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Thom Loverro

Thom Loverro

tloverro@washingtontimes.com

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

In this Nov. 3, 2019 file photo, Washington owner Daniel Snyder is shown before an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File) **FILE**

Dan Snyder unbowed as pressure builds

Dan Snyder doesn't sound like someone who will simply succumb to public pressure and shame. It doesn't look like he's inclined to sell. And -- Jerry Richardson aside -- NFL owners rarely have the stomach for kicking out a member of their exclusive club.

September 1, 2020
John Thompson Jr., left, congratulates his son Georgetown head coach John Thompson III, right, after an NCAA college basketball game against Syracuse, Saturday, March 9, 2013, in Washington. Georgetown won 61-39 over Syracuse. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) **FILE**

John Thompson broke down walls

The District native made it clear early on he intended to knock down the walls that had kept Black coaches on the outside looking in.

August 31, 2020
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn talks to players during the first team meeting of the season for the NCAA college football team, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Todd Van Emst via AP)

Football at any cost is much to high a price

The country's divisions in poverty, health care, education and quality of life nearly run parallel to those football conferences that made the decision to go ahead and play with the country still suffering from fast-rising coronavirus rates -- and the damage that comes with the disease.

August 18, 2020
A man wearing a mask against the spread of the new coronavirus walks at the Olympic rings in front of the New National Stadium Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Tokyo. The postponed Tokyo Olympics have again reached the one-year-to-go mark. But the celebration is small this time with more questions than answers about how the Olympics can happen in the middle of a pandemic. That was before COVID-19 postponed the Olympics and pushed back the opening to July 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

City-bankrupting Olympics will drown Tokyo in debt

We were supposed to be right in the middle of the Olympics right now, coming to you taped for TV and live on the web, from Tokyo. Now the 2020 Games supposedly, will take place in 2021 -- wishful thinking.

August 4, 2020
The Washington Nationals bat against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) ** FILE **

Half-baked MLB restart built on broken promises

Even if you actually believe MLB's 113-page fairy tale could protect players, even if you could get players to adhere to the safety rules, the entire house of cards is built on the premise that the government would have had a handle on this crisis by now.

July 28, 2020
A 2019 World Series champions sign is displayed at Nationals Park, Wednesday, July 22, 2020 in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

LOVERRO: Ratings, rewards and risks — lots of risks

Baseball is back, along with a new 113-page manual to guard against coronavirus -- no spitting, masks in the dugout, mandated six-feet distance away from the playing field, and confined to the hotel they are staying in on the road, among many other little and large rules for life. That's what they are -- rules for life. No matter what the virus numbers say, the fear for players and their families is real, and with cause.

July 22, 2020
In this Oct. 6, 2019, file photo, fans watch play between the Washington Redskins and the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game, in Landover, Md. A new name must still be selected for the Washington Redskins football team, one of the oldest and most storied teams in the National Football League, and it was unclear how soon that will happen. But for now, arguably the most polarizing name in North American professional sports is gone at a time of reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the U.S. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) **FILE**

LOVERRO: No one can be surprised at latest dysfunction

The aura of self-destruction that has engulfed this franchise since Dan Snyder purchased the team more than 20 years ago has never been stronger. Like the Blob running through a small Pennsylvania town, it is consuming everything in its path.

July 16, 2020
FILE- In this Dec. 24, 1972, file photo, Washington Redskins coach George Allen waves to fans at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington as he leaves the field following the team's 16-3 win over the Green Bay Packesr in an NFL playoff game. At left is linebacker Harold McLinton. Washington’s NFL team will get rid of the name "Redskins" on Monday, July 13, according to multiple reports. It’s unclear when a new name will be revealed for one of the league’s oldest franchises. The team launched a "thorough review" of the name July 3.(AP Photo, File)

This isn’t good-bye, team you love left long ago

This team hasn't been the "Redskins" for quite some time, not the team you fell in love with. It's like seeing a version of the Temptations live without one single living member on stage who originally sang "Ball of Confusion." But you still love the songs. You still love hearing "Cloud Nine" and "My Girl," though.

July 13, 2020
Agence France-Presse / Getty Images Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa fascinated baseball fans with their pursuit of Roger Maris' record in 1998.

Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa saving baseball pure myth

It's disturbing that with the passage of time we seem to have learned nothing from the history of one of the biggest frauds perpetuated on the American sports public. Not only are we still seemingly ignorant of the truth, but blissfully so.

June 16, 2020
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2019, file photo, Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg smiles during a media availability at Nationals Park in Washington. Baseball’s amateur draft this week will look much different because of the coronavirus pandemic, and more permanent changes could be coming soon. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Stephen Strasburg: Clear skies after decade in storm

Everyone who saw Stephen Strasburg's major league debut would come away with a story, including the 14 Pittsburgh Pirates struck out over the seven innings pitched by the celebrated 21-year-old rookie. For Strasburg himself, the game was the beginning of a decade-long storm of lofty expectations.

June 9, 2020
Multi-millionaire Jack Kent Cooke, poses outside The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., the sports palace he's building as the home base of his Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, Nov. 7, 1967. Dedication of the $16 million edifice is set for Dec. 30. (AP Photo/Harold Filan) **FILE**

Jack Kent Cooke legacy in two opposites

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has closed on his deal to buy the fabulous Forum from Madison Square Garden for $400 million, with the intent of using it for concerts and other events while building an arena for his Clippers basketball team, who now share the Staples Center with the Lakers.

May 19, 2020