[Elvis]

http://www.insidesocal.com/nfl/2016/01/ ... inal-hand/

One of the great games of poker heads to a final hand

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Vincent Bonsignore

New York – A little less than one week before the land underneath the National Football League shakes mightily and alters the Los Angeles sports landscape forever, the final hand in one of the greatest games of poker to ever come down the pike will play out in a Houston ballroom.

The question is, will it come to a quick and sudden finish or drag deep into the Texas night?

And perhaps even beyond?

All of which depends on the NFL acting decisively and/or the will,discipline and flexibility of St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders owners Dean Spanos and Mark Davis.

A quick finish would require the NFL’s 32 owners decisively stepping up and delivering the 24 necessary votes to approve the Chargers and Raiders relocation bids to the stadium they are jointly proposing in Carson.

Or, the 24 votes needed to approve the Rams relocation bid to Inglewood.

Either way the league could quickly end this next week with a vote. At the end of which, we will finally know what team or teams are ending the 20-year NFL drought to Los Angeles and one or two other teams will be left contemplating their next moves.

Meanwhile, everyone else can return to their normal lives.

After a long day of NFL committee meetings in New York Wednesday, it’s becoming clearer the side more likely to garner the 24 votes is the Chargers and Raiders Carson bid.

For varying reasons.

A significant group of owners empathize with Spanos’ long-time fight to secure a new stadium deal in San Diego, which has gone nowhere for more than 14 years. And for some owners, being able to solve the Chargers stadium situation and the Raiders dire stadium issues in Oakland with one single – and California – swoop has great appeal.

The problem is, no one left New York this week confident Carson has the 24 votes needed to win outright. And no one is exactly sure how close – or far – the Chargers and Raiders are to securing that number.

Compounding the issue is Kroenke has some powerful NFL owners in his corner. Cowboys, Eagles and Dolphins owners Jerry Jones, Jeffrey Lurie and Steve Ross among them. They aren’t just powerful, they are vocal in their support of Kroenke’s Los Angeles vision.

The Rams don’t appear to have the votes to win outright, but perhaps enough to block the Chargers and Raiders Carson bid.

If so, it sets up an epic poker hand.

One that will test the will of Kronke, the nerve of Spanos and the commitment he has to Davis.

And it might reveal which fellow owners might break promises and assurances they’ve made for the good of a final decision.

Barring an outright win, the hand Kroenke will play is a negotiated outcome in which all three owners leave Houston satisfied with the end game. More specifically, the Rams bringing on either the Chargers or Raiders as a 50/50 equity partner in Inglewood, and some sort of consideration given to the third team to help them secure a new stadium somewhere.

According to sources, the most likely end-game to that scenario is the Chargers and Rams teaming up in Inglewood.

In doing so, it would put one of the richest owners in the league in Los Angeles, seamlessly send the Rams back to a region they formerly called home, solve the Chargers long-term stadium issues and potentially help the Raiders address their stadium woes.

But here is where it gets a little tricky. And how it will test the resolve and commitment Spanos and Davis have to each other.

League sources insist the partnership between Davis and Spanos is rock solid. And that nothing will break it. Even a powerful NFL owner – or a group of them – mandating they break up in order to deal with Kroenke.

The discipline to remain true to each other could fall primarily on the shoulders of Spanos. A significant part of Carson’s support rests with the bond Spanos has with a group of fellow owners. More than Davis, it’s Spanos who can pull enough owners with him in a break-up with Davis and a union with Kroenke. In doing so, create the necessary 24 votes for a Rams/Chargers in Inglewood outcome.

However, a source indicated this week Spanos has absolutely no plans to abandon Davis and join Kroenke in Inglewood.

And as long as Spanos holds that position – and his supporters hold firm with him – the NFL will have to make a decision on either the Raiders and Chargers to Carson or the Rams to Inglewood.

The only other solution would be the NFL betting $4 billion on sending the Chargers to Carson and the Rams to Inglewood in two single-team stadiums. Which seems a remote possibility.

Short of that – and short of an outright win via a vote – the question might ultimately become whose support erodes first if Davis and Spanos remain committed to each other and they and Kroenke stare each other down across a poker table?

The NFL wants to end this ordeal next week in Houston. But in order to do so, one way or another 24 owners have to line up behind the Chargers and Raiders in Carson or the Rams in Inglewood. That means promises and assurances being broken. And it will test the resolve of three different owners and the commitment two of them share with each other.

Should be a fascinating week in Texas.

[SoCalRam78]

So Carson has more support, but per Acee, there were questions regarding Carson's viability yesterday. Also, the Raiders apparently don't have much support, but they're tied to Carson. Plus, the Inglewood project apparently blew the doors off yesterday. Confused much?

Also, Vinny needs to run a spell check.

[Stranger]

League sources insist the partnership between Davis and Spanos is rock solid. And that nothing will break it. Even a powerful NFL owner – or a group of them – mandating they break up in order to deal with Kroenke.

I call BS

[LoyalRam]

Kronke is cold blooded and not used to losing...Get em STAN!

[SoCalRam78]

League sources insist the partnership between Davis and Spanos is rock solid. And that nothing will break it. Even a powerful NFL owner – or a group of them – mandating they break up in order to deal with Kroenke.

I call BS

Why would they break it until they have to? They stand to gain the most if they hold strong till the bitter end. What people fail to realize is that breaking the bond now weakens your hand if we're going to keep with the poker analogy.

Always remember, Kroenke is the one with the pair of Aces (more money/power, better stadium) and the flop just produced a third ace (St. Louis proposal being deemed non viable).

[Stranger]

League sources insist the partnership between Davis and Spanos is rock solid. And that nothing will break it. Even a powerful NFL owner – or a group of them – mandating they break up in order to deal with Kroenke.

I call BS

Why would they break it until they have to? They stand to gain the most if they hold strong till the bitter end. What people fail to realize is that breaking the bond now weakens your hand if we're going to keep with the poker analogy.

Always remember, Kroenke is the one with the pair of Aces (more money/power, better stadium) and the flop just produced a third ace (St. Louis proposal being deemed non viable).

I simply don't believe any of the PR story.

[max]

Very quite here in NY.

Anything that's being reported is not coming from here.

Those guys are sitting in a bar or Starbucks and writing based on yesterday.

[SWAdude]

Its an article that is trying to maintain an unbiased appearance. Thats what the job demands.

Read it carefully and it says Rams in LA all over the place. There is much more likely a break from Spanos than Stan. There is no real justification to vote against Stan. That is the rub.

With that said the NFL needs, I will say again, the NFL NEEDS, a unanimous vote. And therefore the only solution is the Rams/Chargers in Inglewood, and the Raiders with assurances in Oakland. It also allows the Chargers a chance to stay in San Diego. And all will be fine with that solution.

I know what I am talking about. I have never been wrong.

Lordy what a long week this is going to be.

[bluecoconuts]

I don't think the Raiders Chargers partnership breaks without one (most likely Raiders) being denied relocation... This article doesn't seem to be as enthusiastic about the Rams moving as others.

[SoCalRam78]

Very quite here in NY.

Anything that's being reported is not coming from here.

Those guys are sitting in a bar or Starbucks and writing based on yesterday.

Whenever there are actual meetings, stuff gets leaked that is pro Rams to LA. When there's kicking it at Starbucks time, it becomes "Carson has an ironclad bond between Davis and Spanos."

Last week of this bs.