1. WILD WILD WEST… The Padres get back to National League West play this weekend with a 3-game series in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The division is wide open this season, with the D’backs, Giants, and Rockies all tied for 1^st place. The Padres are just 4.5 games back and will need to play well against NL West foes if they hope to stay in contention deep into the summer.

2. FALL AT DEL MAR… One of San Diego’s great summer traditions is coming to the fall, but will horse racing at Del Mar be as successful late in the year as it is during the July-September meet. Beginning in 2014, Del Mar will host a second, 5-week from late October/early November to early December, picking up dates lost by the closing of Hollywood Park. If all goes well, Del Mar hopes to host the Breeders Cup in 2015.

3. BRYANT DOES IT AGAIN… He didn’t hit a home run, but USD star slugger Kris Bryant did score the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10^th inning as the Toreros beat BYU 9-8 in the opener of the WCC Tournament in Stockton. The Aztecs weren’t so lucky, falling to UNLV 6-3 and dropping into the loser’s bracket of the Mountain West Tournament. One more loss, and San Diego State’s season will be over.

4. KINGS ‘N WINGS?...The L.A. Kings and Detroit Red Wings could be on a collision course in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Jonathan Quick turned in his 7^th career playoff shutout last night as the Kings blanked the Sharks 3-0 to take a 3-2 series lead. The Kings will try to wrap up the series in Game 6 in San Jose. Meanwhile, Chris’ Chicago Blackhawks are on the verge of playoff elimination after getting shutout by the Red Wings 2-0. Detroit has a 3-1 series lead as Chicago returns home for Game 5. In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers avoided elimination with a 4-3 overtime win as the Boston Bruins were unable to complete the 4-game sweep.

5. SO XLOSE…Everything was going amazingly well for the Tijuana Xolos last night in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. They had a 2-0 second half lead against Atletico Mineiro of Brazil and their star, Ronaldinho. Unfortunately, 2 late goals, including one in extra time, allowed the visitors to escape with a 2-2 tie, which means the Xolos will almost certainly need to win the return leg in Brazil next week to advance to the semifinals of the most prestigious club soccer tournament in the Western Hemisphere.

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Call me a dreamer.

Now that the Chargers have stuck a band-aid on the left tackle position with the signing of Max Starks, and patched up the pass rush with the addition of Dwight Freeney, there's reason for a touch of optimism about the Bolts.

Squint hard enough, and the Chargers could actually appear to have a legitimate NFL roster. Open youe eyes a little bit wider, and you see the leaps of faith and lack of depth that will probably be the team's undoing this season.

However, for the first time this offseason, I can actually construct a scenario in which the Chargers make the playoffs. It would take a lot of things going right. Good health, new starters stepping up in new roles, better play from Philip Rivers and Ryan Mathews...and that's just a start. More than likely, it's too much to expect from a franchise that hasn't had a whole lot of good luck lately.

But until the signing of Max Starks, it was hard to envision even a best-case scenario that ended with the Chargers in the playoffs. Kudos to Tom Telesco for doing enough to give me some longshot hope heading into the 2013 season.