They are who we thought they were...The Niners that is!

It doesn't seem to matter where these guys play.  East coast, west coast Harbs has them playing at their best.  Physical, smash mouth football and they are having fun doing it.  



"I tried to put a hurt on someone," Edwards said. "I saw the safety coming over the top and I didn't think I was going to be able to get into the end zone. At that time, I said, 'OK, I got the first down. Let me try to inflict some punishment on somebody and see what happens after that.' "

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/06/SPMF1LRAQJ.DTL#ixzz1d2ExLyYC

That was a quote from Braylon Edwards talking about his sweet 24-yard catch and run during the game yesterday.  These guys are on a roll and its going to take some guts and hard hitting to stop them from winning.

Niner offensive MVP of the game:  Frank Gore!  Congratulations for being the first Niner ever to rush for 100+ yards in five consecutive games.  Keep rolling Franky!

Niner defensive MVP of the game:  P. Willis.  This guy forced two fumbles and had numerous hard hits that had a lot of the Redskins saying, they are who we thought they were... as the whole team was sitting in an ice bath complaining how beat up they were.

Harbs and company now head back home with a Sunday show down against the flying Giants who have won three in a row and have a share of the third best record in the NFL at 6-2.  

Looking forward to this game.  Hopefully I can make it for the Sunday morning tailgater after watching the Ducks put the Geeks' national title dreams to rest.  This weekend is going to be a classic!  

Cheers!  

-Mr. A

Left Coast Saturday Stone Cold Locks!!!

Stanford @ Oregon State:

Stanford better be careful, they have a huge game next week against Oregon and they better take care of business this afternoon in Corvallis and not look ahead to next week.  I'll take the big underdog at home to stay somewhat close for most of the game.

Oregon State +21.5

Arizona State @ UCLA:

Alright Neuheisel, here's your chance to make your imprint on this season and win back-to-back games for the first time since October of last year.  With the game being played at the Rose Bowl I give the Bruins a chance to win this game.  The Defense has to play well today and try to make someone other that Osweiler beat them.  If they give the QB time to throw the ball that lurch is going to eat them up.  I'll again take the points with the home dog.


UCLA +9.5


Oregon @ Washington:

Huge game at Husky Stadium this evening.  The Dawgs are going to be hyped up with this being the last game at the classic Husky Stadium before a big renovation.  These teams and fans hate each other with a passion and thing aren't changing anytime soon.  I see a lot of points here.  Punch for punch they will go throughout the first three quarters.  Come the fourth quarter, the Ducks will break away from the Dawgs and win by double digits.


Oregon -16.5


BONUS PICK!!!


LSU @ Alabama:

Game of the year, National Championship, game of the century.... Call it what you want, this one is going to be a dandy.  The mad hatter and company are going into T-town to face Nick "the dick" Saban and the Tide.  I see this one close all the way until the last minute.  The difference in the game is going to be the LSU secondary.  Every other area of both teams match up so well except this one.  LSU will stack the box and force the Tide to throw into the one-on-one cover.  Look for Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne to make plays all night long.  Can't go against LSU getting points here.


LSU +5

Rip Curl pro search event hits San Francisco's Ocean beach.... Surfers greeted by Shark!!!

Reported in this SFGate article, surfer Dusty Payne was greeted by a three foot fin during a morning session out at Ocean beach during the Rip Curl pro search tour event.  These sharks out there don't care who is out there.  When you're hungry you're going to eat just about anything (anyone)!  Just reading this article first reminded me why I'm not a surfer and two spurred the endless one lines that I can rattle off from one of the best movies of all time, Point Break!

Here's a link to a live feed for the competition!
http://live.ripcurl.com/index.php?Search2011LiveControl


Before Rusty paddled in, I believe the conversation between him and the Shark went a little something like this,

Jonny Utah (Dusty): Okay. I get it. This is where you tell me that "locals rule", and that Yuppie insects like me shouldn't be surfing the break, right? 
Bubker Weiss (the Shark): Nope. 
Anthony Kiedis : That would be a waste of time... 
Warchild (the Shark): We're just gonna fuck you up! 


Via con dios brah!

-Mr. A

Sarkisian taking the snaps at practice? Did I just hear that correctly?

Hey everyone, it's huck the fuskies week!  I could go into some of the classic moments between these two teams but I'll leave that at the end with a couple of my favorite videos from past match ups.  I wanted to see what people thought about the news that Steve Sarkisian is, just like last year, taking the snaps again in practice acting as Darron Thomas (see the link here).  Is this a joke?  I mean if you saw what the Ducks did to the Huskies last year in Autzen I think you would change just about everything you did to prepare because it didn't work.  The Ducks even covered the ridiculous point spread of 35.5 in the 53-16 victory.

With the game up in Washington this year, Husky Stadium will be hosting its last game before the big renovation and during the game the Huskies will be honoring their 1991 Nation Championship team.  This will bring even more hype to the game so the Ducks need to be at their very best.  

With that said I think this year is going to be a lot closer than last year, at least for the first half.  I still see the Ducks putting up comparable numbers but I think the Huskies will score a couple more TD's and make it a close game early with the Ducks pulling away and making just enough stops to win by 10+ points.  

Look for the detailed game preview and prediction later this week!  

Looking forward to the weekend (already)!  Go Ducks and hopefully all you Oregonians in P-town are making the trip up north to show your support.

Cheers!!! I'll leave you with two of the greatest highlights over the years between the Ducks and Huskies!

Time to eat some crow

Some of you may remember my rant about the Niners draft picks this season. If you don't here is a quick recap.

"With the 7th selection in the 2011 NFL draft, San Francisco selects Aldon Smith (WHO????) Linebacker from Missouri. I would imagine 97% of Niner fans had no clue who that guy was. I would imagine 90% of us were still confused, pissed off and uncertain after John Clayton came out and said the guy projects as an excellent pick, even if he could have been taken 8-12 picks later in the draft. Quick fact check. Aldon Smith (Niners should never draft a guy with first initial A last name Smith ever again) played in all of 22 career college games and broke his leg at the end of last season) but has huge upside and great potential."

Well, before I eat crow, I understand that 7 weeks doesn't make a career, nor is it really a great sample of what a player will do for the remainder of his career. But, Aldon Smith has been a freakin' beast from the word go. He has provided what this team desperately needed and couldn't get from long armed Manny Lawson. A linebacker that good get to the QB and sack that fool! A guy who would play angry, learn fast, keep up with the pace set by Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman. I also expressed concern that SF needed help in the secondary and we should have drafted Prince Amukamara. Yes, the same Prince Amukamara who injured himself and has not been a factor in the 2011 season. Not only did SF draft a cornerback, but they got him late in the third round and didn't waste a pick on a guy who wanted big money and the guy has been nothing short of a stud! I have to give a lot of credit to GM Trent Baalke and recognize that there are plenty of reasons why he was hired as GM and I was hired as, well, a freaking blogger!! I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone reading this that I don't know shit! I only think I do and it's times like this that allow me to eat a slice of humble pie. I've been wrong before and I know for a fact this won't be the last time, but that won't stop me from having an opinion and talking loads of junk about my team, even when they are winning.

Lovely Lefties Coming Back to Giants Bullpen

After the surprisingly good 2009 season for the Giants, one prediction I had for 2010 was that there was no way we should expect the pitching staff to be as good as it was, especially the bullpen.
Turns out it was better, especially the bullpen.
After the World-Series-winningly good 2010 season, one prediction I had for 2011 was that there was no way we should expect the pitching staff to be as good as it was, especially the bullpen.
Turns out it was better, especially the bullpen.
After the disappointingly good 2011 season, one shocking prediction I have for 2012 is that there is no way we should expect the pitching staff to be as good as it was, especially the bullpen.

But the Giants made 2 moves over the weekend to help ensure that the bullpen performance stays at least near where it has been, by signing Javy Lopez to a 2-year deal (worth $8.5 mil), and picking up Jeremy Affeldt's 2012 option (worth $5 mil). It's a hefty chuck of change for middle relievers, but I agree with the moves. As Lopez said himself, "the pitching staff from top to bottom is special". I'm of the opinion that keeping this staff for as long as possible should be the top priority of the offseason, and by locking these guys down, it addresses that issue.

We all know how frustrating an average (or worse) bullpen can be. So while it was widely assumed the G's would keep one but not both of their lefty specialists, the news comes as a pleasant surprise. The Giants probably don't win the World Series in 2010 without these guys getting the tough outs against Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton, and the like. Affeldt's 2 innings in the clinching Game 6 of the NLCS is probably the most underrated performance of that playoff run.

By bringing these two back, it gives Bruce Bochy a luxuriously good left-handed bullpen, and it should make it easy for him to continue to look like a genius when it comes to handling the pitching staff.

They HAD It...

I feel pretty awful for the Rangers. Losing the World Series for the second year in a row. And to lose Game 6 like they did. They were up on the dugout railing TWICE in that game, waiting for 1 more strike, ready to storm the field. Until they win one, Rangers fans will be haunted by that game. Haunted by Nelson Cruz misplaying that David Freese triple (let's be real - he should have caught that ball). Haunted by that Lance Berkman single.

I went through something similar when the Giants blew Game 6 and lost Game 7 in 2002. Let me tell you--no person should go through that. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Unless you count Dodger fans. But they don't really count as people.

-Mike the Menace

Don't look now, but the Sharks have won three straight!

Off to a dismal 1-3 start, with three of those games at home, the Sharks headed out on the road for six straight.  Instead of worrying about the first few games, the Sharks have rattled off three in a row and head to Detroit to start the final three games of this road trip.  Detroit will be hungry for a win after falling to Columbus on Tuesday night for the BJ's first win of the season.  They will also be welcoming back Jimmy Howard (starting goaltender) who was away form the team Tuesday night for the birth of his child.

I see the Sharks playing with a lot more passion these last couple of games and the core veterans are learning to trust the new guys that joined the team this year.  The Sharks need to just stay afloat these next few games because after this road trip they head home for six in a row!

Hey Detroit, you better keep on eye on Pavelski!  He's on fire right now! 4 goals and 2 assists in the last 3 games!  Keep it up American Joe!

Go Sharks!  Amicis!!!

Cheers,

Mr. A

Come on Maaaaannn!!!

As you may have heard, Cliff Harris, standout cornerback for the Ducks has got himself into another pickle yet again.  Good luck getting out alive this time Cliff!  Really Cliff?  You can't just lay low and chill?  First off you were not wearing a seat belt and second, you were driving a car!  You don't have license means you shouldn't be driving a car.  Get one of your other homies to drive you around.  If you were smart about it, you can just pay them with an IOU since you have a good chance at making some big time money in the near future in the NFL and pay them back then.  With back to back slick moves like this in a four month span you are putting that income in serious jeopardy.  You would think this guy knows that every move he makes is looked at under a microscope and he knows that Chip has not treated past recurring offenders well at all.  Here's a link to the article in the online sports section of the Oregonian newspaper.

If you know of Cliff Harris at all, you have seen this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEiK1kyCrQo

Well, you know what Cliff, looks like the you won't be able to lay the smack down on our little brother this year.  You have a steep hill to climb in a very short time.  I wish you good luck while you beg Chip for forgiveness in hopes to get back on the field.  Oh and about that, if you do get back on the field you better be ready to play.  You have been a disappointment this year starting with Jonny Law catching you doing 118mph down I-5!

In the mean time, Go Ducks this weekend.  Preview and prediction coming later in the week!

Cheers,

Mr. A

Palmer to the Raiders? Mark Davis, like father like son!

Carson Palmer to the Raiders for a 1st round draft pick in 2011 and a 2nd rounder in 2012 (which becomes a 1st rounder if the Raiders make the playoffs this year).  My first thought was, is Al Davis really dead because this sounds too much like a move he would make.  Sounds like his son is not missing a beat by keeping up with his father's "all in" mentality.  That being said, the Raiders had to make some sort of move.  They have a pretty good football team and with Boller or Pryor running the show (their only options after Campbell went down on Sunday) , the ship would have sank very quickly.  In the end, it just seems like too much to give up for a guy that hasn't had the best of luck and success in a league that demands excellence from his position.  

On the other side of the story, Cincinnati owner Mike Brown got what he wanted in the end.  He didn't want to give up Palmer for nothing in return and he waited it out until the perfect team needed his fake retired player.

With this deal all but wrapped up, I would have to say the Bengals future just got a whole lot brighter.  They are lined up with a stock of young players and freak athletes for rookie QB Andy "fire" Dalton to spread the ball out to.  Add to that potentially two 1st round picks in each of the next two years.  

In the end, I could care less how good Cincinnati is and I wish the best of luck to the Raiders.  If Palmer has any type of instant success, good luck to Campbell because his career as a starter in this league is going to be in serious jeopardy.    

Cheers,

Mr. A