December 2008 Archives

First off, you should be glad you're not celebrating New Year's Eve with Mike Singletary tonight. Asked how he'll celebrate he'd said he'd pray a lot. That doesn't sound like much fun, unless you're into praying -- which he obviously is.

He held his season ending press conference Wednesday afternoon and naturally everyone clambored to know why he dumped Mike Martz as offensive coordinator. Singletary said they had philosphical differences. I thought he was blowing us off. When someone says philosophical differences he's blowing you off.

Except Singletary wasn't. They really do have philosophical differences, which Singletary explained. Martz wants to pass before run and Singletary is the opposite. Singletary wants to know he can run at the end of the game, devour the clock, control the ball, impose his will on the opposing defense. "I'm not trying to outsmart anybody," he said. This is Chicago Bears Ditka stuff, but it has worked in the past.

If Singletary can get a coordinator who does that, great. If Singletary can impose his will, terrific. He will find that some day he will meet a team even tougher than his and when that happens he needs some cleverness and finesse. Either he knows that or he doesn't.

I think Martz did a real good job for him. But I acknowledge Singletary has a right to his own man, owes it to himself to get his own man. We ask: Can he find this man? Does smash-mouth football work as well as he imagines? We'll find out soon. To read my column on what Singletary is looking for in an offensive coordinator click here.

Several readers have suggested Mike Shanahan would be a perfect offensive coordinator for the 49ers. I agree, but I don't see him coming to the Niners as an underling to Mike Singletary, a beginner head coach. Seems unrealistic considering who Shanahan is and what he's done -- won two Super Bowls.

But as long as we're in Fantasyland, how about this? Jed York gets on the horn to Shanahan and says, "Mike, I've been thinking over my lack of experience and Scot McCloughan's lack of experience and we'd like you to come to us and run our football operation. We'll call you Pres. of Football Ops and pay you a fortune."

Shanahan might just accept that deal. It would be a terrific development and, hey, sometimes fairytales do come true.

Are you kidding me? Mike Shanahan becomes available on Tuesday but the Niners can't hire him as head coach because they hired Mike Singletary on Sunday. They can't hire this great coach because they made a premature, poorly-thought-out hire, because they couldn't wait, because as an organization they have no sense, no timing, no smarts.

Am I saying Shanahan is a better head coach than Singletary? Am I saying Shanahan is more suitable for the Niners than Singletary? You bet I am. And I'm not merely saying it. I'm shouting it from the rooftops. I'm declaring it through the loudspeaker. I'm broadcasting it.

For weeks I've stated the Niners were in too much of a hurry, were acting with no pride or forethought by grabbing onto Singletary and holding on for dear life. Well, guess what. I was right. How in the world do you hire Singletary when Shanahan might be available? When did the Niners become so desperate they couldn't wait two days to see what great coaches might get fired?

Shanahan is better than Singletary because he's an offensive guy -- a great offensive guy -- because he won two Super Bowls, because he develops quarterbacks, because he's smart about personnel (surely superior to Scot McCloughan), because he's a supertar in the league, because he used to work for the Niners and understands the requirements, because he would have been the best Niner hire since George Seifert.

This is so embarrassing for the 49ers, hiring an unknown based on nine games when they could have -- should have -- talked to Shanahan. To read my column on the Shanahan-less Niners click here.

In the press release announcing he fired Mike Martz, Mike Singletary said, "it was best to go in a different direction."

What direction? Before Martz the 49ers were pretty much directionless on offense. Martz got off to a shaky start with JT O'Sullivan but after Singletary took over and said he wanted Shaun Hill to be quarterback, Martz worked to satisfy Singletary. Martz changed his game plans -- Ira Miller called them surprisingly "rational." Instead of being pass crazy, Martz mixed runs and passes, had a balanced, effective offense.

Singletary is in charge of keeping or firing coaches on his staff, but he better have someone good in mind, someone who's a better offensive coordinator than Martz. This is a challenge to Singletary. You dumped a really good assistant, so now show us what you can do. Show us you are competent to get someone better. If you can't you'll look foolish.

I bet Singletary's knowledge of offense and offensive coordinators is limited and rudimentary. He's a Chicago Bears guy. He thinks offense is running the ball. He thinks he can shove this prehistoric kind of football down the throats of Niners fans, fans who are used to passing and imagination and offensive entertainment. That's taking quite a risk for the novice head coach.

I bet Singletary didn't make this decision on his own. I bet he had pressure from upstairs. Well, Singletary has created a crisis on his third day on the job. Nice work.

I just read Matty Maiocco's brilliant blog entry about Mike Martz. Matt, a great journalist, simply phoned Martz in his office and said he'd heard Martz is as good as fired. Martz said no one on the Niners had told him if he's staying or getting fired. Martz spoke to Matt like the gentleman he is. Martz was a little emotional -- you would be too -- but he never got angry at Matt or badmouthed anyone in the Niner organization.

The Niners should not let Martz dangle. Either keep him or fire him. He's done nothing to merit this uncertainty or anxiety. I am disappointed in Singletary. He is a stand-up guy, someone we admire.

How could he allow this situation to develop? Maybe he's being influenced by Jed York and Scot McCloughan. Maybe Jed is too young to know how to treat folks. Maybe McCloughan simply lacks compassion and social skills. But Singletary has the whole package. He should take the lead and do right by Martz -- whether he keeps or fires the guy.

Bad show all around by the Niners.

This is a serious grownup subject. I'm not dashing this off like the usual blog and I'm not being a wise guy. I'm deadly serious and I hope you are too.

My Monday column expressed concern that the 49ers hired Mike Singletary as head coach immediately after the season ended. I did not write that I am against Singletary. I like him and think he will make a good coach, although I don't know that for sure. No one does. My column merely argued for caution, for a process of interviewing Singletary along with other candidates. You may disagree with that -- many readers have -- but I hope you don't think that makes me a bad person.

One reader thinks I'm a bad person. He left a message on my voice mail saying he always thought I was a racist and my Monday column "smacks of racism."

Really?

In the column I never mentioned Singletary's race. I frankly haven't thought about it. I merely talked about his lack of head-coaching experience and what I consider -- right or wrong -- the best course of action for the Niners.

The first mention of race, in fact, came from the caller who was happy to call me a racist when he didn't have to say it face to face. How does he know I'm a racist? How does he know anything about me?

I would have suggested caution to the 49ers on permanently hiring an interim coach no matter what that coach's race. I was discussing hiring practices, not race. I believe people who immediately play the race card, who feel free to condemn others as racists, are the true racists. This ugly stuff buzzes around their brains. They think about race when there's no need. They feel justified in changing a hiring discussion into a race discussion.

So, sure, I feel offended by the caller. But I also feel sorry for him. Real sorry.

I'll start off by telling on myself. I missed Tom Cable's weekly press conference today. He usually holds it at 2 p.m. Today he held it at 11:30 but I didn't know in time because the Raiders have deleted me from their email list. Josh Dubow from the Associated Press kindly emailed me a transcript of the presser.

Why have I been deleted? Why do I never get the basic news about Raiders' pressers and trades and all the usual stuff. Because I write the truth about the Raiders. The Raiders don't like the truth. They have a tough guy image but their egos over there are fragile and when I write that they stink they think I'm being unfair. I think I'm being truthful.

This thing about not keeping me informed shows how petty the Raiders are. That's their problem. They also have deleted from their email list Tim Kawakami and Monte Poole because they also write the truth. I consider us a select group and I know it's a badge of honor to be on the Raiders enemies list.

Any Bay Area sports columnist not on the Raiders enemies list should be ashamed.

Raider rumor No. 1. The Raiders have asked permission to speak to Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride about Oakland's possibly vacant head coach job. The Raiders can ask for all the permission they want, but why would Gilbride take their job? Maybe Gilbride could let the Raiders interview him. That would give him interview practice and let other teams know he's available. It might even squeeze a few more bucks out of the Giants. But if Gilbride takes the Raiders job you'd have to wonder what's wrong with him as in what's his fatal flaw.

Raider rumor No. 2. Bill Parcells might come in as football czar with Al's blessing. Hey, this would be great if it happens. Parcells would make the Raiders good and he'd do it fast if Al stays out of the way. But it seems far fetched that Parcells would come and that Al would relinquish all his power. To read my column on whether Cable will get the job click here.

A friend of mine who knows a thing or two about football wrote me a long email about the 49ers. He disagrees with me about Mike Martz, thinks he is not good for the Niners over the long haul. Maybe, but if the Niners fire him they have to start all over with yet another offensive coordinator.

My friend makes an important point about Shaun Hill, says Hill should be the starter next season. He's earned it. In addition -- and this is key -- my friend says the 49ers should not use a high draft choice to select a QB. He says it's better to create a top notch offensive line to protect the QB. Which leads us to Scot McCloughan. Has he been a whiz at personnel? My friend says spotty in that dept.

I hate to sound like a grump, like the only one who is disagreeing with the teacher. But I have misgivings.

The Niners had two coronations today -- Jed as president and Mike Singletary as head coach -- four-year contract. Is Jed competent to run this big corporation? I don't know. Is Scot McCloughan competent to be his No. 1 football guy? I sure don't know.

What was the hurry to name Singletary head coach? I don't know. They had the press release waiting for the media when we walked into the press room after the game. Why? They might have interviewed a few other people in the next week or so, would have lost nothing by that. They thought Singletary was the man after nine games. It's a small sample on which to make a big decision.

They seem poised to dump Mike Martz, wouldn't give him a vote of confidence. Why? He engineered the drive that won the game in the final 1:02. Is that bad work? What's really going on here? Lots of questions. Lots of reasons to feel edgy even if the Niners don't. To read my full column on the Niner coronations click here.

When the Raiders beat Houston last week I wrote who cares and I said the win was an aberration. Today they beat Tampa Bay in a game the Bucs absolutely needed. That deserves more than a who cares and an aberration.

That win was really impressive -- especially how hard Michael Bush ran -- and it means the Raiders ended their season with two impressive, unexpected wins. It seems to imply the team has improved under Tom Cable and it makes the situation in Oakland interesting. Will Cable get the fulltime head coach job? After these two wins Al Davis must seriously consider him.

Congrats to Jed on being named Niner president a few minutes ago. He's a bright earnest guy and he tries hard. But I'm worried and here's why.

Jed is young and inexperienced. The team needs a football guy to oversee the football ops. Now that Jed got promoted, the team won't get that guy. Jed is that guy. Well, Jed and Scot McCloughan are. I wonder if McCloughan is savvy enough to bring the Niners where they need to go. There is some doubt about his abilities -- some of my readers refer to him as McClueless.

Jed clearly doesn't feel that way. A few minutes ago he said of McCloughan, "He's the GM and he's doing a great job."

Really? I don't think the Niners have enough football guys making football decisions for their football team. And Jed definitely is not a football guy.

Just bumped into Jeff Fletcher in the Niners press box. Fletch used to be the PD's crack baseball writer and today he's writing a sidebar about the Redskins for the Washington Times. He told me this about the Unit.

He said he interviewed Dan Haren during spring training 2008 and asked what influence Randy Johnson had on the other Diamondbacks pitchers. "To tell the truth, he never really talks to anybody," Haren said.

So much for mentoring the young guys. Fletch offered two items in mitigation. He said Unit was rehabbing an injury and it was early in spring training. So the jury is still out.

Guy left a comment on my blog saying it was one of the dumbest he ever read. People are ticked I haven't gone ga ga over Singletary. Tell me, where is the groundswell around the league for Singletary?

The guy was angry because he said I would pick Mike Mularkey "over" Singletary. Guy is a careless reader. Am I allowed to point that out? I never picked Mularkey. I said he might be included in an interview process in which Singletary is the prime candidate. That's not picking Mularkey.

Forty Niner fans are very touchy about anyone advising caution with Singletary. They seem desperate. Raiders fans would be more circumspect.

Just got off a conference call with Randy Johnson, Sabean and Bochy.

Unit signed with the Giants for one year and it's all good. He still can pitch -- I figure he's the No. 2 starter behind Lincecum. And he's a competitive son of a gun, makes the other pitchers competitive too. He gets in their faces. Either Zito will stand up to Unit or he won't.

Johnson said he never got content after winning a Cy Young, didn't get content after his first four. If he had he never would have won his fifth -- and had his best season. Zito needs to hear this. He got his one and cashed out.

Sabean made it clear he may trade a pitcher for a bat and this could happen as late as spring training. I think he wants to see who Johnson affects positively or negatively. Maybe Noah Lowry gets traded or Jonathan Sanchez or, too  much to hope, Zito. To read my column on the Big Unit click here.

I've been getting a lot of flack because I wrote the 49ers should not rush into signing MIke Singletary -- although they almost certainly will.

People are angry at me and that I'm used to. Others are disappointed in me, like somehow my suggestion to be cautious is an affront to Singletary. So, hold on.

Singletary has done a good job and I praise him for that. I also find him interesting. As far as I know I'm the only journalist who took the time to really get to know him -- I interviewed him about the notebook he carries around all the time and wrote a column about how contemplative and smart he is.

But I think the Niners owe it to everyone to interview Singletary along with other candidates. I'll suggest Mike Mularkey the Falcons' offensive coordinator. He is a bright guy who's made a smash success with rookie QB Matt Ryan. The work Mularkey did with Ryan is one reason Atlanta is in the playoffs.

The point is there are other viable candidates out there. Mularkey is an offensive guy. You could make a case the Niners need one of those. Like Mike Nolan Singletary, a defensive coach, always will be vulnerable to an offensive coordinator leaving. That's something to consider.

I also want to point out that Singletary had two meltdowns at the end of games -- Nolan-like behavior. And that should at least give the Niner braintrust pause. He may not be a great game manager.

Again, I am not slamming Singletary. But it's possible he will have a record of 4-5 when the season ends, and that possibility calls for caution and deliberation, not reckless speed. The fear is that Singletary is proud and may start looking at other teams if the Niners start an interview process. Well, I'm not sure other teams want him. And the Niners are entitled to their pride too. They are doing the hiring. They should do it on their schedule and their schedule should not be at the speed of light.

Taking a moment off from Xmas day. I'm reading Mike Singletary will be offered the Niners coaching job after the season.

Bad move. Nothing against Singletary who's done well but the team should take its time, interview other candidates, see how Singletary compares. The Niners have made so many mistakes hiring coaches. They should take a deep breath and get this one right for a change. And if the best candidate is Singletary, good for him.

It's clear from the team's rhetoric that Mike Martz is out. The feeling is his high-risk offense is at odds with Singletary's conservative ball control approach. The fact is Martz' offense is at odds with anyone's approach. His time has passed. To read my column on the expected signing of Singletary click here.

My kid Iggy showed me a story by  Ric Bucher on ESPN.com about the Warriors' mess. You should read it right away.

A word about Bucher. He is a first-rate reporter who worked for the San Jose Merc during the Don Nelson/Chris Webber catastrophe. Bucher did the best reporting of that sad episode and was able to get to Webber and explain his point of view. The other writers tried hard but did not do as well, partly because Nelson had Nellied them, subtly brought them over to his side thru his combo of charm and the promise of friendship.

In his article Bucher points out that Nelson is poised to louse up the franchise as he did in the Webber days, is poised to take away Chris Mullin's power -- a disaster because Mullin is the only one in the organization willing to put the brakes on Nelson's quest for power.

At the end of the article Bucher says the Warriors minority owners are unhappy with owner Chris Cohan and are allies of Mullin's. I have no idea if this is true but it sounds great. Bucher also suggests there are rumors that these minority guys want to buy out Cohan and restore sanity to this franchise. FYI, the minority owners are: Michael Marks, Jim Davidson, John Thompson and Fred Harman -- not that I've ever met them.

Let's hope they are noticing what's going on and they're willing to act.

That's it for me today -- I think -- my wife wants me to set the table for the big dinner we're having tonight and go shopping for last minute stuff.

Happy Holidays to all of you.

I'm voting for Mark McGwire this time for the Hall of Fame, but I'll get back to that in a minute.

I'm voting for two others and that's it: It's Bert Blyleven's 12th year on the ballot and he deserves entry because he was terrific. So I'm voting for him.

Rickey Henderson -- slam dunk, no discussion needed.

The third and last one I'm voting for is McGwire because he deserves it. I didn't vote for him the previous two times because I'm pretty sure he used performance enhancing drugs and that bothers me. But I realize so many players of his generation did and if they're on the ballot it's not up to me to be judge and jury. Heck, I'm going to vote for Barry Bonds -- a better player than McGwire -- and I believe he was the poster child for drug cheating.

Another thing. Reggie Jackson is in the Hall and McGwire's numbers compare favorably with Jackson's.

Batting average: McGwire .263, Jackson .262.

Home runs: McGwire 583, Jackson 563.

McGwire was a better fielder than Jackson and he held the one-season home run record for a minute. He deserves entry on performance, and I've come to think that's the only criterion that counts.

As you know, Don Nelson no longer is coaching the Warriors' defense. He named assistant coach Keith Smart his "defensive coordinator."

After the Warriors scored a mere 81 points tonight in getting murdered by Orlando you wonder who's coaching the offense. Allegedly, Nelson is. In the spirit of spreading the authority around, I suggest he should name an offensive coordinator. I suggest Mike Martz, who might do a better job than Nelson.

If Nelson can get guys to coach defense and offense he could limit his duties to pre and postgame news conferences -- a suitable arrangement.

All morning Raiders fans have been expressing their displeasure with what I wrote yesterday -- ripping me would me accurate. I wrote the Raiders won a game and so what.

I understand the anger of Raiders fans. They are fans and I'm not. I write what I see. Raiders fans think I am prejudiced against their team. I am not. I am realistic.

Earlier this season the Raiders suckered me. They beat the Broncos and I was impressed and wrote, of all Bay Area pro teams, they offered the most hope. Then they bagged the season. I am not angry about this. But it brought me back to my senses.

Never believe in the Raiders -- not until the fundamental conditions change over there. They need a a vigorous, young general manager to run the show instead of what they have now. Until that happens there is no hope.

The Raiders beat the Texans.

And so what?

JaMarcus Russell looked good.

And so what?

Tom Cable coached well.

And so what?

If any of this meant anything the Raiders would be in the playoffs or they would not have lost three games coming into this one or they would have beat the Chargers on Dec. 4 instead of phoning it in that night and getting eliminated from the playoffs.

If you find hope in this victory, if you find meaning or solace, I say so what. To read my column on why the Raiders win means zilch click here.

Mike Singletary showed something important today. Even though the 49ers were playing the woeful Rams, he showed he can bring a team back, a team under stress -- let's face it, a team in a crisis. This is a huge indication of his leadership.

He rallied a team that seemed dead and he rallied a QB playing like the dead. I still think Singletary should go through an interview process along with other candidates for the head coach job. But this victory is a huge indication of his ability and should give him an advantage over anyone else.

Today Lowell and his kid Iggy debate how Don Nelson treated Stephen Jackson.

Lowell says:

I have been critical of Don Nelson lately with good reason. He's been a bad coach this season. But I side with him over Stephen Jackson.

Some background. According to Tim Kawakami -- who gets these things right -- last Monday Nelson took Jackson out to his car and berated him for not playing well. Jackson turned indignant and drove away, and the Warriors had to tell the reporters Jackson wasn't at shootaround because he had flu like symptoms.

The Warriors just gave Jackson a ton of dough in a big contract extension. He should be able to hear criticism. Nelson did not embarrass him in front of the team -- did the deed privately in a car. If the coach can't discipline Jackson it makes you wonder if he deserves all that money and the leadership position on the team

Iggy responds:

So you're mad that Jackson left in a huff? Who cares if he split on Nellie? At least Stephen Jackson shows up to road games when he's injured, unlike Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette.

What's more, I would have done the same thing in Stephen Jackson's situation. The coach asks me to carry a team full of d-leaguers, then scapegoats me when we don't win? How is that fair?

Stephen Jackson is not the worst player on the Warriors. He is far from their problem. Nelson needs to look in the mirror before he has any more private coaching sessions in his car with his players.

------

To read Lowell's column on Don Nelson's decision to give up coaching the team's defense click here.

I am dealing with a rumor now and I freely admit it. ESPN's Chris Broussard is reporting Don Nelson is so down on Warriors rookie Anthony Randolph he told the kid, "You should have your agent look into trades. This isn't working out."

I have no idea if this is true, but it makes a kind of sense. Nelson is systematically burying Chris Mullin's guys -- Randolph, Brandan Wright, Marcus Williams. This is a frontal assault on Mullin. Nelson always says these guys aren't ready. Hey, is Azubuike ready? Was Rob Kurz any more ready than Randolph  the night he got lots of playing time? This whole thing is fishy, and I wish Nelson would explain what he means by ready. If you've won 7 freaking games your so-called ready guys sure aren't the answer, so do something different.

Back to Randolph. If Nelson really is trying to run him out of town owner Chris Cohan should descend from Mount Olympus or wherever he spends his time and say, "No dice."

Everyone agress Randolph, taken No. 14 in the first round of the draft, is a future star, maybe the face of the Warriors. Nelson is not the future face of the Warriors. Cohan should not make the same mistake he made years ago when he sided with Nelson over a terrific player, Chris Webber.

If Nelson makes it a choice between him and Randolph, Cohan should choose Randolph and let Nelson migrate back to Maui. He should not let Nelson make a fool of him a second time.

Bobby,

You're feeling pretty good right now. You've gotten Chris Mullin out of your hair and you've made an ally in Don Nelson and, except for the Warriors' horrendous record, things are humming along in your life.

Be careful. Be careful when it comes to Nelson.

He is a power grabber. He's already moved Mullin out of the way, but he won't stop there. You're next in line. If I know Nellie -- and I know Nellie -- he wants your job. Eventually he'll step away from coaching and he'll want to be team president. That means you're in his way, and believe me, Bobby, you are no match for him.

He's already done this sort of thing before in the George Karl years, just took over. He's good at that. Before you know it you will be out in the cold like Mullin -- owner Chris Cohan won't return your calls -- and you'll find out that Nelson and Cohan are playing poker and shuffleboard together and are tight friends and Cohan has been spending time with Nelson in Maui.

So here's my advice. Dust off your resume and take whatever business courses you need for your next job. Because you will need a next job. Your clock at the Warriors is ticking. Tick. Tick.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I don't think so. The Warriors just sent out a press release announcing they waived D League forward Richard Hendrix to make roster room for Monta Ellis. Take a look at the language of the release:

"The Golden State Warriors have waived forward Richard Hendrix, the team announced today."

In my experience the wording in a release is "general manager Chris Mullin announced blah blah blah." But Mulllin's name is absent from this release and it makes you wonder.

Like maybe he had nothing to do with this transaction and didn't want his name anywhere near the release.

I don't believe he had anything to do with this transaction. I don't believe he has much to do with many transactions these days. Maybe the team asks his opinion, but he doesn't pull the trigger or however you want to phrase it.

And this is a very bad thing. You can criticize Mullin all you want -- hello Adonal Foyle, etc. -- but he has turned into a top NBA executive. This is known around the league.

So if he isn't making the decisions, who is? I believe it's a combo of Robert Rowell and Don Nelson. Rowell is team president and he knows zilch about basketball. The combo of power and ignorance is dangerous. Rowell is dangerous.

Nelson is just plain dangerous. Now that he got his two year extension the Warriors cannot touch him or influence him or lean on him. Nelson can run wild. He already put his own guy in the GM's office and I believe he is gathering power, moving into other parts of the operation, whispering in Rowell's eager ear, telling him what to do.

Between the two of them Rowell and Nelson have marginalized Mullin. And you see how pathetic the team has become  --  the Warriors held onto Marcus Williams even though Nelson refuses to play him, held onto him because of money considerations. In other words, they held onto yet another guard and let a forward go. Pretty soon the Warriors could play in a league of Munchkins.

All of this is unseemly behavior. It's also bad for business.

I don't know what's going to happen to Mullin. I admit to liking him and having great respect for him. He is an all-time great Warrior and a gentleman and deserves to be treated with respect. When his contract is up some time next summer I hope he walks away with his head high, just walks away. He is above the pettiness of the Warriors.

Don Nelson used to be a good coach and maybe he could be good again. But he's doing a bad job this season.

He ran Al Harrington out of town when Harrington was exactly what he needed -- a jump-shooting power forward. Nelson got rid of Harrington because he didn't like the guy. That's not a good reason.

Because Nelson didn't want Harrington, the Warriors ended up trading for Jamal Crawford, a guard. The last thing the Warriors needed was a guard.

Nelson plays weird lineups -- all those little guys who can't guard. His team has no inside presence to block dunks and layups because instead of say Brandan Wright he's got Kelenna Abubuike in there guarding a taller man. Why? It makes no sense. He used Corey Maggette in the power forward spot and that was another disaster. People assume Nelson knows what he's doing. Does he?

Early in the season Nelson said the season is over. It was the quickest way to kill the season. The players responded appropriately. If the coach thinks the season is over it must be. The team plays defeated, like a bunch of losers. It's the coach's fault.

Team president R. Rowell deserves as much blame as Nelson. Rowell took much of the power away from Chris Mullin but Rowell does not know what he's doing. He gave Nelson a two-year extension -- unnecessary -- and that extension has made Nelson complacent and given him the urge to seek even more power.

Rowell killed any possible deal to keep Baron Davis -- the Warriors' one essential player -- because he did not personally like Davis. On the other hand he gave Stephen Jackson a big extension, mostly because he likes Jackson, mostly because Jackson knew how to flatter Rowell. What Rowell did is dereliction of duty.

Because of Nelson and Rowell the Warriors are having a miserable season. Warriors fans should feel angry. To read my full column on the basketball sins of Nelson and Rowell click here.

I want to start off by acknowledging some fascinating comments by Zohn readers who took me to task for criticizing James Cregg, the Raiders coach who defected for Tennessee before the season ended. I had said Cregg was disloyal to his fellow Raiders coaches. Readers said he could be considered disloyal in a normal environment, not in the Raiders madhouse. In that case you get out when you can. Monte Poole wrote a strong column supporting this point of view in today's Oakland Trib.

I can't argue with any of that. The Raiders really are a unique case and although I feel bad for the other coaches, they probably wished Cregg well. I still think Cregg should have quit by speaking to Tom Cable face to face, but that's a small point. So, sure, the readers were right. If you can leave the Raiders by all means go.

Along those lines I had a note from a friend in Fort Bragg who addressed Al Davis' psychology. My friend is not a psychologist but what he said makes sense.

"Lowell, I have a difference with you with respect to Al Davis. You keep implying Davis is a sadistic owner/manager. My reading of Al is quite different. All his actions show very subtle but successful moves to satisfy masochistic tendencies. The present Raider team is owned by Al, isn't it? What has he done to make himself proud? Personnel, coaches, the moves away from and back to Oakland; all have been negative. Al is surely intelligent enough and has football smarts enuf, or has in the past, to do better than recent team picks - Russell included. Why does he NOT change any of the ways he makes decisions? They get the results HE wants! Or needs!" 

I didn't know much about James Cregg until he left the Raiders in the lurch. Now I know all I want to know.

Lane Kiffin, who has a beef with Al Davis, but not with the coaches, lured Cregg away from the Raiders to Tennessee even though the Raiders have two more games. This was low of Kiffin, but we've seen behavior like this from him before.

Cregg did not have the decency to face coach Tom Cable with the news he was leaving. He dropped the bombshell in a phone conversation.

Coaches are a team in and of themselves. They are loyal to each other. What Cregg did is disloyal. He could have waited two weeks. Some time he will need another job. All assistant coaches need jobs sooner or later. He will apply for a job but this act of betrayal will stick to him and other coaches -- sticking up for the fraternity of coaches -- will reject him. It's what a traitor deserves.

That headline may seem strange. Why would anyone praise Marco Belinelli, benchwarmer?

I'm going to go further in my praise. I'm going to say something which might make you laugh me off the page or screen, as the case may be. Belinelli is the heir apparent to Baron Davis on the Warriors.

It's a strong statement but hear me out. The Warriors are dreadful. They are a bunch of losers who play with no passion or purpose. Lately Don Nelson has played Belinelli -- why Nelson didn't play him sooner I don't know. Watch Belinelli. He cares. He runs around flailing his arms on defense. He has the sweetest touch on his jumper and a beatiful stroke. And he passes. He passes without even looking at guys. He finds Biedrins at the rim. He has guts and imagination. He is a beginning version of what Davis was for the Warrirors. Will he ever be as good as Davis? I have no idea. But he's a pleasure to watch -- a guy who loves ball and plays with pizzazz and vision.

Compare him to two other Warriors backup guards -- C.J. Watson and Kelenna Azubuike. No comparsion. They are D Leaguers and Belinelli is the real thing.

I put a question to you. If you were an NFL coach and had to win one big game, which quarterback would you prefer right now, Shaun Hill or JaMarcus Russell?

I put an answer to you. There is no contest. You'd want Shaun Hill. Sure, I know Russell is supposed to have better skills -- the big arm and all that. But Hill is a better QB right now, way better.

He has touch on ball and Russell has zero touch. Hill is passionate and competitive and he's accurate and most of all he's a leader.

Russell has shown zero leadership ability. He is a contented loser. Who would want to follow this guy? After Sunday's game he told me he deserved an "A" for effort. What a nerve. There is no grade for effort. There is winning or losing and he was the losing QB, has been in game after game. He should not have asked for credit. He should have said he needs to improve. Hill would have said that.

I don't know if Russell will improve in the future, although you already hear the word bust associated with him. You could make a case he never will be as good as Hill. Isn't that interesting?

Here is the part of Mike Singletary's Monday presser where he talks about whether he will or won't be head coach after this season. What strikes me about this is his pride. His pride is what we like, how he thinks so much of himself. But it also is a flaw. Notice how the idea of having to compete for the job, to interview along with other candidates, offends him. He's wrong. He should be one of several candidates - it's in the best interest of the team. He begrudgingly acknowledges that toward the end. It was a spirited Q&A with Tim Kawakami, Cam Inman, Tom FitzGerald and Darren Sabedra.

Q: Can you imagine not being a head coach next season?

A: A better question is could I imagine not being head coach here. I want the job.

Q: Would you be disappointed if there were an interview process here?

A: Singletary mumbles something about things happening for a reason. I say he hasn't answered the question. A reporter repeats the question.

Q: It's possible there would be a full fledged interview process. Would you be disappointed?

A: Let me say this. If there is an interview process I would have to respect where they are. Then obviously I have not done enough to show them that I am the guy. If they can't see I'm the guy then they need to have that interview process. Is that a good answer?

Q (by me): It's a wonderful answer. May I just follow up? If there were an interview process - with several candidates -- would you participate?

A: Uhh. I don't know. I don't know. That's a very good question. I don't know. I can't give an answer to that.

Q: Why wouldn't you take part in an interview process?

A: OK, yes.

Q: Well, I think you're a competitive guy.

A: I am a competitive guy. If there's an interview I'll probably go to the interview.

Q: This right now is your interview, how you're closing out the season.

A: I couldn't say it any better. Thank you.

Q: I'm surprised they haven't come up to you already.

A: When I took the job I felt in my heart and mind that I would do the things I need to do. Someone has to come up to me and say you know what, "You don't have the job. There's going to be a whole other process, a process of elimination." When I took the job that's what I was looking for (earning the job outright). But if that does not happen then I will do the necessary things I need to do to take the next step.

Q: If I was the owner of a team I'd want to know what your plan was going forward. Is that something you can give right now to them?

A: When that time comes I will deal with (that).

Q: One reporter mentions the 49ers almost beat the Dolphins, then asks, "Do you hope the Yorks take that into consideration?"

A: I'm going to say this one more time. I am not trying to impress the Yorks. When I'm coaching I'm not thinking about the Yorks. I'm not thinking. "I hope they saw that." I don't really care about that. The only thing I care about in this moment of time that I have is doing the best I can to be the best head coach I can be. After that whatever happens I've got peace with that. If it doesn't happen then you move on. I wanted to win yesterday and I thought we should have won. I'm not thinking about the Yorks. I'm not thinking about who's grading me. I'm not thinking about GMs. I'm not even thinking about the media. I'm thinking am I focused on this job?

To read my column on Singletary's pride click here.

I want to make something clear. The Warriors were heavy-handed in their handling of Monta Ellis. The suspension was too long and the money penalty was too big and the looming threat of further punishment including voiding the contract stinks. In these issues I am on Ellis' side and I think he's a terrific player who will be the main focus of the Warriors again.

But I take issue with things he said the other day. He told the media he wants to be a leader and mentor to the younger players.

I don't believe he has the standing to be a mentor or leader. He may have at one time, but he has forfeited those roles and must earn them back. And he won't earn them merely by talking.

He forfeited those roles because he acted and still acts like a child.

He rode on and fell off a moped and ruined his ankle even though riding the moped is forbidden in his contract.

He lied to the Warriors about what he did.

He said he would own up publicly about what he did but he never has done that. Now he says he's putting all that behind him. Really? He owes a candid explanation to the fans. A candid explanation would show he feels bad about what he did and is trying to grow (up) from the experience.

All that he's saying is a clear attempt to sidestep real honest talk and it sounds like he's acting on advice from his agent.

So, sure, it will be good to have a good player back. But please refrain from thinking of him as any kind of worthwhile mentor or leader in any sense that matters.

Yesterday I wrote a blog about how touchy Brian Sabean is. He objected to questions about CC Sabathia and resorted to profanity with reporters -- not that we reporters don't resort to profanity all the time.

I found it interesting that readers who responded to the blog were highly critical of Sabean. Except for one who said the usual stuff about how reporters are jerks, etc. I've heard that before and I must say if we jerks didn't cover the teams and give them the free publicity we give them, the hero athletes might as well be playing in Bakersfield or Barstow for all the money and fame they'd have. But I digress.

Most readers felt Sabean should be glad people even ask about his crummy team, glad writers write about it. That's better than the alternative -- silence. And if some of the questions involve trades or a hypothetical CC signing it is part of his job to respond and if he doesn't like that part let him become an ice cream man or a street sweeper. It is part of the job to take the heat and answer questions, and mostly it's part of the job to make a good team. I have gone easy on Sabean because I believe he got loused up by management's Barry fixation, but this season Sabean has to make big progess. I think that's what's making him nervous -- a do or die year. And he takes it out on the media because we are an easy target.

What a surprise -- Terrell Owens isn't getting along with a quarterback. This is so unexpected from someone who has proven to be mature, balanced and a great guy in the locker room.

Just kidding.

T.O. is the biggest jerk in the National Football League, followed closely by Randy Moss. My mom told me never to call people names, but I don't know how else to do it with T.O. He couldn't get along with Jeff Garcia in San Francisco and routinely insulted Garcia to the media. He couldn't get along with Donovan McNabb in Philly even though, just about everyone says McNabb is a great guy and teammate.

And now this. T.O. is accusing Dallas QB Tony Romo of a secret plot with tight end Jason Witten. They draw up private plays which exclude T.O. and T.O. isn't going to take it anymore.

Maybe he's right. Maybe there really are secret plays. But I doubt it. I think T.O. is a nut case -- there I go calling names again. I think he's paranoid. I think he's what he's always been.

I want to tell you about my life rule, one I've adopted as a grown-up. I have cut out from my life all immature people, all self-centered people, all crummy friends. If T.O. were my friend -- thank God he's not -- I'd delete him from my life. The Niners and Eagles did just that. Now it's the Cowboys' turn to delete this man who is poison on any team.

Brian Sabean is angry at the media, totally ticked off. He lectured four of my colleagues in his suite at a Vegas hotel yesterday during the baseball winter meetings, lectured them about raising expectations he would sign CC Sabathia, and he said he never even got close. (Note: I have screwed up a ton in my day but I never jumped on the CC bandwagon.)

Llisten to some of Seabean's heated words: "Because you guys created the perception, I've got to respond to this and I and the organization get f--, and I'm sick of it. So it's now my fault that we're not going after Teixeira when everybody in the press has us going after Sabathia."

Understand this. Sabean is a veteran baseball man. He has been through hundreds -- thousands? -- of trade rumors. He knows they are part of the business and he knows how to handle them. Also, he is a cool customer, knows how to be patient. So his recent behavior is way out of character.

Which leads to the pertinent question. Why did he act this way?

I am no psychiatrist but I have a theory. Sabean is under big pressure. The Giants have stunk for years and he has gotten heat outside the organization and now that there's a new managing general partner -- Neukom -- anb he's getting pressure inside the organization. So he's freaked and scared and he feels his job is vulnerable. All perfectly normal. And he takes out his fear/frustration etc. on the writers. All perfectly normal as well, not that it helps him one way or another.

I never understood the big deal everyone was making about C.C. Sabathia and the Giants. It always was a fantasy and a delusion for one big reason. He cost too much. You can see him sitting courtside at Warriors games -- he has season tickets -- and I guess writers thought he loves being around here and would accept -- relatively speaking -- chump change to be a Giant.

No. Professional athletes play for money. I repeat professional athletes play for money. So he took the money with the Yankees and, I believe it ALWAYS is good for baseball when the Yankees have the best players and one of the best teams.

In addition, C.C. was the last thing the Giants need. They need a third baseman, possibly a second baseman, a first baseman, a left fielder, a right fielder. Got the point? C.C. would have been way off the point. Thank goodness the Giants didn't get him.

Mike Singletary carries a notebook around with him and records in it every significant event of every day as it occurs. Call it a life notebook. He spoke to me about it Wednesday afternoon.

Cohn: How often do you make an entry in your notebook?

Singletary: It depends on how many events I have throughout the day; at least three or four times. Every time I meet with a player, every time I have an interview, every time I speak to the team, every time I speak to a coach, every time I have a thought, experience something, learn something.

Cohn: Does that mean you'll have an experience, say in a meeting with coaches, and you'll come back here to your book, or will you do it right there?

Singletary: Most of the time I'll do it right there.

Cohn: The meeting is over. People walk away. You open your book and write something.

Singletary: Yes.

Cohn: Why do you make entries?

Singletary: For a number of reasons. As a leader it's important to know and remember the events throughout the day. I don't want to miss anything. I don't want to say something and not follow up. I don't want something said to me and not write it down, something that I learned. One of my hobbies is listening. I would much rather listen than talk. I'm always interpreting the meaning of something. If something happens I'm not just writing the event. I'm also writing what I learned from it. How was I wrong? I'm going to meet with a player and I had it in my mind what I'm going to say and I meet the player and I hear his heart and I learn, you know what, I was wrong. nine times out of ten I will tell that player, "You know I was thinking this but I was wrong."

Cohn: So part of the function of your entry would be 1) to record; this is what happened. But also 2) an interpretation of the event.

Singletary: Yes.

Cohn: How often do you read over your notebook?

Singletary: Couple of times a week. Just kind of look at where I've been and sometimes the series of events that got me to this point. Sometimes things happen to you and you forget what they felt like those feelings. You go back and you read it and you can take yourself back to that moment. What you wrote can direct you back where you were.

Cohn: And you want to retrieve those feelings.

Singletary: Exactly.

Cohn: Do things not feel real to you until you write them?

Singletary: For me I like to reflect. I like to be in the moment. Let's say if I have a conversation with someone, if I'm dealing with an issue, if I'm speaking to the team, I can be in the moment. Sometimes I can't feel it right then. It's not there. There are things that happen to me that I'm overwhelmed by, thankful for but I don't have time to experience it. So I record it so when I go back I can experience it.

Cohn: You're catching up with yourself.

Singletary: Yes. Yes.

Cohn: Do you keep notebooks in your private life or is it only work related?

Singletary: This works in my private life as well.

Cohn: There might be a conversation you'd have with one of your children.

Singletary: Yes.

Cohn: It's like carrying your memory and your conscience around.

Singletary: (He smiles.) Exactly.

Cohn: How long have you been keeping notebooks?

Singletary: Long time. Probably after I retired as a football player, '93. The best thing that ever happened to me is writing books. (He's written three.) The first book during the Super Bowl year (1985). There were so many feelings that were just on the shelf in my mind that I had not dealt with, hadn't even thought about, just put them on the shelf. Until somebody asked me about them I had emotions I didn't even know I had. I caught myself saying, "I didn't know I felt that way." Sometimes I wasn't mature enough at the time to deal with it. Five, ten years later I could process it.

Cohn: Do you remember the first time you ever made an entry in the first book?

Singletary: It started out with me having conversations with my children and my wife, and then when I would travel and speak to business people or pastors or doctors - used to be a hobby of mine to travel and call someone and say, "I'm very intrigued with what you do. I'd love to have lunch with you." I'd get on a plane if they said yes. I'd talk to them about how do you keep the organization going? How do you make decisions? CEOs and coaches I had many conversations with when I retired.

Cohn: And you would then record a summary of those conversations in your book.

Singletary: Exactly.

Cohn: Do you ever put personal things in your book like I feel angry or I feel sad?

Singletary: No, it's more business oriented. Or if I'm having a significant conversation with one of my children I will put that conversation down. I want to experience that and at the same time get back to my kid and let them know I'm going to follow up, that was important to me. too many times we have conversations with spouses or children and it's important to them but we're moving so fast until we just forget about it. I like to let the kid know - it may be a week later - you know when we were talking about that the other day that was really important to me. Do you mind if we could pick up on that?

Cohn: You're moving fast. I want to stay with that for a minute.

Singletary. OK.

Cohn: You move faster than I do. You've been a coach and a player and football coaches are in a hurry a lot. Maybe your children don't move as fast as you or your wife doesn't move as fast as you. It's reminding you to slow down and come back to their pace.

Singletary: Exactly. When I was playing, that was the greatest lesson I learned a week after I retired. My wife was always saying, "Mike, you're here but you're not here." And I'm saying, "What do you mean? That doesn't make sense to me." And she'd say, "You want to be here but you can't be here because your mind is thinking about the game." And I really did not understand what she was saying until I retired. When I retired, I was sitting there looking at my daughter and I wasn't thinking about football, wasn't thinking about anything else, wasn't thinking about the next season, nothing. And I saw something for the first time and I called my wife. I caught a moment. It was the first time I saw that she recognized - I saw a connection happen - she was playing and all of a sudden there was a color and she wanted that. And for the first time I didn't miss it. I saw it. Got it. I told my wife, "I understand what you were saying." Normally my mind would be somewhere else and I can't see it.

Cohn: You participated in the miracle.

Singletary: Yes.

Cohn: How many of these books have you filled up?

Singletary: Oh, anywhere between 15, 20.

Cohn: Do you have a place for them at home?

Singletary: I keep some of them, but mostly what I do is transfer - like if I got everything out of this I'm done with that and I'll let that go and move on. Some thoughts in there I transfer to the next book I start.

Cohn: The book has a life to it.

Singletary: Yes. It's ongoing.

Cohn: The books that you put aside, in a sense, that business is finished and you continue with the ongoing business in the current book.

Singletary: Yes.

Cohn: Will you throw the books out?

Singletary: Some of the earlier books, yes, I would throw out because some of the things I wrote at the very beginning I began to do. So I didn't need to write that anymore. I graduated from that and move on. Those books I would tear up because I got it. But there are other things like when I talked to my son. Each and every one of my children I've had moments with them that I will continue to transfer to other books, or moments with my wife that I'll continue to transfer to other books until I get it all.

Cohn: In a way the books are growing up along with you.

Singletary: Yes. It's a graduation from one thing to the next.

Cohn: It's a very handsome book.

Singletary: Well, thank you.

Cohn: It's leather and it has gold leaf on the top of the pages. Do you pick book or does your wife?

Singletary: I pick them.

Cohn: What are you looking for?

Singletary: I'm just looking for a leather book. If I can find black I'll take black. Sometimes it's red or green.

Cohn: Do you read other books besides your notebooks?

Singletary: I am an avid reader. (He picks up a bible from the table.) My bible has got a million notes in it. I've gone through many of these. If my wife didn't make me get rid of them, I've got books all over the place that I've read - history, family, about relationships, about kids, about teamwork, about leadership and character. Norman Vincent Peale I've read everything he's ever written. Any self-help book, how to communicate better.

 To read my column on Singletary and his book click here.

Because of scheduling here at the PD I will be covering the Raiders, not the 49ers on Sunday. If I were covering the Niners I'd have plenty of story lines -- Singletary, Shaun Hill, Martz, the rise of the team in general.

But the Raiders are void of story lines. Cable has been done to death. I can't think of one except once again to write about JaMarcus Russell -- is he or isn't he the qb of the future? If readers of the Zohn have any -- I repeat any -- viable and interesting Raiders story lines please let me know before the game.

Signed,

Desperate

Here are the two burning questions I asked Mike Singletary at today's presser and these are his answers:

Cohn: Yesterday in the postgame press conference you were asked if you think Shaun Hill might be the starter next year and you were cautious in your answer. You said he's improving but you didn't commit. I'd like to ask again. I'm more interested in why you're being cautious than a repeat of what you said yesterday.

Singletary: I wouldn't say the word is cautious. I would say wise. We're playing right now. After the season I don't know what will happen. There are a lot of uncertainties. I'm not going to get into next season talking about what I think Shaun Hill is going to be. I'm going to talk about right now. I'm going to talk about next week and that's about as far as I'm going to go. As far as Shaun Hill is concerned I'm very excited about what I see, very excited about what he's doing. I've asked Shaun Hill to establish himself as an NFL starting quarterback, establish himself as a championship quarterback. At the appropriate time we'll address it. The most important thing for Shaun Hill to do is continue the progression, continue to get better.

Cohn: Usually an NFL season is about getting into the postseason and you're not going to this year. What is the rest of your season about?

Singletary: To me the next game is about winning. Whenever you're playing it's all about winning. Whenever you're going to play a football game - I don't care what it is, I don't care what it's for - it's about winning. It's about making a statement. It's about having another opportunity. You have another game you have another opportunity to say this is who I am, this is who we are as a football team. By not being able to get into the game at the end of the game it leaves a statement. When this team does come back next year everything we're building right now we'll just continue to roll forward. But we are building something and there's a progression in it. And you don't just look at it, oh we're not going to go to the playoffs so forget it. No. we're building right now and where we end up is where we're going to start.

To read my column on how the 49ers disrespect Shaun Hill click here.

Singletary's Opening Statement: I'm very thankful. I want to thank God for all of our players, our leaders, our coaches and our coordinators. I praise God for them.

About the onsides kick he called to open the game:

We knew we wanted to set the tone from the very beginning of the game and just let them know, let our players know - our players didn't know we would do an onsides kick. And let the Jets know and let our guys feel it, "You know what we're going all out. This is our game and we're approaching it that way. You'll see it from the very beginning. There were a few defensive guys looking around, "Who did that?" I said, "Let's go get it," and it worked out well.

Is this the team's personality - establishing the run?

I've got to be honest in terms of running the ball. I'm not so gung ho on running. I want to run the ball. That's the game of football. But when it comes down to it I believe you have to do whatever it is that helps you win. Going into this game we didn't know how much we were going to run.

Is this your team and you are winning the head coaching job?

The thing I want to say is, I won't say it's my team. I won't say it's becoming my team because I'm really trying to help it become the players' team. We've been trying for a while to figure out what is our identity? It's important that the players make the decision on who are we, what statement are we trying to make. Rather than it being my team it's going to be their team and then our team my team would be the third.

What is the team's identity?

One thing jumps out right away we play hard. Next thing that jumps out we play pretty fast. The other thing that jumps out we play pretty physical. Now we're still not that smart as I would like. But we're getting there. Even when we make mistakes we can come back and deal with them on the spot and let them go and, "Let's go ahead and build off of that." What did we learn rather than getting down and pointing the finger of blame. We're not going there.

Do you want the job?

Do I need to say it again? Yes, I want the job but for me I'm going to work as hard as I can as honestly as I can. When it's all said and done whatever happens happens. I'm not trying to impress anybody I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm just being me. Hopefully that's enough.

Is the team having fun?

There is nothing in sports that compares to an athlete playing the game at its highest level and trust me we are not there yet but to see the smile after the game and to know what they're saying - Coach, we're doing it, we're making it happen, this is exciting, isn't this fun. There is nothing like that in sports.

To read my column on why Mike Singletary should shed the interim tag click http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812070257/1057/SPORTS0908?Title=Singletary_earns_right_to_shed__interim__tag 

Boy, was I wrong about Oscar De La Hoya. I assumed he would use his bulk against Manny Pacquiao, a shrimp by comparison. It would have taken guts to do that, to press the fight and it would have taken reflexes. But De La Hoya never pressed the fight, allowed Pacman to deliver a left to his face whenever he chose. It was a bad display by a famous fighter who no longer is a good fighter.

I keep telling myself the next time De La Hoya fights I won't care, won't pay attention because he's turned into a fraud. I hope I keep my promise to myself. I really do.

O.J. needs to serve at least nine years in the slammer. Good. The guy's a bum and don't think otherwise. He's a double murderer and a bully and a low life. Have I covered all the bases?

Some people are saying he got a raw deal with the memorabilia caper in Vegas. Baloney. It was armed robbery. He got what he deserved for armed robbery.

Some people are saying he got a harsh sentence in this case as a make-up call for the double murder. Baloney. He got what he deserved on the merits of this case.

Some people say this is cosmic justice -- God or whoever is making him pay for the sins of the first case in this case. Baloney.

Here's the deal. O.J. who is a creep, is the kind of guy who would commit a double murder and then go out and participate in an armed robbery. His personality and his personality alone brought him to this bad end. He is, in a sense, his own executioner.

It's obvious the Raiders stink and this season is a bust and probably next season will be a bust and onward and onward.

But what about JaMarcus Russell? Is he a bust, too?

It sure looks like it and, please, let's drop the excuse that he missed training camp two seasons ago. The statute of limitations on that one expired a long time ago.

His passes are eerily erratic -- he overthrows and underthrows -- and that's bad.

People say he is not smart enough to be a QB in the NFL. This accusation I don't like for two reasons. 1) How can anyone know that? Russell is young and inexperienced and NFL defenses are confusing. Even Joe Montana needed an extended learning period. 2) The assertion that Russell is not bright sounds like the same old prejudice against black QBs -- they're not smart enough to lead teams, which is baloney. So I put no stock in the not-bright accusation against Russell.

But I do accuse him of one thing. He is not passionate enough. He does not seem to burn with the fire Montana had or Steve Young or Jeff Garcia or Brett Favre. I could go on. With those guys winning seemed like everything; you almost felt they'd risk their lives to win. And -- I admit I'm going by body language here -- Russell just seems more casual, more live and let live. In the NFL a QB has to be intense and full of fury -- think Rich Gannon. I'm not sure a coach can teach Russell that quality. Either you have it or you don't.

The Giants just held a conference call including Edgar Renteria, Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy. Here are the relevant quotes.

Sabean's introductory statement: I don't think Edgar needs any introduction, how he's viewed in the baseball world. The fact that he's been a winning player. We're just thrilled to be able to put him in our No. 2 spot in our lineup and at shortstop.

Bochy: He's a winner. Been to the World Series couple of times; he's got a ring. He helps solidify our defense up the middle. This is a very great signing for us.

Renteria: It's very exciting to go to the Giants. They have great young guys and that's perfect for me. I always like to compete and win everything.

Q to Renteria: How does it feel following Omar Vizquel?

A: Everybody knows Omar is one of the best shortstops in the game. To replace Omar is an honor.

Q to Sabean: Edgar had a down year last year, what are your thoughts about last year?

A: The second half (of the season) was more indicative of what he's capable of. We have no reservations about him being our shortstop. It's an upgrade. We can look at Emmanuel Burriss and Frandsen as things unfold. This guy's a complete player as you're going to find.

Q to Renteria: How does it feel coming back to the National League?

A: I'm excited. I feel real comfortable.

Q to Renteria: Why do you play better in the National League?

A: Maybe I know more the game in the National League. It's my type of game. The American League is different. You have to wait for the big home run. For me it's kind of boring.

Q to Renteria: Why were your numbers not as good last year?

A: Every year is different.

Q to Renteria: Your agent said you lost weight. What have you done?

A: I worked hard a month and a half to be more flexible so I could have more speed. That will help me play better defense and steal more bases.

Q to Renteria: Why did you choose Giants?

A: I want to go where the people want me. It's a great city to play baseball. Three or four organizations tried to sign me.

Q to Sabean: Who are the contenders at second base?

A: We're not sure how we're rating anybody. That's least of our worries right now.

Q to Renteria: What do you think of the ballpark?

A: I like it. To me it's better. There's room in right center and that's where I like to hit the ball.

Q to Sabean: What are you trying to do at the winter meetings?

A: With all due respect this call is just about the signing.

The way I understood it, the Giants were going to knock off signing band-aid players, guys to fill a hole for a year or two. You know, rent-a-players. And now they went out and signed shortstop Edgar Renteria for two years. Strange.

Renteria used to be a good player, but he's 33 and on the decline. Yes, he's one of those decline players the Giants gravitate to. He is a very good fielder but his hitting is falling off. Last year he batted .270 for the Tigers.

I thought the Giants were building for the future. Now I'm not so sure what they're doing. I don't see this as a team with a strong middle infield. On a scale of one to ten I give this signing a four.

For my Thursday column I interviewed Ronny Turiaf about his top-10 favorite movies. Turiaf is nuts about flicks and has great taste. My column explains how he got hooked on films. In this blog entry I list his top-10 favorites. These are not necessarily what he considers the best movies, merely the ones he loves most. As a bonus I include my list, my kid Iggy's list and Robert Rubino's. To see more of Robert's writing go to his terrific blog, Old School on the PD website. To read my full column on Turiaf click here.

Turiaf: Malcolm X, Gladiator, All About the Benjamins, Three Hundred, Scarface, The Usual Suspects, The Godfather Series, Casino, Goodfellas, Burn After Reading.

Cohn: Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, Godfather I, Godfather II, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Some Like It Hot, Stand By Me, Groundhog Day, The Third Man, Bullets Over Broadway.

Iggy: Goodfellas, Godfather I, Godfather II, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Do the Right Thing, Miller's Crossing, Ghost Dog, The Mack, Sexy Beast, Super Car Showdown.,

Rubino: Night of the Living Dead (original 1968 version), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 version), Field of Dreams, Zelig, Seven Beauties, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory, Hoop Dreams, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

The Zohn loves to write about boxing. Truth be told, boxing is the Zohn's favorite sport.

Which brings us to the upcoming fight, Saturday night, between boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya and superstar Manny Pacquiao. It figures to be a terrific match because De La Hoya was the fighter of his generation -- now past -- and Pacquiao is fast, and hits hard, and has a great heart. He is everything you want in a great champion.

Some things you should know. De La Hoya is on the downhill slope and has been for years. Manny is too quick for him and, even when he was at his best, Oscar had trouble with speed. Manny is younger and has more stamina and will make Oscar work.

But I'm picking Oscar to win a decision. In the first place he never would take this fight if he didn't think it was in the bag. He's shrewd. He is much bigger than Manny, four inches taller and that means a lot. Manny will have to punch up at Oscar, never a good thing. In addition, Manny is coming up from super feather -- say 130 pounds or so, I hate these artificial divisions -- and De La Hoya is coming down in weight. They will meet at 147, a compromise weight but it favors Oscar. Manny is bound to lose punching power against a bigger man. And that means he won't be a punching threat to Oscar and Oscar likes that.

If Oscar wins this fight, he deserves some praise but not wild praise because he is not taking a big chance. If he loses, he needs to retire.

Ira Miller phoned this afternoon to talk about the NFL. It's great to include Ira's opinions on the Cohn Zohn and Iggy and I appreciate his generosity toward us. Ira talks fast and I sat there typing away and from time to time I heard myself saying, "Slow down, Ira." We started with the news of the week and moved on from there.

Ira on Plaxico Burress: The big news of the week would start with him. I think he should go to jail. That's the law. We see too many of these celebrities get off - it's not like it's ambiguous. Why should he be special? It's got nothing to do with the fact that he's late for appointments. New York has gun laws. The Giants are better off without him anyway. They're 11-1 and he's not done much this year. They don't need this aggravation. (After Ira and I talked Burress got banned the rest of the season.)

Ira on Lane Kiffin's verbal attacks on Al Davis during his introductory press conference at Tennessee. Kiffin called the Raiders dysfunctional: I didn't see the news conference but I like people who tell the truth. The Raiders are dysfunctional. I'm not sure how good a coach Kiffin is or who used whom, but the bottom line is the Raiders are a dysfunctional organization.

Cohn: Plus Al owes Kiffin money.

Ira: Good luck collecting.

Ira on Mike Martz: I have to admit I'm surprised. I give Martz credit for this - he's calling rational games.

Cohn: What do you mean by rational?

Ira: He's not putting his quarterback and offense in a position to get killed every week. You start with the fact that Shaun Hill or J.T. O'Sullivan are not Joe Montana. They're just guys. But Hill has put up much better numbers because Martz is doing a much better job calling games under Martz. He's not forcing Hill to hold ball as long. He's making better use Frank Gore. I know they that had that meltdown at the end of the Arizona game where they didn't make good use of Gore. But it's an interesting dynamic. In the five games Mike Singletary has been head coach Gore averages just under 20 carries a game. That means three more carries a game in the last five games. It doesn't seem like much but he's more involved.

Cohn: What are the odds on Singletary keeping the coaching job and why?

Ira: I won't give odds. We were talking about dysfunctional a minute ago and I think the 49ers are primarily dysfunctional. And delusional with this stadium thing. They've talked about the stadium since Mike Singletary was in high school. That being said, the key to me in retaining him is I want to hear his plans. Who will be his offensive and defensive coordinators? What are they going to run? What are his plans for quarterback? He took over this team but it's not his team. So, OK, now it's your team, what are you going to do? If they make the decision on won/loss record or what happened the rest of the season it's a mistake. We've got to hear what his vision is. There's no question he can get guys to play for him. That's only part of fit. Art shell can get guys to play for him but he brings in Tom Walsh as offensive coordinator. Having a bed and breakfast guy call plays is not what you want. Maybe Martz will stay here with Singletary and stay calm. I don't know how many more games the 49ers can win. The record isn't totally irrelevant but it's not the No.1 criterion. What are his plans? If the team had gone 0-9 the record would be pretty relevant but it's won some games and played OK in spots. People say he's not an X's and O's guy. That's not necessary but he must hire X's and O's guys. Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil were not X's and O's guys. You need to be a leader. He qualifies in that.

Cohn: Does Tom Cable stand a chance?

Ira: My god, no. He's an offensive line coach, beginning and end. You don't dump him on the basis of one play although it was a pretty stupid play, but again I don't see what the vision is and that starts at the top and we've exhausted this a million times. Where are the Raiders going?

Cohn: Between the 49ers and Raiders, which team wins the dysfunctional award?

Ira: Oh boy. (Ira sighs.) That's tough. Probably the Raiders because if you've got to pick one the Raiders have no hope. There's not much with the 49ers, but none with the Raiders. We're talking degrees of awfulness. It's laughable but the 49ers will probably finish 2^nd in their division. It just shows 2^nd place is grievously devalued. The other three teams in their division are 11-25. The other three in the Raiders division are 13-23.
These are horrible divisions and these teams can't contend.

Cohn: What coaching changes do you expect after the season?

Ira: It could be a record this year. Half the league could wind up changing coaches. One of reasons is a lot of teams stink. But look at Atlanta and Baltimore. They hired coaches from off the radar, not guys everyone was talking about. They hired them and drafted rookie quarterbacks as starters and both are 8-4 and in playoff contention. If I'm an owner I'm asking, "Wait a minute, why is this so difficult?" Think about the mess Atlanta was in. The quarterback goes to jail and now they have a good shot at the playoffs. It's just by hiring the right people to run it and it's not always the usual suspects.

Cohn: Name some teams which might have coaching changes.

Ira: Oakland, San Francisco, San Diego, Kansas City, Seattle, that's obvious, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Houston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit. Is that enough?

The Warriors had the Miami game won. They really did, except they threw it away.

They led 129-126 with 13.5 seconds left in OT. A game should be over then. Except Corey Maggette made a bad error, a horrible error. He blew an assignment, allowed Chris Quinn to square up for a perfect 3-pointer and the game was tied at 129.

Here's Don Nelson on that screw-up. "We sure gave it away at the end. Couple of breakdowns at the wrong time. I thought we had the game won. Missed assignment by one of my veterans for the tie, the 3-point shot. Shouldn't have happened. We had the play played properly."

Except that Maggette, who was supposed to move off a screen to the shooter, didn't recognize what was happening and didn't move in time.

So that was Mistake No. 1.

Mistake No. 2 happened an instant later. Andris Biedrins, whom all the Warriors call Goose, was supposed to inbound the ball but got confused and threw it to the Heat's Michael Beasley who took a shot, missed and got fouled. He sank one free throw and that was the game."

Nelson on the stolen inbounds pass: "I thought Goose would make a better decision. I wanted him to take the ball out so (Miami) couldn't foul him."

He meant Biedrins is an unreliable free-throw shooter and Nelson didn't want him at the line with the game on the line.

Afterward, Stephen Jackson seemed depressed and tired with the seventh loss in a row. Someone asked what he thought about Nelson saying the Warriors are not going to make the playoffs. "He done said that before," Jackson said. "What can we do? I don't even pay attention to it. That's his opinion."

What's Jackson's opinion?

"I keep my opinions to myself. My opinion don't matter just like his doesn't. Everybody got opinions just like everybody got (sphincters). You got to live with it."

Sounds like the Warriors are one big happy family.

Q: How do you improve the team?

A: You win the next game which is tonight and you just keep working on things you've been working on and hope your young guys are getting better.

Q: Do you have the talent to compete in your division?

A: I like the team for the future. I got a lot of guys that aren't ready yet.

Q: You made a comment in New York that you didn't think the playoffs were realistic possibility this year.

A: I think we knew we were in trouble when Monta went down. Training camp we knew it was going to be difficult. We also knew that Al was probably going to be traded during the season. That took our best power forward out of the situation and forced us to play younger guys. We knew that was coming at some time. We knew it was going to be a struggle, sure.

Q: Have you faced this kind of dilemma so early in the season?

A: I've built teams wherever I've been with the exception of New York, including this one twice. So it's not new to me. You have to have an understanding that you can struggle. You just don't want to struggle more than one year at a time if you can help it. You can resolve things and build a team in which you're a contender.

Q: Will you play the young players more?

A: I have been getting the younger players in the game more.

Q: How have they done?

A: OK. We expect them to struggle and make mistakes. That's part of the deal. They've certainly played a lot more than a year ago.

Q: When you say I like the team for the future that means maybe not this season, but next season?

A: Hopefully. I can't predict the future. When you start a rebuilding process you would hope the next year you would start to get better or maybe even this year. It's not that we're not trying to get better but there are obstacles in our way. We've got a new player now that's trying to learn our system.

Q: Was the effort there in New York?

A: We have some deficiencies as a team. One of them is passing. We're not a good passing team. Our trade helps that, gives us another passer. We're not strong defenders. When I don't have Jack there's a big void there. There's too many holes. Sometimes when we think we're going to help the team with some schemes, jump into a zone, sometimes young players get flooded. And then your defense breaks down. We had a game plan in New York that if we had carried it out the first half and taken their 3-ball away we could have been competitive. Problem was we had too many breakdowns and they made nine 3s in the first half for crying out loud. I guess I should have made some adjustments in the second half. I didn't think I coached a good game the second half. I should have realized that game plan wasn't working and switched. There are times you know when a team is on a good roll we're going to struggle. It doesn't matter who it is. We haven't played too many of the elite teams yet, a couple, and we've struggled against most everybody.

Q: Does small ball sometimes hurt you?

A: Our small team has to be better than the other team's small team and when it's not that's not going to work. We've won a game or two playing small ball we've also won playing big. Either lineup is not a dominating lineup again because there's a lot of young players either way.

Q: What's the transition period with Monta?

A: Monta's the wildcard. I really don't know when he's coming back. I don't know how long it's going to take. Once he gets on the court doesn't mean he's going to be the Monta of a year ago. It's still probably going to be a month or so before he can get up to speed. We thought about these issues going into the season and we have a pretty good understanding of what to expect.

Q: How does management feel about what you're saying?

A: They would probably want me to be more positive. But I kind of have to say it the way it is. That's the way I see it. We're going to get better but I think there are too many obstacles really to have that as a goal this year. I think really to get better, try to win games and bring our team along is the way to go at this point and not really worry about that.

Q: You said you'd know about your team after 30 games. Have you adjusted that?

A: I wasn't sure about the Al Harrington situation, when that would happen or even if it would happen or if he would opt out. I had a plan and I told them early I was going to play him all he wanted because he was far and away the best player I had at the four position. I got a backup center so I didn't have to play him at backup center. I hoped I could play him happy. Well, it didn't work either. I think it was a positive the way everything worked out because we got a player we really like and I think will be here a long, long time. It worked out fine but I was a little disappointed in the way he handled it. That's the way it happened and it happened to be a good thing at the end. We would have made that trade in the summer when Al asked me for the trade but that wasn't available then. We got a player we like, so everything is fine that way.

Q: But did you move up the timeline from 30 games?

A: The 30 games was from when we were going to try to play and win games and bring the younger guys slower. When Al got injured, that kind of changed. I think we can look now at where we are and I said what I said. If you look at our team last year, we were really good. We didn't make the playoffs last year and we won 48 games. This team isn't nearly as good as that one. How would we expect to make the playoffs with this team when we didn't do it last year? And we had a lot of veteran players on the team. To me it's just common sense. That's why I said it.

Q: Are you worried about the toll of these losses?

A: I want us to play hard and try to play the game the right way, move the ball and be unselfish. Those are the things we're trying to teach and have an anchor on the defensive end and have it as a priority. Those are the things we're going to keep teaching this year. When it takes hold, I'm not sure, but we'll keep doing that and we'll keep doing that as long as I'm here.

Q: What if 39 wins would get you in, would playoffs be realistic goal?

A: No, I don't think so.

Q: What did it mean that you left the court early in New York?

A: I should have made some adjustments. I got stubborn. ... We weren't going to foul and the clock was running down. I probably left 5 seconds too early. Don't make anything out of that. ... The game was over and we weren't going to foul because we were down 12 or 13 and we were going to let the clock run out. If it bothers you, I won't do it again. It's not a problem. I probably left 5 seconds too early.

Q: Do you plan to coach out the remainder of your contract?

A: Absolutely. It means that there's no pressure not to do it the right way, not to do this job the right way _ that I don't have to worry about next year and I don't have to try to win 30 whatever games if that's not the way to make this team the best team they can be in the future. To me that's what that means _ to do it the right way and to feel comfortable doing that. ... I wasn't worried about anything (coming into the season). It wasn't my idea. I would have done it the same no matter what. It wouldn't have mattered. I can walk away any time, that's not a problem. But they gave me an extension and for whatever reason I got it, I think that was part of their thinking.

To read my column on Don Nelson proclaiming the Warriors will not make the playoffs, click here.

There is something to be said for getting even, something wonderful. Lane Kiffin got his shot this morning and he threw a TD bomb.

He was being introduced as head coach of Tennessee football and the press conference was carried on local TV. And Kiffin did well, he really did except for once wiping his nose with his hand and for saying OK, OK about a thousand times. But I wander.

Early on he thanked Al Davis for giving him the opportunity to be a head coach. But later on he couldn't resist getting even and who could blame him. He talked about what he faced in Oakland:

"And to deal with a completely dysfunctional franchise when you get there."

He heard laughter in the audience. "That wasn't a joke," he said. "That's something that's really valuable. You can't go to school and learn crisis management like going there."

He came back to the stick-it-to-Al theme a few minutes later:

"It was a great experience, and what happens in that building, to be able to deal with that in that environment makes everything you do from that point easy. I'm very glad I did it. Was it fun every day? No."

I bet Kiffin wishes he got paid. That would have made the experience even more valuable. But he had a point. If he could work and sort of survive for a while in hell he could flourish just about anywhere else. This was payback for Al showing the Lane firing letter on that overheard projector and calling him a flatout liar. From Kiffin's point of view this was heaven. And, come on, Kiffin wasn't a wild success in Oakland but he was better than the current flounderer.

I'm not in New York so there are things I don't know about Stephon Marbury vs. the Knicks. It must be very hard for a good player like him to fall out of the coach's grace. Whatever the cause, Marbury refused to play in a game when called upon. Marbury says he never refused, says coach Mike D'Antoni gave him the option whether to play or not. This seems like splitting longuistic hairs. The team needed him and he chose not to play.

"He gave me straight disrespect," Marbury said of D'Antoni. "It was beyond disrespect."

Here's what I say to Marbury. No one cares about your disrespect. It's irrelevant. You were called on to play and you refused. On the other hand, when the Knicks sent you their checks you didn't refuse -- you accepted them. If you accept the money you do what you're told. Respect has nothing to do with it.