Some Details on Labor Talks

Source: ESPN.com

Among the details NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed to owners Tuesday at the league's meeting in Rosemont, Ill., is that in the next proposed agreement players will receive a 48 percent share of "all revenue," without the $1-billion-plus credit off the top that had been a point of contention in earlier negotiations, according to sources familiar with the presentation.

Under the new formula being negotiated, players will receive 48 percent of all revenue and will never dip below a 46.5 percent take of the money, sources said.

In the previous collective bargaining agreement, players received approximately 60 percent of "total revenue" but that did not include $1 billion that was designated as an expense credit off the top of the $9 billion revenue model. Owners initially were seeking another $1 billion in credit only to reduce that amount substantially before exercising the lockout on March 13.

Chargers LB Antwan Applewhite arrested

It's reported that Chargers linebacker Antwan Applewhite was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Friday morning in Pacific Beach.

Applewhite, 25, is a key role player for San Diego. He started 13 games and he had three sacks for the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL.

There is a gray area regarding the NFL personal conduct policy because of the lockout, but Applewhite could face league discipline for this arrest once play resumes. He may have just written his ticket out of San Diego...

Heath Bell ties Trevor with 41 straight saves

Heath Bell's save tied him with all-time leader Trevor Hoffman for the franchise record. It also tied Bell with Hoffman and Rod Beck for fourth place on the all-time consecutive saves list.

"It's a huge honor that my name is in the same sentence with Trevor Hoffman," Bell said. "I know my answer is really boring, but for right now, it's just another save."

Congratulations, Heath....

Chargers take DT Corey Liuget in the first-round...

In a draft that's full in talent on the defensive front seven, they sat back until they executed the No. 18 pick on a player they will plug in right away in an attempt to improve a defense that was ranked No. 1 in the NFL but was not nearly good enough.

“The whole goal here is to win a world championship,” team President Dean Spanos said recently. “We’ve fallen short. When I look back at the teams who have gone to the Super Bowl … they have dominant defenses. That’s where we’ve fallen short.”

While observers predicted and fans seemed to desire a player with flashier stats and a higher profile, the defensive lineman out of Illinois certainly fits the A.J. Smith profile. And Liuget appears to have the strength and initial quickness that could return the Chargers defensive line to being a group that actually pushes the line of scrimmage regularly.

“We just think he’s going to bring physical play to it,” Smith said. “A nasty mean streak; we always like to add that into it. … He’s got an attacking style to him. So we’re going add him, put him in Greg Manusky’s wagon and turn him loose.”

Liuget (pronounced LEE-jit) did not have eye-popping numbers at Illinois and won’t be asked to produce them in San Diego, where in the 3-4 scheme the Chargers are more concerned with him winning battles against the run.

Many, Liuget included, expected him to land on a team that ran a 4-3 defense, where he would play tackle. But he worked occasionally at Illinois in a spot similar to what he will do with the Chargers.

Liuget left school after his junior year, in which he had 63 tackles, 12½ tackles for loss and deflected three passes. While Liuget said he “never” talked to the Chargers in the pre-draft process, the Chargers’ homework yielded a portrait they liked. He worked hard to shed approximately 20 pounds before last season, transforming his body and getting quicker. The Chargers also cited a leadership role he took in 2010.

The Chargers sat and watched quarterback after quarterback come off the board, and Smith said the Chargers got “a ton” of calls during the first round regarding possible trades.

“We were locked and loaded,” Smith said. “Nothing intriguing. I really wasn’t interested in it. We had a nice group of players (to choose from) because of the depth on defense.”

That the Chargers did not move out of their slot coupled with what was described as an ecstatic defensive staff after the pick was made lent credence to the idea the Chargers coveted Liuget.

While they allowed just 93.8 rushing yards per game, fourth-lowest in the league, the Chargers also played six of the eight worst rushing teams in the league and were run over for 251 yards by the Oakland Raiders in December.

The Raiders finished 2010 as the league’s No. 2 rushing team, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs. Both are in the AFC West with the Chargers, meaning they comprise four of the Chargers’ games each season.

The Chargers are also looking to get back to being a team that takes the ball away and makes game-altering plays in crucial situations. The Chargers had just 23 takeaways in 2010, tied for 23rd in the NFL, and just one of those came in the fourth quarter of a close game and just four came in games they lost.

“I do believe Corey is a guy who will make big plays on defense,” Turner said. “With all the good things we’ve done on defense … we need to create more negative plays. He’s that type of athlete.”

Padres win their home opener...

Patience at the plate combine with good pitching of native Aaron Harang, turned out to be the difference Tuesday afternoon as the Padres scored a 3-1 win over the reigning world champion San Francisco Giants before 43,146 atPetco Park.

"Walks done right can be just as important as run-scoring hits," Padres hitting coach Randy Ready said this spring while preaching the gospel of "selectivity" in Arizona.

With the score tied 1-1 and runners on first and second with two out in the third, Ludwick came back out of an 0-and-2 hole Madison Bumgarner to draw a 10-pitch, bases-loading walk.

Headley then worked through eight pitches to draw the walk that forced home the decisive run.

Even Bumgarner was impressed by the Padres' "selectivity."

"I made some good pitches," said the left-hander who pitched the Giants' World Series-clinching win last November. "They put together some good at-bats.

"Their hitters did a fantastic job. They spoiled all the good pitches."

"Friar Ball," is how Ludwick described the three-run third off Bumgarner, who retired the Padres in his first two innings on a total of 29 pitches.

The Padres' three-run third consumed 41 Bumgarner pitches.

The frustration by Bumgarner might have resulted in the Padres' final run.

After Headley's walk forced in the second run, Chris Denorfia topped a ball in front of the plate. Bumgarner fielded the ball with plenty of time to make a play at first. But the ball flew out of his hand as he turned toward first -- the play was ruled a hit.

Nick Hundley opened the inning with the first of his three hits and was sacrificed to second by Harang. Jason Bartlett then drew an eight-pitch walk from Bumgarner before Orlando Hudson singled to load the bases.

Jorge Cantu tied the score with a wicked liner of a sacrifice fly to left.

That brought up Ludwick, who was down to his last strike after two pitches. He fouled off four of the next eight pitches en route to his fourth walk in as many games -- including a bases-loaded walk against the Cardinals.

That walk brought Headley to the plate. PaBumgarner fell behind with a pair of balls before firing three straight strikes, two of which Headley fouled off. Bumgarner just missed with the next two pitches, Bartlett trotting home from third.

Meantime, Harang held the Giants to one run on six hits over six innings while the bullpen troika of Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams and Heath Bell closed out the Padres' third win in four games.