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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

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks at a news conference Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

LOVERRO: Goodell is big on promises, short on delivery

Roger Goodell's time running the NFL has been a reign that reeks of hypocrisy -- particularly when Goodell is forced to address the sins of the league when it comes to the treatment of minorities and women. But the stench has been perfumed by the $15 billion in annual revenue and high ratings in the barren wasteland of network television.

February 10, 2022
Dan and Tanya Snyder, co-owner and co-CEOs of the Washington Commanders, pose for photos after unveiling their NFL football team's new identity, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Landover, Md. The new name comes 18 months after the once-storied franchise dropped its old moniker following decades of criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) ** FILE **

LOVERRO: NFL’s ‘investigation’ of Washington was a sham from the start

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a roundtable with some former employees of the local NFL franchise, now known as the Washington Commanders, and before that, the Washington Football Team (and before that, the Washington Redskins). When the roundtable was over, the list of embarrassing allegations against owner Dan Snyder and his organization was longer than the line of Commanders fans looking to get new gear at Ghost Town Field.

February 8, 2022
In this Oct. 7, 2007, file photo, Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor carries the ball during an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Landover, Md. The Washington Football Team plans to retire late safety Sean Taylor's number before its upcoming game against Kansas City. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

LOVERRO: Indian advocates suggest new use for Washington’s discarded helmet logo

The Washington Football Team -- now the Washington Commanders -- certainly has no more use for its old Redskins Indian head helmet logo. So Donald Wetzel is asking the team to give the trademarked symbol -- a striking and dignified design that his Indian grandfather helped create -- back to the people it was intended to honor.

February 2, 2022
San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds celebrates after hitting his 756th career home run against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning of their baseball game in San Francisco, on Aug. 7, 2007. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and David Ortiz appear to be the only players with a chance at Hall of Fame enshrinement when results are unveiled Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, with Ortiz most likely to get in on his first try. Bonds and Clemens are each in their 10th and final turns under consideration by voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, file) **FILE**

LOVERRO: A generation learns the truth with Bonds, Clemens left out of Hall of Fame

The Cheated Generation finally got handed the check Tuesday. Their heroes, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, were passed over by baseball writers for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the 10th and final time -- and it was like that moment when the mark realizes he's just been scammed: Pain. Anger. Lingering disbelief and delusion.

January 26, 2022
Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera looks onto the field during an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally) **FILE**

LOVERRO: Rivera has the wheel, but the road looks the same

Before the distance grows too far from the 2021 Washington Football season and people say nice things about it -- character, right direction, all the words we've heard before at so many other season closures -- let's do an inventory.

January 10, 2022
Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) gets up slowly after taking a hard hit in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman) **FILE**

LOVERRO: Don’t expect to find any soul-searching with this Washington franchise

You might have been able to stir up some sympathy if they were a sympathetic lot. But this franchise is a magnet for scorn and ridicule, from the half-empty seats in Landover to the "we-bought-custom-benches-too" sidelines in Dallas to the squalid corridors of the headquarters in Ashburn. All of it earned.

December 27, 2021
Washington Football Team guard Brandon Scherff (75) lays on the ground on a scoring play during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 in Landover. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.) **FILE**

LOVERRO: Washington’s David and Goliath tale takes hit from cold reality of NFL

The storybook portion of the season may have run its course. The stadium full of Cowboys fans should have told you that this isn't some sort of fable anymore. The reality is a wrecked Washington franchise under congressional investigation with a 6-7 record hanging on to a hope of squeezing into the playoffs.

December 13, 2021
D.C. Divas general manager LaMont Jordan shows wide receiver Lexie Floor how to get off the line of scrimmage in a tackle football practice as Jessica Johnson looks on. (Courtesy of Rich Daniel).

LOVERRO: D.C. Divas embrace Jordan’s passion for the game of football

Some of these women may have never heard of LaMont Jordan. Others may have grown up watching him rush for more than 1,000 yards for the Oakland Raiders and catch 70 passes in 2005, the best season of his nine-year NFL career. But they were all fixated on every word Jordan said, recognizing the value of lessons from someone who played the game at the highest level -- maybe even a little star struck.

December 9, 2021
Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) looks to pass against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

LOVERRO: Rivera, teammates have growing faith in their own giant-killing David

On Sunday, Goliath was Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders' $125 million quarterback who was leading the NFL in passing before the 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team. Heinicke tossed a rock right at the Raiders' head, leading his team on the last-minute drive that led to Brian Johnson's 48-yard game-winning field goal.

December 6, 2021
In this Sept. 13, 2020, file photo, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III (3) stands on the field before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Baltimore. The former Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Bowl quarterback has signed a multi-year deal with ESPN to be a college football and NFL analyst. The deal also allows Griffin III to seek a playing opportunity with a team if one arises. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File) **FILE**

LOVERRO: RG3’s tell-all may be silver lining to twisted saga

Robert Griffin III -- the architect of both brief times of triumph followed by long stretches of pain -- woke Washington Football Team fans from their dreams with the news he posted on his Twitter account that he will have a book coming out next August. The title? "Surviving Washington."

December 1, 2021