Shawne Merriman

Buffalo Bills starting outside linebacker Shawne Merriman will likely miss Sunday's game at the New York Giants because of an Achilles tendon injury. Merriman missed Wednesday's practice because of a shoulder injury, but coach Chan Gailey said Merriman's Achilles flared up during Thursday's practice, forcing him to miss Friday. Merriman finished last season on injured reserve because of a nagging injury to his right tendon. With starting outside linebacker Chris Kelsay already ruled out because of a calf injury, the Bills (4-1)

The lights have been turned off on Buffalo Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman's season. Merriman, who earned the nickname "Lights Out" when he was one of the NFL's most feared players, was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Tuesday because of a right Achilles' tendon injury. It's the same injury that forced the Bills to place him on IR last November after they signed him as a free agent following his release from the San Diego Chargers. "Shawne has worked extremely hard, but unfortunately his Achilles flared back up and it doesn't appear that he will be able to return to the field...

SAN DIEGO - To some San Diego Chargers, there's a playoff seeding to secure and a rushing title to win. To others, such as defenders Luis Castillo and Shawne Merriman, they're simply happy to be playing. The Chargers maintained the inside track to the AFC's No. 3 seed and helped spring LaDainian Tomlinson into the NFL rushing lead with a 23-3 win over division rival Denver Monday night. They also welcomed back Castillo after a six-week absence following ankle surgery, and got Merriman back after he sat out one game with a sprained left knee.

Buffalo Bills starting outside linebacker Shawne Merriman will likely miss Sunday's game at the New York Giants because of an Achilles tendon injury. Merriman missed Wednesday's practice because of a shoulder injury, but coach Chan Gailey said Merriman's Achilles flared up during Thursday's practice, forcing him to miss Friday. Merriman finished last season on injured reserve because of a nagging injury to his right tendon. With starting outside linebacker Chris Kelsay already ruled out because of a calf injury, the Bills (4-1)

Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested early yesterday and accused of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila , as she tried to leave his suburban San Diego home. Tequila, 27, signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment, San Diego County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Gary Steadman said. Deputies responded about 3:45 a.m. to Merriman’s house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked by the player and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave, Sheriff’s Department...

A federal appeals court in Minneapolis yesterday cleared the way for Vikings Pat Williams and Kevin Williams to play all season, despite the NFL’s attempts to suspend them for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. The NFL already had said the defensive tackles could play in tomorrow’s season opener at Cleveland because their court fight over the suspensions would not be decided in time. “It’s a big sigh of relief to know we’re going to get to play the whole season,’’ Kevin Williams said.

Curtis Martin tried to outrun the inevitable. After months of rehabilitation and countless hours working to get back on the field for the New York Jets, reality finally caught up to the NFL's No. 4 career rusher. "I think this is as good as my knee gets, where it is right now," Martin said yesterday at a news conference in Hempstead, N.Y. The Jets placed the 33-year-old Martin on the reserve physically-unable-to-perform list with a bone-on-bone condition in his right knee, ending his season before it ever got started and jeopardizing his career.

After giving it a go in Week 1 against the Panthers, Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman yesterday decided to have surgery on the two torn ligaments in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. The loss of the Pro Bowler is a huge setback for a team that has Super Bowl expectations. "Shawne informed me he did not feel right and thought it best to shut it down," San Diego general manager A.J. Smith said in a statement. "The road to winning the AFC West just got more difficult, but not impossible.

SAN DIEGO - By the time the San Diego Chargers could exhale yesterday, they had clinched their fourth straight AFC West title as well as pulling out a dramatic win over the grieving Cincinnati Bengals. Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal with three seconds left and the Chargers rallied for a 27-24 win over the Bengals, who got a tying 34-yard field goal by Shayne Graham 51 seconds earlier. A few minutes after the Chargers (11-3) secured their ninth straight victory, and with several thousand fans still in the stadium, the Chargers clinched the division when Denver lost to Oakland.

The Chargers are more concerned with having linebacker Shawne Merriman on the field for the playoffs than next month's regular-season opener. Merriman, a three-time Pro Bowler, felt pain in his knee after playing in San Diego's preseason game Aug. 9. Thursday, Merriman said he has a torn posterior cruciate ligament in the knee. He has visited noted sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews and may see two other doctors to weigh his options. If the ligament is severely torn, he'll undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Running back Fred Jackson took the handoff and was in the midst of making his first step forward when linebacker Shawne Merriman was suddenly all over him. "I didn't see him coming," Jackson said Tuesday, recalling what happened a day earlier during a Buffalo Bills full-team session at training camp. Had this been a game, Jackson knows he would've been flattened. Fortunately, this was practice, and Jackson got away with being on the receiving end of a two-hand shove that still knocked him back a few steps.

Having the National Football League’s worst record has at least one perk: It gave the 0-7 Buffalo Bills the opportunity to add Shawne Merriman to improve their porous defense. The move was made yesterday, a day after Merriman was placed on waivers by San Diego. First-year Bills general manager Buddy Nix is familiar with Merriman. Nix worked in the Chargers’ front office when they drafted the outside linebacker with the 12th pick in 2005. Merriman won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in ’05.

SAN DIEGO — Like you were really feeling great about the Patriots early in the fourth quarter, right? C’mon, be honest. After the Ravens kicked a field goal to make it 20-10, you weren’t thinking good thoughts. You were thinking what I was thinking — that we all were facing the reality that the Patriots still didn’t have a defense capable of getting into anything resembling a lock-down mode and they just weren’t good enough to beat the true quality teams, even at home.

SAN DIEGO - In typical Southern California fashion, the San Diego Chargers have been chillin’ since the end of the regular season. They’ve rested, rehabbed, practiced, and largely kept their mouths shut about their chances of finally winning the Super Bowl. The NFL’s hottest team and AFC’s No. 2 seed, the Chargers (13-3) will try to win their 12th straight game when they host the New York Jets (10-7) in the divisional round today. “You have a team in the Jets that is very physical and wants to come in and kick our [rear]

SAN DIEGO - By the time the San Diego Chargers could exhale yesterday, they had clinched their fourth straight AFC West title as well as pulling out a dramatic win over the grieving Cincinnati Bengals. Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal with three seconds left and the Chargers rallied for a 27-24 win over the Bengals, who got a tying 34-yard field goal by Shayne Graham 51 seconds earlier. A few minutes after the Chargers (11-3) secured their ninth straight victory, and with several thousand fans still in the stadium, the Chargers clinched the division when Denver...

DENVER - It didn’t matter which quarterback the Broncos threw out there yesterday. The surging Chargers bottled up both the rusty Chris Simms and the hobbled Kyle Orton. Philip Rivers and a dominant defense put San Diego in sole possession of first place in the AFC West with a 32-3 rout of Denver, which couldn’t move the ball effectively behind either QB. The Chargers (7-3) have won five straight and the Broncos (6-4) have dropped four in a row, turning the division race upside-down.

Chargers’ linebacker Shawne Merriman yesterday said he did not harm reality TV star Tila Tequila at his home early Sunday and added he was concerned for her safety because she appeared to be intoxicated. Merriman was arrested and accused of choking and throwing Tequila to the ground as she tried to leave his home in suburban Poway, Calif. Tequila signed a citizen’s arrest warrant charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment. Both are felonies. Merriman spent about 2 1/2 hours in the downtown jail before posting bail.

SAN DIEGO - In typical Southern California fashion, the San Diego Chargers have been chillin’ since the end of the regular season. They’ve rested, rehabbed, practiced, and largely kept their mouths shut about their chances of finally winning the Super Bowl. The NFL’s hottest team and AFC’s No. 2 seed, the Chargers (13-3) will try to win their 12th straight game when they host the New York Jets (10-7) in the divisional round today. “You have a team in the Jets that is very physical and wants to come in and kick our [rear]

A federal appeals court in Minneapolis yesterday cleared the way for Vikings Pat Williams and Kevin Williams to play all season, despite the NFL’s attempts to suspend them for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. The NFL already had said the defensive tackles could play in tomorrow’s season opener at Cleveland because their court fight over the suspensions would not be decided in time. “It’s a big sigh of relief to know we’re going to get to play the whole season,’’ Kevin Williams said.

Chargers’ linebacker Shawne Merriman yesterday said he did not harm reality TV star Tila Tequila at his home early Sunday and added he was concerned for her safety because she appeared to be intoxicated. Merriman was arrested and accused of choking and throwing Tequila to the ground as she tried to leave his home in suburban Poway, Calif. Tequila signed a citizen’s arrest warrant charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment. Both are felonies. Merriman spent about 2 1/2 hours in the downtown jail before posting bail.