The A.J. Interview Take II...

I gave this a day to simmer to see what would come of it from the local media. As expected, total media blackout. Canepa, silent. Acee, silent. NOTHING. Some excerpts from the interview can be found at this fansite which is always an "interesting" read in and of itself.

I had a few thoughts on this interview as I was so unlucky as to hear it live. I have now set a permanent reminder on my phone daily so that I never forget my ipod ever, ever, evereverever again. Sports radio is a bigger debacle than most other media outlets. Good god damn I'd rather go to jail for raping children with lawn rakes than to subject myself to that audio equivalent of waterboarding.

The one and only thing I can really say about this, aside from the fact that it was an unplanned act initiated by the Godfather in order to extend himself to the media, while keeping them completely unprepared to pepper him with the questions we all want answered. He says the Marti in the P.R. department called and made him do it. Marti was a neighbor of mine for a time. She's a tiny five foot nothing woman. She can make him go on the radio with a mere phone call? Perhaps she can influence him to sign and fire the proper people. She ought to accost him with a mirror with the word "FIRED" painted across the bottom of it. Maybe that would work.

Many have gotten on Darren Smith's case for not putting Lord Corleone on blast, however, make no mistake about it he was ambushed. He did his best ad lib and did what he could to extract some explanations from the G.M. and the G.M. did his best bob and weave to avoid admitting any responsibility for the current incarnation of the Chargers. He was also very clear about it being on the players, not the coaches. His coach was quoted in the UT today by Tim Sullivan as saying, "A week ago, New England was playing the best,” Turner said. “A month ago, Atlanta was playing the best and they got beat bad by New Orleans. So I’m not sure there’s a pure dominant team right now." Yeah, Atlanta won that game. Won. Not beat bad. Won. Glad you're the captain of the Valdez to Los Angeles fine sir.

There was the one contradiction in the dialogue that stuck with me. A.J. continued to insist that everyone was aware that with the current labor unrest, no Charger would be getting long term deals until such time that the union and the league reached some predictable stage of a settlement. He repeatedly reiterated that sentiment to the radio audience, and out of his own mouth, to the agents of the three disgruntled Chargers you may have heard mentioned here at this site and elsewhere. No Charger would receive long term contracts. None. Except Philip Rivers. Just him. No other Charger. Except Antonio Gates. But no one else. Nobody. Sign your more than fair, generous tenders and come to work. That is the message. And that message is crystal clear. The players, by turning down those initial tenders and threatening to hold out, essentially spit in the face of the Godfather, and in doing so, completely shut down the negotiations as he, "had to take them at their word." He called that the end of the negotiation process. He, "Could have given all three what they wanted and they'd have been there the first day of camp." But that's not his philosophy or the way things "get done." It "doesn't hit him real well." It's entirely possible that you could have found a middle ground for everyone involved, and everyone could have been happy. But that wouldn't have made A.J. happy. End of story.

Now, needless to say that all three of these players situations could have been handled individually. Merriman certainly had to prove he was at least a shadow of his former beastly self, and assuredly, Vinny Jackdaniels needed to prove that there was in fact a breathalyzer that he couldn't set afire with his wind. Listen to how proud he is that Merriman is in Buffalo. Deserved or undeserved listen to the satisfaction in his voice. But lumping Marcus into that duo was silly, petty and spiteful. Ego aside, he could have negotiated with each player on the merits of their play and off field presence and pay them market value for a year based on their individual situations. He chose not to. He also chose to suspend them. Another ego play that did not need to occur. This was never a negotiation, it was A.J. demonstrating his power and prematurely attempting to cement a legacy, a legacy that to date has been plagued with inefficiency, incompetence, irresponsibility and quite frankly failure at every level. Players, coaching and managing. All earn F grades. F. To quote Animal House and Canepa, "Zero. Zero points. Zero." Listen to the interview. I beg of you. The last five or so minutes are just nothing short of incredible.

It is truly all ego. Through to the bone. All ego.

The A.J. Interview Part 1...

I hate the radio. Yesterday I forgot my iPod and was subjected to the public airwaves. It just so happened that A.J. Smith, AKA "The Godfather" was on XX 1090 at 3:30 in the afternoon. I listened intently. On three separate occasions I had to stop myself from driving into oncoming traffic in order to end the canned tough guy rhetoric. However, since this was the first rush hour in San Diego since the time change no one knew how to move their vehicle more than five miles per hour due to the severity of the darkness.

I'm listening to the interview again prior to publishing my first draft out of fairness. That should come tonight. I have not confirmed this, but I'd guess they have it on their website if you'd like to aggravate your senses. Although, if you're a flatbill, you'll love it. Stay tuned.

Fine!

Look, Phillip Rivers has stepped into Peyton Manning territory. No matter who he's throwing to. No matter how bad everything else is going. No matter how shitty the coach or how bad the locker room vibe is. Phillip Rivers is going to give these Bolts the opportunity to win. It didn't hurt that the officials helped us out a bit or that the Texans shelved their gameplan for something a little more erratic in the second half, but any way you slice it that was a huge win. Now the Chargers are very alive in the division and things actually look pretty bright.

I expect the defense to get a little worse and the special teams to get a little better going forward, but the offense is what butters the bread around here. This team will still probably get shredded in the playoffs, but I guess it's time for me to jump back on the bandwagon. I'm still going to rip Norv and I'm still going to rip AJ. I shudder to think about what the local media has probably already written at this point, but as far as the team on the field goes I'm back in. For now. I reserve the right to be all waffly this season. If you don't like it, too bad. Go Bolts!!!

Psych!

Ha! I can't believe you fell for it! If you went with my picks last week you undoubtedly lost your house. And it serves you right; Gambling is a sin. Okay, I'll throw you a bone. Go sell a pint of blood and put your money on these picks. For real. Honest.

Tampa @ Atlanta
People are claiming Atlanta is the class of this division since the Saints are acting like they lost the Superbowl last year, but you gotta like how spunky these Bucs are. Or you can do as I do and not give a fuck. Michael Turner, please save my fantasy football season this week and prove to everybody I wasn't crazy to take you with the 4th overall pick again this year.
Bucs 17, Falcons 28

Miami @ Baltimore
I think I picked Miami to lose last week here, but I took them to win in my money pool. It did me no good in either case. I think Baltimore is one of three teams that I actually feel comfortable picking week to week, so I'm going to go with that.
Fins 20, Ravens 24

Chicago @ Buffalo
Buffalo has played good teams into OT the last two weeks, so I have no doubt they will get blown out by the awful Bears this week. And then the media will fall in love with Jay Cutler again for a week. That guy fucking blows goats.
Bears 34, Bills 21

New Orleans @ Carolina
You know who gets no respect? Old Orleans. Carolina sucks.
Saints 42, Panthers 13

New England @ Cleveland
You know who gets no respect? Cleveland. You thought I was going to say Old England, didn't you? But that would have been a lie, because Old E gets mad respect, yo. I don't no how good New E is, but I think Cleveland has burned their one major upset for the year. Peyton Hillis is good, but the Pats have like 6 crazy white guys on their team.
Pats 28, Browns 24

NY Jets @Detroit
I decided to start not hating the Jets last week and they just couldn't live with that. So now they can go fuck themselves again.
Jets 27, Lions 24

San Diego @ Houston
On the road. On TV. That is a bad combination for this year's Blue and Gold. Matt Schaub has taken something of a beating in the court of public opinion this year, so I expect him to light up our bullshit ranked defense this week. Rivers will have another amazing stat line after this one, but the rest of the team will probably have an amazing boneheaded fuck-up line this week. Sorry, faithful.
Bolts 30, Texans 35

Arizona @ Minnesota
If the Vikes can't get it together against the Cards somebody needs to load Chilly into a rocket and fire him into the sun.
Cards 16, Vikings 31

NY VaGiants @ Seattle
Ugh, I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating; Seattle is the worst! Oakland murdered them last week. Look, I fully expected Oakland to be better this year, but God if Denver and Seattle didn't make them look like the '94 Niners. Fucking Seattle. The VaGiants may be for real again. There's the jinx.
VaGiants 45, Seahawks 9

Kansas City @ Oakland
This is somehow the match-up of the week. Look, I am not surprised to see these teams putting in the effort this year, but these two fan bases are really trying to make me get over my Norv hatred and pull full force for my Bolts again. Seriously, you've sucked out loud for years, let's not slip back into cocky again so quickly.
Chiefs 20, Raiders 28

Indy @ Philly
You two teams wish you were the Chiefs and the Raiders. Poseurs. There is no way this game is televised locally. God, NFL programming sucks shit through a straw. Vick is back and he's barking mad. Get it? Barking? Never. Gets. Old. Peyton Manning to...me? Why not? I'm sure he'd make me a star, that magic quarterbacking man!
Colts 30, Iggles 28

Dallas @ Green Bay
Green Bay. God, how you annoy me. Honestly, I don't even know why, but if Dallas somehow manages to beat them after this pick I will be positive the feeling is mutual. Get packed, you fucking Packers.
Cowboys 28, Packers 34

Pitt @ Cincy
Let the plummet continue. People keep calling Cincy a big surprise disappointment and it makes me think no one was paying attention to the end of their season last year. That this team hasn't invested in a QB of the future yet tells me that they are drinking their own Kool-aid. Hope you enjoyed your season last year, because the Bengals will be sucking now and for the foreseeable future.
Steelers 30, Bengals 10

There, that should get all you losers back on your feet. Happy footballing!!!

Quick Thought on Sunday's Game

At some point I may get into analyzing the Bolts' upcoming games in a little more detail, but right now I want to make one quick observation about the match-up with the terribly named Houston Texans.

Everybody is pretty enamored with the Chargers and especially the offensive passing game. It has been widely noted that Rivers is on pace to topple Dan Marino's single season yardage record. Rivers was also just voted AFC player of the month for October. Conversely, the Houston Texans are not only the worst passing defense in the league so far this season, they are apparently the 5th worst passing defense in the history of the NFL through this portion of the season. Because of these noted realities, everybody in the sporting world rightly has Phillip Rivers and the San Diego passing attack penciled in for something along the lines of 500 yards and 5 TDs on Sunday. Anything less would be an utter disappointment.

Here's where I burst your bubble, Chargers fans. I know Norv Turner now. I understand how his mind works and it's terrifying. You see, Norv Turner is a proud member of the "They'll never see this coming" school of football coaching. Mark my words, this will be the week that Norv stubbornly tries to force the running game to kick into high gear. Rivers will end up getting a ton of yards and some TDs, but most of it will come in the 4th quarter as the Chargers desperately take to the air to overcome the horrible playcalling and awful special teams play that will have put them at a 14 to 20 point deficit. Will they snatch victory from the jaws of defeat or will they fall predictably short yet again? Tune in for my picks tomorrow to find out what I think will happen if you can't already figure it out on your own.

So What Happens

The Titans game was a win, make no mistake about it. We'll touch on that in a moment but the real story is Merriman is a a Bill. A Buffalo Bill. The way I see it, A.J. is a communist that deploys his former troops to Siberia. Good luck Shawne, I'm sure you'll enjoy your six weeks in Buffalo with a sore ankle that forces you to cheer more than you play prior to signing your multimillion deal with the Jets or Broncos. We will miss you.

For those of you who guiltlessly pirated the game last week we were the first to enjoy a home victory on television although it was the mexican feed. And well, there's a lesson t be learned from the mexican feed because every commercial features hot 'newscasters' in bikinis. Yeah, that's a bad business model.

Bottom line was we were lucky to win that game. Yeah, yeah, pessimist me. Kenny Britt dropped a sure fire touchdown and that offense abused us with the pass when they wanted to. Someone was kind enough to point out to me that we k.o.ed Vince Young from the game so now I suppose we'll take credit for self inflicted injuries.

Bottom line, that game was a win, which at that point was nice, but a blocked punt and poor pass defense were the cogs that put us behind the firing squad that thankfully Antonio Gates is immune to. The man is bulletproof. Many, many plays were given up in the secondary. Coaching will dictate whether or not we're prepared for the Schaub show. Let's hope so because the division is won or lost this week. The weinie division that is...

Go Bolting.

Wednesday Nights are the Worst

I'm actually watching basketball. Early season basketball. On purpose!

Alright, a couple of things happened today. First, the Chargers obviously did not put a waiver claim on Randy Moss, because he is now a Titan. Of course, we all knew AJ wouldn't do it, but man I was looking forward to whatever that would have done to the Bolts. How often do you get a chance to experience' awesome if it works/awesome if it fails?' We'll never know, but the truth is, AJ was probably right on this one. Randy Moss obviously had zero respect for Chilly, and Chilly is Norvelle's NFC mirror image. Except-dear God-Chilly actually commands more power than Norv. Oh man, it would have been murder. I hate that I'm not going to get to see that. Moss will probably thrive under a coach like Jeff Fisher. It's a good thing this debacle didn't go down last week or Moss would have been our problem. That it happened this week only proves that God is paying me back for calling my fantasy team a juggernaut in week 4.

Secondly, Shawne Merriman was picked up off waivers by Buffalo, which was the very first team that had a shot at him. As I'm sure I've mentioned here before, I have some sort of weird, unnatural affection for those Bills. I think it stems from the four straight years I spent rooting for the Bills to end the NFC's dominance in the Superbowl. Four years is longer than any relationship I've ever had. Maybe I will always love them even if it didn't work out. Or maybe I like Buffalo because the rest of New York couldn't give a shit about them, and it seems to make sense that I should feel the opposite. Anyway, this is probably not so great for Merriman. It's weird that an 0-7 team is combing the waiver wire, but I guess it's just too hard to pass on a guy like that. Sure, the media thinks Merriman is washed up-it's hard to blame them because the numbers support that theory-but every Coach and GM in the league is looking at Merrimanimal and then they're looking at LaDainian. And then they're looking at Antonio Cromartie. And to some extent they're looking at Drew Brees and Michael Turner and they're asking themselves if the Chargers are any judge of talent or how to utilize players to maximize their strengths. I have no doubt we will see the resurgence of Shawne Merriman. Buffalo might not be the ideal stage, however.

Oh, Dear Lord

Check out this from Kevin Acee. A little quick with the "I told you so" there, aren't we AJ? My God, how long has he been waiting to dictate that article to his secretary at the UT? And that last part?

“Over the years our players are growing and believing in (Turner),” Smith said. “Letting go of the rope is never an option around here. Those who stop believing in him or us, we will quickly help them find a new organization for them to embrace and believe in.”

Oh AJ, can you help find another organization for me to embrace and believe in? You know, at least until you and your "outstanding head coach" are long gone. You make it impossible for me to like my team anymore, and I used to love this team! Please, somebody Kurt Russell this Billy Bob Thornton Tombstone style. I can't take much more of this.

Randy Moss Waived

So after three games in Minnesota and one press conference where Moss basically fellated the entire Patriots organization the Vikings have essentially fired him to death. Of course, in doing so they have at the very least thrown away a 3rd round draft pick and may also end up on the hook for the remaining $3.8 million of Moss' contract if no other team claims him. A couple of questions:

Will Favre be far behind?

This is either one more huge testament to Childress' complete break down as a leader and the Vikings organizational idiocy or it is time to slash dollars and rebuild. I have no idea if the Vikings can save themselves any money by cutting Favre and moving on, but at this point nothing would surprise me.

Will the Chargers take a shot?

On the surface, it seems unlikely, but it makes some sense. Moss is a drama queen and not the sort of player that seems to fit AJ's mold. Basically, he talks to the media and that's bad. But the Bolts have been decimated at receiver throughout the season and Moss would no doubt make an impact here. AJ could always excuse himself from breaking character by pointing out what a smart Greg Myersish move it would be to pick up Moss if only to keep him out of the hands of our divisional rivals, with the added bonus that Moss won't cost us eleventy billion dollars to retain. Also, Moss would instantly translate into ticket sales.

Personally, I would love to see Moss come to San Diego. Either he bumps up production and helps us get our competetive footing back or he absolutely explodes the clubhouse and turns up the heat on Turner and AJ to nuclear levels. Who wouldn't want either of those things. Let's do this, Gunslinger. Oh wait, I mean don't even think about it, AJ! Reverse psychology does not ever not fail sometimes.

Mea Culpa

The season's not quite over it seems. Of course, the Chiefs and Raiders also won, so we've gained no actual ground, but at least we actually won a game against a worthy opponent. We appear to have the Titans number. Unfortunately, I have very little idea how we won, since the game was once again blacked out and I'm no fan of computer viruses. In fact, every Chargers victory thus far has been blacked out. The average fan has not seen a win this year. Unbelievable. I've heard of bad home teams. I've heard of bad road teams. I've never heard of a bad TV team.

How did we pull this one off? Well, I've heard that Norvelle gave a fiery halftime speech that rallied the troups to victory. The media would have you believe it went something like this.



Yeah, sure. I think it probably went a little bit more like this.



But hey, they won, and the local media is desperate to give some credit to Norv and appease their fearless six-gun toting leader, AJ. The truth is, the Bolts still have firepower. They can score a dangerous amount of points when the offense is clicking. They will always be a threat to win in a shootout. But they are not consistent in that regard and are deficient in every other phase of the game (Seriously, another blocked punt?), so I'll enjoy the win, but I'm still not convinced. The power of negative thinking!

Wonderful Way to Start My Day!

The ESPN squad just tore into the Chargers. More importantly, Keyshawn Johnson laid the blame squarely on AJ Smith's shoulders. I could have shed tears of joy. This might be the best thing that has happened to the team in some time now. Up until this point, the national sports media has seemed to buy into AJ's tough guy persona and they have really given him a pass when it comes to the problems the team has. And why wouldn't they? ESPN calls upon Kevin Acee frequently as an expert Chargers correspondent. As has been noted here before, Acee is such a psycophantic lap dog that he makes Canepa look like a free spirit.

Oh man, this gets better and better. They just did a retrospective on Lombardi and Boomer, who is obviously trying to get me to change my tune about him, ended the piece by calling out the Chargers again. And who was featured for most of the piece? LaDainian Tomlinson, who is dangerously close to getting his TBE back. Take that, Norv. Seriously, take it and get the fuck out of here already.

And here is where I'm about to go hypocrite super nova. I hate the way San Diego fans can't get over their ex players, managers, bat boys, Tim Flannerys...etc. Am I happy for Drew Brees? Sure, but I don't cheer for it like it's some sort of accomplishment for San Diego. Fuck that noise. But I have to admit, I've fallen in love with Tomlinson all over again. I'm so happy for that guy right now, that I find it hard to hate the Jets. The Jets!!! I want him to get a ring so bad it will be crushing if the Jets don't win the whole thing this year. Tomlinson, you are TBE.

This all might be my hangover talking.

Stick With Me Kids...

I don't want to brag. I need to. I've been in this weekly pick 'em pool now for the last four weeks and I've already won twice, so suffice it to say I'm probably a God. Various hotels in Vegas have been sending me flyers and e-mails promoting hotels in Reno, because they fear my gambling prowess. And rightly so. If you want to high roll it with the likes of me, good luck. Probably won't happen because I'm very selective about the company I keep. But you can start your own Empire of Awesome by picking what I pick, because I'm pretty sure my picks determine the outcome of the games and not the other way around. Behold!

Denver @ Frisco in somewhere in Europe
Ugh, Limeys. They deserve this game as far as I'm concerned. If these teams decide not to come back we're all better for it. I think Frisco takes a note from their fuck all baseball team and hands it to the Broncos. Seriously, I can't pick a team that just took a 45 point shellacking from Oakland. Not even if it were the time travelling '76 Raiders. Broncos 17, 49ers 24

Jax @ Dallas
I honestly think Dallas will settle down and work the fundementals better with Kitna behind center. This team can grind it out and dictate a game when they aren't infatuated with making the big play. more importantly, I think the Jags are terrible. Jags 16, Cowboys 28

Miami @ Cincy
So, Cincy is that team. The team that amazed everybody for a season before fading back to obscurity behind shitty coaching and suspect personnel. But Miami is also a that team. They are that team that gets shit on by officials and always has the ball bounce the other way. And they are on the road. Fins 24, Bengals 27

Buffalo @ Kansas City
I know Kansas City blows this game. Everybody is starting to believe in them, so of course they're going to choke. and Buffalo may suck, but they've taken some damn good teams to the wire this season. They will get their first win. But I'm not going to call it. Bills 28, Chiefs 30

Washington @ Detroit
I have no idea why I am picking Washington here. It is probably because, like everyone else I am looking at their record and thinking "McNabb must be putting up some numbers out there." He is not. Maybe this week he will. Skins 20, Lions 17

Carolina @ St. Louis
Remember when these two teams played one of the most exciting NFC Championship games ever? Can you believe that was only 7 years ago? This game will not be nearly as exciting. Panthers 14, Rams 16

Green Bay @ New York Jets
As I've said before, I didn't buy into Green Bay before half their team went on IR, so why should I buy them now? And I've fully accepted that LaDainian will be the next disgruntled Ex-Charger to win a Superbowl ring. Where will Merriman land? Packers 17, Jets 27

Tennessee @ San Diego
I'll let you in on a little secret as far as my success in winning my pick 'em pool. I'm one of the only people who will pick against the Chargers, so I end up with a one game advantage to start. Cash in the bank, people. Chris Johnson for the win, I'm sorry to say. Titans 31, Bolts 30

Minnesota @ New England
Once again, Minnesota is coming apart and needs this one more. Moss has something to prove. Blah, blah, blah. Vikings 24, Pats 20

Tampa @ Arizona
Raheem Morris said the Bucs are the best team in the NFC the other day. I like his style there, but it's the kiss of death. Arizona's weapons come alive this week. It's time. Bucs 27, Arizona 30

Seattle @ Oakland
Gotta give Oakland credit for obliterating the Broncos. And I still can't fully explain it, but I hate the fucking Seahawks so much it hurts. Seahawks 20, Raiders 27

Pitt @ New Orleans
New Orleans is a town that prides itself on rising from the wet, mushy ashes. They're team just lost to the Browns, who are basically wet, mushy ashes. Expect New Orleans to redeem themselves against the mighty Steelers so I have to listen to the media blow Drew Brees for a week. Steelers 21, Saints 35

Houston @ Indy
Indy is beat down right now. Houston will fall all over themselves trying to take advantage of it. That team just can't stay out of it's own way when push comes to shove. Texans 24, Colts 34

Tell the people. Go football!!!

I Think You're Wrong...

...Random sports media guy.

The following statement, from Andy Benoit over at CBS Sports, regarding Brett Favre coverage shows just how much disconnect there is between the sports media and fans:

a.) You like it. Even if you’re part of the vocal majority that loves to groan about how much you don’t like it, deep down you really do like it. Or, in the very least, you like that you don’t like it. You like that you can pretend to be above it all. But you’re not. None of us are. That’s why we all watched with keen interest Sunday night.

I'd say that what these clowns fail to realize is that sports fans want to read about sports, and if that's all there is to read about, that's what we'll read. It doesn't mean we like it, or more importantly, that we lie about disliking it, which is what Benoit is suggesting. It's that there is no other choice. Sports media covers it because it's easy to cover and they enjoy that ease in their jobs because the other option hurts their fragile brains. There's a bounty of "information" and even more of a bounty of opinion. The pundits can all play off of each other and stir up fake controversy and whatnot. The same bullshit that applies to Favre applies to other media favorites like the Yankees, the Lakers, Lebron, etc... It's the same reason the media pines for football dynasties and claim everyone else does too. Too hard to cover football when it's hard to tell who's the best. Ultimately, it's like politics, religion or anything else where the media tries to tell people what they should think. They say to themselves, "If everybody in the room with me agrees, then everybody in the country must feel the same way, or there is something wrong with them." After all, look how smart we all are. Well, fuck your fucking Brett Favre stories. I really don't give a shit. Swear to God. I guess that makes me weird.

And as for why we all watched Sunday night? Maybe it was because it was the only game on. And maybe we like watching a big division rivalry. Sure it has a little bit to do with the whole Favre returning to Green Bay angle, but how much story is that at this point? It's the third or fourth time it's happened fo far. So what's the story? What's worth all the coverage and what does Benoit think compelled us to watch if not the fact that it's football and we all love it? It's probably not because we thought Favre might pull his dick out and show it to Aaron Rodgers. Probably. It's football. We're going to take what we can get. And that is, unfortunately, whatever the league and the writers will give us. Thank God for blogs. But not this one, because I just covered the media's coverage of Brett Favre, which is gay. Or is it meta? What the fuck is meta anyway?

And check out this gem, from later in Benoit's column:

8. Kudos to FOX studio analystsNormally I wouldn’t do this, but the FOX studio analysts deserve acknowledgement for their late shift Sunday. They didn’t have to stay any later than usual, but they did have to stick around and do a halftime show for the Cardinals-Seahawks game, even though that was the lone late window contest on FOX. That must have been rough. Think about it: only the states of Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana, Kansas, and tiny parts of Florida and Ohio, got that game. This means FOX’s big dogs spent an entire afternoon at work just so they could talk for two or three minutes about what amounted to a locally televised contest. How tempting must it have been for Curt, Terry, Howie, Michael and Jimmy to simply record a generic halftime report at the end of the early window games so that they could just head out and enjoy the rest of the NFL action from the comfort of their living or hotel room?

Oh, those poor bastards at Fox had to stick around for a bunch of worthless yocals and pretend to care about a game that didn't even feature Brett Favre? The horror! I hope Fox throws them and extra couple hundred grand for the hardship. Nobody cares about the Cardinals and the Seahawks. Not even their fans, who certainly care more about Brett Favre, the Cowboys or the Post Katrina Saints. Hopefully, they spent those few terrible moments talking about Kurt Warner on Dancing with the Stars. You know, something the whole nation can relate to.

I Feel Like This Might Be Slipping Away a Bit...

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The Chargers Are My Job

Let me clarify that headline. The company I work for is a pretty solid company. But it can be a grind. It's certainly not fun a lot of the time and I don't jump out of bed on Monday morning in anticipation of another work week. But four years ago was something of a different story. It was still a grind sometimes and it wasn't always fun, but there was a pretty big emphasis on employess happiness. You were expected to do your job, but were given a large amount of leeway in how you did it. There wasn't anyone looking over your shoulder. There weren't endless TPS reports to turn in. Lunches were often free, regardless of the old saying. Benefits packages were fat and it rained stock options. It was a pretty sweet deal. An embarassment of riches, if you will. Then the economy went all Scott Mitchell on everybody and the company took the approach that they were so far ahead of the game in employee satisfaction that they could start shaving some of those perks. The employees could take one or two for the team. The focus turned from employee satisfaction and aspiring to a Google type of work atmosphere to fiscal responsibilty and efficiency management. Now it's still a good job, but the free lunches are a thing of the past. The benefits package is a little less plump. Everything is monitored a little more closely. I'm still happy to have the job, but there is a lot less to love.

All of this neatly parallels the Chargers. Four years ago the Chargers had an embassment of riches. Pro Bowl talent in all three facets of the game. An aggressives style. The most talented running back perhaps to ever play the game. A young quarterback with a world of upside ready to take the league by storm. Then came Norv, and I thought we could handle that. Then we started leaking "problem" players. And veterans. And guys who wanted to get paid. AJ trimmed what he considered to be the fat. The focus turned from being an aggressive and exciting team to fiscal responsibility and a "my way or the highway" management mentality. That embarassment of riches has been heavily depleted. I'm still happy to have a team, but there is a lot less to love.

As for yesterday's game, it wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated. I'm surprised at how solid our defense has looked so far this year, but I still expect it to break down in the stretch if it's expected to do the job alone. The offense tends to start showing up when their backs are against the wall. It'll be interesting to see whether management turns around and starts trying to negotiate a long term deal with Jackson now. I can't imagine they would, but it might be time for AJ to consider swallowing his pride and doing what's best for the team instead of what feeds his ego. They still have the luxury of being the only game in town for Jackson the year before a lockout, which is how they were able to push McNeill into a deal. If AJ truly cares about championship and if the Spanos family is sincere in their efforts to field a winning team and remain in San Diego, then it's time to capitulate. I don't know if the season can be saved, but it's not yet too late to try.

Fuck Yeah! Football...!

Has it really been an entire week since the alleged footballing went down? It has? Sweet. Football! I can't fucking wait.

It's been an exciting week here in Boltland. Vinny Jack is back, and if we hadn't imposed that awesome fuck you three game suspension on him, he'd be eligible to play. However, he wouldn't play because if we hadn't suspended him, he wouldn't have reported until week 12 anyway because he only has to "play" in six games to accrue his "season" so that he can obtain his unrestricted status. Funny that Logan Mankins is in this same situation and he at the recommendation of the players union is planning on reporting as well, but since the Patriots brass aren't the golden cocksuckers we all thought they were, they didn't place him on the roster exempt list, hence no three game suspension, hence successful team making good decisions from the top down.

The paper here in town, or as I'll call it, "A.J.'s Bullshit Diatribe Bullhorn" continues to call V.J.'s suspension "NFL Imposed". Which "technically" true, the organization put him on the roster exempt list. That didn't need to occur. But then that wouldn't be A.J. being A.J. Go back and read his comments in the link Max posted about V.J. reporting and read his direct quotes with regard to his interactions with Jackson's agents. I know it's in print, but you can actually see A.J.'s raging hard on through the words for having stuck it to those guys. Way to go Godfather! You fucking rule! "I wanna hamburger, no I wanna cheezeburger, I wanna hot dog....". "YOU'LL GET NOTHING!!!"

And now we welcome those same Patriots to town. Everyone would like you to believe, and by everyone, I'm still referring to the media here as well as the Flat Bill Brigade Fanboys, that we're playing a home game and when we play at home we're fucking unstoppable! Now, I've actually sort of convinced myself I think, that we have a chance in this game. But, then I allow common sense to intervene and I think we've got a significant challenge on our hands. Dreamboat Modelfucking Quarterback has not one but two super possession receivers now in Wes Welker and Deion Branch, the black Wes Welker. These guys are quick and motivated and prepared to exploit our secondary. The same secondary that those around here who have been paying attention have been telling you were playing far above their heads when our defense was ranked statistically #1, against shit teams that we couldn't beat. Cason was faceraped by a rookie quarterback throwing to Bree Walker last week. You think that he's prepared to fare a bit better against Dreamboat Modelfucker and two pro-bowl caliber receivers? Bend the brim of your hat, take the sticker off it and stop wearing it cockeyed you dumb fuck.

While down 17-0 last week to the Lambs, Flat Brim Brigade behind me continued to exclaim, "You know how we do, bottom of the ninth, fourth quarter, we be there. We fine!". I shit you not, that's fucking verbatim. Bottom of the ninth, fourth quarter, we fine. Yep. First, and this is a side tangent that belongs in the defunct, "The Cut" post, but using baseball analogies in football is fucking stupid. And I love baseball. Why don't you just say, "In the fourth quarter the Bolts always make their hole in one!". Not to mention that the Padres, in the ninth inning, late in the season, shit their didies and missed the fucking playoffs. So, back to the "You know how we do." Yeah, I do know how we do. With three minutes left and knowing that Stephen Jackson was about to get all predator on our ass, we let him rush for about 40 yards on 5 carries, not using our timeouts on the front side of the two minute warning and never got the fucking ball back. The Rams were able to utilize "Victory Formation". The Rams. Victory Formation. Victory formation used to be the precursor for Victory shots for Max and I. Do you know how long it's been since we had victory shots? Peruse the archives and let me know because it's been fucking forever.

To top it off, Antonio Gates is out with a toe concussion. You know, the league really ought to see what it can do to prevent toe concussions. They are steadily ruining the game we've come to love so dearly in our hearts and is putting the long term health of our players feet in serious jeopardy. I haven't been posting links to Simmons much partially because I figure everyone reads him now anyway, but he's got this concussion thing on lock. I couldn't agree more. For the lazy in you, here's my favorite excerpt:

"I keep going back to the "bad parent" analogy and Roger Goodell, who's done a masterful job manipulating the mainstream media these past few years, benefitting mostly from the fact the previous regime was out of touch. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think Goodell is a total hypocrite for pretending to care about the welfare of his players as he's pushing for an 18-game regular season that would lead to more injuries, more concussions, more collateral damage, more everything. Hey, Roger: If you cared about the welfare of the players, you'd shorten the season to 15 games and add another week of byes. Right? But hey, that would cost owners money. Instead, you'll continue to position yourself as the Sheriff of Player Safety, puff out your chest, crack down on hard hits and swagger around like you're Tim Olyphant in "Justified." Meanwhile, if the players' union doesn't agree to your 18-game schedule, we're headed for a lockout.

Oh, and you know what else is great? NFL owners recently threatened the union that, if the lockout goes into effect next March, the league wouldn't cover health care benefits for its players until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. So Roger, you care about the welfare of DeSean Jackson in October, but not five months from now if he's paying for his own doctor's appointments because he's suffering from post-concussion syndrome? You're going to tell us that with a straight face?"



God Dammit. Goodell sounds just like the Godfather. I hope they both get anal raped by a freight train.

My boss is a Patriot fan from back east. He believes that this is a trap game for the Pats. He's pretty football saavy, Patriot fandom aside, but I don't see it. I want to see it, I want to believe we're going to give the Patsies a nut shot they won't forget but I just can't see that being properly executed. If, and only if,we avoid our gagtastic special teams play, "slow starts"(Oakland, St. Louis FUCK!), the offensive line can prevent Rivers from a linebacker gang bukkake party in our backfield, and we can minimize our dipshit moments of bad clock management, stupid penalties, and dropped passes (BUSTER! ARRRGHHH!) we'll have a chance. But then that pesky fourth quarter is going to come along and well, you know how we do.

Go Bolts. Breathe the optimism!

Break the Bank!

With these sure fire no-fail, barely redundant picks of the week. Check it, bitches!

Cleveland @ New Orleans
Cleveland is playing everybody tough and Drew Brees and the Saints have spent most of the first several weeks of the season in some sort of weird drunken stupor. Still, I'm too gutless to pick Hank McCowboy and the Browns in an upset. Browns 17, Saints 30

Pitt @ Miami
Is Miami good? I can't tell. I keep hearing they are good, but it seems impossible to know for sure. Maybe they're good, but the Steelers are probably the best team in the league right now, even if they are a bunch of fuckfaces, and Roethlissberger is only going to get better. And rapier. Steelers 34, Dolphins 13

DC @ Chicago
Not too long ago, I hard the hardest time convincing a San Diego football fan that the Skins were from DC and not outside of Seattle. That's how smart San Diego fans are. The Bears are terrible. Even San Diego fans know that. Skins 20, Bears 17

Cincy @ Atlanta
I haven't spelled Cincy's full name wrong yet this season and I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. They are Cincy from here on out. They will probably beat the Falcons, who are a lie, but I'm picking the dirty birds anyway because I hate money. Bengals 28, Falcons 30

Philly @ Tennessee
I have no idea if either of these teams is good. Kevin Kolb hates my fantasy team, so I'm picking the Titans. Seriously, fuck that ass hole. I hope he gets decapitated. Iggles 21, Titans 28

Frisco @ Carolina
Matt Moore is back for Carolina. i think that is enough of a boost to vault them over the Niners this week. And it's not really much of a boost at all, so what does that say about the Niners? It says they suck. 49ers 23, Panthers 24

St. Louis @ Tampa Bay
I guess I'm picking Tampa because they're at home and also because all Rams fans are fuckfaces who acted like fuckfaces during the game last week even though I've always been cool to them before. Well, they weren't that bad, but they were definitely smiling. Fucking fuckfaces. Rams 3, Bucs 50

Buffalo @ Baltimore
This hardly seems fair. How does this happen? Who's next for the Ravens? The Mission Bay Buccaneers? One day some team is going to show up to play Buffalo and there will be nothing there. Just an abandoned stadium. And people will tell stories of seeing random Buffalo players in Mexican leagues. Because they still loved the game, you know? Bills 9, Ravens 34

Jax @ KC
Trent Edwards came in and finished the game for the injured David Garrard last week. Edwards is white. Garrard is black. Nobody noticed the change. The Chiefs have lost two in a row and nobody can shut up about how good they are. That's the AFC West for you. Jags 14, Chiefs 21

Zona @ Seattle
I hope this is nationally televised. This nation deserves it. Cards 13, Hawks 14

Oakland @ Denver
You know who else were being a bunch of fuckfaces when the Rams beat the Chargers last week? Oakland fans, that's who. Eat a whole fucking bag of dick, you cocksuckers. Raiders 0, Broncos 1,000.

New England @ San Diego
Chargers fans are making fun of Tom Brady's hair this week. That's some good trash talk, morons. Local radio guys say we match up well in this game. Right. Half the team is injured, and the other half mostly would have problems getting absorbed by Buffalo. This will be Darren Sproles day! Pats 42, Bolts 20

Minnesota @ Green Bay
Brett Favre owns Green Bay and plays well when things in his personal life are in shambles. His wife is about to leave him over dick photos. He will pummel the decimated Packers and then he will probably retire. Vikings 34, Packers 23

New York VaGiants @ Dallas
The knife dost twisteth, while the Vagiants continue to play within their means. So long, Dallas! VaGiants 31, Cowboys 24

And that's it. Go football!!!

VJ to Report

Vincent Jackson, as expected, will report to the Chargers next Friday. Whether he'll ever actually play or not remains to be seen. At the very least he'll have to serve AJ's "look at how much of a hard-ass I am" 3 game suspension first. After that, we'll have to see how willing Vinnie Jack is to put his body on the line for a team that has made no secret of the fact that he does not fit into their long term plans. And we'll have to see if AJ even deems VJ properly humbled enough to have earned his activation. According to Kevin Acee's article, AJ expects VJ to contribute. Also according to Acee's article, AJ Smith is a fucking ass hole and can barely contain himself and keep from shouting, "I won! I fucking won! Who cares if my team is in complete and utter disarray?! I beat Vincent fucking Jackson's retarded agents! Lord of the No Rings?! Fuck y'all, I beat you and that's more important than 10 Superbowls! Have I mentioned I'm a fucking genius?! Tell 'em Acee!"

Thanks For Being Less Lazy, Deadspin

All day I've been ready to offer my two cents on this whole "epidemic" of violent hits in the NFL, but then Deadspin's Jamberoo came out and the first part pretty much sums up my feelings exactly. The only thing I would add is that not only do all the players actually realize the risks of concussions and other injuries going in, part of the reason grown men get paid millions and millions of dollars (or at least hundreds of thousands if you're only good enough to play, but not so good that people acknowledge your contributions) to play the game is due to the fact of it's violent nature and the short lifespan of such a career. If there was no risk to counter the reward, I couldn't even bring myself to watch the NFL. Overpaid primadonna fucks. The mainstream media finds everything apalling. Fuck those jerks.

A Couples of Quickies

If you haven't heard already, Junior Seau beat up his girlfriend or something, got arrested or something and drove off a cliff or something. Last I heard he was hospitalized, but not dead. "Or something" is the new "alledgedly." Anyway, this is too bad. I met Junior briefly once, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. And I will always have fond memories of Seau as a Charger. One of the best ever, for real. I hope this all turns out alright for him. Also, you know it's killing Roger Goodell that he can't suspend him.

This is an interesting article on pirating NFL broadcasts over the internet, which should be of interest to anybody left in San Diego who cares about watching Chargers games. It draws parallels between the music industry, the phone company and the NFL. I wish more people would write about the NFL's misguided attempts to protect it's legacy. "Back in my day, the players didn't celebrate touchdowns with flashy antics. That's should be a penalty. Also, they were white." That was any random stodgy old racist NFL owner or official in case you were wondering.

Welcome Aboard!

At this point you must be ready to jump on the bandwagon. It's a little bit different than the one that you've been riding on for the past several years, but I think once you really give in to the charm and the ambience, you'll find the ride very smooth. My bandwagon is called The Reality Freight Train, and let me tell you how it works.

First you must admit to yourself that this Chargers team is tragically flawed. It lacks depth and the talent in trench positions to compete at a high level. Really, even on a low level apparently. It has no offensive identity and the defense lacks balls. The coach is a marshmallow, the defensive coordinator is in over his head and the GM is a monster. Got it? Okay, you're halfway on the bus.

This next part is the hardest part of all. You must admit to yourself that the organization doesn't care at all about you, the fan. It is not even in their best interest to provide you with a championship product. They may not have expected the team to fall this far, but they certainly did not do enough to expect the team to challenge for a Superbowl. And why is this, you ask? It's because if this team won it all, this town would never let it leave. The people of our bankrupt city would gladly throw away money we don't have on a state-of-the-art stadium for a Superbowl winner. But not for this team. This team will turn this town against them and the people will say good riddance upon their departure. The NFL might even have to help them build in L.A. They'll say that the Chargers were a team whose town had given up on them and that they had no choice. And they will punish our city by deeming us unfit to house another NFL team for all eternity.

To this all you are probably thinking that the right thing to do here would be to stand by your team. Force the owner to realize that you are not fickle and that you will love the Chargers warts and all. You'll want to tell them that they'll have to pry your fandom out of your cold dead hands. And while that is admirable, I beg of you brothers and sisters, don't do it. Don't give them the satisfaction. You see, this team will leave anyway. They'd prefer to make it look as though it was out of their hands. That they had no choice. But, believe me, they'll go the other way if they have to. They'll pack up the Mayflowers in the middle of the night if that's what it takes.And you fans,-you die hards-they know that you'll root for the L.A. Chargers. They know they'll still get your dollars, and that's all they care about. This is a business way before it is sports. Or entertainment.

So, you ask, How will jumping your 'Reality Freight Train' save my Chargers? Sadly, fan, it won't. It will only spare you the disappointment. The sadness. The frustration of it all. Find another team. Bury yourself in fantasy football. Spend more time with your family if you have to, but leave this team. They have already left you, I promise.

If you do decide to stick with it. If you do decide to ignore reason and continue on this thankless path of Chargers fandom, then I at least have one small nugget of good news for you. And here it is. This team-the one on the field-is focused on the here and the now. They are not looking ahead, they are playing the game at hand, and most people will tell you that that is the best way to approach the game of football. And how do I know that this is not the sort of team that looks ahead? Because if they had looked at the next several weeks of their schedule before yesterday, they would have known they absolutely had to beat the Rams and maybe they would have played like it.

As Promised, Here's Your Picks

Even if you don't deserve them. I ended up with 5 wins last week, I think. I don't pick against the spread unless there is money involved, but I do give scores. So, if you love math, feel free to go back and figure how stupid I am. Anyway, that's a first to worst sort of swing in my pick'em pool, but you can bet (you probably shouldn't bet) that I'm coming back strong this week with the following sure thing, can't miss pick'em extravaganza!

Miami @ Green Bay
I don't know how many times or in how many different ways I have to tell you that Green Bay sucks. They were wildly overrated before their starting running back and Pro Bowl calibre tight end got broke. Miami doesn't thrill me either, but the media isn't trying to suck start them into greatness yet so they get the nod. Fins 27, Packers(?!) 23

San Diego @ St. Louis
San Diego? Never heard of them. Still my sources tell me that if they don't crush the Rams here, they might as well stay home and masturbate for the rest of the season. You know, get something out of it, anyway. Bolts 37, Rams(?!) 27

Baltimore @ New England
Belichek pulls the trigger early on another guy who is a pretty essential part of the system. Genius! A.J., inspired, sends Merriman packing but misses the point entirely by getting his favorite return. Nothing. I don't think I liked the Pats against Baltimore with Randy Moss, so I sure as hell ain't taking them without. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are the only good teams in football right now. Fuck the Jets. Ravens 30, Pats 17

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh
Nobody can shut up about how horrible it is to have Colt McCoy make his first start against Pittsburgh, and I have to disagree. I think it's delightful. Colt McCoy. Half-assed job of child naming, if you ask me. Try Winchester McWhiskeyguzzler or Cowboy McSixgun. As it is, he deserves everything that's coming to him. Browns 0, Steelers 37

KC @ Houston
Alright, both of these teams need to just come out and be whatever it is they actually are. Maybe Dennis Green knows, because I have no fucking idea. Chiefs 16, Texans (gay) 34

Detroit @ NY VaGiants
It appears the Vagiants have remembered that they do not have a terrible pass rush and that if they don't try to force Eli Manning down everybody's throats they can still be a force to be reckoned with. Of course this is the week they dump to Detroit. I do not, however have the balls to call it. Lions 13, Vagiants 28

Atlanta @ Philly
I don't know why I can't get behind Philly with Kolb, but I can totally buy them behind a guy who spent two years out of football to go to prison. Is it because I hate dogs? I don't think that's true. And I don't know why I keep picking Atlanta, even though they kind of look like bullshit every week. Atlanta, to me, is another team that couldn't wait to throw the entire weight of the franchise on their young quarterback's shoulders when they don't even have to. He constantly looks ready to snap under the pressure and if anything ever happens to Roddy White, they will be doomed. Falcons 27, Iggles 24

Seattle @ Chicago
Herm Edwards, who is the fucking worst thing on television ever was on NFL Live yersterday and was throwing season record in everybody's faces and touting the Bears. To this I say that Herm might want to actually watch the games. Or drink battery acid. The Bears D is legit enough, but they will not overcome the offensive line's inability to stop Jay Cutler from making horrible mistakes or faking concussions. Still, Seattle is no hot shit either. Seahawks (fuck that fucking name) 17, Bears 21

NO @ Tampa Bay
Trap game! It's obvious from the first 5 weeks of the season that the Bucs should have this game in the bag against the woefully ill-equipped New Orleans Saints. Seriously, how long has it been since the Saints were relevant in this league? Still, don't be surprised if this upstart Drew Brees and his band of unknown wide receivers give the mighty Bucs a tough time of it this Sunday. Upset special!!! Saints 31, Bucs 20

NY Jets @ Denver
I hate the Jets. Even if I wish Rex Ryan was one of my crazy uncles, the Jets can eat a dick. And I think they lose to Denver. I think it's a match-up thing. One problem, though. Tomlinson. Good on you TBE for making Norv and AJ look as stupid as I think they are. The thing is, Tomlinson scores on Denver. He has always scored on Denver, and I have no doubt he always will. I will regret the following statement. Jets 27, Broncos 30

Oakland @ Frisco
Truly, I hope tidal wave wins this one. The Raiders are terrible. The Niners are terrible. These two teams are going to collide and terrible up the atmosphere for three hours Sunday. Someone is probably going to win. Raiders 17, Niners 20

Dallas @ Minnesota
The clash of the 1-3 teams and everybody is saying the loser can go home, but I'm going to tell you right here that this game decides nothing. There is so much terrible football going on that this game will not determine shit for playoff implications. Minnesota needs this one more than they needed the last one and Dallas has to prove they can stop beating themselves before I'll pick them again. Cowboys 28, Vikes 30

Indy @ Washington
Jesus Christ. How many games are there this week. Feels like over a dozen. Indy? It looks like they might finally be hitting a wall. DC? Classic overachievers. They've got heart. But I think Peyton will probably taking over coaching duties this week. Colts 34, Skins 20

Tennessee @ Jax
Really? Titans 37, Jags 13

Sorry, I kind of ran out of steam there at the end, but that Monday Nighter is going to be awful. Go football!!!

So Long, Merrimanimal!

And Shawne Merriman's Chargers career is over. I can't wait for people to start explaining to me how this is addition by subtraction. Any guesses on where he goes to get his revenge? I'd say this has the Patriots written all over it. Or the Jets, who apparently have designs on our players. But it would be silly to count out a division rival. With our future playoff hopes being what they appear to be, joining another AFC West team might be the only way Merriman guarantees himself a shot at AJ's squad every year. Good luck, beastly sir.

Thoughts on McNeill

So, it looks like McNeill's is getting his long term deal after all the sitting out and crying and name calling and hardballing. Many people consider this a decisive victory for "the A.J. way" and it's hard to argue with that, but I'm going to do it anyway.

First, very obviously, we could have just done a deal to begin with if that was the ultimate plan, and then our Pro Bowl offensive lineman would have been here through camp and the first 5 games. Unfortunately, our GM decided for some reason to lump McNeill and Jackson together and fight them that way rather than approach each negotiation uniquely. Brilliant strategy.

Second, I can't say for sure, but I believe the only reason that McNeill is signing with us is similar to the reason we had the leverage to pull this crap in the first place. Because of the way the current CBA is structured, McNeill was not given unrestricted free agency status (as other players have been in any year before), and instead the team was allowed to keep the rights to the player for a fraction of his worth. Because of the uncertainty of the CBA going forward if McNeill sat out this season, and next season results in a lockout, the player might have to go two years without a full paycheck. A.J., in essence, used circumstance to ruthlessly threaten McNeill and his family's livelihood, which any of you out there would crucify your own boss over*.

If next season was assured, I think McNeill never would have signed. In fact, the NFLPA is so certain of a lockout, they have been telling their players to save their money and make smart investments. McNeill had to have realized he would have no money to save or invest unless he bent to the Godfather's will. No other team can come to his rescue. It's unlikely anybody will be doing any serious shopping next offseason if there is to be no football, and A.J. has shown he's not above holding on to a "malcontent" even in the face of a better deal than what he'd get in compensation from the league.

Whatever happens, I will be amazed if we get the best effort McNeill hass to offer. If this deal gets done, he may very well take whatever guaranteed money is offered and proceed to loaf it until the team trades or cuts him. And don't think it would ruin him either. There are tons of GMs who would jump at the chance to sign McNeill two years from now, especially in light of what another couple of A.J.'s "malcontents" are doing for the NY Jets this year.

Most players will serve up platitudes to the media, telling them after negotiations like this that they realize the NFL is a business. But it human nature to bristle when someone questions your worth. The other players on this team cannot be looking forward to their own negotiations. When all is said and done, A.J. may have won the battle, but the war could take him in the end.

*Dean Spanos considers threatening players good business. that seems to be working out for us all.

We Were in Field Goal Range!!!

Okay, so I'm a bit late on this, but I have to post it, right?



I know a lot of you felt this way inside. Don't feel bad. Feel ashamed. You're pathetic.

I Hate to Say It.

No matter how hard I try to be a good loyal "follower" of the Chargers, I keep coming back to the problem of knowing too much. I know what this team is, and more importantly, I know what this team was and could have been. Special teams is a problem, but it's really just a symptom. For years we were told this team had depth to the level where we didn't need to make a splash in free agency. We were told we had the luxury of taking the best available player on the board. For years we passed over players that could have shored up our linebacking corps and instead took a reach pick for Buster Davis (already a number 2 on his college depth chart) and traded up to grab mind bogglingly positionless Jacob Hester. We provided a large contract to virtually unknown one game wonder Jyles Tucker. To make matters worse, we've adopted some draconian zero tolerance policy that has sent several players who contributed out the door. And yes, there have even been a regular amount of injuries piled on. Special teams is the first thing to go when your talent level drops radically after the first string, but it isn't the last. And that's already showing as well. As much as everybody would love to say that two blocked punts did this team in in Oakland, it just isn't true. 12 points in the first 4 minutes didn't put us away. Two long Oakland drives in the 4th were far more responsible than that. Offensive penalties and turnovers aplenty had a heck of a lot to do with it too. Don't let anyone sell you special teams as the scapegoat. The problems this team has raise their ugly heads in every facet of the game. Sure, we still have dynamic playmakers on offense, and we can take advantage of criminally pathetic teams about half the time these days because of it. When we get those big earlyleads, Ron Rivera puts on his big boy pants and lets the defense pin their ears back and bring it. So you'll see some blowouts here and there, but those bad teams are soon to be behind us. After one more "gimme" in St. Louis, we are going to lose 5 in a row. Indy, Tennessee, New England, Houston and Denver in no particular order. Do you like our chances against any of those squads? I don't. Not the way this team is playing right now. And I don't know what changes are going to fix anything at this point in the season. Maybe our division saves us yet again from our own ineptitude, but do you even really want that? Maybe if this teams churns out a true stinker of a season, Spanos has no choice but to save face by forcing AJ to get a real coach in there. Or if we're really lucky, he runs AJ out too. The ego has blunted the sharp football mind that built this team into a contender to begin with. The ego isn't going away on it's own. If we can get rid of one or both of the true cancers on this team after the season, maybe we can salvage the careers of some destined to be great Chargers rather than consign them to the sports fate of every other great player to dedicate themselves to the franchises of this town. Maybe, if we can do that, Rivers and Gates won't have to retire ringless.

Picks Are For Posterity

Whatever the fuck posterity is. I'm going to start trying to post these picks earlier in the week going forward. I found it cut down on people laughing at me if I waited until the last minute to go on record, but since I won my pick 'em pool last week I'm the one who's laughing now. All the way to the bank. And by bank I mean strip club. And by laughing I mean stalking strippers. So here's this week's sure to be money winners.

Jacksonville @ Buffalo
I picked Buffalo to upset the Jets last week, because for some strange reason I have a soft spot in my heart for Buffalo. I just feel like that team never got any respect for owning the AFC for four straight years back in the day. Anyway, that soft spot hardened considerably last Sunday. Die, Buffalo. Jags 34, Bills 13

Denver @ Baltimore
For some reason I want to pick Denver here. Must be because Kyle Orton is my fantasy QB this week. Why am I being punished for Mike Vick's sins?!!! So, yeah. Fuck that noise. Denver 24, Baltimore 27

Atlanta @ Cleveland
One of these days Atlanta is going to be fully exposed. But not this weekend. Cleveland is better than I thought, but Cincinnati is as bad as I thought, so last week means nothing. I will start loving Cleveland if they break Jason Snelling's leg. Atlanta 31, Cleveland 21

KC @ Indy
I thought KC could challenge for the division, but their record is not a true representation of how good they are. Indy, however, is flailing. Not flailing enough. KC 30, Indy 34

Tampa Bay @ Cincinnati
Oh God, did i really pick Cincy to win this in my pool? Well, i guess I have to go with it. Tampa 13, Cincy 17

Green Bay @ Washington
Is it okay if I say that neither of these teams does anything for me? God, what a couple of fucking fucks these teams are. Green Bay 24, Washington 17

St. Louis @ Detroit
I'm gonna ride this Rams thing for a while. It just feels right. Rams 27, Detroit 26

Chicago @ Carolina
Chicago? Exposed. Chicago 13, Carolina 20

NY VaGiants @ Houston
Houston is another team i could not give a shit about. But they can be exciting. On the other hand, stupid name. VaGiants 27, Houston 34

New Orleans @ Arizona
New Orleans, it's about time to start looking like New Orleans. I feel bad for the Cardinals. I really liked that team last year. New Orleans 42, Arizona 10

San Diego @ Oakland
Is it okay to remind everybody that Oakland nearly handled us in Oakland last year with Jamarcus Russell at QB? Still, I'm in it now. Bolts 30, Oakland 27

Philly @ Frisco
Kolb looked good in his games before this season, so the ability is there. But man, does he look pedestrian so far this year. And Frisco has to win one eventually right? I mean, 0-16 is not going to win even that horrible division. Philly 17, Frisco 20

Minnesota @ NY Jets
No fucking idea. Randy Moss? No fucking idea! Vikings need this one, so i'll go with that, but I don't like it at all. Vikes 23, Jets 20

That's it. Enjoy your footballing. Go Bolts!!!

Exciting New Things!!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to, like Max, say that my outlook is changing over here and that I promise to be less surly and more supporty of the San Diego Super Charger football team that I've loved since I was still peeing myself from being young not drunkenness.

That being said, just because my outlook is changing, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll be a flag toting balls out ignorant supporter for fear of drawing the ire of the die hard fans here in town. For many reasons that Max suggested, it's becoming harder to support this football team while maintaining some level of objectivity without being scorned by the jersey adorned flat bill brigade of San Diego. And hey, I get it, we all love the football team, shit, every single season I get sucked in at some point when they start resembling a professional team, and not the error prone stripped down version of themselves. As Max mentioned and I concur with, I'm getting old. One of my goals, well, more like a dream of mine is to become the purest form of dirty old obnoxious man, and while to some degree I've achieved that already, I'm certainly far past making excuses for what I believe to be mistakes at every level of the organization that we hold so dear. So if that makes me a "bad fan" in some peoples eyes, who fucking cares. I certainly don't. If any of my critics can show any level of objectivity at all in debating the merits of this team, and I'm proven wrong, I will happily parade my wrongness in front of the whole wide internet. But just shrieking loudly at me at a volume higher than I wish to partake that I'm a bad fan because I'm a stupid dickhead who thinks A.J. Smith isn't a gun toting wild west version of Jesus, well, I've got a problem with that.

My main issue beside having to defend myself every time the Bolts incite me to swear at the television, is that I'm finding it increasingly difficult to like the team we're putting on the field on a weekly basis. There are some guys I really want to like, who are playing their balls off, Kevin Burnett for example. Dude is a maniac. But, the mistakes we continue to make and have made on a consistent basis since 2006 infuriate me to no end. Every time we call timeout early in a game to avoid a delay of game penalty so that Norvelle can once again attempt to forcefully remove his butt plug of a head from his sphincter, I go into a blind rage and want to murder a bag full of kittens even more so that I normally would. However, that reaction makes me a "bad fan".

So, here's how it goes. I'm actually excited for Raider Week. Even though the Raiders are still the pathetic bunch of underachieving cock wallets east of the bay, the optimist in me thinks we'll get it together and cockwipe their faces by about 31 points today. The pessimist in me thinks that we'll lose on a last second blown coverage hail mary touchdown pass thrown by JaFatAss Russell who the Raiders will re-sign at halftime after Gradkowski has a tragic mishap with the sideline cart involving a broken leg and a sexual harassment lawsuit. That being said, I guess I'm high on the Chargers today. Mood: EXCITED!

I'm also reserving a spot for Max to make his weekly picks as you sure as shit don't want to see mine. I won three games against the spread last week, picking 82% favorites, needless to say, favorites are covering like 28% of the time this season.** Fuck and yes. Guess how many favorites I have this week? All of them. That's some fucking genius right there, book it.


Today we get over the hump. Bolts 48 Raiders 16. Let's go Bolting.

(**Those percentages are approximations, well complete fabrications in my brain, I don't care to look up facts further solidifying my ineptitude.)

You Heard It Here First

I keep thinking we're not long for a Vincent Jackson to New England for Julian Edelman and a 4th rounder. Don't ask me why, I just see this happening.

Okay, that's maaaybe a little unrealistic, but how about this? The Patriots have the Raiders 1st rounder this year. Julian Edelman and a 1st rounder, for Jackson and a 3rd? The Pats love second and third round picks and Edelman is pretty expendable with Welker looking good and healthy.

I'm Changing My Outlook Back

I've been putting off writing anything for a few days to see if I'd simmer down over time, but I guess it ain't going to happen. I'm not going to go into any detail here, but suffice it to say I went up against some more of the brilliant minds of San Diego sports fandom once again. This is a fandom, I should remind you, that now casually expects slow seasonal starts and shrugs them off like early reports that the unsinkable vessel they're on has apparently "brushed up against" an iceburg. No need to panic until the band packs it in! Look, I'm glad the Chargers manhandled the atrocious Arizona Cardinals, but the fact is that every time I leave the house I am accosted by idiot Chargers fans who ruin the whole experience. Listen people, being a fan does not necessarily mean blindly accepting every move and decision the organization makes, then pointing at the scoreboard on the days it actually works out and believing that justifies your argument. This team is overachieving at home and absolutely shitting the bed on the road. There is a good chance that when decent teams actually start showing up here to play us, things might change a bit for the worse here at home, and no amount of AJ Smith badassery is going to help us on the field. I hope your all happy when AJ cuts another safety. Or I hope you give him a piece of your mind if he doesn't. But you all like blaming the players. Why, because they get paid to play a game? That might be valid if you didn't so blindly slobber over the game.

Look, this doesn't apply to all of you, but for the most part this has become a terrible, uneducated, boorish football town-and for no good reason as far as I can tell. For quite some time I've been happier discussing football with fans of other teams. Many of them actually have realistic views, even when it comes to their own teams sometimes! At this point, I'm a casual fan of the Chargers going forward. For now I'm going to follow the team from a safe distance in my Chargers fan Volvo (nice and safe). Feel free to blast me if I jump back up on the crazy flag waving bandwagon, because honestly I couldn't give a fuck what people in this town think of me as a fan.

Pick, Pick, Pick

So, I went ahead and joined that pick 'em pool at my work. You know, the one with the girl who doesn't pay in because she does all the work. Ugh. Anyway, I figured what the hell? I mean, she's a girl, so she probably won't win anyhow. Here's my picks.

NY Jets @ Buffalo
Bam! Upset special, because when there's money on the line I instantly turn retarded. Seriously, though, I still don't buy the Jets, and Buffalo managed to look decent in defeat last week after finally jettisoning Trent Edwards. Edwards, by the way, was picked up by Jacksonville, which makes sense because he is the white David Garrard. Bills 20, Jets 16

Denver @ Tennessee
Christ, did I actually pick Denver here? Did I smoke crack at work on Friday? I don't know why, but I like Denver here. The Titans started 0-6 last year, so I have to believe they have a little Norv Turner in them. Broncos 27, Titans 17

Cincinnati @ Cleveland
I see a lot of people picking Cleveland here. Such is the power of the white running back. Hey, white skill players work for the Pats and Colts. Too bad Cleveland probably needs about 3 more. Bengals 30, Browns 13

Carolina @ NO
A guy in my fantasy league dropped New Orleans D last week, and now my team is complete. I'm telling you, that Claussen kid ain't right. The difference her will be too vast for Garrett Hartley to overcome with missed field goals. Panthers 14, New Orleans 34

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh
The Steelers defense looks prolific right now, whatever that means. But they can't go 4-0 without Ben Roethlissberger, right? I expect Ray Rice to show up this week. Just enough. Ravens 14, Steelers 13

Frisco @ Atlanta
Atlanta looks like a kind of schitzo team to me right now, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them lay an egg here, but I don't have the balls to call it. 49ers 24, Falcons 30

Seattle @ St. Louis
Seattle's first game was fluky. Their win against the Bolts was ugly. I think they're the team Denver clobbered. And what the fuck is a Seahawk? Is that a thing, or is that just any predatory bird that lives around the sea? Weak ass fucking name and I hate them. Seahawks 16, Rams 20

Detroit @ Green Bay
I've jumped on board the bandwagon that wants to see Detroit finally turn it around and be legit. Other things I want include a threesome with two Victoria's Secret models and a jetpack. Lions 27, Packers 35

Houston @ Oakland
Well, Oakland, let the Gradkowski era begin! Again! If something on him isn't broken by halftime I will eat my hat. I don't know why, but I think Houston will come down to Earth. But not this week. Texans 37, Raiders 28

Indy @ Jacksonville
Scoreboard explodes! Colts 42, Jags :(

Washington @ Philly
This Mike Vick thing can't last. My fantasy team is too good as long as he stays healthy. But I'm going to keep riding it until somebody breaks his leg. Washington gets smoked. Redskins 13, Mike Vick 30

Arizona @ San Diego
We cannot lose to the Cardinals, right? I mean, we just can't. Can we? Can Norv? Oh, God, Norv could, couldn't he? No, he couldn't. Right? Tell me he couldn't. Cards 10, Bolts 34

Chicago @ Green Bay
Last week I was up 29 in my fantasy league and going against a guy who's roster is full of Packers. I found myself rooting for Jay Cutler. It made me physically ill. People are now back to stroking Cutler. They apparently missed the fact that if not for flags and butterfingers, Cutler easily could have thrown a 6 pack of INTs. I don't buy those Bears. Cutler will imlode. Bears 20, VaGiants 28

New England @ Miami
Should be a good game. I intend to watch it. Pats 27, Fins 24

Enjoy your footballing, and be sure to give the Padres some love while you're at it. Go Pads!!! Go Bolts!!!

Carl's Lock of the Century!

Clever. Stupid, But Clever

So, here's a song parody some Chargers fan made about the Vincent Jackson to the tune of Ms. Jackson by Outkast.



I'd like to think the fan made this because the song was just too irresistable to pass up, but I know better. And from the comments on the youtube page it's pretty apparent that a lot of the fans in this town still want to stand up to the millionaire athlete doing the work in defense of the billionaire owner to cheap to pay anything close to fair market value for his players and the egomaniacal bully of a GM who doles out unnecessary punishments when someone has the audacity to question his methods. Well played San Diego, this is why other team's fans think you're stupid. And believe me, they do. Still, I have to admit it's clever.

I'm Changing My Outlook!

I've realized recently that very few things make me feel older than sports fandom these days. Sure, there's driving by my old high school every day and realizing that at one point in my life it was perfectly natural to look at those girls that way. That makes me feel pretty old. And, of course, there are the inexplicable pains that occur randomly in my body, as well as the fact that I rarely manage to close a bar these days. Those things certainly make me feel old. But sports fandom? That's a real exercise in agery.

You see, there was a time not long ago that I could just root for my team. That's it. Plain and simple. Those guys in the uniforms on the field. That's my team. And I root for them. If you are not on the field in a uniform you really don't matter to me. Those are my guys. Number 17? In the immortal words of snivelling TO, "That's my quarterback!"

But over the years, something has happened. A shift in the way I view my team. Over the years the ownership has somehow crept onto the field with the guys in the jerseys. The GM has become every bit as much of my team as my quarterback, my tight end, my wide receiver. And when it comes to this team, that is a bad thing. It's an unavoidable strain on my fandom. As much as I love that team-those guys on the field-, the guys that sit in the offices and think up ways to save their dough while taking ours, and that cowboy whose only real concern seems to be creating a powerful image for himself? They age my fandom a dozen years every day.

I don't want to be caught up in the business of football. There's too much business in my everyday business, and maybe that's the problem. These business men, who claim to want a championship but really only want a better deal and a new stadium, make me think too much of my own financial situation and of the men who have far too much control over my own fate. I don't want to think about my job and my bank account when I watch football, but these guys rub everybody's nose in it and give relatively little back in return. I don't blame the players for their holdouts. When my company told me I wasn't getting a raise I was pissed. Just because the amounts are magnified by millions, doesn't mean the heart of the problem isn't the same. Everybody wants to be paid for a job well done, and there's nothing wrong with that. And this GM reminds me of so many people who look at their labor force as a product of some infallible system that they put together. Everyone becomes replaceable in their eyes. I see this kind of attitude every day. Every fucking day! And I don't need to be reminded of that when I watch the games either.

All of that being said, it's not fair to put the burden of working for those ass holes on the players on the field. I love the Chargers. I have since the day I understood what football was, and I just want to enjoy the games. I've been hard on this team. And rightfully so. Their coach is terrible and they're slow out of the gate for the umpteenth time in a row. The window is closing. It's maddening! But I keep finding myself almost happy to see them fail. As if the men on the field have something to do with the shitty decisions made up front. Hell, it isn't even Norv's fault. What was he supposed to say when AJ came calling? "Nope. Sorry, but you could do way better than me. I don't want to be responsible for the demise of your franchise. Here's a list of guys you might want to call. They can all coach circles around me." Sorry, but I'd have taken the job if they asked, and we'd all hate me too.

"Hey coach, is this playbook just a printout of the Madden 06 Chargers playbook?"

"That team was awesome! And Madden won a Superbowl, I think. Now get out there and handle your business!"

Anyway, I guess my point in all of this is that I'm still going to hate on AJ and Dean. I'm still going to call out the spineless San Diego sports media. But I'm going to try to be more supportive of the guys on the field. I really do think this offense will be special once they hit their rythm. And I can honestly say that I'm not completely disgusted with what the defense has been doing. They're keeping the points down, and there is no more important defensive stat in my book. Which is, of course, the 06 Madden playbook. And as for special teams-which have been getting an awful lot of grief- I can only say that it's not likely to get a lot worse. So, come Sundays, I'm just going to try to put the business aside and root my face off for the team, cause we're winning the whole God damn thing this year! Go Philip! Go Antonio! Go rookie running back! Go...uh...Eric Weddle! Go Shaun "Paycheck McPlayingforit!" Phillips! Go Bolts!!!

Not you, though, Norv. You suck.

McNeill is Happy, Has a Gun Pointed at His Loved Ones

Marcus McNeill is back with the Chargers and according to Kevin Acee's article, he's super happy to be here and wants to remain so forever and ever. Right. I totally believe that. After being taken for about $2.7 million and still receiving no long term financial stability, McNeill is pleased as punch to be coming in and playing for AJ and the Chargers. Yeah Acee, also there's this bridge in San Francisco that, you know, I'd like to push you off of.

I'm pretty sure if you take every 4th word in McNeill's statements you come up with, "AJ has my family. Please call the police and DeMaurice Smith."

If you think there is any chance McNeill doesn't jump ship and land with the Chiefs as soon as he has the chance you are delusional.

Anyway, I'm happy he'll be returning, but is that really going to be enough? The problems on offense have more to do with sloppy ball protection than sloppy QB protection. The defense hasn't been the problem I thought it'd be...yet. The special teams suffers from a severe lack of playmakers, and the personnel is just not there to make it better. Osgood is gone. Siler plays predominantly on the regular D to fill the perennial hole at MLB we've had since Donnie freaking Edwards left and Steve Foley got shot by a cop. This team has no depth, because they trade up to get guys like Jacob Hester and waste 1st round picks on receivers who weren't even the number one guy on their college squad. The GM wears no clothes. It's gross. And if you point it out you're cut.

I listen to all you other San Diego fans saying that this happens every year. That soon enough we'll crank out 10 straight or some other such nonsense. Well, this ain't like every other year. Those early losses in years past came against tough opponents like the Ravens, Patriots and the hot out of the gate Broncos. You can say KC looks good right now, but they didn't look so hot the night they beat us. And Seattle had no business winning that game on Sunday. Are we playing down to bad opponents? I hope so, because that is the sort of thing that can be worked out. Or is the truth what I've been saying all along? That if Norv Turner thinks this is the best Chargers team he's had then he's clearly not paying attention, because from where I'm standing it very well could be the worst.

Hmm, I Distinctly Remember Being Worried About Just This Sort of Thing

Here is what return men see.

So, I can't pick games for shit, but I think I have this team pegged.

Look, this is what you get when you hire a soft and sloppy coach and your GM prefers soft players that he can push around in negotiations. You get a soft and sloppy team that always starts out shitty. Only this time, I think we may end shitty to boot, so be prepared, San Diego.

But hey, McNeill is coming back! I hope he's been practicing his special teams play with the local high school kids.

Ugh. Picks Again?

My heart is not in it, but I'm really dedicated to documenting my ineptitude at picking games for anybody who might actually read this thing. So here goes.

Tennessee @ NY VaGiants
This one seems too easy to call, but I think the Giants actually show up here. Why? No idea. Tennessee 17, VaGaints 20

Cincinnati @ Carolina
I have no idea whether Cincy is a good team or not, but I do know that the kid from Notre Dame is a borderline tard. Cincy 17, Carolina 10

Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay
So, why hasn't anyone tried to snap Palowhatsit's leg yet? Tampa is in over their heads this week. But Pittsburgh can't score. Pitt 13, Tampa 9

Buffalo @ New England
Looks like New England is going to pick on some teams this year, and not pick on some teams this year. How's that for analysis? Buffalo 17, New England 34

Cleveland @ Baltimore
Time for Baltimore to stop being cute and hand Ray Rice the ball. Poor Cleveland. Cleveland 6, Baltimore 27

San Francisco @ KC
No fucking clue what happens here. I liked KC going into the season and their record reflects my amazing judgment, but I don't believe in them at all. Frisco really gave NO a game, but they find ways to lose. Frisco 20, KC 21

Dallas @ Houston
Dallas sucks, Houston does not. End of story. Dallas 20, Houston 37

Detroit @ Minnesota
Detroit is fun to watch, but if Minnesota can't get it together this week, the Favre retirement watch begins early. Detroit 17, Minnesota 30

Atlanta @ NO
Atlanta is a sexy pick here, but I tend to think NO has been playing down to their opponents so far. This feels like a 6 TD effort by Brees day to me. Atlanta 28, New Orleans 45

Washington @ St. Louis
Washington does just enough not to lose against bad teams, and the Rams don't know how to win. Washington 20, Rams 17

Philly @ Jacksonville
The Michael Vick train keeps rolling and he love steamrolling dogs like the Jags! Harf! Harf! So funny. Philly 27, Jags 20

Indy @ Denver
Peyton Manning does not like having a loss before December and everybody has to pay. Indy 31, Denver 24

Oakland @ Arizona
Yuck. I actually like Oakland here. But I don't love 'em. Oakland 24, Zona 16

San Diego @ Seattle
It's supposed to rain, which does not bode well for us. But I have to give them credit for demolishing the Jags last week, even if they are the Jags. This one will be tight. Bolts 20, Seattle 17

NY Jets @ Miami
Jets are not for real. Miami is for real. Jets 13, Miami 21

Green Bay @ Chicago
Ugh, everybody in the media has already jumped back on the Cutler bandwagon and Philip Rivers is a big, whiny malcontent yet again. So 2008 up in here. I don't buy it. Green Bay 30, Chicago 20

Let me leave you with this. A girl at my work invited me to join her $5 weekly pick'em league. No spread, winner takes the week. Sounds fun. Then she let's me know that since she set it up, she doesn't have to pay in. And that, ladies, is why men don't take you seriously when concerning manly things. Go Bolts!!!

More on AJ and Vinny Jack

I couldn't agree more with the article Michael Silver posted today over at Yahoo! about the AJ/VJ disaster. And if you don't believe that AJ has been a complete douche to Vincent Jackson' camp on this one, pay close attention to this part:

For example, sources say Jackson’s agents will attempt to get back at Smith by making sure their receiver, once he ends up with a new team next spring (or later, depending upon the uncertain labor landscape), has an inordinately low base salary for 2011 – which would likely reduce the compensatory pick the Chargers would receive for losing Jackson from a potential third-rounder to a sixth- or seventh-round selection.

If that turns out to be true, have you ever even heard of such a thing? Once again, San Diego franchises pave the way in dubious firsts.

The one thing missing from Silver's article, though, is any criticism whatsoever of ownership for not only allowing this to happen, but seemingly encouraging it. I guess that would have underminded Silver placing Dean Spanos in the upper half of his ownership rankings and lauding him for being a revolutionary penny pincher, bent on saving all of ownership from being held hostage by exhorbitant player salaries. Looks like Silver likes to have his cake and eat it too. Hey, just like Spanos!

You're Not Going Anywhere, VJ!

At least not until AJ is through with you. This is the greatest article ever. A 2nd rounder plus a conditional pick? "No, I'll wait for my glorious compensatory pick!" Lord of the No Rings? Priceless.

Darren Smith said on the radio earlier that he did not believe AJ would hold onto Jackson out of spite or to teach him a lesson. It's like nobody who gets paid to cover sports in this town is even paying attention.

Oh, I also firmly believe AJ is reluctant to send Jackson to a team where he might get a ring before the Chargers do (which would be any team at this point, actually), which is why Minnesota is a no fit.

This is your team San Diego Chargers. Until the view from the top changes in this town, you can expect nothing but continued heartbreak. AJ Smith is a loser who's sure he's the big winner, and Dean Spanos would steal your wallet if given half the chance.

I Guess It Was the Rain

Hurray for being wrong! Too bad I can't really analyze the game, since it was blacked out. Actually, it had more to do with me being hammered, because we did catch quite a bit of it on the Red Zone Channel. That was a pretty solid beating we put on Jax, and anytime you hold MJD to almost NOTHING is a pretty good effort. Color me surprised! I now expect more a rollercoastery season. Hope that KC loss doesn't come back to haunt us. Go Bolts!!!