Let me start by saying that we as fans assume that we “know” the sports media people that cover our favorite teams.  Although the same assumption is made about the players, it seems a bit easier to do so with the media. 

Well, we all know what happens when you assume.

I didn’t go into this thinking that Mr. Acee would come across as pompous or rude.  Or any of the things that he is accused of being by some of the ”all-knowing” fans.  I did not, however, expect him to be quite so laidback and cool.   

This is a guy that you’d like to sit down and have a beer with while talking Chargers.  He was extremely cool and made me feel very comfortable due to his demeanor. 

For those of you that have a different perception of him, you are absolutely wrong.  He answered every one of my questions while standing behind multiple things that he has said or written.

Without further ado, click on the link below and hear the entire interview.  I hope you enjoy and leave me some feedback in the comment section.  If there was something that you’d like to ask him that isn’t covered in the interview, perhaps I could get him to follow me on Twitter and I’ll direct message him your questions.  (Shameless plug for a follow)

http://sdsportsjunkies.com/audio/Boogapinterview.mp3 

Thanks a lot for listening.

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP

P.S. The season is all over but the crying.  But let’s be thankful knowing that a lot of changes are coming for our San Diego Chargers

Dec 5, 2011; Jacksonville, FL, USA; San Diego Chargers tackle Jared Gaither (78) during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. The Chargers defeated the Jaguars 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

 The fact that Jared Gaither played so well at the end of the 2011 season led many to believe that he was the answer at left tackle.  It has now become clear that his place on the team has transitioned to a series of questions. 

Will he ever be able to stay healthy?  Have his injuries been so severe that he should not have been on the field?  Has his lack of effort to return from multiple ailments become a major topic of conversation amongst the players in the locker room?

I addressed the Gaither situation during my interview with Chargers featured columnist of the San Diego Union Tribune Kevin Acee. 

He made it very clear he believed that upper management, and the players, have grown tired of attempting to figure out what’s eating Jared Gaither.

See what I did there?  Nevermind.

Mr. Acee is of the opinion that Gaither will not be wearing lightning bolts in 2013.  In fact, my guess is that he has some solid information that makes him “know” that his release will happen.  I’ll admit that I am assuming that he has info stating that Gaither will indeed be gone.  We all know what happens when we assume….

Although the Chargers will take a cap hit for releasing “Big Lazy,” it is not what is considered to be “real money” as Kevin put it during our interview. 

My next assumption is that the majority of the fans are ecstatic to hear that Gaither will no longer be a member of the Bolts. 

That leads me to a small portion of my interview with Acee that also concerns Robert Meachem.  The team owes him right around five million in the aforementioned “real money.” 

This is money that will be paid out regardless of his status on the team.  Kevin made it clear that the team, regardless of a new regime at both Head coach and General Manager, will stick with Meachem due to his guaranteed cash.

Although anything is possible under new leadership in San Diego, I tend to agree wholeheartedly with Acee.  As much as I have been terribly frustrated with the performance of Meachem, I believe that it would be a mistake to cut him knowing the money that would be lost in doing so in 2013.  Gaither can go, in my opinion.  I will have no love lost, so to speak, when he is released by the team.  Here’s to hoping that Kevin is right about Gaither. 

Despite it opening up another serious void on the roster, the time has come to cut ties with Big Lazy.  I said it earlier in the year in my article “Big Lazy driving us crazy.”  But what do I know?  It seemed to me that I was able to see the writing on the wall.

Stay tuned for my full interview with Kevin Acee to be posted tomorrow evening exclusively on BoltBeat.com.  It contains a lot of insight that I have no doubt will be important to each and every #BoltFam member.

Thanks a lot for reading!

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP

Yesterday while I was on Twitter, I noticed a tweet from Kevin Acee, columnist for the San Diego Union Tribune, mentioning that the upcoming game against the Steelers was scheduled to be played in Pittsburgh for the second consecutive time.  The rotation of games for this matchup had originally shown that the game was supposed to be played in San Diego this time around. 

Per a change made by Roger Goodell and the league office, the game was switched to be played in Pittsburgh again.  After reading the tweet, I remembered that the same was the case for the contest against the Carolina Panthers.

As some of you might recall, our last game versus the Panthers was at home in San Diego.  The week 14 game against Carolina will also be in America’s Finest city.  That game fell under the new rescheduling as well.  I tweeted this fact in a reply to Acee’s Pittsburgh tweet.

He responded by adding that he was disappointed due to the fact that Bank of America Stadium is the only NFL venue in which he had never attended a game.  Being that I live in Charlotte, approximately 15 minutes from the Carolina stadium, I explained that I was still going to watch the Chargers play the Panthers on December the 16th.  The difference is that I’ll being taking a cross country flight as opposed to making the short car ride to do so.

It then occurred to me that this would be my last trip of the year to SanDiego. 

I thought to myself, what would help ensure a more successful visit to Cali than having the opportunity to interview the man himself.

To make a long story short, I asked Acee in a tweet if he would be willing to spend 10 minutes of his time by allowing me to interview him.  Surprisingly enough, he agreed and I will be getting in touch with him when I arrive in San Diego to set up the meeting.

Knowing how important the BoltBeat Family is to the success of this website, I find it more than appropriate to extend an opportunity out to two of our supporters to ask one question a piece that I will include in the interview. 

Your support is extremely important to myself and the entire staff here at BoltBeat.  Without you the site would have no importance as I mentioned in an article the day before Thanksgiving.

I encourage all of you to submit a question for Kevin Acee down below in the comment section of this article.  I will choose the two best questions and ask them in the interview. 

This is something that I would hope all of you would take seriously and come up with a legitimate question or concern that you would like to have Mr. Acee answer.

I’d like to thank him in advance for this opportunity.  This is something that I’m sure I’ll never forget.

Please put your best foot forward and leave a comment below with your question(s).  Feel free to leave multiple questions. 

Thanks a lot for reading.  I am very excited about this and I hope that you are as well.

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP