Baseball

Tim Kawakami's Hitmen of the Year, Tim Lincecum/Barry Zito. [SJ Merc] Yup, that prety much sums the current state of the Giants.

Football

The Niners' win is tempered by the crappy opponent. [SF Gate]

The investment in Ahmad Brooks is paying off. [SF Gate]

Alex Smith is still sending mixed signals about his abilities. [SJ Merc]

The big news for the Raiders yesterday was Janikowski kicking a 61-yard FG. You're 2009 Oakland Raiders! [SF Gate]

Basketball

The Warriors stil stink, while other once stinky teams have bettered themselves. [SF Gate]

Basketball

Understatement of the year? "Warriors coach Don Nelson calls Radmanovic a 'sub on a good team'" [SFGate]

Football

Sure, it's only Randy Moss' fault and not Tom Brady's fault. Both Merrill Hoge and Ron Jaworski watched the NE-Carolina game tape and didn't see Moss shutting it down. But, Gwen Knapp doesn't care what the tape says. [SFGate]

Okay, you cover the NFL and not NCAA, I get it. But, you can't call Sam Bradford Mark Bradford. Seriously? [SFGate]

Every day, I like Ahmad Brooks more and more. [SJ Merc]

Football

The Radiers win streak ends, at one. [SFGate]

With Gradkowski injuring both knees, will Davis turn the ship back over to JaMarcus? [SJ Merc]

So, Toby Gerhart wins the award for best running back in college football, but finishes second in Hesiman voting to...a running back? WTF? [SFGate]

49ers Q&A for Matt Maiocco from his readers. [Press Democrat]

Kevin Lynch ranks Scot McCloughan's first round picks. [SFGate]

Basketball

Bruce Jenkins' NBA thoughts. [SFGate]

Warriors Fast Break thinks the Warriors could beat the Sixers and salvage something on this road trip. [SJ Merc]

Baseball

Jack Cust will not be an A next year. [CC Times]

Ryan Garko will not be a Giant next year. That trade worked, eh? [SJ Merc]

Football

Remember when all the good bowls were on New Year's day? [SFGate] The hypocrisy of the NCAA is that they claim a playoff would cause players to miss more class, but the bowls now extend further into January than ever.

One last case for Toby Gerhart for Hesiman. [SJ Merc]

The Cardinals are ready for the 49ers. [Press Democrat]

Ron Jaworski is noticing Alex Smith's mechanics. [SJ Merc]

The positive about DHB being hurt? No drop off in production. Thank you. Thank you. [CC Times]

JaMarcus Russell, in his own words, still ridiculous. [SFGate]

Baseball

Johns Shea takes the Giants temperature after the winter meetings. [SFGate]

The A's finally got tired with Santiago Casilla not reaching his potential. [CC Times]

The Giants' offseason: Fans, please lower your expectations. [SFGate]

Basketball

MTII had a live chat with Stephen Curry yesterday. [CC Times]

Baseball

Bruce Jenkins recycles his defense of McGwire for the Hall of Fame. [SFGate]

The rest of Jenkins' 2010 HOF ballot. [SFGate]

Bobby Crosby is headed to Pittsburgh. Meh. Also, look for the A's to kick the tires on Matsui and Vlad. [CC Times]

The Giants are going to stay young and stay away from Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye. [SJ Merc]

Bochy discusses the top of the Giants' lineup. Ugh. [SFGate]

Barry Bonds' son got arrested. [SJ Merc]

Football

Maiocco's 53-man review from the 49ers-Seahawks game. [Press-Democrat]

The Niners dropped the ball, literally. [SFGate]

Gradkowski wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. [CC Times]

Football

The 49ers were run crazy in the first half of the season and opponents adjusted and now, it seems, the 49ers are pass crazy. It didn't lead to a win yesterday, but at least we can better evaluate Alex Smith. The Seattle loss was on the coaches. [Sac Bee]

The 49ers are what they are. Mediocre. [SJ Merc]

The 49ers botched that game. [Press Democrat]

The Raiders go into Pittsburgh and upset the Steelers? With Bruce Gradkowski throwing three 4th quarter touchdowns? Whaaaaaaaaa? [CC Times]


Baseball

The Giants and A's have different approaches to this offseason than a year ago. [SFGate]

Joe Stiglich will update us on the A's front at the baseball winter meetings. [CC Times]

Same with Andrew Baggarley for the Giants. [SJ Merc]

Brain Sabean is the new Senior GM in the league and start the speculation about Adrian Gonzalez. [SFGate]

Football

Could the Raiders cut JaMarcus Russell? [CC Times]

The 49ers offensive line will be tested in Seattle. [Press Democrat]

The Raiders juggle some defensive starters. [SFGate]

Basketball

Don Nelson's back, Warriors lose. Anybody surprised? [SJ Merc]

Raja Bell had surgery and is out 3 months. He "could" be back in time for the Warriors to trade him, or so they hope. [CC Times]

Baseball

What free agent mistake will the Giants make this year? McCoveyChronicles ranks the contenders. [MCC]

The A's made a deal to get Aaron Miles. Yay? [SFGate]

Football

* If Gore likes it, I like it. [SF Gate]

* Breaking news: the Raiders still suck. [CC Times]

* Wait a second, Vernon Davis is now a play maker? Is it opposite day? [SJ Merc]

* Great college football game tonight. [ESPN]

Baseball

* What do two CY Youngs get you? An ESPN commercial. [SF Gate]

* What do you do when your pitching staff is dominant and you can't hit? Get rid of your leading RBI guy who happens to be play catcher. Makes sense to me ... it is opposite day. [SF Gate]

* I added the A's article because I thought someone from Portland might want to read about their future baseball team. [CC Times]

Basketball

Even though Monta Ellis has reached "IT" status, the team is still dysfunctional. [SFGate]

Ice Randolph is out 1-2 weeks. [CC Times]

More Ellis gushing. See if you can spot the blasphemy in the blog post title. Think musical. With all this Ellis love flowing, maybe RT will write something for us? [SJ Merc]

Baseball

The Giants don't offer Bengie Molina arbitration. [SFGate] Meh.

Baggarly combs through the arbitration-less free agents and identifies some possible Giants targets. Dye, Damon, Hudson, Tejada? [SJ Merc]

Football

Maiocco's 53 man review of the 49ers-Jaguars game. [Press Democrat]

The 49ers are bringing in Dwight Clark to help make "The Catch" on the business end. [SJ Merc] Please, no complaints about terrible puns stretched terribly thin.

Raiders fans buy a billboard to try and sway Al Davis' cold black heart.*[Sac Bee]
*Al Davis' heart color and temperature are speculated.

Hockey

The Sharks continue to kick so much ass they don't bother taking names. [SFGate]

Football

The offense is in a state of flux, but the 49ers will make the playoffs on the play of the defense. [SFGate]

Mike Singletary's actions point to him being less stubborn than we think. [SFGate]

Mark Purdy flip flops on Alex Smith and apologizes. [SJ Merc]

Singletary was impressed by the leadership from his offensive players. [Press Democrat]

Basketball

You know how the Warriors need a true point guard? Well, apparently there's a ton in the NBA today. [SFGate]

The bottom 10 plays from the Raiders Thanksgiving loss to the Cowboys. [SFGate]

Baseball

Pay the man. [SFGate]

The A's are showing interest in a Cuban defector, just not the good one. [CC Times]

Football

Singletary is starting to feel the sting of losing and things not going according to plan. [SJ Merc]

Bill Belichick and Bill Walsh have three Super Bowl rings a piece, but Belichick's coaching tree isn't growing like Walsh's did. [SFGate]

The 49ers need continuity on offense. [Press Democrat] It's interesting that Mike Johnson (QB Coach) spent his year away from football getting his college degree AND studying the spread offense. Hmm. Jimmy Raye's longest run as an OC was three seasons. Hmmm. Also, Allen Rossum was cut by the Cowboys because he couldn't stay healthy, the same reason the 49ers cut him earlier this season.

The 49ers dropped the tampering charges against the Jets. [Sac Bee]

Tom Cable punted on 4th and 1 and then thouhgt about going for two instead of the tie. [CC Times]

Basketball

Don Nelson won't make the Texas road trip with the Warriors as he battles pneumonia. [SFGate]

Pneumonia is a hell of an excuse to get away. [CC Times]

Nelson is sick as a dog and CJ Watson is recovering from swine flu. No wonder Jackson wanted to leave so bad. [CC Times]

Baseball

Lincecum wins the Cy Young and talks about getting busted. [SJ Merc]

Rob Neyer takes a closer look at NL Cy Young balloting. [ESPN]

The Giants are unlikely to go adter Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. [SFGate]

Football

Niners need to limit the YAC on Sunday. [SJ Merc]

Becuase you were dying to know, Q&A with Bruce Gradkowski. [CC Times]

Basketball

Warriors lose to the Cavaliers. RT, did they cover? Also, an update of the "Big Meeting" tomorrow between management and Monta Ellis. LeBron James was giving Stephen Curry advice after the game. LBJ a GSW next year? I kid. I kid. [CC Times]

Baseball

Andrew Bailey won the Rookie of the Year, now the A's need to find one that swings a bat. [SFGate]

Lincecum has to go to court before the judge signs off on his pot ticket. Can't blame the judge for wanting an autograph, right? [SFGate]

Football

Matt Wilhelm stepped up nicely when he came in for a hurting Takeo Spikes who may still be out Sunday. [Sac Bee]

No starting QB has been announced for the Raiders, but there's other stuff to talk about, too. [SFGate]

Chris Johnson and his quest for 2,000 yards rushing. [NY Times]

Basketball

Big news of the day: The Warriors traded Stephen Jackson and Acie Law to the Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladamir Radmonovic. [CC Times] RT, will have something a little more in-depth later today, but the Warriors definitely are "winners" in this trade. The team could be worse without Jackson from a talent standpoint, but the Warriors weren't going to the playoffs. Sorry Dubs fans. Acie Law and Raja Bell are on expiring deals. Radmonovic has a $6.9M option for next season, while Jackson has $28M over the NEXT three years, not counting 2009. We'll wait and see if RT thinks there is any more wheeling and dealing left.

Kawkami chimes in, from vacation. [SJ Merc]

Football

The Raiders' failures are directly related to their last three 1st round picks: Russell, McFadden and Heyward-Bey. [CC Times] I'll even expand on the last 10 Raiders' first round picks: Michael Huff, Fabian Washington, Robert Gallery, Nnamdi Asomugha, Philip Buchanon, Derek Gibson, Seabstian Janikowski. One great player, Asomugha, and the rest is garbage.

Gwen Knapp summarizes the Alex Smith experiment. [SFGate]

JaMarcus Russell, still bad. [SFGate]

Stanford is the Bay Area feel good football story. [SJ Merc]

Matt Maiocco presents the 49ers road to a Wild Card slot. [Press Democrat]

How an uncapped 2010 affects the 49ers roster. [Sac Bee]

Football

Kawakami sums it up best: "Josh McDaniels saved the 49ers season…by trading Jay Cutler to the Bears last off-season." [SJ Merc]

It's about a 50/50 chance Frank Gore will become the 49ers all-time leading rusher. Raise your hand if you knew who the current all time rushing leader was? You're lying. [ProFootballReference]

Matt Wilhelm made some big plays filling in for Take Spikes. [SFGate]

Post game quotes from both locker rooms. [Press Democrat]

You know it's bad when Mark Roman gets an INT on you. He hadn't had one since 2006! [SJ Merc]

The loss was not entirely Cutler's fault. [NFP]

You want to watch the Raiders on Sunday? Well, you better buy a ticket. [Sac Bee]

Baseball

John Shea tries to forecast the bad contracts that will be offered this off season. [SFGate]

Hockey

Sharks blow a two goal lead and then lose in shoot out. Whatever, wake me when it's the playoffs. [SJ Merc]

Football

Ugly 49ers loss yesterday with 4 turnovers leading to 24 points for the Titans. Officially, MAYDAY! [SJ Merc]

Matt Maiocco breaks down each turnover concludes that Alex Smith's eyes betrayed him. [Press Democrat]

Jerry Mac looks ahead at the Raiders' remaining schedule. [CC Times]

Things aren't too friendly between the NFLPA and the League. [CC Times]

Gwen Knapp doesn't like Thurdsday NFL games. [SFGate]

Mike Lombardi's First Half thoughts. [NFP]

Lombardi mentions the 49ers are in a tough spot and I tend to agree. Before the losing streak, I was content to wait out Hill and let him manage. Hill's inability to make all the NFL throws (15 yard outs, especially) caused him to be benched. Smith has a better arm, but makes too many turnovers. I was close to dead set on not taking a QB with one of the two 1st round picks next season, but unless Smith shows A LOT more down the stretch, I'll take Bradford, McCoy or Claussen next April.

Baseball

Names being linked to the A's: Chone Figgins, Vlad Guerrero. [CC Times]

Angel Villalona's trial should begin soon, maybe? God bless the USA court system (weird, right?) [SJ Merc]

Basketball

RT, how does it feel when the Warriors' season is over five games into the schedule? [SJ Merc]

MTII's post game wrap including: Cap'n Jack no likey Omri Casspi. [CC Times]

Baseball

Lincecum got busted. I hope he wins the Cy Young even more now. [SFGate]

Baggarly with some clever taunts Lincecum may hear in the future. [SJ Merc]

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Ray Ratto, you're old and out of touch. [SFGate]

Football

Ratto reminds Raiders fans that they have not sunk as low as possible. [SFGate]

2008 First round pick, Kentwan Balmer, will see increased playing time over the next few weeks. [Press Democrat]

Kevin Lynch's plan on implementing a spread offense. Slowly. [SFGate]

Usually, teams like to lay low on a bye week. The Raiders can't help themselves. [CC Times]

Basketball

Warriors-Clippers preview. (Everybody, but RT yawns.) [SFGate]

Hockey

Sharks, lose? Sharks lose. [SFGate]

Soccer

Women's soccer, dirtier than you think. [Deadspin]

Football

The 49ers might open up the passing game a little. Maybe. [SJ Merc]

Also from Kawakami, Crabtree is a game changer for the 49ers. [SJ Merc]

JaMarcus Russell showed up to work at 6:30am on Wednesday, setting his own personal best. Next stop, Championship! [SFGate]

Niners biggest challenge this week? Contain Peyton Manning. [SJ Merc]

Louis Murphy and Chris Johnson are hurting. [CC Times]

The Crabtree tampering case is still moving forward. Yay? [ProFootballTalk]


Basketball

It's time for Cal basketball to step up. Isn't that what they've been telling the football team? [SFGate]

Will RT be watching Curry v. Nash tonight? I think so. [SFGate]

Hockey

Ray Ratto gets red-ass about the Sharks. [SFGate]

Basketball

Warriors season begins tonight...

And they COULD*** make the playoffs. [SFGate]

How many of us will actually be going to games? Not counting RT. [SJ Merc]

Live Chat with Marcus Thompson of the CC Times before the game tonight. [CC Times]

Adam Lauridsen analogizes the 2009-2010 Warriors and the Bay Bridge. [SJ Merc]

Football

Everybody's talking about Quarterbacks today. [SFGate]

The Raiders and 49ers are in limbo. [CC Times]

The 49ers' offensive line, which has played soooo great lately, got a little thinner. [Press Democrat]

See inside the mind of a Raiders fan. Q&A with Matt Gutierrez. [Sac Bee]

Jerry Mac, the eternal optimist. "At least penalties are down." [CC Times]

Football

The 49ers offense looked terrible in the first half, coming off a bye week, so Singletary switched things up at half time and Alex Smith looked really good almost a yer to the day after Singletary pulled JT O'Sullivan in favor of Shaun Hill. [SJ Merc]

Gwen Knapp says Smith had nothing to lose, but coming off the becnh hurt his ability to lead the two minute offense. [SFGate]

Maiocco asks if this was all in the script? [Press Democrat]

Darrius Heyward-Bey: Seven games played, 4 receptions 64 yards.

Michael Crabtree: One game played, 5 receptions 56 yards.

The Raiders got blasted and everybody owned up to it, except one. JaMarcus Russell. Nuff said. [SFGate]

Baseball

Big Mac is back! Weird. [SFGate]

More Big Mac stuff. Inman says Big Mac's return will provide great theater. I'm not so sure that "No Comment" qualifies, but what do I know? [CC Times]

John Shea is optimistic the Dodgers will crumble next season. RT and I aren't quite so sure. [SFGate]