LA Rams opening empty stadium in a Hard Knock season

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LA Rams opening empty stadium in a Hard Knock season

2020-08-28 04:06 Last Updated At：04:10

The Los Angeles Rams are opening a lavish new stadium with no fans in it next month.

That might not even be the weirdest thing they'll experience in this utterly unique NFL season.

A year that was already unprecedented because of the coronavirus pandemic got even stranger when the Rams added the omnipresent cameras of HBO's “Hard Knocks” to their daily routines. That microscope has already led to some surreal moments, and others that might be better off forgotten, as coach Sean McVay learned from watching the first episode.

“I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t come off as a total tool with my shirt off at my house in the pool," McVay said of the scene in which he played ball in the water with his dog, Callie, at their house in the San Fernando Valley. "As soon as I did that with them, I said ‘I cannot believe I was that dumb to do that.’ If you can believe, it was actually worse before we cut a couple of those scenes out. So I came away scathed, but not as scarred as I would have been otherwise.”

The Rams will be clothed in brand-new uniforms this season at their $5 billion SoFi Stadium, owner Stan Kroenke's West Coast NFL hub designed to be a landmark edifice for California sports for decades to come.

The stadium is a beauty, even if fans won't see it “until further notice,” according to a statement put out by the team Tuesday.

In the shorter term, the Rams must figure out how to contend in the ultracompetitive NFC West despite losing several key veteran contributors and landing no high-profile replacements for them. Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Dante Fowler, Cory Littleton, Eric Weddle, Clay Matthews and Nickell Robey-Coleman, and even longtime kicker Greg Zuerlein are all gone.

McVay has posted three straight winning seasons in his tenure, but this year appears to be his greatest challenge since his stunning transformation of the Rams from losers to contenders in 2017.

“It will be newer challenges, things that we’ve never navigated through, but I am very confident with the plan that we have in place,” McVay said.

More things to watch with the Rams:

DEFENSIVE OVERHAUL

McVay believes his offense will improve without “the monotony” of going against the same defense for another year. That's because McVay replaced longtime defensive guru Wade Phillips with rookie coordinator Brandon Staley, who has much less to work with on paper than his predecessor.

But the Rams still have a large portion of their core from their 2018-19 Super Bowl team, and those holdovers have the confidence of knowing how to win, even in a new scheme that was largely installed over Zoom.

“Coach Staley came from Denver, he came from Chicago,” said Rams safety John Johnson, whose season was cut short by injury last year. “I think we have better guys on defense than he had in both of those places. So just picture what they were doing, with better guys.”

REPLACING GURLEY

The Rams released the two-time All-Pro and focal point of their offense for the past half-decade before his big new contract had even begun. That major financial miscalculation is partly why the Rams are choosing among longtime backup Malcolm Brown, second-year pro Darrell Henderson, and rookie Cam Akers for his replacement.

Although Gurley didn't reach his usual heights in 2019, he still left a gaping hole in McVay's offense. The Rams are confident they can succeed with some combination of those three replacements.

JALEN'S TIME

Jalen Ramsey has looked sharp in his first training camp with the Rams. Los Angeles' 2019 midseason acquisition appears content and inspired with his new team, and the new defense will count on his shutdown skills at cornerback.

As for his long-anticipated contract extension, the Rams often announce their biggest deals shortly before the regular season, as they did with Aaron Donald in 2018 and Jared Goff in 2019.

CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

The Rams built a massive tent in the parking lot of their training complex to maintain social distancing and outdoor conditions, but temperatures have been high in Ventura County. Several players have recovered from the virus, including 38-year-old left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who begins his 15th NFL season with optimism about the Rams' direction.

“Come with passion and energy every single day, and you know what? We’ll be just fine,” Whitworth said.

CAN I KICK IT?

Zuerlein, holder Johnny Hekker and long snapper Jake McQuaide had been together since 2012, but Zuerlein and special teams coordinator John Fassel left for the Dallas Cowboys, who are coincidentally the Rams' first opponent at SoFi. Three kickers are contending for Zuerlein's job, with CFL veteran Lirim Hajrullahu kicking alongside youngsters Austin MacGinnis and Sam Sloman, a seventh-round draft pick.

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Beers' 18 points, 10 rebounds power No. 4 seed Oklahoma in 89-59 rout of Idaho in March Madness

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn’t lost since Jan. 10.

The Sooners pushed the tempo early and were intentional about being balanced. Eventually, they wore the Vandals down.

“I think we’re setting the tone for how we want to play going on into March,” Williams said.

Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.

Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6). The Vandals shot 24.7% from the field and made just 10 of 46 3-pointers.

Oklahoma played one of its most efficient offensive halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.

The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.

Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.

The Sooners created positive energy and the home crowd added more.

“When we have fun, I wouldn’t say a win is guaranteed, but we play a lot better when we have fun and have a smile on our face and we rebound and we score and we assist the ball,” Williams said.

Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said there might be more smiling ahead for the Sooners.

“They’re just a complete team,” he said. “I think they’re equipped to make a big run here. As I was scouting them, it was fun to watch.”

Chavez had five assists and no turnovers, shot a solid 6 for 14 from the field and had six rebounds in her first taste of March Madness.

Strangely, she missed her first two free throws before making two later. She made 70 of 72 free throws during Southeastern Conference play and entered the night shooting 94% from the line overall this season.

Oklahoma made 15 of 21 layups while Idaho made 4 of 19.

Beers was a significant factor in both of those stats. She made five of her six layups and was a pest around the rim defensively. She was a key reason Idaho made just 10 of 35 shots inside the 3-point line.

The women's team made the 30-minute trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday to watch the Idaho men play Houston.

Many of the fans that watched that 78-47 loss showed up in Norman on Friday.

“Just to be in the Idaho section was so cool,” Hassmann said. “And then also to see those fans travel here today — kind of had our own Idaho section, which was super cool to hear them cheer for us and our band and cheerleaders.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness