How to be greedy and lose in the NFL

So it’s official. The San Diego Chargers’ will have fewer wins in 2007 than they did last year. Their 2006 record was 14-2, with their 30-16 loss today to the Kansas City Chiefs they drop to 1-3 on the season.

The number one reason for this change, the replacement of Marty Schottenheimer with Norv Turner. For those of you not famiilar with the NFL, Marty has historically been a very winning coach, but not able to win (or even get to) a Super Bowl. He is notorious for playing Marty Ball, a conservative offense that attempts to rely amlost completely on the running game. Although Marty has been chastized throughout his career his style, the team in San Diego with LaDainian Tomlinson at running back, fit his schema extremely well.

At the end of last season, after leading his team to a 13-2 season and losing a playoff game to the consistently difficult New England Patriots. For his efforts, Schottenheimer got the boot. The ownership in San Diego replaced him with the consistently poor Norv Turner, pulling off a maneuver similar to what Tampa Bay accomplished in 2002 by firing Tony Dungy and hiring Jon Gruden (another team that has since become a parody of itself).

Now, four games into the 2007 season, it is amazingly clear that this change was not a good move by the Chargers. San Diego has fallen from being a powerhouse, to the joke of the AFC West. The NFL Playoffs are so difficult, and the AFC is so competitive right now with teams like the Steelers, Colts and Patriots, firing someone for a playoff loss is ridiculous and greedy. I’ve never been a big fan of Marty, but the San Diego Chargers are missing their best chance to have a good quality season, increase attendance and fan loyalty and generally build on the excitement of last year.

In a modern NFL that is all about the money, sometimes I wonder who makes decisions like this. Is the ownership so dedicated to ‘winning’ that they will take a gamble like this? Is a Super Bowl win so lucrative that it’s worth risking a possible losing season? What is their motivation? It’s really difficult to win the Super Bowl if you can’t even come up with a win in the regular season…

How to Kill a Jeep

OK, so here’s the video of the week. Actually, I’ve got a music pick of the week (I know, it’s been months since I did one), but haven’t written it yet.

This will have to tide you over. Great vid of the destruction of an XJ, even down to blowing up the 4.0, all set to a great Machine Head cover of Police’s Message in a Bottle.

Beware the Lady Ninjas

Wow, who would have ever thought this would happen, especially in Pennsylvania.

So it begins – first Sunday of the 2007 NFL Season

Today is the first Sunday of the 2007 NFL Football season.

Anyone who reads this blog consistently will know that I currently have two favorite teams. The Denver Broncos (always have to root for the home team) and the Indianapolis Colts (got to love Dungy and Manning).

If Denver can beat Buffalo today I will have have had a perfect opening weekend.

Insufficient Postage

As far as I’m concerned, the United States Postal Service serves two purposes.

The first is to deliver my monthly water bill to the city of Greeley.

The second is as a secondary delivery service for online vendors and ebay shippers that don’t use Fed-Ex or UPS.

As a result I don’t buy many stamps. With the postal rate CONSTANTLY changing, this sometimes is a problem.

Recently I had to send a personal letter, payment for some candles I ordered from my good friend Marti Jo (I know, candles aren’t very manly, but thats another story).

When I sent this letter I used some stamps I had that were clearly marked “First Class’. A few days later I recieved my letter back marked “Additional Postage Required”.

Additional Postage Required???? I sent first class letter, the stamp was clearly marked “First Class”, why didn’t they honor this stamp???

I know, I know, they raised the rates here recently, but as a none postal employee I’m not really up on the postage rates.

OK, fine, so I go to the post office to buy some 1 cent (2 cent, whatever) stamps so I can use my previous stamps, that I am assuming are the 39 cent variety. Of course, their automated machine that sells stamps doesn’t show anything small denomination.

So, I have to either go to the post office, stand in line, and buy a dollar’s worth of 1 cent stamps, or just use some old 34 centers I already have.

Bottom line, it cost me 63 cents to send that letter to Iowa, all because the post office wouldn’t deliver the letter with my First Class stamp…