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Thom Loverro

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

LOVERRO: Bo Belinsky, Sonny Liston share a cemetery - one found peace, the other didn’t

I figured I owed Sonny a moment in the sun. He settled in Vegas in his final years, but never found peace. Then again, this town is the last place to find that kind of peace. Bo Belinsky, though, did.

April 13, 2014

LOVERRO: Injured hand didn’t keep Scott Christopher from a life of baseball and art

The strange, curious, painful and wonderful life of Scott Christopher has taken the path from a Falls Church park to the pages of Sports Illustrated to the dugout with Cal Ripken to a private moment with Michael Jackson that produced what is considered the greatest photograph ever of the pop icon.

April 10, 2014

LOVERRO: It’s time for the Wizards to be bold and go get John Calipari

John Calipari can coach. Sometimes all the bombast and hair gel gets in the way of noticing that. But his Kentucky team's run to the NCAA title game this year – even though it lost to Connecticut -- woke people up to Calapari the coach.

April 8, 2014

LOVERRO: Gary Williams earned Hall of Fame through sweat equity

Gary Williams sweated his way to fame, and those who watched him get the most out of his teams, from American University to the University of Maryland, admired and enjoyed every bead of sweat, because you knew it was devoted to winning.

April 6, 2014

LOVERRO: Nationals have a chance to set the tone early vs. Braves

This weekend at Nationals Park, starting Friday at the home opener when Washington faces the Atlanta Braves, is Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran. It's this coming season's Washington Redskins opener vs. the Philadelphia Eagles (bet on it).

April 3, 2014

LOVERRO: DeSean Jackson’s red flags don’t seem to worry Redskins

The reality is that most NFL franchises could field a special teams unit full of players with red flags. If teams stayed away from players with bad associations and outrageous lifestyles, the NFL would be 7 on 7 football.

April 1, 2014

LOVERRO: Nationals might be good enough to live up to expectations this time

We know Matt Williams can make the trains run on time. And we know he can come up with a daily quote to keep his players focused. We don't know if Williams can manage a team to a World Series championship.

March 30, 2014

BASEBALL 2014: LOVERRO: Behold, MLB’s four kings

Bryce Harper knows who his peers are. He knows how he will be measured, perhaps for the rest of his major league career.

March 27, 2014

LOVERRO: Behind Bobby Magruder, D.C. boxing scene lives on

Remarkably, kids are still showing up in boxing gyms in Maryland, Washington and Virginia looking to be the next Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. Or maybe even Bobby Magruder, a four-time Washington Golden Gloves champion who fought Sugar Ray Leonard three times as an amateur.

March 27, 2014

LOVERRO: The NFL’s $45 million donation to USA Football seems like a desperation heave

The NFL threw a Hail Mary pass Monday when its charitable foundation donated a whopping $45 million to USA Football to expand the organization's Heads Up Football program that attempts to each a safer way to play the violent game.

March 25, 2014

LOVERRO: With Klitschko brothers, boxing and politics intersect again

It may not carry the same weight it used to — at least in the United States, given the pathetic state of heavyweight boxing — but in Europe, and obviously in Ukraine, the power and influence of heavyweight champion goes beyond the ring.

March 23, 2014

LOVERRO: If Mount Rushmore doesn’t float your boat, may I interest you in an ark?

The "Mount Rushmore" craze has gotten out of control. But I've been inspired by a new film — "Noah" — to create a new measurement of historical greatness.

March 20, 2014

LOVERRO: Barry Bonds returns to baseball, but the asterisk remains

Bonds himself told reporters his stint as a spring training instructor was "baby steps" but he is available if the Giants need him for other duties — you know, maybe like a goodwill ambassador. Wouldn't that be rich.

March 18, 2014

LOVERRO: Maryland in the Big Ten is not the same team as Maryland in the ACC

Did Baltimore football fans root for the Colts when they left Baltimore? Did Washington baseball fans root for the Rangers when the Senators moved to Texas? Then why would you root for the Big Ten Terrapins?

March 16, 2014

LOVERRO: The Medlen and Strasburg situations prove only that there’s no right answer

If you saw the name Stephen Strasburg and the words “ligament damage” in a newspaper headline, critics of the national nightmare known as the “Strasburg shutdown” would be charging Nationals Park with pitchforks. They would be calling for general manager Mike Rizzo’s head.

March 13, 2014

LOVERRO: Fans deserve answers about culpability for salary cap penalty

Like a prison tattoo, the Redskins will have $36 million attached to the franchise for years to remind everyone of the great injustice of the NFL punishment – because, in prison, everybody is innocent.

March 11, 2014

LOVERRO: Forget standings, MVP battle between James and Durant is what to watch

The race between LeBron James and Kevin Durant for the NBA Most Valuable Player award seems to be the only one in the NBA this season worth watching, even though there is more than a month left in the season to determine such honors.

March 9, 2014

LOVERRO: Caps’ trading activity done by a man confident he’ll be sticking around

George McPhee made a trade Wednesday that told Washington Capitals fans, "Hey, I'm not going anywhere."

March 6, 2014

LOVERRO: Brian Orakpo is the Redskins’ franchise player? Poor guy

Not sure how much of an honor it is to be the franchise player of this franchise. After all, the last player to get such an honor in Washington was Fred Davis, and we know how that went. Davis went on to become the Fairfax County Police Department's franchise player as well.

March 4, 2014

LOVERRO: For Matt Williams, it’s 99 percent inspiration, 1 percent conversation

There are all different kinds of quotes, and uses for them. The previous Washington Nationals manager, Davey Johnson, was quotable. His successor, Matt Williams, likes quotes. These are not the same thing.

March 2, 2014

WATCH: Ranked choice voting is coming to D.C. — here’s how it works

WATCH: The Sitdown With Alex Swoyer Monica Crowley on a year of historic diplomacy

Will Graham Platner derail Democrats’ 2026 hopes? Tim Constantine & David Bozell