By Gary Montgomery, BVN Sports –

It was obvious from the tone and intensity of his voice that Norv Turner was emotional after Sunday's win over the visiting Titans. No chance of mistaking Norv for Bill Belichick during his post game press conference. His answers were increasingly abrupt and succinct. When one of the Chargers beat reporters commented “you seem angry Norv.” Turner quickly fired back “no I’m not angry, I’m excited, I’m excited. I am excited for the guys out there making plays. Those guys worked their tails off to get this win. I’m excited for them.”

Turner deflected the question but his answers didn’t match his emotions in the most obvious ways. I suspect Norv wasn’t completely honest in accessing his feeling. It was obvious that Turner was somewhat testy and irritable.

I would guess, he was happy about getting a win and avoiding a 2-6 start, yet concerned about the future with Houston, Indianapolis, Denver twice and the surging Raiders making up 5 of the remaining 8 games.

The first half of the Chargers’ schedule was relatively light, with only 3 teams with winning records.

Duplicating their first half performance would result in a 6-10 season and probably ensure a farewell party for Norv and his staff. So, my guess is that although happy about Sunday’s win, Norv is looking ahead and thinking he’s going to need a lot more wins to pull this season out of the fire.

The Chargers (3-5) win on Sunday was preceded by a three game losing streak to Oakland, St. Louis and New England. “It’s huge. It’s been a trying season for us. We’ve been through a lot. But one thing about us as a group, there is never any question about the closeness or the tightness of this group,” said safety Eric Weddle. “We just thought we weren’t playing.

We were playing a little tight, we weren’t having fun and Norv (Turner) came out and said some things and it really got us going. Norv is one of us and we would die for Norv. He is the reason we came out in the second half,” continued Weddle.

Turner’s half-time speech must have been nearly presidential but an equally contributing factor for the Chargers’ survival was a late injury to Titans’ quarterback Vince Young. With 4:43 remaining in the game and trailing by 8-points, Young reinjured his recently sprain ankle and was forced to leave the game in favor of backup Terry Collins. Collins was ineffective on 2 possessions and the Chargers held on for the win.

“It was very tough. Like I said, I definitely wanted to be out there with my teammates. It was very frustrating. I hate putting #5 (Collins) in those types of situations,” said Vince Young after the game.

The Chargers roster is decimated by injuries. Legedu Naanee, Craig Davis, Malcolm Floyd and Nate Keading are all on the injured reserve. Antonio Gates although in the lineup is playing with a severe case of turf toe and has to leave the game frequently to visit the training table.

Norv Turner’s emotional conundrum is understandably given the Chargers current situation.

Although the team is saying all of the right things the sudden loss of so many its stars is problematic and will likely haunt the team throughout the remainder of the season.

Gary Montgomery can be reached at sports@blackvoicenews.com

By Jon Gaede, BVN Sports –

The Los Angeles Galaxy completed their 30 game regular season on Sunday night with a league leading 18 victories as they secured home field advantage in the playoffs.

The race for the 15th MLS Cup will begin for the Galaxy on Sunday as they travel to Washington to play the Seattle Sounders. The winners of the Eastern and Western MLS conferences will play in the MLS Cup Final on November 21st in Toronto.

This years divisional playoff system has the clubs playing each other twice in a home and home format. The aggregate score in total goals will determine who advances. The Galaxy will host their second playoff game, at home against Seattle on Sunday, November 7th.

In recent years, the personality of the Galaxy has featured Landon Donovan (Redlands East Valley H.S.) as their team captain and center- piece. David Beckham’s arrival helped take some of that pressure off Donovan, however, due to injuries and roster changes, the Galaxy has had a few disappointing seasons.

This year figured to be difficult with the expected World Cup interruption in South Africa. That makes the rise of Edson Buddle, all the more remarkable. USA National Team coach Bob Bradley was so impressed with Buddle’s ability to score goals, that he made him a late add to the U.S. squad.

Buddle joined established forwards Jozy Altidore, Robbie Findley and Hercules Gomez on the squad.

The Los Angeles Galaxy club had two objectives against Dallas on Sunday. One, to secure home field advantage for the conference playoffs and two, to help Edson Buddle score a goal or two and win MLS’s ‘Golden Boot’ award as the leagues top goal scorer.

On a misty evening at the Home Depot Center, the Galaxy did play with intensity throughout the match. Down one goal to FC Dallas in the first half, David Beckham stood about 25 yards out and called for the ball. As Landon Donovan fed the ball in, Beckham ripped it passed the keeper to tie the game.

As the rain continued to fall during the second half, the pitch became a little sloppy. Several players went down and coach Bruce Arena hoped the club could manage a victory without an injury.

That wish was granted as Juninho blasted home the game winner from about 20 yards out. The end to end play was fairly intense until the final whistle. The Galaxy earned home field advantage for the first two rounds of the MLS playoffs.

Unfortunately, the objective of getting Edson Buddle the opportunity to win the ‘Golden Boot’ did not happen. Buddle simply didn’t get many touches on the ball.

Dallas is a well coached club with few weaknesses. It is certain that they anticipated the Buddle scenario and defensed him well.

Edson Buddle’s remarkable season of 17 MLS goals and World Cup selection is a season that most professionals would envy. A successful playoff run and a ‘2010 MLS Cup’ in Toronto, would certainly cap Buddle’s year. A career for many.

By Gary Montgomery, BVN Staff Writer –

Clichés are as common in sports as bad grammar. “You have to lay it all on the line” or “Their will to win” are some of my favorites – usually thrown around by sportscasters just to improve their cool rating. Sports fans get so accustomed to clichés that most of the time they go in one ear and out the other without a thought about what is really being said.

After watching the Trojans offensive line handle the Cal Bears on Saturday, one often used cliché kept coming to mind. “Football games are won in the trenches.”

And that is exactly what got the party started for USC on Saturday.

The Trojans’ mammoth frontline took charge early and gave Matt Barkley all the time he needed to drive Cal’s secondary crazy. After scoring two quick touchdowns in the air and securing a 14-0 lead, USC turned to the running game with equal success.

The Trojans fourth possession produced their third touchdown when tailback Mark Tyler sprinted around the left side and dashed 11- yards down the sideline for the score.

One of the biggest reasons Tyler found running room on the left side is Moreno Valley’s Tyron Smith.

At 6-5, 280 pounds, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde’s Tyron Smith anchors the left tackle position clearing the way for running backs and just like in the movie has the quarterback’s “blind side”. Smith a true junior in his second year as a starter has become one of the most dependable members of the frontline.

A celebrated recruit from Rancho Verde in 2007 Smith was Parade All-American along with a host of other awards too numerous to list here. During his three seasons at Troy, Smith has quietly become one of the team’s leaders.

“We had to pull together and get it done. We always knew what we were capable of, we just had to come together and show everybody else what we could do,” said Smith about Saturday’s effort.

Smith opens gaping holes for all of the tailbacks including another former Inland Star. Two weeks ago against the Washington Huskies, tailback Allen Bradford, a Colton product rushed for 221-yards on 21 carries. More than half of Bradford’s 21 carries were running behind the Smith’s powerful blocks.

Senior cornerback and former Colton High star Sharecee Wright is the Trojan’s defensive leader and is regarded by most as the best defensive player on the field. Lane Kiffin said before the season that Sharecee Wright was the best natural cover corner that he had ever seen.

“I hadn’t said anything (during losses) but I had to finally say something. I told the guys that we weren’t playing our football game, not calling anybody out but I had to say what I had to say and I think the guys listened to me. I probably should have spoken up before,” said Wright.

Both Inland seniors, Wright and Bradford spoke to the team before Saturday’s game. Obviously, both have politics in their futures USC played the most inspired and complete football game Trojan fans have seen two seasons.

Scoring 42 points in the first half, USC gave Cal its worst halftime deficient in school history. An astonishing and incredible feat considering that USC was only a slight favorite and was picked in preseason polls to finish behind the Bears in the Pac-10.

“They certainly did some things that they hadn’t done before,” said Cal’s Coach Tedford. “We missed a lot of plays and dropped passes in big situations but the bottom line is somebody’s got to make some plays.”

There are lots of theories as to the origin of USC’s newly found superpowers. The discussion will likely continue right up until their game against Number 2 Oregon in two weeks with little agreement anywhere but you can bet that the Inland Stars will be giving regular pre-game speeches.

Gmontgomery can be reached at sports@blackvoicenews.com

(Reuters) - Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has been fined an undisclosed amount by his team after making himself unavailable for a preseason game because of a fake injury.

The three-times All-Star claimed to be hampered by a knee injury and was replaced by Nick Young for Tuesday's home game against the Atlanta Hawks, which the Wizards won 107-92.

However, Arenas later told reporters he had pretended to be injured so that Young would gain a spot in the starting lineup.

"I talked to him (Arenas) both in front of the team and individually so we will find him and move on," Wizards coach Flip Saunders told reporters on Wednesday.

"I said to him: 'I am most disappointed personally because I believe in you and there has been a trust factor'. I told him: 'You have to be honest with me'.

"It's just like dealing with your kids. Your kids make mistakes. You deal with the mistake and you move on."

Asked if Arenas would be suspended, Sanders replied: "No."

A nine-year NBA veteran, Arenas had been expected to play his first home game on Tuesday since being suspended for most of the 2009-10 campaign for bringing guns into the team's locker room.

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Rex Gowar)