Wonder Boy

This is what D.C. United fans were hoping to see when the team acquired English superstar Wayne Rooney back in June. 

On Aug. 12, with less than a minute to go in stoppage time and his team locked in a 2-2 draw with Orlando City SC, Rooney did something that will go down as one of the exciting moments in the team’s 23-season history. 

The 32-year-old legend ran halfway down the pitch, tackled the ball from his opponent, then delivered a pinpoint cross to set up teammate Luciano Acosta’s game-winning goal in the waning seconds of the game.

“I told him he looked like he was 18 again,” D.C. United defender Kofi Opare said of Rooney, according to The Washington Post’s Steven Goff. “He said, ‘Man, that’s the fastest I’ve ever run.’ ”

Golden Girl

When Katie Ledecky competes in the pool, she doesn’t just win. She dominates. She set untouchable records as a high school swimmer at Stone Ridge School in Bethesda. She shattered world marks at the Olympics. And she took Stanford to the top in her two years as a collegiate swimmer.

Now, as a professional, the 21-year-old D.C. native is proving that she remains in a class of her own. 

At the Pan Pacific championships in Tokyo, Ledecky finished with three individual gold medals (400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle), a bronze (200-meter freestyle), and a silver in the 4×200 freestyle relay. But she’s not satisfied. The meet featured some of the closest competition she’s had in some time.

“I have a lot of things I learned from this meet, a lot of areas for improvement, and a lot of motivation,” Ledecky told reporters. “Just going to hold onto those things and take them back into training in the fall.”

Crisis at Maryland

University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh and athletic director Damon Evans spoke with reporters on Aug. 14 and admitted that athletic staff members made mistakes that led to offensive lineman Jordan McNair’s death in June.

Earlier in the day, Loh and Evans met privately with McNair’s family to apologize for the school’s actions on the day of the fateful workout. According to reports, McNair, 19, developed heatstroke during a team practice on May 29 and died 15 days later.

Forty minutes elapsed between the time 911 was called and the time McNair arrived at the hospital with a body temperature of 106 degrees, according to a hospital medical report obtained by The Post. Medical experts recommend that cold-water immersion is the most effective way to treat exertional heatstroke. Evans told reporters that McNair’s temperature was not taken during the workout and that cold-water immersion was not used.

Last week, ESPN reported that head football coach D.J. Durkin and strength and conditioning coach Rick Court implemented a toxic culture of fear and intimidation that made it difficult for players to speak out. Evans announced during the press conference that Court has been fired, while Court released a statement saying he resigned. 

Durkin has been placed on administrative leave.