relocation? relocation! relocation:

from off the net

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Goat Daddy

I bought Rams season tickets today.

If St. Louis loses the Rams I will see their last season here. And if they do move there’s a good chance we won’t see another team here for many a moon, if ever again.

The more important reason is I think Rams fans in St. Louis have to show up this year to demonstrate that we support out team. It is something, maybe the only concrete thing we can do as fans.

I liked the seats I got in section 411 on about the 45 yard line for about $75.00 a seat.

zn wrote:

Talk commences of a possible one-year L.A. delay

by Mike Florio

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/28/talk-commences-of-a-possible-one-year-l-a-delay/

At a time when it’s become a foregone conclusion that the NFL will return to Los Angeles in 2016, a possible caveat has emerged

The return might come in 2017.

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
LA scenario I’ve heard floated a lot is a little like this, with one big difference

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
That scenario: Rams go to LA in ’16, get head start for investing. Second Inglewood spot stays open, so Chargers/Raiders maintain leverage.

so screw STL with financing set?

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer
No. If St. Louis has a solid plan in place in the fall, things get more complicated.

from off the net

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HOFIkeBruce

Balzer: Kroenke to invest even more than expected in STL?

On Howard’s lunchtime show today, he said he spoke to a source who told him not to dismiss the possibility of Stan Kroenke not only keeping the Rams here, but investing more than $250 in the new stadium in exchange for parking and other event revenues.

from off the net

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max

Anyone hear Jeanne Zelasko?

Yesterday on the Beast, she had Howard Balzer on talking about the NFL position on StL stadium progress. Of course, Balzer gave the pro StL viewpoint. But it was Zelasko that surprised me.

Zelasko went on to say that her sources told her things have changed regarding the Rams recently. They may not be coming to LA. She cited 2 major reasons. One is that the NFL is gonna have a very hard time turning down money from StL, especially when they don’t see much coming from SD and Oak. She said that the guys on the LA committee, like Kraft and Mara, will have a hard time snubbing StL if they come up with all the money to build a new stadium. And that committee will set the stage for what the NFL does regarding LA. Second is that she heard that Kroenke had made a promise to all the owners that he will not go rogue and move to LA regardless. She said this is a 180 degree change from she has been hearing regarding the Rams, and she said the Rams are very frustrated with these developments.

I am a bit confused about what Zelasko is all about. Is she a reputable sports reporter or is she just someone who likes to throw crap out there to fill air time? She has been all over the place on the NFL to LA story, so I just can’t get a read on her.

Gordon: It’s been a winding road of camps for Rams

By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/gordon-it-s-been-a-winding-road-of-camps-for/article_e3e14525-c388-54d5-8538-4e5cef14cda3.html

The Rams have been all over the map since arriving in 1995. Sometimes thrilling, often terrible and occasionally ridiculous, they have taken us for quite a ride.

Now owner Stan Kroenke wants to move the franchise back to the greener pavement of greater Los Angeles, leaving fans here clinging to fleeting hopes of NFL intervention.

At the far end of the practice field, John Romanchuk held up a “Don’t Do It Stan” sign as training camp opened.

“You have to be positive and try to have the good outlook on things,” Romanchuk said. “If they stay, it will be awesome. If they leave, it’s going to be, in my perspective, brutal. I love this team.”

This potential lame-duck scenario generates mixed emotions for all involved. This is the best Rams team in ages with its punishing defense and (potentially) powerful run game.

And yet the Rams seem halfway gone, as their looming practices in Oxnard, Calif., underscore. Long-suffering Rams fans in Southern California will give them a heroes’ welcome when they work there with the Dallas Cowboys. The circle is nearing completion.

What a long, strange journey it’s been. The Rams’ 21-year training camp travelogue tells the story.

The team debuted on the fields at Parkway Central, arriving with a police escort to their first practice at the high school. They were there because a previously scheduled soccer camp displaced them from their opening camp sessions at Maryville University.

So what if the team worked in makeshift facilities, featured a mish-mash roster and struggled with mismatched coach Rich “Big Daddy” Brooks at the helm?

The NFL was back and the city was agog.

When the Rams moved their training camp to Western Illinois University for a nine-year run, the three-hour trek through cornfields and farming towns became ritual for thousands of diehards.

They witnessed much suffering in 1997 as coach Dick Vermeil staged grueling practices in the unrelenting Macomb heat. The rattling air conditioners at the Amerihost Inn offered refuge for fans, media types and at least one cagy Rams veteran who kept guests and party supplies there in his hideaway.

Vermeil finally eased up on his punitive “Junction Boys” training regimen, but progress was halting until fresh talent (especially Marshall Faulk) and offensive innovator Mike Martz arrived in 1999.

But who was this Kurt Warner fellow? The former grocery stock boy looked especially clumsy playing quarterback.

During a scrimmage against Indianapolis at the University of Illinois, Warner sailed a duck into pass coverage. Two Colts defenders converged on the wobbly pass and collided while fighting for the interception. The ball caromed past them for a 45-yard TD pass.

“We’ve got a safety sitting right in the middle of the field,” Colts coach Jim Mora complained afterward. “Some guys make plays, some don’t.”

As it turned out, Warner could make plays. He stepped in for the injured Trent Green and, improbably, the “Greatest Show on Turf” was born.

Unfortunately Martz unraveled after succeeding Vermeil as head coach. Among his many quirks: falling in love with marginal prospects, only to turn on them once they bungled drills.

Former Mizzou quarterback Kirk Farmer endured this love/hate experience during the 2003 camp. Twice he threw Farmer out of the huddle in the first three days in Macomb.

“You stink!” Mad Mike barked during one of the ejections.

In 2005 an increasingly edgy Martz moved camp back to Rams Park, where he could keep a wrap on things. This pleased his players.

“There’s nothing I like about Macomb,” safety Adam Archuleta sniffed. “I don’t think there’s anything good about it. It’s just a pain for everybody.”

Alas, the change of scenery did not stem the team’s steady decline into the NFL’s cellar.

The most picturesque Rams camp came in 2008, at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis. — located north of Milwaukee on the banks of Lake Michigan. Finding this scenic getaway was one of coach Scott Linehan’s few bright ideas.

Players stayed in new dormitories on the pristine campus. During lulls in the action, visitors could stroll down to the sky-blue water and relish the cool breeze.

“I think I’m at the Ritz Carlton compared to Macomb,” Vermeil told the Rams’ website during a camp visit that year. “Macomb was great for us but this place is unbelievable.”

Alas, things got ugly once the Rams broke camp. They finished 2-14.

Camp shifted back to Rams Park in 2009, with the hapless Steve Spagnuolo coaching. That preseason belonged to Kyle Boller — and his conspicuous girlfriend, former Miss California Carrie Prejean — after quarterback Marc Bulger suffered a broken finger.

More than 10,000 fans attended camp sessions that summer, hoping to witness a turning point that never came. The Rams remained brutal.

Kroenke energized the fan base by hiring coach Jeff Fisher, who quickly molded a competitive team. Each of his camps at Rams Park brought fresh hope, but each season brought debilitating injuries and daunting schedules in the merciless NFC West.

Today the Rams finally look ready for liftoff, with quarterback Nick Foles stretching the practice field with accurate deep throws and running back Todd Gurley racing back from knee surgery.

Scott Ess, who held up a “Keep the Rams In STL” sign as camp opened, said he has been a season-ticket holder for about 11 years.

“This is the best we’ve looked and we’re only going to get better,” he said. “Playoffs, Super Bowl. Probably Super Bowl.”

But then what?

Winning and then leaving would be so Rams-like, creating euphoria and anguish all at once. Such is the twisted road this franchise travels.

ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner on the obstacles teams face in the relocation efforts

…

from off the net

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hokahey

I just had a conversation with Kevin Demoff for the last 40 minutes or so in the cafe at my work. I honestly feel like I learned more in those 40 minutes than I have all year from the media.

One on One may be a little misleading. He came to my work for a speech on team work and outreach in the community.

After words, I pulled him aside with a few co-workers. I asked most of the questions. It was about 40 minutes of talk time.

For anyone that doesn’t know me, I am co-founder of Keep the Rams in St. Louis (although I’ve distanced myself from the group the last few months).

I am the person you may have seen in multiple news interviews with Andy Banker on Fox 2 and Casey Nolan on Channel 5.

Key points (all according to Demoff of course, but he appeared to be very genuine):

– Kroenke NEVER said St. Louis no longer works for the Rams. Demoff personally called Dave Peacock to tell him that never happened.

– The Rams are not keen on sharing the stadium with an MLS team. Not sure region can support 4 teams, and causes concerns about who gets paid what for non game day events.

– St. Louis still has a chance. Nothing is definite. The Rams will not remove L.A. from the equation until they know the final deal from St. Louis. He flat out said “doing so would remove all leverage in case something falls through here.”

– He and Peacock talk all the time, about “multiple options and scenarios.” Said he wishes Peacock had been involved three years ago, and that he’s the best person he’s ever worked with in St. Louis.

– This is not just a financial decision. If it was, L.A. would win out hands down all day long. There is a civic aspect to this. But there is concern about the long term financial stability of the St. Louis region.

– Attendance is a non-issue. The team and league both understand that the poor product and lease issue is causing the lowered attendance. The team has never once used attendance as a reason to the league that they might move.

– Everything will be decided by December.

.

he said Stan will not speak and does not speak because people that want to believe the Rams will stay will believe him if he says they will and those that don’t, won’t. He said it’s pointless.

If no one shows up for the games because it’s understandable, so out reach from Kroenke to the community for the sake of improving attendance isn’t necessarily important. What is important is resolving the stadium issue and then moving on from there.

he said no decision has been made. Period. He said his family asks him every day and he tells them the same thing. He said his kids cried when they heard the team might move. He said he loves St. Louis and wants to stay here to raise his family, but that L.A. was fun for him when he was younger, so there is appeal to both cities.

He said “none of this is happening in St. Louis if they had done things any differently with L.A.”

Which interestingly was almost the exact thing I said to Andy Banker once, who responded with “Bingo.”

I have training in detecting lies (believe it or not) and at no time got the sense he was lying to me.

There were people attempting to rush him off and he brushed them off seemingly so he could stay and answer every question.