Sharks find a way to win on the road
December 30, 2008 by Doyers Suck · Leave a Comment
The Sharks beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 Monday night behind solid goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov and goals from ailing forwards Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek.
Nabokov stopped 28 of the Stars’ 29 shots to lead the Sharks to their league leading 28th victory.
Evgeni Nabokov's solid goaltending led the Sharks to their 28th victory.
Uncharacteristically (wow, that is a really long word), the Sharks spent more time in the penalty box then their opponent, but they stifled the Stars’ power play for 11:05, including 55 seconds of a 2 man advantage.
The Sharks won this game without 2 of their regulars, defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and forward Devin Setoguchi. Both will be in the lineup Wednesday against Minnesota.
Warriors enjoy sleepover with victory over the Raptors
December 30, 2008 by Doyers Suck · 31 Comments
The Warriors returned from a road trip long enough to play one home game and then they went right back on the road. Luckilly they made that one game at home count by beating the Raptors 117-111 behind 30 points from Jacko and a career high 23 from Rocky Balboa, oops… I mean Marco Bellinelli.
“It’s terrible. I feel it right now,” Ronny Turiaf said of the hectic travel. “I just got home last night at 12:30, 1 o’clock and I have to leave again.”
The Warriors enjoyed their sleepover by beating the Raptors 117-111.
By the time the Warriors visit Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve, Minnesota on Friday and then Utah on Monday, they will have played 23 of their first 36 games on the road. They are only 4-16 on the road and 6-7 at home.
Bellinelli added 6 assists to his career high 23 points, prompting the sellout crowd to chant, “Rocky, Rocky” as a tribute to his resemblance to Rocky Balboa.
The Warriors won because they moved the ball around. They had 26 assists which pleased coach Don Nelson. “Win or lose, when we move the ball like we did, Coach is happy,” he said. “When we’re scrapping, I’ll take whichever the outcome is.”
Hopefully the W’s can take 2 of 3 on this road trip and get a little closer to Monta coming back.
Martz given many days off
December 30, 2008 by Doyers Suck · Leave a Comment
The San Francisco 49ers announced that offensive coordinator Mike Martz has been dismissed from the coaching staff.
Mike Martz was shown the door by the Niners.
“After an evaluation period I felt it was best to go in a different direction,” said Head Coach Mike Singletary regarding the dismissal of Mike Martz. “This was not an easy decision because I appreciate Mike Martz, and I enjoyed working with him. He is a true professional, and I wish him the best in the future.”
Martz also reacted to the news saying, “I had an outstanding conversation with Mike Singletary this afternoon. I believe he will be an outstanding head coach in the National Football League. I wish him nothing but the best. I am not what he is looking for offensively. I understand that. This is just a part of professional sports.”
This means the 49ers will have another new coordinator in 2009. This will be the 5th straight season the 49ers have changed offensive coordinators, dating back to Singletary first coming in with Mike Nolan in 2005.
“I do recognize the need for a long term solution on the offensive side of the ball,” said Singletary.
That’s nice, now what do you intend to do about it? Hey, Mike Shanahan, feel like being an offensive coordinator again?
49ers finish season strong, then name Singletary head coach
December 28, 2008 by Doyers Suck · 7 Comments
Joe Nedney hit a 39 yarder as time expired to give the Niners the win. One would think that the 49ers assured Mike Singletary his chance to be the team’s next head coach by finishing the season with a victory by beating the Washington Redskins 27-24 on the last play of the game. Well, one would be right. The Niners announced that Singletary was their new head coach, signing a 4 year, $10 million deal.
7-9 doesn’t sound that impressive, but when you start the season 2-7, it doesn’t look so bad.
Shaun Hill and Mike Singletary meet after their 27-24 victory over the Redskins.
“I am very excited and humbled to be the head coach,” Singletary said Sunday in his postgame address, with his wife Kim and five children looking on. “Very humbled.”
The burden of elevating the 49ers to a playoff-caliber team is squarely on Singletary’s shoulders. Famously intense as a player, Singletary brought that same quality to the 49ers as interim head coach and in little more than two months’ time won over his players as well as management.
“The biggest thing is those guys in there (the locker room) are excited to play,” Singletary said. “I love these guys. They know that. They know what the prerequisites are: work. We have a lot of work to do.”
When he heard the news in the locker room after the game, quarterback Shaun Hill said, “Everybody started cheering and clapping. People were genuinely happy for him.”
The Niners won this game by holding the Redskins to only 268 total yards and playing pretty solid defense. The Niners amassed 359 yards of offense on one of the NFL’s best defenses. In fact, the Niners 27 points are the most given up by the Redskins the entire season.
Once again, Shaun HIll looked very unimpressive for much of the game, but played well when he had to, particularly in the 4th quarter. Hill threw for 245 yards with a TD and an interception. He also rushed for a TD.
Frank Gore became the only Niner to ever rush for over 1,000 yards in 3 straight seasons by collecting 58 yards on 11 carries. Gore is obviously not 100% and will have plenty of time to rest his ankle now that the season is over.
The work for the Niners is just beginning. They may have found their head coach, but will Martz be back to run the offense? Who will be taking the snaps? Hill? Smith? Lots of questions going into the off-season.