Ken Hunter is a Chargers fan. But when he was choking with a piece of meat lodged in his windpipe, he was happy a Chiefs superstar was nearby.

Tight end Tony Gonzalez came to his aid in a Huntington Beach, Calif., restaurant.

“Tony saved my life. There’s no doubt,” Hunter, a shipping company manager, told The Associated Press. “Tony came up behind me and gave me the Heimlich maneuver. Thank God he was there.”

Hunter’s dinner companion drew attention to the situation.

“She was screaming, ‘He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe,’” Gonzalez said. “The whole restaurant was quiet. Nobody was doing anything. Then I saw he was turning blue. Everybody in the restaurant was just kind of sitting there wide-eyed.”

Once Hunter regrouped, he realized he had been spared by one of the Chargers’ arch-rivals.

“I’m a big NFL fan and I recognized him right away,” he said. “I was still kind of dazed when I went over and thanked him and said, ‘What can I do for you?’ I guess I said it about 1,000 times.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Mark Mulder prepares to face the murderous Phillies lineup:

• Did the Cards relievers remember to get extra rest during their rare day off?
• Would the Brewers have traded for C.C. Sabathia – and pushed their payroll to $90 million — while Bud Selig owned that team?
• On the other hand, is the current ownership prepared to outspend every other team to re-sign Sabathia and Ben Sheets as free agents after the season?

IT’S ALL RELATIVE

When Torii Hunter hit the free agent marketplace, many Cardinals fan coveted him. Cards management opted to go with its home-grown players – and the results have been favorable.

Hunter signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Angels. He drove in just one run during a recent 15-game stretch. His overall numbers — .272 batting average, 12 homers, 41 RBI – don’t measure up to what Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick have done here.

“I haven’t been playing up to par like I should be,” Hunter told reporters after finally snapping his slump Monday night. “I’m trying to get used to this team, my environment, the travel, the whole thing.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times, on Sabathia: “His confidence, like his girth, is super-sized. Truly, Sabathia and the Brewers are serious about winning a championship, which is the least the organization can do after missing the playoffs the last 25 years — or, since Laverne and Shirley were terrorizing Lenny and Squiggy.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “Brian McNamee has turned over used steroid syringes and bloodied bandages to federal agents — evidence he hopes will prove Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs. Poor Roger. We used to chronicle his ERA, but now all we care about is his DNA.”

Mike Downey, Chicago Tribune: “Alex Rodriguez had a thing with Madonna? Oh, come on. Like who hasn’t? Everybody gets to third base with her.”

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “Talk about buttering up a local hero. The Iowa State Fair will honor Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, the 16-year-old reigning world champion from West Des Moines, with a life-size, 700-pound sculpture made of butter, the Des Moines Register reported. Plans for a copycat statue in Alabama had to be scrapped, however, when fair organizers there couldn’t round up enough cows to do a Charles Barkley.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “Honestly, do we need more stadiums? No. Do we need more Starbucks? No. Do we need more ‘CSIs?’ No. Then how come every morning in America, moments after I wake up, I look out the window and see a new stadium, another Starbucks and a ‘CSI’ being filmed?”

MEGAPHONE

“When you retire, there are always issues about coming back. It takes about three years to get it out of your system. You forget how tough it is and only remember the good parts.”

Former NFL quarterback Phil Simms, empathizing with Brett Favre.