KLMNO
SPORTS
SUNDAY, MARCH 27 , 2022. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D
PRO FOOTBALL
At NFL owners meetings
this week, proposals to
modify the OT format. D2
SOCCER
U.S. men face a test of
their depth today in Cup
qualifier vs. Panama. D6
BASEBALL
Old friend Tyler Clippard
signs with the Nationals
and joins bullpen mix. D11
with the eyes of the NFL world
fixed on them, members of
Browns leadership will address
your concerns. It’s best for you to
follow along with their PR
playbook.
Step 1: Get out in front of this
dumpster fire and at least
acknowledge the flames.
Browns General Manager
Andrew Berry will tell you how
he knows the team’s transaction
has triggered emotions. Those
allegations — that Watson
serially booked massages with a
multitude of women, then either
exposed himself, touched them
with his penis or even forced one
to perform oral sex — they
weighed heavy on the Browns,
too, Berry will say. But not
heavily enough to stop them
from giving Watson the largest
guaranteed contract in league
history, of course.
Step 2: Share few details about
the supersecret background
check.
SEE BUCKNER ON D2Everything’s okay,
survivors of
sexual abuse. The
Cleveland Browns
hear you. They see
you. They even
empathize with
you.
They know
you’re uneasy with the man to
whom they just handed bags of
money to become their next
quarterback, even though he
faces 22 civil lawsuits by women
who have accused him of sexual
assault or sexual harassment.
But don’t worry. The Browns are
comfortable with all of this.
They’re comfortable with
having him as the face of their
franchise, and they hope that,
with time, you’ll be comfortable,
too.
They will try to convert you,
starting with almost 40 minutes
of scripted sensitivity during
Deshaun Watson’s introduction
on Friday as the Browns’
$230 million quarterback. And
Not comfortable with Watson?
Don’t worry, the Browns are.
Candace
Buckner
BY SAMANTHA PELL
The goal came about two hours
after the ceremony for Washing-
ton center Nicklas Backstrom. A
stray puck found its way onto
Backstrom’s stick at the left face-
off circle, and a lethal wrist shot
whizzed past New Jersey Devils
goalie Nico Daws, snapping a tie
in what would ultimately become
a 4-3 Capitals win.
As Backstrom raised his arms
in celebration, his teammates
gave him emphatic fist bumps on
the bench and a sea of red squeez-
able rubber apples suddenly
rained down onto the ice at Capi-
tal One Arena.
“I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ I
mean, I d idn’t s core a hat trick, but
it was fun that the crowd did it,”
SEE CAPITALS ON D8On m ilestone night, Backstrom likes them applesNICK WASS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rubber apples, given out in honor of N icklas Backstrom, litter the ice after his go-ahead goal.CAPITALS 4,
DEVILS 3
BY DAVE SHEININ
Last Oct. 18 was Brittney Gri-
ner’s 31st birthday, a day she
spent cleaning out her locker and
doing interviews following the
Phoenix Mercury’s season-ending
loss in the WNBA Finals. Loom-
ing over her later that fall: a
return engagement with UMMC
Ekaterinburg, the deep-pocketed
Russian team with which she had
played the previous six years dur-
ing the WNBA’s offseason.
“It’s getting harder and hard-
er,” Griner told reporters when
asked about the double-duty. “I’m
not really looking forward to it,
honestly — having to leave my
family and go overseas again.
Definitely going over this offsea-
son and then just taking it year by
year.”
As is now well known, Griner’s
EuroLeague season came to a
jarring end Feb. 17, when the
seven-time WNBA all-star and
two-time Olympic gold medalist
was taken into custody by Rus-
sian authorities at an airport out-
side Moscow, accused of having
vape cartridges containing hash-
ish oil in her carry-on bag. She is
expected to remain detained until
at least May 19, the date of her
next court hearing, and could
spend up to a year in custody
before reaching trial. If convicted,
she could face up to 10 years in
prison.
On Wednesday, U.S. State De-
partment spokesman Ned Price,
following Griner’s first consular
visit from U.S. Embassy staff, re-
ported Griner “is doing as well as
can be expected under these very
difficult circumstances.”
But Griner’s detainment has
also opened a window into the
fraught economics of women’s
professional basketball and the
financial forces that send many of
the WNBA’s top players, often
reluctantly, overseas for up to
seven months a year — lured by
salaries that in some cases are
four or five times what they earn
in the WNBA, as well as luxury
travel perks that not only don’t
SEE WNBA ON D8
Griner’s
detention
spotlights
WNBA rift
Top players earn more
overseas, but new rules
might limit their mobilityHurricanes at Capitals
Tomorrow, 7 p.m., NBCSWNCAA TOURNAMENT
Powers of MarchMARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Duke’s AJ Griffin flexes after
making a three-pointer
during the Blue Devils’ win
over Arkansas. The victory
sent Duke to its 13th F inal
Four i n Coach M ike
Krzyzewski’s final season.TODAY’S ELITE EIGHT
Men
Miami vs. Kansas, 2:20
Saint Peter’s vs. UNC, 5:05
Both games on CBS
Women
S. Carolina vs. Creighton, 7
Stanford vs. Texas, 9
Both games on ESPNBY ADAM KILGORE
philadelphia — Shaheen Holloway always knew he
wanted to be a coach. It happened sooner than he
expected. His professional playing career ended after
seven years on European teams and in domestic minor
leagues, a life not conducive to caring for his daughter.
He was a point guard, a quarterback in sneakers, a
position that imbued him with a holistic view of the
game. More than that, he believed the right coach at the
right moment could change a life.
“A lot of people took a chance on me when it was so
easy to go the other way,” Holloway said. “I want to be
that guy to take a chance on some kids people don’t want
or are pushing away or got in trouble and need a second
chance. That’s kind of what I’m about.”
For two magical weekends, America has learned what
Holloway is about. In his fourth season as a head coach,
Holloway has led Saint Peter’s to three stunning upset
victories in the NCAA tournament, turning the tiny
Jesuit school from Jersey City into the first No. 15 seed to
reach the Elite Eight. Sunday evening, Saint Peter’s will
SEE SAINT PETER'S ON D3Egoless, confident Hollowayleads way for Saint Peter’sBY CHUCK CULPEPPER
san francisco — So an encyclopedic career that began
by the banks of the Hudson on a quiet night after
Thanksgiving 1975 will end near the Mississippi in a loud
dome clear into April 2022. Mike Krzyzewski will depart
the vivid sport he mastered at a Final Four just as John
Wooden did in that s ame 1975, 242 days before Krzyzewski
got started that November night at Army. Good grief, he
might even get to play North Carolina again.
Krzyzewski already had seven East Region titles, two
South, one Southeast, one Midwest and one “A tlanta,” so
he stopped off Saturday night by the San Francisco Bay to
grab one West before retiring. His 42nd Duke team had
too much stardom for a gutty Arkansas in a not-scary win
that ended 78-69, pushing Krzyzewski into a record 13th
and final Final Four, this one in New Orleans. In seeking a
sixth national title, he will hope to emulate how Wooden
SEE DUKE ON D4Krzyzewski books his placein 13th and final Final FourDUKE 78, ARKANSAS 69
’Nova’s in: Wildcats top
Houston, make Final Four. D3
Trouble in Memphis? Tigers
reportedly face penalties. D4