Best Winter Ever!

I've been holding off for a while and I hope I don't jinx this ... but this has been the best winter EVER for this region and I am now starting my 4th decade of winters here, so I've got a little personal data to base this declaration on...

First, we'll talk cold.  Usually, at least once a winter, typically in January and February, there will be a stretch of just brutal, brutal cold.  I'm talking the temperatures don't get above 0 degrees (Fahrenheit) at all for days at a time.  There was one winter where essentially the entire month of January the temperature was below zero...day and night.  And with the cold temps, it usually is accompanied by a steady, stiff breeze...really adding some bite to the cold temps.  Wind chills are sometimes 20, 30 below for an entire day.

So far this winter, there has been, I think, a total of 3 days where the temperature has been below zero...and 2 out of those 3 days the temp got above zero by mid afternoon.  In fact, right now, the temperature is in the low 30's (which is very nice for this time of year) and the forecast for the foreseeable future is roughly the same type of weather.  Oh, and it is sunny and calm.  And that's what it has been, essentially all winter this season...

Next, we'll talk snow fall.  Since I've moved into my house, which has been well over 10 years now, I know we have had a fairly significant snow fall.  I know most winters I would have to snowblow my walks and drive ways at least once a week, if not more.  Last year, we had tremendous blizzards over the Christmas and New Year's holiday...both of which dumped a lot of snow and shut the town down.

This year we haven't had anything that even resembles a blizzard and we've had a couple of days with some significant snowfall, but for the most part, we have been mostly snow free.  In fact, the snow that is on the ground right now was dropped about a month ago and with the mild temps of this week, we might be completely snow free before February is done.

February might be just a hair early to call this the best winter ever because there is still the chance that we could get some blizzards or even sink into a cold snap.  March and April are both months where the weather is a virtual grab bag.  But the truth is, no matter how bad winter gets from this point, we've likely passed what has typically been the more brutal parts of winter and it has been great!

Valentine's Day And How Girl's Can Keep It Special

Today is Valentine's day, a day that has been engrained in many people's minds as a special holiday.  A day when women get showered with gifts by the men that love them.  But let's get real...if you've been married for any length of time (more than 4 years is the mark now-a-days) and/or have kids, Valentine's day will likely be just another day.

When you are in a relationship and aren't married, Valentine's day is a huge day...I almost feel sorry for the poor saps that are in this predicament but then remember it once was me so it's really nothing new.  When you are not married or even newly married, Valentine's day HAS to be special.  A man is essentially required to take the wife out to an expensive dinner after giving her roses and candy.  Then after the meal you will snuggle and exchange mentions of loving each other and hopefully seal the deal with some hanky panky later on if everything is up to the women's standards...and you will be fully aware of how horrible a Valentine's day it is if you indeed fail on your part to totally pamper your girl.

What am I going to do for my wife of over 16 years on this Valentine's day?  The same thing I do every Valentine's day...buy her some flowers.  If I am lucky I will get a thank you in return, but I'm not holding my breathe.  Why don't I shower my wife with gifts, take her out to supper and make her feel special on Valentine's Day?  Well, it's simple...when your wife let's you know that you have an exactly 0.0001% chance of any hanky panky, on any night, let alone Valentine's Day, a man's desire to treat his wife special is greatly diminished.  Oh and here they come...the chorus of women who are shouting "That's because that's all men care about is sex!"  If I wasn't such a pig and wouldn't want (or expect) sex from my wife, then she would return that affection.  No, wrong.  At a certain point most married women no longer have any interest in having sex like they once did and especially after having children.  If I have sex with my wife more than once every 2 months I think something must be wrong or she must be trying to get pregnant again.  When women begin this period they then also begin to use sex for leverage and try to gain favor, and you'll see many men in this type of married relationship.  When the guy knows the women is in favor of having sex and all he has to do is be her man servant until the deed, that guy will be hovering around that women like a bee making sure her every whim is taken care of pronto.  But eventually women will fail to follow through with that and then their power of sex over men is worthless and then the fires of romance in your relationship have been fully extinguished.  What is the end result with any romantic intentions?  Yes, the generic to show and receive love answer will be accepted but anyone that knows the "game" knows that's just the first inning.

And let's really boil down what the end result of Valentine's day really is...by most accounts you buy flowers, which will die soon and have an expensive dinner, which obviously won't be around for long either all for what?  To reaffirm your love to each other?  Ok, make her think that, but the truth is Valentine's Day is a day that is marked for men to "score" with their ladies.  Once the ladies no longer are interested in playing the game and letting the guy score, then the guy isn't interested in playing either and thus, you no longer will get flowers and candy.

The women that really treat their men nice in bed are the ones that have the huge bouquets sent to their workplace, maybe even accompanied by a singing delivery person.  They are picked up from work and driven straight to a spa and pampered with a facial, manicure, pedicure, massage and what have you.  Then whisked to a candlelit dinner at a romantic restaurant which is followed with some wine on the couch with the lights down low.


But the moral to this all is that women, if you want to keep romance in your life you can not douse the flame.  I'm more than willing to buy the biggest bouquet and have my wife delivered by horse drawn carriage on Valentine's Day, but the game has to be started again and for that to happen...well, she has the ball.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

State of North Dakota Fighting For Fighting Sioux Update

It what seems like it has become a yearly event, it has been almost a year but here we are again, at the verge of the State Of North Dakota taking the NCAA to court over the use of the Fighting Sioux nickname that the University of North Dakota uses.

So, in case you've missed it, here's what's happened since my last post...

The bill passed the ND legislature and was made law, then lawmakers met up with the NCAA to see if they could hash out some sort of deal...no deal was struck and the lawmakers came back and basically withdrew the law and took it off the books...but now, people from the state collected enough signatures to put the whole issue to a state wide vote which will happen in June.  If that measure passes, upholding the law that says the State of North Dakota will sue the NCAA if it tries to sanction or ban the university, then buckle up, because it's go time.

I think the NCAA would be foolish to go to court and have all its hypocrisy revealed.  And how much money does the NCAA want to waste on this endeavor in the first place?  I think they better take notice of the resolve the people of North Dakota have towards keeping the name and if they are willing to do all this to keep this nickname, the NCAA better have just as much of a desire to eliminate it, or else it will be no contest.

Of course this all comes down to a vote in June... I give the measure a 50/50 chance ... I know I will be voting to keep the nickname and I will be hoping for a court showdown...

Slacking IX: Early Shift

Continuing with my "slacking" series, my latest installment is about working the "early shift" but really could be any shift that you are able to work essentially by yourself.

I am not a "morning person" but, I suspect most people aren't either and I once had a job that required me to be at work at 4:30 AM each and every morning...yes, 4:30 in the morning. But the upside to this was the fact that for essentially the first 3 and half hours, I was by myself and even then, it usually took people an hour or two to get "warmed" up, so I was usually left alone for the first four hours of my shift...and it was great.

When I had this position it was before the internet and many of the time wasting luxuries of today and that is a key component for this to work for you.  You need to be comfortable being by yourself.  Then if you are able to do any amount of "busy work" that makes it look like you are doing something during your time by yourself, very rarely will new or additional tasks be sent your way.  You will also want to make sure you appear "busy" when there are people present and you can certainly refer to any of the other slacking suggestions I have posted to help you with that.

Super Bowl Should Be Moved To Saturday

The Super Bowl is set for this year...a repeat of the New England Patriots and the New York Giants ... a Super Bowl I am not too interested, but will watch none-the-less.

The real purpose of this submission is to begin clamoring for the Super Bowl to be moved to Saturday if the NFL is going to continue to have the kickoff as late as it is now, or even later.  At some point the NFL decided to have the Super Bowl begin at 6:30 PM EST ... which, is much later than it was even just a few years ago.  By doing this, it has ruined the Super Bowl experience...imo.

Years ago when I would attend a Super Bowl party, the game was essentially the "kickoff" of the party.  We (me and the people I would be with) would eat, drink and enjoy the game and then continue to party until dark.  The party would be packed with people from the start until when most everyone agrees it is time to wrap it up.  But now, with the late start, last year I noticed that as soon as the game concluded the place cleared out fairly quickly...but by looking at the time, you can see why... it was already approaching 10:00 PM and Monday is a work day for many.

I think many people also are very excited about the Super Bowl so they begin their "festivities" by mid afternoon and by halftime, there are many people who are essentially "done" and I am sure you've been with people that watch the game somewhere until halftime and then either go home or do something else.

Having the Super Bowl on Saturday night would be great.  The NFL could schedule the game to start at 8:00 Eastern and people would party all night, instead after the game most try to get to their beds as fast as possible.

May 1994-May 1995 Greatest Year ... Ever?

I'm getting old...too old.  A "game" I have played with myself for pretty much all of my life is I try to reflect back to what I may have been doing at this time 10, 20, 30 years ago ... sometimes bad/sad memories are recalled, other times they might be happier memories and other times it may just be recalling "my life" at the time.  As I've played this game for most of my life I also try to somewhat "rate" my time...were the times generally good or were they generally bad for whatever reasons.  And through that process, I have determined that I think I was the happiest, most enjoyable time to be alive was a period from 1994-1995 ... when I was 24 and then turned 25.

I often look back at my "times" in the early 90's ... this is a period of time where I graduated from college and didn't have a job in my field.  I was either working a crappy retail job or sold and delivered auto parts.  I look back and wonder how I was so much more happy and enjoyed life so much more when I had a crappy job I didn't care about, didn't make any money and had no money.  But it is like most things in life ... the more things suck the more a person can make it better. 

So what made that time so enjoyable?  Well let's look at some factors:

1. The Workplace: Even though my job, at the time in 1994-95, wasn't nearly as prominent as several I have had since and the pay was pretty low I was friends with all my coworkers.  It was common for all of us to go out for drinks after work, I remember chipping in to buy pay-per-view boxing fights and watching them at a coworkers house with all the other coworkers.  Our company picnics were simple affairs but always fun. 

Now, I have an office and can almost dictate my own work hours.  My pay is easily 100% more than what I once made.  My job is noteworthy and many people are impressed.  I haven't attended a Christmas party in 8 years and haven't had drinks or attended a work social event in about the same.  There are "cliques" where I work now, just like high school, and since I've been relegated to the "loser" clique because I like loud rock music, I'm not invited to any social events...not that I'm disappointed because it would be extremely awkward if I ever did show up.

2. The Home: In 1994-95 I was living in a 3 bedroom apartment with 2 of my friends and it was a blast.  Most every work day was the same routine: I would get up, usually hungover, and get to work by 8:00 AM, get off work at 5:30 PM.  I would usually eat something but it certainly wouldn't be any elaborate meal ... PB&J and soup was a common supper meal for me.  Depending on the time of the year, go for a mountain bike ride, fishing or whatever would/could take place after supper.  Then at about 10:30 our room mate that worked at a movie theater would get home from work and would coax at least me into going out drinking for most of the rest of the night...did I mention I would be hung over most every morning?

Now, I live in a house with a wife and two children.  My wife is currently going to school to become a nurse and because of that works nights and weekends...so I am the main parent in the house with my kids on most days.  So now, when I get home, I am usually greeted with the words "Dad, what's for supper?" before I can get my shoes off.  Then after picking up the house of the litter that the kids have generated from being home for 2 hours unattended, emptying the dishwasher and making a full meal for the family which I then get to clean up with no assistance from the kids all the time being hounded to "hurry up" so that I can drive one the children to their friends house 20 minutes away before I can come home and sit down for 5 minutes before I have to drive 20 minutes to pick my child up from their friends house.  I "go out" maybe once a month if I am lucky.  Money is still tight so eating out is a rarity at this time.

3. Friends/Friendships: In '94-95 I had numerous "pals".  On most any Friday or Saturday night there would be a good 5-10 of us just hanging out.  We loved to play cards, drink, go to concerts, drink, mountain bike, drink, etc... In 1994, me and 3 others drove a "white trash" van to the Sturgis Bike rally ... drank and had a blast.  We could walk into our "regular" bar and likely meet up with someone we knew and a festive time would be had by all.  Not to mention I lived with probably my 2 best friends at the time.  We all three got along pretty well so living together wasn't a problem at all.

Now, I would say that I have about 3 friends that I associate with.  This, like many of the other factors, is simply because of the family.  I don't get out as much and much of my time is simply tending to family needs.  A card game that was started has ended years ago and my friends (and me as well) work on many weekends so right now getting together with any of them is asking for stars to align ... and occasionally they do, typically for a show of some sort.  And don't get me wrong, I think I still have lots of "friends" its just that I don't get the chance to talk or do much with them anymore.

It is this process that reminds me of Kevin Spacey in the movie American Beauty.  I often do yearn to quit my job and return to a meager existence.  As I have mentioned a couple times in this piece, at almost every stage of my life I have always been essentially broke...so what's the difference of what profession I do have when my net gain is exactly the same...nothing. At least back then I seemed to be enjoying life, whereas today it seems more like a chore.

Chargers Season Ends, Turner And Smith Retained

No, I'm not dead... I am still here.

I had a busy December and then some vacation but don't worry, I have been following the Chargers and let me just recap what's happened in the past month or so...

Earlier this season the Chargers owner, Dean Spanos (actually son of the owner, but he runs the team) announced that both Charger GM, AJ Smith and head coach, Norv Turner, would have their positions "reevaluated" after the season and hinted that if the team didn't make the playoffs that Turner, at the least, would be fired with the possibility of AJ following him out the door.

The Chargers beat a few easy teams, Jacksonville and Buffalo and even beat a team with a winning record, Baltimore, to keep in the playoff hunt...for a while.  They then lost in week 16 very handedly to the Detroit Lions and like last year, the Chargers had nothing to play for on week 17 or the playoffs..

Many Charger fans, like myself, thought that this would be the last season we would have to put up with the incompetence of Norv Turner...a new day was about to dawn.  It was just like Christmas...when will we learn who our new head coach will be and what type of "attitude" will they bring.  Beating the Raiders on the final week surely meant nothing and the decree that Turner will be fired must be adhered too.

But no....it is not Christmas.  Instead of thoughts of hope and dreams of the playoffs Charger fans were told today that they will have to suffer for at least one more season.  Yes, Dean Spanos has announced that Norv Turner and AJ Smith will continue their posts with the Chargers and continue to destroy this team.

Prior to this season starting I had the Chargers going 9-7 ... and I was pretty close in that guess, but I forgot to factor in that Norv continues to have his teams regress...so next season the Chargers will be lucky to go 7-9.  After starting 0-5, hopefully Turner will get canned mid-season.

CableOne Sucks, How To Get ESPN3 In Fargo

There is a huge dilemma for many "locals" of Fargo, ND.  The NDSU Bison are in the FCS championships, which is great.  The problem is that, apparently, many people in Fargo, ND aren't too smart and continue to have CableOne and, thus, don't get to watch the game.  The game is on ESPN3.com, which a person can view FOR FREE over the internet as long as you don't have CableOne as your cable/internet provider

First, I must lecture all those that are coming here to figure out how to get the game in Fargo because you are foolish enough to have CableOne. Sure, there may be some of you that are renting some place that is forcing you to have CableOne and/or restricting you from getting DirecTV ...but you knew that when you moved in, so again, most of the blame goes to you.  For, you see, if you are a fan of sports...any sport...you can not have CableOne for your television or internet provider.  They are very anti-sport.  They don't carry all the Twins, Wolves or Wild games and people complain...but keep their service.  Anyone that remains with CableOne deserves what they get.  Horrible service and limited options.

If you have CenturyLink (formely Quest), I have had zero problems watching the previous NDSU games on ESPN3.com.  I will try and verify other non-CableOne internet providers in the area that a person can get ESPN3.com on.  When I streamed the game, I even used my wife's laptop with HDMI out and hooked it into my HD television and sound to my stereo reciever and the picture/sound was excellent.  No lag, and the picture was in nice HD quality...streaming wirelessly.

Another option that I have used, is to use my smartphone through Verizon, to navigate to ESPN3.com.  If you have Verizon and a decent smartphone, you can either a) tether your phone to a laptop and get the game streamed directly to the laptop or b) if your phone has video outputs (mine has hdmi out) you can hook your phone directly into your HD television and watch the game from your phone.  In both this cases, you will likely want to make sure your phone is charging or hooked up to a charger.  Also, if you are not on an unlimited or big data plan, you will want to monitor your usage as to not go over your data.

But the lesson everyone should take from this is that CableOne sucks.

Chargers: Losing With A Bright Side

Really no surprise to anyone following the San Diego Chargers at last week's outcome.  The Denver Broncos did exactly as they were suppose too...don't make dumb mistakes or turn the ball over and you will be able to beat the San Diego Chargers.  And that is exactly what happened.

I had stated after the Jets game that there wasn't a "for sure" win left on the Chargers schedule and even the Jacksonville game on Monday night isn't a for sure win...in fact, I think the Jags will likely win.  Yes, the Jacksonville Jaguars that just fired their head coach with 5 games left to play.  But with a new coach could mean a new "winning" attitude in Jacksonville...something the Chargers don't possess.

But news from San Diego that has many fans excited is that, by all indications, if the Chargers don't make the playoffs Norv Turner will be fired..at the least.  Then GM AJ Smith might also get the axe and both of those things have "energized" the Charger fan base...at least to the point where there might be hope next season.

It isn't over for Norv yet and he has rallied in December before...he is going to need 5 straight wins and some help to save his job...but I don't know if this team can do it, especially with the teams left on the card...and besides, I can't wait for Norv to get fired...he has ruined the San Diego Chargers and made them a laughingstock of the NFL...again.

Chargers Lose Again, Weren't Competitive

I had actually sat down and was ready to get a post up on the past Chargers game yesterday but really had nothing new to say...2 days after the game has ended, I am in the same predicament.  The Chargers continue to lose games in the same fashion as they do each week this season...

Phillip Rivers...right when you think he might be turning the corner and making better decisions, throws two interceptions, with one being at a critical time of the game and was really unnecessary.  The offensive line is awful.  Ryan Mathews, the Chargers 2nd year runningback is doing what he has been known to do and that is fumbling.  Mathews, like Rivers, had a turnover at a point in the game when the Chargers could have made the game interesting.  Instead, with the Chargers lowly defense, the Bears would coast to an easy victory.

Norv Turner pulled a move that I blast coaches for all the time and that is a waste of a timeout...On a questionable play Norv decided to take a timeout to stop the clock and then after the timeout decided to challenge a questionable call which, anyone could have seen, would likely not be overturned...thus, using two timeouts at the same time.  If the play was that questionable, you should have just thrown the challenge flag and not even bother using the first timeout...some have said that the timeout needed to be called and the challenge was an afterthought...well then the coaches need to change their thinking...if you plan on using a timeout, just throw your challenge flag out on the previous play with no reason at all...what's the worst that's going to happen?  Oh yeah, you use a timeout which is what you wanted to do in the first place...

I was hoping that this Charger team would mirror a Charger team of 30 years ago when the Chargers made the playoffs as a wild card and was the team that made me a Charger fan.  That team, 30 years ago, struggled too in the regular season but not in the same manner as this team.  The 2011 Chargers look completely dysfunctional at this time...the secondary is a complete joke...Jammer who once was a shutdown corner is getting burned on a regular basis and Cason and Gilchrist couldn't cover a slug...together.  The defensive line is just as bad as the offensive line and the Chargers are never too shy to get plenty of penalties to help the opposing team.

Tim Tebow is next on the card for the Chargers and Tebow almost beat the Chargers, himself, in the quarter and a half he played earlier this year so I think he will be able to really pile up some numbers this week against a Charger team that has shown it can't stop anyone, anytime.

Chargers Lose 4th Straight, Nowhere To Go But Down

I was pretty sure the Raiders were going to win the game last night and watched about what I expected from the San Diego Chargers.

Sloppy play on both sides of the ball with both the Charger offensive and defensive lines getting pushed around for the entire game...the same thing the Raiders did in their two wins last season, so it came as no surprise to me.

With the Broncos beginning to surge and the Chargers fading, the Chargers could be in last place in the AFC West before Thanksgiving and the only way they avoid that is if they find a way to win a game...but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

As I said two weeks ago the Chargers will be fortunate to win 2 more games this season and it won't be next week against the Bears.  The play the Broncos after the Bears but Tebow only played a quarter and a half against the Chargers in their last meeting and came up one play short from a comeback...it won't be that tough for him next time.

There really is no need to describe the game(s) the Chargers lose anymore, it is the same each and every week...they have tons of stupid presnap penalties, no rush defense, no pass rush and their offensive line is horrible.  Phillip Rivers continues to play like garbage and after watching the game last night and the revelation that Rivers' record in game winning and/or come from behind drives is less than stellar the Chargers, once behind in the game stay behind.

Norv Turner continues to suck and hopefully this is the beginning of the end for him as the coach of the Chargers.

Chargers Losing Skid Continues

The San Diego Chargers may have avoided their typical slow start this season by jumping out to a 4-1 record...unfortunately it also might be their high water point of the season as well as the Chargers lost to the unbeaten Packers this past Sunday.

Its not really a surprise to anyone that the Chargers would lose to the Packers.  The Chargers are barely a mediocre team and at home, they were able to at least not be totally embarrassed, as has been the trend of the Chargers in high profile games.  Of course, though, the Chargers did have to display their incompetence to reassure everyone that they will certainly not be a team that will be a factor at any point this season.

We'll start with quarterback Phillip Rivers.  Many think that Rivers might have turned the corner after this past Sunday's game...I don't think so.  Rivers through back-to-back interceptions that were ran back for touchdowns and with the game tied at 7, the game was 21-7 in a blink of an eye.  Then to complete his league leading interception mark, Rivers threw the game ending interception to seal the Packers victory.

The defense, many think the Chargers defense is beginning to get better because the Charger d forced the Packers to punt, twice, in the fourth quarter.  The only problem with that, the Packers didn't punt once in the entire game prior to that and had scored a touchdown on every possession.  At no point was the Packer offense ever in jeopardy of stalling due to the Charger defense.

Penalities, the Chargers continue to get flagged for a ton of penalties, many of them pre-snap...totally correctable but never is.

The AFC West is such an awful division that which ever team claims the title will likely just be fodder for some vastly better wild card team.  I thought the Raiders would easily crush the Chargers but it looks like they may have some problems of their own...losing to the Broncos?  That can't be good.  I still think the Raiders should be able to beat the Chargers because they have the better offensive and defensive lines.  If the Raiders do indeed beat the Chargers it would make 4 straight losses for the Chargers and who were once 4 and 1 will move to 4 and 5 on the year with the possibility no playoffs looking them square in the face much earlier than usual.

Chargers Descent Continues, Chiefs Beat Chargers In OT

There seemed to be two camps for Charger fans going into Monday night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.  One camp of fans still have optimistic hopes for the Chargers.  The loss to the Jets was just a bump in the road and the Chargers would correct their problems and the steam roll towards the Super Bowl would begin with a beat down of the Chiefs... a team that was once 0-3 and considered to be among the worst in the NFL, but was on a 3 game win streak and the winner would leave Arrowhead stadium with the AFC West lead.  The other camp of fans were those that thought the game against the Jets exposed exactly who the 2011 Chargers are and, that is, a fairly below average, to bad football team.  So when the Chargers literally had to take a few snaps and set up for the game winning field goal to end the game but instead, Phillip Rivers fumbled a snap, the Chiefs recover and promptly beat the Chargers in overtime...fans that were already prepared for the worst were not too shocked or stunned by the outcome.

No, as I posted last week, I am resigned to the fact that this Charger team is not any good.  Looking at their remaining schedule, where prior to the season I had the Chargers going 9-7, I think they maybe lucky to go 6-10.  Yes, going from 4-1 to 6-10 is what I think could very well happen.

Lets start with Phillp Rivers...there has to be something going on.  He looks absolutely horrible.  Even on the passes that he completes, many don't look very good.  His interceptions are as ugly as they look, badly overthrown passes and in some cases, like in the Jets, it looks as if he threw it right to the opponent.  Rivers then tops off his 2 interception game against the Chiefs with the game losing fumble with time running out.  I have continued to say that I like Phillip Rivers because he is a winner, but he is, at least for now, stripped of that title.  A "winner" would never make such a huge mistake to cost the game.

Then there's the defense.  The Chargers win the coin toss in overtime and go 3 and out, punt the ball and push the Chiefs into their own territory.  The Chiefs proceed to move the ball at will down the field and make kicking a game winning field goal look routine against the porous Charger defense.  Cheifs QB Matt Cassels, who is not noted for running, had a big gain as he ran through 4, 5 miss tackles from lowly Charger defenders.  The Charger defense offers barely any resistance even against some of the worst NFL offenses.

There seems to still be the two camps, but the camp where fans are still optimistic for this season is seeing its faithful dwindling and the camp that sees this season of Charger football as another disappointing one is beginning to grow.

Green Bay comes to San Diego this week and the early line was Chargers +5.5 and many Charger fans are saying to take the Pack and the points because it is going to be a beat down.  And my thoughts are just that as well.  The Packers, coming off a bye week and have looked mostly unstoppable.  Unless they look past the Chargers, they should have little problem beating the Bolts this weekend.

The Chargers: Just What The Jets Needed

The Chargers fall in glorious fashion against the NY Jets this past Sunday and prove that they are a team that will be barely mediocre, as usual and as many suspected.

There should have been no excuses to losing to the Jets yesterday.  The Jets offense has been mostly pathetic against even poor defenses.  The Jets defense, still formidable, has allowed big games from high powered offensive teams that the Chargers are suppose to resemble.  But the Chargers are what they are and what the Chargers are, is a team that is good enough to beat lousy teams but is a lousy team itself.

The number of offsides the Charger defense had yesterday has laughable...but before we go too much further, the officiating in that game was all slanted towards the Jets to the point of silliness as well.  Two pass interference calls that went against Jammer were both bullshit as Jammer had perfect coverage and didn't even touch the receiver in the one instance.  And there were at least two offsides where the Jets had clearly moved early, yet the Chargers were flagged with neutral zone infractions.

The Chargers were up 21-10 at half and couldn't score a point in the second half.  Rivers looked completely awful and continues to be among the leagues top intercepted quarterback.

The Jets offense, with a lot of assistance from Charger defensive penalties, looked very capable.  NY fans, coming into the game, were crying for Plaxico Burress to finally show up...while thanks to the play of Chargers Antoine Cason, Plax had 3 touchdowns and Mark Sanchez looked awesome...when he is clearly not.

No, my hopes for the Chargers this season weren't high and this only confirmed my thoughts on this team...posers.  I've been tough on the media for labeling the Chargers as they have, but no longer, because the Chargers are who everyone thinks they are...non-factors.

Chargers Sharp Against Dolphins

The San Diego Chargers had little problems with the winless Miami Dolphins, something the Chargers couldn't say last week when they met up with another lowly team, the Kansas City Chiefs.  But this Sunday the Chargers looked like they are one of the best of the bad teams...the Chargers seemed to have little problem with the Dolphins on either side of the ball.  Even though the Dolphins were within 10 points in the second half, the Chargers made sure to keep a 2 score differential lead and the Dolphins were unable to take the lead from the Chargers.

Rivers looked better than he has from his first three games, imo, and this was his first game of the 2011 season without throwing an interception.  The Chargers did exactly what they needed to do...win and not lose to a team that they should have beaten, like last year's losses to the Seahawks, Rams and Bengals.  The problem, though, is that the Chargers really haven't done anything to elevate themselves to be considered a "good" team.  I have them where I think the Chargers have been placed for the past 3-4 years...and that is a team that can beat most bad teams on most Sunday's...and that's about it.

Bigger news was made prior to this game on the injury front with big implications as the season progresses.  The first was that Bob Sanders is done.  Sanders was a gamble that if paid off could have been a team changer...he is a smart, tough safety that the Chargers defense desperately needed...now, the Chargers revert back to needing a tough, smart safety.  The second injury report was from Antonio Gates.  Gates was going to a specialist to see if anything can be done to repair his foot.  Since his original injury in 2008 I had the sinking feeling that Gates' days may be numbered and the news isn't good as of now.  Hopefully, most Charger fans are keeping their fingers crossed, that the rest Gates gets now will help him be a factor later in the season where the past few years he has been sidelined with this nagging toe/foot/hip injury.

Up next for the Chargers are division rivals the Denver Broncos as the Chargers will travel to Denver to face the Broncos...then have a bye week then back-to-back road games to play the Jets and Chiefs before coming back home to take on the Packers...