MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan made a surprise move Sunday, benching John Beck and returning to Rex Grossman as the team’s starting quarterback in an attempt to spark his struggling offense and snap a four-game losing streak. It didn’t do the trick. Washington managed to move the ball a little better, but still found touchdowns impossible to attain and fell, 20-9 , to the Miami Dolphins , giving Shanahan the first five-game losing streak of his coaching career and the Redskins their first such skid since 2001. Read full article > >

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Redskins vs. Dolphins: Switch back to Rex Grossman yields same result

Taking on the sophistications of an opera like Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann,” even in a concert performance, is an ambitious stretch for any small local company, but taking it on without a stage director is just foolish. Concerts may not involve sets or costumes, but there is some acting expected and, for a cast of singers of mixed experience and ability, acting often can save the show. Case in point, the Riverbend Opera Company, in the middle of a four-performance run of “Tales” in four venues. On Tuesday, in the spare space of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on the Southwest waterfront, many of the less-experienced singers were left without the coaching that might have made them credible actors. Read full article > >

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Riverbend Opera takes on ‘The Tales of Hoffmann’