Nathan Fenno
Articles by Nathan Fenno
FENNO: With suspension complete, Jarvis Jenkins yearning to help Redskins
While the defensive lineman served a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy, opponents shredded the Redskins' defense that ranks second-to-last in the league after allowing 1,762 yards. Published October 1, 2013
FENNO: Redskins’ elusive victory doesn’t diminish blemishes
Other than the scoreboard the Redskins didn't provide reason for optimism about this team in 60 mistaken-ridden minutes. The story of self-inflicted problems is familiar -- the story, really, of this unraveled season that this game did nothing to end. Published September 29, 2013
FENNO: As season goes bust, Nationals reminded how elusive October can be
The 2013 season is a warning to the organization that acted as if last season's 98 wins and division title were the first of many such postseason runs. That, somehow, landing one strike away from advancing to the NLCS in 2012 meant those October opportunities will always be there in Washington. Published September 24, 2013
FENNO: Forget RG3; Redskins won’t beat anyone until defense stops beating itself
Defense isn't just a problem, but an Albert Haynesworth-size dumpster fire that will devour the remainder of the season in historically awful fashion if not corrected. Published September 18, 2013
Remembering the Navy Yard fallen: 12 diverse stories come to a sudden end
The 12 victims of Monday morning's rampage inside the Washington Navy Yard were contractors and blue-collar workers, U.S. Naval Academy graduates and international transplants, softball coaches and Redskins fans. Each brought a story to the place they never left. Published September 17, 2013
FENNO: Redskins’ 0-2 optimism a misguided response to indisciplined start
The Redskins own the NFL's second-oldest 53-man roster, but made mistakes you'd expect from a group not stocked with veterans. Two forgettable games into the season, they aren't a disciplined football team. Published September 15, 2013
FENNO: Double standards amount to business as usual with NCAA
The same behavior that would bring down the finger-wagging wrath of the NCAA and imperil the eligibility of any student-employee, er, -athlete is just fine for coaches, administrators, trainers, equipment managers, mascots, ushers, whoever. Published September 11, 2013
FENNO: RG3 returns to Redskins, but has a long way to go
Griffin didn't look superhuman. Instead, he looked like a second-year player months removed from a major knee injury who watched the four preseason games from the sideline. Published September 9, 2013
FENNO: Hope returns as RG3 leads Redskins into 2013 season
The most-discussed knee in the NFL is once again healthy. At least that's what coach Mike Shanahan and Dr. James Andrews and Robert Griffin III insist. But time can only do so much. Moving past the painful series of events from January and months since can only happen on the field. Published September 8, 2013
FENNO: Like other NFL concussion plaintiffs, Dexter Manley tired of suffering
Last year, Manley joined the more than 4,600 former players suing the NFL over head injuries. And Manley's boisterous voice won't be found grumbling about the proposed $765 million settlement reached last week. Published September 4, 2013
FENNO: Now that RG3’s knee is rebuilt, it is time to reconstruct some trust
When Robert Griffin III starts Monday's season-opener against the Eagles, the long-expected move Mike Shanahan confirmed Monday afternoon, the season will be as much about rebuilding eroded trust as regaining confidence in the repaired right knee. Published September 2, 2013
FENNO: To suffering families, NFL concussion settlement feels like vindication
In recent months, attorneys for the plaintiffs maintained a sense of urgency in private and public to get money to assist former players suffering today rather than gamble on a drawn-out federal court proceeding in a complex and uncertain case. Published August 29, 2013
FENNO: Olympics are a great thing, but being the host isn’t worth the excessive price
Hosting an Olympics, for all the glitz, is a quick ticket to massive debt, unused facilities and touted economic benefits that never seem to materialize. Published August 28, 2013
FENNO: London Fletcher personifies NFL players’ concussion balancing act
You would think London Fletcher, of all people, wouldn't be swept up in the hypermacho, tough-guy world where playing through injury is almost as exalted as producing in games. But much of football's good and bad is wrapped up in his meticulously maintained 5-foot-10, 245-pound frame. Published August 26, 2013
Death of Frostburg State player Derek Sheely due to ‘egregious misconduct,’ lawsuit says
Two years to the day after Sheely sustained a fatal head injury during football practice, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the NCAA, coach Tom Rogish and several others. Published August 22, 2013
FENNO: David DeJesus trade another puzzling move in curious Nats season
Pick through the debris from the Nationals' busted season and few scraps elicit more head-scratching than Monday's acquisition of David DeJesus. Published August 20, 2013
FENNO: Erasing Aaron Hernandez an empty gesture
In an era in which Google makes certain nothing is forgotten — that errant tweet, that ill-advised picture, that NFL star turned inmate No. 174954 — the world of sports hasn't stopped trying to hurl undesirables down the memory hole. Published August 19, 2013
Clinton Portis sues NFL over concussions
Portis is the lead plaintiff in an 83-player lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Other plaintiffs include former Pro Bowl quarterback quarterback Daunte Culpepper and 1,000-yard rusher Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. Published August 14, 2013
FENNO: NCAA paying the price for latest Bush-league move
Until late last week, $179.95 bought an "officially licensed" autographed photo of Reggie Bush from the online bazaar slathered with NCAA logos. Yes, that Reggie Bush. Published August 12, 2013
FENNO: In Biogenesis mess, Gio Gonzalez didn’t get benefit of doubt
No quiet acquittal can undo the damage from the left-hander's name being dragged through the scandal's sludge of human-growth hormone and pink cream and injections by self-proclaimed doctor Anthony Bosch. Published August 7, 2013