Thom Loverro
Columns by Thom Loverro
LOVERRO: Add FIFA’s snub of Ghost Town Field to list of Snyder lowlights
Lost in the sea of embarrassment that sweeps over this organization seemingly on a daily basis was the fact that in Washington's bid to host 2026 World Cup games, the gangsters at FIFA took one look at Ghost Town Field and said, "How about Baltimore? Published May 2, 2022
LOVERRO: Cheers for Ovechkin have taken a sinister turn since Ukraine
We've let Ovechkin skate too long for his relationship with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Published April 27, 2022
LOVERRO: Start to this season enough to make anyone sick
Washington Nationals third baseman Lucius Fox took a few steps toward the dugout after Joan Adon's second pitch and threw up. Maybe he had a clue what was to come -- a 15-hit, 12-3 beatdown by the San Francisco Giants, sweeping the Nationals for the first time in Washington since 2008. Published April 24, 2022
LOVERRO: For better or worse, wrist surgery likely sealed Beal’s max deal
Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard should feel comfortable -- very comfortable. After all, the deal for Bradley Beal continuing his career with this franchise was done when Beal had surgery in early February to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, according to sources. Published April 19, 2022
LOVERRO: COVID cost some their jobs. It may cost the Lerners their baseball team.
The Lerners -- basking in the glow of the first Natonals victory of 2022, Sunday's 4-2 win over the New York Mets, attended by some Washington fans -- announced Monday that they are looking for a financial infusion, or, more likely, someone to buy the team. Published April 11, 2022
LOVERRO: Nationals save face by avoiding a season-opening sweep
The season may yet slip away, perhaps sometime soon. After all, the power and glory quotient when you walk into that Nationals clubhouse now is much dimmer than it has been in the past decade. But it didn't slip away Sunday. Not yet. Not yet. What the Nationals did show was the kind of emotion and execution you see in those teams that beat the odds. Published April 10, 2022
LOVERRO: Long-shot Nationals need every little thing to fall into place
The 2022 season may be one without the expectations Nationals fans have had over the last decade. There are a lot of ways this season could go for Washington. Published April 4, 2022
LOVERRO: Watson, Hill deals showcase true values of Goodell, NFL owners
Two players whose behavior makes a mockery of Roger Goodell's "important values" received $355 million. Let's stop the pretense. The league, its owners, the front offices and the coaches don't really care about standards and responsibilities. They care about football and the money that football generates. Published March 28, 2022
LOVERRO: Two former Redskins share a connection with the late Joe Louis through rural Alabama town
Louis built his championship boxing career in Detroit, where they have honored him with a monument known as "The Fist" -- a 24-foot-long sculpture with a fisted hand suspended by a 24-foot-high pyramid framework. He died in 1981 at the age of 66, and he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. But it all began in the hills of rural Alabama. Published March 23, 2022
LOVERRO: Cruz, Wentz might as well be a million miles apart on road to accountability
The two events introducing new stars to Washington fans were more than a thousand miles apart, but a common theme ran through both: The question of character, from the perspective of both strength and weakness. Published March 17, 2022
LOVERRO: Gray wears being a Black starter in majors ‘with pride’
Gray, 24, doesn't presume he has a job in the rotation -- he called it a "potential spot." And there is nothing official yet. But it's likely Gray could be the third or fourth starter in the Nationals' rotation for 2022. If so, he will have the eyes of a city with a strong Black community fixed on him. Published March 16, 2022
LOVERRO: Zimmerman’s absence looms large for the next-gen Nats
Zimmerman may have never been the loudest noise that came out of the clubhouse but his quiet nature sometimes spoke volumes. Published March 15, 2022
LOVERRO: Soto stays grounded as the face of the Nationals’ franchise
It is challenging for Soto to stay grounded as he appears to be, given his rising star status as one of the game's elite players, sometimes compared to Ted Williams. Soto is 23, and there are young players in that clubhouse, some of whom are even older than him, who look at him like that -- a superstar. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said it Sunday -- this is Soto's team. Published March 14, 2022
LOVERRO: Countdown on Rivera’s job begins with Wentz trade
You can start the countdown now for Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera. Start the clock the moment Carson Wentz puts on a Commanders jersey at a press conference and tells everyone how he is looking forward to playing for the coach. Tick, tick, baby -- the job countdown will commence. Published March 10, 2022
LOVERRO: Everett’s future being kept under wraps by Commanders
I didn't learn anything about the only active franchise player, from what I can determine, who has ever been criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 80-year history of the team. I didn't learn why Everett, with Rivera's quest to change the culture, is still on the team. Published March 7, 2022
LOVERRO: Where was the sporting world’s righteous outrage during the Beijing Games?
Phil Mickelson briefly became public enemy No. 1 -- he lost the top ranking when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine -- for his comments about his support for the proposed Saudi-financed Super Golf League. But where was all that outrage a few weeks earlier, at the Winter Olympics? Published March 3, 2022
LOVERRO: Alex Ovechkin and the day the fun and games ended
The bill has come due for Alex Ovechkin and "PutinTeam," the social media campaign that the hockey star started five years ago to support Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Published February 28, 2022
LOVERRO: Goodell and the women running interference for the NFL owners
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has recruited another one of his cheerleaders to protect "The Shield" -- former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White -- to investigate the latest sexual misconduct allegations against Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder that emerged from the recent House Oversight Committee roundtable. Published February 22, 2022
LOVERRO: Taylor earned fans’ adulation, opponents’ respect
Charley Taylor, who passed away Saturday, was a powerful dancer on the field. Published February 20, 2022
LOVERRO: Labor strife leaves fans numb to universal DH approval
There was a time when the debate about the designated hitter in baseball was as passionate and bitter as the divide over COVID-19 vaccines. You picked your friends based on whether or not they thought the refusal to adopt the DH by the National League had been handed down from Mount Sinai, or if they looked upon the American League's embrace of the designated hitter as blasphemy. Published February 16, 2022
