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

D6 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22 , 2021

ing on replacement players to

weather such situations comes

with a “certain amount of unfair-

ness,” but he added that his

“sense [was] that things will

work out by the end of the

season.”

“When we shut down in March

of 2020, a lot of people paid

attention for the first time and

took this virus seriously,” Silver

said. “As we’re dealing with the

current situation, our ability to

find a way to keep operating is

also significant for society to

show that there are ways, despite

living in this covid era, that we

can find a safe and responsible

way to keep going.”

[email protected]

While the NFL announced Sat-

urday that it would eliminate

most testing on vaccinated play-

ers unless they are symptomatic,

Silver said the NBA was “not

quite there yet” in instituting a

similar policy. Such an approach

would probably reduce the dis-

ruptions to the season but also

could lead to increased spread of

the virus.

Several teams, including the

Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets,

Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles

Lakers and Toronto Raptors,

have dealt with recent outbreaks

that severely compromised their

ability to field competitive ros-

ters.

Silver acknowledged that rely-

because “it seems that the virus

runs through their systems fast-

er.”

As the NBA seeks to increase

the percentage of players who

have received their booster shots,

the National Basketball Players

Association held a meeting of its

player representatives and

pledged to work with the league

to “[promote] the health and

safety of all players in this very

challenging environment.”

“Today, we committed to facili-

tating the delivery of booster

shots to all eligible players,” the

union said in a statement. “The

NBPA is strongly encouraging all

of our members to receive a

booster as soon as possible.”

Canada, has dealt with outbreaks

among teams that have landed

approximately 15 percent of play-

ers in the coronavirus protocols

and prompted 50 game post-

ponements.

Back in October, Silver said he

hoped the 2021 -22 season would

“look a lot more like normal”

after the league’s previous two

seasons were shortened and se-

verely altered by the pandemic.

The NBA enjoyed relative stabili-

ty until late November, when

enhanced player testing around

Thanksgiving led to the first

significant batch of positive tests.

All told, more than 100 players

have entered the protocols in

December, including stars such

as Kevin Durant, Giannis Ante-

tokounmpo, James Harden, Rus-

sell Westbrook and Tr ae Young.

Eight of the 10 teams scheduled

to play on Christmas have players

in the health and safety proto-

cols, and the uncertain availabili-

ty of key players threatens to

spoil the most important date on

the league’s regular season calen-

dar.

In r esponse, the NBA this week

reinstituted enhanced coronavi-

rus health and safety protocols

and altered its roster rules to

allow teams to cope with out-

breaks by signing replacement

players without impacting their

salary cap or luxury tax pay-

ments.

Roughly 90 percent of the

NBA’s current cases, Silver re-

vealed Tuesday, have been identi-

fied as the omicron variant. The

decision to play through this

latest wave was influenced by the

fact that 97 percent of NBA

players are vaccinated and

65 percent have received a boost-

er shot.

The commissioner said boost-

er shots have proved to be “highly

effective,” as “only a very small

number” of boosted players have

dealt with breakthrough cases

and most have “essentially been

asymptomatic or very mild symp-

toms.” Additionally, Silver said

that players who have received

boosters might be able to return

more quickly than the NBA’s

typical 10 -day isolation period

NBA FROM D1

NBA won’t hit pause despite outbreaks

JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Adam Silver said roughly 90 percent of the NBA’s current cases were identified as the omicron variant.

break in t he Nets’ organization.

— Ava Wallace

Heat rolls with 22 threes

Tyler Herro scored 26 points in

his return from a bruised thigh,

and the Miami Heat tied a fran-

chise record with 22 three-point-

ers in a 125 -96 victory over the

visiting Indiana Pacers.

l KNICKS 105, PISTONS 91:

Evan Fournier scored 22 points as

New York won at h ome for t he first

time in almost a month.

l PELICANS 111, TRAIL

BLAZERS 97: New Orleans beat

visiting Portland f or its first three-

game winning streak of the sea-

son.

l MAVERICKS 114, TIMBER-

WOLVES 102: Jalen Brunson

scored 26 points as Dallas topped

visiting Minnesota.

— Associated Press

last week, and the Nuggets and

Kings have had players enter the

protocols since those games.

Washington was at home and

practicing Tuesday instead of pre-

paring for a g ame in New York; its

matchup with Brooklyn was post-

poned Sunday because of an out-

month and one of whom tested

positive as the Wizards were on

their recent road trip. Neither was

with the team for the t rip.

“We will be vigilant with our

testing and continue to test as we

have. Hopefully that’s the extent of

it, but as we’ve seen around the

league and around the country, as

cases spike, we just have to be a

little more careful about where we

go and who we’re with,” Unseld

said.

To r eturn to play, C aldwell-Pope

must return t wo negative t ests i n a

24 -hour span. He has not been

asked about his vaccination or

booster s tatus.

That Washington has a player

in the NBA’s health and safety

protocols is no surprise given the

dramatic spread of the coronavi-

rus. The Wizards p layed a t Denver,

Sacramento, Phoenix and Utah

FROM NEWS SERVICES

AND STAFF REPORTS

Guard Kentavious Caldwell-

Pope entered the NBA’s coronavi-

rus protocols after testing positive

Monday night, Coach Wes Unseld

Jr. said Tuesday after practice.

Caldwell-Pope is the second Wiz-

ards player to test positive this

season and the first to do so after

the team returned from an eight-

day, four-game road trip early

Sunday morning.

Kyle Kuzma previously spent

nearly four days in the league’s

protocols after testing positive

Dec. 11. He rejoined the team via

private jet in Sacramento four

days later after r eturning two neg-

ative tests in 24 h ours.

The Wizards also have had two

staff members test positive, one of

whom tested positive earlier this

NBA R OUNDUP

Wizards’ Caldwell-Pope is out after testing positive

WIZARDS’ NEXT THREE

at New York Knicks

Tomorrow 7:30 NBCSW

vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Sunday6NBCSW

at Miami Heat

Tuesday7:30 NBCSW,

NBA TV

Radio: WTEM (980 AM)

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Woodbridge’s Josh Mancia, a
Virginia wrestling state cham-
pion, wanted to know how he
stacked up on a higher level, and
last weekend’s Beast of the East
tournament in Newark, Del., gave
him an opportunity to find out.
After falling to the No. 1 seed in
the 285 -pound weight class, the
seventh-seeded Mancia faced the
Northeast region’s No. 2 seed,
Noah Tustin of Waynesburg (Pa.).
Mancia beat Tustin, 4-1, and
then won another match to claim
third place, in the process becom-
ing the first wrestler in school
history to achieve all-American
status — which is granted to
finishers in the top eight of
n ational-level tournaments.
“It’s my passion now,” Mancia
said of wrestling. “It was good to
see how far someone can go with
the sport.”
“He set the bar for the rest of
our program,” Coach Ty Knepp
said.
Most of the Vikings were at the
Panther Holiday Classic in Cres-
son, Pa., last weekend, including
189 -pounder Jadon Stephens.
When Mancia picked up his
phone and saw a flurry of con-
gratulatory messages, one of the
first responses he sent was to
Stephens.
“We have more national tour-
naments in the future, and I want
you to be on this podium with
me,” Mancia told Stephens. “Let’s
make it a team thing next time,
not a one kid thing.”
— Shane Connuck

Swimming

Jamie Grimes, the coach at
Walter Johnson, spoke of high
hopes and a rejuvenated squad
this week — as many coaches do
at t he dawn of the season. He a lso
observed a team that cheered
especially loudly during the first
two meets of the season, both of
which the Wildcats won.
That only seemed natural, giv-
en that his athletes didn’t have
anything that resembled a nor-
mal 2020 -21 season. Virtual meet-
ings with sports psychologists,
nutritionists and mental health
experts were the closest the stu-
dents got to competing last year.
“They missed being around
each other,” Grimes said. “The
upperclassmen have stepped into
the role of leading the team, lead-
ing the cheers.... The kids have
really missed that. They n eed that
kind of relationship building.”
But in the past week, as the D.C.
area’s coronavirus cases surged,
teams are preparing for their ex-
citement to be short-lived. In the
past week, the Wildcats and other
Montgomery County schools an-
nounced they would suspend ath-
letics from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.
Other leagues are still deter-
mining the next steps. Graham
Westerberg, who recently
stepped down as the coach at
Holton-Arms to become its ath-
letic director, said mandates in

the Independent School League

come from the ADs, who will

meet again this week to assess the

protocols.

— Spencer Nusbaum

Indoor track

After a sweep of the D.C. State

Athletic Association outdoor

track championships in the

spring, St. John’s is hoping to

maintain momentum, and that

means maintaining a rigorous

practice schedule during the holi-

day break.

“So to make it a little bit fun, we

sometimes have some Christmas

music on our runs,” junior Sophie

Mattheus said. “We’ve been trying

to keep it consistent so that at t he

end of Christmas break we’re still

at the top of our game.”

Mattheus, who runs the 800

and 1,600 meters, said she has

been practicing up to six times

per week in preparation for a

competitive indoor season.

The Cadets also took last year’s

indoor track titles, and Mattheus

credits their success in part to

maintaining positive mental

health at home. For Mattheus,

that means keeping up with bal-

let, going on walks with her dog

and practicing meditation. And

when it comes down to a close

800 -meter sprint, that little bit of

extra calm before the race can

make a difference.

“The biggest struggle would

probably be having to be mentally

tough, just pushing through

those moments that you don’t f eel

so great at the end of a run,”

Mattheus said. “... You’re work-

ing really hard to find balance to

that, where you can take time out

and just be a little bit more still.”

The Cadets’ next scheduled

meet is Dec. 30 at the Prince

George’s Sports and Learning

Complex.

— Aaron Credeur

Hockey

Growing up, Lucy Thiessen al-

ways wanted to play hockey like

her older brother, Max. She

learned to skate at 2 and picked

up a stick for the first time a year

later. Despite a four-year age dif-

ference, they played for the Wash-

ington Little Caps, an elite club, at

the same time.

They are now in very different

situations — Max is a freshman at

Amherst College, and Lucy is in

her first full season of high school

girls’ hockey — but the similari-

ties endure for the defensemen.

Wearing No. 10 — Max’s new

number, too — L ucy last week

helped Georgetown Visitation to

its first win against Stone Ridge

in six years, an 11-9 victory.

“We’re glad that she’s here;

she’s definitely a dominant play-

er,” Visitation Coach Conrad

R ehill said. “We’ve got another

two years hopefully with her, so

it’s good.”

The game was high-scoring,

but Thiessen did her part to offset

Stone Ridge star Katherine

K hramtsov. The Princeton com-

mit scored two of her seven goals

while Thiessen was in the penalty

box. But Thiessen, in her first

shift back, neutralized the dam-

age by scoring two goals of her

own. She finished with five goals

and an assist.

— Hayley Salvatore

HIGH SCHOOL NOTES

W oodbridge wrestler

takes third at elite meet

Mancia secures

all-American status

at Beast of the East

because someone else had better,

or used information better than

we did, or analytics or whatever

you want to call it, you don’t

know me very well,” Showalter

said. “I’ve always been very

spongeful with information, to a

fault.”

This is the Showalter who will

try to steer these Mets toward

stability, w ho will try to wring out

the experience and observations

developed over four-plus decades

as a professional manager to

inundate the franchise in the

kind of steady competence t hat

has evaded Queens for quite

some time.

“One of the biggest t hings I’m

drawn to is teams and situations

and organizations t hat can win

consistently. I t’s so hard to do,”

Showalter said. “Especially

winning when you’re expected to

win.”

Showalter, w ho has never

managed in the World Series but

has twice seen teams he managed

win the championship the season

after he was fired, is now

expected to win — and he knows

it. He s aid team owner Steve

Cohen’s s pending on players and

analytics “continues to eliminate

excuses we might have for things

we can do.”

“Not a lot of lip service,”

Showalter said. “It’s kind of a

show-me situation.”

[email protected]

Eppler said. “... It w as Buck’s

ability to connect to a wide range

of people, his drive to compete,

his curiosity blended with his

experience and his overall

adaptability that led us to

naming him manager of the New

York Mets.”

Eppler was hired just about a

month ago as part of an

organizational rebuild that had

already included a massive

overhaul a nd bolstering of the

Mets’ analytics department.

Many o f the questions Showalter

fielded Tuesday were the kind

that most older managers face

when they get jobs these days:

How will you adapt to a changing

game that relies more on the

interpretation of data than ever

before?

Showalter’s answers were

consistent, winding through the

passion he has for knowing more

than the other guy, through

stories of his wife, Angela,

charting batted balls during his

managerial stints in Class A ball

back in the day so that he could

know where to position his

defenders. He s aid he would have

loved to have leaned on analytics

during his nine-year stint with

the Baltimore Orioles, but the

franchise couldn’t a fford to build

out a data operation.

“If somebody thinks I’m going

to go b ack to the hotel or the

house and think we got beat

mouth now and then. They h ired

him because they knew, a fter

decades in the game in which he

developed an attention to detail

and accountability, he would

mean what he said when he said

it.

“Starting this interview

process a few weeks back, we

sought to look at a v ariety o f

candidates from various

backgrounds and experience

levels. We l ooked at a n umber of

criteria spanning from culture

and connectivity with players

and staff to embracing new

practices in both player

performance and analytics,”

something y ou put your

headphones on and say ‘I don’t

want to listen to it.’ It’s t here. But

there’s n o place l ike it when you

get it right.”

Showalter wasn’t s upposed t o

mention names, a quirk of his

hiring being announced d uring a

lockout, and every time he

slipped a nd referenced a player,

General Manager Billy Eppler

and team president Sandy

Alderson s eemed t o wince in

front of their respective

computer s creens.

But they didn’t h ire Showalter

with the expectation that he

might not put his foot in his

and fanatic following — can’t

throw something a t him that he

hasn’t s een.

“There’s n o magic sprinkle

dust. It’s a bout winning baseball

games. It’s l ike the chicken and

the egg — what comes first?

Everybody wants to use the word

culture, but that’s a multifaceted

word in my mind,” Showalter

said. “There’s a l ot of dynamics

that go i nto it.”

Even with occasional rambling

and frequent apologies for

rambling, even as he described

himself as “spongeful” and

compared a r eporter to Rihanna,

the 65 -year-old Showalter

seemed entirely comfortable

with what is ahead of him in his

fifth managerial stop. He

remembered letters that former

New York Yankees owner George

Steinbrenner sent him during

and after his time as manager, his

way of explaining that he has

been here before and isn’t s cared

of the pressure the city imparts

on men who hold jobs like his —

pressure t hat Mets stars such as

Francisco Lindor often cited as

an impediment to success during

their disappointing 2 021 season.

“We all have opinions. Thank

God we do; thank God people

care,” Showalter said. “You don’t

think people care about the New

York Mets? If somebody’s n ot

willing to take that responsibility

in the locker room — this isn’t

Perhaps only Buck
Showalter could
use so many
words to make
something t hat
has long been so
difficult for the
New York Mets seem so simple.
Perhaps only the verbose veteran
could ditch linguistic efficiency
in favor of his trademark
tangents and nevertheless leave
everyone with a clear picture o f
exactly what his vision for these
Mets looks like.
“You try to eliminate all the
possible e xcuses a nd all the
sympathetic ears to the BS that
won’t a llow us to win baseball
games. It i sn’t a s complicated as
we make it sometimes,” the Mets’
new manager said during a Zoom
news conference Tuesday before
offering what was, by then, one of
his many apologies f or lengthy
answers.
“Sorry, y ou got me going.”
This is Showalter at h is most
Showalterian, winding through
cliches and baseball jargon
internalized and vetted through
decades, waxing poetic about
how difficult baseball can be and
being careful not to promise
anything, all while
communicating an u nmistakable
sense that even the Mets — with
their free-tweeting, free-
spending o wner and new general
manager and high-profile stars

In charge in New York, Showalter charts c lear direction forward f or oft-lost Mets

On
Baseball

CHELSEA
JANES

ASSOCIATED PRESS

During his introduction Tuesday, Buck Showalter talked about h is

wife, Angela, charting batted balls early in his managerial career.