Igor Olshansky

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg has represented some of the biggest names in professional football over the years -- Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Warren Moon, Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell just among quarterbacks. He has also had clients who could be unpredictable. Think Ricky Williams. But he has never had a client quite like San Diego Charger rookie defensive end Igor Olshansky, a Jewish kid from Ukraine.

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg has represented some of the biggest names in professional football over the years -- Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Warren Moon, Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell just among quarterbacks. He has also had clients who could be unpredictable. Think Ricky Williams. But he has never had a client quite like San Diego Charger rookie defensive end Igor Olshansky, a Jewish kid from Ukraine.

Norv Turner got just what he wanted in his return to Oakland: a win against his former team, a rushing title for his star running back, and most important, the third seeding in the AFC playoffs. Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 56 yards to win his second straight rushing title, and the San Diego Chargers spoiled JaMarcus Russell's first career start with a 30-17 victory over the Raiders.

Chicago Bears defensive back Ricky Manning Jr. was suspended one game by the NFL on Wednesday for his role in an altercation at a Westwood restaurant and will not play this week at New England. Manning, the Bears' leader in interceptions with four, pleaded no contest in September to a felony assault charge stemming from an altercation with a man. Manning acknowledged he argued with a man at a Denny's near UCLA, where he attended college, in the early hours of April 23.

Terrell Owens was back on the stationary bicycle Friday, nursing a sore left hamstring that could force him to miss the Dallas Cowboys' first scrimmage. Owens sat out both practices Friday because of a twinge the receiver developed Wednesday. Owens has never had a hamstring problem before and is hoping time off now will prevent this ache from turning into something serious. He declined to be interviewed Friday morning, saying only, "Day to day" as he left the field.

An Internet message claiming that seven NFL stadiums will be hit with dirty bombs this weekend was met with "strong skepticism" Wednesday by government security officials. With nothing to indicate an imminent attack, local authorities and stadium owners were alerted "out of an abundance of caution." Dated Oct. 12, the posting was part of an ongoing conversation titled "New Attack on America Be Afraid."

Receiver Roy Williams arrived in camp Sunday after agreeing to a five-year deal with the Detroit Lions. Terms were not disclosed. "We were able to get this done in about 48 hours," said Tom Lewand, the Lions' chief executive. "We're happy we were able to get it done and get it done quickly." Williams, the seventh overall pick, from Texas, was the only player who did not report when the team began training camp Friday. He will practice for the first time today.

OK, so maybe you can mess with Texas. For the second consecutive year, the California all-star team pinned a last-second victory over Texas, turning a seemingly for-sure loss into a postgame celebration at the Shrine All-Star football game. This time, Chris Kluwe booted a 53-yard field goal as time expired to give California a 29-27 victory in front of 7,000 Saturday at Cerritos College. Kluwe, who has signed with UCLA, is no stranger to long field goals--he drilled a 60-yarder for Los Alamitos High in a playoff victory over Loyola.

Defense was the order of the day during the San Diego Chargers' first practice Friday at the Home Depot Center in Carson in front of an estimated 300. The Chargers were sporting a new 3-4 alignment, but the most impressive thing was that they worked without defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who attended the funeral of Mark Hatley, the Green Bay Packers' vice president of football operations who died earlier this week.

Maybe it's a good thing that not many people are talking about the San Diego Chargers' return to Home Depot Center for a second training camp, which begins today at 3:30 p.m. That's because if more people did, the Chargers' dismal 4-12 record from last season and their poor track record of four winning seasons in 20 years under Spanos family ownership would certainly be topics of conversation.