Sam Farmer
@LATimesfarmer
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Pro Football Hall of Fame McCann Award winner. I cover @NFL for @LATimes. Can be reached at [email protected]
ÜT: 33.950135,-118.391996
Joined February 2009
I printed this Nick Foles quote because it is just so excellent:
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Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas in overtime. Etched in the memory of millions.
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My neighbor, friend, and one of the wisest, most talented and kindest people I’ve ever met, Philip Baker Hall, died peacefully last night. He was surrounded by loved ones. The world has an empty space in it.
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Bruce Arians said Patrick Mahomes is one of the four smartest players he’s ever seen on the board, up there with Peyton and Luck. “Who’s the fourth guy?” I asked. “Don’t want to say,” he said. “That way, every other guy I have coached will think that I’m talking about him.”.
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NFL raised more than $100 million for COVID-19 relief. Wow.
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The NFL has a problem with this draft format: It's better than the previous drafts. Now, going back to the old style will be an issue.
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This is Hunter Lopez, one of the Marines killed yesterday. Just a kid. Unspeakably sad.
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Bruce Arians said Patrick Mahomes is one of the four smartest players he’s ever seen on the board, up there with Peyton and Luck. “Who’s the fourth guy?” I asked. “Don’t want to say,” he said. “That way, every other guy I have coached will think that I’m talking about him.”.
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49ers owner @JedYork abstained from the anthem vote, thinks a deeper look is required, and says his team will not make concession sales during the anthem. "I don’t think we should be profiting if we’re going to put this type of attention and focus on the field and on the flag.".
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As a friend reminded me, it’s not about the X’s and O’s, but the Jimmys and Joes.
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Sometimes the copy editors who write our headlines are exceptional. Other times, as in today, they are even better than that.
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Josh Rosen on being drafted 10th: “There were nine mistakes ahead of me.”.
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I brought my wife a coffee in class today. She’s subbing kindergarten. “Boys and girls, do you know who this is?” she asks. Ten hands shoot up. She calls on a boy. “Your dad?”. Everyone lowers their hands. Well, happy freaking birthday.
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Very sad news: Jim Fassel has died. He was NFL Coach of the Year in 1997, and a good man.
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A year ago, this would be the strangest sentence ever written: The NFL game of the week is Jared Goff vs. Case Keenum.
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My wife’s out of town. Our house ain’t running like clockwork. My daughter, sweetly: “I miss mom. It's weird having to report to somebody who doesn't know what he's doing. No offense.".
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So Aretha, Elvis, and Babe all died on the same day. The Queen, King, and Sultan.
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Falcons are doing something in their new stadium that all teams should copy: $2 hot dogs, $2 refillable sodas, $5 beers.
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Bill Walton: "The last lesson of life that John Wooden taught us was the measurement of success, which he described -- and now I comprehend and buy into -- is success is the peace of mind that comes with the self-satisfaction of knowing that you've done your best.".
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Stubhub says that 49ers-Rams is on track to be the No. 1 best-selling playoff game in the site’s history.
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THIS IS COOL -- Rams are working with community partners to provide complimentary Chiefs-Rams tickets to first-responders and people affected by the recent tragedies in Southern California.
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Back when Pat Tillman enlisted, I was writing a story on it and wanted a comment from somebody in Washington. It was a holiday weekend, I recall, and I got no return phone calls from politicians. Except one. Senator John McCain.
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Talked to Cooper Kupp’s dad and he had some bad news: The guys in his fantasy league are no longer going to allow him to draft his son as a courtesy. Craig Kupp will have to compete for him next season.
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Bills won. But the league needs to address that bad call.
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Bill Walton in 2021: “The last lesson of life that John Wooden taught us was the measurement of success, which he described -- and now I comprehend and buy into -- is success is the peace of mind that comes with the self-satisfaction of knowing that you've done your best.".
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Philip Rivers tells me he hasn’t heard from the Saints but would listen.
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If the NFL playoffs started today… it would be a huge story because the league would have scrapped the second half of the season.
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Anthony Lynn on 49ers: “This organization will do whatever it takes to win. Resources out the [ears]. That was different for me compared to what I was going through in L.A. So it’s just like, man, this is what it’s supposed to be like.”
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Pete Carroll's three rules:.1. Protect the team. Be be mindful of your teammates on and off the field. If you see them on the verge of making a mistake, or doing something that’s going to get them in trouble, the onus is on you to step in and correct the situation.
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Snapped this shot of @BruceArians and his son @JakeBArians on the morning after the Super Bowl win. Story:
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Really sad to hear that the iconic Keith Jackson died last night. He was the soundtrack to so many of our Saturdays.
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Out to dinner with my folks. This is what love looks like in your 80s.
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Vikings-Bills was so wild, that 81-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook is just kind of an afterthought. Like, oh yeah, that happened too.
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Few years back, Philip Rivers promised to speak at a Catholic retreat in Phoenix. Nasty weather in SD and he worried his flight might be canceled. So to keep his promise, he hopped in his truck and made 10-hour roundtrip drive to deliver the talk. Rare dude.
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Everyone should have to wait tables, if only for a night or two. You will think twice before ever being rude to another server.
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I found the debate surprisingly civil. Wait, was I watching the wrong channel?
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Three years ago today. As polarizing as he could be, with his emotional outbursts on the field, Philip Rivers was/is as good a guy as I’ve encountered as a sportswriter.
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My father-in-law refers to mediocre golf shots as “son-in-law shots.” As in, not as good as I was hoping for, but I suppose it will do.
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#Bills QB Josh Allen had a lot of high school teammates who worked in the fields to help make ends meet. To gather them for practice, Allen would drive around in his pickup truck and shuttle them to school. #BillsMafia
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Problems wrapping your head around Aaron Donald as MVP? .Tape a Rams game, and watch him and only him for a half. Most relentless and disruptive player in at least a decade. Otherwise, just rename it MVQB.
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NFL says Super Bowl LI halftime show (Lady Gaga) was most-watched musical performance in history across all platforms. At least 150mm views.
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Said it before, but Twitter makes me like people I don’t know. Facebook makes me dislike people I do know.
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John Wooden died nine years ago today. Among his favorite little poems: “A bell isn't a bell until you ring it. A song isn't a song until you sing it. And the love that is in us wasn't put there to stay. Love isn't love til you give it away.".
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My son sent me this from Reddit this morning. To see the numbers on a page is one thing, but this paints quite a picture.
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@CharlesRobinson The rule requires you to actually lock both of the handcuffs before the receiver hits the ground.
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Spent the first half of the day with Philip Rivers who assures me that, while he's focused on coaching high school football now, he isn't closing the door on coming back for a stint late in the season if there's an NFL team that needs him.
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Captain on my LAX-DFW flight this morning was piloting the last leg of his 33-year career. His family was in first class, and inside of the plane was festooned with streamers & balloons. In Dallas, we were greeted by a celebratory arch of water cannons on the tarmac. Touching.
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Legendary sports columnist Mike Downey has a suggested name for Seattle's NHL franchise:. Starpucks.
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If you are a parent, the shortest distance between two points is the span of time from kindergarten to high school graduation.
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Once, I was a lousy, slow busboy at the Old Town Mexican Cafe in Encinitas. A new busboy told me he got the job because they’d just fired a guy name Stan. I didn’t know a Stan. Then my boss called me over with, “Hey, Stan, can I talk to you?”.
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Bruce Arians, since he retired:. Coach of the Year with the Colts. Coach of the Year with the Cardinals. Takes Buccaneers back to the Super Bowl.
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Guy next to me on the plane tells me that his kid is “that rare combination of straight-A student and outstanding athlete.” . He adds: “But I just need to teach him humility.”. Well, if anyone can teach it, clearly it’s you.
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On top of fines and jail time, the schools should have to start all the “players” it recruited.
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LA freeways are this morning as empty as they intermittently were in the 1980s.
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LA’s NFL attendance issues will be solved once there’s a new stadium = My wife and I will stop bickering once we have kids.
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Colts at Raiders pits a coach totally in over his head versus Jeff Saturday.
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I talked to former Rams QB Jared Goff for a half-hour today about the trade to Detroit and he was really honest and poignant about the breakup: “You don’t want to be in the wrong place. It became increasingly clear that was the case.”.
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Twain: “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” Universally applicable.
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Chiefs coach Andy Reid on Tommy's Burgers, which he has flash frozen and sent to KC: "It's good for your joints -- the grease. Keeps you lubed up, man." .
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I just don’t understand the mentality of people who drop trash on the ground. It’s absolutely disgusting.
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La La Land failed to make a "football move" after the reception.
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I don’t think it’s a good idea for the ESPN cameras to show that cat. Why encourage that type of behavior?.
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John Robinson and John Madden, best friends since kindergarten and “just two doofuses from Daly City”.
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Rams safety Eric Weddle on Lamar Jackson: “We got our faces peeled off”.
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That flag came in so late, thought that official was getting sacked.
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This weekend marks the first time since 1998 that Olivia and Archie Manning won’t have a son starting an NFL season.
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As a senior in high school, future @RamsNFL Coach Sean McVay won State Player of the Year in Georgia over Calvin Johnson. There's Megatron, and then there's Sean-a-tron.
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Column: Chris Mortensen's battle with cancer continues, as does his stellar career
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The game wasn't over for three seconds, I swear, when I got a text from Mark Davis reminding me the Raiders are the only Los Angeles team to have won a Super Bowl.
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Peyton Manning told his son: “I will take you to whatever sporting event want to go to.” His son chose a Rams game. Wearing a Gurley jersey in the first half, and an Aaron Donald jersey in the second.
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Next one will be in bronze.
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The cans for “8,” the new light lager by @TroyAikman are really clever. If your brain doesn’t immediately spot the 8, the design looks random. When you see the 8, you can’t unsee it.
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Aaron Donald.
Who's the best AD in L.A. History?.1. Anthony Davis (Lakers).2. Anthony Davis (USC).3. Adee-doo.
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That single-game tickets are still available for Chargers' home opener, in a stadium that size, has to give the NFL pause.
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When I was a kid, we used to TP houses. These days, we could just use CVS receipts.
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Must Reads: The ex-Green Beret who inspired Colin Kaepernick to kneel instead of sit during the anthem would like to clear a few things up
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Draft grades on all 32 teams:.INCOMPLETE (check back in three years).
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Owners of sports teams who gouge fans on food prices should really study the reasonable pricing at the Masters and Atlanta Falcons games. Generates huge good will.
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Great stat from ESPN: In order to match Hue Jackson's career winning percentage of .205, Bill Belichick would have to lose his next 867 games -- 54 seasons worth.
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Cardinals will aim for balanced offense under Kliff Kingsbury. They’ll look to throw it to the right AND the left.
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True story: NFL exec Jim Steeg got the idea of piping the Super Bowl broadcasts into the stadium restrooms after visiting Chavez Ravine. At first he thought the Dodgers were doing that a their games -- until he realized it was just everyone listening to Vin on transistor radios.
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Food prices at the Falcons' new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Sure hope this starts a trend.
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Best quote to come out of last year’s Super Bowl — or any in memory:.
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The raw emotion in this @billplaschke column captures how so many of us feel on this terrible day. And it demonstrates why Plaschke is second to none in his job. How can Kobe Bryant be gone? His legend wasn't supposed to end this way
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Troy Aikman on almost coming out of retirement to play for the #Eagles:. "Andy Reid said, “Hey, we’re playing in San Francisco on Monday night, and you’ll be the starter.” I said, “Andy, I haven’t played in two years.” He says, “You’ll be all right.”.
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Here, @billplaschke puts words to the unspeakable: How can Kobe Bryant be gone? His legend wasn't supposed to end this way
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Sean McVay as a head coach: 42-19. Bill Belichick over the same span: 42-19.
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Before Chiefs game, Pats fans told Alex Smith's dad: "Sorry your son has to play here." After game, he said: "Sorry you're leaving early.".
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Rams are looking to become the first team to go from No. 32 in scoring one year, to No. 1 the next. Now that's a Ewe-turn.
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Steve Young: "Drew Brees is a liar. The whole thing about quarterbacks is not to show you what they’re going to do. Drew’s a master at lying with his eyes, lying with his shoulders." #Saints .
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