Tag: hilary

Despite MLS and MLB moving Los Angeles games, NFL to play Saints-Chargers as scheduled

Despite MLB and MLS moving Los Angeles games ahead of Hurricane Hilary, the NFL plans to play Saints-Chargers as scheduled at leaky SoFi Stadium. Bring a poncho:

A tropical storm is set to make landfall in Los Angeles for the first time in 84 years, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and other decision-makers in the league office are determined to play Sunday night’s exhibition game on its established schedule, per multiple reports.

So the New Orleans Saints will kick off with the Chargers while Hurricane Hilary barrels up the West Coast, with damaging winds and torrential rain expected to hit the area around SoFi Stadium as early as Sunday evening, per the National Hurricane Center. The exhibition game will be broadcast on NFL Network at 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT, and it’s the only football game on the league’s Sunday schedule.

SoFi Stadium does have a roof, but it isn’t a wholly indoor venue. It doesn’t have fully enclosed walls and gaps in the roof have left rain in before. So bring a poncho if you’ve got tickets.

It would have cost the NFL next to nothing to move kickoff up four, five, or six hours to give both teams, officials, fans, and media covering the game more time to prepare for the expected severe weather or evacuate the area. Other pro sports teams like Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels, as well as Major League Soccer’s LAFC and LA Galaxy, decided to reschedule their Sunday games and play double-headers on Saturday.

That wasn’t a viable option for the Saints and Chargers with the Los Angeles Rams scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium on Saturday evening, but the NFL still could have simply moved its kickoff time up a few hours. Instead they risk putting people in danger, and for what? So their panelists can show highlights from Saturday’s preseason games on Sunday afternoon? It’s a bad decision by Goodell and the league office. Hopefully no one gets hurt because of it.

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Saints to hold Friday conference call with NFL on Hurricane Hilary options

Saints head coach Dennis Allen says the team will join a Friday afternoon conference call with the NFL on their options ahead of Hurricane Hilary:

It’s very rare to see a severe weather systems make landfall in California — but that’s exactly what’s coming, with Hurricane Hilary forecast to make landfall in Los Angeles as early as Sunday night or early Monday morning. Hilary was recognized as a Category 4 hurricane Friday morning though it’s expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching Southern California.

That’s becoming a big concern for the New Orleans Saints, who are currently scheduled to kick off with the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. They’re the only game on the NFL’s Sunday slate with a 6:05 p.m. CT/4:05 p.m. PT kickoff.

Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared that it’s something on their radar during his Friday press conference after practice with the Chargers: “I just heard that there’s gonna be a phone call today with the league and stadium, and we’ll see what happens.”

Allen added that the most important concern is for everyone to stay safe. New Orleanians know hurricanes well, and Allen agreed with the oddity of the situation, quipping “Yeah, I guess we brought it with us.”

Allen said representatives from the Saints, Chargers, and SoFi Stadium will join the NFL office in New York for a conference call reviewing their options ahead of Sunday’s preseason game. It would be simple enough to reschedule the game into an earlier broadcast window on Sunday given the lack of potential scheduling conflicts, but the matchup could just as easily be moved to another venue or canceled altogether.

We’ll see what the decision-makers choose to do soon. Stay tuned and, if you’re in the area, make storm preparations now.

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With Hurricane Hilary approaching L.A., NFL should move Saints-Chargers to earlier time slot

With a historic storm approaching Los Angeles and no other games scheduled Sunday, the NFL should move Saints-Chargers into an earlier time slot:

With Hurricane Hilary approaching Los Angeles as a historic storm and no other games scheduled Sunday, the NFL should consider moving this week’s New Orleans Saints preseason matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers into an earlier time slot. Right now the opening kick is set for 6:05 p.m. CT/4:05 p.m. PT at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The latest forecasts from the National Hurricane Center predict Hilary to reach Los Angeles very early Monday morning — as of Friday, the storm had reached Category 4 status, though its long trek through the mountainous Baja California peninsula and the influence of the cold-water California Current is expected to weaken the system to tropical storm status before it approaches America’s second-largest city.

Still, that’s a very tight window for people to stock up on emergency supplies or consider evacuating. Wind won’t be the primary concern with Hilary, but rain will. Heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and mudslides are likely to challenge local emergency services. Louisianans and communities around the Gulf South are familiar with the threats these tropical storms present, but they’re a rare occurrence in South California. The last system to make landfall in the area was the 1939 Long Beach tropical storm which brought historic flooding, killing dozens of people and dealing out millions of dollars in property damage.

All that said to say this isn’t something to take lightly. If you or a loved one are in the area, make preparations now and follow local guidance accordingly.

And it would be very simple for the NFL to accommodate everyone by rescheduling the Saints-Chargers exhibition game for an earlier broadcast window on Sunday. Sure, it’s a national broadcast on NFL Network — but it’s the only NFL preseason game on the Sunday slate. Every other team plays Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. So it’s not like the league would be giving other matchups less attention by moving the game from its scheduled kickoff time.

Moving kickoff up even three or four hours would make life easier for everyone; not just the players, coaches, and staffers who made the trip from New Orleans, but the thousands of fans who traveled to support them and everyone working the Saints media beat. Not to mention the less stress it would put on local emergency responders and government resources as they prepare for a severe weather event.

Canceling the game altogether is another option, but that’s a tough proposition. Both teams have been preparing for weeks and months for this opportunity. Dozens of jobs are on the line for players on the roster bubble who need this opportunity to impress on a big stage. The Chargers, to their credit, are also managing a fundraiser at the game to support relief efforts in the wake of recent Hawaii wildfires. There’s a middle ground between keeping the game as-scheduled and wiping it out entirely.

We’ll see if the decision-makers at the league office in New York agree. Stay tuned.

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