The San Diego County District Attorney will review Sheriff’s Department reports to determine whether to charge All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman with domestic violence. The player, known as “Lights Out,” was arrested early Sunday following a 911 call from saucy TV reality star and Internet vixen Tila “Tequila” Nguyen, who accused him of choking and restraining her at his suburban San Diego home. When officers arrived, Nguyen signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, and the San Diego Chargers defensive leader was taken into custody. Merriman has denied the assault and imprisonment charges, both of which are felonies. The DA’s office can charge Merriman, reject the accusations or refer them to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office for consideration as misdemeanors, according to spokesman Paul Levikow. Nguyen, is best known for “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila,” a bisexual dating show that ran for two seasons on MTV. She has also modeled for Playboy and other men’s magazines. Through his attorney, Todd Macaluso, Merriman said he is certain to be exonerated. He said earlier that Nguyen had gotten drunk at his house party, and he merely arranged for her to leave his home safely. “I in no way caused any harm to Ms. Nguyen, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported,” Merriman’s statement read. Nguyen’s attorney, Alan S. Gutman, countered saying, “It is never justifiable to brutally assault, choke, strike and imprison a woman. Once the truth is fully revealed, Mr. Merriman’s fantastic story of how he was trying to keep Ms. Tequila safe will be completely discredited.”

Reality TV Star Tila Tequila

 Reality TV temptress and Internet vixen Tila Tequila says that NFL star Shawne Merriman lied to police Sunday morning when he said that he tried to prevent her from driving away from his house party because she was drunk and out of control. In fact, Tequila told police, she is allergic to alcohol and can’t drink. Tequila, whose real name is Tila Nguyen, called police to report that Merriman, an All-Pro linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, had choked her and restrained her as she tried to leave his home following the party late Saturday. When police arrived, a statement read, “the reporting party identified herself as Tila Nguyen, aka Tila Tequila, and her alleged assailant as Shawne Merriman.” Merriman was taken into custody on suspicion of battery and false imprisonment, the Sheriff’s Department statement said. Merriman’s attorney, Todd Macaluso, denied the charges against his client, contending that Nguyen was “extremely intoxicated and inebriated” and that Merriman merely tried to make arrangements for her to leave the house. But Nguyen, who starred in MTV’s “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” and its follow-up, “A Shot at Love 2 With Tila Tequila,” tweeted to her followers, “I am allergic to alcohol. It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila ‘Tequila’ cuz the irony. I can’t drink.” She also tweeted that she was safe at home in Los Angeles and thanked fans for their concern and support, CNN reports.

Conference Champion Matchups
The Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are a notch closer to the Super Bowl. Over the weekend, the Eagles, who were written off more than once this season (and slipped into the playoffs with a less than stellar record of 9-6-1-) shocked the New York Giants and will square off against the Cardinals in the NFC championship next week. The Eagles blew out the Cards in the 13th week of the season, but Arizona is riding high after whipping up on the Carolina Panthers Saturday. The Steelers shut down the San Diego Chargers and will now represent the AFC in the conference championship against the Ravens next week.

Serena Wins
Serena Williams, who was visibly vexed by the chair umpire’s mistake during the Australian Open Sunday, pulled it together and defeated her opponent, Australian Samantha Stosur, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5. “I felt like I was going to win that second set,” Williams said.  “And then I hit a massive net cord and the guy didn’t call it. Even Sam knew it was a net cord. It was frustrating at that point. These types of things seem to happen to me a lot.” Williams was serving for the match at 6-5 and 30-30 in the second set when umpire Asitha Attigala of Sri Lanka missed the let call. Stosur broke Williams and then won the tiebreaker. “It was definitely tough conditions with the wind,” Williams said. “With that being said, I just made so many errors, and that was a little frustrating because I feel like I’ve been working hard and to come out and perform at the level I did, I wasn’t extremely happy.”

Ex-NFL defensive lineman found dead

. Chris Mims, a former defensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers, was found dead in his downtown apartment Wednesday. He was 38. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play. Mims was discovered shortly before 9:30 a.m. by police officers conducting a welfare check, police said. The coroner’s office declined to comment because Mims’ relatives had not yet been notified. Mims, who had been plagued by legal problems, played eight seasons in the NFL, seven with the Chargers and one with the Washington Redskins. He retired in 2000, finishing with 42 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in 104 games. Mims was a first-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 1992. He had a career-high 11 sacks when the Chargers won the AFC in 1994. The Chargers released him in 1997. A year later, Mims was convicted of refusing to take a blood-alcohol test after being pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving. His driver’s license was suspended for a year. A judge had previously found Mims innocent of driving under the influence because prosecutors failed to prove their case. In 1999, Mims was accused of attacking a man outside a fast-food restaurant for stealing his tacos. Tennessee Vols Coach Phillip Fulmer, who was offensive coordinator at the time Mims was a player, recalled how Mims and his teammates helped turn around a struggling defense in the early ’90s. “I had to coach against him every day in practice, and that was no fun,” Fulmer told The Associated Press Thursday. “That’s really a sad thing, a very young person to be passing away at that age.”