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‘TIDU List’ – Tiger’s Caddie, Shaq’s Diss & More

Posted on July 23rd, 2011No Comments

By DERON SNYDER

Once again, it’s time to check off some items on my “TIDU List” — Things I Don’t Understand:

• How Steve Williams can complain about the timing of his firing.

He earned an estimated $20 million on Tiger Woods‘ bag alone, which would place him around 32nd on the PGA Tour career money list. Yet, Williams had the nerve to whine about being dismissed, saying “I’ve stuck by him through thick and thin” and “I’ve wasted two years of my life, the last two years.”

Please. Elin showed more class, and she was actually aggrieved.

• Why anyone’s surprised that Albert Haynesworth plans to show up.

He’s already in danger of losing $847,000 unless he wins the appeal of last season’s four-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the club.” There’s no way he’d risk losing more money — while making himself less desirable to interested teams – by failing to report when training camp opens. He’ll probably be on his best behavior.

Not because everyone’s watching, but to drive Mike Shanahan crazy.

Embracing The ‘B-Word’

Posted on July 22nd, 2011No Comments

By VANESSA W. SNYDER

The b-word has been circulating around my house off and on for several years, but it’s getting a little louder now and I am forced to address it.

In my mind, my girls are too young (15 and 12) to be thinking about the b-word. I didn’t even want to hear it at one point because the very thought scared me so bad. I had decided that the b-word would not be discussed until at least junior year of high school.

Silly me.

Soccer Events Enthrall But Soccer Itself Doesn’t

Posted on July 20th, 2011No Comments

By DERON SNYDER

Soccer lovers in the U.S. have a chip on their shoulders and with good reason, miffed that their sport isn’t as beloved here as it is worldwide. But they aren’t the only fans frustrated by America’s particular taste.

The world’s favorite team sports, based on total fan rankings by www.mostpopularsports.net, are soccer, cricket, field hockey, volleyball and baseball. In the U.S., it’s baseball, football, basketball, hockey and soccer.

So fans of “the beautiful game” have to get in line when lodging complaints that America doesn’t get it. At least they have Major League Soccer and the fledging Women’s Professional Soccer to provide a fix. There aren’t many domestic options for spectators in search of pros wielding wickets or spiking sets.

The just-concluded Women’s World Cup gave soccer its every-four-years booster shot that doesn’t exist for many sports outside of the Olympics. And the U.S. team’s thrilling performance was a big hit at home, generating huge TV ratings and saturation coverage in print, cyberspace and broadcast reports. Predictably, thoughts have turned to what it might mean for women’s soccer here, and U.S. soccer overall.

Unfortunately for diehards, it won’t result in a dramatic reshuffling of our pro sports preferences. Soccer will still trail baseball, football, basketball and hockey, and women’s pro soccer still will struggle to be viable.

Choose Early Education Around The House

Posted on July 20th, 2011No Comments

By VANESSA W. SNYDER

If you want to avoid drama later, teach your children to do chores and demand consistency early. I didn’t do that and now I’m having a hard time getting them to comply.

I’m not sure what I was thinking by not insisting that my girls do chores regularly over the years. Sure, they’ve done them here and there, but never as part of an established routine. Maybe it’s because I love to cook and enjoy being in the kitchen doing the mommy/wife thing. Who knows?

The problem is, they’re likely to be in a dormitory a few years from now and might be ill-prepared to meet their domestic needs. So now I’m on the fast-track with them. We’re following a schedule for cleaning the kitchen, as well as the bathroom and bedroom. It’s not easy because I never insisted that they do so on a consistent basis.

Consistency is one of those parenting terms that ‘s tough sometimes. However, if you’re like me and you’re a little late in implementing chore requirements, don’t give up. Remember, they’re still living in your house!

Texas-Sized Ego Got Best Of Clemens

Posted on July 8th, 2011No Comments

By DERON SNYDER

In deciding to voluntarily testify before Congress in 2008, Roger Clemens displayed little intelligence and insulted our own. Now everyone has to pay as baseball, yet again, is dragged through its Steroid Era.

The federal trial taking place at 333 Constitution Ave. would be totally unnecessary if Clemens had exercised a smidgen of common sense. He should’ve either clammed up or ‘fessed up when his name appeared in the Mitchell Report, baseball’s independent investigation into steroid use in the game.

But no, not the “Rocket,” not a mean and ornery Texan who couldn’t stand the thought of admitting he wasn’t as big and bad as his image suggested.

No one forced Clemens to file a defamation lawsuit against his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, who claims he injected ‘roids into Clemens‘ butt on multiple occasions. The seven-time Cy Young winner didn’t have to hold a news conference and play a secretly recorded phone call with McNamee that proved nothing. And Clemens wasn’t obligated to sit down with the venerable Mike Wallace on “60 Minutes” and vehemently deny ever using performance-enhancing drugs.

But those bonehead decisions were merely wild pitches, none of which led to Clemens‘ presence in U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton’s courtroom the past couple of days. The reason he’s facing possible jail time is the high and tight offerings to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, even though he was told he didn’t have to testify.

Huge Gap Between Drafts In NBA, MLB

Posted on June 29th, 2011No Comments

BOBBY LUCAS

By DERON SNYDER

Jan Vesely’s magic moment came when he kissed his girlfriend on ESPN and shook hands with NBA commissioner David Stern. Bobby Lucas‘ magic moment came when he attended a pre-game reception at Nationals Park and shook hands with team owner Mark Lerner.

Consider that yet another difference – about No. 53 – between NBA draftees and their MLB counterparts.

Granted, Vesely (introduced Monday at a news conference) was selected by the Washington Wizards with the sixth pick overall, while Lucas was tabbed by the Nats with the 817th pick. Doesn’t matter. Baseball’s top picks also experience a sliver of the attention and high life that’s heaped upon newly minted NBAers. Even the Bryce Harpers and Stephen Strasburgs head toward relative anonymity after the draft, sent to toil in outposts such as Hagerstown and Harrisburg.

Lucas, a left-handed pitcher out of George Washington University, enjoyed a special night with the Nats’ brass a week after the draft. The 27th-round pick met fellow alum Lerner and was recognized during an alumni event. Lucas had signed his contract that day and carried it with him. Lerner joked that he would personally deliver it to general manager Mike Rizzo.

“That was pretty cool,” said Lucas, who led the Atlantic 10 with 95 strikeouts this year. “Mr. Lerner came up to me and said hello and we talked and got to know each other. That was one of the coolest things about being drafted.”

It surely can’t compare to being feted in New York for a couple of days and strolling across a stage like Vesely did. But that figures, since “cool” and “MLB” are rarely in the same sentence unless you’re discussing weather.

Reading Fights Summer Learning Loss

Posted on June 24th, 20111 Comment

By VANESSA W. SNYDER

I’m grateful and humble that my daughters enjoy reading. However, there are times when I fear the computer and other technology might be hampering their interest in reading. Since I’m a teacher and since it’s summer I’m really concerned about the amount of time they spend reading.

Weak reading skills can result in a lack of comprehension, critical thinking, fluency and vocabulary. Furthermore, the learning and knowledge that is lost over the summer is well documented. Teachers and parents lament this issue every year. Reading can go a long way in minimizing this loss of learning.

Summer is the perfect time to focus on reading, which really spans all subject areas. Students love to say how much they hate to read, but the reality is there are things they’ll like to read if we point them in the right direction. Here are some tips for keeping your child reading during summer break, and all year long:

Be proactive. Don’t just tell your children to find something to read, present them with choices. Visit the public library and find out what’s popular among teens. Spend time researching your child’s interests. And, yes, reading magazines is okay, too.

Establish incentives. If you have a truly reluctant reader. Try offering incentives. This might be in the form of gifts, special privileges, cash, etc.

Read a book with your child. I read Twilight and hate to admit I actually enjoyed it. One benefit of reading books with your child is that you can have conversations together about the book. You can even do this as a family.

Search summer reading lists. Most schools or districts provide these materials, but if not, look online.

Find/form a teen book club. This can be a lot of fun if you can use a book that other teens are reading. Meet every couple of weeks and serve snacks. Prepare questions and try to hit all of “Blooms Taxonomy.”

Read a book online. The digital generation is more apt to read a book this way and it’s perfectly fine. If you happen to own a Kindle or another such device, then certainly use it.

Have a family reading time. This is similar to the Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) strategy that is popular among many educators. A certain time every day, everyone stops and reads. There’s no reason this can’t be done at home.

Set up a special reading space. This might be a bean bag in the bedroom, a rocking chair on the porch or a comfy chair with a foot rest.

I Think I’ll Try To Golf … Maybe

Posted on June 23rd, 2011No Comments

BY DERON SNYDER

The world’s best golfers have convened in greater Washington, causing me to reflect on a personal mystery inside an enigma. Surely there must be others in the same position, wondering why they haven’t joined the legions on the links.

I don’t golf.

Not that it’s been a definitive, conscious decision. I just haven’t done it yet. But I want to try … I think.

Part of me is tired of being the odd man out, who can’t relate to friends and family talking about their chips, putts and drives. Part of me is envious of the way they lose themselves for hours on those beautiful golf courses.

But part of me is scared, too. Scared of a game that’s obviously maddening. Scared of its addictive nature and time demands. Scared of whom might get hurt — self included — if I ever start playing.

Thankfully, former pro golfer David Feherty is just the man to help me and other golfophobes.

Happy Father’s Day, To A Dad I’ve Never Known

Posted on June 20th, 2011No Comments

By DERON SNYDER

An open letter to my father, Stanley Howard Snyder:

Hi. Another Father’s Day has come and gone, yet another that I spent wondering how it would’ve been having you in my life.

Ma says that you liked sports, especially the New York Giants. I wonder what you would’ve thought of my childhood allegiance to the Giants AND the Dallas Cowboys. It caused a terrible conflict whenever they played, but their disparate reputations back then helped ease the discomfort. The Cowboys always were good while the Giants always stunk, so rooting for the hometown underdogs was easy to do, with little reason to believe they’d actually win.

I guess my true loyalty showed when the Giants finally started winning in the ‘80s. They hadn’t reached the playoffs since the early ‘60s, so I was pulling hard for them against Dallas.

Your love for sports must’ve been passed to me genetically. You certainly weren’t there to nurture it or direct it. Poor Ma, bless her heart, was too scared to let me play football, my first love.

Mavs’ Victory Good For NBA, One For The ‘Ages’

Posted on June 16th, 2011No Comments

By DERON SNYDER

You don’t have to be a LeBron James/Miami Heat hater to be glad that the Mavericks won the NBA championship. You don’t have to detest the conspiracy among James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to be happy that Dirk Nowitzki stuck it out in Dallas and prevailed. And you don’t have to despise the Heat’s preseason celebration in Miami to enjoy the irony of the Mavs’ celebration Sunday night in the same arena.

Holding those sentiments might help, but they’re totally unnecessary.

All you really need is a love and appreciation for basketball as it was meant to be played.

“I just want to say this is a true team,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after Dallas defeated the favored Heat in six games. “This is an old-school bunch. We don’t run fast or jump high. But these guys had each other’s back. They played the right way. They trusted the pass.”

This isn’t to suggest that Miami isn’t a true team. Though many observers foolishly claimed as much, games against the Heat aren’t five-on-Big 3 affairs. No championship squad ever hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy without significant contributions from seven, eight or nine players. Miami would’ve been no different had it won.

While I never bought into the notion that the Heat were less of a team due to their star trio, or they somehow were the “bad guys” for self-directing their careers, there’s a certain satisfaction in the Mavs’ victory.

Nothing against the Heat, but Dallas winning the championship this year was better for basketball and the NBA.