The AT&T isn’t like it once was—but what is?

The question was understandable. The man looked at the field of the AT&T Pro-Am, which starts Thursday, and asked “What ever happened to this tournament?”

Answer: Progress and reality. 

Also, survival.

Golf isn’t what it used to be, and neither is the world. The tournament that began as the Crosby Pro-Am back in the 1930s has been forced to adapt to the times, as has the rest of us. 

The amateur field is not as full of celebrities as it once was decades ago. Because there are not enough celebrities who, first play golf, and also are willing and able to be part of an event that interrupts their platform. 

Is golf still a wonderful game, played by millions, and watched by as many worldwide, and fascinating to those involved as participants or spectators? And is the course named the Pebble Beach Golf Links one of the most challenging and attractive of any on the globe? However, those points almost become incidental to all but the most involved. Indeed. But not to the point we knew or they knew.

Look what’s happened to college sports, where the name-image-likeness situation has kids waiting for the best financial offer as opposed to merely the best offer. And the transfer portal has become standard fare. So has golf been similarly altered?

Everybody’s looking for the best opportunity, the best deal. The deal for the AT&T was to find a way to survive. 

The name pros particularly and some top-flight celebrity amateurs became disenchanted with rounds that lasted more than five hours and occasionally were played in miserable weather.  One of the great attractions of the tournament that began decades ago as the Crosby Pro-Am had been negated by time and progress. The erosion began in 1969 when Cypress Point, such a unique and exclusive property, open to the public only for the tournament, was taken out of the rota. Pebble Beach, the anchor course, remained one of a kind, ranking with such locations as Augusta National and St. Andrews. That still couldn’t bring the top-ranked players to the edge of the Pacific for one event out of the many on the PGA tour.

Yes, the veterans in the gallery and in the field were familiar with the great Bill Murray and his antics—and his victory one year—yet that wasn’t enough as the tournament purses grew and the field shrank.

Is it redundant to say sport itself is different? That ESPN, the Golf Channel, the Tennis Channel and every other channel has brought us an abundance—maybe an over-abundance—of sports, day and night? Whatever, there is so much out there and on the tube that what once made us attend or watch has become almost incidental. Today’s audience, understandably, is more focused on today’s stars, who they can watch almost anytime—like the NFL playoffs, for example—or any hour. The Australian Open has been shown live at 12:30 a.m. PST frequently.

The PGA Tour and the AT&T officials understand what they’re up against and thus how they must respond. The whole idea is to keep the tournament, modified as it might be from the good ole days. As the saying goes “adapt or disappear.”

Of football and fire

The contrast was being played out on our television screens. There on ESPN, as proper, the pictures and words were about the NFL. Fun and games. On CNN were scenes of tragedy, smoke and flames. One of man at his best, competition. On the other, nature at its worst, destruction. Football as scheduled. Fire as unimaginable.

Athletic heroes, at least in name. First responders and emergency personnel, heroes deserving of the label.

Fire pays no attention to status. We are all at the mercy. It’s merely a question of where the ashes land and where your residence might be. We’ve been through this before in California, but not really anything like this.

Who would have believed the entire Pacific Palisades or several miles away, Sierra Madre, would be razed? Yes, I’m a sportswriter, but I covered news through the years that included fires in Southern California, where I grew up, and Northern California, where I now reside. The Oakland Hills fire in 1991, which destroyed 2800 homes, and the Camp Fire in Butte County were awful, but what has gone on the last week and a half offers a new definition to that word. 

The frightening thing is we kept getting warned of the possibility. Not that we could do anything but worry, stay alert, and heed evacuation warnings, although sometimes we disregard the warnings because of the misplaced belief that it will never happen. 

But it happened this time.

Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, was one of the victims.  The home in which he grew up in the Pacific Palisades, close to Santa Monica, was burned to the ground. His 90-year-old mother, who evacuated, was saved. But all the trophies and awards Kerr collected in his very illustrious career—he was Michael Jordan’s teammate—are gone.

Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Reddick also lost his home, and when interviewed on TV seemed understandably shaken. It’s as if what occurred would have been impossible. But as we know, nothing is impossible. 

That the National Football League readily shifted the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings playoff game on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals’ stadium outside Phoenix was both necessary and correct. It was an inconvenience for the fans in Southern California, although busloads of them made it to the game, some 200 miles from Los Angeles. Yet the fact that the game was held at all could be acknowledged as a reassurance that the fire would not ruin all sense of normalcy.

The NFL and various outlets including all the networks broadcasting the postseason, kept telling us about how to donate for fire relief efforts. Sometimes those requests are overdone. Not after this fire. Too many lives were lost and too many buildings were lost. 

All we can do now is to retain our sense of perspective and know that sport might contribute to providing what little benefit might be possible. And thanks to those who brought us the news good and bad.

TGL: Talent (including Tiger) and gimmicks

It’s called TGL, which stands for The Golf League, and it’s as dependent on gimmicks as it is on talent and there seems to be an abundance of both.

Unlike Mark Twain’s historical definition, this golf is not a long walk spoiled but, rather a short trip to fantasyland. And perhaps to the bank. Yes, Tiger Woods is involved, as an investor and as well as a competitor and so is ESPN, a twosome in this age of gaining attention and coverage, hardly is unimportant.

"It's not golf as we know it," said Woods. Rather it's an activity to fill time when there is no NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball—or golf as we know it.

You might say it's where personalities, Tiger, Xander Schauffele, and others who have done well at locations such as Augusta National or Royal Troon, meet technology. It is held indoors right now, at SoFi Arena in West Palm Beach, Fla.—not to be confused with SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. 

The evening begins with a bellicose announcement of the players as if they were battlers in MMA and not the PGA. There is a screen as in some golf facilities which records the distance and direction of the long iron and wood shots.  You might be familiar with one of those.  Some have you believe you are playing Pebble Beach or St. Andrews. The TGL screen is enormous—64 feet by 53 feet—and the course it depicts is not one in particular, just holes with bunkers and water hazards. The building itself is large enough for a basketball arena, and has rows of seats for fans encouraged to hoot and holler.  

The players are divided among six teams, each consisting of four PGA golfers chosen arbitrarily.  In Tuesday's inaugural, Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Sean Lowry, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Wyndham Clark were involved. Each was placed on teams called New York and Palm Beach, not that this is important. If you are going to have competition the result must mean something and at the moment, who really cares other than how the players perform? After their long shots, the players then move to an artificially turfed putting green—and here come the gimmicks—which is constructed to be able to spin and undulate. So far no windmill. 

Woods did not play Tuesday but made an appearance, not surprisingly, since he is so involved.  The schedule is for him to compete in the next matches, probably for Palm Beach. 

Maybe the best part was the jabbering and needling among the golf stars, just as if they were in a practice round or friendly match.

The thinking is that the public drawn by the names will find TGL must-see stuff. Who knows?  But there are a lot of oddball shows on TV, and TGL may find its niche. After all, even a person who doesn't know a bogey from a birdie would most likely find it more compelling than Corn Hole.

If not, The Golf Channel will deliver the real goods on weekends.

Niners head toward a future of needed change

The San Francisco 49ers’ lost season has come to a close. With a loss naturally. Would you have expected anything else?  

The question now is what should be expected? Other than the fact that having recorded a painful, almost absurd 6-11 record, the Niners must improve greatly through whatever methods are possible. This includes taking an impactful player, possibly a defensive lineman, with their first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Due to their poor finish, they will be picking 11th in the first round.

On Sunday, in a game which, to use a phrase, was full of subs and scrubs for the Niners, San Francisco was defeated by the Arizona Cardinals 47-24. Niners starting quarterback, Brock Purdy, was kept out of a seemingly meaningless contest.  Although, in a sport all too competitive, it’s perhaps incorrect to use the description “meaningless.”

It may be better to try and look ahead rather than grimly recalling what went on the past several months, but reflecting is both necessary and appropriate. True, San Francisco chose to go with journeyman quarterback, Joshua Dobbs in place of Purdy, who injured his elbow a week ago. However, it was the defense, as has been the case of late, that cost the 49ers any chance of a win today. Arizona rolled up 436 yards on offense, an inexcusable amount for a team that hopes to win.

In a way, that’s old news. However, you need to know what happened if you are going to make a change.

“They wore us down by the third quarter,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan pointed out. “We’ve been processing what’s been going on and got to get to work during the off-season,” he said in what is a massive understatement.

Journeyman Joshua Dobbs, in his start game of the year, taking over for Purdy, completed 29 passes of 43 attempts for a solid 326 yards and two touchdowns. The problem was he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. He, and the Niners, lost a top receiver when Juaun Jennings was ejected for fighting in the second quarter. Shanahan said, “I didn’t see him throw a punch, and am surprised he got ejected.” Jennings said he was being held down and couldn’t get up. As often happens, the officials failed to notice that part of the incident. 

A perfectly imperfect situation in a year when everything went wrong. 

It would be no surprise if the Niners have a placekicker other than Jake Moody next season. Moody did connect on a 51-yard field goal, but then later missed a 47-yard attempt. 

Once again, the Niners hurt themselves with penalties. They were called 13 times for 85 yards. Meanwhile, the Cardinals had only one penalty for 5 yards. Ineffective teams usually draw more penalties because the players are trying to offset a disadvantage, grabbing, pulling or beating the count.

Twelve months ago, the Niners were heading to the Super Bowl. Now they head to a questionable future. 

A rose on my seat, and the end of a streak

The press box seat was vacant. Except for a lone flower, a rose, of course, placed there by a sympathetic and understanding official. Wednesday, for the first time in roughly three-quarters of a century they were playing a Rose Bowl game in Pasadena and I wasn’t there.

Oh, I watched the game on television at home as most others, but as you might imagine it wasn’t the same. 

Streaks of any sort become obsessive and rewarding, and mine probably was both. Starting as a program salesman in 1954, and continuing as a spectator and then a sports writer, I had been to 70 consecutive Rose Bowls. No, I didn’t go to the Covid game in 2021 that moved to Texas, but if it wasn’t held in the famed stadium was it a Rose Bowl?

A pro of nothing but perhaps pertinent to everything, Ben Hogan, the golf great kept reminding us not to get old. I seemed to have missed the advice. My vision had deteriorated to the point where I couldn’t maneuver around the stadium by myself. So for safety's sake, the decision was to step away this time at least. Unfortunately. 

True, Ohio State routed Oregon, 41-21—I’ll get into that later— but it didn’t seem like the most compelling event. It was a throwback to the 1940s and 50s when the Big Ten would roll over schools from the West, winning game after game.

Still, until you have been there, it is difficult to grasp why the Rose Bowl holds such a prominent place in college football. It was the first bowl game, as the slogan quote “Granddaddy of them All” keeps us aware. The setting is particularly special, in the Arroyo Seco, surrounded by trees and a rustic area of homes, all set against the backdrop of the Sierra Madre's towering peaks. It would be a great place, even without the football game. Sunset is the best time of day when the game is coming to an end and the peaks to the East turn purple. Maybe even the stunned Oregon fans could appreciate the beauty.

There is a saying about football, “you don’t know, you can’t know, you never will know.”  We certainly had no idea what would happen when an undefeated Oregon team, which had beaten Ohio State by a point in September, would again face off against the Buckeyes. But we found out all too quickly. The game was decided halfway through the first quarter, Ohio State simply was too strong. You almost thought about the Buckeye teams when grumpy Woody Hayes was the coach, with his “3 yards and a cloud of dust offense.” Maybe the game was an unsuspected mismatch, but as almost always, the weather was great, as it usually is. 

The last time there was appreciable rain for the Rose Bowl Game was 1955 and interestingly, Ohio State was one of the opponents. Yes, the Buckeyes won but Hayes memorably complained about the band of the other team, USC, marching on the soggy field at half-time. He always needed something about which to be unhappy. Until the final score.

That was my second Rose Bowl and I got drenched, but I went home, changed my wet clothes, and told myself, you have to come back again.

I did. Again and again and again. Until this year.

In a 49ers game that didn’t matter, Purdy’s injury could

The game that was to send Brock Purdy on his way to a multi-million dollar contract instead sent him to the training room for MRI tests on his valuable right elbow, which required surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation just two years ago.

Purdy performed effectively if not perfectly Monday night as this tormented season of the San Francisco 49ers headed toward the finish. Then in the closing two minutes of a game that seemed inconsequential but could take on significant meaning depending on test results, Purdy was sacked and left the game.

The Detroit Lions (14-2), perhaps heading to the Super Bowl where the Niners were in February, defeated the Niners 40-34 at Levi Stadium, yet that seemed insignificant compared to the condition of Purdy, who said on NBC Bay Area Sports that, “I got hit on the backside and my arm was on fire. It felt like pins and needles were in my arm. What hurts me is that I couldn’t finish the game.” 

What will hurt the 49ers is if Purdy’s injury is anything like the one he incurred in the 2022 NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent the spring and early summer trying to get healthy. Purdy did not think that would be the case this time. 

“It doesn’t feel the best,” said Purdy, “but it doesn’t feel that bad, so we’ll see tomorrow.” 

Purdy said the initial tests showed no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament he hurt two years ago. He hoped to be in the Niners last game of the season this upcoming Sunday at Arizona, but he was replaced by Joshua Dobbs for the remainder of the game after exiting this game.

Not until the start of the 2023 season were the Niners certain the quarterback would be ready to play. He was not only ready, he helped lead them to the NFC Championship. The Niners head coach, Kyle Shanahan, was more than satisfied with Purdy’s game Monday against Detroit. 

“He had better stats tonight,” said Shanahan, “he managed better tonight. He had a good night playing on a high level.” 

Purdy completed his first nine passes and overall twenty-seven of thirty-five for 377 yards and three touchdowns. In the first half, he relied on quick outs which kept the Lion's defense off balance. But after intermission, San Francisco changed its offense, and Purdy started throwing longer routes. Under pressure, in the fourth quarter, he threw two interceptions, which if nothing else, cost the 49ers a chance for a victory.

San Francisco had been eliminated from playoff contention before the game started. The Niners  said they were “playing for pride.” They did a very good job, although the defeat left them with a 6-10 record for a season that will not long be remembered.

Rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall had a fine game, with 8 receptions for 141 yards and his second touchdown of the year. He’s the man who was shot in Union Square by a would-be thief, who tried to steal his watch, during training camp. That was an awful introduction to the NFL.

From beginning to end this season has been full of the unexpected, especially for a team that was supposed to be one of the best and didn’t come close.

Niners looking at next year, although two games remain this year

And for this unmerry holiday (and NFL) season, the San Francisco 49ers will receive the 11th pick in the 2025 draft. Which one guesses is better than a lump of coal. Or another game when they can’t stop making penalties. 

No, the Niners are not finished with the 2024 schedule, unfortunately. They still have two games remaining, including Monday night in San Francisco against the Detroit Lions (13-2), a team playing as well as the Niners have played poorly.

When you get to December in pro football you hope to be at your best. And one year ago, the Niners were. Just wanted to reference the good times. Wasn’t the old showbiz slogan, “Always leave ‘em laughing?”

There is no mirth in Ninerville these days, especially after the failings and misfortunes that have haunted them since September—untimely penalties, numerous injuries, and a general lack of football smarts—that ganged together in Sunday’s 29-17 loss to the Dolphins in Miami. That defeat left San Francisco 6-9. It also officially eliminated the 49ers from any spot in the postseason, although even coach Kyle Shanahan conceded they were out of it before kickoff. 

“We knew that last week,” Shanahan said.

What he similarly knew was that the offensive line and overall defense had regressed. “There was a lack of concentration,” said Shanahan, “the penalties, a missed field goal (by Jake Moody). You can’t expect to have three personal fouls on three drives in the second half and expect to win. It was disappointing in how we got the penalties and how many we had.”

Disappointing is a word that is repeated too often about the Niners this season. They have had their chances, but not unusual for a troubled team, they were unable to benefit from them. The Niners need to get younger and stronger. They lost control of the offensive line, and have to make improvements in the running game—although if Christian McCaffrey comes back healthy that will make a difference.

Quarterback Brock Purdy had a semi-effective game Sunday throwing for 313 yards. However, with the Niners getting outgained on the ground with 81 rush yards to the Dolphins’ 166, he didn’t have much help. The old line is “to win you have to be able to run the ball.” 

“Offensively we didn’t play good enough,” said Purdy. “We hurt ourselves. When we think about the plays we should have made, we had plenty of opportunities, but we couldn't finish. Dang it, that hurt.” 

Purdy is going to get a very large contract in the offseason, maybe $60 million a year. The 49ers also are going to have to spend at other positions, including defensive backs.

After a less-than-stellar performance in the loss to the Rams in the rain a week and one half ago, Deebo Samuel played well against Miami, catching seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 25 yards in five carries.  

“I’m not frustrated,” said Samuel, who perhaps will not be on the team next year if changes are made. “We have had injuries. We need to get prepared for next year.”

Planning ahead is not a bad idea after a bad season.

Rickey could steal bases and our hearts

And so once more in this terrible year, we lose another Bay Area baseball legend. This time it was the greatest base stealer of all time and perhaps the greatest Oakland Athletics player of all time. Rickey Henderson died Friday, five days short of his 66th birthday, which would have been on Christmas. Willie Mays died in June, followed by another of the San Francisco Giants Hall of Famers, Orlando Cepeda. Now Rickey, of pneumonia. 

Presumably, Henderson was in a hospital bed. Had he been on the basepaths, the Grim Reaper wouldn’t have caught him. After all, few throws from catchers ever did.

When his 25-year major league career came to a close in 2003, Henderson had 1,406 steals, 130 of which set the single-season record in 1982. Then in 1991, when he broke Lou Brock’s all-time stolen base record, Rickey famously celebrated by grabbing the base and holding it aloft. A fan of Mohammed Ali, Henderson was not exactly a paragon of humility. “I’m the greatest,” he boasted. And he was.

Henderson also is the all-time runs-scored leader with 2,295. And what’s more important in baseball for the team at bat than scoring runs? 

Henderson grew up in Oakland, attending Oakland Tech High and playing both football and baseball. He hoped one day to be on his hometown team, the Oakland A’s, and was wildly successful. The team would name the playing surface at their now departed home, the Oakland Coliseum, Rickey Henderson Field. Sadly, that’s all gone, the franchise having been shifted to Sacramento. 

Henderson and former teammate, Dave Stewart, another A’s star, came to the team’s final game at Oakland in October, remembering the good days, as now we will Henderson.

When he was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility, Henderson, who also played for the Yankees and several other teams, said, “That was something I always wanted to be, and now that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has voted me into the Baseball Hall of Fame, my journey as a player is complete. I am now in the class of the greatest players of all time and at this moment, I am very, very humbled.” 

Even though his words don’t make him seem that way, Rickey was a comfortable presence in the clubhouse, a not-unwilling interview. He understood the need for an athlete to be cooperative as well as talented.

Stolen bases became less important in baseball during the middle of the 20th century. Ty Cobb’s record of 96 steals was set in 1915 and was not broken until Maury Wills raised the mark to 104 in 1962. Brock stole 118 in 1974.

And then along came Henderson, dynamic and exciting, winning games and in 1990 winning American League Most Valuable Player Award. 

He didn’t exactly change the game, but he certainly made it more thrilling. He gave opponents a run for their money. He’s gone, and so is the field named for him, but the great memories will always remain.

Thanks, Rickey.

For the Niners, plenty of rain but not a touchdown

It was an awful way for the San Francisco 49ers to end the season, in the rain at Levi’s Stadium, without a touchdown, and with a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. No, the Niner’s season is technically not done, but after Thursday night’s depressing defeat, everyone who is a realist understands that’s it for 2024.

Never mind the playoffs. You have to wonder if the 6-8 Niners even have a chance at finishing the season with a .500 record. To make matters worse—as if they could get worse—one of San Francisco’s defensive linemen, De’Vondre Campbell, refused to return to the game in the third quarter. “I’m not going in,” he reportedly told the coaches.

San Francisco at least played effectively on defense, but the offense was alarmingly poor, managing only two field goals by Jake Moody. That started with the game plan by head coach Kyle Shanahan, continued through quarterback Brock Purdy, and went down to boastful wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who had spent the week insisting he wanted more opportunities with the ball. As if answering his demand, the Niners called a pass to Samuel the very first play from scrimmage. It was incomplete.

Samuel eventually caught three passes for 16 yards but gained only three yards on two carries. “The rain impacted us from running as well as we could,” Samuel explained. “We got to do better. It was frustrating.” That word can also be applied to the Niners performance this year.  Indeed, they had far too many injuries, including such key players as running back Christian McCaffrey—who will not return until next season-—and defensive stars Nick Bosa and Drew Greenlaw, who were able to come back to face the Rams.

Yet every team has injuries and when the Niners lost players, they also seemed to lose their heart.  Everything that could go wrong went wrong for many games, including this one on offense.

“We had offensive struggles,” admitted Shanahan, stating the obvious. “They got their run game going better than we did” (the Rams racked up 142 rushing yards compared to San Francisco’s 63). “LA played well and we left a lot out there. Deebo on third down didn’t catch the ball. That was a big one.” 

The Niners were swept by the Rams for the first time in six years. Can you imagine what it was like for the home fans, getting drenched and then being unable to cheer for a single TD? 

And can you imagine what it was like for Purdy, who had one of his poorest games? He was under constant pressure from the Rams, who came in prepared with methods of keeping the Niners QB scrambling, throwing incompletions (14 for 31 for 142 yards) and an interception. It was a career-worst for Purdy, who gained fame as “Mr. Relevant”, the last man picked in the draft. 

“Obviously this one hurts,” said Purdy. “We have lots of people ready to fight to finish out the season the right way. We had opportunities that we didn’t convert out. I didn’t play my best tonight. I left a lot of plays. I could have been better for my team. The defense did a great job.”

Oh well, someday the sun will shine again.

For Niners, even with a win, ‘These are desperate times’

The San Francisco 49ers understand. They are playing for survival, playing for pride, and playing for respect. It would have been difficult to believe in September, but as acknowledged by defensive end Leonard Floyd, that’s exactly where they are. 

The Niners did beat the Chicago “Very Bad News” Bears on Sunday with a decisive 38-13 victory at Levi’s Stadium. But so what? The victory may have been a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from a three-game losing streak that was finally coming to a close.

In the immediate future, this Thursday night, the 49ers will host the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams not only defeated the Niners two and one-half months ago but also stunned the Buffalo Bills on Sunday—who crushed San Francisco in an all too typical Buffalo snowstorm last weekend. 

Technically, the Niners still are going for a spot in the playoffs, although perhaps only in misguided dreams. They need to win all their remaining games, on a schedule that includes the Detroit Lions, who have lost only once in thirteen games.

“These are desperate times,” said Floyd. “The goal is to grab it by the horns and go home early.”  He didn’t mean departing before the postseason but that seems to be the fate awaiting the 49ers. With a 6-7 overall record and sitting at the bottom of the NFC West, their chances of making a playoff run appear slim. 

It’s hard to judge your quality in a game against the Bears, who were playing their first game under interim coach Thomas Brown and have dropped their seventh straight game.

Still, San Francisco was remarkably impressive on defense, keeping Chicago to four yards in the first half. So, the Bears would be an embarrassment to their late founder and owner, George Hallis, but they’re still a legitimate NFL team. 

The Niners' offense was, in a word, effective. Quarterback Brock Purdy reminded us of his performance last year, the Super Bowl year, completing fourteen of his first sixteen passes and finishing with 20 of 25 for 325 yards and two touchdowns. “We had offensive rhythm in the first half,” said Kyle Shanahan, the Niners' relieved coach—who had been a target of fans and journalists during the brief losing streak.

“We had to step it up today”, said Shanahan. “We did and we got a win.”

Floyd, who had two sacks of San Francisco’s total seven, said “Great defense. Everyone stepped up. The goal is to carry it to Thursday.” 

The defense had been a problem with the injuries to Nick Bosa and others. 

Bosa still was unable to play for a third straight game, but with Floyd and ever-reliable Fred Warner taking charge, the D certainly dominated Chicago. The Bears were held to just 162 total yards. San Francisco surged to a commanding 24-0 lead by halftime, effectively deciding the game before the break. Chicago didn’t score until about the middle of the third quarter. 

Niner partisans had been eagerly anticipating—or perhaps just patiently waiting—for a performance like this over the past couple of months. They finally have it. However, it might have come too late.

Montana’s advice to Purdy: Don’t press

The evening dealt with the passing of time and because the guest speaker was a quarterback—in San Francisco, The quarterback—the passing of a football.

Through the years, the MPSF Speakers Series has offered prime ministers, former presidents,  executives, and other notables. On Wednesday at the Paramount Theater in Oakland and on Zoom,  it was Joe Montana. 

He is now 68 years old, a proud grandfather of three, and as successful in the business suite as he was on the gridiron—arguably even more so A look back is full of sweet memories, both for Joe, who led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories, and for the fans who remember the exploits of the guy nicknamed “Super Joe” and others from those championship years.

An audience that likely included more than a few current Niners supporters frustrated with the team’s disappointing record this season was given the opportunity to ask questions. Unsurprisingly, one of the questions was about Brock Purdy, who now holds the quarterback position that long ago was held by Montana.

What advice would he give Purdy, was a question for Montana. “You don’t press,” was Montana’s response. “Go back to your fundamentals—on offense and defense.” 

Sounds simple, but as Montana knows, it doesn’t turn out to be simple. 

Montana was drafted in the third round in 1959 by a rookie coach named Bill Walsh. The Niners were not very good in those days. 

“That season, to put it mildly, we looked like the Bad News Bears,” said Montana. “When we played the Cowboys, Bill started to substitute and I hid behind him, but he saw me and put me back in the game.”

Ronnie Lott, the star defensive back, joined the team in the 1981 draft, and, alongside the maturation of Montana, helped elevate the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance that once seemed out of reach. "The culture improved," Montana recalled.

Walsh then chose a little-known receiver from Mississippi Valley State University, Jerry Rice, who broke virtually every receiving record and helped win more Super Bowls. 

“Walsh was ahead of his time,” said Montana. “He started the back shoulder throw. His offensive style was different than the others. He always wanted to complete the pass. You had to understand the philosophy behind what he did. He demanded that the quarterback be perfect. He paid most attention to the littlest details.”

Montana fondly recalled Walsh’s sense of humor, like the time he dressed up in a bellman’s uniform to greet the team upon their arrival in Detroit for Super Bowl XVI. He also talked about Super Bowl XIX at Stanford, where before the game Walsh sat in the locker room and jokingly whined, “Oh, those Miami Dolphins are so good, we have no chance.”

As history shows, the Niners beat the Dolphins.

Montana and his wife Jennifer have been married for 40 years. And Joe laughed as he talked about trying to propose to her. 

“We were out to dinner, and I wrote on the back of the check, ‘Will you marry me, Jen?’ She said I didn’t really ask her. Then I hired a plane to fly over the Marina Green with a banner that said, ‘Will you marry me, Jen?’ She still said I hadn’t actually asked her.”

Finally, he added, “So then I asked her properly—and she said yes.”

He always had the right touch.

The falling snow had nothing to do with the fall of the 49ers

The snow was unstoppable. So were the Buffalo Bills, as they dominated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, winning 35-10. 

This wasn’t cause and effect. The weather had nothing to do with the result. If this game were played in Miami or even Milpitas, the Bills, who may be headed to the Super Bowl, would have won just as easily as they did in the game at their home stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. 

What’s happened to the Bills, possibly certainly seemed predictable. They have a great young quarterback, Josh Allen, who is from Firebaugh near Sacramento and, ironically, grew up to be a 49ers fan. He became the first player at his position—and only the fourth in NFL history—to throw a touchdown pass, catch a touchdown pass, and run for a touchdown in a single game. One of the other three was the Niners’ Christian McCaffrey who did it two years ago. He had been hurt much of this season, and then Sunday after returning, was injured again.

That mirrors what the 49ers have experienced since September—suffering from injuries when they weren’t plagued by mistakes. Now, after losing their third straight game, they find themselves in last place in the NFC West.

“We only scored one field goal in the first half,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. 

And for all intents, the game—and sadly, the Niners season, was over right there.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Shanahan. “I thought we could better than that”

The Niners haven’t been able to run, partly because of McCaffrey’s injuries, and worse, they haven’t been able to stop the run. Buffalo stomped its way through for 222 yards and three touchdowns rushing. 

McCaffrey seemed on his way to a touchdown in the second quarter but was pulled down and hurt again. “He had a great week of practice,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey. “When he broke it open, it looked like he was going all the way, but he was tripped and that was when he hurt his knee and had to leave the game.”

Did that make a difference? Perhaps. Let’s say probably. The Niners were not going to win this game the way Allen and the Bills’ offense were going through the suddenly ineffective Niners' defense.

What has happened to the San Francisco team that made it to the Super Bowl last year is a haunting question. Yes, the inordinate number of injuries—Nick Bosa missed Sunday’s game—has been a factor. But, whether because key players have aged too quickly or there is another explanation, something is very wrong. The 49ers either come apart in the last quarter or like this game against Buffalo, get beaten badly. Good teams do have their off days, which is the reason nobody since the 1972 Miami Dolphins has finished undefeated. But these Niners have had too many off days.

The Niners particularly have had trouble on both offense and defense in the area near the end zone, which is known as the Red Zone, but Sunday with the snow it should be renamed the White Zone.

This Maverick is now a PGA tour winner

The last hole of the last PGA Tour tournament of the year, and the kid named for an auto brand finally finished first.

Maverick McNealy birdied the final hole Sunday at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, to break through in his fifth year as a pro after great success at Stanford.

“A moment I’ll never forget,” said McNealy. Understandably.

In his career McNealy, now 25, didn’t exactly need to pull himself up by his Footjoys—his father Scott was one of the founders of Sun Microsystems—but like a true maverick he obeyed his own desires. And it has paid off in much more than the mere $1.368 million prize money he picked up in this event. Or the realization that he has now achieved every golfer’s goal, the win that gained him a place in the 2025 Masters. There's also the recognition every athlete strives for—something McNealy had already begun to earn, thanks to both his name and his game.

When you think of Stanford golf, legendary names like Tiger Woods and Tom Watson come to mind. McNeely, although sharing the Stanford record of 11 victories, is a long way from that category. However, with this win, he’s taken a significant step forward in his journey.

As you hear every week, winning on tour is incredibly difficult. Especially when you are identified as McNeely has been. Scott McNeely, now 70, a one-time auto executive in the auto industry before advancing to Silicon Valley power and wealth, had four sons and named each after cars: Maverick, Scout (who now is caddying for Maverick), Colt, and Dakota. Whether the other kids or their parents found humor in their names hardly matters when you reside in Portola Valley in an estate that boasts a hockey rink (Maverick is a skilled hockey player too), a golf driving range, a basketball court, and other recreational facilities, including a gym. 

Maverick had shown the quality of his game the last few years. Victory seemed inevitable and it was. McNeely said there was a reason.

“My parents have always treated me and my three brothers like a team,” he told Cameron Morfit of PGA Tour.com. “Everything I remember growing up is family-related. I miss playing college golf and being part of a team.”

“This year, I’ve felt like I had more of a team with me than at any point in my golf career. That, I think, has been a huge difference-maker for me.”

The current team he refers to includes instructors, advisors, accountants, and trainers, 15 people.

The idea that golf is an individual game isn’t quite true anymore, although it is still one person swinging the club. A year ago, McNealy had problems trying to make that swing. He tore a ligament in his left shoulder and was unable to play on tour. He underwent biomechanical analysis, stem-cell treatment, and worked on a new swing.

Obviously, it all worked.

Where do the troubled Niners go from here (aside from Buffalo)?

It wasn’t only that the Niners were without notable starters Brock Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa, and offensive tackle Trent Williams due to injuries. It also was because the men on the field seemed to be as confused as they were incapable.

These Niners have evolved from a team that last season appeared in the Super Bowl—oh how far away that seems with the current circumstances—to one that appears incapable of stopping making penalties or even more critically incapable of stopping the opponent from making yards on the ground.

Statistics are sometimes misleading. Not this time. The Niners failed to record a first down until roughly midway through the second quarter. They gained only 44 yards rushing (while allowing 169). They were called for nine penalties, costing them 77 yards. The Packers had an unordinary five penalties for 44 yards. 

As you might surmise, the Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, having endured one of the most one-sided defeats in his coaching career, was less than thrilled.

“We missed way too many tackles,” said Shanahan. “The 1st half was the worst.” 

That’s when they fell behind 17-7. 

“We had three turnovers and they all turned into touchdowns,” emphasized Shanahan—as if on this Sunday, when the Niners dropped to a record of 5-6 and the bottom of the mediocre NFC West, he needed to be emphatic. What he needs to do is figure out how to restore the winning ways, something that may prove difficult. 

San Francisco next plays at Buffalo against a Bills team that is the only one in this season of 2024 to defeat the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Purdy’s return certainly will help, not that the Niners didn’t get an impressive temporary replacement in Brandon Allen, who hadn’t been in a game for three years. He completed seventeen passes for 199 yards. 

It's the defense—formerly the backbone of the Niners—that needs fixing. Suddenly, they can't stop the run, and when that becomes a problem, a team is in serious trouble. The opponent simply calls one ground play after another, gaining yards and keeping the ball. In the end, on Sunday, the Packers controlled the ball for 36 minutes compared to San Francisco's 23. Hard to do much in football without the ball, except conjure up ways to get it and then give it away. The three turnovers—an interception, a lost fumble by Allen, and another by Christian McCaffrey—were part of the reason the Niners' offense was stymied. 

Where do the Niners go from this point? Do they regain some of their skills and their mojo? Or, because of what has transpired, does it get worse before it gets better? If it ever gets better?  

Amazing how long it takes to reach the top or close to it, and how quickly a team can tumble.

Was it the defense, the offense, or both that cost the Niners?

The San Francisco 49ers’ expectations of September have been overwhelmed by the failings of November. Head coach Kyle Shanahan used the word disappointing. He was specifically talking about the 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But the word would apply to the 2024 season, in which an attempt to return for a second straight year to the NFL Championship game now seems very doubtful.

Whatever happens to teams that lose the Super Bowl is mysterious and deflating. Right now the Niners are 5-5, and almost certainly a doubtful participant in the coming Superbowl. The unavoidable factors on which football is known, offense, defense, special teams, and, perhaps heart—that propelled the Niners to success a year ago—have vanished. 

Yes, key players have been missing and bad breaks have been too prevalent, but good teams overcome the bad stuff. Which is the reason they are good teams.

The manner in which the Niners fell to the Seahawks giving up the lead they had taken with only twelve seconds to go, is all too indicative of a team that for whatever reason has lost its way.

This was the fifth time San Francisco failed to retain a fourth-quarter lead this season. They say good teams win the close ones. What this makes the Niners is up to the judgment of the individual, but so far they certainly seem to meet the standard of a good team.

“We had our opportunities to win this game,” said Shanahan, “but we didn’t get it done. Penalties just killed us.”

That the Niners were without their star defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, in the final minutes, after he incurred a hip injury, certainly did not help. Yet winning teams manage to survive the negatives.

Through the length of an NFL schedule with players crashing into each other game after game, there will always be injuries and missed games. It’s how you respond when key players are not on the field. One of those was Bosa. Another, unquestionably was George Kittle, the Niners tight end whose blocking and receiving are a major part of the offense. He was declared out even before the kickoff. Still, as Shanahan has pointed out, the Niners had their chances—opportunities he called them—and were unable to take advantage of them. It’s been that kind of year for San Francisco, a team often unable to do the right thing at the right time, or even at the apparent wrong time. 

The Niners were unable to move the ball on the ground. A month ago in Seattle, the 49ers rushed for 228 yards and beat the Seahawks. But Sunday, they gained only 131 yards. Was it because the offensive line has worn down or because Seattle was better on defense?

Some might point out that the reason the Niners were beaten by Seattle in this game was because of their defense. However, maybe if San Francisco picked up more yards with the ball, it wouldn’t have mattered how many they allowed when the other team had the ball.

It may be unfair to blame what the Niners couldn’t do with the ball on what the Seahawks could do with the ball, in other words finding fault with the offense rather than the defense.

In truth, it was a little bit of both. And that’s why the Niners are struggling and may not get to the postseason.

Will 49ers find it less stressful against Seahawks?

Yes, as you are aware, after three failed field goals, a muffed punt and a confrontation between a couple of teammates, the Niners crushed the hard-luck Tampa Bay Buccaneers down in Florida, where the guys on the telecast kept talking about the hot weather and the officiating.

The winning margin was provided by Jake Moody, who, after missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury and missing kicks in this one, hit the winning field goal with 0:00 on the clock.

The game was perhaps a bit too exciting for the 49ers, who had opportunities to make it easier on themselves.  However, what they did accomplish was pull off a 23-20 victory and get their record above .500. Now, they have a chance to go up a notch when they face the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday—a team they defeated just a few weeks ago in Seattle.

Christian McCaffrey played for the first time this season, and according to those in the know, helped make a difference. He gained 39 yards on 13 carries and caught six passes for 68 yards. 

“I feel good,” said McCaffrey, who was recovering from leg and groin problems.  

Quarterback Brock Purdy completed 25 of 36 for 353 yards, several of those in the final minute on third-down plays as San Francisco drove for the victory.  

It was a satisfying conclusion. However, anyone viewing on Fox TV would not forget that in the first half after one of those errant kicks, Moody was challenged (threatened? berated?) by Deebo Samuel, who was irked by Moody’s inability to get the ball through the uprights.

Both players eventually shrugged it off, using that familiar explanation that emotions become apparent in an activity where 200-plus-pound individuals spend hours pounding into each other.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t offer much more about Samuel-Moody or whether Moody would remain the man responsible for field goals and PATs. Shanahan said he had no advice for Moody before the kick that would win the game. 

"What am I going to say to him?" Shanahan remarked. "'You better make it'? Does that help?"

Hard to say, and maybe it would hurt.

Warriors reminding us of what used to be—and could be again

And from out of the past come, yes, the Golden State Warriors, reminding us of what used to be and offering us a delightful possibility of what again could be.

Klay Thompson has moved on while Steph Curry and Draymond Green are competing with that ageless rascal Father Time as much as any opponent in uniform.

Still, there are the Warriors with the best record in the NBA.

On a Wednesday in Boston, where history has been made and titles won, the Warriors arguably played their best game of the season—brief as it has been—or any recent season since their championship years. With the sort of defense that is always emphasized by head coach Steve Kerr and responsible for their success in the glory years, the Warriors limited the high-scoring Celtics to 41 points in the first half and then managed a 118-112 victory.

That was only the second loss in nine games this fall for the league’s defending champions.

With the victory, Golden State supplanted the Celtics as the leader of the pack whatever that means with months to go. Yet, a 7-1 record with a 5-0 mark on the road is something worthy of mention. And so it is being mentioned.

Skeptics will say it is premature in November to become concerned of what eventually may result during June, months before the last game is played. However, a great beginning often leads to a great conclusion.

The San Francisco Giants were a disappointment. The San Francisco 49ers have struggled because of injuries. So maybe it’s up to the seven-time NBA champion Warriors, as the team logo brags, to bring the thrill back to the Bay Area once more.

Certainly,  Curry, who scored 27 points Wednesday—after a slow first half of 6 points—has achieved the rank of the region’s most recognizable and most enduring athletic figure.  

Curry will be 37 in March and missed a few games because of an ankle injury. Still, he throws up those jump shots with beautiful consistency.   

As you might imagine, Kerr was more than satisfied with the way the team played against the Celtics. 

“Everyone stepped up,” he said on the NBC Bay Area post-game show. “It was a total team effort.”

Meaning, people such as Draymond on defense, and Buddy Hield, who the Warriors acquired last summer in a deal with Philadelphia, on offense.

Also contributing significantly was Andrew Wiggins, who scored 16 points, and played meaningful defense.  

This Warriors’ progress may be unexpected but it certainly isn’t unappreciated.

The atmosphere at the Warriors’ home, Oracle Arena in San Francisco, is among the best in basketball. True, the fans are spoiled but that’s what happens when you are winning most of the time.   

The assumption is that they will be able to replicate at home what they have been able to accomplish on a very successful road swing. If that happens, the winter will be anything but cold.

Will Posey, Minasian find help for the Giants this week at GM meetings?

For the San Francisco Giants, the nightmare next door—meaning 350 miles down the coast—isn’t going anywhere.

The talented, highly paid, yet often despised World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be back with the same high-priced cast next season. And once again, Shohei Ohtani will be pitching again as well as hitting home runs and stealing bases.

That reality makes the tasks of the Giants’ new controlling executives, Buster Posey, president of baseball operations, and general manager, Zack Minasian, even more significant at this week’s general manager meetings in San Antonio.

And to make the situation even a little more difficult, the Giants have to figure out whether they want to re-sign Blake Snell, who opted out of his contract, in order to get more money. That’s not an unusual situation in the sporting world of the 21st century. But the people in charge, Posey, Minansian, and those who control the bankroll have to decide whether Snell is worth it.

Certainly Ohtani, who the Giants attempted to sign last spring, was worth what the Dodgers spent for him. You sensed when leaving the Angels, and joining the other team that uses Los Angeles as its identification, even though the Angels are in Anaheim, that the Dodgers would be very much one of the very best teams in the sport.

They turned out to be the best, not only winning more games during the regular schedule than any other team but also winning the most important games, the four in the World Series.

As Giants fans know all too well, the Dodgers have dominated San Francisco the last few seasons. L.A. has had an abundance of skilled players, and for the Giants too much success. 

So, how can that be changed? Who is out there that the Giants can acquire? The name Juan Soto, last a member of the Yankees, keeps popping up, and he certainly would be what the Giants could use, an outfielder with power.  However, there is little optimism.

The baseball aphorism is no team can have too much pitching, again verified in the World Series. Nor, too much defense. Just maybe if the Yankees don’t fumble, stumble, and drop the ball in that wretched fifth inning of Game five, the result of the series is changed. Then again, the better team usually wins, and clearly the Dodgers were the better team. 

The Giants had their own defensive problems the last couple of years, and their former GM, Farhan Zaidi, tried to make moves to correct those problems. You can’t keep giving teams four outs an inning, no matter how strong your offense is.

What Giant fans would like is a team that can field and hit, of course. Posey, the catcher on the Giants three World Series champions—and that seems so far away—knows well the significance of fundamentals. 

He also understands how a big bat would not only help the team but bring in the fans. Ever since the days of Babe Ruth, the power hitter has been the star. Yes, the Giants could use one along with one or two guys who can throw strikes. You have to start someplace if you ever want to overtake the Dodgers, as difficult as it seems. 

Nerve-wracking but successful: 49ers game against the Cowboys

Sure it was more nerve-wracking than preferred, but in the NFL you accept the fates the opposition and your defense provide, especially when the game concludes with a win that was most needed and satisfying. Especially when it comes against the oh-so-pretentious Dallas Cowboys.

On Sunday night, the Niners held on—that phrase is not meant critically, but emotionally—to a 30-24 victory at Levi’s.

History virtually dictates that the 49ers will somehow defeat “The Boys” because they usually do. However, this one, after the Niners came from behind and then almost came from ahead, was as difficult and exciting as any recent Niners-Dallas game. It also was as necessary as any game this season, with San Francisco coming in with a 3-4 record. Now they’re even and now they have a bye for the coming week which may enable them to continue their brief success and regain some of their injured players, primarily the running back Christian Mc Caffrey who still hasn’t played since the end of last season.

Look, there is still half the season to go, but you don’t want to settle down with a losing record, especially when you are only a few months away from competing in Super Bowl XVIII. And you got that very feeling from the post-game remarks by head coach Kyle Shanahan. He called the game a “gut check” which is strong language and a reflection of how important it was.

The Niners trailed early, 10-6, and then led 27-10, but the final margin was six after the Cowboys scored on a pass from Dak Prescott to Cee Dee Lamb with 3:36 to play. 

Whether the Niners were in danger of losing depends on the viewpoint, but they seemed enough in control that this one wasn’t going to get away as some games earlier in the season. Brock Purdy had arguably his best game after being criticized earlier in the week. In today’s game, he used his legs as well as his very accurate arm. He scrambled several times and also bursted away for 16 yards on one carry, ending up with a rushing total of 56 yards. He completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and one touchdown.

The defense kept us in it,” said Purdy, “and then we got going on offense.”

All this despite the lack of MacCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, who after spending time in the hospital because of pneumonia, injured his ribs carrying the ball in this game. Just another hurt player for a San Francisco team that has been affected by an enormous amount of injuries. 

If you turn on ESPN, you might believe the Cowboys are the only team in existence. Yes, they have their reputation, and their owner, Jerry Jones, is only too willing to discuss the franchise anytime there is a microphone within shouting distance.

The Niners have performed well against the Cowboys, winning the last four matchups. This rivalry—if you can call it that—is beneficial not only to both teams but also to the league as a whole.

“Going into this game we knew it was a big one, “ said Shanahan. 

Maybe bigger than the coach of a 3-4 team would admit. No worry, that’s old news. The record is back to respectability.

Niners’ Shanahan on loss to Chiefs: “We got our ass kicked today”

They were calling it a Super Bowl rematch. It was more like a mismatch.

"There's no way to sugarcoat this. We got our ass kicked today," said Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers coach. 

The final score made it seem close, Kansas City Chiefs 28, Niners 18. It wasn’t. A more accurate reflection would come from the time of possession: Kansas City owned the ball for more than 35 minutes. It owns the 49ers seemingly forever, now having beaten San Francisco the last five times they played.

The Chiefs only defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime in Super Bowl LVIII last February, and yes, the 49ers could have won that game. They had no chance of winning this one, Sunday, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, as Shanahan so tersely pointed out.

Not only was it because of the three interceptions of quarterback Brock Purdy, who concedes he tried to force the last two of the throws. Indeed Purdy and the Niners were without three top receivers, Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel and then when he got hurt in the fourth quarter—apparently a torn ACL—Brandon Ayuik. The loss of those players understandably had a huge effect on the Niners' offense, but every team in the NFL has injuries. KC was without several players, and the best teams survive if not thrive.

The Chiefs indeed are thriving at 6-0. They are the only team in pro football still undefeated with the Vikings falling to Detroit earlier Sunday. So much for any thought that KC would have a letdown after last season's title.   

The Niners are 3-4. While the situation figures to improve if and when halfback Christian McCaffrey returns, along with several of the missing receivers, it will not be easy to return to the playoffs. 

So many things have gone wrong this year, including the inability to finish games. If the Niners are to regain their once-exalted position as one of the NFL’s leading franchises, Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys would be a good place to start. 

The Cowboys have had their own troubles, and have owner Jerry Jones giving various explanations. Long ago Dallas was labeled “America’s team,” and whether that was justified, the Cowboys have earned as much respect and disdain as any team in any sport. 

The Chiefs have simply gained admiration under coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. They just kept winning and on Sunday the Niners were their victim. Again.

KC did it with a defense that wasn’t overwhelming, just efficient. The Niners gained 384 net yards, compared to the 358 for the Chiefs, but San Francisco, as has been the case, could not turn yardage into enough points.

Purdy’s three interceptions were part of the reason. Turnovers hurt even the best teams, and it is obvious that San Francisco, now behind Seattle in the division, isn’t one of the very best teams at the moment. The Niners still have more than half of their season remaining, which could be good news if they figure out how to complete the drives and somehow keep players healthy enough to play.