Weekend Fizzle

The San Diego Chargers are again saying that it was “a few little things” and that “we just did not finish” that caused them to lose the game yesterday. At least I didn’t hear “we know what to do and we’ll do it” as we tended to hear under Norv Turner.

The Chargers were outgained on the ground by 170 yards to 102 yards. We were outpassed by 299 yards to 184 yards. Tennessee ran 68 plays to our 53. We gave up 299 passing yards to a team that passed for 246 yards in its two previous games combined, and surrendered 170 rushing yards to a team with a previous high of 119 yards.

Their quarterback ran for 68 yards, while our star running back, Ryan Matthews, ran for 58 yards. Locker did it on 5 carries, Matthews needed 16 carries for ten fewer yards, and his longest run was 8 yards to 39 for Locker. Locker is their quarterback.

Those things are not “few” nor are they “little.” Those things are dismal. It was not as close as the score would seem to imply; we were thoroughly trounced in every aspect of the game.

A happier fizzle occurred on San Francisco Bay yesterday. New Zealand needed only one win to take home the America’s Cup trophy and they didn’t get it. Oracle USA won both races, and won them with enough margin to make it seem quite possible that they might pull off four more in a row for the successful defense.

I am still not happy with what they have done to this contest, but the racing has been better than I anticipated, and the coverage is simply spectacular. NBC Sports is doing a lovely job of persentation, and the announcers are delightful. There are downsides to presenting it in the confined waters of the Golden Gate, but what a treat for spectators it has provided! Overall, a good decision.

LSU did not fizzle, and it is beginning to look like they might be a legitimate contender to unseat the Crimson Tide. Maybe I’m just being sentimental, but the Tide is looking a tad vulnerable right now.

The SDSU Aztecs, on the other hand, added to the weekend fizzle. With an upset in the making, they throw two interceptions in the last three minutes and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

It's not even October yet, I know that because my wall calender is still on August, and they are predicting a Santa Ana wind for tomorrow. For those who don't know, that is a wind out of the desert and it can, and often does, bring wildfires. Bad ones.