New Cal football coach Sonny Dykes has shown a sensitivity to his new home by trying to immerse himself and his team in campus life.
The most recent example: The team, at Dykes’ suggestion, attended the Cal-UCLA basketball game at Haas Pavilion, cheering the Bears to an upset victory. “I’m trying to get the players involved in student activities, not just sports,” he said, while meeting with media. “I’ve told them, ‘They support you by coming to the games, so you should support them, too.” They enjoyed the basketball game, probably more than they expected to.”
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For Lou Spadia, who died over the weekend shortly after his 92nd birthday, 1977 was what he called “the worst year of my life.” The love of his life, his wife, died of cancer, and he would never remarry. The other “love of his life,” the 49ers, were being demolished by general manager Joe Thomas, who had told Spadia not to come to the office.
A lesser man would have crumbled. Spadia fought back, implementing a longtime dream of raising money for youth sports by founding the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, in conjunction with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
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An important part of the puzzle for the Giants as they aim at still another World Series championship will be the continued development of their Brandons, Belt and Crawford.Belt’s road has been especially bumpy, starting with the awful nickname given him, “The Baby Giraffe.” Please.
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To get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time, here are some points for the 49ers to consider:
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In a cat-and-mouse game, John made the winning move at the end in the battle of Harbaugh brothers on Super Bowl Sunday.
Jim had rolled the dice earlier when he let the clock run down in the final two minutes, as the 49ers tried for the touchdown that would have likely won the game for them because there would be so little time left for the Baltimore Ravens. But a fourth-down pass from Colin Kaepernick sailed beyond the reach of Michael Crabtree.
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Only two of the 49ers five Super Bowl wins have been close. I think Sunday’s game will be the third and possibly the closest yet as they beat the Baltimore Ravens to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowl wins with six.
This goes against what seems to be the conventional wisdom with most of the online pickers going for the Baltimore Ravens. Steve Young went for the Niners but he has a dog in this fight. The others are going for the Ravens because of their postseason run, upsetting the Denver Broncos in double overtime and the New England Patriots, both on the road.
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NFL coaching has changed enormously since Bill Walsh started the run of 49ers Super Bowl championships and the ability of the 49ers coaching staff to adapt to the changes has been a big factor in their success.
Walsh was his own offensive coordinator, running an offense that was unique in the NFL when he started. Similarly, George Seifert, who became defensive coordinator in 1983, made all the calls on defense.
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The 49ers are the people’s choice going into Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. As of Thursday morning, they went from 3½- to 5-point favorites in some places, a remarkable spread, considering that the home field is usually figured to be a 3-4 point advantage.
Oddsmakers do not make predictions. They set a line to try to get an even distribution of betting on each team, so this line means the 49ers have nation-wide support.
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Last January, the 49ers entered the playoffs with a strong defense and consistent offense. They have neither this January, and it would be a big surprise if they get past a better and strongly motivated Green Bay team at Candlestick Park on Saturday.
The defense was anchored by Justin Smith, but he has a partially torn triceps that has sidelined him for most of the past three games. Early assessments said he would need months of recovery time, but Smith is determined to be in the starting lineup Saturday. Most likely, he won’t last beyond the first series.
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The first two selections on my baseball Hall of Fame ballot last month were Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens because they were the best player and best pitcher of their generation. Performance has always been my sole criteria.
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Sunday night’s game for the 49ers against the Seattle Seahawks may be even more important than last week’s statement win over the New England Patriots because their postseason standing is at stake.
The 49ers have virtually clinched their division because they’d have to lose their last two games, including a home game against the Arizona Cardinals, to give the Seahawks a chance to slip in. They aren’t going to lose to the Cardinals.
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Will the 49ers run for the Super Bowl be aborted because of coach Jim Harbaugh’s ego? It will be if he continues to start young quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
When Alex Smith was medically cleared to play before the game against the New Orleans Saints, Harbaugh said he was sticking with the “hot hand,” because Kaepernick had an outstanding game in the Monday night defeat of the Chicago Bears.
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As Sonny Dykes was introduced to the Bay Area media Thursday, he described the Cal coaching job he was assuming as a dream job. I can only hope it doesn’t turn into a nightmare, as it has for almost every other Cal coach since World War II.
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The backup quarterback always gets the most love from fans and it’s Colin Kaepernick’s turn now. But the way 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has handled this situation will come back to bite him.
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The “what have you done for me lately” group got its way Tuesday, with the firing of Cal football coach Jeff Tedford. I think that is a big mistake.
Cal has had only brief moments as a football power since the end of World War II. The consistent football powers are schools which apply only the breathing test for admission — if they can breathe, they’re in — and don’t expect them to do anything academically once they get in.
In contrast, Cal is a highly respected academic school, consistently ranked as the top public university in the country.
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