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“Holiday Bowl-Hell of a Beating”

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It was not what I expected, surely not what the Holiday Bowl execs had hoped for.

More than 47,000-showed up at the Stadium for the 40th Anniversary game, as Michigan State mashed Washington State.

Lots of thoughts about this one.

BIG 10-BIG BOY FOOTBALL…The Spartans slug people on offense, smash people on defense. They pummeled the Cougars, with QB-Brian Lewerke combining for (286-APY). He broke the WSU spirit by making scrambling plays all night long. When not him, RB-LJ Scott powered for (110Y) rushing. And on defense, they took away the run game and made the Cougars throw short and underneath most of the night.

THE FUTURE…It’s bright in East Lansing. The QB, the running back, two wide receivers, 3-OL and 5-defensive lineman all come back next season, and the D-line stood out as freshmen and sophomores. A total of 12-keyu starters were underclassmen. Some coaching job by Mark D’Antonio taking a (3-9) team and flipping it to (10-3) and doing real damage in the Big 10. Look out next year.

PALOUISE POOR…Very disappointing showing by the Cougars. Without record setting QB-Luke Falk, recovering from a wrist operation right after the Apple Cup, young QB-Tyler Hilinski threw a lot, hit some plays, but his youth showed a lot. Add in the loss of the WSU top two receivers, one suspended, one who quit, and it resulted in the loss of 130-receptions because of the discipline issues on Mike Leach’s team. He was also without LB-Hercules Mata’afa, who sat out the first half after a targeting supsension.

THE FUTURE…Leach just signed a contract extension, that after the top two athletic administrators quit to take jobs elsewhere. The free spirited coach won’t be leaving, but don’t look for the Holiday Bowl to invite them back after a second lousy showing in a row year here.

BETTER DAYS COMING…As sullen as Holiday Bowl officials were with the outcome, they cracked a smile when they talked about a game they will put on next October, Navy-vs-Notre Dame. They’ve already sold 37,000 tickets for that game at the Stadium.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX….I posed the question, but was told it could not be done, too rich for the blood of the San Diego Bowl Association. Was it possible to stage an Army-Navy game here in the future, in a strong military town. The inherent costs, including traveling all the Cadets and Midshipmen, too steep for the budget.

BEST PART OF ALL…THE halftime light display-marching band-fireworks display might have been the best ever the Holiday Bowl has put on. That and the pre-game tailgate parties everywhere around the parking lot, brought back flashback memories of Chargers home games from years gone. Lots of green (Michigan State) and tons of maroon-gray (Washington State). It was a good party if not a good game.

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“Holiday Bowl-A Jewel of a Game”

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This has always been special…dating back to the first couple of years it was staged.

I remember sitting around the Christmas Tree, while it snowed volumes on Lang Island, seeing the first ever Holiday Bowl, played in the sunshine, with the palm trees, in San Diego.

And as the cold weather howled those first couple of years back East, I was fascinated by the great shootout games.

Yes it may have been BYU almost every year, but who could ever forget the excitement that a Steve Young, a Jim McMahon, a Ty Detmer or Robbie Bosco could bring with the Cougars passing attack.

Equally explosive was the one year wonder of an offense we saw in the SMU ‘Pony Express’ offense, paced by Eric Dickerson and Craig James.

Big names have always dotted the Holiday Bowl headlines.

Barry Sanders and Oklahoma State back in the day.

The Joe Paterno led Penn State Nittany Lions and his RB-Blair Thomas.

Iowa’s explosive offense in outgunning San Diego State.

All things in Ohio State history and their RB-Tim Spencer.

Texas A&M when it was an anchor of the old Big 12.

Michigan and Bo Schembechler.

Oregon QB-Joey Harrington.

Even USC and UCLA came here.

And now tonight, the sledgehammer Michigan State Spartans against the high octane Washington State Cougars, in what should be a doozy of a war.

The matchups and conference affiliations have changed, but the one certainty is good weather, lots of offense, and a nationwide TV viewership that gets a ‘Chamber of Commerce Postcard’ day selling all the things that are great about San Diego.

The Holiday Bowl, a crown jewel of an event on the San Diego sports landscape.

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“Chargers-I Want the Truth-Whole Truth-Nothing But the Truth”

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So here we are, headed to the final week of the NFL season, and the LA Chargers are still in the playoff race.

To hear their first year coach, Anthony Lynn, it’s all about his praise for the players and the organization, overcoming all the ‘adversity’ they had to deal with during their season of transition.

‘Adversity’, sure, it was everywhere, but who caused it to come front and center?

It’s no one’s fault but their own that the owner moved the team, and created a franchise that no one loves.

They’re the ones who decided to hold their OTA off season workouts in San Diego behind closed gates, and then had the gall to say no one in San Diego wanted to cover them, or treat them with respect.

The Chargers are the ones who located to Costa Mesa, somewhere lost in Orange County, where few fans, and limited media, came to interact with the team.

It was their decision to play in a futbol stadium, where they never created any type of home field advantage, because football in that futbol stadium was filled by fans of the other team.

And last I checked, it was the team’s ownership that sold bulks of tickets to brokers, not the individual fans, and it was those brokers that sold volumes of those tickets to Eagles, Chiefs, Bills and Browns fans.

It was the pitiful (0-4) start that buried the team on the back pages of the sports sections and put their stories later in TV sportscasts, because no one would feel they were equal to the Dodgers World Series chase, the arrival of Lonzo Ball with the Lakers, and then the emergence of the cross town Rams as the ‘elite’ team in the NFC.

An (8-7) record with one to play, and needing a bunch of help to get to the playoffs.

No self incrimination from the head coach over his stubborn attitude they would ‘ground and pound’ even when it was apparent, then and now, they cannot run block. And it was the coaching staff that went weeks without incorporating all the weapons to help Philip Rivers out. And it was the coaching staff that has now gone thru a league high four field goal kickers, no more trustworthy now in week-17 than they were in week number-1

And of course no one will point a finger at an organization that made mis-step after mis-step from the first day they announced the move from the 55-years of loyalty to a season long experience of ambivolence.

And how about those all time low home-market TV ratings in Los Angeles, where they were at times the fourth rated TV game, out of four, televised in LA. Not to mention San Diego, where once they drew a 31-rating, but now were getting 10-ratings, probably more hate viewing than anything else.

No the coach just wanted to talk about all the adversity the staff and players got thru to still be in the hunt.

But nowhere in his weekly comments this week, was there any mention of how they have slogged to (8-7) against the third weakest schedule in the league.

And thank goodness the winless Browns, the pitiful Jets, and the stupidity of the Buffalo coaching staff, helped get them wins. Yes a (2-5) record against teams with winning records is still very much part of why they are where they are right now.

We see if the Raiders, a real underachiever this year, can upset them, or if the other teams that have to win, actually lose on Sunday afternoon.

And even if the Bolts get a wildcard spot, do you think they can go back on the road and win against the real people who will be in postseason? A win at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs? A win against the Baltimore Ravens there in the charm city if need be?

Anthony Lynn wants us to believe in greatness of his team, though it seems all the problems, on and off the field, were caused by his people, from top to bottom.

At least the Chargers are consistent. Like their brethren, the NFL, it’s all lies. They overcame all these negatives. Just like Team Spanos never had any help in building a stadium in San Diego, and had to move to LA.

Lies, what they’ve accomplished. Lies, all the negatives they’ve had to deal with.

The Chargers. The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. But not from them, not then, not now, heading to the final week of the season no one cares about.

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“People-Places-Outcomes”

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DICK ENBERG…..His passing took the air out of the joyous season….Great broadcaster…great person….If it was a classic event, he was there to broadcast it….Too bad the Padres were such a poor team during his year’s in the booth…The work was quality…the team was not…Bu think of all he has seen…all he broadcast….Breakfast at Wimbledon….The Glory Years at UCLA with Wooden….NFL-NBC-Super Bowls with Merlin Olson….March Madness with Billy Packer and Al McGuire….The Rams with Bob Kelly…The Angels with Don Drysdale…Tons of stories…Always had time to sit and talk….and his name forever in the Baseball Hall of Fame..a forever honor.

CHARGERS…A really poor performance against a really poor Jets team….I guess (8-7) is a good season, but just (2-5) vs teams with winning record….continued struggles against the 3rd easiest schedule in the NFL…Complete game performances with this team have been few and far between…and now with a must win game next Sunday…RB-Melvin Gordon has an ankle injury, on top of Austin Keeler’s broken finger….The Bolts have 2-running backs on IR, in Andre Williams and Kenneth Farrow…leaving Brandon Oliver as the only healthy back, plus a rookie on developmental, Russ Hansbrough, who has never played a game.

RAMS….Some season, the emergence of young QB-Jared Goff, the return to prominence of possible MVP candidate Todd Gurley, the big play receivers Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins, and every facet of Wade Phillips defense….Now they get home field advantage in he playoffs, after proving themselves with a ton of quality road wins.

AZTECS…Rocky Long’s biggest fears came to reality when Army ran the ball, controlled the clock, seized the stat sheet, and won the Armed Forces Bowl in the final seconds. We say goodbye to a generational player in Rashaad Penny, finishing the season with over 2,400 yards…Long summed it up “never thought I’d be disappointed in a 10-win season”. The program is very special-but it’s too bad the community has not put its arms around SDSU football.

UCLA…The Chip Kelly era begins immediately after this Cactus Bowl game with Kansas State….Josh Rosen may stay for his final season, after missing the end of the year and the bowl game with a concussion issue.

USC…Fabulous bowl matchup coming with Ohio State…then the decision for QB-Sam Darnold too about his NFL draft status.

SAN DIEGO STATE HOOPS…A huge team win vs nationally ranked Gonzaga….a huge confidence builder for the leadership of Coach Brian Dutcher….an example of what they can be if the roster stays healthy….and now they open conference play Wednesday at Wyoming…and the Mountain West top five teams are a combined (59-13) in non conference play…Going to be a really tough challenge week in and week out.

USD….A (10-2) start with some decent non conference outings makes you believe coach Lamont Smith has turned the program in the right decision…but now they stop up on the firing line, because dead ahead, here comes Gonzaga-St Mary’s and a flurry of tough road games in the West Coast Conference.

PADRES…We are 8-weeks out from the opening of spring training, so we wait to see where the new pitching might be coming from to bolster a really poor rotation….Ditto also whether it is a wise decision to spent 20M a year on Eric Hosmer-giving him a fourth of your entire payroll…or whether renting Adrian Gonzalez as a one year bridge player for 5M might be a better investment.

GULLS…Christmas wrapped around a 5-game in streak….The roster finally seems to have a balance between youth and veterans, size and speed, and a threesome of goaltenders….Of course callus from the parent Anaheim Ducks will determine if this team has the talent and firepower to climb back from the bottom of the Pacific Division…Advise to GM-Bob Ferguson-don’t answer the cell phone if the caller ID has the Anaheim 949-area code.

SOCCER….We’re all waiting to see this shake out…MLS gave out an expansion team to Nashville, and now there’s pressure to give the next two now to Cincinnati and Sacramento….That leaves San Diego on the outside still, with a franchise to be awarded sometime next year….and who knows what becomes of the decision coming from FC-San Diego 1904…..which does not want to become part of the USL, but may not have a league to play in….an of course there is the great start for the (7-0) San Diego Sockers, who don’t get much publicity, and play before lots of empty seats.

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Merry Christmas to all my website followers.

Thanks for your support.

1-Man’s Opinion Columns return on Tuesday morning.

Happy Holidays

Lee Hamilton