Former Darnestown resident, Tom Mack, was honored by the Los Angeles Rams last week during their game vs the Las Vegas Raiders. Mack was selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the second pick in the 1966 NFL Draft and played left guard for the Rams for 13 seasons from 1966 to 1978, appearing in 11 Pro Bowls. During his NFL career, he appeared in 184 consecutive games, 176 as a starter. He was a starter on the 1964 Michigan team that won the Big Ten Conference championship and defeated Oregon State in the 1965 Rose Bowl. He was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten player in 1965 and was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

After retiring from football, Mack worked as an engineer, using the engineering degree he received at the University of Michigan. He eventually became a lobbyist for Bechtel Group, Inc., whose headquarters are located in nearby Reston, VA. Tom and his family lived in Darnestown from 1987-1993. His daughters, Katy and Cari, graduated from Seneca Valley & Quince Orchard respectively.


The City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division is seeking submissions for future performances in the Takoma Park Arts series, including concerts, theater, dance, multi-media, etc.

An honorarium of $200-$400 is paid for selected performances which are held in the Takoma Park Community Center auditorium. Applicants don’t have to be Takoma Park residents, and there is no fee to apply.  Please use the online submission form to apply by the Dec. 18 deadline.


Joe’s Record Paradise, currently located 8700 Georgia Ave at the Cameron St intersection in Silver Spring, but in various locations across MoCo/Maryland since 1974, was recently featured on an episode of Pawn Stars Do America, according to the record shop’s Instagram account (video below).

Pawn Stars, a television series on the History channel that where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver pawn shop, has taken to the road to travel to other shows, pawn shops, and places like Joe’s Record Store to find deals across the country. One of its stars, Chumlee, makes a deal for Nas’ Illmatic and OutKast’s ATLiens.


Kamie Crawford, a 2010 graduate of Churchill High School, has just announced that she’ll be the host of the latest season of Are You The One?, which will air exclusively on Paramount+ after 8 seasons on MTV and a 3 year break. Crawford is no stranger to MTV, as she she served as part of a panel of rotating hosts for the second part of season 7 of the television series Catfish after Max Joseph’s departure from the series. In 2020, she became the permanent co-host of the MTV series.

On July 24, 2010, just weeks after graduating from Churchill High School in Potomac, Crawford represented Maryland in the Miss Teen USA 2010 pageant where she made history by being the first contestant from Maryland to win the title. While at Churchill, Crawford was the captain of the Varsity cheerleading team. She was selected into the medical program for the Congressional Student Leadership Conference at Georgetown University. In September 2010, Crawford enrolled in classes at the New York Film Academy while taking some core classes at a local college. She graduated from Fordham University in 2015 with a degree in communications and media and began a career in television and hosting.


97.1 WASH-FM is searching the DMV for the area’s best school choirs to ring in the holiday season! Per WASH-FM: The top choir from each division will win up to $5,000 towards their schools’ music program and be invited to perform at The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker at The Warner Theatre 12/17. The Top 3 Choir Finalists for elementary/Middle School have been announced and they include two schools in Montgomery County– North Bethesda Middle School (MCPS, Bethesda), and St. Andrew Apostle Catholic School (Private, Silver Spring). You can listen to each choir at the times listed below and vote for your favorite.

Wed 12/7:  10:00am hour, 6:00pm hour| Thu 12/8: 9:00am hour, 3:00pm hour


Per the Takoma Park Newsletter: You can share your artistic talents or find tiny art to take home at Takoma Park’s first Free Little Art Gallery. In a concept similar to little free libraries, the Free Little Art Gallery (FLAG for short), is a large box located next to the bus stop at 7667 Maple Avenue where anyone can donate small pieces of art or take art that they like. The box, which is stocked with art supplies, has two small galleries for displaying artwork, complete with easels and small figures admiring the art. There is also one in Potomac. PotomacFLAG Potomac Can be found on 11819 Smoketree Road, Potomac MD 20854 and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/flag_potomac

The interactive public art project is co-sponsored by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division and the Operation ARTS Foundation. “We’re very excited about our first Free Little Art Gallery,” said Brendan Smith, the City’s arts and humanities coordinator. “It provides motivation for people of all ages to create artwork and a public space where they can share it. The design of the little art gallery also celebrates our local Ethiopian community.” The little art gallery features paintings of traditional Ethiopian woven reed bowls, burlap sections to highlight Ethiopia’s centuries-old connections to coffee, and a font inspired by the Amharic language.


Last year, John-Paul “JP”  Flaim of The Sports Junkies announced his new book Still Barking on the show this morning over at 106.7 The Fan. The book tells the story of how The Sports Junkies came together over 25 years ago along with all of the memorable experiences the crew has had since then. JP, a MoCo resident, is having an appearance at Burton’s in The Kentlands on Wednesday, December 7th between 5pm and 7pm, where he’ll chat with local sports fans and have 10 copies of his book for sale for anyone interested.

“For the past year, I have worked on the story of four childhood friends chasing a dream with heart, humor and soul. Though it dives into radio and our career, the overarching theme is one of brotherhood and friendship. I wish my Mom could have seen the final product but alas she is not here, but without her spirit, I couldn’t have worked as hard as I did to complete this project.” Flaim said about his book.


Kalaii Griffin II is a 2013 graduate of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda where he was a two sport letter winner in football and wrestling. He went on to the University of Texas at El Paso, where he played Division I football and earned his B.A. in Communications. Now Griffin is the founder and CEO of ShredSkinz, the world’s first and only single use & recyclable sauna suit, and his company made an appearance on Shark Tank earlier this week (spoilers below). ‘

Kalaii explained that he created his ShredSkinz sauna suits in a way that is convenient for those using them. He has added elastic to the bottom and the wrist area and a draw string on the hood to allow those working out in a ShredSkinz suit to maximize how much they sweat. He goes on to clarify that this is not marketed as a way to lose weight, but rather as a convenient way to maximize workouts by increasing the amount of weight, ideal for cutting weight for a fight, etc. Griffin mentions his success on TIkTok, primarily due to videos of ShredSkinz users showing their sweat fall out of the suit.


Student Latin Dance groups from 15 high schools participated—Bethesda-Chevy Chase, James Hubert Blake, Clarksburg, Damascus, Albert Einstein, Gaithersburg, Northwest, Northwood, Quince Orchard, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Sherwood, Springbrook, Watkins Mill and Wheaton. A video highlighting the event can be seen below. The Best In Show groups for the two divisions are listed below:

Junior Division (schools competing four years or less) Best in Show:


Earlier this month, more than 12,000 second grade students enjoyed performances by the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the Music Center at Strathmore. This program gives students exposure to the world of classical music in a concert hall setting, inspiring a love and appreciation of music and the arts at a young age. Before attending, second graders learned about the instrument families of the orchestra and how the instruments work together in a concert setting. Video below:


Sylvester Stallone is one of the first people mentioned when talking celebrities with MoCo ties. Though he was born in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, his parents (Frank and Jackie Stallone) moved to the area in early 50s to open a beauty school. While living there, Sylvester spent some of his attended Woodlin Elementary School, Montgomery Hills Junior High, and was enrolled at Blair High School. Now, at age 76, Stallone is starring in his first ever television series Tulsa King.

The story of Tulsa King revolves around a former New York mafia boss Dwight “The General” Manfredi, played by Stallone. Manfredi is locked up for 25 years, obeys the code of silence/not ratting on your friends, and expects to be well compensated upon his release. Instead, he is sent down to Tulsa, where he’s tasked with “getting things started” for the mafia family.


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