs at Graceland.

Source:abcnews.go.com/

Shanahan To Lead Redskins; Coach-VP, Team Agree To Five-Year Pact

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) - Long time former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan will be picking up the mantel once again with the Washington Redskins, as the team officially ends the Jim Zorn era.


Zorn was fired Monday morning, a day after closing out his season against the Chargers in a 23-20 loss.

Zorn's 4-12 season could be best summed up by the trick play he ran against Dallas, in which the apparent objective was stack one side, and throw a pass to the largest group of Cowboys he could find.

The five-year deal will be worth approximately $7 million a year, and will allow the Broncos to recoup some of the money they lost when firing him back in 2008.

As Shanahan steps into Washington with the dual role as executive VP of football operations, his first goal is to interview the current assistant coaches and see who will be sticking around, or who he sends packing.

One thing that's for certain, Kyle Shanahan - his son - will take the helm as offensive coordinator.

Kyle worked for the Houston Texans since 2006, working his way up from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator over the past two years.

Source:allheadlinenews.com/

D.C. Sports Bog Live: Jim Zorn's firing, Mike Shanahan next? Redskins offseason, Gilbert Arenas's guns and more

D.C. Sports Bogger Dan Steinberg was online Tues., Jan. 5 to break down the finale of a woeful Redskins season, whether Mike Shanahan will be the next Skins coach, Gilbert Arenas's gun issues, the latest Atlantic 11 and sports news and your questions and comments about his latest bog posts.

A transcript follows.

Read Dan's daily smorgasborg of the bizarre side of D.C. sports at the D.C. Sports Bog.

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Dan Steinberg: Sorry, I was obsessing about my playoff fantasy football draft and lost track of time. Two points about that.

1) If the axiom "no one cares about your fantasy football team" is true, then how much truer is this axiom: "no one cares about your playoff fantasy football team."

2) Playoff fantasy football is the greatest thing in the world.

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Dan Steinberg: Oh yeah, feel free to ask me questions about sports, or whatever. If you ask me Redskins personnel and/or hiring timeline questions, though, I'll probably just regurgitate the worker of our beat writers, who are literally staying up in shifts around the clock during this most exciting of weeks. Meanwhile, I'm eating their donuts.

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Bismarck, N.D.: I'm sure you'll get a handful of this very question. How in the world can Orakpo go to the Pro Bowl and not get Rookie of the Year?

Dan Steinberg: Not just not get Rookie of the Year, but finish fourth in the voting, well behind the winner. Different voting pools. Fans and coaches and players aren't involved in the AP's award voting, and media dorks aren't involved in the Pro Bowl voting.

Chris Cooley was talking about the Pro Bowl yesterday in reference to London Fletcher. He said the system is busted, and only coaches should be allowed to vote. I have no idea which pool would have helped Orakpo the most. Anyhow, it's certainly odd, but the larger point is that fans don't really care about the Pro Bowl in terms of watching the game. They just want their guys to get honors. Orakpo will get plenty more honors in his career.

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Atlanta: Any possibility Arenas could be forced to halt construction of his pool if he's docked enough pay by a possible suspension? Assuming the pool is still under construction, I mean its probably he's using D.C. workers.

Source:washingtonpost.com/