Game 2 - Lions vs. 49ers

Victory!

And not as nerve-wracking this week. I was afraid after last week that my heart would be pounding and my mind filled with anxiety during every game, but I guess it was just first game-of-the-season jitters. 

It's human nature to complain and criticize, and this year's 49ers squad has been so good, I can't think of much to write about. I could go on and on about the great play of a lot of players, but really, how fun is that? I'll simply mention one name: Michael Crabtree. He certainly was dialed in last night.

One thing I've been wondering about is whether or not Coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens also alternates his players' lockers, defensive player next to offensive player next to defensive player and so on. As I understand, that is what Coach Jim Harbaugh has done in the 49ers locker room. It has done wonders in generating a sense of unity throughout the entire squad. They're all in this together and it is fantastic to see. 

Which has made me look back to when John and Jim were growing up and sharing a bedroom; did they dream together of each eventually coaching an NFL team? Did they begin formulating their plans and bounce ideas off of each other as to the best ways to get the most out of their players? Or game-planning and strategizing? The Ravens and 49ers sure seem to be constructed the same way - and very well I might add! 

name that band

What do Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Dave Clark Five, and the J. Geils Band all have in common? 

All were named after someone other than the lead singer. Or at least not the member most known as being the lead singer. Santana and Manfred Mann ('s Earth Band) are two others. 

I wonder for how long the band that became U2 was known as the Larry Mullen Band? 

Game 1 - 49ers vs. Packers

Wow - what a heart pounding game! And that's just wondering what crazy calls the "replacement" officials might come up with next.

I was internalizing what Coach Jim Harbaugh was expressing with his face, so if you saw what he looked like (hint: cartoonishly large mouth and spittle), then you know what I was experiencing.

Anyway, BIG, BIG WIN. To break such a barrier and come up victorious on the road against the Packers, something that the 49ers hadn't done since 1990 when Joe Montana was quarterback, is a huge achievement indeed. The superb coaching, the improving roster, there's kudos to be handed out all around. 

There are so many names to go through, I'd feel remiss if I didn't name everybody, but I'd like to call out one player in particular: David Akers, the kicker. He tied the NFL record for longest field goal ever made - 63 yards! That's only ever been achieved 3 times before, and two of those were in mile-high Denver. Yes, Akers got a very fortuitous bounce off of the crossbar, so that could be his asterisk (not that asterisks are called for). Still, it was something else and somewhat easy to overlook with the incredible victory the Niners had. 

I'm actually going into this season hoping that Akers kicks a career low number of field goals. Instead, I hope he sets a new NFL record for PATs (point after touchdowns). It would greatly behoove the team to score touchdowns this season instead of settling for field goals. But it's awfully nice knowing that the field goals will be there. 

Next game: the home opener against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night.

John Clayton of ESPN

Funniest thing I've seen in awhile: 

John Clayton behind the scenes.

the genius of Steven Wright

I wonder how many of you know of the comedian Steven Wright. He is of my generation, and is known for his very dry and droll humor, delivered in a particularly deadpan manner. No, really.

Not too long ago, I looked online to see if I could find any sites that listed some of his best lines. There are many such sites, and I read through one of them trying to find my favorite observations of his. Two really stood out and became my favorites. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the particular site, and I haven't found these two favorite lines anywhere else. So I'm paraphrasing what I remember of them here: 

If humans evolved from monkeys and apes, then why are there still monkeys and apes? 

Bullets bounce off of Superman's chest... so why does he duck when somebody throws a gun at him? 

hunters and typos

Aauugh! I just realized that I had an awful typo in the subject line of my last post. I had 'humters' instead of 'hunters.' I've become so reliant on the red dotted line that appears below my misspellings, that I miss it because it doesn't work in subject lines. 

I corrected it - but it must have stuck out like a sore thumb when it was there. Just terrible... 

hunters and collectors

Wait a minute... did I really write about a song by Adele in my last post? No worries, I've written about my enjoyment of music by the Carpenters, John Denver, certainly ABBA, etc. in the past. 

Still, today, I just may be upping my cool quotient a little bit. Or not. Depends on what you like and think is cool. Anyway, here are a couple of links to videos on YouTube that I recently discovered. To the very same song. 

The first is performed by Neil Finn, of Crowded House and Split Enz fame. If you are a fan of Crowded House, you may know that the bass player's name is Nick Seymour. Well, he has a brother, Mark, who fronted an Australian band called Hunters and Collectors. Mark wrote a song that is quite fantastic: 

Throw Your Arms Around Me (M. Seymour) - performed by Neil Finn 

And here is another version:

Throw Your Arms Around Me - performed by Eddie Vedder and Mark Seymour