It’s official. Dennis Allen is the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders. They will introduce him Monday at noon in their Alameda headquarters. On a personal note, I learned of this development through a news release sent to me via email. For years, the Raiders have kept me, Monte Poole and Tim Kawakami off their email list. I am grateful to be back on the list. In a small way, I believe, this shows a new openness in the… Read More »
I’m just about to hop in my blue Prius (Mr. Blue) and head over to the City for today’s edition of the Blitz on Comcast. A distinguished panel including me will discuss nine hot sports topics starting at 5 pm. I hope you can tune in. Or as we used to say in Brooklyn, “Be there or be square.”
Grant just posted a blog on what the 49ers desperately need going into next season — namely a big wide receiver to improve their offense in the red zone and near the goal line. I think Braylon Edwards was supposed to be that guy, except he wasn’t. Grant puts out names of four potential candidates — two free agents and two draft choices. I share all this with you in the Cohn Zohn’s zeal to keep the world well-informed on… Read More »
I’ve been so focused on the 49ers for a long time that I lost track of the rest of the sports world and maybe the world in general. I was pleased to see that Tim Kawakami did a long phone interview with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and posted it yesterday on his blog. It’s informative in many ways and I would like to share it with you. FYI, I don’t think the Warriors will be a playoff team this season… Read More »
Matt Maiocco posted a moving article on CSNBayArea.com about Jim Harbaugh’s season-ending news conference which took place on Monday. That news conference has gotten very controversial. Matt, my close friend and former colleague at the Press Democrat, explains he saw tears, or near tears in Harbaugh’s eyes at the end of the press conference. Matt interprets the tears to mean Harbaugh has a human side he rarely shows. Matt praises Harbaugh for showing his human side, in spite of himself.… Read More »
The Warriors got a good win on Wednesday night, beating the Portland Trail Blazers. Face it, any win is a good win for the Warriors, even if they defeat a team that was playing back to back to back. I went to the game not expecting much — and it’s possible this was a good blip in an otherwise bad season. I don’t know. But I can tell you Mark Jackson has the team playing hard and, although the Warriors… Read More »
Grant worked hard on his season-ending grades all morning. I know he did because I watched him do them. He graded all team units and key coaches for their performance the entire season. I find his grades fair and his explanations enlightening. I learned from what he did and I expect you too will learn a thing or two. To read Grant’s 2011-2012 season-ending grades, you know what to do. Please move your cursor to the required place and then… Read More »
The 49ers need to help Jim Harbaugh. They need to teach Harbaugh how to interact with the media and how to act in public. No matter what you think, Harbaugh is a flop with the media. You may think it doesn’t matter, but it does. He is the face of the franchise. He is sarcastic and juvenile and that helps no one. The Niners need to hire a consultant who can teach Harbaugh how to conduct himself, how to answer… Read More »
I’m proposing a theory — call it an educated guess. I could be all wrong but I’m trying. Many sites are reporting that the Raiders already have hired Dennis Allen as their head coach. Allen is (was?) defensive coordinator at the Broncos and this hire makes sense because the Raiders defense is talented but does not play up to the talent level. In my theory, the Raiders told Allen he has the HC job. Allen then told the Broncos, and… Read More »
I have been flooded today with emails telling me I’m a bad guy. Some of the emails are unprintable, although I’m too old to blush at them. Readers are outraged because I wrote critically of Jim Harbaugh — in my opinion, not all that critically. So, am I rude to the Niners? In a way, yes and in a way, no. I always try to be polite in my tone when I am with Harbaugh or any sports figure I… Read More »
