Candlestick -The Last Time?

I remember well that you could feel the electricity in the air and view the legendary ABC crew of Frank Gifford, 'Dandy' Don Meredith and Howard Cosell standing in their brightly lighted TV booth ready to describe the John Brodie led 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in the first Candlestick Park Monday Night Football Game on a very cold early December 1971 night. The fans were prepared and dressed for the elements but many still must have wondered why did they schedule a night game in San Francisco in December.

Forty years later they are still scheduling night games at Candlestick Park in December. The tail gate parties started early and the excitement was so great for the new image 49ers that most of the fans were not even concerned with the weather or the fact that two major power failures helped Candlestick to retain its national status as San Francisco darkened the Pittsburgh Steelers chances to win the AFC North and earn a bye in the first week of playoffs.

Candlestick was the television focal point of the nation when the devastating 1989 earthquake hit just before the start of game 3 of the World Series terrifying almost everyone at the park. The stadium's reputation began to build as early as 1961 when Stu Miller the Giants pitcher was blown off the mound during the national televised Major League All Star Game. In the following year the 1962 Giants-Yankees World Series was delayed for days and almost moved from San Francisco to Modesto due to a deluge of rain storms. The stadium noted for its wind, rain and tremors in 2011 added a blackout on national television to append it's stature.

The NFL officials held their breathe when the power was restored for the second time that it would last long enough to complete the game. If the power kept going off then the options provided were to play through out the night, continue the game the next day or move it to Oakland. The NFL was in a quandary because unlike baseball which considers 5 innings a complete game, there is no rule in the NFL that says 35 minutes of play makes it official.

The television networks will want the 49ers featured in prime time in 2012 because of their success this year. They will play road games at night but will the NFL take a gamble on Candlestick or have the faithful experienced their last Monday Night Game?

Homer Sweeney

NFL Christmas Cards

All the NFL Christmas Cards make fun of Christmas except the Oakland Raiders who have a very appropriate dignified card in memory of Al Davis. The season of advent reminds us to be prepared. Let us hope that Al was ready.

Homer Sweeney

Remembering 'Joe the Jet' Perry

The Forty Niners wore a number '34' sticker on their gold helmets the day that hard working running back Frank Gore broke Joe Perry's 49er NFL rushing record of 7,323 yards. Perry out of Compton College and the Alameda Naval Air Station spent 1948 and 1949 seasons with the Niners in the All-America Football Conference gaining an additional 1,345 which are not part of his record. The new league never gained any respect from the old NFL even though the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship in their first year after merging along with the 49ers and the Colts.

The NFL is different today. Frank Gore is the one running back and the NFL schedule is 16 games while in Joe Perry's day they played 12 games and Perry a fullback was one of three backs such as Hall of Famers John Henry Johnson and Hugh McElhenny who could be called upon to carry the ball on a given play.

The 1948 picture of 'Joe the Jet' at the left shows that there have been many changes over the years.

Joe is wearing number '74' his original number with the team until the NFL standardized numbers by position in 1951 and then Joe became number '34'.

In the picture to the right you will notice that the Niners wore Cardinal red jerseys and silver pants in the early years. For most of the last fifty years they have worn a variety of gold colored pants with different shades of red jerseys.

Joe is wearing a 'Heisman' type of leather helmet with no face guard which was designed to protect the player rather than being used as a weapon like the helmets worn today.

Homer Sweeney

The Giants 2012

What you see is what you get and all the money is gone according to the Giants brass. What we see is certainly not what the SF Chronicle wrote the other day.

The pitching staff is close to be being complete although I don't know who is going to replace Ramirez. He is a big loss and I don't see Runzler filling that role. They will be looking hard for a diamond in the rough fifth starter and relief pitcher.

The infield will be Belt, Sanchez (if he is ready a big question) Sandoval and Crawford with two reserves. The outfield will be Pagan, Carbrera, Schierholtz, Huff and a fifth to be named later. Posey and Sanchez will be the catchers. Sanchez lacks experience behind the plate but they need his bat if Crawford is going to play ss and Posey some 1st base.

The Giants know that Gillaspie is ready with the bat but can he play 2nd base as well as 3rd base and can first baseman Brett Pill also play the outfield? Players should play at least two positions in the minors and if they did the Giants might have the answers to these two questions. If these two players can adjust to these new positions it would leave one infield spot open probably for Fontenot who showed he could fill in at ss last year.

Homer Sweeney

How Many Margaritas?

Arte, how many margaritas did you have at that hotel bar in Dallas? The bar bill was about $335 million that would give anyone a massive hangover. Lets review what the Angels got on your spending spree

1. They got LaTroy Hawkins who is 39 going on 50 years of age since I believe he pitched against Willie Mays. He will be an excellent relief pitcher for the Angels when they are trailing 10-2 in the eighth inning but I would not have confidence to use him to protect an 8 run lead.

2. They added left handed starter C.J. Wilson who has won 31 games over the last two years so I figure the Angels will be paying about $1 million for every win he gets. After seeing him pitch this past fall I was surprised he got any offers.

3. Albert 'the traitor' Pujols who most will say is the best hitter in baseball but others will argue facts such as he is closer to 35 years of age then 32.

Who is going to pay the bill? The Orange County Register believe a big future TV contract will help and others say the fans will be so happy that they will gladly pay more to attend the games.

Perhaps they didn't look at recent history. The New York Yankees are paying Alex Rodriguez even more money then the Angels are paying Pujlos. Are the fans happy? He is booed all the time. Didn't Joe Torre when managing the Yanks have to save Rodriguez from being lynched? Rodriguez looks just as cool as other players striking out in October. Even with a new billion dollar state of the art Yankees Stadium attendance went down some 8,000 per game as prices rose.

Remember when the Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1990's. Very little credit is given because it is known that they bought the championship. Will they say the same about the Angels if they win in 2012?

Homer Sweeney

The New Warrior Owners

If there was ever a group of phonies it is the new owners of the Warriors. Lots of new consultants and hires in the front office including Jerry West who I guess they thought could still play. They haven't won a game yet and looks like they will have the same mediocre team they have had for years. Now they are telling the fans that have supported the franchise to 'go shove it' and plan to move to San Francisco who failed to support the Warriors even before tattoos degraded the NBA. If they want to play in SF just set up a court at AT&T and borrow a few out door heaters from MoMo's. No problem and the Giants could use the rent.

Homer Sweeney

Baseball Notes

I am a critic of baseball commissioner Bud Selig but he has kept peace with the players union with no lock outs, strikes, or a shortened season that would harm the game. This Bud is for you!

The Giants - Not very many are asking it but with Barry Zito getting married are the Giants pitching woes solved?

It looks as if Beltran and Ross are now former Giants. Huff would also be included but he has an $11 million contract they can't absorb. They are already eating Rowand's $12 million.

The Yankees - Bobby Valentine is the new manager of the Red Sox; Yankees win Yankees win! Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN will never be the same --- Thank goodness! Bring back M & M.

The Dodgers - Is it just a Coincidence? Matt Kemp signs with the bankrupt Dodgers for $160 million and you wondered where the stimulus money went.

The Marlins - They sign three established major league stars Bell, Reyes and Buerle for about $200 million. Not bad spending for a team that drew more ants than fans last year and are currently being investigated by the SEC. But don't worry in the USA today is not the crime you commit but it's who you know. Bud has plenty of friends so the Marlins don't seemed too concerned.

Comments on College Football

Pac 12 Scheduling Does Matter

Oregon is a big 30+ point favorite to beat UCLA in the first Pac 12 Championship game. One has to wonder was it all worth it to have one more Friday night game on national TV that hundreds are going to watch. This is the first year of the Pac 12 unbalanced schedule similar to major league baseball. Each year teams in the south plays four of the six universities in the north. This season USC who was ineligible played the toughest conference schedule with their opponents having an overall record of 25-11 followed closely by Arizona 24-12 and Colorado 23-13. The three teams in contention to represent the south in the championship game until the last week of the season UCLA (17-19), Utah (14-22) and ASU (17-19) had the weakest conference schedules.

The Year of the Uniform Changes

If you would take a vote of the nation Maryland would probably be voted the worst college uniforms of the year mixing the colors of their state with the school colors. My vote however goes to Michigan State who wore the most horrible green colors to go with ugly gold helmets in their traditional game against Michigan. Even though my wife is an MSU grad we had a tough time cheering for the Spartans. The Wolverines wore white uniforms that day with maze and blue shoulder colors which got my vote for the best alternate uniform of the year. Harvey Hyde former head coach at UNLV and football commentator in the LA area thought that the uniforms Stanford wore against Notre Dame looked like Halloween costumes.

You never know what combination of colors Oregon is going to wear each week. The number style on their uniforms look like they belong on European soccer jerseys not on college football players who should wear large block numbers that are easy to read.

Most of the new style uniforms were designed by Nike which makes one think that I had better buy New Balance shoes the next time.

BCS

Garbage in garbage out. . .

Quote of the Year

Lou Holtz commenting on the fact that many players commit stupid unnecessary roughing penalties that hurt their team said, "Don't you understand, today is about me, not the team!"

The Solution

Football helmets were designed as a protection not a weapon which is so common today with head to head contact being a major concern in both professional and college football. This headache can be solved very easily by returning to leather helmets such as the one worn by 'The Heisman'.

Homer Sweeney

The Amazing 49ers

Like most everyone else I am amazed at the 49ers 10-3 record and NFC West Crown especially when you figure there were new coaches, new systems, no off season to prepare and the team would have the same QB who had seen his first two head coaches get fired.

Forty Niner fans have high hopes for the future with their new coach Jim Harbaugh although it has come sooner then most expected for three apparent reasons.

1) The team has talent having signed good players and drafted well in the past few years.

2) They have won some games rather easily while others have been hard fought struggles with the 'Niners making big plays at the right time.

3) It has been a long time since I can remember the NFL having so many inept teams.

Harbaugh left Stanford to become an NFL coach and at the same time turn around the struggling 49ers. In another era Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham left to revitalized a depleted Notre Dame team. In his first year with the Irish he was Coach of the winning his first eight games. But like so many new coaches the wizardry soon wore off which we call the 'Ty Syndrome'. Can Harbaugh continue to wave his magic wand?

Homer Sweeney
Art Work:  Emily Knous

Comments on the NBA

Being an NBA Fan

I am not a fan of the NBA however I am a fan of the Golden State Warriors. Every year at the start I hope for the best only to be quickly disappointed. The Warriors surprised and thrilled their fans and others as well the way they upset Dallas a few years ago and quickly became the talk of the basketball nation. For the rest of the decade however Warrior fans have suffered but their continued support has been the marvel and envy of most NBA teams. Hats off to those fans!

The NBA Returns.

There is good news and bad news. The good news is that those thousands who make their living with services related to the NBA are back in business. The bad news is that all of those ugly tattoos will be plastered all over your TV screen sending the wrong message to the country's youth. Those basketball hopefuls of the future that follow the examples of their heroes had better not plan on being recruited by Duke. But most other college coaches will recruit anybody that can help them win just as long as they have not been arrested too many times. Got to save their million dollar coaching jobs at any costs.

Currently it takes months of patience and pain to have tattoos removed so that a person can look normal again. One persons anguish is another persons career opportunity. In the future there will a big demand and a very rich reward for someone who can develop a more economical less painful process to remove tattoos.

NBA Contract

Details regarding the new NBA contract are now becoming available. One provision for the players according to a reliable source is that the players can determine how they want to be introduced before the game. Many will use the college they attended , or some might use the school they obtained their Masters, while others will use an elementary school, their correctional facility, a CBA team that discovered them or an NBA team that gave them their first chance.

NBA Saves Christmas

The NBA is thrilled that they have saved Christmas Day by finally reaching an agreement with the players. So as I understand it instead of observing the birth of Jesus Christ we are going to celebrate the return of the (deleted) (deleted).

NFL Rules!

This is not baseball but perhaps many of you have the same question regarding the NFL as I do. How many times have you heard 'the ground cannot cause a fumble'? Now I see a receiver catch a pass and control the ball and then get thrown to the ground and the ball comes lose. The ground causes the incomplete pass but cannot cause a fumble.

Homer Sweeney
Art Work: Emily Knous

A New Schedule and More Playoffs

I am a traditionalist and cannot be a supporter of Bud Selig because he has done everything in his power to destroy baseball tradition for the sake of the almighty dollar. Baseball people and fans knew that something had to be done about the current major league baseball scheduled which is unbalanced, not fair and is considered a joke. With the new 15 team leagues there will a new schedule as Selig says, "It won't be perfect. Nothing in any schedule is ever perfect, but it will be very good." I would like to remind the commissioner that baseball teams in the major leagues use to play each team in their league the same amount of games at home and away.

The schedule suggested in the Paul I Fagan article is not perfect because teams do not play each other equally home and away but it does stress the importance of the season which means there are no wild card teams. If a team cannot win a small five team division then they don't belong in the playoffs.

Selig was also pleased at the fact that another layer of playoffs will be added that I am sure 'thrilled' Mike Cain and Tim Linecum of the Giants who in the past voiced strong opposition to the proposal in an effort to save their arms. If baseball wants to be like the NBA use to be when it existed, they should consider 15 divisions with two team each the winners making the playoffs along with the nine best second place records. This would allow 24 teams to make the playoffs which would thrill the baseball owners, ESPN, Fox, TBS and MLB television.

Homer Sweeney

Paul I Fagan and Realignment

Paul I Fagan purchased interest in the San Francisco Seals in the middle of the the 1944 season for the primary purpose of eventually making the Pacific Coast League a third major league. When you consider that the Seals had to sell George Metkovich (pictured at the right) an outfielder to the Boston Red Sox in the middle of the 1943 season for $25,000 just to pay the bills you can understand the need for new capital.

With the additional funds changes became very evident. In 1945 the Seals began wearing alternate uniforms for Sunday home games. Maroon replaced the normal blue color of the caps and lettering. New right field bleachers were build in 1946, spring training was held in Hawaii, the stadium was painted for the first time, and many were paid salaries comparable to the major leagues. Fagan wanted coast league teams to keep their talent instead of sending them to the majors. Most of these teams could not afford this type of luxury so the plan failed but lets review what has happened over the decades.

Most of the cities from the old Pacific Coast League are currently part of the major leagues.

San Francisco Seals are the Giants
Oakland Oaks are the Athletics
Los Angeles Angels are the Dodgers.
Hollywood Starts are LA Angels of Anaheim
San Diego Padres are still the Padres
The Seattle Rainiers are the Mariners.
Portland Beavers have become the Colorado Rockies
Sacramento Solons can consider Arizona their home

Would Bud Selig permit a third major league as part of realignment? All of his decisions are based on the almighty dollar. If it can make money Selig would be interested. This would leave baseball in an awkward position since both major leagues would have eleven teams. But wait a minute, how about moving one team from each of the two leagues to the coast league and presto we would have three 10 team major leagues just as Paul I Fagan had envisioned over sixty years ago. Who would move? The fight would be between the two teams located in Texas and the Missouri teams since all of them would want to be part of the gravy train.

The Leagues would have two divisions with the division champions playing each other for the league title. There would be a 164 game schedule with division rivals playing each other 12 times and other teams in the league 10. Each team would play three games against every team in the other leagues. The three champions would be part of four team playoff that would include the champions from the Japanese league to determine the World Champion.

Would it be approved? Well for one the Giants and Dodgers would never leave the National League. It's a lot easier to move the Astros to the American League and hope for improvement in the ridiculous baseball schedule that now exist. However, the idea is worth discussing if for no other reason then to remember Paul I Fagan a man ahead of his time.

Homer Sweeney

A Baseball Fan for Life

I was eight years old in 1942 when my father took me to my first baseball game at Seals Stadium. I don't remember the game but I quickly adopted Ferris Fain (pictured at the right) the Seals young first baseman as my favorite player. I could hardly wait until he returned from the war to see him play for the Seals again in 1946. I attended Seal games through out the war years and by the time I was 10 in 1944 I was taking the '22' and 'H' street cars to Seals Stadium by myself. Imagine a ten year old doing that today or even during the 1960's, the decade devoted to the 'dignity of man'. Oh how things have changed!

My enthusiasm and interest for the game was further enhanced since my uncle Clem Glynn was a boyhood friend of a great major league hitter Frank 'Lefty' O'Doul the Seals manager for 17 years. I was provided with many thrills and perks including bats, autographed major league baseballs, player photos and even an opportunity to sit in Seals dugout for a couple of innings.

The Pacific Coast League hit its peak following the war in the 1940's as the west continued to grow. Major League baseball finally discovered the potential with Giants and Dodgers moving in 1958. On September 15, 1957, I sat in a box seat right behind home plate to witness the last games the Seals ever played. What wonderful memories they provided me!

I became a Giant's fan during their unbelievable run for the pennant in 1951 topped by Bobby Thomson's 'shot heard around the world'. In 1954 the night before I left to fight the Korean War on the European battlefront, I was very fortunate to attend the second game of season between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants at the historic Polo Grounds. The ex-San Francisco Seal great Larry Jansen (pictured at the left) pitched for the Giants that night. The Dodgers prevailed in that battle but the Giants won the war being crowned world champions later that year.

In 1958 The Giants came to San Francisco and thanks to an old friend Gerry DeRyan for standing in a long line we were able to purchase 90 cent tickets in the right field bleachers to attend the first game. In those early years I quickly became a great fan of Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons (pictured below) radio descriptions of the Giants games and years later actually cried when I heard of the death of Russ Hodges.

I followed the Giants every year some times closer than others depending on the quality of the team, career and family responsibilities. My daughters Jane and Katie settled in southern California so we followed them south in 1997. We would have never had moved it wasn't for the satellite that allows us to watch almost all Giant games. Through the years The Giants have experienced many ups and downs but we should never forget Bob Lurie and Peter Magowan for what they did to save the Giants from leaving San Francisco.

The Giants finally won the World Series Championship in 2010 after over fifty years in San Francisco, a moment that can never be taken from loyal Giant fans. When you consider all the great Giant players that have thrilled us over the years and still they could not bring back the title that shows how difficult it is to win a World's Championship.

I have cut back on many things I have been doing which provides me with the opportunity to express my views as a Giant fan. The great part of being a fan of baseball is that everyone seems to have a different opinion about a player or a strategy which makes the game interesting, fun and great. For the past couple of years I have been e-mailing my comments about the Giants to some of my friends and my daughter Katie suggested that I start a blog. I know I will enjoy it.

Homer Sweeney

PS If you plan to attend a game at AT&T say hello to my cousin Jim who runs the souvenir stand in front of MoMo's across from AT&T. If your staying in San Francisco think about the Sir Francis Drake where my cousin Tom is the famous doorman.

Who is Going to be the Fifth Starter?

Can Barry Zito rebound from a disastrous 2011 and be the Giants fifth starter? There is no doubt that the Giants will be looking at the affordable free agent market that includes a few intriguing teammates from the past. How about bringing back Brad Penny? He wouldn't mind serving up those 410 foot fly balls at AT&T. He won 11 games for the Tigers last year. At the end of the season he was over weight and was the last man Leland wanted to use during the playoffs. Did he get tired as the season progressed? Don't forget about the wonders of wonders Livan Hernandez who continues to amaze every year. I am sure time and a World Series title has allowed the Giant fans to forgive and forget. Just don't let him go over 6 innings and most likely he will keep his team in the game. Or would rather have Bartolo Colon?

Homer Sweeney

A Fast Start

The Giants are off an running. They signed their two left handed relievers although it was rumored that it would be too expensive. Then they traded for Melky Cabrera who looks likes he could be a real winner. They got an outfielder without spending any of their free agency budget. Some think that will take care of the outfield. I disagree and believe they will add another potential first string outfielder. The Giant faithful roared at AT&T all season but as the season progress you could hear a murmur get louder and louder that sounded like 'well that's the game' both at the park and with Giants TV listeners around the country when they fell behind early in the game. Sabean also heard it and he doesn't want to be embarrassed again in 2012.

Homer Sweeney

Changes for 2012

On September 29, 2011 I wrote an e-mail to my friends expressing my thoughts on who would not return next year to the Giants. This is for the record to review at the beginning of next season.

Whiteside - poor play
Stewart - be nice to have him in Fresno just in case.
Beltran - money
Burris - ability
DeRosa - wrist problem prevents any power
Fontenot - disappointment at the plate. Could be signed to back up Sanchez
Burrell - can't hit the fast ball anymore - time to retire
Ford - ability
Ross - 26 weeks - 8 on the DL - 2 hitting - 16 striking out
Torres - can't hit
Keppinger - can't have two second basemen
Corbrea - can't catch

Homer Sweeney