By Joe Snyder
It was a great 2021-22 National Football League season that saw the Rams win their first Super Bowl championship while in Los Angeles.
It was the Rams’ second Super Bowl and third overall NFL title. The St. Louis Rams, led by storied quarterback Kurt Warner, won the Super Bowl XXXIV title in 1999-2000. The L.A. Rams were NFL champions in 1951.
Last Sunday, the Rams opened their camp at UC Irvine that included star players, quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
The Rams are optimistic about winning their second consecutive Super Bowl crown. When L.A. won the Super Bowl crown with a 23-20 home victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at So Fi Stadium in Inglewood, they were missing two other key players in Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller. Both returned to the team on its first day.
The L.A. Chargers, behind quarterback Justin Herbert, began their training in Costa Mesa on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Chargers already have their future training facility in El Segundo under construction. The construction began in May. The new facility, including a 145,000-square foot building and three football fields, is due for completion on July 2024.
The Rams, who currently train in Irvine and Thousand Oaks, are due to have a new training facility at a site of an abandoned shopping promenade in Woodland Hills in a few years.
The Rams and Chargers, meanwhile, will play both in exhibition and the regular season this year. The Rams and Chargers begin the exhibition season at So Fi Stadium, with the Chargers being the home team, on Aug. 13. The two play, again, at So Fi Stadium, the Chargers again being the home team, on New Years’ Day beginning at 5:20 p.m. It is a Sunday night NFL game that will be broadcast on NBC.
The Rams will also play at home against the Houston Texans on Aug. 21 and at Cincinnati on Aug. 27.
They begin the regular season at So Fi Stadium against the Buffalo Bills in a Thursday Night Football game beginning on Sept. 8 starting at 5:20 p.m.
After hosting the Rams on Aug. 13, the Chargers have a home game against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. and, a week later, at New Orleans. The Chargers start regular season play against their rival Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 11 beginning at 1:25 p.m. at So Fi Stadium.
Galaxy end skid: The Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer team ended its three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Atlanta United last Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Center in Carson.
Kevin Cabral and Dejan Jovljic each scored a goal in the Galaxy’s first ever victory over Atlanta United. It was the fourth meeting between the two teams but the first since 2019. In their previous three meetings, Atlanta United dominated the Galaxy, outscoring them by a combined total score of 9-0.
Dodgers sweep Giants: The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their hot July after recording their first sweep of their rival San Francisco Giants in a four-game series since 1995 last weekend at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers currently are 64-30 and have the best won-loss percentage in Major League Baseball at .681 and are 11 1⁄2 games ahead of the second place San Diego Padres in the National League Western Division. They are .01 of a percentage ahead the American League Eastern Division leading New York Yankees (66-31, .680). The Yankees, though, still lead the Majors in wins and are a half-game ahead of the Dodgers for best Major League record. The American League Western Division leading Houston Astros, though, are close behind both teams with a 64-32 record for a won-loss percentage of .667 after a sweep of the second place Seattle Mariners last weekend.
The Dodgers had a three-game home series against the Washington Nationals before traveling to Denver to begin their four-game series against the Colorado Rockies beginning today. The Dodgers are in San Francisco for four games from Aug. 1-4 (The Giants swept the Dodgers a three-game series during last month.) before coming home to host the Padres in a key series from Aug. 5-7.
Prep football practice begins: Serra, Gardena and North Torrance High’s football teams officially began their practices last Monday.
All three teams begin their season on Aug. 19. The Cavaliers start against Orange Lutheran from the prestigious Trinity League at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa at 7 p.m. The Panthers open at Maya Angelou High in South L.A. at 7:30 p.m. The Saxons travel to Santa Barbara High for a 7 p.m. non-league game.
Meanwhile, the big Serra-Long Beach Poly non-league rivalry takes to Long Beach City College’s Veterans Stadium on Aug. 26 beginning at 7 p.m. Gardena and North have their first home games at the same time. The Panthers host University Pathways and the Saxons are at home against St. Genevieve High from Panorama City. Serra’s first home game is on Sept. 2 against L.A. Cathedral at 7 p.m.
