Chargers vs 49'ers: Preseason Finale

The final preseason game for the Chargers and 49'ers was exactly as advertised for the Chargers. No Rivers, no Gates and no Tomlinson. Both the offensive and defensive lines played a few possessions in the first quarter but backups and those on the 'bubble' saw most of the playing time.

On the other side of the ball, a different gameplan. The 49'ers had Alex Smith, their starting quarterback, in at the start of the game. He was unable to do anything with the 49'er offense against much of the first-team Charger defenders. Rookie Charger Safety Eric Weddle was in for several plays with the first team and looked sharp all night with 2 interceptions and 6 solo tackles.

Vernon Davis had probably the only highlight of the game and that was after catching a first down pass decided it was the right time to mock his former Maryland teammate Shawne Merrriman by mimicking his celebration...pretty cocky to be doing that kind of stuff in a preseason game but from all reports, Vernon Davis is a loser. 2 plays later Smith was intercepted.

The 49'ers were horribly sloppy. Several pre-snap penalties, 6 turnovers (4 interceptions) and overall played a very sloppy game.

The game was basically a non-thrilling, starless affair ending 16-13 with the Chargers on top.

(Read the AP recap here.)

Playing Tag Banned: America's Descent Continues

A Colorado Springs school has banned the game of tag from it's playground...yes the game of tag. Are you freakin' kidding me? The game of tag? This is just another example of how each generation of kids will become bigger and bigger pussies. No dodge ball, no kick ball, no merry-go-round ... they might as well ban fun. Right alongside this article they should post the articles about the obesity rate in American kids continuing it's rise because this is exactly why kids will sit in their house and watch tv and play video games...because they aren't allowed to have any fun if it might hurt someone else's feelings. Not to mention in this world of political correctness any activity children are involved in, no one can win and no one can lose for fear of hurting someone's feelings.

When I was a kid there were bullies you tried to avoid but confrontation with them was inevitable and what would happen? You would get beat up or pushed around or shoved into the girl's locker room or whatever ... not like it, but take the licking like a man and go home...you can't win every battle. Heck, we were allowed to play tackle (YES! TACKLE and of course with no pads you wusses) football on the playground. I distinctly remember coming in after recess more than once with scrapes, cuts and blood oozing out of various parts of your body after a great game of tackle football with my classmates. If you were bleeding bad enough you would be allowed to get a band-aid prior to class starting but you better hustle up or you'd have to stay after school. I would think that even touch football might be too aggressive for the sheltered youth of today.

Today, bullies are expelled, tag is banned and kids bring a gun to school and go on a rampage because they were made fun of. I shudder to think how spineless and helpless future Americans are going to be because they have been coddled their entire life and sheltered from anything that is even remotely objective.

Chargers Final Preseason Game vs 49'ers

Tonight is the final preseason game for the San Diego Chargers (matchup here) against the San Francisco 49'ers. Starters (with the exception of Tomlinson) are likely to get a few reps in, but it would be foolish to have them play any extended time with the regular season starting next week. Darren Sproles who had an undetermined ankle injury from the previous preseason game looks like he can dress and play tonight.


The game doesn't start until 9:00 CT, so I am unsure on whether or not I'll stay up and watch the entire game but I do plan on catching the first half if I am not bored to sleep...

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 3

I was happy to see that "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" is returning to FX for it's third season. The season premiere is September 13th. I think the show is pretty funny... it's one of those comedies that you are won't see a romantic storyline and each episode won't conclude with a 'feel good' type ending where everything is resolved happily. It's pretty nonsensical, yet comical, similar to Seinfeld but more risqué and profanity filled...

In advance of the upcoming third season a short has been released that details a stipulation in Danny DeVito's contract...

Miss South Carolina: As Bright As A Bag Of Hammers

Supporters of pageants have always tried to explain how 'beauty' is just one of the criteria that a contestant was judged upon...

After seeing this clip from the Miss Teen USA pageant, a person has to wonder what level of intelligence does one of these contestants actually need win? Obviously not much, she took third...I wonder how dumb the losers were?



The reason why 1/5th of Americans can't find the USA on a map is because many don't have a map...starts out the whole rambling...classic. You could tell she was just itching to talk about more worldly issues like "the Iraq" and South Africa...something that matters more to U.S. Americans.

iPhone Hacked

To prove that Apple is just as vulnerable as any other technology developer, a teenager hacked an iPhone so that it will work on any network and not exclusively on AT&T. Apple's big 'plan' to try and keep everything a secret first meant that they would use antiquated technology for their iPhone and unmarked chips. It is refreshing to see that people are willing to go the extra mile to hack Apple's lame products.

I just can't believe the hacked phone was worth a Nissan 350Z ... I need to get into the hacking business asap!

Briggs Crashes Lamborghini

Lance Briggs crashed his Lamborghini late Sunday night and was charged with a few traffic violations...

But I am sure I am not the only one to speculate that he was probably drunk and/or under the influence of something...crashed his car...was lucky enough to get a ride home, get a good nights rest and then accept a few minor traffic violations that will have minimal punishments compared to a DUI.

Getting wasted and wrecking a $350,000 Lamboghini, sounds like a fun time... wish I had that kind of money to just piss away...

Really?!?

When Michael Vick was busted with marijuana last year SNL had a pretty good segment during their Weekend Update... his dog-fighting happenings all happened while SNL was on vacation over the summer so hopefully a follow-up segment is in order... and if you missed the first one, here it is...

Recap Preseason Game 3: Chargers vs Cardinals

The Chargers' offense continued to look good in the preseason and I am especially impressed with Rivers, who continues to prove himself as a top-notch NFL qb. He, with the young Charger receivers, played into the 3rd quarter which one could only think will only improve their timing with each other. Gates looked solid, blocking looked good as both Micheal Turner and Darren Sproles had several impressive runs.

But now to the flip side...the Charger defense, especially the secondary, looked really shaky. Giving up several big passing plays. Merriman, although I didn't see how much he was playing, wasn't much of an impact. Quentin Jammer continues to look very beatable and even the Chargers #1 DB from last year, Cromartie, missed an easy tackle and was out-played on at least one pass defense. Hopefully the Chargers' coaching staff is keeping their defensive schemes under wraps during the preseason as to not alert other teams their defensive game-plan before the season even begins.

It is preseason so nothing really matters. The last preseason game for the Chargers will be this Thursday vs the 49ers.


(AP Wrap Up Here)

Preseason Game 3: Chargers vs Cardinals

The Chargers play their third preseason game Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals (Matchup).

Don't think we'll see too much out of this game...Tomlinson better be on the sidelines. I think Rivers should get some reps in but likely not see any extended play. If any group, I think, that would need some extended time would be the receivers.

I've been DVR'ing the games and watching them on Sunday...when there is literally nothing else on to watch...

U.S. Open Must Be Close: Sharapova's Outfit Announced

You know you've reached 'superstar' status when your outfit is 'announced' prior to the event...

Only the lamest of papers/blogs would even consider posting a story like that because it would be clear that their only interest would be to post pictures of a hot tennis player... And unlike Kournakova (sp), Sharapova is not only good looking, but she is a very good tennis player.

Chargers: Vick Trade Even Sweeter Now

In 2001 the Chargers traded the number 1 overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons, who in turn picked Micheal Vick...The Chargers then used the picks they got from Atlanta to draft Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson. In case anyone still thought Atlanta may have gotten the better end of that deal, Vick will plead guilty to dogfighting conspiracy charges. Vick may have had some exciting plays and he may be an exciting player to watch, but he never was a good quarterback.

The Chargers got screwed in the Ryan Leaf ordeal...it must be justice that they got the better end out of this deal.

Preseason Game 2: Chargers Looking Better

The Chargers played their second preseason game on Saturday night against the St. Louis Rams (AP recap). The entire team looked pretty good...offense, defense and special teams. Darren Sproles provided the big play highlight with a 81 yard punt return for a touchdown. Rivers had a touchdown toss, Michael Turner ran good, Merriman had a fumble recovery and Tomlinson was in street clothes... all-in all a good game for the Chargers.

If there were any negatives it would be that Jammer has not played well this preseason and the Chargers continue to have penalty issues.

Vick's Plea Deal Includes Year In Jail

Earlier this week the NFL denied a possible year long suspension for Michael Vick was about to be handed down. The NFL is likely waiting to see if Vick takes a plea bargain or decides to fight the accusations in court and early word is that the plea deal has a year long jail sentence...which would be less if Vick decides to try and fight charges and loses. With all the other co-defendents accepting plea deals - likely in exchange for testimony against Vick - I would think that Vick will not play in the NFL for a year because he will be in jail for the duration of the season. And of course because he is a superstar and will have a kickass legal team, his one-year sentence might turn out to be 60 days because of good behavior or some bullshit like that...but regardless, I wouldn't plan on drafting Vick for my fantasy football team this year!

Tomlinson: Nike Zoom Commercial

The Nike Zoom commercial featuring LaDanian Tomlinson is finally hitting the airwaves... looks like it has some foreshadowing of the first game for the Chargers vs. the Bears...at least I hope so! Other current Charger superstars making cameos include Phillip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Antonio Gates.

This Weekend Only: Police Going To Do Their Job

The local paper had an interesting story this morning...the police force in this town are actually going to be enforcing laws this weekend! Adding to my theory that cops, especially in my town, are more interested in getting DUI's and cracking skulls then actually serving and protecting the community. I thought that catching speeders and law breakers was an everyday task for police officers but this just proves that law enforcement is very 'selective'. You'd be hard pressed to find an on-duty police officer in this city from 8 AM until 8 PM but the streets are swarming with police once the night-time hours hit.

Speed and run red lights all day with little worries of being apprehended but once the sun goes down, going even a couple mph over the speed limit will get you pulled over. This police force is looking for one type of criminal and one kind only...drunk drivers. It's a big cash cow for the department, looks like they are actually catching 'criminals' and occasionally they'll get a bonus drug paraphernalia charge out of the stop.

The funny thing is that the police department is 'announcing' this stepped up law enforcement activity to the public, which leads me to believe that this is just a big rouse. Having undercover cops dressed up as city workers? Who are they looking to bust? Pan handlers?

Barren Wasteland, ND is very close to living in Nazi, Germany because the police know that if you are not part of the police then you must be a criminal and you will be caught.

Roast Of Flavor Flav: Whitey's Prominent

So last night I watched the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav...yes, it originally aired on Sunday but I have a DVR so I watch TV on my schedule (just like the commercials say!).

Did anyone noticed that the 'comedians' that were at the roast were all white folk? Jeff Ross, Greg Giraldi, Jimmy Kimmel, Carrot Top, Patton Oswalt and Lisa Lampinilli - all white and all comedians. Sure Kat Williams was the host of the show but was about as funny as the black 'stars' - Ice-T, Snoop Dog and Somore, which were not funny at all with the exception of maybe one or two jokes.

Was this an overt attempt of Comedy Central to get black folks to start watching the Comedy Central stable of comedians? Sure seemed like it...

Goldman's Want Cash

Here's a good twist for you...

Last year OJ Simpson, moron that he is, thought he could get away with publishing a book as to how he 'would have' killed his ex-wife and her boyfriend. Of course public outrage and a court ruling against Simpson awarding the publishing rights to the Goldman family.

So the Goldman's, proving that they are just as shallow as anyone, are deciding to let the book get published. Are they that hard up for the cash? Doubt it. Do they need to, once and for all, prove to everyone that OJ did indeed murder innocent people? No. Everyone knows he did it. So the only logical reason for the Goldman's to have this book published is for the cash.

Chargers' First Preseason Game

Chargers played the Seahawks in their first preseason game yesterday... I did casually watch the game... Things I noticed...

Billy Volek couldn't throw a nice pass to save his life...if Rivers goes down I shudder to think how bad the passing game will become with Volek back there.

Seahawks, especially early in the game, looked as if they were playing for 'keeps'. Blitzing and really going after Rivers in the short time he was in... I thought that was pretty weak...no need to deliberately try and lay the hate on a team the first preseason game of the year.

Nate Kaeding made all of his field goal attempts (3), including a 50 yarder.

Best part about the game was that no notable Charger was injured, Tomlinson didn't even dress.

Oh, and as if it matters, Hawks win 24-16.

Giuliani Is Nobody Without 9/11...Soon To Be Nothing

Rudy Giuliani wouldn't even probably be considered as a presidential candidate if it wasn't for 9/11. Now the more you hear Rudy Guiliani talk about that fateful day one can only conclude that he is still using 9/11 as his centerpiece for getting elected...but his use of 9/11 for personal gain is becoming extremely transparent...he claimed to have been at ground zero working side-by-side with all the firefighters and police officials as long as anyone...but of course didn't. He previously was in a verbal sparring match at the first GOP debate with Ron Paul claiming that American diplomacy had nothing to do with the attacks...which of course the 9/11 Commission report says American Mideastern diplomacy was a big reason for the attacks.

Yet, he is the GOP front-runner for the nomination for President... American politicians seem to be bigger and bigger liars and losers at every election time...

Sunday: Charger's First Preseason Game

The NFL preseason kicked off last weekend with the Hall Of Fame game but tonight is the beginning of a full weekend of preseason football. The Chargers play Sunday night and on television. As Tomlinson better not be playing and the early word is the 1st team will get 15-18 plays...probably 2 possessions.

I may tune it in for a while, but I take nothing out of the preseason games other than it is good to see NFL football back on television.

The Charger girls look like they are ready for the season...

Diamond Dave Back With Van Halen

Huge news 80's rock fans...word is that Diamond David Lee Roth is going back on tour with Van Halen.

So apparently Eddie is broke and/or tired of no longer being mentioned in any rock mag it was time. DLR knew it was just a matter of time and when Van Halen tours with Diamond Dave, it will most likely be a top dollar tour raking in millions of bucks as long as they don't suck...but that is just one intangible... Eddie Van Halen is a prick and wants the spotlight... by playing with Roth again Eddie will regain some spotlight but if DLR can deliver, he will easily outshine Eddie...but DLR is nothing without VH...and it's been almost 20 years (or has it been 20+?) since DLR even mattered... drugs, booze, women and time...the rock star's worst enemies....

Regardless...it's almost a guarantee the first few shows of Van Halen with David Lee Roth will be huge...

Clutch - Playmaker's - 8-6-07

Clutch put on a great show in Fargo this past Monday. My friend that works at the venue was able to snag a show flier and one of their set list from the stage...which are pictured with this post.

Clutch always puts on a good show and I was pleasantly surprised that they played for a good hour and half in Fargo and I even think the show ... as far as quantity of songs - was better than the show we saw in Minneapolis earlier this year...but of course that show was the first show since Neal (the lead singer) had strep throat and they had to cancel a few shows prior to that one. I was glad that they played Red Horse Rainbow and Dragonfly. Also, the Devil And I was a song I really wanted to hear at the Minneapolis show that they didn't perform, but got to here it in Fargo.

I 've also included some of the videos I took with my cell phone...so the quality isn't all that good, but may give you some idea of what the 'atmosphere' was like.

Had a bunch of friends from out of town come down to go to the show and we all had a good time. I used much of yesterday to recover...

I35W Collapse Will Cost Us All

The I35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis last week will end up costing everyone in the U.S. more because of this country's knee-jerk politicians.

There are literally 1,000's of structurally deficient bridges in the United States and because the I35W catastrophe all of these bridges will be looked at closely and likely needing repairs... is this bad? No, not really except that the common citizen will end up footing the bill in lieu of taxes. Is it just a coincidence that this structurally deficient bridge collapsed or was there more factors? But I think it is safe to say that if a structurally deficient bridge collapsed in North Dakota (aka: The Barren Wasteland), there may have been some national coverage but not near the attention that this accident received and within 24 hours news and national attention would be focused on other things... but because this happened during rush hour in a large metro area, it doesn't matter if 1 car crosses a structurally deficient bridge every day or 100,000 the government will require that all of them be upgrade to be structurally sound...which will cost us all untold millions of dollars.

Cheater Ties Aaron, ESPN Lovin' It

One of the biggest cheaters in professional sports will soon have his ultimate prize, the all-time homerun record. I was having a couple of beers with some friends and as we discussed how much we hated Bonds and the fact that ESPN is loving it and MLB doing nothing...then, like a strike of lightning the pieces fell together as to why MLB is doing nothing and why ESPN is loving every second of this...

Following Barry Bonds is like a reality show - a specialty in television programming these days especially for ESPN - people are following this story for 1 of two reasons...either they despise Barry Bonds with every fiber of their being (such as I) or they are cheering for him for whatever reason that may be. The end result is people actually paying attention to MLB. Having people come to the ballpark to either boo or cheer Bonds is better than no one coming at all...which may be the case when the San Francisco Giants come to your ballpark if he wasn't part of the team. Of course you then have ESPN keeping everyone on the planet aware of exactly where Bonds is at all times (ESPN Breaking News: Bonds just took a shit, expected not to play tonight), so of course no one can miss watching Bonds' every at bat.

I only hope that after all the hype dies down that this loser is erased from all the MLB history pages...along with Sosa, McGwire, Palmerio, Canseco, Ivan Rodriguez, etc..

NFL Hall Of Fame: Lowering The Bar

The 2007-08 NFL Season will officially kick off this weekend with the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony and 1st preseason game. The NFL Hall Of Fame was the last Hall Of Fame with any legitimacy in my eyes but that is all being washed away this year with the induction of Michael Irvin. Loud-mouth, coke-snorting Michael Irvin will be inducted this year. He's all-time stats are respectable but not mind-blowing and considering he was on a 'stacked' team discounts his accomplishments, in my eyes.

He is part of my "I can't understand a fucking word he is saying" dream team which, so far, is just him and Shannon Sharpe. These two guys stick up for the losers in the league and will SHOUT everything they say because they have nothing interesting to say in the first place but by shouting it makes a person think they are saying something of substance.

After the ceremony there will be strippers and plenty of blow at his hotel.

Time To Switch It To Glide

On the way to work this morning I stopped to buy a Coca-Cola and the convenience store I stopped at had a radio playing and what did I hear? None other than "The Beat Goes On/Switch It To Glide" by The Kings. Not that should be anything special to most people, but when I was going to college in Phoenix in 1988-89 (man, that sounds like a long time ago), I recall 98 KUPD (the radio station I exclusively listened too) would play that song EVERY Friday at noon, which is when I got off work from my part time job and would be driving back to my apartment before I would skip my afternoon classes. Of course the kick ass stereo system I had in the '81 Chevette (no air conditioning) would be cranked to 11 because the song (imo) is so infectious.

The song is one of things that really stirred up a lot of old memories for me and my time in Valley Of The Sun so I had to Google the song this morning as soon as I got to work because I had to hear it again and to my surprise there is a video on YouTube, so here is the video and it is required listening every Friday until further notice for everyone.

Enjoy!

35W Bridge Collapse - Minneapolis

As most people have seen and heard about the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis happened last night. The early morning reports have just 4 people dead with lots of injured, but those reports are also saying that there are cars under the concrete and in the river with 30 people reported missing after the accident. I have several friends, family and acquaintances that live in the twin cities and I hope to hear from all of them. I have personally been on this bridge many times and was stunned to see the reports and watch the video that was coming out of the twin cities last night.

UPDATE:

A webcam captured the collapse of the bridge on video.... courtesy the Pioneer Press, it can be viewed here: http://extras.twincities.com/video/web_collapse/index.html

iPhone's: Battery Issues

In my continuing coverage of how crappy the iPhone is, another issue was revealed today just as Apple announced it had a patch for the phone's security flaws. Something that wasn't first reported, and I am willing to bet most took it for granted, that you can not simply change the battery for the phone. It needs to be sent in for service, that you will pay for, and if you wish to have a phone while a new (expensive) battery is being installed, you would also need to pay for the loaner.

For such an 'advanced' device, Apple sure doesn't let a person do anything simple on it...like change the battery...

Tillman: Murder Cover-Up

This came out last week and I meant to comment on it so will do so now...

That is, the more I continue to learn more about Pat Tillman's death, the more it seems likely that he was murdered by his comrades because they didn't like him.

The main points of that article, to me are the three bullets put into his forehead, no signs of enemy fire nor was anyone hit by enemy fire.

Seems like it should be story straight from Vietnam...but must be inherit in military operations where when you do not like someone in your squad, you take matters into your own hands, find the right opportunity and then get away with murder.