October 12th: An Existential Post

One year ago tonight---October 12th, 2008---we were at The Murph/The Q wildly celebrating a pronounced drubbing of the New England Patriots.

It's worth noting because this website only really exists because of that game as well as the one pictured above in the site banner---occurring on January 14th, 2007.

It seems like only yesterday that LT was the most dominating running back in the game, scrambling for 31 TDs, and now he's nearly an after thought. With only 20 rushes to his credit in 2009 and an offensive line that is quite useless have we witnessed the last great game from LT? Probably not......he looked great in the season finale against Denver in '08 until he tore his groin from his pelvic bone. I was there and up until that injury I thought the old LT had returned.

I hope next Monday I get to see "the Old LT" and not "Old LT" against Denver. If we don't the season could be cooked.

This Is The End: March 15th Round-up

This week was weird...

So LT is staying and the Chargers avoid having to take a RB in the 1st round....hopefully.

Bleacher Bums have on-air meltdown. We laugh, cringe and begin organizing boycotts. Enjoy the photo-shop by Blue in the upper right hand corner. That is your "Un-official" complaint link for the Bums. If they're on air tomorrow....Chicago On A Bun will see a lot more of these:

To whom it may concern:

I have long been a visitor to Di Crescenzos in Rancho Bernardo. Since the change in ownership (to Chicago on a Bun) I have continued to visit your store because, as someone who was born in Chicago, I find the food fantastic. Therefore it pains me to say that I will no longer be giving you my patronage due to your sponsorship of the Bleacher Bums on XX1090.

I am a SAN DIEGO sports fan. Not JUST a fan but a SAN DIEGO sports fan and that is an important distinction to make. I feel as though I am being berated by both Jordan and Earl for simply being from San Diego and following teams that unfortunately lack a winning tradition. As most San Diegans (including myself) are transplants to America's Finest City, I find no problem with the fact that Jordan and Earl hail from other parts of the country. Nor is it an issue that they are both critical of San Diego teams: All good fans should expect a lot of their teams and hold management accountable. I cringe but can live with their inaccurate dissemination of information because I do a fair amount of reading on my own. The issue at hand however, is simply a case of decency towards people who choose to call San Diego home. When someone chooses to go on the air and yell at San Diegans, proclaiming that we, "suck"......there will be repercussions.

Who will pay the price for the indiscretions of the Bleacher Bums? Because XX1090 believes that pawning off a defective product on its consumers is a sound business practice there is only one group to make accountable. I believe that Chicago on a Bun falls within the purview of that group: sponsorship.

My intention is to mobilize support for a boycott of your stores if you continue to run any type of sponsorship with XX1090 and the Bleacher Bums radio program. I will allow you to make the choice during these difficult economic times and this shall remain confidential until I receive word from you.

In the mean time I invite you to view the following link. There are only 44 comments but my software tells me that over 1800 people viewed the post....not one person felt inclined to leave a positive piece of feedback regarding the Bleacher Bums' program. Now if I actually made an effort to consolidate all of the dissatisfied XX1090 listeners, I can promise that you will feel the affects.

In the end this is your choice: do you feel that San Diegans are apathetic and will choose to sit pat or are you worried about the economic viability of your restaurant and your ability to continue to profit and provide employment?

Sincerely

A Concerned San Diegan

If everyone follows suit with a committed effort to make sponsorship pay we should be free of this horrible broadcasting burden. The grassroots effort begins with you...
[Editor's Note: Chicago On A Bun owner, Steve Wolff, responded on March 24th]

Dear ****:

Sorry it took so long to answer your questions, but we have been busy behind the scenes with the 1090 management.

First let me tell you that we are also San Diego sports fans. I personally have had Chargers season tickets for the past 13 years (ever since I moved here). So I know exactly how you are feeling.

Second, understand that we have certain contractual obligations that we have to live up to. But having said that, we were very proactive in resolving the situation at the station. We had stopped going on the air with Jordan and Earl. For the past 3 weeks my brother, and co-owner of Chicago On A Bun, has only appeared with Darren Smith. We made our feelings known to management and ownership that the product (the Bleacher Bums) with which we were associating our name was substandard and at times offensive.

We believe we had something to do with what the station eventually did to resolve the situation. Hopefully with Hal and Earl together, the show will be more respectful to San Diego, its fans and ultimately to anyone who listens.

One other thing that is important, is that sponsoring a talk show does not mean we necessarily agree or disagree with what the hosts say. In most cases we believe the first amendment is sacred. However, we believe that the Bleacher Bums went over the line of decency and good taste and we agreed with a lot of what you were upset about and decided to do something about it. We hope you are satisfied that the show, and the attitude of the show, has changed.
Speaking of good taste we hope that you will come back to the good taste of our food at Chicago On A Bun.

If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know. Thank you for being a good customer and a passionate listener.

Sincerely,

Steve Wolff
Co-Owner
Chicago In A Bun

The power of the written word, indeed. Ken Rosenthall was spot on.

You all were apprised of the Holy Trinity Polling: Alba a close 2% second to Biel in Extra Mustard's Hottest Jessica Poll......the gap did not close. We refuse to believe you are apathetic so we'll applaud your taste in another fine Jessica named Biel.
[Here is where we link to ourself because its that good of a post]

SDSU has a great week in baseball sweeping UNLV. I get shut out of Friday Strasburg start when parking garage refuses to take my $20 bill....something about only accepting ones and fives. Alternative neighborhood street parking is also uncooperative.....no parking until 7pm....I drive home and listen to SS, K the first seven batters he faces. At least it was on the radio...
[619 Sports]

That is what you know....here's what you might not know:

Jay Cutler has gone crazy. He's selling house in Denver. Parents are selling house in Denver. The city of Denver is unhappy with boy and his bad haircut.
[Denver Post]

Former NFL RB, Travis Henry, is in prison for a coke bust, is flat broke, and owes child support.....for his nine kids....by nine different women. The next time your life gives you lemons...forget the lemonade and ponder the plight of Travis Henry.
[Denver Post]

The United States beat the Netherlands, 9-3, to stay alive in the World Baseball Classic. Played in Miami, 157 people watched it all unfold. What a terrible baseball city yet they have two World Series Championships.......ahhhh, the torture.
[SD-Union Tribune (AP)]

There's a lot of other stuff that happened too but as far as I'm concerned its the end of the week as we know it...

Why LT really stayed in SD......to make the Bleacher Bums Miserable! Thanks LT!

Housing Market Bad..... Sports Radio Worse

We recall listening to the Bleacher Bums last week ( forced to do it! long drive...sports addicted...XTRA 1360 didn't tune in...) and they continued to maintain that they did not believe that LT would be returning, which is their opinion and that's fair. Part of their supporting argument was that LT's ego was too big to accept a pay-cut which made for a fairly weak rationale. Are they in LT's inner-circle? What was strange however was how they continued to maintain that LT would not return but qualified the opinion with the following remark:

"WE want LT to stay with the Chargers."

So were Jordan and Earl happy when the LT restructuring news came in? Apparently not. Jordan has spent the last two days talking about LT's ear rings and style, damning his community work, proclaiming that LT has accomplished NOTHING because there is no Lombardi trophy in SD, and worst of all.............insulting San Diego fans and residents alike. Is it professional to say that your listeners, "suck!"?

Where does he think he's broadcasting? Is this not San Diego? Are we not San Diegans? Are we so apathetic that we could accept this sort of treatment?

These are questions for us all to ponder....

For more Steve Breen Political Cartoon Excellence: Click here

For the original, "What the hell has XX1090 done with our Drive-Time Show?", post and comment thread: Click Here

Editor's note:

At the time of this post we were not aware that the Dynamic Douche-o had been suspended. Glorious! Darren Smith had to listen to callers complain and then LT's business manager came on the air to talk about all of the texts he received regarding Jordan's comments about LT's charity work. In case you didn't hear:

“I'm listening to Mama LT this morning with Scott and BR, and God bless them, too, bringing up the turkeys again – do me a favor, stick the turkeys up your ass. I don't care about the turkeys. I don't care about your charity.”

After Darren's show was inundated with complaints the Coach took over the barrage of comments. Nice job Bums...

Radio team "Jordan and Earl" off air for 2 days:
[SD Union Tribune]
Time to talk about turkeys and drive-time radio:
[SD Union Tribune]
Pull the plug: Radio duo's latest stunt nets a suspension, and should end the awful experiment
[North County Times]
LOL Bleacher Bums
[619 Sports]
(11:01 pm)

LT remains sounds better than LT's remains

LaDainian Tomlinson stays put.

A crazy few weeks we've seen here in San Diego. From the AJ Smith mocking incident to the drama filled merry-go-round provided by the UT's Kevin Acee and XX1090's line-up of hosts. It had become awfully draining to listen to the "pundits" as well as shortsighted fans lend their expertise on the issue. I felt that LT was coming back all along (ok-so there was SOME doubt) because it made practical sense: the Chargers have needs on both sides of the ball so why create yet another hole by eliminating your workhorse running back?

But the last week brought a new set of intrigues. We heard from LT's mom on The Scott and BR Show.....and then the same show provided commentary from Drew Brees.....the sort of commentary that may have led you to believe that two buddies talking behind the scenes had come to some sort of "too-good-to-be-true" reunion agreement. Then Acee reported Friday night that the offer was on the table for LT's taking.... and then SI's Peter King gave his 2 cents... which generally doesn't count for shit especially considering that cap "experts" (that horrible word again) were saying that the Saints were in no position to pay a player like LT.

Let's take a step back.........and acknowledge that history is our best teacher (this is the post I was going to write, my predicted outcome, before I saw the good news).

AJ SMITH DOES NOT SIGN FREE AGENTS TO BUILD THE CHARGERS.........HE USES THE DRAFT.

The above statement is half true. AJ Smith doesn't sign free agents..... from other teams ......he signs his own. From AJ Smith's point of view he made an excellent acquisition in the form of retaining Darren Sproles through use of the franchise tag (buying himself time to negotiate a long term deal). AJ added to the team.

Now LT was not a free agent but the minute it was decided that his salary hindered the Chargers' future plans (signing Rivers, et al.) he became expendable and was viewed as a Cap-Casualty thus an ex-Charger. What has AJ done? He added a RB, who wasn't supposed to be here, to his roster....... at the price-tag he desired. How tricky..... AJ added a player during the Free Agency signing period.

Remember Kris Diehlman's free agency a couple years back? He shopped his services but ultimately returned to sign a new contract with the Chargers. AJ considered that a free agent addition.

This was a calculated gamble on AJ's part and he did his absolute best to blow it by insulting LT and making him feel unwanted. This team would have taken a step backwards had we lost LT and then felt compelled to use our 1st round pick on a running back. Disaster averted.....

Let's cross our fingers for Rey Maualuga.....

[Chargers.com]
Chargers, Tomlinson agree on new three-year contract

[SI.com]
Jim Trotter: LT, Bolts agree to restructured 3-year deal

[SD Union-Tribune]
Tomlinson agrees to restructured deal with Chargers

...oh yea...the Chargers also added ex-Dallas LB Kevin Burnett. Read all about it...

AJ Smith: Front Runner for 2009 Douche of the Year

You can click both excerpts to view the entire articles from the Union Tribune but the meat is found below with intriguing comments by AJ Smith in Gold and a statement from LT's website in Blue. My assessment is that AJ Smith is a cocksucker....what's yours?

Union Tribune Article by Nick Canepa (Thursday 1/22)...Click Here For Full Text

The talk about the Chargers now centers on LT, and whether he'll be back next year, and partner Darren Sproles, who is an unrestricted free agent, and whether he'll return. But the Chargers are starting to talk contract with Rivers, whose deal expires after the 2009 season. And if they don't get him signed, they can have 10 running backs and it isn't likely to matter.

Smith has some tough decisions to make. Rivers might be one – if Smith didn't have a brain, and he does. Think he would have allowed Drew Brees to walk if he didn't have Rivers around?

“You think I wouldn't like to have Michael Turner around or Darren Sproles tied up for six years?” Smith says. “It's like I'm penalized for drafting. I try to sign guys to keep the window going, but sometimes an agent is going to say, 'Let's look around.' Kris Dielman did. I was sick. But he eventually signed back with us.

“I'm not looking forward to the things I have to do. I know bullets and shells are coming. It goes with the job. I'm aware of the community. I know what the pulse is, and I'm not afraid of it. I know I'm not 100 percent right. I'm not good at community relations. I know they're going to hate me. Nothing I can do about it.

“We're not good enough yet. I have to do a better job. We'll probably miss the playoffs along the way. That's how it is. It's on me.”

It's on him, all right. To keep Philip Rivers salaried – and standing upright.

What a freakin' crybaby! We have a diva GM....the next article excerpt is really bad, as in condescending and DICKED....

Union Tribune Article by Kevin Acee (Wednesday 1/21)...Click Here For Full Text

A.J. ON LT

Smith empathized, yet was typically unmoved by the sentiments expressed by LaDainian Tomlinson on his Web site Wednesday.

Tomlinson's statement was actually not anything different than what he had said in previous weeks on the topic of his time in San Diego possibly coming to an end.

The statement read:

“I have been getting a lot of messages on my site regarding me leaving San Diego. I feel that I need to make it very clear that I have NO intentions of leaving San Diego. San Diego is where my career started and where I'd like it to end. I have nothing but love and the upmost (sic) respect for this team, the players, and the Spanos Family. Me being traded is completely out of my hands. I have ABSOLUTELY no control in that decision making. All I can do is wait and see how it all plays out. As for now, I am a Charger and will be until I am told otherwise.”

Smith, who has acknowledged he is contemplating whether to release or trade Tomlinson or renegotiate his contract, was later asked about Tomlinson's statement.

“My first reaction was we both have similar feelings,” Smith said. “I have no intentions of leaving San Diego. San Diego is where my GM career started and where I'd like it to end. I also have nothing but love and the utmost respect for this team, the players and the Spanos family. I have absolutely no control over how long I will be with the Chargers.

“As for now, I am the Chargers' GM, and I have major decisions to ponder for the organization now and in the future. My recommendation to Dean Spanos will be what's in the best interest of the team – both short and long term. That's my job. That's what Dean hired me to do.”

If you're going to cut a San Diego Icon and future Hall of Famer at least do the guy right on his way out the door. LT doesn't deserve to be treated like this. If he's done he's done but you don't have to be a douche AJ!

Any thoughts?

The City of San Diego's Financial Woes/ Mayor Honors Debt

Our Mayor, Jerry Sanders, honoring the terms of his bet with Pittsburgh Mayor, Luke Ravenstahl (he who purportedly has legally changed his name to Steelerstahl). What a way to end the season.

We see that it is a Santonio Holmes Jersey........Matt Wilhelm would probably take it off the Mayor's hands.

Restructure your contract LT.

The Future of LT

Yesterday we posted an article by Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated regarding the upheaval surrounding the potential release of LT due to Salary Cap Restrictions. LT is under contract for the next three seasons. If he is here next year his cap # is roughly $ 9 million and if he is cut he would count roughly $2 million against the cap. I am not a "cap-o-logist"...... but what we do know is that the difference in cash flow---almost $7million--- could be used to shore up the considerable number of holes that became evident this season.

Do we cut a certain Hall of Famer just shy of his 3oth birthday even though we know that, historically speaking, there is evidence that NFL running backs provide diminishing returns after this magical number?

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

With one caveat.....LT must meet behind closed doors with AJ Smith and attempt to restructure his contract. This act alone would show LT's commitment to a possible Superbowl championship by freeing up money that could greatly help the San Diego Chargers plug holes. If there is not a restructuring of the contract we could be in for a similar type season for the Chargers in '09 or worse......LT running the ball for a rival and thriving.

I will make a guarantee..... LT is not done!

Not all running backs are created equal. Despite the rapidly approaching 30 year old status we will be able to assign to LT, let us consider a couple of things:

• 2007.....LT's injury was a knee SPRAIN. No reconstruction of any sort. I had a bad knee sprain and couldn't even think of touching the field for 3 weeks....5-6 weeks until I started to feel comfortable. I will take LT's word that he couldn't go in the AFCCG last year.
• He's a hard worker...we knew that he would work his tail off over the off season to prove the naysayers wrong....see Deion Sanders, jagov extraordinaire!
• 2008 Opener against Carolina..... He looked fantastic with BURST, until he jammed his toe. Toe's can be a "mother", ask jagov extraordinaire, Deion Sanders.

Look at this fucking asshole...how did he get a network job?

• As season progressed, the toe slowly got better and against Denver (not the strongest D) he looked great until he torqued in a strange way while scoring a TD and tore his groin up solid.
• ??????

Who is LT's Idol?

Jim Brown's rushing record broken....I was there.

That's right, Walter Payton. Walter Payton was one of the hardest workers of his time as LT is today. LT will factor in to next season because he feeds off of the naysayers...he wants to prove them wrong. It's dangerous to become too sentimental as a sports fan because we run the risk of demanding that the Chargers hold on to players who could be detrimental to our long term success. That is not the case here. This is not a Tony Gwynn situation where we kept a player who was physically done to ensure he would finish his career here. LT is not done. Nor is he a back that can rush 300 times per year anymore.

LT!!! Take a pay adjustment and begin more of a committee approach with a resigned Sproles, a more mature Hester and a possible running back of the future (either through trade: Michael Bush or via the 2009 Draft's middle rounds). LT is no Shaun Alexander so we needn't worry about that. We will rue the day that LT leaves but we also need him to accommodate the team so we can make the necessary improvements. He does have enough side deals where he should be able to offset any monetary loss due to a restructured contract.....

Chunky/NO.......................Oggi's/YES

A Rapidly Deteriorating LT Situation

The passage below is from a Sports Illustrated.com article by Jim Trotter where by the issue of LT's return to the Chargers next season is discussed at length.

"Two things I always knew about my league, the NFL: You don't ask for favors, you don't hang around. A man might love the game, but the game loves no one. The game will use what he has, [then] discard him. The sh-- isn't personal." --Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, in his autobiography, Out of Bounds.

LaDainian Tomlinson was a rookie with the Chargers in 2001 when he read Brown's book. Asked later what resonated with him most, the former TCU star spoke about the aforementioned passage. Then he wrapped up his feelings by saying, in so many words: Pro football is a business; loyalty is a fantasy.

I am thinking about this one. Trying to remove emotion, to be rationale. I know what I want to say but find myself in a horribly awkward typing situation....so until that moment of keyboard comfort, and I set forth exactly what must be said in a closed doors meeting between AJ Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson......click the following link to read the rest of Jim Trotter's article which talks about football related material such as God, Man, and Crucifixion.......the following link.