October 4, 20177 yr ^^lol that is awesome. Get a bigger stadium Dean! This weeks message was great... "If you want to see a sellout Dean, just look in the mirror"
October 5, 20177 yr "Worst owner in sports? Dean Spanos...." FAA denies Dean Spanos’ request to stop banners from flying before Chargers games SAN DIEGO -- The banners that have been flown over the StubHub Center the past two Sundays have angered Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos, but it looks like there's not a lot he can do about it. Disgruntled Chargers fan Joseph MacRae bought a banner to fly over the stadium in Carson to send a message to Dean Spanos about how much San Diego fans detest the move to L.A. Recently, Spanos tried to stop it by contacting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and requesting a temporary flight restriction (TFR) for game days. However, the FAA only grants TFRs for stadiums and arenas that hold 30,000 or more, and since the StubHub Center capacity is under 30,000 -- the Chargers announced a sellout at 25,386 during their game with the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday -- the FAA will not grant the TFR. http://fox5sandiego.com/2017/09/28/faa-denies-dean-spanos-request-to-stop-banners-from-flying-before-chargers-games/ Some of us hired planes to harass the modells during the hiatus. Both over the Ratbird stadiums and Camden Yards during the ALCS.
October 8, 20177 yr I can't believe they are playing NFL games in a stadium that holds less than 30,000, even temporarily. The Rams are playing across town in the LA Coliseum which holds way more than that.
October 9, 20177 yr I can't believe they are playing NFL games in a stadium that holds less than 30,000, even temporarily. The Rams are playing across town in the LA Coliseum which holds way more than that. They did this in Memphis too. The option increases the pressure on cities they are blackmailing.
October 11, 20177 yr California’s Breakup With the NFL As the Rams and Chargers struggle to gain a foothold in Los Angeles, the 49ers also deal with questions about fan support By Andrew Beaton Updated Oct. 10, 2017 12:40 p.m. ET Carson, Calif. StubHub Center is an apt name for the modest soccer stadium-turned NFL foster home for the Los Angeles Chargers. The tiny 27,000-seat stadium, named for a ticket-resale behemoth, has struggled to fill up for the country’s most popular sport. In the Chargers’ first season back in L.A. after 56 years in San Diego, seats are noticeably empty at kickoff for home games. Many other seats are often filled by boisterous traveling fans of visitors like the Kansas City Chiefs. After a recent game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said it didn’t feel like a home game. Chargers fans knew that starting over in L.A. wasn’t going to be easy. “We’ve been moved from a city in San Diego that appreciated the team and the players,” said Chad Smith, a Chargers fan at a recent game here. The Chargers aren’t alone in facing questions about their fan support. All four of California’s teams are struggling with identity crises. https://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-breakup-with-the-nfl-1507650531?tesla=y
October 11, 20177 yr you know cali does tend to lead the nation in trends --- could this be the slow demise of the nfl? when you throw in cte, i guess trump's butting in to ruin everything, these dumb team moves and the rise of other pro sports you have to wonder how long the nfl can hold to so much popularity as it has had for so long.
October 11, 20177 yr you know cali does tend to lead the nation in trends --- could this be the slow demise of the nfl? when you throw in cte, i guess trump's butting in to ruin everything, these dumb team moves and the rise of other pro sports you have to wonder how long the nfl can hold to so much popularity as it has had for so long. The same trend like when the Chargers moved to San Diego? Or when the Raiders moved to LA, then back? Or when the Rams moved to St Louis. Or when the Rams moved back to LA, and the Chargers decided to the very same season? Or when the Raiders moved to Vegas? This has nothing to do with Trump and the Faux-Patriot boycotts, etc. The NFL has always struggled there. Maybe with the new stadium in Englewood they'll finally find a long-term success.
October 11, 20177 yr you know cali does tend to lead the nation in trends --- could this be the slow demise of the nfl? when you throw in cte, i guess trump's butting in to ruin everything, these dumb team moves and the rise of other pro sports you have to wonder how long the nfl can hold to so much popularity as it has had for so long. The same trend like when the Chargers moved to San Diego? Or when the Raiders moved to LA, then back? Or when the Rams moved to St Louis. Or when the Rams moved back to LA, and the Chargers decided to the very same season? Or when the Raiders moved to Vegas? This has nothing to do with Trump and the Faux-Patriot boycotts, etc. The NFL has always struggled there. Maybe with the new stadium in Englewood they'll finally find a long-term success. you don't think so, huh? even trump said espn is cratering. so maybe it isnt so solely internal to california. or maybe that is just fake news? hard to say these days.
October 11, 20177 yr wait, maybe there is hope: http://nypost.com/2017/10/10/nfl-ratings-are-starting-to-improve-despite-distractions/
October 11, 20177 yr People did like the Raiders in L.A. Of course they went to Vegas... the one team people actually liked.
October 11, 20177 yr I said upthread that I felt that the NFL's popularity has been on a steep decline recently, and was largely told I was wrong and that everything is fine in football land. Maybe it's because I live in LA and have witnessed the apathy first hand, but I swear it just feels like no one is all that interested in pro football these days, at least around here. I also heard that overall tv ratings are down 9% this year for NFL games. But if diminished interest is a growing trend, give Cincy its due for being a trend setter for once lol! I've seen several local articles about attendance at Chargers games with comments saying stuff like "LA supports winners...this isn't Cleveland. We aren't going to support a losing team just because they play here." Probably more a symptom of the lack of historical roots to any of the teams here, but also kinda cool to see Cleveland has a reputation for being die hard supporters of the local teams there.
October 11, 20177 yr The NFL and pro sports in general can't figure out that moving teams doesn't work. Wisconsin is profoundly loyal to the Packers because the public itself owns the team.
October 11, 20177 yr ^ well, we gave them the rams and look what happend lol! somewhere roman gabriel is spinning...
October 11, 20177 yr its not just california in the nfl where football is having its issues: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/footballs-decline-high-schools-disbanding-teams-50318324
October 11, 20177 yr ^ There has been a long term trend for football in general. Fewer children are playing because of the brain injury dangers. The decline in popularity is much bigger than the National Anthem issue. Maybe Trump wants to help kill the NFL so he can be the only person in history to destroy to professional football leagues.
October 11, 20177 yr He wanted the Bills so badly... maybe someone should just sell him a team so he doesn't try to destroy the league, lol
January 17, 20187 yr Local tourism rose in year without Chargers San Diego Union Tribune admits that economists were right The Union-Tribune admitted this morning (January 14) that those "pointy-headed, sissy" economists were right all along: the San Diego economy remained strong during the year that the Chargers were gone. From the mid-1990s to last year, the U-T, radio and television stations, the hotel lobbyists, and others vehemently argued that the Chargers and Padres were big stimulants to the local economy and deserved huge public subsidies. In my U-T and Reader columns, I regularly interviewed economists who said that was a bunch of hooey. This morning, the U-T, tail wagging between its legs, admitted it was a bunch of hooey. Hotel occupancy has risen in the year the Chargers were gone. Economists always said that few people came from out of town to watch games. There were a few exceptions: Los Angelenos who came down to watch the Dodgers play, got drunk, and stayed overnight. Also, in 2016 when Dean Spanos and Mark Fabiani were doing their darnedest to alienate San Diegans so they would lose the election and be free to move to L.A., out-of-towners came to San Diego to see their teams play the Chargers because they could get cheap tickets in good seats at the then-named Qualcomm Stadium. https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2018/jan/14/ticker-local-tourism-rose-year-without-chargers/
January 17, 20187 yr Well... it is San Diego after all, as close to an ideal city for many as it gets in the U.S. Why waste a beautiful day watching football there when you can go to their zoo, gaslight district, that famous hotel and island, day trip to Mexico, etc.
January 17, 20187 yr The only city I can think of that would have a serious economic downturn if their NFL team left is Green Bay. And that's because their population almost doubles on game days.
January 17, 20187 yr Well... it is San Diego after all, as close to an ideal city for many as it gets in the U.S. Why waste a beautiful day watching football there when you can go to their zoo, gaslight district, that famous hotel and island, day trip to Mexico, etc. That's a great point. But I gotta say from my vantage point there are still tons of football fans in SD. No more Charger fans everyplace....but there are two Browns backer bars. Heck, there are TWO Patriots bars in my tiny neighborhood alone!
January 17, 20187 yr ....but there are two Browns backer bars. Heck, there are TWO Patriots bars in my tiny neighborhood alone! How terrible. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 17, 20187 yr The obnoxious Stealers guy at my workplace didn't show up Monday or Tuesday. You know, one of those guys who wears Stealers crap 365 days a year and has flags on his car and a terrible towel laid across the front and rear dashes.
January 22, 20187 yr that ref congradulating brady makes me wonder why i even bother to watch major league sports. we’re all just suckers. ugh.
January 22, 20187 yr oh boy thats gonna leave a mark http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/eagles-fan-chases-subway-train-wrecked-pole-article-1.3770582
February 3, 20187 yr Dunkin' Donuts vs. Wawa: https://www.boston.com/culture/food/2018/02/02/forget-dunkin-donuts-vs-starbucks-for-the-2018-super-bowl-its-dunkin-donuts-vs-wawa
February 14, 20187 yr Yet another "NFL in Death Spiral" article: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/opinion-the-nfl%e2%80%99s-biggest-threat-is-apathy/ar-BBJ7XMs?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=LENDHP It’s the brain damage and CTE, certainly. It’s the gross labor, class, and racial dynamics that turn men into mostly disposable pawns, exploited as they make their way through the NCAA grinder and exploited again in the NFL, where they at last earn a wildly suppressed salary. It’s the simple fact that my favorite team, the 49ers, have been not just bad, but very, very boring over the last few seasons. It’s the fact that I left the Bay Area for New York and have been taken away from the culture of my team and am no longer in the television market for their boring-ass games. It’s the fact that writing about sports inevitably dulls the sensation of watching them. It’s the fact that to some extent, through maturation, I no longer need my interest in the game to prop up who I am or dictate how I relate to the world around me. The only thing I'm sick of is the media presentation and speculation that surrounds all sports. Listen to any AM sports talk show. Those guys function permanently at a 17 year-old level. ESPN has been the same jock-sniffing outfit for 25 years now. They refuse to accept that chance plays a huge role in outcomes. Injuries, random bounces, etc. Their game predictions are like listening to a total idiot talk about the stock market or housing prices. I don't need to see another pregame show where one of five 50 year-olds turns to other and says "well Jim, the key to this game is really going to be turnovers...it's who holds onto that football". We don't need the eye candy female sideline reporter who interviews the coach as he runs into the locker room at half time. And the worshiping of stars is just so juvenile. I don't want to hear about how someone is a "playmaker". WTF does that mean? The games themselves are typically pretty amazing and the last few superbowls have all been awesome games.
February 14, 20187 yr I could not agree more with you about espn and sports talk. There just simply isn't enough things to say about sports to fill the enormous amount of airtime they have to fill, so they are stuck rambling on and on about trivial things and also drumming up controversy.
February 14, 20187 yr Yet another "NFL in Death Spiral" article: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/opinion-the-nfl%e2%80%99s-biggest-threat-is-apathy/ar-BBJ7XMs?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=LENDHP It’s the brain damage and CTE, certainly. It’s the gross labor, class, and racial dynamics that turn men into mostly disposable pawns, exploited as they make their way through the NCAA grinder and exploited again in the NFL, where they at last earn a wildly suppressed salary. It’s the simple fact that my favorite team, the 49ers, have been not just bad, but very, very boring over the last few seasons. It’s the fact that I left the Bay Area for New York and have been taken away from the culture of my team and am no longer in the television market for their boring-ass games. It’s the fact that writing about sports inevitably dulls the sensation of watching them. It’s the fact that to some extent, through maturation, I no longer need my interest in the game to prop up who I am or dictate how I relate to the world around me. We don't need the eye candy female sideline reporter who interviews the coach as he runs into the locker room at half time. Actually I much prefer the approach Univision has taken with their sports show. Just having the beautiful women standing around in soccer jerseys. It’s refreshing that they simply do away with the mirage of any semblance of journalistic pretenses. Also agree that it’s stupid that successful coaches are elevated to the level of near-genius. Yes, Bill Belichik is probably smart. But he’s not splitting the atom or anything.
February 14, 20187 yr ^The level of competition is very high, so anybody reaching the level of success that Bill Belichik has, and to sustain it as long as he has, well, he's doing something right. Obviously not just him, the front office would need to get their credit too.
February 15, 20187 yr There is too much of a formula for sportscasting and "analysts" and "color men". Guys like Marv Albert and Jim Gray just plain need to go. There not only need to be fresh voices, there need to be completely different kinds of people who are part of the NFL "show". Chuck Klosterman is the only guy I know of who is genre-defying in the sportwriting world. I didn't even know he wrote on sports until I saw him speak at the U of Miami campus in Hamilton in 2013 or 2014. Meanwhile, all of the people who showed up who knew him from sports had no idea that he had done all of the music writing!
February 15, 20187 yr He sneaks in stuff for the people who are crossing over if you look for it. And sometimes even if you don't.
May 24, 20187 yr I wonder which one of these changes fans will care about more: 1) New National Anthem Policy: https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/05/23/nfl-national-anthem-policy-player-fine-flag-respect 2) New Kickoff Rules: https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/05/22/owners-vote-kickoff-rule-changes
May 25, 20187 yr *cough* #NFL *cough* "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 25, 20186 yr Hugo Cruz, official who missed false start vs. Browns, fired for overall performance The NFL has fired down judge Hugo Cruz, a source confirmed for cleveland.com. Browns fans will remember Cruz as the official who missed an obvious false start in the Browns' loss to the Chargers in Week 6. Cruz’s termination is not related to that single missed call, as the league does not terminate officials over one call. NFL officials are held to a standard that, if it is not met over a sustained period, they face consequences, which can include termination. That non-call, however, riled up Browns fans and players. Facing third-and-6 from the Browns' 29-yard line, Chargers left tackle Russell Okung clearly started before the ball was snapped. Quarterback Philip Rivers completed a touchdown pass to Tyrell Williams, putting Los Angeles ahead, 21-3, with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. MORE: https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2018/10/hugo-cruz-official-who-missed-false-start-vs-browns-fired-for-overall-performance.html
November 5, 20186 yr this might be a terrible record — the redskins lost three starters for the season — two guards and a wr: https://riggosrag.com/2018/11/05/redskins-lose-3-offensive-starters/amp/
November 20, 20186 yr That Rams-Chiefs game was incredible. It silences all of the critics of LA fans and LA not caring about the NFL. It's great for the NFL that LA is totally engaged in this season. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself -- this single regular season NFL game was more exciting than the entire World Cup.
November 30, 20186 yr And then they drop that 13-10 Thursday night turd yesterday. If anyone wanted to allege game fixing in the NFL - exhibit #1 would be the lackluster Dallas Cowboys defense holding that turbocharged New Orleans offense to 10 points!
November 30, 20186 yr The refs were absolutely awful in the last quarter of that game, too. The screwed the Saints on at least 3 big plays in that quarter alone, and because the Saints had used their challenges earlier in the game, they couldn't do anything about them. Felt like I was watching the Bengals/Steelers towards the end with all these mysterious calls and no calls. To be fair, the refs did miss a facemask call against the Saints, but overall, it seemed like the Saints were working against a stacked deck. Of course the NFL would love to see the Cowboys in the playoffs...so it makes sense.
December 12, 20186 yr a well researched article about officiating this year — by the numbers: https://es.pn/2UD1D8a
December 16, 20186 yr And Edited December 16, 20186 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 21, 20196 yr Could there be a lamer matchup for the Superbowl? It's the Evil Empire, in there yet again, versus a team that just relocated to the most apathetic NFL town of all because for a stadium deal. I hope they both lose.
January 21, 20196 yr If The Rams win, expect a more enthusiastic victory parade than yet another Patriots Super Bowl win. I'm not really convinced that New England hasn't been more lucky than simply above average for the past 15 years. The Bills, of course, were in four Super Bowls in a row and lost all of them. So many of the New England come-from-behind playoff and Super Bowl games could have been lost as easily as they were won. On Sunday KC would have won if not for the neutral zone call in the last minute of regulation. It was that close. Every single Patriots Superbowl in the Brady era has been decided by 8 points or less, and most by a field goal. They have never -- not once -- beaten a Superbowl opponent by two scores. Super Bowls under Brady: 36 +3 38 +3 39 +3 42 -3 46 -3 49 +4 51 +6 52 -8
January 21, 20196 yr 5 hours ago, jmecklenborg said: I'm not really convinced that New England hasn't been more lucky than simply above average for the past 15 years. So many of the New England come-from-behind playoff and Super Bowl games could have been lost as easily as they were won But...they've won most of them. They've been to 8 straight AFC Championship games. You're playing "ifs and buts" to try to discredit the greatest run in NFL history. Your take is simply bad. Very Stable Genius
January 21, 20196 yr The margin between winning and losing so many of these games has been a single call, a single play. They lost that first one to the Giants because of that ridiculous helmet catch. There are so many times when a team is eliminated from a playoff run for the most ridiculous and unlikely event. The Bengals lost to The Steelers 3 years ago in the last minute because the Pittsburgh coach walked on the field illegally, taunted Burfict and Jones, and drew penalties from the Bengals' defense.
January 21, 20196 yr There are over 100 plays, typically, in a football game. Those plays get magnified because they're often toward the end of the game, but the teams have dozens upon dozen of plays in the first 57 minutes that make a difference as well. Very Stable Genius
January 22, 20196 yr This guy repeats all of my points (my above remarks were made before I read or watched anything to this effect). And of course the other people gang up on him because the average knucklehead doesn't want to accept that chance often plays a decisive role in professional sports. Today at work I made these points to a bunch of former high school football stars (to hear them tell it) and they basically told me to shut up I don't know about football, etc. These same idiots play the Pik 3 and 4 every day and lack a fundamental understanding of probability and statistics.
January 22, 20196 yr Racing people are way more grounded than ball and stick sport people when it comes to that kind of stuff. It's why it's often difficult for racing people to watch ball and stick action, especially when the rhetoric surrounding it seems to revolve around "since this guy's numbers are higher than the same guy's on the other team they are going to win." A megamix of wrong sports predictions are beyond hilarious to the point of being sad to race car people.
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