The picture you see to the right was something I tore from the newspaper last summer and scanned earlier today. After all the hoopla and angst about Lebron James leaving Cleveland what was lost in the public relations debris was the fact that the Miami Heat were going to play in L.A. on Christmas Day. Now its just a few days away and I am actually looking forward to it. (And I make a point of ignoring the Lakers on their annual XMAS tilts just out of principle). I'm guessing by 2pm this Saturday I will need a break from my family's card games and football tosses. So all I will want is to curl up on a couch with a holiday quaff and a Christmas brownie and watch what
is going to be a tremendous game featuring the very best basketball players on the planet. Then I'll eat dinner, help with dishes and end up tossing the football around in the chilly winter night until we go inside to play some more games. I guess what I'm trying to say is Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Hey Dodgers! I Want A Divorce!
In 1994 I was at Dodger Stadium when Larry Walker of the Expos made one of the most infamous plays in Dodger Stadium history. You've probably seen the clip where he makes a catch and hands the ball to a fan, only to discover it's the second out of the inning and not the third. His frantic attempt to retrieve the ball while Jose Offerman runs the bases is part of baseball lore. I actually saw the whole thing on TV, standing next to Kings owner Bruce McNall while waiting for drinks at the Outfield Bar.
I didn't know it at the time but both McNall (on the verge of bankruptcy and prison) and Dodger Stadium (a few years from being sold by Peter O' Malley to the Fox News Corp.) were headed for big changes. One of them was the Outfield Bar, up on the club level but open to the public. The one place the average fan could get a cocktail and freshly popped popcorn. Served up by bartenders straight out of "The Shining." It sat next to the cafeteria, where a big chef in a big hat would carve out a roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side. All for $8.00, or about the current price of a beer. In 2000, Fox installed private luxury suites on the club level and razed both the cafeteria and the bar. So long average guy, hello big spender.
The 21st century brought more changes, and none of them worthwhile. How about the blanket fiasco, where fans were given a nice bit of fleece saluting the championship teams of 1962 and 1966, even though the Dodgers won in '63 and '65? This was the start of the Frank McCourt era, and hopefully it will end soon.
This carpet bagger raised the price of parking to $15.00 and raised ticket prices so high that many season ticket holders relinquished seats they’d had since 1962. He instituted a police state where cars are directed to specific spots by stern-faced attendants and fans are searched upon entry. Its like going to the airport but not quite as fun! Whatever joy I felt when going to Dodger Stadium has been completely drained by McCourt’s actions, and of course, the public embarrassment of his divorce trial. Now we know Frank and his wife were just using the Dodgers as a personal ATM machine to buy expensive homes instead of expensive players.
This year on fan appreciation day only 20,000 fans showed up and most of them ending up
booing any mention of the McCourts. Its a sad situation.
It’s a crazy world when the Oakland Raiders allow tailgating but the Dodger security force will order you to leave your car immediately. Don’t even think about having a quick beer before going inside. I have traveled all over the country for sports and concerts and never been treated this way! Thank goodness for Vin Scully, the only reason to remain a Dodger fan. When I was growing up, everyone I knew listened to him. At the beach, at home or at the stadium, Scully's voice was synonymous with summer. Now Vinny only does three innings of radio and I’m not sure who the other announcers are, but I know they don’t hold a candle to Ross Porter, who was fired a few years ago for no reason.
Since my first game in 1965 I have been to Dodger Stadium at least 500 times. This year I’ve been once. I will never go again as long as McCourt owns the team.
I didn't know it at the time but both McNall (on the verge of bankruptcy and prison) and Dodger Stadium (a few years from being sold by Peter O' Malley to the Fox News Corp.) were headed for big changes. One of them was the Outfield Bar, up on the club level but open to the public. The one place the average fan could get a cocktail and freshly popped popcorn. Served up by bartenders straight out of "The Shining." It sat next to the cafeteria, where a big chef in a big hat would carve out a roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side. All for $8.00, or about the current price of a beer. In 2000, Fox installed private luxury suites on the club level and razed both the cafeteria and the bar. So long average guy, hello big spender.
The 21st century brought more changes, and none of them worthwhile. How about the blanket fiasco, where fans were given a nice bit of fleece saluting the championship teams of 1962 and 1966, even though the Dodgers won in '63 and '65? This was the start of the Frank McCourt era, and hopefully it will end soon.
This carpet bagger raised the price of parking to $15.00 and raised ticket prices so high that many season ticket holders relinquished seats they’d had since 1962. He instituted a police state where cars are directed to specific spots by stern-faced attendants and fans are searched upon entry. Its like going to the airport but not quite as fun! Whatever joy I felt when going to Dodger Stadium has been completely drained by McCourt’s actions, and of course, the public embarrassment of his divorce trial. Now we know Frank and his wife were just using the Dodgers as a personal ATM machine to buy expensive homes instead of expensive players.
This year on fan appreciation day only 20,000 fans showed up and most of them ending up
booing any mention of the McCourts. Its a sad situation.
It’s a crazy world when the Oakland Raiders allow tailgating but the Dodger security force will order you to leave your car immediately. Don’t even think about having a quick beer before going inside. I have traveled all over the country for sports and concerts and never been treated this way! Thank goodness for Vin Scully, the only reason to remain a Dodger fan. When I was growing up, everyone I knew listened to him. At the beach, at home or at the stadium, Scully's voice was synonymous with summer. Now Vinny only does three innings of radio and I’m not sure who the other announcers are, but I know they don’t hold a candle to Ross Porter, who was fired a few years ago for no reason.
Since my first game in 1965 I have been to Dodger Stadium at least 500 times. This year I’ve been once. I will never go again as long as McCourt owns the team.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Favre Is At It Again!
Except this time he's borrowed a page from Lebron James and is holding an entire city hostage!
Will he play or won't he? Its driving sports talk radio guys crazy and same with me! No reason to say anything more. Read my piece from 8/20/09...same exact story a year later!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
World Cup Is Hard On The Nerves!
Watching the World Cup while drinking your morning coffee can be hazardous to your health. I realized this last Friday when the USA tied Slovenia 2-2 after trailing by two goals at the half. Watching the match at 8am PDT had my heart racing as I downed my usual get-me-going cups of java. I should have been drinking beer or anything else without caffeine because the tension kept building throughout the final minutes when the USA was robbed of the game-winning goal by a horrendous call. The match against Slovenia will be remembered for the Maurice Edu goal that referee Koman Coulibaly of Mali inexplicably waved off in the 85th minute. I was hollering at the TV (and so were others in my neighborhood) and I was still in bed! The game ended in a 2-2 draw.
In the following days the complaints of "we were robbed" were replaced by "we only need to beat lowly Algeria." A win by the USA in the final match of pool play would guarantee advancing to the sweet 16 of the World Cup, something the Americans have rarely done. In a delightful twist, the USA's main concern on Wednesday would not be Algeria but England! If England could beat Slovenia while the USA lost then England would advance and the Americans would go home. Of course, both matches would be played on the same day at the same time: 7am PDT.
If it was the weekend I would have started out with screwdrivers instead of coffee, but since it was a workday I drank my coffee with extra cream to try and cut the caffeine buzz. I switched back and forth between the two games, keeping an eye on Steven Gerrard of England, my favorite soccer player. When his Three Lions scored an early goal I went back to the USA game, and once again found myself yelling at the TV set. American Herculez Gomez got off two shots, the second of which rebounded to an unmarked Clint Dempsey at the far post, who knocked the ball into the empty net.
But the play was ruled offside, the USA once again appearing to lose a goal to an official's decision. "What next?" I barked. By half-time I knew I was done with the coffee. The tension was unbearable so I switched to a diet 7-up. Better for the stomach and my nerves. Eating was out of the question, not for another 45 minutes at least. That's my favorite thing about soccer: it doesn't take two hours to play 45 minutes. The clock never stops and neither does the action. Even if its a boring game, in the end it takes two hours to play 90 minutes and there's no commercials during play. 60 minutes of NFL football takes three hours to play yet there's only an average of eleven minutes of actual playing time!
Again and again the Americans came close to scoring but it was still a 0-0 tie with a few minutes of stoppage time to play. Two minutes away from going home, Landon Donovan came out of nowhere to score the unbelievable winning goal for the USA and all hell broke loose. I heard a loud barrage of cheers emanating from the bar down the street. I saw Landon do a face-first victory slide before getting mobbed by his joyous teammates. I jumped out of bed and jumped around while my neighbors made their own noise. All of this at 9am! A great day for me since I was also rooting for England to move on and they did with a 1-0 victory.
The most amazing thing of all is I'm listening to the Jim Rome radio show right now and he's been talking about the match for two hours, calling it amazing and a "huge win" for the USA. He's interviewed two reporters from South Africa and taking calls from USA soccer fans. Now if you've ever listened to Rome you know HE HATES SOCCER! Bashes it every chance he gets but even the king of sports talk radio said he didn't want to be a "buzz kill." Believe me, after watching the USA beat Algeria 1-0, I was certainly buzzed, with or without the caffeine!
In the following days the complaints of "we were robbed" were replaced by "we only need to beat lowly Algeria." A win by the USA in the final match of pool play would guarantee advancing to the sweet 16 of the World Cup, something the Americans have rarely done. In a delightful twist, the USA's main concern on Wednesday would not be Algeria but England! If England could beat Slovenia while the USA lost then England would advance and the Americans would go home. Of course, both matches would be played on the same day at the same time: 7am PDT.
If it was the weekend I would have started out with screwdrivers instead of coffee, but since it was a workday I drank my coffee with extra cream to try and cut the caffeine buzz. I switched back and forth between the two games, keeping an eye on Steven Gerrard of England, my favorite soccer player. When his Three Lions scored an early goal I went back to the USA game, and once again found myself yelling at the TV set. American Herculez Gomez got off two shots, the second of which rebounded to an unmarked Clint Dempsey at the far post, who knocked the ball into the empty net.
But the play was ruled offside, the USA once again appearing to lose a goal to an official's decision. "What next?" I barked. By half-time I knew I was done with the coffee. The tension was unbearable so I switched to a diet 7-up. Better for the stomach and my nerves. Eating was out of the question, not for another 45 minutes at least. That's my favorite thing about soccer: it doesn't take two hours to play 45 minutes. The clock never stops and neither does the action. Even if its a boring game, in the end it takes two hours to play 90 minutes and there's no commercials during play. 60 minutes of NFL football takes three hours to play yet there's only an average of eleven minutes of actual playing time!
Again and again the Americans came close to scoring but it was still a 0-0 tie with a few minutes of stoppage time to play. Two minutes away from going home, Landon Donovan came out of nowhere to score the unbelievable winning goal for the USA and all hell broke loose. I heard a loud barrage of cheers emanating from the bar down the street. I saw Landon do a face-first victory slide before getting mobbed by his joyous teammates. I jumped out of bed and jumped around while my neighbors made their own noise. All of this at 9am! A great day for me since I was also rooting for England to move on and they did with a 1-0 victory.
The most amazing thing of all is I'm listening to the Jim Rome radio show right now and he's been talking about the match for two hours, calling it amazing and a "huge win" for the USA. He's interviewed two reporters from South Africa and taking calls from USA soccer fans. Now if you've ever listened to Rome you know HE HATES SOCCER! Bashes it every chance he gets but even the king of sports talk radio said he didn't want to be a "buzz kill." Believe me, after watching the USA beat Algeria 1-0, I was certainly buzzed, with or without the caffeine!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
NBA and LeBron JaMEs are Ruining The Game!
After seven long weeks of interminable playoffs the NBA finals have finally arrived. As a long time Laker fan I should be excited but I'm just exhausted. Instead of building up momentum to the championship series, the NBA's policy of stretching out each playoff round has resulted in tedium and boredom. How come the NHL can play games every other day when the NBA's convoluted schedule has resulted in several days off between games? The Lakers clinched the Western Division last Saturday and the first game against the Celtics is set for Thursday? Game 2 is Sunday, two full days off and the teams don't even have to travel between games! It's frustrating and downright ridiculous. It was even worse in the earlier rounds.
Any sport that takes nearly two months to complete the playoffs is in serious need of revision. The Olympics combine hundreds of athletes from dozens of countries and somehow get it done in two weeks. Look at the NBA Finals schedule: Game 1 set for June 3, the seventh game set for June 17th. Why? Of course the answer is television and the big bucks the networks pay to air the games. So ABC and TNT make the scheduling decisions while commissioner David Stern counts his money and the fans succumb to apathy even if they love the sport. What should be a thrilling month of action is now a drawn out ordeal where the players get rusty and the fans get angry. There's got to be a better way.
I applaud the radio hosts Petros and Money on Fox radio for continuing to bash the NBA for ruining what was once an exciting product. Now its just a war of attrition that goes from November to June. Even in the regular season teams get as much as 5 days off at a time and you can't blame TV for that.
Even worse than all the delays is the eminent free agency of a certain Lebron JaMEs. Yes, the narcissist from Cleveland can go to the highest bidder when the playoffs are done. Every single human being should know this by now because that's the only thing this guy has talked about all season long. He's barely mentioned his team, a talented group of guys with whom LeBron has led to exactly zero championships. After his last loss LeBron did mention that his "team" had some big decisions to make, but he was referring to his posse of sycophants and toadies who surround him when he's off the court. These parasites are more important to JaMEs than the Cavaliers and they've been giving him bad advice from the get-go.
JaMEs has scheduled an interview with Larry King to air during the NBA finals, making sure he steals the spotlight from the players who've actually earned it. JaMEs has called for a "summit" meeting of other free agents like Dwayne Wade to discuss which teams are worthy of their talents. JaMEs is the same guy who did nothing but celebrate himself during the Bejing Olympics while Kobe Bryant mingled with the fans and conducted free clinics. JaMEs is the guy who believes there is an "I" in the word team just like there's a ME in his last name.
He'll get his millions but hopefully he'll never get his championship. Even if he does, the NBA playoff schedule will make sure he'll have to wait a long time to get it.
Any sport that takes nearly two months to complete the playoffs is in serious need of revision. The Olympics combine hundreds of athletes from dozens of countries and somehow get it done in two weeks. Look at the NBA Finals schedule: Game 1 set for June 3, the seventh game set for June 17th. Why? Of course the answer is television and the big bucks the networks pay to air the games. So ABC and TNT make the scheduling decisions while commissioner David Stern counts his money and the fans succumb to apathy even if they love the sport. What should be a thrilling month of action is now a drawn out ordeal where the players get rusty and the fans get angry. There's got to be a better way.
I applaud the radio hosts Petros and Money on Fox radio for continuing to bash the NBA for ruining what was once an exciting product. Now its just a war of attrition that goes from November to June. Even in the regular season teams get as much as 5 days off at a time and you can't blame TV for that.
Even worse than all the delays is the eminent free agency of a certain Lebron JaMEs. Yes, the narcissist from Cleveland can go to the highest bidder when the playoffs are done. Every single human being should know this by now because that's the only thing this guy has talked about all season long. He's barely mentioned his team, a talented group of guys with whom LeBron has led to exactly zero championships. After his last loss LeBron did mention that his "team" had some big decisions to make, but he was referring to his posse of sycophants and toadies who surround him when he's off the court. These parasites are more important to JaMEs than the Cavaliers and they've been giving him bad advice from the get-go.
JaMEs has scheduled an interview with Larry King to air during the NBA finals, making sure he steals the spotlight from the players who've actually earned it. JaMEs has called for a "summit" meeting of other free agents like Dwayne Wade to discuss which teams are worthy of their talents. JaMEs is the same guy who did nothing but celebrate himself during the Bejing Olympics while Kobe Bryant mingled with the fans and conducted free clinics. JaMEs is the guy who believes there is an "I" in the word team just like there's a ME in his last name.
He'll get his millions but hopefully he'll never get his championship. Even if he does, the NBA playoff schedule will make sure he'll have to wait a long time to get it.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Phil Beats Tiger! Great Finish To A Great Masters
Darth Vader vs Luke Skywalker. At the core of the most popular film franchise in history is the battle between good and evil. Not just in Star Wars but also nearly every single drama ever written. So when it happens in real life, people take notice. I haven't seen the TV ratings yet for the 2010 Masters golf tournament but I'm sure they're astronomical. When you have a player whose wife and mother are both battling cancer trying to beat a guy who cheated on his wife with not one, but many different women, its almost too obvious. Phil Mickelson is a sympathetic figure right now and Tiger Woods is a reviled one. Both had a chance to win golf's most prestigious tournament on Sunday and the Hollywood ending actually happened: Phil beat Tiger, good triumphed over evil.
I know that's a simplistic approach. I know Mickelson has been called a phony before, a guy that most players on the tour don't seem to like. I'm not sure if that's sour grapes but its certainly short on specifics. Tiger Woods gave us too many specifics about his character in the last few months. Instead of a devoted family man he turned out to be a hooker-chasing narcissist. If that's not phony, I don't know what is!
Even before the scandal broke back on Thanksgiving, Tiger was never known as a nice guy. His sense of entitlement was well known. A leaf dare not fall from the tree in the middle of his back swing or Tiger would demand that it be cut down on the spot! This past weekend, his first time playing competitive golf in over five months, he started off smiling and signing autographs. By the end he was back to his old surly self. Dropping clubs, complaining and generally acting like a baby. I think the only way this Tiger will change his spots is if he actually lives the life depicted in another famous drama: "A Christmas Carol." Even if 3 ghosts came to his bedside, I doubt that Woods would or could transform himself into a better person.
One thing that's changed is his golf game. I haven't seen so many one handed swings since Tim Raines was batting for the Expos. He kept dropping his club after a bad swing the way Barry Bonds would after watching one of his homers going over the fence. Maybe its time for Tiger to try baseball.
Phil Mickelson played two incredible rounds of golf on the weekend and deserved to win the Masters. He had two eagles in a row on Saturday (almost three!) and then hit "the shot of his life" out of the woods and within three feet of the 13th hole on Sunday. He didn't need a birdie on the 18th to win it but he delivered on the final putt anyway.
"It's always been about the family for Phil," said a broadcaster after the golfer won his third Masters and immediately embraced his wife Amy in a tearful celebration. They weren't the only ones crying. Like any good tear-jerker, lots of people were misty eyed at the end of this tale.
I couldn't help but think of the bad guy, Tiger Woods. If he'd won the Masters there would have been no one there to hug, no one to share his triumph. That didn't happen because not even the mighty Darth Vader could ruin this Hollywood ending.
I know that's a simplistic approach. I know Mickelson has been called a phony before, a guy that most players on the tour don't seem to like. I'm not sure if that's sour grapes but its certainly short on specifics. Tiger Woods gave us too many specifics about his character in the last few months. Instead of a devoted family man he turned out to be a hooker-chasing narcissist. If that's not phony, I don't know what is!
Even before the scandal broke back on Thanksgiving, Tiger was never known as a nice guy. His sense of entitlement was well known. A leaf dare not fall from the tree in the middle of his back swing or Tiger would demand that it be cut down on the spot! This past weekend, his first time playing competitive golf in over five months, he started off smiling and signing autographs. By the end he was back to his old surly self. Dropping clubs, complaining and generally acting like a baby. I think the only way this Tiger will change his spots is if he actually lives the life depicted in another famous drama: "A Christmas Carol." Even if 3 ghosts came to his bedside, I doubt that Woods would or could transform himself into a better person.
One thing that's changed is his golf game. I haven't seen so many one handed swings since Tim Raines was batting for the Expos. He kept dropping his club after a bad swing the way Barry Bonds would after watching one of his homers going over the fence. Maybe its time for Tiger to try baseball.
Phil Mickelson played two incredible rounds of golf on the weekend and deserved to win the Masters. He had two eagles in a row on Saturday (almost three!) and then hit "the shot of his life" out of the woods and within three feet of the 13th hole on Sunday. He didn't need a birdie on the 18th to win it but he delivered on the final putt anyway.
"It's always been about the family for Phil," said a broadcaster after the golfer won his third Masters and immediately embraced his wife Amy in a tearful celebration. They weren't the only ones crying. Like any good tear-jerker, lots of people were misty eyed at the end of this tale.
I couldn't help but think of the bad guy, Tiger Woods. If he'd won the Masters there would have been no one there to hug, no one to share his triumph. That didn't happen because not even the mighty Darth Vader could ruin this Hollywood ending.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
NCAA Messing With March Is Madness!
One of the most popular cliches' says: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Apparently the gurus who run the NCAA men's basketball tournament have never heard this one. Hoops fans all over the USA recently enjoyed what's being called the greatest tourney in history and now they're hearing it might be expanded from 65 teams to 96! Huh? What sense does that make?
None.
Unless one realizes that CBS has a contract with the NCAA which is about to expire. In case a network like ESPN is interested in making a bid to televise the tournament, how much more would they offer if they had roughly sixteen more games to broadcast? To cite another cliche': "Follow the money."
I don't think this inane idea has anything to do with the desire to help smaller schools
reach the big stage. If so one of the most obvious proposals would guarantee all teams that win their regular season conference title a spot in the big dance. Right now, teams are only guaranteed a shot if they win their conference tournament. So a team like Ohio U who went 7-9 in the MAC but won the MAC tournament made it to the NCAA's but Kent St. who went 13-3 stayed home. Yes, Ohio U scored a big upset over Georgetown in the first round. That doesn't mean Kent St. didn't deserve their chance. I have not heard any of the NCAA honks bring up this issue, perhaps the only problem with the current format.
Actually, Ohio U's big upset is one of the many reasons the NCAA tourney should be left alone.
Here's some of the others. How about Ivy League upstart Cornell knocking off powerhouses Temple and Wisconsin? Or Old Dominion besting Notre Dame? One of the highlights of my spring break trip to Arizona was coming in from the pool and sitting in my hotel room dripping wet because I could not take my eyes off the tremendous upset win by Northern Iowa over #1 seed Kansas. Only exceeded by the Michigan St. vs Maryland 85-83 thriller I listened to on my transistor radio while watching a spring training game between the A's and Reds. Everywhere I went there was a great basketball game going on!
Of course, the story of the 2010 big dance was Butler University and their steady march to the championship game. Three upsets in a row over Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State. Big schools who are used to playing big time teams, not losing to tiny colleges from Indiana. You couldn't have asked for a better story-line heading into the final game against 3-time champion Duke. "David vs Goliath," the media blared and the fans ate it up. Unfortunately "David" came up 2 points short of the upset that would have made history. TV ratings were huge and so was the national interest in NCAA basketball.
And they want to mess with this thing? That's madness!
Apparently the gurus who run the NCAA men's basketball tournament have never heard this one. Hoops fans all over the USA recently enjoyed what's being called the greatest tourney in history and now they're hearing it might be expanded from 65 teams to 96! Huh? What sense does that make?
None.
Unless one realizes that CBS has a contract with the NCAA which is about to expire. In case a network like ESPN is interested in making a bid to televise the tournament, how much more would they offer if they had roughly sixteen more games to broadcast? To cite another cliche': "Follow the money."
I don't think this inane idea has anything to do with the desire to help smaller schools
reach the big stage. If so one of the most obvious proposals would guarantee all teams that win their regular season conference title a spot in the big dance. Right now, teams are only guaranteed a shot if they win their conference tournament. So a team like Ohio U who went 7-9 in the MAC but won the MAC tournament made it to the NCAA's but Kent St. who went 13-3 stayed home. Yes, Ohio U scored a big upset over Georgetown in the first round. That doesn't mean Kent St. didn't deserve their chance. I have not heard any of the NCAA honks bring up this issue, perhaps the only problem with the current format.
Actually, Ohio U's big upset is one of the many reasons the NCAA tourney should be left alone.
Here's some of the others. How about Ivy League upstart Cornell knocking off powerhouses Temple and Wisconsin? Or Old Dominion besting Notre Dame? One of the highlights of my spring break trip to Arizona was coming in from the pool and sitting in my hotel room dripping wet because I could not take my eyes off the tremendous upset win by Northern Iowa over #1 seed Kansas. Only exceeded by the Michigan St. vs Maryland 85-83 thriller I listened to on my transistor radio while watching a spring training game between the A's and Reds. Everywhere I went there was a great basketball game going on!
Of course, the story of the 2010 big dance was Butler University and their steady march to the championship game. Three upsets in a row over Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State. Big schools who are used to playing big time teams, not losing to tiny colleges from Indiana. You couldn't have asked for a better story-line heading into the final game against 3-time champion Duke. "David vs Goliath," the media blared and the fans ate it up. Unfortunately "David" came up 2 points short of the upset that would have made history. TV ratings were huge and so was the national interest in NCAA basketball.
And they want to mess with this thing? That's madness!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
L.A. Doesn't Need The NFL But How About The Pro Bowl?
In 1994 the city of Los Angeles had two NFL teams: the Raiders and the Rams. In 1995 it had none. For fifteen years the NFL has been talking about what to do with the second largest city in the nation. That's all its been, nothing but talk. The latest blowhard is zillionaire Ed Roski, and his proposed $800 million, 75,000-seat NFL stadium as part of a shopping and entertainment complex he'll plant near the 57 and 60 Freeways in Industry, east of downtown Los Angeles. If you've been there you know you don't want to go back there, even for an NFL game. Its just a bad idea, even worse when one realizes it depends on snatching an existing NFL team from another city.
Its not like the league left the city wanting more. When I attended a Raider game in 1994 people were smoking pot in the stands and fighting in the hallways. A woman next to me was cursing like a sailor and I mentioned to her that there were kids around and she said: "You shouldn't bring children to a Raider game." Good advice but a bad way to build up your future fan base. In Anaheim (where the "LA" Rams played) the environment was cleaner, except for the owner Georgia Frontiere doing her best to run the team into the dirt so she could move to St. Louis.
Recently I visited two cities with NFL teams: San Francisco and San Diego. On Sunday afternoons TV viewers (without Direct TV) are allowed to watch their local team in action and one other game. That's only if the home team sells out otherwise that game is BLACKED OUT! Leaving only one game on TV besides the Sunday night match up on NBC. In Los Angeles I can see three games in the daytime without a dish plus the NBC game. The big deal is CBS and FOX usually show the best games of the day. Instead of being forced to watch the 49ers play the Rams or the Chargers play the Chiefs, L.A. gets the Packers vs The Vikings or the Colts vs the Patriots. Its truly football heaven, without having to buy a dish or go to a sports bar.
Yet every few years there are rumblings about the NFL coming back. To the decrepit Memorial Coliseum or the far away Rose Bowl. Both of these historic venues are fine for college football, but not the NFL. Many will say the city doesn't need pro football when the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins can draw 150,000 combined fans on the same Saturday. I think they're right. However, I'm not totally opposed to the NFL coming back to the city of angels.
Why not play the Pro Bowl here? This misguided all star game has been in the news since the NFL decided to put it BEFORE the Super Bowl instead of afterwards. (I like that idea because the Sunday before the Super Bowl is SO BORING!) They also moved it from Hawaii where ticket sales have faltered in recent years. Its a meaningless game but would be a nice gesture from the league if they are really serious about maintaining ties to L.A. Dress up the Coliseum or Rose Bowl and see what happens.
Speaking of meaningless games, how about an annual pre-season clash between the Rams and Raiders? Just like distant relatives, it would be fun to have them visit. I just don't want them to stick around.
Its not like the league left the city wanting more. When I attended a Raider game in 1994 people were smoking pot in the stands and fighting in the hallways. A woman next to me was cursing like a sailor and I mentioned to her that there were kids around and she said: "You shouldn't bring children to a Raider game." Good advice but a bad way to build up your future fan base. In Anaheim (where the "LA" Rams played) the environment was cleaner, except for the owner Georgia Frontiere doing her best to run the team into the dirt so she could move to St. Louis.
Recently I visited two cities with NFL teams: San Francisco and San Diego. On Sunday afternoons TV viewers (without Direct TV) are allowed to watch their local team in action and one other game. That's only if the home team sells out otherwise that game is BLACKED OUT! Leaving only one game on TV besides the Sunday night match up on NBC. In Los Angeles I can see three games in the daytime without a dish plus the NBC game. The big deal is CBS and FOX usually show the best games of the day. Instead of being forced to watch the 49ers play the Rams or the Chargers play the Chiefs, L.A. gets the Packers vs The Vikings or the Colts vs the Patriots. Its truly football heaven, without having to buy a dish or go to a sports bar.
Yet every few years there are rumblings about the NFL coming back. To the decrepit Memorial Coliseum or the far away Rose Bowl. Both of these historic venues are fine for college football, but not the NFL. Many will say the city doesn't need pro football when the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins can draw 150,000 combined fans on the same Saturday. I think they're right. However, I'm not totally opposed to the NFL coming back to the city of angels.
Why not play the Pro Bowl here? This misguided all star game has been in the news since the NFL decided to put it BEFORE the Super Bowl instead of afterwards. (I like that idea because the Sunday before the Super Bowl is SO BORING!) They also moved it from Hawaii where ticket sales have faltered in recent years. Its a meaningless game but would be a nice gesture from the league if they are really serious about maintaining ties to L.A. Dress up the Coliseum or Rose Bowl and see what happens.
Speaking of meaningless games, how about an annual pre-season clash between the Rams and Raiders? Just like distant relatives, it would be fun to have them visit. I just don't want them to stick around.
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