(ADDING NHL REACTION) 

*Pollin sells Caps, will sell Wizards, MCI Center to AOL exec*
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WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Concerned over their long-term future,
Abe Pollin today agreed to sell the Washington Capitals and
announced he will sell the rest of his sports empire, including
the NBA's Washington Wizards, to America Online executive Ted
Leonsis. 

"I watched what happened to the Redskins and I did not want that
to happen to my teams, and I did not want my family, our fans or
this city to go through that kind of process," Pollin said at an
afternoon news conference at the MCI Center, which is part of
today's deal. 

"The decision to sell the Capitals came after extremely
difficult and painstaking consideration.  I deliberated for
months, consulted my family and finally came to the
determination that the time was right and the future owner, a
man I have come to know very well, was the kind of person I felt
would take good care of this franchise." 

In addition to the Capitals, Leonsis, president of AOL's
Interactive Properties Group, purchased a minority partnership
in Washington Sports and Entertainment and will purchase the
remaining portions when Pollin decides to sell.  Pollin remains
the majority partner in Washington Sports, which owns the
Wizards and the MCI Center. 

"I am not retiring.  I never planned to retire," said Pollin,
75.  "I will be actively involved in control of the business. My
goal is to bring another NBA championship to Washington." 

Leonsis is a graduate of Georgetown University and has local
roots as an executive with AOL, which is headquartered in
northern Virginia. 

"It is certainly a dream come true to own a professional sports
franchise in the nation's capital," said Leonsis. "Mr. Pollin
and I share the belief that sports are a local community trust
and that the fans are at the heart of everything we do.  I hope
to carry on that tradition.  Not many people have owned
franchises as long as Abe and I'm looking forward to being
mentored by him." 

Pollin, 75, has owned the Wizards franchise since 1964 and
brought hockey to the Washington area with the inception of the
Capitals in 1972.  The franchise entered the NHL in 1974 and
last year made its first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing
in four games to the Detroit Red Wings. 

But the Capitals failed to make the playoffs this season,
finishing a disappointing 12th in the Eastern Conference with a
31-45-6 record. 

"We're hoping to focus on building the Capitals organization to
be winners and to continually generate wins," Leonsis said.  "We
hope we can make a difference and we are committed to bring this
city a championship.  We are committed to connect with the
community." 

Leonsis also said he plans no changes to the team's management
group, which includes general manager George McPhee and coach
Ron Wilson. 

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met briefly with Leonsis and said
the league will begin its approval process as soon as possible. 

"We will move as quickly as we can, but there is no way to
speculate on a time frame," Bettman said in a prepared
statement.  "Based on everything we have heard, preliminarily,
we are not anticipating any problems."