HONOLULU — In front of Jay Cutler was the clear-blue but chilly-watered swimming pool at the Ihilani resort.

The gang of Pro Bowl football players had been gathered around the tables, swapping stories, when suddenly the Broncos’ quarterback had 300-pound Nick Mangold pushing from one side, 310-pound Kris Dielman holding the other and his cellphone swindled into the hands of a coy Peyton Manning.

Cutler’s radar had gone up, but he never had a chance.

Splash!

“We gave him a Pro Bowl baptism,” said Dielman, the star offensive guard of the rival San Diego Chargers.

Great fun. Big laughs. There was just one problem. Cutler is a Type 1 diabetic, and in his pocket was his blood-sugar monitor.

“That was a prank where

I thought we were smart enough to get the cellphone out of his pocket,” Dielman said. “But then, ‘Oops.’ “The monitor was fried by the chlorinated water. Fortunately, Hawaii has drug stores, and after a few calls here and there, Cutler was well-equipped by lunchtime Wednesday.

“It was a bad audible on our part,” Manning said. “I think we were thinking right, trying to get the cellphone. Then we realize, the guy gets insulin shots. We missed that.”

Here in the island of warm breezes, soft sand and chilled lagoons, Cutler has been making friends. It’s just that football friendships tend to include a few more hijinks than, say, relationships forged in a corporate office on the mainland.

After his Tuesday night dunking, Cutler had returned to the scene for Wednesday afternoon lunch.

“It’s been great,” Cutler said, his back to the Pacific Ocean and the warm sun. “All the guys have been good. Working with Peyton has been fun. Just to see what he does day to day, how he goes about it. He’s such a professional.”

No sooner had Cutler complimented Manning than guess who strode through the pool area, greeting guests at a table across the deck? Make no mistake, Peyton Manning knows how to work the room.

“He’s the mayor here,” Cutler said.

This is Cutler’s first Pro Bowl appearance, which is one more than expected for a quarterback who has been starting for only two full seasons. He has made a favorable impression here, and not just poolside. During the first quarterback meeting with the Baltimore Ravens’ and AFC coaching staff, the playing time rotation was revealed. Manning would start, Cutler would play next and veteran Kerry Collins would take a few series in the second half.

Coach John Harbaugh had even said Cutler would get most of the reps.

Cutler said hold on, here. Collins is 36, a 14-year NFL veteran invited to only his second Pro Bowl. Cutler insisted Collins play ahead of him.

“I thought it was a real nice gesture on his part,” Collins said. “And I said to him, ‘You were voted ahead of me and you should go.’ And he said, ‘No, no.’ It was respectful, and I really appreciated it. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him. He’s definitely a good guy to hang with.”

At lunch Wednesday, Dielman pulled up a chair at Cutler’s poolside table. Mr. Charger and Mr. Bronco. Aren’t these guys supposed to dislike each other?

“He’s like a lot of us, (we) play it up a little bit,” Cutler said. “I wasn’t sure how he was going to be because he’s Philip’s boy, but he’s been great.”

As the football nation knows, Cutler and Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers don’t like each other. It must be the island.

“We’re all out here in Hawaii having a good time,” Dielman said. “We’ll deal with that during the season. Jay’s a good dude. Philip’s a good dude. They’re two competitors. That’s what happens when you have two competitors going at each other.”

Collins is here because Brett Favre first alternate Rivers passed on the trip. The way it has gone this week, Cutler and Rivers probably would have gotten along fine.

“I think we probably would have,” Cutler said. “It’s hard not to get along with people down here in this environment.”

For the sake of the Broncos-Chargers rivalry, perhaps it was better Rivers isn’t here.

Source: Jay Cutler Article

Originally posted 2009-02-06 15:29:24.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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.

Source

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

Popularity: 1% [?]