Latest San Diego Stories
Posted: Jul 5th 2008 10:14 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, San Diego
Former San Diego Chargers safety
Terrence Kiel, whose off-field problems prevented his enormous talent from coming to fruition, has
died in a car crash at age 27.
Kiel was reportedly driving alone after leaving a party at about 10:15 Friday night when his car hit a wall, ejecting him from the vehicle. He died about an hour later. A police spokesman said friends had tried to keep Kiel from driving home from the party, and witnesses told police he appeared to be driving in the wrong direction when he crashed.
Kiel was a four-year starter at Texas A&M and a second-round pick of the Chargers in 2003. Three months after he was drafted, Kiel was shot three times in an attempted carjacking, but he made a complete recovery and played all 16 games as a rookie. During the 2006 season DEA agents showed up at the Chargers' headquarters to arrest Kiel for shipping prescription cough syrup to Texas as part of an effort to distribute a drink known as "lean," which mixes soft drinks with codeine cough syrup.
The Chargers released Kiel after he pleaded guilty to that charge, and he never played in the NFL again.
Posted: Jun 28th 2008 9:46 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, Vikings, Minnesota, San Diego
The best trash talkers in sports, from Muhammad Ali to Joe Namath to the Fab Five to Deion Sanders, have always had two qualities:
1. They're funny.
2. They can back it up on the field.
By those two standards, it appears that Minnesota Vikings running back
Adrian Peterson may be developing into a great trash talker.
This week he was asked to name the toughest defense he had faced, and he answered, the San Diego Chargers. And then he added, "That was a joke."
Peterson, of course, ran for an NFL record 296 yards against the Chargers last season, and he drew a laugh with that comment. Somehow I'm guessing players on the Chargers won't find it funny.
Posted: Jun 26th 2008 8:03 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, Lions, Detroit, NFL Police Blotter, San Diego
Detroit Lions rookie
Gosder Cherilus and San Diego Chargers rookie
DeJuan Tribble were both
ordered to serve one year of pretrial probation yesterday in connection with an incident that happened last year when they were Boston College teammates.
Cherilus and Tribble were both charged with assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with a fight at a bar. Cherilus, who was the Lions' first-round draft pick, was ordered to pay $52,000 in medical bills for a man who was injured in the fight; it's not clear whether he was ordered to pay the bills because he was more culpable than Tribble or because he will make significantly more money than Tribble, who was a sixth-round pick.
For the Lions, this news is particularly embarrassing coming on the heels of the revelation that
second-round pick Jordan Dizon was arrested for drunk driving just before the draft. When your players are losers on the field and trouble-makers off it, that's not a good combination.
Posted: Jun 21st 2008 6:27 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, San Diego
Former Chargers offensive tackle
Shane Olivea, a free agent who once looked like one of the league's most promising offensive linemen, is currently without a team. Even if he signs with a team, he can't play until he serves a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.
And although the league doesn't give specifics about past indiscretions, it's clear that whatever triggered this four-game suspension isn't the first time Olivea screwed up.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports:
All the Chargers would say when they released him in February was that Olivea had seemed to lose his motivation. But those around the team have known for some time that Olivea partied himself out of the league.
Acee also reports that Olivea is getting help. I hope it works. Olivea is only 26 years old and still has talent, even if, so far, that talent has gone to waste.
Posted: May 27th 2008 2:41 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: 49ers, Chargers, NFL Free Agency, San Diego, San Francisco
There was a time when
Shane Olivea looked like one of the most talented young offensive linemen in the NFL. That time has passed.
After the Chargers took him in the seventh round of the draft, Olivea started all 16 games on one of the best lines in the league as a rookie in 2004, and he was still a solid starter in 2005 and 2006. But last year he struggled and got benched, and this year he was sent packing.
He's now an unrestricted free agent, except that he has apparently already agreed to terms with some NFL team.
The Press Democrat reports:
The 49ers have inquired about some possible veteran free-agent pickups. They asked about Shane Olivea recently, but were told that Olivea has already agreed to terms with another club. Olivea, who lost his starting job and fell out of favor with the Chargers, is expected to sign with that team in June.
It's unusual for a player to agree to terms with a team but not sign with that team, but Olivea has apparently decided his best fit is on a team that needs to clear some salary cap space. Which team could that be?
Josh Alper speculates at PFT that it could be Baltimore, Carolina, Denver, Detroit or Oakland. Right now it's anyone's guess.
Posted: May 20th 2008 7:11 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, San Diego
Kassim Osgood, the San Diego Chargers wide receiver who is one of the best special teams players in the league, is skipping the Chargers' voluntary off-season practices because he's sick of only playing special teams.
The first of what the Chargers call "off-season coaching sessions" was Monday, and Osgood was the only player to stay home without first clearing it with the team. Osgood has long said that he should play wide receiver, not just special teams coverage, but the Chargers' coaches have never given him that chance.
Chargers coach
Norv Turner doesn't
sound too disappointed that Osgood is staying home:
"When everyone is here there is something special with that," head coach Norv Turner said after the two-hour practice. "Everyone talks about the talent of this team. The strength of this team is the feelings they have for each other and all they've been through the last five years. Kassim is not going to lose that. But building that is what he's missing."
It's a little surprising that Turner won't give Osgood a chance on offense, seeing as he's a talented athlete and the Chargers don't have a great receiving corps, but it's clear that as long as he's a Charger, Osgood will play special teams. And he won't be happy about it.
Posted: Apr 26th 2008 6:09 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, NFL Draft, San Diego
There was a clear consensus on the top four cornerbacks in this year's draft, but who's No. 5? The Chargers' front office thinks it's
Antoine Cason, whom they selected with the 27th pick in today's draft.
The people who like Cason point to three things that make him worthy of being a first-round pick: He has good ball skills, he can return punts, and he's a high-character guy. I don't disagree with any of those things, but I still have my doubts that he was worthy of being chosen this highly. I'm just not convinced Cason is good enough in coverage to stick with NFL wide receivers.
Posted: Apr 25th 2008 4:28 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, San Diego, PEDs
Kevin Acee of the
San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that there's a rumor making the rounds that Chargers linebacker
Shawne Merriman failed a drug test.
So
Acee followed up on the rumor and asked Merriman whether it's true. Merriman says it isn't.
"I would know, if anybody," Merriman said. "If I failed a drug test or steroids test I'd be the first one to know about it. And after it being leaked the first time, I don't think someone would be holding back the results this time."
When Merriman says "the last time," he's referring to 2006, when he tested positive for steroids and was suspended four games.
This time, however, Acee asked Merriman if there was any chance the rumor Acee heard would turn out to be true, and Merriman answered, "Zero. None."
Hat tip:
Pro Football Talk.
Posted: Apr 17th 2008 8:00 AM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, AFC West, NFL Draft, San Diego
With each pick of the FanHouse mock draft, we get into the head of an NFL general manager and let you know who he'll pick and why.
The Chargers are one of those teams that doesn't have any glaring needs and who will use the draft to add depth to this year's team and long term stability. San Diego is one of the best draft teams in the NFL and will chose very wisely here.
One spot that could use a jolt is right tackle. If BC tackle Gosder Cherilus lasts this long, the Bolts will snatch him up.
Cherilus is a beast (6-6, 315) with long arms and excellent quickness. A guy like that is perfect for a team that utilizes the running back a lot and has a young QB. His long arms are great for pass blocking while his explosiveness in getting to the next level of the defense works great for a team with LaDainian Tomlinson. One knock on him is his technique ... but that can be learned.
The Skinny:
Team Needs: CB, OT, DT, RB, S
Player Selected: Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
Also Considered: Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas; Kenny Phillips, S, Miami-FL
Previous Pick: No. 26, Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
Next Pick: No. 28, Dallas Cowboys
Posted: Mar 25th 2008 4:33 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, San Diego, The Word
A car valued at $187,000 belonging to Chargers linebacker
Shawne Merriman was stolen and set on fire,
CBS 8 in San Diego is reporting (via
PFT).
According to the
San Diego Union-Tribune, the car is a 2006 Mercedes sports coupe, and it was engulfed in flames when San Diego police officers discovered it last week around about midnight on Thursday.
The car was reportedly found sitting on top of plastic milk crates, with all of its wheels missing. The 23-year-old Merriman had not reported the car stolen and it is not clear when he learned of its theft.
Merriman is a car enthusiast (he's pictured in the starter stand before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 500 at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California last month), and it's no surprise that he spent $187,000 on a car, seeing as
he once spent $32,000 on a dinner.Merriman's car was fully insured.
