Advertisement

Super Bowl in Pasadena Is a Good Sign for Moag

Share

The man leading the charge to bring an NFL team to Pasadena thinks it’s a very good sign that the league is considering the Rose Bowl as a Super Bowl site.

“We take this as a vote of confidence and it’s deeply appreciated,” John Moag said Monday. “With it comes the responsibility for us to produce, and that’s what we will concentrate on.”

Moag, the chairman of a Maryland sports investment-banking firm, cleared the way for the Cleveland Browns to move to Baltimore. Now he is working to position the Rose Bowl for a team, having accepted that assignment at the behest of the league. He envisions a completely reconstructed Rose Bowl that would seat roughly 65,000.

Advertisement

The Times reported Monday that league officials meeting with team owners in New York this week will recommend they award a Super Bowl to Los Angeles with the game to be played at the Rose Bowl. The proposal has already received a stamp of approval from the NFL’s Super Bowl committee. Although the proposal does not include a specific date, the 2008 game is being targeted by league officials.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will introduce the proposal Wednesday, in part to demonstrate the league is serious about moving forward in L.A., which has been without an NFL team since the Raiders and Rams left after the 1994 season.

No decision on an L.A. Super Bowl will be made at this meeting; the earliest such a vote would take place would be at the league meetings in March.

There is a strong sentiment among NFL owners to bring football back to L.A., provided it involves a new or entirely refurbished stadium. Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones said Sunday he is confident an existing team will have moved to the nation’s No. 2 market within four years.

“I think it will happen sooner rather than later,” he said. “If you nailed me on it, I’d say 48 months on the outside.”

League sources say the San Diego Chargers have the inside track on the L.A. market, although the Indianapolis Colts have been considered a candidate for some time.

Advertisement

-- Sam Farmer

*

Seattle receiver Darrell Jackson was released from a Texas hospital, one day after suffering a concussion and having a seizure in the locker room after a game against Dallas.

Seahawk Coach Mike Holmgren said Jackson had a CT scan and tests on his head and neck after Sunday’s game, and again Monday morning, and results were negative.

*

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis will sit out a fourth consecutive game because of the partially separated shoulder he suffered Oct. 6.

Quarterback Chris Redman also will be sidelined Sunday because of back spasms.

*

New Orleans running back Deuce McAllister was arrested Saturday morning for driving with a suspended license after he was caught driving 70 mph in a 40-mph zone on his way to the Saints’ practice facility.

The time McAllister spent in jail and the bond amount was unknown. He played Sunday against Atlanta.

Advertisement