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| Stupid Matt Leinart.
So I heard him on ESPN Radio on Colin Cowherd. Alright, so he lives in Arizona now, since he plays for the Cardinals. Says he's friends with a buncha Suns players, ok.
But he claims to have been a Laker fan since he was young, then says he roots for both teams?
I think the Suns are fun to watch, and if they get to the Finals, I feel it'd be good for the league for them to win a championship. If they get past the Lakers, sure, I'd be fine with them winning.
Having said that, Game 7 of a playoff series between the Suns and Lakers, last seconds with the game on the line, Kobe puts the shot up, do you want the Lakers or the Suns to win? Obviously I want Kobe making the shot, and the Lakers winning.
Leinart's response? "You can't put me on the spot here... I root for both teams." Uh. Ok, Leinart.
All I got to say is, not surprised he's from USC. How typical. Pathetic.
Just shut up Matt Leinart. At least half of Los Angeles has no love for you anyway. You deserve to play for the hapless Cardinals.
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| I never realized how much it sucks to use a Mac til now.
Ok, so luckily I don't use a Mac as my daily use computer, but instead have my sister's old hand-me-down iBook to use when I'm at the library and stuff, like now.
And because I'm sitting here with a Mac, instead of some sensible PC, I can't watch the NCAA Sweet 16 online!
Yea, I have a final in 2 hours. But it's March Madness! And the games are close, 3 point difference in both, in the 2nd half. I want to watch!
Freaking Macs. How do people live like this?
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| Now that the Chargers season is done, it's time to start looking ahead.
Granted, football in general isn't over yet, and being a football fan, and not just a Chargers fan, I'll make the effort to continue watching games.
But, I can't live in the past, and dwell on the great 14-2 season, the MVP-caliber season of LT, and the insanely disappointing playoff loss.
So, looking ahead to bigger and better things, it's time to get myself into NBA mode.
Big back-to-back games coming up on the Lakers' current 8 game roadtrip. That's right, people. 8 games on the road, in a row. Insane.
Anyways.
Wednesday night, Lakers at San Antonio, to take on the hated Spurs.
Stupid Spurs. Stupid Argentinians.
I hate Argentinian basketball players.
Then, on Thursday night, Lakers go to Dallas, to take on the Mavericks, who have the best record in the league. I never really did hate the Mavericks, though Mark Cuban can be a pain at times, oftentimes.
Anyways, I won't be watching the Mavericks game, I guess, but you should watch the Spurs matchup. Because, man, Laker games can be exciting since you never know whether they'll show up to play or not. Sure, with injuries and whatnot, they've been a bit inconsistent, beating the Mavericks one night, losing to the Grizzlies the next, but when the Lakers come to play, they fight til the very last quarter.
And, seriously now, what experts or casual fans expected the Lakers to be at 25-13, the fourth best record in the league? Sure, the West is absolutely loaded, with Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix, but there are the Lakers, right behind them, with almost nothing left on their roster.
With Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown out with injuries, they have one bonafide superstar in Kobe, and then, practically nothing. Yet, with Odom out, they've not only managed to stay afloat, but have continued to win, despite the odds.
I mean, after Kobe, what player would other teams actually be interested in, among the current active players? Luke Walton? Maybe. Andrew Bynum? Possibly, based on potential. Anyone else? Absolutely not.
Phil Jackson has managed to coach up a relatively mediocre roster, has squeezed out valuable minutes from young players like Bynum, Jordan Farmar, and Sasha Vujacic.
Look at Jackson, all fired up and passionate on the bench. He can hardly contain his intensity. It's like his limitless amounts of energy and his animated stares are simply willing this team to victory.
To those who said Jackson couldn't do anything without a roster loaded with Hall of Famers, ie. Bulls with Jordan and Pippen, Lakers with Shaq and Kobe, Jackson is definitely earning that $10 million a year or whatever it is.
Ok, that's enough for now. Just getting myself into a basketball mindset. Hard to do after months of football.
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| Merriman
Shawne Merriman indeed tested positive for steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, thereby violating the NFL substance-abuse policy. He says the positive test was a mistake on his part, a result of him unknowingly taking a tainted substance. Regardless, he accepted his punishment, served a four-game suspension, as well as losing his salary for those games.
He was, however, voted to the Pro Bowl, and is still in the running for Defensive Player of the Year honors, because NFL rules do not stipulate that a player who violated the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs is ineligible from those distinctions.
Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins, if you don't already know, called foul play on the whole matter.
"You really shouldn't be
able to fail a test like that and play in this league to begin with. To
make the Pro Bowl and all the other awards, I think you're walking that
fine line of sending the wrong message."
Well, Jason Taylor, what you say may have some validity. Maybe the owners and Player's Association should rethink the rules. Maybe they are sending the wrong message. But the fact is, as the rules stand, Merriman served his punishment and should not be penalized further. Furthermore, Jason Taylor just happens to be one of the other leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year.
I say, fine, don't give Merriman the award. The Associated Press can choose to see him as less deserving of the award if they want, for a variety of reasons, including his violation, his suspension, and even the fact that the Chargers went 4-0 during his time out. But for Taylor to call Merriman out only makes Taylor look bad. Good intentions aside, it just looks like Taylor is jockeying for position, trying to win the award himself. Not a good move.
I don't want to support cheating, and I know in a moral and ethical sense, it would be wrong to promote players who openly or secretly cheat. That being said, Merriman was caught and accepted his due punishment. When it comes to postseason awards, you've got to give people the benefit of the doubt. For better or worse, the rules are written as they are.
Chargers and the Draft
I know this point has been belabored, but I still can't help but be impressed with the Chargers management in regards to the draft and their infamous draft day trades.
We all know they were smart in trading the first overall pick, which ended up being Michael Vick, for a pick they used on LaDainian Tomlinson. By the way, Drew Brees, regardless of what people say, was not involved in the trade. He was picked first in the second round, with the pick the Chargers always had. Regardless, Tomlinson for Vick still looks like a win-win-win situation so far for the Chargers.
Then, they trade Eli "The Punk" Manning for three Pro Bowlers! Ok, I know Philip Rivers going to the Pro Bowl over Tom Brady is a shocker. It was surprising to me too. I'd take Brady over Rivers any day. But the point is, Rivers has shown promise, and in his first year starting has shown poise and leadership in helping this team get to 13-2. Most importantly, he hasn't yet shown to be a coward and a wimp like the littlest Manning in New York.
Booooooooo! BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Anyway, Manning for three Pro Bowlers: Rivers, Nate Kaeding (the kicker), and Merriman. Amazing value. Who in their right minds wouldn't take that trade any day of the week?
Chargers versus Cowboys
But the Chargers drafting acumen is not just limited to knowing when to fold and give up the first overall pick in exchange for better value. It's also a matter of drafting the right players.
Take a look at the Dallas Cowboys, circa 2005. The Cowboys and Chargers were both expected to concentrate on either the defensive side of the ball or the offensive line. Both used 3-4 defenses, so in terms of defensive personnel, they were looking at the exact same players.
The Cowboys had the 11th overall pick and the 20th overall pick in the first round. Chargers had the 12th and the 28th. Many mock drafts had the Cowboys taking either Merriman or DeMarcus Ware, and the Chargers taking whoever the Cowboys didn't.
Ware was a similiar player to Merriman in body type and skill set. They were both expected to be converted to outside linebacker in the NFL for 3-4 defenses, hybrids who concentrate on the pass rush, though from the upright position, as opposed to a three-point stance.
The Cowboys took Ware, who had 8 sacks his rookie year, and has compiled 8.5 sacks through 15 games this season, altogether very solid numbers. The Chargers, who didn't exactly make their own decision but took whoever the Cowboys didn't, took Merriman. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors last year while logging 10 sacks, and now is currently leading the league with 16 sacks, despite missing 4 games with the aforementioned suspension. Advantage: Chargers.
Not bad, but I'm sure Cowboy fans want to see more of this from Ware
Later in the first round, the Cowboys decided to take a defensive end with their 20th pick. Defensive ends in the 3-4 are also a different breed than the ones with which you may be accustomed. Many are converted defensive tackles, weigh in at the high 200s in weight, and must be strong against the run. This is because there are only three down-lineman in the 3-4, and the added pressure from at least one linebacker helps the pass rush. Thus, a player like Dwight Freeney, a very solid pass rush defensive end, could never play in a 3-4. It's why Jason Taylor, who had been a defensive end for his entire career, has been moved to linebacker on occasion, when the Dolphins go into a 3-4 look. It's why Richard Seymour, a Pro Bowl defensive end for the Patriots, actually moves inside on many plays, serving as a defensive tackle when the Patriots (frequently) change up their defensive look and go to a 4-3.
In came Marcus Spears, 6'4", 298, from LSU, looking, in all respects, like a prototypical 3-4 defensive end. He actually played tight end in high school, and even played on both sides of the ball his freshman year.
It's about time I gave a disclaimer and said, stats aren't everything, especially for defensive linemen. You won't rack up too many sacks playing lineman in a 3-4, especially for tackles. However, in this case, I think the stats only serve to reinforce what is already true.
And so, the Cowboys drafted Spears, and he's compiled a 31 tackle, 1.5 sack season last year, and a 45 tackle, 1 sack season this year. Serviceable, but probably not quite the first round talent the Cowboys expected.
Bill Parcells has recently considered demoting Spears. "When (Spears) wants to play, he doesn't have trouble with anything,"
Parcells said. "When he is not on top of his game, he has trouble with
everything."
The Chargers were up 8 picks later, with the 28th overall pick, and here's where the Chargers get really adventurous, and find true success. With a low pick in the first round, you still expect a lot of value, obviously, but you also have to be willing to make some gambles. San Diego did just that.
Luis Castillo, 6'3", weighing in at 290 lbs, was actually seen as more of a 4-3 type defensive tackle, nose guard. And he plays both tackle and end for the Chargers now. But what was even riskier about this pick was the fact that Castillo tested positive for steroids at the Combine. He apologized quickly, citing a nagging injury he had, and was very remorseful, even sending letters to all 32 teams admitting his mistake. Still, many scouts and GMs were scared off by that development. The Chargers decided he was worth the risk, believed that the steroids incident was a onetime thing, and drafted him anyway and got great value.
Castillo has been dealing with injuries this year, and has been limited to 10 games. Despite this, he built on his rookie year of 49 tackles and 3.5 sacks to reach 38 tackles, 7 sacks, in six fewer games. Castillo looks to have a bright future as part of what is considered by many to be one of the best front sevens in the NFL.
It takes a lot of luck, some skill, and the willingness to take risks to be successful in the NFL draft. For the Chargers, that has also meant more than just knowing when to trade the top overall pick away.
Castillo + Merriman. Poor Cutler.
I used to be down on the Chargers management for playing hardball in contract negotiations, letting players such as Drew Brees go, and for their difficulties in securing a new stadium deal. They still have yet to work out a stadium deal, and may move outside of the city of San Diego, but their ability to draft well consistently for the past five years has impressed me beyond all measure.
Already Marcus McNeill, their second round pick from 2006, is getting rave reviews after starting the entire season at left tackle, and is even getting some Offensive Rookie of the Year consideration. Antonio Cromartie, their first rounder, doesn't start in the Chargers improving secondary, but has made some key contributions on special teams, both in coverage and in the return game. Looks like the Chargers are loaded for a good number of years of championship-caliber play.
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| So I tried to set up a wireless router in my home, and I've set up routers and networks in the past, but for some reason my internet here just really sucks.
I end up calling the Verizon people, and, of course, an Indian person answers. Said his name was James or something. He was nice enough, and I understood him fine, but he was also very little help, and instead referred me to the Netgear people.
This time around wasn't so good. He was a little more honest than the first, and said his real name, which I obviously don't remember, and won't try to make up. Problem is, he was also a lot harder to understand.
Trying to tell him the serial number and such of the router was a chore. He'd repeat everything I said, to make sure he got it right, which is certainly responsible, but we ended up repeating it to each other four times before he finally got it right.
It got even worse when he told me there was nothing he could do over the phone, unless I was willing to pay a $35 expert maintenance fee or something, since my warranty is expired. He tried to refer me to a website where I could email my questions to Netgear, which seems simple enough, but that took another ten minutes.
I guess it was just because he was being thorough.
H as in Hotel, T as in Tango, again, T as in Tango, P as in Peter, colon, forward slash, forward slash, M as in Mike, Y as in Yankee, dot, N as in November, E as in Echo, T as in Tony, G as in Golf, E as in Echo, A as in Apple, R as in Romeo, hyphen, S as in Sally, U as in Uncle, P as in Peter, again, P as in Peter, O as in Oscar, R as in Romeo, T as in Tom, dot, C as in Charlie, O as in Oscar, M as in Mike.
He got it wrong the first time too. It really did take a long time.
What I found strange was how he'd sometimes mix things up, like using Tango for T one time, then Tony or Tom other times.
It was sorta cool having someone say things like Whiskey and Tango though, it's like pretending you're in the military, or CTU or something.
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