Thom Loverro
Columns by Thom Loverro
LOVERRO: Rivera has the wheel, but the road looks the same
Before the distance grows too far from the 2021 Washington Football season and people say nice things about it -- character, right direction, all the words we've heard before at so many other season closures -- let's do an inventory. Published January 10, 2022
LOVERRO: FedEx is falling apart, but Snyder is trapped in rubble of his own making
The Eagles fans who toppled through a railing at FedEx on Sunday should have finished the job and torn down the rest of the stadium. Washington Football Team fans would have probably helped them. Published January 3, 2022
LOVERRO: Madden connected with all of humanity
John Madden, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 85, didn't just love life. He loved lives. Published December 29, 2021
LOVERRO: Don’t expect to find any soul-searching with this Washington franchise
You might have been able to stir up some sympathy if they were a sympathetic lot. But this franchise is a magnet for scorn and ridicule, from the half-empty seats in Landover to the "we-bought-custom-benches-too" sidelines in Dallas to the squalid corridors of the headquarters in Ashburn. All of it earned. Published December 27, 2021
LOVERRO: Playing goofy mind games in Philly when they should have been playing some defense
It's not the benches that matter. It's the butts that make use of those benches. Published December 22, 2021
LOVERRO: McLaurin’s brain injury is real and it’s serious. So why does it seem like an afterthought?
"Concussion" has become an almost meaningless word. Players have a "concussion" they enter "concussion" protocol and eventually they are healed. It's part of doing NFL business. More attention is paid now to COVID-19. But a concussion is a brain injury and should be referred to as such. Published December 20, 2021
LOVERRO: Snyder’s had a lot of bad years, but 2009 — that one left a mark
Chronicling the 22 years that Dan Snyder has owned the Washington Football Team is like detailing the history of some banana republic dictator. Each year by itself stands as evidence of dysfunction and destruction. Published December 16, 2021
LOVERRO: Washington’s David and Goliath tale takes hit from cold reality of NFL
The storybook portion of the season may have run its course. The stadium full of Cowboys fans should have told you that this isn't some sort of fable anymore. The reality is a wrecked Washington franchise under congressional investigation with a 6-7 record hanging on to a hope of squeezing into the playoffs. Published December 13, 2021
LOVERRO: D.C. Divas embrace Jordan’s passion for the game of football
Some of these women may have never heard of LaMont Jordan. Others may have grown up watching him rush for more than 1,000 yards for the Oakland Raiders and catch 70 passes in 2005, the best season of his nine-year NFL career. But they were all fixated on every word Jordan said, recognizing the value of lessons from someone who played the game at the highest level -- maybe even a little star struck. Published December 9, 2021
LOVERRO: Rivera, teammates have growing faith in their own giant-killing David
On Sunday, Goliath was Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders' $125 million quarterback who was leading the NFL in passing before the 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team. Heinicke tossed a rock right at the Raiders' head, leading his team on the last-minute drive that led to Brian Johnson's 48-yard game-winning field goal. Published December 6, 2021
LOVERRO: RG3’s tell-all may be silver lining to twisted saga
Robert Griffin III -- the architect of both brief times of triumph followed by long stretches of pain -- woke Washington Football Team fans from their dreams with the news he posted on his Twitter account that he will have a book coming out next August. The title? "Surviving Washington." Published December 1, 2021
LOVERRO: Courage to hold China accountable in short supply
Olympics sponsors -- especially those who do business in China with untold riches at stake -- have shown no appetite for pulling out of these Games, despite calls from human rights activists. Published November 29, 2021
LOVERRO: Rodriguez shows Bonds, Clemens how rebranding a cheater is done
To reinvent himself as a sympathetic, all-around nice guy -- instead of one of the biggest cheaters in baseball history -- Alex Rodriguez needs some help from the media. And he's getting it. Published November 25, 2021
LOVERRO: Teammates share Heinicke’s swagger, and now fans are feeling it, too
The former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi once told me the quarterback you want is the guy who, when he gets on the team bus, everyone else believes they have a chance to win that day because of him. Rivera was telling you Heinicke's teammates feel that way about him. Published November 22, 2021
LOVERRO: Smart, hard-working Wizards team a reflection of Sheppard
Villanova Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright knew that Tommy Sheppard had a bright future in basketball when the two met while Wright was on Rollie Massimino's staff at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the early 1990s. Published November 18, 2021
Maybe coach Ron Rivera is right about Taylor Heinicke
It would have been easy to make the change, and no one would have blamed the coach. But Rivera stuck with Heinicke, and his faith paid off. Now Heinicke likely has the rest of the season to convince people that he could be the quarterback of the future for this team -- not that he is, but that he could be. Published November 15, 2021
LOVERRO: Two rival cities mourn the great Sam Huff
When Sam Huff played, he was justice -- the judge and jury. And when he called Washington football games, he was the prosecutor and defense attorney for what he saw on the field. And fans loved him for it. Published November 14, 2021
LOVERRO: Young could use his own season-changing, career-correcting ‘You like that!’ moment
If anyone ever needed a Kirk Cousins-style "You like that!" game, it is Chase Young on Sunday. Published November 11, 2021
LOVERRO: Rivera may not have all the answers, but he’s definitely got all the questions
Ron Rivera loves asking himself some Ron Rivera questions -- and then answering them. Published November 7, 2021
LOVERRO: Lerners, Nationals can’t afford to waste another year with Soto
There is a feeling that, with pitching prospects like Cole Henry and Cade Cavalli, and the development of young players acquired at the trade deadline like pitcher Josiah Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz, that GM Mike Rizzo's "reboot" will start paying dividends in 2023. Not good enough. Published November 4, 2021
