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FRIDAY REWIND: NFL teams eye L.A. stadium

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Randy Hill

Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
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Updated May 17, 2002 11:13 AM ET
     
 
While defining his optimism concerning the NFL's threatened return to L.A., Jerry Jones cited "Blind faith," which may have been a factor in Jerry's facelift. But Jerry owns the Dallas Cowboys and qualifies as an NFL big shot. If Los Angeles truly desires the presence of another pro football team (aside from USC's Trojans), having a big shot like Jerry on its side can't hurt. Even better is the almost-pledged allegiance of Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz. This Phil may know zip about Zen, but he is the rascal responsible for putting Staples Center in downtown L.A. Such Denver-L.A. détente may be little more than extended gratitude for Southern California's splendid raising of Broncos quarterback John Elway. Anyway, this week — as unofficial sponsor of The Friday Rewind — Anschutz deployed point man Tim Leiweke to demonstrate how L.A. can seize an NFL team. Leiweke's trump card, of course, is a proposed stadium. The demonstration included a model venue, which shares an uncomfortable similarity with a replica of the L.A. Sports Arena I purchased on eBay.
David Moore's Dot-comment
There are strong signals that Los Angeles is closer to luring a franchise its way than at any time in the past seven seasons. As many owners were making their way to the Texans new stadium, commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced that he had formed a five-member working group to explore the viability of a return to the nation's second largest city. New England's Bob Kraft, Miami's Wayne Huizenga, Pittsburgh's Dan Rooney, Cleveland's Carmen Policy and Carolina's Jerry Richardson have been asked to research the opportunities in Los Angeles and serve as a sounding board on how the league should proceed. Tagliabue declined to set a timetable, but said the group would meet with officials in L.A. and the league office in the coming weeks and months to help bring what has been a fractured picture into focus. "The purpose going forward is to identify realistic alternatives in Los Angeles, in terms of the stadium and team, and to identify initiatives that we might make that would serve our fan base better in Los Angeles during this period when they don't have a team,'' Tagliabue said.


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    • Anyway, six NFL teams (not including the Houston Texans) have declared interest in abandoning their home cities for a move to L.A. All six probably are hoping that standing next to L.A. will stir up enough jealousy for new-stadium deals where they now reside. One team most L.A. fans are begging to avoid is the Arizona Cardinals. If the Cardinals, who have new-stadium money without a construction site, hustle off to L.A., it would be considered a witness-protection bonanza for fans in Phoenix. But L.A.'s biggest refugee candidates are the San Diego Chargers, whose owner already has agreed to conduct training camp at a facility built by Team Anschutz in nearby Carson. Team Anschutz and some L.A. political watchdogs believe enough land parcels can be secured to accommodate a Staples-adjacent stadium. However, if this becomes a problem, another Lakers-championship riot outside Staples could be used as a controlled burn in neighboring areas. While it is encouraging, this stadium plan has a ways to go. And not every politician is turning cartwheels over a plan to emphasize this state-of-the-art facility in a downtown redevelopment campaign. One concern is the potential displacement of many homeless Angelenos. Here's an idea: how about steering some of this loot into constructing a state-of-the-art homeless shelter? By collecting 450 million scoots to build a football stadium, they're already doing the same thing for an NFL team. For the record, one NFL city not officially threatened by L.A. relocation chatter is Oakland. This doesn't mean Raiders king Al Davis isn't considering it. But at this time, Al is preparing for another court battle with Oakland. That's just another reason why the Raiders are the only NFL franchise requiring a mini-camp for its legal team.

    NBA

  • Approaching Games 1 and 2 on the road has convinced L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson to consider his team the underdog with the Sacramento Kings. I'm not sure if Jackson will amend that to "drug-sniffing underdogs."
  • Laker Rick Fox guaranteed a Lakers victory in this series with the Kings. Another series that could have used a Fox guarantee was The Tick.
  • L.A.'s Clippers have been zinged in a report submitted by an entertainment and sports programming network. This zinging occurred a few days after concerning Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s decision to leave Duke and enter the NBA Draft. According to the zing, Dunleavy Jr., who will not hire an agent, will hustle back to Duke if the Clippers climb high enough in the draft to select him. Mike Dunleavy Sr., an unemployed NBA-style coach with no desire or reason to burn bridges, called the Clips and said the report was wildly inaccurate. He then called the reporter with the same information. The reporter from this entertainment and sports programming network appreciated the heads up, but decided to stick by his original story. The reporter said his source of information on Dunleavy Jr. was even better than Dunleavy Sr.'s source, although Dunleavy Sr.'s source was Dunleavy Jr. Maybe the reporter's source was Mother Dunleavy. But I have the best source. For the record, it is not Shane Battier, the ex-Duke star who roomed with Dunleavy two years ago, and admitted that they used to stay up late for Clipper-watching. So it's not Shane. Anyway, here's the skinny: If the Clippers appear to be on the verge of choosing Dunleavy, the player returning to Duke will be Corey Maggette.
  • Before Yao Ming can enter the NBA and begin making fans forget all about Rik Smits, he may be strangled in red tape. This includes his NBA contract, which — to pass muster back home in China as well as David Stern's America — will require signatures from eight entities (not including Yao). That's not a contract, it's a petition. The quickest way to score eight hard-to-get signatures? Hire a 10-year-old boy.
  • Now that they're off to New Orleans, the Hornets have a built-in, Mardis Gras-related war chant for future NBA Finals dates with the Lakers: "Bead L.A.!"

    Baseball

  • Slugger Jose Canseco has retired from baseball and . I'm not sure if Jose kept notes during his playing career or will limit these revelations to what he can remember off the top of his head.
  • A few weeks after attacking hubby and Cleveland Indians left-hander Chuck Finley, . According to Tawny, Chuck abuses drugs and alcohol, but is a bit more responsible in his alleged steroid use. But if what Chuck says about Tawny is true, this doesn't qualify as substance abuse. It's self-defense.
  • The L.A. Dodgers fulfilled widespread prophecy by absorbing traced to the New York Mets. This gives Dodger hitters an embarrassing and league-leading eight shutouts in 40 games. Their 20-percent ratio has forced FOX Sports Net to move telecasts of selected home games to FOX Sports Gross.
  • Showing confidence in the Donald Fehr Factor, . Many doomsday enthusiasts believe another strike or lockout would — once and for all — slaughter baseball tradition. But after examining the history of bickering between MLB owners and the players union, baseball tradition will be dodged if we don't have another work stoppage.
  • Pony, a resurrecting sneaker and apparel company, for its "Why Not?" advertising campaign. The "Why Not?" roll call includes controversial football stars Jack Tatum and Kenny Stabler. Rose? Why not, indeed. After investing several years in the Daily Racing Form, it's about time a Pony bet on Pete.

    College basketball

  • Embracing full-court pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), for March Madness. Now that leather's been bounced, will Billy Packer be next? Or will PETA be satisfied if the NCAA asks CBS to prevent Billy from reminding us about the plight of the fish? The NCAA Tournament just wouldn't be the same without Packer crowing "Great catch!" each time a pass is completed. In related news, Animals for the Ethical Treatment of People (AETP) is encouraging ESPN to keep several tranquilizer darts handy when Dick Vitale does its studio show.

    Tennis

  • According to Dr. Heinz Buehlmann, . The lady is a physical mess, he said. Her problem areas are feet, the left knee and left hip. "Her joints," the doctor admitted, "are worn out." The first tournament Martina will skip is the Dionne Warwick Invitational.

    Online auctions

  • Celebrity ABC gum can be auctioned on the Internet, but body parts are unwelcome on eBay. This favoritism was established when that originally lived in the elbow of Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Jeff Nelson. Jeff's scheme? Give proceeds from the winning bid to charity. In related news, Dr. Heinz Buehlmann said the joints of Martina Hingis are not as worn out as he'd first imagined. Randy Hill can be reached at his e-mail address: rhill@foxsports.com.
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