Postgame Games...Join the Fun!

Ever watch Postgame and hear a word like: "dumpling, alligator, pineapple, pepper or sucker" and think to yourself: "How did Jenny/John/Steve work in such a word? Very cleaver, folks!"

Okay, fine... you probably didn't say that, ever. However, you probably scratched your head and asked, "Why are they using those words!"

It's just a little fun we are having on the scenic shots when we come back from break. John, Steve or I give our co-anchor a word to try and fit into their intro back to the show. And now we are letting you in on the fun.

Send us a "word" idea and tune into Postgame weeknights M-F to see if your word makes it. Think PG words! Email words to: 4sdpostgame@cox.net

San Diego MEB- behind the scenes

Many San Diegans know how to pronounce 2009 NYC Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi's name. As we quickly learned over the weekend (thanks to The Colbert Report) the rest of America doesn't seem to know where to begin with "Keflezighi."

(See Colbert Report in full - 4 minutes in)

In fact, Steve Quis just shared a great story with me about one his first weekend's as an anchor in San Diego- he was on duty by himself and Meb just won a big race. Rather then fell foolish to ask someone the pronunciation and knowing better then to take a stab at it on-air, Quis coined the term "San Diego Meb."

Meb's story will be on Postgame tonight at 10PM...but here's a behind the scenes look at a very large turnout of media for "San Diego Meb":

Backstage with SP

Last night was Shaun Phillips' 2nd Annual Dodgeball Tournament to benefit the After-School All-Stars. Here is a sneak peak into tonight's "4th Down with Shaun Phillips"-- taped on location. Tune in every Tuesday at 10PM to Postgame on Channel 4 to see what SP is up to in the community and who he is gunning for on Sunday's.

Bolts Notes from Wednesday

Center Nick Hardwick was back on the practice field today, however, in a limited role...But a good sign nonetheless. He wore just a helmet and ran some limited drills with his fellow linemates. Hardwick suffered a severe ankle sprain in the season opener and had surgery to repair torn ligaments. Head Coach Norv Turner said that Nick was making progess, but that there is no time table for his return. Philip Rivers described his being on the field as "encouraging".
Hardwick's return was originally projected to be mid-to-late November and is likely still a game or two away.
In other news, when asked about the reps taken by receivers Malcolm Floyd and Chris Chambers, Turner said the two would split time this week during practice.

Behind the Scene with Ed Barnes

Sure, he may be the Game Producer here at Channel 4 for Padres telecasts, but Ed Barnes is so much more. He is a walking-talking book of stats and facts and he happens to house an internal database of youtube videos that are dubbed as: "must-sees."

This week I followed Ed on his way to the set to get a sneak peek of his Fantasy Football segment on Postgame (see it in it's entirety tonight at 10PM). Check out one of his many from a strong collection of novelty shirts. Enjoy!

Bye weeks are a pain in the butt

Nobody likes the bye week. Actually that's not true at all...players and coaches love'em. It gives the staff some extra time to game plan and it gives the players an extra week to let all those nagging injuries heal up.

But what about the rest of us?? Fans, and sportscasters, are left to mull over one single game for two whole weeks. Talk about a pain in the rear end. Come Thursday and Friday on a normal game week and we are already tired of the story lines that have been played out in the media. We just want the next game to start so we can enjoy something fresh. In a bye week it grows exponentially!

Case in point...how many times have you heard about this being a "must win" for the Bolts in the past 2 weeks? How many times have you heard that "the bye week came at a good time for the Chargers because they have been so dinged up"? How many times have you heard that this years Broncos "are the real deal"? About a hundred, right?

Believe me, as tired as you are hearing about, I'm more tired asking about it...and the players are practically feed up having to answer those questions.

So while I understand the importance and the value of the bye week, it doesn't make me like anymore...and I have hunch you know exactly how I feel.

P.S. Sorry to miss lead you with the Charger Girls photo...it was the only way I could get you to read my rant.

Was Ridding Hart the Only Answer?

Today the Chargers made their first significant move towards improving their defense. Or did they?

Safety Clinton Hart was cut by the Chargers after 5-plus seasons with the team. Will he leave as one of the most productive safeties in the past few years? Absolutely not, but the real question should be: Was Hart the only problem on the Bolts D significant enough to not just lose his starting role, but become a free agent over night?

After beginning the 2009 season with a 2-2 record and a defense ranked 26th in the league, changes had to be made. The Chargers are coming off a bye week and head into perhaps, the most significant game of the season against their undefeated division rivals, the Denver Broncos. The change expected was in the form of a trade and not a release. However, the Chargers filled Hart's roster spot, when they re-signed DT Ian Scott to try and add some depth to their injured stricken defensive line.

Despite performance problems (a BIG deal), Hart was a top notch leader, on and off the field. Always the first to take the blame for the defense not performing, ultimately he became the blame today with his release. I hate that a good guy was tagged with the franchise problem, but that's the way of the NFL... there are no points for being the hardest worker.

So, who is the answer for the vacant safety position? On the official depth chart, it appears to be Steve Gregory, but it's unknown if Gregory or Rookie Kevin Ellison (pictured right) will get the start on Monday night. Norv Turner told the media today there is plenty of time to make that decision. We know one thing for sure, Hart is gone, but remains to be seen if all the Chargers defensive problems follow.