The Morning Column: January 7, 2022

Super Bowl LVI will take place Sunday, Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium. That’s not a prediction; that’s the message from everyone at the NFL after reports surfaced this week that the NFL might move the game.

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1. Super Bowl LVI will take place Sunday, Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium.

That’s not a prediction; that’s the message from everyone at the NFL after reports surfaced this week that the league has contingency plans in place to move the game out of L.A. and perhaps to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with the rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Southern California.

“As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games, we have contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event we cannot play the Super Bowl as scheduled due to weather-related issues or unforeseen circumstances,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. “Our planning process for the Super Bowl in Los Angeles is ahead of schedule and we look forward to hosting the Super Bowl there.”

Of course, nothing about what we’re going through right now or over the past two years during this global pandemic is “standard” and it’s safe to say “weather” would have nothing to do with the Super Bowl being moved out of SoFi Stadium. It has everything to do with the current COVID-19 surge, which caused the Grammy Awards, scheduled to take place Jan. 31 at Crypto.com Arena, to be postponed, and the Sundance Film Festival, scheduled to take place Jan. 20-30, to go virtual.

The difference is the Super Bowl will essentially be business as usual for the NFL when it comes to safely hosting over 70,000 fans on gameday. The Rams and Chargers have been playing in front of capacity crowds all season and the Rams are scheduled to play in front of a sold-out crowd Sunday at SoFi Stadium. The health and safety mandates in place Sunday are the same ones that will be in place next month.

“Let me just be abundantly clear that the Super Bowl is coming to L.A.,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “I think Californians are excited to see that event occur.”

2. Officials from the NFL, Rams, Chargers, SoFi Stadium and the city are scheduled to meet next week and will address the media on Thursday and talk about their plans for Super Bowl LVI, which will be just 30 days away one week from today.

The group will include, Katie Keenan, NFL Senior Director of Event Operations, Adam Burke, President & CEO at Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Kathryn Schloessman, President & CEO at Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, Jason Gannon, Managing Director at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, Kevin Demoff, Chief Operating Officer of the Los Angeles Rams and A.G. Spanos, President of Business Operations of the Los Angeles Chargers.

3. Super Bowl week in Los Angeles will be about more than just the game. After most big on-site parties were cancelled last year in Tampa, many are returning this year.

Here’s a look at just a few of the events and parties scheduled for Super Bowl week:

Thursday, February 10:

- NFL Honors – YouTube Theater at SoFi Stadium

- 17th Annual Legends for Charity Dinner – JW Marriott at LA Live    

- Ditka & Jaws Cigars with the Stars – The Yard at California Plaza

- Super Bowl Experience – Los Angeles Convention Center

Friday, February 11:

- Shaq’s Fun House – The Shrine

- Super Bowl Experience – Los Angeles Convention Center

Saturday, February 12:

- 35th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party – Sony Pictures Studios

- Sports Illustrated “The Party” – Century Park

- Maxim Party – City Market of Los Angeles

- Taste of the NFL – Petersen Automotive Museum

- Super Bowl Experience – Los Angeles Convention Center

4. The Clippers lost to the Phoenix Suns, 106-89, on Thursday to fall to 19-20 this season but Clippers fans got some great news during the game when Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported Kawhi Leonard is “ahead of schedule in his rehab from a torn right ACL and a return to action this season is within reach.”

Despite playing without Leonard for all of this season and without Paul George since Dec. 22 and dealing with a myriad of other injuries and health and safety protocol issues, the Clippers are still the No. 8 seed. If they can get into the playoffs with a healthy Leonard and George along with Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris Sr., Luke Kennard, Terrance Mann, Eric Bledsoe and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers are going to be a tough out for any team and are currently a steal at +2500 to win the championship. You could easily argue that last year’s Clippers team would have won the championship (or at least gotten to the NBA Finals) if Leonard was healthy.

5. LAFC made a solid hire in naming Steve Cherundolo as their new head coach (and I’m not just saying that because he was a guest on my radio show during his first full day on the job). Cherundolo is one of the most decorated players in the history of the United States men’s national team and at 42 years old, he can still relate to players. He grew up in Southern California and spent last year as the head coach of the Las Vegas Lights, which is the LAFC’s affiliate, so he’s familiar with the club and its players.

“I am honored to be named the head coach of LAFC,” Cherundolo said. “Having been a part of the club for the past year, I was able to see firsthand that the fans, city and organization are all very special. The foundation is strong, and I am committed to guiding us to success on and off the field. I can’t wait to get started."

6. The New York Times bought The Athletic for $550 million on Thursday. It’s a fascinating deal on many levels but one of the more interesting ones for me is that it drives home the point that the New York Times is a media company, not a newspaper company, and it’s targeting a national and global audience, not just one in New York, as it aims to accumulate 10 million subscribers by the end of 2022. It’s a staggering number that puts them on another stratosphere when compared to other newspapers.

This line from the Columbia Journalism Review jumped out to me last year: “The New York Times has more digital subscribers in Dallas–Fort Worth than the Dallas Morning News, more digital subscribers in Seattle than the Seattle Times, and more digital subscribers in California than the L.A. Times or the San Francisco Chronicle.”

Now the New York Times can better serve the local audience in those cities (and other cities) with beat writers covering their favorite sports teams such as the Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers in Dallas-Fort Worth, the Seahawks, Mariners and Sounders in Seattle, the Lakers, Dodgers and Rams in Los Angeles and the 49ers, Giants and Warriors in San Francisco.    

7. Here are some odds if you’re thinking about placing a wager today brought to you by Circa Sports.

8. Here’s the local pro sports schedule today brought to you by Yaamava’.

7:00 p.m. Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Lakers – Spectrum SportsNet, ESPN

9. Here are the “get in” prices for tickets locally on TickPick if you’re thinking about going to a pro sports game today.

Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Lakers – $43

10. On Thursday’s The Arash Markazi Show, we talked to new LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo and Los Angeles getting ready to host Super Bowl LVI.

Listen to The Arash Markazi Show Monday-Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on The Mightier 1090 in Southern California following The Rich Eisen Show and on 98.5 The Fan in Las Vegas following The Jim Rome Show. The Mightier 1090 has one of the strongest radio signals in North America and can be heard from “Baja to the Canadian Rockies” and 98.5 The Fan is the home of college football and the Los Angeles Chargers in Las Vegas. You can listen to The Mightier 1090 anywhere with your free TuneIn app or ask your smart speaker to “Play The Mightier 1090.” You can listen to 98.5 The Fan anywhere with your free Audacy app or ask your smart speaker to “Play The Fan Las Vegas.” You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and the BLEAV Podcast Network.

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That’s it for today. Talk to you on Monday.