They are the best of the best.  And in the NBA, the gold standard is the Laker Girls.

Now, I have been a Laker fan since I was a young kid back in the 70′s.  In summer of 1985, I ditched summer school at UCLA to attend the Lakers championship celebration in the parking lot of the old Fabulous Forum.  The Showtime Lakers were there and so were the Laker Girls.  So, I’ve been a fan of the Laker Girls almost as long as I’ve been a fan of the Lakers.

I must say, prior to this year it has been rather hard to photograph the Laker Girls up close and personal.  Its just not possible at Staples Center, where the Lakers play their home games.  But this year, you can get close to the Laker Girls at…an L.A. D-fenders game.  Yes, the Laker Girls are THE dance team for the NBA D-League Los Angeles D-fenders.

Now I must give credit where credit is due and thank our good friend Mad Max the Road Warrior from Arizona for turning me on to this fact.  He is as gaga about cheerleaders as anyone I know and like a pig sniffing out truffles in France, Max digs up all sorts of cheerleader shooting opportunities.  So I want to recognize his efforts in making me aware of this tremendous opportunity to provide our readers with some photos of the lovely Laker Girls, a rare treat indeed.

Now the L.A. D-fenders play their home games on the practice court of the Los Angeles Lakers in El Segundo and as such the seating is limited.  At $20.00 for a general admission seat, its not exactly a cheap ticket for a minor league sporting event, but if you factor in the entertainment value of the Laker Girls in addition to the basketball, its not a bad value at all.

And speaking of the basketball, its surprisingly competitive.  For this article, I went to two games in the span of a week and both games were very competitive and entertaining.  The level of play is somewhere between college ball and the NBA, but what I noticed is that talent level is fairly even between teams which means that the games are more competitive than you might find in the NBA or college where the competitive balance is more disparate.  Now this is opinion is based on only two games, so take it with a grain of salt.

But enough about the NBA D-league.  Let’s get on with our coverage of the Laker Girls.

So I must say I thoroughly enjoyed my two trips to the see the L.A. D-fenders play.  The games were competitive and the level of play was generally good.  But for me, the real highlight was seeing the Laker Girls perform up close and personal.  It is a rare treat and one that I recommend to anyone who enjoys basketball and watching one of the most renown dance teams in all of professional sports, the Laker Girls.

For ticket information regarding upcoming L.A. D-fenders games, please visit their website.

Through my association with UltimateCheerleaders.com, I have been to a number of professional cheerleading events in 2011, from auditions to the premier professional cheerleader convention in the United States.  And over the past year, I have literally taken thousands upon thousands of photographs and in this article, I am going to highlight my favorite cheerleader photographs of 2011.

Over the next few days, I will be counting down my top 10 cheerleader photographs of 2011.  So let’s begin.

10.  Inland Empire 66ers Dancer Cassie

Minor league sports have a special challenge in marketing their product to the fans.  Often times, the caliber of play is not at the same level of as the top level leagues and minor league sports have to look to other ways to market the team.  And one of these ways is to have a dance team that not only provides entertainment value on game day but also serves as a way to promote the team at community events.

The Inland Empire 66ers have a wonderful dance team and one of the girls has as much personality and appeal as any other cheerleader I’ve photographed over the years.  Her name is Cassie and she is a firecracker.  She’s the type of cheerleader that stands out.  And in this photograph, Cassie shows her devilish side while she and her teammates get their make up done.

See more of sassy Cassie and her Inland Empire 66ers Dancers here.

9.  Washington Redskins Cheerleader Ambassador Samantha

The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders have an Ambassador Squad whose main function is interacting with the fans at each home game at FedEx Field.  When I visited D.C. last September to shoot a Redskins game, I got a chance to see their Ambassador Squad up close and personal.  As gorgeous and beautiful as the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders are, their Ambassador Squad is quite impressive as well.

One of them caught my eye.  She was…drop dead gorgeous.  Beautiful face, a great body, and a great smile.  So, what I like about this photo is that a little gust of wind caught Samantha’s hair and made for this interesting photograph.

8.  2011 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader Auditions

Over this past year, I have gone to many auditions, but my favorite was the 2011 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders auditions.  It’s a fun gig to shoot and I get wonderful results.  The backdrop of shooting in UOP Stadium with a black background on an elevated stage is simply amazing.  Director Heather Karberg, a former Charger Girl, and her staff are always a pleasure to work with.  And the girls are absolutely gorgeous in an outdoorsy and athletic way…call it the Arizona Girl look.

The Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders preliminary auditions take place over the course of two days and before the squad is selected, they will have gone through at least five rounds of dance technique, an interview process and a physical fitness test.   They are an amazing squad of some of the hottest cheerleaders in the NFL.

See more of the 2011 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader auditions here.

7.  2011 PRO Convention Attendee Minnesota Viking Cheerleader Mollie

The PRO Convention is the premier professional cheerleading convention in the United States.  Over 250 professional cheerleaders come from all over the country to learn routines from the directors of the most renown dance teams in professional sports.  Squads from the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Pride, Georgia Force, Washington Wizards, FC Dallas, Jacksonville Axmen, and the Houston Dynamo were in attendance.  It is a veritable feast of gorgeous cheerleaders who represent the finest dancers on their squads.

There were many beautiful and sexy cheerleaders in attendance, but one girl caught my eye.  She was tall, leggy and had a great smile.  She smiled while learning the routines, when most other girls were just going through the motions.  And in my opinion, that’s what makes a great cheerleader…that she’s always “on” even when doing something as mundane as repeating dance movements while learning a routine.

When the camera was on, Mollie shined.

To read more about the PRO Convention, the premiere professional cheerleading convention, please click here and here.

6.  Phoenix Suns Dancer Bethann

I was fortunate to photograph the Phoenix Suns Dancers in a game day setting last April.  It was a wonderful experience and the girls are…amazing.  And game day was a blast.  Unlike the Lakers or the Clippers, two home town teams, the Phoenix Suns are a family oriented event and you can get up close an personal with the Phoenix Suns Dancers, who are very accessible on game day.

I took that opportunity to snap a few photos of the Suns Dancers posing in front of a huge basketball just outside the U.S. Airways arena and while we were searching for a fun shot, Bethann decided to do this Sun Goddess pose.  I quickly sensed that we had a winning shot opportunity, so I snapped Bethann in all her glory and this photo, which was the lead for my article, is one of my favorites of the year.

The people in Phoenix are really nice and their professional sports teams are very supportive of our endeavors here at UltimateCheerleaders.com.  If you get a chance to catch a Suns game at the U.S. Airways Center, you definitely should.  The environment is fun and the Suns Dancers are amazing.

Read more about Bethann and the Phoenix Suns Dancers here.

5.  UCLA Dance Team Member Kate

I bet you thought I only shoot professional cheerleaders.  So, I went to the PAC-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles last year…when it was still the PAC-10.  And one of the cool things they had was a fan fest at L.A. Live, where the spirit squads of the participating schools performed before their games.  It was a great opportunity to photograph these dance teams up close and personal, something you rarely get to do at their home arenas.

Now I graduated from UCLA with two undergraduate degrees, so I have a special place in my heart for the UCLA Dance Team.   When I was in school, we had a killer squad that was featured in Sports Illustrated (one became Miss USA) and they kind of introduced the sexy NBA style uniforms to college basketball. And over the past five or six years, the consensus has been that the hottest college dance team in Los Angeles is not that team that wears Cardinal and Gold.  Nope.  It’s UCLA’s dance team and one of the best of the Bruin bunch is Kate.

Southern California is a hotbed for dance talent and several colleges have strong dance programs that feed the professional dance teams.  One of the strongest has been UCLA’s  and they have had several dancers make it to the next level.

And I sure hope that Kate takes her dance skills to the professional ranks with one of our local NFL or NBA dance teams because I sure would like to see her perform at the next level…may I suggest the Charger Girls!

4.  Washington Redskins Cheerleader Talmesha

Ever since I saw my editor’s photographs of the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders a few years ago, I have long wanted to visit Washington D.C.   There are, perhaps, a few squads that are more well known than the Redskins Cheerleaders, but there are few teams more talented and beautiful than the First Ladies of Football.

I had a chance to meet a few of them at the P.R.O. Dance Convention in Atlanta and one of them who was most impressive was Talmesha.  Not only is she a beautiful and talented dancer, she is quite an accomplished academic.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics and she recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University Medical School.  Beauty and brains…a very attractive combination, indeed. 

Now there are two things about the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders that made me want to come out and photograph them: 1) absolutely gorgeous women and 2) some amazingly sexy uniforms.  As I said in my article, I love my Charger Girls, but I lust after the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders.  And from the photo above, I think you know why.

3.  Phoenix Suns Dancer Alexandra

Over the past few years, I have been to Phoenix several times to cover the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders and the Phoenix Suns Dancers.  As I have said many times, I enjoy going to Arizona.  The people are nice, the pro sports teams are wonderful to work with and the girls are simply amazing.

This past year, the Phoenix Suns Dancers held their auditions at a local community college which offered an amazing backdrop to photograph the prospective dancers.  And one of the many beautiful hopefuls that caught my eye was a girl name Alexandra.  Well apparently I was not the only one impressed by this girl’s beauty and dance talent, as she was selected to the squad.

I just love the expression on her face and the vibrant colors of her outfit make this photo memorable.   I hope to catch a game out there this year because I always get amazing photographs of this squad and its a fun gig to shoot.

See more photos of Alexandra and the girls who tried out for the Phoenix Suns Dancers here.

2.  Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader Brianna

Last December, I visited Phoenix to photograph the Cowboys game against the Arizona Cardinals.  It was an exciting game that came down to the last play in overtime and if you were a Cardinals fan, you came away happy.  But I was not there to photograph the game.  I was there to photograph the lovely Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. 

There are many beautiful girls on that squad, but on that Sunday, one girl gave me some memorable images.  Her name is Brianna and this photo, which won her the Cheerleader of the Day award, was one of my favorite of the year.

So what makes a memorable photograph?  A beautiful girl, a dynamic body position, and a wonderful smile.  Its all here in this one.

See more of Brianna and her absolutely gorgeous Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader teammates here.

1.  Sacramento Kings Dancer Katerina

The Sacramento Kings Dancers were crowned the Best in the West in last year’s NBA Dance Team Bracket contest and there is good reason for this title.  I was fortunate to photograph the 2011 Sacramento Kings Dancers auditions last September at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort and let me say that the girls were awesome.  Beautiful and talented, the Sacramento Kings Dancers hopefuls were a pleasure to photograph.

One girl stood out for her absolutely gorgeous looks and amazing dance ability.  Her name is Katerina and if there was one girl that sizzled and captivated your attention, it was her.  They say that you want to stand out and make people notice you when you perform and she did.

So, our number one photo of 2011 belongs to Katerina of the Sacramento Kings Dance Team.  See more photos of Katerina and the 2011 Sacramento Kings Dancers auditions here.

In a game that looked like a balanced affair on paper, the Chargers came out strong and dominated the once and future king of the AFC conference.  Philip Rivers solved his early season turnover problems to lead the Chargers to victory against the surprisingly ineffective Ravens.  Charger running backs scored three rushing touchdowns and the Charger defense forced Ravens QB Joe Flacco into throwing two critical interceptions.  In the end, the Ravens were never really in the game as the Chargers pretty much dominated from start to finish.  Final score:  Chargers – 34  Edgar Allen Poes – 14.

I must admit that the real attraction for me on this Sunday was not the prime time match up of AFC powers.  No, it was the Charger Girls in their blue velvet Christmas uniforms, always a fan favorite.

I look forward to the Christmas game every year because I love the blue velvet uniforms.  They’re sexy and I love the way the cut of the uniform flatters the feminine form.  And apparently I am not the only that like the Charger Girls in their holiday best.  Max Max, the road warrior and our former Arizona Correspondent, abandoned his hometown Cardinals (yet again) to join me in San Diego to photograph the hottest dance team in the NFL.  He drove out from Phoenix in the morning, tailgated in the Bud Light Power Party, watched the game, and then drove all the way back to Phoenix.  For those people who don’t know it, Phoenix is a five and a half hour drive each way from San Diego.  The guy is nuts, but I digress.

And yes, the Charger Girls look very sexy in their blue velvets…just ask the group of 10 – 13 year old boys sitting behind me who must have gone through puberty in the span of the game.  Yes. The Charger Girls were a big hit in my section and those boys really liked looking at Max’s Charger Girl calendar.

Well, let begin this week’s coverage by featuring the Line Captains: Natalie, Katie, Lauren O., and Tiffany.

After the third quarter break performance, Lauren O. was named the Charger’s Pro Bowl cheerleader representative, an honor well deserved.  And that is not the only honors we should mention here.  We have this week’s Charger Girl of the Day to present.  And this week’s honoree told me that she is considering retiring this year.  I certainly hope not because she is an amazing Charger Girl to photograph and one of my favorites.  Introducing this week’s Charger Girl of the Day…Hannah.

Okay, let begin our final game day report of the season with Alexis, Angela, Anjelica, Ariel, Christie, Clarisse, Courtney, and Culture.

Yes Anjelica, it was a tad cold during the game.

Let’s continue our coverage with some photos of Emily, Emma, CGOTD Hannah, Hayley, Jacquelyn, Jennifer, Kara and Katelyn.

We conclude our coverage of the holiday themed Charger Girls with Kimberly, Lauren P., Marissa, Melissa, Nicole, Nina, Starkesha and Tawnie.

I must say, Nicole is always interesting to photograph.  I am not sure what she is doing here, other than having a good time feigning fear, but it was an interesting look nonetheless.  Okay, here’s a nicer shot of the lovely blonde.

With the win over the Ravens and losses by Denver and Oakland on Sunday, the Chargers kept their faint playoff hopes alive.  Beating the Ravens in such a decisive fashion demonstrates that the Chargers have the firepower to defeat the best in the NFL.  But this is also the team that lost six games in a row and in a very self destructive fashion.  I guess that means the Chargers are an anomaly, one week playing as bad as you can imagine and the next week besting the best in the AFC.  The Chargers…a true enigma.

As for me, this is my last Charger game day report for the season.  My time is done for this year…or as the Raven says, “nevermore”.

*               *               *               *               *

I want to thank the 2011 Charger Girls for a wonderful season.  Some of you may be going on to other endeavors and I hope that more than a few of you decide to return for another season.  This has been another great year and I have thoroughly enjoyed photographing each and everyone of you.

Happy Holidays!

Lauren is a third year Charger Girl and a first year Line Captain.  She graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and is the owner of two mobile dance companies that teach dance, cheer and creative movement to local school children.

Congratulations Lauren!

See you at the Power Party on Sunday.

David T.

In a game that should be have been more competitive, the Bills could only score three points on offense while the Chargers rode the arm of Philip Rivers for 240 yards and three touchdowns.   The Bills scored their only touchdown on a recovered Philip Rivers fumble, while the Chargers generally stampeded the Bills all day long.  Final score: Chargers – 37, Tatonkas -  10.

And speaking of flying in to escape the cold, James my fearless publisher at UltimateCheerleaders.com  joined me in San Diego to take in all that Charger Girl goodness…and goodness there was.

James doesn’t get out to this part of the country often, so this was a rare treat…being able to shoot the Charger Girls and being able to chat long and ad nauseum about the blog and libertarian politics.  The last time James was out here was in 2008, so I hope he took advantage of the opportunity to photograph one of the hottest dance teams in the NFL.

Enough shop talk.  Let’s begin this week’s coverage of the absolutely fabulous Charger Girls with the immensely talented Line Captains:  Natalie, Katie, Lauren O. and Tiffany.

The Charger Girls are absolutely gorgeous and I absolutely love photographing them.   Over the course of this season, I have gotten some great shots and have featured my favorite images in the Charger Girl of the Day segment.  And this week, I’d like to feature a Charger Girl who has given me some absolutely amazing shots this year.  She’s beautiful.  She’s an amazing dancer.  And she has eyes that sparkle.  Introducing this week’s Charger Girl of the Day…Angela.

I must say that Angela has the most beautiful and elegant high kicks.  She makes them look effortless when in actuality, a high kick is a high effort, high torque dance move.  Charger Girl Angela, this week’s Charger Girl of the Day and one of my favorite Charger Girls to photograph.

But there is a whole squad of beautiful Charger Girls who are a pleasure to photograph.  So let’s take a look at Alexis, Tawnie, CGOTD Angela, Starkesha, Anjelica, Nina, Ariel, and Nicole.

We continue our coverage with former NY Jet Flight Crew member Christie, Melissa, Clarisse, Marissa, Courtney, former Clipper Spirit Dancer Lauren P., Culture, and Kimberly.

We conclude this week’s coverage of the AB FAB Charger Girls with Emily, Katelyn, Aussie Emma (arguably the first Australian girl who became an NFL cheerleader…so far as Emma and I know), Kara, Hannah, Jennifer, Hayley, and our former USC Song Girl Jacquelyn…who looks better today than when she was a Song Girl.

Though the Chargers have reversed their fortunes and have found the winning way again, it is a case of too little, too late.  Even though the AFC West is a fairly weak division, I fear that being two games back of Denver with three weeks left in the season is too much to overcome.  I fully expect a new coaching staff next year with a whole new look…maybe we can get Andy Reid, if the Eagles are foolish enough to let him go.  Who knows…hope spring eternal here in the land of everlasting sunshine and absolutely gorgeous Charger Girls.

And for you fans, Christmas will be coming early next Sunday…CHARGER GIRLS IN THEIR BLUE VELVET CHRISTMAS UNIFORMS!

And this week, I was in Phoenix to catch the Cardinals game against the Cowboys…so it was doubly special in that I got see the majority of my fantasy football team play in addition to photographing the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders.  And for those people who like going to different NFL stadiums, University Of Phoenix stadium is a great place to catch a game.  I know I’ve said this in the past, but I enjoy watching a game here.  It’s a newer stadium with a nice clean, fan friendly environment.  And it’s cool looking.  The only thing that is bad about UOP stadium is that the acoustics are terrible…they might as well not have a PA system because it’s just white noise.   But I digress.

I was looking forward to this trip from the moment the NFL schedules were announced.  It was a glamor game featuring one of the most popular teams, the Dallas Cowboys.  It was a chance to catch up with Mad Max, our former Arizona Correspondent, in his seats as opposed to mine in San Diego.  And it was a chance to photograph the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders in a game setting.

So how did my road trip turn out?  My Dallas players underperformed badly (though my fantasy football team still won thanks to Ray Rice, Rob Gronkowski and Arian Foster! ).  The game, other than it went into overtime, was a rather lackluster affair with several offensive miscues by both teams.  And Mad Max was out of town on business, so no chance to chit chat.

Well at least I got some good photos of the ACC.  See for yourself.

Readers of my Charger Girl articles know that I recognize the cheerleader who left the most lasting impression photographically and I do so as well in these road trip articles.  This week’s Cheerleader of the Day is Brianna, a third year cheerleader from Orange County, California.

One of the great things about UOP stadium is that when the roof is closed, you get nice consistent ambient lighting.  The translucent roof diffuses the light, much like a huge soft box.  More consistent ambient lighting means more consistent photographs when using a flash, as you have to do to get good shots indoors.  But on this day, the roof was open which complicated the lighting a little, with some reflections off the fixtures, but it was fairly good to shoot with a flash.

So here are a few shots from the first half.

This next photo is of Allie, who if my memory serves correctly, was named the 2011 Pro Bowl cheerleader for the ACC.  I think that means she’s automatically guaranteed a spot on next year’s team in addition to the all expenses paid trip to Hawaii.

I must say the ACC’s white uniforms are classy, elegant and sexy…one of the nicer outfits in the NFL, in my opinion.  We continue with the some of girls that were in my section in the second quarter.

Those are some high heeled boots to dance in.  Love ‘em!

At half time, the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders changed into a red two piece outfit.  Here are a few photos of the girls who where in my section during the third quarter.

And we conclude our coverage with those girls that were in my section for the exciting fourth quarter and over time.

So as I mentioned earlier, the game went into over time.  After Dallas was called for pass interference penalty that seemed to take all the wind out of the Cowboys defense, LaRod Stephens-Howling turned a short pass into a game winning 52 yard TD reception.  If you want to see the reaction of an Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader as Stephens-Howling slices his way through the beleaguered Cowboy defense for victory, here it is.

It was an appropriate ending to a wonderful day photographing the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders.  I would retire to my hotel room a few blocks away to begin the laborious process of editing my photos and then a long drive home back to Los Angeles the following day.

It was another great road trip to Phoenix.  I got to ride the open road in my beloved 1999 RX300.  I got to listen to a much anticipated audio book.  And I got to photograph some of the most beautiful and sexy cheerleaders in the NFL.

I am already looking forward to next year.

This past Sunday, the Denver Broncos came to town sporting a 4-1 record under new starting QB Tim Tebow.  This game was supposed to be a cake walk, or so Charger fans thought.  After all Tim Tebow couldn’t complete a pass if his life depended on it.  The Broncos, in fact, rush for more yards than they pass, so beating the donkeys is simply a matter of stopping the run.  And against a team so uni-dimensional as the Broncos, this should have been fairly straightforward…stack the box against the run and blitz the hell out of Tebow if he tries to pass.

Well, a funny thing happened on the road to victory.  The Chargers, who were able to move the ball against the Broncos, for the most part, failed to put it in the end zone and had to settle for field goals…or should I say field goal attempts.  Four to be exact.  Charger kicker Nick Novak made two and missed two.  The two missed field goals would turn out to be decisive.  The first miss would have extended the lead against a Bronco team that could barely make it out of their own end of the field.  And the second, a potential game winner in overtime.

But let us give credit where credit is due.  The Chargers were not able to put the Broncos away, letting them hang around.  And the boys from Denver made the most of their opportunities with two key drives that lead to field goals in crunch time, one to tie the game and one to win it in overtime.   Yes, Tim Tebow can’t pass for poop, but he can sure run the ball.  He’s not an “NFL” quarterback, but he’s a winner and for the Broncos, that might be more important that throwing the ball.

And what was the final score you ask?  Broncos – 16, powerless Chargers – 13.

This season is going south real fast with the Chargers losing six in a row.  They went from a potential Super Bowl contender to mediocre real fast.

Hey, at least we have the Charger Girls…and there’s nothing mediocre about them.

I will say this, that the Charger Girls are worth the price of admission.  They are absolutely gorgeous, great to look at in the uniform, and very nice in person.  So let’s begin our weekly cavalcade of absolutely fabulous Charger Girls with the Line Captains: Natalie, Lauren O., Katie and Tiffany.

And now, we turn our attention to the Charger Girl of the Week.  This week’s recipient hails from Detroit, Michigan and was a former dancer in the NBA, introducing our star of the moment, Starkesha!

Late November in Southern California is usually nice…quite nice in fact.  The weather was warm, 81 degrees to be precise.  Very nice.  But the one thing I don’t like about this time of year, is the harsh lighting conditions at Qualcomm.  In the first half, the background is in bright sunlight and the foreground, where the Charger Girls perform, is in shade, so you can get some very contrasty lighting conditions.  In a few of these photographs, you can see these conditions, so my apologies for the dramatic look of some of the photos.

So let’s begin our regular coverage of the Charger Girls in the order that they appeared before my section.  First up, Natalie’s line. Here’s Tawnie, Ariel, Kimberly, Katelyn, Culture and Alexis.

We continue our coverage with Lauren O’s line:  Courtney, Hannah, Anjelica, Aussie Emma,  Jacquelyn, and Clarisse.

In the third quarter, the harsh back lighting gave way to a more subdued light, just in time for Katie’s line: CGOTD Starkesha, Melissa, Nina, Marissa, Hayley, and Angela.

We conclude our coverage with Tiffany’s line: Lauren P., Kara, Nicole, Jennifer, Emily, and former Jets Flight Crew cheerleader Christie.

What can you say.  The Chargers are 4 – 7, three games behind AFC West leading Oakland.  While there is still a mathematical possibility that the Chargers can make the playoffs, unless they figure out what’s wrong with this team, you can expect more of the same.

Well, I still have the Charger Girls to look forward to on Sundays and that is saying a lot.

So, Happy Thanksgiving!  Try not to eat too much turkey while watching some NFL football.

Oh, and here’s something to give thanks for…the hottest dance team in the NFL…your Charger Girls.

I met Kylie’s grandmother, Mary Lou Kitchen, and her father in the Bud Light Power Party last year and she wanted me to try to convince Kylie to stay home and continue her career with the Charger Girls.  Both she and I know that a Charger Girl’s time on the squad is a short one and it is truly a rare opportunity to be an NFL cheerleader.  I have seen a few girls leave the squad and tryout again, only to fail. So staying with the squad for as long as you can is something that one would encourage, since their time on the team is shorter than a NFL player’s career.

But I am also a believer in education, holding two undergraduate degrees from UCLA and a MBA from Pepperdine University.  And I believe that if you have the opportunity to travel abroad and study in a foreign country, that is an opportunity too good to pass up.  And I guess that’s what Kylie did.

So here are a few photos of Kylie taking a break (skydiving) in Switzerland, one of the countries I have always wanted to visit…being a European History major in college.  I guess she found some free time in between studies…life is short and it should be lived to the fullest.

You know I’m sure Kylie must have studied physics in college and the rate of falling due to gravity…it’s 9.8 meters per second squared…or for you and I…mighty fast, if your parachute fails to open.  Gutsy move…kind of like trying out for an NFL cheerleading squad.

And for you Charger Girl fans who may have forgotten what Kylie looked like in the uniform, here are a few photos to refresh your memory.

Kylie if you are reading this, when you get back to the States, I hope you try out for the Charger Girls again. I need to snap a few more photos of you in the uniform to make my collection complete!

And a big thanks to Mary Lou Kitchen for the update.

The main Raiders culprit…back up running back Michael Bush.  Darren McFadden’s understudy gashed the Chargers for 157 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries.  That’s 5.23 yards per carry…if you ask me, with that kind of production the Raiders should have given the ball to Michael Bush on every play because the Chargers weren’t stopping him.  5.23 yards per carry!  That’s a first down every other carry.

No the Raiders are not a good team, but the poor play by the Chargers certainly made them look like playoff contenders.  So, the question you have to ask yourself is, what do you call a team that loses badly to a mediocre team?  Well, if I am honest…the Chargers.  This team, the Chargers, have some serious systemic issues.  Philip Rivers is playing so poorly, Andy Dalton looks good.  And we start a bunch of players, I’ve never heard of…journeymen at best…players that do not resemble the pro bowl level players that John Butler and A. J. Smith have assembled in the past.  No my friend, this is a different Charger team…a mediocre team….a mediocre team in a weak division.  Gee, now I know what it must be like to be an NFC West fan.

Oh well.  If the Chargers are mediocre, at least the Charger Girls are exceptional…a winning team with a tradition of excellence.

So I’ve thought of something…the Chargers seem to play better when Mike Tolbert is the starting running back.   Hey Norv, bench Mathews and start TOLBERT!  Just an observation…and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I have Mike Tolbert in my fantasy league.  But I digress.

So let’s begin this week’s coverage of The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL with the Line Captains: Natalie, Lauren O., Katie and Tiffany.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day comes from the land down under and consistently gives me some great shots.  Introducing…Aussie Emma, your Charger Girl of the Day.

Let’s continue our coverage with some photos of Alexis, Angela, Anjelica, Ariel, former Jets Flight Crew member Christie, and Clarisse.

The cavalcade of absolutely gorgeous (thought I was going to say “fabulous”, didn’t you!) Charger Girls continues with Courtney, Culture, Emily, CGOTD Aussie Emma, Hannah, and Hayley.

Jackie, Jennifer, Kara, Katelyn, Kimberly, and former Clipper Spirit dancer Lauren P. head up our next group of Charger Girls.

We conclude this week’s coverage of the AB FAB Charger Girls with Marissa, Melissa, Nicole, Nina, Starkesha and Tawnie.

The Raiders are not a good team, but they have the potential to become one.  They are playing better as the season progresses and are in first place in the AFC West, albeit a weak AFC West.

The Chargers are an enigma.  They started the season out fast, but their wins were unconvincing and there were indications that this Charger team was not as good as Charger teams of the past.  The loss of running back Darren Sproles to free agency has hurt this team in ways one could not have imagined and the normally stout defense has been rebuilt around journeymen defensive players, not the All Pro defense of years past.

As we approach the mid point of the season, the Chargers are at a crossroad, a crossroad with long term implications.  Will they turn their season around?  Or is this general malaise, the shape of things to come?  I don’t know for certain, but it looks like to me that this is the beginning of the inevitable decline that all good teams experience.

No, the Raiders are not a good team, but neither are the Chargers right now.

In a game that featured more passes than a Las Vegas bar at closing time, the Packers withstood a furious fourth quarter comeback attempt by the Charger to win 45 – 38.  Philip Rivers last interception sealed their fate.  As Hank Hill would say, “that boy ain’t right”.  Who am I to argue with a cartoon character.

And speaking of gifts, may I present to you, the absolutely fabulous SAN DIEGO CHARGER GIRLS!

Who says it never rains in California?

Weather forecasts were for a light rain, a somewhat rarity in Southern California this time of the year.  All those Packer fans from Wisconsin who were expecting balmy and sunny weather were disappointed…probably for the best that pale visitors from the north put the tank tops and shorts away for this game.  And there were many Packers fans.  They virtually took over the Bud Light Power Party, lining up in droves to get a glimpse of the beautiful Charger Girls.  C’mon cheese heads, it’s not like you’ve never seen an NFL cheerleader before…oops!  Forgot, they don’t have any!  Well, I guess that’s another reason to hate California.

And speaking of the Bud Light Power Party, I chatted with Line Captain Natalie and asked her that if she remembered to bring those chemical hand and toe warmers that the CGs use to keep warm on cold game days.  She said she did not, not thinking that they would have to use them in early November.  I reminded her that it was supposed to be cold and wet and that I had some in the car, I could give her, but she politely refused.

Now I must remind you that the Charger Girls don’t have cold weather uniforms or issue the girls rain gear to dance in.  These dedicated women perform in their everyday uniforms, whether it rains or shines.  So, I must applaud the girls for braving the cold, wet weather in their skimpy (but sexy) Charger Girl uniforms.

Who me?  I don’t like to be cold or wet, especially at a Charger game, so I brought a rain poncho and several of those chemical heaters.   I guess I’m a wimp, but given a choice to be cold and wet or dry and warm…well, you get the idea.  Plus, I had all my expensive camera equipment to keep dry…wouldn’t want to electrocute myself with that battery pack.

The inclement was an interesting change and afforded some interesting photos.  But I digress.

Let’s get on with our regular coverage of the cold and wet Charger Girls and introduce the Line Captains: Natalie, Lauren O., Katie and Tiffany.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day is a third year veteran and first year Line Captain.  She has a degree in Business from Sonoma State University and she owns her own business, a mobile dance company.  Introducing…Lauren O.

It was raining lightly when the game began, so let’s begin our coverage with the girls who were in my section at the start of the first quarter.  That would be Natalie’s line: Ariel, Tawnie, Kimberly, Katelyn, Culture, and Alexis.

As the second quarter began, the light rain continued.  During this time, Lauren O.’s squad was in my section.  Introducing: Courtney, Hannah, Anjelica, Aussie Emma, former USC Song Girl Jacquelyn, and Clarisse.

By the time the quarter break had rolled around, the field was wet and the Charger Girls danced in the end zone as usual.  They rocked on the turf, they rolled on the turf, and writhed on the turf.  That left some interesting stains on their uniforms.  No, the Charger Girls didn’t tie-dye their uniforms.  It was just the paint from the end zone, so that’s why some of the girls look like hippies from the 60′s.  At least it’s a nice shade of blue!

I am sure the girls got to clean up a bit at halftime.  As the third quarter began, the rain had stopped for the moment and there was even a bit of sunshine for a few minutes.  It was Katie’s line’s turn in my section.  Katie’s line is: Starkesha, Melissa, Nina, Marissa, Hayley, and Angela.

The next line of Charger Girls came out with a wind blown hair look.  I must say some of the girls hair looked quite alluring, particularly Kara’s.  I am not suggesting that it rain on the girls every game, but Tiffany’s line looked quite attractive with their hair all mussed up…kind of wild and sexy…their hair that is.

But as the fourth quarter began to wind down, the skies darkened and the rain returned…right about when Philip Rivers gifted the Packers with his third interception of the day.  Tiffany’s line braved the cold and wet weather…and the disappointment of another loss.  Tiffany’s line included: Lauren P., Kara, Nicole, Jennifer, Emily, and former Jets Flight Crew cheerleader Christie.

Philip Rivers says there’s nothing wrong with him physically, though his throwing mechanics seem to be off as some analysts have said.  I don’t know what’s going on with Rivers but if he doesn’t stop throwing interceptions, he will literally be giving away games and that has to stop if the Chargers intend on making it to the playoffs.  But on this rainy day, there was a silver lining.  With all the Chargers’ woes, they are still tied for first place in the AFC West.

So on this festive holiday, sit back and enjoy all this Charger Girl goodness.

School was never like this!

Now I know why the 20's was so roaring!

When Nicole L. dressed up as Minnie Mouse, Qualcomm Stadium was the happiest place on earth!

Mee-ow!

Back to school week!

Oh Jessie!

Perhaps the best Wonder Woman I've seen.

The dress says it all.

Must be...Gryffindor!

Here kitty, kitty!

That’s the great thing about Halloween in San Diego…the weather is warm and the Charger Girls wear the sexiest costumes in the NFL.

Oh, and for our east coast readers, it was a balmy 84 degrees in Southern California, where I live.

With the Dolphins coming into town on Sunday, the Chargers hoped to reignite their sputtering offense against the win less cetaceans.  Unfortunately, hopes for a touchdown explosion fizzled to a field goal kicking contest with the Chargers winning four field goals to three for the Dolphins.   Final score, Chargers 26 – Dolphins 16.

The Chargers have a ways to go to be considered a good team, but with the win the Boys in Blue lead the AFC West Division by one game over the Raiders.  At least that is something to smile about.

And another thing that brings a smile to my face…the absolutely fabulous Charger Girls!

As is customary in these game day reports, we begin our weekly coverage of the Charger Girls by featuring the Line Captains: Katie, Tiffany, Natalie and Lauren O.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day was a very difficult decision.  I had two Charger Girls that gave me a series of great photos and I had a dilemma.  I couldn’t decide which photo, let a alone which set of photos, was the best of the day.  I thought and thought.  I reviewed photo after photo.  An in the end, I struggled to come to a decision.  So this week, we have a rarity and we honor two girls with Charger Girl of the Day.  Leading off is Nina, followed by Lauren P.

And here’s CGOTD Lauren P.

You may have notice something different this week.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to support the NFL’s efforts, the Charger Girls cheered with pink pom poms to draw attention to the cause.  Last year, the Charger Girls donned bright pink jackets on what was a warm day.  This past Sunday, the weather was absolutely hot with temperatures on the field in the high 80′s.  So, I would imagine opting for the pink pom poms instead of the pink jackets was a good idea….much cooler and a more subtle way honor the event.

Let’s begin our coverage of the Charger Girls with: Anjelica, Ariel, Clarisse, Culture, Emily, Hayley, Lauren P., and Marissa.

We continue our coverage with Melissa, Nina, Starkesha, Tawnie, Nicole, Kimberly, Katelyn, and Kara.

We conclude our coverage with Jennifer, Jackie, Hannah, Aussie Emma, Courtney, Christie, Angela, and Alexis.

And I saw a couple of Charger Girls from last year serving as coordinators this week.  Here’s a photo of Jessie and Amanda, both of whom were rocking three inch high heels that made them look like giant Charger Girl coordinators.

I don’t seem to recall Amanda and Jessie as being that tall…they were taller than some of the cornerbacks on the field.  I’m not complaining mind you.

With the win, the Charger improve to 3 -1, but the toughest games on the schedule are yet to be played.  They are going to have play better to hope to keep pace with the top teams in the NFL.  If they don’t…well, we’ll always have the Charger Girls to look forward to.

But there are some circumstances where I think it’s okay to post tasteful high kick pics.  For example, if you are covering an audition you really aren’t doing your job if you don’t show a few kicks because every audition begins with an across the floor routine which includes high kicks.  It’s a common routine used to demonstrate basic dance technique.  If you are shooting an audition, you must cover this dance move.

If you are covering the Rockettes who are known for their kick line, you shoot the shot.  If you don’t photograph this signature move, you are not doing your job.

If you are covering the world famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (and I have), their signature move is a kick line into a jump split.  And I would say, if you don’t get that shot you didn’t do your job.

Now I used to shoot for a paper and I when I shot a football game, I shot everything…offense, defense…running plays, passing plays…injuries, time outs, coaches reactions…you get the idea.  You shoot everything because you don’t know ahead of time what will turn out to be a great shot, a defining shot.

And when I go to a Chargers game and shoot the Charger Girls for this blog, I shoot everything…spins, kicks…sideline routines, quarter breaks, big play reaction shots…whatever might be illustrative of the game day experience or just something serendipitous that makes me smile.  Sometimes you get a great shot of a Charger Girl reacting to a play.  Sometimes you get a great shot of a Charger Girl dancing.  And sometimes you get a great shot of a Charger Girl doing a high kick.

Now that’s kind of rare because when a cheerleader performs a high kick, that’s usually a “high effort” move and sometimes a girl’s facial expression can be odd.  But every now and then, you get a shot that’s special…special because the girl looks graceful doing a body torquing move and has a great expression on her face…but it’s a high kick and some people are a little gun shy.

Why am I spending all this white space discussing the matter, well I have a high kick pic that I think is special, but I wanted to preface it.  This shot wouldn’t have made UltimateCheerleaders.com, but I think it’s a beautiful shot of a lovely and talent dancer.  Angela is her name.  So, here it is…our lead shot…and a rarity.

This is one of my favorite shots of the day because it’s the high kicking cheerleader equivalent of the Heisman pose.  Straight leg up.  Straight leg down.  Flat stomach.  Arms fully extended.  And most of all, a beautiful smile.

So whereas this photo would be judged differently on UltimateCheerleaders.com, I think this photo is beautiful and indicative of what the cheerleaders do at games.

Yeah, if I was a better photographer, I would have gotten the top of her boot or all of her arms.  But I like shooting tight and perhaps that’s why these types of shots are edited out on UltimateCheerleaders.com because you might see too much.  What can I say, I know how to focus my camera, unlike some others on the site.

The following pic is what is acceptable on UltimateCheerleaders.com, but it is so much less evocative of the talents of a gifted cheerleader.  It is not as dynamic as the previous photo, being the equivalent of shooting a running back in half step, instead of shooting him at full stride.

I think this is still a great photo of Angela, but the previous photo is so much more compelling.

Oh well, I see I have been a bit long winded again.  I just want to say that on this site, if there is a high kick photo or any other that I find compelling or aesthetically interesting, I am going to post it.  High kicks are fair game, in my opinion if done tastefully and not in an obviously embarrassing or prurient (look that one up!) manner.

I know there are people out there that look at cheerleaders in that manner and I am not trying to encourage that kind of behavior.  I look at these photos of the Charger Girls in a different way.  Sure, the Charger Girls are good looking and even a bit sexy.  I don’t know one professional cheerleader who isn’t.  And yes, their outfits are definitely skimpy.  But I like to think my photos are more than just a pretty girl kicking up her legs, even though that’s all some people see.

This is Christie.  She was a Jets Flight Crew Cheerleader last year, but she made the trek out west to audition for the Charger Girls.  Coincidentally, I met her two years ago at the PRO convention in Atlanta.  She has rapidly become one of my favorite Charger Girls to photograph.  From the photos below, I think you can see why.

This is another one of my favorite shots from last Sunday.  I only wish the background was free of visual distractions and I could have focused more attention on Courtney.

This is Culture and we have something in common.  She was a rookie Charger Girl in 1999, my first year as a Charger season ticket holder.  Yes, I support the Charger Girls with my hard earned dollars.

This is Aussie Emma who hails from…wait for it…Australia.  She used to be a professional cheerleader for the Australasia National Basketball League and the National Rugby League in Sydney.

Hannah from Montana…no, she’s from San Diego and one of my favorites to photograph.

This is Jacquelyn, our former USC Song Girl.  I remember her from her college days and I think she looks better than ever.  Welcome back.

One half of our CG sister combination, Jennifer O.  The other half is Line Captain Lauren O.  I never seem to take a bad shot of Jennifer…she’s that photogenic.

And speaking of never taking a bad shot, I never take a bad shot of Line Captain Katie.  She’s just an amazing dancer…I guess you have to be if you are a former Laker Girl like she is.

Here’s Lauren O., the other half of our CG sister combo.

Lauren P. was a Clipper Spirit dancer in the past, but she’s a Charger Girl now.

Here’s Natalie, another Charger Girl that I get amazing photographs of…never a bad photo….never.

Starkesha is rocking a new hair style this year and it looks great.  She was a former Detroit Automotion dancer.  Her bio says she lives in NOHO (North Hollywood), so that makes her drive to San Diego just a tad longer than mine (121 miles)…you’ve got to admire that dedication.

Now I am not going to suggest the weather may have had something to do with the Chargers poor play, but it did affect my shooting of the absolutely fabulous Charger Girls.  The day started with overcast skies and then proceeded to fluctuate between bright sun and dark shady conditions.  I struggled to find consistent lighting all day long and would have preferred it to be either sunny all day or overcast all day.  I put on and took off my flash gear all game long and perhaps missed some important dance moves.  Oh well.  Its not usually like this here in beautiful San Diego, but we photographers have to adapt and overcome, to paraphrase the Marine Corps.  And I did.

I suspect the Line Captains are selected because of their leadership, but I would also suggest that they are chosen for their exceptional dance abilities as well.  I get consistently good shots of the Line Captains.  Oh well, enough of my musings, we got some Charger Girls to showcase.  And we begin with the aforementioned Line Captains: Tiffany, Katie, Natalie and Lauren O.

And speaking of Line Captains…this week’s Charger Girl of the Day is a native of Taiwan and a third year member of the Charger Girls…introducing Tiffany.

Okay, let’s begin our regular coverage of the AB FAB Charger Girls by introducing them in alphabetical order.  Introducing: Alexis, Angela, Anjelica, Ariel, former Jet Flight Crew member Christie, Clarisse, Courtney, and Culture.

We continue our cavalcade of Charger Girls with Emily, Aussie Emma, Hannah, Hayley, our former USC Song Girl Jacquelyn, Jennifer, Kara, and Katelyn.

We conclude this week’s coverage with Kimberly, Lauren P., Marissa, Melissa, Nicole, Nina, Starkesha and Tawnie.

And here are a few quarter break shots of Charger Girls…party rocking in the house.

Next week we have another home game.  It’s another chance for Philip Rivers to work out the kinks in his game play.  It’s another chance for me to work on my photography.  I kind of don’t like midday sun.  It casts harsh shadows, so I might try to shoot with my flash all game long…that will be interesting.  Oh well, can’t wait until Sunday!

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For more cheerleader article, please visit my blog:  The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL.

The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders are an impressive group of young women.  They are intelligent, talented, and very beautiful.  For the longest time, I have wanted to come out to D.C. and photograph them in a game environment.  This desire was reinforced the past two years after seeing them in person at PRO.

James has told me that there are a lot of things to see and do at a Redskins game, so I was interested in checking out FedEx field first hand.  And let me say that the whole game day experience was a blast.

He was going to drive down from Philly and I flew in from Los Angeles.  Since this is a rare trip east for me, we wanted to experience as much as possible, so he secured a couple of AAA Ultimate Fan Zone tickets…barbecue ribs and the Redskins Cheerleaders!  Woo! Hoo!

Now for those who have never been to FedEx Field, two lines of cheerleaders perform in the AAA Ultimate Fan Zone and one line performs at the Bud Light Pavilion.  The Washington Redskins Cheerleader Ambassadors were also in attendance at the AAA Ultimate Fan Zone.  They were signing autographs and posing for photographs.  I was in heaven with all these gorgeous women to shoot.  And the all you can eat food was nice…although the ribs were a little dry.

James and I queued up at the entry gate to await the opening of the AAA Ultimate Fan Zone.  We were joined by Mad Max, our former Arizona Correspondent who had ventured east to watch his Arizona Cardinals battle the Washington Redskins on this Sunday…his Cardinals lost, 22 – 21 coincidentally.

Once inside, Max checked out the barbecue and James and I chatted about the blog as we awaited the arrival of the Redskin Cheerleaders.  At 11:05 am, the first line made their way to elevated stage.  They performed two routines that lasted about 10 minutes in total.  It was an excellent photo opportunity…except for the smoke from the adjacent barbecue area that wafted over to the stage.

Little would I know that the stage performances would be the best shooting of the day.  The next line wasn’t supposed to arrive for another 30 minutes, so I returned to where the Ambassadors were signing autographs and asked a few of them to pose for me.  It was a little slow, so I didn’t feel too bad asking them.

The main focus of the Ambassadors is to interact with fans during all Redskins home games at FedEx Field.  They were more accessible than the Redskins Cheerleaders and you could chat them up a bit.  The Cheerleaders, in contrast, were shepherded away from the AAA Ultimate Fan Zone at the conclusion of their performances, so no individual photos ops…I guess they had a tight pregame schedule.

In between Redskins Cheerleader appearances, a drawing for prizes was held.  Two Ambassadors hosted the event and called out winning numbers.

I missed out winning a LaRon Landry autographed football by one digit.  The winning number was 00271 and my wristband number was 00270.  Eh, what would I do with an autographed football anyway.

At 11:40 pm, the second line of cheerleaders arrived at the stage.  They performed two long dance routines and, like the first line, were quickly escorted from the AAA Ultimate Fan Zone upon the conclusion of their performance.

It was a little more than an hour before kickoff, so James and I decided to try some of the barbecue.  Max tagged along and grabbed a second helping.  It wasn’t the best barbecue I’ve ever eaten, but given the location and circumstances, it was a welcome feast of artery clogging tailgate cuisine.

After dining on ribs and spicy mac and cheese, we decided to make our way to our seats.  James and I were in the first row of the lower level and Max had snagged himself a single dream seat.  Dream seats are the first two field level rows and offer the additional amenity of free hot dogs and sodas…for a considerable price increase of course.  That Dan Synder, he’s one sharp cookie and knows how to wring out additional marginal revenue by offering more in seat amenities.

In San Diego, my seats have an unobstructed view of the Charger Girls.  They’re lousy for seeing game action, but excellent for photographing the Charger Girls.  At FedEx field, I had an additional two rows of balding heads to contend with in addition to the usual sideline obstructions, so my angle of attack was not good for shooting the Redskins Cheerleaders.  But, I relocated to an empty seat two rows up and had much better luck…perhaps I should have bought a dream seat like Mad Max.  His seat had less obstructions and the free food and drink would have been appreciated later in the day. Alas, I did not spring for the additional cost of the dream seat.

I love the NFL and its kind of special when I get to visit a new stadium.  And FedEx field was a great place to watch a game.  The amenities are nice and it’s relatively new, a nice contrast to the aging confines of San Diego’s Qualcomm stadium.  The sight lines, at least from where I was sitting, were good and you could get some great shots of the game.

The weather was a little overcast, which posed a challenge as the lighting changed over the course of the game…it was not the bright sunshine as advertised by the weather channel.  But with all these difficulties, I did manage to snag a few shots.  Now there were a couple of girls that gave me some great images, but one girl stood out.  And as people know, whenever I go to a game I give an award to the cheerleader that made the most lasting impression.  This week’s Cheerleader of the Day award goes to Ashley A.

So let’s begin our coverage of the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders with some photos from the first half.

After halftime, the Redskins Cheerleaders changed out of their white skirted uniform to a burgundy hot pant uniform.  Here are a few photos from the second half.

I would say that my trip out to Washington D.C. was an unqualified success.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and had a great time shooting the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders and their Ambassadors.  My whole experience at FedEx field was great and I had a enjoyable time watching the Redskins battle the Cardinals.   I know Daniel Snyder has taken a lot of criticism over the years, but I think he has hit upon a great idea, to market the team as a day of entertainment, rather that just a football game.  The pregame tailgate parties, the stadium amenities and the product on the field all contribute to the entertainment value of going to a Redskins game.    It’s not an inexpensive ticket, but its a good entertainment value for the dollar.

And the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders…I’m in love.  I guess I’ll have to plan for a return trip next year.

The 2011 Sacramento Kings Dancers auditions were held on Friday, September 9th at the Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, a beautiful facility on the outskirts of Sacramento.  I arrived a little before 4:00 pm and there was a crowd of girls waiting to register.  As I entered Pano Hall, my first impression was that the Kings were going all out to stage their auditions.  Unlike other events that I have attended, the Kings opened their preliminary auditions to the public.  The choice of the venue and the entertainment system was impressive.

I knew I was going to get some great shots and I was ready to go.

A little after 4:00 pm the doors were opened and the girls queued up at the registration table.  Forms were filled out and each girl was assigned a wristband and an audition number.

Once registered the girls were directed to the warm up area, which ironically also serves as the loading dock for the casino.  There was ample room for the girls to stretch and get ready for the auditions.  Some girls used this time to touch up their make up.  And some girls reacquainted themselves with friends.  I saw a group of former Sacramento Mountain Lions Cheerleaders and I recognized a group of girls who were Kings Dancers veterans.

I also recognized a girl from the PRO Convention in Atlanta.  Her name was Wendy and she was a former Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader who had relocated to the area to attend graduate school.  She was working on a PhD in biomedical engineering and was recently accepted to UC Davis.

At 5:00 pm, the girls were led to the stage where they were lined up in front of an enthusiastic crowd.  The choreographers and Jennifer Santich, the Dance Team Manager, were introduced to the dancers.  Tom Vannucci, the Director of Entertainment, spoke to the girls and let them know what the evening’s events would entail.  There would be four routines taught this night and after each round a cut would be made.  Girls would be evaluated not only on dance technique and physical fitness, but they would also be evaluated during the instruction process to see how quickly they learned the new material.  Over the course of a season, the Kings Dancers learn many routines and it is important that they are able to quickly assimilate the material and perform it at a high level.

Nine returning veterans and two former Kings Dancers were among the more that 70 dancers who were vying for one of the 12 to 16 available positions.  Judging from the girls in attendance, the competition would be fierce and another “Best in the West” squad was certainly possible.

At 5:15 pm, the auditions began and the girls were led through a warm up session by choreographer Dustin Phillips.

When the warm up session was completed, choreographer Stephanie Wise introduced an across the floor routine which consisted of a jazz walk portion, a series of spins, and a high kick.  This routine was designed to identify those candidates that had the requisite dance technique from those that needed more seasoning.

Dancers were called up in small groups and performed the across the floor routine from right to left and then from left to right, with a change in footing.

After a brief intermission, the girls were called back to the stage and the judges announced their decisions.

It was 6:19 pm and 63 girls made the cut.

The next phase of the auditions began and once again, Stephanie Wise demonstrated a jazz dance routine to the Beyonce song, “Who Rule the World”.

This segment of this routine was about a minute and a half, but it took about an hour to fully demonstrate and rehearse.  At 7:15 pm, the girls were called up in groups of five to perform the routine before the judges.

After a brief respite, the girls were once again called up to the stage to await the results.

Of the 63 girls that started this portion of the auditions, only 43 would be continuing the journey.  Tom warned that he needed to see more from the girls and that they needed to turn it on because what he saw up to this point would not impress a crowd of 17,000, let alone a panel of four judges twenty feet away.

It was 8:06 pm and the girls were given a 15 minute break to hydrate and change into sneakers.  When the audition resumed, it was Dustin’s turn to teach the girls a routine, a hip hop routine.  Dustin was a former dancer for Aaron Carter and the Backstreet Boys, so this was right down his alley.

After the routine was demonstrated and the girls had a change to rehearse it, they were once again brought up to the stage in small groups to perform the dance in front of the watchful eyes of the judges.

After each of the dancers had performed the routine, the girls were excused and the judges deliberated for a third time.  It was 9:37 and the judges took nearly twenty minutes to review the candidates’ performance.

With their decisions made, the girls were called up to the stage for a third time and the results of this portion of the audition was announced.  10 girls were eliminated and only 33 dancers remained.  Slowly, but surely the list of potential candidates were being whittled down to those with the talent and beauty to be a professional dancer, a Sacramento Kings Dancer.

It was nearly 10:00 pm and I thought that the day’s festivities were at an end, but I was wrong.  There was another round of auditions scheduled and this time a third type of dance would be taught, a contemporary dance that would stretch the abilities of those remaining.  Three different routines, three different dance styles.

Luke Olson-Elm choreographed a dance that included many twisting, circular motions that would be a nice contrast to the jazz dance and hip hop routines performed earlier in the night.

After an hour of instruction, the girls were called up in groups of eleven to perform the routine.

At 11:30 pm, the dancers were called to the stage one final time.  The judges had made their decisions.  Of the 33 remaining girls…all of them would be going on the next round.  No cuts here.  The judges wanted to see more before whittling the numbers down any further, so all of them made to the next round.

As the excitement quieted down, Tom gathered the girls together to discuss the next step in the process.  Saturday would be a busy day.  They remaining candidates would be participating in two photos shoots, one in business attire and one in a bikini.  Interviews would also be held and the girls would be videotaped performing a dance for online content.  There would be no cuts on Saturday.

On Sunday, the girls would rehearse from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.  At 4:00 pm, there would be a performance in front of a crowd and a cut would be made.  In this performance, the girls would be judged not only on appearance and dance technique, but also how they performed in front of an audience.

Jennifer Santich met with the girls to schedule Saturday’s interviews and discuss any questions the girls may have had at this point.  And then the girls were dismissed for the evening.

It was 11:45 pm when I said my goodbyes to the staff of the Kings.  I left the Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, tired and hungry.  It was a long day and I couldn’t wait to see my photos because this is going to be another great squad.  Another “Best in the West” squad?  Who can say?  But from all indications, most definitely.  Yes.

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I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jennifer Santich, Tom Vannucci and the Sacramento Kings for allowing my the opportunity to cover their auditions.  I had a wonderful time covering your event.

On this Sunday, it was the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 and the NFL had planned numerous observances at all their venues.  It was important for me to be here, if only to pay my respects to the fallen and to make a symbolic statement that acts of terror cannot defeat us by making us cower in our homes.  Life goes on and it is to be enjoyed to the fullest.  And I enjoy watching football and I really enjoy photographing the Charger Girls.  So as tired as I was from driving over 1000 miles in four days, I wanted to be here for the Chargers home opener.

NFL glamor boy Adrian Peterson along with the rest of the Minnesota Vikings made the trek to sunny San Diego to try to steal a win from the Chargers.  In a nightmarish reminder of last season’s special teams blunders, the San Diego Chargers let Viking Percy Harvin take the opening kick off 103 yards for a touchdown.  But as the game progressed, the Chargers asserted their dominance, riding upon the three touchdown effort of fullback Mike Tolbert.  In the end, the Chargers limited Viking QB Donovan McNabb to a paltry 39 passing yards en route to a 24 – 17 win.

Now the game was not the only highlight.  The Charger Girls wore special uniforms in homage of 10th anniversary of the 9/11/01 tragedy.  They were nice, dignified and not too overtly sexy for NFL cheerleader uniforms and they featured a ribbon in a very apropos place…over their hearts.

Okay, I am sure most of you want to see what the other Charger Girls look like in these special uniforms.  So let’s begin with the Charger Girl Line Captains: Tiffany, Katie, Natalie and Lauren O.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day has always given me great shots and I appreciate her enthusiasm and spirit.   She is a former Laker Girl and current Line Captain, introducing Katie.

Okay let’s continue our coverage of the absolutely gorgeous Charger Girls with  Alexis, Angela, Anjelica, Ariel, Christie, and Clarisse.

We continue our coverage with Courtney, Culture, Emily, Aussie Emma, Hannah, Hayley, and Jaquelyn.

Let’s continue with Jennifer, Kara, Katelyn, Kimberly, Lauren P., Marissa and Melissa.

And we conclude this week’s coverage with Nicole, Nina, Starkesha, and Tawnie.

Under the leadership of Norv Turner, the Chargers have historically started the season off poorly and have had to fight their way back into contention.  So starting the season off with a win was a welcome change to what has become the norm and with that, there is hope that this year, will finally be THE year that they breakthrough to the Super Bowl.  Hope springs eternal, when it is the first game of the season.  And a win is certainly better than a loss.

So I as far as cheerleader photographers go, I am blessed.  I get to watch a winning team, get to shoot some absolutely gorgeous cheerleaders, meet some proud CG parents, hang with some season ticket holder buddies, and all in the beautiful city of San Diego.

So let me share some of my blessings with you.  Here are some more photos from the 49ers vs Chargers preseason game.

In a lackluster game, the 49ers second and third team beat the Chargers second and third team, 20 – 17.

The only redeeming quality of preseason football is the cheerleaders.  There they are, giving their all to entertain the crowd in what is typically a boring game.  So if the game was less than interesting, the Chargers Girls were absolutely captivating.

So what did we learn?  Alex Smith is not the answer to the question, who is the 49ers franchise quarterback. Charger running back Ryan Mathews can shred a second team defense.  The new kick off rule sucks, unless you like touch backs.  And finally, if you put a lousy product on the field, the ticket paying public will stay at home…unless you force them to purchase preseason games, at full price, as a part of their season ticket plan.

Okay, enough ranting.  Let’s begin this week’s coverage of the ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Charger Girls with the Line Captains…Tiffany, Katie, Natalie and Lauren O.

I dated a red head in college.  She was half Italian and half Irish and all fire.  So you can say, like most men, I like red heads…who doesn’t.  There is just something alluring about a red head, a certain je ne sais quoi quality…eh, I don’t know what.  Anyway, this week’s Charger Girl of the Day is a fiery red head from Colorado, introducing…Anjelica.

Anjelica kind of reminds me of that red headed vampire Jessica in HBO’s True Blood…kind of …except she’s got good teeth.

<<Edit>> Okay, I have re-read the previous sentence (I wrote this article late last night and I was dead tired).  I did not mean to suggest that Anjelica reminds me of a vampire.  No.  I meant to say that she reminds me of the actress who plays the sexy vampire character Jessica on True Blood.  But…the thought of a sexy vampire cheerleader…now that would be television gold!  <<End Edit>>

Let’s begin our regular coverage by introducing the Charger Girls by line.  We begin with Katie’s line: Starkesha, Melissa, Nina, Angela and Hayley.

Up next, Tiffany’s line: Lauren P., Kara, Nicole, Emily, Jennifer, and Christie.

We continue over coverage with Natalie’s Line: Tawnie, Kimberly, Ariel, Katelyn, Culture and Alexis.

And we conclude our coverage of the AB FAB Charger Girls with Lauren O’s line: Courtney, Hannah, CGOTD Anjelica, Clarisse, Jacquelyn and Aussie Emma.

The one good thing about the NFL lockout was that it sure seemed to make preseason pass by in record time.  Shoot.  Wasn’t only a month ago that they settle their labor issue.  Oh well.  Beginning next week, we start the regular season and we get to watch games worthy of our hard earned dollars.  It will also be the 10th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11.  So, this should be an interesting week ahead and give us pause to think of all that has happened in the intervening years.

For all that is bad in the world, I am glad I live in the United States of America where we can enjoy the freedoms we have and sit down on a Sunday and watch some football.

Its a new season and I was looking forward to checking out the 49ers Gold Rush.  I read that they were getting new uniforms and I wanted to see the new girls on the squad.  And added plus was that the Niners were playing the Houston Texans and I wanted to see Texans RB Arian Foster in person…one of my keepers in my fantasy football league.

So how did my weekend turn out?  Arian Foster pulled his hamstring, but I got some great shots of the 49ers Gold Rush.  See for yourself.

Before I begin our regular coverage of the 49ers Gold Rush, I would like to recognize the Gold Rush Cheerleader of the Day.  For those of you who are familiar with my Charger Girl game day reports, you know I like to feature the cheerleader that has given me the best photographs of the day.  And in this report, I will continue this trend by recognizing an absolutely gorgeous 49er Gold Rush, who I think is named Taylor.  You will have to forgive me because as most knowledgeable cheerleader fans know, a girl’s profile photo taken the day of the auditions looks nothing like the cheerleader after their make over.  So, if I have incorrectly named our Gold Rush Cheerleader of the Day, my apologies.

So without further ado, our Gold Rush Cheerleader of the Day.

She kind of reminds me of an uber sexy Anna Paquin, Sookie Stackhouse of HBO’s True Blood fame.

Kick off was scheduled for 5:00 pm, so I knew the lighting was going to be an issue.  The game would start in bright sunshine, transition to shade with bright back lit backgrounds, then end in twilight darkness.  Not the most consistent or best lighting conditions, but this is preseason and the NFL has made prime time telecasts (back east) a priority these past few years.  So be it.

A major issue that I encountered was that there were many people on the sidelines.  There were your usual security guards, photographers, TV cameramen, SFPD and other miscellaneous game day management personnel.  And there were people wearing suits just watching the game.  Perhaps it was because it was a preseason game, but I thought the NFL was trying to crack down on the number of extraneous people on the sidelines.  What this meant was that I had some difficulty trying to shoot around people to get clean, unobstructed shots of the Gold Rush.  Oh well.

The pregame performance is usually a good opportunity to photograph the Gold Rush…but not today.  The crowd of suited sycophants prevented that for the most part.  But I did snap a few pics of the girls scrambling from the field after the player intros.

When it was time for kick off, the Gold Rush made their way to the top of the dug outs to perform a dance routine.  Now for those that may not know it, Candlestick Park is an old baseball stadium converted to a multi-use facility, but the dug outs remain and the Gold Rush make good use of it.

Another interesting aspect of the configuration at Candlestick Park is that the Gold Rush have more than four primary locations to perform their sideline routines, so that means you have only a short time to shoot each line before they move on to another area.

Midway through the second quarter, the fog started rolling and a chill wind swirled in from the bay.  Mark Twain is often attributed to the saying, that “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” He wasn’t wrong, if he actually said it at all.  It was chilly and the moist fog made is seem even more cold.

So during halftime, the Gold Rush changed out of their cute shorts and into dance pants…ugh.  Dance pants are really not that flattering to the feminine form and I really hate to disabuse those people who believe that they do.  They are not and should be banned from the NFL and NBA.  I’ll say that again to any team directors out there…they should be banned from the NFL and NBA.

But under the circumstance, I can understand why they would do that…although I was wearing shorts myself and suffered through the bitter cold…and I wasn’t even dancing to keep myself warm.

By the start of the fourth quarter, with the game well out of hand and the Texans leading, the majority of the fans started leaving for the exits.  I did as well.  Because if you have never been to Candlestick Park, you should know that getting out of the Stick can be a nightmare when the game sells out.  But for this game, the stadium was only a quarter full.  I think many people were either scared off due to the previous week’s shooting in the parking lot (a game against the Raiders, need I say more) or they were attending the San Francisco Giants game down the road, a few miles away.

So that ended my San Francisco sojourn, other than driving back home of L.A. the next day.  All in all, a nice little road trip and a first glimpse of the 2011 49ers Gold Rush.  I heard a rumor that the Gold Rush will be debuting another new uniform soon, so a return engagement during the regular season might be in order!

But as some of you may have known,  I had some difficulties during last year’s preseason game, when unbeknownst to season ticket holders, the Chargers changed their camera policy to a more restrictive and, frankly, ridiculous policy.  I became so frustrated that I wrote a letter to Dean Spanos, the president of the Chargers to discuss my grievances.  And I encouraged other season ticket holders to do the same.

Well apparently our efforts were successful and this year the Chargers amended their camera policy to something more reasonable (6″ lenses are now allowed).  Furthermore, they let the season ticket holders know in advance and in writing…something they didn’t do last year.

So, they got it right and took a stand in favor of the fans…fans like me who buy expensive tickets and expensive merchandise and expensive concessions in this horrible economy.  They got it right for fans like me who support the team with our hard earned dollars.  They got it right for fans like me whom the Chargers need to get the political support to get their new stadium deal done, either here in San Diego or in Los Angeles, where I live.

They got it right.

Now let this be a lesson for all sports teams and their billionaire owners (hey Frank McCourt, you listening)…ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE FAN.  WE PAY YOUR SALARIES.  WE MAKE YOUR TEAMS PROFITABLE.  AND WE CAN MAKE YOUR STADIUM DREAMS A REALITY…OR WE CAN TURN THEM INTO PIPE DREAMS.

And if you don’t believe me, remember the baseball strike of 1994 -1995?  How long did it take the fans to come back to the game?  How long did it take to get TV ratings back to a level where it was worth it for networks to pay millions of dollars to enrich your coffers.

Every first year business student knows, the customer is always right.

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It was preseason for me too and it took me a little while to get in a good photographic groove.  I was trying out a new lens, one that was less than six inches long and in compliance with the Chargers revised camera policy.  As with all new equipment, it takes some time to get used to.

And I had Mad Max next to me, which forced me to contort my body a bit more than usual to get shots of the girls on the far side.  But all in all, it was an enjoyable evening of photography and the Charger Girls.

Typically, I take between 1,200 and 1,600 photographs at a game.  Of that amount, about 25 percent of those shots are worthy of further post processing and of those 300 or so images, I select roughy 30-50 to include in my game day articles.

But that leaves many more noteworthy photographs of the Charger Girls unseen…unseen, that is, if I didn’t post the remainders here.

So, for your enjoyment…here are the remains of the day.

The only redeeming aspect of preseason football is the cheerleaders and to tell you the truth, I was excited to see the new squad of Charger Girls.  So if the football was crappy, the Charger Girls were amazing.

Oh and if anyone is interested, the Seahawks third stringers defeated the Chargers third stringers, 24 – 17.

As long as I have been covering the Charger Girls for this blog, I have started off my articles by recognizing the Line Captains.  So without further ado, introducing Katie, Tiffany, Natalie and Lauren O.

Regular readers of my Charger Girl game day reports know that I like to recognize the most memorable cheerleader with the Charger Girl of the Day award.  And this week’s recipient is Line Captain Natalie, who gave me several outstanding photographs.

I am sure many of our readers are curious to see who are the new Charger Girl, so let begin this week’s coverage with the rookies.  Introducing Alexis, Angela, Ariel, Clarisse, Kara, Katelyn, Nina, Tawnie and Christie.

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Christie is a former Jets Flight Crew Cheerleader.  She may not remember it, but we met each other at last year’s P-R-O Convention, where I snapped this photograph of her and two of her Jets teammates.

Christie has exchanged her East coast style for that California Girl look.  Quite an improvement, I would say.  Welcome to California, Christie.

Okay, let’s continue our first look of the 2011 Charger Girls by turning our attention to the returning veterans.  Introducing Anjelica, Courtney, Culture, Emily, Emma, Hannah, and Hayley.

We continue our coverage with veterans Jacquelyn (our former USC Song Girl returns!), Jennifer, Kimberly, Lauren P., Marissa, Melissa, Nicole, and Starkesha.

Well the day wasn’t a total loss.  I was able to enjoy a fun day with my Arizona compadre, Mad Max the road warrior.  I was able to photograph the absolutely fabulous 2011 Charger Girls.  And I got to listen to A Dance with Dragons on audio CD for the 120 mile drive back home to Los Angeles.  Now if only the caliber football was first class, this would have been the perfect day.