Categories
San Diego Chargers

Yeah, I said shut up. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers lost his cool over the weekend when the home fans started booing the team. On replays, Rivers could be seen telling the San Diego fans to shut up. Definitely not what any diehard with a triple-digit, face-value ticket wants to see, but it turns out that Rivers is fairly sympathetic to the fanbase’s verbal disgust.

Again, it’s an emotional game. To be honest with you, I love the fans,” Rivers said with a laugh on Monday. “I mean, I really do. It was early in the game, it was the first series, you’re coming off a completion. and it wasn’t necessarily for me, it was kind of like for our team, like saying, ‘Hey, relax a little bit.’

“But again, we understand some of their frustrations in a sense that we were 5-5 and expectations were so high. Again, it was nothing more than that. Shoot, we’ve all told our sibling or brother to shut up before and then you love them five minutes later, so I hope that’s the case.

We gotta give the kid credit for owning up to his behavior and taking the criticism in a fairly mature fashion. He seems to understand why they did what they did and hopefully that’s that. But seeing him act like that conjures up memories of another hot-headed Chargers QB.

Links:

[SignOnSanDiego.com]: Rivers doesn’t deny telling booing Chargers fans to shut up

Categories
San Diego Chargers

LT smart for turning down Madden cover? Nope, just greedy


EA Sports: LT, we want you to have the honor of being on the Madden 08 cover!
LaDanian Tomlinson: Awesome. How much does it pay?
EA: Well, $200,000 and you get to go to a bunch of personal appearances to promote the game!
LT: $200,000? What’s $200,000 to me? Ain’t s%#$. Next time I might shake my… Forget it.
EA: Vince Young was our guy all along!
Vince Young: I heard you guys sell millions of copies. Isn’t that gonna take a long time for me to pose for each cover?

According to CNBC, Tomlinson turned down the cover not because of the curse but because it didn’t pay his market value. Most athletes are willing to go below their market price because of the prestige of the Madden cover but not LT. He wanted his money. Of course LT didn’t turn it down because of the curse. Professional athletes think they’re invinceable so they’ll be the one who avoids the curse. However, when Vince Young goes down this year, Saints fans will pay Reggie Bush so he doesn’t sign when the EA folks approach him for Madden 09.

Links:
[CNBC]: Tomlinson Turns Down Madden, Rutgers Coach Cashes In, No Texting & Another MJ

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Chargers will sport white helmets with new duds


The Chargers previewed their new uniforms today and they’re going in two different ways. First the uniforms themselves are looking a little bit like AFL and NFL Europe unis (why is it that all uni changes seem to veer towards AFL unis?); however, they are going throwback with the helmets and using a yellow thunderbolt on a white helmet. They wisely decided to leave off the number on the helmet like the original franchise helmets. We have to say that the white helmet on the dark blue uniform looks really odd but maybe we’ll get used to it. The sweet sweet powder blue unis will remain as an alternate jersey.

For the Chargers, no gnews is good gnews. They took only a little leap from their current uniforms so there isn’t going to be a huge uproar like with the Sabres new uniforms. If anything, Bolts fans think the new uniforms might do for them what it did for the Broncos in 1997. (That’s a SB for you history impaired.) Good luck Chargers. Hope you built in a special panel on Shawne Merriman’s jersey so he can more easily inject himself in the ass.

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego]: Chargers fashion a new look

[Chargers.com]: Bold New Tradition

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Dysfunctional Chargers axe Martyball



So long, Marty

Almost two months after the flaming out of the playoffs, the Chargers decided that Marty Schottenheimer would be the fall guy for a disappointing 14-2 season. “Disappointing” and “14-2” rarely go together but when you have as much talent and momentum as the Chargers have, you simply can’t lose in the first round of the playoffs, especially when you had the game won on an interception. So Marty had to go.

Schottenheimer and General Manager A.J. Smith were not on speaking terms and had no working relationship to speak of. Team president Dean Spanos essentially took A.J. Smith over Marty Schottenheimer:


Events of the last month have now convinced me that it is not possible for our organization to function at a championship level under the current structure. On the contrary, and in the plainest possible language, we have a dysfunctional situation here. Today, I am resolving that situation once and for all.

Our fans deserve to know what changed for me over the last month. When I decided to move ahead with Marty Schottenheimer in mid-January, I did so with the expectation that the core of his fine coaching staff would remain intact. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be the case, and the process of dealing with these coaching changes convinced me that we simply could not move forward with such dysfunction between our head coach and general manager

So let the coaching rumors fly. Who is going to take over the Chargers and higher expectations next year? Will it be Bill Parcells? Norv Turner? Pete Carroll? Ted Cotrell? Or could it be ex-Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson? While Parcells, Carroll and Jimmy Johnson are big name coaches that will have Chargers fans salivating, our money is on a retread like Norv Turner or Ted Cottrell.

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego]: Spanos changes mind, sends Schottenheimer packing

[Yahoo]: Marty odd man out

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Shawne Merriman is too good


Anyone who saw Shawne Merriman in the Monday night game against the Oakland Raiders thought he was insanely good. He was going to be the next Lawrence Taylor with his speed, hitting, and that whole Muay Thai kickboxing business. Well, it turns out that Merriman is a freak of nature because of steroids.

A source with knowledge of the test (whatever that means) said that the 4 game suspension expected to be handed out by the NFL is “definitely for steroids . . . not one of those supplement deals.” Merriman is expected to appeal the results. Merriman is the fourth Charger to get in trouble this season but the first of those not to be arrested.

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego]: S.D. linebacker failed drug test

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Chargers still trailing Bengals by 5 arrests



Gets on the scoreboard

If the Bengals are Jailblazers East, does that make the Chargers the Bengals West or Jailblazers South? It’s hard to keep up with these nicknames for football teams anymore. On Monday cornerback Markus Curry was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. While at Michigan, Curry was arrested and put on probation for… you guessed it… domestic abuse.

Curry was immediately released by the team although GM A.J. Smith would not confirm that the release was a result of the arrest. Smith said, “There are many reasons why a player is released.” Ummm… sure. Just because B follows A doesn’t mean that A caused B. We get it. Just like Britney Spears turning into a fat disgusting mess had nothing to do with her hillbilly upbringing.

This marks the 5th arrest by a Chargers player. Shaun Phillips and Steve Foley were arrested in April, Steve Foley was arrested/shot in September. Terrence Kiel was arrested for selling cough syrup in late September. And now Curry. The Bengals have had 6 players arrested but since Chris Henry was arrested four times, they have an almost insurmountable lead in the crime department. Henry was started his two game suspension yesterday for violating the NFL’s conduct policy.

Links:
[Sign On San Diego]: Bolts CB arrested; released by team

[Salt Lake Tribune]: NFL: Suspension begins for Henry

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Chargers safety arrested for selling cough syrup

Update: The controlled substance that Kiel is accused of posessing with intent to sell is codeine-based cough syrup. Kiel admitted to shipping two parcels of prescription cough syrup to Texas.

SS Terrence Kiel was arrested after practice on Tuesday on drug chargers.  According to reports, federal DEA agents searched Kiel’s locker and car and left with the player.  Kiel has been charged with possession, possession for sale and transportation of a controlled substance. Kiel was then released on a $150k bond. The involvement of the DEA means that Kiel is screwed.

This reminds us of Dennis McKinley from the Cardinals who was caught with 1,500 lbs of pot and was arrested for being a criminal mastermind who imported drugs from Mexico and distributed it via tractor trailer to multiple states.

Kiel makes about $500,000k a year if you prorate his $1.25M signing bonus. You can’t maintain an NFL player’s lifestyle on half a mil.  Gas and rims for those SUVs cost money.  Kiel is just trying to make ends meet.  

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego]:  Chargers safety Kiel arrested at practice

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Ladies and Gentlemen: Your 2007 Las Vegas Chargers

It’s only a matter of time before Las Vegas gets a major sports franchise. If not the Sonics, then why not the San Diego Chargers, whose lease runs out after this year. The mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman (you know, the guy who told a bunch of fourth graders that drinking gin was a hobbie.) contacted Chargers management to make a pitch for them to relocate to Sin City. However, the Chargers are not allowed to talk to cities outside of San Diego county until after Jan 1 but there’s an amendment being passed that will change that after the mayor of San Diego said he supported the Chargers desire to explore relocating.

We realize the whole Rick Tocchet scandal might keep this from happening but why hasn’t the NHL pursued moving a team to Vegas? As we know, people will bet on anything, even if Rick Tocchet will get convicted, so why not stir up interest in the NHL by putting it in the sports gambling mecca of the world? Hell, put a team store right inside Caesars. Gambling is legal in Vegas. Embrace it, Bettman!

Links:
[SignOn SanDiego]: Las Vegas makes pass at Chargers