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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 Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo pauses while speaking during a media availability before a baseball game against the New York Mets at Nationals Park, Tuesday, July 31, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Nationals not ready to wave white flag yet

The momentum to break up this underachieving 2018 Nationals squad built over the final days before Tuesday's trading deadline, as fans clamored for trades that would bring the gold bullion known as prospects.

July 31, 2018
Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws during first inning of the Major League Baseball All-star Game, Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) **FILE**

Max Scherzer pitching his way to be likely bet for Cooperstown

You might want to keep your calendar open for the end of July starting in 2027, and maybe a few years beyond, just to be safe. That is likely when the first real Washington National -- pitcher Max Scherzer -- is on the stage in Cooperstown, talking about what it meant to help rebuild the foundation for baseball in the nation's capital.

July 29, 2018
FILE - In this May 29, 2012, file photo, Russian national ice hockey team member Alexander Ovechkin, right, holds a certficate of recognition given to him by President Vladimir Putin, left, in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. **FILE**

Alex Ovechkin destined for supporting role in Trump-Putin drama

No one knows for sure if Putin is coming, and if he does, when in the fall it might be. But October seems like the likely time, and the further away from the Nov. 6 election day, the better. In this political environment, who knows? But the Capitals have five home dates in October, and Putin could conceivably be in town for any one of them.

July 24, 2018
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg wipes his face between throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park in Washington, Friday, July 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) **FILE**

Mike Rizzo standing by Martinez

"They are probably as close teammates as there is. Pent up frustration, two competitive guys, and sometimes that is what happens." -- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo on Friday's dust-up between Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

July 22, 2018
Fireworks are displayed before the MLB Home Run Derby, at Nationals Park, Monday, July 16, 2018 in Washington. The 89th MLB baseball All-Star Game will be played Tuesday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) **FILE**

All-Star Game caps July sports renaissance in Washington D.C.

The landscape of sports in the region has changed so dramatically over the past two decades that July in Washington has become a sports fan's buffet -- topped off this July with Nationals Park hosting Major League Baseball's 89th All-Star Game Tuesday night, with a nationwide audience focused on the District.

July 17, 2018
Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper bats during a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, July 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Bryce Harper bats away pressure questions

"There is no elephant in the room, everyone knows that. I'm not really focused on that. I'm focused on what I can do to help the team win, and I look forward to doing that." That was Bryce Harper on the possibility this is his last year in Washington.

July 16, 2018
FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2016 file photo, the sun sets behind FedEx Field before an NFL football game between the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers in Landover, Md. Three politicians in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia are teaming up across partisan lines to try and prevent their governments from waging a bidding war with public money to build a new stadium for the Washington Redskins. The liberal Democrat in Maryland, conservative Republican in Virginia and left-leaning independent District of Columbia Council member have introduced legislation to set up an interstate compact barring any public spending on incentives for a new stadium. The current lease at FedEx Field in suburban Maryland ends in 2027 and the team is exploring new potential locations. (AP Photo/J. David Ake) ** FILE **

Orioles, Redskins look for Mr. Fixits

Like that blood-splattered car Jules and Vincent in "Pulp Fiction," the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Redskins are each a horrific, gut-churning mess that the folks in charge can't begin to figure out how to clean up.

July 10, 2018
Steve Schuh, county executive of Anne Arundel County, holds a copy of The Capital Gazette near the scene of a shooting at the newspaper's office, Friday, June 29, 2018, in Annapolis, Md. A man armed with smoke grenades and a shotgun attacked journalists in the building Thursday, killing several people before police quickly stormed the building and arrested him, police and witnesses said. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Capital Gazette: ‘We’re putting out a damn paper’

If people make a newsroom special, I'm guessing the Capital-Gazette newsroom was a transcendent place, based on the outpouring of emotions from fellow journalists who knew some or all of the five members of the newspaper staff killed by a gunman who invaded their newsroom Thursday afternoon

July 1, 2018
Washington Nationals' Jayson Werth waits to bat during a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally)

Jayson Werth value went beyond dollars

Jayson Werth's value to the Nationals can't be measured simply by numbers, at least not by the $126 million the team paid the star over seven years.

June 28, 2018
Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter, right, argues with home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater, center, after Scheurwater said Orioles relief pitcher Darren O'Day balked in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Monday, June 25, 2018, in Baltimore. Showalter and O'Day were ejected from the game. Also pictured is umpire Gary Cederstrom, at left. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

LOVERRO: In Baltimore, whispers of Orioles leaving

The Orioles face a second-straight losing season after making the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and coming off a season last year where they barely broke 2 million in attendance. This year, they are on pace for the lowest attendance -- averaging 20,062 -- since the ballpark opened in 1992.

June 26, 2018