Posted on June 13th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
And on the 19th game, he rested.
Juan Soto’s first trip to Yankee Stadium marked the first time since May 21 that he wasn’t in the Nationals’ starting lineup. Manager Dave Martinez finally gave Soto a day off Tuesday, allowing the phenom to be an observer while soaking in the storied ballpark and fabled pinstripes.
Baseball fans in New York likely were disappointed, eager to see what the left-handed slugger might do with the right-field porch. After Wednesday’s game, Soto might not return to the Bronx for a couple of years unless Sports Illustrated’s World Series prediction proves true.
Martinez was bound to sit him at some point but Soto didn’t make it an easy decision. Opening Day left fielder Adam Eaton has returned from the disabled list and will be a factor moving forward as Martinez decides who plays and where. But this situation isn’t very complicated:
Keep Soto in the lineup.
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Posted on June 11th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Where’s Waldo?
He could be under your bed, but who cares? We’re not concerned about the famous traveler’s location right now. There’s a more pressing question in the DMV, one that should remain at the fore throughout the summer:
Where’s the Stanley Cup?
The Washington Capitals turned a bunch of folks onto hockey over the last two months. Some had never given the sport much of a chance. Others were casual fans who tuned in occasionally throughout each season. Another segment had a history of paying attention only once the playoffs began (and ended just as quickly).
Previous commitment to the Caps and the sport won’t matter Tuesday at 11 a.m., when the city’s first championship parade in a quarter-century begins on Constitution Avenue, near the Washington Monument, and culminates in a rally on the National Mall. Whether attendees have been faithful followers since the team’s years in Landover or got swept up by partying in Chinatown this month, everyone can rock some red and don some championship gear.
The Caps rewarded newcomers who gave hockey a chance this season.
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Posted on June 6th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
“Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you. But when I hate you, it’s because I love you.” — Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar
That line from a 1927 song could be part of a new national anthem for those who conscientiously object to certain aspects of life in America.
Take, for instance, the ordeal suffered by Milwaukee Bucks rookie Sterling Brown in January. Video of his disturbing treatment by lying police officers was released last month on the same day Roger Goodell announced a new NFL policy regarding the “Star Spangled Banner.”
The line from the jazz standard “Sometimes I’m Happy” references a romantic relationship between two people. But it also can be applied to the conflicting emotions that bubble inside fair-minded citizens when contemplating the social injustice, police brutality and systemic inequality they observe.
“Show respect for the flag and the anthem,” Goodell said four times in a statement May 23 as the league attempted to douse flames ignited by President Trump’s criticism of players who have knelt during the song. The new policy requires players on the field to stand at attention but allows any who choose to remain in the locker room.
That solution was simple … in the unlearned, ignorant, lacking-mental-acuteness sense of the word.
Unfortunately, that’s the level where Trump lives and he can’t be out-simplified.
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Posted on June 4th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
LeBron James leaped as he ran toward the basket and caught a high pass around the foul line Sunday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. While still in midair, he was sandwiched by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who hit him from the front, left and back. The contact caused him to stumble and stagger across the baseline with basketball in hand.
A referee directly in front of the Warriors bench was in great position and viewed the entire sequence. He watched James tumble out of bounds and crash into the stanchion. The official paused before giving a quick chirp-chip on his whistle and pointing the other way, awarding possession to Golden State.
“I mean, come on,” broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy said during replays of the blatant foul that wasn’t called. Co-analyst Mark Jackson asked, “What are you watching if you’re not watching that?” Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen stated what we thought was common knowledge: “Gotta give him space to land.”
The worst team on the floor through two games of the Finals has been the referees.
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Posted on May 31st, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
The number of games – not the series outcome – seems to be the only question.
As Golden State and Cleveland meet for their fourth consecutive NBA Finals, predictions of a Cavaliers’ triumph are as numerous as sunrises in the West. The Warriors got the nod from 24 of 24 ESPN experts; 15 envision a five-game series and one sees a sweep.
Analyst Jeff Van Gundy wasn’t on the list but shared his thoughts with reporters during a conference call. “This is the biggest difference that I remember between two teams heading into the Finals in my time in the NBA,” said Van Gundy, whose association with the Association dates to 1989. “I can’t think of a bigger gap from a team perspective.”
That’s saying a lot considering the talent gulf between San Antonio and Cleveland in 2007, and the Lakers and New Jersey in 2002, the most recent Finals sweeps. Only six other NBA champions have been crowned via the broom, but Golden State seems poised to join that group.
“It will be interesting to see how competitive LeBron James can make this Finals, but any game they get in this Finals would be a huge upset to me,” Van Gundy said. Cleveland needs “to be lights-out from three-point line to have a chance to win a game.”
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Posted on May 29th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Maybe next year.
That familiar refrain was on Boston’s mind Sunday after LeBron James advanced to the NBA Finals for the eighth consecutive season.
Boston expressed the same sentiment last season (and in 2012), just like Chicago, Indiana, Indiana again, Atlanta and Toronto in years prior. Three versions of the Celtics have been four wins from an Eastern Conference championship, but those squads – led by Paul Pierce, Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving – ultimately fared no better than doormats under James’ Nikes.
“He’s unbelievable,” Boston coach Brad Stevens told reporters Sunday after losing Game 7. “Every day that you’re totally focused on this and he’s gone past that eight straight times. It’s ridiculous, and he does it at this level with the pressure, with the scrutiny – doesn’t matter. It’s just unbelievable.”
Just as he did Friday, James looked tired at points during Game 7. But he defeated fatigue to play all 48 minutes, notching another sublime closeout performance. He entered with career averages of 34.9 points, eight rebounds 4.5 assists in Game 7s. That was sub-par compared to Sunday, when he had with 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, while connecting on half of his 24 shots.
The Cavs were without Kevin Love, their second-best player. Sharpshooter Kyle Korver was 1-for-6 from the field, all behind the arc. The bench contributed a whopping three points.
But none of that mattered because Cleveland had No. 23. James is now 6-2 in Game 7 situations after losing his first two.
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Posted on May 23rd, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Sometimes nothing reveals less about NBA teams than the result from their previous playoff game.
Boston lost to Cleveland by 30 points in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, a couple of games after thrashing the Cavaliers by 25.
Golden State lost to Houston on Tuesday, a couple of nights after routing the Rockets by 41 points in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
You want to make grand proclamations and sweeping assessments after each 48-minute segment of a best-of-seven series? Go right ahead.
Just understand you run the risk of looking foolish.
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Posted on May 22nd, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Sports’ ability to bind geographic kinfolk is fleeting, but it’s always strongest after tragic events and during championship runs.
When those conditions exist simultaneously, the result is epic.
On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas opened fired, killing 58 concertgoers and wounding hundreds of others. In a matter of minutes, a city known most for fun was forever linked to one of the nation’s gravest mass shootings.
The Vegas Golden Knights played the home opener of their inaugural NHL season nine days later. A crowd of 18,191 jammed into T-Mobile Arena, where the official hockey capacity is 17,500.
First responders escorted players onto the ice and there was a 58-second moment of silence to honor the lost. The Knights improved to 3-0 that night.
On Sunday, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. The team and its surprisingly hockey-crazed city are within four wins of the ultimate fairy-tale ending.
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Posted on May 18th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published on 106.7 The Fan)
Remember last season’s NBA playoffs, when Bradley Beal said Cleveland “didn’t want to see us” in the second round? The notion was laughable, considering Beal and the Wizards were sitting at home while the Cleveland battled Boston in the Eastern Conference finals.
Not much has changed this year, with the Cavaliers and Celtics engaged in a rematch and the Wizards on vacation. But the team that Washington – and the rest of the conference – must worry about isn’t Cleveland anymore.
It’s Boston.
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Posted on May 16th, 2018
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
For NBA fans like yours truly – those of us who love to watch LeBron James and grew up with a healthy abhorrence of the Celtics – the Eastern Conference finals have become a problem.
Why can’t Boston acquiesce to theories about young players and wait its turn like previous upstarts? Why can’t Cleveland ride its experience and coast to a fourth consecutive NBA Finals? Why can’t James’ brilliance be enough one more time, ensuring that we receive the maximum dosage possible this season?
Here’s my biggest question: Why can’t I hate these Celtics like the Celtics of years past?
Rooting against Boston is a time-honored tradition in my circle of native New Yorkers, Howard University alums and others who now call D.C. our home. We’re not old enough to have detested Red Auerbach’s Celtics with vigor, but the Larry Bird-Kevin-McHale-Robert Parish squads got our full attention and all the negative emotion we could muster.
Naturally, we all preferred Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers.
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