Latest news with #WashingtonCommanders
USA Today
3 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
How many Commanders landed on the 2025 'All-Fun' team?
Everyone who watches and follows football, or any sport for that matter, does it because it's fun. It's entertaining, it's a show, and it's a competition. Humans love competition; we love to prove that we are the best at whatever we are doing. But, the ultimate goal is always to have fun while you're competing, even when you lose. Remembering that this is supposed to be a fun game, CBS Sports recently created the NFL's 2025 All-Fun team, which is focused not on just the best players in the league, but the ones with the most personality. Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu has a big personality, making him a perfect selection at linebacker. Tenacity is the key at the off-ball linebacker spot, and Luvu might have more than anyone this side of Fred Warner and Roquan Smith, longtime staples of the position. After an underrated rise as a blitzing linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, Luvu successfully transitioned to the Washington Commanders in 2024, with his energy helping lift the team all the way to the NFC title game. Luvu certainly brought the fire against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game, and his tenacity and spirit certainly make him a fit for this roster. He wasn't the only one considered, though. Jayden Daniels was considered at quarterback, and Tress Was was considered at punter. Ultimately, Lamar Jackson and Johnny Hekker were the selections at those positions. With three players considered out of all the players in the NFL, it shows what kind of team the Commanders are building. They desire to win more than anything, and they certainly want to have fun while they do it.
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Five winners and losers in D.C.'s 2026 budget
The D.C. Council passed the final version of its $22 billion fiscal year 2026 budget on Monday after a fraught budget season that featured a Congress-induced cut and a $3.7 billion potential development deal with the Washington Commanders. The final, 10-2 vote came after a chorus of protesters temporarily halted council proceedings, decrying the slated cuts to health care programs and other services for the city's poorest residents. It was a year of difficult trade-offs for policymakers, who are grappling with a projected steep downturn in revenue over the next several years, largely because of the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal workers and downsizing or relocation of agencies. To Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), the answer was investing in businesses and the revitalization of downtown in the hope of diversifying the city's economy and preventing fiscal doom. The council largely agreed, funding most of Bowser's business-friendly proposals — and then paring back, though not eliminating, the mayor's steep proposed cuts to health care, housing and environmental programs. So, who came out a budget winner this time? And who lost? Read below — and add your picks in the comments. The Washington Commanders emerged as an honorary budget winner with half a billion in taxpayer funding to support the proposed redevelopment of the RFK Stadium site — over $1 billion in public funds when money for parking garages and utilities is included. But while the football stadium proposal dominated headlines, there are significant wins in the budget for other types of sports enthusiasts and athletes. Tens of millions of dollars were set aside for a new sports complex at the RFK site that would be run by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation and could include an indoor track and gymnastics facility, a win for families who currently trek to the suburbs to partake in those sports. Capital One Arena, home to the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, will get more than $340 million over the next two years for its renovation. Nationals Park is slated to get hundreds of millions of dollars for renovations starting in 2027. The budget legislation also authorizes the transfer of the Rock Creek Tennis Center to city control, and includes $9 million to fund repairs there — a win for tennis fans, since lawmakers say the money will help the city keep the DC Open professional tennis tournament. And the city is even going to start putting $500,000 a year toward a plan to make D.C. 'the nation's premier destination for sports events, teams, and activities.' D.C. voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative last year that would open up primary elections to independent voters and institute ranked-choice voting, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Under this method, a candidate can't win without a majority of the vote — one reason proponents say it enhances democracy. But the Democratic establishment argued that the method was confusing and unnecessary, making it unclear whether the council would fund its implementation. But council members Christina Henderson (I-At Large) and Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) successfully championed an effort to include $421,000 for ranked-choice voting in the 2026 budget, followed by an additional $39,000 each of the following three years, mostly for notifying and educating voters about the change. The council did not, however, fund the portion of the ballot initiative that opens up primaries to independents; Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) introduced an amendment to fund it, but it failed. Similar to last year, the city's downtown — still dealing with a major commercial vacancy problem that began during the pandemic — is receiving some TLC. Lawmakers kept Bowser's requested funding for converting offices to residential units, and for a project to transform the blocks around the National Portrait Gallery into a 'European-style plaza.' The budget also launches a planning process for a new mixed-use development just south of the National Mall. A few theaters in need of renovations are getting cash infusions through the legislation that accompanies the budget. The Howard Theatre will receive $500,000 for renovations and other expenses. The Lincoln Theatre will get $285,000 for repairs and renovations, and $4 million will go to the foundation that supports the National Theatre so it can buy the facility and make improvements. Woolly Mammoth Theatre will receive $500,000 for operational expenses. And GALA Hispanic Theatre will get $450,000, plus potential additional funding to match donations for renovations and operating expenses. For the second budget year in a row, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) got into a spat with Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee over how much money the city could spend. This time, Lee came out on top. Lee's office identified about $244 million in excess revenue in June. Mendelson allocated about $30 million of those funds in the 2026 budget to enhance programs that were facing cuts, but Lee contended that the council could not touch the money. In a memo, Mendelson said Lee would use the money to address the enduring problem of overspending by D.C. agencies and replenish the reserves. Yet, Mendelson said, Lee did not have the authority to tell the council it couldn't use even a portion of that money for programs in need. The CFO stood firm. In the end, Mendelson acquiesced, even though he called it 'an erosion of our legislative authority, which cannot stand' and said he withdrew the funds 'under duress.' So, instead of putting additional funding toward programs they saw as necessary for the city's poor and working class, D.C. lawmakers made a wish list of priorities they hoped to fund if Lee identifies additional revenue in his September revenue estimates. Among the programs on the contingency list are a tax credit for low- and middle-income families, $3.5 million for the Department of Forensic Sciences to conduct DNA testing, $10 million for affordable housing and $2.9 million in emergency rental assistance. Approximately 27,000 adults enrolled in the Healthcare Alliance Program, the city's main vehicle for insuring undocumented immigrants who cannot afford other private health care, stand to lose coverage by 2027. Effective this October, people 26 or older will no longer be eligible for the program, a change that will affect about 4,300 people, according to the immigrant advocacy group Ayuda. More than 25,000 D.C. residents are also being kicked off Medicaid and transitioned to a new basic health plan covered by D.C. While these people will still receive insurance, the new plan lacks certain benefits such as vision care and various behavioral health services — and it comes at a time when many residents face health care cuts as a result of Congress's recently passed tax and spending bill. The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment will see its budget slashed by 20 percent after it grew significantly last year. Bowser had proposed redirecting more than $70 million intended to fund solar energy projects and to help low-income residents transition from gas to electric appliances — instead using the money for D.C. government utility bills. Bowser also intended to defund Anacostia River cleanup efforts and stop stricter energy efficiency requirements for buildings set to go into effect over the next several years. The council added back about $12 million to sustainable energy programs and the river cleanup funding. It also restored the rules for building energy efficiency. The council staved off some of what council environment committee chairman Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) called 'a retreat and broken promise on almost every climate and environmental law and rule we've got' — but the agency is still seeing among the steepest cuts in the budget. The debate over whether to repeal the voter-approved ballot initiative to eliminate the tipped minimum wage was one of the fiercest, and the outcome was just as divisive. As Henderson acknowledged: 'No one is happy 100 percent here.' Bowser and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington wanted a full repeal of Initiative 82, which passed in 2022 and called for gradual increases to the wages of restaurant employees and other tipped workers until they equaled the minimum wage. The mayor and the association argued that restaurants were buckling under the increasing labor costs. But the union representing restaurant workers said a repeal or substantial changes to Initiative 82 would squash the will of the voters and undermine workers who were counting on the pay increases. On Monday, Allen and Henderson framed a proposal they introduced as a compromise: It pauses wage hikes until next July — but, by 2034, will gradually bring the tipped minimum wage up to 75 percent of the current minimum wage for all tipped workers. The amendment passed 7-5. Some restaurant workers were so enraged that they were shouting in the chamber at lawmakers before being escorted out by police. The restaurant association also sounded a note of disappointment that the council did not go for the full repeal. No one, it seems, was a clear winner here — but the initiative itself is no more. The D.C. Streetcar project's dysfunction spans four mayoral administrations and cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars before it even produced a working streetcar. Now, Bowser and the council have decided to scrap the streetcar entirely in favor of a 'next generation streetcar' — which will probably be an electric bus. In the years since the streetcar opened in 2016 on a 2.2-mile stretch of H Street NE, the appetite among lawmakers to further fund the transit project has soured. It had already guzzled so much city money with so little to show for it, and the project was frequently cast aside in favor of other priorities. This year's budget decision was the nail in the coffin. The streetcars will be taken off the street in 2027. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) cheered the council's inclusion of his proposal to create a local child tax credit in the 2025 budget — a boost for families with children that earned it a spot in the winners' column last year. But before it could benefit anyone, it took a clear L in this year's budget. Bowser yanked it from her 2026 budget proposal as she searched for cuts, rattling Parker, who up to the last hour searched for ways to put it back in. On Monday, he proposed restoring a narrower child tax credit — up to $1,000 per child for low-income families. He sought to fund it through a pair of tax proposals he said would raise $15 million — a surcharge on capital gains that would affect wealthier residents, and closing what he said was a 'loophole' involving income passed through businesses. But some lawmakers said it was not the time for a tax increase, and the amendment failed in a 5-7 vote. Parker argued that the removal of the child tax credit already amounted to a tax increase. 'By removing the District child tax credit from the budget, the mayor in effect raised taxes on working-class families,' he said. Some lawmakers worry that a subsidy that helps lower-income parents work and go to school by helping them with child care expenses is also underfunded, already failing to meet the need with its existing funding. Some of the funds for that program are contingent on the revenue estimates Lee will deliver in September. Tim Carman contributed to this report.
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Should The ‘Indians' And ‘Redskins' Names Return To Sports? As Stadium Vote Looms, Trump Believes So
"Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!" President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Is this statement by the President a contrarian view? Or is it a reflection of a changing public sentiment? CHICAGO - APRIL 30: Washington Redskins NFL football helmet is on display in Pioneer Court to ... More commemorate the NFL Draft 2015 in Chicago on April 30, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo By) As the NFL's Washington Commanders seek approval to develop the RFK stadium campus and build out a new football stadium, they are set to hold public hearings on August 1st to hear the feedback of the community. With 520 people already slated to speak on Day 1, Mayor Muriel Bowser is urging D.C. residents to speak up in support of the project, which also includes commercial and residential development. For residents who currently live in the neighborhood, there are two sides. While proponents lean into the positive and say D.C. will bring in just under $1 Billion a year in new business. Opponents are looking at the negative cost impact to the tax payers, and the need for even more housing and community investment. Beyond those two sides of the coin, President Trump has another thought on his mind. The team's name. More specifically, bringing back the former name of the team, The Washington Redskins, which the team held from 1933 to 2020, as part of the approval deal. Today, they are known as the Washington Commanders. 'I may put a restriction on them if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,'' President Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'I won't make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington.' While the President technically doesn't have a say, due to the land being transferred over to D.C. prior to his inauguration, (Congress passed a bill giving the District of Columbia more control over the 190-acre riverfront plot.) he does have a hand in both the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and U.S. Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) — two federal advisory bodies that weigh in on all design matters in the city. They will have a big role in deciding what the stadium actually looks like. And with that, they have the potential to make the Commanders life very hard if the Presidents asks the appointees to stand tall. Trump's social post continued "The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone. Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians.' Washington Redskins logo displayed on a phone screen and photo of Donald Trump taken on June 25 in ... More The Hague displayed on a laptop screen in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on July 21, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Those comments from the President were follow-ups to his previous Truth Social post, "The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. This type of language from the President, is the polar opposite of the social climate of 2020, when society was very vocal about pushing back on the Redkins and Indians names, deeming them 'culturally insensitive and inappropriate'. But this vote, and the Presidents post, has brought the topic of the Redskins and Indians back to light. Why were the Redskins and Indians Names Replaced? Only five years ago, the United States had a very different social perspective. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a nationwide empathy-fueled movement took hold of America. Alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers and corporations en masse began reevaluating, and revisiting everything within their control to see if they could be fairer and more empathetic. For large-scale corporations, this moment presented an opportunity to review their moral compass as an organization. For two industries in particular, it meant examining the long-standing ethnic brand symbols on their products and evaluating them under a new lens. Pennant promotes the Cleveland Indians baseball team (from the American League), Cleveland, Ohio, ... More 1950s. It features an image of the team's mascot 'Chief Wahoo.' (Photo by) In sports, teams have had a long-standing practice of naming their mascots after Native Americans. Adorned on some of the country's most recognizable food brands are historically insensitive characters, known as 'food mascots'. For them, 2020 would become the year of the 'great rebrand'. In total, eleven college teams, two professional franchises and over a half a dozen food companies announced they were making changes to evolve or retire their culturally insensitive branding. Across the grocery isles…. AUNT PHOTOGRAPH. Across University Athletic departments from Midwestern State University to Quinnipiac University, mascots shifted. The Indians became the Mustangs, the Braves to Bobcats. All of this leads me to the NFL's Washington Redskins and MLB's Cleveland Indians - the two most visible sports rebrands of this period. The Washington Redskins, who were using the name and likeness of a Native American since 1933, became the Washington Football Team in 2020, before eventually landing on the name Washington Commanders soon thereafter. The ownership group, up until then, had stated the team would "never" change its name, and argued that Redskins name honored Native Americans. But due to the climate in 2020, corporate sponsors, from FedEx to others, began being vocal about not wanting to associate their brands with the culturally insensitive name. The Cleveland Indians changed their name to the Cleveland Guardians in November 2021. After decades of criticism regarding the team's previous name and mascot, Chief Wahoo, which depicted the face of Native Americans. In 2018, the Indians retired use of Chief Wahoo on their jerseys and hats. The new name, Guardians, was a reference to the "Guardians of Traffic" statues on the city's Hope Memorial Bridge. Should There Be A Push To Revert The Names Back? The name changes have sparked lively debate of fairness and sensitivity well beyond sports fans. Did it not go far enough? The Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Braves weren't pressured enough to change their names, even though they are both native American references. Or, did the pressure of the time push the agenda too far, too fast only causing people to regret it later? Cleveland fans, by and large would like the Indians names back. In a recent poll conducted in the city shows that fans overwhelmingly want the Indians name back, and the return of their mascot, Chief Wahoo. In Washington, last year's winning ways for the franchise pushed their QB Jayden Daniels to have the #1 selling jersey in all of sports and Commanders merchandise skyrocketed 463% from 2023 to 2024. Once the playoffs began, the spike reached over 4000%. This success changed the sentiment with fans, pushing those who like it or love it to 50% warming up to the name. LANDOVER, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 01: Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders looks on prior to a ... More game against the Tennessee Titans at Northwest Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by) Among Native American communities, the reactions are too mixed. Groups such as Native American Guardians Assocaition, of fittingly abbreviated NAGA, have spoken out, the 'Redskins / Redmen is a Native American iconic name and is revered by the vast majority of Native Americans and general public alike. Redskins / Redmen represents honor, respect and pride for Native American culture. Redskins / Redmen is and has been a self-identifying term for Natives since the early 1800s.' according to thier website. While on the other side, groups such as 500 Years of Dignity and Resistance which became a key organizer of the Indians name change and a leader in the ongoing protests of Native American mascots, had been long active in the continuous support of Indigenous Rights. Moving forward, it's clear that consensus is still hard to find - and no one decision will make all happy. The court of public opinion holds power in this ongoing battle of what is right and what is not - it just depends on how society defines those terms at the time.
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Highlights from Day 6 of Washington Commanders training camp
Day ? One day after their first practice in pads, the Washington Commanders were back on the practice field for Day 6 of training camp on Tuesday. The day began with some unexpected news as offensive lineman Nate Herbig told head coach Dan Quinn he was retiring. Herbig was entering his seventh NFL season in 2025 and was competing for one of the backup guard spots. On the field, it was another day without Terry McLaurin, as other receivers looked to separate themselves in the battle to earn one of those final WR spots on the 53-man roster. What else happened on Tuesday? It's time for our Day 6 highlights, courtesy of those in attendance in Ashburn. Day 6 first player to the field is … *drumroll* … Deatrich Wise Jayden Daniels throwing with Tavita Pritchard looking on WR/TE split drills #Commanders @team980 Michael Gallup gets some work in catching errant passes: Ben Sinnott: Terry McLaurin hat trick Let's go Von 🗣️@VonMiller | #RaiseHail Commanders GM Adam Peters and team president Mark Clouse are here at today's practice Got a few clips of Deebo. #RaiseHail Love to see Doug Williams signing for kids. Connecting generations. I think Commanders second year linebacker Jordan Magee is going to take a leap this certainly learning from the best in Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu and Ken Norton Jr. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is like the energizer never stops. High motor.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Stephen A. Smith Blasts Cowboys Exec For Micah Parsons Remarks
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Heading into Dallas Cowboys training camp, one of the biggest storylines was Micah Parsons and his contract. Following an executive's choice remarks on the situation, Stephen A. Smith decided to chime in with his thoughts. Since entering the NFL, Parsons has been one of the league's most dominant defensive talents. Now in the final year of his rookie deal, he wanted an extension worked out before camp got underway. Though that didn't happen, Parsons still has been in attendance to be with his teammates. However, he's been limited in practice due to back tightness. Through the early days of camp, fans have constantly been chanting at Jerry Jones and other members of the front office to give Parsons what he deserves. This led to Executive Vice President Stephen Jones speaking on the matter, to which he gave a rather head-scratching response. Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys defends against the Washington Commanders during an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium on January 5, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys defends against the Washington Commanders during an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium on January 5, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. Photo by/Getty Images "It doesn't change anything," Jones said. "We want to pay Micah, too. He's got to want to be paid, too." Also read: Former Cowboys Pro-Bowler Gives Heartfelt Response to New Contract During Monday's episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith reacted to Jones' comments about Parsons. He too was baffled by such a statement and did not hold back when giving his thoughts on the Cowboys' EVP. "What Stephen Jones said about Micah Parsons in terms of he has to want to get paid. I think that's an egregious statement," Smith said. "Jerry Jones needs to get his act together. But as egregious as his actions have been, it's nothing compared to what Stephen Jones said. I respect Stephen Jones, but that is one of the most ignorant statements I have ever head come out of the mouth of an executive." .@stephenasmith sounds off on Cowboys' Stephen Jones saying Micah Parsons has to "want" to be paid 😯 "Respect to you, my brother, but if it wasn't for your daddy would you be a COO in the NFL?" — First Take (@FirstTake) July 28, 2025 Also read: CeeDee Lamb Weighs In on Dallas Cowboys Star's Contract Dispute In terms of production, Parsons has shown he wants to get paid in a big way. He captured Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, been named to two All-Pro teams, and was in the top three in DPOY voting in three of his four seasons. Looking at Parsons' stats, the only other players with comparable numbers are T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett, who each make over $40 million annually. Most teams would do anything to have a player as talented and impactful as Parsons leading their defense. Meanwhile, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are in no rush to lock him down to a sizable extension. It's highly doubtful Dallas doesn't give him a new deal, but it remains unclear when this standoff will come to an end. For more Dallas Cowboys and NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
