San Diego Chargers

The battle for L.A. has begun ... and Chargers Pro Bowl safety Jason Verrett just fired one of the first shots!

Verrett was leaving the Chargers media event in L.A. on Wednesday when we asked which team the locals would embrace more ... the L.A. Chargers or the L.A. Rams?

"Chargers," Verrett said ... "because we're a better team."

Real talk from Chargers QB Philip Rivers who didn't try and sugarcoat how the move from San Diego to L.A. has affected him ... telling TMZ Sports, "It's been tough for all of us."

Rivers was on his way into "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (welcome to Hollywood!) when he told us why he'll miss San Diego ... his home for the past 13 years.

He also hopes his fans down in S.D. will make the trip up to continue to support the team.

Rough start for new L.A. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn ... who misnamed his team and then CUSSED on live TV during his introductory news conference.

It started off with Lynn referring to the team as the San Diego Chargers (he quickly caught that mistake) ... but it got worse when he was telling a story about his mentor, Bill Walsh, and dropped an S-bomb.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is torn about the team's decision to relocate to L.A. ... saying he's still numb from the news and that "it hasn't really settled in."

Rivers -- who's spent his entire 13 year career in San Diego -- gets emotional talking about the move, saying he's sad to leave the city ... but hopes fans still cheer for his team.

Ex-San Diego Chargers star Shawne Merriman says the move to L.A. is a BIG DEAL for a bunch of the current players -- including QB Philip Rivers ... because he's just not an "L.A. guy."

Merriman says one of the big issues for Rivers is his whole life is rooted in SD -- "He got 76 kids and they all go to school here."

The Chargers have made it official ... formally announcing they're moving to Los Angeles!

Chargers owner Dean Spanos issued a statement saying, "After much deliberation, I have made the decision to relocate the Chargers to Los Angeles, beginning with the 2017 NFL season."

In his statement, Spanos also promises fans they'll try really hard not to suck in the City of Angels, saying, "We must earn the respect and support of L.A. football fans."

"We must get back to winning."

The Chargers were in San Diego for 56 years where they won exactly zero Super Bowls.

Welcome to Hollywood!

8:45 AM PT -- A rep for the San Diego PD tells us they're aware of the incident and are looking into it.

What do you do when you find out your beloved football team is moving to L.A.?

For one angry Chargers fan, the only thing you can do is throw eggs at the team's headquarters ... and broadcast the whole thing on social media.

(Ex-) Bolts fan Dan Wellington decided to go all Bieber on the team Wednesday night ... firing off about a dozen eggs at Chargers Park.

Check out the vid ... Wellington knows he'll probably get in trouble, but clearly doesn't care.

The San Diego Chargers security guard who was allegedly caught masturbating on video while he stood on the field could lose more than his job ... because cops are now on the case.

Law enforcement in SD tells us they've been made aware of the incident and have opened up their own criminal investigation.

The video -- posted Monday -- shows a male guard allegedly pleasuring himself in front of a group of cheerleaders. Both the team and security company were quick to action ... investigating and firing the employee in a matter of hours.

The San Diego Chargers are investigating a video that seems to show a stadium security guard masturbating on the sidelines ... just a few feet away from the team's cheerleaders, and we've learned the guard in question has already been fired.

Antonio Gates is 3 TOUCHDOWNS AWAY from breaking Tony Gonzalez's career TD record for a tight end. So, we had to ask ... are you getting Philip Rivers a gift when you take the crown?!

The short answer -- HELL NO!

And why not? Gates points to the "gift" the Chargers already got the QB last year -- an $84 MILLION contract extension.

Don't EVER question Antonio Gates in your fantasy football lineup -- START HIM ... so says the tight end himself.

We got the Chargers legend out in L.A. Tuesday and he scoffed at the idea that anyone would consider sitting him vs. the Jaguars this weekend ... even after a not-so-great Week 1.

There's more ... we also asked how the team is doing after the loss of stud WR Keenan Allen and how the team's responding to the addition of Joey Bosa.

Finally.

The San Diego Chargers just announced #3 overall draft pick Joey Bosa has SIGNED HIS CONTRACT!

Bosa's deal -- 4 years, $25.8 million (ALL GUARANTEED) with a $17 million signing bonus ... so says NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Eddie George says he COMMENDS fellow Ohio State alum Joey Bosa for holding out from Chargers training camp ... saying the NFL is a business and he MUST look out for numero uno.

Bosa -- the #3 overall pick in the draft -- has been getting serious heat for holding out (some of it from teammates) ... so much so that his mom took to Twitter to stick up for her kid.

But George LIKES that Bosa is taking such a strong stand -- saying some NFL teams will "screw" players if they don't have a strong team in place to fight for them.

As for criticism that Bosa's game will suffer as a result of missing practice, George calls BS -- saying he's a "natural freak" who's got plenty of time to get in football shape.

Manti Te'o has officially rebounded from Lennay Kekua (R.I.P.) ... and his new girlfriend is a smokin' hot model.

Raiders, Rams and Chargers fans up in arms about their teams trying to bolt to Los Angeles are looking at this the wrong way ... according to former NFL star Eric Davis.

Davis won a Super Bowl with the 49ers, so he's up on Bay Area fans -- and we asked if Oakland's Raider Nation might jump to the other team in town if the Silver and Black head south again. It's the question millions of fans in St. Louis (who've also been through this before) and San Diego are asking themselves right now.

Well, check out ED's answer ... it might calm nerves in all 3 cities. In a nutshell -- rep your team, not your city.

3 NFL teams are suddenly like waiters on the Sunset Strip ... trying to get a break in Hollywood -- the Chargers, Rams and Raiders all filed docs with the league to move to Los Angeles.