North County Times from Oceanside, California • 19

Chargers notebook C-2 Major League Baseball C-3 Becker beats Connors C-4 Blade-Citizen Saturday, August 22, 1992 Chargers QB derby heating up But 49ers get victory, 20-14 iJ 7l Staff Photo Hayne Palmour Chargers' linebacker Junior Seau draws a bead on San Francisco running back Tom Rathman. The 49ers scored two late touchdowns to win. By Jay Paris Staff Writer SN DIEGO Tired about arguing when and if Padres manag er Greg Riddoch should be fired0 Then turn vour attention to the Charger- quarterback- contro versv is brewing San Diegos Bob Gagliano was effective and newcomer Stan Humplmes inconsistent in Fri day 20 14 prt-tason lo- to San Francisco Its time to turn up your sports radio Start the debate at the ater cooler Begin di-cus-ing their pros and cons at the tav era Last week San Diego was fret ting about finding one quarter back Now it ha- two It does -till have ju-t one ehi bition victorv in three games after blowing a 14 3 -econd half lead before 40 921 at Ja( Murphv Stadi uni The 49ers rallied for two touchdown- in the la-t 10 minutes to edge San Diego For Gagliano this was supposed to be his Lawrence Welk game A one and a two sene- and then he waltz aw av in favor of Humphries But Gagliano a six vear pro who has bounced aiound the NFL and I SFL is enjoying the No 1 role nd he doesn -eem in a hurry to relinquish it I would assume it would be the same rotation next week Gagliano -aid The game second half took on the same look as last season The Chargers again were unable to put awav an opponent and self destructed in the final two quarters We ve got to have people to make plays in the critical situa tions to win the close football games head coach Bobby Ross said The price was a defeat to the undefeated 49ers t4 0) San Francisco now has won nine consecu tive presea-on game- San Franci-co cut San Diegos lead to 14-6 on a 19 ard field goal by Mike Cofer in the third quarter The Chargers kicker John Car ney then did little to make last years woeful season a distant memory when his 47 yard attempt fell short That breathed some life into the 49ers and thev responded with a 15 yard touchdown pass from Steve Bono to Mark Seav Seay, the rook le from Long Beach State who sur vived a drive bv shooting made a diving catch in the end zone The Chargers inability to con vert a first down on their next series was their downfall Twice San Diego needed 5 yards to keep its drive alive on its 23 But Eric Bieniemv was -topped for no gain and Pat Hara threw an incom plete pa-s With le-s than four minutes remaining and San Franci-co void See I hargers. Page 2 STEVE SCHOLFIELD Prep coaches deserve your admiration Notes and quotes: There is a fraternity of men locally who share a unique employment Despite long hours, low pay, constant ridicule from outsiders and close scrutiny from the media, they love what they do And year after year, they seldom lose their zest for the task at hand Politicians' Hardly We are talking about those men ho put their teaching reputations on the line every Friday night We're talking about high school football coaches As the get read for the first day of practice on Monday it is important to realize the many con tnbutions these men make Based on longevity, the local coaches must lov their ork Sev en of the nine area head coaches have at least a dozen ears experience Vista Dick Haines, the ageless onder is starting his 40th ear as a head coach El Canuno's Herb Meyer is working on his 33rd year Torrey Pines' Ed Burke, Rancho Buena ista Craig Bell, San Mar cos' Ken Broach, Fallbrook's Tom Pack, and Carlsbad Rick Brown have been around long enough to be considered veterans Why do they do it1 Is it for lov of sport0 Love of competition0 Let a couple of people explain Martha Haines has been mar ned to Dick Haines for almost 45 years I don know hat Dick would do if he quit football," she said "He doesn golf, he doesnt garden Football and his family have been his life Martha Haines said that if Dick ever did retire, he would probably move to Redmond, Wash his son Rik is a successful high school coach Broach, meanwhile, is one of the most respected coaches in the county He has 23 years of coaching experience, 14 as a head coach For him, the primary motivation to continue coaching is the friend ships he has made over the years First and foremost is the cama radene with the people I work with," he said "Most of us (on hts staff) have been together for 15 years and we all have the same focus tow ard kids "Secondly, I like watching the kids develop both mentally and physically from the time they are freshmen to seniors And thirdly, I get a kick out of it hen some of my old players who are successful come back and say we helped See Seholfield, Page C-4 Gagliano a tough sell but hes doing the job i I Sfy? if A GARY HYVONEN SAN DIEGO The Chargers may indeed have a quarterback controv ersy brew ing. but the controversy is hats taking them so long to name Bob Gagliano their starter Maybe its because they really ant to giv new comer Stan Humphries every opportunity to in the job May be it because they're waiting to see if John Friesz can play on one leg Maybe it's because they re still try ing to sell season tickets You don't have to be a marketing genius to realize Bob Gagliano is a tough sell Speeches at the political conventions sound more believable than talk of gunning for the play offs ith Gagliano at quarterback Then again, Gagliano has exhib ited more evidence of being able to handle the job for hich he lob by ing He's the one speaking quiet ly and carry ing a big stick The journeyman passer who has started only 12 games in his pro career, may have sealed his bid to lead the Chargers ith his near flawless performance in Friday night 20-14 preseason loss to San Francisco He completed eight of 13 passes for 87 yards, and the numbers would have been greater if not for three dropped balls, one by Nate Lewis in the end zone Gagliano played only two series, but he engineered 60- and 80-y ard marches that resulted in a missed field goal and his ow 20 ard touchdown scramble Counting last week's performance in New England, the South em California native has guided the Chargers to scores on four of his last five possessions Thats something Michael Jordan would have trouble doing for the Bulls Staff Photo Hayne Palmour See Ilyvonen.

Page 2 Stan Humphries completed five of 12 passes for 52 yards. Mazda has international flavor By Craig Handel Staff Writer CARLSBAD With five players with San Diego County connections, theres definitely a local flavor to this years Mazda Tennis Classic. But theres also a strong foreign flavor to it When the tournament opens at 11 a Monday at the La Costa Resort Spa, organizers could almost do a parade of nations because this years event looks like the second coming of the Olympics. Of the 28 womens players this years draw, a total of 15 have connections with other countries And as balanced as the field is, co-promoter Jane Stratton said so are the brackets It pretty equally distributed. she said I remember hen you might have someone easy in that first round, but I don't see that here Argentina's Gabnela Sabatim is the top seed but the feeling is that Jennifer Capriati, winner of the Olympic gold medal, may be the favorite Jennifer is more match tough while this is Gabbys first tournament since Wimbledon, said Chris Evert, analyst for NBC, which will televise Saturday and Sundays action Til put my money on Jennifer nding high on confidence Sabatim opens action Tuesday night against the Gretchen Magers Kimberly Po winner while See Mazda, Page C-2 Padres hope for home remedy mdresupdaiF TONIGHTS GAME New York al Padres 7 05 PITCHING MATCHUP.

Pete Schourek (3 5) vs Bruce Hurst (12 7) TV Pay per view RADIO: KFMB 760 RECORD. 64-57 (Third place) Brett hits his way to milestone By Jack Etkin Kansas City Star The questions are always about the estimated time of arrival at a statistical height Nothing else A crucial hit to tie a game0 George Brett isnt asked to provide nuance and detail about conquering a particular pitch The focus is on the big picture, his journey to 3,000 hits Nothing else The Kansas City Royals, in Chicago, Texas and Detroit on this trip, have 42 games remaining Brett needs 41 hits to reach 3,000 The story is the mathematics Im talking about it a lot more ith the media before and See Brett, Page 3 9 games behind the Braves. 10 in the loss column with 41 games left Several plavers quoted anony-mouslv in recent published reports have lost confidence in Riddoch and think the club might be better off ithout the manager It no secret hy re losing." said one Padre, "and everyone here knows it He a nice guy, but you ve got to respect a manager, and that not happening It not just me talking You can go to almost every guy this clubhouse and get the same thing I know (general manager Joe) Mcll-vaine sees it. but the way it sounds, the owners don't The Padres ownership group reportedly has recommended that Mcllvame offer Riddoch a two-year contract extension, but Mcllvame has said he wants to wait and see how Riddoch fares in a pennant-type situation From B-C Staff SAN DIEGO The Padres return home to Jack Murphy Stadium today hoping to put a bad road trip behind them and establish confidence in themselves again A 26 road swing through Atlanta, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh saw the Padres lose 5'i games in the NL West standings in only a week Along the way. clubhouse grumbling about manager Greg Riddoch has increased while morale has decreased So when the Padres host the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates in a eight game homestand that starts today, theyll have some catching up to do not only the standings but in their own clubhouse After splitting with the divisionleading Braves, losing two of three to the second-place Reds and becoming victims of a three game sweep at the hands of the Pirates, the Padres' slim hopes of being in a pennant race have become minuscule But Riddoch isnt giving up just yet Im not conceding nothing.

Riddoch said "Weve worked too hard to give up Said Tony Gwynn Me neither Im not conceding anything We've lost six out of seven, but it aint the end of the orld e'll go home and see what we can do and creep a couple of games closer The Padres enter the homestand i.