Ted Leonsis
Leonsis at a Wizards game in 2011
Born	Theodore J. Leonsis (1957-01-08) January 8, 1957 (age 55) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Residence	Potomac, Maryland[1]
Education	Georgetown University
Occupation	Owner, Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics, Verizon Center, Chairman SnagFilms, Clearspring Technologies, Revolution Money
Net worth	$1 billion[2]
Religion	Greek Orthodox[3]
Website
Ted's Take

Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York^[4]) is an Internet pioneer, sports team owner, venture capital investor, filmmaker, author and philanthropist. His early new media company, Redgate Communications was acquired by America Online in 1994, and Leonsis became a senior AOL executive for the next 13 years. He is the majority owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals, the NBA's Washington Wizards, the WNBA's Washington Mystics and the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.^[5] He serves as Founder and Chairman of SnagFilms, vice chairman of Groupon and on the board of American Express and other companies. Leonsis has produced documentary films such as the Peabody and the Emmy Award-winning Nanking and is the author of The Business of Happiness.

Biography[link]

Leonsis was born to Greek American parents in Brooklyn, and spent his early years there.^[6] His parents worked as a waiter and a secretary.^[7] After skipping 8th grade, Leonsis attended Brooklyn Technical High School but before graduation, his family moved back to their hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.^[8] He graduated from Lowell High School in 1973 and Georgetown University in 1977.^[9] After graduation, Leonsis moved back to his parents' home in Lowell and began working for Wang Laboratories.^[8] In 2005, he was honored as one of Lowell High School's Distinguished Alumni for reaching the highest level of accomplishment and possessing the highest standards of integrity and character.

After surviving an airplane crash landing in 1983, he drafted a list of 101 things to do in life and has completed many of the tasks, including owning a sports franchise.^[10]

Leonsis speaking to the Tech Council of Maryland.

His career with AOL started in 1993 when AOL purchased his marketing company, Redgate Communications Corp. to help AOL compete with Microsoft.^[11] Under his leadership, AOL increased its membership from under 800,000 members to over 8 million, and their annual revenue increased from $100 million to $1.5 billion.^[12] He held numerous positions at AOL during his years there, completing his tenure and retiring in 2006 as the audience group's president and vice-chairman.^[13] He now serves as vice chairman emeritus of AOL.

Leonsis was named Businessperson of the Year in 2001 by Washington Business Journal^[14] and Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine.^[15] In 2009, Leonsis was named one of Washington's Tech Titans by Washingtonian Magazine.^[16] In July 2010, Leonsis was elected to the Board of Directors of American Express, he chairs the New Innovation and Technology Committee.^[17] In December 2008, Leonsis was named to the board of NutriSystem, Inc.^[18] In June 2009, Leonsis was appointed as member of Alcatel-Lucent Board's Technology Committee.^[19]

Leonsis currently serves as founding chairman of SnagFilms, a social media website that lets viewers watch and share documentary films.^[20] He is also chairman of Clearspring Technologies.^[21] Leonsis also serves on the board of Groupon^[22] and Rosetta Stone.^[23] Leonsis is currently on the board of directors at Georgetown University, his alma mater.^[24] In 2010 Leonsis authored, The Business of Happiness.

In early 2011, Leonsis announced his purchase of Marwood, a historic 13-acre estate in Potomac, Maryland.^[25] He acquired the property, a chateau-style riverfront mansion, for $20 million after selling homes in McLean, Virginia and Vero Beach, Florida.^[1] The 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) estate was once the home of Joseph P. Kennedy,^[26] summer home of Franklin Roosevelt,^[27] and was owned by the Gore family from 1942-1995.^[28] Leonsis purchased the home from Chris Rogers, a telecommunications executive ^[29] who acquired Leonsis' home in McLean. The house, which was built in 1926,^[30] or 1930 by Samuel Martin,^[31] has 8 bedrooms, 11 full baths,^[32] and parking space for 10 cars.^[30] By some accounts, the estate is haunted,^[33][34][35] and has been called the "creepiest" home in Potomac.^[36]

Leonsis' son, Zachary, graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 2011 and is a volunteer for Street Soccer USA.^[37] His daughter, Elle, is a student at Georgetown University.^[38]

Sports team ownership[link]

Leonsis watches Wizards player John Wall in 2010

Leonsis is the founder, majority owner, chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the sports and entertainment group which on June 9, 2010 became owners of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL's Washington Capitals and the WNBA's Washington Mystics and the Verizon Center.^[39] Monumental Sports also manages Kettler Capitals Iceplex and George Mason University’s Patriot Center.^[40] Leonsis publishes his e-mail address and responds to fans’ requests. He also walks around the Verizon Center during games and uses Facebook and Twitter to communicate his thoughts and urges players and staff to do the same.^[41]

Leonsis has a "hands on" approach to management of his sports teams.^[42] Leonsis has sought to roll-back changes to the Wizards and Capitals franchises that coincided with the opening of the Verizon Center in 1997. In 2007, he changed the Capitals team logo and its colors back to red, white, and blue and has done the same with the Wizards. In May 2011, the team unveiled new Wizards uniforms and logos, receiving positive responses from media, fans, players and alumni.^[43] Additionally, he had taken under consideration returning their name to the Bullets,^[44] though critics said that this would "send the wrong message" about gun violence in Washington.^[45]

In the early years of his ownership, the Capitals went on to win back-to-back Southeast Division titles in 2000 and 2001, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the summer of 2001, the Capitals traded for Jaromir Jagr and signed him to what was at the time, the largest contract in NHL history. After Jagr was traded in 2004, Leonsis received overwhelming criticism from fans,^[46] and was involved in a physical altercation with a 20-year old fan, Jason Hammer, who led a mocking chant of Leonsis during the game and hoisted a sign chiding him. Hammer confronted Leonsis, who grabbed and threw him to the ground. Leonsis was fined $100,000 and suspended for a week, during which he was prohibited from having any contact with the team.^[47]

After purchasing the Wizards, Leonsis criticized the NBA's salary cap at a luncheon with business leaders. He was fined $100,000 by the league, for "unauthorized public comments regarding the league's collective bargaining negotiations."^[48] In 2010, journalist Damien Cox, author of the Ovechkin Project, a biography of Alexander Ovechkin, wrote that Leonsis was trying to circumvent the NHL's salary cap when signing Ovechkin’s contract.^[49] He also alleged that Leonsis was bribing bloggers for positive coverage of the Capitals.^[50] Leonsis said that Cox was angry that he did not receive the access to Ovechkin that he wanted and defended his support for the league.^[51][52]

In 2009-10 the Capital earned the NHL's President's Trophy as the team that finished with the most points in the league during the regular season. ^[53]

The 2010-11 season marked the highest attendance in franchise history, drawing 754,309 fans.^[54] The Capitals, like other teams, have raised ticket prices in recent years.^[55][56] In 2001, Leonsis claimed to have written a computer program that prevented Pittsburgh Penguins fans (the Capitals first-round opponent) from purchasing tickets online. When asked if the actions were unfair, Leonsis stated, "I don't care. I'm going to keep doing it."^[57] Again in 2009, he received criticism for preventing visiting team fans from purchasing Capitals playoff tickets.^[58]

Filmmaking[link]

Leonsis has become involved in film investing as a philanthropic interest, which he calls "filmanthropy". "The driver of filmanthropy is that the world is more screwed up every day and people want to call attention to issues," he told the Financial Times.^[59] His first production was the documentary Nanking which made its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.^[60] The 2009 Best Historical Programming Emmy and 2008 Peabody Award winning^[61] film is based on the best selling book The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. In 2008, Leonsis produced Kicking It, a documentary by Susan Koch about the 2006 Homeless World Cup. The film, narrated by actor Colin Farrell, featured residents of Afghanistan, Kenya, Dublin, Charlotte, North Carolina, Madrid and Saint Petersburg. The film premiered in January, 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival and is being distributed by Liberation Entertainment, Netflix and ESPN. A third documentary,A Fighting Chance, tells the story of Kyle Maynard, who despite being born without arms or legs has become a nationally ranked wrestler, motivational speaker and bestselling author.^[62]

Philanthropy[link]

Leonsis is a mentor through the Hoop Dreams program. Through Hoop Dreams, Leonsis was able to guide Michael Hendrickson into and through his first choice college. Leonsis and Hendrickson continue this relationship today.^[63] About Hoop Dreams, Leonsis has stated, “"The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund is extraordinary and this Tournament really brings together so many different segments of the city to do something good for the youth of DC. Together, we can help make the educational dreams of hard working students a reality."^[64]

In addition, Leonsis is a contributor to the See Forever Foundation and to YouthAIDS.^[65][66] He also sponsors his own philanthropic foundation, the Leonsis Foundation, dedicated to creating "opportunities for children that enable them to reach their highest potential." The Foundation "partners with and supports organizations with the creativity, skill and dedication to help children overcome obstacles and achieve their goals."^[67]

On November 20, 2010, Leonsis was inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame due to his work in AOL, Washington’s major sports, filmmaking and donations to local charities.^[68]

Bibliography[link]

• Leonsis, Ted. 1984. Software Masters for Pfs. Clayton: Warner Books.
• Leonsis, Ted. 1984. Software Masters for Pes: Apple Version (48k). Clayton: Warner Books.
• Chposky, James and Ted Leonsis. 1988. Blue Magic: The People, Power and Politics Behind the IBM Personal Computer. New York: Facts on File Publications.
• Leonsis, Ted. 2010. The Business of Happiness: 6 Secrets to Extraordinary Success in Work and Life. Regnery Publishing, Inc.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ted Leonsis

• Official site
• The Business Of Happiness discussion at Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, February 2010

JaVale McGee

McGee with the Wizards
No. 34 – Denver Nuggets
Center/Power Forward
Personal information
Born	(1988-01-19) January 19, 1988 (age 24) Flint, Michigan
Nationality	American
High school	Detroit Country Day, Providence Christian, Hales Franciscan
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	252 lb (114 kg)
Career information
College	Nevada
NBA Draft	2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Washington Wizards
Pro career	2008–present
Career history
2008–2012	Washington Wizards
2012–present	Denver Nuggets

JaVale McGee (born January 19, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected 18th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is a center who is listed at 7'0" and 252 lb.

High school and college[link]

McGee was born in Flint, Michigan, and attended two high schools in Michigan: Detroit Country Day and Providence Christian, before transferring to Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago.^[1] McGee was the starting center for the University of Nevada. According to Hales Franciscan coach Gary London, McGee's natural position in college was ideally small forward, and that he could play both forward spots.^[1] After his sophomore campaign, in which he averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, shooting 53 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range, McGee decided to hire an agent and declare for the 2008 NBA Draft.^[2]

NBA[link]

McGee was selected 18th overall by the Wizards in the 2008 NBA Draft. On July 9, 2008, he signed a two-year, $2.4 million deal with the Wizards.^[3]

On January 9, 2010, McGee was fined $10,000 by the Washington Wizards for participating in Gilbert Arenas' antics before a game on January 5, 2010 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Arenas was being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but made light of the accusations by pointing his finger at his teammates, as if he were shooting them. His teammates were photographed smiling and laughing with him.^[4]

On January 6, 2011, McGee was chosen to participate in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[5] McGee was the first Wizard to ever participate in the contest. He finished in second place, losing to Blake Griffin. He was the first player to use three balls at one time in a dunk contest, which was later cited by the Guinness World Records as the most basketballs dunked in a single jump. The third ball was passed to him from teammate John Wall.

On March 15, 2011, in a 98–79 loss against the Chicago Bulls, McGee notched his first career triple-double, recording 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 blocks. His career high 12 blocks is the most since Keon Clark had 12 on March 23, 2001.^[6] However, he was criticized for taking ill-advised shots in the fourth quarter to ensure he reached 10 points while his team was being blown out, and even received a technical foul for excessive celebration by pulling himself on the rim after a dunk for his final points. In response to the criticism, McGee said, "I got a triple-double. Who can say they got a triple-double? I’m not really worried about it."^[7] McGee became widely known for his eccentric playing style which sometimes resulted in relatively uncommon plays. While widely ridiculed for highlight reel gaffes, McGee averaged over 8 rebounds and 10 points over the 2011 and 2012 seasons with the Wizards.

On March 15, 2012, McGee was traded to the Denver Nuggets along with Ronny Turiaf in a deal that sent Nenê to the Wizards.^[8]

International[link]

McGee received an invite to the United States men's national basketball team's mini camp in the summer of 2009 and again in the summer of 2010.^[9] McGee played with Team USA in a scrimmage at Radio City Music Hall during the 2010 World Basketball Festival^[10] but after an uneven performance he did not play in the team's scrimmage against China at Madison Square Garden and was cut on August 15, 2010.^[11]

McGee visited the Philippines twice during the 2011 NBA lockout, first in exhibition games with NBA stars against players from the Philippine Basketball Association and the Smart Gilas national team, and then in a basketball clinic. McGee was later mentioned as a naturalization candidate for the Philippine national team.^[12]

Personal[link]

His father, 6'10" George Montgomery, was a 1985 second-round draft selection by the Portland Trail Blazers.^[1] His mother, Pamela McGee, was a USC standout and WNBA star for the Los Angeles Sparks and Sacramento Monarchs.^[3] McGee is the first son of a WNBA player to ever play in the NBA.^[13]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association players with 10 or more blocks in a game

Notes[link]