In a new Washington Post poll, 53% of D.C.-area adults “like” or “love” the Commanders name, an increase from only 34% last year. What’s changed attitudes? Winning, of course. After a successful season, the name is no longer associated with failure. Even so, almost half of the team’s fans still don’t like and even hate the name.
A mouthful: “Chew on bark,” is a line that should live for a while in the sports zeitgeist. Former Steelers great Terry Bradshaw, who thinks Pittsburgh’s patience with Aaron Rodgers is “a joke,” recently opined, “bring him in for one year? Are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California … chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.” In all the palaver over Rodgers’ vacillation, has anybody said it better?
Cut and dry: Ravens coach John Harbaugh maintained this week that the decision to cut Justin Tucker was “multi-layered” and “complicated.” Really? Seemed straight forward. Nothing coaches hate more than distractions. What could be more distracting than a place kicker accused by multiple women of sexual harassment?
Staying put: Tobi Lawal, Virginia Tech’s leading scorer last season, is another basketball player to return to college after withdrawing from the NBA draft. Hate the pay-for-play system if you want, but it’s helping the college game keep players who otherwise would cast their lots with the pros.
Good business: With Bill Belichick headlining the program, North Carolina has sold all 20,000 of its season tickets at a 25% price hike, after failing to sell out last season.
Bottom line: As of June 1 — when his buyout drops from $10 million to $1 million — Belichick can write a $1 million check to North Carolina and walk away from the Tar Heels’ ticket buyers. This gives Belichick — and perhaps his girlfriend — the upper hand on the administration. A savvy power play by Chapel Bill.
Blown up: Maybe another poll should be taken after the person voted by his NBA peers as the league’s most overrated player produced an Eastern Conference Game 4 triple double — 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds — without committing a single turnover. Tyrese Haliburton, whose Pacers are hard to find on TV during the regular season, has been a playoff revelation.
So much beefing: I could do without NBA players trying to relitigate foul calls, circling their fingers in the air for video reviews, as if the whole TV watching world didn’t see them deliver that forearm shiver that dropped an opposing player.
Debacle: It’s hard to understand or excuse the Timberwolves, a team that while on the brink of playoff extinction managed only 32 points and trailed the Thunder by 33 at the half Wednesday night. Minnesota played like a group of guys who had early tee times the next day.
The special one: A tip for people who don’t follow tennis but want to see a great talent and personality at play — catch a Carlos Alcaraz match from the French Open. There’s nobody like him.
For the ages: Fifty years ago, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova met for the first time in the French Open finals. They would meet 80 times in all. Rafael Nadal’s retirement celebration in Paris recalled his matches against Federer, Djokovic and Murray, but even those operatic battles pale in comparison to Chris vs. Martina, tennis’ greatest rivalry.
Not so fast: As Wimbledon turns to electronic line calling — I’ll miss the line judges in their snappy blazers — Roland Garros sticks with human judgement, with no electronic replays to challenge decisions. Let’s hope big-league baseball imitates the French and holds off on introducing a flawed Automated Ball-Strike System.
She rules: The Washington Mystics game against Caitlin Clark’s Fever on Wednesday night, moved to Baltimore, sold out before Clark’s quadriceps strain prevented her from playing. Reportedly, the average ticket price on the secondary market was $350, but after Clark’s injury was announced, tickets could be had for $8. Enough said.
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.