--The 49ers practiced Monday and Tuesday, and will return to the practice field for their three-day mandatory minicamp, which begins Friday. That will begin a stretch of seven consecutive days of practice. After the minicamp, the 49ers will then hold four days of organized team activities. Offseason? What offseason?
--Coach Mike Singletary was not made available to the media Monday or Tuesday. He is scheduled to address the media Friday and again on . . . Thursday, June 11. Looks as if he's attempting to put a gag order on himself.
--Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is scheduled to speak to the media Saturday, while defensive coordinator Greg Manusky will take questions on Sunday.
--Although the 49ers gave veteran safety Mark Roman permission to seek a trade in the offseason, don't be surprised if he plays a major role this season. Presumptive starter Dashon Goldson has experienced injuries in both of his first two seasons. Roman might not be a fan favorite, but coaches like him because he is a diligent student. It looks as if Roman could be the primary backup at the free- and strong-safety positions.
--Read in a couple places that Singletary got after Ahmad Brooks pretty good following a practice. Brooks has extraordinary talent. That is the reason the 49ers claimed him off waivers last year. But Singletary's motivational skills will be in for severe test, as he tries to light a fire under Brooks.
--The defense is well ahead of the offense at this stage, and that is to be expected. The 49ers are learning a new offense. The defense is pickup up where it left off last season.
--Nate Clements is expected to miss several more practices with what was called a minor case of pneumonia. Sure hope it's nothing like that "minor knee injury" Walt Harris sustained a couple weeks ago. The silver lining is that now Dre' Bly and Tarell Brown will be competing against each other at the same time on opposite sides of the field.
--The 49ers still have a long road ahead to get that stadium built in
The concept is not new. Here are the NFL teams that play their home games outside their major city: Bills (
* * *
Welcome back, MM! Maybe with Sando and Baldy in town, Coach just didn't want to get in the middle of that whole NFLN-ESPN thing. ;o) Worked out great for Gruden and Schefter...
Nice to have you back, Matt! I hope that Ahmad Brooks somehow finds a way to earn himself a roster spot. He does have tremendous upside and hopefully Singletary will be able to turn that into something tangible.
Hope that marathon training is going well and again, welcome back.
I think everybody needs to get over how 49ers shouldn't play in Santa Clara thing. The name is still going to be San Francisco 49ers. The candlestick is a big dump anyway.
Two out of 3 teams from New York state don't even play in their own state and nobody cares.
Santa Clara is more convenient for most of the 49er fans and has a better access to stadium unlike the current dump.
Matt when does training camp start?
Question: Matt when does training camp start?
My response: July 30, most likely. --Matt M.
Since they are the Arizona Cardinals wouldn't anywhere in Arizona be considered their home :)
Welcome back MM!!! I hope you can get back to your Marathon training soon. I always found the rim trail up above the Lafayette Reservoir to be a great training run for hills and longer runs. It’s a hard fast loop.
Does a new stadium equal better football or more money for the owners?
It would be very interesting to see what all 49er season ticket owners, like me, think of the idea of a new stadium. I would love to see a truthful poll. From my perspective it's a disaster. Not only will the 49ers charge me a fortune (PSLs or whatever they'll name them) just for the privilege of holding on to seats I've had for many years, they'll also raise the ticket prices and assign me replacements that aren't as good as the seats I've been paying for all these years! On top of that, they'll be moving a lot further away from the loyal, season ticket holders (like me) from S.F., Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Sacramento area, East Bay and beyond.
Yes, the Stick is a dump. And even with all the great memories, I too, hate the physical place. But I'd gladly keep going, and paying, if I can keep my seats without having to pay a fortune for the "right" to have a seat in a new store for the owners.
Green Bay has never had a problem keeping their old stadium and renovating it. But then. in Green Bay the fans own the stadium, not billionaire business people.
I hate when people call Candelstick a dump. It is used 8 times a year for games that matter, more this year I hope I have been a season ticket holder and my dad still is. Candelstick has tradition, more then some new stadium will have. If traffic is a problem stay home and watch it on tv.
Welcome back Matt!
The city of SF has had years to find a viable location for a new stadium...in short, they've failed...miserably. Santa Clara is willing (voters would be idiots not to approve it) to build a new stadium to help bring our beloved franchise into the 21st century. Candlestick was horrible as a baseball stadium (I've suffered through day-night DH's) and not much better as an NFL stadium. If some fans want to be bitter about it, then be upset with the city of San Francisco. Like it or not, to be competitive in today's league, you have to play in a modern stadium, with all its luxury boxes and amenities. It's not the answer, per se, but it certainly helps. I say, good for Santa Clara, bad on S.F., and Go Niners!
They weren't always the "Arizona" Cardinals (yes, I know they were first from STL, I live there), they were the Phoenix Cardinals until 94. As the Phoenix Cardinals, they played in Tempe, Arizona. I can't be certain, but I recall reading that Phoenix refused to recognize MLK day as a National Holiday, so the NFL refused them a Super Bowl. Hence the change to "Arizona," although it's a strong possibility this is a myth.
When all is said and done, they're a Phoenix team, just like New England is Boston's team.
With revenue sharing in the NFL why do you need luxury boxes? Put quality on the field and the fans show up. The Pirates built a new modern stadium, they can't win and nobody shows up. The Yankees can't sell out their new stadium because of ticket prices. A new stadium will price out the average fan like in other markets, like New England. Why would voters be idiots to give city money to a billionarie owner who has not put a winning product on the field.
I've heard that the niners have signed Joe Staley to a long term contract extension (5-7 yrs). Can you confirm that Matt?
Well,Mtour,the owners don't NEED luxury boxes ,unless they want to have ready cash to compete for free agents and pay those big signing bonus' for draft picks and free agents and extensions of their own players. I am not sure of the percentage but I believe the owners get to keep most if not all of the luxury box money for themselves. The TV money,etc must be divided equally.
Without a new stadium,teams like Dallas would get ALL the desired free agents and teams like the Niners would be left out of really being able to compete with the big boys,who have those new stadia .
Question: I've heard that the niners have signed Joe Staley to a long term contract extension (5-7 yrs). Can you confirm that Matt?
My response: How's this? http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/06/niners-sign-staley-to-extension-through-2017.html --Matt M.
Well top cat i quess they got rid of the salary cap.
You sound like you work for the NFL. A winning football team does not require a new stadium. It requires owners who use their money to have the prestige of owning a winning NFL team, and consider profits as secondary. The luxury box excuse is all about profits. not the product.
mtour63 | June 4, 2009 2:51 PM | Reply Well top cat i quess they got rid of the salary cap.
---------------------------------------------------------------
No mtour,you totally misunderstand how the salary cap works.
Teams spred out signing bonus' over the whole period of the contract for salary cap purposes BUT the owner must come up with the millions of dollars in signing bonus money up front,in cash !!! Without all those luxury boxes,there is no signing bonus cash,unless the owner is one of the rare multi billionaire owners,who doesn't need the signing bonus cash to be generated by his teams profits.
Teams with new stadia and many luxury boxes, are the haves and teams like the Niners are have nots. The Yorks can get by for a while the way things are but without the extra income from the boxes and other incom from a new stadium the Yorks would soon need to just say no when it came to those big signing bonus' and that would destroy the future they are now building.
louie replied to comment from Frank | June 4, 2009 2:57 PM | Reply You sound like you work for the NFL. A winning football team does not require a new stadium. It requires owners who use their money to have the prestige of owning a winning NFL team, and consider profits as secondary. The luxury box excuse is all about profits. not the product.
--------------------------------------------------------------
And Louie,you couldn't be more wrong. NOBODY agrees with your statement,nobody who knows anything about the NFL that is.
You should listen to Frank,he had it right .
And thids tells the true story of the teams future...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/192537-san-francisco-49ers-nothing-wrong-with-moving-south
And lets remember that reports are that only about 9% of the fans come from San Francisco ,so , it's much better in Santa Clara for the majority of fans anyway. SF and it's inept mayor lost the team. The team tried to work with the City of SF for years and the City would not do anything but stonewall. The tea finally decided they could wait no longer and they decided to try a more reasonable City nearby. The City of SF blew it big time. It's not the fault of the team at all. And besides,the term fault is not right in this case because it is to the benifit of the fans as well as the team to move to Santa Clara.
I'm tired of the comment about the city having to build a stadium for billionaires. The 9ers have made what I feel is a very good deal for the city of SC. The money req'd from the city has already been collected (several years ago), it will not be refunded to residents, and taxes will not rise for this project. The 9ers need a new stadium and, yes, the Yorks will benefit (this is capitalism), but then so does the city. I am a season ticket holder and do welcome this change. SF blew the opportunity; I hope my city does not. I know that ticket prices will increase; they would no matter where a new stadium goes. Consider the alternative, it could be the LA 49ers. And yes, I am partial to the idea as I could walk to the games and stagger home. Bring It!
We attended the draft party in Santa Clara and stayed at a hotel next to the convention center. Great America was next store, so this is the area where the new stadium goes.
While the drawings for the new stadium look beautiful and proximity to 49er HQ is a couple of minutes, we found the area extremely sterile, consisting of office parks and Great America. No character. I guess we need to adjust to change in our old ages but we are really going to miss the charm and character of San Francisco and feel terrible for the fans in SF and outlying counties, although we come from Long Beach to attend home games.
We are trying to retain an open mind on an improved stadium and hope SF steps to the plate before it is too late if it isn't already. Heard the SF mayor doesn't want to offend Santa Clara since he is running for Gov.
first I've ever heard that Newsome was concerned about offending someone--if he ever does get elected Gov, I'm moving
robertamberg: Candlestick park was hardly in San Francisco. Probably as close to San Mateo as it is downtown SF.
If you go to the Game in Santa Clara you can be in San Francisco in minutes after the game by rail or car, if you want to see the sights or go out to dinner. But I am sure the prople of santa clara County are hoping you will stay around and spend your money there. They will certainly have the chamber of commerce etc busy spreading the word of all the sights to see and all the dining spots etc.
...And if you felt any charm and character around the Candlestick point area then you must have a very strange outlook on life indeed,lol.