Raiders broadcast blacked out against the Chargers

For the 10th consecutive home game the Oakland Raiders broadcast will be blacked out.  This week's opponent will be the San Diego Chargers.  The Raiders have not had a home game broadcasted locally all season.

The NFL has been hit hard the last two seasons by the decline in ticket sales and therefore have experienced more blackouts than in the past.  This will be the eighth blackout so far this season and last year they had 22 blackouts total.

Giants announce 25-man roster

The Giants have announced their 25-man roster for the National League Division series against the Atlanta Braves.  They went will 11 pitchers as was expected; only four of them were starters.

As we reported last night Barry Zito has been left off the roster.  The Giants also left off bullpen arms Chris Ray and Dan Runzler along with outfielder Jose Guillen.  Guillen, was reportedly having some neck pain that is rather serious and to top it off he was not exactly contributing a lot.

I translated some quotes that Guillen had about being left of the roster in an ESPNDeportes.com article and here's what he had to say:

"It's unfortunate, but I can not do anything about it. I was very excited to play in the postseason, but the pain is very deep," Guillen told ESPNdeportes.com from San Francisco. 

"You play this sport to reach the postseason, the dream is to play in the World Series," Guillen said. "Fortunately, could still play later."

With Jose Guillen off the roster, I would expect to see Aaron Rowand start for the first game, as his numbers are very good against Derek Lowe, and then Cody Ross would probably start against Tommy Hanson with Rowand starting again against Tim Hudson.  If Rowand were to start then Bruce Bochy would likely move Andres Torres to right field.

The entire roster is after the jump.

Dime Magazine: Home-Court Advantage for the Warriors and Kings

Andrew Macaluso at Dime Magazine listed the five toughest arenas in the NBA to play in and both the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors made the list. Could we venture to say that Northern California has the best fans in the state of California?

I wonder why the Southern California teams didn't make the list?

Here's what Dime Mag had to say:

5. ARCO Arena (Sacramento Kings)

Despite managing to conjure up only 17 wins at home last season, the Kings still have one of the loudest, most rambunctious groups of fans in the League. ARCO is the smallest arena in the NBA, but its capacity of 17,317 sounds like twice that amount when the fans get going. The heyday was about a decade ago, when Jason Williams was dishing out elbow passes like they were candy and Chris Webber was putting up MVP-caliber numbers, around the same time the Kings placed a banner in the rafters that said “The NBA’s No. 1 Home-Court Advantage.” The Sacramento fans even set a Guinness world record for the loudest roar ever recorded. They don’t call this place “Cowbell Kingdom” for nothing. 

4. Oracle Arena (Golden State Warriors)

About 80 miles south of Sacramento, the entire city of Oakland is getting hyped up at the Oracle. If you ever watch their games on TV, everything happens so fast that you wish you could slow it down like the Matrix. Instead, you’re wildin’ out with over 19,000 fans, as if you were at a Waka Flocka concert. This was once one of the most exciting teams in NBA history to watch run up and down the hardwood, and the fans only added to the frenetic energy. A resounding home-court advantage helped the Warriors become the third No. 8 seed in history to upset a No. 1 seed when they knocked off Dallas in 2007. After notching just 18 wins at home last season, this improving group might have the crowd jumping all the way into the playoffs sooner rather than later.

Bochy announces Rowand on roster. Looks like no Zito

Bruce Bochy met with the media today as a prelude to tomorrow's game 1.  Although, the San Francisco Giants have not officially announced their 25-man roster for the first round Bochy did discuss the starting pitchers and the status of Aaron Rowand.

Bochy has confirmed that Aaron Rowand will be on the active roster.  This is not a surprise based on his numbers against some of the Braves starting pitching.

Derek Lowe: 11 for 23, 2 RBI's, 3 BB, 1 K, .478 BA, .556 OBP
Tommy Hanson: 0 for 2, 1 RBI, 1 K, .000 BA, .250 OBP
Tim Hudson: 8 for 21, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, .381 BA, .458 OBP


The starting rotation will be Tim Lincecum for game one, Matt Cain for game two, and Jonathan Sanchez for game three.  The game four pitcher will depend on where the series is at.  If the Giants are leading 2-1 it is likely rookie pitcher Madison Bumgarner will get the start.  However, if they are down 2-1 then Bochy will probably bring Tim Lincecum back on short rest.

As expected Barry Zito will not be in the starting rotation and it seems that he might not be on the postseason roster. I bet it is hard for the Giants to swallow paying a guy $18.5 million and for him not to play a game in the postseason.

At least we know that Bochy is making decisions that are based on whomever gives the Giants the best chance to win.

Giants-Braves games schedule

Here's is the schedule for the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves series.

Game 1: In San Francisco Thursday 10/7 - 6:37pm PST
Game 2: In San Francisco Friday 10/8 - 6:37pm PST
Game 3: In Atlanta Sunday 10/10 - 1:37pm PST
Game 4: In Atlanta Monday 10/11 - 5:37pm PST
Game 5: In San Francisco Wednesday 10/13 - 6:37pm PST

NFL Injury Report: Chargers-Raiders (Wednesday)

-Darren McFadden's injury problems are back now.  It looks like he will miss Sunday's game against the Chargers and that Michael Bush will be the primary back.

-Rolando McClain also missed today's practice but according to head coach Tom Cable it was related to "a loss in his family."

-Good news on the offensive line front.  Cable indicated that left guard Robert Gallery could be close and has not been ruled out for Sunday's game.


San Diego

Out: LB Larry English (foot)
Did Not Participate: LB Brandon Siler (foot), S Darrell Stuckey (hamstring)
Limited Participation: LB Shawne Merriman (calf), OG Louis Vasquez (knee)

Oakland

Did Not Participate: RB Michael Bennett (hamstring), OG Robert Gallery (hamstring), LB Travis Goethel (back), LB Quentin Groves (hamstring), DT John Henderson (foot), LB Thomas Howard (knee), LB Rolando McClain (not injury related), CB Walter McFadden (hamstring), RB Darren McFadden (hamstring), WR Chaz Schilens (knee), CB Jeremy Ware (ankle)
Limited Participation: LB Ricky Brown (hamstring), QB Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder), TE Zach Miller (hip)
Full Participation: S Hiram Eugene (hamstring), CB Chris Johnson (ankle)

Evaluating Week 4 NFL Picks

Bad week this week in picking games.

Week 4
Against the spread: 7-7
Straight up: 8-6

Season totals
Against the spread: 25-34-2
Straight up: 39-22

NFL Injury Report: Eagles-49ers (Wednesday)

All season the 49ers have had center Eric Heitmann, cornerback Will James, and receiver Ted Ginn on the injury report.  Now they are not on the report and it appears they should all be ready for Sunday.

Singletary did not say whether Eric Heitmann would get his starting job back when he is ready to return.  It has been speculated that he may move over to the guard position and replace Chilo Rachal in the starting lineup.

Ted Ginn is expected to make his return this Sunday night, which is much needed especially with the loss of tight end Delanie Walker.  Walker is listed as week to week.

Ginn will be able to help the 49ers offense by giving them a deep threat and also be a much needed addition to the kickoff return team.

Philadelphia

Did Not Participate: WR Riley Cooper (concussion), RB LeSean McCoy (rib), CB Asante Samuel (concussion), QB Michael Vick (rib)
Limited Participation: OG Nick Cole (knee)
Full Participation: CB Jorrick Calvin (shoulder), TE Brent Celek (wrist), OG Todd Herremans (shoulder), OT Austin Howard (back), LB Akeem Jordan (abodomen)

San Francisco

Did Not Participate: TE Delanie Walker (ankle)
Limited Participation: WR Kyle Williams (finger)
Full Participation: OG Chilo Rachal (knee)

49ers promote LB Keaton Kristick

The San Francisco 49ers have replaced recently released S Michael Lewis on the roster. To fill a huge need at inside linebacker the 49ers promoted LB Keaton Kristick to the active roster from the team’s practice squad.

The 49ers originally signed Kristick as an undrafted free agent earlier this year.

In a corresponding move to promoting Kristick, the 49ers signed former Colts tight end Colin Coherty to the practice squad. Cloherty, is a catching tight end from Brown University, who played for the Colts last season and only played in one game and made one catch.

The 49ers lost linebacker Bruce Davis to the Raiders as they signed Davis off the 49ers practice squad. This leaves the 49ers with one open practice squad spot.
Courtesy San Francisco 49ers media services

Video from Sec 317: Giants clinch NL West

Here's a video clip of the San Francisco Giants clinching the NL West Division starting with the 2 outs in the 9th inning.  Although the players look small, you can get an idea of how loud it was in the ballpark and the amount of people.

Enjoy!!!

Mike Singletary Press Conference Transcript: Job Security, 49ers Offense, Nate Clements

It was an interesting press conference today for Mike Singletary.  You can definitely tell that the 0-4 start is affecting him and he probably sees the end of his tenure soon.  It is likely that he will be around until the end of the year for no other reason then the 49ers do not have a very good replacement on the staff.

It is interesting that a story came out before the game that his job was safe but it never stated for how long.  As I said, his job is safe because they have no other options.  The subject was brought up in the press conference but Singletary gave a non-answer that is rather confusing.  He does seem to suggest that the team's failure is on the other coaches.  

On whether his job status at the end of the season is something that he needs to address with the front office: 

“No. I feel like this. It’s the nature of this game. Players have responsibility and if they don’t do their job, certain things happen. Coaches have responsibility, if they don’t do their job, things happen. But my mind doesn’t focus like that. I don’t worry about, ‘Well who do I need to talk to?’ - ‘Am I okay?’ – You know what? There’s 53 guys - that’s my responsibility. You go out there on Sunday, you do your job. You win football games. The last thing I’m thinking about is my job security. The most important thing that I’m thinking about is where this team is going, the direction of this team. But as far as all that other stuff, there are coaches right now that are riding pretty high, and at the end of the season, their job will be in jeopardy. That’s the nature of our job. And I’m thankful for that. So that’s where I am with that.” 

That statements sounds to me as if it is coming from someone who knows their days are numbered.  It also seems to suggest that he is accepting of the decision and is just trying to ride it out.  The fact that Singletary did not even refute the story says their is some validity to it.

The transcript of the press conference is after the jump.

Michael Vick will not start against the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers chances of getting their first win just got easier.  According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Michael Vick will not be playing Sunday night due to a rib cartilage injury.

Vick was hurt in Sunday's game on a quarterback sneak towards the end-zone.  He was tackled just short and was immediately removed from the game.  There was some speculation that it was not as serious as it looked but the story is that at this point he has trouble breathing without feeling pain.

Kevin Kolb is expected to make the start which will be easier for the 49ers defense.  Kolb has been very unimpressive when he has played quarterback and unless Alex Smith blows it for the 49ers I would expect them to get their first win.

49ers release safety Michael Lewis

After requesting the San Francisco 49ers to give him his release late last week, safety Michael Lewis got what he wanted.

In a press release, the 49ers announced they have released safety Michael Lewis.

“I want to thank Michael for his hard work and leadership as a 49er,” Mike Singletary said in a statement released by the 49ers. “We wish him and his family all the best.”

The 49ers have also announced that Taylor Mays would be the starting strong safety going forward.

Michael Lewis signed with the 49ers as a free agent in 2007. During that time he has totaled 381 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions.

ESPN goes overboard with special page to follow the Miami Heat

This is not really Bay Area news but since I know most of us have a massive hatred for the east coast bias that ESPN provides I thought I would pass it along.

ESPN has announced that they will launch a new section on the NBA page of ESPN.com called “The Heat Index.” This section will be used to keep up with the Miami Heat all season long and provide daily coverage of the Heat.

They have hired four writers to contribute to The Heat Index: 

• Brian Windhorst – formerly with the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Windhorst is one of the leading authorities on LeBron James. Windhorst has written two books about James and has covered him since middle school. Windhorst has been the Cavs beat writer/blogger for seven years and has won awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Associated Press. Windhorst will be based in Miami as one of two regular beat writers assigned to the team.
• Michael Wallace – Wallace has been the Miami Herald’s Heat beat writer for the previous three seasons and is an experienced sports and news reporter. Wallace, an award-winning writer, will team with Windhorst as regular Heat beat writers covering the team daily throughout the season.
• Kevin Arnovitz – in addition to his role as managing editor and contributor to ESPN.com’s TrueHoop Network, Arnovitz will provide digital media content and edit portions of The Heat Index.
• Sebastian Martinez-Christensen – Martinez-Christensen will be a regular contributor to The Heat Index. He formerly served as a multi-lingual columnist and contributor for ESPNDeportes.com, a reporter for ESPN Deportes (radio and television) and ESPN Deportes La Revista magazine.

On top of the daily coverage they have added some absolute ridiculous features to this page. Here are some of the more obsurd ones:

• Chase for 72 – an automated, daily forecast of how many games the Heat will win including ESPN.com’s John Hollinger projecting the odds of the Heat matching the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 wins.
• Tracking the Big 3 – an automated tracking of how James, Wade and Bosh stack up against the best trios in NBA history.
• Hollinger’s All-Time Power Rankings – a ranking pinning the Heat against the NBA’s all-time great teams.
• Triple-Double Tracker – a module tracking James’ progress towards averaging a triple-double for an entire season

San Francisco Giants, your NL West Champions

They did it!!!  For the first time since 2003 the San Francisco Giants have made it to the playoffs and clinched the division crown.  And its just like the 2010 Giants to clinch the division in their final game of the season against the San Diego Padres, a team that has owned them all year and had shutdown the Giants in the past two games.

Had the Giants just won one of those games they would have already been in.  But, that would have been too simple for these Giants.  They like it this way.  As they say, "Giants baseball.....torture."

Jonathan Sanchez was the hero today.  Sanchez pitched five innings and gave up only three hits and struckout five on the way to his 13th win of the season.  Not only did Sanchez pitch great but he also jump-started the offense in the third inning with a triple to "triples alley" and later scored on a Freddy Sanchez single.  Aubrey Huff then doubled in Freddy Sanchez in the same inning to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

In the eighth, Buster Posey showed why he should be the Rookie of the Year with a solo home-run to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

In the ninth, Brian Wilson entered the game to close it out and earn his 48th save, which tied him with Rod Beck for the most saves in San Francisco Giants history.

The Giants will now face off with the Atlanta Braves starting Thursday in San Francisco.  Here is the first round schedule for the Giants.

National League Division Series: Giants-Braves

NLDS Game 1: ATL @ SF  Thursday, October 7  TBS  6:37PM PST

NLDS Game 2: ATL @ SF  Friday, October 8  TBS  6:37PM PST

NLDS Game 3: SF @ ATL  Sunday, October 10  TBS  TBA

NLDS Game 4*: SF @ ATL  Monday, October 11  TBS  TBA

NLDS Game 5*: ATL @ SF  Wednesday, October 13  TBS  TBA

*if necessary

Game 162 - San Francisco Giants lineup

Jonathan Sanchez is on the mound for the San Francisco Giants in the final game of the regular season.  If the Giants win, they are the NL West Champions.

GO GIANTS!!!!

CF Torres

2B F. Sanchez

1B Huff

C Posey

LF Burrell

SS Uribe

RF Guillen

3B Sandoval

LHP J. Sanchez

San Francisco 49ers @ Kansas City Chiefs: Pre-Game

Date: October 3, 2010

Time: 10:00am PST

Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Records: 49ers (0-3) Falcons (2-1)
Injuries

San Francisco: Doubtful - WR Ted Ginn (knee), OC Eric Heitmann (fibula); Questionable - CB William James (ankle); Probable - LB Takeo Spikes (knee), S Dashon Goldson (knee, foot), S Michael Lewis (probable)

Atlanta: Questionable - LB Sean Weatherspoon (ankle), S Erik Coleman (knee), WR Michael Jenkins (shoulder); Probable - CB Brent Grimes (personal issues)

Inactives

San Francisco: QB Troy Smith (3rd QB), OT Alex Boone, CB Tramaine Brock, WR Ted Ginn, OC Eric Heitmann, CB William James, SS Michael Lewis, OT Barry Sims

Atlanta: QB John Parker Wilson (3rd QB), WR Michael Jenkins, CB Dominique Franks, RB Gartrell Johnson, LB Sean Weatherspoon, OT Garrett Reynolds, G Mike Johnson, DT Trey Lewis

The 49ers will go for the first win against the best team they have played all season.  With Mike Johnson, the new offensive coordinator, making the offensive calls it will be interesting to see if there is any changes on how the offense produces.  On the defense, the 49ers will be without veteran safety Michael Lewis after he asked for his release earlier this week.  Expect to see rookie Taylor Mays get most of the action with Reggie Smith back there as well.

Giants baseball......TORTURE!!!

And you thought that the path to the post-season was going to be easy. The San Francisco Giants are living up to their 2010 regular season mantra of GIANTS BASEBALL.....TORTURE!!!

Thanks to Andrew Baggarly we have the four possible outcomes for tomorrow for the Giants. The outcomes are below.

The good news is that no matter what happens tomorrow the Giants can not be eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. However, if they lose then it is possible they will have to play one or two more games before they make it into the playoffs.

In order for the Giants not to make the playoffs they would have to have lost five games in a row to end the season, four against the Padres, of which they have already lost two, and another one against the Braves.

Something else of note is that it is possible the Giants could clinch a playoff spot before game time. The Braves-Phillies game starts at 10:35. It is important to note that the Giants still need to beat the Padres. They want to win the NL West and have home field advantage for the first round.

I like the Giants chances, especially tomorrow when yours truly will be in the house.

And as promised, the four possible outcomes:

Outcome No.1: Giants win, Braves win. 
The Giants are 92-70 and win the NL West. The Braves are 91-71 and win the wild card. The Padres are 90-71 and are eliminated. (The Giants and Braves would match up in the Division Series.)

Outcome No.2: Giants win, Braves lose. 
The Giants are 92-70 and win the NL West. The Braves and Padres are 90-72 and would have a one-game playoff for the wild card Monday at Atlanta. (If the Braves prevail, the Giants get them in the NLDS. If the Padres are the wild card, the Giants would match up against the Cincinnati Reds. In either event, the Giants would have home-field advantage for the NLDS.)

Outcome No.3: Giants lose, Braves lose 
The Braves are 90-72 and are eliminated. The Giants and Padres tie atop the NL West at 91-71, and both clinch postseason berths on the same field (!!!). The Padres are awarded the NL West title without a tiebreaker because they captured the season series against the Giants. Thus, the Giants enter as the wild card. (The Giants would begin an NLDS Wednesday against the Phillies while the Padres would get the Reds.)

Outcome No.4: Giants lose, Braves win 
OK, now this is the crazy part. The Giants, Padres and Braves would finish with identical 91-71 records, necessitating a tiebreaker game for the NL West that would be held Monday at San Diego. (Time TBA.) The winner Monday would be NL West champ. The loser would be forced to play a second tiebreaker game Tuesday at Atlanta for the wild card. (The rules governing NLDS matchups are the same. The Phillies get the wild card winner, unless it’s the Braves. In that case, the Phillies get the Reds and the NL West winner will face the Braves.)

Barry Zito on the mound to clinch NL West, Giants lineup

The Giants only need one win and they are in the playoffs.  The first attempt to do this came last night with Matt Cain on the mound it what seemed like the perfect opportunity.  It was Orange Friday, Willie McCovey was in the ballpark to award Andres Torres with the Willie Mac award, and it was also Matt Cain's 26th birthday.

Cain just didn't have his best stuff against the San Diego Padres and ended up only lasting four innings and giving up 6 runs.  5 of the 6 runs came off three different home runs that Cain gave up.

The Giants did make a comeback in the fifth and sixth innings and managed to force Bud Black to use five different pitchers in his bullpen including Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams, and closer Heath Bell.  The fact that those guys each threw at least 20 pitches each and had to be used bodes well for the Giants today.  Especially, the fact that Bell had to go an 1 1/3 and pitch for the fourth straight day.

Today the Giants will send Barry Zito to the mound to pitch in the most important game of his San Francisco Giant career.  The Giants are one win away from clinching the NL West Division Championship and their ticket to the postseason. 

Recently, Barry Zito has been relegated to Aaron Rowand status by Giants fans.  They have been calling to have him skipped in the rotation and even have questioned whether he should be in the rotation at this point.  

After starting the season off great with a 6-2 record in his first ten starts it has been downhill since then.  After that he has gone 3-11 since that time.  

To expect Barry Zito to shutdown the Padres today is a huge leap of faith.  Don't be surprised if he manages to keep it close that he is gone from the game by the 5th inning and it becomes a bullpen game.  Bochy cannot afford to let Zito blow this.

And if Zito blows today's game, I doubt we see Barry Zito in the postseason rotation if the Giants do make it to the playoffs.

Today's lineup is after the jump.

Giants try to clinch postseason spot tonight, Willie Mac winner, lineups

The San Francisco Giants goal this season, just like every other team, was to make it to the playoffs.  At times, the likelihood of that happening seemed to unlikely.  Especially, with Bruce Bochy's rosters.

On a night where the Giants will award Andres Torres with the Willie Mac award they will also try to win the most important game of the season.  If the Giants win tonight, then they will have made the playoffs for the first time since 2003. 

Coincindentally, 2003 was the last time a outfielder won the Willie Mac award and the winner was Marquis Grissom.  Just in case you were wondering, this guy never won.

Bochy is going for it all tonight with Rorres in the lineup against a lefty.  But to be honest, it's not like you can't play Torres on the day when he is given the Willie Mac award.


CF Torres
2B Sanchez
1B Huff
C Posey
LF Burrell
RF Guillen
3B Uribe
SS Renteria
P Cain

CF Venable
2B Eckstein
SS Tejada
1B Gonzalez
RF Ludwick
LF Stairs
C Torrealba
3B Headley
P Richard

Michael Lewis wants to be released by 49ers

According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, San Francisco 49ers safety Michael Lewis has asked to be released by the team.

Barrows also stated that Lewis has not been granted the release yet.

In another tweet Barrows spoke with Lewis’ agent who shed some light on the situation.

“….the 49ers assured Lewis earlier in the week that his role would not change. This morning, however, the story was different. Lewis was told that he would start Sunday but that the team would start easing Taylor Mays into the lineup…”

Lewis has definitely lost a step but was reportedly told by Singletary that he would not be benched. Now he has been told that he is going to be phased out.

Not only is Mike Singletary lying to the media about moves; he is also lying to the players.

Be on the lookout for Takeo Spikes to be benched. If that happens to Spikes and he asks to be released then the 49ers will definitely have a problem.

NFL Injury Report: Texans-Raiders (Friday)

A late add to the injury report is WR Darrius Heyward-Bey according to Jerry McDonald.  The initial report on NFL.com does not show DHB.

This does not look good for the Raiders if they do not have either of their starting wideouts.  It is bad enough that they do not play like starting players but if they are out you could be looking at Johnnie Lee Higgins and Yamon Figurs as your starting guys.

Houston

Out: LB Kevin Bentley (knee)
Doubtful: S Eugene Wilson (hamstring)
Questionable: TE Owen Daniels (hamstring), WR Andre Johnson (ankle), WR Darryl Sharpton (ankle)
Probable: LB Xavier Adibi (hamstring), LB DeMeco Ryans (quad), DE Mario Williams (groin)

Oakland

Out: LB Ricky Brown (hamstring), OG Robert Gallery (hamstring), LB Travis Goethel (back), CB Walter McFadden (hamstring), WR Chaz Schilens (knee)
Questionable: S Hiram Eugene (hamstring), DT John Henderson (foot), CB Jeremy Ware (ankle), CB Chris Johnson (neck), WR Louis Murphy (collarbone), DT Richard Seymour (hamstring)
Probable: RB Michael Bush (thumb), LB Quentin Groves (ribs), TE Zach Miller (hip), RB Marcel Reece (neck), OG Cooper Carlisle (knee), OG Daniel Loper (knee), OT Langston Walker (elbow)

Week 4 NFL Picks

I'm just catching my legs and this week should be pretty good.  My upset special is the 49ers over the Falcons.

BOOK IT!!!

Against the spread:
Last Week: 7-9
2010 season: 18-27-2

Straight up:

Last Week: 11-5
2010 season: 31-16

San Francisco at Atlanta (-7) – The 49ers typically show up against good teams so it would not surprise me to see the 49ers win especially when they will be running a different offense than the Falcons will prepare for. As bad as the 49ers defense is, they have been good at stopping the run against power backs which is all the Falcons have. Pick: 49ers 28-24

NY Jets (-5) at Buffalo – The Jets have been impressive and even Mark Sanchez looks good. The Bills only chance is to run the ball and the Jets have a stout run defense. Pick: Jets 21-3

Cincinnati (-3) at Cleveland – Cleveland’s ability to hang around some teams has been impressive but the Bengals have a pretty good run defense and will definitely make the Browns one dimensional. Pick: Bengals 28-21

Detroit at Green Bay (-14 ½) – Coming off a devastating loss against a division rival the Packers will come out and try to blow away the Lions. With Stafford still out and Jahvid Best injured the Lions offense will be unable to get much done. Expect Shaun Hill to spend a lot of his day meeting Clay Matthews in the backfield. Pick: Packers 42-20

Carolina at New Orleans (-13 ½) – Jimmy Clausen will start his second game of his NFL career and the Saints defense will have a huge game picking him off. Pick: Saints 28-10

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-1) – The Steelers have been impressive with their defense and ability to win with third and fourth string quarterbacks. Now they meet the Ravens and their defense and Charlie Batch doesn’t look as good. Pick: Ravens 14-13

Seattle (-1) at St. Louis – If Steven Jackson doesn’t play it may actually work out for the Rams, the Seahawks run defense has been pretty good so Sam Bradford should be able to light them up through the air. Pick: Rams 24-21

Denver at Tennessee (-6 ½) – Kyle Orton has been incredible this season. He is averaging 359 pass yards a game with a passer rating of 97.4. Chris Johnson hasn’t been Chris Johnson. Pick: Titans 17-16

Indianapolis (-7 ½) at Jacksonville – It doesn’t matter if it’s in Jacksonville. The Colts are hot and Austin Collie will have another 10 catches against the Jags. Pick: Colts 35-10

Houston (-3) at Oakland – Arian Foster should be able to have another huge game against the Raiders but so should Darren McFadden against the Texans. No quarterback needed in this game. Pick: Texans 20-14

Washington at Philadelphia (-6) – If Santa was booed in Philly, then so will McNabb. Michael Vick wins the Vick vs. McNabb showdown. Pick: Eagles 28-24

Arizona at San Diego (-8) – Disappointing year for the Chargers. Special teams are a disaster for the Bolts and Fitzgerald gets on track with Derek Anderson. Pick: Cardinals 21-14

Chicago at NY Giants (-4) – The Bears are impressive; I am very surprised that Cutler has not been sacked more. Martz is doing a hell of a job. Pick: Bears 21-17

New England (-1) at Miami – I have been impressed with the Dolphins defense and not so much with their offense. Good thing that the Pats defense is awful. Pick: Dolphins 35-31

NFL Injury Report: 49ers-Falcons (Friday)

49ers safety Michael Lewis is listed on the injury report as probably but the word from Santa Clara is that he was not at practice due to personal reasons and is unlikely to play this Sunday. 

Eric Branch of the Press Democrat had an interesting quote from Singletary.

"...if he's going to make the trip or not, I'm not sure at this point.  It depends on if things get worked out or not."

There was speculation earlier this week that Lewis was going to be benched and some have suggested he may be released.  Seems that Singletary could be lying to the media again about the actual status of Lewis.

If that is true then Singletary may have just dug a hole that he cannot get out of.  Fans are already to get this guy out of town and continually lying to the media is not going to help him with the fans.

Official Injury report is after the jump.

Shaun Smith fined for grabbing Anthony Davis' package

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Shaun Smith has been accused twice of grabbing an offensive players package.  First, it was former Cal Bear Alex Mack who said that Smith grabbed him during the Week 2 Chiefs game against the Browns.  Then in Week 3, San Francisco 49ers rookie lineman Anthony Davis accused him of the same thing.

According to Jay Glazer, the NFL has fined Smith $10,000 for grabbing Anthony Davis inappropriately during Sunday's game. 

I think there are establishments where Smith could do it for cheaper than $10,000.