Capitals Staying in the District, Clinging to Playoff Chances
The Aborted Monumental Move to Virginia
When Monumental Sports and Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis announced that he would be moving the Washington Capitals and Wizards to a "to-be-built" entertainment district in Potomac Yard of Alexandria, Va., I was intrigued, but immediately skeptical.
Leonsis claimed "an outsized investment in space is required" for sports teams to achieve success, as reported by Mike Murillo of WTOP. While there might be an argument for that thesis, the space in Alexandria was just not right.
Leonsis also pointed to a bad mortgage for Capital One Arena, lack of investment in the aging facility by the Washington, D.C. government and rising crime in the area surrounding the arena. The proposal would have cost the Commonwealth of Virginia $2.2 billion, Monumental $819 million and the city of Alexandria $106 million with another $1.5 billion borrowed from Wall Street, according to Teo Armus of the Washington Post. By 2028, the plan was to have the Capitals and Wizards located in Potomac Yard of Alexandria along with a new arena, practice facility, corporate offices, performing arts venue and fan plaza.
I don't have a problem with an owner attempting to piece together a more lucrative deal than what they currently have. I am also not reflexively against public/private funding ventures. If this deal had actually been approved, it would have conceivably resulted in more jobs, increased tax revenue and a cool new venue hosting many entertaining events.
However, the high-paying jobs would have likely been temporary and the low-paying jobs more permanent. There is no guarantee the increased tax revenue would outpace the interest on loans and Virginia residents likely would have had to pay the difference through higher taxes. Finally, the people coming into Potomac Yard for events would be coming to a large venue and cramming into a small city on a transportation system not built to handle that volume consistently.
Thankfully, Virginia legislators did not approve inclusion of the proposal in the commonwealth budget. This allowed District Mayor Muriel Bowser the time and space to strike a deal with Leonsis to keep the teams in DC. I am good with that.
Capitals Clinging to Playoff Chances
I like having the Capitals at Capital One Arena. I like having an easy metro ride into Gallery Place and popping up out of the metro into a mass of people and pre-game noise on F Street. In fact, the HOTPO staff covered the Caps in-person again on Sunday for what seemed like the end of the Capitals playoff chances when they lost to the Ottawa Senators 3-2.
The Capitals worked back into a wild card playoff spot with a Tuesday night 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. As of Thursday morning, the Capitals were two points behind the New York Islanders for the third-place playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. Washington also maintained the second and final Eastern Conference Wild Card invite with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers all nipping at their heels for that wild card entry.
Thursday night the Caps dropped another game 4-2 to the middling Buffalo Sabres and now sit as the first team out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. They are now tied with the Red Wings and Flyers at 85 points looking up at the Penguins who now hold the last wild card slot. Washington has three games in four days beginning Saturday which provides plenty of opportunity to secure that last slot.
Peter Hassett of the blog RMNB (Russian Machine Never Breaks) says the Capitals now have a 20 percent chance of making the playoffs. I doubt they will make it, but I am still holding out hope for one more trip to Capital One this year for a playoff game.
Indiana Pacers Surging into the Playoffs, or Play-In
I have to admit something. I have really faded on the NBA. I just haven't been interested in it.
Maybe these Indiana Pacers, one of my longest, truest sports loves will bring me back.
Ryan Stano of the 8Points9Seconds blog reports this young team needs to win one of two games to secure a top-6 playoff spot. Even if they lose their last two, they will still make the play-in tourney. Losing G Bennedict Mathurin to a torn right labrum was a huge loss, but the Pacers have adjusted the rotation, won five of their last six games and just might make a little noise in the playoffs.
Winning a first-round series would be a huge victory for the Pacers and probably all that can be hoped for by the most optimistic fan. So, what do you need to know if you are a general fan just now tuning into the NBA? Here you go:
- Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA and are the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals.
- Denver Nuggets are the defending champions, led by Nikolai Jokic, and are the favorite to represent the Western Conference.
- Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks are the veteran teams that know their championship window is closing.
- Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder are the young up-and-coming contenders that could surprise the favorites.
- For additional story lines on five players on the hot seat during the playoffs, see this Ben Golliver On the NBA column in the Washington Post.
The Close Out: NBA and NHL seasons finishing up over the next few days, it's also Master's weekend (I am hearing Scottie Sheffler) and we haven't even touched MLB yet this year. Enjoy the games.
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