Posted on March 3rd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Football is an extremely physical sport by nature, filled with violent collisions between players who are big, strong and fast. Defenders are conditioned to hit often and hit hard, in hopes of separating opponents from the ball and maybe their senses, too.
All of that is well within the rules and the spirit of the game. But rewarding players with bonus money for certain hits encourages dirty, reckless play, which is why the NFL forbids the practice. Now that the league has uncovered a New Orleans Saints bounty system, it should issue harsh penalties to make an example of the team.
The Saints are accused of paying players $1,500 for “knockouts” and $1,000 for “cart-offs,” with payouts doubling or tripling during the playoffs. The team is also accused of targeting players such as former quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner.
“The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for ‘performance’ but also for injuring opposing players,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement released Friday. “The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity.
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Posted on March 1st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
If TV ratings, Internet articles and column inches in print media are any indication, “The Big Miss” should be a huge hit when it goes on sale March 27, a week before the subject shoots for his fifth green jacket at Augusta National.
Tiger Woods hasn’t won the Masters since 2005, a major championship since 2008 or an official PGA tournament of any kind since 2009. In his last five PGA Tour events, he has tied for 17th, tied for 15th, tied for 30th, missed the cut (at the PGA Championship) and tied for 37th. He’s at the Honda Classic this week, a tournament he hadn’t deigned to play since 1993, three years before he turned pro.
But we not only remain fascinated by Woods, we’re arguably captivated like never before.
The upcoming book by his former swing coach will only increase the magnification on Woods since that fateful Thanksgiving night in 2009, back when we couldn’t imagine him as a more compelling figure. Yet, stuck on 14 majors with Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 looking safe once again, Woods is even more intriguing, thanks to the turmoil in his personal life and his struggles on the golf course.
Whether it’s his swing, his putter or Hank Haney’s take on those subjects and more, the scrutiny grows while the wins stagnate.
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Posted on February 29th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
With its revenue, TV ratings and popularity continuing to grow unabated, the NFL is in its own galaxy compared to other sports leagues.
NFL games accounted for 23 of the 25 most-watched telecasts last fall, and a total of 37 games drew at least 20 million viewers each. A Harris poll taken earlier this year asked about 2,200 adults who follow at least one sport to name their favorite. Pro football was chosen by 36 percent of the respondents — nearly thrice the number who chose baseball and college football (13 percent apiece).
Commissioner Roger Goodell knows that competing TV programs are regularly crushed by NFL games, especially highly anticipated matchups. But whether Goodell is reluctant to battle for viewers or eager to promote civic engagement, he has rescheduled the league’s season opener from Sept. 6 to Sept. 5. By doing so, the NFL avoids a conflict with President Obama, scheduled to give his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 6.
The only loser is Vice President Joe Biden, whose speech on Sept. 5 will be overshadowed by the game featuring the New York Giants, beginning their Super Bowl title defense, versus an opponent that hasn’t been announced yet.
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Posted on February 29th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Senior Night at Verizon Center provided another glimpse of Georgetown’s bright future. Freshman Greg Whittington led all scorers Monday with a career-high 15 points, and freshman Otto Porter snared a team-high 10 rebounds in a 59-41 rout of Notre Dame.
But center Henry Sims and guard Jason Clark, playing their final home game as Hoyas, also left the crowd with lasting impressions. Just like they’ve done all season, leading 10 sophomores and freshmen on their surprising team, Sims and Clark produced the steady and heady performances that make Georgetown dangerous when everything clicks.
We’ve come to take Sims and Clark for granted over the course of this season, with No. 8 Marquette up next before the Big East tournament begins next week. A victory Saturday would give Georgetown a double-bye in New York, unimaginable back in November when Sims was an unknown quantity and Clark was thought to have insufficient help.
But by the time they were introduced Monday night, surrounded by family and soaking in applause during a pregame ceremony, Sims and Clark had established themselves as the unquestioned leaders of No. 11 Georgetown. They proved it once again in the Hoyas’ second consecutive blowout since a crushing loss at Seton Hall last week.
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Posted on February 27th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The NBA’s annual midseason party is over. The out-of-town All-Stars have departed to rejoin their respective teams. The visiting media and fans have moved on to their next assignment or gone back home. The regular season resumes with nine games Tuesday night.
But Orlando, Fla., is still the center of attention and will remain so until March 15, when the trading deadline comes and goes. The entire NBA landscape could shift dramatically if Magic center Dwight Howard is playing elsewhere after then.
Howard, one of the league’s biggest and most marketable superstars, was all over town during the All-Star festivities. He hosted parties, mingled with his fellow players and served as a coach in the All-Star celebrity game. But he couldn’t get away from the question on everyone’s mind:
Will he stay in Orlando next season if he isn’t traded in a few weeks?
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Posted on February 24th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was at a forum in Los Angeles recently, discussing the city’s chances of acquiring an NFL franchise, when the conversation turned to concussions. Aikman, who suffered from several concussions during his Hall of Fame career, sounded an ominous note about their potential effect.
League officials and owners are “very concerned about concussions,” he said, adding, “The long-term viability, to me anyway, is somewhat in question as far as what this game is going to look like 20 years from now.”
Aikman wouldn’t prevent his son, if he had one, from playing, “but I don’t know if I would be encouraging him to play. Whereas with the other sports, you want your kids to be active and doing those types of things.”
Concussions have been a major issue in the NFL since at least December 2009, when the league conceded publicly for the first time that occurrences can have lasting consequences. Former players suffering from possible brain injuries have gained increased attention, and several lawsuits have been filed, including a class-action suit in December. A website has been established for retired players who have questions.
On Thursday the family of Dave Duerson filed the latest lawsuit. Duerson, a former Chicago Bears star who committed suicide last February at the age of 50, suspected that head trauma during his career had caused his mental state to deteriorate. He shot himself in the heart and left his brain to research, which proved him right.
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Posted on February 23rd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
At the halfway point of this truncated NBA campaign, the Washington Wizards have seven wins in 33 games, giving them a lower winning percentage than every team except Charlotte — which is 0-2 against the Wizards.
Thank goodness for Bobcats chairman Michael Jordan, whose excellence as a player is rivaled only by his failure as an executive.
In hindsight, Washington might have been better off if the lockout wiped out the entire season instead of one-fifth. Does the new deal allow teams to bypass the second half and proceed directly to the lottery?
But the Wizards deserve some credit. If a team can’t be great, the least it can do is be interesting, and there’s been no shortage of attention-grabbing moments when Washington plays. The Wizards seem to be mentioned on TNT almost as much as the Miami Heat, even if its flattery versus buffoonery.
Washington doesn’t have any All-Stars on the roster, but it could dominate balloting for an All-Enigma team.
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Posted on February 23rd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, tens of millions of people in the United States are affected by mental disorders, and only a fraction receive treatment. Iowa State forward Royce White is included in the first count, but more important, he’s in the second one, too.
White, a 20-year-old who has been on medication since he was a teen, is the latest athlete to come forward and discuss the issue. It’s a bold step for folks whose lives play out in the public eye. He leads the Cyclones in points (12.9), rebounds (9.1), assists (4.9), steals (1.0) and blocked shots (1.1), putting them on the verge of their first NCAA tournament berth in seven years.
“Anxiety isn’t really something you can measure,” he told the Des Moines Register. “That’s why it’s so hard to diagnose, so hard to pinpoint. If I didn’t take my medication, any number of things could happen: It could affect my mind and my body. I could get the sweats.
“What anxiety is, is your mind telling your body that there’s a threat, so it produces adrenaline so you can fight off that threat,” he said. “That could make you do anything, conceptually, but I’m not a dumb individual. I wouldn’t do something off-the-wall like skydive.”
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Posted on February 21st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
For the record, like other hard-core hoops fans in the D.C. metro area, I would love to watch Georgetown and Maryland play each other annually in men’s basketball. Two power-conference schools with rich traditions, title aspirations, national profiles and distinct local flavor: Who wouldn’t want to see that?
Maybe the respective coaches, who at the very least might not be crazy about the idea. Nonconference home games are precious, usually reserved for padding against utterly beatable teams. It’s much more tempting to continue scheduling those games, instead of forsaking one every other year to face a formidable, nearby rival and potential repercussions in recruiting.
But after weighing the various factors in the risk-reward equation, Georgetown’s John Thompson III and Maryland’s Mark Turgeon could agree to take their chances with the series and thereby serve the area’s greater good. Then we’d have our own version of the “Crosstown Shootout,” which has pitted Cincinnati and four-miles-away Xavier every year since 1945.
However, prospects for our “Capital Clash” appear to be a bit dimmer, thanks to Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson trying to force the issue.
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Posted on February 20th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The National Basketball Players Association has estimated that 60 percent of retired players go broke five years after their NBA paychecks dry up. So it’s not surprising to hear that a future Hall of Famer like Allen Iverson has fallen upon hard times, despite the fact that he earned more than $154 million in salary (and more in endorsements) during his 15-year NBA career.
His lifestyle included multiple cars, houses, a large posse and a traveling hairstylist to do his cornrows every few days. His love for bling didn’t help, either — a Georgia judge recently ordered his wages garnished in order to pay a jeweler more than $850,000. NBA opportunities dried up in 2010 — Iverson played his last game exactly two years ago Monday. His most recent offer to play pro sports comes from another league and involves a different ball.
New York’s Rochester Lancers, of the Major Indoor Soccer League, offered Iverson a contract over the weekend. The team has two regular-season games left on its schedule and offered to pay Iverson $20,000 per game with a $5,000 bonus for each goal scored, as well as bonuses for wins and merchandise sales.
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