Posted on December 31st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Robert Griffin III is Washington’s MVP and easily could be the NFL’s Rookie of the Year. But Alfred Morris earned both distinctions for the regular season finale. On national TV with Dallas in town and a playoff berth at stake, Morris delivered a statement Sunday and made history in the process.
RG3 had a noticeable hitch in his giddy-up, still recovering from the right knee injury he suffered in Week 14. His passing was off, too, as he recorded a season-low nine completions (though a couple of his 18attempts were dropped). Griffin managed to scamper six times for 63 yards, running often enough to keep Dallas honest on read-option plays, but this clearly was his worst game of the season.
No worries. The other half of Washington’s two-headed rookie monster — “Flash & Cash” — was more than capable to pick up the slack.
Morris set career highs in attempts (33), yards (200) and touchdowns (three) in a 28-18 victory, killing Dallas’ playoff hopes and breaking Washington’s single-season rushing record. The Redskins called his number time and again, and he didn’t let them down.
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Posted on December 30th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Mike Brown last month, just five games into the season, even though the starting point guard was injured and the starting center still was recovering from back surgery. The Brooklyn Nets fired coach Avery Johnson on Thursday, with a 14-14 record, even though he won Coach of the Month in November with a totally revamped team and players still learning each other.
“This isn’t about the fair game,” Johnson told reporters during his farewell news conference. “A lot of time, it’s about the blame game. Because for the most part in this business, the coach always gets blamed. Whether it’s fair or not isn’t the point. It’s just the way it happens.”
Johnson and Brown deserved more time, but they worked in the biggest markets for impatient owners with high expectations in a microwave culture. That was a bad combination, especially for Johnson, in the final year of his contract with no extension in sight. The fact that Brown was jettisoned with nearly three full seasons left on his deal just shows that owners with deep pockets can be extremely impulsive.
But here’s where Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov can show much better instincts than the Lakers‘ ownership duo of Jerry and Jimmy Buss.
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Posted on December 29th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Where has the time gone?
January: It’s hard to believe 12 months have passed since we heard reports about the Nationals interest in Prince Fielder. Passing on the portly first baseman might have been Washington’s best move, although Detroit made out great. The Tigers signed Fielder in January, which also stands out for Joe Paterno’s death, Alabama’s second football title in three seasons and Flip Saunders‘ firing as Wizards coach.
February: “Linsanity” was one of the most incredible stories imaginable, a script that Disney would reject for flagrant hokiness. But Hollywood would be interested in another item from that month, when 19-year-old Bryce Harper expressed his desire to emulate Joe Namath off the field. Based on his production in winning Rookie of the Year, Harper can do whatever he likes on his own time.
March: Our tendency to create phonetic links between every scandal and a certain D.C. hotel continued. Too bad we couldn’t pay somebody to make Bountygate go away; that saga made our heads hurt worse than a helmet-to-helmet shot. Much better was the thrilling sensation (personal brackets notwithstanding) of No. 15 seeds Norfolk State and Lehigh upsetting No. 2 seeds Missouri and Duke within a four-hour span. Those were super-shiny moments.
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Posted on December 25th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
No one has to convince Darryl Hill about the value of sports in society. He has been a first-hand witness for a half-century, ever since he enrolled at the University of Maryland and became the first African-American to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hill had to sit out in 1962 after transferring from the Naval Academy, but he integrated the ACC in 1963 and emerged as the Terrapins’ top receiver. He has been honored this year during 50th anniversary celebrations at Maryland and Clemson, and reflected on his accomplishment in various articles.
“Sports put everyone on the same playing field and same level,” Hill said in a recent phone interview. “I fought against discrimination in college sports so that young African-Americans and people of color could play sports at the college of their choice.”
Now the 69-year-old native Washingtonian has turned his attention to a different type of discrimination in sports, a form of bias that is growing but isn’t grasped by many folks. His new battle entails breaking down barriers associated with cost, not color.
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Posted on December 24th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Once again, it’s to check off some items on my “TIDU List” — Things I Don’t Understand:
• How copious bowl games are a good thing.
In the midst of 33 games in 24 days, ESPN stretches the definition of “Bowl Week” and our limit for mediocrity. A dozen teams have .500 records and another — Georgia Tech — is 6-7. Fans can consume 14 consecutive hours of games Dec. 29, including one at Yankee Stadium, where the forecast calls for 30 degrees and possibly snow.
The “less is more” concept should apply to bowl season.
• Why Nick Saban would stay at Alabama.
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Posted on December 21st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
At times we forget about the humanity within our gladiators, viewing them solely as padded combatants who perform amazing athletic feats for our entertainment and pleasure.
We can grow angry when they hold out for more money or demand to be traded. We can question their effort when they come up short or sit out with “minor” injuries. We can feel betrayed when they don’t offer home-team discounts or accept competitive deals and leave for other markets.
They’re far from sympathetic figures, as many earn more in one season than most of us earn in a decade. But the notion that athletes should show loyalty to their team always has struck me as absurd. Teams are only faithful until they find better and/or cheaper options, at which point incumbents are tossed like junk mail.
Yet, it’s hard to not feel bad about Tim Tebow’s treatment in New York.
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Posted on December 19th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
In a season headed nowhere fast, the Washington Wizards‘ star is unlikely to play any time soon. With one-quarter of the campaign in the books, John Wall says his chances of returning are “50-50.”
We’re not there yet, but we’re approaching the juncture where it must be asked: What’s the point of Wall suiting up this season?
The future looked much brighter Friday when Washington released an encouraging statement about Wall’s troublesome left knee. But three days after an orthopedic specialist talked about Wall “ramping up his activity level,” the point guard took the raised expectations and tamped them back down.
“You never know how it’s going to go,” Wall told reporters Monday. “You just hope it heals the right way. You don’t want to miss a whole season, but if it comes to it, you have to. I’m not trying to think that far ahead.”
Then, please, allow me: If Wall isn’t ready about a month from now, midway through the schedule, the Wizards probably should keep him sidelined.
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Posted on December 17th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Big East’s chickens haven’t come home to roost. They’ve come back to destroy the place, ripping off the ceiling, knocking down the walls and smashing up the foundation. They’ve come home and created a shambles, just like the Big East has decimated Conference USA, twice.
As the old saying goes, what goes around can kick your behind on the return trip.
That’s happened Saturday, when Georgetown and six other “basketball centric” schools announced they’re breaking away from the fabled hoops league.
Once upon a time, the Big East was content to rank among the nation’s top men’s basketball conferences. Charter member Georgetown was the national runner-up in 1982 — just three years after the league formed — and won the title in 1984. The next season, three-quarters of the Final Four hailed from the conference, a feat no other league accomplished before or since.
By 1989, Seton Hall and Syracuse had reached Final Fours as well. Founding-member UConn joined the list in 1999, winning the first of its three national championships. But life wasn’t good enough for the Big East after the Huskies won the title in 2004.
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Posted on December 15th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
I was driving my youngest daughter to school Thursday when a text message appeared on my cell phone: “Sup Deron. Wats ur take on RF3 (sic). Real Brutha or a cornball who don’t wanna b a Bruhtha.” It was from a friend, ESPN commentator Rob Parker.
Not wanting to text and drive, I didn’t answer right away and actually forgot about it. But Parker called after I returned home and we chatted about the subject for 10 minutes before he had to leave. “I’m about to go on,” he said.
Moments later, he was on “First Take,” questioning an athlete’s blackness with references to a white fiancée and Republican leanings. The controversial segment outraged viewers, blew up cyberspace and earned him a suspension – with the threat of more severe consequences looming.
I imagine this is what it feels when you’re the last person to speak to someone before he or she harms themself. You wonder if your conversation was a contributing factor. You wonder if you should have done anything differently. You wonder if you could have said something to steer him in the opposite direction.
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Posted on December 13th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Someone needs to give NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a hug. Or a shoulder to cry on.
In the last week alone, he has been rocked by an unfavorable ruling in Bountygate, criticism of the league’s drunk driving policy and questions about players’ gun ownership. Litigation on concussions and tweaks to player-safety rules are ongoing concerns.
The calendar can’t flip to 2013 fast enough for Goodell. Next year can’t be any worse … unless New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma wins his defamation lawsuit.
Maybe that’s why Goodell has mentioned ideas like expanding the playoff field and eliminating kickoffs. Talking about such things helps to deflect attention from the league’s mess. But it doesn’t decrease the stench.
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