Those Fires

Hope all who check in on this blog and their families are safe from the horrible fires that are wreaking havoc all over Southern California right now.  I initially thought these weren’t as devastating as the ones that broke out in 2003, but now I’ve got to say they’ve pulled pretty close to even.  Prayers to all that have been affected.

Magic Time

After years of threatening to do so, I finally got me a Disneyland Annual Pass.  I’ve already gone there twice in the two weeks I’ve had it.  It was great to hear that the jokes on The Jungle Cruise haven’t changed since I was 7.  Good times.

What Are You Watching?

Anyone pick up any of the new shows?  I tried “Bionic Woman.”  Not too impressed, sadly.  The lead was rather boring to watch.  Now “Pushing Daisies.”  That show looks weird and trippy enough to give it a spin.

Heck, for that matter, am I the only one that watches TV these days?

Stay Stupid, San Diego

So, as a Charger fan, is it too early to ask for coach Norv Turner and defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell to be fired?  I say no.

When the Bolts hired the Norvil Turner Underdrive (not my joke) to be there coach, I knew that he was so insipid, so ill-equipped, such an utterly proven failure as head guy, that he would lead the talent-laden Chargers (a team brimming with Pro-Bowlers) to a 10-6 record and a first-round playoff exit.  Well, it appears I have set my expectations way too lofty, as they are now 1-3 and in last place in their division.   Thanks, Norv!

Look, he’s probably a nice guy off the field, and he’s really good when he’s just a coordinator or a positions coach (he did shape Troy Aikman, after all).  But he flat-out sucks as a head coach.  He’s horrible.  Everywhere he’s gone before, the team he’s in charge of becomes a wreck by the time he gets the ax.  ESPN’s Bill Simmons actually put together a checklist of things that will occur to a team that Turner coaches.  They are: 1.  Guys arguing on the sidelines; 2. Embarrassig losses at home; 3. QB getting sacked and throwing the ball up for grabs; 4. Just an ungodly amount of penalties; 5. Steady stream of excuses; 6. Players taking veiled shots at the coaching staff; 7. General malaise and dissatisfaction within the fan base; 8. Local columnists taking shots at him; 9. Big coaching name looming in the background as a replacement.  Out of all those 9 things, only 4 and 9 have not happened yet, although it should be noted that at the end of the first half in which Turner completely botched the use of his time outs, color analyst Randy Cross openly asked if he thought Bill Cowher may have used the time outs differently.  Yep, 7 out of 9 classic Turner maneuvers, and baseball’s postseason hasn’t even begun.  Unbelievable.

Of course, Turner’s not the only coach that sucks here.  Ted Cottrell is everything former defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was not (hint:  Phillips was good at what he did).  Case in point:  Last week, with the Chargers up on the Packers with around two minutes to go in the game, the Pack run a slant-in pattern.  Cottrell had all of his secondary playing within 10 to 15 yards of the line of scrimmage, so when Favre connected with Driver on a 15 yard slant, Driver was already ahead of every Charger defender.  Touchdown Packers.  This week, with the game tied at 16 in the fourth quarter, Cottrell called the same exact defensive formation.  The result?  The same damn thing, except the quarterback wasn’t Brett Favre, it was the the ever so dangerous Damon Freakin’ Huard.  Did I mention that Phillips is now the coach of the 4-0 Dallas Cowboys?

So I like to thank Charger owner Alex Spanos and and Charger GM A.J. Smith for completely ruining this season six weeks after the previous season finished.  That’s gotta be some sort of record.  The most telling event of the game?  The entire Charger crowd chanting “Marty!  Marty!” as the last two minutes of the game ran out.  Somewhere, Marty Schottenheimer has to be laughing his head off.  At least, I certainly hope he is.