Posted on May 3rd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The events of May 2, 2012, won’t be forgotten in the NFL. A one-two punch of shocking developments — unrelated on the surface but perhaps with connective tissue beneath — highlighted the ongoing wrestling match in our love-hate relationship with NFL violence.
Commissioner Roger Goodell clearly is concerned with the perception of the league at the very least. He has been on a safety crusade for three years, since the NFL conceded publicly for the first time that concussions can have lasting consequences. That’s why he slapped Jonathan Vilma with a one-year suspension Wednesday for his role in “Bounty-gate,” even though there’s no evidence that the New Orleans Saints‘ program resulted in injuries.
As we’ve all seen in the cases of many former players, Goodell is aware that damage can take years to surface. Wednesday’s apparent suicide of former San Diego linebacker Junior Seau reminded us of Dave Duerson, a retired Chicago Bears star who took his life in similar fashion with a gunshot to the chest in February last year.
We don’t know why Seau shot himself there, but Duerson did so to leave his brain to science. Researchers discovered the same trauma-induced disease — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — found in more than 20 deceased players. Duerson’s family has filed one of the numerous concussion-related lawsuits against the NFL. Former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling was part of another case before he committed suicide in April.
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Posted on May 2nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The NFL was unequivocal about its stance on the New Orleans Saints’ so-called bounty program in March, when the league suspended head coach Sean Payton for one year and suspended former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely. It also slapped Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach Joe Vitt with eight- and six-game suspensions, respectively.
“Let me be clear,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement after issuing the league’s severest sanction ever for a head coach. “There is no place in the NFL for deliberately seeking to injure another player, let alone offering a reward for doing so. Any form of bounty is incompatible with our commitment to create a culture of sportsmanship, fairness and safety. Programs of this kind have no place in our game, and we are determined that bounties will no longer be a part of the NFL.”
Goodell could have cut and paste those sentiments into a statement Wednesday, when the other shoe fell on players implicated in the scandal. Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was hit the hardest, drawing a one-year suspension that begins immediately and ends after the Super Bowl.
In addition to Vilma, defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove (now with the Green Bay Packers) was suspended for eight games, Saints defensive Will Smith for four games and linebacker Scott Fujita (now with the Cleveland Browns) for three games.
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Posted on May 1st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Apparently, the Washington Redskins’ brain trust still is suffering side effects from last year’s painful experiment, when it tried to swallow a dose of Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback for a full season.
We thought it was over once the team traded three No. 1s and a second-rounder to move up in the draft. We figured the symptoms would fade away when Robert Griffin III’s name was called. We believed his selection started the healing process.
But we underestimated the effects of last season’s quarterback play. The toxic trial left emotional scars at the conscious level and below. Exposure to their self-inflicted irritant left coach Mike Shanahan & Co. weak. They feared further repercussions when the fourth round rolled around.
That’s the only explanation for using the 102nd pick on a player they hope never sees the field.
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Posted on April 30th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
“Suffice it to say, this isn’t the coming-out party for Bryce that we had in mind. This isn’t the optimal situation developmentally for Bryce.”
That was Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo during Friday’s conference call, announcing Bryce Harper’s promotion. Rizzo would’ve preferred more Triple-A seasoning for the phenom before his much-anticipated arrival — presumably for a series at Nationals Park — but Washington’s combination of injuries and anemic offense forced a change of plans.
Harper flew from upstate New York to Los Angeles for two weekend games against the Dodgers. He landed with a mere .250 batting average in 72 at-bats for the Syracuse Chiefs, and just 129 minor league games overall. A self-described “scouting and player development guy at heart,” Rizzo would never agree that April 28 was the right time for Harper’s major league debut.
Perhaps it wasn’t the best timing.
But based on what we know about the 19-year-old prodigy, it might be perfect timing.
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Posted on April 30th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Every February, shortly after the Super Bowl, the NFL invites more than 300 college players to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine. Once there, the players are weighed, measured, poked and prodded and undergo a battery of tests and drills in front of representatives from each team. Two months later, the vast majority of players are divvied up in the NFL draft, which took place last week.
One of the biggest stories this year is the Dallas Cowboys’ move up to select former Louisiana State University cornerback Morris Claiborne with the sixth pick. Claiborne was considered the best defensive player in the draft but gained a measure of infamy in early April when his score on the Wonderlic test — administered each year at the Scouting Combine and intended to measure basic intelligence — was leaked. He reportedly scored a 4 out of 50.
But it turns out that Claiborne might be smarter than his score indicated. He told reporters that he didn’t take the test seriously because he didn’t see the relevancy. “I mean, I looked on the test and wasn’t nothing on the test that came with football, so I pretty much blew the test off,” he said.
To many observers, Claiborne’s score made him a laughingstock and a symbol of college sports’ brokenness. Whether admissions policies, coursework and grades are up to par for college athletes is one thing. But everyone agrees that Wonderlic scores are virtually meaningless in predicting a player’s success or failure in the league. Some have even suggested that the NFL is stupid for mandating the test, which wasn’t designed for football players and doesn’t discourage NFL teams.
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Posted on April 26th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
When the Boston Bruins beat Vancouver last season in the Stanley Cup FInal, some Canucks fans reacted with riotous acts.
When the Washington Capitals beat Boston in a first-round series Wednesday night, some Bruins fans reacted with racist tweets.
The former incident resulted in about 170 injuries and $5 million in property damage. The latter incident’s toll can’t be calculated with body counts and hard numbers.
But the stream of vile and vulgar comments directed at Caps forward Joel Ward via Twitter — simply because he’s a black man and scored the game-winning goal – surely costs us something as a society.
There’s no way to read the offensive tweets — most of which can’t be repeated here or in polite company — without paying a price. You might lose some faith in your fellow man. You might lose the illusion of “post-racial” America. You might lose a piece of your mind or soul.
But unless you have a soft spot for white sheets and swastikas, you’re going to lose something.
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Posted on April 25th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Earlier this month it was Washington Redskins wide receiver Jabar Gaffney. He went on an epic Twitter meltdown, unleashing a stream of expletive-laced tweets about his estranged wife and his cousin NFL cornerback Lito Sheppard. One example from the since-deleted account read: “Ain’t nobody [bleeped] my wife but for anybody saying any slick [bleep] better watch ur girl and not let me get hold to her.”
Gaffney briefly was the top trending topic in the world. He later claimed that his account was hacked and asked for privacy.
But there’s no doubting the authenticity of the latest outrageous tweets from an NFL personality. Hall of Famer and NFL Network broadcaster Deion Sanders not only live-tweeted an alleged assault by his estranged wife, Pilar, but he sent out a picture of him and his sons filling out a police report.
Sanders’ first tweet on the incident Monday night was straight out of reality TV: “Pray for me and my kids now! They just witnessed their mother and a friend jump me in my room. She’s going to jail n I’m pressing charges!”
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Posted on April 24th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins haven’t provided much merriment through six games of the tightest playoff series in NHL history. There have been few laughs or light-hearted moments. Instances of glee have been fleeting, followed by more high anxiety and tense nerves.
I have never gone whitewater rafting, but I imagine this series is comparable to that sort of “fun,” the thrill of maneuvering through rapids while on the edge of your seat, the threat of danger never far away. This ride comes to an end Wednesday night for whichever team makes the crucial mistakes at inopportune times, crashing and capsizing and catapulting into the offseason.
Capitals coach Dale Hunter said his team should enjoy Game 7 at TD Garden. Judging by the Caps’ demeanor Tuesday at the Kettler Ice Complex, the players have bought in.
“This has been a blast so far,” defenseman Karl Alzner said after practice. “It’s one of the more fun series I’ve ever played in … Everything’s been so tough all the way through, it really keeps you into the series, and I think everybody’s enjoying themselves quite a bit.”
Everybody except the fans. Games 2, 4 and 5 resulted in Caps victories, but they were draining affairs that produced relief more than anything. There weren’t many happy emotions in Games 1, 3 and 6, either, delivering the same drama without the payoff. The pain was only deepened when two of the losses occurred in overtime.
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Posted on April 23rd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
It was vicious and brutal, violent and brazen. It was indefensible, incomprehensible and intentional. And no matter how much Metta World Peace (aka Ron Artest) has mellowed during three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, the elbow he threw Sunday harks back to his past transgressions.
After a nice dunk during the Lakers’ home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, World Peace began celebrating on his way back up the court. He pounded his chest with his right fist as Thunder guard James Harden bumped him ever so slightly while headed in the opposite direction. World Peace drew back and unleashed one of the ugliest, hardest elbows you’ll ever see, hitting Harden flush in the side of his head.
Harden dropped to the ground as if he had been shot. World Peace, who squared off as Thunder players rushed to confront him, was ejected from the game and awaits a league ruling on his likely suspension.
“During that play, I just dunked on [Kevin] Durant and [Serge] Ibaka,” he told reporters afterward. “I got real emotional, real excited. It’s unfortunate that James had to get hit with an unintentional elbow. I hope he’s OK. The Thunder, they’re playing for a championship this year. I really hope he’s OK, and I apologize to the Thunder and to James Harden. It was such a great game. It was unfortunate so much emotion was going on at that time. That’s it for today.”
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Posted on April 20th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
It seems like only yesterday that Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was among the NBA’s most popular superstars. A lovable giant with an electric smile and fun-filled personality, Howard was one of the league’s “good guys.”
But then this season turned into a drawn-out soap opera, As Dwight Turns, with Howard vacillating between wanting to stay and wanting to leave. He made a last-minute decision at trade deadline in late March, deciding to stick around for at least one more year, with no guarantee that the scenario won’t be repeated next season.
Instead of a decrease in drama after Howard signed the necessary paperwork, the adventure continued and the dysfunction escalated. Two weeks ago embattled coach Stan Van Gundy confirmed reports that Howard told management that he wants the coach fired. Then Howard tried to save face in a TV interview but did himself no favors by admitting that he has requested Van Gundy’s firing in the past.
Howard went from being the face of the NBA to being a lower body part on the opposite side. The bottom fell out Thursday, one week before the playoffs begin, when an Orlando TV station reported that Howard won’t play for Van Gundy anymore. Other media outlets shot down the report, but the damage was done in the court of public opinion. He was ripped for being a quitter and would-be coach killer.
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