After an impressive win over the Arizona Cardinals last weekend, many San Diego Chargers fans are excited for the team’s chances to make the playoffs this season. As Thursday night’s 41-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers proved, San Diego will need its starters to stay healthy to finish with a winning record. The team will also need its star players to perform up to expectations.
NFL teams have until 3 p.m. Pacific on Saturday to cut their rosters down to 53 players. The Chargers cut 11 players Friday, leaving 11 open roster spots left. When deciding which players to keep and which to let go, versatility will be key.
With the Chargers season starting in 10 days, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the emotions of tomorrow’s cut day. However, it’s important to remember that these players are real people and, if they get cut, they’ve just lost their jobs. Please be mindful and sensitive of that before posting your reaction to the cuts on the internet.
You’re reading the Sports Report, our weekly compilation of news and information for the San Diego sports fan.
Local Little Leaguers Make San Diego and Tijuana Proud
There was hope for a Little League World Series finale between the teams from Eastlake (Chula Vista) and Tijuana, but it was not to be. The team from Japan, who’s won the championship three of the last four seasons, escaped from their matchup against the team from Mexico with a narrow victory and then defeated the Eastlake team after an exciting game. With all that has been going on in San Diego politics, and with the MLB fighting a performance-enhancing drug scandal, watching these youngsters represent their hometowns and play the game the right way was a much-needed breath of fresh air.
NFL Wins Big in $765M Settlement with Ex-Players
The first thing that many people thought when they heard that the NFL had come to a settlement worth $765 million with thousands of ex-players in the concussion lawsuit was that it was a lot of money for the NFL to be paying out. Luckily, we have Bill Barnwell from Grantland to explain to us how the NFL was the actual winner. Considering how much money the NFL makes on a yearly basis, the players deserved a lot more than they got. I supposed something is better than nothing, but that’s about the only bright spot for the plaintiffs.
Gary Plummer, a former teammate of ex-Chargers player Junior Seau, told USA Today he thinks Seau’s 2012 suicide helped move the NFL to settle.
Local Sports Stories You May Have Missed
• Pablo “Bronco” Armenta, a lightweight boxer from south San Diego with a bright future, died on Wednesday in Tijuana.
• Winding down the end of a miserable season, the Padres opted to keep Chase Headley for the remainder of the season when they pulled him back off of waivers after he was claimed. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin’s season is over as he heads toward yet another knee surgery.
• GIF of the Week: The Chargers, on the Cardinals’ one-yard line, fumbled away a touchdown … only to have it fumbled right back to them for one of the oddest touchdowns in NFL history.
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Correction: An earlier version of the post had outdated information about the number of roster cuts. We regret the error.
I’m John Gennaro, contributor to Active Voice and managing editor of Bolts from the Blue. You can tweet me @john_gennaro or e-mail me directly at boltsfromtheblue@gmail.com.
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