the forty-niners downfall

Will the San Francisco 49ers ever get back on the football god’s good graces?

The chances of that are starting to get as slim as Calista Flockhart…

What looked to be a pretty good finish for this year’s team in the offseason is starting to turn into something that is somewhat reminiscent of an old deteriorating building in which everything is going to shambles.

THE DEFENSE

The defense was probably the most promising of all the units that this year’s San Francisco 49ers had to offer. Even though they only had the 25th ranked defense out of 32 teams last year, the numbers don’t tell the story, because they had to be on the field for so long thanks to such a horrible offense, but we’ll talk about that later. Last year Patrick Willis earned the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, as he tallied 226 tackles! How do you get better than that? You add some key free-agents, such as a pro-bowl linebacker in Takeo Spikes (LB), a tumultuous defensive end from Cincinnati in Justin Smith, and a speedy cornerback / kick returner extraordinaire in Allen Rossum. These pick-ups were meant to complement the studs from last year…

However, things have changed as the defense as they seemed to have forgotten how to tackle. They have shown that they have no answer for a powerful running back, i.e. Brandon Jacobs (NYG), and Deuce McAllister (NO). Not to mention that the safeties, whether it’s Dashon Goldson, or Mark Roman, has been getting burnt like toast at a bad breakfast spot. That’s the least of the problems though!

THE OFFENSE

Oh boy, where do I start with this unit? This unit needed a lot of improving after last year, which ranked dead last in the NFL in ever major offensive statistic: Pts/ g, total plays, and Yards/ g; among many others. It didn’t help that their #1 pick from the 2005 NFL Draft, Alex Smith, was injured for a majority of the season, leaving Trent Dilfer to screw up and really show he needs to retire. So, what do you do in a predicament like this, we hire one of the smartest offensive minds in the NFL in Mike Martz to be our offensive coordinator. We then pick up some key free agents on offense as well, such as WR Isaac Bruce, OT Barry Sims, and RB DeShaun Foster. Not to mention we signed a journeyman by the name of JT O’Sullivan in which nobody knew before the season, although he had a great pre-season while starring in a fight for the starting QB spot. Well, he ends up winning the job, and suddenly, you think this offense could be real good…

Yet, that was before the season, and not where were at, 7 games into the season, like we are now. You can’t knock one of the best running backs in the NFL, Frank Gore, because he has done all he can this year. But you can’t run the ball all the time, not to mention, Martz is famous for his brilliant passing attack. The problem is that JTO has shown he’s not really starter material. He makes the wrong decisions at the wrong times. He holds on to the ball for too long, causing sacks, which in turn eventually leads to timely turnovers. Our receivers don’t catch the rare good passes he makes. It’s really bad.

MANAGEMENT AND CLOSING

I’m not one for firing head coaches, but Head Coach Mike Nolan should be fired! He hasn’t shown any kind of leadership. The players don’t trust him. He fails to execute the right plays when needed to.

This all stems from upper management, which in turn falls on the terrible people that own the team, the York Family. They are showing signs of doing whatever they can to run this team into the ground: bad drafts, bad personnel, and a wavering opinion on a new stadium. If they don’t do something quick, my forty-niners will get moved to LA and that would SUCK!

The clever comedian on sports: Ray Ratto

Are you looking for a great take on sports? Something that’s not sugar-coated and watered-down? Someone, that’s going to keep it real, while giving you a laugh at the same time? That’s what you’ll get from reading one of Ray Ratto’s sports columns, which can be found a couple times a week in the San Francisco Chronicle. And if you need more Ratto, which some people, I included, need at times, not only does he write for CBS’ sportsline.com, but he has also written for espn.com as well. Speaking of ESPN, he is also a frequent guest on ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning sports talk show.

Ray Ratto, 52, has been a writer in the Bay Area for quite some time. He received his education at St. Joseph’s High in Alameda, before arriving and graduating at the best school for broadcast / journalism in Northern California, San Francisco State University. Ratto has been writing about sports for almost 30 years now, while being a sports columnist for about 20 of those years.

However, before getting his chance to write columns, Ratto had to, as many young bucks in the media business do, start his career by being a “staff reporter” for each of San Francisco’s two big papers, the Examiner and the Chronicle. After doing some good work for both papers, Ratto finally got his chance to become the column writer that he had been longing to be.

The first two papers that gave Ratto the opportunity to showcase his sports writing skills are no longer in service. He first wrote for a paper called The National, the short name for a nation-wide sports tabloid newspaper / magazine called The National Sports Daily. Although due to a lack of readership, and other misfortune, The National, which was started in 1990, came to a halt only 18 months later. After that brief venture, Ratto went on to write as a columnist for yet another paper that was on its way to becoming extinct by the time he had arrived. This paper was called the Peninsula Times Tribune. It was a small daily paper that started in 1962 which was owned and eventually closed by the Tribune Company of Chicago in 1992 due to its declining circulation. But with the bad, always comes the good as Ratto then got a job writing sports columns for San Francisco’s “second” paper, the San Francisco Examiner, which would in turn set up Ratto for his best Jefferson’s impression, as he “moved on up” to San Francisco’s #1 paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, jumpstarting an illustrious career.

Ray Ratto, to me, is the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sporting Green. Every remembrance of the Chronicle’s Sporting Green starts with a picture of his portly face and walrus-looking mustache. He’s quick with his humor, as he always has the right words to say. For example, this is what Ratto wrote when talking about Oakland Raiders’ kicker Sebastian Janikowski in the article written this past Sunday as the Raiders beat the Jets:

“He has been asked, over the years, to try some improbably long kicks that lower his rating - and no, we're leaving the 76-yard attempt against San Diego as Lane Kiffin's last middle finger to Davis rather than a serious attempt to score.”

There are plenty of good articles that one can bring up examples of, but then that would ruin all of the fun for you readers that have yet to experience one of his articles. So, if you have the time, and you like the combination of sports and comedy, check out Ray Ratto’s columns in the San Francisco Chronicle either in print or at sfgate.com in the sports section.

The Year of the Underdog

Whatever happened to teams winning the games they’re supposed to?

This question gets brought up not only because of what we’ve seen in college football lately, although that has heavily influenced the need for this question, but really, it’s this whole sports year in general which has had my mind boggled, bet-takers shutting their mouths and their bank accounts, and the word, UNDERDOG, becoming an everyday term of choice.

It all started with this year’s biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl, which took place on February 3, 2008. The NFL’s biggest game featured the matchup of the “no one can beat these” New England Patriots, the NFL’s newest version of a dynasty, a team that was looking to be the first to go a perfect 19-0, while setting multiple offensive records, taking on the “just squeaking by, kind of lucky” New York Giants, who had to win on the road three straight games including an overtime victory in horrible weather conditions over the NFL miracle man himself, Brett Favre, and the Green Bay Packers.
CONCLUSION: The Giants, the biggest Super Bowl underdog ever, wins 17-14, thanks to Eli Manning conducting what is known as “The Play”, in which he eluded pressure, shook off a sack, and launched a 32 yard missile which was cradled by David Tyree to set up the game winning touchdown.

The Upset Bug then struck once again at this year’s college baseball championship, The College World Series in Omaha, NE. The SEC conference Georgia Bulldogs, who featured sensational shortstop Gordon Beckham, the 8th overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft were supposed to shellac the weak little WAC team out of Fresno, the Fresno State Bulldogs, who had more losses than any previous champion in college baseball history. Fresno State had never won a championship in any of their men’s programs.
CONCLUSION: Fresno State went on to win 6-1, with their outstanding offensive outfielder, Tommy Mendonca taking the MOP (Most Outstanding Player) of the 2008 College World Series Tournament. They are currently the biggest underdog to win an NCAA championship in any sport.

Flash forward to where we're at now…

This year’s college football season has showed us so far that being of a higher rank doesn’t mean diddly squat. On September 25, 2008, 4 out of the Nation’s top-10 teams at the time, were upset including the #1-“can’t be stopped” USC Trojans, who were dethroned by losing to their PAC-10 “do it again” Oregon State Beavers on a Thursday night in Corvallis OR. The Beavers who upset the Trojans two years ago, the last time the Trojans made a trip to the campus of Oregon State, found ways to knock off #1 again 27-21 this year.

Then this weekend 3 of the then top 10 teams fell including a stunning surprise when #5 Texas took it to #1 Oklahoma in their annual Red-River Rivalry.
Having the title of “#1 in the Nation” means absolutely nothing during the regular season in college football anymore until that day comes when you actually win the glass shaped football signifying that you are the champion. Lower-Level schools have shown swagger and fearlessness as they anticipate big time matchups against teams that are supposed to cream them.

Basically what I’m saying is…don’t become a bookie. Business is as bad for bet-takers as it is for stock market traders. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that has never made the playoffs in their 11-year existence until now, completes this crazy year, by going on to win the World Series, and proving that 2008 is the year of the Underdog, not the Rottweiler.

The United States Presidential Candidates

The United States Presidential Candidates


The big question that will be enforced on our society for the next month and a half is, who will be the next president? After watching tonight’s presidential debate, in my mind, there is still no candidate that makes me say, “Wow, this is our guy!” Both candidates really didn’t answer the questions too clearly, and both candidates just kept exchanging jabs back at each other, while relying on their past records. Who cares about the past? Let’s talk about the future!

ECONOMY

Obama started off by saying that we (the United States) are in the worst economy since the great depression, but where were the answers to solve it? All he did was allude to the fact that McCain and Bush have a “connection” when dealing with the economic crisis. Duh. They’re both republican. He also answers this by saying we need to lower taxes, crack down on CEO’s, and come up with an infrastructure to create jobs. HOW is this going to get done?

McCain was just as bad. He said that we need to stop the spending spree, yet at the same time he wants us to buy all of the bad mortgages. That doesn’t make sense! He also stated that he has a plan, yet he never really told us what the plan consists of?

Winner- draw


TREASURER SECRETARY CHOICE

Obama- Warren Buffet-CEO Berkshire Hathaway- philanthropist-financial advisor for Lebron James

McCain- Meg Whitman-CEO eBay-never heard of her until now

Winner- Obama


BAILOUT RESCUE

Obama said, “This is not the end of the process, this is the beginning.” And then went on to note what he will try to do for American families which to me sounded like fairy tale talk.
McCain was actually straightforward on this topic as he said that we need to stabilize markets and buy up the bad loans.

Winner-McCain


PRIORITIES

Obama- 1. Energy, 2. Health care, 3. Education

McCain- said that all can be taken care of adequately, never gave a prioritized list for those three topics.

Winner-draw; but more, Obama, for actually giving an order

LAST THOUGHTS

As mentioned, this debate was really a bunch of bull for an hour and a half. These guys stated what it is they want to do in order to take care of some of the problems facing our country, but yet, none of them took it a step further to really explain better to us regular folk of how they will take care of these issues. It seemed that they both took some swigs of the haterade, but McCain was drunk off it, as it seemed like 90% of what he had to say was Obama bashing.

Last but not least, to wrap this debate up in its the best form, both of these candidates must not have played red light green light when they were young. There was a traffic light kind of device used during the debate to help them recognize when to go, have final thoughts, and conclude. They clearly do not know what a red light means, as they kept talking. My advice to not be on the road with either of them. They’ll cause an accident!

The funniness of family guy

If you’re looking for a cartoon with random moments that will have you laugh so hard that you might piss your pants…than go to the store, pick up some Pampers, and make sure you’re back at your house before 9pm on Sunday Night, in order to catch the new season of Family Guy. Unlike Trix cereal, it’s not just for kids.

THE HISTORY

Family Guy was originally created by Seth MacFarlane in 1999 for Fox. It was cancelled a year later by the network and then was brought back in order to finish through to three seasons. After those three seasons, it was cancelled once again, and some thought for good.

Cartoon Network started airing Family Guy re-runs for syndication, on Adult Swim, the network’s more adult-oriented late-night block of television, and that fueled a family guy phenomenon. Fans of the show from when it was on Fox tuned into their beloved show again, and somehow, word started spreading about how funny the show really is. Ratings for Adult Swim increased heavily, and later on, once the seasons were released on DVD, those sales skyrocketed as well. The success that resulted influenced Fox to bring the show back to production for new episodes, and ever since, it has continued to stay strong. Fox has a deal for Family Guy to be produced until 2012.

REASONS TO WATCH

The show has had a lot of success because of the way it goes about its comedy. The characters are the heart of the show. Peter is the fat, always up to some crazy scheme, dad of the family. Louis, who loves sex, is the mom of the family. Chris, the oldest child is the stupid fat son, a direct result of Peter. Meg, is the ugly, often ignored middle child of the family in which everyone in the family, including the dog Brian, makes fun of. Stewie, who always has plans of world domination, and is quite possibly the funniest character in the show, is the baby in the family. He is always kickin’ it with Brian. They’re boys yet they’re enemies. And speaking of Brian, Brian is the smooth talking, yes talking, dog of the family who loves a good drink, and is up to no good, no matter who he kicks it with.

The show is built mainly around random and hilarious flashbacks and / or pop culture references that just totally catch you off guard.

The flashbacks most always start with something like, “that was worst than the time I…” and then they flashback to something that is so random and funny, that it just has you sitting in your chair, saying to yourself, “what the (expletive)?”
The cartoon, South Park did a spoof of how family guy gets their metaphorical or simile-like jokes when in one of their episodes, they said that Family Guy jokes come from manatees who pick different idea balls to construct a joke for an episode. The idea balls involved the themes of a date, Mexico, and Gary Coleman. Then you saw them refer to a made-up version of Family Guy in which Peter makes a joke about going on a date with Gary Coleman in Mexico.

The pop-culture references also make the show. For instance in the episode of Family Guy aired last night on Fox, the best was when they re-enacted a scene made famous in the movie, “Office Space”. In the movie, Michael and Samir, get so frustrated with a certain fax machine, that they take turns destructing it. Family Guy did their version of this scene with Brian and Stewie demolishing Peter’s “Bird Surf” album, in the exact same fashion as in “Office Space”. The music was the same, and so was the way in which both items were destructed.

The show is a classic, sometimes referred to as a cult classic. If you need some comedy in your life, Family Guy is the way to go.

How a man hug turned into a trip to the hospital

Have you ever been noticed by someone that you haven’t seen in a really long time? And you just tried to play it cool by giving that person a simple gesture? But then that person catches you off guard as they take your gesture and turn it into a “give me some love” types of gestures?

I know that’s a weird scenario, but please stick with me, as I have one of the craziest stories to tell, about how a man hug turned into a trip to the hospital...

It was the Sunday right before school started. My roommate and I were moving things from our old apartment to our new apartment. I was in the process of moving my posters from place to place.

My hands were tied up from carrying the posters, and I needed to bring some thumbtacks so I could hang up the posters. I couldn’t find the little box for the thumbtacks, and I wasn’t going to put the thumbtacks in my Jordan shorts’ pocket and have them prick at my knee while I was walking with the box to my new place.

(You’re probably thinking, “Walking, with the box? Didn’t you move to a new apartment?” I did move to a new apartment, just in the plushier part of the same complex. The apartments were within walking distance of each other. )

So, I put a couple of the thumbtacks in my mouth while I was walking with the posters. (You know, kind of like when you put a nail in between your teeth when you’re hammering something in?)

I know...stupid decision!

Well, I almost get to my apartment when someone from a distance yells out, “Mikey Smith?” At first, I’m thinking, “who the hell is that?” But finally as the silhouette draws nearer, I realize it’s this guy Joey DelChiaro, who I haven’t seen, for like, 4 years since senior year of high school.

I tried to give him a cool little hand shake and keep it moving as I was in the process of trying to move things. Well, he takes my hand shake offering and turns it into a man hug, and boy was I caught off guard! I still had the thumbtacks in my mouth, and on impact of the man hug, one of the thumbtacks got stuck in my throat! I started choking as I was trying to prevent the thumbtack from going down the pipes, but it was too late! I swallowed the thumbtack!

I was sitting in my room after, thinking, maybe I should go to a hospital?

An hour later, I manage to make my way to Mercy Hospital on J Street. After sitting in the emergency room, waiting, for what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally brought me in to take some x-rays. When we got into the x-ray room he admitted to me, “You, know when I first saw the incident report, and it said that you swallowed a thumbtack, I was thinking, and don’t take this the wrong way, ‘Is this guy mentally retarded?” Even the nurse had asked me earlier if I had swallowed the thumbtack as a stunt for you tube.

I felt like such a jack-ass. The hospital staff couldn’t believe the truth. Even my friends and family got a laugh out of it.

Throughout the week following, I analyzed every bowel movement to see if I had passed the damn thumbtack. To this day I still haven’t seen it! Who knows where it is?

Persistence pays off

It’s always been said that if you really want something, you have to work hard to get it. All J.T. O’ Sullivan has ever wanted was to play in the National Football League, but even more than that, become a starting quarterback for a team in the NFL. He is now the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, which have enjoyed a 2-1 start to this season, but saying that it has been easy for O’ Sullivan to get to this point, is a big understatement.

THE LOCAL START

O’ Sullivan’s career started off in high school as he attended Jesuit High School in Sacramento, CA. He had a good career in high school, but not something to ride away from home about, literally, as there were no big-time national colleges giving a look his way for a scholarship. The only colleges showing interest in O’Sullivan were the two nearby schools to his home, UC Davis and Sacramento State, and in order to continue his football career in college, both schools game him the proverbial line, you have to pay to play.

So, he was convinced by his high school coach, Dan Carmazzi, to check out the local, at the time Division II College, UC Davis. O’ Sullivan ended up attending Davis where, as a freshmen, he would have to red shirt and play 3rd fiddle, backing up Kevin Daft and Ken Kearns. Being a backup didn’t sit well with the young man from Jesuit, as he knew he had a bunch of talent. While red shirting O’ Sullivan worked his tail off, so that when the next season came around, it would be no competition as to who would be starting quarterback for the Aggies of UC Davis. There would continue to be no competition for O’ Sullivan throughout the rest of his time at Davis, and when it finally came time for his departure at the end of the 2001 college football season, he had amassed every quarterback record in Aggie history.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

After a college career gone great, O’ Sullivan was now thinking about the big leagues. He declared himself for the NFL Draft in 2002, and was drafted in the sixth round by the New Orleans Saints. Once again, like his first year in college, O’ Sullivan was forced to add the bench as a residence, as he never saw the field in his two years with the Saints.

O’ Sullivan was eventually traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Green Bay Packers at the beginning of the 2004 season. He took some time in the off-season to get ready for his new team, as during the summer he played in NFL Europe (NFL’s version of minor league), and had the 2nd best passer rating in the league. It’s not like that would propel him to the starting role in Green Bay though, as they still had the legend, Brett Favre calling the shots. However, O’Sullivan did get to see his first action in the NFL that year, as he was summoned in to take a knee to end the game. The pack would let J.T. O’ Sullivan go after the 2004 season, and from then on it was a mountain made of a mo-hill process as he would be between making and breaking 5 different NFL rosters for the next 3 years.

In 2007, O’ Sullivan was scooped up by the Detroit Lions, where eventually, he would play in his 2nd NFL game, throwing a 7-yd td pass to Calvin Johnson. In Detroit, O’ Sullivan was under tutelage from one of the smartest offensive minds in the NFL, Mike Martz, the creator of the “Greatest Show on Turf” back with the St. Louis Rams. Mike Martz was canned after a 7-9 season in Detroit, and so too was J.T. O’ Sullivan. Martz was later signed by the San Francisco 49ers to be their offensive coordinator. J.T. was a free agent looking for a home.

A month after Martz’s arrival, the offensive coordinator swayed the 49ers into signing one of his old protégé’s from a year ago in Detroit. That protégé was J.T. O’Sullivan.

Upon arrival, O’ Sullivan already knew that the 49ers had two quarterbacks already worthy of starting: Alex Smith, the first overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft who was recovering from a season in which was spent on injured reserve, and Shaun Hill, who after getting a chance to start for the also-injured 2nd string QB Trent Dilfer, went 2-0 as a starter for the 49ers in two of their last three 2007 NFL contests. That didn’t bother him, as we used to being a backup in his previous 6 NFL seasons, it just made him work harder. O’ Sullivan worked hard with the receivers in the off season, and in Pre-season, he wowed both offensive coordinator Mike Martz, and head coach Mike Nolan.

He’s been a blessing in disguise for my 49ers as it never seemed as if we were going to do any better than Alex Smith. The hard work from O’ Sullivan has paid off, and as the starter for our season has allowed my 49ers to be back in the mix in the NFC.

Way to go J.T., keep up the season and take the 49ers to the playoffs!