Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . . Colin Kaepernick told Bleacher Report recently the criticism he received after signing a huge contract extension is because of stereotypes and prejudices, that his tattoos, the way he dresses and talks don’t go together with being a franchise quarterback. There might be a sliver of truth to that but fans who think that way are in a small minority. Joe Flacco, after all, received far more criticism after signing his big contract a year ago after he beat Kaepernick in the Super Bowl and Flacco dresses and talks like a high school math teacher. Kaepernick is criticized because many fans still are not convinced he is a classic franchise quarterback. And they are right. Kaepernick is not a classic quarterback. He will never look like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in the pocket (or in the mirror). But he’s the model for the present and future NFL quarterback. Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers will win a Super Bowl (or two) in the very near future. Then, and only then, the criticisms will stop, tattoos or no tattoos.
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The 49ers were beaten 23-3 by Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens to open the exhibition season last week but the game couldn’t have gone any better for the 49ers. That is because they saw that rookie running back Carlos Hyde could be an important piece in their run to a Super Bowl this season. Hyde, a second round pick out of Ohio State, has a ready-made NFL body and toughness and looks like the perfect complement to starter Frank Gore. Kaepernick, like all NFL quarterbacks, needs a strong running game. Vai Taua, after all, was as instrumental in Kaepernick’s running success with the Nevada Wolf Pack as Kaepernick was instrumental in Taua’s success. Hyde might be the steal of last spring’s draft.
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Tiger Woods needs to take a year or two off and get healthy. He needs to allow his back and knees to heal and strengthen properly before he gets back out on the course in a PGA event. Has there ever been a golfer who has dealt with as many injuries as Tiger? He’s a golfer and not a NFL running back, correct? Tiger, supposedly one of the best athletes we have ever seen, can’t swing a club for four days in a row without pulling some muscle or getting a spasm somewhere on his finely tuned body. The whole Tiger saga is getting boring and tedious. And he is not helping golf anymore. He needs to disappear and come back when he’s finally healthy.
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Wolf Pack wide receiver Hasaan Henderson just might be biding his time until he can play quarterback again. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Henderson, the former Las Vegas High quarterback who was supposed to be the next Kaepernick at Nevada, made the switch to wide receiver a year ago because of a shoulder injury. Henderson, who might be the best athlete on the team, also might be the best wide receiver in the Mountain West this season. But he also said this week that he hasn’t given up his dream to play quarterback. Starter Cody Fajardo leaves the program after this season and, right now, there isn’t a clear choice to take over the position in 2015. Don’t be surprised if Henderson jumps back into the mix to be the new Kaepernick a year from now, just like former coach Chris Ault envisioned when he signed him two years ago.
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Major league baseball has a serious problem with its new home plate collision rule. All of the rule’s flaws were on display Wednesday at AT&T Park when Gregor Blanco of the San Francisco Giants was deemed safe after he was clearly tagged out by Chicago White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers. The replay officials back in New York ruled Flowers blocked Blanco’s path to the plate despite the fact Flowers caught the ball when Blanco was still about six feet away from the plate. It was a ridiculous call. Can you imagine a World Series being decided by such a call? Once again, Major League Baseball has gone out of its way and invented a new way to embarrass itself.
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The more things change with the Oakland Raiders the more they stay the same. The Raiders looked awful and inept (they were called for a Raider-like 13 penalties) in a 10-6 exhibition loss to the mighty Minnesota Vikings last week and this week they got into a scrimmage fight with the Dallas Cowboys. A few of their fans also took part in the fight. The Raiders will be improved this year (until new quarterback Matt Schaub and running back Maurice Jones-Drew get hurt, that is) but fights with opposing teams and fans might be the highlight of the year once again.
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