Skip to content
Advertisement

Thom Loverro

Thom Loverro

Thom Loverro has been a professional journalist since 1977, working for a number of newspapers, including eight years as a news editor and reporter for The Baltimore Sun, where he covered government, politics, and crime. He moved into sports writing when he joined The Washington Times in 1992. He moved to The Washington Examiner as a sports columnist in 2009 and returned to The Washington Times in 2013, where he is currently the lead sports columnist.

Columns by Thom Loverro

Washington Nationals players celebrate after Game 4 of the baseball National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, in Washington. The Nationals won 7-4 to win the series 4-0. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Nationals give the fans history, joy, a World Series

"We're not here solving the world's problems. We're here playing a baseball game. Some of you guys have done it since you were 3, 4 years old. So just go out there and have fun." That was Dave Martinez, telling his players to enjoy the moment. Players heard him, and so, for that matter, did Nationals fans. Published October 15, 2019

Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith, bottom, slides under Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph (24) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) **FILE**

Alex Smith had multiple leg surgeries

The last count we got on surgeries for Redskins quarterback Alex Smith was six -- an alarming amount of operations on the broken leg he suffered on Nov. 18, 2018, against the Houston Texans. But what if I told you that wasn't even close to the count? Published October 15, 2019

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg throws during the fifth inning of Game 3 of the baseball National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Stephen Strasburg’s tenacity, brilliance now define legacy

Monday night before a packed and raucous sold-out Nationals Park crowd of 43,675 energized by their team's first NL Championship Series home game, Stephen Strasburg focused on what he could control -- and he controlled the St. Louis Cardinals for seven innings of one-run baseball. Published October 14, 2019

Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle, left, and catcher Yan Gomes leap in celebration after the team's 7-3 win in Game 5 of a baseball National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Nationals exorcise their demons in the City of Angels

This 2019 team has a personality the others did not -- one built for adversity. Those previous four Nationals postseason teams coasted to division titles. This team, as Martinez has said so often, has essentially played a wild card game every day since that 19-31 start. Published October 10, 2019

Washington Redskins president and general manager Bruce Allen, left, stands with owner Daniel Snyder during practice at the team's NFL football training facility, Sunday, July 27, 2014 in Roanoke, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) **FILE**

Redskins’ brass may be dangerous to team’s health

In 2019, it may be time for the media to require this warning with all references to the Washington Redskins: "Warning -- the Washington Redskins are not a real NFL franchise. It doesn't matter who plays quarterback. It doesn't matter who coaches. Nothing matters as long as Dan Snyder owns the team." Published October 7, 2019

Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin, lowers his head as manager Dave Martinez, right, walks over during a pitching change in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 3 of a baseball National League Division Series on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, in Washington. Patting Corbin on the back Anthony Rendon (6). Corbin was charged with six of the Dodgers' seven runs in the inning. The Dodgers won 10-4. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Patrick Corbin relief stint goes off the rails

Sunday night's Game 3 loss pours a little cold water on the idea that the Nationals can paper over the holes in their bullpen by slipping in starters like Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin as relief pitchers. Published October 6, 2019

Los Angeles Dodgers' Gavin Lux hits a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals during Game 1 of baseball's National League Divisional Series on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOVERRO: Game 1 dominated by Dodgers

Patrick Corbin said he signed with Washington because he wanted the ball on the mound in a playoff game. On Thursday, though, it looked, early, as though he would have rather been just about anywhere else. Published October 4, 2019

Houston Texans tight end Darren Fells (87) makes a touchdown reception in the second half during the American Football game between the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Chargers at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, USA, 22 September 2019.

NFL teams fight for place in saturated L.A. market

The Los Angeles Dodgers' real competition isn't the NFL. It's the Los Angeles Lakers. No one else matters, really, which makes the city atypical of most sports markets, where NFL franchises reign. Published October 3, 2019

Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon answers a question during a news conference prior to practice for Game 1 of the NLDS baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anthony Rendon-Cody Bellinger MVP debate to be part of NLDS narrative

A sideshow to the Washington Nationals-Los Angeles Dodgers National League Division Series beginning Thursday night at Dodger Stadium will likely be the battle of the Most Valuable Player candidates -- or, more accurately, their home crowd backers. Published October 2, 2019

Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Stan Kasten, left, talks with manager Dave Roberts prior to the team's baseball game against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Stan Kasten has golden touch for Dodgers

Since Stan Kasten joined with Mark Walter to purchase the Dodgers in 2012, the franchise has won seven straight National League West division titles and the last two NL pennants. This year they finished 106-54. Published October 2, 2019

Washington Nationals' Juan Soto gets a kiss from his father, Juan Jose Soto, right, after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in a National League wild-card baseball game at Nationals Park, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Juan Soto gets biggest dance in Nationals’ wild card party

Soto wants to dance -- and dance he did Tuesday night, leading the Nationals to a dramatic comeback 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers to win the National League Wild Card Game and sending his team into the NL Division Series, where they will face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Published October 2, 2019

Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins speaks to reporters after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants defeated the Redskins 24-3. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dwayne Haskins cannot cure Redskins’ sickness

Coaches, quarterbacks and players come and go -- and none of them can fix a poisonous culture in which a rookie is inexplicably empowered before he ever steps foot at Redskins Park. Published October 1, 2019

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez walks in the dugout in the sixth inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Dave Martinez at heart of Nationals turnaround

Give Dave Martinez his due -- the Nationals came back from the dead after the first two months of the season to play the best baseball in the National League. Published September 26, 2019

Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins throws before an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Redskins quarterback argument could be epic

Here we are, three weeks into the NFL season, and we've got chaos and carnage surrounding the Washington Redskins already -- and we haven't even gotten to the signature Redskins controversy yet. The quarterback argument. Published September 24, 2019