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“Chargers Football-Same Old-Same Old”

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The second half of the Chargers season has started just like the beginning of the season.

A poor performance, across the board, and another loss, after we all expected a possible win.

For the record, the Chargers are now (3-6), and all that is new, seems to be plagued by all the old problems.

Here goes a checklist of what I saw.

SPECIAL TEAMS…Not so special once again, a problem that has gone on unstopped for 3-years. George Stewart, who once ran special teams for the Steelers in the Bill Cowher era, has a team in last place in most every category. He has not coached special teams since 1999-why was he hired?

PENALTIES….This week’s goats were kids Rayshawn Jenkins and Michael Davis, who keep picking up flags. They wipe out big gains with bad blocks. Or they commit fouls that tack on yardage for other guy.

FAKE KICKS…The Bolts got caught standing naked as Jacksonville ripped off a 56-yard TD run on a fake punt.

TIGHT ENDS …Where was Hunter Henry in the game plan vs the Jaguars? MIA, hardly ever targeted, and Antonio Gates virtually ignored. Just when you think Henry could be as dangerous-productive as Rob Gronkowski, he does not get targeted.

KID RUNNING BACK…It’s taken Ken Whisenhnunt half a season to find a replacement for all the things Danny Woodhead used to bring to the table. It was a breakout game for the rookie Austin Eckler, but then again, a costly fumble let the Jags back in the game.

DROPS-DROPS-DROPS…Happened again. Tyrell Williams dropped an open TD pass that could have blown the game open. And S-Tre Boston dropped another surge-fire pick six, but he is a defensive back.

ODD MISTAKE…Joey Bosa plays so hard, and for an odd time, he stepped over the line, with the late hit, throw to the ground, of QB-Blake Bortels. You can forgive him for being all out all the time.

DUMB MISTAKES…Tre Boston picks off a pass and starts dancing and steps out of bounds, rather than running up the field with the idea of burning the clock. Not too smart.

CLOCK MANAGEMENT….Hey we are only 9-games into the season. Delay of game flag after penalties. Burned timeouts. Undisciplined mental penalties. It happened opening game in September. Still happening in November. Not very smart leadership is there?

DENZEL DO IT…Quite a first game back for Denzel Perryman. He was everywhere making plays the whole first half, but ran out of gas in the second half. Need him on the field all the time.

HAUNTED AGAIN…In same old Chargers fashion, they get put down by someone they got rid of. This time, erratic K-Josh Lambo comes back and bangs home two late field goals, to tie it, then win it. Never ends.

TWO MINUTE WARNING…That was as ugly-bad-wild as you could imagine. The final two minutes of the game. The Ekeler fumble. The two Tre Boston interceptions off Bortels. The two taunting penalties, flags of stupidity by the Jags. The Bosa roughing he passer penalty.

SCOREBOARD DOES NOT LIE….The Chargers are now (13-31) dating back two and a half years. Anybody believe this team is improving? They now have 14-one touchdown losses in the last year and a half.

COACHING EQUATION…Is this team any better with Anthony Lynn, than it was Mike McCoy? The big issue, everyone of the offensive coordinators the Spanos family has hired have failed as head coaches. Ownership is a problem too, isn’ t it.

FIGHT FOR LA….Ha-Ha. Rams now (7-2) and look for real. Chargers seem forever a failure, with an aging quarterback. Another non playoff season for the Bolts.

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“College Basketball-Roll the Ball Onto the Floor”

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A new era at one place. A new season at the other. Both very important times as they open the college hoops season this weekend.

A new era at San Diego State, as Brian Dutcher replaces the iconic Steve Fisher.

A new season at the University of San Diego for coach Lamont Smith, where they are trying to stop the losing spree.

Important seasons for both schools, for very different reasons.

For the first time in a long time, there is no preseason rating in the polls for San Diego State, where 20-win seasons, even a (30-3) camp again, and annual March Madness invites were the norm.

Now Dutcher, who sat next to a great one in Fisher, for nearly two decades, gets to do it his way.

Now Smith, who has suffered thru two horrible seasons of losses, has his own team, loaded with a couple of years of recruits, needing wins maybe to save his job.

The Aztecs welcome in highly regarded USF-transfer guard Devin Watson, giving SDSU possibly the best threesome in any backcourt in the conference, and maybe even on the West Coast.

The Aztecs season will hinge though on consistent play, scoring and rebounding, from Malik Pope and quality minutes from transfer center Kam Rooks.

They know they will get quality performances from Watson, Trey Kell and Jeremy Hensley. They need a breakout season from some big man, whether that is the highly touted freshman Jalen McDaniels, or the afore-mentioned Pope, whose career has been like the stock-market, up and down. It might be unfair to call him an under achiever, but he surely is not what we hoped for when he first arrived.

Maybe a growth year from 3-point shooter Max Montana, or consistency from Missouri transfer Monti Gil-Caesar can make a difference, because the two transfers have been more disappointing that reliable contributors.

At USD, the horrors should be over.

It’s been painful to watch the program stagger in recent years. Smith’s teams were undermanned for two straight seasons. He had to sit and take it, and it included 3-of the worst beatings USD ever has ever suffered, at the likes of Gonzaga and BYU and St. Mary’s.

He’s recruited guards like Olin Carter, who can shoot, score and make plays. Now he has talent coming in, in droves.

Now for the first time, he has bulk, in 6’8-banger Alex Floresca from St-Louis…and 6-8 grinder Xavier Pineiro, grinder transfer from Portland State.

Finally tough guy Cam Neubauer, who had to do it all last year, has some muscle help alongside him.

Add in 3-young bigs, 6’10…6’11 and 7’…all likely to be cornerstones a year from now while learning about what the West Coast Conference is like this winter.

USD has players from Germany, Austria and Belarus on board too. Call it the Gonzaga plan. Now we wait to see if they can grow into the type of player Gonzaga has.

Dutcher’s team will be up-tempo and fast. They will play defense. Can they score enough if they have to go into set offenses? Can they get points from somebody besides those over-worked guards?.

Smith’s team will be much more physical to counter act what goes on in the conference. Can they stay out of foul trouble and stay in games?

Big years for both. SDSU cannot afford to slip into mediocrity. USD has to climb out of this horrible athletic abyss.

Roll that ball onto the floor. The Aztecs start tonight. The Toreros start on Sunday.

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“You Have to Be Kidding Me”

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They’re back at it, these on-campus activist at San Diego State.

At the height of the popularity of its athletic programs, the Schools Student Senate has voted a resolution, asking the Aztecs Warrior…the official mascot since 1941, be removed.

Because he carries a spear…because he uses it as a weapon of violence, the senate believes it is a ‘bad look’ for the university.

And while they are at it, they want the school to re-examine the nickname, Aztecs, used for nearly 90-years on campus.

Please.

Political correctness?

It’s sports. It’s action.

The Aztec Warrior, the former Monty Montezuma-what’s wrong with him.

It’s a symbol of courage.

The name, an honor to the past civilizations, the tribe who lived for centuries in Mexico.

I’d think the Student Senate would have better uses for resources. More pressing matters on campus

Sexual assault on campus. Computer hacking. Drug issues. Social unrest. Alcohol.

It boggles the mind, that something as trivial of a nickname and a mascot would draw this much attention on campus.

What next? Change the name to Tulips and colors to pink?

SDSU-find a priority problem, and fix it. Leave a very successful athletic program alone.

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“Heartache Everywhere-World & Sports”

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We just cannot get away from all the sad news in our society.

Sometimes you wish it was really ‘fake news’…but it’s not.

Roy “Doc'” Halladay, the warrior of a pitcher with the Blue Jays and Phillies had his life snuffed out yesterday around noon.

The retired right-hander, an 8-time All Star in a 16-year career as a warrior on the mound, perished at the controls of his newly acquired single engine plane.

It plunged into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Tampa Bay coast, near his home in Clearwater, Florida.

He was doing what he always wanted to do, fly planes, his hobby, his passion after leg his other hobby, taking the ball every 5th day during an illustrious firebrand career in Toronto and Philadelphia.

I interviewed him once while at the Mighty 1090. He was all business, all the time serious, intelligent, a great quote, and forever opinionated.

He was a carbon copy of Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw. Fierce as a player and person. Private and quiet, honest and humble.

He was (203-105), an impressive stat, especially when you consider he didn’t always pitch for good teams.

He was beloved in the clubhouse, and a fighter on the mound. The best word to describe him was “spirit”…all the time.

And when it was over, he was gone from baseball, just like that, when all the starts, all the innings took a toll, he walked away, onto his next adventure…flying all the time.

We don’t know yet what cause the accident. Engine failure, structural damage, pilot error.The high speed chase plane, flew fast and low over water. It was found upside down, canopy in the water. There was no mayday call, just a damaged plane, and a life ended.

In the weeks that have just passed, we have had to grieve the horrors of what just happened outside San Antonio. Shocked at the depths of the Las Vegas tragedy. Stunned at what happened in New York City, or Charleston, or Orlando.

It seemingly never ends, and now baseball has been touched by sadness in its own backyard.

Gone from baseball in a minute. Gone from our lives in a minute too.

Doc Halladay, a real talent and a really strong as iron type of guy. 600-major league players tweeted sadness in the first 6-hours after news of the crash came out.

Mourned and to be missed by lots of people.

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“You Had a Good Season–But”

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Baseball completed a fabulous season late last week.

The “Houston Strong” story as the Astros won after 55-years in business..and won for all those who suffered thru the floods.

It was a great celebration…that World Series parade, yes honoring the team, but the city residents and the first responders.

And yes the Dodgers had a legendary season, 104-wins and the push to the 7th and final game.

They Yankees won over 100-and got to the finals of the ALCS.

Washington likewise had a tremendous run thru all the injuries they had.

But like always, it might have been just last week, or last month, but it surely is now last season.

And the new baseball year, the important off season has begun.

Here comes free agency. In weeks, here comes the winter baseball meetings. And here now, the market flooded with players not offered contracts.

The Yankees fired manager Joe Girardi.

Washington did the same to manager Dusty Baker.

The Dodgers are now making changes too.

They’ve bought out OF-Andre Ether. They are putting power hitting C-Yasmani Grandal the trade block.

They have a painful decision to make on 1B-Adrian Gonzalez, his season wiped out by a herniated disc, that blocked him from playing in the post season.

What do they do with his 23M-contract? Eat it and say goodbye? Shop him for a possible deal and pay piece of the salary? Hope he gets healthy and can give you a good final year?

And then there is Yu Darvish, his in season successes scarred by this post season failure, and the burning question, does a rich Dodgers team lavish 20M on this pitcher?

The Angels made their big move, re-doing the contract of Justin Upton, adding a 5th year for an additional 18M-quite an investment for what will be an aging outfielder by the time he reaches the big payday years of the 5-year deal. But at least they keep the bat they liked.

The Padres will go bargain basement shopping for pitching,and hope the young kids in the farm system will arrive sooner that later. Free agency for this franchise is too expensive to fit their blueprint.

In every major league city, painful decisions are going to made for high priced players too.

Miami is trying to trade Giancarlo Stanton and the remaining 10-years and 280-M left on his Marlins contract. How do you deal a guy who hit 59-homers and is the face of your franchise?

Kansas City may lose all 3-of their veterans stars to free agency, and though they will get draft picks to Eric Hosmer-Mike Moustakos and Lorenzo Cain, that won’t help ease the pain when they put a 100-loss team on the field.

What do the Yankees do with CC Sabathia who wants to come back?

And who gets into the bidding war for Japanese slugger and superstar pitcher Shohei Omani, about to be posted by the Nippon Ham Fighters?

The shine of Octobret is about to be replaced by the gloom of November in some major league cities.

For front offices everywhere, ‘you had a good year, but’….that was last year. We have to move on to next year beginning his week….and it is just starting.

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