Call it the remnants of five previous seasons that have ended in disappointment, but Vernon Davis — San Francisco’s premier tight end of six years — has never quite been able to stomach the simple idea of watching the NFL playoffs.
“I was so upset that we didn’t make it,” he said, of all of his previous seasons. “I just couldn’t watch it.”
But Saturday, Davis, along with many of his teammates, did watch the playoffs, for it can’t hurt to get a look at a possible playoff opponent.
Read More
In all but three contests this season, the 49ers have bested opponents with a peculiar — yet familiar — combination.
The 2000 Super Bowl champ Baltimore Ravens continue to serve as evidence that a low-scoring team can still win via stout defensive play. And where San Francisco has struggled at times offensively, its defense, to put it bluntly, has been dominant.
It’s a defense drenched with Pro Bowlers and standout rookies. And inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman is neither a rookie nor a Pro Bowler, though his numbers this year suggests he deserves to be the latter.
Read More
When it comes to his first game of the New Year, David Shaw doesn’t have to think too hard about what to worry about.
“The thing is, they can catch you sleeping,” Shaw said of Big-12 Conference champion Oklahoma State, who he’ll he encounter in Monday’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. “One guy’s out of place, and they get a 60-yard touchdown.”
Read More
Evans Horn has been making cocktails since, well, he was old enough to legally drink them. And after working at multiple establishments in The City, Horn, 26, is now technically the beverage director of Dobbs Ferry, though he prefers to view himself as a “bartender who just gets yelled at more than the others.” With a passion for whisky bullets, skeet shooting and taking care of his guests, Horn seems a perfect fit for this Hayes Valley bistro, owned by Scott Broccoli and Danny Sterling and located at 409 Gough St., San Francisco, dobbsferrysf.com, (415) 551-7700.
Read More
When it comes to the rigors and play of the gridiron, David Shaw subscribes to a specific, yet simple, school of thought.
"I like to think in terms of eras," he said. "And hopefully our era doesn’t come to an end with Andrew [Luck] leaving."
Read More
It was Alecia DeCoudreaux’s knack of getting the better of an argument that prompted her family to predict that she would one day become a lawyer, even when she was 6 years old. A Chicago native who also spent a great deal of her childhood on Cape Cod, DeCoudreaux, 57, recently became president of Mills College in Oakland after a 30-year career at Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company.What are your goals as president of Mills College?
Read More
For the better part of four quarters Sunday, Darrius Heyward-Bey seemed to atone for his bumbling performance Dec. 11 in Green Bay, where the third-year receiver dropped three passes in the 46-16 loss against the Packers. And despite having statistically the best game of his career Sunday against the Detroit Lions, tallying 155 yards on eight receptions with one touchdown, Heyward-Bey has yet to complete that one stellar game that doesn’t feature a crucial mistake.
Read More
It took the playoff-bound 49ers, who have failed in the red zone more often than not lately, a trip to the Arizona desert Dec. 11 to finally get burned.
But it will be on the gridiron’s biggest stage tonight at Candlestick Park against the Pittsburgh Steelers where San Francisco will, once again, try to right its red-zone wrongs.
Last week’s 21-19 downer against the division-rival Cardinals marked more than San Francisco’s third defeat this season.
Read More
Just before Santa Claus boarded his Macy’s rock-star tour bus, the jolly old man took a break from his busy holiday schedule of making toys and listening to children’s requests for gifts to talk about what the holidays mean to him and why he helps out with organizations such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The Macy’s “Believe” campaign helps the organization grant seriously ill children wishes.What brings you joy during the holidays?
Read More
The CEO and founder of Decker Communications, a San Francisco-based communications firm dedicated to teaching everyday people to company executives sound communications skills, recently released the firm’s 16th annual Top 10 Best and Worst Communicators list. For details, visit decker.com.
Read More
It was nearly three years ago when Oliver Lee, 30, heard of an opening at a Four Seasons restaurant in California. Having honed his bar tending and managing skills at a Four Seasons Hotel in his native St. Louis, he figured it was time to move out West. After a brief stint in Palo Alto, Lee is now the bar manager at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, which will be open to holiday travelers and families this Christmas. And to make his guests feel at home, Lee prepares a Wassail from an old family recipe. 757 Market St.
Read More
It’s hard to not lose at anything, especially boxing. But that’s what Andre Ward — so far — has managed to do.
Saturday in Atlantic City, Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) and Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) will close Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic, a tourney meant to crown the best 168-pounders.
But in order to establish super middleweight supremacy, Ward will have to dethrone England’s Froch, an ornery battler with an equal penchant for toughness and ring smarts.
Read More
There’s an old saying in Spanish that goes “Uno no es hijo hasta que es padre,” which roughly translates to “you can’t be a son until you are a father.”
Despite not understanding Spanish very well, Mexican–American Gilbert Melendez would be hard-pressed to find another cliché that more accurately portrays his life.
“Fighting has been the most important thing in my life, and now, she’s the most important thing in my life,” Melendez said of his daughter, Leylakay, who was born last year. “But in order for me to take care of her, I need to perform in fighting.”
Read More
It couldn’t have been the debut Carson Palmer envisioned, stepping onto the field for the first time as a Raider trailing Kansas City 21-0 in the third quarter on Oct. 23.
But that situation — perhaps like his arm that day — was out of his control.
Now, seven weeks removed from his performance against the Chiefs, in which Palmer completed eight of 21 passes for 116 yards while being picked three times, the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner seemingly remains a passing enigma.
Read More
Paul Mann the CEO of Fetch! Pet Care, the nation’s largest dog walking and pet-sitting franchise, is looking for the best pet-rescue story. The winner will get to donate 10,000 free meals to the shelter of their choice. The deadline is Sunday. Visit www.facebook.com/fetchcorporate for more information.
Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/user/5771/5771?page=8&quicktabs_6=1&quicktabs_1=0
