CHICAGO — They take St. Patrick’s Day seriously here, and the Washington Wizards got to see the whole shebang Saturday: The Chicago River received its annual Kelly green dye job in the morning, and inside United Center the Bulls-Wizards game had an extra dollop of charm. Fans sported green top hats and hoodies, and venerated mascot Benny the Bull’s fur (hair?) was green, not red, for a change.
Washington
On a festive night in Chicago, Wizards prove too green to compete
Also, Bulls legend Dennis Rodman was there for a special pregame acknowledgment that earned him a standing ovation. His hair, in what seems like a missed opportunity, was not green.
The Wizards were in no shape to join the festivities.
They lost, 127-98, to close out their four-game, seven-night road trip on a dour note and fell short of scoring 100 points for the sixth time this season.
By the end of the week, their injury report had swollen to include five names, not including the newly acquired Tristan Vukcevic, who appeared as a formality because he is not yet with the team. Starting forward Deni Avdija (knee), starting center Marvin Bagley III (back), starting point guard Tyus Jones (back), Isaiah Livers (hip) and Landry Shamet (calf) were all bench-bound, leaving a skeleton crew to contend with the Bulls.
That meant Jordan Poole got his first start in Jones’s place since he was moved to the bench Feb. 22 in Denver — he finished with 13 points and eight assists. It meant rookie Bilal Coulibaly had room to shine and was a highlight for Washington with 15 points and eight rebounds. He also spent time guarding DeMar DeRozan on defense.
“I think Bilal has really been growing. You can see it in each game,” interim coach Brian Keefe said. “Just his activity, eight rebounds, he got to the free throw line eight times, his cutting. I thought he did a pretty good job guarding DeMar DeRozan. I think that we’re seeing growth each game now that he’s been a starter.”
It also meant the Wizards (11-56) were so thoroughly overmatched early on that those green-clad fans witnessed some funky lineups. Chicago’s much larger big men thundered into the paint against a feeble defense to grab momentum. By the end of the first quarter, Kyle Kuzma was lined up alongside forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., center Eugene Omoruyi, point guard Jared Butler and guard Justin Champagnie.
What’s an odder sight than a bright-green Benny the Bull? The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Omoruyi having to fight for rebounds under the basket against 6-11, 279-pound Chicago center Andre Drummond.
The Wizards’ defense was woefully overtaxed from the start, Coulibaly’s positive moments aside, and the Bulls racked up a 21-point lead early in the second quarter.
Ayo Dosunmu led Chicago with a career-high 34 points after recovering from the pregame news, which caused a brief stir at United Center, that his friend, former Bears quarterback Justin Fields, had been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nikola Vucevic added 29 points and 13 rebounds.
Guard Corey Kispert again flourished as a part of the starting lineup after taking Avdija’s place.
Keefe said Avdija would be available to play in his pregame news conference Saturday, approximately 90 minutes before the start of the game — but just before tip-off, there was a change of plans. Avdija warmed up to see whether his body would be ready but instead missed his fourth game of the season with a right knee contusion after slipping and falling in the fourth quarter in Houston on Thursday.
Kispert was told just before tip-off he was being called up for his fourth straight start.
“I want to be a player that can play with anybody,” Kispert said. “Coach told me literally as the lights were going out that I was going to be starting tonight, so I’ve got to be light on my feet and take whatever role I can get. … I want to be somebody that anybody can play with.”
He led Washington with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting, three rebounds, one assist, three blocks and three steals — and yes, that most certainly counted as flourishing, given the circumstances.
Unluckily for the Wizards, they have more green in their future and hardly any time at all to lick their wounds. They face the Boston Celtics at Capital One Arena on Sunday.
Washington
Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant
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.
Washington
Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design
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.
Washington
Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington
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.
-
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
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO2 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology6 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology6 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making