By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
According to a familiar school of thought, winning is everything and the only thing. You know, play to win; that’s the name of the game.
When fans spend part of their limited disposable income on tickets, the expectation is that both teams will play hard. The competition presumably will be earnest and honest, with each squad doing its best to come away with a victory.
That’s the case for players on the field, driven by pride if nothing else.
But that’s not necessarily true for executives in the front office.
Take, for instance, the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013-16. No one in uniform was intent on going 47-199 over that stretch. Getting beat night after night is no fun, even though direct deposits remain unaffected.
The players were trying, but then-GM Sam Hinkie was tanking.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Did you hear about the latest incident of racist expression wrapped in innocuous words?
It happened Saturday night in Chicago, where four fans thought they were clever in showering Washington forward Devante Smith-Pelly with an otherwise non-offensive chant.
“Basketball, basketball, basketball!”
That would be strange even if Smith-Pelly played for the Wizards instead of the Capitals. But aimed at a black hockey player, the taunt reeked of bigotry and prejudice, which seem to be making a comeback in public expressions at every level.
Last month during basketball games at North Arkansas College, fans reportedly made monkey noises while members of the visiting men’s and women’s teams – made up of predominantly black players – were on the free throw line. One member of the crowd mimicked crow caws, likely a reference to the South’s Jim Crow laws and definitely a derogatory phrase mentioned in the classic novel “Moby Dick.”
Earlier this month during a high school basketball game in Cincinnati, students chanted racial terms at an African-American player and a multiracial player. The former, headed to an Ivy League college in the fall, endured chants like “He can’t read!”; “He smokes crack!”; and “He’s on welfare!” The latter, whose mother is Asian, was subjected to shouts of “P.F. Chang!”; “Open your eyes!”; “A-sian!”; and “USA!”
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Putting aside promotions sponsored by the Department of Defense this decade – the jet flyovers, uniformed color guards, unfurled field-length flags and other armed forces’ tie-ins – the NFL has commingled with military terminology for a long time.
Deep passes are bombs. Defenses blitz the quarterback. Offenses use ground attacks to set up air attacks. The game sometimes (but always ill-advisedly) is referred to as war.
When teams “go to battle,” trust is essential. Players are counted on to show up when they’re supposed to and do what they’re supposed to. Unreliable teammates quickly fall out of favor. Steady and dependable teammates earn one of the highest compliments:
They’re the type of guy you want in your foxhole.
Washington players must wonder: Is Su’a Cravens one of those guys?
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Cleveland might not win the O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy this season.
But the Cavaliers GM might need a spot for the NBA Executive of the Year Trophy.
In one fell swoop last week, Koby Altman transformed his bickering, lethargic and unathletic team into a jubilant, robust collection of multiskilled players who can push the pace, create their own shots and add defense to the mix.
Altman’s trade-deadline maneuvers – acquiring four players from three teams – were stunning on paper and looked better on hardwood in the revamped Cavs’ first game. Cleveland routed Boston in a nationally-televised matchup of Eastern Conference heavyweights.
The Cavs not only spoiled the mood on Paul Pierce Day, they sent a strong message to other teams: We’re back.
Never mind that LeBron James stills plays for Cleveland and at age 33 remains the game’s top player. Never mind that the Cavs entered Sunday’s contest as the East’s No. 3 seed. Never mind that the last three NBA Finals have featured Cleveland and James has played in the last seven.
Cleveland, as constructed prior to Altman’s handiwork, was a dead team walking, exhibiting little life, less energy and no hope.
“We were marching a slow death,” Altman told reporters Thursday. “We didn’t want to be a part of that.”
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Keep it simple, yes.
But don’t be stupid.
You want a reason for the Wizards’ five-game winning streak without point guard John Wall. You want an explanation for Washington averaging 32 assists per game during the streak, eight more than its season average.
You want an answer for the squad’s dramatic rise in productivity; only one game during the run didn’t feature at least five Wizards with double-figures scoring.
I understand. But a crazy notion has bubbled underneath the surface and it must be stomped down before it grows stronger.
No, no – to the umpteenth degree – no. Wall’s absence is not a good thing.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
The 2017 season was a rough one for the NFL, full of political potshots, lower TV ratings, higher fan apathy, questionable replay rulings and controversial concussion protocols.
The league needed a great Super Bowl to drown its sorrow, at least for one night, and Philadelphia and New England delivered (unless you’re an aficionado of stout defenses).
That’s not to suggest the NFL’s troubles magically disappeared in the Eagles’ 41-33 upset over the Patriots.
President Trump was at it again, releasing a pre-game message about our freedom “as we proudly stand for the National Anthem.” Protesters blocked a light-rail line to the stadium. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Friday concluded that the league’s core audience has suffered a 9% decrease in interest since 2014.
There was no escape from familiar on-the-field woes either.
New England wideout Brandin Cooks absorbed a wicked-hard helmet-to-helmet hit early in the second quarter and didn’t return. He was diagnosed with “a head injury,” presumably a kinder-gentler euphemism for concussions. (Maybe the NFL will follow hockey’s lead and describe all future injuries as head, lower body or upper body).
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Washington’s NFL franchise doesn’t do simple. It doesn’t do clever or competent, either.
No, pro football in the nation’s capital is a ham-handed operation, one series of shaky decisions followed by another. It’s a sequence of questionable rationalizations and a string of baffling moves.
Sound judgment and stability? Insightfulness and foresight? Hah! Those are foreign concepts in Ashburn, treated like enemies of the state. The franchise’s operation manual apparently can be summed up thusly: “Determine how New England, Pittsburgh or Green Bay would proceed, and then do the exact opposite.”
We figured Kirk Cousins had played his last game in burgundy and gold after two years of painful irresolution. Adore him or abhor him, he likely was heading elsewhere next season, freeing us from the daily, mind-numbing debate on his worthiness to receive a market-value contract.
Of course, smart organizations don’t position themselves to lose a homegrown, highly productive quarterback entering his prime. For that matter, neither do clueless organizations. Washington’s ineptitude in reaching this stage is a well-documented precedent, the NFL’s first instance of back-to-back franchise tags slapped on a quarterback.
Unfortunately,
Atlanta appears on the Wizards’ schedule just one more time.
But if Washington
can replicate the style of play exhibited in Saturday’s rout against the Hawks,
it’s OK that other opponents won’t have the Eastern Conference’s worst
record.
With John Wall
sitting out due to a sore left knee, the Wizards turned in one of their best
performances. They tied a franchise record (set earlier this season) by
connecting on 18 3-pointers. Of their 49 field goals, 40 were via assists; the
franchise hadn’t recorded that many assists since 1992. They shot 57 percent
from the field and 56 percent from behind the arc.
“I think everybody
just picked up the slack for John Wall not playing,” Hawks coach Mike
Budenholzer told reporters after the 129-104 blowout.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
I have two daughters, one at Morgan State.
The other goes to Michigan State.
But no matter where my girls attended college – be it Mississippi State, Montana State, Missouri State, or a school that doesn’t have MSU for initials – I would be just as concerned about them and other female students on campus.
Having spent part of my young adulthood in dorms and at college parties, I understand the dangerous situations young women can face at institutions of higher education. Being away from home and on their own – surrounded by mind-altering substances and men often with one thing in mind – is risky enough.
The peril only increases when those young men are athletes in revenue sports.
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