Referee Ed Hochuli ... dumbest man in the NFL!

Referee Ed Hochuli clearly looks like the strongest referee in the NFL.

After Sunday, it’s safe to say he is all brawn and no brains.

Hochuli’s incompetent officiating clearly cost the San Diego Chargers a 39-38 loss at Denver.

All of America could plainly see Broncos’ quarterback Jay Cutler fumbled the ball away to San Diego in the game’s waning moments, which should have closed out a 38-31 win.

But Hochuli let his muscles get in the way of his vision by ruling it an incomplete pass and blowing his whistle; costing the Chargers the ball and blowing the game.

"That’s not acceptable," Chargers’ coach Norv Turner rightfully said more than once in the aftermath.

Oh, sure, the Chargers still could have held the Broncos from the 10 – or stopped a two-point conversion – to win the game a second time.

But once you’ve won the game, why have to win it a second time?

And what was with the instant replay not working in the first quarter?

All of America could see on TV replays that San Diego’s Chris Chambers was obviously down after catching a pass. Hochuli’s crew called it an interception, which was news to TV viewers but not the incompetency in the replay booth.

That was bad enough. Hochuli’s ridiculous call at the end was the worst thing some of us have since the Holy Roller 30 years ago by the Oakland Raiders.

There’s no excuse for Hochuli’s incompetency ... or the Chargers’ 0-2 start!

Pittsburgh Steelers: Clubhouse leader in the AFC?

Let’s see now:

You can stick a fork in the New England Patriots without Tom Brady.

The Indianapolis Colts looked horrible against the Chicago Bears, even with Peyton Manning.

The San Diego Chargers will miss greatly Shawne Merriman on an already beleaguered defense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t even beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.

So who does that leave as the early frontrunner in the AFC?

How about the Pittsburgh Steelers …

Few people are talking about the Ben Roethlisberger-led Steelers; this less than three seasons after their Super Bowl victory.

But with all the “powerhouses” in the AFC falling around them, Pittsburgh could once again figure in the hunt at the end.

One week does not a season make … but it makes the once-dominating AFC seem like a weakened bunch in 2008.

Weekend Predictions:
Chargers 24, Denver 13
San Jose State 31, San Diego State 23

Manny Ramirez sure energizes the Dodgers!

Does Manny Ramirez energize the Los Angeles Dodgers, or what?

His 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 37 games as a Dodger speak volumes.

But what he’s injected into younger players … specifically Andre Ethier … may be even more impressive than Manny’s personal numbers.

What has Ethier accomplished in the 12 games he’s been batting in front of Manny?

How about hitting .500 with eight doubles, two triples, 14 RBIs, nine walks and 15 runs scored …

Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully put it quite succinctly on the most recent Dodgers telecast. He noted than when Ethier was asked why he was so hot, the answer was one word/name: “Manny.”

(Sorry, our apologies go out to Jeff Kent for such a statement!)

Manny is rubbing off on Ethier in other ways. For instance, Ethier was spotted in the Dodger dugout during their most recent victory wearing a Manny wig.

The Dodgers are having fun … Manny is leading the way.

It could be a tough combination to beat in October from a team that may win its division with barely a .500 record.

The line isn't good on the Chargers

Some of us still remember that old high school cheer, “Hold that line.”

In a nutshell, that’s exactly what’s wrong with the Chargers.

The reason they lost to Carolina, 26-24, on opening day Sunday was simple: The Panthers beat up the Chargers on both the offensive and defensive lines.

The Panthers averaged 4.9 yards per rush against a weakened Chargers defense, even without the benefit of a breakaway run to inflate the statistics.

And when the Chargers had the ball, they certainly weren’t as effective up front without injured center Nick Hardwick and tackle Marcus McNeill.

Also, we discovered that people who don’t play in the exhibition season because of nagging injuries aren’t going to be effective from the start.

How else do you explain Jamal Williams and Shawne Merriman only being in on two tackles apiece?

And even Antonio Gates, despite his late 24-yard touchdown reception, looked rusty as he still recovers from last season’s toe injury.

The Chargers need to make a quick recovery when they go to Denver this week, otherwise they will find themselves 0-2 in what is supposed to be a Super Bowl season.

The redeeming factor?

The AFC West is so weak that the Chargers could likely win it by going 8-8 or 9-7.

Chargers should at least make it to Super Bowl

Injuries aside, and there are plenty of them, the Chargers should finally make it to the Super Bowl this season.

They have an incredibly weak schedule with six games against their own AFC West division, four against the AFC East and four vs. the NFC South.

Even when you throw in games against Pittsburgh and Indianapolis since the Chargers are playing a first-place schedule; this season has 12-4 or 13-3 written all over it for San Diego.

Here are division-by-division predictions:

AFC West
San Diego
Oakland
Denver
Kansas City

AFC East
New England
New York Jets
Buffalo
Miami

AFC North
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Baltimore
Cincinnati

AFC South
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Jacksonville
Houston

AFC Wild Cards: Tennessee, Cleveland

NFC West
Seattle
Arizona
San Francisco
St. Louis

NFC East
Dallas
Philadelphia
New York Giants
Washington

NFC North
Green Bay
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit

NFC South
Carolina
New Orleans
Tampa Bay
Atlanta

NFC Wild Cards: Philadelphia, New Orleans

AFC Championship: San Diego (finally) over New England
NFC Championship: Dallas over Philadelphia
Super Bowl: Dallas over San Diego

NL West has seen worse days than now

So you think the NL West is terrible this season?

Maybe so, but it’s not as weak as it was three years ago.

Consider the standings after Sept. 1, 2008; compared to what they were in 2005:

2008
WEST
W
L
PCT
GB
Arizona
70
67
.511
-
LA Dodgers
68
70
.493
2.5
Colorado
65
74
.468
6
San Francisco
59
78
.431
11
San Diego
53
84
.387
17

2005
WEST
W
L
PCT
GB
San Diego
67
66
.504
-
LA Dodgers
61
72
.459
6
Arizona
61
74
.452
7
San Francisco
59
73
.447
7.5
Colorado
52
81
.391
15

As you can see, at least there’s a “race” to the finish this season (which is more than happened in 2005.)

But this time, the Padres aren’t going to win it. And same as last time, nobody deserves to win … but somebody has to!

(* Thanks so much to David A. West of Biola University for information used in this blog.)

Milwaukee Brewers need to quit crying

The Milwaukee Brewers need to quit crying over whether CC Sabathia pitched a no-hitter Sunday in Pittsburgh.

There are two reasons Andy LaRoche’s leadoff single in the fifth inning deserved to be called an infield hit:

No. 1: Sabathia tried to bare-hand the ball. Whenever somebody does that, it means they know there is a 50-50 chance at best of getting the runner.

If every player was given an error who tries to bare-hand a ball, Major League Baseball would need to change its scoring rules and call hundreds of more errors each season on such plays.

No. 2: Sabathia is left-handed. He not only needed to pick up the ball; he needed to turn his body to make the throw (it would have been much easier for a right-hander.)

There’s even a third compelling reason not to change the call. Had the play been ruled an error, the Pirates may have played the game differently from then on in an attempt to get a hit.

(Perhaps someone could have tried for a bunt single to break up a no-hitter; such as Ben Davis of the Padres did years ago vs. Curt Schilling of the Padres; or Steve Garvey of the Dodgers did vs. San Diego’s Bob Owchinko in the late 1970s.)

The Brewers are a great team. Here’s hoping they win the World Series ... and quit crying about a one-hitter by Sabathia that should stay that way!