South Carolina won a massive recruiting prize on Tuesday morning.
Here’s how Friendship Collegiate Academy (D.C.) five-star edge Dylan Stewart announced he was committed to South Carolina on Tuesday morning, amounting to the biggest recruitment in weeks for the 2024 cycle.
Stewart (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) is ranked first overall in Washington D.C., second at his position and No. 10 nationally in the class of 2024 going by the 247Sports composite rankings.
Needless to say, it’s a significant recruiting victory for the Gamecocks, as Stewart would have been a gem for any program. He had offers from 34 other schools, including Miami, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and USC.
Adding Stewart to their class of 2024 has resulted in a significant jump in South Carolina’s national ranking. They went into this week at No. 24 in the country, and now they’re at No. 16.
Competition is heating up for the new Commanders stadium. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser makes her case on why the franchise should return “home” to the District.
The race for the next stadium of the Washington Commanders is heating up. One week after the team was officially sold from Daniel Snyder to Josh Harris, three different localities are lining up for the chance to do business with the Commanders and build a new stadium.
It’s long been believed that returning to Washington, D.C. is what the Commanders prefer. However, the District was never going into business with Snyder. Maryland wanted to keep the Commanders in Prince George’s County but wasn’t going overboard to help Snyder.
Finally, Virginia looked like the most promising opportunity for a new stadium until that support waned under multiple investigations into Snyder.
With Harris and his ownership group, the Commanders are open for business.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said he spoke with Harris on the night the sale was confirmed, per NBC 4 Washington.
On Thursday, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin visited Commanders training camp in Ashburn and said Virginia was the best place for a new NFL stadium. Youngkin spoke extensively with Harris and two of his minority partners, Mark Ein and Mitchell Rales.
Meanwhile, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was hard at work, doing her best to bring the Commanders back to the District. On Thursday, Bowser held a #SportsCapital Rally with the purpose of retaining and attracting sports teams to D.C.
Also, this week, Rep. James Comer [R-Ky.] introduced bipartisan legislation that would turn the RFK site into a mixed-use development, paving the way for a new home for the Commanders.
“This legislation is set to pave the way for local officials to create meaningful new jobs, add millions in city revenue, and transform the Anacostia River waterfront into a lively destination for all,” Comer told The Washington Post.
Bowser made it clear where she believed the Commanders should build their new stadium.
“There’s really only one place for the team in this region,” she said at the rally. “I mean, I know, I’ve been a little coy, but……. there’s only one choice.”
“This is how we start – we want our team, but we also know we have a great site, and believe we have the best site, best served by transportation and public transportation,” Mayor Bowser told the Junkies per Lou DiPietro. “And, the allure of history is something that counts.”
Bowser said shortly after Harris took over as the owner, he placed a call to Bowser. Then, on Thursday, he, along with Ein, visited City Hall and spoke to Bowser. She noted that while she didn’t know Harris before, she does know Ein well. Bowser noted it was a good visit.
While we may still not be close to determining where the Commanders will build their new stadium, for the first time in years, business has picked up. And Washington’s owners are already working behind the scenes with local leaders to land the best situation for the franchise.
McLaurin grateful to spend the day with kids, teaching them football and just having fun.
Terry McLaurin is arguably the most popular player for the Washington Commanders. Whether it is a summer day at training camp or on Sundays in the fall, at some point, you’re likely to hear Washington fans chanting, “Terry, Terry, Terry.”
The 2019 third-round pick has developed into one of the NFL’s best wide receivers despite playing with 10 quarterbacks. Last summer, McLaurin signed an extension that made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid receivers and all he could talk about was the things he needed to improve upon.
That’s McLaurin. He’s unselfish and the ultimate team guy, two of the many qualities that Washington fans appreciate about McLaurin.
It was a trying school year for the Digital Pioneers Academy in Washington, D.C. The public charter school suffered three tragic losses, as two students were victims of gun violence, and teacher Keenan Anderson died in Los Angeles after he was tased by police while in town visiting family.
The two students were 14-year-old Antione Manning and 16-year-old Jakhi Snider.
On Wednesday, it was the last day of the school year at the Digital Pioneers Academy, and the Washington Commanders were present to surprise the school.
Team president Jason Wright, along with players Darrick Forrest, Kamren Curl, Saahdiq Charles, Jaret Patterson and director of alumni relations Tim Hightower, visited the school to announce a $75K donation to the Academy to fund its first-ever football program.
Mashea Ashton, the CEO and founder of the Digital Pioneers Academy, had the following response.
“Today, to be very honest, is so bittersweet because I can see Jakhi standing right here. I can see Antoine standing right here. I can see Mr. Anderson right here. And I think about them often,” Ashton said. “I think about how in this darkness, we’re going to turn this darkness to light.”
From now on, June 14 will be Washington Commanders Day.
“Your partnership, your presence, and your gift today is not just for our football players who are right here; it is for our whole community. June 14, 2023, and thereafter — mark it in your book — June 14 will always be the Washington Commanders Day,” Ashton said.
Kudos to the Commanders for making a difference in their community.
Commanders trying to help turn tragedy into opportunity. Important story from DC pic.twitter.com/fseFHhCpVa
Wright discussed the sale and stadium talks at a team event Saturday.
The Washington Commanders hosted a flag football clinic Saturday at Commanders Park, with team president Jason Wright, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and some of the team’s rookies present to help out.
After the clinic, Wright spoke to the media about Washington’s sale, specifically about possible future stadium plans.
“For us who have been talking to folks in the community behind the scenes, we’ve known that there’s positive engagement and enthusiasm for the potential, again, across all areas — Maryland, the District and Virginia,” Wright said, per Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
“And so because of that, it’s not as surprising to us, but it’s just more of a public discussion now. What I like about it is leaders are articulating a vision that we can get behind because that’s been what we’ve said all along. The best thing that we can do is get behind a vision of local leaders who know how to best develop this community economically and socially. That’s their expertise.”
For now, while Harris continues to work with the NFL on getting the deal across the finish line, Wright said they plan to keep operating in business-as-usual mode, hoping the sale is final sooner rather than later.
“I think if there are major line items that come above a certain level, some major things that need to be done, we’ll talk to Dan and Tanya [Snyder] about it,” Wright said. “They can broker a conversation [with Harris] potentially on our behalf. But in the meantime, we’re going to keep on operating, and hopefully, it doesn’t take long at all.”
In March, Harris and his group, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, prepared a 43-page prospectus titled “Commanders Investment Opportunity.” Seth Wickersham and John Keim of ESPN recently viewed that prospectus, which included some excellent information about the club’s financials.
The stadium situation is one of the more interesting tidbits revealed in Wickersham and Keim’s excellent story. Anyone who follows the Commanders knows what a debacle their search for a new home has been for the past several years.
Former team president Bruce Allen was supposed to use his political connections to land a new home. He never got to first base. When Snyder fired Allen, no one wanted to do business with him; specifically, Washington, D.C. And the multiple investigations into Snyder in recent years ended any chance of local and state governments working with him to build a new stadium, whether that’s in the District, Maryland, or Virginia.
Maryland, the current home of the Commanders at FedEx Field in Prince George’s County, wants to keep the team.
Then there is Virginia. Remember how close the Commanders appeared to be with Virginia on a new stadium deal? That all fell apart due to Snyder.
According to the ESPN story, the Commanders believe Virginia may be the best option for a new stadium.
Commanders leadership “believes Virginia will offer the best incentive package — potentially up to $1.5 billion” for a new home, the document shows. That sum would nearly double the American-record $750 million in public funds the state of Nevada put toward a new Raiders stadium in 2017.
That would be massive and hard to turn down. And there will be options on where to build a new stadium. Of course, nothing is imminent, and the prospectus also mentions the current FedEx Field site and the RFK site as possibilities for a new stadium.
Under Snyder, Washington had targeted 2028 for a new stadium. Harris and his group aren’t as optimistic and believe the Commanders could have a new stadium by 2031, perhaps sooner. In the short term, Harris’ group thinks they will need $100 million set aside for “immediate structural repairs” to FedEx Field, which opened in 1997.
Again, while nothing is imminent, these things move fast, and once the NFL approves Harris, things could move even faster.
The series is on a two-week break before hosting consecutive events in Bangkok, Thailand, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Greg Norman is heading to Washington, D.C. to talk L-I-V.
LIV Golf’s CEO and commissioner is set to visit with members of Congress this week on Capitol Hill to discuss the upstart circuit that features 54-hole tournaments, no cuts, shotgun starts and massive paydays. The news was first reported by Politico.
“LIV Golf is coming to the Hill this week to meet with lawmakers from both parties,” LIV Golf confirmed to Golfweek. “Given the PGA Tour’s attempts to stifle our progress in reimagining the game, we think it’s imperative to educate members on LIV’s business model and counter the Tour’s anti-competitive efforts.”
Backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf has been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to “sportswash” its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
The ongoing power struggle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour for professional golf supremacy has seen both organizations lobby against the other on Capitol Hill, and it’s a fight that won’t end anytime soon.
Eleven golfers sued the PGA Tour for antitrust violations in August, but only seven remain after four players removed their names. When a judge in California denied the temporary restraining order that would have allowed three LIV players to compete in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, it also was revealed the antitrust case would begin in August of 2023 at the earliest. The United States Department of Justice is investigating the PGA Tour, as well.
Cameron Smith won LIV Golf’s Chicago event Sunday at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, by three shots over Peter Uihlein and Dustin Johnson. The series is on a two-week break before hosting consecutive events in Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 7-9, followed by Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 14-16.
“No one owns the game of golf. Golf is for everybody.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Unless you’re a fan of golf history or you’ve spent some time in our nation’s capital, chances are you’ve never heard of the Langston Golf Course.
For those unfamiliar, the public track in Northeast D.C. is named after John Mercer Langston, the first black man elected to Congress from Virginia and the first dean of the nearby Howard University School of Law, and opened its first nine holes back in 1939 (the back nine came later in 1955). Langston’s front nine were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, has been a safe haven for minority golfers over the years and has played host to the likes of boxing legends Joe Louis (who played an amateur event there in the 1940s), Mike Tyson (who loved the chicken wings) and Muhammad Ali.
“His limousine pulls up, and . . . he said to me, ‘I’ve never picked up a golf club before,’ and he reached out and got my putter,” remembers David Ross, a longtime regular at the course who met Ali on the putting green. Interactions like those were par for the course.
A few more celebrities were on the course’s driving range on Tuesday as part of a Wells Fargo Championship and First Tee skills clinic for the Greater Washington, D.C. chapter that featured PGA Tour professionals Chesson Hadley, Camilo Villegas and college stars Eugenio Chacarra and Jacob Bridgeman. Mr. Langston would’ve been pleased to also see four First Tee alumni and HBCU student-athletes participating and helping the kids: Jakari Harris (Hampton University class of 2022), Lennard Long (Morehouse College class of 2019), Elijah Royal (Fisk University class of 2021) and Joia Robertson (Fisk University class of 2025).
PGA Tour pro Chesson Hadley during a First Tee clinic at Langston Golf Course in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Simon Bruty for Wells Fargo)
“This place is home and has been treating me so well growing up, so just to see these kids out here has been an amazing opportunity, especially because I didn’t have this opportunity to see pros on the course so I’m glad they are able to,” said Long, who learned the game at Langston. “I wanted to be on Tour, I’m not gonna lie. But I’m happy that I’m with (the kids) and I can use all the knowledge that I’ve gained from my experiences and really give it to them because I didn’t have it at that age.”
“Lennard Long, I first met him when I started 10 years ago and he was 14 years old,” explained Clint Sanchez, the Executive Director for the First Tee’s Greater D.C. chapter. “He was our first kid that could really play. When he was nine or 10, he had never played before. So he learned the game in D.C. He’s our first kid that played in what was then called the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, he was the first one and now we haven’t looked back. We’ve had a kid every year play in that event, but Lennard started it.”
The program currently has 1,850 kids involved, with Sanchez projecting the number to grow to a record 2,000 by the end of the year.
“I think when the kids see the pros, whether it’s Chesson or Camillo or whoever, that’s just light-years away. I mean, there’s a totally different level,” said Sanchez. “But when they see some of the alums that have played college golf, that’s more relatable, and they see people that look like a lot of them. We have a very diverse program. I think you saw that here today. I think that’s very impactful when they see a young man, speaking of just Lennard right now, that grew up in our program, that’s a coach and that’s a mentor to them, and that can flat out play and that loves to play and loves to teach, that means a lot.”
The fun didn’t stop on Tuesday for the four HBCU students, as each played during the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship pro-am on Wednesday with defending champion and 20-time Tour winner Rory McIlroy.
“It was amazing,” said Long, who detailed how friendly and helpful his Tour partner was. “Asked him some tips for chipping and he was willing to give them to me, so I’m going to take them back and give them to our kids when I coach them so they’re really appreciative of it.”
“Yeah, I would just reiterate that it was unreal,” added Harris. “You see these pros on TV and you never think you’ll get a chance to see them, meet them in person let alone play with them, so it was an amazing experience for sure.”
The common theme of the day, putting aside how cliché the phrase has become, was growing the game and providing opportunities for more players to get involved.
“No one owns the game of golf. Golf is for everybody,” said Hadley. “I think it’s great that there are black people here, there are Asian people here, white people here, nobody owns the game of golf. Everybody should be involved.”
“It’s very important, because we need more people, more kids of color, more women playing this great game,” added Long. “So much business is done on the golf course. Once you get in the professional realm, this is a game that can be used as a tool to get to that next level, you know, not just on the PGA Tour, but then in the business room as well and getting that next promotion. That’s all I want to see from the kids is for them to be successful and to reach new heights.”
In just more than two years since its inception, the National Links Trust has developed a wealth of information that might help municipal golf operators around the country restore courses that are often considered a community’s gateway to the game.
Now the National Links Trust wants to share that information, starting with a symposium Nov. 8-10 in Washington D.C. More than 100 attendees are expected to discuss five pillars: sustainability, community impact, growing the game, architecture and alternative programming. Interested parties can learn more at nationallinkstrust.com.
Since its founding early in 2019, the non-profit National Links Trust surprised itself in some ways by earning the contract to renovate the National Park Service’s three golf courses in D.C.: East Potomac, Rock Creek and Langston.
The mission: provide accessible, affordable and engaging municipal golf courses to positively impact local communities across the U.S. That mission started in D.C., and the NLT hopes to expand its reach at the symposium and beyond.
The three D.C. courses have plenty of pedigree and have served their community as an introduction to golf and as civic hubs for decades. But as with many municipal golf courses, conditioning and funding ebbed and flowed, leaving the layouts in various states of disrepair after decades of deferred maintenance. The NLT was founded by golf-architecture experts Mike McMartin and Will Smith to address the problems. With pro-bono plans by course architects Tom Doak, Gil Hanse and Beau Welling, work has begun.
Historical photo of Rock Creek Golf Course in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy of National Links Trust)
“Things are going very well,” NLT CEO Sinclair Eaddy Jr. told Golfweek. “We continue to be very busy at all three golf courses. We’ve made some improvements to things like the golf shops and cart paths, with an eye toward moving toward the longer-term improvements.”
In tackling the three D.C.-area courses, the NLT has learned much about navigating many of the issues that municipal golf faces. It’s not as simple as growing grass. There are political pitfalls, funding issues, usage and accessibility problems that any community is likely to face. Golf has seen an incredible uptick since the COVID-19 pandemic began and as players look for relatively safe experiences outdoors, but saving a golf course – or three – involves much more than rounds played. The level of planning is intense, and NLT wants to share what it has learned.
“We think there’s a successful playbook for renovating and rehabilitating municipal golf courses,” Eaddy said. “We’re doing it here in Washington D.C., and NLT is really focused on the three facilities in the nation’s capital as a model for how to do this around the country.”
Eaddy said NLT has received requests for information from project operators around the country on how to establish leadership teams, recruit talented renovators, fundraise and more.
“Our goal, and this is part of why we created the symposium, is to be a thought leader about thoughtful rehabilitation and renovation of municipal golf courses,” Eaddy said. “That’s how we are able to contribute to other projects around the country right now. While we focus on Washington D.C., we have resources and partners in the industry who helped NLT in its bid to renovate the D.C. golf courses. …
“We think there are some potholes out there for people who are thinking about rehabilitating or renovating municipal golf courses. We’ve gone through that process, and we think we can be helpful to other individuals and organizations that are even considering these types of projects and let them know what the pitfalls are. The hardest process is not just the bricks and mortar or the grass and sand of golf courses. Part of it is project planning and coming up with a roadmap that makes sense for the golf course, the patrons and also the local officials. For most people and most groups, that is the hurdle.”
The NLT has recruited a considerable group to participate at the symposium. Guests include PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, USGA senior management director of public services Rand Jerris, PGA of America honorary president Suzy Whaley and more than a dozen other guests with expertise in everything from land finance to marketing.
On the golf architecture side, Doak, Welling and Jay Blasi – also a course architect and a Golfweek contributing writer – will present on the importance of good design.
Expertise in such a wide range of topics has worked for NLT, Eaddy said, and all these featured guests are willing to share what they have learned to promote community-based, affordable public-access golf.
“We want to be thought partners, Eaddy said, “and we want to help in any way we can.”
Hornets head coach James Borrego shared strong words of anger and frustration in the wake of riots in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego opened up his pregame media availability on Wednesday with strong words as riots in Washington D.C. earlier in the day turned violent as protesters invaded the Capitol building.
“It feels a little odd to play a game tonight, to be honest,” Borrego said. “The pain, the hurt in our country right now, it’s real. I have yet to be around our players as a whole, as a group. We will huddle up here in a bit and talk and let them share their feelings and thoughts. It’s disheartening. It’s disappointing. It’s embarrassing for our country to be at this point. It’s not the country I want my kids to inherit and it’s extremely sad.
“It’s hard not to be around my kids and my family at this time. But we have a job to do tonight and we’ll do that. But extremely disappointed and disheartened tonight.”
The Hornets and Hawks are slated to take the court at 7:30 p.m. but, like most Americans, minds were elsewhere on the day. The violence on Tuesday sparked up after a rally held by President Donald Trump in which he continued to push back on election results. Moments after his speech, crowds formed in front of the Capitol Building and eventually led to rioters breaking in and forcing House and Senate members to evacuate.
Borrego, his staff and the team had not yet gathered together after the day’s events as he spoke to the media. The team would gather pregame and have an open discussion, he said, where the team could share their thoughts and feelings on a situation bigger than basketball.
“Everybody deals with this differently and it’s hard to judge every person’s heart and mind in a situation like this,” Borrego said. “I’m just going to navigate as we go, I don’t know how every person on our staff, team, players feel at this moment. But this is a very difficult time for all of us to go out there and play a game. Now, we love this game. We love this sport and I believe our guys will get out there and compete and do their best at this time because I trust them.”
“It’s been a difficult time is what I can say,” he added said. “The last couple of hours have been very, very difficult. And I think about my family. This is a very difficult time for our country. It’s a very sad time for our country. We got a job to do tonight and we’ll do it you know but there this is a challenge this evening. I know our guys will be professional. They’ll get out there, they’ll compete, they’ll do their best. But I just want them to know that we’re here for them. They have an open platform to talk, to vent, to share. That’s who we are. That’s what we want to be about.
“Life is bigger than the game of basketball. There’s a bigger picture here and no bigger time, no bigger moment than today. And so, we carry on, we’ll fight tonight and we’ll compete.”
