ZWF: How a Virginia pro sports move came about
Zander's Weekend Facts #106: Sunday, February 18, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, an in-depth look at how a proposal to move two Washington, D.C. sports teams to Virginia came to be. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 132 features an update on the current NBA season, at the All-Star Break, with Zander’s Facts NBA analyst Hill Billy. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, February 18, 2024:
What Zander’s been reading
In December, the owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards, Ted Leonsis, announced a shocking agreement to build a new arena for the teams not in Washington, D.C., but in neighboring Virginia. However, it is far from a certainty that two of D.C.’s pro sports teams will flee to the suburbs. The proposal has met significant headwinds locally in the city of Alexandria, Virginia, along with opposition from prominent members of the Virginia General Assembly. Yet, while the future is to be determined, the Washington Post published an insider’s look at how a deal to leave D.C. came to be on Saturday that is worth the read.
Check out this week’s featured article at the Washington Post - Inside Ted Leonsis’s decision to move Wizards, Capitals to Virginia - (Apple News link)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
House Special Election: Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election for New York’s 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, flipping the seat from Republican control. Suozzi, who previously represented the district from 2017 to 2023, took down Republican nominee Maxi Pilip with nearly 54% of the vote. The seat had been held by Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December. Santos had won the district in the 2022 midterm elections with 53.7% of the total vote. The flip narrows the Republican majority in the House, with the GOP holding 219 seats and Democrats now controlling 213.
Mayorkas Impeachment: After failing to pass an impeachment resolution two weeks ago, Republicans successfully impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week. The 214-213 vote in favor of impeachment was the second time a floor vote had been held on impeaching Mayorkas. Mayorkas is now just the second Cabinet official in U.S. history to be impeached and the first since Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. Mayorkas is charged with “willfully and systematically” refusing to enforce immigration laws and breaching public trust by lying to Congress. The articles of impeachment now to the Senate, where Mayorkas will almost assuredly be acquitted or have the charges dismissed.
Trump Organization Lawsuit: A New York judge ordered former President Donald Trump and other executives of the Trump Organization to pay $450 million in the aftermath of a civil fraud lawsuit. In the case, Judge Arthur Engoron sided with New York Attorney General Letitia James by determining that the Trump Organization committed fraud to improve Trump’s net worth and get better business deals. The decision puts Trump and the Trump Organization on the hook for nearly $355 million, with sons Eric and Donald Jr. each liable for $4 million and former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg liable for $1 million. The total exceeds $400 million with interest accounted for.
Alexei Navalny: One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sharpest critics in Russia, Alexei Navalny, died in a Russian prison on Friday. The 47-year-old Navalny, who served as the main opposition leader in the country, was serving a three-decade prison sentence. Many Navalny supporters, including Navalny’s spokesperson, have claimed he was “murdered.” Several western leaders, including President Joe Biden, have blamed Putin for Navalny’s death. Russia is set to hold its presidential election next month where Putin is running for an unprecedented third consecutive term.
Biden Impeachment Inquiry: A former FBI informant has been charged by the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden for making false statements. Alexander Smirnov is accused of telling the FBI that Biden demanded money from Ukrainian energy giant Burisma to protect the company from investigations. However, special counsel David Weiss found that the accusation from Smirnov turned out to be a lie, with prosecutors claiming Smirnov’s motivation for lying appears to be political. Republicans in Congress had been using Smirnov’s claims to advance their impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, Hunter’s father.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
Super Bowl LVIII: The Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl with an overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers 25-22. The Chiefs are the first team since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 to win back-to-back NFL championships. Like after last season’s victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP, becoming just the third player in NFL history to win at least three Super Bowl MVP awards. The game was also just the second Super Bowl to go to overtime, with the Patriots 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 being the first. The game was also the most watched Super Bowl on record, garnering over 123 million viewers.
NBA All-Star Weekend: The 2024 NBA All-Star festivities kicked off on Friday night in Indianapolis, with the All-Star Game wrapping up the weekend later tonight. The game will feature a return to the East-West format and tip-off at 8:30 pm et on TNT, TBS, and truTV. On Saturday night, two champions repeated in some of the night’s biggest events. In the three-point contest, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks emerged from a four-way first place finish to win his second contest title. Meanwhile, in the dunk contest, Mac McClung of the NBA G-League’s Osceola Magic capped the night with a perfect score to win his second straight dunk contest title. Additionally, the hometown Pacers team won the Skills Challenge while Stephen Curry took down Sabrina Ionescu in a special one-on-one three point challenge.
Caitlin Clark: Iowa basketball superstar Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record on Thursday. Clark scored a logo-range three pointer to surpass Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 career points and break the record. Clark scored 49 points in #4 Iowa’s victory over Michigan, a school record that gives her 3,569 career points. Clark is the only player in NCAA women’s basketball history to score 3,000+ career assists and accumulate over 1,000 assists. Clark has the chance to pass some additional records this season, including the AIAW large-school women's record set by Kansas’ Lynette Woodard from 1977 to 1981 before the NCAA era at 3,649 points. Pete Maravich of LSU currently holds the NCAA men’s basketball points record at 3,667 career points.
Chiefs Parade Shooting: A celebratory moment turned into a tragedy on Wednesday as a shooting took place at the sight of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade. One person was killed and 22 others were injured after gunfire rang out during the parade. Police have claimed it was a dispute that led to the shooting. The Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes donated to an emergency fund for the victims, first responders, and violence prevention organizations. The shooting comes after several people were wounded in another incident that took place surrounding last year’s celebration for the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Kylian Mbappe: Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé has reportedly told the club that he plans to leave in the summer transfer window. Mbappé, who has won five Ligue 1 titles in Paris, has been heavily linked with Spanish giants Real Madrid for several years. Mbappé been one of soccer’s top young talents, helping lead France to a World Cup title in 2018 and to the final of the 2022 tournament. He scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final, tied with Geoff Hurst for the most goals ever by a single player in a World Cup final. English clubs Arsenal and Liverpool have also been mentioned in rumors for Mbappé’s services as he will likely prioritize the chance to win the UEFA Champions League, a tournament the 25-year-old has yet to win.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, February 25, 2024.
