Compubolt
11-11-2005, 10:28 AM
News, notes and comments:
Escondido resident Steve Karges is a very loyal Chargers fan.
Karges, who heads a program called Children's Ministries International, was in Amman, Jordan last Sunday and was hoping to find a television network that aired the Chargers' game against the New York Jets.
Karges left the country the day before three hotels were bombed by terrorists, and didn't know about the attack until he landed in San Francisco early Thursday morning. Karges stayed in a hotel owned by a Jordanian about three miles from the hotels in question.
We are all glad the 1976 Orange Glen High grad is back home safely. When not performing his ministerial duties, Karges is a freelance writer for the Chargers' Web site and game-day program.
"On the way home from London, I wrote that Jordan is a safe country surrounded by turmoil, so I'm going to have to change that," he said.
After checking with the Chargers and the NFL in New York, Karges was told that the Chargers game wouldn't be showed in the region. But during the seminar at the Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, Karges asked one of the school's secretaries if she could help him find it. Much to his delight, the secretary learned that the game was available on something called the Middle East Television Network.
"The network is broadcast out of Cyprus, so the big problem was to see if there was someone who had a TV dish," Karges said.
That turned out to be no problem at all. A computer expert at the college figured out that the school's satellite could get the network.
"The game started at 8 at night, so myself and another American and two students who spoke Arabic watched the game in the school's cafeteria. The students didn't understand the game, but they liked the commercials," Karges said, laughing.
He said they noticed a commercial for Pizza Hut, so Karges ordered pizza and shared it with his friends.
"I pointed to my shirt with the lightning bolt and said, 'That's my team,' " Karges said. "They thought we were a little off when we cheered and breathed a sigh of relief after the Chargers won."
# The Padres announced Thursday that they won't increase ticket prices. My reaction: Since it looks like the 2006 team will be without Trevor Hoffman, Ramon Hernandez and Brian Giles, the fans will find it difficult to get their money's worth.
Unless the Padres do something drastic, I can't see them winning 82 games next year, let alone being a contender.
# During a conversation with Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards, he listed all the injuries he has overcome during his playing career. The popular Edwards said the biggest bruise he suffered all week was UCLA's 52-14 loss to Arizona, ending the Bruins' hopes for a unbeaten season.
"What was that all about?" said Edwards. "That really hurt."
# Here's a tip of the hat to CIF commissioner Dennis Ackerman, who ruled against Mission Hills' bid to overturn forfeits for using ineligible players.
Sorry, Mission Hills. You don't get any sympathy from me. By the fourth game of the football season and the sixth week of practice, a school should know who is living in its district.
You can argue that the rule is excessive, but it was put in place to prevent parents from setting up bogus addresses for the purposes of getting eligibility.
It is the responsibility of the coach and administration to see that every player is eligible.
# Those who want to see the Chargers stay in San Diego can breathe a sigh of relief that Donna Frye did not win the mayor's race. The team will have a better chance of working out a deal with new mayor Jerry Sanders than Frye or her obstructionist friends like Bruce Henderson and city attorney Michael Aguirre.
That said, the Chargers are not helping their cause by criticizing Aguirre, calling him the Terrell Owens of San Diego. That is what special counsel Mark Fabiani did in a letter to the media that outlines in 26 pages all of Aguirre's inaccurate statements.
We are just getting over the mudslinging in the Frye-Sanders campaign. Can't cooler heads prevail so we can get on with the business of keeping the Chargers in San Diego?
Steve Scholfield is senior sports columnist for the North County Times. He can be reached at (760) 740-3509 or stevescho@cox.net.
Escondido resident Steve Karges is a very loyal Chargers fan.
Karges, who heads a program called Children's Ministries International, was in Amman, Jordan last Sunday and was hoping to find a television network that aired the Chargers' game against the New York Jets.
Karges left the country the day before three hotels were bombed by terrorists, and didn't know about the attack until he landed in San Francisco early Thursday morning. Karges stayed in a hotel owned by a Jordanian about three miles from the hotels in question.
We are all glad the 1976 Orange Glen High grad is back home safely. When not performing his ministerial duties, Karges is a freelance writer for the Chargers' Web site and game-day program.
"On the way home from London, I wrote that Jordan is a safe country surrounded by turmoil, so I'm going to have to change that," he said.
After checking with the Chargers and the NFL in New York, Karges was told that the Chargers game wouldn't be showed in the region. But during the seminar at the Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, Karges asked one of the school's secretaries if she could help him find it. Much to his delight, the secretary learned that the game was available on something called the Middle East Television Network.
"The network is broadcast out of Cyprus, so the big problem was to see if there was someone who had a TV dish," Karges said.
That turned out to be no problem at all. A computer expert at the college figured out that the school's satellite could get the network.
"The game started at 8 at night, so myself and another American and two students who spoke Arabic watched the game in the school's cafeteria. The students didn't understand the game, but they liked the commercials," Karges said, laughing.
He said they noticed a commercial for Pizza Hut, so Karges ordered pizza and shared it with his friends.
"I pointed to my shirt with the lightning bolt and said, 'That's my team,' " Karges said. "They thought we were a little off when we cheered and breathed a sigh of relief after the Chargers won."
# The Padres announced Thursday that they won't increase ticket prices. My reaction: Since it looks like the 2006 team will be without Trevor Hoffman, Ramon Hernandez and Brian Giles, the fans will find it difficult to get their money's worth.
Unless the Padres do something drastic, I can't see them winning 82 games next year, let alone being a contender.
# During a conversation with Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards, he listed all the injuries he has overcome during his playing career. The popular Edwards said the biggest bruise he suffered all week was UCLA's 52-14 loss to Arizona, ending the Bruins' hopes for a unbeaten season.
"What was that all about?" said Edwards. "That really hurt."
# Here's a tip of the hat to CIF commissioner Dennis Ackerman, who ruled against Mission Hills' bid to overturn forfeits for using ineligible players.
Sorry, Mission Hills. You don't get any sympathy from me. By the fourth game of the football season and the sixth week of practice, a school should know who is living in its district.
You can argue that the rule is excessive, but it was put in place to prevent parents from setting up bogus addresses for the purposes of getting eligibility.
It is the responsibility of the coach and administration to see that every player is eligible.
# Those who want to see the Chargers stay in San Diego can breathe a sigh of relief that Donna Frye did not win the mayor's race. The team will have a better chance of working out a deal with new mayor Jerry Sanders than Frye or her obstructionist friends like Bruce Henderson and city attorney Michael Aguirre.
That said, the Chargers are not helping their cause by criticizing Aguirre, calling him the Terrell Owens of San Diego. That is what special counsel Mark Fabiani did in a letter to the media that outlines in 26 pages all of Aguirre's inaccurate statements.
We are just getting over the mudslinging in the Frye-Sanders campaign. Can't cooler heads prevail so we can get on with the business of keeping the Chargers in San Diego?
Steve Scholfield is senior sports columnist for the North County Times. He can be reached at (760) 740-3509 or stevescho@cox.net.