In S.F., Phil Matier writes the idea of the Raiders playing the '19 season in the city is "getting lukewarm reception from Mayor London Breed." The Raiders reached out to the Giants about "playing six to eight games" at Oracle Park. But Mayoral Communications Dir Jeff Cretan said, “Right now we are concentrating on the opening of the new Chase Center” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/17).
KEYSTONE COPS? In Pittsburgh, Tim Benz wrote the Steelers are "becoming everything they used to loathe" amid a perception that the "team is a circus and full of distractions." Fans "used to scoff" at the Cowboys of the '90s and the "Bengals of the last 15 years." Now that RB Le'Veon Bell, assistant coach Joey Porter, RB LeGarrette Blount and WR Martavis Bryant are "gone (or all but gone), the police-and-drug element of that comparison no longer holds," but the "dysfunction sure does" (TRIBLIVE.com, 1/16).
HISTORY LESSON: In Dallas, Emmanuel Quispe noted FC Dallas and a "world-famous South American soccer academy are forging an alliance." FC Dallas is "partnering with Bolivia's Academia de Futbol Tahuichi Aguilera" in hopes of "boosting development of their squads." The academy is a "six-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize" in its 40-year history (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/13).
