The Washington Post - 20.08.2019

for the season during the first

practice of organized team activi-

ties.

“You’ve got to be fast. You’re

thinking out loud,” rookie line-

backer Cole Holcomb said. “Jon

will be screaming, ‘Alert this,

alert that.’ I’m screaming, ‘Alert

that under,’ or, ‘Alert this, hey,

they’re coming here.’ He’s mo-

tioning in. Just talking about

what you’re seeing and then

together we’ll create a picture.”

Bostic has become the learned

veteran in a meeting room full of

SEE REDSKINS ON D6

BY KAREEM COPELAND

The moments before the foot-

ball is snapped can be chaos for

the defense. Linebackers are

pointing and shouting in an

attempt to get one another and

the defensive linemen lined up in

the proper places. Cornerbacks

and safeties frantically give hand

signals while everyone shifts in

accordance.

In the middle of it all, direct-

ing traffic for the Washington

Redskins, is the “Mike” lineback-

er. And that responsibility has

fallen to Jon Bostic, who was

signed in May after Reuben Fos-

ter blew out his knee and was lost

Howard University, a historically

black school to which Curry has

no attachment in the middle of a

city to which Curry has no

attachment.

“This is going to go way

beyond the game of golf and way

beyond Howard,” Curry said, and

it didn’t sound outlandish. “This

is huge.”

Tuesday morning, though,

Curry will be gone. The people of

Langston will remain.

“This,” Ray Savoy said, “this

could be uplifting.”

SEE SVRLUGA ON D5

What Stephen

Curry did Monday

morning was

extraordinary —

not just showing

up at Langston

Golf Course, hard

by Metro’s Orange

Line, where the

squeaks of the train can be heard

from the driving range as it

streams toward Minnesota

Avenue. He is a full-blown, one-

name basketball superstar —

“Steph” — and he just bankrolled

a brand-new golf program at

KLMNO

SPORTS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

BY RICK MAESE

napa, calif. — There are no
protest signs. The bleachers that
wrap almost entirely around two
football fields are mostly full,
with many of the fans wearing
black under the summer sun, and
somehow they are loud and bois-
terous and live up to their reputa-
tion, even if the Raiders’ regular
season is still a few weeks away.
It’s like any other training
camp, except the days here are
probably numbered. With the
Raiders slated to leave Oakland
after the season, these fields

behind a Marriott in the heart of

wine country host a team and a

fan base at a crossroads. For a

sliver of time, they’re locked in

the most awkward of situations,

not unlike jilted lovers on the

brink of divorce, trapped together

in the same house until the paper-

work is finalized.

“We have very loyal fans. It’s

going to be heartbreaking in

some ways; it’s going to be ultra

exciting in others to see the future

of this franchise,” Raiders Coach

Jon Gruden explained after one

recent practice.

SEE RAIDERS ON D6

With move to Vegas looming,

it’s ‘awkward’ for Raiders fans

Slow exit from Oakland leaves backers in odd spot

ERIC RISBERG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Raiders fans have been living with the team’s imminent departure

for nearly three years, but they still turned out for training camp.

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

pittsburgh — Fans were still

walking over the Roberto Clem-

ente Bridge — black hats on, cheap

tickets in their pockets, empty

seats waiting inside the ballpark

— when the Washington Nation-

als took over PNC Park.

It took just a few moments, and

one loud swing, for the Nationals

to fill a dull atmosphere with their

own noise after Adam Eaton

parked a solo homer into the first

rows beyond the right field fence.

It accounted for the first run of

many in Washington’s 13-0 win

over the Pittsburgh Pirates on

Monday. And, as a matter of

course, it triggered another

dugout dance party.

The Nationals’ post-homer

raves have become tradition, so-

cial media catnip and all too com-

mon in the past week — if you ask

their opponents. They tied a club

record with eight home runs

against the Milwaukee Brewers on

Sunday. They hit four more Mon-

day, three in the first two innings,

to bury the Pirates to open a four-

game series.

The Nationals are five games

back in the National League East

and, at 68-56, 12 games over .500

for the first time in two seasons

under Manager Dave Martinez.

They have scored 13 or more runs

in four of their past five contests.

Raw power goes a long way.

“It settles everybody down;

here we go,” Martinez said of cel-

ebrating that early in the game.

“And you can tell: They start hav-

ing fun and loosening up a little

bit.”

SEE NATIONALS ON D3

The beat

goes on

for Nats’

loud bats

Nationals at Pirates

Today, 7:05 p.m., MASN

Tiger didn’t solve golf’s diversity issues,

so now Steph will take his shot

Barry

Svrluga

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

The sight of NBA star Stephen

Curry in Washington is often

unwelcome for locals — at least

those who support the Wizards,

whom Curry has tortured for a

decade.

But on Monday, the Golden

State Warriors point guard was

in the District to deliver more

uplifting news for the city: He

will sponsor the Howard Univer-

sity men’s and women’s golf

teams for the next six years,

creating the first Division I golf

program in the historically black

university’s history.

“This is going to go way be-

yond the game of golf and way

beyond Howard,” Curry said at a

news conference at Langston

Golf Course in Northeast Wash-

ington. “This is huge.”

With Curry’s support, Howard

will relaunch its golf program for

the 2020-21 season with a coach

and three scholarship athletes

(two women and one man). The

teams will be outfitted by Under

Armour, the shoe company that

SEE HOWARD ON D5

As Howard prepares to tee it up,

Curry is excited to give back

BILL O'LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry enjoys a round at Langston Golf Course after Monday’s announcement of his gift to Howard University.

Redskins’ linebackers tackle

youth with cerebral approach

Preseason: Redskins at Falcons

Thurs., 7:30 p.m., WRC-4, NBCSW

PRO FOOTBALL

Raiders’ Antonio Brown

files another grievance

over NFL’s helmet rules. D5

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Clemson is ranked No. 1

in the AP preseason poll

for the first time. D12

Playing it forward

NATIONALS 13,

PIRATES 0

Rout puts team 12 games

over .500, a season high

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