Posted by Jay Paris

The Chargers head for the Black Hole in a season which has been all blue skies.  OK, there was the hiccup in the opener, when a double-digit fourth-quarter lead in the Arizona desert evaporated like a watery mirage. But since it’s been smiles and giggles as the Chargers (4-1) take a four-game winning steak to the East Bay.  The Raiders (0-4) are the Raiders and what else is there to say?

The decade of dreadful football continues with interim coach Tony Sparano at the helm for the first time since Dennis Allen got the pink slip.  Sparano has some fire in his belly and he proved it after practice. He buried a football which represented the team’s first four games. Down the football went and just maybe 16 quarters of inept performances went with it.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy isn’t reaching for shovels. Instead his team has been top-shelf, residing atop the AFC West and numerous NFL ranking polls.  The Bolts are No. 1 has a ring to it, even if McCoy isn’t listening.  He’s more in tune to getting his team to peak again on Sunday, despite a list of questions that won’t be answered at game time.

The Chargers’ offensive line could go from upheaval to heavens no. The running back situation could go from banged-up to tapped-out.  The linebacking crew still includes Donald Butler but few predicted Dwight Freeney would still be standing with the injury bug bit.  But the Chargers keep rolling even with the ailments.

The Raiders have no business beating the Chargers on Sunday.  Strange things, though, happen in Oakland and the Chargers’ most recent trip there proved it.   The Chargers won at Denver, Philadelphia and Kansas City last year — and Cincinnati in the playoffs — but came home from the Bay Area with a loss.  The Raiders will be rested from their bye and energized from their new coach. Still, they shouldn’t hang with a Chargers team which, dare we say, could be the best in the AFC, if not the NFL.

Time to pump the breaks with such talk? Possibly, but the Chargers are coming off their first shutout since 2010 and have outscored their last two opponents 47-0 in the six quarters.  The Chargers have allowed but 26 points in the second half of games this year.

But does this run came with a grain of perspective? Should we note the combined record of the previous three opponents is 4-11?  The Chargers have feasted on quarterbacks such as EJ Manuel, Blake Bortles, Geno Smith, Michael Vick and now here comes rookie Derek Carr.  Yes, the Bolts have been fortunate the schedule-makers did them a solid. But they did their part as well.

“You got to bank those wins,” cornerback Brandon Flowers said.

The bloom is off the Raiders and they’re busy burying painful memories.  The Chargers aren’t so anxious to forget the past as to embrace the present.

“We got,” Flowers said, “something special going on around here.”

We agree.

By JAY PARIS

Paul McCartney didn’t sing “Can’t Buy You Love” at Petco Park.

Doing so at his previous gig at Dodger Stadium would have been more appropriate.

The best team money could buy went down in flames on Tuesday night. The playoffs continue, but the high-end Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t part of it.  Despite a record payroll which was north of $238 million, the guys with swag went south.

Clayton Kershaw again took the loss in Game 4 to eliminate the Dodgers and we can’t explain it either.

L.A.’s offense was dreadful in clutch situations, unable to drive in runs to put a scare into St. Louis

It ended the season with Yaseil Puig on first, only after being inserted as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning.

The bullpen bridge to the closer was wobbly and deadly.  Despite the millions Magic and his buddies showered on the stars, they forgot about the stairs.  The one taking the ball from the starter to the middle relief to the back end ace.

The Dodgers got plenty from their starters and when your rotation includes Kershaw and Zack Greinke, that’s no surprise.  Kenley Jansen was good enough to notch 44 saves.

But the seventh and eighth innings, the one-time domain of Brian Wilson, Brandon League and Chris Perez, was a disaster.  The Cards proved it on a nearly nightly basis.  With those three aging relievers faltering, the elite Dodgers went the budget oute. To pitchers cashing in second chances and others not-yet-ready for their first. They trotted in with predictable results.

It figures to be a compelling offseason for the Dodgers, a team where “World Series or Bust” was the mantra from spring training’s first stretch.

Someone will take the fall in L.A. and the odds of manager Don Mattingly surviving again are anyone’s guess.

The Dodgers didn’t get much for their return this year. They won the NL West, but the bar was set so much higher that it seems inconsequential.

Plus the Dodgers alienated their faithful through a nasty TV squabble that left most of the L.A. area minus watching their favorite team and listening to their iconic announcer.

Now there’s no chatter of it being time for Dodger baseball, and that goes for Vin Scully, too.

Instead it’s time to find someone to blame.

 

Posted by Jay Paris

 

The screams started when his head poked out of the locker room.

In an venue which has seen better days, Lakers fans hope Kobe Bryant has a few of his own left.  A mending Bryant returned to the court in Monday’s exhibition opener at the Valley View Casino Center.

Appropriate, because it’s a gamble to gauge what Bryant, who missed 76 games last year, has left.

Lakers coach Byron Scott scoffs.

“He is driven,” Scott said. “He is Kobe Bryant.’’

But what does the 2014-15 model offer?  Bryant, in his 19th year, has spun his chassis’ odometer. Whether he rebounds from a torn Achilles tendon and a fracture knee will be determined.

Not on Monday, of course, when Bryant was restricted to 21 minutes but scored 13 points.  What’s going to be interesting is the type of game Bryant delivers.  It will be Bryant, but one not playing above the rim.  It will be Bryant, a more wiser Bryant, scoring more from the post and mid-post.

Just maybe, he really turns into a that Great Facillator — five assists Monday. Getting the ball to others, while Bryant severs as a complementary piece.

Yeah, I can’t see that happening either.

Not much is expected from the patchwork Lakers, and those in San Diego still holding the Clippers dear, grin about that.

But Bryant looked far from finished on Monday. He moved well, had his fade along the baseline working and didn’t look restricted.

Bet against him at your own risk.

“Yeah,” Scott said with a smirk, “he is pretty good.’’

 

He’s just going to be pretty different.  It’s Kobe Bryant 2.0 and as the Lakers reboot, it’ll be a kick to see what the Black Mamba reveals.  Don’t be shocked if he strikes one more time.

Post by Jay Paris

 

Sunday came and went but the Chargers stayed the same: resilient, consistent, focused and dare we say, morphing into tough guys? The Chargers steam rolled the New York Jets, 31-0, on a sunny Sunday in Mission Valley. Truth told, the game wasn’t that close in the NFL’s first shutout of the season and the first by the Chargers since 2012.

 

But the Chargers have had engagements like this before, against rivals with no business sharing the field with San Diego. Often the Chargers would play down to their opponent, instead of a lay up when one is offered.

 

We know and Chargers coach Mike McCoy, the living cliche machine, tells us often. On any given Sunday and you know the rest. Not this Sunday, where the Jets were a disaster on both sides of the ball.  Not this Sunday, when the Jets proved if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one.  Not this Sunday, when the Jets showed they were paper tigers in boasting of the NFL’s top run defense.

The Chargers haven’t run the ball in nine-on-seven drills in practice. Against the coach Rex Ryan’s renegades they went for a season-high 162 yards.

 

To run the ball in the NFL you have to be what?

 

Tough.

 

According to Philip Rivers, that’s a spiffy way to describe the Chargers.

The Chargers have won four straight and it’s because they use brains and brawn.

“I just think our toughness is what we’ve shown,” Rivers said, after heaving three more touchdown passes.  We’ll pass along the perception of the Chargers: lounging at the beach, chillin’ in the breeze and showing all the grit of a gnat.

No more, Rivers explained, but he’s heard it, too.

 

“Whether it’s Southern California, the vibe that you get our here of just a finesse group of guys who just like to throw it around and play in 75-degree weather — I think we’ve shown our toughness,” Rivers said.

 

I think we agree.

 

The Chargers never let the Jets get a sniff of being in this one.

With a New York offense that was more chuck-and-duck than ground-and-pound, the Chargers befuddled quarterbacks Geno Smith and Michael Vick.

With a New York defense weak on the back end, the Chargers let Rivers do his thing and that’s usually a good thing. He collected a 120 passing rating for a career-best, fourth-straight game and that’s no fluke.

All with Ryan roaming the premises and it’s always great to see him go, um, toes up.

 

“I thought I had the team prepared,” Ryan said. “But clearly that wasn’t the case.”

Case by case, the Chargers are building a portfolio of winning football, smart football and football that comes from the knuckles.

 

“I was surprised at how our entire football team struggled today,” Ryan said, and some of that was the Chargers’ doing.

 

Yep, the Jets are bad.

 

Yep, the Chargers are good, very good.

 

“We talk about it all the time, it’s not just being tough but who’s going to be the toughest the longest,” Rivers said. “Tough through four quarters, through 16 games, through a tough stretch.’’

 

Some rough patches of road await. But when it arrives, Rivers is confident his bunch will muscle-up.

 

“We just played tough and have been physical on both sides,” Rivers said. “And that’s awesome to see.”

– Posted by Jay Paris –

 

It’s a chant usually heard up north and now it’s time for Chargers fans to join in.

When Philip Rivers takes the field on Sunday, when he completes a pass, when he leads the Chargers to their fourth straight victory, a cry should rise from Qualcomm Stadium: “MVP, MVP, MVP.”

One month does not make a season, but what a flip of the calendar it’s been for No. 17.

“In my mind he is playing better than anyone in the National Football League at this point,” tight end Antonio Gates said.

That’ll raise some eyebrows in Houston, where linebacker J.J. Watt is lighting it up on both sides of the ball.  But imagine the Bolts’ lot in life minus the quarterback with the slow drawl and quick release.

Not a comforting thought, is it?

So while the Chargers search for a running game to complement Rivers, take a cue from our northern neighbors. As unsettling as that sounds.

Remember when the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant stepped to the foul line to the chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP!”

Did you hear Dodgers patrons serenade Clayton Kershaw with hoots of “MVP, MVP, MVP!”

And in Anaheim it’s not Mickey Mouse to yell “MVP, MVP, MVP!” when Mike Trout strolls to the plate.

Rivers deserves the same respect and so what if the rest of the league is just catching on.

In his 11th season, Rivers has never been better. Under coach Mike McCoy’s no-huddle, no-nonsense offense, Rivers has flowed. He’s completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns, against one interception.

That earned him the AFC offensive player of the month award, the fourth time he’s won it.

No other Charger has that many.

No other Charger, not named LaDainian Tomlinson has ever been MVP.

No wonder Rivers’ candidacy is picking up steam with the Chargers at 3-1 and atop the AFC West.

It’s one thing for Rivers to be noticed in our cul de sac of the West Coast. But the chatter regarding Rivers is gaining momentum among the NFL talking heads and insiders.

And with the Jets coming in this week, the New York Jets, the East Coast will get a full heaping of Rivers.

Considering the Jets’ ability to stop the run and their shaky secondary, Rivers could accumulate some impressive numbers. Of course Rivers, always the son of a prep coach, will trade gaudy stats for a good ol’ victory.

“I don’t care if I complete 58 percent for 180 yards,” Rivers said. “If we find a way to win.’’

Rivers is getting discovered, in part, because of his exceptional stable of receivers.

He’s always had good targets over the years in Keenan McCardell, Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates and Malcom Floyd.

Gates and Floyd are still running routes, and when joined by Keenan Allen, Eddie Royal and Ladarius Green, it’s a wealth of unselfish hands.

“There are no prima donnas on the team,” Gates said. “Every week it’s someone stepping up.’’ With Rivers standing tall in the pocket, going eeny, meeny, miny, moe as he picks defenses apart as they pick their poison.

Double teams are effective, unless the savvy Rivers is dissecting a coverage in his pre-snap read. He’s quick to check into a pattern, or receiver, that gives the Chargers the most on their return.

“That’s what we focus on,” Gates said. “No telling who it might be this week.’’

For four straight weeks, it’s been Rivers. And if everyone else is finally zeroing in on this San Diego treasure, that’s on them.

“We believe in each other,” Gates added. “And what ever the defense gives us, we try to take advantage of it.’’

Their biggest edge comes from the man releasing those passes. None of his colleagues can match Rivers’ passer rating and it’s true his streak without an interception has hit 117 straight heaves.

“He’s playing at a high level,” Gates said.

Everyone is starting to realize it, too.

“It’s never been a secret of what he is capable of doing,” Gates said. “We have all the confidence in the world that he can get it done.’’

Same goes for Chargers fans doing their part. Sunday is their day to clear their throat, to be loud and proud, and let Rivers be associated with three celebrated letters: “MVP, MVP, MVP!”

When Paul McCartney shouted “Go Chargers” recently at Petco Park, he really meant “Go Rivers.”

One doesn’t go anywhere without the other.

Does this season’s long and winding road end with the Bolts in the playoffs and Rivers as the MVP?

For the Chargers, that would be more than A-OK.