Washington
Magic Johnson joins Washington Spirit as investor
Five-time NBA champion Earvin “Magic” Johnson is the newest investor in the Washington Spirit, the National Women’s Soccer League team announced on Thursday.
“I’m excited to join the Washington Spirit’s investor group at such a pivotal time in the club’s history,” Johnson said in a statement.
“Partnering with a visionary like Michele Kang and her team to advance the growth of the Washington Spirit and the NWSL is an incredible opportunity. I’m excited to join the team and play my part to help elevate this organization.”
Johnson, 65, starred for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1980 to 1996, winning five NBA titles and three MVP awards. He was a 12-time All-Star and was named by the NBA as one of the 50 greatest players in league history upon his retirement. In recent years, Johnson has entered the sports business space, investing in multiple teams.
Kang has been the Spirit’s principal owner since early 2022, when she bought the team for $35 million, which was an NWSL record at the time and about 10 times the valuation of a different NWSL franchise sale two years earlier.
The Spirit had just won the 2021 NWSL championship amid a tumultuous season that included the ousting of former head coach Richie Burke amid allegations of abuse. Amid their run to a championship, players publicly called for former majority owner Steve Baldwin to sell the team. Kang was a minority owner at the time.
NWSL team valuations have skyrocketed since Kang’s takeover, with the NWSL record for team valuation falling multiple times this year. The July acquisition of Angel City FC by Willow Bay and Bob Iger (CEO of Disney, the parent company of ESPN) set a new bar with a $250 million valuation.
The sale of Los Angeles-based Angel City continued the trend of an influx of billionaires into the NWSL, a marked change from its humble launch as an eight-team league in 2013. The NWSL is expected to name its 16th team later this year.
Johnson is the chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, which also holds partial ownership in the Washington Commanders (NFL), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), LAFC (MLS) and eSports franchise Team Liquid.
“It is a great honor to welcome Earvin to the Washington Spirit today. From the basketball court to the boardroom, Earvin knows how to win, and we are delighted to count on his expertise as part of our fantastic investor group,” Kang said in a statement.
“His commitment not only reflects the strength of our club, players, fans and brand, but also sends a powerful message about the growth and impact of women’s sports globally. Together, we look forward to taking the Washington Spirit to new heights and inspiring the next generation of young women and girls worldwide.”
The Spirit did not disclose terms of Johnson’s investment.
Under Kang, the Spirit has grown from a club that averaged just over 4,000 fans in 2021 to one averaging nearly 14,000 fans per game this year.
Kang has since purchased controlling stakes in eight-time European women’s champions Lyon and English second-division side London City Lionesses. She plans to purchase several more clubs on different continents and create a global network to scale resources.
Trinity Rodman signs record deal with Washington Spirit
USWNT forward Trinity Rodman signed a three-year deal with the NWSL’s Washington Spirit. The deal makes Rodman the highest-paid female footballer in the world.
unbranded – Sport
Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.
The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.
Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.
Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.
Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.
Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).
The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.
The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.
Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.
The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.
YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.
The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.
The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.
The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.
The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.
Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.
Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.
That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.
And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.
“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”
The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.
But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.
He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”
Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.
At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.
Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.
It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.
So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?
“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”
“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”
“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”
Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.
That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.
Here are five places to ice skate in Vermont this winter
Patchwork 250: Share your community’s unique history for Virginia’s 250th anniversary
Wisconsin DNR opens 2026 elk season applications March 1, with more Central Zone tags
West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Daily 3, Daily 4 on Feb. 26, 2026
Casper veteran David Giralt joins race for Wyoming U.S. House seat
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Where Iran’s ballistic missiles can reach — and how close they are to the US
Has India’s influence in Afghanistan grown under the Taliban?
Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links
Read Judge Schiltz’s Order
Vulnerable House Dem lashes out at Trump’s ‘racist’ SOTU challenge: ‘That was uncomfortable’
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts2 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Oklahoma1 week agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Louisiana4 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology6 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Denver, CO2 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology6 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making