By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
At
least drug tests are unambiguous, offering definitive pass/fail grades for the
most part, either checking the box or not.
For
instance, New York Giants receiver Golden Tate has been suspended four games
for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy. He blames his
positive test on a fertility plan after he and his wife visited a specialist in
April. “I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I
discovered it contained an ingredient that is on the league’s banned substance
list,” he said Saturday in a statement.
“I
immediately discontinued use, I reported the situation to the Independent
Administrator of the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, and I
spoke with my coaches and general manager. I did all of this well before a
failed test was even confirmed.”
Great.
Sounds like he was very forthright after making an honest mistake … and he can
bet on losing his appeal.
The
league doesn’t care whether he hooked up an IV bag of steroids, or unknowingly
ingested gummy bears laced with a banned drug. Former Indianapolis Colts
linebacker Robert Mathis offered the same fertility-drug defense in 2014 and
his four-game suspension was upheld.
Tate
should’ve determined the contents before started the fertility plan, especially
since similar treatments have led to a suspension. Players are responsible for
whatever they ingest. The NFL doesn’t want to wade through explanations, tasked
with separating veracity from duplicity. Family planning might be popular in
lots of locker rooms under those circumstances.
Making
suspensions for banned substances cut-and-dried is actually a reasonable
position.
Conversely,
the policy on suspensions for personal conduct makes less sense than playing Russian
roulette.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Training camp is upon the Washington Redskins, a perfect time to check off some items on my “TIDU List” – Things I Don’t Understand:
*I don’t understand how Trent Williams merits a new deal.
The
All-Pro tackle signed a five-year extension in 2015, becoming the NFL’s
highest-paid offensive lineman. He has held up his end as multiple O-linemen
passed him in salary, but that’s not the Skins’ fault (unlike their medical
care). At 31, with mounting injuries and two years left on his contract,
Williams is compensated fairly.
But
he knows how leverage works and he’s positioned to apply it.
*I don’t understand why Mason Foster’s agent is upset.
Blake
Baratz accused the Skins of having “zero good faith” because they cut his
client the day before camp opened. “I expect more from @nfl and certain
organizations in particular, we can be better,” Baratz wrote on Twitter. Is he
high? NFL teams are notoriously ruthless in their personnel decisions, routinely
releasing players before, during and after training camp.
July
23 beats Aug. 31 (final cuts) if the axe is coming anyway.
*I don’t understand how Adrian Peterson is totally blameless.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Having
taken nearly four months to find a replacement for Ernie Grunfeld, Washington
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis proved he wasn’t following the traditional path.
Now,
with the announcement of several new hires and roles within the organization, the
extent of Leonsis’ unconventional thinking is clear: He didn’t just want a new builder
to lead the front office.
He
wanted a totally new blueprint for the front office.
In
Brooklyn, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and other outposts, NBA fans are excited about
big-time players acquired via free agency, trades or the draft. They’re envisioning
how the additions fit into new starting lineups. They’re contemplating how the revamped
rotations might look.
In
D.C., we’re left to digest the Wizards’ new org chart.
That’s
not nearly as flashy or appealing, but it’s a start. At least Leonsis has taken
the first step (second if you start with dumping Grunfeld) in the however-long
journey toward title contention.
In
removing the interim tag from general manager Tommy Sheppard, while hiring former
Cleveland Browns executive Sashi Brown, former Georgetown coach John Thompson
III and former Philadelphia Sixers/FC Barcelona team physician Daniel Medina,
Leonsis wasn’t thinking outside the box.
He
was thinking far outside the four walls surrounding the box.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Wizards
first-round pick Rui Hachimura doesn’t come close to teammate John Wall’s
social media presence, trailing the injured guard by nearly 1.8 million Twitter
followers.
Hachimura
isn’t tops among his draft class, either. That honor belongs to No.1 overall
selection Zion Williamson, who has 388,000 Twitter followers to Hachimura’s
113,000.
But,
internationally speaking, Hachimura is arguably the NBA’s most popular rookie and
already one of the league’s most popular players regardless of experience. His adherents include about 127 million
people, the entire population of Japan.
“Rui
is huge right now,” Kyodo News reporter Akiko Yamawaki tells ESPN’s The
Undefeated. “He has television cameras following him everywhere. He’s just not
on the sport news, but he is even on the news in Japan during the daytime at 2
o’clock or 3 o’clock when only housewives are watching TV. I think most of
Japan knows who he is.
“When
you open the newspaper in Japan, he is there all the time now. Before, only
sports fans knew of him. Everybody knows (MLB superstars) Ichiro and Ohtani.
Now Hachimura, everybody knows.”
Earning
recognition domestically will be a much slower, more drawn-out process. But the
6-foot-8 Japan native took a step Monday when he was named to the All-NBA
Summer League Second Team. In his three
games, Hachimura averaged 19 points and seven rebounds.
Perhaps
not coincidentally, the Wizards were 2-1 with him and 0-2 without him.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
If
you’re a fan of Washington’s NFL team – or one of its executives, coaches, or
players – you can’t be thrilled after viewing a recent video clip from Pamplona,
Spain.
There
was starting cornerback Josh Norman, whose $14.5 million salary cap number is
the team’s third highest, engaging in behavior that’s downright dangerous and
arguably reckless. “I had to face the bull straight on,” Norman said on
Instagram. “It was fun. It was worth it.”
Running
with the bulls seems hazardous enough by itself; hurdling the bulls seems like
a borderline death wish.
In
case you missed it, Norman was at the famed San Fermin annual festival that
draws hundreds of thousands of international visitors. They run through the
city streets, with fighting bulls alongside or behind them, for what surely must
be a massive adrenaline rush.
Norman
was recorded leaping over one of the animals in a bullring.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
There’s
nothing wrong with home runs, per se.
Even
pitching legends Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine agreed during a 1999 Nike
commercial that featured Mark McGwire hitting prodigious moon shoots during batting
practice, drawing oohs and aahs from dreamy-eyed admirers including Heather
Locklear.
The
Cy Young winners and eventual Hall of Famers hit the gym in an effort to add
muscle. They ran the stadium steps to improve their conditioning. They hacked away at balls on tees to refine
their batting stroke.
“Chicks
dig the long ball,” Maddux surmised correctly.
The
gender specificity was unnecessary.
Spheres
traveling a great distance through the air have always been certified crowd
pleasers in sports. Long home runs in baseball. Long passes in football. Long
three-pointers in basketball. Long drives in golf.
What’s
not to like about majestic flight paths that result in runs, touchdowns, swishes
or a hole-in-one? They’re veritable things of beauty.
However,
a sport can’t survive on long balls alone. Too many, especially at the expense
of medium and short plays, would make the game monotonous. There needs to be a
variety of actions, with singles, screens, lay-ups and putts added to the mix.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
An NBA superstar can drastically change a team’s fortunes all by himself. The same isnt’ true of elite players in football and baseball.
Star
quarterbacks and pass rushers are on the sideline for nearly half the game. They’re
among 22 starters (not counting specialists and special teamers). In baseball, aces’
contributions are limited to roughly three games every two weeks, while sluggers
get about four at-bats per contest. They’re among nine starters (10 in the American
League).
But
top NBA players are just one-fifth of their starting lineups. They have the ability
to be on court for 80 percent of the game, or more. Their impact is clear,
significant, and immediate.
Rookie
LeBron James led Cleveland in scoring and minutes played – and was second in
assists – in 2003-04, when the Cavaliers won 35 games after winning just 17 the
year before. Last season, Dallas won nine more games than the previous campaign,
paced by NBA Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic, who merely led the team in scoring
and assists, while ranking second in rebounds and minutes.
We’re
accustomed to the outsized power and influence NBA stars wield on the hardwood.
But
we’re just getting used to the command they can exert in a front office, essentially
wresting their career paths from general managers.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
After
playing at an All-Star level throughout his career, Anthony Rendon is finally
an All-Star. But he might choose to stay home instead of participating in the
All-Star Game.
No
problem here if he does.
The
Washington third baseman has been overlooked and underrated despite ranking 12th
among major-league position players in Wins Above Replacement since his first
full season (2014). Fans have never rewarded
him in the popular vote, hardly a surprise considering he draws attention to
himself like the Miami Marlins draw fans to their ballpark. It’s harder to explain
why he wasn’t named as an All-Star reserve before this season.
MLB’s
silly rule that every club must be represented – baseball’s equivalent of participation
awards – certainly hasn’t helped.
Yes,
the recognition would be nice, as everyone wants to be respected by their peers.
However, the four-day break has been wonderful to Rendon, a chance to escape
the grind for rest, relaxation and recovery, far from adoring fans and inquisitive
reporters with no requests for autographs, photos or interviews.
Earlier
this season, Rendon said he’d “love to be an All-Star, but without going, if
that’s possible.” He was half-joking and half-dead-serious.
Well,
it’s quite possible. And if his preference is another mini-vacation opposed to his
first Mid-Summer Classic, he should go for it, though his manager begs to
differ.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Toronto
won the NBA championship, but that’s nothing compared to what Brooklyn just
pulled off. Someone needs to call the Guinness Book of Records.
In
what must to be the fastest negotiations in pro sports history, the Nets
acquired Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as soon as the clock struck 6 p.m. on Sunday,
when teams were given the all-clear to strike deals with free agents. Durant’s and
Irving’s reported four-year contracts fell into place so quickly, the ink was
still wet at 6:01 p.m.
If
we didn’t know better, we’d think the parties had worked out the details prior
to the negotiation period. But that’s
not possible (wink-wink). By league rules, teams are permitted to communicate
with free agents and their representatives beginning at 6 p.m. on June 29 –
solely for the purpose of scheduling a meeting to take place at or after 6 p.m.
on June 30.
NBA
teams often set speed records when free agency begins, and Brooklyn wasn’t the
only example Sunday. In a flash, Kemba Walker was donning Celtics green, J.J.
Redick was looking at property in New Orleans, and Terry Rozier taking Walker’s
place in Charlotte.
A
number of free agents quickly re-signed with their current teams, including Khris
Middleton (Milwaukee), Nikola Vucevic (Orlando) and (Sacramento). But maybe
they shouldn’t count here. You can’t tamper with your own player, right?
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