Sports Talk

The Summer Olympics of 2012 in London were not nearly as good or as exciting as the Beijing Olympics in China in 2008. But the single most thrilling moment in either Olympics was in the closing ceremonies in London when (to paraphrase), the announcement said that the voice of the British Empire over the past 50 years was John Lennon of the Beatles. Certainly I didn’t want cutie pie McCartney to get that honor. I didn’t like McCartney selling the Beatles songs to Michal Jackson. Jackson moved Strawberry Fields from Sgt. Pepper to Abbey Lane which Jackson felt needed a boost. Just that vision of young John Lennon watching the actual long fields of strawberries in from his grandmother’s house. Perhaps he meditated on his sister actually being his mother before he wrote Love is actually a .45.

The Chron Sports Page and the PD Sports Page.

SF Chron writer Bruce Jenkins seems to get it in all the major sports. He has the best insight into all them of any of the Bay Area writers but Lowell Cohen is the best writer-writer. You have to reach back many years to find that in the Ali days Cohn's coverage of boxing was the very best. Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated was the very best writer of a single sport, which was golf. When you read his bylines from the Master’s Grand Slam golf tournament, you could smell the grass and feel the players’ tension you wanted to kiss an azalea.

But for this last Super Bowl the Santa Rosa PD’s Bob Padecky, who usually covers Santa Rosa sports, but his reporting of this Super Bowl was the very best coverage I saw from the dailies. To paraphrase, the 49ers Jim Harbaugh was tight and fidgety and so were his players. John Harbaugh had his players ready but relaxed as he was. The game was lost in the first half of play and the beginning of the second half. It wasn’t lost on the final four plays.

I thought the Niners lost because the Cowboy Justin Smith’s tricep injury made him much weaker, and Aldon Smith needed Tommy Smith to grab a couple of players so Smith could speed to the quarterback.  Jon Ritter was on the Board when the 49ers drafted. They chose Aldon Smith instead. Don Miller of Denver may become the best outside linebacker since Lawrence Taylor. He is so big and fast and aggressive he doesn’t need help to get to the quarterback. SF 49er defense coordinator Vic Fangio should have blitzed the Ravens so they could keep the Ravens pocket passer from having their way with the 49ers defensive backfield. The 49ers have 15 picks in the upcoming draft. I hope they trade defensive end in the first round to back up Justin Smith.

I hope they give the Jets a second and fourth draft choice and bring in C.B. Reeves.

But the Chron’s Anne Killion usually asks good questions. So why didn’t she ask what play SF QB Kaepernick audibled away from on their final play? I thought a run or pass option had been called. Jim Harbaugh did say after the game regarding Kaepernick (to paraphrase) 'He played great in bringing us back to have a chance to win. I also thought he missed a couple of opportunities to run.' The Coach mumbled that last sentence.