12:01 am EST. That is when free agency is supposed to start. The latest word out of the NFL is that no more extensions will be made. The owners are set to vote yes or no on the new deal. If yes, there will be a new CBA and the salary cap will be increased anywhere from 10-12 million dollars, which in the end
will hurt the Niners more than help. Mainly due to the fact that instead of only eight teams making a run in free agency, there will be thirty-two. If the vote is no, the Niners will be in the driver seat, but by 2008 the NFL is likely to face a lockout. So as Niner fans the best scenario is that the owners vote no today, but reach a new deal before the end of the 2006 season.
At this time it is quiet in Ninerland. Speculation continues to rise. Will Witherspoon, Andre Dyson, Jeb Putzier, those names continue to be thrown out. One thing is certain come Thursday at least one deal will be announced, with another close to being done. That is the contract of kicker Joe Nedney. Reports are it is a multi-year deal in the ballpark of 1.4 million, and the other the signing of Brandon Moore. Hopefully Nolan and Co. are ready regardless of the vote and start off free agency with a bang. Until then all is quiet on the western front.
First of all, we’ll have none of this Monster Park nonsense. It’s Candlestick, and anyone who says different will end up with that other failed corporate stadium name, 3COM — extinct. It was at Candlestick Park that Dwight Clark made The Catch — the TD grab against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFL Championship Game that propelled the 49ers to their first Super Bowl. Four more world championships followed, leaving the 49ers tied with the hated Cowboys for the most in the history of the NFL. Of course, those with real credentials as 49ers fans once attended games at Kezar Stadium, the ancient fortress adjacent to Golden Gate Park that featured Y. A. Tittle, Hurryin’ Hugh McElhenny and, by the fourth quarter, a couple of seagulls in the empty seat next to you.
But these days, there is no joy in San Francisco. The late Herb Caen once dubbed this city Baghdad By the Bay, and at the time he meant it as a compliment. Today it’s also appropriate, at least where the football team is concerned. On Dec. 5, San Francisco meets Arizona in a very important game — the loser may very well earn the NFL’s top draft pick. Many 49ers fans will thus be rooting for the Cardinals that day, a notion that would have Steve Young spinning in his grave, if he were in fact dead. Here are three of the best 49ers blogs in the business:
3. Niner Fanatic. Prolific blog dedicated to “The Greatest Sports Organization in the History of Civilization,” which may be an overstatement, but there’s no denying this guy’s sincerity.
2. Mining the Gold Rush. Mike Polhemus should get some kind of an award for tenaciousness — it’s not like this team is going anywhere. Good writing.
1. 49ers News. Latest headline: “One step Closer to #1 Pick.” That’s looking at the bright side.
[Deadspin Article]
From Mercury News:
For all the fuss about the power of blogs—did you know they “took down’’ Dan Rather and Trent Lott?!—more often than not they are simply a place to go and read somebody having a nutty. Passions run high when it comes to politics and people’s own daily lives, so naturally those make up a heavy share of the content. But what about sports? Is not “fan’’ short for “’fanatic’‘?
Not everyone can listen to KNBR at work, so in the interest of those (un)fortunate souls who still want to waste the company’s time, Morning Buzz offers some of the better sports blogs for the fall.
Pro Football
Astonishingly, there is not much of merit out there regarding our most popular sport. Buzz has gushed before about the Daily Rumor Mill at ProFootballTalk.com. The guys at FootballOutsiders.com take great pride in their hardcore statistical analysis, but there is also some clever writing. And when the weekend is through, there is no better wrap-up than Gregg Easterbrook’s erudite Tuesday Morning Quarterback column at NFL.com (www.nfl.com/writers/easterbrook).
As for fan sites, 49ersNews.com and TheHaterNation.com, described as “an irreverent look at the Raiders and the NFL,’’ are worth the time.
[Cached Merc Article]
49ersnews.com: “All Niners, All the Time” is the slogan here, with links to commentary and tribute pages for longtime assistant Bobb McKittrick, who passed away two years ago. “I learned more football from him in one day than I knew when I first set foot at 4949 Centennial Blvd.,” the site quotes Bucs coach Jon Gruden as saying. Check out the “Sack Watch,” which has mug shots for each quarterback a 49ers player has brought down this season. That’s six smiling Jake Plummers for those scoring at home.
[Full StPete Times Article]
