By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Surely, the finale is approaching and the credits are about to roll as “Bryce Harper’s Unfortunate Offseason” fades to black.
Expected to be a blockbuster adventure, it has been a dud of a horror flick, with Harper and agent Scott Boras as the victims and the market playing the killer.
The latest slashing was delivered Tuesday by the Colorado Rockies, who signed their All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado to an eight-year contract that averages $32.5 million per year, a position-player record. Harper and Boras had barely recovered from the wounds San Diego inflicted by signing Manny Machado for $300 million, the richest free-agent contract in major sports history.
You might recall that Harper turned down $300 million from the Nationals. That was supposed to be his floor; other teams would erect the walls and ceiling. Boras had talked up Harper’s free agency for years, amid suggestions that the slugger could become baseball’s first $400 million player.
Three spring trainings ago, Harper said “don’t sell me short” when asked about a potential $400 million deal.
It’s safe to say he’ll come up short, not even close enough to require a measurement.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
A
shoe dropped last week, after another shoe – one worn by Duke superstar Zion
Williamson – exploded in a nationally televised game with former President
Barack Obama sitting courtside.
The
equipment malfunction sent chills through the basketball world, which breathed
again when Williamson’s injury was deemed a mild knee sprain. But the incident reignited
debate on NCAA shamateurism and the NBA draft’s age requirement. Once again, reasonable
folks wondered why elite prospects aren’t eligible to be drafted right away,
instead of one year after high school.
Last
Thursday, less than 24 hours after Williamson went down, USA Today reported
that the NBA had submitted a request to the NBA Players Association to drop the
minimum draft age to 18 and effectively end the “one-and-done” era. The timing
might not have been coincidental, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver hinted last
summer that such a move might occur.
It
wasn’t too long ago that Silver favored a change in the opposite direction,
raising the minimum age from 19 to 20.
I’m
thrilled that he’s come to his senses, though not everyone is on board.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
For
those who still play and still watch – for those who remain in love with the sport,
CTE worries and all – this is a fantastic time to revel in professional football.
While
the NFL remains unquestioned as the national champion of sports and TV broadcasts,
a pair of fledgling operations have emerged. Like remora attached to a whale, the
Alliance of American Football and the XFL hope to feed off the established
league’s excess of success.
The
XFL’s yet-to-be-named Washington franchise will announce its coach and general
manager on Thursday. Pep Hamilton, who played and coached at Howard University
and has extensive NCAA and NFL experience, is reportedly the dual-role choice.
Along
with former Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops, who earlier this month was introduced
as coach/GM of the XFL’s Dallas franchise, Hamilton would be league owner Vince
McMahon’s second impressive hire.
Meanwhile,
the AAF is enjoying its head start since launching two weeks ago, a year ahead
of the reincarnated XFL’s anticipated 2020 kickoff. Familiar names such as Steve
Spurrier, Mike Singletary, and Mike Martz roam the sidelines as head coaches. But
the AAF’s biggest early impact might’ve been delivered by someone with the
least name recognition: Tom Dundon.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Like his counterpart in the NFL, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is tasked
with taking teams’ obvious actions and pretending that something else is going
on.
Whereas Roger Goodell insists that Colin Kaepernick isn’t being blackballed
– despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary – Manfred contends that multiple
teams aren’t tanking – despite a bevy of unsigned free agents for the second
consecutive offseason.
“This
narrative that our teams aren’t trying is just not supported by the facts,”
Manfred told reporters Sunday during a news conference. “Our teams are trying.
Every single one of them wants to win. It may look a little different to
outsiders because the game has changed, [and] the way that people think about
the game, the way people think about putting a winning team together, has
changed. But that doesn’t mean they’re not trying.”
I
don’t doubt that every single team wants to win.
It’s
just far from being the No. 1 priority for most of them, especially in the
short-term.
If
winning occurs at some point, after a few years of low-priced players and barrel-scraping
payrolls, great. If not, oh well: The bottom line will remain plumb and juicy from
tens of millions in revenue-sharing dollars.
That’s
the type of “winning” that most teams prefer, regardless of win-loss records.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Sometimes
I fear we’ve permanently lost the ability to appreciate nuance, understand
relativity, and seek a middle ground. There’s little room for subtlety when
everyone is outraged and screams hot takes.
Moderation
is drowned and reasonability is strangled, leaving two camps at polar opposites
on the spectrum of extremism. Raw emotion and irrational impulses take
precedence, pushing aside sound logic and clear thinking.
Take,
for instance, the Cleveland Browns signing of halfback Kareem Hunt and the
subsequent uproar. Allow me to sum up the reaction: “Hunt physically abused a
woman! He shouldn’t be allowed to play! The Browns and the NFL don’t care about
domestic violence!”
At
the risk of being portrayed as someone who condones violence against woman, I
believe the Browns made a sound decision. I’m also on a tiny island, judging by
the predictable wave of blistering headlines.
“NFL
proves it has learned absolutely nothing.”
“Signing
Hunt shows where Cleveland’s priorities lie.”
“Hunt
to Browns shows hitting women is pardonable.”
You
get the gist. Let’s start with that last one, because it’s the most vexing and
most puzzling to me regarding Hunt’s offense and punishment.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times
“The reality is that this game [football]
destroys people’s brains – not everyone’s, but a substantial number. It’s not a
small number, it’s a considerable number. It destroys their brains.” –
Sportscaster Bob Costas
That statement, delivered in November 2017 at a University of Maryland
journalism symposium, can be taken a few different ways.
You might argue that the link between football and brain damage is
nonexistent. The NFL has embraced that position for decades, much like Big
Tobacco did before it admitted the connection between smoking and lung cancer.
Former running back Merril Hoge picked up the mantle last fall when he released
“Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football.”
(It should be noted that Hoge was forced into retirement at age 29 after suffering multiple concussions – including one that sent him into cardiac arrest – and he won a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Chicago Bears doctor who failed to warn about the severity of concussions. I heard Hoge is working on a follow-up title in the “Brainwashed” series: “The Bad Science Behind Climate Change and the Plot to Destroy Fossil Fuels.)
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis should reconsider.
He
was adamant three weeks ago, declaring that his team “will never, ever tank.”
Whereas most objective observers saw good reason for the Wizards to adopt a
long-term view, Leonsis said he was all-in for chasing a meaningless playoff.
Except he thinks it’s worthwhile.
I’ve
gone man-to-man, every player I’ve been interviewing and talking to, they all
think we have enough to make the playoffs and win a first round,” Leonsis told
reporters during Washington’s trip to London. “So I got to believe in what
they’re saying.”
Actually,
he doesn’t.
He
could choose to believe his non-lying eyes, which might’ve teared up after Washington’s
latest misfortune.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
The
NFL was riding high entering Super Bowl 53, coming off an exciting regular
season and scintillating games in the conference championships. Scoring was up,
interest was revived, and complaints were down – not counting an egregious
missed call that renewed debate on instant replay.
Life
was good for commissioner Roger Goodell and his 32 bosses. Sunday’s matchup
featured the old, faithful New England Patriots, versus the new, exhilarating Los
Angeles Rams. One coach-quarterback combo is headed to the Hall of Fame, and the
other has been anointed football’s next great thing.
Then
the game was played.
Calling
it a letdown is too kind, too gentle.
The
teams took our anticipation and spiked it, like an offensive lineman who gets
overly excited when handed the ball after a touchdown. They took our expectancy and crushed it, like a
gunner slamming a punt returner who should’ve signaled for a fair catch They
took our longing for a fantastic finale and served up one of the dullest,
most-boring Super Bowls in recent memory.
Only
fans of the Patriots and New Orleans Saints could enjoy the 13-3 snoozer that
resulted in yet another celebration for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
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