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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

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, file photo, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder listens to head coach Ron Rivera during a news conference at the team's NFL football training facility, in Ashburn, Va. A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press the NFL has taken over the independent investigation into workplace conduct within the Washington Football Team. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Dan Snyder fate more pivotal than playoff cameo

The outside probe of sexual misconduct at Washington Football Team headquarters could be this generation's version of the Lombardi Trophy, if somehow, the report ends up forcing out owner Dan Snyder.

November 29, 2020
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) looses his helmet as he is tackled by Washington Football Team defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (93) and defensive end Chase Young (99), during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, in Landover. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

No Burrow, no bite for Bengals in loss to Washington

It was Washington's third win of the season (3-7) and keeps them in the middle of the warped NFC East division battle, with their next game against one of the three teams Washington has already beaten.

November 22, 2020
Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Roger Staubach grimaces as he loses yards during second quarter action Nov. 28, 1974 in Irving, Texas. Making the tackle is Washington Redskins Verlon Biggs (86), Ron McDole (79) and Diron Talbert (72). (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman) **FILE**

Verlon Biggs hero of Over-the-Hill Gang

"There is hardly a day I go through where I don't think about Verlon Biggs," Hall of Fame safety Ken Houston told me when I was researching the book, "Hail Victory: An Oral History of the Washington Redskins."

November 1, 2020
Washington Football Team's Ron Rivera, left, talks to New York Giants' Joe Judge, right, after an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 20-19. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Ron Rivera and difference between good, bad odds

Ron Rivera put his "Riverboat Ron" reputation on the line Sunday after his team came back from a 20-13 deficit to the New York Giants to score on a 22-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Allen to Cam Simms with less than a minute remaining.

October 18, 2020
Washington Football Team's Alex Smith walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Landover, Md. The Rams won 30-10. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

LOVERRO: Hallmark moments and double-digit losses

The Smith comeback, 693 days after he suffered a gruesome broken leg against the Houston Texans in 2018 that required 17 surgeries to fully repair, was the feel-good moment of the day Sunday at Ghost Town Field against the Los Angeles Rams.

October 11, 2020
Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins (7) looks to throw during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

LOVERRO: Welcome to the process. Buckle up.

The interception-free Dwayne Haskins from the first two games this season was a no-show Sunday. But this is the process, we're told. Take a seat. Settle in.

September 27, 2020
Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona loss doesn’t figure on Rivera’s scoreboard

No matter what you thought of the Washington Football Team following its 27-17 upset opening win the week before over the NFC East defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, going out to Glendale to face a rejuvenated Cardinals team, led by their young second-year coach Kliff Kingsbury and his second-year quarterback phenom Kyler Murray, was going to be a tough ask.

September 21, 2020
Washington Football Team linebacker Jon Bostic (53) takes down Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (11) for a sack during a match against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFL game, Sunday, September 13, 2020 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Dan Snyder on keeping Washington Football Team

Dan Snyder pretty much told the Wall Street Journal Sunday he doesn't really care what his team is called. Asked via email about keeping the name, "Washington Football Team" for good, Snyder replied, "Sure, it's possible."

September 13, 2020
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