L.A. TIMES NFL writer Sam Farmer had this Tweet yesterday, which continued to support my assertion that Ed Roski’s big to bring an NFL team to the City of Industry has never been a serious one - despite wall-to-wall media coverage to the contrary:

“Roski’s right-hand man says NFL team will be playing in new LA stadium by 2013 and we can “take it to the bank.“

If that sounds familiar it should, because Roski’s same “right-hand man”, John Semcken, said basically the same thing about the Vikings moving to L.A. - under the auspices of Roski’s stadium bid - in 2009.

At that time I noted that anyone who had a legit chance to bring a NFL team to L.A. would never make such a definitive public statement without some sort of confirmation from the NFL. And in the case of the Vikings, I was right. Owner Zygi Wulf quickly rebuffed Semcken’s baseless statements about his team move to Roski’s fake, blinky stadium.

Now we get another blaring proclamation from Semcken (and Roski by association). The type of proclamation that the L.A. Times’ Farmer confirms Roger Goodell despises. Read more…

Rickey Henderson’s upcoming speech after his Baseball Hall of Fame induction on Sunday has the potential to be almost as awesome as a dinosaur fighting a squid and a whale. After all, this is someone who used to scream “Rickey is the best!” while standing naked in front of a mirror in the clubhouse taking practice swings. Who used called Padres GM Kevin Towers searching for a job and left the following message: “Kevin, this is Rickey. Calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.” And of course, who after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, got on the mic and said “Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today, I’m the greatest of all time.”

So imagine him getting to give a whole speech dedicated to the matter of his greatness? It’s staggering to think what might come out of his mouth. It’s like taking Mel Gibson out for a night of drinking and then asking him about Jews. But the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS reports that Henderson is attempting to refine his speech, and some lucky college students at Laney College in the Bay Area are getting to help. For the past several weeks, he’s been practicing his speech in front of a public speaking class and receiving critiques from the students.

The teacher is former major leaguer Earl Robinson, who offered Henderson his help because even Henderson can admit that he needs it:

“Speech and me don’t get along sometimes,” he said. “I’m not a doctor or professor, so for me to go and write a speech or read a speech, it’s kind of like putting a tie too tight around my neck.”

Usually, it’s hard to accuse Rickey Henderson of an understatement, but to say that he and speech “don’t get along sometimes” is like saying Madonna’s face is starting to look “kind of weird.” So where does this leave us for Sunday? Because let’s face facts: it would be tragic if his speech was too good.  But it appears that there’s no need to worry, as Robinson assures people that the speech is still all Rickey:

“He’s going to say what he feels,” he said. “How they interpret it, we’ll see. When he throws something out there, whatever else you hear in terms of him being critical of this or that, he overpowers you with the sincerity of his words.

“Like I finally said to him, just do the best you can. Let Rickey be Rickey.”

Yesterday we told you about how Manny Ramirez hit a game-winning grand slam on Manny Ramirez Bobblehead Night into the Mannywood section of seats. And for many people in Southern California, it’s probably a good thing that we did, because they sure didn’t get a chance to watch it on TV. That’s because, as the LOS ANGELES TIMES points out, Time Warner Cable customers missed the homer thanks to a roughly one minute service outage. Whoops!

One minute, viewers were watching the game. Then, they saw a frozen screen followed by back-to-back commercials, only to come back to Ramirez taking a curtain call because…something happened. Not that Time Warner cares about the dozens of angry e-mails and phone calls. I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Time Warner spokesman Darryl Ryan said that what occurred was “an inadvertent glitch.” He said it affected a “small number” of customers on L.A.’s Westside and the western San Fernando Valley. And, as if this will matter to that “small number” of customers, “it only took them away from the game for 54 seconds,” Ryan said.

Hey, it least you didn’t have the Super Bowl climax replaced by a porn scene. Or, perhaps it’s too bad that you didn’t, depending on if your wife is in the room.

Finally, are you ready for a sitcom called “Jock Itch”? If you said yes, then Dolphins CB Nathan Jones is your kind of man. (Also, if you said yes, please resume beating yourself over the head with a mallet.)  Jones is executive producing the show, which he describes as “really ‘Friday Night Lights meets ‘Friends’.” Which I assume means that there will be a ton of cute talking, but no one will watch. Still, it’s an open audition if you’re interested.

• POLITICO says former Bengals and Buccaneers head coach Sam Wyche is mulling a run for Congress as a Republican in his native South Carolina. I’m sure he’ll be ahead in the polls until Joe Montana’s last-minute entry into the race throws everything crazy.



• YES Network’s choice for a “Yankee Classic” to air this weekend? Not one of their 26 World Series-clinching victories, or even a great game by Rickey Henderson. Nope, it’s their 9-8 win over the Mets from June 12, aka the Luis Castillo dropped ball game. All I know is that Tony Bernazard is ready to cut someone at the YES Network.
• The guy who accused Marvin Harrison of shooting him has managed to get shot again. This time Dwight Dixon is in critical condition in a Philadelphia hospital, with Harrison nowhere in sight.
• Really, is anyone surprised that Rickey Williams is studying New Age medicine as his post-football career? At least I know who I can turn to in order to get a prescription for my “glaucoma.”
• CURBED LA says that one of the few people who stands to benefit from the California budget deal is billionaire Ed Roski, since his NFL stadium plan for the City of Industry happens to be right next to a proposed “redevelopment area.”
• What is former MLB Troy Neel’s punishment for being the “most egregious child-support evader in Texas history” after fleeing the country for ten years in order to avoid paying more than $750,000 in support? Two years of probation. What ever happened to “Texas-style justice”?
• The roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hollywood Stars celebrity game has been announced. With names such as Larry King, Tom Arnold, Tom Green and former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp, it’s a veritable Who’s Who of celebrities I’d like to see take a fastball to the temple, Ray Chapman-style.
• Headline of the Day: “Kobe Advises Taiwan’s Wang to be Patient”. And for God’s sake, don’t stay at any hotels in Colorado.
• Is there anything more dangerous than a drunk Bison? North Dakota State’s football team is dealing with its fourth player to be arrested in the past six months on DUI charges. Not to be outdone, a University of North Dakota hockey player gets suspended for drunkenly throwing so much stuff from a garage onto a road - including a lawn mower, kitchen table and glassware - that the street had to be closed for clean-up.
• The police car footage from Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido’s January DWI arrest has been made public, and offers many tips on what not to do if you’ve been pulled over after having “five glasses of wine.” Such as: tell the cop you are drunk, and volunteer that a DWI will ruin your career.

I’m not going to continue to cover the whole NFL-to-LA thing much until I see the realistic prospect of a team coming here. But I did get a chuckle out of the Vikings recent attempt to prop up Ed Roski’s preposterous bid to bring a team to SoCal. (The COI in no way represents Los Angeles.)

Despite what you’re hearing in the media, Roski and his partners have zero chance to lure a team here, for reasons I’ve detailed previously. But that doesn’t mean NFL owners aren’t unwilling to use Roski’s ridiculous attempt as leverage to rape their community for a bright, shiny new stadium. Read more…

Two of the primary guys trying to bring the NFL to L.A., Ed Roski and John Semcken, have been out banging pots and pans this week, trying to get the local media to bite on their latest claim that an NFL team will move to L.A. in time to play the 2009 season.

Like lemmings, the SAN GABRIEL VALLEY (CA) TRIBUNE picked up comments by Semcken today, as part of an essentially baseless report:

Developer Ed Roski Jr.’s business partner says he has “no doubt” a National Football League team will play in Los Angeles in 2009, most likely at the Rose Bowl. Majestic Realty Vice President John Semcken also said he believes there is a possibility two NFL teams could wind up playing in the $800 million stadium Roski wants to build in Industry.

“We are going to have a team here next September,” Semcken said Tuesday afternoon.

There’s absolutely no credible evidence to suggest that an NFL team is poised to move to Los Angeles anytime soon. If there was, I’d know about it, or it would’ve leaked by now.

Not coincidentally, the MINNY STAR-TRIBUNE and ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS report tonight that new-stadium-less Vikings Owner Zygi Wilf was recently contacted by Roski about moving the team to Los Angeles - and had no interest. (Heritage clubs like the Vikes will never move - see Cleveland Browns.)

That’s not to say that a team moving here in the next couple years is outside the realm of possibility. But baseless bellowing by Roski and Semcken will do nothing to speed the process. I still bet that the fine gents over at AEG may have a role in bringing a team here before it’s all over. Their biggest problem? They won’t grab their ankles for the league and egomaniacal local yocal politicians.

Sports blogs like SbB have forever been accused by main media of going overboard with the T & A. Usually, when posting photos of the female form, we have a legit sports angle. (OK, not always.) But I find it rather ironic that many of those same (rapidly-fossilizing) finger pointers are now doing what we’ve long been accused of.

Take for instance the venerable DETROIT NEWS, and its “Sideline Satire” section. I’ll bet you didn’t know that an enormous collection of cropped-off pics of female Olympic athlete a$$es qualified as satire these days.

Apparently it does in Detroit.

Whoops! How’d that get through?

And just how serious is the editorial staff at the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES about servicing their readers in the middle of the night when the wife is asleep with football about to hit?

(Reminds me, where’s that sock I left the orange in?)

They’ve hired Jenn Sterger to do football picks. I’m assuming she’ll be steering clear of Jets games, seeing as all the inside team hotel rooms info she’ll be privy to.

Seriously fellas, if you’re going to try to post random, gratuitous girlie pics with a laughably flimsy sports connex, step aside and let a professional show you how it’s done:

TMZ has been cornering the sports celeb gossip market lately, this time with an exclusive on Tom Brady’s recent Brentwood real estate purchase. Brady, along with his girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, just dropped $11M on a residential lot in the city O.J. made (in)famous.

The two are planning a 20,000 square foot home together, which is apparently intended to allow Brady to be closer to the infant son he had with Bridget Moynihan (Moynihan’s reps denied the assertion).

Meanwhile, in another QB-related land grab, Tony Romo just spent a paltry $699K on his new DFW spread.

Let’s see, $20M+ to live with Gisele Bundchen or $699K to live with Jessica Simpson?

Earlier this week, Ticketmaster said it planned to attempt to expand its business (a “major push“) in China.

L.A.-based Barry Rudin, the largest ticket broker on the west coast and SbB sponsor, told me Wednesday, “I don’t think there is much to sell in China. There is however a lot of money there. I would have to see what events will sell well. I think certain concerts and sporting events could work. However, you are completely at the mercy of the government.”

Last sentence is something the IOC and the accompanying media came to realize the last couple weeks.

FYI: I’ll be at the UCLA-Tennessee game at the Rose Bowl on Barry’s dime this Monday night, with a live blog on SbB (and a SbB Girl in tow!).  Don’t be a stranger.

A.J. Daulerio of DEADSPIN tracks down an interoffice letter apparently from Roger Ebert of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES to the dearly departed Jay Mariotti.

Ebert: “On your way out, don’t let the door bang you on the ass.”

Read more…

Here’s how you know the latest attempt by billionaire (and minority owner in the Lakers and Kings) Ed Roski to lure an NFL team to Los Angeles by building a stadium for existing teams to skip off to is serious: there’s a Web site! With a fancy video like Madden ‘08! (The video for the new Cowboys stadium is better, which is why theirs is already being built.)

(H/T: YOUBEENBLINDED for the video)

No, that’s not it… you know he’s serious this time because “(Roski) controls the land necessary to build the stadium, training facilities and related development; and he already has a certified environmental impact report for the site.” Look, Ma! An environmental impact report! You can practically smell the fondue cart in the concourse from here!

No, that’s not it, either… ah, here it is. You know Ed Roski is serious about building an NFL stadium because he’s asked City of Industry, CA, to fork over $820 million in property taxes for the project. Now it’s on.

Read more…

DEVELOPER TO BRING NFL BACK TO LA FOR 10,000th TIME: Here we go again. Another Angeleno is taking a crack at enticing the NFL to come back to L.A:

The WHITTIER (CA) DAILY NEWS reports that developer Ed Roski will be talking to league officials this week about a proposed stadium plan for the Southland - this time in the City of Industry.

Roski, who holds ownership in the L.A. (not Grand Valley State) Lakers and the L.A. (not Sacramento) Kings, helped finance and build Staples Center. Now we wants to add an NFL field to his lists.

Roski owns plenty of land in the Southland suburb, and the City of Industry says what it is - an area of factories and businesses, with only 700 residents but 80,000 employees.

The proposal is just the latest in the never-ending saga by money men to return pro football to Los Angeles. Previous promises had teams coming to Irwindale, Pasadena, Carson, or back to the Coliseum or Anaheim.

Numerous questions once again come to the spotlight. Would it be a relocated team, or a new expansion club? Who’s going to pay for construction? And most importantly, the NFL needs LA, but does LA need the NFL?

Townsfolk didn’t desert when the Rams & Raiders left in ‘94, so the city seems to have gotten along fine without it.