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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 pitcher Max Scherzer throws a bullpen session during spring training baseball practice Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) **FILE**

Max Scherzer says Rizzo deserves long-term deal

The Washington Nationals have a lot invested in Max Scherzer -- a seven-year, $210 million contract signed two years ago -- but Scherzer had a lot invested in the Nationals' future as well.

February 21, 2018
FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2017, file photo, Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) walks in the dugout before Game 5 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs, at Nationals Park in Washington. There will be one very important question hovering over Harper and the Nationals throughout spring training and the entire 2018 season: Will this be his last year with the club? (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Bryce Harper tells media: No questions about contract

The Washington Nationals superstar, entering his final contract year, met with those he wants to wall off -- the media -- on Monday at Nationals spring training and declared that he would only be answering questions related to the 2018 season.

February 19, 2018
FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2017 file photo, Washington Nationals catcher Matt Wieters listens to a question during a media availability before Game 5 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs at Nationals Park, in Washington. Wieters is exercising his $10.5 million contract option for next season with the Washington Nationals. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Matt Wieters has no time to dwell in the past

There was a lot that went wrong for the Nationals in Game 5 of last October's National League Division Series loss to the Cubs. It was a team meltdown. But Matt Wieters' fifth-inning contribution was a big part of it.

February 14, 2018
FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2017, file photo, Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) walks in the dugout before Game 5 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs, at Nationals Park in Washington. There will be one very important question hovering over Harper and the Nationals throughout spring training and the entire 2018 season: Will this be his last year with the club? (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Nationals carry the burden of Lerner expectations

Good news for Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner. When he gets to West Palm Beach for spring training, he'll find the World Series trophy there. Granted, it will be on the Houston Astros' side of the training facility they share with the Nationals, but at least he can get close to it.

February 13, 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 **

Ted Leonsis signals new direction

Was last week's announcement of $40 million in renovations at Capital One Arena an indication that building owner Ted Leonsis has given up his quest for a new arena at the RFK site?

February 11, 2018
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speaks at a news conference prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Olympics as sleazy as sports get

We are about to be subjected to two weeks of television -- the 2018 Winter Olympics -- that is as fraudulent as any reality program you can find.

February 8, 2018
FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2000, Vince McMahon, chairman of the World Wrestling Federation, speaks during a news conference in New York. The XFL is set for a surprising second life, McMahon announced Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. McMahon said the XFL would return in 2020 but offered few other details about the late winter/early spring football league. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey, File) **FILE**

Vince McMahon’s white whale is the XFL

Two years from now, perhaps shortly after the final gun of Super Bowl 54, Vince McMahon will set sail on the sports media sea in his quest to hunt down his white whale -- the XFL, resurrecting the body of his failed football league.

February 6, 2018
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady fumbles after being stripped by Philadelphia Eagles Brandon Graham in the fourth quarter at Super Bowl 52 on Sunday, February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

One less reason to lord it over Eagles fans

If you have a one-score lead against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, the last thing you want to see is Tom Brady with the football in his hand.

February 4, 2018
If former Washington Redskins offensive tackle Joe Jacoby gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the list of remaining Redskins worth induction into Canton gets a lot smaller. (Associated Press)

Joe Jacoby snub is proof Hall of Fame is broken

If Dallas Cowboys legendary defensive tackle Randy White had been in the room when the votes were being cast for the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, Joe Jacoby would be in.

February 4, 2018
FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2018, file photo, Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) pauses on the court during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in Washington. Wall will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday and could miss much of the rest of the regular season, the Wizards announced Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

No bench, no backup now means no Wall for Wizards

If they someday make a film about the John Wall Wizards, they may call it "I, Ernie." Like Tonya Harding, the Wizards general manager didn't swing a baton to damage Wall's knees. But Ernie Grunfeld is certainly a co-conspirator.

January 30, 2018
In this July 11, 2017, file photo, former MLB player Alex Rodriguez reports from the field during the MLB baseball All-Star Game in Miami. Rodriguez, ESPN’s new Sunday night analyst, doesn’t mind the lengthening time it takes to play a big league game. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Alex Rodriguez worms his way back

Who knows what the voters for baseball's Hall of Fame will think in 2021 -- the first of 10 years A-Rod could be eligible for election?

January 28, 2018
FILE - In this July 23, 2007, file photo, New York Yankees starting pitcher Roger Clemens throws to a Kansas City Royals batter during the first inning of a baseball game in Kansas City, Mo. Clemens and Barry Bonds fell short in elections to the baseball Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File)

Time is running out on baseball’s cheaters

Despite the cries from the Cheated Generation about the persecution of "victims" like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, tantrums have failed to give either Clemens or Bonds the momentum needed to reach the 75 percent threshold for entry.

January 25, 2018
Scot McCloughan, right, speaks during an NFL football press conference where he was introduced as the Washington Redskins new general manager, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, in Ashburn, Va. At left is Washington Redskins president Bruce Allen. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) **FILE**

Bruce Allen needs to be fired if Cousins walks

When Kirk Cousins goes out the door and signs as a free agent with another team -- a seemingly forgone conclusion -- the Redskins' Prince of Darkness should be kicked out right behind him.

January 23, 2018