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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

Washington Wizards forward Nene (42), from Brazil, shoots between Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Blake (5), center Pau Gasol (16), from Spain, and guard Jodie Meeks (20) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013, in Washington. Nene had 30 points and the Wizards won 116-111. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

LOVERRO: Despite Bradley Beal injury, signs of hope for Wizards

Bless the basketball fans in this town. They can set aside decades of ineptitude by the historically bad franchise – a franchise that has not won 50 games in an NBA season since 1979 – and get excited about a losing team in November.

November 28, 2013
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III rubs his head as he walks off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

LOVERRO: Time for RG3, Mike Shanahan to stand together

The SuperBob diva storyline is a runaway train. The questions being asked about Mike Shanahan's future here in Washington in the fourth year of his five-year contract include whether or not SuperBob wants him to stay, and how much influence the embattled quarterback may have with owner Daniel Snyder when that decision is made.

November 24, 2013
**FILE** Pete Rozelle, commissioner of the National Football League, talks at an informal news conference during a break in Washington on May 18, 1966 session of the league meeting in a Washington hotel. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)

LOVERRO: The NFL games no one wanted to play

Fifty years later, the decision by Pete Rozelle — the man who helped usher the NFL into its place today in America as the national passion — to allow football to be played while feelings were still so raw over JFK's death is still a dark cloud over his legacy.

November 21, 2013
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. The Eagles defeated the Redskins 24-16. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

LOVERRO: For RG3, it’s not the heat, it’s the humility

The interception at the end of the Philadelphia game was as much about the RG3 ego as anything — the voice inside his head that says "I can win the game because that's what I do." Not Sunday — and not most days this year. It's the difference between confidence and arrogance. It's the final chapter of the book of leadership.

November 18, 2013
Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan joins his team on the sidelines for the National Anthem before the Washington Redskins play the Detroit Lions at FedExField, Landover, Md., September 22, 2013. (Preston Keres/Special for The Washington Times)

LOVERRO: Like it or not, Mike Shanahan should remain with Redskins

If you call for the firing of Shanahan after this year, then you are no better than the owner who angered you for years with his meddling and influence. We all know that Shanahan told Daniel Snyder he would need five years to dig this franchise out of the grave the owner had dug for it. You have to give Shanahan that fifth season. You have to see the end of this movie.

November 14, 2013
SMU head coach Larry Brown, left, yells at a referee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against TCU in Dallas, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

LOVERRO: Here’s hoping rule changes can get college basketball in check

The last time we saw college basketball, it stunk. You can drone on about the glory of March Madness all you want, but it was brutal to watch — games like Syracuse's 61-50 tournament win over Indiana, when the Hoosiers shot 33 percent from the field, were becoming the rule, not the exception.

November 11, 2013
Ezra Cooper coached the D.C. Divas women's football team from 2001-2008. He died Oct. 26, 2013, at age 39. (D.C. Divas)

LOVERRO: Remembering Ezra Cooper, a bright spot in D.C. football

Ezra Cooper looked at the 80 women that had assembled at a sandlot field in the spring of 2001. They were there to talk about football – not understanding football so they could share in pigskin joy with their husbands or boyfriends; not powder-puff football or playing the game in their underwear. No, Cooper was about to teach this group of women how to play football – real football, with pads and hitting and blood and guts.

November 7, 2013
Dusty Hernandez Harrison from DC with a record of 17-0 will fight at Madison Square Garden this weekend. Photo courtesy of Golden Era Entertainment

LOVERRO: Hernandez-Harrison getting his chance to shine in Madison Square Garden

A chance to fight in boxing's "mecca" comes Saturday when 19-year-old Dusty Hernandez-Harrison – a rising undefeated welterweight out of Washington, D.C. and maybe the next big thing in boxing – steps into the ring at Madison Square Garden to face Josh Torres for something called the World Boxing Council Youth Welterweight world championship.

October 31, 2013
Longtime New York Giants and Washington Redskins linebacker Sam Huff, left, poses with his Pro Football Hall of Fame presenter and former coach Tom Landry following his Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speech in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 7, 1982. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

LOVERRO: Redskins-Cowboys rivalry lacks bite of bygone years

Yes, it was a great for Washington fans to witness the beating of Dallas twice last year, once on Thanksgiving to make the turkey taste a little better and a second time at FedEx Field to clinch the NFC East title. But then you witnessed RG3 offering Tony Romo comfort as they left the field.

October 10, 2013
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., left, meets with Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond, right, during batting practice before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

LOVERRO: Cal Ripken as Washington Nationals manager?

The Nationals job is a good one. Despite falling short of the postseason this year, many observers still believe this is one of the most talented rosters in baseball, and still poised for playoff contention for years to come. But it's not the only job out there.

October 3, 2013
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), left, talks with Washington Capitals Head Adam Oates, center, during morning practice at Washington Capitals Training Camp at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Arlington, Va., Monday, September 16, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

LOVERRO: Capitals have tools for success as they open season in new division

The last time the Capitals went beyond the second round of the NHL playoffs was the 1997-1998 season, when they won the Eastern Conference finals and were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals — the year before they entered the newly-created Southeast Division.

September 30, 2013
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) walks off the field as the Washington Redskins lose to the Detroit Lions 27-20 in NFL football at FedExField, Landover, Md., Monday, September 9, 2013. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

LOVERRO: Winless Redskins not passing the smell test

The Washington Redskins face the Raiders next Sunday at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, a dump of a stadium that is falling apart and literally stinks, with sewage coming out of the faucets last week after a rainstorm during an Athletics game. It may be the perfect setting for the Redskins' 0-3 season.

September 22, 2013