Sports at Lunch with Raiders-Chargers Rivalry
Breitbard Stars of the Month, January, 2008
- PROFESSIONALS
- Stephen Cooper, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Quentin Jammer, Philip Rivers
The professional and amateur Stars of the Month are chosen by the Awards Selection Committee.
STEPHEN COOPER (Football, Chargers) – The fifth-year pro led the Chargers in tackles in the post-season and for the regular season in his first year as a full-time starter at inside linebacker. Cooper had 18 tackles in the playoff win over the Indianapolis Colts and 39 tackles for three playoff games. For the regular season, he led the Chargers with 179 tackles.
KABEER GBAJA-BIAMILA (Football, Green Bay Packers/SDSU alumnus) – The eighth-year pro had two sacks in the playoffs as the defensive end helped the NFC North champions defeat the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs and advance to the NFC championship game before losing to the New York Giants. He finished the regular season with 9.5 sacks.
QUENTIN JAMMER (Football, Chargers) – The sixth-year pro, one of the league’s top cornerbacks against the run, helped the Chargers’ secondary slow down the passing games of the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots in the playoffs. Against the Patriots, he had an interception and three passes defended on third-down plays. Patriots receiver Randy Moss caught only one pass against the Chargers.
PHILIP RIVERS (Football, Chargers) – The fourth-year quarterback led the AFC West champions to playoff wins over the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts to advance to the AFC championship game before losing to the New England Patriots. Rivers completed 19 of 30 passes for 292 yards to beat the Titans and 14 of 19 for 263 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters against the Colts before leaving the game with an injury. He had knee surgery the following Monday, yet completed 19 of 37 passes for 211 yards and 311 yards of total offense in the 21-12 loss.
- AMATEURS
- Sam Child, Brandon Johnson, Jene Morris, Greg Sprink, Lorrenzo Wade, Candice Wiggins
SAM CHILD (Basketball, University of San Diego) – The freshman guard was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week after leading the Toreros to WCC wins over Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. She averaged 19 points and nine rebounds a game. She had a career-high 27 point-game against Pepperdine when she was 11-of-14 from the field.
BRANDON JOHNSON (Basketball, University of San Diego) – The junior guard earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors as the Toreros finished the first-round of conference play tied for first with a 6-1 WCC record. His month included leading the Toreros with 25 points when they upset No. 20-ranked St. Mary’s, leading the team with 19 points in a win over Santa Clara and hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to win at Portland. In wins at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine when the defense was focused on him, he led the Toreros’ floor game. He was later named the WCC Tournament MVP.
JENE MORRIS (Basketball, San Diego State) – The sophomore was named the Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Week when she averaged 26 points in the Aztecs’ first win over BYU since 2001 and first victory at UNLV since 1997. She scored a career-high 35 points with seven 3-pointers against UNLV.
GREG SPRINK (Basketball, Navy/El Camino High alumnus) – The senior guard/forward became the first Navy player to score 20 or more points in seven straight games since basketball legend David Robinson when Sprink went for 36 against American. Sprink had scored in double figures in 21 of 22 games. The 6-foot-5 senior leads the Midshipmen in scoring with 21.2 points per game while also averaging 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He is fourth on the school’s career scoring list and is projected to finish his career third. He was later named All-Patriot League and All-America honorable mention.
LORRENZO WADE (Basketball, San Diego State) – The junior forward was named Mountain West Conference Player with wins over Wyoming and Utah that lifted the Aztecs into first place in the conference with a 4-0 MWC record. Wade scored a game-high 20 points against Utah. Against Wyoming, he posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Wade also leads the team defensively. He was later named All-MWC.
CANDICE WIGGINS (Basketball, Stanford/Poway High alumnus) – The senior guard was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the third time this season after leading the No. 7-ranked Cardinal to a win over a Top-10 ranked team for the fifth time during the season. She scored 28 points in a 72-52 win over No. 8 Cal. Wiggins also became Stanford’s all-time leading scorer when she surpassed the record of 2,215 points by Kate Starbird. She finishied her senior year as the Pac-10 Player of the Year for the third time in her career, an All-American four the fourth time and won the Wade Trophy as the National Player of the Year.
The high school Stars of the Month are selected and presented jointly by the Hall of Champions and the Union-Tribune.
