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PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
Snyder: ‘This feels really like we’re going in the right direction’
changes at GM, coach and QB were necessary
by Rick Maese
Three of the most visible and influential members of the Wash- ington Redskins organization — the general manager, head coach and quarterback — have all changed in recent months, and the man at the top of it all says the turnover was needed to change the culture surrounding a listless franchise. “It was necessary,” Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said. “We were 4-12 and going in the wrong direction. All of the changes are to get us going in the right direction. Obviously, the pedigree and the success of the people that I’ve brought in, you could tell we’re
Redskins owner says
going in the right direction.” Snyder met briefly with report-
ers Saturday following a commu- nity function in Northeast Wash- ington and said he’s excited about the new direction the organiza- tion has taken in recent months. While optimism and hope are common themes around Red- skins Park during the offseason, Snyder said this year, “it feels dif- ferent.” “We had two rough years. This feels really like we’re going in the right direction,” Snyder said. “Really excited about it. I’m hav- ing a lot of fun. These guys are in- credible and really fun to work with.” Snyder was on hand Saturday morning for the unveiling of a newly renovated youth football field at the Edgewood Recreation Center. It’s the 25th field the team’s charitable foundation has helped to renovate. Following the dedication ceremony, he met
DIGEST
TENNIS
Federer, Nadal to meet in Madrid final
Roger Federer will meet Ra-
fael Nadal in a second consec- utive Madrid Masters final after beating David Ferrer of Spain, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, on Saturday. Nadal came from behind to
beat Spanish countryman Nico- las Almagro, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the first semifinal. Last year, Federer beat then
No. 1-ranked Nadal in the final for his second Madrid title. Federer said he had not ex-
pected to wait a year to play Na- dal again. “After playing here last year
you figured, maybe the French, Wimbledon or down the stretch in America at the latest we’ll face off again, but it just never ended up happening,” Federer said. “It shows how incredible our last few years have been and I think it’s exciting for ten- nis and for us obviously that we can face off again.” Nadal, assured of returning
to No. 2 in the rankings with Saturday’s win, is aiming for his second title in Madrid. Nadal is 14-0 on clay this sea- son, winning titles in Monte Carlo and Rome. He has lost only two sets during that run, and is looking for a record 18th Masters title, including his pre- vious Madrid title in 2005.
BASKETBALL
Andrew Bynum says his in- jured knee gradually is getting worse, although the Los Ange- les Lakers’ starting center plans to keep playing on it in the Western Conference finals. Bynum disclosed his right
knee’s worsening state after running in practice Saturday with the Lakers, who open the conference finals against Phoe- nix on Monday night.
Bynum discovered a small tear in his meniscus after straining his knee during the Lakers’ first-round series with Oklahoma City. . . .
Magic forward Matt Barnes
has missed practice because of back spasms but expects to start in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday against Boston.
GOLF
Brett Wetterich birdied his
last three holes for a 4-under- par 68, and Jimmy Walker and James Nitties shot 67s to join Matt Jones atop the leader board at 7 under at the rain- delayed Texas Open in San An-
TELEVISION AND RADIO
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
1 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
2 p.m. 3 p.m.
8 p.m.
Minnesota at New York Yankees » TBS
Cleveland at Baltimore » MASN, WJZ (Channel 13), WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), WTEM (980 AM)
Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs » WGN
Washington at Colorado » MASN2, WDCW (Channel 50), WXTR (730 AM), WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM)
Philadelphia at Milwaukee » ESPN, WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), WTEM (980 AM)
NBA PLAYOFFS
3:30 p.m.
GOLF
3 p.m. 4 p.m.
tonio. The second round was pushed back after more than three inches of rain washed out play Friday on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. The final 36 holes will be played Sunday.
Tour rookie Garth Mulroy
(67) was a stroke back along
with Charley Hoffman (70), James Driscoll (68), J.B. Holmes (70), Pat Perez (66)
and Tim Petrovic (68). . . .
Suzann Pettersen, Brittany Lincicome and Se Ri Pak head
into the final round of the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala., tied atop the leader board at 13 under par. Pettersen had an eagle on the
par-5 No. 6 to help her catch up with second-round leader Pak and shoot a 7-under 65 on the Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove. The Norwegian once again is in contention after finishing second twice and third once in the first five events. . . . In Hoover, Ala., Dan Fors-
man made two eagles on his way to a tournament-record round of 10-under 62 and trails leader Bobby Clampett by one shot in the Regions Charity Classic Champions Tour event.
HOCKEY
Alex Ovechkin scored his
fourth goal in four games to lead Russia to a 3-2 victory over Germany at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Co- logne, Germany.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov
made 32 saves for Russia. . . . Matt Gilroy scored a hat trick and the United States ended its scoring struggles with a 10-0 victory over Kazakhstan at the championship.
MISC.
Michael Katsidis of Aus-
tralia retained the interim WBO lightweight title by stop- ping Kevin Mitchell in the third round in London. . . .
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk took
the vacant WBC cruiserweight title by stopping Giacobbe Fra- gomeni in the eighth round in Lodz, Poland. Wlodarczyk sent the 40-year-old Fragomeni to the canvas a second time in the round and Fragomeni quit. . . . The University of Vermont
has named Lori Gear McBride
its new women’s basketball coach.
— From news services
Drogba gives league champs 1-0 FA Cup win over Portsmouth
Associated Press
Didier Drogba scored his 37th
goal of the season Saturday to give Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth in the FA Cup final in Wembley, England, and a first- ever league and cup double. After clinching the Premier
Boston at Orlando » WJLA (Channel 7), WMAR (Channel 2)
League title last weekend, Chel- sea hit the frame of the goal five times and Portsmouth missed a penalty before Drogba curled in a 59th-minute free kick. “It was difficult to come back
PGA Tour, Texas Open » WUSA (Channel 9)
LPGA Tour, Bell Micro Classic » Golf Channel
AUTO RACING
Noon
7 p.m.
and stay focused for this game be- cause last week we celebrated the title,” Drogba said. “You start to think that you won’t score.” Portsmouth, which was rele-
NASCAR Sprint Cup, Autism Speaks 400 » WTTG (Channel 5), WBFF
(Channel 45)
NHRA, Southern Nationals » ESPN2
WOMEN’S NCAA LACROSSE TOURNAMENT
Noon
Towson at Virginia » ESPNU
only from Comcast.
gated from the Premier League, could have gone in front mo- ments before Drogba’s goal. In- stead, goalkeeper Petr Cech stopped Kevin-Prince Boateng’s weak penalty kick. England midfielder Frank
Lampard then sent a late penalty wide for Chelsea, making it the first of 129 FA Cup finals to fea- ture two missed penalties.
briefly with reporters and touched on the myriad topics that have surfaced since he last spoke publicly in March. Fans can add Snyder’s name to the list of people at Redskins Park who’d prefer that defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth opted to show up for the team’s voluntary minicamps and offseason train- ing activities (OTAs). Haynes- worth has skipped two mini- camps, choosing instead to work out near his home in Nashville. The team begins its first OTA Monday morning, and Haynes- worth isn’t expected to attend. “I’m disappointed he’s not here. Absolutely,” Snyder said. “We’re expecting our players to lead by example, and we’re expecting our players to understand that they’re Redskins and they need to be here.”
But Snyder is pleased with some of the other faces he’s seen around the facility. Snyder attend-
ed quarterback Donovan McNabb’s introductory news con- ference last month but Saturday marked the first time he spoke publicly about his new quarter- back, who was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia last month. “Donovan, you talk about on
the field — it’s off-the-field with me,” Snyder said. “It’s his leader- ship ability that stands out with me.” McNabb’s current contract is
set to expire following the up- coming season, but the team is ex- pected to begin negotiations for an extension soon. Asked whether he felt the team would be able to extend McNabb’s contract by the start of training camp, Snyder said, “We’ll be okay.” Many of the questions and an- swers focused on the team’s new direction. Saying “the past is the past, we’re excited about the fu- ture now,” Snyder clearly feels the franchise has turned a corner and
will fare better under the new re- gime’s stewardship. “It’s exciting. You can feel the
energy, the excitement out of [Coach] Mike [Shanahan] and [General Manager] Bruce [Allen] and now adding Donovan really gets us going,” he said. “We have a lot of confidence — we’ve restored our confidence.” The team has made three play-
off appearances in the 11 seasons since Snyder bought the franchise but none since Joe Gibbs left fol- lowing the 2007 season. Snyder hired Jim Zorn to replace Gibbs, and the team posted a combined 12-20 record the past two seasons. Given the state of the team by the end of last season, a change of culture was needed. Snyder re- placed Vinny Cerrato with Allen as general manager, ousted Zorn to hire Shanahan and oversaw the trade for McNabb. “I think the biggest change is there’s new people now,” he said.
SOCCER
United swirled under by Rapids
Bland offense leads to 1-0 setback and worst-ever 1-7 start
by Steven Goff
To its credit, D.C. United works hard. To its fault, United plays with no style or elegance and is simply incapable of scoring in the run of play.
Blue-collar soccer was on dis-
play again at RFK Stadium on Sat- urday night before a numbed au- dience of 13,570, which watched United huff and puff for 90 min- utes and endure a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids. The result sent United (1-7) to its worst eight-game record in club history and lifted Colorado (4-3-1) to its first victory in Wash- ington in 11 years. United offered a few mild
threats but otherwise was stiff and bland in being shut out for the sixth time and falling to 1-4 at home. Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy scored from 10 yards in the 67th minute, catching goalkeeper Bill Hamid flat-footed and beating him to the near corner for his sec- ond goal of the season. As promised, United Coach
Curt Onalfo stuck with almost the same lineup as last weekend’s match at Dallas, the only change coming in central defense with the return of Juan Manuel Peña. United was organized and
didn’t make mistakes, but a short- age of creativity continued to plague the attack. High pressure and perseverance from front-run- ners Danny Allsopp and Adam Cristman disrupted Colorado’s play out of the back, and Allsopp made an ambitious run before having his angled shot blocked by goalkeeper Matt Pickens. For the most part, though, Unit-
ed’s attack was understated and predictable. The Rapids targeted high balls to Conor Casey, a bullish striker with a point to prove after being
ROUNDUP
Chelsea completes a first-ever double
SCOTTISH CUP: Dundee Unit-
ed scored three times in the sec- ond half to beat Ross County, 3-0, in the final in Glasgow to win its first trophy in 16 years. David Goodwillie put the Pre-
mier League side ahead in the 61st minute before delivering a 75th-minute throw-in for Craig Conway to score. Conway scored again with four minutes left.
ONYEWU UPDATE: American
defender Oguchi Onyewu failed to make it back on the field for AC Milan this season following knee surgery and will try to make his return with the U.S. national team. Onyewu had left knee surgery
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Didier Drogba celebrates after his goal on a free kick in the 59th minute helped Chelsea to a 1-0 FA Cup final win over Portsmouth.
Germany captain Michael Bal- lack was substituted by Chelsea with what appeared to be an an- kle injury that could affect his in- volvement in the World Cup.
CAPELLO COMMITS: Fabio Ca-
pello has committed to coach England until the 2012 European Championship by asking for his contract to be rewritten so his po- sition isn’t reviewed after the World Cup. England’s World Cup campaign opens against the Unit- ed States on June 12.
GERMAN CUP: Bayern Munich
won the Bundesliga and German Cup double for the eighth time, routing Werder Bremen, 4-0, in the cup final in Berlin. Arjen Robben converted a pen-
alty kick in the 34th minute, Ivica Olic doubled the lead in the 51st, Franck Ribery added the third goal in the 63rd and Bastian Schweinsteiger completed the scoring in the 83rd. Bayern extended its record German Cup titles to 15.
Oct. 21, seven days after tearing his patellar tendon during a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. The U.S. team starts work- outs Monday at Princeton, N.J.
MLS roundup
UNION 1, FC DALLAS 1: Rookie
Danny Mwanga scored an unas- sisted goal just as stoppage time was about to expire in the 94th minute and the host Union (1-5-1) salvaged a MLS tie against FC Dallas (2-1-5).
EARTHQUAKES 0, REVOLU-
TION 0: Visiting San Jose (4-2-1) extended its unbeaten streak to three games with a scoreless tie against New England (2-5-2).
NED DISHMAN/GETTY IMAGES
Danny Allsopp, center, shoots for United. Mehdi Ballouchy’s 67th-minute goal won it for Colorado.
left off the U.S. World Cup train- ing camp roster. He just missed meeting Omar Cummings’s cross in the second minute and poorly headed Ballouchy’s fine service in the 28th. Late in the half, United’s Chris- tian Castillo narrowly missed from distance and Colorado’s Wells Thompson drove a danger- ous cross through the six-yard box. After the break, Onalfo turned
to Brandon Barklage on the right flank in place of Thabiso “Boyzzz” Khumalo. Barklage had not played in the previous four league matches, in part because of in- juries.
Allsopp served as the target,
collecting and distributing the ball from a withdrawn spot, but his final passes directed for Crist- man and Castillo were slightly off the mark. United’s lack of a player who could change the game with the ball at his feet was glaring. So D.C. trudged along in workman- like fashion, probing for a break-
through pass or threatening free kick. The Rapids weren’t exactly Bra- zil, either. The beautiful game, it was not. The match begged for an injection of speed, ideas or influ- ence.
Allsopp showed a touch of flair in the 64th minute, heeling the ball into a channel for the charg- ing Castillo, who, in congestion, poked a shot harmlessly wide. Three minutes later, the Rapids seized the lead. Ballouchy ran at Peña on the right side of the pen- alty area, using clever footwork before tucking a left-footed shot between Peña’s extended legs and into the near corner. Hamid, an- ticipating a cross to the onrushing Casey, stood rooted to the goal line, and when the ball passed him by, he fell to his knees in an- guish.
Colorado threatened to secure the result against the laboring hosts. Three minutes after enter- ing, Colin Clark smashed a 30- yarder off the left post.
In the 72nd minute, Onalfo
took off Peña, leaving his team with three defenders, and adding forward Jaime Moreno. Barklage delivered a through ball that slith- ered just beyond Cristman and Allsopp in the box, allowing Pick- ens to smother it. United survived another scare in the 78th when Ballouchy stung a 23-yard free kick off the crossbar. Onalfo’s final move came two minutes later, attacking midfield- er Andy Najar replacing defensive midfielder Kurt Morsink. Hamid kept his team close by stopping Clark’s routine shot and making a special foot save on Cummings’s bid, but United had no response.
United notes: Striker Luciano
Emilio, acquired three weeks ago to bolster the sputtering attack, was not included on the game-day roster, apparently because of fit- ness issues. . . . United will visit Houston (4-4-1) next weekend be- fore hosting AC Milan in a May 26 friendly.
goffs@washpost.com
“We had the great Joe Gibbs for quite some time. I feel like we got close a few times. I feel good about those days. And then we had a couple of bad years. Now we got to get those behind us and move on, and that’s what we’re do- ing.”
Since Allen was hired in De-
cember, there’s been talk that Sny- der might not be as active in the day-to-day operations of the team. At news conferences, he’s sat in the back of the auditorium. Play- ers say they don’t speak with Sny- der as often as before. And some at Redskins Park say the owner doesn’t visit as regularly as he has in years past. Snyder, however, doesn’t seem to put much cre- dence to the theory that he’s less involved than before.
“I think the approach has al-
ways been a little bit more hands- off than probably written about or reported about,” he said.
maeser@washpost.com
SUNDAY, MAY 16, 2010
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