Rams News Recap: March 2

[RamBill]

Riverfront Stadium Gets New Frills, Keeps Some Historic Buildings –PD
Gone are the light towers, the square Jumbotrons and the parking lot grids.

Gordon: Relocation Talk Reduces Rams Draft Intrigue
While most pro football fans were gearing up for their team’s big games in recent years, Rams fans have fired up for the annual NFL draft.

New Renderings of Proposed Rams Stadium Released –Video

Where Should the Rams Concentrate Their Free Agent Spending? –Audio

Could Marcus Mariota Fall to the Rams? –Wagoner
The general consensus even before quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston declared for the NFL draft has been that both would be long gone before the St. Louis Rams make their pick at No. 10 in April.

Jeff Fisher Not in Favor of Changing Extra Point –Wagoner
As a member of the NFL’s competition committee, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher is often a go-to guy for media looking for answers about potential rule changes in the league.

NFC West Free Agency Preview –USA Today
A snapshot of each team’s roster and considerations heading into free agency, which officially begins March 10 at 4 p.m. ET:

Rams Free-Agent Preview: Wide Receivers –Wagoner
The free-agent market is scheduled to open March 10 and teams may begin negotiations with those poised to hit the market beginning March 7.

Morning Ram-blings: L.A. Battles Underway –Wagoner
The competition to get a stadium built in Los Angeles has been going on for years.

Rams Strength Coach Rock Gullickson: Director of the Bench Press –Video

Will the Rams stay in St. Louis? –Video

Race to Los Angeles Continues to Heat Up –Video

Rams Top Ten: Big Hits from 2014 –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Kroenke's worth
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16669/morning-ram-blings-kroenkes-worth

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In case you didn't already know why St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is widely regarded as the favorite to successfully lead his team to a relocation to Los Angeles, Forbes Magazine recently offered a strong reminder.

Forbes unveiled its newest list of billionaires late last week with such luminaries as basketball legend Michael Jordan landing on the list. But Kroenke has long made himself at home on such lists and this year is no different.

According to Forbes, among the world's billionaires, Kroenke checks in at No. 225 with a net worth of $6.3 billion. The only current NFL owner to rank ahead of Kroenke is Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen, who is No. 51 on the list with a net worth of $17.5 billion. Allen, of course, made his wealth through his role in Microsoft.

Philip Anschutz, who has long been trying to build the Farmers Field project in Los Angeles, made the list at No. 104 with $11.8 billion. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan also made the list at No. 360 with a net worth of $4.5 billion. New England owner Robert Kraft (No. 381), Dallas owner Jerry Jones (No. 393), Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam (No. 663), Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti (No. 690), Atlanta owner Arthur Blank (No. 737) and Houston owner Bob McNair (No. 782) are among the other owners to make the list.

It's not exactly breaking news to note that Kroenke and other NFL owners have a lot of money. It's pretty striking that Allen is so far ahead of any other owner though I guess when you reach a certain point it doesn't really matter.

But one takeaway I have here is something we've discussed before: when it comes to Los Angeles, Kroenke is operating from a position of power because he has the money to make things happen. Meanwhile the Chargers and Raiders don't have those same resources, not even when they team up.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Monday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... The Ram-blings kicked off the week with a look at some foul play in Los Angeles. ... We then wondered if Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota could possibly fall to the Rams at No. 10. ... The St. Louis stadium project added five consultants to the mix on Monday. ... The free-agent preview covered wide receivers. ... Finally, Rams coach Jeff Fisher is not in favor of moving the extra point back.

Elsewhere:

John Clayton's weekly mailbag examines the need for Jaguars and Raiders to spend big this offseason.

The Miami Dolphins released former Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan.

Mel Kiper Jr. breaks this year's draft class of receivers into tiers.

At stltoday.com, Jeff Gordon writes that the draft is taking a backseat to Los Angeles rumors for fans in St. Louis.

At TheMMQB.com, Peter King offers his take on the Rams and Los Angeles.