Time for a pilgrimage...

San Diego, CA

It seems as if the Chargers that started the season 2-3 have charted a new course. The new-look Bolts have righted their ship, won six straight games, and set sail for Miami. The latest win, a 43-14 conquest over the Chiefs indigenous of Kansas City, seemed like an organized banquet for a hungry Chargers defense.

Although Thanksgiving has just passed us by, San Diegans must feel confident with their team owning a 9-0 record during the Christmas month under head coach Norv Turner. In a season that has celebrated so many Chargers of yesteryear, a veritable pilgrimage to The Big Game would be a welcome sight to more than just Gale Gilbert. It was he alone that suffered five straight Super Bowl defeats, (4 with Buffalo, then in '94 with SD) but it is now the ownership and Chargers fans together that agonize with each missed opening. It has been well chronicled over the past few years that San Diego has possibly the most talented team in the league, yet find themselves falling short in the playoffs year after year.

Falling short may be a dying trend for San Diego. Sunday, the Chargers got more than bargained for from their defensive unit. One which still ranks near the leagues worst in run blocking, and rests middle-of-the pack in almost every other defensive category. On this day four defensive take-aways led to 28 points for a potent San Diego offense. Coach Turner's squad scored a league high 43 points in the Week 12 win over Kansas City. The last five points could have easily been attributed to the defense as well. The Chargers forced a fourth-quarter safety, and the final field goal came as a result of the Chiefs ensuing kick-off. Coming off as a bit indifferent following one of their best statistical games of the season, defensive coordinator Ron Rivera's bunch, seem to feel certain there is still room for improvement.

"We can tackle better and we know we can get a better push in the middle," said linebacker Stephen Cooper. "When we do get to the quarterback, we know that we have to bring him down. We've missed quite a few sacks. We know that when we have the opportunity we still have to make plays. We know that we can get better."

As far as I'm concerned, that is exactly the kind of talk you want to hear from one of your team leaders. That veteran attitude is precisely what will propel the Chargers to greatness in the near future. San Diego is currently tied with Dallas for seventh in the NFL, recording 28 sacks. The Minnesota Vikings are first with 40 total sacks. Having men like Stephen Cooper in the lineup may shake up those statistics.

Now, again taking up the notion that San Diego has a genuine opportunity to reach the promised land this year, it will undoubtedly be in part to a balanced team. Everybody knows that football is a three part game. Offensive, defensive, and special teams units alike must be firing at full bore to compete on the biggest stage. With the sudden resurgence of the Chargers defense, it has almost been swept under the rug how well the other units are playing. San Diego has a superb special teams unit with Kassim Osgood, Jacob Hester, and the always timely kicking of punter Mike Scifres. As of late, you can add the Chargers run game to the mix. Playing on the Pacific shores, they seem to have found their sea legs once more.

LaDainian Tomlinson is cruising through milestones weekly. His 8 TDs are good for 7th in the league, and in the previous two weeks, L.T. has climbed over Marcus Allen and Edgerrin James, to take control of 10th place in the NFL's All-Time leading rushers list. His 12,257 career rushing yards (8 years) are a scant 22 yards behind Marshall Faulk and tread on the heels of the great Jim Brown by 55 yards. Brown, who inhabits the 8th spot on the All-Time list, is a special assistant coach to the Cleveland Browns. He will most likely be in attendance for next Sunday's matchup.

The 1-10 Browns maintain one of the leagues worst records. To spread the icing on the cake, Tomlinson will surely play inspired football with one of his longtime mentors watching from across the gridiron. A 29th ranked Browns run-defense will be hard pressed to stop him.

L.T. photo credits- Chris Carlson/AP

Wigan players to refund and rebound

White Hart Lane, Tottenham

In the wake of Tottenham's biggest Premier League win, and biggest win in 32 years, the Wigan Latics are paying up. The Wigan Athletics players have decided to personally refund each Latics fan who purchased tickets at the DW Stadium box office for their last match at Tottenham Hotspur. The 9-1 drubbing at the hands of the Spurs prompted the players to do something bold. Skipper Mario Melchiot making an announcement on behalf of all the players said,

"We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday, and this is a gesture we HAVE TO make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty." He then added, "We are professionals, we will take it on the chin and move on but it's important that we do not take our supporters for granted."

England's Jermain Defoe who scored five, yes 5, of the nine goals netted by Tottenham in the second-half scoring frenzy. After notching his first goal in the 51st minute, Defoe quickly completed his hat-trick a mere seven minutes later. It was the fastest hat-trick in Premier League play since Robbie Fowler scored 3 goals in four minutes for Liverpool against The Gunners in 1994. The incredible task also moved him up to the top spot in goals scored (12) in front of both Drogba (10) of Chelsea and Fernando Torres (10) of Liverpool.

"The lads can't believe it," said Defoe. "If you look at the finishing, all the goals were unbelievable. I looked over at the manager and he looked shocked as well. It's like a dream, it's brilliant."

Not so brilliant for the Latics, who must try and redeem themselves in a home match against Sunderland on Saturday. Roberto Martinez explained his team would play straight away if they had the chance, in trying to erase the memory of the White Hart Lane struggle. "Mentally it's important that we're not fragile and that we're ready to compete as we've always been at home," said the gaffer. "More than anything it's a case of giving a straight reaction, nothing complicated, to last weekend's result and make sure the fans see that reaction. The players need to have that mental strength to cope with the disappointment, and that will be a big test for us."

Is LA ready for fútbol?

Burbank, CA

As the LA Galaxy battled club Real Salt Lake on Sunday evening in front of 46,000 screaming fans, another group of fans made noise back home. Landon Donovan, David Beckham and the lot played for the MLS Cup Final over 1,000 miles from Los Angeles at Seattle's Qwest Field. Meanwhile back in so-cal, the Burbank Bar and Grill, just 26 miles from Home Depot center was brimming with Galaxy fans. This particular party was set up by Galaxy Ambassador Steve Lasse, who plans on hosting regular viewings at this same venue for each Galaxy away game during the upcoming 2010 season. It was one of five major viewing parties arranged in the greater Los Angeles area, while thousand of others surely watched the match from their homes. According to Nielsen ratings it was seen in well over 850,000 homes.

Mike Magee tallied the matches first goal in the 42nd minute, assisted by Donovan and Beckham. During the halftime intermission minutes later, there were raffle give-aways of Galaxy hats, jerseys, and tickets for their March 25th home opener vs. New England. Also, in characteristic LA fashion, one could not entirely escape the Hollywood scene. One small section featured a short film screening that overtook the games audio for the maiden minutes of the second half. Upon the short films conclusion the cast and crew all chanted "Ga-lax-y, Ga-lax-y, Ga-lax-y!", and toasted the fans for their patience. Not much long after, Real Salt Lake tied the game on a goal by Findley in the 66th minute. It was the by-product of a blocked shot in the penalty area off the foot of Real's Yura Movsisyan. The equalizer prompted the game to head into two overtime periods, and 7 rounds of penalty kicks.

Although a startling and rare missed PK by Galaxy captain Landon Donovan opened the door for what became the eventual championship winner by Robbie Russell, soccer is positively on the rise in southern California. Both in between the touch lines, and the turn-styles alike, Los Angeles is priming for major success.

"PKs are one of those things where anyone can miss it, and anyone can make it", said Russell of Donovan's miss. "You look at some of the greatest players in the world. They've missed PKs."

Donovan the regular season league MVP and winner of three MLS Cup Championships already falls into that category. Some fans at the BBG agreed with Russell's comments. One Galaxy fan, Ignacio, of Burbank wondered, "Why we can't go back to the Golden Goal rules?", referring to the sudden-death type of ending that has been around in years past. It is also similar to how a playoff hockey game ends in the NHL. Most critics of the Golden Goal rules however, argue that teams relied too heavily on a defensive style of play. Thus leading to excruciatingly long overtime periods.

Whether the games end on PK or Golden Goals, the game is here to stay in LA. Maybe next time you hear someone talking about billionaire Ed Roski and his City of Industry stadium concept, you should think of fútbol instead of football. Or at least tune into what is sure to become LA's next hot ticket. This MLS Championship may have gone to Utah but it is here in the southland that soccer is really surging.

Fan photo credits: Brandon Vondera

Findley & Movsisyan credits: AP Photos