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.