The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-01)

D2 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, APRIL 1 , 2022

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Miami’s Caputo will be

next GW men’s coach

Longtime Miami associate
head coach Chris Caputo
accepted a contract offer to
become the new men’s coach at
George Washington, a person
with knowledge of the situation
said Thursday night.
The school and Caputo were
working out final contract details
including length of the deal, said
the person, who spoke to the
Associated Press on the condition
of anonymity because George
Washington had not announced
the hiring.
Caputo replaces Jamion
Christian, who was 29-50 in
three seasons at the school.
Caputo was an integral part of
Miami Coach Jim Larranaga’s
staff for two decades, including
helping George Mason to the
Final Four in 2006 and the
Hurricanes to the Elite Eight this
season. He has been associate
head coach at Miami since May
2015, overseeing much of the
team’s recruiting efforts and
serving as the team’s defensive
coordinator....
Maryland starting center
Qudus Wahab said he entered
the transfer portal. Wahab
arrived at Maryland from
Georgetown and spent one
season with the Terrapins.
Wahab said he made his
decision after discussions with
Coach Kevin Willard’s new staff.
Wahab left open the possibility of
returning to Maryland, but doing
so is somewhat rare for players
once they begin exploring other
options.
Wahab started 31 of 32 games,
logging 19.3 minutes while
sharing time at his position with
freshman Julian Reese. Wahab
averaged 7.7 points and
5.6 rebounds as the Terps
navigated a turbulent season
under interim coach Danny
Manning, who took over after
Mark Turgeon’s departure in
December.
— Emily Giambalvo
Jack Nunge made the go-
ahead basket with 3.1 seconds
left, and Xavier won its first
National Invitation Tournament
championship in 64 years,
rallying for a 73-72 victory over
Texas A&M at Madison Square
Garden.
Colby Jones scored 21 points
for the Musketeers (23-13) and
was selected the tournament’s
most outstanding player.
It was the last NIT
championship game at the
Garden for at least a couple of
years — ending a b asketball
tradition that dates from 1938.
Quenton Jackson had
23 points for the Aggies (27-13),
who were left out of the NCAA
tournament despite reaching the
SEC tournament final...
Wisconsin guard Johnny
Davis, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey
and Notre Dame guard Blake
Wesley announced they are
entering the NBA draft....
South Carolina junior forward
Aliyah Boston was named the

Associated Press women’s player of the year after helping the Gamecocks go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country while putting up an SEC-record 27 straight double-doubles..... Kim Mulkey of LSU was named AP women’s coach of the year after leading the Tigers to 26 wins, 17 more than last season. It’s the third time the former Baylor coach has been honored, joining Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma and Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw.... South Dakota women’s coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who took the Coyotes to a surprising run to the Sweet 16, was hired as coach at West Virginia.

TENNIS Naomi Osaka’s eyes welled with tears when her match ended, an all-too-familiar scene for her in recent years. These were of the happy variety. For the former world No. 1, that’s major progress. The unseeded Osaka defeated No. 22 Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Miami Open semifinals. She’s in a championship match for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open and will meet No. 2 Iga Swiatek on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Swiatek defeated No. 16 Jessica Pegula, 6-2, 7-5. “Damn, I’m almost crying,” Osaka said. Maybe not even almost. She hid her face in an orange towel a few times right after the match ended, at least one tear clearly making its way down her right cheek. Osaka entered this tournament ranked 77th in the world, will leave Miami no worse than 36th and would be back in the top 30 if she wins the title. It has been a long, trying and often emotional ride for Osaka since her win in the 2018 U.S. Open final over Serena Williams. She was rattled during a loss at Indian Wells on March 12 following a derogatory shout from a spectator, withdrew from last year’s French Open to address her mental state and left last year’s U.S. Open in tears. But in South Florida, one of the places she considers home, it’s been all support from the fans. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Osaka told them in her on-court interview. Pegula and Swiatek — who will replace the now-retired Ashleigh Barty as the top-ranked player in the world next week — were set to meet in the other women’s semifinal Thursday night. Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev came into the tournament as the second-ranked men’s player in the world. Hubert Hurkacz ensured he will stay there. Hurkacz — the No. 8 seed and defending Miami champion — wore down the top-seeded and cramp-riddled Medvedev, 7-6 ( 9-7), 6-3, in a men’s quarterfinal. Had Medvedev prevailed, he would have overtaken Novak Djokovic on Monday and returned to No. 1 in the world. — From news services and staff reports

DIGEST

TELEVISION AND RADIO
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, FINAL FOUR

7 p.m. Louisville vs. South Carolina » ESPN, WJFK (106.7 FM)
9:30 p.m. Connecticut vs. Stanford » ESPN, WJFK (106.7 FM)

NBA

7 p.m. Dallas at Washington » NBC Sports Washington, WTEM (980 AM)
8 p.m. Phoenix at Memphis » NBA TV
10:30 p.m. New Orleans at Los Angeles Lakers » NBA TV

MLB SPRING TRAINING
1 p.m. Philadelphia vs. Baltimore » MASN
4 p.m. Cincinnati vs. Los Angeles Angels » MLB Network

AUTO RACING
7 p.m. NHRA: Four-Wide Nationals, qualifying » Fox Sports 1

GOLF
Noon LPGA Tour: Chevron Championship, second round » Golf Channel
4 p.m. PGA Tour: Texas Open, second round » Golf Channel
7 p.m. LPGA Tour: Chevron Championship, second round » Golf Channel

SOCCER
Noon FIFA World Cup draw » Fox Sports 1

TENNIS
1 p.m. ATP/WTA: Miami Open, semifinals » Tennis Channel
7 p.m. ATP/WTA: Miami Open, semifinals » Tennis Channel

VOLLEYBALL
7 p.m. Athletes Unlimited: Team Sheilla vs. Team Lowe » Fox Sports 2
9:30 p.m. Athletes Unlimited: Team Drews vs. Team De La Cruz » Fox Sports 2

COLLEGE BASEBALL
7 p.m. Mississippi State at Arkansas » SEC Network
7 p.m. Tennessee at Vanderbilt » ESPN2

COLLEGE SOFTBALL
4:30 p.m. Michigan at Northwestern » Big Ten Network
8 p.m. Washington at Arizona » Pac-12 Network
10 p.m. Oregon at UCLA » Pac-12 Network

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

4:30 p.m. College All-Star Game » CBS Sports Network

MEN’S COLLEGE GYMNASTICS

7 p.m. Big Ten championships » Big Ten Network

MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE
4:30 p.m. Penn State at Ohio State » ESPNU

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
10:30 a.m. Geico Nationals, girls’ semifinal: Montverde Academy (Fla.)
vs. DME Academy (Fla.) » ESPNU
12:30 p.m. Geico Nationals, girls’ semifinal: New Hope Academy (Md.)
vs. IMG Academy (Fla.) » ESPNU
2:30 p.m. Geico Nationals, boys’ semifinal: Montverde Academy (Fla.)
vs. IMG Academy (Fla.) » ESPN2
4:30 p.m. Geico Nationals, boys’ semifinal: Link Academy (Mo.)
vs. Prolific Prep (Calif.) » ESPN2

Maloney did not spell out details of the new phase of the probe but acknowledged it had moved well beyond the original focus of allegations centering on sexual misconduct. “The team is not aware of any investigation by the House Over- sight Committee regarding financial matters, despite vague and unsubstantiated claims t oday by anonymous sources,” a Com- manders spokesman said. “The team categorically denies any sug- gestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time. We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and ac- counting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to coop- erate fully with the Committee’s work.” The committee’s examination of alleged financial irregularities in team operations comes amid the NFL’s second investigation of the team or Snyder’s behavior in the past 19 months. The NFL’s current probe — led by Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Com- mission — was prompted by an allegation of sexual misconduct against Snyder that was aired during a public roundtable hosted by the committee Feb. 3. During the proceedings, Tiffani Johnston, a former cheerleader and team mar- keting manager, told members of Congress that Snyder harassed her at a team dinner, putting his hand on her thigh and pressing her toward his limo afterward. In a statement, Snyder called John- ston’s allegations “outright lies.” When asked whether the panel is looking into allegations of financial impropriety, a spokesper- son for the committee said: “The Committee continues to investigate the hostile workplace and culture of impunity at the Wash- ington Commanders as well as the National Football League’s inad- equate response and lack of trans- parency. The Committee will fol- low the facts wherever they may lead.” The House Oversight Commit- tee launched its investigation of the team in October, after some

COMMANDERS FROM D1

members expressed dissatisfac- tion with a perceived lack of trans- parency in the NFL’s investigation of the team’s workplace, which was led by Beth Wilkinson and began in the summer of 2020. Following Wilkinson’s 10- month investigation, the NFL fined the team $10 million in July and announced that Snyder’s wife, Tanya, the team’s co-CEO, would take over the franchise’s day-to- day operations for an unspecified period. The NFL did not release Wilkinson’s findings, saying then that she had been directed to relay her conclusions orally rather than in writing. The committee requested the NFL turn over all documents and information related to Wilkin- son’s work, as well as her findings. Frustrated by what it called partial compliance by the NFL, the committee set a second deadline for all of the requested documents and threatened further action in Feb- ruary for anything short of that. In a February letter to the committee, the NFL wrote that the Com- manders were denying access to approximately 109,000 requested documents related to Wilkinson’s investigation. An attorney for Sny- der denied the assertion. The House Oversight Commit-

tee is the investigative arm of Con- gress, and Maloney has subpoena power to compel the production of documents not willingly provided and the authority to convene hear- ings on matters of public interest. There is some disagreement among members, largely breaking down along party lines, over whether the inner dynamics of a professional football team war- rant the committee’s attention. While the committee’s focus re- mains on the Commanders’ workplace culture and the NFL’s han- dling of allegations of pervasive sexual misconduct within the franchise, the financial allegations arrive amid indications that the NFL is growing weary of defending Snyder. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly rebuked Snyder for announcing during Super Bowl week that the team would handle the investigation of John- ston’s allegations. Goodell said in- stead the NFL would do so via an independent investigator because it would be improper for the team to investigate itself. At the NFL’s annual meetings Tuesday in Palm Beach, Fla., Goodell said Tanya Snyder would continue to oversee the team’s dai- ly functions and represent the

Commanders at league meetings “for at least the foreseeable fu- ture.” The Commanders are worth $4.2 billion, according to Forbes. While in his 30s, Snyder led an investment group that bought the team and its stadium for $800 million in 1999. After an acrimonious dispute in 2020 with his second set of limited partners in the team, Snyder was granted a debt ceiling waiver by the NFL in March 2021 that en- abled him to buy out his partners’ combined 40 percent stake for approximately $875 million. The deal put ownership of the team entirely in the hands of Sny- der and family members but sad- dled him with as much as an additional $450 million in debt at a time when the Commanders’ fan base is eroding. The NFL’s top- drawing team in the early 2000s, Washington ranked 31st among the league’s 32 teams in home attendance last season, ahead of only the Detroit Lions. Anheuser-Busch, the official beer sponsor of the NFL and more than two dozen of its teams, acknowledged in a mid-March statement to The Washington Post that it was ending its partnership with the Commanders.

Congress expands Commanders probe

PETE MAROVICH/BLOOMBERG Mary Jo White, f ormer chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, leads the NFL’s investigation.

FROM NEWS SERVICES AND STAFF REPORTS

Linebacker Bobby Wagner agreed to a five-year deal Thurs- day to join his hometown Los Angeles Rams. The Super Bowl champions outmaneuvered several suitors for Wagner, one of the NFL’s top inside linebackers after his decade with the Seattle Seahawks. ESPN reported Wagner’s deal contains $50 million guaranteed and could be worth up to $65 million. The Seahawks released the six- time all-pro anchor of their de- fense March 9. Just over three weeks later, Wagner agreed to join Seattle’s NFC West rivals, provid- ing the force at inside linebacker that the Rams have lacked for several seasons. Wagner was born in Los Ange- les, and he graduated from high school in suburban Ontario, Calif. Wagner joins wide receiver Al- len Robinson as the most prominent offseason additions to the Rams, who again proved their adeptness at fitting stars under the salary cap. Los Angeles lost a handful of starters and key con- tributors to free agency, retire- ment and a trade over the past month but also managed to retain two key offensive linemen while adding Wagner and Robinson as veteran playmakers. Although Wagner plays a mark- edly different linebacking role, his arrival will assuage some of the Rams’ disappointment at losing midseason acquisition Von Miller, who took a slightly higher offer from the Buffalo Bills rather than running it back in Los Angeles. Wagner has been selected to the past eight Pro Bowls, and he has racked up 1,383 total tackles — the most by any active player. He set a career high last season with 170 tackles for struggling Seattle. The only active player with more first-team all-pro selections than Wagner is Aaron Donald, Wagner’s new teammate. Wagner was released by the rebuilding Seahawks because he would have cost them $20.6 million against the salary cap this year in the final season of his contract. He also turns 32 in June. But Wagner had no shortage of teams eager to pick him up after

his departure from Seattle. The Baltimore Ravens were the most prominent among the other teams who avidly pursued Wag- ner in free agency, but the Rams closed the deal a week after Wag- ner visited the team’s training complex in Thousand Oaks. — Associated Press

Smith critiques Commanders The Washington Commanders, a team in need of a reboot, turned to a quarterback in Carson Wentz in the same situation. One former Washington quarterback believes the partnership’s chances for suc- cess lie with the ability to eliminate and ignore the distractions that have plagued the team for more than two decades. “It’s tough. I think you’ve got to try to eliminate the noise there. There’s a lot of noise,” Alex Smith said on “The Rich Eisen Show” when asked what advice he would give Wentz. “There’s a lot of distractions — that entire organization, everything surrounding it — and, obviously, deservedly. It’s been flawed the last 20 years. There’s a lot of stuff going on there, a lot of distractions, and it makes it difficult to kind of focus

in on the football.” Smith was with Washington from 2018 to 2020, missing all of the 2019 season as he recovered from a devastating leg injury. Af- ter using Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, Garrett Gilbert and Kyle Allen at quarterback last season, the Commanders opted to trade for Wentz, who spent a dis- appointing single season in Indi- anapolis. During this week’s NFL owners meetings, Colts owner Jim Irsay offered blunt words to describe Wentz’s failure to mesh with the team and Frank Reich, his former mentor in Philadelphia, as the team missed out on the playoffs. “The worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward,” Irsay said. “For us, it was something we had to move away from as a franchise. It was very obvious.” To Smith, that means Wentz is at a “make-or-break” point in his career for a team that has unsuc- cessfully sought its f ranchise quarterback for years. “He’s getting one more chance to kind of be the guy. This is a team that has been almost desperate to try and get a franchise quarter-

back these last few years, and can he be that?” Smith said. “He’s got to lock in. Like I said, he can’t get distracted. This is an opportunity. He’s got to go make the most of it, and I think it’s going to be telling. Can he do that?” Eisen asked whether everything that was happening with the organization affected the team on the field. “How could it not?” Smith asked. “All the stuff there with just the entire organization from ownership down, head coaching and GM, there’s been historically a lot of drama there. It’s a big market, obviously, the capital and a lot going on, and that organization is a really storied franchise, and there’s a lot of turmoil and a lot of distractions. “So to say that the stuff going on in the building doesn’t infiltrate the locker room or out on the field would be crazy. That’s what hap- pens everywhere. I think that’s what great organizations eliminate and the bad ones have a hard time with. All that noise creeps into the building. Yeah, it does. It does affect the product on the field.” — Cindy Boren

NFL NOTES

Wagner lands five-year deal with reigning champs

MATT PATTERSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS Linebacker Bobby Wagner, who joins the Rams after spending a decade in Seattle, is a six-time all-pro.

The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-01)

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