EVERY year I say the same thing in August: “There are only two valid tests for a successful San Francisco Forty-Niner season – Did we win the Super Bowl or did we beat the Rams twice?“ | |
You see I grew up watching the Niners win one(1!!!) game against the Los Angeles Rams in ten years. In the 1980s-90s, when we went on to win five Super Bowls in fourteen years, I still had the same question? I don’t care about anything else if we don’t win the Super Bowl that year except: “Did we beat the Rams twice?” If the answer to either question is “yes”, then we had a good year. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear about appearing in the Super Bowl, winning the NFC, winning the Western Division, having a winning record – or ANYTHING else. Win the Super Bowl or beat the Rams twice… | |
Of course, anybody will tell you it’s also nice to beat the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders in the same season as either of the two above, but they are DISTANT seconds to the two defining conditions mentioned above. | |
Anyway, my point is we (the Forty-Niners) are halfway there… Today, we went down to LA and put a whipping on the Rams (27-7). We are now halfway to a successful season without even having to play in the Super Bowl. Traditionally, NFL teams which finish with 10 wins in a season, make the playoffs. We now have 5 wins with 11 games to go. In theory, we only have to play .500 ball to make the playoffs. Bottom Line: our next game against the Rams is on 22 December. Go Niners!!! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | VOTE – We Need A Wave |
2017 | Soothe, Inspire And Recharge |
2016 | Aren’t We? |
2015 | Cold Embrace |
2014 | Delightful |
2013 | Apprenticeship |
2012 | Curtain Rods |
2011 | A Living Force |
2010 | BART Rides – A Tipping Point |
Posts Tagged ‘Sports’
2019 49ers Season Starts 5-0!!
Posted in Philosophy, Sports, tagged 49ers Are 5-0!, Dallas Cowboys, Go 49ers, Go Niners, Los Angeles Rams, National Football League, NFL, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Sports, Super Bowl on October 13, 2019| 2 Comments »
Dodgers Choke AGAIN
Posted in Sports, tagged Baseball Playoffs, Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Choke Again, Madison Bumgarner, MLB, Sports, Washington Nationals Defeat Los Angeles Dodgers on October 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Let’s just get it out there… I am a Giants fan; ergo: I HATE the Dodgers! I MAY have to grant a grudging respect to one or two of their players, but it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Especially if it’s a current player… | |
There has been little sweeter for this Giants fan than watching the Dodgers lose the last two World Series at home, but this year’s playoff elimination is pretty close… (Yes, I am a small enough person to gloat about this!) | |
The Dodgers won 13 more regular season games than the Washington Nationals (their opponents). | |
The Dodgers had a regular season run differential of +273 compared to +149 for the Nats! | |
Game 5 (the “deciding” game) was played in Dodger Stadium. | |
Clayton Kershaw has been one of – if not THE – most dominant pitcher of the last decade. (Please recall: I LOVE me some Madison Bumgarner!!) | |
The Dodgers were leading in game 5 by two(2) runs going into the 8th inning. | |
And, then, the collapse… Kershaw surrenders two home runs and the game is tied. Two innings later (in the 10th), the Nats get a grand-slam and go on to with the game 7-3. The Dodgers are eliminated from the 2018 playoffs! | |
Now, Kershaw has always seemed to me to be a decent person: In victory, he shares the credit. In defeat, he claims ownership and responsibility for the loss. So, I have one request for the Dodgers: PLEASE trade Kershaw to some other team so I can root for him to win a World Series before he ends his illustrious career. I saw his post-game (series) interview and I really want to support him. But, I can’t!!! I can’t!!!! If Kershaw gets enough post-season appearances, eventually he will win a World Series… Please (Baseball Gods) let it be for anyone but the Dodgers! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Thinking About My Hil |
Remember Your Duty In November | |
2017 | Play Well With Others |
2016 | Surviving And Challenging |
2015 | On Destroying Historic / Archaeological Sites |
2014 | Magical Power |
2013 | How Awesome Would That Be |
2012 | Two Views |
2011 | Still Looking For Examples |
2010 | Giants Win Away 3 – 2!! |
Missing Failure
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Sports, tagged Basketball, Failure, Michael Jordan, Philosophy, Quotes, Sports, Success, Winning on February 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »
I have missed more than 9,000 shots, lost almost 300 games, on 26 occasions been entrusted to take the game winning shot — and missed. I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. | |
— Michael Jordan | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Praise God |
2017 | Necessary Gaps |
2016 | Nor My Dogs |
2015 | Say What? |
I’m A Dog, Too! | |
Beginnings | |
2014 | Astonishing Choices |
2013 | Three Hard Tasks |
2012 | The Only Remains |
2011 | Personal Capability |
What Price Failure? | |
Both Of W’s Elections | |
Tea (Baggers) Anyone? | |
The Mark Against Your Name
Posted in Philosophy, Poems And Writing By Others, Poetry, Quotes, Sports, tagged Alumnus Football, Grantland Rice, Philosophy, Poems, Poetry, Quotes, Sports, William (Bill) Jones on February 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Alumnus Football |
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Bill Jones had been the shining star upon his college team. | |
His tackling was ferocious and his bucking was a dream. | |
When husky William took the ball beneath his brawny arm | |
They had two extra men to ring the ambulance alarm. | |
Bill hit the line and ran the ends like some mad bull amuck. | |
The other team would shiver when they saw him start to buck. | |
And when some rival tackler tried to block his dashing pace, | |
On waking up, he’d ask, “Who drove that truck across my face?” | |
Bill had the speed-Bill had the weight-Bill never bucked in vain; | |
From goal to goal he whizzed along while fragments, strewed the plain, | |
And there had been a standing bet, which no one tried to call, | |
That he could make his distance through a ten-foot granite wall. | |
When he wound up his college course each student’s heart was sore. | |
They wept to think bull-throated Bill would sock the line no more. | |
Not so with William – in his dreams he saw the Field of Fame, | |
Where he would buck to glory in the swirl of Life’s big game. | |
Sweet are the dreams of college life, before our faith is nicked- | |
The world is but a cherry tree that’s waiting to be picked; | |
The world is but an open road-until we find, one day, | |
How far away the goal posts are that called us to the play. | |
So, with the sheepskin tucked beneath his arm in football style, | |
Bill put on steam and dashed into the thickest of the pile; | |
With eyes ablaze he sprinted where the laureled highway led- | |
When Bill woke up his scalp hung loose and knots adorned his head. | |
He tried to run the ends of life, but with rib-crushing toss | |
A rent collector tackled him and threw him for a loss. | |
And when he switched his course again and dashed into the line | |
The massive Guard named Failure did a toddle on his spine. | |
Bill tried to punt out of the rut, but ere he turned the trick | |
Right Tackle Competition scuttled through and blocked the kick. | |
And when he tackled at Success in one long, vicious prod | |
The Fullback Disappointment steered his features in sod. | |
Bill was no quitter, so he tried a buck in higher gear, | |
But Left Guard Envy broke it up and stood him on his ear. | |
Whereat he aimed a forward pass, but in two vicious bounds | |
Big Center Greed slipped through a hole and rammed him out of bounds. | |
But one day, when across the Field of Fame the goal seemed dim, | |
The wise old coach, Experience, came up and spoke to him. | |
“Oh Boy,” he said, “the main point now before you win your bout | |
Is keep on bucking Failure till you’ve worn the piker out!” | |
“And, kid, cut out this fancy stuff – go in there, low and hard; | |
Just keep your eye upon the ball and plug on, yard by yard, | |
And more than all, when you are thrown or tumbled with a crack, | |
Don’t sit there whining-hustle up and keep on coming back; | |
“Keep coming back with all you’ve got, without an alibi, | |
If Competition trips you up or lands upon your eye, | |
Until at last above the din you hear this sentence spilled: | |
‘We might as well let this bird through before we all get killed.’ | |
“You’ll find the road is long and rough, with soft spots far apart, | |
Where only those can make the grade who have the Uphill Heart. | |
And when they stop you with a thud or halt you with a crack, | |
Let Courage call the signals as you keep on coming back. | |
“Keep coming back, and though the world may romp across your spine, | |
Let every game’s end find you still upon the battling line; | |
For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, | |
He writes – not that you won or lost – but how you played the Game.” | |
Written by: Grantland Rice | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Nice To Meet You |
2017 | All Nations & Religions |
2016 | Given The Choice |
Why Is He Wearing Red? | |
2015 | Within The System |
2014 | None But… |
2013 | Obviously Longer |
2012 | A Childhood Poem |
Who Are You Callin’ Leather-Faced? | |
2011 | In No Particular Order |
The Need For Proof | |
Fighting With Oneself
Posted in 2019 Book Review, Book Review, Faith Family and Friends, Family and Friends, Reviews, Sports, tagged 2019 Book Review, Amateur - book review, Boxing, Family, Madison Square Garden, Moderate Book Recommendation, Sports, Thomas Page McBee, Trans, Transgender on January 8, 2019| 9 Comments »
Amateur (2018©) — book review | |
Over Christmas, my daughter gave me a couple of books as prezzies. One of them was “Amateur“, written by Thomas Page McBee. The premise of the book is that the author has gone from being a woman to a man and is seeking to become the first transgender person to box in Madison Square Garden in New Your City. He is fighting in a charity event against a non-professional fighter (like himself), who is presumably non-trans – at least there is no mention of the male opponent being transgender as well. Anyway, the book is autobiographical and describes the training and preparation leading up to the match. The book also relates background information about the authors parents and siblings. It also has a small amount about the stages of being / becoming transgender. | |
I asked my daughter why she got me this particular book and if she had read it. She replied she had not read it and she just wanted to expose me to different perspectives. The other book she gave me was the Michelle Obama bio, which I have not read yet. | |
Anyway, I found the book difficult to “get into” because I didn’t (and don’t) care for the author’s writing style. I found the ideas being expressed unclear and the sentences “stilted”. Several times I had to re-read a sentence or a paragraph because I wasn’t sure I understood what the author was saying or how it added to or followed on with whatever else was being said. Eventually, I got the hang of the writing and had fewer problems reading along. | |
Although the book is “about” boxing and preparing for a fight, it is also about aggression and “being male” – or at least what the author believes is being male in modern society. I found much of this to be “interesting” even if I don’t necessarily agree with everything the author was trying to relate. That is, much of it makes sense / rings true, but I’m not sure it (the points being made) are uniquely “male” or modern. I also don’t know if they are unique to western / American society. “Interesting” because I am not transgender, did not grow up as a “tom-boy”, and have not spent a great deal of time thinking about being a “straight” “male” as opposed to being “gay” or “trans”. To this extent, my daughter was successful in getting me to think outside the box. | |
Final recommendation: moderate to strong. It is difficult for me to know who the target audience for this book is, so it is equally hard to recommend it to anyone stumbling on this post / review. I don’t know that LGBQ folks would want to read about someone who is “trans” or about boxing and preparing for a fight. I (personally) did find the writing about the training and preparation for the fight to be pretty interesting, enjoyable and well described. In one way, the book made me chuckle. Although I personally participated in a boxing tournament as a teen, I went into it completely unprepared, untrained and unfit. LOL – and the results showed. I guess, my question is would another trans person (female to male) find this book interesting. I am not sure they would, except maybe to know there are others (like themselves) out there and they are adjusting to being their “new” selves. And, maybe that’s enough… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Feeling Both |
2017 | Just Start |
2016 | Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall |
2015 | Restraint At The Inn |
2014 | To Not Discovering |
2013 | I Have Less To Say |
2012 | Not The Best Prediction I’ve Ever Read |
#Forever44
Posted in Faith Family and Friends, Family and Friends, Sports, tagged #Forever44, Big Mac, childhood memories, Family and Friends, First Base, Juan Marichal, Mac, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, MLB, S.F Giants, San Francisco Giants, Sports, Stretch, Willie Lee McCovey, Willie Mays on November 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Two days ago, on Halloween, the world lost one of the true gentlemen of sports history: Willie Lee McCovey. Nicknamed “Mac”, “Big Mac”, and (my personal favorite) “Stretch”, McCovey was a first baseman who defined the position for me as a child. He played for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball for 19 of his 22 seasons in the majors. | |
My earliest memory of ANY sports event was attending a baseball game as a youth at Candlestick Park and seeing McCovey, Willie Mays, and Juan Marichal in person. My mom and I sat high in the upper deck, underneath the shell which used to line the stadium. I don’t recall if the Giants won the game or much else about the game except – Marichal’s high-kick pitching delivery style, Mays hit a home run and “Stretch” made a terrific catch at first base. It wasn’t a high catch (as shown in the image above). It was low, near the ground and McCovey had to practically do the splits to make the catch. | |
It seems “funny” to think of this, but imagine you are Willie Mays – arguably the greatest baseball player of all time and in the top five career home run hitters in history and you bat third in the order because the guy (Willie McCovey) batting fourth, behind you, has more power… | |
None of the above speaks to the true greatness of the man, himself. It is better to think of Willie McCovey this way: his last active year was 1980. That same year, the Giants retired his jersey number (44) and began awarding “The Willie Mac Award” which is given to the team’s most inspirational player that year, as voted on by the team’s players, coaches, training staff, and (just recently included) fans. Finally, in 1986, in his first year of eligibility, Willie McCovey was voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. | |
R.I.P “Stretch”. And thanks for the childhood memories… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2017 | Dodgers Choke Away World Series |
Firing Director Comey = Obstruction | |
2016 | Why Do Republicans Always Seem To Be Angry? |
2015 | All Things Being Equal |
2014 | Fearful Light |
2013 | Unexpectedly Knowledgeable |
2012 | Seems Obvious |
2011 | See The Specialist |
Dodgers Lose 2nd Consecutive World Series!!
Posted in Humor, Sports, tagged 2018 MLB Champions, 2018 World Series, Baseball, Beat LA, Beat The Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Gloating, Humor, L.A. Dodgers, Major League Baseball, MLB, Sports on October 28, 2018| Leave a Comment »
First off… With all due props… Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for winning the 2018 World Series!!! | |
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Boston defeats LA in 2018 World Series 4 games to 1 !!!! | |
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As an SF Giants fan, all I can say is: “Two World Series losses in a row!! How sweet it is!!!!“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2017 | By Their Acts Thy Shall Know Them |
2016 | Remembering |
2015 | One |
2014 | Sure Experiments And Demonstrated Arguments |
2013 | Irrational Complacency |
2012 | Why Criticize? |
Giants Sweep 2012 World Series With Game 4 Win (4 To 3)!!! | |
2011 | Saying Just Enough |
2010 | Giants Win Game 2 Shutout of Rangers – 9 to 0!!! |