Nighttime nuggets: Friday

Padres
Encinitas-based agent Barry Axelrod tells the Chicago Tribune that he thinks the Padres' financial constraints might force them to revisit the Jake Peavy trade talks with the Cubs down the road. ...

Axelrod and Peavy were none too happy to see the talks end Thursday. ...

Yeah, the Angels are interested in Peavy. But they asked to get him AND 1B Adrian Gonzalez. ...

The Union-Tribune's Tim Sullivan believes the Padres overplayed their hand in the trade talks. ...

Another Axelrod client, former Padres RHP Matt Clement, knows where he'll be come spring training. He will continue his comeback bid with the Toronto Blue Jays. ...

RHPs Clay Hensley and Charlie Haeger are free agents after the Padres failed to tender a contract offer to them. ...

Former RHP Brian Tollberg is working toward a comeback. Bully for him.

San Diego State
On SI.com, Jacob E. Osterhout wishes for this in a Dear Santa column: "The services of San Diego attorney Richard Muir, who got San Diego State forward Lorrenzo Wade off the hook after Wade was caught stealing a flat-screen television from his neighbor. " Hmm, perhaps Osterhout should wish for a libel lawyer instead. Glad to see he sees evidence where a judge did not. ...

The three finalists for the football coaching job are UCLA assistant DeWayne Walker, former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione and Ball State coach Brady Hoke.

Chargers
Backup SS Steve Gregory might start at Kansas City with Clinton Hart injured. His assignment: cover TE Tony Gonzalez. As if the Bolts haven't had enough problems with tight ends this season. ...

The New York Times was sniffing around Chargers headquarters, listening for a faint heartbeat. ...

Although the skies are supposed to be clear Sunday and temperatures tolerable, in the 50s, the wind could be an issue: 24 mph. Then again, that might be enough to convince coach Norv Turner to get the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson two straight weeks. Imagine that!

College football
Former Chargers OL Stan Brock was fired as Army football coach.

Basketball
Arizona F Jamelle Horne, a San Diego High School alumnus, had to apologize for an off-the-cuff remark that he won a dinner bet when his Wildcats beat San Diego State this week. This report has the full quote that got Horne in hot water, but didn't get him a hot meal. ...

Horizona High School alumnus Jeff Withey, released from his scholarship by Arizona, is considering Kansas as a possible next stop. ...

Torrey Pines High School graduate and epic blogger Rod Benson has been released by his team in France, SLUC Nancy.

Soccer
The new Women's Pro Soccer League is holding a combine this week at the Olympic Training Center as teams try to fill out the roster before the league kicks off in April.

Media
Just when you thought you were done with Bill Werndl, they drag him back on the air. His agent? Axelrod. Barry's been a busy boy.

Nighttime nuggets: Thursday

Padres
The Padres pulled the trigger Thursday and traded SS Khalil Greene to the Cardinals for RHP Mark Worrell and a player to be named. ...

Fellow blogger Paul DePodesta, who moonlights as a Padres executive VP, gives the lowdown on Worrell and his funky delivery. ...

Why didn't the Greene-to-the-Orioles whispers ever grow louder? Scott Miller of cbssports.com says Baltimore wanted to give up only RHP Hayden Penn, a Santana High School product, and have the Padres pay part of Greene's 2009 salary. Heck, the Padres didn't even want to pay all of his 2008 freight. ...

Craig Colbert, the Padres bench coach the past two years after long service in the minors, will be Philadelphia's advance scout in 2009. The Padres did not employ an advance scout during Colbert's tenure as bench coach.

Chargers
The Chargers' 34-7 victory over Oakland on Thursday night -- or, more to the point, the manner of the victory -- had RB LaDainian Tomlinson smiling. ...

After the loss, Raiders players were calling one another out for not caring enough.

Media
Tom Hoffarth of the L.A. Daily News reviews the 3D broadcast of the Chargers-Raiders game. It was shown in theaters in select cities.

San Diego State
Aztecs basketball player Lorrenzo Wade had a better day in court Thursday than he has ever had on the court. A judge dismissed the felony burglary charge Wade was facing. Now we'll find out if that's enough for coach Steve Fisher to end Wade's suspension from the team. ...

So San Diegan Mike Martz is a candidate to come back home and coach the San Diego State football team. It seemed inevitable his name would be mentioned after all-time great Aztecs RB Marshall Faulk got involved with the search. ...

The Aztecs women's volleyball team signed middle blocker Andrea Hannasch out of Texas to a letter of intent for 2009.

Aztecs men's soccer players Nick Collins and Raymundo Reza made the Pac-10 all-academic team.

Baseball
The Golden Baseball League offered Rickey Henderson $1 million to wear a San Diego Surf Dawgs hat on his Hall of Fame plaque. Henderson, on the HofF ballot for the first time, played for the Surf Dawgs in 2005 when he wasn't ready for retirement. Yeah, it's a publicity ploy by the league. Henderson doesn't really have an option about his hat. And, yeah, the ploy worked. I bit. ...

When the Red Sox came asking about C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the Rangers sought RHP Justin Masterson, a San Diego State product. Can't hurt to ask.

Cycling
The Tour of California finalized the route for the February race that will feature comebacking Lance Armstrong and perhaps disgraced Temecula rider Floyd Landis. For the first time, the race visits San Diego County. The final stage is nearly 97 miles from Rancho Bernardo, up Palomar Mountain and ending in downtown Escondido.

Soccer
The start-up Women's Professional Soccer league is holding a combine camp in San Diego from Dec. 11-14. The list of participants was released this week, and it's chock full of local names, including Carrie Dew, Amy Epsten, Jen Lalor-Nielson and Leigh Ann Robinson.

Pro football
Junior Seau's postgraduate studies continue. The former Chargers linebacker and Oceanside High School star is set to resume his NFL career with the injury-plagued Patriots. ...

Patrick Henry High School graduate Ricky Williams enjoyed his playing days in the Canadian Football League. That's in the news again because the Dolphins play the Bills on Sunday in Toronto.

College football
The UCLA student paper writes that QB Kevin Craft, a former San Diego State and Valley Center High School player, isn't hanging his head after struggling with turnovers in 2008.

Preps
Interesting story in the Union-Tribune about St. Augustine High School football fans questioning whether Cathedral Catholic should keep a semifinal playoff game on its campus when the capacity of 4,500 is about half of the demand for tickets. Judging from the copied e-mail referenced in the story, someone from the St. Augustine side was hoping a bit of publicity would pressure the CIF San Diego office into moving the game.

Nighttime nuggets: Tuesday

College basketball
Horizon High School product Jeff Withey remains in limbo after Arizona refused to release him from his scholarship after the retirement of coach Lute Olson. Withey is a freshman center. ...

Speaking of Arizona, forward Chase Budinger, a La Costa Canyon High School alumnus, gave a halftime speech Sunday during a game against Northern Arizona. ... Budinger had 10 points Tuesday while deferring to his teammates in a blowout victory, 84-57 over Loyola Marymount. ...

Penn's leading scorer, Francis Parker graduate Tyler Bernardini, was held to 12 points, six below his average, as the Quakers fell 69-47 to Villanova on Tuesday.

Chargers
It's Raiders week, yet the Chargers needed help from the NFL Network to get the TV blackout lifted. Things are bad in Chargerland. But you already knew that.

Pro football
With the Dolphins heading north to face the Bills in Toronto, it's a good excuse for Canadian writers to retell the stories of RB Ricky Williams' days in the CFL. That was a long way from Patrick Henry High School for Williams.

Padres
The Detroit Free-Press says the Tigers no longer have interest in trading for SS Khalil Greene. ...

The Braves have traded for White Sox RHP Javier Vazquez, further evidence they have cooled on the idea of acquiring RHP Jake Peavy. ... Padres general manager Kevin Towers will try to reignite Peavy trade talks during the winter meetings next week. ...

Former Padres CF Derek Bell was arrested in the Tampa, Fla., area on drug charges. ...

The Athletics signed RHP Kevin Cameron as a minor league free agent. They also signed 1B Tagg Bozied, a former Padres farmhand best known for tearing up his knee while jumping into a throng of teammates at home plate following a walk-off home run in a minor-league game.

Baseball
OF Jacque Jones, a San Diego High School product, re-energized his game with a successful stint in the Mexican winter league. He had a rotten 2008 in the majors.

College football
UCLA QB Kevin Craft, formerly of San Diego State and Valley Center High School, is coming off the worst game of his life. Yet he's hearing praise. Seems coach Rick Neuheisel and others are impressed by how he has handled adversity.

Soccer
Three players with San Diego ties have been named to the Generation adidas team of young MLS players who will travel to England this month for three games against English Premier League reserve teams. On the roster are former La Costa Canyon High School student Eric Avila, Poway High School graduate Marvell Wynne and former USD player Ciaran O'Brien. ...

Defender Rachel Buehler, a Torrey Pines High School alumna, is on the U.S. roster for a pair of exhibitions against China. Former San Diego Spirit players Shannon Boxx and Amanda Hucles continue their veteran presence for the Americans. ...

Another Spirit alumna, Julie Fleeting, scored three goals for the Arsenal Ladies in a 4-1 victory over Bristol Academy in the Women's Premier League. ...

Could San Pasqual High School alumna Shannon MacMillan become a Hall of Famer? It will be easier this year. The National Soccer Hall of Fame eased its voting requirements after nobody was elected in 2008. Ballots are due Wednesday but results won't be announced until Jan. 15.