Category: NFL

NFL Playoff podcast with Tony Renteria: Chiefs open up offense; Roethisberger-McCarron even under center; can the Seahawks return to glory; Cousins gives Wash a boost at home

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by Tony Renteria

AP photo of Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins

AFC

Kansas City @ Houston: You really have to look for Kansas City to roll in there the Chiefs Jamaal Charles getting hurt its’ really opened up the offense for the Chiefs. Instead of having one major tool to focus on they moved the ball around. The Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is looking like the Alex Smith of old when he was with BYU.

Smith has an opened the offense, I’m looking for the Chiefs to put this game away early and Houston doesn’t have the offense to keep up with the Chiefs as well.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati: These two teams are both cold weather teams, I really have to look to Pittsburgh winning this game on the road. Right now the Steelers are clicking on all cylinders while Cincinnati with quarterback AJ McCarron at the helm can match Steelers quarterback Ben Roethisberger.

NFC

Seattle @ Minnesota: This is got to be one of those old cold weather games as Minnesota is still waiting on when their new stadium to be finished. The Vikings are playing at the University of Minnesota which is outside. Their getting a Minnesota winter in the early part of January. This is going to be a great match up with two teams that are going to rely heavily on the ground game.

Green Bay @ Washington: Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins will start and Washington are very good at home. They do well on the road but they do very well at home and we all know the problems that Green Bay has been having. The Packers are not that really strong. Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers is going to have to have the game his life.

Listen to the rest of Tony’s NFL podcast below right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Categories NFL

NFL podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Playoff picks for AFC and NFC this weekend

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by Joe Hawkes Beamon

photo credit: imgarcade.com KC Chiefs head coach Andy Reid

AFC

Kansas City @ Houston: I’m going with Kansas City this weekend because Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs are red hot. The Chiefs when they went through their losing streaks in the history of their playoffs they faced some tough quarterbacks the Andrew Lucks, Dan Marinos, the Jim Kellys, Peyton Manning twice.

The game against Houston this weekend they’re facing Brian Hoyer he’s a decent quarterback he’s got the Houston system down as quarterback this year. The Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is going to be the best quarterback on Saturday.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati: As much as everybody is griping on Cincinnati I like the Bengals this year even though AJ McCarron this year even though he’s starting in the absence of Andy Dalton. McCarron has six touchdowns, 854 yards passing and is 79-119.

He’s really phenomenal McCarron has been holding down the ship for the Bengals he has a real good defense and he knows how to play Pittsburgh. The Steelers in the last 16 games in Cincinnati are 13-3. That’s including regular season and playoffs.

NFC

Seattle @ Minnesota: The Minnesota Vikings Adrian Peterson won the rushing title this year he was by voted best back by far for the title in this year’s voting. Seattle is still Seattle their the two time defending NFC Champions and the former Super Bowl Champs.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson became the first quarterback in NFL history to get 4,000 yards passing, 30 touchdowns, and 500 yards rushing. He’s been red hot lately, the Hawks Marshawn Lynch has missed most of this season and that takes a little off their game.

Listen to the rest of Joe’s NFL playoff podcast click below right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Categories NFL

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland will lose the Raiders

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

photo credit: tnation.t-nation.com Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis

ALAMEDA–Monday the 4th of January 2016, was the dateline for teams to present plans to the NFL to move to Los Angeles. The San Diego Chargers, the St Louis Rams and the Oakland Raiders, at least one(maybe two)will leave for Los Angeles, the second media market in the country that hasn’t had an NFL team for the past 20 years. By mid January, one or more teams have to be approved for the proposed move and three-quarters of owners have to vote to make it possible, if not(no decision by then)it could get tabled until next year.

The Rams proposed a stadium which could house two teams in Inglewood, LA area. Another plan would be for the Chargers and Raiders to share the facility at Carson. By far the Rams have the best option with $450 million in possible subsides, while the poorest would be the Raiders. The franchise relocation fee is $550 million dollars, and no team has received enough support from NFL owners to make the move. Committees are meeting during this first week of the year in New York.
The Chargers released this statement:
“We have tried for more than 14 years, through nine separate proposals and seven different mayors, to create a world-class stadium experience for fans in San Diego. Despite these efforts, there is still no certain, actionable solution to the stadium problem. We are sad to have reached this point.”The Rams statement:

“The Rams  informed the National Football League today that the Rams propose to relocate to the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. The relocation would be effective for the 2016 NFL League Year.”

And the Oakland Raiders were the last to release a statement::

“In accordance with the relocation policies, the Oakland Raiders submitted a relocation package to the NFL. The matter is now in the hands of the NFL’s owners. An owners’ meeting is scheduled to take place in Houston, Texas on January 12 and 13, 2016.”

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Are the San Francisco Giants willing to spend on Yoenis Cespedes?

The Giants signed two starting pitchers to strengthen their 2015 weak rotation, by signing free agents Jeff Samardzija for $90 million dollars and five years and then Johny Cueto for 6 years and $130 million dollars. The “first row” of free agents outfielders available as of today are: Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton and Alex Gordon. Cespedes would be the ideal fit for the Giants in a stadium where a good right handed power hitter can do very well, but Cespedes is looking for a long deal of four years at least and most teams are probably pondering the situation; as he would turn 31 years of age this 2016 season. Alex Gordon, with less power but a Gold Glove could be a good option also, and of course Justin Upton who could provide some power in the middle of the lineup. Cespedes probably is the best fit, and he would be back in the Bay Area, where he originally began his career with the Oakland Athletics. The Los Angeles Angels are very much in need of a power bat left fielder, but owner Arte Moreno said recently he is not going for the big free agents this year. However, he has said that before, and has also changed his mind. He has the money, so I would not be surprised if he signed a guy like Yoenis Cespedes.

 

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Are the Warriors receiving enough national recognition?
If the Warriors played in New York, or Los Angeles, or even Chicago, we would be reading that this 2015-2016 is “the best NBA team ever, but they play in the Bay Area, Oakland, to be exact. If we determine the best team by winning record, the history books show that the best three teams ever where all Chicago Bulls;  1995-98,  72-10, 1996-1997,   69-13 and  1991-1992, 67-15, the Michael Jordan and company teams. The Warriors are 32-2, on a pace to become the best record ever, all they have to do is to win 41 of their next 48 games, then the numbers will show that they are the best on a regular season in the NBA history. Notice the Bulls (above) have the best two records ever on consecutive seasons, and that means that if the Warriors win the NBA title again, they will make some history also. Easy to forget here in Curryland, that the San Antonio Spurs have a 30-6 record.
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Brazil looking for Vinganca
In Portuguese, the world Vinganca means “revenge” and this next World Cup of Soccer, the world’s greatest sporting event, will take place in Brazil, this year and Brazilians who were totally embarrassed during the last World Cup by Germany who defeated them 7- 1 are looking forward to playing this time in front of the greatest futbol audience in the world. Brazil has won five World Cups more than anybody and they are the only team to have qualified to every World Cup. When you are the host country, you automatically qualify, so that was sort of good news for the Brazilians this year.  Germany is #2 all time with four World Cup titles. Brazil is the fifth largest country(by territory)in the world, only Russia, Canada, United States of America and China are larger, but there is not bigger passion for one sport in the world but for Futbol in Brazil. Because the way they lost to Germany last time in the final game, where 95%of the Brazilian people were either listening on the radio or watching on television, the media in Brazil considers this 2016 World cup as their most important in their history.
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Amaury Pi Gonzalez is a former candidate for the Ford C Frick Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Tomsula doesn’t deserve most of the blame York does and he admits it

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by David Zizmor

SANTA CLARA–Let’s keep in mind that every assistant coach in the NFL has dreams of being a head coach and former 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula was no exception as he was fired right after Sunday’s game. Also former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was no exception he was also on the 49ers chopping block.

It was kind of apparent to everybody inside the 49ers organization that 49ers CEO Jed York was favorable towards Tomsula and he took advantage of that. Tomsula gets a tiny bit of blame for what went wrong in the 2015 season. Let’s be honest it’s hard to fault him that’s because every assistant coach wants the head coaches job.

So as far as what went wrong with the 49ers coaching this season you can point to Tomsula but as far as the blame is concerned York gets most of the blame, it’s not Tomsula’s job to figure out whose most qualified for the job. It’s the general manager Trent Baalke and the team CEO York.

David Zizmor did the 49ers commentary during the 2015 season and will do NFL playoff commentary right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: York says blame rests squarely on his shoulders

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by Joe Lami

photo credit: sfgate.com 49ers CEO Jed York at press conference announcing firing of head coach Jim Tomsula

SANTA CLARA–We have rarely seen 49ers CEO Jed York step up to the podium and address the media and he’s stepped back from speaking this season. He mentioned that and in effect he doesn’t want to be a distraction to this team so what he’s deciding to do is he’s taking a step back.

He mentioned that he would step back on social media, if you remember York a few years back before this terrible season the 49ers had we saw York talk a lot. Today was the first time we got to speak to York and he addressed the fans right off the bat by apologizing that this season was unacceptable.

York takes the blame and he’s trying to get this team back to a Super Bowl winning team. York also mentioned that he’s keeping general manager Trent Baalke on as team general manager. Which raises a very interesting question why would Baalke remain on? When you look at Baalke’s draft picks and how York used this that this would be an important picks.

Listen to the rest of Joe’s podcast click on below right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Message to the Fans From York

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By: Joe Lami

photo credit: buschleaguesports.com 49ers CEO Jed York

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—

49ers’ owner Jed York spoke with the media for the first time in over a year on Monday morning at Levi’s Stadium. Once again, it was to discuss the termination of a head coach, as the 49ers reported late Sunday night that Jim Tomsula won’t be continuing as the head coach.

York begun the conference by thanking and apologizing to the fans for going through the difficult times, “this season was difficult on multiple levels. We took a step back towards a goal of winning a super bowl.”. York also acknowledged the criticism that he’s faced from the fans, whether it be from social media or even the banners that were being flown over the stadium.

He went on to say that he understands his role as the owner of the 49ers and that he has taken a step backwards with communicating via social media and he shouldn’t be a distraction to the team.

The most important step moving forward will be choosing a new coach for the 49ers. York confirmed on Monday that General Manager Trent Balke will remain on and will be in charge of choosing the next head coach. This seems to be different because with the initial hiring of Tomsula, it appeared to be solely York’s decision. By taking this step back, he is getting out of the way and allowing football minds make the football decisions, a criticism that hit him hard this year.

York appeared to have also shown that Balke might be on his final string by indicating how important the upcoming draft is with the seventh overall selection San Francisco will have. With Balke’s previous draft record, one has to question with he’s up for such a high task, but York is giving him on final chance mentioning that he has taken us there before and he can do it again.

While York didn’t want to tip his hand too much on what San Francisco will be looking for, he mentioned the obvious in finding a leader and a general that can lead a team to winning a Super Bowl. When it was brought up that the 49ers seemed to have a coach with these qualities in Jim Harbaugh, York danced around that question. York also mentioned that the 49ers do have a short list on possible candidates they will contact and that the media is free to speculate.

Chiefs beat Raiders to end season

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photos Kansas Chiefs Charcandrick breaks tackle of Oakland Raiders Ben Heeney Sun 1-3-16

After starting the 2015 season with a 1-5 record, things looked bleak for the Kansas City Chiefs, but something changed in that game.

Jeremy Maclin caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith to get the Chiefs on the board on their way to a 23-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.

After forcing the Raiders on their next drive, the Chiefs complied a 12-play, 87-yard drive that ended when Spencer Ware scored to make it 14-0.

This was the 10th straight victory for the Chiefs, who head to the playoffs and will face the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Saturday.

Derek Carr finished with 194 yards passing, giving him 3,987 yards on the season. Latavius Murray was held to just 31 yards rushing.

David Amerson intercepted a Smith pass and took to it back 24 yards to cut the Chiefs lead down to 14-10.

The Chiefs added a safety after blocking a Marquette King punt thought the end zone to push the lead up to six.

Michael Crabtree scored the final touchdown of the season for the Raiders when he scored on a 31-yard pass from Carr.

This proved to be the final game of Charles Woodson’s 18-year career, as he ended his career in the same stadium where it began back in September of 1998.

Tomsula Focused On The Players, But His Time Seems to Be Up

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: blackssportsonline.com 49ers are expected to be making a decision on 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula in a Monday press conference

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–After a meaningless overtime win over the St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula maintained that he wants to keep the dialogue focused on the players, not “Jim’s job status.” But with rumors that his receiving a pink slip from Jed York is imminent, it’s hard not to look forward to who will be the next puppet coach in Santa Clara.

Tomsula reiterated that he has not yet talked to ownership, something he doesn’t expect to do until “the season is over.” Additionally, there is no word yet that a meeting has been scheduled with ownership.

Tomsula kept the focus on the players in his post-game press conference: “I have a group of players that just won a football game. They’ve been through a very tough season, they’ve stuck together, they won a game in overtime and fought like crazy. Today is all about those players. My job status and anything going forward from there can be handled during the rest of the week.”

 

But to everyone else in the building, it’s painfully obvious that it’s Tomsula’s time to go. Tomsula is a well-meaning man, but never was worthy of an NFL head coaching job. That shone clear again on Sunday, when Tomsula opted to not to kick a field goal from the 37-yard line, well within 49ers’ kicker Phil Dawson’s range, in a tie game with just over a minute and a half left to play.

Tomsula blamed it on the wind that was going against him, but it appeared to be going the opposite direction, and with little force, at that. The decision was just a microcosm of a disaster of a 5-11 season for the Niners’ first-year head coach, who will likely go one-and-done. With all of the hardship Niners fans have had to endure this season, someone has to be the scapegoat for owner Jed York — and it’s not going to be his general manager, Trent Baalke, who had survived two previous firings.

But moving forward (as the 49ers overwhelmingly will), the Niners will have a plethora of options to choose from to replace Tomsula. Recently fired Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly is rumored to be an option, although it’s unclear whether his offensive style and strong-willed nature would mesh well with York’s need for control. Once again, former Broncos and Redskins’ coach Mike Shanahan has been connected with the job as well, someone who the Niners passed over previously.

In my mind, the most likely rumor would be Sean Payton, who is likely to be fired by the New Orleans Saints. He’s become a little more muted since the “Bountygate” scandal and as a defensive coach, would be a great fit with San Francisco.

In spite of all of this talk, Tomsula still believes in his the character of his team. “That’s what is exciting to me,” Tomsula said Sunday. “A lot of you aren’t there to see it in practice, but that is one really good group of players. The intangibles in that locker room are where the San Francisco 49ers want to be.” Even if the talent isn’t there, on the field or the sidelines, Tomsula still “really believes” in his coaching staff and his players.

 

For Tomsula, football is “people. For anybody who talks about football, it’s the people that make up the game. There’s a lot of good people with the San Francisco 49ers.” He said he will “miss” the games this offseason.

Miss the games he will, but probably for another reason: because he won’t be a head coach in the National Football League.

 

49ers Hope to End Season on Highnote

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By: Joe Lami

The San Francisco 49ers’ season will come to an end this Sunday as they host the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Many questions are left up in the air about the future of the team, including if coach Jim Tomsula and GM Trent Balke will return in their roles. However, before the team can work on improvement for next year, they still have one more game to play.

After slow starts in every game this season, the 49ers’ offense looked alive in the first half last week in Detroit in which they were able to score 17. But a terrible second half was their demise in the 32-17 loss. They hope they can put together an entire 60-minutes of football against the Rams.

The Rams come into the contest 7-8 after stringing off three straight wins heading in and would love to finish the season with a.500 record.  Their chances look good, as the 4-11 Niners are banged up at nearly every major position. Make-shift running back Shaun Draughn has been ruled out for Sunday after he was placed on the season-ending IR. There is a question of the possibility that rookie back Mike Davis returns in his first game since early November where he broke his hand in the first game against the Rams.

St. Louis should rely heavily on rookie running back Todd Gurley, currently third in the league in rushing yards and my favorite to win the offensive rookie of the year award. In the first game against San Francisco, he ran for 133 yards on 20 carries for one score. It’s crucial for the Niners to stop him on Sunday if they want to prevent their first 0-6 division record since the league introduced the 16-week schedule.

Prediction: things won’t get better for the Niners and will need to re-examine everything in the franchise. Anquan Boldin will play in his last game in red and gold.

Rams 31 49ers 13

San Francisco 49ers podcast: Latest on 49ers coaching front ex-Eagle coach Chip Kelly could be next 49ers coach

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by David Zizmor

photo credit: inquisitor.com 49er head coach Jim Tomsula

SANTA CLARA–Will 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula return to the 49ers next season? That’s a tough question to answer that involves team CEO Jed York and team general manager Trent Baalke. Tomsula is the guy that they wanted all along and if you read enough articles and do a little digging on this it sounds like had former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh had not been available five years ago Tomsula would have been the head coach back then.

There is talk that former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly might be the next 49ers head coach and that Tomsula could get his walking papers despite inheriting a 49ers team that was roster gutted when former stars, Michael Crabtree, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Mike Iupati, Justin Smith, had left the club. Inspite of it all Tomsula is getting the blame and could be out and replaced by Kelly.

You might remember that former 49ers head coach Mike Singletary got fired in the end of the 2010 season and Tomsula coached the final game of that season. He won that final game and the players loved him and he was this great story as the guy who was wondering around the coaching community for years and years.

Everybody like him and he lived in his car and he kind of climbed his way up with perseverance and he became a respected line coach and here he is getting his chance to coach the 49ers in that one final game of the season and it didn’t seem like he was a long term coaching candidate but if you read into it it seems like Tomsula was on the short list to be the 49ers head coach back then.

David Zizmor did the 2015 49ers podcasts each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com