That’s Way Too Much Water on the Poinsettia’s, Guys

Given the fact that the field at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium is several inches under water, I’ll give a slight edge to Navy in Thursday’s Poinsettia Bowl. I’m sure that’s not the first, nor the last, Navy joke you’ll read or hear regarding the stadium flood.

Heavy rain in Southern California over the past few days has left the stadium flooded, and now we’re less than 24 hours away from the scheduled kick off between Navy and San Diego State University.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:06 p.m. Pacific, and Poinsettia Bowl officials are insistent the game will played as scheduled. "The stadium grounds crew worker will work round the clock to make sure they get in the game," executive director Bruce Binkowski said.

And if you’re worried about the San Diego Chargers, don’t. The team that calls Qualcomm Stadium home is finished with its regular season home schedule. However, there is a chance the team could host a playoff game next month. The Chargers end the regular season at the Bengals and Broncos. Now there’s a couple of teams that are under water.

A spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders said workers have been trying to pump water out of the stadium since Thursday morning. Good luck, fellas!

I’m no expert on pumping water from football fields – although I listed exactly that on a resume once – but I just can’t see how the field will be ready for play 21 hours from now after watching this footage from San Diego’s KGTV.

Fire Then Rain in San Diego

The forecast for heavy rain storms to hit in San Diego and Southern California this weekend could have far more of an impact on the folks who are trying to rebuild homes and lives after wildfires there in the fall than the impact that may be felt for Sunday's playoff at Qualcomm Stadium between the Chargers and Tennessee Titans.

Forecasters say a trio of storms could dump about a foot of rain in some of the southern portion of the state and about seven inches in San Diego County. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 Pacific and, according to WeatherChannel.com, temperature highs should reach about 58 with a 60 percent chance of rain.

Stadium officials have said a tarp will cover the field until an hour before kickoff in the event of persistent heavy rain.

The greatest chance of rain for this weekend's playoff matchups is in Seattle, of course. Forecasters there are calling for a high a 45 degrees and a 90 percent chance of precipitation falling on Qwest Field as the Redskins beat the Seahawks.

In Pittsburgh, where the Jaguars again will take down the overrated Steelers, there is a 30 percent chance of precip with lows dipping down to 39 for the 8 p.m. kickoff. Remember, the Jags took care of business in snow at Heinz Field just a few weeks ago.

And in case you're wondering, the Tampa weather will be lovely Sunday for the Bucs game with the Giants. A high of about 70 is expected at game time. I'm not sure who will win this one, but I'm thinking Eli Manning might put together a solid game away from the not-so-friendly Giants Stadium confines and lead his team to a win. That's just a hunch.

Fires Threaten Bolts

I've been debating with myself all day whether to mention here the fires burning in San Diego County.

You follow the news. You know the story. However, there are a few side stories from the fires that relate to sports.

Among those who have been forced to leave their homes are members of the sporting world, LaDainian Tomlinson, Phillip Rivers and approximately 40 other San Diego Chargers players. Others forced out of their residences are current San Diego Padres pitcher Trevor Hoffman and former Padre Tony Gwynn, according to an Associated Press story.

Flames consumed hundreds homes across the Southern California region Tuesday and hundreds of thousands of residents were forced to leave the area. Qualcomm Stadium, the home of San Diego's NFL team, is being used as an evacuation center.

Poor air quality forced the Chargers to cancel practice Monday, and the team will spend the remainder of the week in Arizona.

There is talk the Chargers scheduled home game Sunday with Houston could be played in the Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.. The Cards have a bye week. Some are speculating the game could be moved to Sunday night or Monday night, but there has been no official word from the NFL about whether the game location or time will be changed. (Didn't I just say the other day I wasn't going to rewrite news stories?)

By the way, USA Today's The Weather Guys (Yes, I'm mentioning them again.) explained Santa Ana season on their blog yesterday. The season begins in October and can be a culprit in these autumn California wildfires.

(Qualcomm Stadium Photo: Stan Liu/Reuters)