If more people in San Diego shared his passion for the Chargers, Phil Mickelson figures the NFL team wouldn't have bolted for Los Angeles.
"I just wish that all the people in San Diego loved them the way I do and fought a little harder to keep them, but I understand it," the golf star said Thursday after the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, Calif.
Mickelson grew up in San Diego and lives in the area.
"What's disappointing to me is that the city of San Diego didn't appreciate the value that they had," Mickelson said. "And it was obvious in their votes. So, I'm sad, but I don't blame them. I understand the way that the economics in the NFL works and the ticket sharing of 60/40 percent and how the suite money is where you make your money. I get it. And the suites at Qualcomm are the worst I've ever seen out of all the stadiums I've been to. So I totally understand where the Chargers are at.
"When the vote came in ... it was disappointing. Because it, if it were me, on the other end, I would feel very unwanted. It's no fun being at a place you're not wanted."
Mickelson shot a 4-under 68 at La Quinta Country Club in his return from two sports hernia surgeries. He will be back in San Diego next week for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Shaq's attack
Shaquille O'Neal has to be high up on the list of people you'd never want to get tackled by.
Just ask Charles Barkley.
During Thursday's edition of Inside the NBA, Barkley, 53, tried to catch a football from retired wide receiver Randy Moss on the TNT set.
O'Neal punished his colleague for coming over the middle and dropped him to the floor.
Shaq also knocked down a three-pointer using the football.
"Maybe we should've put you at the free-throw line with a football," colleague Kenny Smith quipped.
Planning ahead
A confident Dallas Cowboys fan bought himself more time by altering a premature tattoo.
Before the postseason, Jordan Garnett had a huge Cowboys star inked on his arm with "Super Bowl LI Champions" inscribed. The Green Bay Packers, however, discredited his body art Sunday with a 34-31 divisional-round victory.
Instead of panicking, he tacked on another "I" in hopes of Dallas bringing home the Vince Lombardi Trophy next year. The man who permanently placed a football prediction on his body celebrated his brazen acts with a Robert F. Kennedy quote.
"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly," Garnett wrote in a tweet revealing his adjustment.
If the Cowboys fall short in 2018, there's enough space to add another numeral. After that, he's in trouble since number 54 is depicted as LIV.
Half-court prodigy
Forget about being a ball boy.
Somebody at the University of North Carolina should slap a uniform on 11-year-old Asher Lucas pretty fast.
At halftime of the Tar Heels' 107-56 beatdown of North Carolina State on Jan. 8, Asher made three consecutive half-court shots. The crowd grew more raucous each time the kid's shot found the bottom of the net.
Perhaps better than the UNC fans' reaction was Asher's. He bolted around the court after his final shot smiling ear to ear.
Sports on 01/21/2017