Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego Super Chargers

So I'm driving back from the dry cleaners an hour ago, and I hear an AM sports station talking about the Chargers. A guy with a thick accent called in, saying that LaDanian Tomlinson is a big baby, because he's not playing. The guy went on about the college football player that recently had part of his finger amputated so he could continue to play (if you didn't hear that story...it's wild; he could've either waited months for his finger to heal, in which the season was over, and being a senior, his football career over. he instead opted for having them amputate the digit, so he could play the last game of the season).

The guy also brought up Terrell Owens playing while injured in a Super Bowl for the Eagles. Which is a good point.

But I think it's funny when people say that athletes are faking injuries. These guys are hardcore competitors. It's the reason Tomlinson was almost in tears when the Patriots did the Chargers/Shawn Merriman "Lights Out" dance after beating them.

Deion Sanders got into trouble for saying Tomlinson was "faking" his injury last year. And when I met Sanders a few months ago, I asked him about that. He got angry and said, "Well, he was!"

I'm not sure how Sanders was so sure, and I didn't think about it until later. I would've loved to ask Sanders how he could make fun of anyone for not being "tough enough", when he was one of the few cornerbacks in the history of the sport, that was afraid to tackle people. He'd try to push them out of bounds if he could.

And don't get me wrong, the guy was an amazing cornerback. He just didn't like to get physical. Which makes me want to call him one of the character names from The Sopranoes.

Anyway....I have the opposite reaction with LT. I cringe when he tries to play, and he's only 50%. You can see those games, and how he's not making the cuts he can usually make. And, back when the Chargers had Michael Turner (this years leading RB), and now Sproles, we've got back-ups that are not only capable, but better than an injured LT. Yet, the competitor in him wants to play. Which is all well and noble. I just wish he'd think about what is best for the team.

The last I heard, LT wasn't going to play Sunday against the Steelers. And their injuried QB was.

It's going to be a tough game. But, having a Charger team that was 4 and 8 make it into the playoffs in such dramatic fashion...and beat the heavily favorited Colts (with league MVP and leader in commercial advertisements Peyton Manning)....

Nobody can be upset with the season they've had.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach

So I'm driving back from the dry cleaners an hour ago, and I hear an AM sports station talking about the Chargers. A guy with a thick accent called in, saying that LaDanian Tomlinson is a big baby, because he's not playing. The guy went on about the college football player that recently had part of his finger amputated so he could continue to play (if you didn't hear that story...it's wild; he could've either waited months for his finger to heal, in which the season was over, and being a senior, his football career over. he instead opted for having them amputate the digit, so he could play the last game of the season).

The guy also brought up Terrell Owens playing while injured in a Super Bowl for the Eagles. Which is a good point.

But I think it's funny when people say that athletes are faking injuries. These guys are hardcore competitors. It's the reason Tomlinson was almost in tears when the Patriots did the Chargers/Shawn Merriman "Lights Out" dance after beating them.

Deion Sanders got into trouble for saying Tomlinson was "faking" his injury last year. And when I met Sanders a few months ago, I asked him about that. He got angry and said, "Well, he was!"

I'm not sure how Sanders was so sure, and I didn't think about it until later. I would've loved to ask Sanders how he could make fun of anyone for not being "tough enough", when he was one of the few cornerbacks in the history of the sport, that was afraid to tackle people. He'd try to push them out of bounds if he could.

And don't get me wrong, the guy was an amazing cornerback. He just didn't like to get physical. Which makes me want to call him one of the character names from The Sopranoes.

Anyway....I have the opposite reaction with LT. I cringe when he tries to play, and he's only 50%. You can see those games, and how he's not making the cuts he can usually make. And, back when the Chargers had Michael Turner (this years leading RB), and now Sproles, we've got back-ups that are not only capable, but better than an injured LT. Yet, the competitor in him wants to play. Which is all well and noble. I just wish he'd think about what is best for the team.

The last I heard, LT wasn't going to play Sunday against the Steelers. And their injuried QB was.

It's going to be a tough game. But, having a Charger team that was 4 and 8 make it into the playoffs in such dramatic fashion...and beat the heavily favorited Colts (with league MVP and leader in commercial advertisements Peyton Manning)....

Nobody can be upset with the season they've had.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Not Trick or Treat -- But Trick Plays.

Next Article

A Basketball Jones No Longer Jonesing

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader