Hahn Hasn’t Written Off Downtown Stadium Project

Another NFL season is underway, and Los Angeles is no closer to having a team of its own.

Or is it?

L.A. Mayor James K. Hahn, who said in February he envisioned pro football back in the city within five years, says he isn’t so sure plans for a downtown stadium have flat-lined.

Sure, Philip Anschutz’s interest in writing a nine-figure check for a football stadium has plummeted faster than Qwest stock. Yes, options to buy that land next to Staples Center are expiring by the minute, and the specter of a county lawsuit lingers.

But Hahn still holds out hope for that project.

“I don’t think it’s over yet,” he said Friday. “The last conversation I had with Mr. Anschutz and Mr. [Tim] Leiweke, the feeling was, not at this time. But if the time is right again, they may be back in the game. I don’t think they were closing the door and locking it. I think they were withdrawing for the time being and saying, ‘Hey, if somebody else can do better than us, more power to them.’ ”

Hahn said he would be willing to get behind an effort by the Coliseum, but he doesn’t think the NFL has any interest in that site. The other option is the Rose Bowl, which last month hired John Moag, the Maryland consultant who helped move the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.

The NFL asked Moag to get involved with the Rose Bowl, and the league is almost never proactive when it comes to L.A. That means the league wants to stir the pot here, either because a team actually wants to move here, or because one wants to use L.A. as a leverage point to get a new stadium in its own city. Teams that could possibly move--provided they are braced for legal warfare--include San Diego, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Minnesota, Arizona, San Francisco and even Oakland.

But that assumes the team has a place to play when it gets to L.A., and both the Coliseum and Rose Bowl would require $400-million makeovers to become long-term solutions. And no one knows where that money is coming from, considering the community’s aversion to spending public money on privately owned sports teams.

“I can’t understand the attitude that California uniquely has in almost taking pride in not having a public-sector factor in these sports facilities,” said Max Muhleman, chief executive of Muhleman Marketing, a Charlotte company specializing in major league sports consulting.

In 1999, when L.A. and Houston were competing for an expansion franchise, the NFL commissioned Muhleman to study the L.A. market. He determined that an NFL franchise would succeed in Los Angeles, but it would require a near-perfect combination of facility quality, ownership commitment and promotion.

Recently, one NFL owner summed up the prevailing opinion among his peers: “L.A. is all about self-destructive politics.”

Six years ago this month, at the request of then-mayor Richard Riordan, Peter O’Malley backed off his proposal to build an NFL venue at Dodger Stadium so the city could cast its lot with the Coliseum. A lot of people, Hahn among them, still speak wistfully of the O’Malley plan.

“I think Peter could have done it,” he said. “I think it’s unfortunate that the rug was kind of pulled out from under him before he even got started. That was a chapter of Los Angeles really not having its act together and losing out to a city that did.”

Dodger President Bob Graziano, who keeps close tabs on NFL in L.A. issues, said he is not optimistic about football’s returning any time soon.

“It’s been six years since we stopped our efforts, and I haven’t seen a lot of progress made over that time,” he said. “I’ve seen things heat up and die out very quickly.”

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John Elway and Dan Marino played against each other only once in their primes.

The Raiders and Steelers, whose rivalry is part of NFL lore, never met in Pittsburgh from 1981 through ’99.

Buffalo has never hosted Tampa Bay.

One of the best things about the realigned NFL is these kinds of quirks will never happen again. The reshuffled league, broken into eight four-team divisions, features a far more predictable schedule, one that guarantees fans will see every team face each other on a regular, rotating basis.

In eight seasons, every team will play every other team at least twice--at home and on the road--and teams are guaranteed to play all nondivision opponents in their conference at least once every three years. A decision will be made after the 2009 season on whether to keep the format or tinker with it.

Among the teams most affected are the 49ers and Cardinals, now NFC West rivals, both of whom will log far fewer air miles in the coming years. Arizona had no business being in the NFC East, just as Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans were out of place in the NFC West.

Seattle is the only team that switches conferences, moving from the AFC to NFC, although a lot of people forget the Seahawks were an NFC team in their first season, and Tampa Bay was in the AFC.

One of the drawbacks to realignment is that a team’s record the previous season will have less bearing on its current schedule. It used to be that bad teams had the comfort of knowing they would get a last-place schedule the next season (as well as a high draft pick). That’s not so true anymore. Now, only two--rather than four--opponents are based on the previous year’s standings.

With the new system, some introductions could be necessary. The Packers and Redskins did not play from 1989 through 2000, for instance, and have not played in Washington since 1979. Atlanta and the New York Giants did not play from 1989 through ’97. And the Steelers and Chiefs have played six consecutive times in Kansas City.

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Houston quarterback Tony Banks might cross paths with Cowboy owner Jerry Jones this weekend when the Texans make their debut. If so, Banks doesn’t plan to say a word. The Cowboys cut him in training camp a year ago, not long after signing him to be their starter. They decided to go with Quincy Carter.

“[Jones] is not one of my favorite people,” Banks said. “But this is a business, and you’re not always going to like who you work for or who fired you. That’s just the nature of the business.”

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Listed at 380 pounds--and that’s a conservative estimate--Cowboy tackle Aaron Gibson is the NFL player who most closely resembles a small planet. He’s not alone on that Dallas line, though, which averages 329 pounds and is the league’s heaviest. The rotund runners-up are Philadelphia, 324.3; Arizona, 323; Buffalo, 321.8, and Minnesota, 321.6.

“Man, we must be putting some good steroids in that fast food,” said longtime NFL lineman Conrad Dobler, who retired in 1981 after playing in an era when 300-pounders were almost unheard of.

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Denver’s Brian Griese and Shannon Sharpe have been hanging out a lot lately, and Sharpe, the Pro Bowl tight end, has a simple explanation.

“We both have something the other person wants,” Sharpe told the Denver Post. “And I think the thing he wants that I have is respect from my teammates.

“He knows that I command respect from my teammates. I don’t have to say it. I don’t have to belittle anybody. But with the way you carry yourself, there’s a certain way you do things.”

OK, Shannon, but what does Griese have that you want?

“Fifteen million.”

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*--* THE TIMES’ RANKINGS SAM FARMER’S NFL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS 1 PHILADELPHIA Eagles are calling this the Season of No Excuses 2 PITTSBURGH Kept the best players and improved on special teams 3 ST. LOUIS Offense remains great, but can defense maintain 2001 pace? 4 GREEN BAY Hardy Nickerson gives this defense instant credibility 5 SAN FRANCISCO Making a field goal would help 6 NEW ENGLAND Tom Brady didn’t lose a bit of focus in a busy off-season 7 TAMPA BAY Gruden for president ... until he loses first game 8 NEW YORK GIANTS Defense broke down in crunch time against 49ers 9 CLEVELAND With Kelly Holcomb at QB, good thing the Browns open with Chiefs 10 DENVER Brian Griese should soak up everything Shannon Sharpe says 11 OAKLAND If Raiders lose their opener, look out below. Next four are tough 12 MIAMI Ricky Williams debuts against last season’s No. 26 defense 13 CHICAGO Losses of Tony Parrish and Walt Harris put a lot of pressure on secondary 14 WASHINGTON The football world is watching first real test of Spurrier-bal l 15 BUFFALO The Patriots must know something, letting Bledsoe go to a rival 16 INDIANAPOLIS Tony Dungy should be able to turn this defense around quickly 17 NEW YORK JETS Offense will be far less conservative this season 18 NEW ORLEANS Deuce McAllister gives Saints more options than Ricky Williams 19 TENNESSEE Four first-rounde rs on D line: Kearse, Ford, Haynesworth and Carter 20 DALLAS After Emmitt Smith gets record, Troy Hambrick will nudge him aside 21 SEATTLE Seahawks had a chance to win AFC West ... but now they’re in the NFC 22 CINCINNATI Someone has to step forward at quarterback 23 ATLANTA Once he gets through his growing pains, Michael Vick can be great 24 SAN DIEGO Drew Brees needs some time to work out the kinks 25 KANSAS CITY Opening at Cleveland is no easy task 26 JACKSONVILLE Can Tom Coughlin regain control of this troubled bunch? 27 MINNESOTA Greg Biekert will provide a boost to this suspect defense 28 ARIZONA Less travel, yes, but the NFC West is a beast 29 BALTIMORE Switch to a 3-4 could help this drooping defense 30 DETROIT McMahon and Harrington had better pray that ragtag line holds up 31 CAROLINA Quarterback switch is a bad sign at this late date 32 HOUSTON As of this hour, still undefeated

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