SB Nation User Blog: howtheyscored

RIP Chris Henry

howtheyscored — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:24:56 -0000

Rest in peace, Chris Henry.

I would like to observe a moment of silence for Chris Henry, who died this morning after suffering injuries from a fall yesterday. Henry was reportedly in a domestic dispute with his fiancé when he fell out of the bed of a moving pickup truck that she was driving. This is very sad.

A look of Henry's career stats:

Career: 5 Years; Rec: 119; Yards: 1,826; Avg: 15.3; TD: 21

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail??blogid=95&entry_id=53717

Fooch's Note: The 49ers issued a quick note with some comments from former Bengals' teammates of Henry. I thought I'd leave this on the front page for a little bit (it remains as a FanPost as well).

49ers DT Justin Smith on former teammate Chris Henry's passing

December 17, 2009

"It's sad. He was a talented guy. When I played with him he was a good guy, quiet in the locker room. He kept to himself for the most part. From everything that it sounded like, he was getting back on track and this happens. My feelings go out to him and his family."

49ers LB Ahmad Brooks on former teammate Chris Henry's passing

December 17, 2009

"I was sad to hear. You hate to see somebody go. He was a good guy. We've all made bad decisions throughout our life, but he grew from it, he learned from it and he had a family, so I'm definitely sad to hear that happen. I knew him very well. I'm just sad to hear that and I'll pray for him, I'll pray for everybody."

Week 14 Prediction Games: The Prediction Results and the Frog

howtheyscored — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:52:35 -0000

There's something about watching the 49ers look like a real football team that is hard to put into words. I mean, it's been nearly a decade. Steve Young has been out of football for 10 years. During that time, we've only had three winning seasons. And those don't even count because I said so.

Sure, I've watched plenty of other teams look like they belonged in the league. Between 1991 and 2004, the Bengals never had a winning season. THAT team has been to the playoffs since the last time the 49ers were any good.

The Houston Texans came into the league in 2002. They've never been any good. They have always sucked. Since they came into the league, they've won 46 regular season games. The 49ers have won 47 during that same period.

The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the worst teams in the entire league. They've won 9 games total in the last three years. Even they made the playoffs only four years ago. Their starting quarterback that season was Damon Huard. Let me give you a second to let that sink in. Damon Huard. Playoffs. Kansas City Chiefs. 2006. Damon Huard.

The Arizona Cardinals as a franchise have been to the playoffs twice since a strike shortened 1982 season. During that period - a period of 17 seasons - they've had four winning years. And one of those years they only won eight games. Their head coach was Joe Bugel for four years. That franchise was so inept that Joe Bugel lasted FOUR YEARS as their head coach. And they've been to the Super Bowl since the last time the 49ers were any good.

So when I look at the 49ers right now, and I see a team that plays like a competent football team, and I see them dominate the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football in front of the entire nation... well, I have a hard time putting that into words. So instead of putting that into words, I'll just give you the prediction scores.

Arizona @ 49ers:

illini49er, bonbrillio, sfgfan, howtheyscored (16)
grantmp (20)
cassusriff (22)
Dub4lif3, J2daZ, snowweasel30, whobob (24)
YoungWillis, Ten-Man, etb2, Fooch (28)

Philadelphia @ New York Giants:

Iwantwinners (28)
cassusriff, LASVEGASNINER, beecharmer (34)
YoungWillis, bonbrillio, PHUT!, Drew K, sundaysfinest, etb2, urnext, jtoj, whobob, bignerd (36)
bayboy, wjackalope (38)
illini49er, mountaindew77, ro128487, groug, sfgfan, howtheyscored, jpgarfunkle, leaping_larry, rlott#42 (42)

Green Bay @ Chicago:

illini49er, bonbrillio (2)
sundaysfinest, mpotter14, LASVEGASNINER, leaping_larry, beecharmer (6)
J2daZ, gbears16 (8)
cassusriff, ro128487, bayboy (12)
Drew K, 5-0, wjackalope (14)

Cincinnati @ Minnesota:

ro128487 (12)
ZeroIndulgence, bonbrillio, DuikeBuike, mountaindew77, sfgfan, Iwantwinners, Fooch (14)
YoungWillis (18)
Ten-Man, bayboy, leaping_larry, Ninerfromacrossthepond, bignerd (20)
etb2, urnext, beecharmer (22)

Miami @ Jacksonville:

YoungWillis (4)
49erLou, illini49er (6)
JoeO (8)
danknerd49 (10)
ro128487, mpotter14 (14)

San Diego @ Dallas:

PHUT! (8)
ro128487 (12)
gbears16, leaping_larry, beecharmer (14)
illini49er, bayboy, sfgfan, LASVEGASNINER (16)
urnext (20)

And that makes our week 14 leaderboard look like this:

1.	ro128487	99
2.	groug	91
3.	gbears16	86
4.	Ninerfromacrossthepond	84
5.	howtheyscored	83
5.	LASVEGASNINER	83
7.	PHUT!	82
8.	bonbrillio	80
9.	cassusriff	79
9.	illini49er	79
11.	YoungWillis	78
12.	nocal81	76
12.	leaping_larry	76
14.	DuikeBuike	74
15.	sfgfan	73
16.	JoeO	71
17.	jpgarfunkle	70
17.	wjackalope	70
17.	etb2	70
20.	bignerd	69
20.	urnext	69
22.	grantmp	66
23.	whobob	65
23.	ZeroIndulgence	65
25.	rlott#42	64
26.	Fooch	63
26.	danknerd49	63
28.	beecharmer	62
29.	Dub4lif3	60
30.	CB30	58
30.	Ten-Man	58
30.	mpotter14	58
30.	49erLou	58
34.	shlecko	56
35.	Mike Hawk	55
35.	5-0	55
37.	SpurredOn	54
37.	jtoj	54
37.	Drew K	54
37.	bayboy	54
41.	these3words	51
41.	J2daZ	51
41.	sundaysfinest	51
44.	nacho49	44
45.	foosball4949	41
45.	MontanaPass	41
47.	hudd07	37
48.	youngbuckeroo	35
48.	BEETLE49715	35
48.	snowweasel30	35
51.	renke81	32
51.	nini9er	32
53.	ProfessorBigelow	30
54.	Joshpreet	28
55.	Persiflage	26
56.	remembertheCATCH	25
56.	Sloan	25
58.	ar4gsw	24
58.	Iwantwinners	24
60.	albertoleecho	23
61.	49RFAN	22
61.	RBoogy29	22
63.	shulkdog	21
64.	Widowwolf	20
65.	mikemccwolf	19
66.	Kaizre	18
66.	49ersfan29405	18
68.	fortyniners	17
69.	shovel-25	15
69.	Number22Drew	15
71.	Florida Danny	14
71.	Dubs fan in Boston	14
73.	Ninjames	13
73.	corvette49rdave	13
75.	Riding The F Train	12
76.	proudcanadian99	10
76.	Ceradecke	10
76.	49ERFAN	10
79.	Tony C	9
79.	ronniemac03	9
79.	Mr. Nice Guy	9
82.	D-9er	8
82.	Smithisstilltheanswer	8
82.	TheTealDeal	8
85.	supraman	6
85.	lincypoo i wuv u	6
85.	FaStRmAn	6
85.	demise87	6
85.	crevis1987	6
85.	simiski	6
91.	49ersAllTheWay	5
91.	mountaindew77	5
93.	Fifty NINERS	4
94.	StevenC	3
94.	RilezG	3
94.	ManBearPig21	3
94.	LADubbz45	3
94.	JerseyNinerFan	3
94.	De Stijl	3
94.	CW30	3
101.	Tricky-Nicky	2
101.	connie mack	2
101.	Brendan Scolari	2
101.	dez4o8	2
101.	Sol Dog	2
106.	UnleashTheGore	1
106.	nostocksjustbonds	1
106.	dartdart	1
106.	alwaysforgiven821	1

So there's that.

First place has officially been usurped. Our man ro128487 had a very fine week to not just take back first place, but to pull away from the rest of us jerks. Currently, he stands one point away from making a century, and I'd be very surprised if we had to wait more than one more week for that line to be crossed.

Another very good week goes to illini49er, who scored a clean 17 points to jump 12 spots. Last week, a playoff spot was a distant goal. This coming week, he'll be defending his seed (I could have phrased that better) against the likes of past playoff contenders like wjackalope and sfgfan.

But that wasn't the only 17 point week we had today - bonbrillio also made the jump, and deserves all of same accolades showered on illini49er. It just goes to show you how quickly fortunes can change if you just get a good week.

Remember, there were no perfect predictions this week. These guys did it all by the skin of their teeth. That's called enamel.

I want to also congratulate cassusriff, LASVEGASNINER, YoungWillis, whobob, sundaysfinest, beecharmer, and bayboy. I'm sure there are other people who deserve mention, but I'm equally sure that those people don't include me (even though I'm still in fifth somehow!), wjackalope, groug, or Fooch. I guess it's not really fair that I mentioned the four of us and not you people, but if you complain about it I'll mention you next time.

And check your scores! Or else I'll come for you.

Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his fellow residents managing to get themselves murdered. Now somebody has put a bullet in the brain of the occupant of 208, a yid who was calling himself Emanuel Lasker.

49ers-Cardinals Game Thread #2.5

howtheyscored — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:11:23 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

lolwut?

Browse more photos »

vs.

This is the third thread for tonight's 49ers-Cardinals game. This is the fourth-quarter edition. I wouldn't mind getting some insurance points here. How about you?

Especially since the Cardinals just scored.

(YES! BLOCK EXTRA POINT! TAKE THAT, ONE POSSESSION GAME!)

Moran Norris: Good Fundamentals?

howtheyscored — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:05:40 -0000

As was printed in the laudable San Francisco Chronicle (that's how you conjugate the verb "to laugh," right?), Moran Norris was given an award for his strong fundamentals. I'll excerpt it here, because paraphrasing would really do no justice.

Fullback Moran Norris was named to the initial "All-Fundamentals" team, a joint project by the NFL Players Association and USA Football, governing body for youth and amateur football. Norris and 25 others were named to the team for being fundamentally sound players and for their service to their communities.

Link.

It's unclear exactly what this is rewarding. I mean, fundamentals are pretty intangible when you think about it. But I don't think they're too far off. Moran Norris is a hard worker. He really tucks his shirt in the right way. Come game time, he's always at the stadium. His shoes are never on the wrong feet. When he's told to go play fullback, he lines up on the field just like he's a real fullback.

The page doesn't list the other 25 players who made the team, and so I got to thinking who else could have made it. Starting quarterback Jay Cutler. Starting tailback Steve Slaton! I heard that Kwame Harris was nominated to the team but was disqualified for being unemployed.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to come up with a community list of players who you would elect to this so-called "all fundamentals" team. Who, like Moran Norris, just plays the game the way it's "supposed" to be played? Really, go nuts.

Please be assured that I am making this FanPost in jest, and that while I do not specifically know what projects Moran Norris is involved in to better his community, I do not in any way want to belittle those efforts or suggest that they are unworthy or uncommendable. Community service is an excellent thing to be rewarded for, and I'm proud to say that we have players like Moran Norris on our team who are committed to helping the community, even if it would also be nice to have players on our team who are equally committed to not missing blocks.

Poll

Your reaction to hearing that Moran Norris is being rewarded for his "fundamentals"?

Adrian Peterson Pulled Over for Driving 109

howtheyscored — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:12:45 -0000

Adrian Peterson Pulled Over for Driving 109

Not really much of a story, but given Tim's 75 mph speeding ticket, the fact that Barry Zito wears number 75, the fact that Barry Zito once threw 109 pitches, and now Adrian Peterson speeding at 109 mph... well, I'm starting to think this is all some sort of weird association game conspiracy.

Week 12 Prediction Games: The Apocalyptic Results

howtheyscored — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:50:32 -0000

Okay, I'm going to try to do this quickly. I don't like depriving you, but if I take too long getting this up, then I won't be able to watch Speed Racer tonight. And if I don't watch Speed Racer tonight, I might not ever watch it. And if I don't ever watch it, I'll never know what the deal is with Racer X. Who is that guy??? Why do they have a monkey??? Why in the crap does the car need to jump??? Inquiring mind needs to know!

I'm also going to take a tablet of acid and enjoy all the colors. Acid does come in tablet form, right? I don't know. I don't really have any acid. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did. I don't know anything about drugs. Excuse me while I go inject myself with some marijuana.

But I plan on simulating the acid experience by watching Speed Racer.

So that's that.

New York Giants @ Denver / Carolina @ New York Jets:

YoungWillis (8)
these3words (12)
rlott#42, Fooch, Mike Hawk (14)
jtoj (18)
sundaysfinest, groug (20)

Jacksonville @ 49ers:

bayboy (20)
whobob, bonbrillio, rlott#42 (22)
JoeO, ro128487, cassusriff, sfgfan, mpotter14, LASVEGASNINER, CB30, howtheyscored, etb2, Fooch, Mike Hawk (28)
danknerd49, SpurredOn (30)
ZeroIndulgence, sundaysfinest, Dub4lif3, Ten-Man, YoungWillis, nocal81, jtoj, jpgarfunkle, Fifty NINERS, these3words, bignerd (34)

New England @ New Orleans:

gbears16 (8)
danknerd49, Mike Hawk (14)
ZeroIndulgence, whobob, TheTealDeal, Drew K, urnext, wjackalope, these3words, leaping_larry (20)
49erLou, hudd07, beecharmer (22)
J2daZ, alwaysforgiven821, rlott#42, howtheyscored, Fooch, grantmp, SpurredOn (28)

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore:

whobob (0) - A perfect prediction!
Dub4lif3, bayboy, hudd07, wjackalope, leaping_larry (2)
49erLou, LASVEGASNINER, CB30, Ninerfromacrossthepond, these3words (6)
ZeroIndulgence, TheTealDeal, ro128487, YoungWillis, sfgfan, bonbrillio, mpotter14, gbears16, rlott#42, etb2, beecharmer, Fooch, bignerd (8)
Ten-Man (12)

Indianapolis @ Houston:

gbears16 (0) - Another perfect!
nocal81 (2)
Ten-Man, these3words (6)
ro128487, CB30, howtheyscored (8)
YoungWillis (10)

Arizona @ Tennessee:

J2daZ (2)
Iwantwinners (6)
danknerd49, whobob, TheTealDeal, cassusriff, Ten-Man, LASVEGASNINER, beecharmer, Ninerfromacrossthepond, Fifty NINERS (8)
wjackalope, rlott#42, leaping_larry (12)
PHUT!, JoeO, ro128487, bayboy, Dubs fan in Boston, nocal81, howtheyscored, etb2, Mike Hawk (14)

And that makes our week 12 leaderboard looks like:

1.	ro128487	82
2.	groug	80
3.	gbears16	78
4.	howtheyscored	73
5.	PHUT!	71
6.	nocal81	68
6.	cassusriff	68
6.	Ninerfromacrossthepond	68
9.	JoeO	65
9.	wjackalope	65
11.	jpgarfunkle	64
12.	LASVEGASNINER	63
13.	YoungWillis	62
14.	leaping_larry	60
15.	bignerd	59
15.	etb2	59
17.	bonbrillio	58
17.	CB30	58
19.	grantmp	57
19.	urnext	57
19.	ZeroIndulgence	57
22.	DuikeBuike	56
22.	shlecko	56
22.	danknerd49	56
25.	illini49er	55
25.	sfgfan	55
25.	whobob	55
25.	Mike Hawk	55
29.	49erLou	54
30.	rlott#42	53
31.	5-0	52
31.	Dub4lif3	52
33.	these3words	50
34.	Ten-Man	49
34.	Fooch	49
36.	SpurredOn	47
37.	Drew K	45
38.	nacho49	44
38.	jtoj	44
38.	mpotter14	44
38.	J2daZ	44
42.	bayboy	43
42.	beecharmer	43
44.	MontanaPass	41
45.	sundaysfinest	39
46.	foosball4949	38
47.	hudd07	37
48.	youngbuckeroo	35
48.	BEETLE49715	35
50.	renke81	32
50.	nini9er	32
52.	ProfessorBigelow	30
52.	snowweasel30	30
54.	Joshpreet	28
55.	Persiflage	26
56.	remembertheCATCH	25
56.	Sloan	25
58.	ar4gsw	24
59.	albertoleecho	23
60.	49RFAN	22
60.	RBoogy29	22
62.	shulkdog	21
63.	Widowwolf	20
64.	mikemccwolf	19
65.	Kaizre	18
65.	49ersfan29405	18
67.	shovel-25	15
67.	Number22Drew	15
67.	fortyniners	15
70.	Florida Danny	14
70.	Dubs fan in Boston	14
70.	Iwantwinners	14
73.	Ninjames	13
73.	corvette49rdave	13
75.	Riding The F Train	12
76.	proudcanadian99	10
76.	Ceradecke	10
76.	49ERFAN	10
79.	Tony C	9
79.	ronniemac03	9
79.	Mr. Nice Guy	9
82.	Smithisstilltheanswer	8
82.	TheTealDeal	8
84.	supraman	6
84.	lincypoo i wuv u	6
84.	FaStRmAn	6
84.	demise87	6
84.	crevis1987	6
84.	simiski	6
90.	49ersAllTheWay	5
91.	Fifty NINERS	4
92.	StevenC	3
92.	RilezG	3
92.	ManBearPig21	3
92.	LADubbz45	3
92.	JerseyNinerFan	3
92.	De Stijl	3
92.	CW30	3
99.	Tricky-Nicky	2
99.	connie mack	2
99.	Brendan Scolari	2
99.	dez4o8	2
99.	Sol Dog	2
104.	UnleashTheGore	1
104.	nostocksjustbonds	1
104.	dartdart	1
104.	alwaysforgiven821	1

Hoo-boy! Obviously, whobob had a ridiculous week, making a perfect prediction and climbing way the heck up the ladder. Then, our other perfect prediction this week was gbears16 - putting together another very fine week and moving into third place!

There was a shift at the top, so congratulations to ro128487 for taking back control of first place. How long will it last? Will groug make his way back up? Will it be me? If I were a betting man, I'd lay down a good bet on me. Good thing I'm not a betting man.

Our friend wjackalope had a nice week, and climbed some. YoungWillis, these3words, ZeroIndulgence, and Mike Hawk all had nice weeks.

I thought it would be fun to mention that we actually got two Jaguars fans on the boards this week, and one of them did pretty darn well! TheTealDeal and alwaysforgiven821 both came visiting for this week's game, and dropped some decent predictions on our faces. But I'll gladly give them some points after their team lost so badly to ours.

That's all this time. Sorry if I missed you. Check your scores. Yada yada.

A merry little surge of electricity piped by the automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard. Surprised - it always surprised him to find himself awake without prior notice - he rose from the bed, stood up in his multicolored pajamas, and stretched. Now, in her bed, his wife Iran opened her gray, unmerry eyes, blinked, then groaned and shut her eyes again.

MUPPETSEMIAN RHAPSODY

howtheyscored — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:13:49 -0000

MUPPETSEMIAN RHAPSODY

Week 11 Prediction Games: The Results That Go to 11

howtheyscored — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:45:56 -0000

Norm Van Brocklin. Drew Bledsoe. Phil Simms. Joe Kapp. Alex Smith.

I'm trying to run with this whole 11 thing. It's week 11. Alex Smith wears number 11. My Spinal Tap Fan Meter Rating sits at 11. Of course, that's on a scale of 1-16, so take it for what it's worth.

No, there's really nothing particularly good about 11. Not with quarterbacks anyway. Well, unless you have the soft and fuzzies for Norm Van Brocklin. But come on, the dude didn't even have a QB rating in the 80s. Hall of Fame LOSER, am I right?!

Yeah, so... did you know that 11 is the atomic number for sodium? That's something. Na keeps me alive.

Ummm... The Canadian one-dollar coin has 11 sides. And that helps keep the Loony strong. Canada is weird.

11 is the first of the master numbers in numerology. I don't know what the hell that means. But it sounds important.

Holy crap... 11 is a terrible number. It sucks. Sorry, Alex Smith. I guess your fate really is sealed.

49ers @ Green Bay:

gbears16 (6)
mpotter14, urnext (8)
ZeroIndulgence, wjackalope, Ninerfromacrossthepond (14)
YoungWillis (16)
leaping_larry (18)

Tennessee @ Houston:

nocal81, groug (6)
ro128487, rlott#42 (8)
49erLou (10)
illini49er, Sol Dog, whobob, CB30, leaping_larry, Ninerfromacrossthepond (14)
Drew K, hudd07, dartdart (16)

Philadelphia @ Chicago:

howtheyscored, leaping_larry, bignerd (2)
wjackalope (4)
Drew K, hudd07, ro128487, sundaysfinest, gbears16, urnext, beecharmer, 5-0 (6)
Dub4lif3, shlecko, groug, snowweasel30, jtoj (8)
LASVEGASNINER (12)

Atlanta @ New York Giants:

etb2 (2)
49erLou, urnext (8)
LASVEGASNINER (12)
YoungWillis, cassusriff, Mike Hawk (14)
mpotter14 (16)

Indianapolis @ Baltimore:

whobob (2)
PHUT! (4)
YoungWillis (6)
bronbrillio, JoeO (12)
sfgfan, jpgarfunkle, leaping_larry, Mike Hawk, beecharmer, jtoj (14)

San Diego @ Denver:

rlott#42 (6)
groug (10)
howtheyscored (12)
YoungWillis, ZeroIndulgence (14)
these3words, jpgarfunkle (16)

And that makes our week 11 leaderboard look like this:

1.	groug	79
2.	ro128487	74
3.	PHUT!	70
4.	howtheyscored	66
5.	jpgarfunkle	63
6.	Ninerfromacrossthepond	62
6.	nocal81	62
8.	cassusriff	62
9.	gbears16	61
9.	JoeO	61
11.	DuikeBuike	56
11.	grantmp	56
11.	shlecko	56
11.	wjackalope	56
11.	bignerd	56
16.	illini49er	55
17.	LASVEGASNINER	54
17.	urnext	54
19.	etb2	53
19.	YoungWillis	53
21.	5-0	52
21.	bonbrillio	52
23.	leaping_larry	51
23.	ZeroIndulgence	51
25.	CB30	50
25.	sfgfan	50
27.	49erLou	49
28.	danknerd49	47
28.	Dub4lif3	47
30.	nacho49	44
30.	SpurredOn	44
30.	Mike Hawk	44
33.	Drew K	42
34.	Ten-Man	41
34.	MontanaPass	41
34.	jtoj	41
34.	rlott#42	41
38.	Fooch	40
39.	mpotter14	39
40.	J2daZ	38
40.	foosball4949	38
42.	sundaysfinest	37
43.	beecharmer	36
43.	these3words	36
45.	youngbuckeroo	35
45.	BEETLE49715	35
45.	whobob	35
48.	bayboy	33
49.	renke81	32
49.	nini9er	32
51.	hudd07	31
52.	ProfessorBigelow	30
52.	snowweasel30	30
54.	Joshpreet	28
55.	Persiflage	26
56.	remembertheCATCH	25
56.	Sloan	25
58.	ar4gsw	24
59.	albertoleecho	23
60.	49RFAN	22
60.	RBoogy29	22
62.	shulkdog	21
63.	Widowwolf	20
64.	mikemccwolf	19
65.	Kaizre	18
65.	49ersfan29405	18
67.	shovel-25	15
67.	Number22Drew	15
67.	fortyniners	15
70.	Florida Danny	14
71.	Ninjames	13
71.	corvette49rdave	13
71.	Dubs fan in Boston	13
74.	Riding The F Train	12
75.	proudcanadian99	10
75.	Iwantwinners	10
75.	Ceradecke	10
75.	49ERFAN	10
79.	Tony C	9
79.	ronniemac03	9
79.	Mr. Nice Guy	9
82.	Smithisstilltheanswer	8
83.	supraman	6
83.	lincypoo i wuv u	6
83.	FaStRmAn	6
83.	demise87	6
83.	crevis1987	6
83.	simiski	6
89.	49ersAllTheWay	5
90.	StevenC	3
90.	RilezG	3
90.	ManBearPig21	3
90.	LADubbz45	3
90.	JerseyNinerFan	3
90.	De Stijl	3
90.	CW30	3
97.	Tricky-Nicky	2
97.	connie mack	2
97.	Brendan Scolari	2
97.	dez4o8	2
97.	Sol Dog	2
102.	UnleashTheGore	1
102.	nostocksjustbonds	1
102.	dartdart	1

DuikeBuike, grantmp, shlecko, wjackalope, and bignerd are all tied for eleventh right now. I'd say good job to you all, but based on my research I'm pretty sure that means you suck. Sorry. That's not me talking. That's numerology talking. And that's almost science.

The top looks like it's shaping up, as groug has begun to put a little bit of distance on the crowd. PHUT! and ro128487 are holding strong at the top as well, but they're all basically just hoping to hold off the handsome stranger who popped into fourth place this week. He's so handsome. And what a beard!

Let's see: each of those top four really had either a good week, or a good enough week. Then Ninerfromacrossthepond continues his onslaught. There are still six full weeks to play (almost half a season, to help put it in context), and he's been climbing these rankings like gangbusters. Man, what a nonsense word that is.

Another good week goes to gbears16, who I've had my eyes on for a while now. I've noticed this player's consistency, and I'm watching my back, that's for sure.

Then wjackalope did fairly well to climb into playoff contention. I know it's killing him that he's losing to me and groug, and while that does kind of suck for him, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

More kudos to leaping_larry, urnext, and rlott#42. Nice work!

If you're wondering about Fooch, he's right there at 38, straddling the line between possible contention and surefire futility. What can I say, he's a straddler.

And yes, please check your scores. The farther I get away from the production line, the less I function like an actual robot. You see, a robot does. You need a rock crushed? It does that. I used to do that. Back when I just came off the production line. Now I'm too lazy. You crush your own rock. Jerk.

In which Benny Profane, a schlemihl and human yo-yo, gets to an apocheir: Christmas Eve, 1955, Benny Profane, wearing black levis, suede jacket, sneakers and big cowboy hat, happened to pass through Norfolk, Virginia. Given to sentimental impulses, he thought he'd look in on the Sailor's Grave, his old tin can's tavern on East Main Street. He got there by way of the Arcade, at the East Main end of which sat an old street singer with a guitar and an empty Sterno can for donations. Out in the street a chief yeoman was trying to urinate in the gas tank of a '54 Packard Patrician and five or six seamen apprentice were standing around giving encouragement.

Lincecum Arbitration Results Prediction Thread!

howtheyscored — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:40:29 -0000

I know that we're still a ways off from this whole thing, but I thought it would be entertaining to see what everybody is expecting to see happen when the Tim Lincecum show premieres before an arbitration judge near you (unless you're far away, or unless you're assuming that an agreement is reached on an extension). Since now we have what seems to be all of the pertinent information regarding Tim Lincecum... hey, why not?

Arbitration Variables:

Pro-Money: Two time Cy Young Award winner
Pro-Money: He's better than you
Pro-Money: He has a bazillion strikeouts
Pro-Money: He has the Bengie Molina "Big-Money" seal of approval
Pro-Money: He's better than everyone you know... by, like, a lot

Anti-Money: He's opposing your oppressive social regime, lashing out against the system, and fighting the machine; he isn't holding himself to your so-called "social norms" or "state laws;" he believes in a new world, and he's envisioning it right now, as we speak, in vivid, moving color like, man... the colors are all moving... wait, is that LSD? This is what I get for never doing drugs.
Anti-Money: You're jealous about how much better than you he is

Prediction:

I predict he'll make a zillion dollars in arbitration, and I'll be glad when he does. I expect you'll make serious predictions, though. I also expect you never would have expected the same out of me.

So, you know, I held up my end. Now it's your turn.

Poll

Tim Lincecum will....

Agree to an extension, avoiding arb.

63 votes

Win $1 - $5 million in arbitration

2 votes

Win $6 - $10 million in arbitration

79 votes

Win $11 - $15 million in arbitration

165 votes

Win $16 - $20 million in arbitration

34 votes

Win even more than that in arbitration.

10 votes

353 votes | Poll has closed

Remembering the Genius Part 5: An Interview About Bill Walsh

howtheyscored — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:55:11 -0000

And at long last we arrive at the final installment of our Remembering the Genius series here on NinersNation. If you're just finding out about this segment now, Remembering the Genius is a temporary segment that we usually run on Wednesdays, but are getting up on Thursday this week largely due to my own carelessness. Arne Christensen, who posts here as arnec, interviewed David Harris about Bill Walsh, and we're running the interview here, while it lasts, which as it turns out is until today. You can read the earlier parts here.

And as before, I think it's important that you have this information and these links available every week:

Arne Christensen is the author of several e-books describing the Bill Walsh 49er teams, from 1979 through 1988, with a focus on the three Super Bowl winners. These e-books are available for purchase online. Arne also runs a blog about the 49ers' history, which can be viewed here. A few months ago he spoke with David Harris, author of The Genius (also available on Amazon), a biography of Walsh focused on his 10 years coaching the 49ers.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Arne for graciously allowing us to publish these on the website, and I'd like to thank David Harris for also supporting, and not to mention enlightening us with this interview.

Please enjoy Part 5, after the jump.

Arne: Where did Walsh's offensive philosophy come from?

David: Bob Branzan's teams at San Jose State had an elite offensive edge. Branzan had his impact on Bill, but not the biggest. There were two coaches who most influenced Walsh, Blaton Collier, who came in after Brown in Cleveland, and Sid Gillman, the guy with the Chargers in the AFL.

Arne: The '84 team doesn't get much attention paid to it. I guess they just didn't have the drama of the '81 and '88 teams, and it was maybe an easy team to coach.

David: Well, the coaches say there's never an easy season. Walsh did say the '84 team was one of the two or three best teams in NFL history, the most dominant team he ever coached.

Arne: About Walsh's military time in the early ‘50s, was that when the Korean War was going on, or just after it ended?

David: No, it was after the war. He went down to Fort Ord for training, then became a physical education teacher training enlistees there. Peacetime conscription was in effect still, so he just enrolled because otherwise he would've been ordered into Army.

Arne: Did Walsh have any plans to become a coach?

David: He really just stumbled into it; he had a wife and kid to support, and he was just out of the Army. He started coaching after he left the Army, and that became his occupation. He said he would've been either a fighter or a coach.

Arne: Did Lott come to take on more responsibility in the defense as the ‘80s went along? I mean, of course he wasn't a coach, but did he have more authority over the defense at the end of the decade?

David: Lott was Lott, he had great force of personality, but no, he never took on that sort of responsibility.

Arne: I've seen both Young and Rice talk about their desire to please Walsh, how that was an important motivation for their play. Did that stem from his ability to manage players, to motivate them?

David: Sure, Walsh depended on the force of his personality-absolutely, as every coach does. Players want to please their coaches, and Walsh knew how to pull those strings.

Arne: In his book, Walsh talks extensively about using training camp and practices for technical training, isolating skills that can be used in games.

David: Walsh tried to develop individual skills to exploit in certain circumstances. He'd talk to his position coaches and have a list of skills players needed to develop, drills to work on those skills.

Arne: When the 49ers got Young to replace Montana in 1987, that was right after Montana's back surgery in '86. I figure that was the primary reason, to get a more mobile, longer term quarterback.

David: Yes, that's true. He didn't know if Montana had much of anything left.

Arne: One last thing I thought I'd bring up is steroids in football. In the ‘80s, was that something Walsh had to deal with?

David: We only talked about that once-steroids, it wasn't an issue back then. There was Alzado, but he was really an isolated case. It was only in baseball at the time, so far as I know.