Paying homage to Britain's soccer passionIf you want to fully understand a country, you have to understand its sporting rituals. And there's no better place to see Britain's soccer passion than in the city of Manchester, a onetime powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution where the country's National Football Museum opened this summer. Modeled on an earlier soccer museum bivouacked from 2001 to 2010, the expanded new collection is housed in the futuristic Urbis building in Manchester's revived city center. Admission is free though optional interactive activities -- the quirkiest allows visitors to commentate off an autocue to a recorded game -- are extra. www.nationalfootballmuseum.com WASHINGTON POST

Loews Hotels offers Long Weekends promoLoews Hotels and Resorts is taking 20 percent off three-night weekend stays at most of its properties. The exceptions: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and the Hard Rock Hotel, all in Orlando. To qualify for the deal, arrive any Thursday through Saturday through Dec. 31. For example, with the Long Weekends promotion, three nights at the Loews Denver Hotel in early November starts at $355, with taxes. Without the discount, the trio of nights would cost $443. At the Loews Hollywood, a new property in Los Angeles, three nights starts at $744, down from $927. Info: 1-800-235-6397; www.loewshotels.com.

WASHINGTON POST