The day included a trip to the hotel where the negotiations between the 49ers and Michael Crabtree were taking place. It included team president Jed York seeing me before I saw him on his way out of the hotel and taking an escape route through the hotel restaurant.
It included a mysterious man with York - someone I immediately thought resembled MC Hammer - apparently asking the door man to assist in York's departure from the property.
Later, Crabtree was spotted leaving the hotel via the same escape route. This time when Comcast Sportsnet reporter Mindi Bach and I pursued, Crabtree and the Hammer-look-alike broke into a spirited trot out the back gate of the restaurant patio and down the paved driveway back to the turnaround near the lobby where a black SUV was awaiting.
When the man who helped both York and Crabtree get away re-entered the lobby, I laughed and we shook hands. I introduced myself. And when I asked for his name, he tilted his head back, shrugged his shoulders and acted as if it were the dumbest question he'd heard in a while.
Yes, folks, I later found out there was a very good reason this man looked like Hammer. It was Hammer. And although one hotel employee told me Crabtree said to Hammer, "Get it done," as he entered the SUV, it's safe to say that Hammer has no role in the negotiations. Hammer is long time friends with Deion Sanders and Crabtree's agent, Eugene Parker. Sanders is a mentor for Crabtree.
It is my understanding that progress is being made in the negotiations. Heck, the fact that they've finally had a face-to-face meeting is tremendous progress. It shows Crabtree has a willingness to play for the 49ers.
The talks between Parker and 49ers chief negotiator Paraag Marathe are expected to continue tomorrow - if a deal is not reached late tonight.
* * *
York was not in the speaking mood this afternoon but he later had some interesting things to say to CSN 49ers analyst Eric Davis. Click here to listen to his report.
Among the things York told Davis:
--From a 49ers' standpoint, they consider Crabtree part of the family. There are no hard feelings.
--There is negotiating going on. The 49ers are looking at two or three contract proposals, whereas before there was just one offer on the table. They are looking at ways to get a deal worked out.
--There is optimism because there is negotiating going on. The 49ers want Crabtree to play for the 49ers, and Crabtree says he wants to play for the 49ers. But York did say until there's a signature on the contract . . . it's not done.
* * *
Ha! Great reporting Matt... I was following your tweets all day while attending a conference in the City. I'm sure you know this, but Hammer's big on Twitter too, although he has been mighty quiet lately. Hmmmm.
How dare you not know it was Hammer!!! hahaha
Matt... where does this rank in your list of "Crazy & Bizarre" days while covering the 49ers?!?
Hammer? Hammer? I can't believe this is still not done. I hope when I wake up in the morning, this will all be over with and Crabtree will be headed to practice. He is the last player in the league who can afford to miss another day of practice. Matt I wish I had your job. It sounds like you had lots of fun today. Some guys have all the fun! When I grow up, I want to be just like you! Go Niners!
Matt quick question. we talk about different ways to be a free agent. however if someone goes undrafted arnt they a FA, as in undrafted FA? so if carbtree reentered the drft and did go undrafted he would then be a FA?
Followed along all day. It was fun. Hope it turns out well.
My friend jokes, "maybe that's why he's so hard to sign, his anthem must be 'can't touch this.'"
Obligatory music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c4L4CPfQY8
Woodward and Bernstein would be proud! Excellent work. Entertaining, relevant, and quite the scoop to figure out the hotel where it was all going down. You must have a Deep Throat on the inside. Sports reporting doesn't get much better than what you did today, IMHO.
haha.... at last..... things as they should be-- mebbe???? is the crab flexible???? does he need 2 be flexible enough 2 grab his ankles on this 1????
ANY QUESTIONS????
I was lmao when I read "Michael Crabtree's foot is just fine. He just sprinted away from me." It was a fun day in twitter land. Good reporting.
Na Na Na Na Na...Na Na..Na Na -
Matt? C'mon, you touched this?
Dare I say, you're in the posse now?
Yeah, cause Hammer was really good with money management.
Matt, your tweet was hilarious - # My wife: "Have you seen anyone?" Me: "Yes, Crabtree ran away from me." My wife: (Uproarious laughter.) . . . Hey, it's a living.
Man, all the football wires & news aggregators are picking up the MC Hammer story. Alan J. Pakula gotta be thinking about who to cast for the ensuing movie ;-)
Bring back the Z.Cavaricchi's Matt, it's Hammer Time
In a way Matt, I'm glad Crabtree got away from you.
You haven't cracked my Top 10 Cover Guys in THAT vain yet, sorry to say.
Wink wink, Nod nod.
I got nothing but respect for hammer. i love hammer. but i dont know, something about hammer bein in crabs corner just isnt sittin right. Its hammer for god sakes. everyone in the world knows what happened to him. im not sure if millions of dollars and hammer should be used in the same sentence lol
hell whatever works i guess
I think it's fairly safe to say, the circus is in town?
Matt, would you please bring down the Hammer and end this circus so we can have a serious analysis of the Atlanta game? Crabtree is not going to contribute during regular season and the Niners need to use the Atlanta and Houston games as tune-up for the next GPS game (Copyright: M. Maiocco) at Indy.
ESPN First Take Fashion statement Matt -
Z. Cavaricci's and the Tommy Bahama?
I'm not sure I'd agree that Hammer has nothing to do with the deal getting done. Evidence to the contrary is that apparently he was told to just 'get it done' and let's face it, if he's hanging around the soon to be new cash cow in town (Crabtree), then at some point when the contract options present themself, Hammer will likely be asked if he'd take it or what he might do. Same for Deon if he's supposed to be a mentor.
Yes. But whoever signs Crabtree thereafter will get NO extra rookie cap allocation to absorb his cap number. UDFAs are supposed to make the minimum $310k, whereas BJ Raji (if Crabs is prepared to accept #10 money) is carrying a $2.05m cap charge (38 percent of the Packers' allocation). Raji's deal is actually fairly frontloaded, albeit with the rookie minimum for his 1st year.
Cool stuff...stealthy escapes, chasing down WR's, Hammer...pretty bizarre. Hopefully it gets done on Wed...so we can put an end to this. I just hope Crabtree's ready to work, work, work, 'cause that's what it's going to take.
Craptree, Hammer, and Sanders; that proves it....Craptree is a f*&% joke!
Well done, MM. Great coverage. Wish there was more to report than his foot, but that's ok. It was a great anecdote. Still my favorite blogger. Another blogger is offering t-shirts to find out where this was. There's another LMAO moment.
Getting it Done might be a reference to the Fashion Clause in the contract whereby Deion/MC/MCHammer bring in an exclusive line of Z Cavaricci Revival Clothing to restore the 80s Glory to SF 49er Football -
You heard it here first, Matt, ESPN First Take is your chance to model and cash in on the Tommy Bahama ensemble.
MM you are the man for this one!! What do you think the magic number for crabtree/parker is 18..19 million guaranteed??
A little off topic here Matt, but I take it this Sunday will be a GPS game?
These guys seem to think so :-)
Hey Matt, I kept checking your tweets on my drive home from Munich yesterday. At 120mph on the Autobahn, mind you. I then volunteered to take care of the baby through the night, because I wanted to check tweets.
Great reporting. It shows why he is a multimillion sportstar and you are a journalist. You are both doing a fine job!
Keep it up and tell York to GET It DONE!
Looks like Matt got ripped off Randy?
He has to play! Play! Play, play! He has to play just to make it today! Hammer can teach him about the dangers of having an entourage thats too large. Hammer is also a huge sports guy. His name "Hammer" was originally a baseball nickname. He was actually a ball boy for the A's while growing up.
Maybe Sanders asked Hammer to look out for the kid as a favor. He is a minister now. Maybe he can help keep the kid balanced.
Wouldn't the niners want to sign the contract AFTER the game on Sunday, even if they shake hands today? Why sign him late in the week, only to take up a spot on the inactive roster this weekend?
I hope they reached agreement to sign SUNDAY NIGHT.
For all you numbnuts ripping on MC Hammer you should be aware he is a strong man of faith, a man who has served his country, and someone who spends a lot of his time spreading the Word in church, with kids and in prison. He is a hard worker and raised himself up by his boot straps out of an Oakland ghetto. He's a good friend of Parker & Deion and I expect he's becoming a friend of Crabtree.
I would be very proud to have Mr Hammer be friend of mine and I would be hard pressed to find a better mentor/role model for Crabtree.
Sermon over. Normal service will now resume.
No one is ripping on the Man, just the show.
I trust he is a good person with plenty to give.
All in good fun, mostly for Matt and his adventurous afternoon.
Yep he spent three years in the navy after he wasn't picked up to play baseball. They said he resembled Hank Aaron, hence the name.
proper
Yes they are. Here and elsewhere. If you're not, clearly I wasn't addressing my remarks to you. Was I?
Please, Realfan49, don't hurt em!
Looks like the 49ers were previously working with MC Hammer here.
Responding simply to this forum and speaking for myself Realfan49.
It's all good. I hope?
Nice info Randy.
Exactly right you are Realfan ! Hammer is one of the good guys !
Hey Matt...I hope they can HAMMER out a contract on Wednesday ! (sorry,couldn't resist ).
Uh-oh! Uh-oh! Here comes the HAMMER!
Awesome! Bring the pants and the oversized sunglasses back into fashion!
TOP_CAT I saw your question on a previous thread related to the tampering charge we filed.
I would expect Compensation if we lose Crabtree, but at the moment I feel as though the Commish is driving all the events we are witnessing today with the renewed negotiations.
He's likely put it to Parker to, get it done.
If/when Crabtree signs on, my gut says The Commish finds no wrong doing and it all goes away?
Your idea of a Comp pick for lost playing time sure wouldn't be hard to take however.
Its official Crabtree a 49er, Shefter just reported on ESPN
Excuse me Schefter
yee! good lookin highpriest. im excited something finally got done. i think the kid can help our team.
I hear Crabtree has signed up. Well I hope he doesn't disrupt the chemistry.. Then again if he tries to be a diva Coach Sing may rip him a new one.. 6 years money not disclosed... good luck
Crabtree has Hammer? Lee Hammer the most powerful force in the Bay Area Sports Universe Way to go Hammer maybe he can get Davis removed from Oakland??
I hope the vets don't use him for the annual crab cracking competition. He needs to take the offense to dinner. Glad this is over, I can finally relax a little. Its about time. Now lets get our investment on the field. I really am interested to hear the financial terms. I heard six years too. Its going to be an interesting press conference. Do you guys think he mentioned who the other teams were?
I think Hammer was brought in to distract the media. Really didn't work as it seemed that most reporters seemed focused on trying to get comments from the true players. But it did fill copy.
This deal gets done within 12 hours.
Good footwork Matt, but this is why you need an iPhone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM7vqqS8jSI
(MC Hammer ft Deion Sanders - Straight To My Feet)
He's signed. Like it or not, hes a Niner!
Matt, would you please bring down the Hammer and end this circus so we can have a serious analysis of the Atlanta game? Crabtree is not going to contribute during regular season and the Niners need to use the Atlanta and Houston games as tune-up for the next GPS game (Copyright: M. Maiocco) at Indy.
Mindi mentioned your name Matt on Comcast Sportsnet. Thanks for all the up to date information. I can't seem to get enough. Appreciate your hard work.
Matt -- any estimation on Hammer's 40 time?
:-)
Marc: But the Bears signed Briggs and we still got busted and the Bears still got compensated by us in the draft.
What the Jets did is much much much worse than what we supposedly did(if they are guilty)
If we don't get at least a 3rd round pick,free and clear,we were robbed and it was a white wash by the Commish !!!