Rivers, who currently ranks among the league’s top quarterbacks, owns the highest passer rating in the AFC (104.5) and earned the second Pro Bowl nod of his career. “It’s an honor,” Rivers said. “Any time you’re a part of the Pro Bowl team and in company with the other great quarterbacks it is a big honor. However, being named to the Pro Bowl is as much about the guys around me as anything. It takes a lot of guys for individuals to get recognized. The quarterback position more than any other, needs every other guy playing at a high level to make it. If I can’t get the ball off because of pressure or if nobody’s making great catches, I’m not going to have the success I’ve had this season and throughout my career. “We had more (players) that are as deserving that didn’t get that call today and I’m disappointed for those guys. We’ve got a lot of guys on both sides of the ball and on special teams that I believe are Pro Bowl worthy.”

Rivers credited Head Coach Norv Turner as well.
“He’s been huge in my progress. I knew very early on when we first met that we thought a lot alike and have similar approaches to the game. That helped immediately because we were able to understand how each other thinks. Running this system and his ability to coach the position is exceptional. It’s been a great fit.” Gates was selected to his sixth-consecutive Pro Bowl squad. He leads the Chargers with 78 receptions and set a new career high with 1,145 receiving yards, tops among NFL tight ends. Kaeding is 29 of 32 on field goal attempts and ranks second in the NFL with 135 points this season, one point shy of his career high. He is in the midst of an NFL-record streak of 68 consecutive made field goals of 40-yards or less (including playoffs). Dielman tallied enough votes to make the all-star roster for the third-consecutive season. He is an integral part of an offensive line that has allowed just 10 sacks in the last 301 pass plays and just five in the last six games. He has started all 15 games this season. “It’s a great individual honor, but ultimately I hope I’m not playing in it because I want to be getting ready to play in the Super Bowl,” Dielman said.
“It’s always an honor,” Dielman said. “I’m lucky to have a lot of great teammates around me that help me. Playing next to Marcus (McNeill) and Scott (Mruczkowski) and Nick (Hardwick), having Philip (Rivers), I know I benefit a lot from those guys. (Offensive line coach) Hal Hunter is another guy that’s really helped me get to this point in my career.

“There are other guys that should be going. With Vincent (Jackson) and Marcus (McNeill), the proof is in the pudding. They’ve both damn good players. Vincent gets lost in the shuffle because there are so many great receivers in the AFC, but if you’re going to tell me he’s not one of the top three I think you’re sorely mistaken. Marcus gets lost in the shuffle. There’s no one else I’d rather play next to. I think he’s the best left tackle in the league. He makes my job easier and I love playing with him.”

Special teams ace Osgood, who routinely draws double and triple teams in coverage, is headed to his third-career Pro Bowl. He has racked up 12 special teams tackles. Running back Darren Sproles was named a first alternate, and four Chargers were named third alternates to the Pro Bowl. Left tackle Marcus McNeill, who made the Pro Bowl after each of his first two seasons (’06 and ’07), is a third alternate, as is wide receiver Vincent Jackson, cornerback Antonio Cromartie and punter Mike Scifres. ###

The San Diego Chargers placed center Scott Mruczkowski (merch-COW-ski) on Reserve-Injured today due to an ankle injury he suffered during the final, game-winning drive in last weekend's win over the Cincinnati Bengals.  Mruczkowski started the last 13 games at center for the Chargers after Nick Hardwick was injured in the season opener in Oakland.

To replace Mruczkowski on the active roster, the team signed veteran center Eric Ghiaciuc (GUY-check).  Ghiaciuc entered the NFL as a fourth-round selection of the Bengals in 2005.  He brings valuable NFL playing experience to San Diego.  He started 42 of 48 games at center in his first four seasons (2005-08).  He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an unrestricted free agent in 2009 and was released after training camp.  Ghiaciuc is 6-4, 303 from Central Michigan and will wear number 77.

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Tickets to upcoming San Diego Chargers home playoff games are on sale now only with the purchase of 2010 season tickets.  Fans may purchase playoff tickets by making a non-refundable $200 deposit per season seat.  Purchases can be made online at Chargers.com, by calling 877-Chargers, or visiting the Chargers Ticket Office at Gate C at Qualcomm Stadium.

Local TV blackout lifted;
Southern California to see Chargers-Bengals

Enough tickets have been sold to lift the local television blackout and allow Southern California to see the CBS telecast of the Chargers-Bengals game on Sunday, Dec. 20 at Qualcomm Stadium.  Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. PT.  The game will be televised in San Diego on KFMB-TV, Channel 8 and in Los Angeles on KCBS-TV, Channel 2.  Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the play-by-play action.

A limited number of tickets, including many Club Level tickets, are still available at the Chargers’ ticket office at Gate C at Qualcomm Stadium, at www.Chargers.com and through TicketMaster at 800-745-3000.

This weekend’s game is the 46th consecutive regular season or postseason Chargers home game to be televised live in Southern California, the longest streak in team history.   

There are approximately 5,500 tickets remaining for the Chargers’ final regular season home game on Sunday, Jan. 3 versus the Washington Redskins.    

Fans are urged to use mass transit or carpool, and arrive EARLY.  To avoid heavy traffic around the stadium on Interstates 8 and 15, fans can reach the stadium via the Friars Rd. East exit off of Highway 163.  The parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium will open at 9:00 am for general parking and 8:00 am for those with pre-purchased permits. The lot is expected to fill and close early.  

Nwagbuo had played in all 12 games this season, starting five, and he ends the year with 25 tackles, one sack, four tackles for loss, three quarterback pressures and two batted passes.

Garay (6-4, 320) is in his fourth NFL season out of Boston College. The Rahway, New Jersey native broke into the NFL in 2003 with the Cleveland Browns as a sixth-round draft choice (No. 195). He played the 2003 season with the Browns and the 2006-07 seasons in Chicago. In 2006, he played under Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and defensive line coach Don Johnson with the Bears. Garay has played in 14 career NFL games, recording 12 total tackles. He will wear No. 71 for the Chargers.

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The Chargers have signed linebacker Marques Harris.  To make room for Harris, San Diego waived tackle Corey Clark.

Harris (6-1, 245), began his career with the Chargers in 2005 as an undrafted free agent. Over four seasons (2005-08), Harris played in 56 games and recorded 75 tackles, eight sacks, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He also was credited with 22 tackles on special teams.

Harris signed with the San Francisco 49ers in May 2009 and was released Oct. 27. He will wear No. 58 for the Chargers.

The Chargers also signed defensive end Derrick Jones to the practice squad.  Jones, 6-4, 315 from Grand Valley State, originally came to the NFL in 2007 as an undrafted rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Atlanta Falcons signed him to their practice squad in Oct. 2007 and he was promoted to their active roster for the ’07 season finale.  In Dec. 2008, Johnson was signed to Tennessee’s practice squad. He went to training camp with the Buffalo Bills in 2009 and was released before the regular season started. He spent three weeks on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad in October.

To make room for Jones on the practice squad, the team waived linebacker Jeremy Leman.

Antonio Gates caught his 54th & 55th career TD passes today against the Chiefs, moving past Wesley Walls (1989-03) and into fourth-place for most career TD catches by a tight end. Walls played in 196 games and had 54 TD catches during his career. Sunday’s Chargers-Chiefs game was the 104th of Gates’ career. Former Chief and current Atlanta Falcon Tony Gonzalez (1997-09) is the all-time leader among TEs with 81 career TD catches. Gonzalez played in his 201st career game on Sunday.
 
Today was Gates’ 11th career multi-touchdown game and his second of 2009.
 
Philip Rivers threw both touchdowns to Gates. It marked Rivers’ eighth-straight game with a touchdown pass. His career best for consecutive games with a touchdown pass is nine. He’s done it twice (2007 and ’08).
 
Rivers completed 75.0% of his passes today (21-of-28) for his third consecutive game with a completion percentage of 75%-or-higher. In his last three games, Rivers is 58-of-75 (77.3%) with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
Rivers also posted a season-high 135.6 passer rating today. His combined rating for the last three games is 127.3.
 
LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 39 yards today and moved into 10th place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 12,257 yards. He began the day ranked 12th and moved past Marcus Allen (12,243) and Edgerrin James (12,246).
 
Tomlinson scored two touchdowns today on carries of one and three yards. They were the 133rd and 134th rushing touchdowns of his career, second all-time to Emmitt Smith (164). They were also the 148th and 149th total touchdowns of his career, third all-time behind Smith (175) and Jerry Rice (208).
 
Today’s was Tomlinson’s third multi-touchdown game of 2009 and the 42nd of his career (including playoffs).
 
The Chargers’ offensive line did not allow any sacks today in 29 passing plays. It’s their second-straight game allowing no sacks. During the Chargers’ current six-game winning streak, the offensive line has allowed only five total sacks in 172 pass plays.
 
Nate Kaeding’s 55-yard field goal in the third quarter was his longest-ever at Qualcomm Stadium.
 
Quentin Jammer had two of the Chargers’ season-high four takeaways today (one interception and three fumbles). The Chargers scored touchdowns off each of the Chiefs’ turnovers, plus linebacker Tim Dobbins forced an intentional grounding penalty against Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel that resulted in a safety, crediting San Diego’s defense today with a hand in 30 of the Chargers’ 43 points.
 
The Chargers’ 40 points today were a season high and it was their most since Dec. 28, 2008 vs. Denver (52).
 
The Chargers’ 43 points today against the Chiefs was their most in a game in the series since 1967 when the Bolts scored 45 in a 45-31 win.
 
With today’s win, the Chargers finish the 2009 regular season 5-1 in AFC West play. It’s the fourth year in a row the Chargers have gone 5-1 in the division.
 
Injuries reported today: Eric Weddle (knee), Shawne Merriman (foot) and Kevin Burnett (concussion)

Local TV blackout lifted;
Southern California to see Chargers-Chiefs

Enough tickets have been sold to lift the local television blackout and allow Southern California to see the CBS telecast of the Chargers-Chiefs game on Sunday, Nov. 29 at Qualcomm Stadium.  Kickoff is 1:05 p.m. PT.  The game will be televised in San Diego on KFMB-TV, Channel 8 and in Los Angeles on KCBS-TV, Channel 2.  Dick Enberg and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts will call the play-by-play action.
 
A limited number of tickets, including Club Level tickets, are still available at the Chargers’ ticket office at Gate C at Qualcomm Stadium, at www.Chargers.com and through TicketMaster at 800-745-3000.
 
This weekend’s game is the 45th consecutive regular season or postseason Chargers home game to be televised live in Southern California, the longest streak in team history.  The last regular-season home game blacked out in the local market was on Nov. 7, 2004 versus the New Orleans Saints. 
 
The Chargers’ next home game is Sunday, Dec. 20 versus the Cincinnati Bengals.    
 
The Chargers are strongly recommending that fans attending Sunday’s game use mass transit or carpool, and arrive EARLY.  The parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium will open at 9:00 am for general parking and 8:00 am for those with pre-purchased permits. The lot is expected to fill and close early, so fans are encouraged to get to the stadium gates early to ensure that they are in their seats for kickoff.
 
To avoid heavy traffic around the stadium on Interstates 8 and 15, fans can reach the stadium via the Friars Rd. East exit off of Highway 163.

Chargers ticket office hours for Saturday, Nov. 28

In order to provide maximum opportunity for customers to purchase tickets on Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Chargers Ticket Office at Gate C at Qualcomm Stadium will be open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Marines, Chargers wives collecting toys at Chargers game  

Fans attending Sunday's game can bring joy to local youngsters this holiday season by giving a new, unwrapped toy to the Chargers Wives 20th Annual "Toys for Tots" Toy Drive presented by Cymer, at the Chargers-Chiefs game at Qualcomm Stadium.
 
Toys and cash donations will be collected as fans enter the stadium by the San Diego Chargers players' and coaches' wives, along with servicemen and women from the United States Marine Corps. The toys will be distributed to deserving children throughout San Diego in time for the holidays through various charitable organizations.
 
For more information about the Toy Drive or for additional locations where toys are being collected, log on to the official Web site of the "Toys for Tots" Toy Drive, www.toydrive.com. ###

Chargers receive ANOTHER 24-hour extension The Thanksgiving holiday week along with the Chargers' strong sales efforts have prompted the National Football League to grant the Chargers an additional 24-hour extension in an effort to lift the local television blackout of this Sunday's Chargers-Chiefs game.  The team now has until 1:05 pm PT on Saturday to sell the remaining 1,350 tickets. 

Of the two most recent games to be granted 48-hour extensions - 2008 NFC Wild Card game, Philadelphia at Minnesota, and 2001 AFC Wild Card game, Baltimore at Miami, one sold out (at Minnesota) and one did not (at Miami).

The Chargers have sold enough tickets to lift the blackout of 44 consecutive regular season or postseason home games, tied for the longest such streak in team history with a streak set in 1979-84.  The last regular-season home game blacked out in the local market was on Nov. 7, 2004 versus the New Orleans Saints.   

Tickets are available now at the Chargers' ticket office at Gate C at Qualcomm Stadium, at www.Chargers.com and through TicketMaster at 800-745-3000.
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