CHARGER NOTES : Release of Free Agent Leaves 2 Kickers in Tow

The Cinderella story of kicker Tom Whelihan ended Friday, long before the training camp clock is to strike midnight.

The Chargers cut Whelihan after the morning practice, putting an early end to what could have been one of the year’s most unlikely success stories.

Whelihan tried out and was signed as a free agent after he ran into Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard in the press box at the Orange Bowl in December. Beathard was working for NBC at the time, and Whelihan, who once kicked a 62-yard field goal at Missouri, was a graduate assistant at Colorado.

“He is a kicker who has talent who can possibly kick in the league,” Coach Dan Henning said. “But it is to the point where we haven’t seen him jump ahead of anybody. You go with experience whenever that is the case.”

Whelihan’s departure leaves veterans John Carney and Fuad Reveiz to contest for the right to become the Chargers’ third different opening-game kicker in as many seasons.

“Both Fuad and I had been waiting for the time we could compete on a one-on-one basis,” said Carney, a Plan B free agent from Tampa Bay.

And the two did just that at the end of the Chargers’ second of three days of joint practices with the Phoenix Cardinals at their Northern Arizona University training site. This time, Carney got the better of it.

He made all three of his field-goal attempts from 37 yards, and Reveiz missed two of three. Reveiz, who was signed after being released after four seasons with Miami, also made one of two from 43 yards. Time prevented Carney from trying from that distance.

Before the afternoon workout, special teams coach Larry Pasquale said that Carney and Reveiz were even. Afterward, he gave a slight edge to Carney.

“But we’ve got a long way to go,” Pasquale said.

Pasquale said Carney is deeper on kickoffs, but Reveiz kicks the ball higher. He said the first true test should come next Saturday against Dallas, when the Chargers begin the first of four exhibition games. Field-goal ability, rather than kickoff strength, will be key.

“The object is to put points on the board,” Pasquale said.

Whelihan’s release followed the Chargers’ signing of offensive linemen David Richards and Broderick Thompson. That put the Chargers one over the NFL limit of 80 players under contract.

All might not have been lost for Whelihan. At the urging of the Charger staff, the Cardinals gave him a tryout after he was cut. But the Cardinals did not offer him a contract, and he was put on a plane back to San Diego.

The agent for cornerback Sam Seale has agreed to a two-year contract for his client but the deal still must be approved by Seale, Beathard said.

Beathard said he expected to hear back from the agent, Frank Bauer of Stockton, by today.

An agreement with Seale would leave the Chargers with three players unsigned.

Beathard said he expects to speak Monday with the agent for linebacker Leslie O’Neal. Beathard also said the team was getting close to a deal with free safety Vencie Glenn, but there was no progress to report on talks with linebacker Junior Seau.

Beathard and Seau’s agent, Steve Feldman of Newport Beach, said they have not talked about Seau in more than a week and that they remain far apart.

Feldman has said Beathard has offered Seau a five-year deal that averages more than $800,000 per year. Feldman has countered with a four-year proposal averaging $1.5 million per year. Feldman has said Seau deserves more than the reported $6 million over five years that linebacker Keith McCants received from Tampa Bay. McCants was selected fourth, one spot ahead of Seau.

“I’ve made it clear no way we’re going to pay what McCants got,” Beathard said. “I don’t know where we go from here.”

Asked if talks were at a stalemate, Beathard replied: “It seems to be.”

There was a difference of opinion between the coaches about how to conduct this morning’s scrimmage at Northern Arizona’s Walkup Skydome.

Henning wants tackling and 60 plays, but Cardinal Coach Joe Bugel wants limited contact and 48 plays.

“I don’t know if (not tackling) serves a purpose,” Henning said. “When you have a competitive situation with scores involved, I don’t know if you can get away with that.”

But Bugel said he was more concerned about risking players to injury. The Cardinals have only four healthy defensive lineman.

“I don’t want pileups,” Bugel said. “It makes no sense this time of year.”

Henning said Billy Joe Tolliver would handle 24 plays at quarterback, and the rest of the time would be split equally among the team’s other three quarterbacks.

The fresh mountain air has not had a calming effect on player dispositions, judging from the action on the practice field.

The morning workout was interrupted about a half dozen times because of skirmishes between the Chargers and Cardinals.

The liveliest confrontation came in the first hour of practice, when Cardinal offensive tackle Luis Sharpe took offense to the play of inside linebacker Gary Plummer.

Plummer said the disagreement dated back to an early season game last year when after a 24-13 victory Plummer called the Cardinal line “fat.”

It started with shouting and name calling, then degenerated.

“I just kinda took a shot at his face and we went at it,” Plummer said.

But the real action started when Charger linebacker Coach Mike Haluchak jumped into the fray. He got into a shouting match with Sharpe, and the two had to be separated.

After practice, Sharpe still sounded agitated.

“I wish he would put on pads on for the second practice,” Sharpe said. “Let the pads do the talking.”

Haluchak tried to down play the confrontation: “A pillow fight is all it was.”

Had the two actually gone after each other, it would have been an interesting match. Sharpe, a three-time Pro Bowl player from UCLA who stands 6-feet-4, 260 pounds, against Haluchak, 40, a former linebacker at USC.

The Chargers were solidly behind Haluchak.

“He would be in for a world of hurt if Coach Haluchak suited up,” Plummer said.