SAN DIEGO — San Diego Chargers star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman said he did not harm reality TV star Tila Tequila at his home early Sunday and added he was concerned for her safety because she appeared to be intoxicated.

Merriman was arrested and accused of choking and throwing Tequila to the ground as she tried to leave his home in suburban Poway. Tequila signed a citizen’s arrest warrant charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment. Both are felonies.

Merriman spent about 2 1/2 hours in the downtown jail before posting bail.

Merriman practiced Monday, then said he’s convinced he’ll be cleared. It will ultimately be up to the District Attorney’s office to decide if he’ll be charged.

“I think when it all surfaces, it will be a different situation. Period,” said Merriman, who described Tequila as an acquaintance.

Tequila, whose real name is Tila Nguyen, is best known for “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila,” which ran for two seasons on MTV. The bisexual dating show featured men and women vying for Tequila’s affections. She has also modeled for Playboy and other men’s magazines.

Merriman said he was limited in what he could say. He kept referring to a statement issued through his attorney Sunday night.

“At the time, I was concerned about her welfare given the intoxicated state she appeared to be in and I encouraged her to stay until safe transportation could be provided,” Merriman said in the statement. “We would all do our best to help a friend if we considered their actions to be detrimental to their personal safety.

“I in no way caused any harm to Ms. Nguyen, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported,” the statement continued.

“It’s kind of a tough situation where you think you’re doing the right thing,” Merriman said Monday. “I’m glad that everyone was safe at the end of the day. I don’t think I will regret that part.”

Asked if he threw Tequila to the ground, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Merriman said: “No. I can’t talk about any of that stuff.”

Scott E. Leemon, an attorney for Tequila, didn’t respond to an e-mail asking for comment on Merriman’s statement.

Also Monday, the owner of a downtown club where Merriman and Tequila attended a party Saturday night said his staff told him Tequila had been drinking and it appeared Merriman had ordered only bottled water.

“I feel sorry for the guy and I think the truth needs to be told,” said James Brennan, who owns Stingaree, one of the city’s top hangouts for celebrities.

Brennan said he normally wouldn’t comment, but felt he should after seeing Tequila’s tweet in which she said she’s allergic to alcohol.

“It sounds like she’s allergic to the truth,” Brennan told The Associated Press.

Brennan said he was not at the club Saturday night, but had spoken with every employee who dealt with Tequila and Merriman. Brennan said he was told she had shots of tequila and drank from a bottle of vodka. Brennan said Tequila requested that his brother, Shane, a manager at Stingaree, have a shot of tequila with her.

“She wasn’t like falling down or anything of that nature, but she was visibly intoxicated,” Brennan said.

In a tweet Sunday, Tequila said: “I am allergic to alcohol. It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila “Tequila” cuz the irony. I cant drink.”

Merriman said he met Monday morning with team president Dean Spanos and coach Norv Turner.

“They’re just all supportive, hopefully that we can move on from the situation as soon as possible,” Merriman said.

Merriman said he did not meet with general manager A.J. Smith.

Smith is believed to be unhappy with Merriman’s various off-field activities. There’s been speculation the Chargers will Merriman leave when he’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

Merriman is one of the NFL’s hardest-hitting players. Nicknamed “Lights Out” for his savage hits, he has a tattoo of a switch on one of his forearms that he pretends to flip while doing his spasmodic sack dance.

He had 39 1/2 sacks in his first three seasons. The three-time Pro Bowl selection has been getting back into shape after having season-ending knee surgery following the 2008 opener.

Merriman was suspended four games for testing positive for steroids in 2006, his second NFL season.

Star running back LaDainian Tomlinson said Merriman sought advice from key teammates. Tomlinson also said Turner addressed the team.

“He wanted us to continue to think about places we’ll be, what time we’re there and who we’re around,” Tomlinson said. “Those are the things we can control. That was kind of his point.”

Turner refused to say what he said to the team. Smith didn’t return a call seeking comment and a team spokesman said Spanos wasn’t going to comment.

The Chargers open the season next Monday night at Oakland.

**Update**

Tila Tequila was in Beverly Hills yesterday, and for the first time we got to see some of the damage done by Shawn Merriman last weekend. You can almost see the outlines of his hands in the bruises on her arms, but considering he’s an all-pro linebacker and she could be carried around on your back like Yoda, this could have been much much worse. At best she weighs 100 pounds. He weighs 260 pounds.

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Originally posted 2009-09-11 10:58:15.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s glam Costa Rican wedding was marred by gunfire last night when security guards hired to keep paparazzi away fired at two photographers as they fled the scene with their film. No one was hurt.

According to two spokesmen for the INF photo agency, photographers were hiding in the brush near Gisele’s beachfront home taking pictures of the event when they were rousted by the newlyweds’ security guards.

The photographers, identified as Yuri Cortez and Rolando Aviles, were marched up to Bundchen’s villa where they were ordered to surrender their still photos and video. The men refused and fled with the security guards in pursuit.

Two of the photographers ran to a waiting SUV and jumped in as a guard fired a shot at them, the photo agency said. The bullet shattered the Suzuki’s rear window, passed between the two men in the front seat and bounced off the windshield.

“No one was hurt but one of their cars was messed up,” the INF spokesman said.

The photo agency posted pictures of a photographer standing by an SUV with a shattered back windshield. A second picture shows the photographer holding a bullet.

It is unclear whether Mr. and Mrs. Brady and their 25 guests knew about the incident. According to People magazine, the newlyweds looked relaxed and happy as they mingled under a tent on the balcony of Gisele’s beachfront estate during their dream wedding redux.

(Check out tomorrow’s Boston Herald print edition for exclusive photos of Tom & Gisele’s Costa Rican wedding!)

The beauteous Brazilian bombshell married her pigskin Prince Charming at dusk yesterday, saying “I Do” for the second time in two months before a small gathering of family and friends.

Gisele, in a long designer dress and a veil that trailed 10 feet, and holding a bouquet of white orchids, “looked so gorgeous,” a source told People. “She looked beautiful.”

Brady, 31, in a gray suit and vest with white pants, looked very happy as he greeted guests holding his 1 1/2-year-old son, Jack .

“They all seemed like they were having a great time,” one onlooker told the magazine.

Earlier in the day, Brady hosted a brunch at the nearby Milarepa hotel for the male guests including his dad, Tom Sr., Gisele’s father Valdir, New England Patriots [team stats] poohbah Bob Kraft and 12’s main man Will McDonough .

Meanwhile, Gisele and her attendants dressed at the nearby Hotel Flor Blanca while workers readied her home. At around 4:30 p.m. Bundchen and other guests raced back to her home just in time for the sunset nuptials, People reported.

As you are so well aware, the lovebirds exchanged vows for the first time last month in La-La with only a half-dozen or so of their nearest and dearest. Last night’s “I Deux” capped three days of pre-wedding festivities, which began Thursday night with a rollicking rehearsal dinner at the Milarepa beachfront hotel and restaurant near Gi’s place on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.

The town is a popular spot for surfers and celebrities. Besides Gisele, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mel Gibson, Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto and the Olsen twins also own property there.

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Originally posted 2009-04-06 08:52:23.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Jamaica Bobsleigh Team is on track in its qualifying bid for the 21st Olympic Winter Games, scheduled to be held February 12-28, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

The team recently concluded four months of training and competition with a 10th place finish in the two-man race at the Bobsled and Skeleton World Championship in Lace Placid, New York.

Held from February 20 to March 1, the event marked the conclusion of the International Bobsled Federation’s (FIBT) 2008-2009 World Cup and World Championship season. Driver, Hannukkah Wallace and brakeman, Joel Alexander completed the 1680-metre track in a combined time of 2:00.69 over two heats.

Other highlights of the team’s season include a 20th place finish at the Junior World Championship in Koenigsee, Germany, as well as extensive sliding time in Park City, Utah.

While on a brief stopover in New York on April 3 on their way home from Lake Placid, Alexander, Wallace and Marvin Dixon, toured the Jamaican-owned Caribbean Food Delights production plant located in Tappan.

The team also did interviews on Caribbean Lifestyle TV (CLM), Irie Jam Radio, 93.5 FM, and dined at the Door Restaurant in Jamaica, Queens and Ripe Restaurant in Mount Vernon, New York.

Devon Harris, a member of Jamaica’s first bobsled team, which qualified for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, served as chaperone during the group’s stop in New York.

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Originally posted 2009-04-10 11:13:51.

Popularity: 2% [?]