<B>Sports Web comments</B>

Tony: "Yes, for the good of the team and with all respect, Hoffman should retire."

Jeff: "Retire based upon two games? C'mon folks. 1) Tony Gwynn Jr. hit the ball off his shoe tops. Give Jr. credit. 2) In Colorado, the air is thin and the ball stays up. Evidence Peavy. Should Peavy be traded/retire because he had a bad game? Come to your senses. Greg Maddux, he's doing fine. He's got a mid-80 fastball. How fast many of you are to sling the mud without realizing what you're giving up."

Brad: "When all he has is a change-up and you get at least three pitches, it's real easy to sit on one. He said he'll let the hitters tell him when it's time to retire. Did he hear them the last two games of '07?"

Narrow Minded: "Only a fool would suggest retirement based on two games. How narrow minded. Look at his stats over the past four years; not to mention that he was among the top three this year. Why not wait until he falls out of the top 10 at least. Nothing like a fair weather fan (reporter) to call for the retirement of a great player, team leader, role model and city icon based on a score of a single game and not the facts."

Bolter: "Trevor should stay. However, he should take a back seat and start grooming younger players. Again, his performance is gauged by how effective he is as a closer, and clearly he was not effective against the Rockies (nor was the umpiring since he never did touch home plate as was tagged out). Trevor needs to lift and get more upper body strength to increase speed of his pitches in the offseason. But he should stay until the end of his contract. He is replaceable, as we saw with Bruce Bochy, but he must do something to remain competitive as he gets older."

Readers' responses to an Oct. 12 story on Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman:

Observer: "If this story is true, why isn't the rest of the team getting sacks? If the opponents are putting 2 or 3 players on one guy then some else should be getting great opportunities to get to the QB, right? Oh yeah, I forgot, AJ in his brilliance got rid of our experienced LBs because he didn't like them or they weren't yes men enough for him! The same reason he got rid of Marty, remember! Maybe that explains it or maybe as the rumors go it is because "Lights Out" had his lights turn off when he had to stop doping! Yo, Lights Out, it is up to you to build your reputation back after your doping year, pro bowl and records. Can you do it without dope? YOUR public is watching!"

Zack: "If Merriman is being double-teamed, then hopefully Cottrell will make the necessary adjustments. If the Chargers are unable to put pressure on the QB, then they will lose. Fortunately for the Chargers, they are playing one of the least mobile QBs in the league. This is a very important game for the Chargers. Do they build on their success of last week, or do they take a step back and have a pity party. At this point, no team in the AFC West has any hope of making it to the Super Bowl."


