Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau's family has decided to let his brain be studied by researchers, reports CNN. The ex-football star killed himself this week with a gunshot to the chest. Seau didn't leave a suicide note, but the method he used to take his own life mirrors that of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson.
Junior Seau's Brain Will Be Studied
Autopsy Confirms Junior Seau Died of a Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound to Chest
An autopsy conducted on the body of Junior Seau confirms what was suspected: the former NFL star died yesterday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. It will take a few weeks until reports from toxicology reports conducted on his body will be available.
Junior Seau Texted Relatives, "I Love You," Before Apparent Suicide
As his family, his Chargers teammates and the San Diego community continuity continue to reel over news of this death, details are emerging about football player Junior Seau's final hours. His ex-wife Gina Seau told San Diego Union-Tribune that she and "their three children all received texts from him Tuesday with the same message: 'I love you.'" Outside his home, Seau's mother wailed, "Junior, Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?"
Sunday, Holy Sunday in Sports
There was something heavenly about Sunday, so much so it almost made me a believer.
A day after owner Al Davis died, it seemed like his hands were all over the Oakland Raiders’ 25-20 win over the Houston Texans. They were clearly struggling in the first half not getting their first first-down until 1:46 left in the first half. If not for the leg of Sebastian Janikowski and his 54-yard and 55-yard field goals, it would have been a rout.
Fan Tries to Work Magic for Jets
Mark Williamson is not a nutjob, although when I saw videos of him parading in Times Square trying to break the “Jets Curse” it’s hard not to think he has a screw loose (or two).
LAst Night's Action: Bobcats Maul Lakers
Charlotte Bobcats defeat LA Lakers 117-110 (2OT). Coming into the game the Lakers had lost their last two matchups against the Bobcats at the Staples Center. A team that has never won more 33 games in their four seasons of existence has really confounded the Lakers. It was more of the same in this game. Despite being outplayed by the Bobcats from the opening tip off, the Lakers had plenty of chances to win the game. But their shoddy defense of the Bobcats' screens left shooters wide open. Kobe fouled out towards the end of the first overtime, and the Bobcats took advantage. Trevor Ariza left the game in the first half with a concussion. No word yet on how long Ariza will be out. The Lakers now head off on the road.
LAst Night's Action: Blazers Burn Clips
Portland Trail Blazers defeat LA Clippers 113-88. The Clippers were hoping it would be like their last meeting up in Portland where the Clips escaped with a one-point victory, but with almost all their starters in the infirmary there was no chance. Brandon Roy led the way for the Blazers with 33 points while Al Thornton led the Clips with 23 points. Amazing the Clippers were very much in the game trailing by only six points in the fourth quarter. But the Blazers blew the Clippers out 36-15 in the last quarter.
LAst Night's Action: Lakers Off to a Good Start
LA Lakers defeat Portland Trail Blazers 96-76. Um wow. If that's what the Lakers will look like all season, I might have underestimated them. For years the words "Lakers" and "defense" couldn't be said in the same sentence without a snicker, but seeing the beat down they handed to Blazers just changed all of that. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 23 points while ex-Bruin Trevor Ariza notched a surprising 11. The word of the night was indeed defense with the Lakers holding the Blazers down to 34.5% shooting. Playing in his first NBA after rehabbing his knee last season, Greg Oden left the game in the first half after injuring his right foot. Oden went scoreless in 12:51.
LAst Night's Action: Andre the Giant Edition
LA Dodgers defeat San Diego Padres 6-2. Andre Ethier keeps on feasting on those fastballs. In the eighth inning with the Dodgers down 2-1 and Russell Martin on second, Ethier drove a ball out to left field for a game-tying triple. Then with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and the Dodgers leading 3-2, he hit a bases-clearing double that was barely fair down the right field line to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead. Dodger's starter Hiroki Kuroda was shaky in this outing but managed to give up only two runs on nine hits and two intentional walks. Ethier helped Kuroda's cause by throwing Adrian Gonzalez out at the plate on a Chase Headley RBI double in the third inning. What doesn't Ethier do? With the Diamondbacks losing the Dodger's magic number is down to 16.
NFL Season Preview: Prognosticatinating
The NFL season is a grind. Despite playing on 16 games, the ferocity of the action forces teams to rely on a bit of luck in order to get through the post season.
LAst Night's Action:
Oakland A's defeat LA Angels 6-5. Joe Saunders left the game in the second inning. Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar left the game with sore hammies. Outfielder Juan Rivera forced to come into the game at second base. It was one of those games for the Angels yet they managed to make it close. With Joe Saunders pitching with an ailing hand, he was absolutely crushed by the A's giving up six runs in two innings. He left the game, and the bullpen clamped down on the A's. But the Angels would come back, and they had many chances to actually take the lead but could not capitalize on all the walks the A's were giving away. The Angels got nine hits and eight balls but did their best impersonation of the Dodgers. The difference though is that the Angels actually have the ability to win games.
The NFL in LA?
LAist contributer and LA Times Bruins and Trojan blogger Adam Rose blogged about an encore presentation Majestic Realty Chairman Ed Roski gave to a group of local business leaders this past Wednesday on the plans for building the Los Angeles Stadium.
Local Athletes Feel The Burn
The Dan Patrick radio show recently debuted in Southern California (check 570 KLAC in the mornings), but this isn't what he meant by "En Fuego." While often immune to the real world, local sports have been impacted by the disaster in several ways. Of course, let's keep this all in perspective ... the real losses are to the families and the real heroes are the firefighters. - The San Diego Chargers are practicing in Arizona...
Fire Evacuees are Not 'Refugees'
Hear that sucking sound? The media's commitment to learning from its many recent mistakes in reporting ethics and the semantics thereof is again being sucked out of the collective memory hole. Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina survivors were initially referred to by numerous media outlets as "refugees." While "refugee" can be inferred to be descriptive of one who "takes refuge," the fact is that -- at least since the 1951 approval of the UN Convention...
LAist Armchair Quarterback Week 3: Get Rex Off the Field!!!!!
I’m a huge Chicago Bears fan, and my friends saw the terrible pain I was in watching the Superbowl this year. After that loss it pained to me to make the prediction that the Bears would be in a lot of trouble this season. The fact that it has come true makes me feel like I’m passing a kidney stone. Just like Grady Little was obstinate in keeping Nomar Garciaparra at first base this...
Is It Drafty In Here?
Even though Los Angeles doesn't have an NFL team, that doesn't mean this weekend's draft was irrelevant. Unless, of course, you're Mr. Irrelevant, but we'll get to that in a moment. Unlike most major cities in this country, LA is the only one that suffers a net loss of talent whenever the draft happens. The closest team is the San Diego Chargers, who didn't exactly have exciting picks. Choosing LSU wideout Craig Davis over USC's...
LAst Night's Action: Fat Men = LA Kryptonite
Pistons 92, Clippers 74 - The Clippers just want to go home. They wrapped a 7 game road trip with their fifth loss, this one at the hands of a rejuvinated Detroit squad. The Pistons are 11-2 since signing local college star Chris Webber, who had a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds in the game. Los Angeles shot just .324 from the field and was led by Cuttino Mobley with 17. The Clippers haven't...
Charging on Out of Here
Unfortunately for Chargers fans in LA (and we know there are tons of you), TJ Simers reports that the Bolts are looking to exercise an escape clause and skip town for training camp next year.
No Chargers Here
The Chargers will pay less money in rent, but lose their precious ticket guarantee where the city of San Diego actually bought all unsold tickets to Chargers games (yes, San Diego taxpayers, you helped subsidize Ryan Leaf). Additionally, the Chargers will drop their lawsuit against the city which just happened to be filed in Los Angeles, and hope to get a stadium measure on the ballot by 2006.

