The new weekly (kind of) sports forum on the San Francisco 49ers, as determined by Mook continues yet again.
Well, hurrah, hurrah, THIS week, the 49ers did NOT lose. One big reason for this absence of a loss...they had a bye week, and you can't lose if you don't play. I got an update from the Official 49ers fan page over on the old Facebook side of things, which gives me the opportunity to ask a player anything. This week they are offering up a sacrificial lamb in the form of a defensive back. LAST week, against the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco defense gave up over 40 points. It was a truly pathetic effort. I have decided to refrain from asking this hapless defender just what the hell happened for one main reason: I already know how the question will get answered.
It will come in one of three different formats:
1. "We were simply outplayed by an outstanding offensive machine."
2. "We mentally lost focus after a few quick scores by the Falcons, and our offense wasn't able to bail us out this week."
...or my personal opinion, and favorite option...
3. "We didn't bother to show up for the game."
I can only imagine. The week before the 49ers demoralize a horrible St Louis Rams team with a 35-0 shutout. This isn't new for the Rams, but holding a team scoreless is something the 49ers haven't done in quite a long time. It's my assumption that despite this last week's game being played IN San Francisco, the players were unable to show up. They were still either partying or hungover from a weeklong celebration after defeating their division opponent, the Rams, in a shutout, giving them a clean sweep over division foes.
All week long, Coach Mike Singletary has been forced to use stunt doubles in practice, and eventually the game in an effort to not completely forfeit the game altogether. A call went out to specific athletes in area junior coleges, and to outstanding high school athletes, who at least could pull off resembling the 49ers actual players. Hey, fora small sum of cash under the table, and a free authentic NFL jersey, who wouldn't take up such an offer. I know I would, under total disillusionment that it would somehow lead to me being given a shot at making the actual roster. I do have mean skills when it comes to backyard football. Why wouldn't it translate over? I'll go across the middle and get killed by a real NFL linebacker, for nothing more than the official stats and to say I did it.
I surmise that the few 49ers scores against Atlanta came on pure fluke. The fake players made a few nice moves, showcasing the possibility of future talent to be used, along with the fact that the few key Falcon players who were to stop them fell over with laughter as they realized who was actually playing them.
So, after this weeks play, the Rams continue their abysmal season by losing again and going to 0-6. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Seattle Seahawks easily, moving them even with the 49ers. Luckily so far, having beaten the Cardinals, the tie goes to the 49ers. However in December the 49ers will go against the Cards and Seahawks again, so we'll see how that goes as the season develops for each team.
And a personal note to Coach Singletary...I am still open to playing for even less than the league minimum, even if it means I'll be laid up in full body casts for months on end. I'm just saying...
in an unrelated note..a google ad on my page advertises to give Brett the finger. They're talking about Brett Favre, who I'd LOVE to give the finger. However it turns out its advertising fan regalia, like the foam fingers and things of that nature. And here I thought I would be allowed a chance to win a trip to go flip Brett the bird.
Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Did I mention that I hate Brett Favre?
Oh, Sunday was a day of a very good high, and an even lower low. This past weekend, my beloved San Francisco 49ers visited the Minnesota Vikings for a showdown of unbeatens. During the season, week in and week out, here in Iowa, I can pretty much count on seeing a Vikings' game on netowrk television. Of course the one week, in which my team actually shows up to Minnesota, network tv will NOT cover the Vikings.
We were forced to see either the routing of the Chiefs by Philadelphia, followed by a Denver/Oakland Game, or we could watch the Rams get smacked down by Green Bay. Obviously the networks weren't too excited about the Detroit Lions game being televised, although they did pull out a win over the Washington Redskins for their first victory in about 21 months with a score of 19-14. Ironically, the two untelevised games being played in the Midwest were the only two games that could be considered competitive. So, my following of the SanFran-Minnesota game was by watching the score updates in the upper right hand corner of the screen. I kept seeing a back and forth game all afternoon. But then I saw the update that showed the 49ers up by 4 points with 1:41 to go in the game. At 0:41 left, I saw the same score, and again at 0:14. I was convinced that me not being able to watch the 49ers playing on tv would be alleviated by them beating down the Vikings, along with the 4th quarter comeback quarterback, Mr FAVRAY himself. Then it happened, the update comes around again...with :02 left on the clock, Minnesota had scored a touchdown, from 33 yards out. I didn't really think I had a heart, until it broke at that very moment. And I'm sure one certain Professor Scott from Maine, one of those silly Vikings' fans, will have something to say in the comments section once he reads this...
It's not like I had any illusions of my 49ers having a perfect season (that would take an even greater miracle than was the Lions having a perfectly winless season last year). But I really wanted the Indecisive One, also known as Brett Favre, be dealt his first loss with Minnesota, while simultaneously securing the 49ers the top spot in their division. I can however thank the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts for beating Seattle and Arizona, respectively, and making the division standings in my favor.
I can only hope that Coach Singletary drills it through the heads of the defensive backs that even a friggin 5 inch margin in the very back of the end zone is way too much room to be giving up, especially with an old codger like Favre that apparently still has enough talent to pull those kinds of stunts off. (On a scale of 1-100, my HATE-Favre-ometer clocked in at a whopping 134.6) Not to mention the incredible acrobatics of the Vikings wideout, Greg Lewis, to not only make a fingertip catch and drag the second foot barely inbounds.
Although, there were a couple good signs shown in this game. The star running back, Frank Gore, left the game with an ankle injury. The 49ers adjusted, and still, with the exception of the last play, just simply outplayed the Vikings, without the "main threat". QB Shaun Hill and TE Vernon Davis hooked up for 2 touchdowns. With Davis showing he is in fact a tough receiver who can be a playmaker, it will open up the wideouts for more plays throughout the season. I just hope that when Gore is out, and Coffee is in for him, that he is a good enough runner to keep the passing game an open and viable threat, to maintain a potent offense that few of us 49er fans remember from the good old days.
We were forced to see either the routing of the Chiefs by Philadelphia, followed by a Denver/Oakland Game, or we could watch the Rams get smacked down by Green Bay. Obviously the networks weren't too excited about the Detroit Lions game being televised, although they did pull out a win over the Washington Redskins for their first victory in about 21 months with a score of 19-14. Ironically, the two untelevised games being played in the Midwest were the only two games that could be considered competitive. So, my following of the SanFran-Minnesota game was by watching the score updates in the upper right hand corner of the screen. I kept seeing a back and forth game all afternoon. But then I saw the update that showed the 49ers up by 4 points with 1:41 to go in the game. At 0:41 left, I saw the same score, and again at 0:14. I was convinced that me not being able to watch the 49ers playing on tv would be alleviated by them beating down the Vikings, along with the 4th quarter comeback quarterback, Mr FAVRAY himself. Then it happened, the update comes around again...with :02 left on the clock, Minnesota had scored a touchdown, from 33 yards out. I didn't really think I had a heart, until it broke at that very moment. And I'm sure one certain Professor Scott from Maine, one of those silly Vikings' fans, will have something to say in the comments section once he reads this...
It's not like I had any illusions of my 49ers having a perfect season (that would take an even greater miracle than was the Lions having a perfectly winless season last year). But I really wanted the Indecisive One, also known as Brett Favre, be dealt his first loss with Minnesota, while simultaneously securing the 49ers the top spot in their division. I can however thank the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts for beating Seattle and Arizona, respectively, and making the division standings in my favor.
I can only hope that Coach Singletary drills it through the heads of the defensive backs that even a friggin 5 inch margin in the very back of the end zone is way too much room to be giving up, especially with an old codger like Favre that apparently still has enough talent to pull those kinds of stunts off. (On a scale of 1-100, my HATE-Favre-ometer clocked in at a whopping 134.6) Not to mention the incredible acrobatics of the Vikings wideout, Greg Lewis, to not only make a fingertip catch and drag the second foot barely inbounds.
Although, there were a couple good signs shown in this game. The star running back, Frank Gore, left the game with an ankle injury. The 49ers adjusted, and still, with the exception of the last play, just simply outplayed the Vikings, without the "main threat". QB Shaun Hill and TE Vernon Davis hooked up for 2 touchdowns. With Davis showing he is in fact a tough receiver who can be a playmaker, it will open up the wideouts for more plays throughout the season. I just hope that when Gore is out, and Coffee is in for him, that he is a good enough runner to keep the passing game an open and viable threat, to maintain a potent offense that few of us 49er fans remember from the good old days.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Woman With Fastest Time Doesn't Win???
Catching a few random headlines, I spotted this article online via the San Francisco Chronicle by C.W. Nevius:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. And 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women.
But she didn't win.
It doesn't get much simpler than a footrace. All it takes is a starting line, a finish line and a clock. You fire the gun and the first person to the end of the course is the winner.
However, as the marathon officials said to O'Connell - not so fast.
While O'Connell had the greatest run of her life and covered the course faster than any woman, she was told she couldn't be declared the winner because she didn't run with the "elite" group who were given a 20-minute head start.
So what could have been a lovely Cinderella story about a young woman rising above her expectations in a race that bills itself as all about empowering women turned into a strict the-rules-are-the-rules edict. That's not the image we're trying to promote here.
San Francisco has become one of those destination locations for the new breed of distance runner. Between the San Francisco Marathon in July and the Nike race - billed as the largest women's marathon in the world - over 40,000 runners will visit this year.
It is great that these events are held here, but they are also representing the city. What we are hoping is that they leave town talking about the terrific location, the great restaurants and the perfectly organized event. Instead, we look like we don't know how to operate a stopwatch.
"That's pretty weak," said Jon Hendershott, associate editor of the authoritative Track and Field News magazine, based in Mountain View. "Think of the PR they could have had with this girl coming out of nowhere. It sounds like they got caught totally off guard."
O'Connell, who describes herself as "a pretty good runner," had never managed to break three hours in five previous marathons. But as soon as she started at 7 a.m. Sunday, she knew it was her day. In fact, when she crossed the finish line 26.2 miles later, her time of 2:55:11 was so unexpectedly fast that she burst into tears.
"I ran my best time by like 12 minutes, which is insane," she said.
At the awards ceremony, the O'Connell clan looked on as the top times were announced and the "elite" female runners stepped forward to accept their trophies.
"They called out the third-place time and I thought, 'I was faster than that,' " she said. "Then they called out the second-place time and I was faster than that. And then they called out the first-place time (3:06), and I said, 'Heck, I'm faster than her first-place time, too.' "
Just to make sure, O'Connell strolled over to a results station and asked a race official to call up her time on the computer. There it was, some 11 minutes faster than the official winner.
"They were just flabbergasted," O'Connell said. "I don't think it ever crossed their minds."
No one seemed exactly sure what to do. The trophies had already been handed out and the official results announced. Now organizers seem to be hoping it will all go away.
"At this point," Nike media relations manager Tanya Lopez said Monday, "we've declared our winner."
O'Connell said some race officials actually implied she'd messed up the seeding by not declaring herself an "elite" runner.
"If you're feeling like you're going to be a leader," race producer Dan Hirsch said Monday, "you should be in the elite pack."
So this is her fault? O'Connell was just being modest.
"I'm a good, solid runner," she said. "I never considered myself elite."
Jim Estes, associate director of the long-distance running program for USA Track and Field, did his best to explain the ruling. He's had some practice with the issue. The Sunday before last, at the Chicago Marathon, a Kenyan named Wesley Korir pulled off a similar surprise, finishing fourth even though he wasn't in the elite group and started five minutes after the top runners.
In that situation, and in this one, Estes made the same ruling: It didn't count. O'Connell wasn't declared the winner and Korir didn't collect fourth-place prize money.
"The theory is that, because they had separate starts, they weren't in the same race," Estes said. "The woman who is winning the elite field doesn't have the opportunity to know she was racing someone else."
Estes admits that giving the elite runners a sizable head start may not be the best policy.
"These are things this race and other races need to look at," Estes said. "It comes down to what a race is, and who is racing who."
Nonsense, said Track and Field News' Hendershott. He said O'Connell took her best shot, ran the fastest and should have won.
"What's she supposed to do, lay back because she's not an elite runner?" he asked. "If the elites are going to lay back, that's their fault."
As for O'Connell, she's not bitter. After all, she got her best time ever, had a nice weekend in San Francisco and comes home with a story.
But she didn't win. Maybe the best way to explain that is to say it is just another case of the elites in San Francisco giving the city a bad name.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My only question that I can honestly ask is: WTF?!?!?!?!?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. And 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women.
But she didn't win.
It doesn't get much simpler than a footrace. All it takes is a starting line, a finish line and a clock. You fire the gun and the first person to the end of the course is the winner.
However, as the marathon officials said to O'Connell - not so fast.
While O'Connell had the greatest run of her life and covered the course faster than any woman, she was told she couldn't be declared the winner because she didn't run with the "elite" group who were given a 20-minute head start.
So what could have been a lovely Cinderella story about a young woman rising above her expectations in a race that bills itself as all about empowering women turned into a strict the-rules-are-the-rules edict. That's not the image we're trying to promote here.
San Francisco has become one of those destination locations for the new breed of distance runner. Between the San Francisco Marathon in July and the Nike race - billed as the largest women's marathon in the world - over 40,000 runners will visit this year.
It is great that these events are held here, but they are also representing the city. What we are hoping is that they leave town talking about the terrific location, the great restaurants and the perfectly organized event. Instead, we look like we don't know how to operate a stopwatch.
"That's pretty weak," said Jon Hendershott, associate editor of the authoritative Track and Field News magazine, based in Mountain View. "Think of the PR they could have had with this girl coming out of nowhere. It sounds like they got caught totally off guard."
O'Connell, who describes herself as "a pretty good runner," had never managed to break three hours in five previous marathons. But as soon as she started at 7 a.m. Sunday, she knew it was her day. In fact, when she crossed the finish line 26.2 miles later, her time of 2:55:11 was so unexpectedly fast that she burst into tears.
"I ran my best time by like 12 minutes, which is insane," she said.
At the awards ceremony, the O'Connell clan looked on as the top times were announced and the "elite" female runners stepped forward to accept their trophies.
"They called out the third-place time and I thought, 'I was faster than that,' " she said. "Then they called out the second-place time and I was faster than that. And then they called out the first-place time (3:06), and I said, 'Heck, I'm faster than her first-place time, too.' "
Just to make sure, O'Connell strolled over to a results station and asked a race official to call up her time on the computer. There it was, some 11 minutes faster than the official winner.
"They were just flabbergasted," O'Connell said. "I don't think it ever crossed their minds."
No one seemed exactly sure what to do. The trophies had already been handed out and the official results announced. Now organizers seem to be hoping it will all go away.
"At this point," Nike media relations manager Tanya Lopez said Monday, "we've declared our winner."
O'Connell said some race officials actually implied she'd messed up the seeding by not declaring herself an "elite" runner.
"If you're feeling like you're going to be a leader," race producer Dan Hirsch said Monday, "you should be in the elite pack."
So this is her fault? O'Connell was just being modest.
"I'm a good, solid runner," she said. "I never considered myself elite."
Jim Estes, associate director of the long-distance running program for USA Track and Field, did his best to explain the ruling. He's had some practice with the issue. The Sunday before last, at the Chicago Marathon, a Kenyan named Wesley Korir pulled off a similar surprise, finishing fourth even though he wasn't in the elite group and started five minutes after the top runners.
In that situation, and in this one, Estes made the same ruling: It didn't count. O'Connell wasn't declared the winner and Korir didn't collect fourth-place prize money.
"The theory is that, because they had separate starts, they weren't in the same race," Estes said. "The woman who is winning the elite field doesn't have the opportunity to know she was racing someone else."
Estes admits that giving the elite runners a sizable head start may not be the best policy.
"These are things this race and other races need to look at," Estes said. "It comes down to what a race is, and who is racing who."
Nonsense, said Track and Field News' Hendershott. He said O'Connell took her best shot, ran the fastest and should have won.
"What's she supposed to do, lay back because she's not an elite runner?" he asked. "If the elites are going to lay back, that's their fault."
As for O'Connell, she's not bitter. After all, she got her best time ever, had a nice weekend in San Francisco and comes home with a story.
But she didn't win. Maybe the best way to explain that is to say it is just another case of the elites in San Francisco giving the city a bad name.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My only question that I can honestly ask is: WTF?!?!?!?!?
Monday, September 8, 2008
And So Goes My NFL Hopes
As usual (at least the last couple years) the preseason looked good for my beloved San Francisco 49ers. Great Offense, Decent Defense and Special Teams. And then, again as usual, Week 1 happened.
We kick preseason butt, and then when it's actually supposed to count, its as though the 49ers decide they have put forth enough effort for the season already.
Whatever your opinion of the Arizona Cardinals, my team seems to stink. I don't care if the Cardinals win every game this season and the SuperBowl (I think I just got sued for using a patented term, send money for my legal defense!), it doesn't negate the poor effort of my team.
We played against a good Bears team (who, btw whipped up on the Colts), first stringers even, with some substitutes, and won pretty handily. But then again, it didnt count.
The last time my 49ers made it to the Superbowl (crap...sued again!!), was the 1998 season. We still had remnants of the team created by the late, great Bill Walsh.
Now that arises more questions. Was Bill Walsh a pure genius when it came to drafting great players, like unknowns of Jerry Rice, decent college players like Joe Montana, and other unorthodox decisions that led to some of the greatest team-cohesion to survive in the early days of free-agency, when player loyalty started to shift from team to dollar bills? Or was he an ego-maniac hellbent on spending every future dime possible to assemble the great team for his own benefit of winning games and Super Bowls while he was still coaching?? Thereby sending future teams into an economic depression that kept them from spending those dolars on quality players, thusly grabbing himself a spot in the Hall of Fame as a dynastical coaching legend?
After all, His replacement Coach George Siefert was able to add a follow up trip to the Superbowl in his first year, with essentially the same team, and again in 1998 with still an almost identical team. And yet, many years, we have become a great farm team for defensive backs. They suck at San Fran, they get good, we can't pay them, they get traded to a different team where they excel. Hmmmmmm.
I'd like to go with option one, where Bill was a genius, and gave me a heyday in which to revel during my childhood fandom, but now that I think about it, maybe Bill really was an evil megalomaniac. Either way, the 49ers are still my favorite team, but they need to get their proverbial crap together. We have the tools, we just need to use them together better....Still not sure if I like the formerly successful (he moved around for more reasons than HIM wanting a change) Mike Martz making the play calling...
We kick preseason butt, and then when it's actually supposed to count, its as though the 49ers decide they have put forth enough effort for the season already.
Whatever your opinion of the Arizona Cardinals, my team seems to stink. I don't care if the Cardinals win every game this season and the SuperBowl (I think I just got sued for using a patented term, send money for my legal defense!), it doesn't negate the poor effort of my team.
We played against a good Bears team (who, btw whipped up on the Colts), first stringers even, with some substitutes, and won pretty handily. But then again, it didnt count.
The last time my 49ers made it to the Superbowl (crap...sued again!!), was the 1998 season. We still had remnants of the team created by the late, great Bill Walsh.
Now that arises more questions. Was Bill Walsh a pure genius when it came to drafting great players, like unknowns of Jerry Rice, decent college players like Joe Montana, and other unorthodox decisions that led to some of the greatest team-cohesion to survive in the early days of free-agency, when player loyalty started to shift from team to dollar bills? Or was he an ego-maniac hellbent on spending every future dime possible to assemble the great team for his own benefit of winning games and Super Bowls while he was still coaching?? Thereby sending future teams into an economic depression that kept them from spending those dolars on quality players, thusly grabbing himself a spot in the Hall of Fame as a dynastical coaching legend?
After all, His replacement Coach George Siefert was able to add a follow up trip to the Superbowl in his first year, with essentially the same team, and again in 1998 with still an almost identical team. And yet, many years, we have become a great farm team for defensive backs. They suck at San Fran, they get good, we can't pay them, they get traded to a different team where they excel. Hmmmmmm.
I'd like to go with option one, where Bill was a genius, and gave me a heyday in which to revel during my childhood fandom, but now that I think about it, maybe Bill really was an evil megalomaniac. Either way, the 49ers are still my favorite team, but they need to get their proverbial crap together. We have the tools, we just need to use them together better....Still not sure if I like the formerly successful (he moved around for more reasons than HIM wanting a change) Mike Martz making the play calling...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)