LionIndex’s profile

Not that their record really shows it, but the Raiders were actually showing some signs of turning it around a bit this year. Sure, they blew 4th quarter leads in two consecutive weeks, but those losses were to a team that's currently 4-0 and a team that's a consensus pick to go to the Super Bowl. Heck, they *owned* the Chargers for most of the game, and the Chargers only were able to pull it out because of the turnovers towards the end, and possibly because they shifted their offense into a "wear them down" mode. Given the performance of the Raiders over the last couple years, this year could easily be seen as an improvement -- they weren't complete pushovers this time around. Obviously, they need to be able to "finish", but just being in a position where they had something to finish in the first place is miles ahead of where they were. Even as a Charger fan, with Raider-hatred mixed into the local water supply here, I wish Al Davis would just go away so Oakland could actually have a football team.

posted at 10:34 AM on October 01

If they name the team the Wind, every sportswriter in the country will fancy him or herself an insufferably clever little punk when the get to write the headline "[insert team here] Breaks Wind".

posted at 12:12 PM on July 28

I guess I know of at least one guy who wasn't ripping on Ladanian Tomlinson for sitting on the bench while injured last year.

posted at 03:28 PM on July 09

Agreed. They could have at least plugged the teams into Madden 08 and simulated a game. Yeah, or even a best-of-seven series or a hundred simulated games, just to iron out all the oddities. But then you'd lose the narrative of one game (however ridiculous and detached from reality it might be), as well as the intangibles like the possible synergy between Schottenheimer, Cameron and Drew Brees. It would have tremendously improved the article if they did do the Madden simulations in addition to Dr. Z's narrative, and then provided the stats for the players over the course of a "season".

posted at 10:16 AM on July 09

I remember watching the Seoul olympics 20 years ago and being disappointed that NBC had the coverage of it, mostly just because Jim McKay didn't work for them. Also, they only played their stupid John Tesh olympic music instead of the awesome trumpet stuff.

posted at 03:47 PM on June 09

If he goes in, I certainly see it being as a Dodger, mostly for the reasons Chargdres mentions. That's the team I've seen him play with the most, but that's also because I'm a Padre fan.

posted at 09:21 AM on May 21

But going for sushi in Johnson County Kansas sounds a lot like going to San Diego for barbecue. [insert obilgatory Kansas City Barbecue/Top Gun mention here]

posted at 03:00 PM on April 24

Maddux reminds be of high school biology and disecting a frog. Only difference is opposing batters. That's more of a literal connection than you think. I'm a San Diego resident, and my morning commutes are occasionally punctuated by the unpleasant sight of disemboweled corpses littered along the roadside, and torrents of blood flowing into the gutters as if all 9" of our yearly rain fell in one night, brought by a cold front from hell. The exteriors of some buildings downtown look like Jackson Pollock took up graffiti, if only Pollock's favored media were entrails and crushed bone. Occasionally the smears of blood form words, but they're not utterable by any human tongue. And those are the days after Maddux wins.

posted at 06:46 PM on April 15

That's all true TheQatarian, but the other side of the coin is that China has a tremendous amount of resources committed to the Olympics, and for them it's not just about sports. China sees this Olympic event as their entrance onto the world stage as a major player in all kinds of international things. There have been numerous stories of the government cracking down on areas it wouldn't care about earlier (i.e. toy manufacturing and environmental regulations), along with financing major construction projects by famous architects even beyond what's required for the Olympics (i.e. the new CCTV headquarters by OMA (AKA Rem Koolhaas)). I think China sees these Olympics as a referendum on their status as a nation, and I can't really blame a lot of people outside of the country for treating it that way as well. It's certainly not a good thing for the athletes or for sports in general, but that's how I've seen it described in a number of places.

posted at 04:30 PM on April 07

Without L.T. in the mix, the Chargers are mediocre at best. Well, no--LT was out of the mix, along with Rivers and Gates, and they were still good enough to beat the Colts at home and give the Patriots a run for their money in the AFC championship. So based on the actual games played, if they lose LT, they're only the second best team in the AFC.

posted at 01:53 PM on March 03

A team captain and MVP who cries for his team to succeed when he's on the field, but throws a tarp over himself on the bench when he can't play? You (and others) are OK with that, I'm not. Just my opinion. Yeah, I'm perfectly okay with one of the best players in the league with absolutely no other character flaws; not a showboater in the least; who leaves everything on the field; a guy who comes from a gulf coast state and now lives in San Diego, covering himself up on the sideline of a game in 10 degree weather when he won't be able to warm himself up by playing. I don't think you're necessarily wrong--it would have been *nice* for him to be cheering everybody on--but given the circumstances, I think you're blowing it way, way, way out of proportion.

posted at 12:18 PM on February 29

I feel he took himself out of that game to make a statement to the team about his value. Riiiiiiiiiiiight. Because the Chargers are ignorant about the value of the guy who holds the league record for most touchdowns by a RB in a season, a number that doesn't include the two touchdowns he passed for. And LT took himself out of a playoff game, not because he was injured, but because he wanted to make a statement about that, and thought that denying his team the superbowl would somehow (please explain how!) make things better for himself. You have got to be kidding.

posted at 01:30 PM on February 28

I agree completely, not so much regarding whether or not he could have continued with his injury, but how he covered up and never moved from the bench, hiding behind his helmet and dark shield while the rest of his team was trying to win a playoff game. He appeared to be sulking I pretty much figured he was heartbroken. And he's just not the rah-rah excitable type of guy that Rivers is, so I would frankly have been surprised if he was running around (while injured) rooting on his teammates; and let's not be silly and pretend that they actually would have won had he done that. He's typically just very reserved and supports his team by playing on the field. He's just all business. But personally, I find the behavior of other people on the team, like Rivers jabbering with hecklers in Indy and Merriman's ridiculous sack dance, to be pretty embarrassing.

posted at 10:11 AM on February 28

I would cut LT and keep Turner. LT quit on his team and people know it. He could have come back in that playoff game and chose to stay out. He is a cry baby and does not have the attitude you need to build a team around. That's just total radio-talk show BS. You have *no* idea how he felt at the start of that game, not to mention how he felt after getting in for a couple plays. Was he at 80%? Maybe, but I think I'd rather have Turner in there at 100% than LT at 80, and why waste a guy on the field just using him as a decoy, especially when your opponent already knows he's hurt? I'd think he would have been hurting the team more by trying to stay in at that point, so better to sit than try to appease the mentality of people who call in to talk shows. LT's been in San Diego for a while now, and has never shown any reason whatsoever to doubt him. Sitting for one game when injured does not negate any of that. The dude never phones it in, doesn't do the big victory celebrations in the end zone and generally just doesn't go in for any of the drama that many other players do. If the only Chargers games you've ever watched are the playoff games from the last couple seasons, I can sort of understand being misled by all the hype surrounding them, but LT is someone any GM worth his salt would want on their team.

posted at 10:03 AM on February 28

I'd really like to see him stay with the Chargers, but it's highly unlikely he will. he and LT were a great combo, and for Turner's sake, I hope he does as well in the starting position as he did in the backup role. It's largely thanks to him that the Chargers were able to go as far as they did in the playoffs this year, especially once LT went out. I know I didn't really have any serious worries about the running game at that point.

posted at 05:12 PM on February 27