The Washington Wizards hosted the Midnight Basketball League finals Saturday night.

The Midnight Basketball League is an initiative to create a safe space and help build relationships for young athletes in D.C.’s Ward 8.

“I’ve been playing my whole life,” said Midnight Basketball League Player Myles Whitfield. “If I’m being honest, I just like hooping. It just takes my mind away from everything.”

It’s considered a positive getaway for Myles and other Midnight Basketball League players. Every Friday and Saturday night for the past two months, Ward 8 youth and young adults had the chance to go head-to-head against some of the District’s talented hoopers.

“One of the things that I liked about it, is I’ve seen a lot of the youth that are normally be on the corners or whatever, spending time in the Midnight Basketball League,” said Calvin Morrison, the Midnight Basketball League coach. “Like half of them, I didn’t even know they played basketball.”

That’s one of the reasons why the midnight league was created — to offer a fun and community-based option for those in Ward 8. On top of learning about basketball, they learn about the importance of teamwork.

“Some camaraderie, unity, togetherness, you know, I don’t think they’re coming together for any major life lessons, but then of course by participating, they will learn life lessons,” said John Thompson III, senior vice president at Monumental Basketball.

Last year, dozens of residents started to brainstorm actionable plans for some of the District’s youngest residents. Through partnerships with Monumental Basketball and Building Bridges Across the River, a former D.C. staple was brought back: Midnight Basketball

“It’s been years since we’ve led Midnight Basketball,” said Scott Kratz, senior vice president at Building Bridges Across the River. “We loved that idea so much. We were able to secure some funding, channel that energy into something that’s positive, so it’s been a lot of fun on these Friday and Saturday nights.”

In a short time, the league has grown and added more teams and players, and for the first time, teams are playing in the entertainment and sports arena.

A long term goal is to provide additional initiatives.

“When you give people activities, things to do, whether it be sports, whether it be after school music programs, whatever, then, you know, perceptions will change, crime will change and people stay occupied,” Thompson said.

I worked hard my whole career and retired feeling secure. Then I lost every last dime in a scam. I was left with $1,300 a month in Social Security benefits to live on in an area where monthly expenses run about $3,700.

I’m a smart woman, but scams against older Americans are increasing in number and sophistication. Whether through scams, strained savings, or costs of living going up, half of older Americans — that’s 27 million households — can’t afford their basic needs.

And suddenly I became one of them. The experience has taught me a lot about the value of a strong social safety net — and why we’ll need to protect it from the coming administration.

I was ashamed and frightened after what happened, but I scraped myself up off the floor and tried to make the best of it.

I’d worked with aging people earlier in my career, so I was familiar with at least some of the groups who could help. I reached out to a local nonprofit and they came through with flying colors, connecting me to life-saving federal assistance programs.

I was assigned a caseworker, who guided me through applying for public programs like the Medical Savings Plan (MSP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), subsidized housing, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid.

It’s hard to describe my relief at getting this help.

Before receiving the MSP, I’d been paying for medications and health insurance — which cost about $200 — out of my monthly Social Security check. With MSP, that cost is covered. I also found an apartment I liked through subsidized housing, and I have more money for groceries through SNAP. Now it’s easier to afford other necessities, like hearing aid batteries and my asthma inhaler.

But I’m worried about the incoming administration’s plans to cut programs like these, which have helped me so much. They’re proposing slashing funding and imposing overly burdensome work and reporting requirements. Studies show that requirements like these can cause millions of otherwise eligible people to lose critical assistance.

President-elect Trump has also indicated that he favors increased privatization of Medicare, which would result in higher costs and less care. And his tax promises are projected to move up the insolvency date of Social Security.

All told, the federal budget cuts the incoming Republican majority in Congress has put forward would slash health care, food, and housing by trillions over the next 10 years, resulting in at least a 50 percent reduction in these services. And they plan to divert those investments in us into more tax cuts for the nation’s very wealthiest.

I want lawmakers of each party to know how important these social investments are for seniors and families. Older Americans — who’ve worked hard all our lives — shouldn’t be pushed out onto the streets, forced to go without sufficient food or health care due to unfortunate circumstances.

We have the tax dollars — the question is whether we have the political will to invest in seniors, workers, and families, or only for tax cuts for the very rich. If we do the latter, that’s the real scam.

The Washington Nationals are finally starting to make some noise in the offseason, but there is still plenty of work to be done. 

For quite some time this winter, the Nationals were a very quiet team in free agency. However, that recently changed as the they signed pitcher Michael Soroka to a one-year, $9 million deal. 

The right-hander was an All-Star back in 2019, but has missed a ton of time because of injuries while bouncing back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Washington appears like they will be giving him a chance to be a starter in 2025, but it’s hard to expect anything from him after the last number of years. 

While the Nationals do have five starters under contract now and projected to be in the rotation to start the season, they are really lacking a reliable veteran to help lead this rotation. The starting pitching market has been wild, but if Washington is hoping to compete, they should be thinking about adding another arm, even after signing Soroka. 

Recently, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com wrote about the starting pitcher market and highlighted Jack Flaherty’s value on the rise, which could affect the Nationals. Passan pointed out that the “exorbitant” price of pitching helps Flaherty. And it’s not just deals for pitchers like Blake Snell and Max Fried.

He noted examples like Luis Severino’s $67 million, three-year deal and Frankie Montas’ $34 million, two-year deal, as examples. All of those, he wrote, lifts Flaherty’s potential value.

“However long Flaherty’s free agency takes to flesh out, he’s still bound to do well because every team needs starting pitching, and all it takes is one suitor to step up,” Passan wrote.

After seeing some of the other deals starters have received so far this offseason, it’s easy to understand why Flaherty’s value has gone up. While the right-hander isn’t an ace, he had a strong season in 2024 for both the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers. Also, he won a World Series, which never hurts a resume. 

The right-hander showed top-end of the rotation production with the Tigers in 2024, as he totaled a 7-5 record and 2.95 ERA before being traded. 

For Washington, they have to be thinking about adding a more established starter than Soroka this offseason. Besides MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, there are a lot of question marks in this rotation. 

Even though the price tag might be on the rise, the 29-year-old right-hander could be exactly what the Nationals need in their starting rotation to take a step forward in 2025 and beyond.