Dancer plan won’t work as distraction for WFT
The Washington Football Team’s attempt to distract from the cheerleader sexual harassment controversy by introducing coed dancers and acrobats will suffer and perhaps die from embarrassment. How do I know? Simple. Because it’s got owner Dan Snyder’s support. And don’t entertain the nonsense that cheerleading squads add to the NFL game-day experience. After the play of the home team, fans mostly care about the lines at the restrooms.
No rush: It’s not so bad that the start of the Triple-A baseball season is being delayed a month. It gives players, fans and hot dog vendors at Harbor Park additional time for vaccinations. The weather around here will be better in May, too.
Different times: The story on the passing of former Orioles manager Joe Altobelli noted that two years after leading the team to the 1983 World Series title, he was fired following a 29-26 start. To say the least, franchise standards have changed. If this year’s O’s are three games over .500 a third into the season, somebody will propose erecting a statue of manager Brandon Hyde.
Hoop du jour: Virginia Tech locking up a top-four spot in the ACC standings and a double bye in the ACC tournament with the
cancellation of its final two games is another illustration of how COVID has warped the season. Coaches may not have welcomed them, but washed-out games leave some teams better positioned for a March run. Games lost to COVID can’t be lost on the scoreboard.
Merch: I’m behind the curve after only recently learning of the variety of Taylor Heinicke T-shirts featured on NFLshop. com. The boldest design is emblazoned with the Washington Football Team quarterback diving for the pylon to score against the Bucs and the words, “The Legend of Taylor Heinicke.” That’s just the understated way his Old Dominion fans would put it.
Closeout: Also on the NFL site is WFT laundry carrying Dwayne Haskins’ name and No. 7, marked down in price. Like draft mistakes, merchandise must be moved.
Local fails: It’s not clear to me how canceled football games on the Southside and Peninsula support the decision to hold a belated high school season amid COVID concerns. School officials say they are taking every precaution to prevent the spread of COVID and that safety comes first. But the situation on the ground suggests that real caution and safety are best practiced by not playing at all.
Jumped the shark: I’d tell you the contestants in the NBA’s All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk contest, but their names wouldn’t mean anymore to you than they do to me. Time for the league to dump this sideshow to a sideshow.
Hoop du jour: The regular season doesn’t always predict what to expect in the playoffs, but the Brooklyn Nets are so loaded with talent that behind James Harden and Kyrie Irving — let’s throw in U.Va.’s Joe Harris, too — they’ve won 10 of the 11 games Kevin Durant has missed.
Draft-iness: Before the pandemic shut down North Dakota State’s fall season, NFL eyes wanted to see more of 20-year-old quarterback Trey Lance. Tough luck for them as Lance has played only one game since 2019. Nevertheless, the draft swam is are high on him.
Clueless: Speaking of quarterbacks, evidence overwhelmingly points to media, executives and coaches not having much of a clue which picks will make it big in the NFL. But as long as there’s air to fill and clicks to get, draft guesswork remains a major industry.
Tex-mess: Now that the college basketball anachronism called the NIT has been moved from New York to wide-open Texas, expect some teams to take a pass. Not to mention that the three-week-long NCAA women’s tournament must deal with maskless Texans. Good luck, ladies.
Gub-mint unleashed: Bya vote of 36-0, the Kentucky state senate passed a bill allowing high school seniors to stay for another year and play sports. Silly, right? Picture years from now, an old man boasting to his grandchildren that the best time of his life was his fifth year of high school.