Thom Loverro
Columns by Thom Loverro
LOVERRO: The Nationals have gone from circus to a baseball team in a decade
It took a lot of faith to be a Nationals fans in those early days of spring training at Space Coast Stadium in the 321 area code – which, if you haven't figured it out yet, is final countdown for a rocket launch. Published February 16, 2014
LOVERRO: Pride of the Yankees? It very well could be Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter, who announced this would be his last season, represented the pride of the storied baseball franchise as well as any player ever did who wore the pinstripes. Published February 13, 2014
LOVERRO: Bud Selig’s parting gift should be convincing Jameis Winston to stick with baseball
This is what baseball commissioner Bud Selig needs to – go to Tallahassee, sit down with Jameis Winston, and explain to him the wisdom of choosing Major League Baseball as a career over the National Football League. Published February 11, 2014
LOVERRO: Alex Ovechkin vs. Team USA creates a rooting quandary for local fans
If you were a Washington hockey fan growing up as a kid in the 1980s, you, like many hockey kids around the country, may have had a poster of Jim Craig with the American flag draped around him hanging on your wall. Now kids here likely have an Ovechkin poster. They wear an Ovechkin jersey. Published February 9, 2014
LOVERRO: In many ways, Sochi is the perfect Olympics host city
The Winter Olympics open Thursday in Sochi, Russia, amidst tales of construction nightmares, toxic sludge, and stray dogs hiding in fear for their lives in the wake of the city's campaign to seek and exterminate the animals. Published February 6, 2014
LOVERRO: He’s no relic, but Jim Fassel sits at home while Jay Gruden gets his shot
You remember Fassel, don't you? He had one foot in the door to coach the Redskins not once, but twice. He won two UFL championships, beating not only Gruden but Jim Haslett the year before. Yet here is Jay Gruden, the guy who lost to Jim Fassel, with a five-year, $20 million NFL head coaching contract. Published February 4, 2014
LOVERRO: A Super Bowl ring stands out for quarterbacks when career evaluations are made
Being the quarterback of a Super Bowl champion is a crown like no other in sports. It can define their entire career, and elevate their status in the history of football for generations to come. Published February 2, 2014
LOVERRO: In midst of Super Bowl spectacle, the wreckage of human lives
Imagine if at the Phillip Morris annual stockholders meeting, they paraded around cancer victims who told their stories of facing death? Welcome to Super Bowl week, which has become a parade of former players with their tales of destruction, depression and dysfunction resulting from the very game the entire event exists to celebrate. Published January 30, 2014
LOVERRO: ‘Express Yourself,’ a sports anthem for all times
The song written by Charles Wright and performed by him and his Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band in 1971 still resonates in 2014, with Chevrolet the latest company to use the song in a commercial. Published January 28, 2014
LOVERRO: In a world basically devoid of mystery, Yankees provide some with Tanaka signing
You can argue that the biggest mystery today is that there is no mystery anymore. And then the New York Yankees pay $155 million to a pitcher that most of America has never seen before, a hurler from a faraway land. Published January 23, 2014
LOVERRO: The best quarterbacks coach for the Redskins is one of their quarterbacks
So since we're in a welcome back mode, I'd like to see someone else return next season for the new Jay Gruden era – Rex Grossman. I've grown accustomed to his place. Published January 21, 2014
LOVERRO: Burden on Peyton Manning in Tom Brady matchup
Brady is 10-4 against Manning in his career, 2-1 in the playoffs. Manning has a losing career playoff record of 10-11, with one Super Bowl and one loss. Published January 16, 2014
LOVERRO: Baseball’s steroid era steeped in myths and lies
Coming on the heels of the debate over Hall of Fame voting, and the failure of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and others to garner much support on the ballot, the A Rod suspension is either the height or the depth of a tarnished era, depending on your point of view. Published January 13, 2014
LOVERRO: Without Jon Gruden, no one knows a thing about Jay Gruden
If Jay Gruden's name was Pincus McCoy, we never would have heard from him. As it is, his name is Gruden – the other Gruden being his better-known brother, Jon, the former NFL coach and Monday Night Football analyst and ESPN network star – and he is the new Washington Redskins head coach. Published January 9, 2014
LOVERRO: Remembering an American original in former Redskin John Wilbur
John Wilbur's football resume includes a stint with the Washington Redskins. His life resume? John Wilbur was an American original. Published January 6, 2014
LOVERRO: Shanahan’s parting gift to RG3 was removal from line of fire
Odds are the following words will be spoken by the Redskins Politburo to every candidate interviewing for the head coaching job: "Don't believe everything you read. He's really not that bad." Will they be talking about the owner or the quarterback? Published January 2, 2014
LOVERRO: Mike Shanahan exits, but questions and mysteries remain
Mike Shanahan followed the tradition of Redskins coaches now by leaving a trail of wreckage behind him – a steaming, heaping pile of controversy and chaos. It is the Redskins way of the 21st century. But he leaves behind a list of questions and mysteries as well. Published December 30, 2013
LOVERRO: There’s a coach out there who fits the Redskins’ dysfunction perfectly
The Washington Redskins seem to break new ground nearly every season in NFL dysfunction. They play their final game of the season Sunday against the New York Giants at Met Life Stadium, but the must-watch moments will come when the game is over. Published December 26, 2013
LOVERRO: Determining naughty, nice on Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
Unlike some of the writers who struggle with whether or not to keep some candidates out for use of performance-enhancing substances, I'm at peace with my decision to not vote for those candidates, and here is why — election to the Hall of Fame is a privilege, not a right. Published December 23, 2013
LOVERRO: Mike Shanahan’s QB bets keep busting in D.C.
I believe Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is a good football coach, and a quarterback guru. And if this is true – that Mike Shanahan is a good coach who knows quarterbacks – then he is on the worst losing streak a gambler like Shanahan has ever seen. Published December 20, 2013
