Hey guys. I don't post here as often as I would like to but I frequent this site a lot just to read comments. Some of you have seen my custom Peanuts bobblehead projects that I've posted on my blog.

Recently, the A's are doing a Social Media Fan of the Month for their team magazine/gameday program. I was interviewed a while back but I hadn't seen what the final result would look like.

At today's game, I saw that the new issue was out and was pretty glad they included my little mention about AN.

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My name is Sam and some of you might know me from my posting over at Niners Nation. I also am a beat writer that covers the 49ers at Examiner.com.

Last night I had a press pass for Friday's game against the Clippers. With my press pass, I was able to go into the locker room after the game and talk with Jeremy Lin about his thoughts on his NBA debut and Asian Heritage Night. Since I only cover the 49ers, I have no outlet to post my story about this, so I decided that maybe this would be pretty cool.

So here's my story on Lin with quotes from the locker room after the game. Thanks for reading.

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On Monday, the NFL announced that 96 minority coaches were part of this summer's NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. The program was started by former 49ers head coach Bill Walsh.

Walsh started the program in 1987 in hopes to help minority college coaches gain exposure to the NFL training camp environment and potentially find permanent jobs in the league. The 49ers welcomed the first group of minority coaches in the internship's inception and since then has grown into a successful program in the league.

Current head coaches Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati, Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh, Lovie Smith of Chicago and Raheem Morris of Tampa Bay came through the internship program.

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Head coach Mike Singletary spoke with the media on Monday and had a few updates on players on the 49ers roster and their status for the upcoming week.

TE Vernon Davis (knee): could return this week, but there is no guarantee.
WR Michael Crabtree (neck): status to return this week is uncertain.
LB Ahmad Brooks (lacerated kidney): status for this week is still uncertain. Singletary has said that he doesn’t expect Brooks to miss any of the regular season.
WR Kyle Williams (toe): not expected to practice this week.

The only concern that has been voiced over the past few weeks is that the entire offense hasn’t gotten a chance to play all together during the preseason. QB Alex Smith will have to hope that both Davis and Crabtree would be able to at least get some time on the field together before the season opener.

The San Francisco 49ers have announced that nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin has signed his one-year, $7.003 million franchise tag contract. Franklin will not play in tonight’s game but will be in attendance fielding questions from media.

Franklin hoped to sign a long-term contract but it will have to wait until after the season. He might play in the team’s last preseason game on Thursday against the Chargers.

Add this to the list of interesting lists that are very interesting. SI.com recently released a list of the top players by jersey numbers. Starting from 00-99, the list consists of six 49ers and five Raiders.

Representing the Raiders are:

Jim Otto (No. 00) 
Fred Biletnikoff (No. 25)
Todd Christensen (No. 46)
Tim Brown (No. 81)
Ted Hendricks (No. 83)

Representing the 49ers are:

Joe Montana (No. 16)
Ronnie Lott (No. 42)
Jerry Rice (No. 80)
Dwight Clark (No. 87)
Charles Haley (No. 94)
Julian Peterson (No. 98)

Current 49ers head coach Mike Singletary also made the list at No. 50 as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

The entire list can be viewed right here: 00-49, 50-99.

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The Most Interesting Man in the World has captured the attention of many beer drinkers and marketing outlets over the past year. Inspired by this, Pro Football Weekly has decided to put together a list of the Top 10 most interesting men in the NFL.

Coming in at No. 3 is 49ers head coach Mike Singletary. 

3. Head coach Mike Singletary / 49ers

Talk about intrigue. 

On the one hand, the Niners have become worthy of newfound respect, establishing themselves as the favorites in the NFC West after years of turning mediocre football into an art form.

On the other hand, weird occurrences have been the order of the day this offseason in Niners Nation, beginning with the mysterious departure of GM Scot McCloughan. RB Glen Coffee's sudden decision to trade in his shoulder pads for a higher calling created the most recent bizarre Niners buzz.

Is there just something in the Bay Area air that guarantees the Niners will somehow find a way to shoot themselves in the foot? Or will the straight-shooting, God-fearing Hall of Famer Singletary continue proving his detractors wrong and lead the Niners to pro football's promised land, no matter how many pratfalls stand in the way?

I can't wait to find out.

Singletary is one of the most talked about head coaches in the NFL and his attitude has conjured up a major interest throughout the country. His tough attitude captured the attention of the NFL in 2008 when he sent tight end Vernon Davis to the locker room after a personal foul penalty. 

To no one's surprise, Raiders owner Al Davis also made the list at No. 9.

Follow the jump for the breakdown of Davis' placement on the list. 

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I subscribe to the Warriors newsletter and this morning I received an e-mail regarding the team's mini-plans. They had some cool packages in which I could see the Heat, the Lakers or pretty much any top team in the East. And some key matchups from some teams in the West. The e-mail they sent me featured an image of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis sporting the new uniforms.

It looked fine until I noticed something and then my  mind went into confusion.

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The folks over at Golden State of Mind have images of Ekpe Udoh and Jeremy Lin from the rookie photoshoot in the Dubs’ new gear.

I’ve already made my thoughts on my displeasure on some of the things on the uniform already. The font and the logo in the front just doesn’t look good at all.

But I will give the team props for the side panels. The white racing stripe piping down the jersey to the shorts looks bad. However, somehow it works really nice on the shorts, forming an image of the bridge tower.

Even though the team has yet to officially unveil the uniforms, these first looks at the full set shows us that it isn’t as bad as it seems… at least to me now.

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Jay Glazer is reporting that Brett Favre is on his way back to the Vikings.

This comes to no surprise as the annual Brett Favre saga is now a common thing. However, this does add a little interest to the 49ers’ preseason game against the Vikings this Sunday at Candlestick Park.

In what was already scheduled as a nationally televised game this Sunday, now it could be infested with media looking for Favre. Even though a preseason game is really meaningless, this game will have a major atmosphere.

The last time the 49ers faced against Favre and the Vikings, it didn’t end well. Now if Favre is truly coming back, the 49ers will once again be a victim of the Favre-circus that follows him.

I want to say that I am surprised that all this is unfolding. But I’m not. Sadly, the 49ers will be stuck in the middle of it all.

Matt Barrows got a chance to talk with the recently retired Glen Coffee on his decision to leave the 49ers.

The first question I asked him was why, why step away from such a lucrative profession?
Coffee: “It was a struggle for a long time. Actually when I look back I feel I never should have entered the draft in the first place. Football was no longer my dream. I found Christ in college. It changed my views on everything. But I still was a football player because it was expected of me, it was something I did all my life. I was basically wasting the (49ers’) time.”

Read the entire transcript here.

This afternoon, the Giants will be giving out a Bruce Bochy bobblehead to the first 20,000 fans in attendance.

This is not the first time that the Giants have done a bobblehead promotion of their manager. If memory serves me right, they had one for Felipe Alou when he was on the team.

I’ve always found the idea of having a bobblehead for the manager a very unique idea. Most times it’s either a player or the mascot, but the Giants are very unique in the situation.

In past years, the Giants have given away bobbleheads of people that have no association with the team. They’ve had one for Carlos Santana, Charlie Brown and this year, Lucy Van Pelt and Jerry Garcia.

It’s a very interesting concept that the Giants would have such promotion. Then again, it’s a great marketing strategy if people want the bobbleheads.

I just find it surprising that the Giants would have so many bobbleheads this year. Well, if people want it, then I suppose it’s a good idea.

In fact, I think I might be able to get an extra ticket for today’s game. Maybe I’ll get me a Bruce Bochy too!

Running back Glen Coffee has decided to call it quits. The running back had missed the last two team practices with no explanation.

On Friday morning, it was announced that Coffee has decided to move on from the game of football. He notified head coach Mike Singletary in the morning.

Right now, the reasons for this move have yet to be made available. Running back Glen Coffee looks to be the backup to Frank Gore now for this Sunday’s game in Indianapolis.

With Kentwan Balmer now on the left squad, the 49ers have made a move to fill in the open spot. The team signed rookie free agent Will Tukuafu to a two-year deal.

From the official press release:

The San Francisco 49ers today announced that they have signed DT Will Tukuafu to a two-year contract.

Tukuafu (6-4, 272) joins the 49ers as a rookie free agent from the University of Oregon. He was originally signed earlier this year by the Seattle Seahawks before being released on June 22. Tukuafu totaled 131 tackles, 14.5 sacks, five fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles over the final three years of his collegiate career for the Ducks. He attended Scottsdale Community College prior to transferring to Oregon. A native of Salt Lake City, UT, Tukuafu earned the team’s Gonyea Award (most inspirational player) and Schaffeld Award (outstanding defensive lineman), as a senior.

Tukuafu will wear jersey #63.

Defensive end Kentwan Balmer has been AWOL.

Balmer had missed the past few practices with what was reported as “personal family issues," but head coach Mike Singletary requested that Balmer return to practice on Wednesday. Balmer was not present at team headquarters, and now it looks to be something more than just family issues.

Dan Brown of the Mercury News reports Balmer said he would talk with Singletary on Wednesday. However, no such meeting ever occurred.

Balmer said he plans to return to the 49ers.

"People are making a big deal about of nothing,’’ Balmer said. "I feel like the 49ers could do a better job of saying that, but it’s not my place to say.’’

Let’s see how this all turns out.

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LB Scott McKillop was waived/injured on Wednesday. McKillop tore his patellar tendon and ACL last week and has to clear a 24-hour waiver period to return to the 49ers and be placed on injured reserve.

If another team claims McKillop, the 49ers will lose their top special teams tackler from last season.

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Tonight I will be on a flight to Canton to watch Jerry Rice get inducted to the Hall of Fame. Even though the weekend should all be about the greatest receiver of all time, the dominating storyline this weekend surrounded Brett Favre.

Rice asked about his thoughts on the quarterback's situation on whether or not he would return.

Jump to watch the video.

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According to the MRI, McKillop tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and patellar tendon in his left knee during yesterday’s practice. The second-year linebacker out of Pittsburgh landed awkwardly after jumping for a ball. He was carted off the field.

McKillop was third on the depth chart at inside linebacker behind Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes. McKillop looked to be the eventual starter next season if Spikes does not return to the team.

Veteran Matt Wilhelm and rookie NaVorro Bowman look to be the two candidates to take the vacated spot.

On Wednesday, Scott McKillop landed awkwardly after jumping for a ball and had to be taken off the field by a cart. The early diagnosis is left knee sprain.

McKillop joins a list of players that were not participating in the afternoon practice due to injury.

The list of injured 49ers: Chilo Rachal (dehydration), guard David Baas (concussion), center Eric Heitmann (stinger), tackle Chris Patrick (shoulder sprain) and tight end Walker (concussion).

Guard Chilo Rachal collapsed from dehydration during the afternoon practice on Tuesday. Rachal was down for about seven minutes before being carted off. He never lost consciousness and his status for Wednesday has yet to be determined.

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Just got back from the 49ers team headquarters and as of this post, nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin has not reported.

Franklin has been trying to get a long-term deal done with the 49ers. Since the deadline has passed, Franklin has yet to sign the one-year franchise tag tender with the team.

Here’s a quick recap of today’s hapennings.

49ers hit the field tomorrow afternoon and will be in pads on Monday.