Posted on May 18th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
A funny thing happened on the way to resolution of the New Orleans Saints’ alleged bounty program: The matter didn’t go away when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended four players earlier this month, after previously sanctioning the team and management.
The NFL had spoken, and that was supposed to be that. Goodell reinforced his reputation as an iron-fisted ruler who liberally doles out sentences, serving as judge, jury and executioner. The Saints’ players would take their medicine, just like the coaches and general manager took theirs, and the issue would die.
But Jonathan Vilma didn’t get that script. The linebacker and so-called ringleader, who received a yearlong suspension, has gone rogue. He slapped Goodell with a defamation lawsuit on Thursday, claiming that the commissioner made false statements that trashed Vilma’s reputation and hindered his ability to be hired as a pro-football player.
The suit claims that Goodell “relied on, at best, hearsay, circumstantial evidence and lies” when he made comments about Vilma regarding the NFL’s investigation. According to the league, Vilma offered $10,000 in cash to any player who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of a 2009 playoff game, and he pledged the same amount to anyone who knocked Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the following playoff game.
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Posted on May 18th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
And then there were two. Mark Turgeon replaced Gary Williams as Maryland’s men’s basketball coach last May. Exactly one year later, only two players from the old regime remain at College Park. So let’s hear it for the sole survivors, rising senior James Padgett and rising junior Pe’Shon Howard.
The housecleaning was unplanned and a bit unsavory. But it actually works out well for Turgeon, whose first recruiting class now has more space to make its mark.
Would-be junior guard Terrell Stoglin and his ACC-leading 21.6 points per game won’t be back to alternately carry and bury the Terps. That should keep Turgeon’s gray patch from expanding further. Stoglin’s ability to exasperate and exhilarate — often on the same possession — was unparalleled.
But his off-the-court decision-making was as questionable as when he had the ball, considering the one-year suspension (reportedly for marijuana use) that prompted his entry into the NBA draft.
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Posted on May 17th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Prior to Game 1 of the Miami Heat’s series against the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James accepted his third NBA Most Valuable Player award. Then he went out and showed why, delivering a brilliant performance Sunday with 32 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a victory. The Heat endured the entire second half without injured forward Chris Bosh, one of the team’s three best players and its most important big man.
Game 2 was a different story Tuesday, but mainly in the fact that Miami lost. James had another fine outing, finishing with 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals while carrying the team in the first and fourth quarters. But he missed two crucial free throws that would’ve tied the game with a minute left. And he failed to take over down the stretch, passing the ball to teammates instead.
I could’ve told you what would come next. Commentators claiming that James was more coward than king (again). Armchair psychoanalysts pondering whether James is too unselfish or too insecure at crunch time. A chorus of fans flooding James with criticism and “LeChoke” hashtags on Twitter.
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Posted on May 15th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The fans who wildly cheer the team wanted Dale Hunter back. So did the players, firmly convinced that his way is the right way. Officials in the organization wanted Hunter back, too, enamored with his firm hand and no-nonsense approach.
And all of those folks were overjoyed Monday because Hunter decided to return … to London, Ontario.
More than the London Knights‘ fans, players and employees, Hunter thrilled his closest loved ones as well. Ultimately, the Washington Capitals‘ coaching gig was no match for Hunter’s connection to his family, farm and Ontario Hockey League franchise about 57 miles from the Hunters’ hometown.
“It was a tough decision to make but it’s still the right thing for me and my family,” Hunter said Monday. “It’s a family business, and I’ll do anything that’s best for the business.”
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Posted on May 14th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The hits keep on coming in the NFL. Not the brain-rattling, bone-breaking blows that can occur during the season on any given Sunday, but wave after wave of negative publicity, mounting lawsuits and critical commentaries. It’s all part of our ongoing wrestling match, which pits our love for football against the game’s regretful consequences.
When former NFL linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide with a gunshot to his chest earlier this month, it reminded us of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who took his life in similar fashion in February last year. Duerson wanted his brain to be studied and researchers discovered the same trauma-induced disease – chronic traumatic encephalopathy – found in more than 20 deceased players.
Last week, Hall of Fame receiver Art Monk joined the growing group of former NFL players who are suing the league for allegedly failing to protect them against the impact of concussions during their playing careers. According to NFLConcussionLitigation.com, approximately 2,023 total plaintiffs are named in 73 complaints against the NFL.
All of that led New England receiver Chad Ochocinco to write an open letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, stating that we’ve reached “a crucial point in the history of football.” Ochocinco, who said “the foundation of the game is in jeopardy” and Goodell is going to shape the future, suggested that marketing is part of the league’s problem.
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Posted on May 12th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Popeye Jones played for seven teams during 11 seasons in the NBA, being a good teammate, doing the dirty work and soaking up knowledge –- which helped him land an assistant coach gig with the Brooklyn Nets. But his three sons didn’t carry on his lifelong love affair. They’re all accomplished hockey players, especially 17-year-old Seth Jones, who very well might be the top overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft.
Jones has been the youngest player on the U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team the last two years, helping them to consecutive gold medals in the world championships, most recently last month. His size, skills and instincts placed him among the nation’s most sought-after college recruits, a 205-pound silky-smooth skater standing 6-foot-3.
But Jones decided to take a different route to an eventual pro career, opting to join the Western Hockey League instead of an NCAA program. According to the College Hockey Blog, Jones is “one of the rare prospects that the college game will be worse off for not getting a chance to experience, but also one of the rare prospects whom you can’t blame for making the decision he did, even as biased as we college fans can be.”
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Posted on May 10th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
No one would suggest that Carmelo Anthony is equal to or better than LeBron James (except maybe Melo himself), and no would suggest that the New York Knicks had a shot at beating the Miami Heat. But looking at the superstars and their respective teams can be instructive for would-be players and wanna-be general managers.
First, remember that the Knicks didn’t want Anthony as much as he wanted them. He was the consolation prize after New York went all-in during the “Summer of LeBron” tour in 2010. The Knicks reportedly had James Gandolfini reprise his role as Tony Soprano for a recruiting video, knowing that James is a huge fan of the HBO series. The pitch also included testimonials from Willis Reed, Mark Messier, Reggie Jackson and Earl Monroe. Famous New Yorkers Spike Lee, Rudy Giuliani and Chris Rock took part as well.
When James made his “Decision” to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on South Beach, the Knicks‘ fate was sealed, seemingly along with the rest of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks responded by granting Anthony’s wish and bringing him to New York at the following trade deadline, sending four players, three draft picks and $3 million to Denver in exchange.
After watching the Knicks go 1-8 in two first-round playoff series with Anthony, including the series against Miami that concluded Wednesday, it appears that New York got snookered.
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Posted on May 10th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
You might ask what Terrell Owens was thinking when he agreed to appear on the Dr. Phil show. Let’s hope that the cash-strapped former NFL star was well-compensated for showing up. But even then, you’d like to think Owens could earn money in a more dignified manner than going on national TV for a contentious meeting with three of the four women who bore his children.
I wasn’t a big fan of his foray into indoor football earlier this year, but that’s a lot better than putting his dysfunctional relationships on full blast. He’s not denying paternity, but he might as well go on Maury Povich’s show next. It can’t be more dramatic or embarrassing than what Owens endured Tuesday.
Owens has always loved the spotlight and sought it earnestly. But listening to three women detail how lousy you are at being a dad isn’t the sort of attention you should find rewarding. It’s certainly a huge comedown from the eponymous venture he enjoyed on VH1.
The women, identified only by their first names, offered a laundry list of grievances. Kimber said that Owens owed thousands of dollars in child-support payments and had only seen their daughter 12 times in the 7-year-old girl’s entire life. But T.O. had an explanation.
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Posted on May 10th, 2012
Cris Carter
By DERON SNYDER
They have been part of football for as long as the game has been played. They have ridden the evolutionary wave from leather helmets and single wings to polyurethane shells and four wide. They have been so ingrained in the culture that no one gave them a second look.
Until recently. Now the NFL is in a new-age bind thanks to those age-old truths — bounties and concussions.
After accepting them with winks and nods all these years, the league has launched an all-out assault to eliminate them.
It’s the right thing to do, even though it appears self-serving and hypocritical to some critics. New Orleans Saints fans, in particular, contend that their team was unfairly punished for a “bounty” program that has existed on some level throughout football. On Tuesday, we learned that offensive players could be as guilty as defensive players.
Former All-Pro receiver Cris Carter said he used the measure to protect himself during his 16-year NFL career. “First time I’ve ever admitted it, but I put a bounty on guys before,” Carter said on ESPN’s Hill & Schlereth Show. “… If a guy tries to take me out, a guy takes a cheap shot on me? I put a bounty on him right now!”
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Posted on May 8th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Washington Nationals didn’t shine in their first coast-to-coast broadcast since Nationals Park opened in 2008. ESPN’s audience for Sunday Night Baseball saw Philadelphia deliver a 9-3 beating and watched Washington outfielder Jayson Werth suffer a broken wrist.
To the uninitiated, the five-time NL East champs simply routed the perennial also-rans, inexplicably featured in prime time. But well before Jordan Zimmermann’s first pitch that evening, observers across the country knew that Washington is an up-and-coming force.
Residents of our metropolitan area might be slower to realize the Nats’ new status, which is perfectly understandable. Considering the team’s losing ways since it relocated from Montreal, and the 33-season drought in D.C. prior to 2005, would-be fans’ recent options merely went from no baseball to bad baseball.
That’s OK. The Nats have an entire summer to get locals up to speed and show that things have changed.
As my colleague Patrick Hruby reported in Tuesday’s article on the Nats’ standing in D.C., there’s a long way to go. But unlike critics who bemoan the attendance, like when phenom Bryce Harper made his home debut last week, I think the market is coming around reasonably well.
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