Rey Maualuga to Speak at Upcoming G-8 Economic Summit (Humor)

Ryan Drake — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:10:24 -0400

As noted in a recent article in The LA Times, USC Marshall School of Business student and Trojans starting guard Jeff Byers was recently asked to deliver a briefing to the team regarding the current economic crisis in the United States. "The nearly five-minute address covered banks extending credit, borrowers failing to pay loans and related issues," according to The Times.

One member of the team who was particularly moved by Byers' speech was senior middle linebacker Rey Maualuga.

"Um, I just, like, y'know, it makes me really mad," Maualuga said. "Coach Carroll and Coach Norton always tells us that no one can beat us but ourselves, and you know...I guess America just beat ourselves. We still know we are the better national economy, though. We know we deserve to be at the top."

With global leaders such as French President Nicholas Sarkozy inspired by such words, Maualuga has been asked to give the keynote address at the November G-8 Economic Summit. Maualuga is to address snuffing out the credit problem when it takes off to run, how to plug the gap in the secondary mortgage crisis, as well as how to play up to big financial challenges (but not small in-country economic crises).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, has continued to express skepticism leading up to Maualuga's planned speech.

"The German people, European Union and the global market must be careful not to overpursue this problem and let it run wild," he said. "We must focus on strengthening the fundamentals of the economy first."

Chargers-Colts: Nuts and Bolts for San Diego

Ryan Drake — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:23:09 -0500

All week long, few gave the Chargers a chance. Indy’s defense was just too good. Peyton Manning would pick apart the Chargers secondary. As the game progressed, Charger fans looked at their offense and found no LaDainian Tomlinson. No Philip Rivers. Still no Lorenzo Neal. A hobbled Antonio Gates playing at half-speed through an obviously painful toe injury. All against one of the quickest defenses in the NFL, and a legendary offense plotting its inevitable win on the opposite sideline.

So how do the Chargers own the pleasure of playing at Foxboro next week? The team sucked it up, played its young heart out, and overcame adversity by playing tough,gritty football. Despite a horrendous holding call negating an Antonio Cromartie interception for a touchdown, along with phantom pass interference calls, the Chargers did all they could to foil the NFL money machine’s dream repeat matchup of Manning vs. Brady for the AFC championship game. After Chargers backups derailed that plan, does anyone think the NFL offices may be greedily coveting a Brady vs. Favre Super Bowl?

His continued jawing at opposing fans aside, Philip Rivers showed guts in Indy before he went down on a 53-yard screen pass touchdown to Darren Sproles. With the game on the line and the NFL leading rusher watching in frustration from the bench, the playoffs fell on the shoulders of Billy Volek, Michael Turner, and the worn down Chargers defense. The subs responded with poise and composure, the journeyman Volek completing a clutch pass when needed and engineering a clock-chewing drive downfield. Turner, the backup out of Northern Illinois, sealed his starting job with some future fortunate team. The offensive line gave all it could and dominated the line of scrimmage at the end of the brutal game. The defense got the ball back to Volek on downs twice.

Why does all this matter? The Bolts showed that with good conditioning, hard work and the right attitude, a team could win without flashy players on big payrolls. While the banged up Chargers limp into Foxborough, it seems unlikely that they have much of a chance against the Patriots juggernaut. If the team can show the kind of heart it showed in the RCA Dome,perhaps it may overcome adversity once again. This kind of spirit is what truly makes the NFL playoffs great.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan Drake

Rey Maualuga to Speak at Upcoming G-8 Economic Summit (Humor)

Chargers-Colts: Nuts and Bolts for San Diego