By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Training
camp starts in five weeks for Washington, but we can’t help looking ahead.
Speculating isn’t just fun, it’s also a terrific way to kill time and feed the media
beast. Insatiable NFL fans would die of hunger without the year-round buffet of
opinion, conjecture and guesswork.
The
main course in D.C. is rookie Dwayne Haskins, whose position in the draft and
on the field make him the subject of national attention. The clock for
first-round quarterbacks starts ticking the moment they shake hands with commissioner
Roger Goodell, commencing a start-or-sit debate that can continue through the
entire regular season.
Consider
two rookie QBs in 2017.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes didn’t play until getting the start in Week 17, a meaningless game for the Chiefs’ playoff standing. Mahomes then started every game last year and won the league’s MVP award. Conversely, Houston’s Deshaun Watson was slated for bench duty but entered the season-opener at halftime. He threw 19 touchdown passes in his first seven games, immediately raising doubts about coach Bill O’Brien’s thought process.
Reducing
Mahomes to a spectator his first year worked out pretty well.
Allowing
Watson to play from the get-go netted positive results, too.
The
right course of action for teams and rookie QBs – including Washington and
Haskins – isn’t one-size-fits-all. But that doesn’t stop us from sharing hunches.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Maybe someone else has to die.
Maybe
another fatality would give baseball the kick-in-the-pants it needs to require protective
netting that extends down the foul lines in every ballpark.
Clearly,
it’s not enough that a 4-year-old girl was struck and injured by a foul ball last
month in Houston, a frightful experience that left Cubs outfielder Albert
Almora Jr. visibly shaken. If that horrific accident didn’t inspire a new
policy from commissioner Rob Manfred, you have to wonder if anything will do
the trick.
Anything
short of another death.
Sunday
at Dodger Stadium, a young woman was struck in the head by a foul ball and
taken to the hospital. Dodger Stadium happens to be the venue where a 79-year-old
woman was struck by a foul ball in August and died from her traumatic head
injury four days later.
On
Sunday, Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger placed his hand on his head and
gasped as he stared into the stands where the young woman sat, just beyond the
protective netting. “I saw it literally hit her face,” he told reporters
afterward. “It was tough.”
Tough.
That’s
essentially what MLB tells fans who might be struck by projectile travelling over
100 miles per hour.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
The
Washington Wizards have been wrong more often than not in the 40 years since
they last won 50 games.
They
were wrong in letting Michael Jordan run the operation. They were wrong in replacing
Jordan with Ernie Grunfeld. They were wrong in trusting Gilbert Arenas to be a
leader. They were wrong in betting on John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter as
a Big Three.
The
Wizards’ track record inspires little confidence and less faith. But that’s exactly
what owner Ted Leonsis is asking for as Washington enters Thursday’s NBA draft:
“Trust me.”
Goodness
knows we’d love to.
We
want to believe that the same steady hand behind the Washington Capitals can similarly
guide the Wizards to being perennial contenders, if not hang a championship
banner from the rafters. But at this moment, that vision seems as far-flung as ever
under Leonsis’ watch.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Six
days. That’s how long it took to turn the entire NBA upside down.
Six
days. Plus one ruptured Achilles tendon, one torn ACL and one blockbuster
trade.
Uncertainty
was rampant as the offseason neared, even before the sudden turn of events that
included Toronto ending Golden State’s reign. Plenty of intrigue still exists –
especially around the decision facing Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. But new,
unimaginable questions have surged to the fore.
Instead
of simply wondering where Kevin Durant will go if he leaves the Warriors, we also
must ponder his likely drop-off as a 31-year-old returning from Achilles
surgery. Instead of just weighing the odds that Klay Thompson would re-sign with
Golden State, we’re also forced to consider the ramifications created by his
knee injury.
And
instead of mulling whether the Warriors should be favored or merely co-favored to
reach a sixth consecutive Finals next season, we have to contemplate them possibly
missing the playoffs altogether … while the Los Angeles Lakers make a title run?
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Even
if no one leaned on Kevin Durant, of course he felt pressure.
Internally,
he was itching to get back, to resume his torrid affair with the game. He was
convinced he could help his teammates rally from a 3-1 series deficit, just
like the Warriors did in 2016 against him and Oklahoma City. He was determined
to prove – to himself and his critics – that he’s as strong as he’s skilled.
Externally,
he knew Golden State was on the verge of losing the NBA Finals. He heard media suggestions
that his absence with a calf strain was due to a lack of toughness and commitment.
He saw an injured Klay Thompson return with a vengeance after missing Game 3.
Golden
State officials were successful in sitting Thompson for a game after the
sharpshooter suffered a strained hamstring. They endured his impassioned plea
to play but let caution rule. “The risk (of re-injury) was too great and being
down 2-1 is not the end of the world,” Thompson told reporters prior to
returning for Game 4.
Being
down 3-1 wasn’t doomsday, either.
But
being on the verge of elimination created a greater sense of urgency for Durant
and Golden State, whether anyone admits it. The questions are how much pressing
came from the player, how much came from the team, and did the doctors/trainers
shirk their responsibility?
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
As
a child growing up in Brooklyn, I looked forward to attending Harmony Heart
Camp in Pennsylvania every summer. It was my six-week respite from the hustle
and bustle of city life.
Among
the counselors’ primary concerns was sharing the Bible and making sure we were
good Christian boys and girls. But there were plenty of fun things to do, too, including
swimming, rowing, hiking, sports, arts & crafts, and – my favorite activity
– horseback riding.
“Ponyback”
riding is more accurate, but that’s irrelevant.
I
gravitated to the corral and spent most of my time there over the next several
years. This city slicker became quite the young horseman, winning several blue ribbons
in rodeo events and eventually being entrusted to help counselors run the operation:
grooming, saddling, feeding, and administering rides to my fellow campers.
I
wanted to stay around those beautiful animals and began conjuring ways to keep one
at home, despite dwelling in an apartment building. (My mother gently let me
know that such aspirations were futile.) I dreamed of becoming a jockey and/or
working around horses for the rest of my life.
Alas,
the closest I’ve come is covering a Kentucky Derby, covering an opening day at
Saratoga, and spending a few days at Aqueduct to cover a jockey of interest to
my Florida newspaper.
Though
they’ve barely been in my life since I was 14, I still love horses.
I
believe that The Stronach Group (owner of Santa Anita Park), the Thoroughbred
Owners of California, and the California Thoroughbred Trainers feel likewise. I
just question their decision to continue racing in light of two more horse
deaths in two days, bringing the total to 29 at Santa Anita during the current season.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
In
“The Godfather,” after an emotional discussion on possibly gunning down a rival
gangster and dirty cop, Michael Corleone utters a classic line: “It’s not
personal. It’s strictly business.”
That
might be Washington left tackle Trent Williams’ favorite part of the movie.
Williams
has spent his entire nine-year career in D.C. No current player has a longer
tenure. He has established himself among
the NFL’s elite at his position. “He’s the best tackle in pro football,” coach
Jay Gruden said Tuesday. “He’s a great player for us, a great leader.”
If
president Bruce Allen and senior vice president of football operations Eric
Schaffer winced a bit upon hearing such laudation, it’s understandable.
Williams doesn’t need any more leverage as he skips mandatory minicamp in hopes
of a new contract.
The
seven-time Pro Bowler already has the team by its proverbial short hairs.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Golden
State plays a beautiful brand of basketball. It arguably has the NBA’s sweetest-shooting
backcourt ever, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The ball and the Warriors move with
speed and grace, on slick passes and sharp cuts, often resulting in easy layups
or open jumpers.
It’s
accurate to call their style of play pretty. But don’t be fooled:
The
Warriors are also plenty gritty.
Their
fluid offense, pace-and-space with small-ball lineups, can at times obscure
their toughness and resiliency – traits more commonly associated with plodding bruisers.
Nothing about Golden State is physically imposing. Even former scowl master
DeMarcus Cousins is a softer and gentler version of himself.
However,
when you peel away the transition baskets, three-pointers, back doors, swing passes,
slipped screens, and other aesthetically pleasing optics, you’re left with a
team that’s just as comfortable fighting and clawing as it is running and
gunning.
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