NFC Championship Day
I was awakened this morning by one of my cats bringing me a GIANT dead rabbit. Not a bunny. A fully grown, probably 2 pound rabbit. I took him outside, walked along the muddy ground in my bare feet and flung the beast, or at least tried to, over the deer fence. It was GIANT. It was Eli Manning. I was Aldon Smith. Surrounded by cold darkness, I waited for a flag to get thrown my way. None came. Personal foul? Not this morning…….
Everything I’m doing these days gets turned into something Niner related…….
After beating the Saints last week, I wrote about how great it felt to have that Niner Pride return after all these years. As a fan, there’s nothing like your *first* championship (Niners in ’81, Giants in 2010) but even that doesn’t compare to being a fan of a team that builds a dynasty. That’s what the 49ers did and we wore those colors with a type of pride afforded to fans of only a handful of teams. Your team won a Super Bowl? That’s great, “We Got 5”. But it slowly started slipping away and saying or even thinking “We Got 5” wasn’t something I did too much of over the last 10 years or so……
As this year wore on I didn’t realize or notice it, but the Pride was making it’s way back. I started seeing more red and gold on the streets and in line at the market. Radio talk shows shifted away from blaming the York’s for everything to actual debates about the validity of what the team was doing this year. We won the division, locked up the #2 seed, the playoffs began and then we played New Orleans. Still, that long lost Pride hadn’t found it’s way back from it’s long hibernation…..
And then with one magical throw, a dead-clutch grab, and one of the best radio calls I’ve ever heard (Robinson/Davis) it all came rushing back to me. Watching Candlestick shake her old bones last Saturday, the same way she did so many times before so many years ago, had me crying like a girl. For me, that’s why The Vernon Post will always be so special. It found something for me that had drifted away many years ago: Niner Pride. “We Got 5”. I imagine it was that way for a lot of you…….
I found a post I wrote at Chuck’s blog a few months ago. Here it is:
Flavor says:
“Well, I was on record before the season started, many times, saying I thought Smith would have a good year—a better than average season, I think I said something about top 3rd in the lg in passer rating. Of course, I was attributing his proposed growth to the tutelage of Master Harbaugh. It seemed to me to be pretty sound reasoning at the time….
with the bye and then Cleveland we will likely be 6-1 in 2 weeks. That will all but sew up the NFC west. Harbaugh can spend the rest of the season completing the playbook implementation. I wouldn’t want to be a team playing the Niners this coming January. A super bowl appearance is absolutely possible this year.”
Part of that post came from me over-indulging in the Harbaugh Koolade that I have willingly abused since his time at Stanford. Maybe part of it came from me trying to artificially generate some of that long, lost Pride. Either way, that Pride from my past has awakened. It’s back. And regardless of what happens in this afternoon’s game, it feels so goddamn good to be a Niner fan again. The words “Thank you” don’t seem to mean enough. Still…..
Jed, Trent, Jim, Frank, Kendall, Bruce, Vernon, Justin, Delanie, Kyle, Aldon, Patrick, Navarro, Michael, Ted, Carlos, Chris, David, Brian, Andy, Dashon, Tarrell, Donte, Ray, Issac, Joe, Jonathan, Blake, (and all the rest of the guys on the team) but most importantly and especially ALEX SMITH:
“Thank you for the gift of this season. It means more to me than you will ever know….”
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Reminds me of a story….
Reminds me of a story. One neighbor is leaving town and asked their neighbor to keep an eye on their house while they are on vacation.
The vacationing neighbor had a daughter who had a pet rabbitt. So the day they leave town, the neighbor whose watching the house has a dog and he sees his dog has got into the neighbor’s yard and is shaking something in its mouth.
He grabs the dog and sees he has the neighbor’s rabbitt in its mouth and is dead as a door nail. So not wanting to be the cause of neighbor’s daughter’s dead rabbitt, he decides to wash and blow dry the dead rabbitt and place it back into its hutch.
A week later, the neighbors arrive back from their vacation and he is waiting for them to discover the dead rabbitt and after a few minutes he hears the daughter screaming and crying in the backyard. He sheepishly rushes over to the neighbor’s to feign ignorance and to ask what is wrong.
The mother explains that the daughter immediately went to play in their backyard after arriving and found that her dead rabbitt that they had buried two weeks ago had somehow come back to life and hopped back into his hutch to die once again…..Go Niners!!!
I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. This morning my wife wakes first and even though I’m still half asleep she asks me “You know what today is?”, I answered “NFC Championship game, Niners”.
Right now it’s about eight hours until game time. I need to go into town for some supplies, get back and settle in to watch Alex and the Niners pull a rabbit out of the hat.
“rabbit out of the hat.” epic. Feel the Pride today, dude. If you need a prompt just dial the bar up in SF though I’m guessing they’ll dial you up first.
Flav, it’s my twist today, I’ll probably call them at the start of the shift because it’s going to be a busy day for them. The Pats game will be mobbed in there and then the second wave hits (the place is called the Connecticut Yankee, big on New England sports). If you want a seat in there today you would probably have to be there at 11 when they open the doors (which I’ve done many, many times).
GO NINERS
Speaking of Bars which is always a good thing, Lefty O Douls had the humilation of running out of one of their primo beers on their 28 choice selected keg handles last week against the Saints.The owners said their’s NO WAY possible were run out of ANY BEER this game.They have so many Kegs their using extras for sandbags.
got up at 6. Can’t remember being this excited about a game (well, let’s ignore the 2010 world champion SF giants). These games always scare me. The more excited I get, the more dreadful a negative outcome. I guess I’m also worried about my NY Giants loving son. He’ll be wearing his giants slippers, football pants, something like 5 or 6 various giants shirts and jerseys, his giants blanket like a superman cape and his giants helmut. I’ll be in levi’s and a shirt (I don’t own any niner stuff anymore. used to have one of the incredibly tacky gold nylon jackets, purchased in 81 for the parade. no idea where it went to). I’m going to have to be on my best behavior because JR is still at an age where how i conduct myself matters. My wife is also going to be rooting for the g’s, though she feels like it’s a can’t lose for her.
Go niners!
I’m not sweatin’ this for a second. We’re playin’ with house $. I hope we win but won’t be devastated if we lose. The Pride is back, I can live off last week’s game for a long time.
Yeah, feeling great anticipation for this one. Reminds me a lot of the misfits run in 2010, with many interesting characters on the team getting their first taste. Pretty damn special if they pull this off.
As Biilick said in 2009 “Can Mike [Singletary] give himself over to the so-called dark side?” Billick said. “Can he say, ‘I saw a style of play that can suit my quarterback, and we may have the complementary players to make that offense work,’ and then embrace it? Or do they shove him in the I-formation and ask him to play that style?”
I’m not going to reopen debate about how who gets more credit, Jim or Alex, but it’s been clear that Smith has flourished in a compatible system. And at his still relatively young age, he really should get better and better in it.
Get in eli’s face and stay there—he can be pretty erratic. roll smith out once in a while to disrupt their pass rush too. Field position game will matter too, SF calling card.
Flav, this has been on my mind for a while. In the nice pic of Katie on f-b, she is holding the ball with both hands spread out (to throw a chest pass I hope vs. the tall kid). As they get older, very imp for girls to learn to shoot with one dominant hand in the middle of the ball and one on the side for balance. their arm strength is always an issue for them to have FT range, but you want everything lined up properly: lead foot, knee elbow in and those first two fingers pointing at the target (middle of the hoop). A buddy of mine advised getting a flat 2 and a half lb. weight and having kids just do shoulder raises with the weight in the palm of the shooting hand to build that strength a little.
there’s a 6th grade girl in our asian league who could hit 3s last year if she had time and space. I beat her team last year by going man and defending screen and roll, but I saw her hit 3 3’s in a game last year (as a 5th grader) where a team sat back and played zone. Off today, but I play them next week.
WD– I really appreciate this input. Here’s where she’s at: She seems to be able to go with right hand center of ball and her left hand on the side but she keeps fighting me on it. She pushing the shot up from her chest (where you see it in the pic) with 2 hands. I know you’re not supposed to let them start off with bad shooting habits but I’ve been letting this go so far this year.
I’m also having a hard time getting her to play effective defense—she’s not keeping herself between the offender and the hoop, she’s running around next to her (at best) and behind her (at worst). Any ideas for teaching D to my team would be greatly appreciated. We got killed yesterday (14-8) –just counting baskets as singles there. Also, you can’t play a zone, only man to man.
Sure. Starts with footwork, like everything does. D-slides (feet do not come together, use only short choppy steps), drop step to open up and change direction, close out, machine gun (rapid steps for 20 seconds with hands at ear level) are all things to do at start of practice/game as a warm up. Stay in your stance and don’t straighten up.
To teach kids proper position, have them work vs. a dribbler on one side of court only. Dribbler goes zig zag (work on a cross over or whatever) while defender moves the feet, centers vision on opponent mid section (not ball or eyes) and stays in front of the ball (not on the side or hip) to force them to change direction. You can have two pairs work from under basket to half court, then they switch roles on way back.
You can play sagging man just like a zone tho—key is kids don’t extend and “hug” their player, and when ball is on other side of the floor, they “jump to the ball” and move two steps closer to where the ball is. some guys teach using your hands as “pistols”—one points to your man, the other extends to point at the ball. Ideally there is a flat triangle with you in the middle btw both., when your man does not have the ball.
Shoot me an email at wdblues122@yahoo., anytime, to talk b-ball.
There’s
BREAKING: Gabby Giffords just Tweeted she is stepping down this week to work on her recovery. Heard here first.
her video announcing this is quite moving
I’d like to see the niners explore the no-huddle or the hurry up. keep the d-line out there and working. I don’t think i’ve seen that from the niners this season. probably a function of getting the playbook installed after no training camp. also alex is going to have to make some plays with his legs. and if i remember right from the first go-round, kendall hunter gashed them on some plays. the media keeps harping on how frank was “held” to 6 yds (out early with injury), but neglect to mention the success that hunter had.
Someone please tell me that the game is on either Fox Sports or NFL Network. I get both via satellite, albeit, Fox is in Spanish (which may be a good thing).
The game will be on your local FOX network and that alone.
Buena suerte, disfruta y vaya a Niners!
Thank you Dennis!
Prediction:
The Golden Boy and future President of the U.S., Tom Brady 34
Team that harbors a [alleged] murderer at MLB, 24
Buster Posey wished the Niners good luck today.
He just started a twitter acc. for those of you who follow along…
WOW! Gabby looks great. My parents in AZ are quite proud of her. a great spirit after her injuries.
I’m real surpised they didn’t stop the game to take a long look at that near catch by Evans in the end zone. His second foot came down just as that ball was being stripped. I can’t believe the talking heads aren’t harping on that play at all. Strange.
dawg, i was saying the same thing. it was a near thing but he REALLY needed to stab that foot down. looks like he thought it was over.
He protested a little bit—I bet if he went nuts it would have spurred on a full-on replay. I’m no NFL rules expert, but I see guys on running plays dive toward the pylon reaching out barely brushing the pylon before fumbling it and they routinely call those touchdowns. I’m not usually a conspiracy theory guy, but I could be talked into this one.
I swear to Christ, I’m bouncing off my chair. I’m excited as hell.
Go Niners!
I am literally bouncing off my fucking chair. This is great. We’re up 7-0.
Go Niners!
Ok, listen up . . . Not certain I can articulate this exactly how I want to, but here goes:
I’m already sick and tired of the talking heads comparing Brady and Montana, where they diminish Montana’s accomplishments because he played with so many HOFs. THEY BECAME HOFs BECAUSE THEY WON SUPERBOWLS!
Brady frickin’ lost all rights to being better than Joe Cool when he lost that Superbowl him and his fucking team were favored to win. Case closed. A similar idiotic argument was made with Elway too. Tough cheese to him too. He also was favored against the Redskins and we all know what happened to that fantasyland script.
Finally, Brady played like doo doo today. Montana rules! I hope the Niners kick ass today, then destroy New England and that pussy Brady.
Couldn’t have said it better myself!!!
Hey Dennis………Rachel Alexandra just delivered a colt (by Curlin)…
that’s my guys
Whoo Hooo
Where the hell is Delani W??
Not good!,
Hard making it out in Spanish, but at least I have the video feed and most important, I can see the score 🙂
This is bad, very bad
Once that hits the ground run away from the fucking ball!!!!
Shit, shit, shit
It’s really nice of FOX to let them run an occasional play between commercials…
This just sucks!!!
sniff……..
You still got 5.
My team has one – 42 years ago – and they haven’t been back since…
The Giants made plays on some nice opportunities. That’s what football is all about. Team game. Epic loss. Epic season…
Twin, I haven’t even clicked on your Joe Pa(Thetic) page because of your conditions to post. But I would appreciate you taking that fuck’s name off my blog and I hope his last thought before dying was of how he didn’t do enough to save all those kids who needed someone to step up and save them.
It’s your blog so I honored your request.
It’s your blog,
Do what you wanna do,
I can’t tell ya,
Who to sock it to…
We all feel sorry for Kyle but he lost the game. If we’re gonna bitch about Riley, Felix, Cruz ( and everybody does) , Kyle gets zero slack either. And fact is, he was unsatisfactory as a receiver this year as well. As was said about Trestman, Kyle is gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooone…
I blame the bunny.