Rapper Snoop Dogg gets into kid football

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Rap star Snoop Dogg has expanded into, of all things, California youth football -- and, typically, in a big way.

Snoop rocked the youth football world two years ago when he volunteered as a Rowland Raiders "daddy coach" in Rowland Heights, Calif., featuring football players in the 5-14 age group.

Then, he made news again last month when he broke from the franchise to start his own conference.

To stock his teams he has become a pied piper of sorts, luring a lot of young talent from Rowland and others to his league, employing star power and a cool school bus with his song "Drop It Like It's Hot" blasting from a school bus decked out with enough bass, TV screens and gadgetry to persuade any kid to sell out the old for the new.

The Rowland Raiders meanwhile saw their nine squads dwindle to three, the Los Angeles Times said.