San Diego Sports Blog

Kawhi Leaves, Worry About Padres is Legit

2011-04-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

The announcement that Kawhi Leonard is leaving San Diego State is no shock, that he plans to hire an agent next week is a bit of a surprise, as it closes off all chances that he can remain an Aztec.

Coach Steve Fisher said all the research places Leonard comfortably within the first round of the NBA draft, so perhaps it is a moot point. He has an NBA game and, even with his mid-range offensive skills in need of improvement, the pros will covet his rebounding and defense.

SDSU's mediocre performance in the NCAA Tournament did not cause prized recruits to swarm to the Mesa, but placing an underclassman in the first round of the NBA draft might turn some heads in a prized 2012 high school class. That's where Leonard's departure might pay off.

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Nick Canepa of the Union-Tribune is exactly right that it's not too early to be concerned about the lack of hitting in the first couple of weeks by the Padres. It probably doesn't matter much, because no team starts making serious changes until it becomes summer, but you can start making some judgments about this team.

1. It is true that there are no easy outs in the lineup, but there aren't any superstars, either. The problem is that every opponent, especially in Petco Park, goes up against the Padres knowing they have to keep scoring down. So the pitchers really bear down against the Friars, who have been unable to respond in kind.

2. Channel 4's Bob Scanlan, whose "Scanalysis" is excellent, made one point Wednesday evening I think is incorrect: that you know Ryan Ludwick and Brad Hawpe won't go all season hitting under .200 because they've always hit in the past. While that is probably true in the literal sense, can you really say they'll hit much above .200 with power? Not really. Ludwick had two good years but is coming off a rotten 2010. This season is just a continuation of his struggles, going 0-for-14 this season with runners in scoring position. He looks so bad at the plate that he might not get picked up by another team when the Padres release him this summer. Hawpe is also coming off a rough season last year. The difference in whether they can do it again because they always do is that both were beat up physically in 2010.

3. Will Venable, Chris Denorfia and offseason pickup Jorge Cantu are all scuffling, while Chase Headley's batting has been mediocre.

So what to do? Here's some suggestions:

1. I couldn't have disagreed more at the time with GM Jed Hoyer's re-signing of Ludwick and think the earlier the Padres cut ties with him, the better. He is not going to improve too much. Give Eric Patterson a shot in left and call up either Cedric Hunter or Aaron Cunningham from Tucson.

2. There are no serious options at first base. Kyle Blanks probably needs a couple of months in the minors, although he's preparing to play again. Anthony Rizzo is in his first year at AAA. It looks like you have to sink or swim with Hawpe until at least the All-Star break.

There really are no other options. I think Venable will come around, but frankly, the front office is biding its time until Rizzo and the other minor leaguers are ready to contribute, and that won't be until mid-2012 at the earliest.

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If you need something to get you through a long summer, here are two thoughts.

1. GAB is still great to watch even if there aren't many leads to protect.

2. SDSU preseason football practice begins in less than four months.

Fallout From USD Point-Shaving Will Be Long and Difficult

2011-04-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

There is hardly anyone associated with the University of San Diego who wouldn't immediately trade their landmark NCAA Tournament upset of UConn a few years ago in exchange for Monday not happening. Or, more specifically, for former G Brandon Johnson having never become involved with alleged marijuana traffickers who the FBI accuses of getting him to shave points -- and attempt to persuade members of this year's team to do the same.

Men's basketball has been an absolute nightmare since the UConn win had coach Bill Grier and the Toreros momentarily on top of the world of college hoops. The message of the federal indictment released Monday is that the nightmare will not end soon, because the consequences could be severe.

The problem is that there are a lot of unanswered questions:

1. The indictment suggests that investigators have spoken to someone connected to the program in order to obtain the last couple of listed overt acts against Johnson -- that's my interpretation. Yet, the school issued a statement saying it only learned of the problem Monday morning. So did a player talk to the FBI and not notify his coach? Did the player talk to Grier, who in turn did not talk to athletic director Ky Snyder? Did Snyder know and not inform school President Mary Lyon, who issued the statement? Was Lyon not forthcoming?

2. The indictment says Johnson spoke to someone on Feb. 23 about influencing the result of a game. The next night, USD inexplicably upset St. Mary's. Did the Toreros come out aggressively that night in an emphatic "no!" to him, or did he find new clients on the other bench? Two nights later, USD lost 68-31 in one of the worst beatdowns in school history. Coincidence, or will the feds amend their complaint with other names at an upcoming court hearing?

3. Do you hold Grier responsible? Everything that happens in the men's basketball program occurs under his watch, whether he knows about it or not. Grier probably had no idea of what was taking place, but is he responsible for an atmosphere in which this horrible stain on the national reputation was able to happen? Even if the answer is no, is it the last straw based on how bad the program is right now?

4. Do you hold Snyder accountable? Under his watch, the Toreros athletic program has gone into a free fall. No one expected the high times experienced by football to continue once former coach Jim Harbaugh departed for Stanford, but the baseball team is off to its worst start in memory, the soccer programs are not doing much and the women's hoops team is middlin' at best. Now this.

A lot of good names, good people, are being dragged through the mud right now because of this episode. Believe me, before this is over, there are going to be serious people associated with the school who will question whether membership in Division I athletics is worth it. That could be the ultimate fallout.

Let's take this a step further. Let's say you're an official at UC San Diego, currently with athletics in Division II and, in recent months, frothing at the idea of moving up to Division I. Does this give you pause?

A lot of questions remain. And to think this might never have been discovered if the other defendants didn't allegedly dabble in marijuana trafficking.

Notes From Opening Day, Disconnect on Fisher

2011-04-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

If the Padres can get more starts from P Aaron Harang like today's 3-1 victory over the Giants in the home opener, the rotation suddenly will look a whole heck of a lot better -- and raise my confidence in this squad's ability to compete in the National League West. As pointed out in a previous post, the lineup is not far behind the competition, so if the five starters can make things work, this season might look more like 2010 after all...Key point in the win came in the top of the sixth inning after Harang struck out Aubrey Huff with a nasty breaking ball for the second out. Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval followed with singles, and a southpaw started warming up in the Padres pen. Harang faced Pat Burrell, the Giants' Mr. Clutch from last year -- and with left-handed rookie 1B Brandon Belt on deck and him due up second in the bottom of the inning -- you knew this was Harang's last batter, no matter what. He went to a 3-2 count, but struck out Burrell swinging as the fans roared in approval. That allowed the Padres to then go with GAP in the 7th-8th-9th to seal the win.

Difference between the Padres and a defending World Series champion -- SS Miguel Tejada was brought to San Diego to bat third last summer. Now he's in San Francisco, batting eighth. He's already committed a number of miscues in the field of the sort he made occasionally last season. My bet is unless he cleans up his act real fast, his time with the Giants will be short-lived...Confirmation that we were indeed watching the Padres -- the top four batters in the lineup ended the game with batting averages under .200. The next two were at .214 and .222. Then another sub-Mendoza line hitter. Only C Nick Hundley is swinging the bat well with a 3-for-4 performance in the home opener.

Nice opening ceremony emceed by Dick Enberg, himself an icon, and Trevor Hoffman jogging in from the bullpen with "Hell's Bells" playing on the loudspeaker...Attention scoreboard, the aircraft in the flyover were fighter jets, not helicopters...The acquisition of Cameron Maybin is growing on me. He runs down anything hit to center field. Now if they can just hide his bat low in the order and get production elsewhere in the lineup.

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We journalists think we know everything, but clearly we don't. Here's a local sports example of a disconnect between the media and the real world. Of the five major national Coach of the Year awards in college basketball, San Diego State's Steve Fisher won three. Those came from two organizations of his colleagues and a private athletic club of the sort that awards the Heisman Trophy. The two other awards are from writers, and they chose Mike Brey of Notre Dame. Brey had a fine year, but if you don't vote for Fisher, you pick Dave Rose of BYU. Or Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth. Or Steve Lavin of St. John's. Then maybe you think of Brey.

I used to blame the BCS and the six so-called power conferences for the current state of collegiate athletics. Now I'm starting to blame my sports media colleagues for perpetuating such stereotypical and obsolete terms like "mid-major."

Padres Lineup Not Far off NL West Talent Level

2011-04-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, I remain skeptical of the Padres ability to win baseball games over the long haul of the 2011 season, mainly because of a shaky starting rotation and a powerless lineup. Opponents will adjust to small ball, particularly within the division.

That said, the lineup is hardly overwhelmed by National League West opponents. Sure, we know what's missing in departed 1B Adrian Gonzalez, so we can look at the Friars on the field and wonder where the home runs are going to come from. But another way to judge them is by stacking them up against the other clubs.

When you compare the Padres position-by-position with their NL West counterparts, you only get clear advantages by Colorado SS Troy Tulowitzki and LF Carlos Gonzalez over Jason Bartlett and Ryan Ludwick; Los Angeles 1B James Loney, CF Matt Kemp and RF Andre Ethier over Brad Hawpe, Cameron Maybin and Will Venable; and San Francisco C Buster Posey over Nick Hundley.

The Padres have no clear advantages among position players over their counterparts, but the paragraph above shows clearly that they're not completely outclassed, either.

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A lot of people are lamenting UConn making the NCAA Tournament championship game and how close San Diego State came to knocking them off. Fact is, the Huskies are making the plays they need to win, and the Aztecs could not raise their game another notch. While it doesn't show woulda-coulda-shoulda, it is a reminder of just how good this SDSU basketball team really was.

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SDSU and USD are a combined 15-36 in baseball so far this season.

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Nice to see a local rowing team make the final of the Copley Cup of the San Diego Crew Classic, as UCSD finished fifth. Cal won its third straight title, while the USC women took the Jessop-Whittier Cup.

2010 A Distant Memory as Padres Season Looms

2011-03-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Live by the pitch, die by the pitch. This turn on a phrase is all about the Padres in 2011 when the team will be hard-pressed to match last year's success on the mound or the win column.

Moves by the Padres in the past week or so reveal some desperation in the front office regarding a pitching staff that doesn't come close to what they had last season. The woes are many: Mat Latos is starting the season on the disabled list, Clayton Richard and Dustin Moseley didn't hit any kind of stride during spring training and no one knows how long Aaron Harang is going to last. When the Friars need a fifth starter, do they pull Corey Luebke out of the bullpen or recall Wade LeBlanc from AAA? The only rock appears to be Tim Stauffer, who missed most of last season after an appendectomy.

Even the mighty bullpen is not immune from questions behind GAB. Samuel Deduno and Pat Neshek were off the radar when spring training started. Can these guys, along with Ernesto Frieri, stop the bleeding in the fourth and fifth innings of bad starts to get the ball to GAB with a chance to win? The formula worked last year but appears doubtful in 2011.

The Padres are no 100-loss team, but nothing would be surprising this year. But they could struggle to reach 75 wins. There is just no way that their pitching staff can match up with the Giants or Dodgers, whose rotations would be the best in the league in a normal year (see the Phillies, this is no ordinary year).

The Padres will be much improved defensively everywhere but first base, and the bench will be deeper except at catcher. But at the plate, there is no way they'll be significantly better than last year. It is true the lineup will have more difficult outs top to bottom, but with Adrian Gonzalez gone, there will be less power than in 2010. That's kind of like the weak skinny kid went on a diet instead of hitting the weight room. You can't score in this division by stringing a bunch of singles together, because you simply won't be stringing a bunch of singles together. You need a big bop in there someplace, and to say you'll get consistent power from Brad Hawpe, Chase Headley or Ryan Ludwick is wishful thinking.

Last March, I predicted the Padres would be in the NL West race well into September and they were. This March, the prediction is that they'll remain in the race -- until June. This is a team held together by spit and glue, and I the front office knows it.

Can SDSU Maintain the Excitement?

2011-03-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

We're about to find out what sort of a bridge builder San Diego State athletic director Jim Sterk is. Can he take the warm feelings San Diegans have for his hoops team and carry them across four and a half months to football season?

That's a big trick. I think the success of the football program played a role in how quickly the community came together for basketball. A sellout for Occidental on New Year's Eve was weird, but it come just eight days after the Aztecs 35-14 defeat of Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. The good feelings translated because the seasons overlapped. That doesn't work when hoops ends. There is a long time span before people start thinking football again and whether SDSU is even in the equation is questionable.

So what does Sterk do? An occasional print advertisement in the newspaper won't cut it. I'm sure he can trot the basketball players out once or twice before Padres games. He'll have an advantage in case the NFL and its players continue their labor strife -- but I would not count on it. There will be some renewal of interest in June if Kawhi Leonard goes to the NBA draft, but the after-taste will be that we lost him.

You can't live off the basketball afterglow forever. The marketing effort is going to need to convert fan interest to football, which means Ronnie Hillman and Ryan Lindley and Rocky Long and a blitzing, gambling defense. It means home games with Boise State and TCU and a renewal of the rivalry with Fresno State. I'm no marketing expert, but those are some building blocks.

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Leonard's future plans amount to a win-win situation for the SDSU basketball team. Everyone is steeling themselves against losing the rebounding dynamo to the NBA and it could happen, but the fact is the program will benefit from whichever decision he makes.

The general consensus is that he will enter his name for draft eligibility and go through the evaluation process. Once that is completed, he and head coach Steve Fisher will sit down for a heart-to-heart, and Leonard will then complete the decision-making with his mother. That all makes perfect sense.

1. Leonard stays - A program that is now guard-heavy clearly is better with his inside play, incentive to prove himself in the NCAA Tournament and possible season-long media attention. He will have more time to work on his ball-handling and jumper, and avoid possible labor issues in the NBA. With Leonard in the fold, SDSU will spend the season in the Top 25 again and return to the Big Dance.

2. Leonard leaves - For all the good players who have come through the program under Fisher, none have made it in the NBA. Leonard's departure would be because he is a certain first-round draft choice, breaking a major barrier that opposing coaches are certainly using against SDSU in the recruiting wars. There will be a lot of publicity about him leading up to June, and even his announcement in April that he's putting his name in could entice a freshman big man to come to State. Finally, if Leonard stays, it will be because he needs to improve on his perimeter game, and Fisher will need him to perform in the paint. If he is not there, tension will be avoided.

Aztecs Maxed Out in Brilliant Season

2011-03-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

In the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, you run into three kinds of teams:

1. The very good teams that are too talented to lose in the first two rounds,

2. The Cinderella wannabees who spring an upset over a big conference stiff in one game and beat a smaller league school they match up well with in other (think Richmond),

3. Those who suddenly get hot, possibly riding a great player (see UConn and Walker, Kemba).

San Diego State was in the first category and unfortunately had to play a school in the third and, as I posted Thursday, you can't predict when that will happen.

Simply said, it was apparent during the tournament that SDSU came in playing at a high level, but was unable to push the envelope any farther. You have to do that in order to go go any deeper than they did. There is no shame in that, it happened to Duke a couple of hours later on the same floor. But they struggled for a half-plus against Northern Colorado and couldn't put away injury-riddled Temple until the end of the second overtime.

San Diego State's acclaimed star, Kawhi Leonard, was unable to put the Aztecs on his back and carry them like Walker did for the Huskies or Derrick Williams has for Arizona. He disappeared against the Owls until the end and got himself in a heap of trouble vs the Huskies. In true Leonard form, however, he made a number of big plays down the stretch before UConn salted away the game.

Basketball seasons last a long time for college kids, two months longer than football, and most teams have ups and downs over the course of a campaign. SDSU had only ups. The only hint of a down was that weird tournament in Las Vegas when they had to play in a converted horse barn, but even then they escaped with a couple of victories. Their season was an amazing accomplishment, and the way this team brought the community together was tremendous. We'll all remember this brilliant season that could launch the basketball program to even greater heights.

I'll leave you with two thoughts, one to ponder and one to give you chills:

-- Maybe the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship win over BYU was a pyrrhic victory. Imagine a very close loss to the Cougars, who get the No. 2 seed in the West while the Aztecs take the No. 3 seed in the Southwest Regional. Do you think SDSU is still standing today? I don't see Florida as a buzzsaw like UConn.

-- One day, maybe in a couple of years, DJ Gay and Billy White are going to return to Viejas Arena to take in a game. Can you imagine the reception when the PA announcer calls out "D-J-Gay!" with all the fans joining in or Billllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee White!" We're going to miss that sort of excitement as much as anything. I already miss them, along with Malcolm Thomas, and it's only one night later.

Bittersweet 16 for SDSU

2011-03-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

You can't choose your exit when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. It just happens that at some point, you run into a better team or a buzzsaw. In the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, San Diego State ran into a little bit of both in a UConn squad that put together two runs to end the Aztecs' brilliant season 74-67. SDSU maybe deserved a better fate, a longer stay, but they weren't allowed to pick when they'd meet up such an opponent.

I will say that losing to a hot UConn team was far better than what a setback to Temple would have been like. Not only would that have been a round earlier, but also a throw-away. In this contest, UConn made the plays that win games and have a marvelous talent in G Kemba Walker. That said, Walker is no man. I won't say that foul by Jamaal Franklin sparked UConn's final run, but Walker took a flop when they collided heading into a timeout. Doing it in a game, like trying to take a charge, is one thing. Doing it while walking to your bench is something else. For the referee to call it was pathetic. Franklin should have known better than to ever give an official a chance to make a call. Even with that, the game was close at the end and the Huskies made the winning plays -- the Aztecs did not.

So it's over, and I will terribly miss DJ Gay. I suspect the Aztecs will be physically more talented at the point next season with LaBradford Franklin and Xavier Thames, but the void of experience, leadership and killer instinct will be hard to fill. I will miss Malcolm Thomas' shot-blocking and sunny personality but not his hook shot. I will miss Billy White's ability to make us all stand up and shout "Wow!" and Viejas Arena announcer Brian Main's call of his name, but not his disappearing act.

We will probably miss Kawhi Leonard's strength but his offensive game really could stand another year of honing in college. I hope to see Brian Carlwell for one more season, but leaving anything in the hands of the NCAA is dangerous, so I'll expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised if his return for an extra season is approved.

The future, however, is bright. The backcourt of Franklin, Thames, Chase Tapley and James Rahon will be the best in the Mountain West Conference, and it will be fun to see what Jamaal Franklin can do when given more playing time. Maybe Leonard and/or Carlwell are back to help him out. There are front-court recruits coming in to help who are well-regarded.

This is by no means a one-and-done year for great basketball at SDSU. More are ahead. First, let's step back and take a deep breath and reflect on just how fun this one was. It wasn't magical, there was nothing mystical about it at all. It was just good, really, really good.

Aztecs Scenarios Add Up to Rout

2011-03-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

My only prediction for the biggest men's basketball game in San Diego State's history in the Sweet 16 Thursday night vs UConn is that it will be a rout.

Here are the scenarios:

-- SDSU wins big. More likely than the distasteful alternative. If the Aztecs get up on UConn in the second half, the young Huskies, who might start three freshmen, could fold quickly. The Aztecs will have to hit their shots, especially all those 3- and 5-footers they clanged in Tucson, but if they do it will combine with their strong rebounding and ferocious defense to make things very tough on their opponents. G Kemba Walker will have to face defense by DJ Gay, Billy White and Kawhi Leonard, putting a lot of pressure on the other Huskies to score. I don't think they'll have seen a defense that can throw that many tough guys on him. I don't think the SDSU home court advantage will mean much to them, but it won't help, either. It will work better in the alternative, picking the Aztecs up if the Huskies get on a run.

-- SDSU loses big. Less likely, and clearly the scenario we don't want to come true. Those shots that weren't going in the basket last weekend aren't falling in this game, either, and maybe even the three-pointers go away. The Aztecs can't afford one of those 0-for-18 shooting nights from behind the arc. Talk about the experience State has from guarding Jimmer three times, you have to admit the guy burned them in two. You hear a lot of how BYU beat SDSU twice by 13 points, but those games were close until the last few minutes. When time gets short and it becomes apparent that the dream is over, the air will escape from SDSU's balloon like a jet -- it's just human nature. It happened in both regular season losses. A respectable score could get out of hand in garbage time.

All of which means it will come down to a final shot, or triple-overtime.

The two things I don't want to see:

1. A repeat of what nearly happened against Temple, when the Aztecs almost threw the game away against a tired, over-matched opponent. SDSU should have won that game comfortably. Getting beat is one thing, throwing it away would end a wonderful season on a sour note.

2. Too many of those Round of 32 games came down to officiating in the final seconds, whether the calls were correct or not. It'd be shame if SDSU was sent home based on what some guy in a striped shirt decided. It would also be too bad if the Aztecs win on a controversial call, because you know all the East Coast honks will say SDSU didn't really deserve to win.

Now that the pressure of making the Sweet 16 is off, let's hope the Aztecs come in fast and loose. If they hit some shots early, this could be a great night.

Nervous Aztecs Get Where They Needed

2011-03-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, the best team one year was Kentucky, led by future NBA star Rick Roby and Jack "Goose" Givens, who returned from an injury to lead the Wildcats to the national championship game. All season long, it was all about Kentucky and how much better they were than anyone else. Indeed, they won that final handily over Duke, but there was little celebration afterward. The Wildcats sighed with relief because they had only done what everyone expected them to do.

Fast-forward to Saturday, and a very nervous San Diego State basketball team managed to do what everyone expected them to do, which was make the Sweet 16. Those were the expectations -- win the first two games of the NCAA Tournament and take your chances from there. Everything from here on out is gravy. But you have to get there first, and practically from the opening tip Thursday the Aztecs played with the kind of jitters that cause you to miss shots from close-in. Both games, they shot well from the three-point line, but were horrible in the paint. Weird, and I think it was nerves.

From now on, it's all joy, I hope. The freedom should allow them to play freer and easier and shoot better. They should have beaten Northern Colorado by 30 and Temple by 15 or more, but a lot of missed inside shots and some strange turnovers made the game vs. the Owls close. Yeah, but the bottom line is they made it to Anaheim. The pressure is off now.

Think having three senior starters is important now? Oh, yeah. They've been there, done that. We can harp on it all season long, and this is when the payoff comes...DJ Gay's defense against larger Owl G Juan Fernandez was spectacular...The thing about Kawhi Leonard is that he's there to produce at winning time, from high school to last year's MWC final against UNLV to overtime against Temple...Next up is UConn and G Kemba Walker. All we need is a quicker Jimmer who plays defense and has a better supporting cast.

Typical Aztec Win in Tourney Opener

2011-03-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

For those unfamiliar with San Diego State basketball, that 68-50 win over Northern Colorado in the NCAA Tournament Thursday was vintage for this season. Close and kind of ugly offensively for a half, a rout in the second half while the opponent struggles to reach 50.

The formula is not pretty, but it has been effective for many of SDSU's 33 wins so far this season. While the first half shooting performance had many fans gnashing their teeth -- I was yelling some pretty ugly things at my television -- we've seen it before and the Aztecs have mostly survived.

The question is whether they thrive the next time out. Here's a look at the history this season of what happened the next game out after a sub-par shooting performance.

On Dec. 13, the Aztecs survived an 0-for-18 performance from behind the three-point arc, and 34 percent overall shooting game to down Cal Poly 51-45. The next game, they scorched the nets to the tune of 8-for-13 on threes in the first half in a 90-64 rout of UC Santa Barbara.

On Dec. 22, they held off IUPUI for the second time and made just 3-of-20 threes. The next game out they scored 93 vs Occidental on New Year's Eve.

It goes on. They opened the Mountain West Conference season clanging threes but shooting well overall at TCU and did a bit better at Utah. They followed the ugly boxing match vs UNLV by making most of their bombs at New Mexico, including seven by DJ Gay.

Past performance does not guarantee future success, but the trend looks good. I also feel much better about Saturday's match-up with Temple than I did before seeing them hang on against Penn State. We all knew that one bad shooting game at the wrong time could abort a deep tournament run. Let's just hope they got that one out of their system.

Conference Games Have Aztecs Prepared

2011-03-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

New Mexico defeated UTEP by 12 points Tuesday night in the first round of the NIT, and that is important. That the Lobos did so without injured G Dairese Gary makes the victory even more impressive.

If you have any doubt about where San Diego State and the Mountain West Conference stand up nationally in college basketball, that score tells you a lot. The Aztecs swept the Lobos this year, easily. UNM finished fifth in the MWC while the Miners were just a game out of first in Conference USA -- and went to the final game of the C-USA Tournament. They're pretty good, and the Lobos smoked them.

Here's what the result tells me. San Diego State is ready to compete with anyone, whether it be Northern Colorado on Thursday, or some combination in the future of Temple, Penn State, Cincinnati, UConn or Duke. The Aztecs stack up. That doesn't mean they will win, that's why they call it "March Madness."

While not overlooking the Bears on Thursday, I think the Aztecs are more likely to curly fry them than lose -- probably a typical SDSU close game at halftime with a second-half blowout led by defense. The game that scares me is Saturday, against the Temple/Penn State winner. That contest will be the difference between whether this team has a season considered to be successful or not. Right or wrong, San Diegans have the Sweet 16 as the destination for this club and anything less will be a disappointment. We could, and probably will, get a bit more, but anything beyond the Sweet 16 will be gravy.

So how does SDSU get to the Final Four? The key is for the Aztecs to not have an off-game from the perimeter, something you probably already know. They can shoot, but are prone to the occasional bad game. That can't happen or they will make an early exit. Otherwise, things could break their way. Both Temple and Penn State are guard oriented, and SDSU guards the three-point line well and can dominate in the paint. I'm less sold on UConn having nothing left after their Big East tourney run, but it could happen, if not this week, then by next. They could find themselves against Cincinnati next week just as easily as against the Huskies. In the regional final, they could face talented but inconsistent Texas instead of Duke, but the Aztecs might be one of the few teams that can match up physically with the Blue Devils. From there, you take your chances. That's pretty much what March Madness is all about.

Seniors Gather in Tucson for Beginning of the End

2011-03-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

It will be a gathering of seniors in Tucson Thursday for the first full round of the NCAA Tournament's West Regional, including No. 2 seed San Diego State. The Aztecs will face Northern Colorado at 1:40 p.m. before taking on the winner of Temple and Penn State.

Three of the four are senior-oriented, taking away what has been SDSU's biggest advantage all year -- that experience of a roster full of guys who have been there, done that and won't get flustered. They survived the unexpectedly hard games (USF and Colorado State), the ones they didn't care about (IUPUI twice) and the physically grinding battles they knew were coming (UNLV thrice). Even in Saturday's 72-54 rout of BYU that gained them the MWC Tournament crown, they turned away a late Cougars rally that might have caused younger teams to fold.

UNC starts four seniors, including G Devon Beitzel, the Bears' best player. Penn State starts four seniors, including G Talor Battle, the Lions' best player. Temple might start only two seniors, but one, F Scootie Randall, has been sidelined recently with an injury and is probably the Owls best chance to match-up with the Aztecs front line.

SDSU received the seed and region they deserved and I don't see that any of the other No. 2s -- North Carolina, Notre Dame and Florida -- got paths to the Sweet 16 any tougher or easier than the Aztecs. To show you what a loss to BYU would have meant, the Cougars were seeded third and placed in Denver against a Wofford team that should not be taken lightly. That's not a bad game to consider for an upset pick when you fill out your bracket. They then have to face the winner of St. John's-Gonzaga. BYU's advantage will be proximity and altitude, which need no further explanation.

UNLV, the third Mountain West team in the bracket, gets a chance to knock off top-seeded Kansas for the second time in a row, as long as they can defeat inconsistent Illinois. Last year, the Rebels played poorly and fell to Northern Iowa, leaving the Panthers to take out KU. The way the Rebels are playing right now, they just might join SDSU in the Sweet 16.

That means the Aztecs have to uphold their end of the bargain and get there, too. With their senior advantage neutralized, the Aztecs will have to turn to their second strong point -- length. These teams just haven't gone up against many opponents who can dish out State's defensive disruption. That's something to hang our hats on, until the games get going Thursday.

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I won't share predictions. My brackets are always shredded by late-morning on Friday...How USC got in the tournament and UCLA was given a No. 7 seed are beyond me...Of all those pretty good teams SDSU played this year in lieu of the scared elites, only UCSB and Gonzaga made the field...If my count is right, only seven schools from non-BCS conferences received at-large bids. Two were from the MWC. I think St. Mary's and Cleveland State warranted more consideration before being relegated to the NIT.

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Padres P Tim Stauffer is looking like a potential ace after becoming the first starter to work five innings this spring...If 1B Anthony Rizzo is all-that, why did he get send to minor league camp so early? I understand a need to get him at bats, but he'd get plenty with the big guys for another week or so...With P Aaron Poreda also sent down Friday, it is looking more and more like the trade of P Jake Peavy is turning out to be straight-up him for P Clayton Richard...As well as OF Eric Patterson is doing, I like OF Aaron Cunningham. There has to be room for another gamer on the roster.

Gay's Back Determines Aztecs Fate, Sportscasters

2011-03-10T08:59:00.000-08:00

As encouraging as it is to see San Diego State F Billy White becoming an offensive force again, the Aztecs will go as deep into the conference and NCAA tournaments as G DJ Gay's back allows.

Yes, we all know about how coach Steve Fisher calls Gay his "most important player" and it is true, but Gay is sinking barely over a quarter of his jumpers the past few games. He still logs significant minutes, but since he hurt his lower back a few weeks ago, his shot has been off just a smidgen. There have been more than a few in-and-outs that, earlier, would have tickled nothing but net.

If Gay's health allows him to return to form, the Aztecs will go deep. If not, there could be a disappointing early exit.

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Well, Don Norcross' article on San Diego sports talk radio hosts sure did draw a lot of attention, particularly over his rating of "zero microphones" for Lee Hamilton. Taste for any radio host is subjective, as we'll see in a moment. One odd example in news talk is a few years ago when Bill O'Reilly had a radio show, I like to listen to it very much. I can't stand his television program.

What it comes down to for me is if someone is talking about a sports topic I'm interested in, I listen. If not, I switch. My taste is subject-related, not about the host.

Some of my takes:

-- Scott & BR. I tuned them out years ago when every time I tuned in they were talking about the Lakers. This is San Diego. I don't know if they still talk a lot about the Lakers because I don't listen much. Also, Scott Kaplan is the radio voice of the Aztec bandwagon. Up to this year, all he did was bad-mouth or ignore SDSU athletics. Now they mean everything to him. Huh?

-- Hacksaw. I don't know about zero microphones. The guy does his schtick and always has. You either like it or you don't. It's like trashing green grapes because they're so 80s.

-- Darren Smith. When he first started in San Diego, he was maybe the worst sports radio host. Now he is one of the best. Not sure whether that means more for his improvement or about the drain of talent from the local market. He no longer sighs much, indicating to the listeners that they should be bored, so that is a good thing. He has a good head on his shoulders, so I think his opinions are worth a listen.

-- John Kentera. Coach is like Hamilton, he's done his thing consistently for decades now. I appreciate his love for high school sports. I get frustrated when he gets, often, tongue-tied.

-- I think Norcross was on the money with his takes on the hosts over at 1360. Chris Ello loves to take three pages to ask a question that most people could ask in a simple phrase. However, you can count on him to have a take on something no one else will have, and that in time will turn out to be correct.

MWC Teams Mostly Sensible, Other News

2011-03-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

Usually, post-season voting in the Mountain West Conference focuses a lot more on the "mountain" and not so much on the "west," but the basketball all-MWC teams announced on Monday mostly make sense.

That includes San Diego State's Steve Fisher sharing the Coach of the Year Award with Dave Rose of BYU. Both have done amazing jobs this season. Critics of Rose say all he needs to do is direct Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette to drive or pull up for the jumper -- and then hide him on defense -- but he led a team with one star and a bunch of quality spare parts to a 28-3 record. That's an outstanding accomplishment. You can argue that the Aztecs should be 29-2 with their talent level relative to the competition they've played this season. Great jobs by both coaches, so sharing is appropriate.

I also think honorary-mention kudos should go to Colorado State's Tim Miles, who has his program on the rise. The Rams were knocking on the NCAA's door just a couple of weeks ago.

What thrilled me was the selection of G DJ Gay as a first-team player, along with the obvious choice of F Kawhi Leonard. Fisher kept referring to Gay as SDSU's "most important player," and he is, and voters were listening.

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I read the joint statement from San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and Chargers owner Dean Spanos on their meeting about the stadium issue, and didn't come away with too much. They chatted, Sanders told him there wouldn't be much redevelopment money to pay for a new facility. They talked more and Spanos told him not to expect financing help from the NFL. Then they sighed and scheduled another meeting.

I wonder if they can combine the football stadium and a new city hall into one project.

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Let me see, Padres 3B Chase Headley blames his mediocre 2010 results on his inability to retain weight. According to the newspaper, he dropped from 208 pounds to 200. That's EIGHT pounds! EIGHT (8)! You can lose eight pounds in an extra-inning July day game in St. Louis. How about this? He wasn't very good at the plate.

He might be better this year. I hope he is, for his sake and ours. Seems like a nice kid, just drop the excuses. It's baseball and he was beaten by the competition.

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Speaking of being unrealistic, there's Padres GM Jed Hoyer, who tried to make Gregg Zaun the backup catcher, only to have him retire on Tuesday. Zaun is a tender 39 years of age. Sixteen years of crouching behind the plate will make you tender. And they were counting on him? There's planning for you...The Padres got shut down by Kansas City P Sean O'Sullivan (Valhalla High) on Monday and Oakland P Trevor Cahill (Vista High) Tuesday...Oft-injured P Joel Zumaya (Montgomery High) might miss the beginning of the regular season because of a sore elbow...SDSU baseball now has a 2-10 record after losing 12-9 to Cal State Northridge. The Aztecs shouldn't lose to Northridge in any sport...USD is not much better at 3-7.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune rates the hosts heard on local sports talk radio programs on Wednesday. I don't agree with all the writer's ratings, but he makes a lot of good points.

Karma Puts SDSU Back in Title Picture

2011-03-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

"Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you right on the head" -- John Lennon

No truer words were ever spoken when it comes to BYU athletics and especially their insufferable fans. Just days after the Cougars shot the lights out, again, to beat San Diego State in a big college basketball game and their fans gloated like crazy, their best frontline player, Brandon Davies, was suspended for the year for having sex with his girlfriend -- a violation of the BYU honor code. The Cougars lost their next game by 18 points to drop into, hey, a tie in the Mountain West Conference standings with SDSU.

If both teams win Saturday, or both lose, they'll finish in a tie at the top of the MWC heap. BYU would receive the top-seed in the MWC Tournament on the strength of their sweep over the Aztecs. If there's a split, the winner takes the title outright.

Both teams will be at home, but SDSU has the tougher opponent, Colorado State. Wyoming travels to Provo just hoping to end its nightmare of a season. So there is no gloating here, because BYU is likely to win its finale by 30 and figure out a way to restore an inside presence for March Madness. I also take note that, far different from football, the Aztecs coaches and players have nothing but respect for coach Dave Rose, Jimmer and the rest of the basketball Cougars. And you have to appreciate them for living by their standards, whether you agree with them or not. I actually hope they get things together for the NCAA Tournament.

Their fans are another story. If, and it remains an if, the teams remain tied atop the conference standings Sunday morning, BYU's fans will always see San Diego State right there with the same record. Priceless.

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Tony Gwynn and the SDSU baseball team is off to a 1-6 start, having only beaten Winthrop. The losses have come to highly regarded Vanderbilt, defending champion UCLA, tough UC Irvine and USD, so it's not like the wheels are coming off. They have a young team.

Yet, this weekend they play host to Cal, UConn and Oklahoma, and the following weekend Arkansas comes in for four. There's no reason to suspect the record is going to improve any. They could easily begin the season with only two or three victories despite playing 14 of their first 15 games at home. That is not a way to start a season.

Last May, I wrote that Gwynn deserved a mulligan for a 28-28 2010 record that included a ridiculous siege of injuries. You have to extend it to this year because of his bout with cancer and the youth of his team. Against the Bruins, Gwynn started four freshmen and two sophomores. Like coach Bill Grier with his tender young basketball team over at USD, we'll have to watch for signs of improvement over the course of the season before making any determinations about the future.

Reality Cuts Into Aztecs Drive For No. 1 Seed

2011-02-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

In the wake of BYU's 80-67 win over San Diego State at Viejas Arena Saturday, a couple of troubling facts that have risen in the background the past couple of weeks became very evident.

First was that while SDSU got by Colorado State by a buzzer-beater, were lucky to win at undisciplined UNLV and were sloppy against revved up TCU, BYU was pounding those teams by large margins.

Second was that some of those supposedly meaningful wins last fall now don't look all that exciting. Wichita State has compiled a fine record but if the Shockers don't win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, they might be NIT-bound. Cal is a mid-level team in a mid-level Pac-10. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are both pretty so-so. Even the Mountain West Conference is looking rather average, all of a sudden, beyond the top two places.

For the last couple weeks, these were annoying thoughts in the back of our minds. But when the Cougars threw down a few slam dunks in garbage time to open up the margin of Saturday's game, they became major facts in Aztec reality.

The loss hurts, but is not devastating. Barring a letdown in the final two games, they will be seeded second in the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas, but you have to figure all three games are going to be rough no matter who they play. If they win out and win the MWC tourney, they'll earn a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament. I don't see them going lower than fourth. However, a fourth seed then has to beat a fifth seed to make the Sweet 16, so the road just got tougher.

Learning the upper limit of your team is okay, but it sucks for it to be BYU that hands out the lesson...It also stinks that those AP poll voters who refused to move SDSU over some of those teams that lost the week earlier were correct. The Aztecs team that showed up Saturday probably doesn't even deserve the No. 6 ranking. I can see them dropping to No. 10 on Monday...National Coach of the Year? Dave Rose might give Steve Fisher a run for his money, and deservedly so. He has Fisher figured out, and the reverse is not true...That pre-game dunk-fest by the Aztecs was almost worth the price of admission by itself, but while all that was going on, the Cougars were quietly preparing in a businesslike manner.

Big Chill Perfect for SDSU-BYU Part Dos

2011-02-24T20:35:00.000-08:00

In the years before Steve Fisher arrived at San Diego State, you'd have thought you would never see a week like this until hell freezes over. Well, the weatherman says places in our county often hotter than hell could see snow the same day 27-1 SDSU, ranked No. 6 in the country, hosts No. 7 BYU at Viejas Arena. How fitting.

So I was dead wrong in my post figuring the Aztecs would come out of Marriott Center with a huge win last month, but I still think I'm right that the better team lost the first match-up. Cougars G Jimmer Fredette made himself the favorite for national Player of the Year honors that night, and it wasn't just that he scored 43 points but how he did it, with off-balance NBA-length three-point baskets taken with a defending hand shielding his face.

Plus, most of the Aztecs front line went inexplicably soft in the face of a ferocious effort by the BYU bigs to not get dominated under the basket. The lone exception was flu-ridden F Kawhi Leonard, who put his IV tubes aside to keep the Aztecs in the game. Once it was over, F Malcolm Thomas admitted the sub-standard play and took responsibility on his strong shoulders.

I have a hard time seeing Fredette, now hobbled by a leg bruise, going off again to such a proportion and his teammates, while good, are not capable of such a performance. I also think the SDSU forwards are going to be much stronger this time around. That should add up to an Aztecs win -- which would take our minds off white stuff dusting El Capitan or Mount Woodson.

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Here's something to look forward to. Going into the season, you could look at the Aztecs roster and see 10 guys capable of contributing. Instead, Fisher has kept his rotation at eight players and the full-court press has been only token. I suspect that at some point, either Saturday vs. BYU, in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, or the NCAA Tournament, Fisher is going to turn these guys loose for 94 feet of hell. It'll be fun to watch if it happens...I'm not perturbed about the Aztecs ranking in the AP poll this week, remaining stuck at 6 after four of the teams ahead of them lost. I can see some arguments for not moving them higher. But I have two worries. One, that there are writers out there who just aren't going to put them higher for any reason whatsoever. Two, that there are a couple of voters who put them far lower than 6, and there is clearly no reason for that. Remember not even the greatest of baseball players have made it to the Hall of Fame unanimously. There are weirdos with votes. The big question is, if the Aztecs beat BYU handily, will these people move the Aztecs up to where they belong?...I hope the students aren't so bleary eyed by camping out for tickets that they can't put up a show by the time the game rolls around on Saturday.

Stauffer, Hundley Keys for 2010 Repeat

2011-02-20T22:37:00.000-08:00

They're the swing voters, the ones who will determine whether the upcoming baseball season for the Padres will be a repeat of 2010's fun or a return to inept 2009. P Tim Stauffer and C Nick Hundley just might hold the Padres fortunes in their hands this time time around.

The pitching rotation should have some constants in Mat Latos and Clayton Richard, barring injury. Questions follow. Can Aaron Harang return to form after injuries? Can Wade LeBlanc and/or Cory Luebke throw consistently over the long haul?

It would be nice if Stauffer can pitch like he did last September, and thus push those questions from the middle of the rotation to the end. It is a must if the Padres are going to win their Petco Park-style 2-1 games. He allowed more than one run only once in his last five starts and never walked more than two batters in any of those outings. His final ERA was 1.85, coming in a season in which he had an emergency appendectomy. That's pitching like a former first-round draft choice. If he's on in 2011, the Padres will have a fighting chance.

Hundley was the forgotten man down the stretch last season as manager Bud Black turned to the now-departed Yorvit Torrealba down the stretch. Hundley is now IT behind the plate, unless you consider Rob Johnson or Gregg Zaun legitimate alternatives. While Stauffer brings numbers that project nicely into this season, Hundley batted .249-8-43. He does handle the staff well and his defense is pretty good. It's just that catcher is about as important as it gets for a field position, and the Padres' safety net has holes. I do like some of the things I've been reading and hearing about Hundley, however, so the reason I make a linchpin is he actually has a chance to develop into a team leader and offensive contributor. If it happens, look for the Padres to contend.

Looking up: I see big things ahead for Latos, OF Will Venable, P Ernesto Frieri and, of course, GAB. I'm amazed GAB is still here, the way this off-season went.

Looking down: As much as I'd like to see Harang recover, I just can't see him doing it for a full season. Look for ex-Red to have a good first two months, but the summer will wear him down. My position changed on Venable over time because I saw him make progress. My feelings on OF Ryan Ludwick remain the same because, well, it's February and the guy hasn't had a chance to show me anything different. I'm just not optimistic.

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Nice to have the college baseball season back, just don't expect much out of either USD or San Diego State. Too much youth on both teams. Youth does bring hope, and both are working in top-notch recruiting classes. It wouldn't surprise me to see either or both teams in the Top 25 by early next season.

Head over to Cunningham Stadium on Saturdays to watch Dylan Covey pitch. Winthrop knocked him around for four runs in seven innings this weekend, but the freshman former first-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers is going to be interesting to watch. Choose any day to go to Tony Gwynn Stadium to watch Brandon Meredith. The outfielder from Montgomery High in three games has a slugging percentage of 1.000, thanks to a double, triple and home run.

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Would you have liked to have been a fly on the inside of the fuselage for Saint Mary's flight home from here last week? Wow, what a choke! Maybe they bused here and back, or came by personal vehicle. That might explain their upset loss to USD.

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The SDSU-BYU Showdown II looms. It's gonna be mighty interesting around town later this week. Do not overlook the fact that while State has a week to prepare, the Cougars have to play Colorado State, which will be desperate after falling to UNLV on Saturday. The Rams are good enough for the NCAA Tournament, and this is their best shot at a signature win.

Tollner Sees it All at SDSU

2011-02-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

Ted Tollner saw the best of football times at San Diego State, and some of the worst. Tollner, who reportedly is retiring as a coach at the age of 70, was offensive coordinator during the golden age of SDSU football during the 1970s and the head coach when the program began its slide toward near-oblivion.

Tollner is perhaps the least understood figure in the Aztec football family, respected by those who know him for his football knowledge and gentlemanly demeanor, and reviled by those who view him from afar and wrongly blame him for the program's collapse at the end of his tenure.

It was Tollner calling the plays in 1977, when the team that was arguably the Aztecs best went 10-1 and scored its signature win, a brazen 41-16 rout of a Bobby Bowden-coached Florida State team that earlier that day was awarded a bowl berth -- in an age when there were but a dozen post-season contests -- and SDSU could only dream of a late-December game. He developed star quarterbacks Jesse Freitas and Craig Penrose, and nursed productive seasons out of highly inconsistent Joe Davis and Mark Halda. His first stint also encompassed the 1979 team that beat Miami, Wisconsin and Arizona before he left in 1980.

When he returned to Montezuma Mesa 14 years later, it was as head coach, but the landscape of college football had changed.

-- SDSU's greatness in the 1960s and 1970s stemmed from being one of the few schools that relied on the pass, torching defenses built to stop ground-oriented option offenses. Everyone was throwing by the time he returned, and everyone had defenses designed to stop the pass.

-- The Aztecs dominance also stemmed from owning JC recruiting back in the day when JC players were worth something. When Tollner returned, they no longer had the stranglehold on California's community colleges they once did, and two-year schools did not produce mass quantities of quality players. The situation is even worse now. The latest SDSU recruiting class of 23 players has no one from the JC ranks.

-- The forerunner of the BCS, the Bowl Alliance, began in 1995, a year after Tollner returned to State. With the Aztecs in the Western Athletic Conference, there was going to be no opportunity for a major bowl appearance or bid for a championship. When a 12-1 BYU team was denied a major bowl, and a pair of 8-win SDSU teams failed to be invited to bowls of any sort, Tollner's recruiting efforts were doomed, and it soon showed.

Tollner had the right idea when he returned. The Aztecs had to have an effective power-running game to consistently succeed. Defenses were anywhere from pretty good to great. But you need a roster of quality depth to win in college football, and Tollner couldn't keep the cupboard full. He rarely took risks with recruiting and eventually stopped competing against the Pac-10 for players -- one of things that Tollner-haters point to even today.

Simply put, Tollner won when he had players and lost when he didn't have enough. Thanks to the Bowl Alliance and the BCS, the deck was stacked against him.

The end came in 2001, when the Aztecs lost 31-3 to a UNLV team that was 1-4 at the time. It was clear then, even with five games left, that the Tollner-era was crashing down, and I wrote as much on my old Web site. He was fired before the finale, in which his Aztecs won -- getting their first victory since before the UNLV game.

I never blamed Tollner for what happened, and I don't now. He was in a tough, possibly no-win situation. I think my theory was proven by his successor, Tom Craft, who went the other direction by gambling big-time in recruiting and lost in spectacular fashion. I don't blame Craft, either. He had to do what he did, and it just didn't work.

Recruiting finally picked back up under Chuck Long, and that was only because Utah proved that the BCS noose on college football could be loosened. The Utes, Hawaii, Boise State and TCU have since opened the floodgates and now SDSU can compete for any high school player it wants. It is no accident that it took this long for SDSU football to get back to post-season play. Those players brought here by Chuck Long matured and were augmented by better recruits from Brady Hoke. Tollner, after his first few years, and Craft never had that chance. I think Tollner would have had the Aztecs bowling regularly if he had a roster of the kind of players he enjoyed in the mid-1990s. There was just no way he could get them anymore, and he knew it.

The hate for him, and Craft, is something I don't understand about my fellow Aztecs fans. It is misplaced. Both tried and it just didn't work out. My sincere hope with Tollner retiring is that Athletic Director Jim Sterk and new head coach Rocky Long will reach out and bring him back into the Aztec family where he belongs.

Notes on LT and Crow, Aztecs, New Padres

2011-01-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time for long posts lately, but here's a few notes on some things in the local sports scene:

I really don't understand all the local controversy over the playoff fate and performances of LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Cromartie. They are irrelevant now. It makes for some media fodder, but that's about it...My sources tell me there is not going to be any substantive news about the potential new downtown stadium for the Chargers for a while. All the action is in LA. However, the conditions levied on the LA City Council by Philip Anschutz may be too much for them to handle, so that's no sure thing.

Kind of funny reading stories about how tough BYU's Marriott Center has been on the San Diego State basketball team over the years. Irrelevant, also. The Pit and Huntsman Center have been rough on the Aztecs, as well, and you've seen what's happened there...I think SDSU is as likely to win Showdown No. 1 on Wednesday night because they're a better team and, despite the record, I'm not sure BYU is as good as it was last season...If you think this town is going Aztecs crazy, wait until after they beat the Cougars. If they do, you can paint this town red and black...The football team's offensive coordinator is going to be Andy Ludwig, who directed Utah's attack in their undefeated season a couple of years ago. Wow! Just wow! It's all going good...I'm pleased to see former USD head coach Kevin McGarry was hired to handle the linebackers. His separation from USD was handled horribly by the school. It's great to see him land on his feet.

Speaking of USD, I last week heard some serious anti-Bill Greer sentiment for the first time in other areas of the media. My criticism has always been over the way predecessor Brad Holland was let go, putting pressure on Greer to perform. And you've seen how it has gone. But Greer is certainly going to get another year.

Like Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson, I'd have preferred to see Jorge Cantu a few years ago. Now is a little late...If Tim Stauffer is pitching well through May, I'd spring for a multi-year contract...I can't complain about the pitching moves, though. Throw out the 2010 ERA of the latest bullpen pickup, Chad Qualls, because he's been very solid throughout his career.

Rocky Smooths Over Fans, Prepare for 18-1

2011-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Here's one coach who didn't take long (pun sort of intended) to win over his fan base.

In one fell swoop, Rocky Long undid 24 hours of despair by San Diego State fans and restored their self-worth. Even the best of psychologists would have taken years and charged thousands to accomplish such a feat.

While Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles and, apparently, Jon Gruden were saying no thanks to Michigan, former Aztecs coach Brady Hoke was slobbering over athletic director Dave Brandon's shoes. For all the great things he accomplished here, Hoke personally and the SDSU football program were diminished as a result.

Then defensive coordinator Rocky Long stepped to the plate and said SDSU was where he preferred to be and that the program was in better shape than that of the Wolverines. What he lacks in football sense is made up by his ability to spot a higher quality of life. Nothing could have picked up the program, and its backers, more.

The two things I did not expect Monday night were for Hoke to leave and for me to be happy about it because of the replacement. Hoke's regime at State was never all about him, to his credit. The strength was in the staff as a whole, particularly in the core of Hoke, outgoing offensive coordinator Al Borges, Long running the defense, QB coach Brian Sipe and strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman. While State will be worse off for the breakup of the staff, they're better off at the top. That surprises me.

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I don't understand the animosity of fans toward Hoke for leaving. These things are always ugly, but the vast majority of it can land at the feet the former chief Aztec was licking. For God's sake, Hoke took our run-down wreck of a program and turned it into a bowl winner in less than three calendar years. If you remember 2008, what happened this past season was a miracle.

Yeah, Hoke could have handled it better, but some of the complaints, like him not meeting with the SDSU players, hold no water -- the example because the students don't return to campus until next week.

I thank Hoke, and his staff, for what they accomplished here and I'm happy for him that he got his dream job. He has a big job ahead of him, and the stakes and pressure will be much bigger than they ever were here.

Meanwhile, the Dominoes Pizza airplane flew from Ann Arbor to Baton Rouge to Hilton Head, S.C., back to either Ann Arbor or Baton Rouge -- at any rate, it was in the Louisiana city again somehow -- to Ann Arbor to Orange County and finally to Ann Arbor again. I think someone may have noted a stop in Phoenix along the way. All in service of finding a head coach for Michigan. I wonder how many poor teens in Detroit could have been given part-time jobs for the money spent just in fuel.

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San Diego State's first loss will be Saturday at New Mexico, and 18-1 still looks really darn good. I just don't think the Aztecs can win two bruisers in a row, the second following a long plane trip. They're also in a typical mid-season slump, having had to resort to winning ugly the past couple of weeks. Former SDSU basketball teams would have lost some of the recent games. It's a sign of the high level of the current team that they're winning, sometimes easily, when they aren't playing their best. But this is an annual thing. Coach Steve Fisher, who gained his 400th career victory in the UNLV game, always has his team ready for the madness at the end of the season.

(Late Saturday edit: ain't it nice being wrong. 19-0. Wow!)

I liked the towels, mainly because the wife and kids had fun with them...Maybe it's me, but I'm seeing Malcolm Thomas moving ahead of DJ Gay and Kawhi Leonard for team MVP. He's been a huge force lately...I figured out why Billy White is so inconsistent. He has no rhythm, so he can't dance. Check him out in the huddle during pre-game introductions sometime. He looked like a computer science major before the UNLV game...The equipment manager might want to check with the Marines for body armor before they go to Vegas for the UNLV rematch.

Hoffman, Hoke and Rivera

2011-01-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

It's quite a sports day in San Diego when two football teams lose important coaches and they aren't the top stories of the day.

That honor goes to Trevor Hoffman, the former Padre fan favorite, who recognized the end of his effectiveness and announced his retirement to mlb.com. He will speak to other reporters at Petco Park on Wednesday. Hoffman has 601 career saves, 42 more than Mariano Rivera of the Yankees on the all-time list.

Two interesting points in the article:

1. He will join the Padres in a front-office role.

2. He apparently still carries some animosity toward the club for how they parted ways two years ago. He said time heals wounds, and that he likes how the Padres -- with many new faces in the executive ranks -- have reached out to him. But he turned down a chance to sign with the Padres for a day to retire as a friar. I think that last part is something he will regret as he gets older.

The obvious question now is whether he should be a Hall of Famer. I think so, though only one career reliever is enshrined in Cooperstown, Bruce Sutter. I'm just not sure about voters elsewhere in baseball who only saw him humbled in his All-Star appearances. As in everything, it depends who else is eligible in a given year, but he should get in at some point.

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The drama involved in whether Brady Hoke would remain the head football coach at San Diego State in 2011 was such that when we went to bed Monday night, it seemed all but certain that he would stay. When we woke up Tuesday, we learned that LSU's Les Miles decided to stay in Baton Rouge rather than take the head job at Michigan.

That left Michigan AD Dave Brandon left with a choice between a drawn-out national search during the height of recruiting season, or picking the guy who has been raising his hand and crying out "Me! Me! Me!" over the past month. The choice, gulp, became obvious, and now Hoke is set to be introduced Wednesday as the Wolverines new head coach.

I have no problem with Hoke leaving for his dream job. Good for him. I appreciate how he came to a rotten situation at SDSU, turned around the sinking ship and refloated it. Some people saw Hoke as a job-shopper, but not me. He said early on Michigan was the place he would leave for, and it was simply unfortunate that the job in Ann Arbor opened when it did. With defensive coordinator Rocky Long set to succeed him on Wednesday, the Aztecs could come out of this not much worse for wear.

The big danger is a loss of continuity with assistant coaches following Hoke. Their number will almost certainly include strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman -- as responsible as anyone for turning around the program -- and running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Jeff Hecklinski, my choice to stay as head coach. The list could expand to include offensive coordinator Al Borges.

Now that Long appears to be the choice, I think it is important to promote QB coach Brian Sipe to offensive coordinator, so senior QB Ryan Lindley won't have to face his third system in four years. Plus, there a lot of young receivers to break in this year. Changing things radically won't be good at this point.

We're about to find out what AD Jim Sterk is made of...Ironic that SDSU travels to the Big House in September, and could have a legit chance to beat the former coach...While Hoke is replaceable, the timing could hardly have been worse for SDSU, making me wonder if there are grounds for seeking extra compensation from Michigan...I'd trade Hoke to Michigan for basketball coach Steve Fisher any day.

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If all that is not enough, the Chargers will be greatly hurt by the loss of defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, the new head man at Carolina. The Chargers didn't blow this past season because of defense. Various names are being floated as a replacement, so we'll see how it works out.

Hoke Could Stay After All

2011-01-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

Three dots on San Diego State football...

After a very strange Tuesday, I'm now betting that Brady Hoke will roam the Aztec sidelines this fall. Michigan's decision-making over whether to fire Rich Rodriguez is at a very delicate stage contractually with buyouts and cost factors to hire a new coach. The Michigan athletic department can afford a lot of money, but paying off Rodriguez and buying out Hoke's SDSU contract may not leave enough money left for salaries...It seems like the pressure is hot on the Michigan AD to make a splash with a really big name, and Hoke does not fill the bill. Stanford's Jim Harbaugh is going to the NFL if he goes anywhere, and LSU's Les Miles is going to be expensive. As good a fit as Hoke would be in Ann Arbor, he might end up staying...The outsiders at Michigan see Hoke as someone who has had only two good seasons, without taking a closer look at what the programs at Ball State and SDSU were like before he arrived. Those seasons were miraculous on his part. On the other hand, he has yet to win a big game. In that 12-1 season with the Cardinals, the 1 was in the MAC championship game, and he was already here for their bowl that year. He arguably has not won a big game here, either. Air Force and Navy were nice, but they were out-manned service academies. The Missouri loss was strictly a coaching blunder -- forget the non-call on the Tigers game-winning TD. He blew a lead of something like 28-10 against Utah. This was a nice season, but we're still waiting for the "big win"...It would be a huge loss for the Aztecs if Hoke left, of course, but a real tragedy for QB Ryan Lindley if offensive coordinator Al Borges left. Can you imagine the kid playing for three OC's in four years? Ouch...I do not understand defensive coordinator Rocky Long interviewing for the head job at Texas State. It makes you wonder what really went on at New Mexico when he left...If Hoke does leave, I think the best move is to hire someone who wants to stay here for a long time. I'd check out running backs coach Jeff Hecklinski, who is the assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator. If you're going to lose your head coach and maybe coordinators, you at least want to keep the recruiting intact, and Hecklinski probably has built up as many contacts with local high school coaches as Hoke has. He is relatively young and has done a good job with his ball-carriers.

2010 Sports Moments and 2011 Predictions

2010-12-31T11:08:00.001-08:00

The moments that made San Diego sports in 2010, in no particular order:

-- the Chargers lose their first playoff game in January, following a 13-3 record in 2009. That the Bolts came close to the Jets yet lost because of mistakes and weakness in the trenches foretold this fall's collapse.

-- the Chargers went to Seattle with a 1-1 record to start the 2010 season and, against a team destined to finish below .500, allowed two kickoff returns for touchdowns, turned the ball over five times and committed 11 penalties -- and lost by a touchdown.

-- the Padres won 90 games and came within two games of beating out eventual World Series champion San Francisco for the NL West crown, but on Dec. 5 traded 1B Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox. Gonzalez led the team in batting average, home runs, RBI and runs scored -- and they got no major leaguers in return.

-- in the middle of August, Giants hot-head P Jonathan Sanchez promised a sweep of their upcoming series against San Diego at AT&T Park. In the first game, Padres P Clayton Richard threw one of his best games of the season for a 3-2 win over Sanchez. The Padres took two out of the three games. Alas, the 10-game losing streak was less than two weeks away.

-- the San Diego State women's basketball team had a rocky regular season, entering an early-season tournament with high hopes against top competition but losing all three games, and falling in four of five conference games in February. But stuck in a tough NCAA Tournament draw, the Aztecs caught fire and routed host Texas 74-63 on March 21. Two days later they beat #10 West Virginia, falling only to #6 Duke in the Sweet 16.

-- in all the years of SDSU men's basketball, which included a small college national championship in 1941, the Aztecs had never been ranked. On Oct. 28, they were for the first time, entering the pre-season AP poll at #25. The Aztecs have done nothing but head upward since, going 14-0 to rise to #7.

-- Admit it, you left last week's Poinsettia Bowl with a sense of satisfaction you haven't felt after an SDSU football game in decades. A 35-14 win over Navy gave the Aztecs their first post-season victory in 41 years.

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Now for the predictions:

-- the Chargers will rebound behind QB Philip Rivers, a motivated WR Vincent Jackson and a reconfigured defense, and will beat out Kansas City for the AFC West title.

-- the Padres AAAA team will look good early behind some decent pitching, but the heat of summer will warm up the bats of opponents, sending them careening into last place.

-- the SDSU women are struggling behind youthful guards this year, but the men will win the MWC regular season title and enter the NCAA Tournament with a #3 seed. If they can survive their opener, no small task, they could match the women's accomplishment of last season -- or better it.

-- the SDSU football team will rout Cal Poly and Army to open the 2011 football season, but will have a tough time with a Washington State team that improved late this year and will have their hands full with Michigan. That said, they could beat a depleted TCU team at home later in the season and finish second behind Boise State in the new-look MWC.

-- the University of San Diego football team could see fortunes turn for the better in 2011 with the return of decorated DE Mario Kurn and most of a season under the belt of QB Mason Mills.

-- once basketball is done in March or, hopefully, April, the most interesting thing to watch will be USD baseball. That WCC mark of 19-2 last year hid an out-of-conference record of 18-20, so the Toreros are ranked only 28th in one preseason poll. Yet, coach Rich Hill brought in the second-best recruiting class in the nation, so if those youngsters can fit in early, this could be a darn good season. The pre-season includes visits by always strong Vanderbilt and Coastal Carolina.

Happy New Year!

Chargers to Miss Playoffs, Keep Smith and Turner

2010-12-30T20:33:00.000-08:00

Chargers President Dean Spanos is correct, in a way, to stick with GM AJ Smith and head coach Norv Turner following the Bolts' elimination from playoff contention on Sunday. Many fans want blood, judging by comments on radio talk shows and the Internet, but a knee-jerk reaction will not do the team or supporters much good.

The Chargers simply had a bad year -- singular. Even that 8-8 season a couple of years ago included a playoff victory. Last year, the record was 13-3. Smith has done a pretty good job in identifying talent to stock his roster, and Turner has won with those players. This is the NFL, and other teams are good, too, so stuff like this year will happen. I can read trends like anyone else, with declining numbers of annual playoff victories, poor Septembers and alternating good and bad years.

All that said, Smith and Turner have their work cut out for them this off-season.

Smith publicly is a stickler for character, yet teams stocked with high quality people don't have wild inconsistencies like the 2010 Chargers, and way too many players have had off-field problems and run-ins with the law. He's brilliant in finding diamonds in the rough, talent on the waiver wire and second-day draft picks. Yet, his record is quite poor in the first round or two of the NFL Draft. RB Ryan Mathews was hobbled all year and has now experienced what the pro game requires for success. I bet he comes on strong in 2011, but just how high a level that is remains questionable. The results from recent high picks casts doubt.

Also, group together the sagas of WR Vincent Jackson, LT Marcus McNeill and LB Shawne Merriman and you have an utter fiasco. There's no excuse for the way Smith conducts business, and the Chargers are worse off for it. This year, for the first time, Smith's own character flaws caught up with his many accomplishments.

As for Turner, how does he meld a collection of under-performing high draft choices, malcontents and castoffs into a real team that pulls together for a legitimate playoff run in 2011? That he came close this year is testiment to his ability to coach. However, just because I disagree with his detractors doesn't mean I think he is great as a team leader. The greats don't let the Raiders games happen to them or allow constantly sloppy games on the road.

So, no, nothing knee-jerk from me. It is standard practice if you're a team owner to keep a mental list of potential GM or head coach candidates should you need one -- and I'm sure Spanos has such a list. He might have consulted the list already. If it includes better names than the ones which currently fill the positions, then I could see making changes as part of a package deal. Otherwise, why bother? Firing someone just because you're mad won't help matters.

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The 2010 Chargers were a recipe for disaster.

-- Going into the season minus something like five or six of your best players,

-- Your top draft choice, the replacement for one of the missing, gets hurt in training camp,

-- A turnstile at receiver, and

-- Unresolved weaknesses in the trenches, as evidenced by the pounding administered by the Jets in last season's playoffs.

The Chargers top needs for draft and free agent help, in my eyes, are defensive end and safety. The offensive line could use some help and I wouldn't mind using a second-day pick on a receiver with raw potential of the sort Jackson was when he came out of the University of Northern Colorado. Fitting that bill would be San Diego State's DeMarco Sampson (Vincent Brown should be long gone before the Bolts turn to that priority).

Christmas List - The Best San Diego Sports Teams Ever

2010-12-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

It's become clear the past couple of weeks that the San Diego State basketball team is having a once-in-a-lifetime kind of season, indeed the school's first in which a team that shoots a round ball into a hoop is being given a legitimate shot at contending for a national championship. Sure, if you're Duke, North Carolina or Michigan State, reaching the Final Four is routine. I'm writing about San Diego State here. There is no reason to sell the school short, but the Aztecs have never been known as a basketball powerhouse. Far from it. When coach Steve Fisher arrived at Montezuma Mesa 12 years ago, SDSU had what was arguably the worst major college basketball program in the United States. Now the 2010-11 Aztecs are among the best.

Which leads us to this, our list of the greatest teams in the history of San Diego, be they professional, college or amateur. Level doesn't matter -- accomplishment does.

1. 1963 Chargers - The only local major professional team to win the championship of an entire league, the Chargers were led by veteran QB Tobin Rote, the RB tandem of Paul Lowe and Keith Lincoln, and WR Lance Alworth's 61 receptions.

2. 2009 Park View Little League - How about not just a league title, but a world championship? The Blue Bombers from Chula Vista captured our attention for a week with their inspired play, and they came home to rousing ovations.

3. 1998 San Diego Padres - Once CF Steve Finley hit that ninth-inning grand slam against the Diamondbacks in April, the NL West race was over. LF Greg Vaughn hit 50 HR, closer Trevor Hoffman had his best season and P Kevin Brown shut down opposing batters in a magical summer.

4. 1994 Chargers - There is not a Bolts fan in adulthood who can't immediately conjure up an image of LB Dennis Gibson knocking down that last-second pass in Pittsburgh to put the team in their first Super Bowl. Stan Humphries, Junior Seau and how about Leslie O'Neil and the late-Chris Mims combining for 23.5 sacks?

5. 1973 San Diego State men's volleyball team - The school's only Division 1 national championship. The Aztecs defeated top-ranked Long Beach State at the Sports Arena, and Duncan McFarland -- who became a longtime coach -- was named MVP. Chris Marlowe won a volleyball gold medal 11 years later.

6. 1988 Morse High football - Teddy Lawrence was an option QB with a per-carry average of 19 yards per game. Tommy Bennett joined him at UCLA. Gary and Cary Taylor ran the ball. They crushed Darnay Scott's Kearny team 51-6 back when the Komets were a force. They beat Vista for the CIF championship 48-14.

7. 1955 San Diego High football - Okay, it's hard to separate high school football teams, so let's keep them together. The Cavers, led by Art Powers, were crowned by some the mythical "national champions."

8. 1986 and 1987 Point Loma High girl's basketball - Terri Mann and the Pointers dominated prep hoops statewide about as much as UConn does today in college ball, led by coach Lee Trepanier.

9. 2003 La Costa Canyon High baseball - Named national and state champions and Justin Machado was state Coach of the Year. The Mavericks set CIF records with 32 wins in a season and 27 straight victories.

10. 2010 San Diego State football - The 1977 Aztecs won 10 games and had a better defense, and the 1979 edition took down better opponents, but neither of them capped off their years with bowl game victories. Ronnie Hillman, Ryan Lindley, Vincent Brown, Andrew Preston and the rest of the red & black got the job done.

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The rousing Poinsettia Bowl victory by SDSU over Navy was a wonderful Christmas present. May the gifts keep flowing generously off the Mesa in the new year. Merry Christmas!

Gay Wins Over Fans of Streaking Aztecs, Padres in the Middle

2010-12-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

Only a little more than a year ago, DJ Gay was the guy who made fans of San Diego State basketball nervous. After two inconsistent years as the Aztecs shooting guard, he was set to take over the point, which was vacated by four-year starter Richie Williams. The thinking was that Gay would do his best, but...

There was some reason for worry. Gay ran some point his first two seasons while Williams rested, and the offense invariably stagnated. That was then.

Now, who is the most popular Aztec? Consensus NBA prospect Kawhi Leonard? Spectacular four-year veteran Billy White? San Diegan Malcolm Thomas? No. It's DJ Gay.

Oh, sorry, that was supposed to be "D! J! Gay!" yelled with gusto by 12,000 fans thrusting out their fists in a hopping Viejas Arena.

The kid who was going to do his best while playing out of position is now the best point guard the school has ever had. He played nearly every minute of every game last season and led the Aztecs to a Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and the Big Dance. He is the leader on a deep team in time spent on the floor this season. He's converting on 43 percent of his three-point shots, including a couple of daggers fired with the shot clock well into single digits -- such a play keyed a big first-half run in Saturday's 90-64 rout of an otherwise very good UC Santa Barbara team.

Handling the ball and running the floor at the point, "D! J! Gay!" has committed just 21 turnovers in a dozen contests. The Aztecs are making more than half their shots. That doesn't happen when your stagnant.

For all that, Gay is the most popular Aztec on a 12-0 team, a guy who takes care of business at the point on a squad that should be solidly ranked in the Top 10 when the new rankings come out Monday. Those old worries are long gone.

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A lot has been made over the four sellouts at Viejas Arena so far this season and how it plays into the "San Diego Only Supports a Winner" argument. To me, winning the conference tournament and going to the NCAAs and nearly knocking off Tennessee under unduly harsh conditions gave the program a stamp of legitimacy -- something more than simply winning a bunch of games. We'll see over the next few years, which will include a few lumps by this time next season, how it plays out.

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I would have been more excited about the Padres acquisitions of SS Jason Bartlett and 2B Orlando Hudson two or three years ago. While Bartlett is unquestionably an upgrade at the position, even over Miguel Tejada, he is still a punch-and-judy hitter who has had only one good season at the plate. Hudson's on-base percentage has dropped successively the past three years, his batting average the past two. His strikeout totals are up.

So the Padres are better in the middle of the infield than a year ago, but only by a small margin, unless we get lucky. And major questions remain at the top with CF Cameron Maybin, and at C where Nick Hundley works best in tandem, but might have to carry the entire load on his shoulders in 2011. With those two issues, the Padres are still far below where they were last year, even after the Bartlett/Hudson additions.

The field starting lineup in 2011 looks like this, so far:

1B - Kyle Blanks
2B - Hudson
SS - Bartlett
3B - Chase Headley

LF - Ryan Ludwick
CF - Maybin
RF - Will Venable

C - Hundley

There are currently zero power threats. Counting on a return to 2008 form by Ludwick is ludicrous, as is holding out hope that Blanks will return healthy and productive. Either or both could happen, but you can't plan for them. Occasional homers will come off the bats of Headley and Hundley, but not many.

Hopefully, GM Jed Hoyer still has some cards to play.

Rationalizing the Gonzalez Trade

2010-12-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Me: a desperate Padres fan.

Current activity: trying to rationalize the trade of 1B Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox.

As said in previous posts, I fully understand the need to trade the slugger based on statements that he was not interested in any "San Diego discount." That's fine, his choice. It meant the Padres were never going to re-sign him.

But get a major leaguer for him to at least make the 2011 team competitive.

That Hoyer didn't makes me wonder why. He's not dumb, and there have been comments from owner Jeff Moorad that they have oars in the water that will affect next year. So I'm wondering if he plans on repackaging the prospects in some way that might bring in a legitimate major league player.

One more supporting bit of evidence: the timing. This trade happened right before the start of baseball's Winter Meetings. When there was a snag over the weekend, they rushed to complete the trade by basically ignoring the hangup.

I think there's more to come, maybe something big. Something we might like.

Or maybe I'm just desperate.

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As an unabashed San Diego State fan, I would love some Oceanside and Cathedral Catholic linemen to stay home. Awesome.

And you have to love how a lot of coach Brady Hoke's end-of-season leverage was used to improve facilities and get pay raises for his assistants.

The Michigan thing might still be there, but my bet is he probably received a discreet signal that it is a couple of years too early for him to be considered a serious candidate. The problem for Hoke is, when he has the Aztecs at greater heights in a few seasons, he might be considered too old. It would also require the Wolverines to completely botch their second coaching hire in a row. I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Gonzalez Still a Padre (For a Short While, Anyway); Holiday Bowl, Chargers

2010-12-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Sunday night edit: Contract extension talks are now on hold, and it appears the deal will go through without one.

Maybe Adrian wants to go to the Washington Nationals?

For whatever reason, 1B Adrian Gonzalez could not reach a long-term deal with the Red Sox and will go into baseball's Winter Meetings as a member of the San Diego Padres still. This could go down as one of those "best trades that Kevin Towers made were the ones that never went through," like the ones where he tried to pawn off Phil Nevin for a loaf of bread and a splintered Louisville Slugger. Saving Jed Hoyer's butt for not at least getting one major leaguer in exchange for his best player.

Again, I understand the necessity for trading Gonzo, and I think some of those prospects look fine, but you've got to think of 2011, too.

And if you're not sure of the Nationals reference, slugger Jayson Werth signed in DC for $126 million over seven years. If I'm Adrian, I'd re-think my demands, too.

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Holiday Bowl now has Nebraska taking on Washington instead of Missouri. The Cornhuskers were an up-and-down team this season, but have good backs in Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead. The freshman QB, Taylor Martinez, had a brilliant start to his career but has been injury-plagued and inconsistent the past month or so.

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The Chargers can't handle confidence, is what I think. You must be confident to succeed at the highest levels of competition, but you can't be smug. The Chargers don't seem to be able to figure out how to have the confidence to do what is necessary to win -- it's like they expect to win. The Raiders simply wanted to win more and were willing to pay the price of victory.

It was the Chargers first December loss in 18 games dating back to Dec. 31, 2005, against Miami and will be costly, since they are now two games behind Kansas City with four to play. The only hope the Bolts have now to make the playoffs is the Chiefs don't have a cakewalk of a schedule.

Aztecs Recall Old Greats, The Once-Great Holiday Bowl

2010-12-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

The San Diego State men's basketball team trailed a very good Wichita State team by a point in the second half of Saturday night's game when the homestanding Aztecs burst into a 14-0 run that extended to 21-3, and SDSU won 83-69.

That 14-0 spree covered 1:11 of game time and wasn't simply getting on a hot spell from behind the arc or something. It was a stifling pressing defense that caused steals and blocks that led to fast breaks and dunks. As an old-timer myself, it reminded me of one of college basketball's great phenomenon's, Phi Slamma Jamma of the University of Houston. Those teams back in the early 1980s featured two players who went on to become greats in the NBA, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The supporting cast was darn good, too, and they'd go on these dunk-fest runs that would blow good teams right out of the gym. The Aztecs, for a little over a minute last night, were as close to Phi Slamma Jamma as I've seen since. The physical domination ignited the greatest crowd response at Viejas Arena since the NIT quarterfinal win over St. Mary's two seasons ago.

SDSU still has a number of challenges ahead, including a fire-and-ice Cal team in Berkeley and two other undefeated Mountain West Conference rivals, BYU and UNLV. But if the Aztecs can bottle that 1:11 and uncork it when necessary, then this is going to be a heck of a year.

By the way, get your tickets now. The last two home games were sold out. I suspect tickets will be snapped up quickly for the rest of the weekend games, plus weeknight games vs good opponents.

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I'm not sure this is what Holiday Bowl officials had in mind when they created the Poinsettia Bowl a few years ago, but for the third season in a row, the newer post-season college football game in San Diego is going to show up big brother.

Two years ago, Boise State and TCU brought thousands of fans and one loss between them and engaged in a thrilling one-point game, that was the Broncos last setback until the shocker in Reno the day after this Thanksgiving. That same year, Oregon and Oklahoma State engaged in a Holiday Bowl scorefest that was pretty interesting but nowhere near as well-played as the earlier game, with the Cowboys appearing to be in meltdown mode.

Last year, it appeared that the Holiday Bowl had the upper hand with upstart Arizona taking on Nebraska, after the Cornhuskers might have had a Big 12 championship stolen from them by poor officiating. No, Nebraska dominated in a snoozer, coming a week after Utah beat Cal in a pretty good Poinsettia Bowl.

This year, San Diego State-Navy on Dec. 23 looks a heck of a lot more interesting than Missouri against Washington, which qualified for a bowl game with a 6-6 record and had to defeated sad-sack Washington State by a touchdown to do so. Holiday Bowl officials, in their hearts, rooted for a Cougars upset so they could go outside the Pac-10 and get Notre Dame. No luck. I think highly of Missouri as a team, and there was some high-quality conversation between Aztecs and Tigers fans when their teams played back in September, but you have to figure they're not going to be thrilled coming here after their season started with such promise. And Washington is as good as its record. As much as luck took up residence in the Holiday Bowl from the beginning of its existence, good fortune appears to have migrated to the Poinsettia Bowl.

Sunday evening edit: and it will be Nebraska instead of Missouri.

Gonzalez Going?, Hoke's Motivation, Notes

2010-12-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

I'm waiting for good off-season news from the Padres.

Of course, I'm not exactly holding my breath, either, for that could prove fatal the way things have started out. While GM Jed Hoyer has added a defensive-minded project in CF Cameron Maybin, we've been treated to saying goodbye to a whole bunch of other quality players.

The latest here on Friday is that trade talks are heating up with the Red Sox over 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who would go to Boston for prospects. I understand why trading the best player -- and most marketable -- on the team might be necessary, but at least get a major league hitter for him. There is nothing this team needs more than a legitimate threat in the batter's box and if Gonzalez goes, there will be none.

(Saturday morning edit: sources say the deal is done, with P Casey Kelly, 1B Anthony Rizzo and OF Reymund Fuentes coming here. Kelly was considered the Sox top prospect despite going 3-5, 5.31 in 21 starts in AA this year, throws in the low-90s and has a hard curveball; Rizzo is a big lefty with gap power that might fit Petco Park well, solid defender and considered a top prospect despite mediocre minor league numbers; Fuentes looks like another Maybin.)

I will say that by listening to the radio and reading some Internet postings, some panic appears to be setting in among Padres fans about the 2011 season, but Hoyer did a fine job in patching holes last year and Bud Black was fully deserving of his NL Manager of the Year Award despite stiff opposition. It's early yet -- I won't panic until tomorrow. No, seriously, mid-January.

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It doesn't take much to read into coach Brady Hoke's motivation for waiting to sign his contract extension at San Diego State. It's because the Michigan athletic director will not evaluate embattled Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez until after their bowl game, most likely at the start of the new year. None of this is really news, but it at least gives us a timeline.

Michigan is Hoke's dream job, even if he would probably not, at this point, be the top candidate. That would be Jim Harbaugh, the former Chargers QB and USD coach who took the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl and now runs the Stanford program. Michigan might want him, but Harbaugh went to high school in Palo Alto in a family that was involved in athletics on The Farm. I'm not sure he goes. If he doesn't, then Hoke moves one rung up the ladder of candidates, who knows how close to the top.

A lot of people are annoyed with Hoke for dragging this whole thing out, and I would be too if this were all about Minnesota or Indiana. But it's Michigan, and you've got to allow a man to pursue his career dream, especially when the SDSU program could absorb the horrible timing of such a loss in-house.

Eventually, I think this will all go for naught -- this year. I think cooler heads will prevail in Ann Arbor, where Rodriguez has the right QB to run his spread offense. He just needs to recruit better players for defense.

Coincidentally, the Aztecs play in the "Big House" next season. If Michigan is struggling again, it could be an on-scene audition for Hoke.

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It was a wonderful night, Wednesday, watching Hoke and the Aztec football seniors accepting an invitation to the Poinsettia Bowl before the basketball game vs. Saint Mary's. I like Hoke but sometimes I don't understand his methods. His bomb-throwing QB is a junior, his top defenders are a junior and sophomore, his conference Freshman of the Year running back is, yep, a freshman. I think they should have joined in the fun...Then to watch the hoops team dismantle a very good Gaels squad that returned three starters from a Sweet 16 appearance en-route to a 14-point win in which they were never seriously threatened...The Wichita State game is on track to be another sellout. If the Aztecs can get through the next couple games unscathed, you might not find another empty seat at Viejas Arena the rest of the season...I haven't written about the Chargers much because, well, none of what's happening is particularly surprising. Stop screwing up and you win...Congratulations to coaches Gary Blevins and Chris Thompson for getting Mira Mesa High to the stadium after many years of playoff frustration...Oceanside High has won six straight Division II titles and is headed back to the final again. The Pirates really should be competing in Division I...I love it whenever the Padres sign a local guy, like P Aaron Harang (Patrick Henry High, SDSU), but since his best season of 2007 (16-6, 3.87), his records have been 6-17, 6-14, and 6-7 with bad ERA's. At least we can count on the Padres winning six games next season.

Hoke Era Ending Already?, Garland

2010-11-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

I, for one, was curious but not worried when it was revealed that the University of Minnesota made overtures to San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke early this week. There were more reasons to reject the Gophers job than to take it, with the possible hitch being that UM officials were planning to bury their new hire in cash.

I always saw Hoke here for the long term to build the SDSU program unless someone else made an offer he couldn't refuse, and I didn't see that coming for awhile. Also, based on various media reports in recent years, one gets the impression that Hoke, offensive coordinator Al Borges and defensive coordinator Rocky Long committed to each other -- the only exception being if Borges was given a long-coveted head coaching job.

Now I think conditions are changing, and that Hoke might receive such an offer that he can't turn down. None of the big names connected to the Minnesota job along with him seem realistic to me, and his credentials are right there with other candidates like Al Golden of Temple.

The market is turning into the coaches favor, which will drive up salary offers. The head coach at Vanderbilt resigned, the coach at Indiana is on shaky ground in territory where Hoke is familiar, and Ohio State's rout of Michigan might have ended the star-crossed tenure of Rich Rodriguez in Ann Arbor.

Hoke would be interested in two of those three jobs, and he would be sought-after in both. If for some strange reason Stanford's Jim Harbaugh cast his lot with the Wolverines, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for Hoke to end up at The Farm, where he and Borges could salivate over the best offensive line in college football, as well as the best quarterback by far in Andrew Luck, with all due respect to Auburn's Cam Newton.

None of my thinking has anything to do with loyalty to schools, players or coaching colleagues, or SDSU's status as a mere stepping stone. It's all about market forces at work, and those forces are turning against the chances of Hoke remaining in San Diego.

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When all is said and done, I hope Hoke stays. Earlier in the week, I'd have rated the odds 75-25 that he remains at SDSU. Now it's more like 50-50. Hoke has been the perfect head coach for the past almost three calendar years, waking up the sleeping giant of Aztecs football. In a way, his success is what makes him replaceable. Athletic Director Jim Sterk can hire from within or bring someone from the outside who can build on a foundation that is now firm.

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I'm on record of not being fond of former Padres P Jon Garland. He was very little of what he was made out to be when first signed. I'm certainly not going to like him anymore now that he's signed with the Dodgers. I hope he's every bit as wild with LA as he was at Petco.

That said, GM Jed Hoyer has his work cut out for him.

Giving Thanks to a Great Local Sports Year

2010-11-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sports is often trivial in the overall scheme of things, below the real life concerns of jobs and family, our troops abroad and terrorists still trying to get to us at home.

With the proper perspective laid, 2010 has been a heck of a year for sports in San Diego, and I give thanks for what we've all enjoyed for nearly 11 months. Remember, we started the calendar in downer mode with the Chargers losing the playoff game to the Jets and the Padres not expected to do well. But we got over the Bolts setback and went on a wild ride that, thankfully, is not over yet.

So share with me the following thanks:

-- For Steve Fisher, for the patience to build a program over the long term and providing other coaches at San Diego State the proper path to success.

-- For the Padres in general, for making the summer far more interesting than it could have been.

-- For high school baseball, for never failing to be the best of the best in San Diego.

-- For Brady Hoke, for being a man of character who will see the building of the San Diego State football program through and will have the common sense to know SDSU has a higher upside on the gridiron than Minnesota.

-- For Laura Hoke, who will tell Brady that she has no intention of moving to Minneapolis.

-- For Norv Turner, who is simply one hell of a coach no matter what the detractors say. Look at the other brand-name coaches who were unable to hold things together when their teams started to slide.

-- And staying on the Chargers, being able to watch a QB as great and as fiercely competitive as Philip Rivers.

-- For The San Diego Union-Tribune, which continues to do a fine job reporting on local sports, and has upgraded its coverage of SDSU athletics, despite all the changes and cutbacks.

-- Also in the media, for Chris Ello and Brent Schrotenboer for putting the necessary heat on BYU and the Mountain West Conference over "Replaygate."

-- For David Eckstein, who gave everything he had and, somehow, more. He is the epitome of how to play the game of baseball.

-- For Bud Black, who was deserving of the NL Manager of the Year Award over very strong and similarly deserving competition.

-- For DJ Gay, who understands the necessity of filling a team need.

-- For Beth Burns for taking a San Diego college basketball team to the Sweet 16 for the first time.

-- For Jene Morris and Quinese Davis, because Burns didn't do it without players.

-- For Stephen Strasburg, for displaying raw dominance, and for ultimately teaching us that some things are inevitable, no matter how much you try to avoid them.

-- For Eastlake High, for showing that quality prep football is not only played in the North County.

-- For having met the late-Bob Breitbard and enjoyed the work of Don Coryell -- and for having not just gone to Coryell's memorial service but got paid for it.

-- For catching Tony Gwynn's cancer early.

-- For the chance to view the amazing talents of Kawhi Leonard, Billy White, Vincent Brown, DeMarco Sampson and Miles Burris.

-- For the amazing additions to SDSU sports teams of James Rahon, Ronnie Hillman and Gavin Escobar.

-- For Mat Latos, who will give Padres GM Jed Hoyer someone to build around.

-- For a year in which San Diego State made a scintillating run into the NCAA Tournament, reached the Sweet 16 of the women's tourney and resurrected the football team; for the Padres pushing the World Champion Giants to the limit in the NL West; and for the rest of the AFC West sucking so much that the Chargers will likely come back and win the division despite a 2-5 start.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aztecs Close Enough to Hurt

2010-11-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

The San Diego State football team is pretty darn good, especially if it utilizes its assets of WRs Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, and supreme bomb-tossing QB Ryan Lindley. They proved it in defeating Air Force and coming close in losses at Missouri and TCU, and Saturday night against Utah.

They just aren't quite good enough. The Utes, now 9-2 after getting schooled by the Horned Frogs, embarrassed by Notre Dame and taking SDSU's best shot, are where the Aztecs aspire to be. They have depth, experience and the confidence to know they are good and should win the type of game they found themselves in at rainy Qualcomm Stadium.

While the Aztecs turned the ball over four times, the Utes held onto the pigskin all night. Three of the turnovers were interceptions deep in Utes territory -- the final game-ending play in their end zone -- and a snap bobbled by P Brian Stahovich led to a blocked kick recovered at the SDSU three, leading to the winning points. Such plays are made by the better team, and given up by the lesser team. That's football.

They were able to run the ball while SDSU was held to 2.8 yards per carry. Rocky Long's gambling defense was burned more often than they pressured Ute QB Jordan Wynn, the Oceanside High grad who played efficiently in raising his career prep and college record to 4-0 in The Q. Utah dialed up a reasonable pass rush at times in the second half, and the last interception came with Lindley facing heat.

The teams traded tipped passes that went for touchdowns. The difference is the one the Utes got wouldn't have happened except for a young Aztecs secondary that saw a last seconds of the first half Hail Mary pass go off the fingertips of a freshman and into the hands of an opposing receiver. The third quarter tip drill caught be Brown for a 90-yard score was just a freak thing. However, to show how there is room still be to closed between these two programs, if Brown hadn't grabbed that ball and outrun Ute defenders to the end zone, the Utes would have shut out SDSU in the second half after allowing four touchdowns in the first 30 minutes.

It was a game the Aztecs could have won. Utah looked every bit the struggling team in the first half, and the Brown/Sampson combo absolutely torched their secondary. But they just didn't have enough to make the plays to win, and avoid the errors that make them lose.

The Aztecs are now 7-4 with horrible UNLV ahead and beatable Navy set to face them in the Poinsettia Bowl. The potential remains for a 9-4 season. Even if the Aztecs are not as complete as Utah, are not as good as a Top 25 program, the improvement in head coach Brady Hoke's second year is phenomenal. It might be a few years before SDSU has a roster talented and experienced enough across the two-deep to be a legitimate Top 25 program, but the trajectory is headed in the right direction.

Utes Are Aztecs Real Test, Save Ron Caragher, Padres Protections

2010-11-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

Go throughout a football season with a rising program like San Diego State and you often hear that such-and-such upcoming game is going to a test, a real indicator of where you stack up with the rest of the teams.

Usually, you can take such statements with a grain of salt, but Saturday night's game against Utah at Qualcomm Stadium really is such a game. This will be the truest indicator all season of where the Aztecs are.

The Utes are a very good Mountain West Conference team that has stumbled on hard times the last two weeks. They were shocked by the TCU stormtroopers and were still too dazed to come out of the rain at Notre Dame. They are too well-coached and too talented to struggle for a third straight weekend, darn it. For the bulk of the season, they have existed where the Aztecs want to live, at the upper reaches of the conference and national rankings, with a big fat zero in the L column. Yet, the last two weeks have also proven that the Utes aren't perfect. Compare yourself with the Horned Frogs and you get yourself in trouble. The Aztecs 5-point loss in Fort Worth last week was good for a hand clap, but not a whole lot more. The Utes are a more realistic test, and it will be interesting to see how the Aztecs stack up.

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USD might have a good football coach in Ron Caragher. There hasn't been much positive to write about the Toreros on the gridiron the past couple of years as the record progressively slipped to 4-7 last year. However, even though USD finished the season 5-6 in 2010, there are some bright spots on which to build.

Once former Coronado High QB Mason Mills got settled in, the Toreros won four of their final five games. Two of their losses were to scholarship teams, three others were to the top three finishers in the Pioneer Football League standings and the other to Azusa-Pacific, which is plenty capable of knocking off USD in a down year. Once the Toreros got into conference play, their level, they went 5-3, and two of the setbacks to those teams above them came on the road.

No one is going to celebrate 5-6, but considering all the circumstances, it could have been worse.

I still have a hard time with the hypocrisy of the USD athletic administration, which saw fit to fire some pretty good coaches a few years back in an effort to grow their programs while not holding their successors to the same standards. They hit lightning in a bottle with ex-football coach Jim Harbaugh, now weaving his magic up north at Stanford, but those 11-1 seasons are becoming a distant memory. However, Caragher did a pretty good job to hold the program together, and it seems worthwhile to keep him around to see what next fall will bring.

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News: the Padres added seven minor leaguers to the 40-man roster Friday to protect them from the Rule V Draft, including top young pitching prospects Simon Castro and Jeremy Hefner.

Reaction: Of the seven, only one was among Baseball America's top 10 prospects in the organization...Castro. Several others on the BA list, like P Wynn Pelzer, were sent packing in mid-season trades. Another, P Corey Luebke, finished 2010 as a major league player.

Of those Top 10 players, which certainly will be updated this off-season to reflect the new realities will include most of the seven promoted on Friday, only Castro is on the 40-man roster. Just kind of strange.

Aztecs Handle Gonzaga on Road

2010-11-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

Two things stood out to me in San Diego State's 79-76 victory at Gonzaga in mens' basketball Tuesday night.

First, the Bulldogs held a lead in the game for mere seconds early in the second half, after which the Aztecs fairly quickly recovered and built the lead back up to seven points. Which neatly segues to...

Second, this was a play or two from being a comfortable win at the home of the number 11 team in the nation, not the nail-biter it became. In a stretch around the five-minute mark, SDSU had possession something like four straight times with a chance to push a 7-point margin to a 9-point bulge, and couldn't do it. It was a couple parts failure, a couple parts Gonzaga being really good. Normal teams do not go into Spokane and win easily -- or come close to doing so the way the Aztecs did.

Huge win, though I disagree with those who call it the biggest in school history. I'm a believer in those kinds of labels meaning something, and post-season is what means something. I still rate the NIT quarterfinal win over Saint Mary's as SDSU's biggest win. New Mexico was ranked eighth when the Aztecs beat them in last season's Mountain West Tournament. But it is a very nice win, and I do believe that it punches their ticket into the NCAA Tournament.

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Meanwhile, SDSU football just can't win. With a chance to draw their biggest non-Sky Show crowd in years when they host Utah this Saturday, the weatherman starts predicting rain. The chance is 40 percent, so let's hope both us fans and the football team get lucky.

Aztecs Hoops and Football, Bowl Projections, Padres Get Centerfielder

2010-11-14T11:49:00.000-08:00

San Diego State's season-opening 81-65 victory at Long Beach State Saturday afternoon serves as a preview of how this year is going to play out, hopefully. The schedule is loaded with favorites or contenders from lesser, but still respectable conferences, that will give State their best shots in games that are generally going to be at their place. That means close games well into the second half before SDSU's extreme depth of talent influences the outcome in a positive way.

The only game early on the calendar that I don't see that scenario playing out is Tuesday at Gonzaga. God only knows what's going to happen in Spokane against the #12 Bulldogs. Saint Mary's, at Viejas Arena on Dec. 1, is also a concern. But this, in general, is how games are going to play out.

A lot is being made about transfer G James Rahon making 4-of-7 from behind the three-point stripe. What caught my attention was DJ Gay's 4-of-5 on threes. If he can shoot well over the course of the season, then the Aztecs are going to be good for a lot of points.

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San Diego State football fans should enjoy what they have in QB Ryan Lindley, an imperfect work in progress as a passer who might throw the best deep ball of anyone in the college game. No play is more fun to watch than the bomb, and no one hits more of them than Lindley, thanks in huge part to WRs Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson.

Lindley at TCU, against the best defense overall in college football, and the best passing defense, completed throws of 49, 33 and 35 yards, all to Brown and the last two for scores. The first went to the Frogs' one. Another TD was set up by a long completion.

The Aztecs back in the early-1990s had a QB named Tim Gutierrez who rode pine most of his career, finally got into some games and displayed a beautiful touch on deep passes but suffered a career-ending injury. Just a couple of years before that, Dan McGwire was unmatched in throwing bombs to WR Patrick Rowe. That was a long, long time ago, and it is nice to have it back.

The flip-side is that Lindley has absolutely no touch for short passes. He's been the starting QB since the beginning of his redshirt freshman season, and I still don't think he's completed a screen pass. The only ones I know of that didn't hit the ground ended up in the hands of a defensive player. I exaggerate, but only slightly. It's an unusual trade-off in a world where 99 percent of quarterbacks owe their careers to the late-Bill Walsh's development of the short passing game. Fans need to take the bad with the good.

One other thing sets Lindley apart, his ability to lead a football team. It appears that leadership on the Aztecs is not tightly centralized, but on offense seems spread across FB Brandon Sullivan, C Trask Iosefa and other seniors. But the junior Lindley is the quarterback, so on the field, he runs the show. Every Mountain West Conference opponent until Saturday gave SDSU its best shot, and I don't know if the Aztecs would have won any of them without Lindley's steady presence. State won those games because he made plays, and allowed others to make plays. That's important.

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The past couple weeks have greatly narrowed the field of likely schools for San Diego's two bowl games.

Holiday

Big 12: I think you can call Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma State gone, but I don't see a second BCS team from this conference, so the selection order should be straightforward. Texas A&M is hot and has a tie-breaking win over Oklahoma. So the choices probably come down to Kansas State, which has an easy path to a final record of 8-4 with games against Colorado and North Texas, or the Sooners, who are 8-2 but still have to play at Baylor and at Oklahoma State.

Pac-10: Oregon and Stanford are out of the picture, but the Cardinal serves as the linchpin. If they beat Cal next week in The Big Game at Berkeley, they're going to join the Ducks in the BCS. That knocks the Holiday Bowl down still another notch in the selection process. A Stanford BCS scenario could mean Cal at 6-6 or 7-5 or UCLA at 6-6 or 7-5. I don't think Holiday Bowl officials thought of themselves offering a 6-6 bowl when they were devalued effective 2010, but look at the Pac-10 standings and you'll see the potential. If Stanford loses to Cal, look for Arizona to make a return trip.

Poinsettia

Navy is in for sure but SDSU, also nearly a sure thing just hours before this Sunday writing, now could be ticketed for Las Vegas. Utah's collapse, coupled with an Aztecs upset of the Utes next Saturday, will make SDSU the clear second choice in the conference. Apparently, the bowl directors work all this stuff out so the odds are still Utah to Vegas and SDSU to the Poinsettia. But an Aztecs win over the Utes, and maybe even a BYU win over Utah, could change matters.

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The three decade-long Gwynn Era is over in San Diego.

That's my take on the trade announced Saturday that brought 23-year-old Cameron Maybin over from the Marlins in exchange for relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. Maybin is an athletic centerfield prospect who is five years younger than Tony Gwynn Jr., who in his year and a half in San Diego has pretty much proven that he is a good defensive outfielder who can't hit.

Maybin is supposed to be a great defender who can't hit, at least so far. But it's early to give up on him, while we pretty much know what the Padres have in Gwynn. Maybin was brought over specifically to fill his role. It is a shame, but junior is not going to be on the Friars roster by April.

Whether it is wise to replace him with a .246 career hitter is another story.

Notes on Padres, Aztecs, Chargers

2010-11-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

Padres: Even with Adrian Gonzalez likely to miss most of spring training while rehabbing from shoulder surgery, I'm not sure the Padres can afford to get another first baseman. There are too many other needs to spend money on or trade for. I'm willing to have Kyle Blanks ready to go there than someone else who will just fill in a little bit...I was surprised to read how 3B Chase Headley stuck out 139 times last season. Those kinds of numbers come from power guys, not players who hit 11 HR and 58 RBIs. I give the kid another season, but his 2010 performance was one of the worst at the plate you could imagine. Okay, there was RF Ryan Ludwick, I stand corrected. GM Jed Hoyer's infatuation with Ludwick is mind-boggling and makes me question his judgment...The Padres will re-sign P Chris Young. Just watch. I was a little surprised that C Yorvit Torrealba left. I'm not sure he'll get more money elsewhere. He's a guy we should really want back, and be willing to pay some good bucks for...Did anyone like P Jon Garland? Didn't think so.

San Diego State Football: The idea of an SDSU-Navy Poinsettia Bowl is just great, for the game, the city, the bowl and the Aztecs. The hoteliers aren't liking it, but I betcha they end up doing better than they expect...As bad as I feel about DE BJ Williams season, and college career, -ending injury, SDSU will be hurt worse by the loss of senior LB Marcus Yarborough. Hope his injured arch will be healed by the Utah game. Now sophomore Rob Andrews steps in, followed by redshirt freshman Nick Tenhaeff. Fortunately, both have seen plenty of action this fall, but if this week's depth chart is indeed accurate, it represents some shuffling of the linebacker corp right before, yikes, TCU...I'm a little worried for next year for how few plays young receivers have seen. Yeah, the Aztecs starting combo of Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson is the best in the league and among the best in the nation, but you want the kids getting some experience, too.

San Diego State Basketball: Don't worry much about the lack of announcements on the recruiting front. Such news always drips slowly from the Mesa, but is usually good...The key to the success of the upcoming season will be how comfortable forwards Billy White and Malcolm Thomas have become with each other. White was no longer in the forefront last season with Thomas around and Kawhi Leonard becoming a star. We were so used to White making these unbelievably athletic plays, but they were few and far between last season. If those guys have settled into their roles, watch out...So how do I feel about U-T sports writer Nick Canepa's column on the possibility of a national championship? All he did was ask "why not?" so it's not like he's gone off his rocker. But the formula exists. They're deep, athletic, experienced and committed to defense. They will be very solid at guard with DJ Gay and Chase Tapley. Their front line is as good as any in the country, and analyst Greg Anthony calls the Aztecs bigs THE best. And they have a star whose broad shoulders they can latch onto in Leonard. Yeah, I agree, why not?...The whole thing is strange. The cynic would ask, how about just winning a tournament game for once? And that's legitimate. I don't know about a national title, and I certainly wouldn't shell out big bucks for Final Four tix, but anything short of getting to the second week of the tournament would be a disappointment.

Chargers: I know a lot of guys need to heal, but I think this bye comes at a bad time. They're finally on a winning streak and, especially in the second half at Houston, appeared to be putting things together...Patience to all the people who worry that QB Philip Rivers will be over-looked when it comes to awards, since the Bolts are under .500. If they really are turning things around, and make it to the playoffs, he'll get some serious MVP consideration...You want to know why the Bills are 0-8 and haven't won anything since Marv Levy retired? Because they waste their time signing the likes of Shawne Merriman, who immediately aggravates his Achilles tendon injury and is now out indefinitely. Sure, Merriman might help them someday. Maybe...With the Chargers not playing Sunday, Kansas City at Denver might be the game to keep an eye on. It could say a lot about the Bolts chances in the second half of the season.

Basketball Starts as Football Hits its Peak

2010-11-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

Wasn't it just last year when San Diego fans of college athletics couldn't get to basketball season fast enough because football wasn't going well?

Times have changed. With San Diego State at 7-2 and ranked 27th on the gridiron, and headed for a showdown at TCU this weekend, the beginning of the hoops season looms but seems much, much too early. Really, it only got cold at night this week. It's still fall, but the round-ballers are ready to take center stage.

Expectations are off the charts at SDSU, where the men's team is ranked for the first time ever and inspiring usually sober sports columnists to speculate on chances for a national championship. The women are unranked after losing its backcourt from last season's Sweet 16 club, but replacements are ready to step in.

The men start at Long Beach State Saturday before traveling to a showdown at Gonzaga Monday night. The women host UCLA Friday and have two more home games at Viejas Arena before Thanksgiving.

By the way, as this is written, womens' coach Beth Burns tweeted that she had a big day getting in Letters-of-Intent, so theoretically something will be announced Thursday.

The USD women announced five signees earlier in the day, including Katie Kuklok of Poway High.

The Toreros, both men and women, are in a rebuilding year, as noted in a previous post.

It's going to be a great year, but it's coming just a little too soon. We still have our attention on football.

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I loved the list of the top 50 high school athletes in the 50 years of the San Diego Section of the CIF. While everyone included deserves to be there, you can come up with a list of many others who are just as deserving. A lot of people have already chimed in with their suggestions of who else should be on the list. Here are mine:

-- Darnay Scott, Kearny, football

-- Willie Banks, Oceanside, track

-- Chris Chambliss, Oceanside, baseball, football

-- Brian Sipe, Grossmont, football

-- Thom Hunt, Patrick Henry, track

-- Brian Giles, Granite Hills, football, baseball

-- Percy Gilbert, San Diego, football, basketball

Even without those guys, the list includes three Heisman Trophy winners, a Super Bowl MVP and several Olympic gold medalists. The list is on SignonSanDiego.

Chargers and Aztecs Win Ugly, Football Notes

2010-11-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

When you're 3-5 and on the road in the NFL, or a college team that hasn't been to a bowl game in 12 years, style points mean little. "Just win, baby" really means something -- don't care how. That the Chargers and San Diego State held on for victories this weekend means everything.

The Bolts 29-23 victory at Houston puts them just a game under .500 with a bye-week coming up. The next month of the schedule will determine how the season goes, as Denver, Kansas City and Oakland all come to Qualcomm Stadium, with a trip to Indianapolis thrown in. Win all the home games and you're at 7-6 and in the hunt. I see no way the Bolts contend for a wildcard -- unless they get unexpectedly hot -- but the AFC West remains in play.

I've had my disagreements with the way GM AJ Smith has performed, though I think he's done pretty well overall, but I've never been among the inexplicable legions of coach Norv Turner-haters. In fact, I'd go as far as to say the past two weeks have given us a glimpse of Turner's best coaching since he's been with the Chargers. He has lost most of his receivers and his All-Pro tight end, and has been hampered by a rookie running back who has not immediately met expectations, but his team has combined the past two weeks for 62 points and more than 800 yards of offense. That's pretty amazing.

-- That intentional grounding penalty on the Texans QB in the fourth quarter was horrible. Good, but horrible. Texans fans have a right to think they got jobbed.

-- Houston's Arian Foster looks like the man among boys he was at Mission Bay High, not the average back he appeared to be in college at Tennessee.

-- Bad special teams comes because you suck in players 30-53. Evaluation of a general manager's first-round draft pick is so over-hyped that you forget how important it is to have quality depth. That the Bolts have had punts blocked in three straight games is inexcusable.

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The 2010 San Diego State football team is the most resilient I have perhaps ever seen in my thirty-plus years of watching them. No team since 1998 has been quite so gutty, and no coincidence, that was the last year the Aztecs went bowling.

As mistake piled upon misfortune in Saturday night's 24-19 victory over Colorado State, previous editions of SDSU would have folded like fresh laundry. Not this bunch. The defense, which spent about 22 minutes of the first half on the field -- and mostly on their end because of turnovers -- was spectacular in holding the Rams to a pair of field goals. Only one Rams drive, late in the fourth quarter, was productive in the second half -- the other TD was by the Rams defense on a fumble return.

Finally, the offense came together late in the first half and was solid through most of the second 30 minutes.

Sure, other Aztecs teams might have crushed the Rams by three touchdowns, but they would have blown a couple of other games, too. In fact, if you look at Aztec football history, you see more often than not gritty teams that find a way to pull out close games, not pretty boys who dominate.

The '98 Aztecs that went to the Las Vegas Bowl beat New Mexico by 3, Utah by 1 thanks to a missed Ute extra point, UTEP by 5, Tulsa by 10 in a much closer game and Fresno State 10-0.

The '91 Freedom Bowl team beat UTEP by just a touchdown, topped Utah by 3 when their safeties collided while knocking away a last-second Hail Mary pass to the end zone, squeaked by Wyoming by 2, and suffered the infamous 52-52 tie with BYU.

The '86 Holiday Bowl Aztecs beat Utah by a touchdown, New Mexico by 4, UTEP by a 15-10 margin, Colorado State 27-26 on a late Todd Santos touchdown pass, Wyoming by a TD and BYU by a TD at 10-3.

You don't win 'em all by being pretty. You win them by being tough and responding when the other team hits you.

-- Let me be the first to say that SDSU will make a game of it next week against TCU in Fort Worth. If the Horned Frogs come out of that shellacking of Utah without an emotional letdown, then Gary Patterson is Coach of the Year. Besides, the Aztecs have shown they can rise to the occasion against good teams, and they'll be facing a couple of the best the next two weeks.

-- Thank goodness for late-night kickoffs. If any poll voters actually watched the Aztecs Saturday night, no way would they have received enough votes to be 27th in both polls. However, they could beat a lot of those teams ranked close behind them.

-- Ronnie Hillman ranks ninth nationally in rushing at 116 yards per game -- the highest for a freshman -- but the team only ranks 46th running the ball. "Only" really should be in quotes because they've generally ranked among college football's worst on the ground in recent seasons.

-- Safety Brandon Davis is turning into a pretty good kickoff returner, another area the Aztecs have needed to improve.

-- SDSU ranks fifth in tackles for loss with an average of 8 per game.

-- Is it too early to think about MWC honors? Brady Hoke deserves strong consideration for Coach of the Year unless Patterson gets the Frogs into the National Championship Game. Hillman is a lock for the first-team running back based on statistics, as is WR DeMarco Sampson. The very few sacks allowed should give strong consideration to C Trask Iosefa. On defense, LB Miles Burris and CB Leon McFadden should be first-teamers, while DE Ernie Lawson and CB Jose Perez deserve consideration. Meanwhile, and I don't think Aztecs fans realize this, but K Abel Perez is 15-20 on field goals, a total only matched by Ben Deline of CSU. Brian Stahovich should be a lock as the first-team punter.

Give Padres an Assist for Giants Title

2010-11-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

Give the Padres an assist for the Giants first World Series championship since 1954. San Francisco needed to remain sharp for 162 games in order to win the National League West title, and that edge allowed them to battle game after game and, when all was done, remain the last team standing.

The Giants played seven one-run games in the NL playoffs, and won six. It's how they won throughout most of the year. Just look at their September results. They played 10 one-run games, winning six. Seven other games finished with margins of two runs, and the Giants won four. Their season was very Padres-like, but they needed incentive to get there. It was provided by the Friars.

Bruce Bochy's and Tim Flannery's Giants blew apart their roster at mid-season because they started off 1-7 against San Diego and fell 7.5 games off the lead by Independence Day. The impact of those facts resulted in the promotion of C Buster Posey and P Madison Bumgarner, the signing of LF Pat Burrell, and the acquisitions of P Javier Lopez, OF and NLCS MVP Cody Ross, and RF Jose Guillen. Those guys were critical in helping Los Gigantes overcome the Padres, fight past Atlanta, outlast Philadelphia and, ultimately, humiliate a Texas Rangers team that came into the World Series having dominated its opponents.

As cool as it was for the low-budget Padres to play as well as they did for four and a half months, it's also kind of fun to see a team full of castoffs defeat the league's bigwigs. Forget the Yankees, the Giants were the best team money could buy in 2010, with a major assist from the Padres.

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Game 5 featured the best pitcher's duel in a clinching game, with Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee, since Jack Morris of the Twins downed John Smoltz of the Braves 1-0 in Game 7 in 1991.

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Interesting Historical Tidbit:

In February 2004, the University of Washington came down to play a three-game series at USD, with the Huskies taking two-of-three games. With the Toreros program on an upswing, I remember being kind of annoyed at the result even though the Dogs had some pretty good pitchers.

In the Saturday game, a 10-6 loss, the Toreros knocked the UW starter out of the box in the fifth inning, having received five walks, collecting five hits and scoring two runs. It was Lincecum.

It turned out to be nothing special. USD beat him two years later, roughing Lincecum up for seven runs on eight hits in five innings in an 8-4 win.

Aztecs Bowling, Early Projections for Holiday and Poinsettia Bowls

2010-10-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

The primary signal of San Diego State's gridiron improvement in 2010 is that previous editions of the Aztecs would not have held up to Wyoming on Saturday. Instead, SDSU gutted out a 48-38 victory in Laramie and, in so doing, became bowl-eligible with a 6-2 record.

It was just a year ago that the Aztecs blew a 27-6 fourth quarter lead to the Cowboys at Qualcomm Stadium in a loss that knocked them out of contention for a bowl. This time, they took the Cowboys' best shots and kept firing themselves, with huge plays by QB Ryan Lindley, WRs DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown, P Brian Stahovich and a gutty defense led by DE Ernie Lawson and Aztec Andrew Preston.

Wyoming, if nothing else, is gritty and you have to tough it out to beat them. That the Aztecs did so was awesome and earning a bowl game for the first time in 12 years was a just reward. When Brady Hoke took over nearly three years ago (by the calendar), he told us that what needed changing most was the mindset. He was right more than we realized. We witnessed the result in Laramie.

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So where do the Aztecs go? It depends, to a certain extent, on them. They still have to play the two unbeaten conference titans, at TCU in two weeks and at home vs. Utah the following Saturday -- and those teams play each other next week in Salt Lake City. If SDSU then upsets the winner, then the Mountain West Conference will get shut out of the BCS. The league champion will go to the Las Vegas Bowl, the second choice the Poinsettia Bowl here in San Diego and SDSU probably goes to the New Mexico Bowl to play a WAC team, probably Nevada.

If either TCU or Utah run the table, that team will go to a BCS bowl game, the second place club to Vegas and the Aztecs will play in the Poinsettia.

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So how do the local bowls project as of now?

Poinsettia

Navy is contracted to come here if the Midshipmen are bowl-eligible. With five wins in the bag and upcoming games vs. Central Michigan and Arkansas State, the Middies can book their reservation without fear.

The only threat to SDSU in the MWC, other than circumstances listed above, is an Air Force team likely to finish 8-4, and bowl officials probably won't want a military academy rematch.

Holiday

They get the fifth pick in the Big 12, and the way things break down, two teams will go to the BCS -- the league champion and Missouri, which can mail in the rest of its schedule. Nebraska, if not the champ, will get taken by a bowl with a higher selection. If Baylor can get through its remaining slate with no more than one loss, the Bears will also be gone, but that might not happen. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both play the Bears, with the loser of the round-robin probably coming here.

From the Pac-10, the Holiday picks third. Again, I think Oregon and maybe Stanford go to the BCS, and Arizona will be gone before the Holiday makes its selection. That leaves USC or Oregon State as the best bets right now.

No Outside Love for USD Hoops

2010-10-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Every so often, you hear something encouraging about the state of University of San Diego basketball, but rarely from outside of town, and now the preseason judgment has been passed -- media covering the West Coast Conference picked the Toreros men to finish last this upcoming season and the women to be sixth out of eight teams.

None of the men were picked for the All-WCC team. Only junior point guard Dominique Connors was selected for the women.

Clearly, no one is expecting much to happen at Jenny Craig Pavilion this season, and for good reason. Coach Bill Grier's men are undergoing a roster makeover after losing four senior starters and sending F Rob Jones packing, losing F Clinton Houston and seeing G Patrick McCollum transfer. This team of freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores will have to play at Stanford, at New Mexico, and at North Carolina State a week after a tournament in Hawaii that includes some elite competition.

This is a big year for Grier, however. The follow-up to the NCAA Tournament upset of UConn has not been impressive, to say the least, and even though the record will not be fabulous in 2010-11, it would be nice to see if he has laid a foundation for the future with his new players. If not, his seat could grow warm.

Coach Cindy Fisher's women return four seniors, including the two leading scorers in Connors and Sam Child, and their best three-point shooter, F Morgan Woodrow. The schedule seems manageable, with the highlight being a tournament appearance by Texas.

BTW, I found it interesting that none of this stuff made the newspaper, which all of a sudden can't find enough room for all the San Diego State articles lately, even placing one on A-1 this week. Maybe that's because of what follows below.

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Thursday could be a huge day for the men's team at San Diego State, which has never been ranked in the AP Top 25 in its history -- with good reason. That could change when the preseason rankings come out because Coach Steve Fisher returns all five starters and considerable depth from a 25-win team that came within a hair of defeating Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The hangup could be the early part of the schedule, which sees the Aztecs play five games away from home out of the gate, including a match at Gonzaga. For good reason, it could be that voters want to see how they really do out of the gate.

(and an update, the Aztecs were indeed ranked 25th)

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I was thrilled to learn that three prominent SDSU alumni sent a letter to the BYU president demanding a thorough investigation into Replaygate, the video reversal that wasn't from the Aztecs' 24-21 loss to the Cougars -- and asking for a forfeit if malfeasance is found.

They accused BYU of stonewalling, but the Mountain West Conference is also trying to sweep this thing under the rug. State fans can't allow this to happen. That the MWC is treating SDSU like a second-class citizen is inexcusable.

Turnovers, Padres Far From World Series

2010-10-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Turnovers don't just happen out of nowhere, in such a way that they can be prevented by a little more practice. My experience in following and covering football for many years is that fumbles and interceptions are mostly the result of one team being physically more talented than the other. Sometimes a team can be sloppy or careless, but mostly it happens because your opponent is better than you. They're quicker to the ball and strong enough to jar it loose.

I bring this up after another Chargers loss, 23-20 to New England, in which the Bolts lost three fumbles and an interception and the Patriots had zero turnovers. This game was kind of an outlier because two of the fumbles were bizarre -- Richard Goodman putting the ball on the ground before he was touched and Jacob Hester ignoring a screen pass that went backwards. Even so, that still leaves another fumble and the pick.

The fact is that the 2010 version of the home team lost too many good players from last year's entry, and the turnovers are the result. Turnovers and missed plays on special teams have been the hallmark of this year's team, and they are not something that is going to be corrected overnight.

Here are some stats to make you think:

1. Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert combined to gain 20 yards on 10 carries. Talk all day about how the Chargers doubled the total yardage on the Patriots, but that was all Philip Rivers passing.

2. Buster Davis, for all the criticism he has received, caught six passes in the game.

3. New England gained four first downs from Chargers penalties. The Bolts were penalized six times to the Patriots seven -- their timing stinks.

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It's easy to sit here and think that the Padres might have been just this close to the World Series, since the NL West rival Giants made it. However, watching the National League Championship Series made me realize just how far away this team is. Who among the Padres is the kind of dominant player that we saw with the Giants or the Phillies?

The Padres have one, closer Heath Bell. Adrian Gonzalez can be one but his injury-plagued 2010 makes me pause, and Mat Latos has the stuff but remains unproven. David Eckstein is a former World Series MVP but his body has taken a toll since.

Compare that to the NL champion Giants:

P - Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Brian Wilson
C - Buster Posey

Cody Ross did come through in the clutch in the NLCS and Madison Bumgarner gives them a fourth shutdown pitcher who is tender young like Latos. That's four for the Giants (and two possibles) to one for the Padres (and three possibles), but could you really imagine anyone but Bell coming through in the post-season? Me neither.

Try the Phillies:

P - Roy Halladay, P Roy Oswalt, P Cole Hamels
1B - Ryan Howard
2B - Chase Utley
SS - Jimmy Rollins, though his best years might be behind him.
RF - Jayson Werth

The Padres just don't compare, making their 2010 performance even more remarkable. Manager Bud Black performed miracles and pitching coach Darren Balsley does everything but walk on water. The Padres will be competitive again in 2011, unless the off-season is a disaster, but some of these young guys like Latos, Kyle Blanks and Will Venable need to step up their games to a much higher level if they want to accomplish anything in the playoffs.

No Soft Part of Schedule for SDSU

2010-10-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

A Friday morning newspaper column says the San Diego State football team has reached "the cupcake portion of its schedule" with Saturday's game at winless New Mexico, a subsequent road contest at Wyoming and a home match vs. Colorado State.

Uh, no.

First of all, a program that compiled a 6-18 record the past two seasons can't have any part of its slate termed "cupcake."

Second, given the weak schedule this season, the opening Nicholls State-New Mexico State portion was where the cupcakes could be found.

Finally, the comment does not comport with the current facts.

-- The BYU game showed that SDSU's defense does not match up well with big, strong offensive lines, particularly on the road. New Mexico, if nothing else, has a big group of blockers. The Aztecs should win, but it will be no rout. I see this game as low-30s to low-20s-ish, especially since the Lobos are returning key players from injury.

-- Wyoming is just 2-5 but by one formula has played the fifth-hardest schedule in the country, and Laramie has never been fun for Aztecs teams in rebuilding mode. The team with the fourth-hardest is BYU, which physically manhandled the defense before resorting to cheating in the replay booth to hold onto the victory.

-- Colorado State has seven freshmen and sophomores in its starting lineup, including first-year players at quarterback -- Peter Thomas of Valhalla High -- and and center. In the last two weeks, the Rams gave Air Force a game in Colorado Springs and creamed UNLV. They're improving rapidly.

I can see the Aztecs going anywhere from 3-0 to 1-2 in this stretch of games so, at worse, they'll be left a game away from bowl eligibility with the sorry Rebels still to be played. But this won't be an easy part of the schedule, by any means.

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BTW, maybe it's just me, but TCU does not look as powerful as last year. I bet Utah takes them in Salt Lake City, and it would not shock me if Air Force comes off their loss here last week by upsetting the Froggies in Fort Worth.

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Interesting to see that opposing coaches want to see Steve Fisher's SDSU men's basketball team to prove itself before placing them in the Top 25. They'll begin the season in the coaches' poll 26th. I can't say I blame them, frankly.

The schedule has no big-name opponents other than Gonzaga unless you follow hoops closely. Saint Mary's, Wichita State and UC Santa Barbara are all very good. Long Beach State and Cal are pretty good, too. The AP writers poll will come out soon enough, and we'll see what they say. Five other polls -- magazines and stuff -- SDSU ranked.

If they hit mid-December with only one loss, they'll be in the Top 25.

I'm really looking forward to see if now-eligible transfer James Rahon (Torrey Pines High) can fit Fisher's system and maintain his long-range shooting touch, and just athletic freshman Jamaal Franklin really is.

After Six Games You Are Your Record

2010-10-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Six games have been played in the local professional and college football seasons, and as you approach, or have arrived at, the mid-point of the schedule, you pretty much are what your record says.

The Chargers are 2-4 after being physically beat up by the Rams. They stink.

San Diego State is 4-2 after finally beating a Top 25 team and could be 5-1 without Replaygate, and 6-0 if the coaches could keep track of their players. They're good.

USD is 2-5, having not had a bye week, and are mediocre at their own level but over-scheduled.

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A couple of very interesting rankings for SDSU in the national statistics. The Aztecs couldn't have bought a running game since former head coach Chuck Long stepped on campus, but freshman RB Ronnie Hillman is seventh in rushing with 131 yards per game, despite limited carries in the opener. If you haven't seen his 65-yard TD run vs Air Force, go to the Aztecs Website and take a look.

The overall team rushing offense, which spent most of the past few years ranking in the 100s out of 119 or 120 teams, now is 35th nationally. Total offense ranks 16th.

What really gets me excited is to see the Aztecs rank 28th in pass defense and 19th in scoring defense. Even though they're yielding a bunch of yards on the ground, they're not letting opponents into the end zone easily like they used to. A couple of reasons for that. Behind P Brian Stahovich, they are ninth in net punting, and they are on the plus side by three in turnovers, a big reversal from past years. That means no more short field for opposing offenses. It also helps that they are tied for 19th in tackles for loss, meaning defensive coordinator Rocky Long's attacking 3-3-5 scheme is working, and are ninth in their own offense not allowing tackles for loss. That's field position.

Let's try this for the Chargers. Don't punch your computer as you read the following.

LaDainian Tomlinson is sixth in the NFL in rushing yards for the Jets, and Michael Turner is ninth. The highest Charger is Mike Tolbert at 24th. If you go by per-game averages, they rank 9th, 13th and 31st. And its not just that they've carried the ball more. Tomlinson ranks higher in yards per carry and in longest carry.

Antonio Cromartie leads the NFL in passes defended for the Jets and has the same number of interceptions as the leading Charger, Antoine Cason, with two.

Only Chicago's Jay Cutler (23) has been sacked more often the Philip Rivers (18).

Even though Rivers leads the league in passing yards, the highest-ranked Charger in receiving yards is Malcolm Floyd, who is 10th. In terms of receptions, the highest is Antonio Gates, a tight end, at 20th.

The NFL has a system rating the offensive line, long my pet peeve regarding GM AJ Smith, who seems to think the unit is not very important, AND THE CHARGERS RANK 29TH OUT OF THE LEAGUE'S 32 TEAMS (shouting is intentional).

Not much more to say. Let's hope they enjoy the home cooking and continue to win at Qualcomm Stadium, because I don't know if they will win on the road all year.

"Replaygate" Getting Worse, Not Better

2010-10-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

So far, the only person remotely connected to the SDSU-BYU "Replaygate" scandal is Aztecs radio color commentator Chris Ello, for his anti-BYU rant on his talk show the other day. See a problem here?

You know the basics. San Diego State is down three to BYU in the second half last Saturday in Provo when Cougars RB JJ DiLuigi fumbles but is ruled down by contact. Aztecs coach Brady Hoke challenges the call, and even though video replays clearly show a fumble caused and recovered by DE BJ Williams, the ruling on the field was upheld. This was no simple judgment call, you look at the video and there is no way a logical, unbiased person can allow the official's call to stand. Since then, it was revealed that the three people in the video booth included a BYU employee, a BYU alumnus and a deli owner from Reno.

I heard only part of Ello's comments, nothing that appeared out of line.

I have not heard any apologies from BYU, the Mountain West Conference, anyone from the video booth, or the officials. I'm waiting.

The conference suspended the video booth personnel for one measly week and made policy changes against the involvement of school employees for anyone except the person making sure the equipment works. That's a start, but much more needs to be done.

1. We need a comprehensive, open and honest accounting into what took place in the booth and why the non-call was made. I am worried about future errors in judgment by officials, which happen, and what fan reaction will be. I am also concerned about the Viejas Arena atmosphere when the BYU men's basketball team comes to town. These things can be mitigated if the MWC opens up.

2. We need SDSU's football to be protected from the "loss." As the fumble non-call happened at a time the Aztecs were regaining momentum, odds are better than 50-50 they would have gone on to win. The steps listed in a prior post, protecting the team's bowl interests, need to be taken.

The MWC still is more looking out for its own interests that those of their member schools, and that is wrong. Now, onto football vs. Air Force. Get to 4-2 and worries about bowl games begin to evaporate. By the way, in my SDSU football preview before the start of the season, I mentioned that the defense would perform well until the MWC scheduled opened, then the games would resemble old WAC-style shootouts. That starts vs. the Falcons.

Great Seasons by Hamels and Conrad Diverge in Playoffs, Chargers

2010-10-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

Cole Hamels pitched like a number three starter in 2009, finishing with a record under .500 and an ERA north of 4, while Brooks Conrad continued his career as a journeyman minor leaguer in search for a home in The Show.

The two San Diego-area products enjoyed much better seasons this year, however, as Hamels (Rancho Bernardo High) went 12-11, 3.09 for the NL East champion Phillies, reversed 2009's trend to allow far fewer hits than innings pitched and topped 200 strikeouts for the first time; and Conrad (Monte Vista High) became a star utility infielder in Atlanta, playing in more than 100 big league games (tripling his career high), and slugging 8 HR -- seemingly every one of which won a game as the Braves sneaked the NL wildcard spot from the Padres.

True, things changed in the playoffs. Hamels, throwing like a number one despite really being a number three now, tossed a 5-hit shutout of Cincinnati in the first round, while Conrad played out of position at 2B and committed three costly errors in a Game 3 loss to San Francisco, a pivotal point in a series loss. Baseball is a tough game. Two pinch hit grand slams are a high, and you just know there is a low out there waiting to punch you in the gut. It just happened to Conrad at a bad time.

The 2010 season, however, will be a memorable one for both local players, and quite a few others:

-- Conrad's teammate, injury-plagued Troy Glaus of Carlsbad High, rebounded from a 14-game season in 2009 to play in 128 contests, batting .240-16-71.

-- Padres closer Heath Bell (Oceanside native) is starting to receive awards for a season in which he collected 47 saves, a record of 6-1 and a 1.93 ERA.

-- Baltimore 1B Ty Wigginton (Hilltop High) revived his career by slugging 22 home runs, knocking in 76 runs and playing in 154 games, his highest total since 2003.

-- A strong second half propelled Orioles CF Adam Jones (Morse High) to a .284-19-69 season.

-- Another bird, P Brian Matusz (USD), overcame a rocky start to win his final six decisions, finishing 10-12, 4.30. His two starts in that streak that were no-decisions were won by the Orioles after he left the mound.

When considering the three players above, keep in mind that Baltimore was the worst team in baseball the first couple of months of the season, and finished with the second-worst record in the AL.

-- Oakland P Trevor Cahill (Vista High) was solid after returning from a pre-season injury, finishing 18-8, 2.97

-- Tampa Bay C John Jaso (Chula Vista) got into 109 games in his first full season as a major leaguer.

-- Chicago White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin's (the old USDHS) return to health paid off with 26 home runs and 87 RBIs, in a career-high 131 games.

While a number of other local players had rather mediocre seasons, a few ended in disaster.

The most notable was P Stephen Strasburg, (West Hills High, SDSU), whose minor league coddling by Washington kept baseball fans fascinated the first month of the season. He finished 5-3, 2.91 in 12 major league starts before tearing a ligament in August, and it is unlikely he will pitch next season.

The injury-plagued career of Oakland 3B/1B Eric Chavez (Mt Carmel High) might be over after he went on the disabled list in May and never saw action again. He has a multi-million contract option that the A's a unlikely to pick up.

Detroit fireballing reliver Joel Zumaya (Bonita Vista High) made a stirring comeback from injury to throw in 31 games for the Tigers. Just as you start thinking "how can you not root for this guy?" his season ended sadly with a fractured elbow on June 28.

San Francisco passed up the Padres late in the season to win the NL West title on the strength of its starting pitching, but Barry Zito (USDHS) was of little help. Zito finished 9-14, 4.15 while losing 10 of his final 11 decisions, including a horrible performance on the last Saturday of the season against San Diego -- all while sucking up $18.5 million.

The most tragic season was experienced by Padres P Kevin Correia (Grossmont High). Coming off a superb 2009, Correia was sharp in April, but his brother died in a hiking accident and it seemed he was never the same. He made only two appearances in September and finished 10-10, 5.40, and his hometown days could be over.

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I was told at a young age that two wrongs do not make a right, and indeed the adage holds true as an adult. That's how I view the Chargers situation when it comes to LB Shawne Merriman, LT Marcus McNeill and WR Vincent Jackson.

Regarding Merriman, wrong number one was him thinking that he was still the player he once was, and he is not because of his injuries, which is a shame. Wrong number two was the Chargers not originally treating him with the respect he deserved for his past good deeds and then trying to rush him onto the field at the last minute because his successor, Larry English, might be turning into a bust.

On McNeill, you have a team that undervalued their veteran left tackle before the season, and a player who eventually gave in and, according to the newspaper, signed a contract that only gives him guaranteed money this year. He could make $48 million over the life of the contract, but it wouldn't shock me to see him and the team at loggerheads again in a year or two. Very little was solved.

I have no idea if Jackson will show up at the end of the month to accrue another season of NFL service, but this saga has been filled with nothing but wrongs. His agents are a joke, Jackson is close to but not yet an elite receiver, he still should not have been subject to financial hi-jinks and, I believe, the Chargers would have pulled out the Kansas City game if he were in the lineup.

This is heading toward a season in which no one, not the players, not the coaches, nor GM AJ Smith look good.

MWC's Costly Officiating, Chargers Early History

2010-10-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday's 24-21 loss by San Diego's State's football team at BYU was the third setback by an Aztecs athletics team that I know of that can be attributed directly to Mountain West Conference officials making something up out of nothing. Clinging to a 17-14 second-half lead, Cougar RB JJ DiLuigi was stripped of the ball while struggling forward in a pile. DE BJ Williams took the ball out and recovered it.

The problem was the officials called DiLuigi down. When coach Brady Hoke challenged the ruling, the video clearly showed the fumble. This wasn't a fan looking at it with his heart. Check the video highlights of the game, around the 1:47 mark. The announcers promptly said the ball belonged to SDSU. Several BYU fans have written saying the ball belonged to State. BYU went on to score the touchdown that clinched the victory, and the Aztecs' subsequent score was not enough to win the game.

Now, you can never say what might have happened if the Aztecs were given possession. They might have fumbled, gone three-and-out leading to a BYU score anyway. But you at least want to have the opportunity.

Needless to say, coupled with the non-call block in the back at Missouri, I'm sick of this kind of crap.

In 2004, Aztecs RB Michael Franklin was given the ball on a running play around his own 5-yard line with a small lead over Colorado State in the fourth quarter. When the play was over, he put the ball down and a Rams defender picked it up, and the officials gave the ball to CSU -- citing a rule that did not even exist. The Rams promptly scored and won the game.

Two seasons ago in men's basketball, the Aztecs were in position to tie or beat BYU in Provo at the buzzer when F Kyle Spain was physically assaulted under the basket, and there was no call, and the Cougars held on to win.

There are bad calls, like the Missouri game in football this year, but that was a judgment call that can be difficult for officials at the heat of the moment. I can live with those. Plus, it never should have happened after the coaches lost track of a freshman TE who should not have been on the field, costing the Aztecs a chance to maintain possession and run the clock out.

Then there are inexcusable calls, like in Saturday's BYU game and the other two described above.

Those other two ended up not costing San Diego State a bowl game or NCAA berth, but this year's call might be expensive.

Can you imagine if that call costs SDSU a bowl bid? Let's take it a step further and say that, with BYU struggling, the call costs the entire conference a bowl bid? Don't laugh, because right now the MWC has only three teams on track for a bowl berth and the Aztecs, who would have made it four with a win, are now questionable. The conference is guaranteed FIVE (5) bowl games.

Still, the Aztecs need only win three more games, and they have yet to play conference bottom-feeders New Mexico, Colorado State and UNLV -- the latter two at home. They match up well, also, with 23rd ranked Air Force and Wyoming. So they should get to 6-6, with a shot at 8-4. Still, this is a program that is early in the building stages and nowhere near "there," as was obvious through a lot of the game at BYU. Here's to hoping that the ludicrous video review doesn't send them into a tailspin.

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San Diego State Athletic Director Jim Sterk is new to the program and doesn't really understand the past history of the officiating injustices heaped upon his school.

If it was me -- since I do have the background -- I'm on the telephone with MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson this morning and telling him in no uncertain terms that the conference needs to be accountable for its officiating. I would demand that the league take immediate and tangible actions, such as:

1. Removing the replay officials from the BYU booth and replacing them with someone else.

2. The league should notify via official press release to all key media personnel, such as ESPN, major newspapers, key college football Web writers like Dennis Dodds of CBSSports.com, that its mistake is the only thing between SDSU and a 4-1 record, and the Missouri non-call possibly is all that keeps them from being 5-0. Even with those injustices, the Aztecs are six points from being undefeated.

3. If the Cougars do get hot and end up bowl eligible along with the Aztecs, SDSU is to be given priority over which bowl to attend (which may or may not matter), as long as the difference in their records is one game or less.

4. If the Aztecs fall short of bowl eligibility by one game, the MWC should pay SDSU the equivalent amount of the bowl payout.

Sterk's next call goes to the legal arm of the Cal State University system, because the program stands to be injured by the MWC not standing by its contractual obligation of fair officiating. Finally, he needs to get a committee together to study following BYU into independence. On the final two points, if nothing else, Thompson needs to know SDSU is serious this time.

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A history lesson, Chargers fans. In all four seasons under coach Norv Turner, the Bolts have been 2-3 after five games every year. Each time, they have recovered to make the playoffs, sometimes in sparkling fashion. That has given the fans some comfort, with the knowledge that the team is on a familiar path.

I'm here to destroy your comfort.

What has been mystifying about the three losses this season is they have all come against teams that no one has any respect for. Kansas City, Seattle and Oakland are 3-2, 2-2 and 2-3, respectively. It would be a real shock if any of those teams finish the season over .500.

If you're thinking history is just repeating itself in 2010, you got another thing coming. Last year, the three early losses were 31-26 to Baltimore, 38-28 at Pittsburgh and 34-23 at Denver. Those teams finished with records of 9-7, 9-7 and 8-8. Not the greatest of football teams, but they didn't suck.

It gets worse. In 2008, the setbacks were 26-24 to Carolina, 39-38 in the Ed Hochuli game in Denver and 17-10 at Miami. Those teams finished 12-4, 8-8 and 11-5

In 2007, the three early failures were 38-14 to regular-season undefeated New England, 31-24 to Green Bay and 30-16 to Kansas City. The Packers were 13-3, the Chiefs 4-12.

The conclusion, then, is that in 2010, the Chargers have lost to three bad teams, but in similar 2-3 starts in the three prior years, only one of the losses was to a bad team. Therefore, the past not predicting the future really holds true in this case.

The other outstanding common factor is the three losses this season have all come on the road. If the issue is the team's sudden inability to perform while traveling, keep in mind that the season ends with two straight road games -- back-to-back trips to Cincinnati and Denver.

Not to Say I Told You So...

2010-10-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

...but the previous couple of posts regarding the Chargers and Aztecs are why you need this blog.

Quick Padres Notes, Chargers at Oakland

2010-10-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Phillies P Roy Halladay deserves all the congratulations for his playoff-opening no-hitter vs. Cincinnati, but you realize, don't you, that could very well have been the Padres on the other side? With his stuff that night, it wouldn't have made much of a difference...Good that the Padres have increased the number of low-priced seats at Petco Park for 2011. It shows the management is not inflexible and is willing to roll with the times, which will have benefits on the baseball side, too. That's a good first step toward increasing attendance next season. The next step, can you please move Petco Park to a more convenient location?...Lord, I'm hoping that the statements attributed to GM Jed Hoyer about bringing back RF Ryan Ludwick, and Ludwick's comments about wanting to return, are all about them making nice. The Padres insistence on putting him in the lineup every night in September might have cost them a playoff berth.

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The feeling of over-confidence among Chargers fans and commentators this week is rivaling Kansas City and Seattle proportions. I know the Bolts have beaten the Raiders 13 times in a row by an average of two touchdowns each, but this is 2010, when San Diego has yet to win on the road. Fortunately, the weather should be good.

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It used to be a big deal when Dayton came to town to play USD in football. Plus, it's homecoming. Instead, nothing. Sure, the Toreros are 1-4 but that owes as much to an over-ambitious schedule as anything. The game is at 2 p.m.

Hype Too Early For Aztecs Football

2010-10-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

Go to any Web site that covers college football, check the morning newspaper, and you'll find tons of great things said about the 3-1 San Diego State football team. How coach Brady Hoke has turned things around, about how freshman RB Ronnie Hillman compares to Marshall Faulk and how receivers Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson are running circles around the competition.

It's way too early for the hype. That could change in nine days, but not yet.

Sure, SDSU is about a minute from 4-0, but the three wins include a bad FCS team in Nicholls State, a winless New Mexico State squad, and a decent but injury-battered Utah State group that had no heart for a road game. The coaches threw away what turned out to be a winnable game at Missouri, for reasons stated in previous posts, and when you look at it, the Aztecs' Mountain West Conference has been better than the Big 12 North for a few years now, so it's not like they were playing over their heads. The coaching staff, which has done everything else well, has yet to prove it can win a big game.

Such a contest is surely what is ahead at BYU on Saturday. A victory puts the Aztecs two wins from a bowl game, three from a post-season game in its own stadium. Leave Provo with more points than the Cougars, and the Aztecs will come home to a large and enthusiastic crowd the next week against Air Force.

But whether the Aztecs are up to such challenges are still questionable. Hoke has to get his team ready to play on the road after a bye-week in one of the toughest places in the conference to play a game. Hillman carried the ball 23 times for 89 yards in the 41-7 rout of Utah State, but 15 of his carries by my count went for less than five yards (though one went into the end zone from short yardage). That's not consistency from him or his offensive linemen. He had two sweeps in which he let himself lose ground while looking for a hole and took losses of five yards each. As good as the kid is, he is still a freshman who has played in only four college games. Give the kid a break, lower expectations, and let him grow. About Brown and Sampson, it really wasn't until the Utah State game that the passing game came together, when the star receivers got back on the same page with QB Ryan Lindley. Then they took a week off, so it will be interesting to see if they can get right back on track.

It is cool that interest is finally rising in the Aztecs, and I think that over time the faith will be justified. But time is what Hoke and the Aztecs need most right now. The worst thing is for fans and the media -- local and national -- to get whipped up in the excitement of a rebuilding program, only to have the air come out of the balloon if they lose at BYU. There are a lot of places where SDSU needs to improve, and a lot has rightly been made about the Cougars being a wounded bear playing at home in a game they need to have to save their season. The Aztecs indeed might dance circles around them, but if they don't, you can't let all your enthusiasm about the program dissipate and say "same old Aztecs" in despair. It is a long climb up the ladder and there will be some mis-steps. Also, when you look at BYU's record, it is not so bad. They beat Washington, which downed USC, and the losses came to a pretty good Nevada team, at Florida State, a Utah State squad far more ready to play at its own home and on the road at Air Force. Only one of those losses was in Provo.

If SDSU gets past BYU, then in will come an Air Force team that ran for 350 yards in a three-point loss at Oklahoma and has the best pair of cornerbacks in the MWC.

After those two games, we'll know if the hype is deserved.

Padres Off-Season

2010-10-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

While the Padres off-season mantra will be all about change, expect a lot of familiar faces to return in 2011.

A dearth of quality free agents will make next season's roster similar to 2010 version, barring a few trades engineered by GM Jed Hoyer. Heck, this was a 90-win team that came a couple of days from winning the National League West. While one needs more offense, there is no reason to blow up the nucleus of the ballclub.

What changes do occur during the off-season will stem from two sources:

1. The Padres have a bunch of guys either entering option years, or whose contracts expired at the end of the season and will become free agents. According to various web sources, the list includes 1B Adrian Gonzalez (team option for 2011), 2B David Eckstein, SS Miguel Tejada, C Yorvit Torrealba (mutual option), RF Ryan Ludwick, OF Scott Hairston, UTIL Jerry Hairston Jr., P Chris Young (team option for 2011), P Jon Garland (mutual option for 2011), P Kevin Correia, P Heath Bell and P Mike Adams. Most of those guys were working on one-year contracts this season and most will return. The ones who could hurt if they leave, clearly, are Gonzalez and Bell.

2. They also have a lot of pitching that can be packaged in trade for an offense-minded position player. However, pitching depth will be determined by how free agency plays out, so don't look for Hoyer to make many moves early. You can't trade who you don't own.

What happens over the next several months will be interesting. The general consensus has been that the Padres would be able to afford either Gonzalez or Bell, but not both. However, Gonzalez has a shoulder injury and the resulting lowered production might have cost his team the division title. In San Francisco, he was unable to move his right arm above his head to make plays in the field. Other teams will see that, so it is no longer a certainty that his demands will be met in free agency. It could be that he goes out on the market, finds interest in him to be reduced, and ultimately remains here at home where he belongs. The Padres won't be unmotivated to take advantage of such a scenario, either, as heir apparent Kyle Blanks (remember him?) was ineffective early in 2010 and then missed the rest of the season with an injury.

A similar scenario could play out for Young. He is due something like $8.5 million for his 2011 option. No way the Padres ante up that kind of cash. Neither will anyone else for someone who is now an injury-plagued, 5-inning starting pitcher. He could find the market to be weak and come back to San Diego for a far-more-reasonable $4 million, or thereabouts. Young would be a great guy to have in the rotation in 2011, and as wise counsel to P Mat Latos. The Padres are a better team with Young in the rotation.

It would be amazing to start 2011 with Gonzalez, Bell and Young all on the Padres roster, but while the chances remain slim, they still exist -- maybe by a thread.

The best way to evaluate the Padres roster will be to prioritize:

1. Untouchable: Latos.

2. Would Really Like to Keep (other than Gonzo, Bell and Young): Eckstein, Hairston Jr., the catching combination of Torrealba and Nick Hundley, OF Will Venable, who showed considerable promise after finally making adjustments to his swing, and Tony Gwynn, who provides valuable defense in CF.

3. Into the Pool: Most everyone else, including quite a few decent players.

4. Wave Goodbye: Ludwick, who made nice about wanting to show Padre fans what he can really do next season, but it would be a shock if he hasn't already run screaming into the wilderness away from Petco Park and would be disappointing if Hoyer bothered to make him an offer; Hairston, the Scott-version, who hit just .210.

My feelings toward Tejada are more mixed. He was an upgrade at SS over Everth Cabrera and played pretty well and ingratiated himself with San Diego fans, but his lazy throw to 3B eventually led to the only run being scored in a 1-0 loss to the Giants in September, one of many, many things that led to the Padres being home instead of playing in the playoffs. He's a gamer, no doubt, it was one bad throw. But he'd aging and if the Padres can upgrade further still at this key position, I'd be willing to let Tejada walk.

The morning newspaper made it sound like Eckstein is, if not gone, will no longer be a regular at 2B, with Tejada possibly taking over for Headley at third. However, can the Padres really upgrade at both 2B and SS in the same off-season? Doubtful. Take a look at a list of potential free agents. See anyone you really want? Uh, no. So if you go the trade route for the middle infield, then the outfield will be left virtually intact.

There will also be a lot of interest in the formation of a starting rotation. Right now, there are eight guys vying for five spots:

1. Latos

2. Clayton Richard

3. Tim Stauffer, who won himself a spot in the April rotation with his clutch September performance

4. Garland (if re-signed)

5. Young (if-signed)

6. Wade LeBlanc -- don't discount a young lefty who had some good starts this year.

7. Cory Luebke

8. Correia (if re-signed)

The crystal ball says if Correia is brought back, it won't be for a fulltime starter's role; that the Padres will re-sign either Young or Garland, but not both, and that LeBlanc and Luebke will duel for the fifth spot in the rotation.

The Padres will get something done with Bell, but Adams or Luke Gregerson will become trade bait. Look for young Ernesto Frieri and Ryan Webb to compete for the seventh inning spot.

Interesting decisions will also have to be made by Hoyer on Matt Stairs, whether to break up the Hairston brothers, whether Chase Headley's glove at the hot corner makes up for a weak bat, and whether gamers Aaron Cunningham and Chris Denorfia have a big league future.

Padres Fall Short, Chargers Back to Normal

2010-10-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

The Padres went down fighting with their best.

In losing 3-0 in San Francisco Sunday, the Friars were unable to complete the sweep necessary to enter the National League playoffs. Atlanta's nail-biting 8-7 victory over Philadelphia gave the Braves the senior circuit's wildcard spot. But after taking the first two games of the weekend series at AT&T Park, they made Giants fans sweat.

P Mat Latos allowed a measly two runs when he couldn't afford to give up any, Yorvit Torrealba hit into a key double play and Miguel Tejada struck out on a wicked slider with runners on base. These are three of the major contributors to a Padres season that fell just one game short of magical, leading a team that many "experts" in April predicted to finish fifth in the National League West. If you're going to go down, it's with those guys out there giving it their best shot.

Alas, there will be no playoff game at Petco Park Monday, nor a potential wildcard tiebreaker in Atlanta Tuesday. All that would have been fun. But this regular season was five months of fun, capped by a little more than a month of frustration. The Padres came up short but the Giants, with a superior September, actively won the division fair-and-square.

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While everyone would have liked to see the Padres in the playoffs, entry into the tournament was only going to be an invitation to lose to the Phillies. With Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in the rotation, it will take a major upset for another team to keep them out of the World Series...I'll write more during the week, but I think this off-season is going to be fascinating. The Padres not only need more hitting, but offense that fits the constraints of Petco Park, something that GM Jed Hoyer under-estimated when he picked up Tejada and, especially, Ryan Ludwick in his mid-season deals. And they have pitching to burn. It will be interesting to see who is still in the rotation next April, and I would bet offers to other teams will include either seventh-inning reliever Luke Gregerson or eighth-inning specialist Mike Adams. You have to give up quality to get quality and all that...How would the Padres have fared if 1B Adrian Gonzalez had gotten surgery on his injured shoulder at mid-season, taken two months off, and come back healthy in September?

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My Sunday attention was all on the Padres. The Chargers? Well, we know what they can do at home against bad teams. Nothing more to say, other than I wonder if the Spanoses are looking for ways to put a hold on RB Darren Sproles' paychecks...Nine sacks. Nine?...I like the milestones of TE Antonio Gates becoming the seventh player at his position with 500 receptions, RB Ryan Mathews with his first pro TD, Mike Tolbert's first 100-yard game and LB Shaun Phillips career high four sacks...The Cardinals collapse since their Super Bowl appearance is a lesson for AJ Smith-haters. The Chargers consistency during his tenure is remarkable. I know a lot of people would trade some just-miss seasons for a Super Bowl appearance, but if the Bolts keep coming close, it improves the odds of an eventual breakthrough.

Hairston Jr, Eckstein Losses Killed Hopes

2010-09-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Padres aren't dead yet, but a place in the baseball morgue with their name on it is being prepared after another 1-0 loss to the Cubs, who took three of four games in a series the Friars had to win to remain in serious contention in the National League West.

They now head to San Francisco with the barest of pulses, needing to win three straight games to forge a tie in the standings at the end of the season. You've seen the Padres swing the bats lately, so have I. It's time to say "stranger things have happened."

There will be a lot of soul searching around here in the next week or so, wondering just what the heck happened. Some blame-seeking. You shouldn't.

Look no farther than the loss of do-everything utility man Jerry Hairston Jr, the hero in a number of amazing Padres wins this season. After bothersome legs knocked him out of the lineup in late-August, the Padres lost eight straight games, a total mark of 4-10 until he returned as a pinch hitter. Hairston tried to make a go of it, but batted 1-for-13 and was shut down for the season after Sept. 17. From that point, the Padres went 6-6, not exactly a charge down the stretch. Think the Padres could have used him? Oh, yeah, and, man, he really gutted it out trying to stay in the lineup.

I also think an injury to David Eckstein in August can't be downplayed. Since he returned from injury on Aug. 21, the Padres went 15-23. Eck was also instrumental in a number of victories this season, but he had to play every game and was nowhere near as effective as he had been before he got hurt. He was mired in a 7-for-39 slump through Thursday's loss.

Both Hairston Jr and Eckstein were clutch, athletic cogs to an offense that contributed timely hits, quality at-bats and smart baserunning. Without Hairston, for example, manager Bud Black had to run Ryan Ludwick out into right field every day, when clearly the former Cardinal could have used some time off in August to rediscover his swing, or could have been benched entirely by mid-September. But Black had few options in the outfield during a final month in which Ludwick hit just .227 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. He hasn't knocked in a base-runner since Sept. 21 -- okay I'm starting the blame game now. Not what I want to do.

The Padres contended in 2010 because they had a roster full of gamers, none more so than Jerry Hairston Jr and David Eckstein. It's no surprise that, if the team does fall short of the post-season, injuries to these fine players will be a chief cause.

THE Game for Padres, Dirty Hoops

2010-09-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

There is math, then there is reality.

Math says that if the Padres are within three games of the Giants by the time they fly to San Francisco, they'll still have a chance. Reality is the Padres better beat the Cubs Wednesday night because time is running out on them. They are not only losing ground to the Giants, but also the Braves in the wildcard race.

Chris Young will be on the mound, which will give the Friars a solid shot at winning. The trouble is, it doesn't matter who is toeing the slab for Chicago because the home team can't hit its way out of a paper bag. In the final homestand of the season, the Padres have are 2-3, and now have to win the last two for a winning record over the key seven games. In September, with a chance to wrap up a division title, the Padres are 11-15, with five of the wins over a Dodgers team that was out of it in more ways than one.

What burns me up is that fate has done its part, has been kind to the Padres. The Braves are only 12-14 this month, and while the Giants are 16-8 in September, the Friars had a chance to split the recent four-game series at Petco but blew the Friday 1-0 game.

Keep your fingers crossed.

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I'm sure I mentioned somewhere before my opinion that as beautiful a game as basketball is on the court, it is ugly off the court. The game is as sordid as boxing. Check out the story on Chen Cai of Maranatha Christian High from The San Diego Union-Tribune, "High School Star Ineligible After Payments Revealed."

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Lincoln High's Norman Powell has committed to UCLA for basketball, in case you missed it. Powell is among a disturbingly large number of local star athletes who listed San Diego State as their second choice, something that Aztec officials need to correct.

Reactions to Padres, Chargers, SDSU and USD Weekend

2010-09-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Throw out Sunday's 12-2 loss by the Padres to Cincinnati. Those games happen. Otherwise, the grand plan laid out here a week ago has gone pretty well. The Braves struggled against both the Phillies and the Nationals while the Giants and Rockies beat each other up. As it ended in the Giants favor, the Rockies are left hoping for a miracle. Now, barring a collapse against the Cubs this week, the Padres will go into San Francisco next weekend with a chance to win the division and, if they fall short, make the playoffs as a wildcard. You really can't ask for anything more.

Despite what happened Sunday, the Padres still won the series and did so in exciting fashion, winning games the way they did earlier in the season, with patient at-bats, smart base running and timely hitting -- along with starting pitching just good enough to get the game to the bullpen. They'll be in good shape if they keep that up.

What I don't like about the Padres right now is that if they make it to AT&T Park with a chance to clinch, they are going to be hampered by the poor condition of their starting rotation. Jon Garland was wrong. Manager Bud Black did not wear out the relief pitchers. It was the starters, including Garland at times, who have faded down the stretch. Seriously, who makes you feel comfortable taking the mound right now, especially with the Giants starters slamming the door on everyone?

Phenom Mat Latos? He's lost his last three starts, allowing 16 earned runs over 10 innings. There's talk of pitching coach Darren Balsely finding a mechanical flaw, so maybe a correction will get him back on track.

Garland? He's lost four of his last five decisions, only once because his teammates can't hit.

Clayton Richard? He's also lost four of his last five decisions, including Sunday. The stretch includes his worst outing of the season.

Chris Young? Now you're talking, but his two starts since returning from injury have covered only nine innings.

Tim Stauffer? If the Padres win the division, his starts this month will make him one of the heroes, but having him in a pressure-packed situation will be interesting. If he gets a start in the Bay Area, he held the Giants to no runs and three hits recently at Petco.

Maybe they can have the starters limited to four innings each this week unless they're really doing well and turn it directly over to the pen (that's a joke, but remember that good sarcasm is rooted in truth).

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Don't panic, Chargers fans!

I know you've heard this before, that it is only September and the Bolts always start slowly under coach Norv Turner. It has been true, but the past performance of always turning things around in October to go on to win the division does not guarantee future results. Still, the way the Chargers lost in Seattle, 27-20 on Sunday, makes me feel like we're simply watching a re-run and everything will be okay very soon.

The visitors screwed things up about as much as they possibly could have, from allowing two kickoff returns for touchdowns to not getting plays called on time resulting in penalties to fumbles. This is not a team that got steamrolled. They out-gained the Seahawks 377-26 in the second half, and would have allowed the home team just a field goal without those kickoff returns by Leon Washington.

Ugly, ugly game, but it had nothing to do with talent on the field. It had everything to do with mistakes that can be ironed out and, hopefully, will by Sunday when they host a pretty weak Arizona team. Fortunately, it will be three days into October by game time.

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Two things stood out from San Diego State's 41-7 crunching of Utah State Saturday.

First was the defense. If Dominique Sandifer caught a punt deep in his own territory in the third quarter, instead of dropping it, then the Aztecs would have pitched shutouts in their first two home games of the season. Couple that with a strong final three quarters at Missouri and the defense looks like it is coming around, no matter the opponent.

Second, you'll have to trust me that Utah State is not nearly as bad as they looked. The Aggies were clearly both dispirited and undermanned by a terrible spate of injuries that had them playing youngsters at cornerback, running back and other positions who simply shouldn't have been on the field. That said, Diondre Borel is one of the best QBs the Aztecs will face all year. He simply had ZERO help. Too many of the players who helped the Aggies stay within seven points to Oklahoma in Norman were unavailable.

Fans will tell you SDSU has turned the corner under head coach Brady Hoke. The program is unquestionably rounding the bend but the building process still has a ways to go. The Aztecs needed to convert a 4th & 1, using a brilliant fake dive and scoring pass to TE Bryce Quigley, a fake field goal and busted coverage to run the score up on the Aggies. As well as the defense played, the offense sagged once a 28-0 second quarter lead was built as it seemed they started to play down to the level of their opponent. The running game, so good the first three games, averaged less than four yards per carry. Ronnie Hillman, who is likened to Marshall Faulk and not without reason, gained "only" 89 yards with a long of just 15 yards. He also made two freshman runs in which he started one way and then unwisely gave up ground while searching for a non-existent hole, losing five yards both times. The offensive line, so much improved this year over what we've become used to, still needs to improve some.

The best part offensively is how offensive coordinator Al Borges has enough weapons to make opposing defenses pay for their choices. At New Mexico State and Missouri, the Aggies and Tigers concentrated on slowing WRs Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, allowing Hillman to build his star status. Utah State keyed on Hillman, so QB Ryan Lindley went over the top to Brown for TDs of 65 and 82 yards and passed for 362 yards. The next opponent, BYU, probably has enough on defense to slow both Hillman and the wideouts, but can they also stop the tight ends. Borges has to feel like a kid in a giant toy box.

Just how far along the curve the Aztecs are will be learned by mid-October. The Aztecs have a well-time, pre-Mountain West Conference bye before traveling to BYU and coming home to face Air Force. The Y is just 1-3 but is still BYU. They play the Aggies next, so won't have that extra week to recover from a horrid start. The Falcons appear to be quite good again, but were lucky to beat Wyoming in Laramie.

The Aztecs are getting to the point where their line play and skill talent can be competitive with the better teams in the MWC. Playing like it is another step to take, and the time to do so is coming.

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Perhaps those routs at the hands of Azusa-Pacific, Southern Utah and UC Davis did USD some good. Finally playing at their true level, the Toreros blasted Butler 24-0 behind a voracious defense that yielded only 91 total yards. The defenders intercepted a pass, claimed a fumble and sacked Bulldog QBs four times.

Stability helps, too. With the QB job now in the hands of well-traveled transfer Mason Mills, the passing game netted nearly 200 yards and six players caught at least two passes. USD travels to Jacksonville next week, not to be confused with the highly ranked Jacksonville State FCS team that upset Mississippi. Fortunately.

Notes on Padres, Aztecs, Chargers

2010-09-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

It could be a playoff preview this weekend as the Cincinnati Reds come to Petco Park. There are still so many possibilities of how things might work out between who wins the NL West, whether the wildcard comes from this division or the NL East, and simply whether the Padres make it into the post-season at all. But it will be interesting to see how the locals stack up, because they didn't look so hot vs. the Phillies a few weeks ago...1B Adrian Gonzalez has only two extra-base hits and two RBI since his multi-homer game in Denver more than a week ago...As long as I'm banging on Adrian, how about Ryan Ludwick? Brought to the Friars to add some pop to the lineup, his paltry .353 slugging percentage since arriving ranks tied for 9th, barely above the mark posted by diminutive 2B David Eckstein. He's no longer in my lineup...I'm not sure SS Miguel Tejada is deserving of all the kudos in the morning paper for his defensive prowess but, overall, he is the best the Padres have at the position so I would welcome him back next year...Speaking of the U-T, they chided play-by-play man Dick Enberg for suggesting Eck was the team MVP. I agree with Enberg. You see what happened to the Pads when Eckstein got hurt, and as good as Adrian has been this season, his power numbers are down and his inconsistency is up. He's gone weeks between producing power several times in 2010...I've also bagged on Will Venable a lot, but he is 14-for-23 in the past week, though only two of the hits have gone for extra bases and none have left the yard.

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That 27-24 loss by San Diego State at Missouri still tears me up, mainly because the blame falls squarely on the lap of a coaching staff far too experienced to let something like an illegal substitution foul happen when they can basically wrap up the first road win over a BCS opponent since 1999. However, coach Brady Hoke has taken responsibility and appears to have his staff and players on the proper course...A lot has been made of past years when SDSU went into a major opponent's house and barely fell short of an upset, sending fans toward wild expectations before stumbling back to earth with bad subsequent games. In 2008, after leading a pretty sorry excuse for a Notre Dame team in the fourth quarter, the Aztecs got blown out a week later at San Jose State. In 2006, after a strong defensive showing at Wisconsin, the Aztecs lost three more in a row and were uncompetitive in each. In 2004, after knocking current Padres P Clayton Richard on his butt in a three-point loss at Michigan, the Aztecs returned to handily beat Nevada. In 2003, after the infamous three-point loss at defending national champion Ohio State, the Aztecs won two games easily before playing UCLA tough in Pasadena. History does not uphold the theory when Chuck Long is not your nightmare, uh, coach. We'll now find out how they respond under Hoke because Utah State, while battered by injuries, is a pretty good team. QB Diondre Borel is what the national media always wanted Washington QB Jake Locker to be...Neil Spencer returning from a series of tragedies to win the starting job at DT this week is one of the best stories of the year...So Ronnie Hillman scores on runs of 75 and 93 yards at Missouri. The coolest thing, while maybe illegal, was C Trask Iosefa spinning the freshman out of a tackle and sending him on his way to the second score. However, the best thing from a long-term perspective was that on each score he eluded a Tiger tackler who dove at his feet from behind -- and didn't even have to turn his head to do so. He seems to have some sort of sixth sense of where tacklers are and how to avoid them. How many times have you seen guys on long runs get tripped up by a fingernail? I don't think you'll see that too often from Hillman.

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Please, for the love of God, no more newspaper articles about Vincent Jackson until he either reports or gets traded...I'm not seeing much about the Seahawks that can stop the Chargers this weekend other than possible rain. Really, this is a football team bereft of stars and they have a revolving door at LT because their ONE name offensive player, Russell Okung, is injured...Sure, Hassleback is a name player but he's not one of the top NFL QBs...Look for another huge game by TE Antonio Gates...With top draft pick RB Ryan Mathews out with an injury Sunday, Mike Tolbert has been named the starter, but in reality, look for the Bolts to go to the air and handle the ball carrying by committee. The Seahawks run defense looks improved...Cason! Are you for real? Let's hope so. Wow!

Not So-Quick Chargers Reaction vs Jacksonville

2010-09-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Nothing like home-cooking and an extra week of in-season reality to fashion up a win. The Chargers 38-13 was what we hoped to see in the first place -- and with the blackout something most of us still haven't ... Noting, however, that Kansas City won again to go to 2-0. Okay, it was Cleveland, but it was a road win in the NFL ... We all knew the Bolts found a replacement for LT. We just didn't know it would be Mike Tolbert ... As for injured err-apparent Ryan Mathews, the Hall of Fame is full of guys who had crummy starts to their pro careers ... I like the collection of six turnovers, but not the giving away of three of their own ... Darren Sproles had just 12 touches between carries, receptions and kick returns. I think there needs to be a few more ... A split decision for Larry English-haters. No tackles but he got in on a sack ... Seattle is next, a 1-1 team after losing at Denver by 17 points.

Quick SDSU-Missouri Reaction

2010-09-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

They weren't good enough.

As heartbreaking as the ending of San Diego State's 27-24 loss at Missouri was, the fact is the Aztecs were fortunate to even be close at the end. Close they were, thanks to amazing scoring runs of 75 and 93 yards from freshman RB Ronnie Hillman, and fourth quarter interceptions by S Darryn Lewis and CB Leon McFadden.

But in the final four minutes or so, they couldn't make the plays they needed to put the Tigers away, and MU turned a short pass into a long game-winning touchdown. The Aztecs had their chances, having the ball three times deep in Missouri territory late in the game and only coming away with a field goal. The first time, SDSU had a second and goal at the Tigers' three and QB Ryan Lindley threw an interception.

That's where things broke down in Columbia. The upperclassmen I wrote about on Friday, who had a chance to come through, didn't the entire game. Lindley went a second straight contest completing less than half his passes and has not shed his penchant for horrible, game-changing turnovers. WR Vincent Brown was blanketed by the Missouri defense and was a non-factor. WR DeMarco Sampson made some big catches early in the game but was then stuffed. The offensive line created some huge holes at times, didn't make any holes too often and mostly pass-blocked well.

The defense played very well in the second half, save for one or two plays, and their development will bear watching.

The offense, however, needs serious soul-searching. Lindley has not been on the same page with Brown and Sampson for two straight weeks. They could not sustain drives in Columbia. I suspect they will be able to against most of the teams they will play in the future, but they are still in no condition to be playing the likes of Utah or TCU.

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Kudos to Hillman for his 230 yards, but 168 came on two plays. Two awesome runs, though...The other near-hero was P Brian Stahovich, who averaged 45 yards per boot, had a long of 67 and pinned Missouri inside the 20 three times...As bad as the loss was, they could be New Mexico, which was down 56-14 to Utah in the fourth quarter as of this writing, or Colorado State, which lost 31-10 to Miami (Ohio, not Florida).

Padres in Second, Chargers Blackout, Aztecs

2010-09-17T09:13:00.001-07:00

Having the local baseball team suddenly known as "the second place Padres" does not concern me too much, since the ultimate goal of the regular season is to make the playoffs. A division title would be nice, but being the bridesmaid is nearly as good as long as you're the prettiest of the three.

In that regard, much has been made of the easy schedule the now-first place Giants have the rest of the season. While I have not given up on the Padres chances to actually win the NL West, it is important not to lose sight of the wildcard situation, and no one I know of has checked out the remainder of the season for the Braves.

Atlanta starts Friday a half-game in front of the Padres and are in the midst of a three-game weekend series at New York. The Braves then play three in Philadelphia and three in Washington -- and it should be noted the Nationals took two of three at Turner Field earlier this week. They are then home for the final week, with three against the Marlins and three vs. the Phillies in what could be a division showdown. That is no easy road, especially with the Phils on another hot streak.

The Giants, as you probably know, are currently home for three against Milwaukee, then travel to Chicago and Denver before ending the regular season at AT&T Park against the Diamondbacks and Padres. Manager Bruce Bochy's team looks like a good bet to be playing baseball after the first weekend of October.

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P Chris Young's start at St. Louis Saturday is huge. If he's on, then the starting rotation might hold together to the end of the season.

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There is no one overarching reason why the Chargers didn't sell out its home opener vs. Jacksonville on Sunday. I think nearly every reason mentioned has merit, from disappointment in last season's playoff loss to the way the off-season was handled. Three reasons clearly stand out to me:

1. The economy. The fact is if you're emotionally invested in the Chargers, you're going to go to the games no matter what happens to your bank account. You'll give up the Starbucks lattes and Friday evening happy hours to save money for football if you need to. However, lack of money will push the rock over the ledge if you're unhappy with the result of the playoff game, hating AJ Smith or missing LT.

2. It doesn't matter. Despite what happened in Kansas City, you know the Chargers are going to win the AFC West. Anything that happens now is merely a prelude to January, so why not save yourself for when it really counts? You can be like an NBA or hockey fan.

3. Television coverage. I actually like this self-defeating reason raised Thursday by Ben Higgins on XTRA 1360. Television coverage of NFL football games is now at such a high level that, while different, it's just as good as being there. In fact, I was shocked at what at times seemed to be only two-camera coverage of the San Diego State game at New Mexico State last week, in comparing the quality. You turn on the TV for a sports event, and you expect a crystal clear picture, tight zooms that can focus on a freckle and isolations on everyone down to the water boy. Why go when you can watch it on TV? Until you can't. Now you can't.

There are always complaints about the cost of tickets, parking and concessions, but there always have been. Wait until they move into a new downtown stadium. If the Chargers prices go up at the same rate the Padres' did, you'll need to take out a second mortgage for season seats. Such a move could also exacerbate the team's attendance problems. The NFL has been the corporate league for decades now, and San Diego really doesn't have many major corporations outside Qualcomm, Petco and Sharp Healthcare.

---

I have no idea what San Diego State will do at Missouri on Saturday. I know the Aztecs are building from below, with younger players beginning to move into key roles on the team. I can tell they're good players and, with their youth, I don't care that they're only proving themselves against cupcakes.

The Missouri game, however, is all about the upperclassmen. Have Brady Hoke, his assistant coaches and ballyhooed strength coach Aaron Wellman done enough to make the kids who have been here for up to five years competitive with a good Big 12 team?

Can QB Ryan Lindley, WRs Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, C Trask Iosefa and RT Kurtis Gunther put up a lot of points against a good team? The offense scored 61 points against their four quality opponents in 2009, nearly half of them in one game vs BYU. In 2008, it was 46 points against four top opponents. That didn't get it done and won't in 2010.

Defensively, can guys who have been around awhile like DE Ernie Lawson, LBs Marcus Yarbrough and Miles Burris, CB Jose Perez and Aztec Andrew Preston step up and keep the game winnable? Those four games last year and the year before saw the defenders allow 174 points (the lowest total being 33 to UCLA and a couple Bruins TDs were gifts) and 166 points (63 in one game to Utah).

If improvement is being made on both sides of the ball, we'll see it Saturday from the upperclassmen. The results will let us know more what to expect when the Air Force, BYU, TCU and Utah games come around.

Chargers vs. Chiefs Quick Reaction

2010-09-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

Football teams can be defined by their strengths or their weaknesses, and at least for the first week of the NFL season, the Chargers will be defined by their weaknesses. It's a long season, and things should get much better, but who wasn't wearing white jerseys made a massive impact in Monday night's 21-14 loss to the Jets.

-- RB LaDainian Tomlinson played fairly well for the Jets, and Ryan Mathews did nothing to make us forget him, and he didn't come in again after knocking the ball out of QB Philip Rivers hands in the fourth quarter -- and it looked like he might have hurt his fingers on the play.

-- WR Vincent Jackson would have caught the key fourth quarter pass dropped by Legedu Naanee, don't you think? It stopped a drive on fourth down, and came after he ridiculously showboated on a TD catch.

-- How about a fine performance by LT Brandyn Dombrowski, subbing for Marcus McNeill? Just as you're thinking, wow, he's doing a fine job, he lets a defender leak through and blow up a play. That's the NFL for you.

-- For all the talk about the holdouts, the Chargers also let special teams monster Kassim Osgood get away during the off-season, and paid for it by Dexter McCluster's 94-yard punt return for the winning TD.

Reality is that a team that probably shouldn't be any good until late this season defeated a squad that should run away with the AFC West.

The check on the Chargers: they held the ball for more than 37 minutes and scored just twice, they had a 1st & goal at the KC four at the end and couldn't punch it in, they nearly doubled the Chiefs yardage total and lost, they allowed the Chiefs 5.2 yards per carry.

Once again, the Chargers start a season slowly.

---

Meanwhile, Tomlinson ran for 62 yards on 11 carries and also caught a couple passes for the Jets in their 10-9 loss to the Ravens. The big news was the Jets inability to convert third downs, but Tomlinson only handled the ball on one of those failures.

SDSU and USD Reaction

2010-09-11T20:52:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about San Diego State's 2-0 start is the Aztecs really haven't played very well. In Saturday night's 41-21 win at New Mexico State, the defense allowed a couple of big plays for touchdowns, the offense couldn't convert in the red zone in the first half and QB Ryan Lindley hit the side of a barn door.

Yet, they over-matched an opponent for the second straight week despite all that, and they are going to get better as the season goes on. The defense is playing a lot of new players, redshirt freshmen and true freshmen, so there will be some coverage breakdowns. The offense did convert in the second half, and Lindley -- who is prone to bad games out of nowhere -- hopefully got the one for 2010 out of his system. He was 20-43, though he did throw for more than 300 yards for the second straight game.

The best part of the game for the Aztecs was how the running game wore down the Aggies in the second half. The offensive line opened some holes in the first half, but were really pounding in the final 30 minutes, allowing freshman RB Ronnie Hillman to have a huge game -- he scored four touchdowns and ran for 150 yards.

More kudos go to NT Jerome Long, who tied for the team lead in tackles with 8, including a sack, very rare for an interior lineman. Long was disruptive all night. The other really impressive players were G Nik Embernate, who keyed the second half blocking surge, and FB Brandon Sullivan, who nearly took a third down screen pass to the house and did a fine job with blocking.

Next comes Missouri. No longer will they over-match their opponent, so hopefully the Aztecs will be even sharper next week in Columbia.

---

USD was on the other end of the over-match, losing 32-3e at Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds are a scholarship team and the Toreros, struggling to find a passing game, managed only a field-goal in the second quarter. It doesn't get any easier next week, with UC Davis coming to town.

Chargers Have Questions and Time to Answer Them

2010-09-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a sign that the Chargers are living right: they enter the 2010 season with more questions than they've had in years, yet are in almost no danger of losing the AFC West title or missing the playoffs, since the division is so bad (see previous post). How's that for a comfort level? If GM AJ Smith didn't have the holdouts to deal with, I'd say his blood pressure would be just about normal for a guy his age.

Seriously, playoff prospects would be very iffy for a team in any other division in the NFL with the number of questions that face the Chargers. Thankfully, for the fans, there is plenty of time to find answers before the post-season starts. I've heard talk show hosts saying the Bolts will be 6-0 by the time they host New England on Oct. 24. They could be, though I think 5-1 will be more likely. Still, thanks to the weakness of their opponents, they will have come close to clinching the AFC West by then. Funny.

My list of ??? follows:

-- How will the new-look offense fare? The front office thinks RB Ryan Mathews will be an upgrade over LaDainian Tomlinson, so look for coach Norv Turner to call a lot more running plays. Also, with Vincent Jackson reduced to playing catch at Mission Beach, don't look for as many deep pass routes. Will this work for these guys?

-- The offensive line is healthy across the board, something you couldn't say last year entering the season, and of course, things got much worse in the first half of the opener in Oakland. But are they better? Was it the run blocking or LT? And can they protect QB Philip Rivers? Part of the equation for fewer deep balls will be worries whether tackles Jeromey Clary and Brandyn Dombrowski can keep the passer upright.

-- Can C Nick Hardwick make it through the season? He's played all 16 games only once, in 2006, and managed only three in 2009.

-- Is Mathews a 20-carry per game kind of a guy who they want to make dominant, or will he split carries with Darren Sproles, Mike Tolbert and Jacob Hester? Maybe he's a 12-carry and three-swing pass player? We'll see.

-- Will Rivers have the same kind of trust in his teammates as he had in previous years, in terms of their ability to perform their functions? Will he know that Buster Davis will run the route correctly? Can he count on Mathews to pick up the blitzing linebacker? If not, will Mathews departure to the sideline signal to the opposing defensive coordinator that a pass is coming?

-- A lot of people have been down on young LB Larry English, but he's played only one season. Is 2010 when he blossoms when filling in for Shawne Merriman or are the questions about him legitimate?

-- Will Merriman prove to be a contributor or a distraction?

-- LB Shaun Phillips is the guy whose had a chance to prove himself, over six years, but his sack totals have declined the past three seasons and other numbers are down, as well. Did he thrive only in Merriman's shadow? Should active backup Antwan Applewhite play more downs?

-- Staying on the time to prove himself front, how about FS Eric Weddle? Or DE Luis Castillo?

-- Is CB Antoine Cason ready for full-time duty after mainly being a nickel back?

-- Will the Make-Shift work again at nose tackle without Jamal Williams?

Thems a lotta questions. We should start to make some tentative judgments by the end of the month.

Prediction time: I think we have a situation a lot like last year where the Chargers will be pretty good but will get pushed around by physical ball clubs. Unless nearly all the above questions are answered in a positive way over the next three months, the 2010 version of the Bolts will probably have a sparkling regular-season record but be a one-and-done playoff team.

Like I wrote above, I expect a 5-1 start up to the point when New England comes to town, and that's when things get dicey. The Patriots aren't what they used to be but will be better than the opponents faced by the Chargers up to that point. If nothing else, it signals a change in caliber of opposition that will either toughen them for the post-season or batter them into submission.

I see 9-7, and still easily winning the division, as the worst-case scenario. If everything works out, they could go 13-3 again. Unfortunately, I think it is more likely they lose a first playoff game than make the Super Bowl.

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It is way too early for a must-win game, but one should start to look good by the second game of a college season. San Diego State posted a 47-0 rout of over-matched Nicholls State last Saturday but didn't look ready for a Division 1 opponent. Now they have one, on the road, at New Mexico State, which will throw a solid defense against the Aztecs. College teams make their biggest jumps from Week One to Week Two. Let's hope SDSU makes its jump from a trampoline.

AFC West Provides Cushion for Bolts; Padres Comments

2010-09-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

There is no division in the NFL quite so putrid as the AFC West. In a season in which the Chargers start without key cogs at left tackle, receiver, running back, nose tackle and linebacker, there is still no threat to the Bolts' annual division title coming from Denver, Kansas City or Oakland.

The AFC West was worse than ever in 2009, when the Chargers wrapped up the division title in September -- I'm exaggerating, but only a little -- and none of the other teams finished above .500. In fact, the Raiders were 5-11 and the Chiefs 4-12. I think there will be some bottom-up improvement this fall. Going through each division rival's schedule, I came up with a 6-10 finish -- for all of them. It's just the way it worked out. What's more, the first half of the 2010 slate is going to kill each of them: I figured the Broncos and Chiefs will get out of the gate 2-6, the Raiders a kinder 3-5.

It is a struggle finding good news for these teams. Broncos fans are going bonkers over future president Tim Tebow. The trouble is, the first-round draft pick from Florida won't play much outside the Wildcat and a couple special packages. The Chiefs have more weapons around QB Matt Cassell. The Raiders finally have a decent QB in Jason Campbell and a defensive Rookie of the Year candidate in MLB Rolando McClain.

But that's it for the happy talk. Compare it to the bad news, which hit Denver hard with injuries. DE Elvis Dumervil and his 17 sacks will be sidelined all year. RB Knowshon Moreno has been hurt, and so have a bunch of other Broncos. The offensive line at Jacksonville on Sunday could start two rookies and Marian Catholic High's Stanley Daniels, a really nice guy who has played little since leaving the University of Washington.

In Kansas City, Cassell was sacked 42 times last year, one of the highest totals in the NFL, and as a result he threw 16 picks to go with his 16 TDs. He will be helped by young RB Jamaal Charles and WR Dwayne Bowe, but a youth movement really means only that it is going to be another year or so before things get moving the right way. There could be good things happening in Arrowhead Stadium in 2011, but this is 2010.

Oakland had one of the worst defenses against the run in the NFL, and merely gets to open the season against defending rushing champion Chris Johnson of Tennessee. That Campbell is an upgrade shows how bad the Raiders were at QB in recent years. In Washington, Campbell finished mid-pack in passing yards and QB rating. Here's how bad the offensive line might be: they drafted a guy from a small college and had him at backup left tackle most of training camp, then switched him in the late-going to center, where he won the job! Amazing.

So look for very slow starts for all these teams, with final records of 6-10 or thereabouts. The Chargers, again, will breeze.

---

Thank God for the Dodgers. They came in at the right time. I don't know if the Padres are cured or not, but they found someone playing even worse ... Memo to Padres P Jon Garland: if you don't want to be pulled from a game early, pitch better ... I agree that P Mat Latos deserves to be in the NL Cy Young chatter after the season, more for his amazing consistency than his 14-5 record and 2.21 ERA. You still need wins, and I think he needs three more to challenge the front-runners for the award, who are Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (17-10, 2.34), Roy Halladay of the Phillies (17-10, 2.36) and Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies (18-6, 2.79).

San Diegans are Fresh Blood, Renewed Souls in NFL

2010-09-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Ahh, that new player smell! A number of players with San Diego connections are set to rise to the forefront in the NFL for the first time this season, and there is also a scent of renewal among a number of local veterans whose careers had been facing hard times.

As of now, it looks like renewal is bigger than the fresh and new, but we'll start with the latter. The top dog among them appears to be RB Arian Foster, who appears ready to become the feature back of the Houston Texans. Foster is a Mission Bay High product who was the primary ball-carrier for Tennessee but never really became a star in Knoxville. QB Josh Johnson, the former USD superstar, will start this weekend for Tampa Bay because of an injury to starter Josh Freeman, and who knows what can happen with a big performance? The other major newcomer is Lance Louis, who left San Diego State under criminal investigation for an assault in a team meeting room but is now set to start at G for the Chicago Bears. Life can lead you on a strange path.

The big news, though, ought to come from the veterans who will find themselves finally ready to fulfill expectations, or are in new places with big shoes to fill. The most microscopes will focus on San Francisco QB Alex Smith, who has had four average or worse seasons since the 49ers took him first in the NFL draft. The 'niners look like a potential division champ, but need the Helix High alumnus to get them there. All reports out of SF the past year or so have said he's finally ready, but injuries have slowed his progress. Now, if the offensive line can keep him alive, we'll see if he's ready for stardom.

Kirk Morrison has moved from the middle of the Oakland Raiders defense to the center of the Jacksonville Jaguars stoppers, who seem much happier to have him than his hometown employers ever did. The SDSU product is set to start for a LB corps that includes former Aztecs Russell Allen -- a Vista High alum slated to be the top backup -- and Freddy Keiaho, the former Colt who is on injured-reserve with a concussion.

For the Chargers, former Aztec offensive lineman Brandyn Dombrowski is set to play a major role for a unit that will be watched closely this season, and ex-SDSU LB Antwan Applewhite will hope his ability to make plays finally gets noticed by coaches, who really need to get him on the field more often.

Former SDSU T Chester Pitts, the longtime Texans starter and Super Bowl TV commercial star, might start in place of injured Russell Okung for the Seahawks for a couple of weeks. That is even though Pitts missed all the exhibition games because of injury. Khalif Barnes of Mount Miguel High will be the Raiders main backup at LT. G Stephen Neal (San Diego High) returns to the Patriots line after being hurt last year.

OTHER LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTS:

-- RB Reggie Bush of Helix High (New Orleans Saints)
-- LB Brandon Chillar of Carlsbad High (Green Bay Packers)
-- LB Travis Goethel of Vista High (Oakland Raiders)
-- CB Leon Hall of Vista High (Cincinnati Bengals)
-- WR Marcus Smith of Morse High (Baltimore Ravens)
-- WR Brett Swain of Carlsbad High and SDSU (Green Bay Packers)
-- LB Pisa Tinoisamoa of Vista High (Chicago Bears)
-- WR Roberto Wallace of Oceanside High and SDSU (Miami Dolphins)
-- RB Ricky Williams of Patrick Henry High (Miami Dolphins)

OTHER SAN DIEGO STATE PLAYERS

-- LB Heath Farwell (Minnesota Vikings)
-- RB Lynell Hamilton (New Orleans Saints)
-- WR Kassim Osgood (Jacksonville Jaguars)
-- WR Chaz Schilens (Oakland Raiders)

By the way, Hamilton is on IR and Schilens might miss the first couple of months with another injury. More fuel for the "why does SDSU suck?" mystery: 14 alumni will be on NFL opening weekend rosters in 2010, including the two IRs.

This list is after the weekend cut-down to the final 53-man rosters. The eyes can glaze over while researching this stuff, so let me know if I've missed someone.

Ello Was Right on Padres Trades

2010-09-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

When Padres GM Jed Hoyer made his pre-trade deadline moves in July, I was glad that he had the guts to go out and improve the lineup, accomplishing the task while giving up little from the farm system.

Chris Ello, the mid-morning talk show host at 1360AM -- and moving to an early-afternoon slot -- had the opposite reaction. His opinion was that the additions of SS Miguel Tejada and RF Ryan Ludwick would alter the character of the team, from a scrappy athletic group to a bunch of station-to-station players of the sort regularly spit out by Petco Park over the years. Tejada in particular would be a poor fit here, according to Ello.

I shrugged when I heard him. Ello can be a curmudgeon and has a tendency to predict the worst for San Diego sports efforts, and this seemed no different. If nothing else, Tejada was going to be an upgrade over Everth Cabrera.

Fast forward to more than a month later, and it is looking like Ello was right. While the Padres have had some notable pitching failures over the past two weeks, the bottom line reason for the now-10-game losing streak is an inability to push runs across the plate. The Friars have, by my mediocre math, scored a paltry 23 runs over the 10 games, getting as many as five runs in a contest only once. They haven't been patient at the plate, working counts to get on base, and when opportunities have arisen, they've converted minimally. They are, like the beginning of last year and in prior years, a station-to-station team that, even with the additions of Tejada and Ludwick, still aren't powerful enough to make it work.

The moves appeared to work well at first. The Padres began August with a 16-7 record. That's now 16-17. In some ways, that's not too terrible, but they're not going to win any divisions performing at that rate, and it is a sign that Ello might have been right on this one.

Aztecs and Toreros Postgame Reaction

2010-09-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

San Diego State opened the 2010 season with a 47-0 win over Nicholls State while USD was taken to the woodshed by Azusa-Pacific 42-14.

The Aztecs were scoreless in the first quarter as the teams felt themselves out but exploded for 20 in the second period and never looked back. Still, the slow start set the tone for the game, which left a lot to like and dislike.

Like:

-- QB Ryan Lindley looked fully in charge and only made one really bad pass. Getting a throw for backup Jake Barnards.

-- RBs Devon Brown, Walter Kazee and Ronnie Hillman look capable, combining for 204 yards.

-- Senior WR DeMarco Sampson played like he wants to be a first-day draft pick next year, with seven receptions for 179 yards and two TDs.

-- The offensive line indeed looks improved.

-- The young depth on defense looks very good. The Aztecs went two or three deep in many positions and the kids held up their end.

-- The overall game atmosphere was much better than in previous years, and the turnout of more than 25,000 is better than could have been expected against an unknown cupcake of an opponent.

DISLIKE:

-- The starters on defense appeared like this was just another practice or scrimmage on campus instead of the first game of the season. Weak effort and not much enthusiasm. Burned on the screen play time and time again. A couple times in the first quarter, okay, but still happening in the third? Be serious.

-- Those starters constantly took bad angles to the football and got torched by Colonels QB LaQuinton Caston, who gained 49 yards despite being sacked three times. If they keep that up, Utah State's Diondre Borel will eat them up in three weeks. Either the pursuit angles were very poor, or they were very slow, or both. I hope it was the first because it can be corrected.

-- Fullback Brandon Sullivan was standing too often at the end of running plays when he was supposed to block.

-- I mentioned concern about the soft kick coverage units in an earlier post, and I'm now scared. If things aren't tightened up, they'll give up at least one punt return and one kickoff return for scores this fall.

-- This game could have been closer. The Colonels had too many nice drives end in disaster because, frankly, they're a mediocre team at a lower level, and the Aztecs tacked on some points late because the starters played on offense halfway through the fourth quarter -- far more than they should have.

The bottom line is the opener was a success but thank God they were playing a cupcake. They certainly would not have been ready for a Division 1 team. Things are improving around here, but this ain't no 9-3 team.

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All you need to know about APU's rout of USD: the Cougars ran for 325 yards. The Toreros gained 42 yards on the ground, in comparison, and fumbled twice. The domination came in the second half, which was 28-0 in APU's favor. The Toreros also allowed four sacks and committed 11 penalties. The Toreros scores came on passes of 61 and 25 yards from QB Sam Scudellari to WR Kyle Warren. Hard times have come to Alcala Park. Oh, it's about to get worse. The next two opponents are Southern Utah and UC Davis. Gulp!

Hoke Era Begins for Real as Aztecs Seek Viability

2010-09-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday is the real beginning of the Brady Hoke-era for San Diego State football. You only saw a minor imprint of the former linebacker's big paw in 2009 as his staff came to learn just how bad the Chuck Long train wreck was. Now that he's been on the job for about 20 months, Hoke has ownership and responsibility for what happens from here on out.

Thank God for it, because the next couple of years are going to be very interesting in the evolving makeup of college football, and the ability of SDSU football to re-create a viable market in San Diego is going to be of utmost importance. I am glad Hoke is in charge, and making the changes he's making, because I think the landscape of the sport is destined for radical change in the next three or four years. Schools large and small are going to decide they don't like the positions they find themselves in, and it will be worse as time marches on. What is going on now with the looming departures of BYU and Utah from the Mountain West Conference, and the upcoming additions of Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada, is small potatoes. Administrators in Salt Lake City and Provo will happily count their extra cash in the future but will cringe at 7-5 or worse records. The Cougars could be headed for irrelevance in the next few years while the Utes languish against superior competition.

If their futures are repeated at other schools across the country, change in the form of playoffs or super-conferences might take place. My joke is that the only super-conference likely to be formed will have only three teams: USC, Texas and Notre Dame. A three-team league, no one else matters.

Whatever the future holds, San Diego State better be ready. Bad teams playing before small crowds in an uninterested city is a situation no longer sustainable. Hoke has to do some nation-building here, and I think he is off to a good start. He has local high school coaches behind him, unusually strong support from the media, and has come up with some good ideas like last Friday's welcome to freshman, the Warrior Walk and return of the on-field spear planting -- deemed not PC by past administrations.

If there is a decent team that draws reasonably well in one of the 10 largest cities in the United States, then SDSU will be well-positioned for future super-conferences or re-leaguing. If the Aztecs extend their bowl drought much longer, you might be looking at the end of the program entirely.

---

Local sportscaster Lee Hamilton wrote this week that San Diego State will be the surprise of college football and go 9-3 this season. I think he is a year too early. I have written here a couple of times that the Aztecs will compete for a 6-6 bowl this fall, and I've seen nothing that makes me change my mind.

There are plenty of causes for optimism:

-- QB Ryan Lindley is in his third season as the unquestioned starter and has shown great passing ability. He has made strides as a pro-style QB and should cut down on his penchant for disastrous errors. Look for him to have a big year.

-- The wide receivers as a group, and Vincent Brown as an individual, are rated high nationally and are a big reason why Lindley will excel. Add improved TE Alston Umuolo to the mix, and I'd hate to be an opposing defensive coordinator.

-- Ronnie Hillman is the Aztecs best chance for a feature back since Lynell Hamilton. While the offensive line gets trashed for not blocking well for the run, I saw a number of instances last fall in which holes were opened but the backs couldn't get through them. Hillman probably will change that.

-- The young depth on defense is exciting. Kids like LB Jake Fely and DB Rene Siluano are playmakers with a nose for the ball.

-- The schedule breaks well early, with the opening cupcake and winnable second game on the road at New Mexico State. No one expects a win at Missouri, but the Aztecs can apply whatever lessons they learned against the Tigers against Utah State at home. By then, the upperclassmen should be humming and the youngsters will have their feet wet -- just in time for the MWC slate.

Reality checks:

-- Of the three ballyhooed JC transfer offensive linemen brought in the stabilize the unit and provide competition, one didn't make it into school, one stuck long enough to go through training camp before being ruled academically ineligible, and the third failed to win a starting position.

-- That failure has left the offensive line awfully thin at right tackle and both guard spots.

-- If Lindley goes down ..., well, you know.

-- Running back depth has also been depleted by academic problems, some of which are not the fault of the student-athletes.

-- The defensive line is manned by players who have been trampled for two or three seasons now. They might be stronger and quicker, but does that mean they're better?

-- That young depth in the secondary will be a lot of fun to watch, but they're still just true and redshirt freshman, which always brings its own headaches. I'm not confident in the returning starters.

-- JC transfer Abel Perez should improve the kickoff situation, which has been horrible for a couple of years. I was not impressed by the coverage I saw in last month's scrimmage. I'm not sure we can count on Perez or Bryan Shields to be more reliable kicking field goals over what was here in 2009.

---

Prediction: I think the passing game will be dynamic and spread the field so much that the running game will approve by default. The Aztecs are going to score points by the bushel and be fun to watch because there will be a lot of shootouts. Don't get smug when the defense performs well early. Nicholls State changed coaches and schemes and will need time to settle in, and New Mexico State had one of college football's worst offenses last season. Missouri, however, will hit SDSU up for at least 30, which will probably start a trend. It might be a return to how things were in the wacky WAC, but it will be fun to watch.

Yes, challenge for a 6-6 bowl and probably get there, and defeating whatever WAC, C-USA or Sun Belt team the Aztecs get to play. The most important question is whether Hoke can get anyone to care.

Padres Slump, MWC Preview

2010-08-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Don't panic, Padres fans, at least not yet. Yes, your Friars have lost a season-high five games in a row, but they remain five games in front of the Giants and remain on track for a playoff berth.

Throwing Wade LeBlanc at Arizona at Chase Field Monday was no way to stop a losing streak, so you can toss that one out. Otherwise, the Padres lost three straight to the Phillies over the weekend because they played like crap. They spent more time arguing with umpires over balls-and-strikes calls than they did trying to get on base or drive in runs. They made all kinds of errors and left a bunch of plays unmade. The two that come to mind of the last point came when SS Miguel Tejada made a weak double-play toss to 2B David Eckstein, who was taken out roughly at the base on his pivot throw. The batter was safe at first and a run scored. The other was CF Chris Denorfia, who has received high praise here this summer, diving for a ball he should have cut off. That, and the batters swinging for the fences, was a sign of players trying to do too much to win.

My bet is Manager Bud Black handles this and the Padres turn things around this week. It's not like they were completely outclassed by the Phillies. Sure, the visitors were better, but not by a whole lot. The Padres have a good team, they just have to play well, like anyone else. Now, come playoff time, we may have a different tune. I'd hate to have to run that Oswalt-Blanton-Hamels gauntlet again, especially when that list doesn't even include their best starter.

My only concern is that if the Padres do fall back to the pack, the wildcard position is being challenged fiercely. Falling behind in the NL West at the end could mean you miss the playoffs entirely. I don't think this is a worry, but it's worth mentioning.

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In this year of college football realignment, intrigue, back-stabbing, and every-man-for-himselfism the upcoming Mountain West Conference season will be marked, in a large part, on group efforts. That's downright weird, but true.

Several teams plan to play two quarterbacks, while a number of others plan to rotate as many as four running backs. The latter number includes conference favorite TCU, which again appears to be head and shoulders above the rest of the MWC in 2010.

BYU, UNLV and Air Force plan to use a couple of signal-callers. The Cougars will start junior Riley Nelson over hyped freshman Jake Heaps. Junior Mike Clausen beat out senior Omar Clayton for the Rebels. Tim Washington edged Connor Dietz for the Falcons' job. The coaches at each say the position battles were close at each school, so the backups will receive plenty of snaps.

The running back group-think includes San Diego State, UNLV, Colorado State and TCU. The latter two both have touted transfers from UCLA, including Raymond Carter, most likely among them to become more of a feature back this fall. Freshman Ronnie Hillman has star potential for the Aztecs, whose use of several running backs is mostly determined by scheme, not an inability to separate the quality of players.

How they stack up heading into the season:

1. TCU -- forget the loss of DE Jerry Hughes, the Horned Frogs have three returning starters with eye-popping stats on the defensive line. Andy Dalton returns at quarterback, though there is no experience behind him if he goes down. The receivers are the second-best group in the conference.

2. Utah -- Oceanside High's Jordan Wynn enters his second season as the starting quarterback. Matt Asiata, who has seemingly been there for a decade, will split carries with Eddie Wide. Early issue could be loss of two projected defensive starters for the season due to injury.

3. Air Force -- Jefferson ought to finally reach his potential and, if he does, watch out MWC. Asher Clark returns at RB. The offensive line is experienced and the defense is almost always good.

4. BYU -- The Cougars are in full makeover mode without QB Max Hall, RB Harvey Unga and TE Dennis Pitta. They could even slip to fifth if the rotating QBs struggle or another team is ready to move up a notch. Lots of new faces on defense, too, guys they hope are faster and more athletic. The schedule opens poorly, with an 0-3 start possible.

5. Wyoming -- Only the schedule keeps me from swapping the Cowboys with BYU. Sophomore QB Austyn Carter-Samuels could be a star in the making and the secondary is experienced. The issue is depth. The starters are good enough, but injuries could ruin a potentially good season.

6. San Diego State -- Of course, if they didn't play in Laramie, I'd be tempted to move the Aztecs up. You know about them. QB Ryan Lindley is ready to break out, and the receivers are among the top group in the nation. Keys are offensive line run-blocking and improvement in the defense getting into opposing backfields.

7. Colorado State -- Valhalla High's Pete Thomas will start as a true freshman, which means growing pains, and the first two MWC games are vs TCU and Air Force.

8. UNLV -- A new coaching staff probably means improvement is likely to be slowed this year, and the QB raises concerns. The loss of reliable WR Ryan Wolfe will also hurt. New coach Bobby Hauck hopes to run more this year. Run defense among nation's worst last year.

9. New Mexico -- The Lobos will probably be better than last year's disaster under second-year coach Mike Locksley, but an 0-3 start is likely with games at Oregon and vs. Texas Tech and Utah. Then they go to UNLV, which is why the Rebels are rated higher.

The season starts with a bang, with Utah hosting Pittsburgh on Thursday. Saturday games include Oregon State vs TCU at the Cowboy's stadium, Washington at BYU, Colorado at CSU and Wisconsin at UNLV. I think the Horned Frogs and Rams emerge victorious. Monday, Boise State, which joins the conference next year, travels to Virginia Tech, and they're at least worth watching. If the Broncos were in the MWC this year, I'd rank them first on the strength of their Fiesta Bowl win over TCU in January.

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I'm thinking BYU is walking off a cliff, long-term. We'll see how it works out. Look for the MWC to join forces in some manner with Conference USA, which has some schools with an SDSU history like Tulsa, UTEP and Houston, and other legit programs like East Carolina and Southern Miss.

Freshmen Have SD Back of College FB Map

2010-08-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

When La Costa Canyon High's Kenny Stills became one of three San Diegans to join Oklahoma's 2010 recruiting class, the same old question rose of why would an elite player go to a big-time school and wait three years when he could just go to San Diego State and start immediately?

In too many cases over the years, it turned out to be a good question. There have been too many what could have beens.

Not in the case of Stills, nor his local compatriots. According to NewsOK.com, Stills is likely to start for the Sooners this fall as a true freshman. That is no small accomplishment, considering that OU returned all of last year's pass-catchers. If you saw their Sun Bowl win over Stanford last December, you saw some pretty good ones, too. Stills caught the eye of head coach Bob Stoops and his assistants with his maturity and knowledge of the game, the result of having a former NFLer as a dad. So much for going to a major program and getting lost in the shuffle.

Fellow true freshman Tony Jefferson, from Eastlake High, is set to be the starting nickel back in passing situations. It appears that the third first-year player, running back Brennan Clay of Scripps Ranch High, will also get some snaps.

Here is how big their achievements are: Oklahoma is a reasonable dark-horse pick to emerge as a national champion this year. Last year, some publications picked the Sooners as the team to beat, but their season was ruined by injuries to TE Jermaine Gresham and QB Sam Bradford. Now they're healthy and could make some noise. That is the type of team that Stills, Jefferson and Clay are breaking into.

Their rise, and the emergence of several other young area footballers, is returning San Diego to college football prominence not seen since early in this decade. You won't find many upperclassmen on two-deeps, but there are true freshmen and redshirt freshmen galore.

-- A big splash was made earlier this month when true freshman QB Pete Thomas was named the starting quarterback at Colorado State.

-- Receivers Davon Dunn and Victor Dean, the Lincoln High two-some at Fresno State, have reportedly been impressive in fall camp, though the Bulldogs aren't publicizing their two-deep.

-- Those who did stay home at SDSU are thriving. Jake Fely (Oceanside High) is the backup MLB, and ex-Pirate Rene Siluano should find time on special teams. A third Pirate, King Holder, also might get some time at cornerback or special teams.

-- Deon Randall, the Francis Parker star who spurned the Aztecs to go to Yale, will play wide receiver for the Ivy League school.

At Stanford, redshirt freshman TE Levine Toilolo (Helix High) moved past a returning regular and will start. Coach Jim Harbaugh is reportedly enamored with his 6-foot-8 frame, and for good reason.

But this is where things begin to get murky. There is little to no mention anywhere in Palo Alto of Escondido High's Ricky Seale, another one who barely eluded the grasp of SDSU's Brady Hoke. Tyler Gaffney, the former Torrey Pines High star who saw some snaps at RB last fall, is suddenly buried fourth at the position many thought he would inherit after the departure of starter Toby Gerhart. He's sporting a fancy new Mohawk 'do, however.

Lastly, you have the saga of Mission Bay High's Dillon Baxter at USC, since I suspect you're already familiar with the story: making spectacular plays in the Trojans spring game and then being caught under the influence of marijuana at a dormitory, resulting in a suspension for Thursday's opener at Hawaii. Baxter is a smart kid, despite the youthful indiscretion, and has apparently picked up the offense so well that he is being looked at as an emergency QB, according to the LA Times. The Trojans are brittle behind starter Matt Barkley because of a transfer, an injury to backup Mitch Mustain and eligibility issues surrounding a recruit. You'll find Baxter all over the Coliseum Field, but not until Sept. 11.

San Diego's sudden return to great heights for high school football products is no one-time thing, either. DTs Mustafa Jalil (Cathedral Catholic) and Christian Heyward (Point Loma) are elite recruits who will be seniors this fall, along with WR-DB Stefon McClure of Vista. Other recruits include OLs Daniel Murray (Torrey Pines), Taylor Reich (Westview) and Brian Farley (Patrick Henry); LBs Tyrone Sauls (Christian) and Aaron Wallace Jr. (Rancho Bernardo)-- using Rivals.com info.

2010 is going to be a good year to get out and watch some games on both Fridays and Saturdays.

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SDSU's locals who will play a lot: QB Ryan Lindley (El Capitan), FB Brandon Sullivan (Poway), WRs DeMarco Sampson (Castle Park) and Osmond Nicholas (Oceanside), TE DJ Shields (Bonita Vista), T Tommy Draheim (El Capitan), LB Jake Fely (Oceanside), CB Jose Perez (Oceanside), P Brian Stahovich (Torrey Pines), PKs Brian Shields (Bonita Vista) and Abel Perez (Castle Park).

Coming This Fall: Run Game Lessons

2010-08-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

San Diego football fans, be prepared for schooling this fall. You're taking a lab class, call it "Running Game Lab 101."

God knows we've taken the lecture version, and I've contributed my share. The Chargers offensive line sucks, LaDainian Tomlinson has lost a step (or two), Norv Turner overly favors the passing attack, San Diego State can't recruit enough quality blockers and the Aztecs (and USD for that matter) have lost too many ball-carriers to injuries.

This fall, we will learn some truth.

The Chargers enter 2010 with an offensive line that will not be as good as last year, barring a miracle. If you read this blog last fall, then you'll know I'm not a big fan of holdout LT Marcus McNeill. I think he is in the middle of the pack as far as left tackles go. However, he is an established pro, and you don't let one of those guys go lightly. It's kind of like choosing the devil you know over the one you don't know. I highly admire Brandyn Dombrowski's ability to work his rear end off to not just make the team, but play multiple positions on the offensive line. The SDSU alum has become invaluable and is on his way to a solid pro career. But he is not McNeill. It will be interesting to see how he fares.

Before I digress too much, running back Ryan Mathews is entering his rookie season in relief of LT.

Put that combination together and our first laboratory observation will be who was right in the "offensive line or LT?" question. Let's say Mathews goes off on Kansas City for 150 yards and a couple of scores in the Monday night opener, behind a wall of blockers arguably weaker than last year? That won't look good for LT, particularly if he fails to put up big numbers in what will apparently be a limited role with the Jets. Or maybe Mathews, Darren Sproles, Jacob Hester and Mike Tolbert are all stuffed, just like LT was in 2009. Add Tomlinson gaining 4 yards per carry and a couple catches for New York. That puts the onus on the line.

The results will stop a lot of arguing, although one game does not make a trend. It will be an interesting first month for the Chargers to see how things shake out.

Ultimately, it might not matter if the Chargers are unable to generate a running game during the regular season, but it will be a life-or-death issue at San Diego State.

The Aztecs' inability to reach a bowl can almost be directly linked to a poor ground assault. Beginning in 2009 and working back season-by-season, they ranked 116th, 117th, 105th, 80th, 54th, 80th, 88th, and 114th in rushing offense in Division 1 college football, dating back to the beginning of the Tom Craft era. Ball-toters during that time were guys like James Truvillion, Atiyyah Henderson and the oft-injured Lynell Hamilton. One year, quarterback Kevin O'Connell was the leading rusher. The high-water mark was 2005, when the Aztecs ran for 148 yards per game and Hamilton was as healthy as he'd been since his freshman season.

Again, the question is the same. Has it been bad blocking or lousy running backs? Even in the 1990s, when Aztec offenses often rang up TDs by the bushel thanks to running backs like Marshall Faulk and George Jones, the offensive line was often unable to get a push against decent defenses.

However, in recent years, even with such lowly rushing rankings, SDSU has sent a number of blockers to pro football, including Dombrowski, Lance Louis of the Bears and Will Robinson of the Redskins.

The only running back to receive NFL pay has been Hamilton, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Saints last year. Alas, he was released after suffering a serious injury in training camp.

The blockers are supposedly in far better physical condition than when Brady Hoke, line coach Darrell Funk and strength coach Aaron Wellman arrived. They've had nearly two years to learn the system of offensive coordinator Al Borges. Much better, they have legitimate backs to block for. Miscast RB Brandon Sullivan is now a fullback, where he might blossom as a blocker, a ball-carrier from the up-back spot or running as a single back. Freshman Ronnie Hillman is fast and athletic, and has the chance to be the best SDSU back since Hamilton. Walter Kazee showed promise last year in limited action. Depth, as mentioned in a previous post, has been severely depleted by injuries and administrative foul-ups.

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My theories that will be put to test in this fall's lab:

1. The Chargers running game will struggle, but it will be put to a greater test because, without Vincent Jackson lining up at receiver, defenses will be able to double TE Antonio Gates and focus remaining resources on Mathews.

2. The Aztecs ground attack will sparkle vs. lesser lights like Nicholls State and be moderately successful against all but the strongest defenses posed by Missouri and TCU. Conversely from the Chargers situation, where does a defensive coordinator place his resources? The Aztecs have a quarterback ready for a breakout season and a receiving corps rated by one organization as the nation's 11th best. That could leave a lot of room open for draws and traps. If SDSU can at least approach that 2005 ranking of 54th nationally, they will have a game to play in December.

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Consternation is all over the local media on how the Padres drew only in the low-20,000s for the first two games of the Diamondbacks series. I agree with the theory that fans are saving up for the Phillies series. Memo to Jeff Moorad and the rest of Major League Baseball: your ticket prices are way too high. Fans now have to pick and choose which games to attend. No sense going to a mid-week contest against a last-place club when a division contender is coming in for the weekend.

I told you, I told you, I told you a thousand times over that Petco Park was not going to work in the long run. Bad location, too expensive.

Chargers Stadium, Padres, Aztecs and Other Notes

2010-08-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted lately, but I've been traveling or really busy here.

There is no news on the Chargers downtown stadium front, which is good news in itself. I talked today to a source involved in what's going on with the planning, and he says things remain on course, though they do take awhile. The next hurdle to actually building the thing is the possible 2011 lockout of players by NFL owners. The source said that could put the whole deal on hold.

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The Padres are on one of the best runs in the history of local sports after their 5-3 win over the Cubs Thursday. The Friars have won nine of their last 10 games and are 13-5 in August, adding to what has become a huge season, and they now threaten to run away with the NL West. Mat Latos, Jon Garland and Wade LeBlanc were all dominant at Wrigley, and Kevin Correia was pretty darn good although the bullpen allowed a bunch of runs in late ... Shut Latos down now. If you're worried about his young arm like the front office seems to be, this would be a good time to maybe start him every other time through the rotation, then work him on his regular cycle in the second half of September to get him ready for the playoffs ... Oh, yeah, add Chris Young back to the rotation. October is shaping up to be a lot of fun ... The level of play between the Padres and the Cubs was majors to low minors.

My confidence in the upcoming San Diego State football season, that they will compete for a 6-6 bowl, is ebbing just slightly on reports that their running back corps is taking hits from injuries and academic issues. Presumptive starter Ronnie Hillman seems okay, but Walter Kazee is coming back from an injury that cost him spring practice and freshman sensation Ezell Ruffin has been struggling after what seemed to be a non-concussive head injury. Add to that an injury to freshman Adam Muema suffered before he reported, and freshman Dwayne Garrett and Deonte Williams becoming academic casualties, and a deep, talented group has been whittled down significantly. That nailing of seemingly every guy in a unit has killed the Aztecs in past seasons. I remember the last time SDSU was actually favored by some to win the Mountain West Conference, like 2001 or something, and practically the entire offensive line went down ... Head coach Brady Hoke has got to do something about the academic side of things. None of the academic issues involving Hillman last year, Garrett or Williams appears to be the fault of the kid, rather school administrators at State or the player's previous school. I'd be raising hell ... I like the MWC adding Fresno State, though Nevada doesn't thrill me ... BYU's threats to go independent in football are the death-knell to the conference's television contract. The Mtn. seemed like a good idea at the time, but the Y's actions this week strike me as being a referendum on the future of the league's cable TV network, and it was not good ... Love how the MWC pulled the rug out of the Cougars plans to join the WAC in other sports. That conference might whither and die.

We'll learn a lot more about the Chargers this Saturday against the Cowboys than we did last week against the Bears, but the Bolts did appear deep ... LB Shawne Merriman comes in to camp late, tries to catch up, goes down with his chronic Achilles heel injury. There's a shock for you ... If someone had told you two years ago that Malcom Floyd was the Chargers top receiver, what would you have thought?

USD Football Training Camp

2010-08-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wasn't it just the other day that the University of San Diego had the best non-scholarship football program going? The Toreros were churning out a couple of NFL-caliber players and beating teams they never defeated before, including those who gave out some scholies?

Those days aren't necessarily over, but after 2009's 4-7 campaign, you have to start wondering if the end is not at least close.

The Toreros report to training camp on Tuesday to try to get back on the winning track as Ron Caragher enters his fourth year as the head coach. Before last season's disappointment, he put together consecutive 9-2 campaigns. It'll be interesting to see if he can get back there again.

The 2010 Toreros will be built around senior DT Paul Tremblay and junior DE Mario Kurn (both of Santa Fe Christian), who had four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. The 12 returning starters include five on offense, six on defense and placekicker Mike Levine. The rushing game could be enhanced by the return of injury-plagued RB Phil Morelli, and John McGough (49 receptions) and 2009 Pioneer League Offensive Freshman of the Year Kyle Warren (6 TDs among 11 catches) lead the receiving corps.

There are three names on the roster worth pointing out, transfers of the sort that have powered USD in the recent past: former Union-Tribune Male Athlete of the Year QB Mason Mills (Coronado High), ex-Helix High and Southwestern College RB Kenslow Smith, who returns home from Sacramento State, and TE Colin King, who brings excellent size in from the Air Force Academy.

The home schedule is highlighted by a Sept. 18 visit by FCS scholarship program UC Davis and a showdown a week later with defending PFL champion Butler.

Caragher's seat could be a bit warm, if USD's push to advance its athletic programs remains as strong as it did a few years ago when a number of longtime coaches in several sports were sent packing. There are a lot of reasons for last year's 4-7, including stability at QB and injuries. Whether the after-effects are to be felt in 2010, I don't know. Lindy's preseason college football magazine listed the Toreros fourth in the PFL behind Jacksonville, Butler and Dayton but The Sporting News puts them seventh. Phil Steele's magazine did not place any USD players on the first team PFL squad.

That could be all from a bunch of unknowns who will make their marks in 2010. Or it could be a continuation of a downward trend. Either way will be interesting, because this program is in flux.

Aztecs Pre-Season Camp Preview, Padres Concern

2010-08-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

Pretty good preview of San Diego State's football training camp in The San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday. Thorough, but here's a couple points to add:

1. A major position battle is brewing at safety, where Coach Brady Hoke has constantly mentioned the names of redshirt freshmen Gabe Lemon and Nat Berhe, who will push incumbents Darryn Lewis and Brandon Davis. He's also talked a lot about redshirt freshman Khalid Stevens, who is penciled in at the Aztec position on the latest depth chart behind presumptive starter Andrew Preston.

2. While the article stated the running game would improve with the presence of Ronnie Hillman, Hoke has been hyping true freshman Dwayne Garrett.

3. Jose Perez and Leon McFadden are listed as starters at cornerback, but I'm wondering if Josh Wade can finally break through in his third college season.

4. Hoke praised the conditioning of DE Jake Tauanuu, who is listed as second on the depth chart behind under-performing starter BJ Williams. That could be another position battle.

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Let me be the first to say I'm worried about the Padres all of a sudden. I can't, off the top of my head, think of a stretch of this season in which they've played more poorly. They really miss 2B David Eckstein, their sparkplug, and he's reportedly another week at least from being able to play. Ever since the Thursday afternoon 9th inning win over the Dodgers 10 days ago, they've gone downhill.

Maybe they angered the baseball gods by playing a little too fast and loose with the disabled list, which they've used since the All-Star break to keep their roster at 25.

Hoke Challenges Fans, Padres and Bolts Notes

2010-08-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke ended his annual pre-training camp media day Friday with a challenge for the community and alumni to support his Aztecs this fall, a normal comment for someone in his position to make around now but one that is particularly relevant in these lean times.

Quite frankly, there has been no drearier place in town on a fall Saturday in recent years than Qualcomm Stadium when SDSU is playing. The Q is like a giant morgue when the red and black is on the field. I think the last time there was any sustained interest in the Aztecs among prospective fans was 1999, coming off the previous bowl season. There were sporadic moments of fun under Tom Craft, none under Chuck Long, under whom the program struck bottom.

Hoke and especially his fine staff have done what appears to be an excellent job of revitalizing the program, but I can tell you that until I'm blue in the face. You're not going to believe me until the Aztecs win some football games. That's how it should be after all this time. I think they'll get their share of victories, but I'm still not ready to say they're ready to take off. They should win enough to get into a bowl game. However, the average fan who has not shown up the past 10 years was right, and the rest of us who showed up for the weekly drudgery were wrong.

There's not much Hoke can do but win games and put together a few successful seasons in a row. A name-brand star a la Marshall Faulk will help. He might have two this year in QB Ryan Lindley and WR Vincent Brown. They're not Faulk but they could be darn good. They're also not household names. I've yet to hear anyone say they're willing to part with their time and money to watch those two play the way they did when Faulk was around. I'm not sure that you want to keep marketing in mind when you're developing a game plan, but if Hoke can find a way to have Lindley throw for 300 yards and have Brown catch 200 of them and grab three or four TD passes, that would be a good start. Ordinarily, you want to sit your starters early against the likes of Nicholls State, but he might not have such an option.

San Diegans might eventually respond to Hoke's call, but they'll want to see what cards he's holding first. Local college football fans aren't just twice-burned, they are more like 15 to 20 times-burned. They might take the coach seriously, but they won't act that way toward his team until he puts some big numbers into the W column.

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Okay, I love watching Padres OF Chris Denorfia. Hands down my favorite Padre now that 2B David Eckstein is on the DL ... Here's to hoping what we've seen the last week or two out of P Kevin Correia really means something positive. They need that one more solid starter and maybe he's the answer ... I was thinking of Eckstein as my team MVP, but with him being out so long now I'm leaning more toward C Yorvit Torrealba.

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Does the Chargers training camp strike you as being boring? Who cares about the damn holdouts anymore? And there aren't many real position battles ... Interesting how SS Steve Gregory is suddenly having a great camp now that he's got real competition for his job, in one of the fights for jobs that does exist ... LB Larry English beating LT prospect Brandyn Dombrowski like a drum does nothing for me unless pads are on.

Padres Acquire Ludwick, Chargers Dissension?

2010-07-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

I have no idea if Padres newcomers Miguel Tejada or Ryan Ludwick -- acquired Saturday from the Cardinals for two minor league pitchers -- will propel the Friars to the playoffs or not, but I congratulate GM Jed Hoyer for making the effort, for not standing pat while the offense struggles.

Tejada and Ludwick are similar in that their numbers have declined the past couple of years as we go into the hopefully clean era of baseball. There is a good chance that neither will produce much in pitcher-friendly Petco Park. But they might. Who at the end of July 1998 would have predicted Jim Leyritz and Sterling Hitchcock would have carried the Padres to the World Series? Ludwick has significant post-season experience. You make the best deals you can and turn the players lose. It's all a GM can do.

There is something about the deals I like and something about the Ludwick trade I'm not thrilled with. I like that for both Tejada and Ludwick, the Padres didn't give up any of the name minor leaguers they've been developing. Both come relatively cheaply.

I'm not so sure about allowing the Cardinals to be stronger. The Saturday deal included the Indians, who got one of the Padres young hurlers and sent P Jake Westbrook to St. Louis. I'd hate to be battling with them for a wildcard spot knowing you helped them out earlier.

The Padres players did not want team chemistry to be disturbed by a makeover, and I think Hoyer gave them plenty of chances for their good feelings for each other to pay dividends. The past couple of weeks have shown no improvement in the offense, however, and he needed to make moves. I'm glad he did.

Now go looking for your own starting pitcher in August. I noted in the newspaper that three potential targets for Hoyer were not my guesses in my previous post. Saturday's dealings took two of the three out of the picture -- Westbrook and Ted Lilly who went from the Cubs to the Dodgers.

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If you didn't hear the radio interview by Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith of Chargers TE Antonio Gates a few days ago, it's worth going to their Web site and downloading it. Gates has it totally together as a player and person, and he essentially agreed with the hosts that holdouts WR Vincent Jackson, T Marcus McNeill and LB Shawne Merriman were being selfish and didn't have their priorities straight.

Some of the reporting on their contract negotiations in recent months seems to give the players' stands some legitimacy, so it was an interesting take on his part. The interview left me wondering about past, current and particularly future locker room dissension among the players.

Padres Moves in August, Aztecs Changes Are Real

2010-07-30T11:25:00.001-07:00

The Padres aren't done with the trade market. Thursday's acquisition of Miguel Tejada from the Orioles will enhance their playoff chances. The next step will be to win in the post-season, and for that they're going to want another strong starting pitcher.

Note that I used the word "want" instead of "need." I don't think another starting pitcher will be necessary for playoff success, but I still worry about sending Wade LeBlanc up against the Phillies lineup with Roy Oswalt on the mound. Maybe LeBlanc or Jon Garland gets hot, but I'd rather not take my chances with doing nothing.

I might be putting the cart before the horse, but a look at the standings shows the Padres are well-positioned to make the playoffs. They're five games in front of the Phils and Cardinals in a potential wildcard race, six games in the all-important loss column. That is by no means safe, but of all the contenders, I see the two-time defending NL champs as the only team likely to get hot down the stretch. Also, the Padres have shown a great knack of avoiding slumps, so I think they're in the race to the wire.

So the Padres don't need to get their big starter quite yet. In August, you can still trade for players as long as they clear waivers, and there are indications that other teams aren't going to be messing with the waiver wire next month.

The question is who? GM Jed Hoyer might be able to pry Brett Myers (8-6, 3.10 in a hitter's park) out of Houston or Livan Hernandez (7-7, 3.22) out of Washington. Maybe Ryan Dempster (8-7, 3.71) can be taken from the Cubs. But that's about it. As bad as their teams are, I can't see the Mariners giving up Felix Hernandez or the Royals parting with Zach Greinke for anything other than a king's ransom. The good pitchers are with the good teams. So talking about acquiring a solid starter for the playoffs is much easier than actually getting once.

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Changes are afoot with the San Diego State football program. I attended an event Thursday night in which coach Brady Hoke talked and he said the players are all bigger and stronger thanks to dedicated off-season conditioning -- stuff we hear every year about this time.

Here's what convinces me that improvement is coming at SDSU. I talked with a longtime local high school football coach who deals with plenty of Division 1 prospects and he told me the difference between the current staff and the previous one is "night and day." That is good to hear because, ultimately, to have a good football program you need the best players. If local football coaches are comfortable in recommending the Aztecs to their kids, then Hoke is going to start bringing in high-quality recruits.

Previous SDSU coach Chuck Long spoke frequently of putting a fence around San Diego, but it turned out to be so much lip service. You'd hear comments every so often from people connected to area high school powers that they never saw Long or his staff. Hoke and his guys actually go out and do something about it.

I don't know if the change will show up in this year's won-loss record. I still hold to challenging for a 6-6 bowl. But the program finally appears to be on the right track. Let's hope local fans take notice and start showing up again.

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I like Torrey Pines High's Nick Kerr committing to the USD basketball team. The son of longtime NBA star Steve Kerr was not a high-profile recruit, but the Toreros have been very successful with three-point sharpshooters in the past. Here's hoping Kerr becomes the best of them.

Padres Get Tejada

2010-07-29T15:49:00.001-07:00

The news breaking Thursday is that the Padres traded for Orioles SS Miguel Tejada, a former slugger who is batting .269 with 7 HR and 39 RBI. The lineup around him is bad and he would probably be a poster child for the post-steroid era, not that I'm insinuating anything.

My reaction is hmmmm. I wish I could say more. The Tejada of a few years ago might have excited me. His lineup around him in San Diego will be just as bad as that in Baltimore. He will be playing in a pitcher's park. On the other hand, he will be better than Everth Cabrera and the change of scenery and participation in a pennant race might do him some good.

It sounds like the Orioles, with the worst record in baseball, were looking to add by subtracting an under-performing veteran. They accepted from the Padres, in return, AA P Wynn Pelzer, and sent cash to help pay Tejada's inflated salary. Pelzer, 24, was 6-9, 4.20 in San Antonio. Fortunately, the Padres didn't spend too much to get him, so they could still be in the market for a staring pitcher. If there is anything to say about the trade, its that shortstop has improved from well below-average to mediocre.

By the way, I'm highly disturbed that the Dodgers stole Scott Podsednik from KC for next to nothing. The Padres could have had him and I know he's productive. Podsednik is a guy I targeted early, and I'm disappointed he will be playing for a key rival.

Aztec Jinx Holds on for Dear Life, Strasburg and Latos

2010-07-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

That dark cloud that hovers over San Diego State athletics is showing renewed strength this week after word of two key injuries to star players and two others becoming academic casualties.

It is typical SDSU that a team heads into a season with high hopes, only to be knee-capped by injury, poor schoolwork or criminal misconduct. That has happened to women's soccer, which will enter the Fall 2010 semester with high hopes following a Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and NCAA playoff victory. Cat Walker, the scoring sensation entering her senior season as a team leader, tore the ACL in her right knee earlier this month and is scheduled for surgery in early-August to determine the extent of the damage, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. There remains hope the midfielder can rest for now and play some in her final season, but I think by now we know where this story is going to go.

The Aztecs have high hopes for 2010 and accordingly fashioned a strong schedule that includes defending national champion North Carolina on the Aztec Sports Deck on Sept. 12 and perennially strong Santa Clara. The Aztecs return seven starters, but it would be nice to have their clutch goal-scorer among them.

The other injury -- breaking news credit goes to Internet message boards and Facebook, not the U-T -- was also a knee injury to incoming freshman footballer JJ Whittaker, the Oceanside High star who was snatched by coach Brady Hoke out of Arizona's grasp. Whittaker was one of the two or three recruiting coups of February's class, a Pac-10 quality receiver or cornerback who might have contributed this fall as a true freshman. The word is Whittaker's knee was ripped up so badly that there is no way he plays in 2010.

JC transfer offensive lineman Joe Unga failed to quality academically and there's talk that an incoming freshman receiver also didn't make the grade.

Now, soccer teams and football squads lose players to injuries and academics. It's the nature of the sports and college life. Isn't it typical for SDSU, though, that the dagger falls on such critical members of the rosters? I've written in the past that whatever dark cloud hangs over Montezuma Mesa appears to be dissipating, but it is not entirely gone.

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The media that covers the MWC figures Hoke's bunch will finish sixth in the upcoming season. That's a safe choice. I understand being rated behind TCU, Utah, BYU and Air Force. From there, it is a bit of a crap-shoot.

The preseason poll lists Wyoming fifth before SDSU, with Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico bringing up the rear. The Cowboys get the Aztecs in Laramie, giving them an advantage in the head-to-head match, but the Pokes could be beat-up before the Red & Black arrives because of a difficult early-season schedule. Plus, SDSU will have vengeance on their minds after the Cowboy's comeback win at Qualcomm Stadium last year all but knocked them out of bowl consideration.

I still see the Aztecs as challenging for a 6-6 bowl game but they're still a year away from a major turnaround. Anything better will be dessert.

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The shoulder inflammation suffered by former Aztec Stephen Strasburg before his start Tuesday for the Nationals against the Braves should serve as a warning for the Padres brass, which planned going into this season to limit the innings thrown by P Mat Latos.

The prized Padres youngster has pitched just once since the All-Star break thanks to the infamous stifled sneeze -- I've got some property in East Village to sell you if you believe that one -- and is set to throw Thursday and Tuesday against the Dodgers. He is currently on pace for more than 200 innings, when manager Bud Black and GM Jed Hoyer had planned to keep him to around 180 frames or less.

It's tempting to keep throwing your best starter out there every six days when you're in a race for a division title but word of Strasburg's injury is going to give them pause.

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Lefty P Joe Thatcher was ready in the bullpen when Andre Ethier stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning of Tuesday night's 2-0 loss to the Dodgers. Thatcher has allowed left-handed hitters a .152 batting average this season, compared to the .274 mark of starter Jon Garland. Ethier is batting .234 against southpaws. Why Black left Garland in the game is beyond me.

Chargers, Padres, Aztecs

2010-07-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

AJ Smith and Norv Turner would have you believe that the Chargers can compete for a Super Bowl this season without most of their best players from last year. As training camp opens, I wonder just how stupid they think we are. The answer is probably "very," because fans will continue to sell-out Qualcomm Stadium and take time out of their valuable Sunday afternoons to watch on television -- just like always. So they're probably justified. As long as we're willing to pay, either in person or TV ratings, they're successful in operating their business.

I just don't see how this team will be as good when your best receiver, best offensive tackle and most disruptive defender are sitting out. That's on top of losing a running back and nose tackle who were arguably the decade's best at their positions, and a cornerback who was inconsistent but often made game-changing plays. I understand that with LaDainian Tomlinson and Jamal Williams all good things must eventually come to an end, and I think rookie Ryan Mathews has a chance to be a very solid ball-carrier in LT's sted. A second season of the "Make Shift" in place of Williams, however, doesn't thrill me. Antoine Cason for Antonio Cromartie doesn't do much for me, either.

What happens with the contracts for holdouts Vincent Jackson, Marcus McNeill and Shawne Merriman, I have no idea. To suggest that Jackson can be replaced by a ready-to-break-out Buster Davis after all these years is laughable. I don't think McNeill is more than a mid-level NFL left tackle, but he's what we have and I don't know if Tra Thomas can be an adequate replacement at the age of 35. Larry English is a better linebacker than an unhealthy Merriman, but if the incumbent is well it would be a shame to waste him for a season.

Some of the changes we lament were coming no matter what, so it's true when Smith and Turner say they have to move on with the players they have. The trouble is a lack of concern of what that means. This is a team that was physically beat-down at home by the Jets in their first playoff game, and there is nothing among the departures or arrivals that makes me think the 2009 performance will be improved upon this fall. They are lucky they perform in the AFC West, where the competition is still weak. They should make the playoffs and there probably won't be a major dropoff. However, it's doubtful they'll move deeper into the post-season.

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You've got to applaud the Padres for their 7-2 record and two series sweeps coming out of the All-Star break. The players have pleaded for some time now not to break them up in search of better hitting because they've formed a tight bond, and their work in the second-half of July lends them considerable credence. As much as I'd like a power bat in the lineup -- and as much as I've written about such a desire -- I'm no longer sure where GM Jed Hoyer would go to get one in this Year of the Pitcher. This team, for the most part, is working as is and shows it with a record now 19 games above .500.

My priorities for Hoyer are now:

1. Starting pitcher -- the brass wants to keep resting young Mat Latos, their lone stopper. Championships are won with such pitchers. If I'm allowed to think ahead to clinching the NL West and advancing in the playoffs, they need another guy to step up or Hoyer needs to acquire someone. I'd put Latos against anyone in the playoffs, but I'm not sure the other starters are ready to go up against a top opponent backed by a decent lineup. Remember 1998? They had a pure #1 in Kevin Brown, but the reason the Friars reached the World Series was because of Sterling Hitchcock. They need that second guy and can repeat the '98 excitement if they find him.

2. Shortstop -- It happened a few times in recent years in which the Padres got a Rule V player who looked sharp in his first season and then was like an over-his-head minor leaguer a year later. Everth Cabrera fits the mold. This position is now the weak link in the chain.

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San Diego State's football training camp doesn't begin until the first week of August, but coaches are gathering on campus for preparations beginning this week. Word from an insider is that everyone is healthy with the possible exception of DB Dey Juan Hemmings, who is coming along after suffering a severe injury last season, but not might be 100 percent yet. Also, RB Walter Kazee, who missed spring practice with an injury, is reported to be running at full speed.

Coryell Reminder, Padres at the Break

2010-07-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder, the memorial service for former Aztecs and Chargers football coach Don Coryell is Monday at 2pm at Viejas Arena. Should be an interesting event with greats like John Madden, Joe Gibbs and Dan Fouts speaking.

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The Padres are more or less where I expected them to be at the All-Star break, contending for an NL West title behind strong pitching that carries a rather weak offense. That was a reasonable preseason prediction that I bet a lot of us made. However, I doubt any of us realized the won-loss record would be as good as the 51-37 mark that is just a game behind Atlanta as the best in the league, or that the pitching would be this strong or the hitting this bad.

Needless to say, with the Rockies heating up, I still think a hitter needs to be brought aboard, and pitching depth will be tested again because Mike Adams pulled on oblique muscle on Sunday. I don't know if we can expect the Friars to keep pulling out low-scoring games in the eighth or ninth innings the way they have so far.

Here are some quick mid-season grades:

1B Adrian Gonzalez gets an A for a .298-18-56 first half, powered by a month of June that saw him raise his batting average by 34 points.

2B David Eckstein also deserves an A for flawless fielding, literally, and clutch batting at the end of games that made the difference several times.

SS Everth Cabrera and Jerry Hairston rate a D, which mainly reflects the starters ineffectiveness at the plate and constant injuries. Hairston has actually done fairly well as a backup, but here might be a good position to add a hitter via trade. Yes, good luck with that.

3B Chase Headley gets a B- for his amazing April that had him hitting .340 by May Day and his solid fielding at the hot corner. However, he has only 6 HR and 29 RBI, numbers that need to be more than doubled if the Padres are to win the division.

In the OF, Kyle Blanks obviously gets an incomplete. I give a C to Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn and Will Venable because of their defense and late contributions to a few wins. Gwynn will never hit better than he does now, while Venable is too in-love with his power swing. I love minor league call-ups Aaron Cunningham, who should now start every day, and Chris Denorfia. Both are gamers.

C Todd Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba bring an A home to mama because if the pitching is that good, the guys behind the plate are doing a fine job. Hundley has won several of those games late with the bat, and Torrealba has at times been the only guy besides A-Gon who has a clue in the batter's box.

Pitchers get an A. Duh. We've received far more than expected from Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc and Luke Gregerson, probably not as much from the ill-fated Kevin Correia and Edward Mujica.

I was worried by the four-game losing streak before Sunday's 9-7 win in Denver that pushed the Rockies two games behind in the standings, but I think the Padres will hang in there well into September -- more so if GM Jed Hoyer brings in a bat. The Rockies, however, scare me. They've got the same mojo as the past couple of years, so this might not be just a race to the finish, but a very long sprint.

Fight on for the Padres, Peavy, All-Stars

2010-07-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

There's a time when a fight suddenly turns serious, going from taunting and shoving to outright fisticuffs. That point is where the Padres find themselves as they begin a three-game series at Colorado that will bring the first half of the 2010 major league baseball season to a close.

The Padres head to Denver after salvaging a win in DC with another Mat Latos gem. However, it has become apparent that Latos is the one stopper they have in a pitching rotation that is otherwise showing signs of fraying following poor starts by Jon Garland and Clayton Richard. Who knows if Kevin Correia's gem against Houston is the start of a trend or just his monthly quality start? Making things more worrisome is that management, for good reason, plans to limit Latos' work in the second half. Should they continue with such plans in the middle of a pennant race? Yes, they're all but obligated to for long-term reasons. But the plan is still a bit scary.

The Rockies are ready for a tumble. They have won eight of their last 10 games and took two of three from the Padres at Petco. You probably read about their amazing comebacks against the Cardinals. Those are the types of games they won during second-half runs the past few seasons. If they're getting into the same mode, watch out.

The series will begin with the Padres ahead by three games. Look at it as the last 30 seconds of a college basketball first half. Your team is leading the entire 19-plus minutes, then the opponents hit a three at the buzzer to tie it up at the break. What a letdown -- and what a pick-me-up for the other team. If the Rox sweep the Friars in Coors Field, it will be a tough All-Star break for the good guys.

The Rockies have gotten their shoves in, made their slurs against the wife and added a spit or two. They also have help lingering in the shadows in the form of the Dodgers. Time for the Padres to start fighting.

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I'm re-thinking my position on the Jake Peavy trade.

My original thought was you don't trade a true #1 starter for prospects, because the #1 starter is really all you have to build around, and there are fewer of them than there are major league teams. My opinion solidified in the ensuing months as only Richard, of the four pitchers received, showed himself to be a major league contributor. This point hasn't changed, and I see Richard only as a middle-of-the-rotation guy even now (his record is 6-4, but the Friars are just 8-9 in the games he's started).

What has changed is my opinion of Peavy. He was damaged goods when sent to Chicago, another gimpy hurler unloaded on an unsuspecting sucker by former GM Kevin Towers. At least the Padres got for him someone capable of taking the mound every five days. Peavy was DL'd this week with a detached muscle in his shoulder. I'd never wish ill will on this solid person, but better it happen to the White Sox than the Padres. He actually pitched fairly well this season despite a high ERA. He had a pair of three-game winning streaks and was throwing deep into ballgames. But I'm getting a feeling that his injury problems are chronic. Sad for him and the fans who have good memories of his triumphs in San Diego, too bad for the White Sox.

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The "Stephen Strasburg to the All-Star Game" push was a joke. The game is already tarnished with commercialism. Honestly, despite his struggles of the past week, Luke Gregerson deserves the trip to Anaheim next week over Heath Bell, but the Padres closer is a recognizable name-brand. Bell sells, so he's going and the kid no one north of Highway 76 knows about will rest his tiring arm. The Strasburg thing was all sensationalism.

In fact, I can think of three tender-young pitchers with local connections who deserved to make the team more than Strasburg. Start with Latos of the Padres, who won his 10th game Thursday and has been nearly unhittable the past two months. Then try Mike Leake (Fallbrook High), who is 6-1, 3.38 to help the Reds to the top of the NL Central and go to Trevor Cahill (Vista High), who is 8-3, 3.17 and will be in Anaheim. Since coming off the DL at the end of April, Oakland has won 10 of Cahill's 14 starts. Alas, he is slated to start Sunday and almost certainly will not actually play in the Mid-summer Classic.

What I and so many other people love about Strasburg is the solid head on his shoulders. He seemed to be bewildered about all the All-Star hype himself.

Coryell, Padres All-Stars

2010-07-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Don Coryell epitomized nostalgia in San Diego. The legendary football coach, who died Thursday at 85, took both San Diego State and the Chargers to great heights that, years later, left fans crying out for a return to the good old days.

Chargers fans had two waits of about a decade each, from Coryell's glory years of the beginning of the 1980s to coach Bobby Ross' Super Bowl season, and then again until coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner along with GM AJ Smith, brought about the relative success of recent seasons. Both waits through seasons of 1-15, 4-12 and 5-11, were extraordinarily frustrating.

It's been even worse for the remaining few SDSU fans who can remember undefeated seasons in the 1960s. Coryell turned over the reigns of the Aztecs in 1972 to Claude Gilbert, who mostly continued his predecessor's methods and took the program to arguably greater heights against far superior competition. But after SDSU football turned south in 1980, the nostalgia has gone mostly unrequited, save for a few bowl games and the Marshall Faulk excitement. SDSU frequently capitalized on Coryell's popularity by having him make special appearances at football games. If you can't win, bring back the coach who could, at least to say hello.

At both places, Coryell set the bar high, and his successors will always be measured against him. It is a blessing the Chargers are back at such levels. I worry that SDSU fans will sit on their hands and make coach Brady Hoke prove the Aztecs are back before they'll start coming to games again. I feel that way myself, even though I attend the home contests.

Now that he truly is Saint Don, we should all be thankful that he gave us such high standards to aspire to.

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The Padres will have more than one member on the National League All-Star team. Who deserves to go?

1B Adrian Gonzalez is a no-brainer pick for manager Charlie Manuel. But the Phillies' boss' selection of Padres skipper Bud Black as a coach could be a signal that a couple other players are under consideration.

If I were Manuel, my picks would be 2B David Eckstein and P Luke Gregerson.

Eckstein is simply the heart and soul of the roster that claims first place in the National League West and the best record in the senior circuit. Throw out his pedestrian numbers. He's the guy who makes this team go. It doesn't hurt that he's played 68 games at second base and has not made an error. Defense is a big reason why the Friars have been successful so far in 2010.

Gregerson's statistics are mind-boggling. He has thrown in 37 games as of this writing, allowing 16 hits in 39-plus innings, mostly the seventh. The ratio for hits to innings pitched for most pitchers is usually in the neighborhood of 1-to-1. Gregerson's is less than half. Another stunning ratio is 51 strikeouts to four walks. That's four (4)! Needless to say, batters are hitting .121 against Gregerson, who has compiled an ERA of 1.60.

The numbers of eighth inning regular Mike Adams are nearly as good, although I have to admit whenever he comes in when I'm watching, he gets popped. Closer Heath Bell has also done well and is certainly the most nationally-recognizable GAB member, but he might be responsible for too many gray hairs.

I would also consider Mat Latos, he of the sterling 8-4 record and 2.85 ERA, but in this Year of the Pitcher, Manuel won't have any shortage of starters to choose from.

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I had a couple of other items to throw in here today, but nothing else seems worthy all of a sudden, you know? Enjoy your July 4 weekend.

Correia, Strasburg, Zumaya, SDSU Recruiting

2010-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the premise that your hook is quicker in a pennant race.

Agree? Good. Does that put Padres P Kevin Correia on the hot seat? I'm just asking, not advocating.

However, the Grossmont High grad went just five innings Monday night against the Rockies, allowing six earned runs, six walks and two home runs -- at Petco Park, not Coors Field. By my count, Correia has had one quality start in the past month, when he equaled the definition of the statistic by allowing three runs in six innings to the Mariners. His last win was May 31 against the Mets -- the game in which the Padres scored 18 runs and Correia allowed six.

Correia has rarely been dominating but he's usually consistent, yet he has made it out of the fifth frame just once in his last five starts.

You clearly don't want to push a panic button but a trend has set in here that is worth watching, especially with Tim Stauffer about ready to rejoin the team following his appendectomy.

In his favor: last year showed he can go a full year as a starter, so he's liable to work his way out of his slump. The Padres have won five of his last seven outings despite him.

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So Stephen Strasburg is human, after all. His teammates are all too human.

The San Diego State alumnus had the audacity to three earned runs in six innings-plus at Atlanta, while his Washington teammates were unable to cobble together a single score. He did his part, even though he said he didn't have his best stuff and gave up on his curveball too early. He blanked the Braves through six innings. In the absolutely devastating seventh inning -- words I use in jest -- he was "rocked" by a walk, two bloop singles, an error and a sacrifice fly. He needs to return his signing bonus, obviously.

He's going to lose a lot of games like this, playing for the Nationals.

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One of the saddest sights in the season so far was of Tigers flame-thrower Joel Zumaya in considerable pain with an elbow injury. The Bonita Vista High alumnus missed most of the past two seasons with shoulder injuries and worked his rear off trying to get back to health. He immediately went on the disabled list. His comeback season saw him with a 2-1 record and 2.58 ERA.

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Back on the SDSU front, the recruiting Web sites are reporting two key commitments. One is mens basketball 6-foot-10-inch center Bryant Crowder, a well-traveled JC center who runs the court well. The other is football quarterback Chad Jeffries of Glendora High in the San Gabriel Valley, who didn't become a high-profile prospect until he started going to camps and coming away with MVP awards. He apparently wowed observers at SDSU's recent camp, and coach Brady Hoke offered him immediately. It should be said this is only a verbal, and Oregon State will probably pursue the kid.

Padres Won-Loss, Soccer, Newspaper Coverage

2010-06-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Based on the last blog post and the subsequent 3-0 sweep of the Marlins, the Padres are now an amazing 45-30 on the season.

I again went through Baseball Reference and I could only find one better start in Padres history, 1998. You know what happened then. Even the World Series season of 1984 saw the Friars at 44-31 after 75 games.

What I really like is I think they've compiled their great mark without necessarily being their best. GM Jed Hoyer could add a hitter at some point. No one is playing above their heads. RF Will Venable is hot at the plate this past week -- what if it's a trend instead of a guy being streaky? What if SS Everth Cabrera makes up for his injury-plagued first half with a solid last three months? What if 3B Chase Headley recaptures his April form? Things can get even better.

It was interesting how this coincides with a newspaper article that wonders whether fans will start noticing. I think they will, particularly with the Rockies in this week. Attendance is down nearly 2 percent from last season. If you really want to see an attendance increase, add a hitter. Show the fans the franchise is serious about contending.

In fact, Venable's surge of the past week, in which he hit three tie-breaking, game-winning homers, shows just how important another hitter can be to the Padres. With their pitching, they only need a little more offense, not a lot. That's how close they are to maybe being favored in this race.

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Did the World Cup really create that much excitement around here or is it just a media fiction?

I'm actually leaning toward the latter, seriously. I have yet to talk to, or overhear others in conversation, about the quadrennial soccer championship. Not once. Sure, people gather at sports bars to watch the games but they always do every four years. This is a big town, so there will be soccer fans and they'll be excited but that doesn't make it new. Those in the media who say the win over Algeria that put the USA in the knockout round was some sort of classic forget that NO ONE WAS ABLE TO SCORE until a rebound came out in front of Landon Donovan. Any U8 player in AYSO could have converted that goal opportunity.

I'm sorry, but the World Cup is an absolute waste of my time and I didn't buy into the over-hype of the past week.

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Two things have me very concerned about what the restructuring of The San Diego Union-Tribune is going to mean to the future of local sports coverage.

1. The most recent round of layoffs included the sports editor and two reporters, Nicole Vargas, the lone remaining specialist in high school sports, and Hank Wesch, who handled USD basketball in addition to horse racing. I since saw a Wesch horse-racing column, so it was either something already in the can or he returned to the paper at half his former salary (an offer extended to several of those recently laid-off, and accepted by a few). Who is going to cover these important facets of the local sports scene now, and are they going to know what in the heck they're writing about?

2. The brass has sold their recent moves to the public with the line of "we're really going to offer extensive coverage of the main areas of interest in local sports -- the Padres and Chargers." What about San Diego State, which could have two ranked basketball teams and which could demonstrate this fall whether the football program is on the rise? What about the paradise sports of golf and tennis? The extreme sports popular with the younger audience?

Call me confused and worried.

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Local tennis buffs should be concerned about Jelena Jankovic retiring from a Wimbledon match early Monday (our time) because of a back injury. The Serb, ranked third in the world, is the highest entrant so far in the Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa next month. Samantha Stosur is not going to sell tickets, no matter how well she played in Paris.

The list of player commitments has few recognizable names at this point and almost no Americans. The biggest missing name is that of Venus Williams, a frequent champion at La Costa in the tourney's older forms. I'm sure most of the big-name players are waiting to see how things play out at Wimbledon before committing to their summer schedules, which are basically precursors to the U.S. Open. Look for a lot of them, including one Williams sister, to be in Carlsbad by the end of July.

Padres Noise is Being Made

2010-06-24T19:51:00.001-07:00

The Padres aren't going to budge.

As I predicted before the season, the Padres pitching depth is keeping them in the National League West race and I don't see that changing as we near the season's halfway point. The Padres, indeed, are in first place with their 42-30 record. How that compares to previous successful seasons, courtesy of Pro Baseball Reference:

-- In their first year over .500, 1978, they were 35-37 at this point with a pitching staff that included Gaylord Perry, Bob Shirley and Rollie Fingers.

-- In the World Series season of 1984, they got out of the gate fast, stumbled in May and had their best month in June. After 72 games, they were 43-29 and four games in front in their division. That won-loss mark is just a game better than the current pace.

-- The exciting chase of the Giants in 1989 came up short in large part because of a serious June Swoon, leaving them with a 35-37 mark and eight games out of first place. The Friars dropped 11 back just days later, and were a season-worst 12 games out of first on July 25. From there, they went on a tear, closing to within 5 games of the Giants on Sept. 12. Alas, they got no closer for nearly two weeks and finished three games behind. That was the year Mark Davis won the Cy Young Award, only to sign a free agent contract with Kansas City, where his career collapsed.

-- 1996, the season of Chris Gwynn's division-winning double in Los Angeles, saw the Friars at 37-35.

-- In the World Series year of 1998, the Padres tore out of the gate again, were near the end of an 11-game winning streak, with a record of 47-25. That was just a great team that was light-years better than the current team from 1-25 on the roster, with the lone exception of first base.

While 1998 is an unfair comparison, this year's Padres compare reasonably well with those other teams in terms of performance. 1B Adrian Gonzalez is on a terrific streak at the plate -- maybe the best several weeks of his career -- and even whipping boy Will Venable shows signs of turning it around.

P Mat Latos is turning into a Number One starter who is dominating opposing hitters the same way a young Jake Peavy did and maybe better. The 7th/8th/9th innings combination of Luke Gregerson/Mike Adams/Heath Bell is unmatched in the major leagues.

However, there's no way I'm going to say the Padres will actually win the division, because there are plenty of concerns:

-- Tony Gwynn Jr.'s batting average is back under .230,
-- Nick Hundley's batting average has dropped 20 points in the past two weeks after Manager Bud Black began putting him higher up in the batting order.
-- That Hundley is hitting at cleanup lately is because Chase Headley's average is down to .257 following a torrid April.
-- Jon Garland has been shelled in three of his last four starts, Kevin Correia has one win over May and June, and Clayton Richard hasn't won a game in more than a month even though he's thrown fairly well.

The strain of needing nightly perfection could be placing a strain on the starting pitchers. The lineup has to start producing, no question.

That 40-32 mark translates to a .583 winning percentage. Over the course of a full season, that's 94 wins. Here's where that would have placed in the NL West in recent seasons:

2009- 2nd by one game,
2008- 1st by 10 games,
2007- 1st by 4 games,
2006- improve their own first-place finish by 6 games,
2005- improve their own division title by 12 games,
2004- 1st place by one game,
2003- 2nd by six games, and
2002- Third.

So they're in good shape. However, since baseball is a human game and the opposition is always striving to improve, the Padres must do the same in order to maintain the same pace of success. There is a lot to look forward to at the ballpark this summer.

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Have you read enough "Mat Latos is Maturing" stories in the newspaper? Me, too. Someone, please, come up with something new.

Torrealba's Truth, Leake, Utah

2010-06-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

You've got to love a guy who speaks his mind, even when he knows it might cost him in the long run. Yorvit Torrealba is such a man.

After the Padres catcher was suspended for three games for inadvertently making contact with plate umpire Larry Vanover with the bill of his cap on Monday, he went off on the terrible state of officiating at major league baseball games this season.

Torrealba said Vanover was unfair and inconsistent with his strike zone, that umpires are baiting players and that this year has been by far the worst.

"This is the worst umpiring I've ever seen."

"I've never seen the umpiring so inconsistent."

"There is no strike zone. They make us swing at everything. No one knows what the strike zone is anymore." He went on to say that's the reason why hitters are struggling so much this season.

"I know there are some good umpires, but there are a lot of really, really bad umpires."

Torrealba is appealing his penalty and is wise enough to note that his comments might get his suspension increased, not lessened.

The thing is, he's right. You know. I don't have to go into detail. The blown call at first base that cost Tigers P Andres Galarraga a perfect game was only the tip of the iceberg. I watched a game on TV in April which was the worst home plate umpiring I've ever seen -- aside from an NL playoff game years ago -- confirmed by the pitch tracker graphic on the screen. Things apparently haven't improved since then.

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That NL playoff game? A 1-0 shutout thrown by Cardinals P John Tudor against the Giants in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. Tudor, a junk artist, consistently threw the ball six inches outside all game long, and plate ump Bob Engel kept calling them strikes. Engel three years later was caught shoplifting baseball cards from two stores in Bakersfield and retired after pleading guilty.

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Memo to Reds P Mike Leake, entitled: Get With the Program

Mike:

Congratulations on your fine start to your major league baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds. Like other San Diegans involved in America's pastime, we like to see the local kids do well. The Fallbrook HS community has a lot to be proud of.

However,

you don't go around beating everyone else and then losing to the Dodgers. Especially in a game in which LA might take over first place. Your job in such a situation is to beat them. Your six-inning, nine-hit, five-run performance came up rather short in that regard.

Let me make myself clear. You beat the Dodgers from now on. Understand?

Thank you and good luck the rest of the season.

Jim

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In my view, San Diego State's relative position in the spectrum of collegiate athletics has slightly improved in the past 10 days or so of conference reorganization in which the Mountain West gained Boise State but lost Utah. Until the Pacific-10 invited the Utes to become its 12th member, the Aztecs appeared well on their way to being part of a BCS conference with the Broncos becoming the 10th MWC member. Now they're almost back to where they started, with slight improvements.

1. Boise puts the MWC slightly closer to BCS AQ status than what Utah provided.

2. Boise was successful in overwhelming the WAC year-in and year-out. What happens when the Broncos join in 2011 and finish second? And then come in third in 2012? Does the bloom come off this year's possible Rose Bowl? Utah was in a pretty dominant position as one of the MWC's Big Three. Boise will start at such a level but whether coach Chris Peterson can sustain that success in new digs, like Utah would have, is questionable.

3. Utah is always a threat in mens and womens basketball, while Boise State is not. One easier game for Steve Fisher and Beth Burns. The Broncos men were 15-17 last season with a 5-11 WAC mark that placed them second-to-last. Records the preceding three seasons were 19-13 and 9-7, the high-water mark of 25-7 and 12-4, and 17-14 and 8-8. One good season in four years. The women were 19-12 and 8-8 last season but did have a pair of 20-win seasons recently. Still, they're no Utah.

The next two reasons are potentially huge.

4. I'm not sure the Big 12 can deliver on the TV contract promises that enticed Texas and its loyal followers to remain with the conference. Kansas, K-State and Missouri are possibly in play again a couple of years down the line and you only need three teams to hit the magic 12 mark for a conference championship game. Plus, the Pac-10's quick trigger finger on Utah means if the Big 12 does collapse, there's one more attractive school available for the MWC to snag. That means BCS.

5. Call me crazy on this one but hear (read) me out. The invitation to Utah puts San Diego State a step closer to the decades-long dream of Pac-8 -10 -11 -12 membership. The conference leadership now has no qualms of inviting Mountain West schools to join. A lot of conferences have been talking expansion in order to cash in on the Big Ten model of cable television channel ownership, so getting TV markets is critical. The Pac-10 will probably go down the same route. However, can they really do such a thing with two giant holes in their so-called conference footprint? San Diego and Las Vegas are two of the larger TV markets in the country. Sure, both markets do well in watching Pac-10 football, but they don't really own the market with the hometown schools in another league. Intriguing. Here's to hoping coach Brady Hoke can return the Aztecs to competitiveness quickly.

Padres Proving Theories

2010-06-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

On a fairly regular basis this season, in a newspaper account of a midweek Padres game, there has been a phrase similar to: "in front of the third-smallest crowd in the history of Petco Park" or "witnessed by the second-smallest crowd of the season."

The Padres of 2010 have gone a long way to prove out two of my pet theories.

1. Petco Park is in a terribly inconvenient location for most baseball fans, so those 8-10 visits to Qualcomm Stadium per season for many people are dropping to three or four.

2. The generally held theory of San Diego sports fans only supporting a winner is not valid.

I've already harped on the inconvenience of Petco Park's location already this year (check San Diego's Best Sports Values by clicking on April under "Blog Archives" to the right). When I did traffic reporting years ago, the traffic flow patterns before and after Padres games showed the fan base was in the North County. If you live there, you're not going downtown any more than you have to. The transportation, walking, ticket prices, dinner in the Gaslamp, all make a Padres game a major event. People don't do major events 8-10 times a year. Maybe three or four, and they'll wait until summer when it's more convenient.

On supporting a winner, I've always responded that what San Diegans will support is a quality product. It might seem like semantics, but there is a difference. Is watching the team fun? Is there hope that the team will become a contender? Remember those really dull teams that won the NL West a few years ago? That's when the attendance began to dip. People around here are either sitting on their hands waiting for GM Jed Hoyer to acquire a hitter or waiting for the roof to cave in. Padres games aren't a lot of fun this year. I'm actually partial to well-pitched, low-scoring baseball games, but not because I know they can't hit. The joy of great pitching is that they're shutting down big bats. I can't admire someone striking out Will Venable because I know half the high schools in town have hurlers who can K the guy.

Some of San Diego State's biggest football attendance years came when they were mostly hovering around .500, because there were star attractions in Marshall Faulk and, to a lesser extent, Dan McGwire and Darnay Scott. Then they started fiddling around and losing in strange ways, and when coach Ted Tollner picked up the pieces and fielded teams that won 8 games and challenged for the WAC championship, the attendance was generally smaller. The Chargers have had little trouble selling out games whether in last year's 13-3 or 2008's 8-8 mark because they're fun to watch.

I think the Padres attendance will pick up markedly in the next homestand, which is at the end of this month. School will be out, so fans will come based on their own convenience. Someone will report that the locals are starting to believe in this team. Nice.

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Local prep product P Sergio Mitre was quietly putting together a big year as a reliever --mainly -- for the Yankees before going on the disabled list this week with an oblique strain. He was 0-1 with a 2.88 ERA with just 16 hits allowed in 25 innings.

Monte Vista HS's Brooks Conrad is still performing heroically for the Braves, winning a game recently with a bunt single. He's at .275-3-12 in 51 at-bats, which is pretty good in this year of the pitcher.

Speaking of the Braves, Carlsbad HS's Troy Glaus is tied for second in the NL with 49 RBI and tied for eighth with 13 HR.

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Not a local kid, but what will baseball be like without Conrad's and Glaus' teammate, Chipper Jones? He'll leave a void.

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Note to Hoyer: the Diamondback's trade of disappointing OF Conor Jackson to the A's may have signaled the beginning of trade season.

Realignment Okay For SDSU So Far, Cahill

2010-06-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

So far, so good for San Diego State's athletic fortunes as of the middle of Friday morning. One domino fell Thursday -- Colorado to the Pac-10. One dropped Friday, Boise State to the Mountain West Conference. One likely to tip over Friday afternoon will be Nebraska to the Big Ten.

My initial reaction to all this is the Big 12 departures don't affect the Aztecs at all other than they might spark other moves.

Boise State to the MWC is a much bigger deal. SDSU is now in a 10-team league, which means that in football they will not play every conference mate every year. There's going to be someone who gets to play UNLV while avoiding BYU, or someone who has to take on all the big boys but misses Colorado State. There are a lot of leagues in which that's okay, where all the teams are of about the same quality, but in the case of the MWC, you have the big dogs and the wiener dogs.

Second, there has been a lot of talk about BYU, Texas Christian and/or Utah filling the Big 12's holes or, in the case of the Utes, joining the Buffaloes in the Pac-10. I'm not sure Boise would have come over to a new about-to-be eviscerated conference, so they must have received assurances that the Big Three will remain.

Third, Boise State puts the MWC over the top as far as BCS auto bid requirements go. That bar might be raised by realignment, but it will be hard to keep them out. Finally, after all these years, Aztecs coaches will be able to recruit on the same playing field as everyone else.

Fourth, as long as they're at 10 schools, they might as well go to 12 or 14 because that's where the other leagues are headed. If the Big 12 collapses, picking up Kansas and K-State is a no-brainer. Missouri is dicey because they're pretty slimy. Houston out of C-USA would be a good pickup, adding a Texas partner for the Horned Frogs.

Fifth, there is renewed talk Friday about a last-ditch effort to keep the Big 12 together, sans Colorado and Nebraska. If it works, there is no reason why the MWC couldn't invite Houston and Fresno State, or Houston and SMU.

There's still a chance things will turn sour. The top MWC teams could still leave and relegate SDSU back to a lower tier of competition. Stay tuned.

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It's been such a great week for local pitching products. Add Vista HS's Trevor Cahill to the list. Cahill Thursday won his fourth straight start, 6-1 over the Angels. He threw a career-high 8 innings, scattered six hits and walked only one batter. He received a standing ovation on his way off the mound when he was finished. Cahill is now 5-2, 2.91.

Reactions to Various Sports News

2010-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

1. Chargers sign veteran LT Tra Thomas - No doubt a shot by general manager AJ Smith across the bow of holdout LT Marcus McNeill. Thomas was on the verge of retiring, so who knows what he has left physically and mentally. I've never been a huge fan of McNeill so I like the signing on its own merit, even if the incumbent starter was in the fold, just to see how the competition goes.

2. Stephen Strasburg wins major league debut - Quite a well-pitched game. The 14 strikeouts in seven innings only barely begins to tell the story of how well the West Hills HS, SDSU alumnus threw for the Nationals against the Pirates. The thing about Strasburg is there's no reason why he can't do this against everyone. Pitching is all about mechanics and the ability to repeat the proper motion on every pitch, hundreds upon thousands of times over the course of a year. If you're dominating college ball and the minors the way he was, you're also going to be a success in the bigs. Wish he were a Padre.

3. Don't forget Masterson and Harang - Heck of a week for San Diego State pitchers. Justin Masterson, of the Indians, tossed a two-hit shutout of the recently hot BoSox. Aaron Harang pitched the Reds over the Giants, allowing two runs in seven innings in following his worst outing of the season. Hopefully, it begins a trend for the former Patrick Henry HS star, who is now 5-5 but is saddled with a 5.17 ERA.

4. USC, Bush sanctioned by NCAA for violations - First, it's a long time coming. The NCAA will reportedly announce sometime Thursday that the Trojans will face a bowl ban and loss of scholarships for violations that took place during the coach Pete Carroll-Reggie Bush era. The Bush saga has been a sad one, in a way. He seemed like a nice kid from a normal family early in his high school years. Then stardom came and so did those trying to profit off him. He changed as time went on and got dazzled by the bright lights. I don't blame him as much as the people around him, but he made some unfortunate choices. Meanwhile, the U$C recruiting vacuum has been turned off, which should put Aztecs coach Brady Hoke and his boys on a more even footing, only to be impacted, for better or worse, by...

5. Impact of college athletics changes on SDSU - The first domino fell in the conference realignment scenarios Thursday morning when Colorado joined the Pac-10. I thought up to this morning that what will take place would be smaller than forecast, but I'm starting to think I might be wrong. Nebraska's regents meet Friday and will see Colorado's move as writing on the wall, so will reject pleas to stay and join the Big Ten. There are forces at work to keep the Big 12 together, which I thought until this morning would be successful at least for a year or two. There's two scenarios. One is that Texas joins the Pac-10 with Colorado and takes Tech and the Oklahoma schools with them. The other is that they don't (duh). The first is good for SDSU and the Mountain West Conference, as they will then cherry pick the remainder. The second is bad, because a still-strong Big 12 can invite the better MWC schools, which will accept because of the BCS auto-bid, making the MWC a second-rate conference again. My bet: Nebraska goes. The tipping point will be Missouri. If the Tigers flee, too, then the Texas hold 'em scenario crumbles.

6. Second-place Padres - I've seen all I need to see. I'm sure you have, too. This is a pretty good team that needs one more bat. If general manager Jed Hoyer can acquire an outfielder or shortstop who can hit, the Padres will compete for a National League West crown. If not, the Dodgers -- now winning the type of games they were losing at the beginning of the year -- will comfortably win another division title. I'm in no way suggesting the young position players be tossed on the slag heap, but too much is being left to chance in all these 1-0, 2-1 games.

7. The World Cup Starting - Yawn. Wake me when it's over.

Strasburg, Padres Notes

2010-06-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

The dearly departed Washington Nationals announced Monday that former San Diego State P Stephen Strasburg will make his long-awaited major league debut against Pittsburgh on June 8, barring rainouts. The timing of his first big league start has been the subject of considerable discussion, and this date has been rumored for about a week. Now it’s as confirmed as it ever will be. Kind of funny that now only an act of God could derail the debut of someone the good Lord has so gifted.

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It was interesting reading the letters to the sports editor in the San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday, which expressed opposing views on whether the local baseball franchise was interesting to watch. One writer claimed the punchless Padres were boring, and another stated that Little Ball was fun to see.

My take is somewhere in the middle. I think Little Ball is indeed a lot of fun if executed well. The Friars execute Little Ball terribly. Except for David Eckstein and, in some cases, Tony Gwynn, these guys are only good on the basepaths. But it's more than running to execute Little Ball. Part II is at the plate, where they can't bunt or execute the hit-and-run. Sure, the guy on first might steal second, but the hitter can’t put wood on the ball for hit-and-run plays, sac flies or grounders to the right side of the infield.

I like the basic idea of Little Ball, but it's only fun if well-played.

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Before LF Kyle Blanks got hurt there was a lot of talk about whether he should be returned to AAA to regain his swing. My choice for a ticket to Portland after the weekend is RF Will Venable, who refuses to take the outside pitch the other way. He tries to pull EVERYTHING. In Sunday's game, he came up with runners on second and third and one out, and the National's pitcher fed him a steady diet of baseballs on the outside part of the plate and he was totally unable to poke anything toward left field. Sure, a grounder that direction might not have scored a run, but it could have.

Since that 4-for-5 game at LA that made such a big splash, he's 6-for-35, just under .200, with no extra base hits.

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My favorite Padre now, behind Eckstein, is OF Chris Denorfia. This guy is a gamer -- and a keeper. In about the same time period, he has three more hits than Venable, including a pair of doubles, and three more RBI. With Scott Hairston possibly coming off the DL in a couple of days, the Padres are going to have a big decision to make.

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Nick Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba are the co-MVP's of this team, by the way.

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Yes, I wrote that I wanted GM Jed Hoyer to start working to bring in an outfielder who can actually hit, and that remains the case. But it should also be noted that scoring and hitting is way off all around the major leagues, from the Phillies being shut out by the Mets three games in a row to the Padres doing nearly the same to the Giants every series and the two perfect games in about three weeks.