Going into this season’s playoffs, the biggest weakness of Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers seemed to be an inability to play from behind. This had rarely been a problem over the last two years, as the 49ers usually combined their defense with a strong running game to keep control of the ball, avoid mistakes, and …
Disgraced doper-cyclist Lance Armstrong begins his comeback attempt tonight, as he talks to Oprah Winfrey. Reportedly confesses to Oprah Winfrey that he cycled drugs through his blood in an elaborate international cheating scheme that would make rebuilding Steve Austin seem like a mundane affair, by comparison. Perhaps Lance – coached by a small army of …
For the San Francisco Giants and their fans, where once was poverty is now an embarrassment of riches. Enjoy the pictures. – Chuck Strom
If anyone still harbored doubts about Colin Kaepernick—I at least will admit to it—he has effectively put them to rest tonight, and barring serious injury he has established himself as the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers for the next decade. The statistics—45 points, 2 touchdown passes, 2 rushing touchdowns, and 183 yards rushing (not …
To the surprise of no one who is familiar with my posts, I paid another visit to AT&T last week, this time with my daughter Bethany and her current significant other. Enjoy the pictures. – Chuck Strom
I just heard that Richard Ben Cramer passed away. I have his DiMaggio biography, and I had heard that he was working on one of Alex Rodriguez. I had looked forward to reading it. It is a sad day for sports literature. – Chuck Strom http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/us/politics/richard-ben-cramer-dies-at-62-chronicled-presidential-politics.html
A few weeks ago the San Francisco Giants broke my wife’s heart. They chose not to offer her favorite player, Brian Wilson, a contract for at least $6.8 million, which is the minimum allowed by the Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement based on Wilson’s previous service. The Giants, openly concerned about their closer’s ability …
Until a couple of weeks ago I could hardly be bothered with the NFL. The 49ers were playing well, but Orange October baseball had upstaged them and temporarily reversed the general preference for football in the hearts and minds of fans and media schedulers, at least in San Francisco. Once the Giants disbanded to their …
Congrats to my Oregon Ducklets here at the midnight hour getting past a tough game with those California Bears 59-17. What a late game! I know 59-17 doesn’t sound like a challenge but it truly was a close 24-17 mid-way into the 3rd quarter, at which time Oregon went absolutely QUACKO. With Alabama losing today …
A month ago I watched the San Francisco Giants get thrashed 9-0 in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. Except for a few delusional optimists, all of us who were there that night believed that we had witnessed the final game at AT&T Park for 2012. I cannot overstate the depressing sense of …
I have been asked whether I have World Series tickets, well… Standing Room Only starts at $400. The price goes up significantly at this level, probably because now the beautiful people and the high rollers will be showing up. My bankbook isn’t quite in that league, which is why for the last two Giants Octobers …
When the Giants clinched the National League West title with almost two weeks left in the season, I put in a call to my brother in San Francisco. “We need to go to a playoff game,” I said. “It could be ten years before they get back again.” That had become my standard method of …
I heard this for the first time today on NPR’s Talk of the Nation (yes they played a song on a talk show) and chortled as Neal Conan referred to Ben Gibbard as “Dave Gibbard” and said the rocker grew up listening to Dave Niehaus describe Ichiro. Au contraire, Ben was an adult and already …
Partisans, pundits and properly behaved patriots are welcome at London’s Olympic Games which open on Friday, July 27. Political protestors, dissidents, publicists or satirists, however, need not present their tickets because organizers have banned strong political statements of all kinds, especially those emblazoned on t-shirts. Writing for the Independent, Tom Peck explains, “Many of those …
I had no idea that “The Wave Speech” from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas had been given a name and taken on a life of it’s own amongst Thompson mavens and literary academics. I had wrongly assumed that I was the only one to find beauty in these six paragraphs and to excerpt them …
The All-Star Break is almost upon us—time for a mid-season report on the San Francisco Giants. At 46-39, the Giants are one-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, and if the season ended today they would be tied with the Mets for the second and final wild-card spot after losing four …
Last week, feeling overwhelmed by life, I e-mailed my brother in San Francisco. “I need a Giants fix,” I told him. “How about a game?” A few minutes later he e-mailed back, “Funny you should ask. The company tickets are available on Sunday. Are you interested?” God bless having a member of my immediate family …
It happens about 50 seconds into the clip:
Isaiah Thomas, former University of Washington star basketball guard and the only final-pick in the history of the NBA draft to go on to win Rookie of the Month (twice!) and whose lovely father I’ve chatted with while cheering Isaiah on together at summer-league games here in Seattle, is in grave danger of losing me …
One of the most popular vids in the country today:
Not long ago I discovered that AT&T Park gave tours to the general public, including visits to a luxury box, the Giants’ dugout, and the visitors’ locker room. At $15 dollars per ticket, the price of admission seemed cheap for the privilege of living a childhood dream, so after Christmas last year I prevailed upon …
Wherever nerds are given a group rate, East Portland Blog will be there: The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes baseball team, a Class A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, will be offering a Nerd Night promotion sponsored by Eye Care Physicians & Surgeons on July 12, 2012. The Volcanoes’ promotions department may be willing to team up …
Those who read Grantland may have seen Jonah Keri’s recent preview of the San Francisco Giants, where he predicted that their stellar pitching will be betrayed again by another punchless lineup of veteran retreads, for which he excoriated general manager Brian Sabean for not improving. In general it’s hard to argue with Keri’s reasoning. The …
This is so Portland (see Portland Bike routes, Portland sustainability). The Argentinian bamboo bicycle. I want one. The web page is in Spanish, but here is the Google translation of some the company’s descriptive language about their bamboo bicycle. (Say “bamboo bicycle” out loud. It’s fun to say, isn’t it? Well, the Spanish, “Bambubicicleta,” is …
This debuted during the Bruins-Rangers game today… very moved by it. If you don’t know who Brendan Burke was, I highly recommend his Wikipedia entry. http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2012/3/3/2842761/you-can-play-gay-rights-hockey-philadelphia-flyers – Steve Stav