Dallas Cowboys feel quake at training camp
By RICK HERRIN
OXNARD, Calif. -- Dallas Cowboys tight ends coach John Garrett was in the lobby of the Residence Inn when the plants started to shake.
It was the effects of a 5.4 earthquake that hit Los Angeles at 11:42 a.m. PDT. (1:42 p.m. CDT) The Cowboys' training camp facility in Oxnard is 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
No damage has been reported so far at the River Ridge Facility.
But the earthquake was definitely felt.
The hotel's security staff said they felt the rolling effects of the quake that rattled across the facility. One member of the Cowboys public relations was in the office when her chair began to slightly roll across the room.
The doors on the weight room and locker room area rattled during the quake which lasted several seconds, possibly up to 30.
Rookie tight end Martellus Bennett was watching film when he felt the earthquake that hit Los Angeles. He became a little worried and slightly light-headed. He didn't know what to do. He even thought he might have to go to the training room for assistance.
"I almost got under the table and ducked," said Bennett, who is orginally from San Diego. "I thought I was light-headed. I felt like I was surfing. I was trying to ride the waves."
Cowboys guard Leonard Davis was lying in his hotel room bed and thought somebody was on the other side shaking it.
Outside linebacker Greg Ellis thought something was happening with the winds in Oxnard. He later saw head coach Wade Phillips and joked that he wanted practice to be canceled this afternoon. The Cowboys were not practicing at the time and most players were either doing various radio or TV interviews or hanging out in their rooms. The only practice of the day is set for 4:45 p.m. (CDT). Players came out onto their balconies after the rolling sensation occurred.
The team is staying in two-story buildings at the Residence Inn.
Phillips and running backs coach Skip Peete both did not feel the quake. Neither did kicker Nick Folk, who was hanging out in the hotel hot tub at the time. His parents, however, did feel the shake in nearby Woodland Hills. Folk talked with his parents just after the quake.
Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas, a native of Pampa, said he was eating lunch in his hotel room and started to get light-headed. He thought he was feeling the effects of training camp workouts. He didn't realize he was experiencing his first earthquake until after about 10 seconds.
"I thought I was going to pass out," Thomas said. "Things were going from side-to-side."
Defensive linemen Jay Ratliff and Chris Canty were together in their room at the time. Ratliff thought Canty was just shaking his leg on the bed and then realized everything was moving.
"That was scary," Ratliff said. "I have never experienced anything like that."
Said Canty, "The ground moved, and that's not natural."
OXNARD, Calif. -- Dallas Cowboys tight ends coach John Garrett was in the lobby of the Residence Inn when the plants started to shake.
It was the effects of a 5.4 earthquake that hit Los Angeles at 11:42 a.m. PDT. (1:42 p.m. CDT) The Cowboys' training camp facility in Oxnard is 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
No damage has been reported so far at the River Ridge Facility.
But the earthquake was definitely felt.
The hotel's security staff said they felt the rolling effects of the quake that rattled across the facility. One member of the Cowboys public relations was in the office when her chair began to slightly roll across the room.
The doors on the weight room and locker room area rattled during the quake which lasted several seconds, possibly up to 30.
Rookie tight end Martellus Bennett was watching film when he felt the earthquake that hit Los Angeles. He became a little worried and slightly light-headed. He didn't know what to do. He even thought he might have to go to the training room for assistance.
"I almost got under the table and ducked," said Bennett, who is orginally from San Diego. "I thought I was light-headed. I felt like I was surfing. I was trying to ride the waves."
Cowboys guard Leonard Davis was lying in his hotel room bed and thought somebody was on the other side shaking it.
Outside linebacker Greg Ellis thought something was happening with the winds in Oxnard. He later saw head coach Wade Phillips and joked that he wanted practice to be canceled this afternoon. The Cowboys were not practicing at the time and most players were either doing various radio or TV interviews or hanging out in their rooms. The only practice of the day is set for 4:45 p.m. (CDT). Players came out onto their balconies after the rolling sensation occurred.
The team is staying in two-story buildings at the Residence Inn.
Phillips and running backs coach Skip Peete both did not feel the quake. Neither did kicker Nick Folk, who was hanging out in the hotel hot tub at the time. His parents, however, did feel the shake in nearby Woodland Hills. Folk talked with his parents just after the quake.
Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas, a native of Pampa, said he was eating lunch in his hotel room and started to get light-headed. He thought he was feeling the effects of training camp workouts. He didn't realize he was experiencing his first earthquake until after about 10 seconds.
"I thought I was going to pass out," Thomas said. "Things were going from side-to-side."
Defensive linemen Jay Ratliff and Chris Canty were together in their room at the time. Ratliff thought Canty was just shaking his leg on the bed and then realized everything was moving.
"That was scary," Ratliff said. "I have never experienced anything like that."
Said Canty, "The ground moved, and that's not natural."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:00 PM
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