The Washington Post - USA (2021-12-22)

KLMNO

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22 , 2021. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST

BY NICKI JHABVALA

philadelphia — For more than a week, Ron Rivera and his players vowed they were ready and unfazed by their circumstances. Their roster was decimated by a coronavirus outbreak that caught 26 total players, seven assistant coaches and multiple staff- ers, leaving them with only their resolve and fleeting hope for a miracle. Yet they ensured the next men up would be prepared. But unlike last season, when it traveled to Philadel- phia and clinched the division title with a hobbled cast, the Washington Football Team, with Garrett Gilbert starting at quarterback and a run defense that came unglued, Washington couldn’t overcome its mistakes Tuesday night and lost to the Eagles, 27-17. The defeat dropped Washington to 6-8 and dealt its playoff hopes a blow, while the Eagles (7-7) moved into eighth place, a tiebreaker away from a wild-card SEE WASHINGTON ON D4

Depleted Washington

falls short in pivotal game

EAGLES 27,

W ASHINGTON 17:

Washington Football Team quarterback Garrett Gilbert loses the ball on a fourth-down sack late in the fourth quarter Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Gilbert, until last week a member of the New England Patriots’ practice squad, started the game and completed 20 of 31 passes for 194 yards in his Washington debut.

Week 15 takeaways Despite its short roster, WFT had its opportunities. D5

Washington at Cowboys Sunday, 8:20 p.m., NBC

The job description for the Washington Football Team’s starting quarterback Tuesday night at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia was simple: Don’t. Lose. The. Game. Hand the ball off. Don’t throw it to the other team. You’re the new guy. Act like it. Now, who was the latest random QB answering this charge? Let me check my notes here. Ah, yes. Garrett Antone Gilbert. By way of introduction, some résumé bullet points. Days employed by Washington: five. NFL franchises worked for: eight. Total starts, including Tuesday’s 27-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles: two. His task before kickoff: meet his new teammates, who are being knocked every which way by a pandemic. “Having to have the masks back on, it’s tough to see anybody’s face, to be honest with you,” Gilbert SEE SVRLUGA ON D3

Don’t blame the new guy

at quarterback for this one

Barry Svrluga

holiday break was a much-needed boon for Maryland. The 6-foot-3 junior had played just two games all season while dealing with a sore right knee that had been bothering her since training camp. The loaded Terps had dropped three games — all against top programs — with M iller sidelined. “I’m still working my way back

BY SAMANTHA PELL

NHL players will not participate in the Beijing Winter Olym- pics, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. An official announcement of the decision is expected in the coming days. The decision to keep players out of the Games, which are scheduled to begin Feb. 4, fol- lows a spike in coronavirus cases among players and the rise of the omicron variant. On Monday night, with roughly 15 percent of its players in the covid-19 protocols, the league announced it was halting its season from Wednes- day through Sunday. Fifty regular season games had been postponed as of Tuesday, leading to doubt about whether there would be sufficient time to re- schedule them if the league took its planned break to allow players to participate in the Olym- pics. The U.S. Olympic and Para- lympic Committee declined to comment because the decision had not been officially announced. International Olympic Committee officials also declined to comment. USA Hockey did not respond to requests for comment. The NHL and the NHL Play- ers’ Association negotiated Olympic participation in their most recent collective bargain- ing agreement, but the league said at the time that it could withdraw if the regular season schedule was “materially impact- ed” by coronavirus-related post- ponements. The NHL has until Jan. 10 to withdraw from the SEE OLYMPICS ON D2

Olympics

will have

no NHL

players

Decision on Beijing made with league shut down amid coronavirus spike

BY BEN GOLLIVER

Faced with dozens of positive coronavirus tests that forced the postponement of seven games over the past week, Commission- er Adam Silver said Tuesday that the NBA will continue its 2021-22 season as its Christmas Day showcase games approach. “No plans right now to pause the season,” Silver said in an interview with ESPN. “We have looked at all the options, but frankly we’re having trouble coming up with what the logic would be behind pausing right now.... T his virus will not be eradicated, and we’re going to have to learn to live with it.” Silver’s announcement came one day after the NHL became the first North American profes- sional sports league to announce that it would suspend play in response to the omicron variant, with its shutdown scheduled to last from Wednesday to Sunday. The NHL, which earlier this week moved to eliminate team travel between the United States and SEE NBA ON D6

Silver says

NBA won’t

pause amid

outbreaks

Commissioner has ‘no plans right now’ to stop the season

HOCKEY

The Capitals’ game at Philadelphia on Tuesday was

postponed amid the team’s ongoing virus issues. D2

ON BASEBALL

The Mets, long on cash and short on recent stability, welcome the experienced hand of Buck Showalter. D6

OFF THE FIELD

Frodo, the last surviving dog of the 48 rescued in 2007 from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation, has died. D7

BY KAREEM COPELAND

baltimore — Diamond Miller
turned and skipped back toward
the defensive end Tuesday, hold-
ing three fingers in the air. Her
tongue was out and she wore a
wide, toothy grin as the moment
announced what Maryland fans
had been eagerly awaiting: The
all-Big Ten guard is back.
The No. 6 Terrapins cruised to a
98-52 win over Coppin State in
their last nonconference game,
leading from start to finish in a
matchup that was never competi-
tive. The final score may have
been the least important thing as
Maryland improved to 16-0
against the Eagles and was simply
more athletic and skilled than the
home team.
Getting Miller back before the

... but this was a good start,”
Miller said. “I feel more confident
than ever. My knee is doing really
good. I’m just ready for the new
year.
“I trust my knee. I just have to
get my touch back. So everything
else, I’m pretty good. I’m A-okay.”
Miller was the first player off
the bench for Maryland (10-3),
and she announced her presence
while scoring seven straight
points in the second quarter. First
was a fadeaway in the paint that
was followed by a fast-break
layup. Moments later, the lanky
guard drilled a three-pointer from
the left wing and started skipping
back the other way in front of the
scorers’ table.
The biggest question will be
how that knee responds
SEE MARYLAND ON D7

No. 6 Terps get their Diamond back and sparkle in blowout win

MADDIE KYLER/MARYLAND ATHLETICS

Coppin State’s Jalynda Salley tries to defend Diamond Miller, who finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

MARYLAND 98,

COPPIN STATE 52

Miller leads the way and says she’s ‘A-okay’

Maryland at Illinois Dec. 30, 8 p.m., Big Ten Plus

KCP in the protocols: Wizards’ Caldwell-Pope tests positive. D6

Case of the Tuesdays