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| Chargers Caravan Coming to Imperial Valley Mall |
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| Written by San Diego Chargers | |
| Thursday, 19 July 2007 | |
 San Diego Chargers fans in the Imperial Valley, Palm Springs and Las Vegas will have a chance to meet several of their favorite players and Charger Girls from the defending AFC West Championship team when the San Diego Chargers Caravan, sponsored by 10,000 RV in San Diego, rolls out on Monday and Tuesday, July 23-24. The 2007 Chargers Caravan features defensive end Luis Castillo, a second-alternate to the 2007 Pro Bowl; guard Kris Dielman, a 2007 Pro Bowl first-alternate who just signed a new six-year contract to stay with the Chargers through the 2012 season, and wide receiver Kassim Osgood, who was voted into the 2007 Pro Bowl as the AFC’s top special teams performer.
The Chargers Caravan will make its first stop on Monday, July 23 at the Imperial Valley Mall from 10:30-12:30 p.m. Fans are invited to come out and meet the Chargers. KXO Radio (1230 AM), which carries all of the Chargers games in the Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona, will broadcast live from the Imperial Valley Mall in front of the Burgers ‘n’ Beer Restaurant.
The Caravan will make its next stop on Monday, July 23 at the Westfield Shopping Center in Palm Springs from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Fans are also invited to come out to the Westfield Shopping Center to meet the players as KXPS (1010 AM), the flagship station of the Chargers for Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio and the Coachella Valley, broadcasts the Brian Long Show live from the center of the mall.
LUIS CASTILLO
Defensive End, 6-3, 290, 3rd NFL Season, Northwestern University
Chargers starting left defensive end Luis Castillo was a nightmare for opposing right tackles as a rookie in 2005, but he was slowed last season by a nagging ankle injury. Despite the injury, Castillo still managed to rank third on the team with seven sacks and he was selected as a second-alternate to the AFC Pro Bowl squad. Luis teamed with linemates Igor Olshansky, Jamal Williams and Jacques Cesaire to anchor the NFL’s seventh-best run defense.
Luis is fluent in Spanish. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to the Dominican Republic with his mother, Maria, when he was a child. They returned to the States when he was 5, and the family settled in New Jersey. After the 2005 season ended, Luis returned to the Dominican Republic where he is revered as a national icon. During his trip to the Dominican, Luis hosted a youth football clinic and he and his mom were interviewed on almost every notable sports and variety television show in the country. Luis was honored with the Youth of the Year Award for excellence outside of the Dominican Republic. The award ceremony was attended by many of the country’s highest-ranking political dignitaries, including the President of the Dominican Republic. Before leaving the Dominican, Luis and his mother hosted a grand party to thank the media and the government for the warm welcome.
Luis is only the second Dominican player to be drafted and start in the National Football League. Stalin Colinet, who was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1997, was the first. Luis’ mother is his inspiration. She was raised in a small village in the Dominican that had no running water or electricity and few educational opportunities. Today, she runs a multimillion-dollar company in New York that imports hair-care products from her homeland. Someday, Luis hopes that he too can emulate his mom’s success in the business world. In April, he returned to his alma mater and enrolled in the NFL’s Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The four-day program focused on developing and selling a brand and evaluating franchise opportunities. He attended the program with teammate Shaun Phillips.
Castillo now makes his home in the San Diego suburb of Poway, living in a house that he shares with teammate Shaun Phillips.
KRIS DIELMAN
Guard, 6-4, 310, 5th NFL Season, Indiana University
Kris Dielman found his pot of gold right here in San Diego. After another standout season in 2006, his second as a starter for the Chargers, Dielman had an opportunity to test the market as an unrestricted free agent. But instead of chasing riches and starting anew in a different NFL city, Dielman chose to follow his heart and signed a new six-year deal to stay with the Chargers through 2012.
Team President Dean Spanos played a key role in the Bolts’ push to retain their starting left guard. He said this of Dielman shortly after the signing: “This is huge for us. Kris brings so much to our team. The character and attitude of your football team starts with the offensive line. Kris brings an edge and intensity to that group that is vital. We’re so happy to keep him in the fold.”
Dielman is a throwback. He’s tough and nasty, the kind of player opposing defensive linemen don’t want to face on a Sunday afternoon. Three hours in the trenches against Dielman is like a 15-round heavyweight title fight. A former defensive lineman in college, Kris made the move to the offensive line shortly after joining the Chargers as an undrafted free agent and he hasn’t looked back since.
Now is he not only being recognized in San Diego, but around the entire NFL. For the first time in his career, Dielman was selected as a first alternate to the Pro Bowl. Though he didn’t end up getting an opportunity to play in the NFL’s all-star game, he still made the trip to Hawaii, courtesy of one of his linemates, Pro Bowl center Nick Hardwick. Kris also earned All-Pro honors from ESPN.com.
Dielman started 15 games in 2006 and helped the Chargers shatter several offensive records, including points and rushing yards for a season. He and his fellow lineman’s play up front also helped league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson score an NFL-record 31 touchdowns. He was a key cog on a line that only allowed 28 sacks, tied for the eighth-fewest in the league.
One of the reasons Dielman elected to stay in San Diego is that the 26-year-old Ohio native recently bought a new home in the hillsides surrounding Pacific Beach. The house offers a stunning panoramic view of San Diego from the La Jolla coast to Mexico. Living just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the beach, one of Dielman’s favorite pastimes is riding his beach cruiser along the boardwalk that connects Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. Another reason he chose to stay is the cadre of friends that he has made in San Diego. Among his closest friends are several San Diego Padres. Kris regularly attends their games at Petco Park and he even caught a foul ball during a game in 2005. Besides baseball, Kris also enjoys watching rodeos and ultimate fighting.
KASSIM OSGOOD
Wide Receiver/Special Teams, 6-5, 220, 5th NFL Season, San Diego State University
Kassim Osgood is making the most of his opportunities. Despite catching only two passes in the last two seasons, he can call himself something that few others can: an NFL Pro Bowler. That’s because the fifth-year veteran out of San Diego State has fashioned himself into one of the NFL’s top special teams players. Ironically, he made the Pro Bowl last season when he tied his career low with nine special teams tackles, but it was because Osgood is so good at his trade that he routinely commands double and triple-team efforts when covering both kickoffs and punts. It’s the ultimate show of respect.
Osgood’s invitation to participate in the 2007 Pro Bowl was a year overdue. In the 2005 season, he was the team’s leading special teams tackler, and a player thought by many to be headed to his first all-star game until a freak injury in a game against Oakland turned out to be a season-ending torn pectoral muscle. Teammate Hanik Milligan ended up leading the team in special teams tackles and was rewarded with the trip to the Pro Bowl. All was not lost however for Osgood, who was still recognized by his teammates as the squad’s Special Teams Player of the Year and shortly after the season ended, the team rewarded him with a new four-year contract that will run through 2009.
Off the field, Osgood has taken full advantage of the platform that football has afforded him. He is jokingly referred to by his teammates as “The Mayor of San Diego” for his numerous contacts in the business and nonprofit communities. Kassim oversees the Team K.O. Athletes for Education Foundation. He hosts an annual golf tournament at the Del Mar Country Club; a Battle of the Chefs event to raise money and awareness for the foundation, and several holiday parties for children and their families. Osgood also co-hosted a football clinic in Tijuana, Mexico with teammates Luis Castillo and Greg Camarillo. Earlier this year, the San Diego Police Historic Association honored Kassim with its Jose Cota Man of the Year Award for community service.
As part of his commitment to local youth through Team K.O., Osgood donates 50 tickets to each Chargers home game for San Diego City School students to sit in the Chargers Community Corner. The students are selected by a committee of teachers based on outstanding academics and citizenship.
Another passion of Osgood’s is acting. For most of his life, Osgood has been involved in acting but he really became hooked after taking a class while a student at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. He landed a role as an extra in the movie “We Were Soldiers” and has appeared in several television commercials. This year, Osgood earned a coveted Screen Actors Guild card, as well as one from the American Film, TV and Radio Association, after earning the required amount of screen credits. In May, he appeared in the season finale of the CBS drama, “Jericho” and made appearances on the MTV shows “Road Rules: Viewers Revenge” and “Short Circutz.” He is also scheduled to appear in the HBO series “Entourage.”
Boxing and basketball are among Kassim’s hobbies. He is friends with former UFC Champion, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, and has attended several UFC bouts. Kassim also boxes at the Reyes Gym in Chula Vista and practices Capoeira, which is a Brazilian form of martial arts. He does both to stay in shape and prepare his body for the physical toll of professional football. He also plays basketball in the Aztec Recreation Center at San Diego State.
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