Randy Moss to Workout for 49ers on Monday

The 49ers went into this offseason needing a wide receiver, whether it was via free agency or the NFL Draft.  Sunday, we found out that it may be via free agency, as the 49ers reportedly plan on working out Randy Moss in Santa Clara on Monday.

Moss has been out of football since 2010 when he played for the New England Patriots.


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Bracketology 2012: Latest Predictions for 2012 NCAA Tournament

This is my first time ever doing this and it is not as easy as ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi makes it look........

The madness is just about upon us—Selection Sunday is right around the corner.

Conference Week is traditionally the week we see teams' true colors, and this year is no different, with several schools falling from grace and others surging up the rankings.


Bubble teams have also been pressed to impress the committee, hoping their resumes are just good enough to squeak in and make it to the Big Dance.

Here is the latest predictions for where teams will land when all is set in stone on Sunday night.

View the predicted bracket HERE

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San Jose Sharks: Where Is Rock Bottom?

Rock bottom is such a harsh word to use for a team with so much talent and the playoff normality that this franchise and fan base have come to expect, but the word describes exactly how it feels these days to be around the San Jose Sharks.


Watching the Sharks' Joe Pavelski score a goal with just under two minutes to play in a crucial Pacific Division battle with the Dallas Stars Thursday night was as hyped as this team has been in just over a month.  However, when it rains it sure does pour on this team that is clearly in a mental and physical rut.

Moments later, the Stars responded with a game-tying goal, as has been per usual as of late for Dallas, and coincidentally per usual for the Sharks, as well.

Again, the Sharks had an opportunity to strike on a power play late in overtime, yet could muster nothing despite several great opportunities in front of the Dallas net.

Low and behold, the game went to a shootout, and it was then that we all knew what was coming next.

What were the odds a team with a lackluster mental game was going to pull out a win in a shootout on the road against one of the hottest teams in the NHL?

It did not matter at that point.  We all knew the loss was coming sooner or later for this team on Thursday night.

The Stars added to their Pacific Division lead, which is now a four games, and the Sharks continue to cling to the seventh or eighth spots in the Western Conference.

Sharks getting some help tonight from MN Wild beating Phx & Columbus beats LA Kings! Going to be a great finish in the West!

— Bret Hedican (@BretHedican) March 9, 2012

It is simply the way things are going for this San Jose team.  When things seem to go right, they tend to go wrong quickly.  It has become the norm these days.

But the Sharks did not play bad on Thursday, and that is the point of this whole ordeal.  They outshot a screaming hot team 48-35 on their opponent's home ice in the middle of a road-trip that has no choice but to come out a success.

Finally, we saw some significance from the Sharks, finally we saw some urgency and finally we saw some hard-nosed hockey.  It was the best game the Sharks have played since their Feb. 28 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and i cannot remember when the best game before that occurred, and for good reason.  The important part is that the game against the Stars on Thursday night -- the best game they have played in recent memory -- still ended in a loss and a drop in the point standings in the Pacific Division.

Has panic set in for this team yet?

Better yet, where do we consider rock bottom to be?

No, the Sharks are not at rock bottom.  However, when a team has a handle on the division at the mid-season point, then proceeds to drop several games in a row while the rest of their division starts playing aggressive and competitive hockey, it might be just about time.

San Jose is a playoff hockey team, and despite these losses that seem to be inevitable to some extent, we can expect the Sharks to be playing in the Western Conference playoffs at one of the eight seeds, no matter how unlikely that seems to be these days.

But rock bottom is not far off, which shows you just how far this team has collapsed since they embarked on that miserable nine-game road-trip in mid-February.

Changing the momentum of this season starts with defeating their own division, and there are a lot of chances for that coming down the stretch of this season.

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Buster Posey To Start At Catcher on Friday For San Francisco Giants

After the 2011 season was left in shambles and a key piece of the future of the franchise wavering in the balance, the wait is over for the San Francisco Giants.  Buster Posey will reportedly be starting behind the plate on Friday when the Giants take on the Cincinnati Reds.

Posey sat out most of last season, after a collision at home plate with Miami Marlins' outfielder Scott Cousins left Posey with a left leg injury that sidelined him from any physical activities until recently. Now, the Giants plan on testing that left leg in Spring Training and see how it reacts.


According to Comcast SportsNet's Andrew Baggarly, Bruce Bochy plans on starting Posey behind the dish on Friday, seven games into San Francisco's Spring Training schedule.

Bochy plans to debut Posey at catcher Friday: Welcome back, kid. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he plans for Bu... bit.ly/yhBFHx

— Andrew Baggarly (@CSNBaggs) March 8, 2012

All eyes are sure to be on Posey, that left leg and his bat that is so dearly needed if the Giants are to hang tough in the National League West this season.

He is clearly the heart and soul of this Giants ball club.  In his rookie season, Posey played a significant role in helping the Giants get their first World Series title in San Francisco.  Last season, we saw just how much he really meant to this team.

After he went down with injury, the team seemed mentally drained down the stretch when a playoff push was needed.  The team was dismal on the offensive side of the ball and lacked that middle of the order bat to help drive in runs and take meaningful at-bats.

With Posey assuredly back in the Giants' line-up for Opening Day 2012, the Giants should feel like a new team, and the news that we are going to see him back on the field calling pitches behind the plate on Friday only further adds to the team's hyped morale.

Look for the Giants to take several precautions on Friday, but just seeing him with the mask on Friday should be enough to get the baseball juices flowing back in San Francisco.

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Peyton Manning Out in Indianapolis; 49ers Make Offer to Alex Smith

For a 49er fan, you had to wake up in a good mood this morning.  Peyton Manning was officially done in Indianapolis and looking for a home, and the 49ers could use a reliable gift at quarterback, since Alex Smith is a free agent.

Then you probably cam across a little tid-bit on the internet saying the 49ers have an "offer on the table" for Smith and that they plan on moving ahead with him under center.

GM Trent Baalke hinted at it yesterday when he mentioned the 49ers were not particularly willing to pursue the future Hall of Famer,
despite the pleads of Jerry Rice and others.

Manning simply does not fit into the 49ers' plans, which means they are pretty adamant about signing Smith yet again after a trip to the NFC Championship game last season.

Peyton Manning gets off plane n has Dolphings owner waiting for him. Let the games begin!Peyton taking his talents to South Beach? #cmon

— BASportsTalk (@BASportsTalk) March 7, 2012

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2012 NFL Free Agents: San Francisco 49ers and Teams That Must Make A Splash

There is a lot of pressure for teams to go out this offseason and find free agents to either replace or bolster certain areas of their team, but overpaying may be the name of the game this offseason and some teams have no choice but to comply with those standards.

The San Francisco 49ers may be one of those teams this offseason.


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San Francisco Giants Kick Off 2012 Season With Intrasquad Game

San Francisco Giants baseball is back and just in time, if i may add.  Since the San Francisco 49ers ended their season, Bay Area fans have been forced to watch a struggling San Jose Sharks team and the miserable Golden State Warriors.  Fans have been more intrigued with the 49ers' offseason and free agency than the Warriors, as they should be.

But that all changes now.

The Giants tipped off their annual intrasquad game on Thursday, a sign that the Bay Area better get ready for the biggest sports phenomenon of each and every year in the area.


However, instead of seeing the usual starters showcase what we are sure to see this season, fans got a taste of the future.  The future includes several prospects whose ceilings are high, and it will not not take long to see them in action at AT&T Park.

With the box score of the intrasquad game not available, all i can tell you is who won and who i have heard were the standouts in the game.

First of all, Team Shawon Dunston beat down Team J.T. Snow, 7-2.

As for the stand-outs, that is where it gets fuzzy, as i can only give you the updates of the significant plays of the game that were told to me.

Center fielder Gary Brown was the first overall selection in the draft, which matched Team Snow against Team Dunston.  Dunston made Brown the No. 1 overall selection of the players included in Thursday's intrasquad game.  Brandon Belt was selected No. 2.

Brown did not disappoint, as he managed a ground-rule double in his first at-bat, although reports are he was flying around the bases.

Another impressive player was Gregor Blanco, the 28-year-old center fielder, who might be the Giants' No. 5 outfielder, and he hit an RBI triple while showing off his speed around the bases.

The other asset that stood out about this group of Giants' potential was the surplus of catchers this club has. Buster Posey is the starter, Eli Whiteside will back him up for a good portion of this season and Hector Sanchez is waiting in the wings.  But then there is 20-year-old Tommy Joseph and 21-year-old Andrew Susac, who are making great cases for the next big behind the dish in San Francisco.

Joseph stands 6'1" with a big bat, drawing comparisons to Paul Konerko from AAA-Fresno head coach Steve Decker.  He had an RBI on Thursday.

Both he and Susac were evidently the buzz around the ball park.

The rest of the buzz was directed toward promising prospect Joe Panik, who is as much of a sure thing as the Giants have in their system, according to several sources.  He will split time between second base and shortstop in spring training, but he started at shortstop for Team Snow on Thursday.

He is evidently a very nice contact hitter with good fundamentals in his game and a lot of promise.  There is a possibility we see him up in San Francisco at some point this season, depending on how the season goes.  The 21-year-old should look a lot like how Brandon Crawford was projected last season, except that Panik may be a little further ahead in nearly every category minus fielding, which Crawford is a master of.

ESPN's baseball expert Keith Law ranked the Giants' farm system No. 26 in the MLB, which makes him obviously uninformed.

Judging by the buzz around the organization about their prospects and the promise these players have shown and will reportedly continue to show, San Francisco was severely underrated by ESPN.

Here is Law's explanation:

"The Giants don't go much over MLB's recommended draft bonuses, never seem to acquire any prospects in trades and haven't had success on the international front yet. Their amateur staff has done a great job finding value in later rounds without going over budget, including Brandon Belt and Heath Hembree."


I guess time will tell, but this is without a doubt a top-15 farm system in the MLB right now.  Brown and Belt will prove that shortly, Panik will not disappoint when he arrives in San Francisco and Joseph and Susac will get their respect in the upper end of the Giants' farm system this season.

Baseball is back.

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