GOODELL: JUST LEAVE US ALONE.Byline: STEVE DILBECK NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga Commissioner Roger Goodell Roger S. Goodell (born February 19, 1959, in Jamestown, New York[1]) is the Commissioner of the National Football League, having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. 280 Park Avenue New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. 10017 Dear Roger, Congratulations on your new gig. Hope it works out, running the largest and most profitable sports empire in the country. Lots of pressure, but you put your time in. Do have one itty-bitty request, though, before you take over next week: Stay out of L.A. Go live happily ever after The term happily ever after is used in association with many works of children’s fiction and romantic fiction. It describes a happy ending, often a cliché in which all the good characters have emerged victorious and all the evil characters have been punished. without us. You're OK, we're OK. Let's all be OK. If you really feel obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to return, just show up one day. No more false deadlines. No more proclamations of intent, blowing more smoke than a Democratic convention. Don't tell us that L.A. will get the next expansion franchise and then sell to a higher bidder. Don't say the team will play in a renovated Coliseum and then take another look at Anaheim or Carson or the Rose Bowl or Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
"POP," as it was soon nicknamed, was a joint venture between CBS and Santa Anita Park. . See, most of us out in here in La-La Land la-la land n. 1. A place renowned for its frivolous activity. 2. A state of mind characterized by unrealistic expectations or a lack of seriousness. [After L(os) A(ngeles).] are just worn out by the whole soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. . It's always the next owners' meeting. It's yes, it's no, it's we're really getting close, maybe next time. Girls like that get called bad names. We're tattered and tired. We need closure. Just say it's not on the agenda, has gotten too expensive and move on. We can live with that. There is plenty on your plate. You've known your 32 employers for years, but things will change now. You will change. I remember the first time I met your predecessor, Paul Tagliabue Paul John Tagliabue (born November 24 1940 in Jersey City, New Jersey) was the Commissioner of the National Football League. He took the position in 1989 and was succeeded by Roger Goodell, who was elected to the position on August 8, 2006. , in a tiny Berlin restaurant in 1990. He'd taken the job months earlier and was there for the American Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs Now he's calling it a career, heading out highly successful but with this supposed black hole in his portfolio: He could never return the NFL to the Los Angeles market. Hey, fine by us. Given our druthers druth·ers pl.n. Informal A choice or preference: "Given their druthers, these hell-for-leather free marketeers might sell the post office" George F. Will. , most here would opt for the NFL's return. It's just the prolonged labor prolonged labor Obstetrics Labor of > 24 hrs duration, which may be due to a prolonged latent phase–> 20 hrs in a primigravida or > 14 hrs in a multipara, or due to a 'protraction disorder' in which there is protracted cervical dilatation in the involved feels like giving birth to a new planet. Just not that interested. We both badly underestimated each other in the beginning, and guess it cost us years. We figured you needed us. We're Los Angeles. Entertainment Capital of the world. Second-largest city in the country. And truth be told, we think highly of ourselves. When the Rams and Raiders fled after the 1994 season, most people here naturally assumed some other NFL team would arrive the next year or two. Then the Seahawks just sort of showed up one day at Rams Park and their goofy owner announced he was moving his franchise to L.A. Most of us thought we could do better. Tagliabue sent him home in a hurry, which was fine by us, but we haven't seen a team since. Your league figured L.A. would come crawling back, just like St. Louis and Cleveland and Baltimore, and later, Houston. Throw money at you to build a new stadium and luxury boxes and parking structures and whatever else asked for. It took a long time to figure out we're not into subsidizing billionaires here, but for the most part, you finally came around. Money, of course, always has been the main issue. Back when all this nonsense first started, people were estimating it would cost $250 million to build a new stadium or renovate the Coliseum. Now they're taking up to $800 million, and one more gas hike and it'll be a billion. That's not even counting an expansion or relocation fee. By the time the NFL finally gets here, the average fan won't be able to afford a ticket without sacrificing a year of his kid's college education. Perhaps you noticed, but there is no great groundswell ground·swell n. 1. A sudden gathering of force, as of public opinion: a groundswell of antiwar sentiment. 2. in Los Angeles for the NFL's return. People aren't up in arms, marching on City Hall, petitioning the league, even making it an issue. The people who have actually worked with you to get a team back, mostly have because they have something to gain. Politicians who want credit or who operate existing facilities and sites. So what'd you say we just call it a day? This story cries out for a conclusion. It would leave the people in Los Angeles and Anaheim knowing where they stand and able to move forward. Anaheim at least has a Plan B, even if commercial development remains on tenuous hold. The Coliseum has been around since 1923 and is showing its age, but to many, that's part of its attraction. The Coliseum Commission understandably dreams of a modern, renovated stadium paid for by the NFL. But all its focus and hope for renovation is on the league. It has no real Plan B for modernization. ``We've identified the NFL as best providing it and we've put all our focus and effort into that,'' said Pat Lynch, Coliseum general manager. ``We'll ride it out. We don't think that it's that long of a ride.'' It's been a 12-year ride thus far. That seems plenty long enough. USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. is the Coliseum's primary tenant, and despite those who argue the Trojans are close enough to an NFL team, it deserves to know the future of its venue. The Coliseum people, knowing how tired most in L.A. are on the whole NFL-to-L.A. subject, have been smartly trying to go about their business on the hush-hush. They know you were Tags' point man on the L.A. situation and are well versed on the issues here. They figure that's a good thing. Then again, maybe knowing how complicated and convoluted and increasingly expensive it is, you know to place your attention elsewhere. You've got owners upset over this new revenue-sharing thing, Tagliabue claiming it'll take a couple of years to truly analyze it and many owners not interested in addressing the L.A. situation until it's resolved. It's always something. See, you've got plenty to do. You don't need this quagmire. Call it done and move on. We still watch your games in impressive numbers. You can live without us and we can live without you. It's a great thing. Best wishes, Steve stephen.dilbeck@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 |
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