Chargers likely to be blacked out this weekend, Adrian likely to be shipped out to Boston, and The Answer retires

Well, I was certainly wrong. Here I thought Charger fans were going to head out to the "Q" in force on Sunday now that the team is in control of the AFC West and winning again. Guess not. With less than 24 hours to go and needing to sell 6,000 tickets (on Thanksgiving) to avoid a black out this weekend, it looks like Chargers fans are going to miss out on watching the game at home for the first time since 2003. My friend, Nick Canepa, in his column today wrote a few reasons why they black out was inevitable, but he forgot one of the main points. Right now on eBay, tickets for the game are essentially being given away. Those do not count as part of the 6,000 when they sell. Why in the world would anyone pay the face value and get a nose bleed seat, when they can pay less than half the face value and have a pretty good seat? I don't think a sponsor, or Chad Ochocinco, is going to buy the 6,000 seats and alas, the game, even on DirecTv, will be blacked out. Knock knock, is that the L.A. market calling the Chargers back when Arnold's new stadium is built? I think so.

In other cheery news, trade talks for Adrian Gonzalez are increasing. Knowing that his value may never be higher, our new GM is doing his best to unload our home grown hero and supply us with a bunch of unknowns for essentially a wasted 2010 season. Call it rebuilding if you want, but I call it no interest at all in providing a quality product, thus I think fans should boycott the entire season. Why pay major league prices to see a minor league team?

I have to say, with the news of Allen Iverson retiring; I am a little bit bummed. I don't think the NBA will be the same without him and am shocked that no team was willing to give him a chance. The New Jersey Nets have lost 13 games in a row. Iverson would love to play in the New York market and he couldn't hurt the team. He'll go down in history with Dan Marino, Junior Seau, Karl Malone, Cal Ripken, Jr. and other greats of their sport that never won a championship. We always want those guys to go out like John Elway, but that rarely happens.

Finally, a follow up to the Antonio Cromartie story, he is still being investigated for throwing a bottle of champagne at a patron in the bar that he, Stephen Cooper and Shaun Phillips were at, at 1:15 in the morning following the dominate win over the Broncos . I am still not sure what was said to cause Antonio to toss the bottle, but the picture is pretty gory. In case you haven't see it. Here it is:

http://www.tmz.com/2009/11/23/antonio-cromartie-photo-bloody-nfl-san-diego-chargers-deadly-weapon-assault-nightclub/

I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Until next time.

Cromartie has a smashing good time after Chargers win, Adrian trade talks, and the MLS Cup

Okay, so, this is my first "shorter" post, in my attempt to write more a week while keep them smaller and to the point. Let's see how I do.

First of all, can we get some competition, please? The Chargers vs. Broncos game was great on many levels, but lacked any doubt in the outcome. The Chargers are now in first place and look to run away with the AFC West (don't get excited about your wins yesterday Raiders and Chiefs fans…too little too late, although incredible wins). Why the Broncos did not go out and sign Jeff Garcia immediately is beyond me. Anyway, we all know the score (Chargers won 32-3), but it could have been much higher. On too many occasions, drives were stalled and ended in Field Goals. Fantasy football players are not loving the Chargers right now, expect Nate Kaeding. Despite the game being the biggest let down of the weekend in terms of hype, not of final score (the Browns vs. Lions was much more exciting), the Chargers have a lot to be thankful for this week. The running game was balanced yesterday with L.T., Sproles, Hester, and Tolbert all getting in on the action and the game was relatively injury free for the Bolts. Now it's time to pad the lead with a win over the Chiefs this weekend. I am sure the "Q" will be full of Charger fans this Sunday. All the season ticket holders made their money back with the Eagles game last weekend. Now it's time to ask Santa for some money to pay for the playoff package.

The Chargers top 50 players of all time were announced this past weekend:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/16/this-chargers-list-rings-true-canepa/

The fans could not have been more right about the selections. As predicted in two previous articles that I wrote for the San Diego Jewish World, Ron Mix and Sid Gillman were obvious choices. You can read those articles by visiting:

http://sandiegojewishworld.com/san-diego-jewish-authors/jewish-authors-seymour.htm

Now onto the, "Why can't we just get a win without any drama" section of the blog. Last night, while celebrating the win in a local San Diego bar, Antonio Cromartie apparently decided that it would be fun to throw a bottle of champagne at someone. That someone suffered a minor cut and now Cromartie is being investigated for assault with a deadly weapon. Cromartie and two other Charger players, unidentified at this stage, were at Bar West in Pacific Beach when the altercation took place at 1:15 am. Why in the world were they out at 1:15 in the morning after a huge game and a flight home from said game? I know they are adults, but given the Chargers past of incidents like this post game, you would think that Norv would highly suggest the team go home from the airport and rest up. The season isn't over yet and to be honest, a 32-3 butt kicking, that's not worth celebrating. The game was a walk over.

Padres news: Adrian Gonzalez's trade value could not be higher right now and the Padres are either going to have to pay the man or he is walking after 2011. So, what will they do? Right now they are discussing trade options with the Mariners, Dodgers (gasp) and the Red Sox. Our new GM will become an instant villain in San Diego if his first move is to cut Edgar Gonzalez and then trade Adrian Gonzalez. And Jeff Moorad wants me to come back next season and support the team.

Finally, did anyone else watch the MLS final last night? I watched from the 90 minute mark and have to say that the shoot out was very exciting. I don't know anything about soccer, but I do think that if the majority of games ended in a shoot out instead of a tie, that they would be much more interesting to watch. Also, David Beckham is now stating that he'd like to own an MLS team after his contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy is up. San Diego would be a big market for MLS, "Hey David, why don't you start an expansion team down here and bring your spicey wife with you."

My goal was 500 words. It's about 700. I tried. Until Wednesday…

Chargers look to dash the hopes of the Donkeys, SDSU looking to steal away USD’s AD, and Enberg the new voice of the Padres?

Well, it's been a couple of weeks. I've been healing up from a little surgery I had. Fine now, but man, there has been a lot going on in San Diego sports while I was recuperating. Also, I am going to try a new tactic for the next couple of weeks. Instead of one massive weekly blog, I am going to break it up into three smaller blogs a week. I hope you enjoy this. Please let me know your thoughts. Anyway, on to my thoughts about what is going on.

First, of course, the Chargers; since I last wrote, the Chargers won an amazing, last second road victory against the Giants and got a pretty decisive home win vs. the Eagles. In both cases, we saw the passing game really come to life. However, the real story has been daddy-to-be, L.T. finding a last gasp and the end zone a few times. While other running backs of his generation are ending up on the dump heap, Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, and Larry Johnson to name a couple, L.T. (most likely fueled by the exciting news that he is going to be a first time father), has gone the route that Ricky Williams has in Miami. Each man has shaken off criticism and found themselves; once again, an important factor in their team's offensive. They've got their fear factor back. Yet, I am hopeful that the Chargers will not use and abuse the resurging L.T. Remember, they still have Sproles who can take a lot of the pressure off. If L.T. is going to be a part of the Chargers surge in the playoffs, he'll need to stay healthy. Just because he's showing glimpses of the old L.T. we know and love, the Chargers need to stick to the passing game first, with Floyd (now that freeloading Chris Chambers has been sent to K.C.), Jackson, and Gates while sharing time with Sproles. If they do this, the Donkey's will be left in the dust this weekend.

Another quick note on the Chargers and Eagles game, I was there and the "Q" was packed. However, there was a lot of green in the stands. Is it possible that the Chargers slow starts have to do with the fact that the fans don't show up until the end of the season when they begin to make their run? Qualcomm will be packed in December and January with Charger fans, but September – November, are these the months that we sell our season tickets on eBay, so that we can afford the playoff package in January? Possibly.

Another juicy sports scandal in San Diego is taking place at the SDSU. Disgraced home wrecker, now former Athletic Director, Jeff Schemmel resigned yesterday after, among other things, being caught attempting to get gas and car rental reimbursements for a trip he took to Alabama to see his mistress. Now the school is looking down the 8 to recruit USD's Ky Sndyer to take over the role as the Aztecs main man. SDSU may be able to offer Sndyer a more lucrative deal economically, but the job itself has proven to be a disaster for those who have previous held it. The Toreros are not only keeping up with the big boys at SDSU and UCSD in athletics, but in many cases, surpassing them. Synder's program at USD is a finely tuned machine and it is my hope that he remains. Good luck to the next sucker who takes the job at SDSU.

In positive Padre news, the team is attempting to sign San Diegan, Dick Enberg to become the new voice of the Padres on Cox 4. Enberg's presence would not only bring about a refreshing change, but also a respectability of having one of the greats broadcasting the games, like the Dodgers have. Also, it would be a sign that the new ownership is truly looking to bring the team out of the gutter and create an interest in them again.

Tomorrow, the Lions of the San Diego Jewish Academy will play in their first CIF football playoff game. It will be the first time in history that an all-Jewish 11-man high school football team competes in an American high school playoff. They take on take on Tri-City Christian tomorrow at El Camino High School. Kickoff is at 7:15.

The Chargers are now looking at a possible site next to Petco Park to build a new stadium…if this actually comes up for a vote with the city, get your popcorn and lawn chair ready, the protests will be very entertaining. I hope negotiations with Oceanside reopen. To me, personally, that is the best location. Easy to convince more L.A. and O.C. fans to come down and spend their money while keeping the team in the county.

Shout out to Adrian Gonzalez for winning the NL Gold Glove this season (you can read about Adrian's career through the minor leagues and growing up in both San Diego and Tijuana, in my book…shameless plug). The news must have been a bit bittersweet since the day before, the Padres cut Adrian's older brother Edgar.

A not so cool to Jeremy Tyler, the SDHS basketballer who left high school to play in Israel. Not only is he not playing well, but his coaches are calling him immature and are, for the most part, regretting their decision to sign him. You wanted to go be an adult Jeremy, better start acting like one. Your NBA stock is quickly dropping. When I drive through McDonalds next year, don't forget to give me my sweet and sour sauce.

Finally, what kind of a sports writer would I be if I didn't mention the Bill Belichick call from last weekend's Patriots vs. Colts game? I am thrilled the Patriots lost, but I understand the call and I think, if the Patriots would have got the first down, people would be singing Bill's praises. He is, and it pains me to say this, a great leader and he made a call, that is what leaders do. It did not work out this time, but it has worked out many more times in the past. This will not hurt the Patriots chances to play in the playoffs and there is a chance that the two will meet again than. Can we please drop this now?

As mentioned, I will write the blog three times a week now. I hope you will keep up with me and as always, please let me know your comments and ways you think I can improve this piece. I will post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Baseball Bedroom Drama (no not A-Rod’s picture of himself as a Centaur), San Diegan wins NYC Marathon, and the Chargers barely avoiding Blacking Out…again!

First off, I am not feeling so great. I had to have a minor surgery that has actually taken a lot out of me, so this won't be the longest post. However, I will try to give my thoughts on what is going on in the world of San Diego sports to the best of my ability. I am hoping you saw my interview on Channel Six on Monday morning with Marc Bailey. It was a lot of fun and Marc is a class act. What I found a bit humorous is the story that preceded my interview. It had to deal with more Charger fans getting arrested than Raider fans at this weekend's game. That is probably because the game was in risk (yet again) of being blacked out. So, a good number of tickets were purchased by sponsors and given away. When you are not spending any money on the ticket, you have more for beer. That is possibility number one. Also, I am sure the tickets were just given out to basically anyone who wanted to attend. A final thought is that Raider fans are no longer making the trip down the 5 from Oak town to see their team get beat (for a 13^th consecutive time). At some point, even the most die hard, dedicated, Darth Vader mask wearing Raider fan has to realize that it is not worth the cost of gas (or plane ticket), admission, hotel, etc…to come San Diego just to see their team lose to the Chargers…again. Even my Dad who is a long time Raider fan and lives in San Juan Capistrano did not bother to drive the hour down to Qualcomm to see this game. This brings up another topic, look at the upcoming opponents, beyond the Eagles (which should have a good turnout from PETA) the Chargers face the helpless Chiefs (now with Charger throw away Chris Chambers), the Bengals (who are off to a good start, but I am not sure Bengal fans are ready to take the paper bags off their heads just yet), and the Bingo caller led Washington Redskins. Sponsors, get your check books ready, you're going to be buying a lot of Charger tickets this season. By the way, on eBay right now for the Redskins game, the average price for a pair of tickets is $75, that is less than face value for one.

As for the game, I know I have been skewering L.T. lately and I'm going to do it again. Yes, I know he had two touchdowns, but they were pretty much gift wrapped and my 95 year-old great grandmother could have got through those holes. Also, they were playing the Raiders. Let's see how he does this weekend against the Giants defense. Now with Chambers sent to play in KC, the wide receiving core of Floyd, Jackson, and Gates is about as awesome as you can get. All the Chargers need, in my humble opinion, is a running back that can block and help protect Rivers while he airs it out to one of those guys. Every once in a while, toss in Sproles for a run to mix things up, but just let Rivers do what he does and throw the damn ball. Don't bother with any of this "wild frog" crap. Give Rivers time and protection and the Chargers will be back in the wild card hunt (notice I did not say divisional race, because that is not going to happen this season).

I just finished an article for the San Diego Jewish World on Sid Gillman and found an interesting nugget. Gillman was the first head coach when the Chargers were Los Angeles and then moved to San Diego. He was also general manager during his eleven seasons with the team. His record was 87-57-6. Do you realize he still holds the record for most wins as a Charger coach and the highest winning percentage? No one in the team's history, besides Don Coryell even comes close and even Don was 15 wins shy of Gillman's record. The Chargers have had 14 total head coaches only 6 have winning records and 2 of those 6 are Schottenheimer and Turner. I know it is a bit of an aside, but man, the Chargers have had some bad coaching over the years. On to baseball drama…in the bedroom, not the diamond.

Screw the World Series, boring…is it as funny to you as it is to me that both the Dodgers and Padres are going through mirroring, team shattering divorce scandals? Jaime McCourt cheated on Frank (which, I only have met Frank a couple of times, but he is a really great guy) and John Moores cheated on Becky. Even though the details are sensational in both cases, TMZ is only focusing on the Dodgers situation. That could be a good thing for Padres fans. However, the bottom line is, in an effort to pay lawyer fees and such, John Moores had to sell a major portion of the Padres and it is possible that Frank will have to do the same with the Dodgers. The people that actually get hurt the most, in this particular case, is the fans because the quality of the players decreases since there is a lack of funds to field a team and the NL West will once again become the joke of MLB…all because Moores and McCourt felt the need to go outside their marriage for a little extra lovin'. I hope this new law making it illegal to divorce in the state of California actually wins at the ballot boxes next November…for the sake of our sports teams.

In related news, CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz was ordered to pay $864,000 in alimony to his now ex-wife after admitting to an affair with a 29 year-old. What happened to the sanctity of marriage?

Major shout out to former San Diego High School star, Meb Keflezighi (I hope I spelled that right) for winning the NYC marathon this past weekend. He was the first American to do so since 1982. He is now being considered a favorite to medal in the London Olympics of 2012 after his run which he completed in 2 hour, 9 minutes and 15 seconds. Just incredible.

I would also like to thank Bill Walton for his years not only representing San Diego as a basketball player (even playing for our awful Clippers), but as an ESPN analyst. He always made the games more fun to watch. Walton is stepping away from the mike due to increased back problems.

My favorite story of the week: Our favorite slum lord, Donald Sterling agreed to pay $2.73 million dollars to settle allegations that he refused to rent to Hispanics, African Americans, and families with children in his 5,000+ apartment units that he owns in Los Angeles. The amount is a record since the enactment of the Fair Housing act which prohibits this type of discrimination. Maybe now Sterling will have to sell the Clippers. That would be a good thing.

Finally, did anyone notice that Brett Favre completed his mission this past weekend? He can now retire a happy man. Another Super Bowl ring? Screw that. He wanted to beat the Packers in Green Bay and he did. However, that is not the best part of the story. Security had to be beefed up significantly in the sleepy town of Green Bay and armed guards were designated to protect Brett specifically from the moment the Vikings plane landed on Saturday until the moment he took off on Sunday. You could tell with the chorus of boos that rang down every time he got into the huddle, that there is no love loss for Brett in Green Bay. I guess there will never be a retirement ceremony for Favre now and if they did build a statue, they would need to hire security to protect it. Hope it was worth it, Brett. The whole state of Wisconsin wants your head on a cheese platter.

That's it for now. I guess I ended up having more to say that I thought. Hope you enjoyed it. Also, please come out to the San Diego Hall of Champions this Thursday, November 5^th for the launch party for my book. The party starts at 5:30pm and lasts until 7:30pm. There will be door prizes, snacks, a discussion on the book, access to the museum after hours, and an autograph session. For more details visit: http://sunbeltbook.com/BookDetails.asp?id=203

Oh and if you did not get the A-Rod reference in the title, it was reported by an ex-girlfriend that he has two portraits of himself in his bedroom as a centaur, half man, half horse.