16 I THURSDAY, Ocr. 14, 2010 Chargers' By Bernie Wilson ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SAN DIEGO— The San Diego Chargers have turned out the lights on the player known as Outside line- NFL backer Shawne erriman, once one of the most-feared players in the NFL, was placed on the injured reserve list because of a calf injury and a "minor-injury designation" on Wednesday. Technically, the Chargers could re-sign the controversial player. That almost certainly won't hap pen, though, because general manager A.J. Smith hasn't been a fan of Merriman's celebrity-lean ing lifestyle. Known as "Lights Out" because Wizards' Gilbert Arenas fined for faking injury By the Associated Press WASHINGTON For someone looking to get back into the good graces of his team, its fans and the NBA, Gilbert Arenas has a NBA funny way of showing it. Washington Wizards guard's lat est escapade took place Iliesday, when coach Flip Saunders announced before a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks that Arenas would miss the con Penguins By Alan Robinson ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER PITTSBURGH -- Clarke MacArthur scored twice and the Toronto Maple Leafs withstood Sidney Crosby's first goal of the season to keep the Penguins win less in their new arena, beating Pittsburgh 4-3 on Wednesday night. Francois Beauchemin and Colton Orr also had goals for the Maple Leafs, who scored on four of their 14 shots to improve to 3-0 for the first time since the 1999- 2000 season, the last time they won their division. They held on despite being outshot 9-2 in the third period, when Crosby, Evgeni Favre might sit with tendinitis By Jon Krawczynskl ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. Brett Favre's latest prob lem is his elbow. With the NFL investigating whether he sent lewd pho tos of himself to a Jets game hostess while he played for New York in 2008, Favre said Wednesday that his cher ished, league-record streak of 289 straight starts could be in danger if the pain in his right elbow gets any worse. _ . _ The 41-year-old quarterback did not practice with Minnesota on Wednesday, preferring to rest the tendinitis that flared up noticeably on Monday night in the Vikings 29-20 loss to the Jets. "I don't want to play just to play," Favre said. "It's kind of a funny injury. It could flare up and get worse." It's even more adversity for Favre this season, which so far has been anything but a repeat of last year's charmed run to the NFC title game. How bad is it? On Wednesday, local TV station WCCO posted video of Favre getting hit in the groin by a stray football during a warm up before practice started. Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday there is no timetable for completing an investigation into a Deadspin report that Favre sent inappropriate messages and photos to Jenn Sterger in 2008. And the Vikings are off to a 1-3 start heading into what they call a must-win game against Dallas on Sunday. "I don't rank them," Favre said on Wednesday when asked how the allegations measure up to other issues he's dealt with in his career. "I'm thrilled to be here and have an opportunity to lead this team to the Super Bowl. ... There's still a lot of football left. I feel very confident in a lot of ways. "You go through different things in your life. Fbotball is a very tough sport, mentally and physically. Last year was great. Almost too great. But I woke up this morning and was very eager to get over here. Moreso than last year at this time, to get this back on track I feel confident that (the team) will right itself in the end." In 20 years in the NFL, Favre has been through tough times before. From his addiction to pain killers early in his career, to his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer, and through the death of his father, Favre has always managed to keep his focus on the game, often delivering some of his best performances along the way. "I think he's really handling it well. I really do," said Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell, a dose friend of Favre's from their days together in Green Bay. "The guy is so resilient and has his priorities straight, and I think in the midst of a tough, tough situation, across the board, I think he's handled it really well." Favre said on Wednesday that it was his elbow, not the investigation, that hampered him against the Jets. He completed 14 of 34 passes and grabbed his arm sev eral times as he tried to rally the Vikings. He threw three touchdowns in the second half, but also sealed their fate with an interception that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Coming off the most accurate season of his career, Favre missed several wide open receivers on throws "that I could have made blindfolded." Merriman out in San Diego of his opce-ferocious hits, Merriman had 39 1 / 2 sacks in his first three seasons. He's had only four in the three seasons since then due to a variety of injuries. He was suspended for four games in 2006 after testing posi tive for steroids. Even missing the four games, he had 17 sacks that year. Merriman blamed the positive test on a tainted supplement, which he never identified. He also brought unwanted attention off the field. He was arrested just before the 2009 sea son after reality television star Tila Tequila accused him of bat tery and false imprisonment at his suburban San Diego home. No charges were filed, and Merriman and Tequila settled dueling law suits. test with a sore left knee. But Arenas revealed after the Wizards' 107-92 victory that he pretended to have a bum knee to give teammate Nick Young a chance to start. He told reporters Wednesday that he was trying to do Young a favor. "I lied to coach and told him my knee was sore so he'd start Nick," Arenas said. Arenas was fined an undis closed amount by the Wizards for his deception. It was another blow to the image of a player who is still trying fall to Maple Leafs, Malkin and Mark Letestu all failed to convert good scoring chances. Pittsburgh is 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the Consol Energy Center, NHL which opened last k - the week as replacement for the 49-year-old Civic Arena. Torontos Jc-►as Toronto Gustaysson, the 6- foot-3 Swedish goalie who is nick named the Monster, turned Pittsburgh aside 22 shots in his first start of the season, He didnt need to make the save as Malkin shot wide on a penalty shot SPORTS Merriman missed most of the 2008 season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. He had four sacks last year as he tried to regain his hard-hitting form. After sitting out most offseason workouts and part of training camp to protest his contract sta tus, he was slowed by an Achilles' injury and then a calf injury. He had only five tackles and no sacks in limited action this year. Smith didn't return a call seek ing comment. Merriman, who's been on the trading block for some time, declined to comment when con tacted via e-mail. However, a publicist released a statement in which Merriman was quoted as saying, "I am approach ing this situation as an opportuni ty to grow as a player and to bring to recover from his 50-game sus pension and felony conviction for bringing guns into the locker room last season. After Wednesday's practice, Arenas first said he wasn't talking, then appeared before reporters offering a halfhearted apology for his actions. "I screwed up again, so I just want to say sorry" he said. "I was n't really thinking that this was going to be another media out burst. It's like everything I do now, someone, tit for tat, tries to blow it out of proportion." with 1:57 left in the second period and Pittsburgh down 4-2. Malkin hasnt scored on four career penal ty shots. Crosby got Pittsburgh to within a goal by scoring 1:13 later on a backhander from along the goal line set up by Ben Lovejoy. But the Maple Leafs kept the lead despite going 16:51 without a shot at the end of the second period and the start of the third. Some sloppy defensive play by the Penguins helped Toronto open a 4-2 lead midway through the sec ond period. Due to injuries to Zbynek Michalek (right shoulder) and Brooks Orpik (groin), the Penguins were down to six healthy defensemen - and had to my leadership and talents to a new organization. I am ready for the next chapter in my career and I am excited about the opportunity to continue my journey with a new team." Coach Nory Turner said he doesn't think Merriman's recent injuries were related to his knee surgery two years ago. "He's had these muscle deals and he hasn't let it heal," Turner said. "We've been trying hard to get Shawne back on the field," Turner said. "It's been a process that we've worked real hard it and it just was n't happening. I think this will give him the chance to get healthy without the pressure of trying to get ready to play. We need guys to play games." Arenas' altruistic gesture might have gone over a little better if Arenas didn't lie to his coach, or if he hadn't already ruffled feathers this preseason with his moody press conference at the team's media day or his statements that he would "move on" after helping No. 1 pick John Wall learn the ropes. Saunders, who has gone out of his way to defend Arenas this pre season, said he was shocked and disappointed with Arenas. He spoke to Arenas and the team about the situation. now 0-3 at Consol recall Andrew Hutchinson from the minors to reach that number. Max Talbots third goal in two seasons gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 17:33 of the first. Talbot, his shooting affected by a shoulder injury, scored only twice last sea son. The first of MacArthurs two goals in a 7 1 / 2 -minute span tied it only 7 seconds into a power play created by Eric Tangradis high sticking penalty. MacArthur beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a one-timer off Tomas Kaberles cross-ice pass following a faceoff win. Toronto took the lead 2 1 / 2 min utes later, scoring again after a faceoff as quick passes by Luke Schenn and Mike Zigomanis cre- THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Asked if the prognosis was so bad that it wasn't worth holding onto Merriman's rights for the rest of the season, Turner said: "Those are questions regarding long-term and I'm not going to get into that right now" Fellow outside linebacker Shaun Phillips said he was sad to see Merriman go. "For me it's upsetting because he was a friend of mine. That's why it's hard to see him go," Phillips said "But I've found that this league stands for Not For Long for a rea son." "I've seen hundreds of people come and go. I wish him the best and he's the homie, he's a good friend of mine so I know he's going to do good whatever he decides to do." "I was probably the most sur prised," Saunders said. "I got a text late last night. When I talked to Gil at the shootaround, he indi cated that his knee was a little bit sore and stiff and he didn't think he was going to play, and I said, `Fine,' and I moved on. "I said to him that I'm most dis appointed personally. Because I believe in him. There's been a trust factor. I told him, 'You're going to have to be honest with me.' It's just like dealing with your kids. Your kids make mistakes and you deal with them. ated Beauchemins partially screened shot from above the cir cles. MacArthur scored his fourth in three games, snapping off an undefended wrist shot from the left circle past Fleury after a wide open Mikhail Grabovski slipped him a pass from behind the net at 10:30 of the second. Notes: Malkins penalty shot was only the second for the Penguins in two seasons. Talbot missed on their only attempt last season.... Crosbys one point in three games represented the worst start of his six-season careen ... Malkin was scoreless after having seven goals and 27 assists in his first 15 career games against Toronto.
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