San Diego Chargers new starting quarterback Philip (one ‘l’ please) Rivers officially held the alpha male’s ultimate introduction to society Saturday night, as he led his team to a 17-3 pre-season victory over the Green Bay Packers.

As one of a miniscule minority of football fans who thought that vertically-challenged incumbent signal caller Drew Brees was just good enough to get you beat when it counted (Islander Sports Foundation President Lee Pontes and apparently Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith were two others on that short list), the successful coming out party for the 6-5, 228 pound Rivers was equal parts exhilaration and a relief. Rivers was 15-21 passing in one half of play, good for 169 yards, one touchdown pass and no interceptions.

Consider that Brees and Rivers have both quarterbacked the Chargers to the same number of post-season victories – zero. In Rivers’ case, a playoff victory would be hard to engineer with both feet firmly planted on the sidelines.

After throwing for 13,484 yards and 95 touchdown passes in his collegiate career at North Carolina State, Rivers spent the last 2 years as Brees’ understudy, absorbing the Chargers’ offensive playbook and learning the pro game. My theory is that regardless of the quality of the competition, throwing for that quantity of yardage (second All-time in NCAA history) means that you can play the game.

Before we get too carried away about Rivers, a couple of caveats need to be thrown out there to mull on. First, with apologies to local Packer Backers, the 2006 club appears to be inept at best. Quarterback Brett Favre is always fun to watch, despite being on the downside of a Hall of Fame career. Rookie linebacker A.J. Hawke, the sixth player selected in the 2006 NFL draft from Ohio State, will play at the pro level for a long time. Defensive end Kabeer Gbaia-Biamilla from San Diego State is another standout. And there is your list of talent from the heart of Cheeseland.

Second, perhaps the only less meaningful athletic contest than an NFL preseason game is an NBA preseason game. Consider the following list of Chargers who didn’t participate in the game: feature back LaDainian Tomlinson; his nonpareil blocking back Lorenzo Neal; and fellow starters Eric Parker, Roman Oben, Donnie Edwards and Randall Godfrey. The NFL’s best tight end Antonio Gates made a token appearance.

Third, even reviled former Charger signaler Ryan Leaf looked good in one exhibition game and we know where his career went after that.

When the defensive ‘starters’ were still in the game, the Chargers’ front seven of linemen Luis Castillo, Jamal Williams and Igor Olshansky and linebackers Shawne Merriman, Stephen Cooper, Matt Wilhelm and Steve Foley dominated the game. Williams at 6-3, 348 pounds in his ninth year, plays the all-important defensive nose tackle position with a passion.

Not up to that level are the defensive secondary, including cornerback Quentin Jammer, the recent recipient of a generous 5-year, $30 million exception. From the comfort of my recliner, with my DVR remote poised and accurately aimed, that personnel move is hard to fathom. But take heart fellow fans, most NFL player contracts aren’t fully guaranteed.

Another Charger surprise, this one on the positive side, is the depth among the receiving corps. Keenan McCardell and Gates are both well known, but recent free agent tight end acquisition Brandon Manumaleuna (listed at a dainty and highly inaccurate 6-2, 288 pounds) knows his way around the field. Also, receivers Ryan Krause, Kasim Osgood and Vincent Jackson will present the coaching staff with some tough choices when it comes time to reduce the roster.

Rivers showed creativity and athletic ability during his time on the field Saturday evening. His timing, footwork, fakes and handoffs all appeared to be effortless and smooth. His decision making was flawless. Of his six incomplete passes, two should have been caught. Another completion to Jackson for an apparent touchdown was overturned via instant replay.

But the most important stat of the evening for Rivers was the zero in the interceptions column. In the modern NFL, turnovers more than any other single element, determine the outcome of a game.

Friday the Chicago Bears, playing in their own lair in front of their fans, will present a tougher defensive challenge to Rivers. While the starters are on the field, this should be an entertaining contest. But until you see the familiar No. 21 of Tomlinson on the field, these games are just exhibitions.

For those of you with middle school-aged athletes, whip out your calendar and circle Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 pm, which will be the time for registration for the CMS fall sports. The sign-ups will be held at Granzer Hall at CMS.

Fall sports offerings include girls’ volleyball, co-ed cross country and girls’ lacrosse. The sign-up fee is $90 per child, per sport.

The middle school sports program is administered by the Islander Sports Foundation. Why, you might ask, is a foundation involved in this venture? Four years ago, due to severe budget constraints, funding for Coronado Middle School sports was discontinued by the Coronado Unified School District. A group of parents and representatives of the ISF, a 501-c-3 non-profit organization, met in an attempt to continue the sports effort at the middle school level.

The effort has been successful thus far. During the 2005-06 school year, there were a total of 444 student participations in the 13 sports offered by ISF/CMS Sports. The other offerings include the winter sports of girls’ soccer, boys’ basketball, softball, boys’ soccer and co-ed golf. The spring season brings co-ed tennis, boys’ lacrosse, co-ed track, girls’ basketball and boys’ water polo.

The driving force behind the ISF/CMS Sports program is that interscholastic competition is important at the middle school age level. Coronado children have faced each other in youth baseball and soccer and at school for several years at this point in their lives. Traveling ‘off the island’ was considered to be essential for kids to face competition from other schools in San Diego County. Also, the experiences associated with traveling to an away game and competing away from home are an important part of a student-athlete’s maturation process.

Although there is a fee associated with participation in the athletic program, ISF/CMS Sports has never denied a child the ability to compete at the middle school level. Scholarships are granted to families who request them. It is also the goal of ISF/CMS Sports to have a sport for all kids, for every season. In addition, ISF/CMS Sports strives to include as many youngsters in our athletic programs as possible.

Although technically not part of the administration of the school district, ISF/CMS Sports require that each student-athlete must be eligible both academically and with their citizenship grades to participate in games against other schools. Student-athletes must also adhere to the school’s Pelican Way code of conduct.

In addition, students must have a current physical exam, administered by a doctor, to be eligible to participate in sports sponsored by ISF/CMS. All pertinent ISF/CMS athletic forms (there are a total of four forms, some containing more than one page) may be downloaded from www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com.

Most of the ISF/CMS Sports have an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ team, and some have a ‘C’ team. It is the philosophy of ISF/CMS Sports that the ‘A’ team is the most competitive of the levels. Typically they will have fewer players on the squad and the participants will be the best athletes in that sport, regardless of their grade in school.

ISF/CMS Sports requires that all student-athletes participate in every game. Playing time at the more competitive ‘A’ level will be more reflective of a student’s ability in that particular sport and equal playing time for the student-athlete is not mandated.

In the event that a student-athlete is new to a given sport, they may opt to play on one of the lower level teams in order to learn the skills and techniques associated with that sport. At the ‘B’ and ‘C’ levels, all eligible student-athletes will participate in every game. As a general rule, eighth graders will not participate on ‘C’ level teams.

Sign-ups for the winter sports will be held in November and the spring sports registration will be in February.

Finally, with the start of school rapidly approaching, the official start of the fall CHS sports season is nearly upon us. Here is the contact information and the practice start dates for all CHS fall sports teams.

Cross Country - The first day of the CHS Cross Country season is August 28. Students who wish to participate must have their physical exam performed by that date. For information call George Green at 435-3633 or visit: www.islandertrack.com.

Football- Equipment was issued August 14 and conditioning practices began August 15. Hell Week is scheduled for August 21 through 25. For more information, call the CHS Football office at 522-8970 ext. 2707.

Girls’ Golf– Parents and/or Athletes should plan on meeting at the Coronado Golf Course at 4 pm Wednesday, August 23. The tryout process will be explained and the dates and times of tryouts will be announced. For additional information please call Hannah Cohan at 990-8755.

Girls’ Tennis- Practice (tryouts) will begin Monday, August 21. Interested girls should meet at the CHS Tennis Courts at 4pm on that date. Anyone wishing to try out must have an updated physical by August 21. For more information call Robbin Adair at (858) 880-3688 (home) or (858) 610-3622 (cell) or contact him via E-mail at: radair@san.rr.com.

Girls’ Volleyball- Practice (tryouts) will begin Monday, August 21 at 9am in the CHS gymnasium. All potential players must have a physical in order to tryout and should wear shoes suitable for the gym floor. For information contact Christine Laar at 619-225-0282 (home) or 619-920-6536 (cell).

Boys’ Water Polo - All interested players should meet at the Coronado Municipal Pool Monday, August 21st. All players wishing to tryout must have a physical by that date. For information call Randy Burgess at 851-9733 or David Throop at 851-9734. Information is also available on the Water Polo website: www.nadoaquatics.com.