🏈 “Hard Knocks” Takes Over LA

It’s going to be a historic season of “Hard Knocks,” as both the Rams and Chargers will be featured. Could it be the start of something big? [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: “Hard Knocks” makes history by including both LA teams ... two of college football’s biggest programs have agreed to a home-and-home for the first time ever ... and Broncos linebacker Alexander Johnson gives us a feel-good moment with the help of a young neighbor. The Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers will have more connecting strands than ever this season. As the National Football League campaign rumbles ever closer, it was announced on Thursday that the two franchises will appear on the latest edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which will follow each during training camp. On top of that, this is the season that the Rams and Chargers become neighbors not just in Tinseltown but at the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. [STORY IMAGE 1] What next, then? A simmering and heated local rivalry? We can only hope. It would be a seriously welcome development for the league if the two L.A. teams were able to thrive in their new surrounds and engage in an ongoing battle for the football soul of the city. It hasn’t happened yet, not in the three years since the Chargers moved from San Diego — with the Rams having returned from St. Louis in 2016. In that time, there simply hasn’t been enough consistent success to get the passions truly inflamed for a rivalry on either side. The 2018 season gave a taste of it, but the Chargers got unlucky in being only a No. 5 seed after going 12-4 and were bounced in the divisional round. The Rams made it to the Super Bowl that same season, but haven’t been able to capitalize upon that run. [STORY IMAGE 2] “Truthfully, you could say that both sets of fans probably hoped for more after coming to L.A.,” said Rams supporter Steve Carillo, whose partner, Chelsea, is a lifelong Chargers fan. “There have been good moments and glimmers of promise, but not enough of them. It would be nice to be able to talk trash to Chargers fans, and I’m sure they feel the same way. But neither of us have had enough to brag about.” The teams being in different conferences is an impediment to a truly ferocious feud, too, and the fight for fandom in a crowded Los Angeles sports market is a tricky business. During the time since the Rams and Raiders departed the area, leaving L.A. a no-football zone for two decades, the Lakers won five NBA championships, the Kings (twice) and the Ducks each won the Stanley Cup, the Angels won the World Series, the Dodgers have been perennial contenders and the Galaxy won five MLS Cup titles. Having said that, with all that has been missed these past few months, the appetite for football has rarely been stronger — and that clearly remains true in Los Angeles. [STORY IMAGE 3] Coming as it does before the season, Hard Knocks will give some kind of idea as to how the Rams and Chargers are shaping up ... okay, who are we kidding? The show won’t do that at all, because no one knows in preseason what the ultimate outcome will be. The NFL is far too unpredictable for that. What it will provide, if history is any barometer, is a good deal of entertainment and a peek behind the curtain of life in the league. And both teams plan to approach it properly. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn previously experienced Hard Knocks as an assistant with the New York Jets in 2010, and has fond memories of it. “There’s a reason that season was probably the most popular Hard Knocks ever. If you’re going to do a show, do it right. You can’t fake it,” Lynn said. “We didn’t have a problem providing access because we built a relationship with the crew. There was a mutual trust that exists to this day with those people, and many of them will actually be working on this year’s show.” [STORY IMAGE 4] Popular fayre will be provided by seeing which players can come from nowhere to land a roster spot, and, in these strange times, who didn’t do a good enough job of looking after themselves in quarantine. And it all will come with a neat twist. Never before have two teams featured in one season, all draped in the pending move of both to SoFi Stadium. Never before have we been so primed for a cross-conference, intracity rivalry. It will still take time; the Chargers have moved on from Philip Rivers to Tyrod Taylor in the present and Justin Herbert likely for the future. The Rams have questions, too. But if things shake out as we hope, we might look back at this offseason as the start of something special. If familiarity breeds contempt, perhaps proximity — and exposure — may foster rivalry. As things stand, the Rams and Chargers have plenty in common, but what would really make this a storyline would be if the discussion of who owns L.A. becomes a real thing. The answer right now, truthfully, is neither of them. The combination of a TV show, a co-tenancy, and the most anticipated season we’ve ever had, may begin to sow the seeds. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here's what others have said... Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated: “One of the consistent bits in 'Hard Knocks' is a player with a semi-interesting backstory who is tracked occasionally throughout the show up to cut-down day. With practice squad rosters possibly expanding and two rosters to choose from, 'Hard Knocks' should have a deeper pool of personalities to choose from. While nothing will likely compare to the depth of feelings we had for Long Island-native and crystal enthusiast Devon Cajuste, here’s hoping that this season can unearth something nearly as good.” Ian Rapoport, NFL Network: “Instead of one team being featured and given a behind-the-scenes look for several episodes on HBO, it’s actually two teams. It’s a split episode with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. The franchise has never done this before, but if there’s any time to do it, this would seemingly be the year. It’s not just the fact that the Rams and Chargers are pretty interesting franchises, they are also opening a new stadium, they share a new stadium, and they hope to benefit from the increase interest specifically from potential fans who would buy seats in that new stadium. Of course, it is a little more complicated this year with all the restrictions for players, coaches and support staff regarding the protocols for COVID-19.” Anthony Lynn, Los Angeles Chargers head coach: "Broadcasting your internal business all over the world isn’t something you regularly want to do, but in a year with as many challenges as this one has had, I’m glad we can be part of bringing football back to the fans this summer." [IN OTHER WORDS] - Maya Moore shocked the WNBA world when she made the decision to step away from basketball. [ESPN’s Katie Barnes takes you]( inside Moore’s stunning departure and her extraordinary quest for justice. - With the 2019-20 NBA season set to resume next month in Orlando, Florida, [The Ringer’s Matt Dollinger ranks the top 5 coaches]( in the game today. - Two of college football’s top programs announced a home-and-home series for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. [CBS Sports’ David Cobb dives]( into the future series between Alabama and Ohio State, which marks the first time these storied programs will meet away from a neutral site. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( We could all use a feel-good story during these uncertain times, and that is exactly what Denver Broncos linebacker Alexander Johnson provided us with here. While training outside in his yard, Johnson invited a young fan, who also happens to be his neighbor, to come help him train. When the youngster asked Johnson why he wasn’t “living in a big mansion,” Johnson replied, “I still have to grind for that.” [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Classic College Football: 2004 Rose Bowl (ESPNU, 6 p.m. ET) Relive Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart throwing for three touchdowns and running for another en route to leading USC to a 28-14 victory over Michigan in this 2004 Rose Bowl matchup. FOX Sports: The Home Game (Friday, FS1, 5:30 p.m. ET) Host Chris Myers welcomes in Dick Stockton and Mark Schlereth, who will compete against one another in a battle of sports and pop culture trivia. PGA Tour Golf: RBC Heritage (Friday, Golf Channel, 4 p.m. ET) Tune in for the second day of play from Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and the top players in the world are all in action. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Baltimore Ravens 2020 season win total Over 11: -125 Under 11: +105 This week, [our Colin Cowherd went on record saying that]( may be looking at a 16-0 football team,” in reference to the 2020 Baltimore Ravens. In addition to having an outstanding draft, the Ravens made several key additions through free agency this offseason, and feature one of the easiest schedules in the league. In fact, the Patriots are the only team on the Ravens’ 2020 schedule who finished last season with more than 10 wins. And yes, in case you forgot, New England lost a pretty essential member from last year’s team in future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. It’s tough to imagine Lamar Jackson & Co. going a perfect 16-0, but taking the over of 11 wins sure seems tempting. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. 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