Among the challenges of writing a weekly sports column are timing and relevance. During the CIF playoffs, a resounding early round win can be followed in short order by a disheartening defeat. The story will cover the details of the victory, while the loss may have occurred the night before publication.

This column is typically written early Monday morning for publication Wednesday. The editors trust that I will turn in the column on time, while not invoking a seemingly irrelevant Napoleonic palindrome (Able was I, ere I saw Elba) in the text of the piece. Sometimes the editors are disappointed.

One topic with the potential for a long life cycle is the ongoing salary discussion (or should the term ‘dispute’ be employed at this juncture?), between San Diego Chargers No. 1 draft choice Philip Rivers and Chargers ownership. Rivers, the next great hope at quarterback for the local gridiron club, was drafted fourth by the New York Giants and then traded to the Chargers for the No. 1 pick in the draft, Eli Manning.

As soon as this coup was consummated, an important move because Manning had previously told anyone who would listen that he didn’t want to play for the Chargers, I discussed the potential problems San Diego would have signing Rivers with my dad Joe Axelson. "I bet they’ll want No. 1 pick in the draft money," I said cleverly. Joe responded, "at least that much."

Joe spent a significant portion of his professional career as the president of a National Basketball Association franchise and signed draft picks for a living. Between us, we were able to come to the heart of the matter pretty quickly. Apparently the Chargers and Rivers haven’t completed that intellectual leap as of this writing.

Typically, athletes selected in a draft and the (staggering) amount of money they receive, are ‘slotted’ by the contracts signed by the draft pick taken immediately before and immediately after them. As an example, the tenth player selected in the draft will normally make less than the ninth pick and more than the eleventh selection. Rivers and his representatives have grudgingly given up on receiving No. 1 money and the $20 million signing bonus awarded Manning, but they want a better deal than the No. 3 selection wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has already been signed by the Arizona Cardinals.

Here’s the problem in a nutshell. The Chargers are in major rebuilding mode. Make that rebuilding with a capital ‘R.’ Incumbent quarterback Drew Brees is clearly not the player that the Chargers wish to build their future around, hence the trade for Rivers. By fighting over every last nickel in the contract negotiations, the Chargers are virtually guaranteeing that Rivers won’t be a factor, significant or otherwise, for the team this season. In fairness, recent Football Hall of Fame inductee John Elway in his prime couldn’t carry the 2004 edition of the Chargers to the NFL playoffs.

In addition, the Chargers economic model has changed in the past several months. They are no longer guaranteed home sellouts by the city of San Diego and the second half of this season will find the Chargers playing before ever smaller crowds, with none of the games televised locally due to NFL television policies. Conversely, Chargers Owner Alex Spanos has said in print that his goal in life is to acquire his second billion dollars (yes, Virginia that’s billion) before he leaves this veil of tears.

I’m guessing there’s some room for compromise in this contractual stalemate. For a while it looked like a happy Rivers would be a far superior choice than an unhappy Manning at the helm of the Chargers. Now it looks like maybe Manning was right to opt out of the sun and surf of San Diego. It may be a while before Rivers eyes Elba.

On a more positive front, the contribution by Coronado High School to the international world of water polo continues to grow. It has been well documented that three CHS grads, Layne Beaubien (CHS ’94), Genai Kerr (CHS ’95), and Jesse Smith (CHS ’01), are members of the U.S. Olympic Team that will begin competition in Athens this week.

However, the CHS involvement with water polo doesn’t end there. In the wings of the proverbial world stage are two CHS grads Katie Hansen (CHS ’03) and Tommy Corcoran (CHS ’04), who recently won gold medals at the Junior Pan American Water Polo Championships held in San Salvador, El Salvador.

We’ll turn the podium over to proud dad Kevin Corcoran for additional details. "Both players were named as one of the nation’s best 13 players, 20 years of age and younger. Hansen, a driver, started a majority of the games for the women’s team, which won all nine games they played by a convincing margin, including a 12-4 route of defending champion Canada in the championship game. Katie played excellent defense and scored six goals in the tournament.

Tommy was the back-up 2-meter player (center forward) for the U.S. team, which won all six of their games. The Men’s team defeated defending champion Brazil 10-6 in the finals. Tommy scored nine goals in the tournament, including two scores in the 10-7 semi-final victory over Argentina."

Hansen will be a sophomore at Stanford, while Corcoran will enter USC in the fall.

Also, Matt Digges (CHS ’04), helped lead his Pepperdine 18-and-Under team, to a first place finish at the Water Polo Junior Olympics held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl last month. Digges played well defensively and scored three goals in the championship game. Digges was named to the All-Tournament First Team and was also voted Tournament MVP. Digges enters Pepperdine this fall.

One of my favorite people in Coronado is Ralph West, who is the CHS Baseball representative on the Islander Sports Foundation’s Board of Directors. Ralph tends to write clever, lengthy, and randomly scheduled E-mails to his constituency, which at last count totaled 61 names, including mine. His communications are usually a mixture of requesting volunteers, thanking volunteers, an occasional friendly dig at a player or parent, and a baseball-related trivia question. A laugh, or worse case a chuckle, can be gleaned from virtually every E-mail he sends.

Now if we could just get him to include all of the people and addresses receiving the E-mail in the ‘bcc’ portion of the transmission, several trees could be saved when printing the downloaded West literary gems. Ralph, keep up the good work.

Finally, here is the team sign-up information for fall CHS sports. We’ve already run this a couple of times, but it’s important for families new to the area and for folks that might have been on their family vacation and missed it the first couple of times through.

Boys and Girls Cross Country - There is a summer running club for athletes interested in getting in shape. Some members of the team will participate in a running camp at Big Bear from Aug. 21-26. For more information, please contact Head Coach Mel Bechtel at 424-6478 or E-mail Asst. Coach George Green at GeorgeGreen@CrownCity.com.

Football – Equipment issue is scheduled for August 16-17 and conditioning practices will begin Aug. 18. Hell Week is scheduled for Aug. 23-28. For more information, please contact the Head Coach Bud Mayfield or the coaching staff at the CHS Football office 522-8970, Ext. 2707.

Girls Golf – Parents and athletes are invited to attend an organizational meeting at the Coronado Golf Course at 3 pm, Friday, Aug. 20. Practice will begin Monday, Aug. 23. For information, please contact Head Coach Kari Weidner at 861-3898 or E-mail her at KLW144@yahoo.com.

Girls Tennis – Practice and tryouts will begin Monday, Aug. 23. For more information, please call Head Coach Robbin Adair at 435-5140 or contact him via E-mail at RLAat814@aol.com.

Girls Volleyball – Practice and tryouts will commence Aug. 20 at 9 am at the CHS gym. For more information, please contact Head Coach Phil Trotter at philtrotter23@hotmail.com.

Boys Water Polo – Interested players should meet at the school tennis courts at 8 am, Monday, Aug. 23. For more information, please contact Head Coach Randy Burgess at 522-8970, Ext. 2704 or visit www.nadopolo.com.