Results tagged “nfl”

This weekend, all you have to do to watch bone-crushing, high impact violence is turn on either CBS or Fox's coverage of the NFL. Also this weekend, you can head over to the Laemmle Sunset 5, in West Hollywood to get some perspective on the aftermath of those helmet-to-helmet collisions.

Houston Rockets defeat LA Lakers 101-91. Rockets guard Aaron Brook blistered the Lakers for a career high 33 points as the Rockets ran circles around the Lakers and their sloppy offense. Ron Artest led the Lakers with 22 points while Andrew Bynum scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Kobe Bryant had a human game with 18 points. The Rockets, despite their tallest player barely clearing Prince sans platforms, out-rebounded the Lakers 60-38. That will do you in.

The Governor's Office is webcasting the live the press conference where Schwarzenegger will sign legislation exempting developers from environmental laws, which has delayed the project. The Governor's office calls the project a "green project." Although today's legislation will pave way for this "shovel-ready" and "privately financed" project (that they say will bring 18,000 jobs), the LA Times notes that developers Majestic Realty might have trouble getting "construction loans amid the credit crunch."

Tomorrow, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the bill that will exempt developers of the proposed NFL stadium from some environmental laws, reports James Wagner at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Once the law goes into affect, Ed Roski's Majestic Realty will be able to break ground on the 600-acre project, which has been delayed a year and one half.

Watch out, Los Angeles. We might be having a Raider Nation soon enough (or hey, maybe even get back the Chargers). In a legislative session yesterday, the state's senate approved a bill that "would grant the 75,000-seat stadium project an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, the environmental law that governs development," according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The NFL and Los Angeles has been a topic ever since the Rams and Raiders up and left town in 1995. Plans to turn the Coliseum and Rose Bowl into NFL stadiums came and fell through. Building a new Downtown LA stadium was laughable. A stadium by Dodger Stadium was counted out. A site on top of a landfill in Carson had the most legs, but in the end proved to be too costly to be practical.

According to Chris Myers on Fox Sports Radio on the "Myers and Hartman Show", Myers spoke with NFL insiders saying the Oakland Raiders are the front-runners for moving to Los Angeles. With the proposed Los Angeles Stadium going through the final hurdles before becoming a reality, talk of the NFL returning to Los Angeles after a 15-year absence is starting to be more than rumors. But the Raiders? Make of that what you will.

Although the city of Walnut has settled with the developers of the proposed NFL stadium, the project has yet to get the green light. A lawsuit by a citizen's group is still active and a vote by the Senate, which is expected to pass, should be voted on this week. And now one Walnut councilman is speaking out, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

That's the current economy for you. Own a lot of property and Forbes Magazine will catch on in their most recent 400 wealthiest Americans list. Developer Ed Roski Jr., CEO of Majestic Realty Company, dropped from No. 163 to No. 236 on the annual list, which has one sports consultant speculating trouble for the proposed NFL stadium in the city of Industry.

Today marks the first Saturday of the college football season. Millions across the country; especially here in the home of the #4 ranked USC Trojans and the recipient of seven votes in the AP Top 25 - UCLA Bruins, are excited to get the 2009 campaign kicked off. I, on the other hand, could couldn't care less.

Seattle Mariners defeat LA Angels 3-0. Scott Kazmir, looking to impress his new team in his first outing, did an admirable job through six innings pitching shut out ball. However in the seventh inning he led the inning off by walking Mike Sweeney. After Adrian Beltre flew out to center, Bill Hall doubled scoring Sweeney ending Kazmir's night. Sweeney ended up scoring in the next at-bat when stealing third catcher Mike Napoli made a throwing error. Felix Hernandez however was lights out pitching eight innings while giving up only four hits and three walks. Although King Felix had runners on the basepads all day, he was able to get out of every jam. The Angels lost two of three games in this series and now head over to Kansas City.

ESPN is reporting that former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has been conditionally reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell. This will allow Vick to play the final two preseason games for any team that signs him to a contract. Gooddell will then decide on Vick's full reinstatement after week six of the NFL season in October.

In an interview with KCBS radio in the Bay Area, John Madden announced his retirement saying, "It's time." The 73-year old was the color commentator opposite Al Michaels for NBC's Sunday Night Football for the past three seasons. Prior to that he worked for ABC's Monday Night Football also opposite Michaels but is probably best known for his stints with CBS and Fox working alongside Pat Summerall. Prior to his broadcasting career he coached the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1979 winning Super Bowl XI in 1976.

The cities of Diamond Bar and Walnut are not exactly thrilled with Industry's plan for a a professional football stadium. But as of last night, Diamond Bar is dropping their objections after approving a settlement with Industry. They will get $20 million to deal with increased traffic from the stadium, $1 million for a middle school athletic field and $700,000 a year for community facilities as long as the stadium remains in operation, reported the Associated Press. A suit filed by Walnut to stop the construction is still pending.

Much like America, the team commonly referred to as America's Team has fallen on some hard times. The Dallas Cowboys ended a drama-filled 2008 season on the wrong end of a 44-6 beat down courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles in a must-win Week 17 game. The last time the 'boys won a playoff game, quarterback Tony Romo was 16 and Bill Clinton was in the White House.

In the preview of the Super Bowl I wrote on Saturday, I predicted the worst. I thought the Arizona Cardinal defense would have no answers to the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, and the Steelers led by their inept offensive line would just bumble through the game. Fortunately for all the football fans and bystanders on Sunday my predicted score of 3-2 didn’t happen.

Let’s be frank about the Super Bowl. Despite all the hype that surrounds the game it usually is a dud of a game.

LA Lakers defeat Washington Wizards 117-97. The game was never in doubt from the opening tip off. When the crowd starts hanging on every action of Sun Yue on the court, you know the Lakers have coasted. Andrew Bynum led all scorers with 23 points while six other Lakers scored in double digits.

A $5 million bond will be voted on by residents in the City of Industry, population, 800. If passed, it will pay for practice fields, restaurants, banquet facilities, offices and the stadium, the LA Times says today in a report about the proposed and controversial stadium. Fearing traffic and noise, the cities of Diamond Bar and Walnut don't want a stadium in the neighboring city. And Los Angeles would rather not see it in Industry either--after all, we don't need another Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim going on here, do we? (The Los Angeles Smokestakes of Industry?) Ed Roski, the developer, said last September that we'll see the NFL here in September 2009. Well, good luck!

After many "sleepless nights", Mark Sanchez officially declared himself eligible for the NFL draft this spring. "It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to this university," he said in a teary news conference at Heritage Hall this morning. In his only year as a starter, he racked up a 65.8% completion percentage for 3,207 yards, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. According to the draft gurus, Sanchez should be a first round pick.

Tampa Bay Lightning defeat LA Kings 3-1. The Kings couldn't muster much of anything giving up two quick goals at the end of the first period. Their only comeback was a slapshot goal by Peter Harrold at the end of the second period assisted by Anze Kopitar. It's not looking good for the Kings right now especially with the Detroit Red Wings on their way to town.

In a season that has been as lackluster as any in recent memory, the drama of Week 17 singlehandedly saved the season.

LA Lakers defeat New York Knicks 116-114. The Lakers are a very infuriating team. They had moments of great defensive stops which led me to believe they play defense only when they want to. They also missed a lot of shots right under their basket by being tentative and trying to lay it in rather than dunking authoritatively. This against a team that has no big man! Even though the Lakers are now 21-3, why does it seem so unfulfilling?

Much like the way the boom in Fantasy Football has changed the way millions watch football, filmmaker Hunter Weeks is changing the way independent movies are being funded and distributed. The director and producer who made his debut in 2007 with 10 MPH, a documentary about two twenty-somethings hoping on their Segways for a Seattle to Boston road trip, has turned to big brands like CBS Sports, Quiznos, YouTube and Chipotle to help fund and promote his films.

Indiana Pacers defeat LA Lakers 118-117. The Lakers outscored the Pacers in the first three quarters. They led by 16 points a minute into the fourth quarter. Then the Pacers went on a scoring run that was capped off by a Troy Murphy put-back off of a miss right before the buzzer went off in the fourth that gave the Pacers the one-point victory. Despite being 7-10 the Pacers also handed the Celtics a 16-point defeat in their second game of the season. The Lakers meanwhile suffer only their second loss of the season and face Philadelphia tonight.

Before I go on record with my picks for today’s games, let me just get this off my chest.

LA Lakers defeat Portland Trail Blazers 96-76. Um wow. If that's what the Lakers will look like all season, I might have underestimated them. For years the words "Lakers" and "defense" couldn't be said in the same sentence without a snicker, but seeing the beat down they handed to Blazers just changed all of that. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 23 points while ex-Bruin Trevor Ariza notched a surprising 11. The word of the night was indeed defense with the Lakers holding the Blazers down to 34.5% shooting. Playing in his first NBA after rehabbing his knee last season, Greg Oden left the game in the first half after injuring his right foot. Oden went scoreless in 12:51.

Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies 2-2 (bottom of 6th inning). There have been rainouts in the World Series before. But never before has a game been suspended in the World Series. Cole Hamels had managed to keep the Rays down to only one run until the top of the sixth inning when the Rays manufactured a run to tie the game. Although the commish Bud Selig promised that even if the Rays hadn't scored the tying run the game wouldn't have been called, it allowed the Rays to take a sigh of relief. Meanwhile the Phillies once again regressed to the team that couldn't get a hit with runners in scoring position. The final 2 1/2 innings will be played tonight at 5pm. The Phillies still lead the series 3-1.

According to the Evil Four-Letter Network's Chris Mortenson, Raider's head coach Lane Kiffin has officially been fired. Word is the rest of his contract will not be honored and is not allowed to speak to his players.

What an awful opening weekend for the NFL. Well actually what an awful opening weekend for my picks. While I didn’t get a chance to post my picks, I’m actually quite happy to save some face.