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.
Introverts
get a raw deal in our society. When they’re not overlooked, they’re often undervalued.
We give them little attention and usually
less appreciation.
Today
we make room for a remarkably narrow range of personality styles,” author Susan
Cain writes in “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop
Talking.” “We’re told that to be great is to be bold, to be happy is to be
sociable. We see ourselves as a nation of extroverts – which means we’ve lost sight
of who really are. Depending on which study you consult, one third to one half
of Americans are introverts.”
And
they have a new champion in Kawhi Leonard, who in his entire career has shared
fewer public comments than LeBron James uttered after becoming a Laker.
In
terms of media profile, Q-rating and public persona, Leonard is the proverbial mouse
wetting cotton. But on the court, Toronto’s superstar has loudly inserted himself
into arguments about the NBA’s top player.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
“This is the best important open job in all of
sports right now.” – owner Ted Leonsis on Wizards’ GM vacancy.
It’s
quite possible that no else in the world agreed with Leonsis when he made that
statement on April 3. And there’s good reason to wonder how much he truly
believed it himself.
“Open”
is the only part of the job assessment that was universally accepted as
accurate.
Eight
weeks later, nothing else has changed. The position remains unfilled and (to candidates
with options) unappealing.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Once
again, it’s time to check off some items on my “TIDU List” – Things I Don’t
Understand:
*I
don’t understand why the local NFL team is so injury prone.
Reuben
Foster’s torn ACL – on a non-contact play at half-speed – is as freaky as suffering
separated ribs after sneezing. But such is life for this franchise, “celebrating”
its 20th anniversary of Dan Snyder’s ownership. Washington led the league with 27 players on
injured reserve last season, eight more than it posted the year before.
Big
investments on rest-and-recovery equipment are no match for karma.
*I
don’t understand why the NFL is foot-dragging on weed.
California
in 1996 became the first state to legalize medical marijuana. A year later, the
New England Journal of Medicine called for reclassifying the drug to acknowledge
its medical use. The NFL is finally coming around, teaming with the players’
union to study the substance’s use as a pain management tool. It’s about time.
The way the
NFL pushes opioids, it must own Big Pharma stocks.
*I
don’t understand how the Nationals can overcome their start.
The injury
bug has slowed down, and the schedule is easing up. But the wretched bullpen, shoddy
defense and deplorable baserunning remain in full effect for the Nats, who on
Tuesday dropped to 10 games below .500 for the first time since September 2011.
Manager Dave Martinez is a super-nice guy and the Nats are a very good
franchise.
Both
parties deserve better than they’ve received from the other.
*I
don’t understand how we forgot about Steph Curry.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The New York Times)
Colleges claim to care about the students. The NCAA claims to care
about the athletes. Coaches claim to care about the players.
But the evidence often suggests otherwise. Adults at too many
institutions have caused and/or ignored too much abuse suffered by too many young
people.
Leadership at Penn State looked the other way for decades as assistant
football coach Jerry Sandusky committed atrocities for at least 15 years. The
administration at Michigan State did nothing for two decades while Larry Nassar
violated more than 300 preteen and teenage gymnasts. Officials at the University of Southern
California disregarded complaints for nearly 20 years before finding that school
gynecologist George Tyndall sexually harassed some of his patients, who
numbered in the tens of thousands.
Now comes word that Ohio State also aided and abetted a serial sexual
abuser, failing to act against Richard Strauss, who retired with honors nearly
a decade before killing himself in 2005.
According to an independent investigation released last week,
Strauss “abused at least 177 male student-patients,” many while he worked as a
team doctor in the athletics department. Even worse, investigators determined
that “University personnel had knowledge of Strauss’ sexually abusive treatment
as early as 1979.”
The case is much like the others, with one huge exception: Preying
on boys (Sandusky), or girls and young women (Nassar and Tyndall), is the norm
in such headline-grabbing cases. But
Strauss has destroyed the stereotype by sullying some of society’s
shiniest examples of strength and virility.
An attorney representing more than 50 former victims told The
Associated Press that most of his clients played football at Ohio State, and
some later played in the NFL.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Tuesday
was a bad night for Knicks fans.
Which
makes it no different than most other nights since 1973.
Fans
went to bed Monday with visions of Zion Williamson dancing through their head. But those images evaporated less than 24 hours
later, disappearing in a flash, like the misplaced hope that arose when Phil
Jackson was named Knicks’ president.
Yes,
there are longsuffering franchises with no championship banners (Phoenix) or lengthier
championship droughts (Milwaukee). But New York is the only perpetual also-ran that’s
also an NBA cornerstone playing in its city of inception. It’s also the only
one that hosts visiting teams in the so-called “Mecca of Basketball.”
Tuesday
was supposed to represent the start of a new era, a three-step reset after
losing a league-high 65 games. 1) Win the lottery and select Williamson. 2) Sign
Kevin Durant after the Golden State star notches another NBA Finals MVP. 3) Add disgruntled Boston guard Kyrie Irving (though
I’d prefer a different NYC point guard – Charlotte’s Kemba Walker – who offers
slightly less as a baller and much less as a drama king).
But
the ping-pong balls went awry Tuesday, making Knicks fans long for the days of (alleged)
frozen envelopes and Patrick Ewing. The Georgetown legend represented New York
onstage at the draft, but the magic that made him No. 1 in 1985 shifted to New
Orleans, where the Pelicans are celebrating a shot at Williamson and a renewed
shot at keeping Anthony Davis.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
The
weekend brought us a first glimpse of Washington’s would-be hero at
quarterback.
Tuesday
night will either raise our hopes or deflate them regarding a potential
liberator for the Washington Wizards.
Dwayne
Haskins was as impressive as a passer can be in an NFL rookie minicamp, which
indicates his future success less accurately than cloudy crystal balls. Among
multiple observers enthused by Haskins’ showing was coach Jay Gruden, who noted
that the Ohio State product “can really spin it.”
Maybe
Haskins should represent the Wizards onstage during the NBA draft lottery and wear
his No. 7 jersey for good luck. The basketball team needs all kinds of fortune
to rise above the sixth pick, where it currently sits.
(Remind me again why pushing for the playoffs was so important. Had they won 22 games instead of 32, chances of landing game-changers Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett or Ja Morant would be much more reasonable. Considering the pall cast by former general manager Ernie Grunfeld, the Wizards would do well to avoid picking 10th, their worst possible outcome.)
On
one hand, Portland’s Damian Lillard was the No. 6 pick in 2012. He’s a
four-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection who just led the Trail
Blazers to the Western Conference finals.
On
the other hand, sixth overall picks since then, in order, are Nerlens Noel,
Marcus Smart, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Issac and Mo Bamba –
not exactly franchise-altering talents thus far.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Ladies
and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting edition of America’s favorite sports
pastime, The Blame Game!
Today’s
contestants hail from the Washington Nationals, whom several prognosticators picked
to reach World Series. When we last left
the Nats, they were coming off a disappointing 82-80 season in Dave Martinez’s
inaugural campaign as a major-league skipper.
Now
in his second year at the helm, Martinez is a favorite to win MDB honors – Most
Deserving of Blame. Also in the hunt are the Lerners, general manager Mike
Rizzo, and the injury bug. Each has played a key role in Washington’s 14-21 mark
entering Wednesday, the NL’s second-worst record and the Nationals’ worst winning
percentage since September 2011.
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