(By Daisy Barringer)

Last week's win against Green Bay did not come easy. In fact, the stress of the peaks and valleys left most viewers physically exhausted. San Francisco fans should not expect a reprieve this Sunday; if anything, the showdown against the Carolina Panthers will prove more nerve-wracking than anything we saw against the Pack. Winner goes to the NFC Championship. Loser goes home. FOREVER.

The 49ers — as of this moment — are slight favorites, but I think everyone agrees that this is a crazy match-up. It's anybody's game to lose. Of course, I have to believe the 49ers are going to win because, otherwise, what’s the point of getting out of bed in the morning? Here’s how they’ll do it:

The Good

The 49ers are on a roll. They have seven straight wins and an almost completely healthy team.

This is Carolina QB Cam Newton’s first-ever playoff experience. Sure, he has won big games before (2010 national championship game), but that’s not the NFL and it’s not the playoffs and Oregon is not the San Francisco 49ers. Not only that, but the Panthers haven’t even been to the playoffs since 2009, whereas the Niners… well, we all remember what happened last year. *sad face*

You can’t turn your head without seeing a meme about this right now, but that’s because it’s a very important fact: In the 10-9 loss to the Panthers at home earlier this year? The 49ers were without Crabtree and although Aldon Smith and Vernon Davis played, neither saw much time on the field as it was Smith’s first game back post-rehab and Davis left the game with a concussion in the first half.

This 49ers offense is a different offense than the one the Panthers faced in November. With VD out of the game, Kaepernick basically had one target: Anquan Boldin. I expect to see Kap throw the ball deep down field on more than one occasion. If he can do so without turning the ball over, this will bode well for the Niners.

Panthers receiver Steve Smith is coming back from a knee injury and is definitely not at full speed yet. He admitted he’s having a hard time making cuts. I don’t root for injuries (okay, that’s a lie, but I only do that in really dark, desperate moments), but I’m not going to say I’m not a little happy that Steve Smith isn’t 100 percent. He’ll play, yes; but he won’t play as well as he usually does. (I hope.)

Phil Dawson. No one likes a field goal unless it’s the game-winning field goal, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to see at least one or two on Sunday. For whatever reason, the 49ers play calling sucks in the red zone, which inevitably ends up with Dawson running onto the field. Luckily, the guy is great at his job. In a game that could very well come down to a field goal, I’m glad he’s on our side.

The Bad

The Panthers are well rested. While the 49ers played in the freezing cold last Sunday, the Panthers sat in their La-Z Boy recliners eating pizza and chicken wings, and getting the remote control all dirty with their greasy fingers.

Carolina has the second ranked defense in the NFL. In fact, that defense effectively broke down the 49ers offensive line in the November game and managed to keep the 49ers scoreless in the second half, securing the win.

It’s not looking like CB Carlos Rogers is going to play on Sunday. Fangio said if he didn’t practice he wouldn’t play. And he hasn’t practiced. That being said, I thought Perrish Cox did a good job against Green Bay and now he’s had even more time to practice and get back into the swing of things.

Carolina DE Greg Hardy gets a lot of sacks. He’s had seven sacks in their past two games alone. He’s also incredibly annoying in that all he talks about is getting paid, but unfortunately for the 49ers, he gets paid because he’s good at what he does. He threatened Kap with “a bad day” when speaking to the media this week. Of course he also said he doesn’t “really know what this playoff stuff is about,” so I’ll leave it there.

Clock management. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: One of these days, the 49ers horrible clock management is going to cost them a game. Burned timeouts, delays of game—the 49ers struggle to get the plays in and they suffer for it.

When Gore gets 100+ yards, the 49ers almost always win. Unfortunately, the Panthers have the No. 2-rated run defense. The run game is crucial for a bazillion reasons, including time of possession. The 49ers cannot let the Panthers shut it down.

Likewise, when the 49ers give up 100+ rushing yards, they tend to lose. Carolina averaged 126.6 rushing yards per game in the regular season. The 49ers need to have a plan for this. I don’t know what it is, but there’d better be one.

The Rest of It

We will know going into the game on Sunday who the winner will face in the NFC Championship game. If the Seahawks win on Saturday, either the Panthers or the Niners will be flying to Seattle. If the Saints win, they’ll be flying to either Carolina or SF. It will be close to impossible for New Orleans to beat Seattle in Seattle, but it’s football. You never know what’s going to happen. Go Saints.

Harbaugh had pro wrestling legend Ric Flair give a motivational speech to the team last week. This caused quite a stir in Carolina where he was buddies with the Panthers players and fans adopted his signature “Whoooo!” Flair told the Niners players that “Ric Flair’s heart is with the 49ers all the way to the end” and to be honest, I’d be super pissed if someone turned on me like that, but probably not pissed enough to send death threats, which Ric Flair has been receiving all week. Needless to say, he will not attend the game. Instead, he’ll root for the Niners from the safety of his living room.

As always, it’s hard to break everything down in one column, but long story longer: The 49ers are capable of winning this game. Sadly, so are the Panthers. Expect a defensive struggle throughout and only a few incredibly meaningful scores. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ended 13-10. Niners, obvi.

Watch San Francisco at Carolina on Sunday at 10:05 a.m. PST on FOX.

This weekend in sports brought us victories by the Warriors, the Raiders and a color. In the defeated column-- and by defeated we mean severely-- are the 49ers who lost to a team lead by 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde.

Panthers 31 49ers 14- We repeat, the 49ers lost to a team that was led by 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde.

Raiders 34 Broncos 20- There's really no figuring this Raiders team out. A few weeks ago, they looked like they were toast. Then they beat the Chiefs. A few weeks ago, Josh McCown looked like toast. Then he went out and led the Raiders to their second win against a division opponent in a row (first time sionce 2002) And a few weeks ago, the defense looked like toast. Then they went out and stifled the vaunted Broncos’ running game and shut down Jay Cutler, thus dooming SFist's fantasy football team (thank you, Oakland, for choosing this week to remember how to play defense). Of course, the big news out of the game is the appearance on the field of JaMarcus Russell who came out for a spell, threw some passes, fumbled the bal and was soon replaced by McCown, his proverbial football cherry popped.

Warriors 109 Sonics 96- So it's apparent the force is still strong with the Warriors as they haven’t missed a beat from the final month of last season. The question, now is just where will this all get the team? Are we looking a contending team or a team still on the bottom rung of the Western Conference pecking order? Bruce Jenkins still thinks the Warriors are still only a 7th round playoff seed but at this point, who can really say what will happen at ths point? Is all this winning still just lightning in a bottle or is winning the new losing?

Joe Frazier was once quoted as sayin' "Kill the body and the head will die." For an NFL offensive unit, the opposite is the case.

And here comes the context: it's your American Football Spectacular preview for lucky Week 13 of the 2007 NFL season.

* San Francisco vs. Carolina
Sunday, December 2, 2007. 10:00 AM, PST.
Week 13
The Quarterback-less Battle

The Carolina Panthers are two seasons removed from being picked by Sports Illustrated to win the Super Bowl.

Nowadays, this hard-nosed team is a shell of itself, with their once mighty front-loaded defense weakened by personnel loss, and their offense crippled by injury.

QB Jake Delhomme, the Panthers’ wily triggerman, is lost for the season. Without him taking the snap, the Carolina offensive game has stagnated. Opposing defenses simply double-cover WR Steve Smith and bet on stuffing the anemic CAR rushing attack.

Former number-one overall pick David Carr was brought in to back-up Delhomme, but now he’s hurt too. So who have the Panthers turned to? 44-years-young QB Vinny Testaverde. Goodness.

So, the Niners have their weak spot in the Panther team obviated for them.

The 49ers must get Vinny.

This is the NFL. Kill the head and the body will die.

-- Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox: Ultra-pepperminty "all-purpose" soap -- the one with the the loony, small-font and text-heavy label -- and its titular creator get the biopic treatment from Sara Lamm. Screenings tonight (and tomorrow night) at 7:15 and 9:15 at the Red Vic, 1727 Haight (at Cole); tickets are $5-$8.50.

-- Adam Franklin and Junior Panthers: Pop, grunge, dreamy, melodic are just a few of the genres and adjectives making up the sound of Adam Franklin. Catch him along with rock outfit Junior Panthers at 8 p.m. at Cafe Du Nord. 2170 Market (at Sanchez); admission is $10-$12.

Tonight, come celebrate Penny Arcade's Two-Year Anniversary at the Make-Out Room with the following stellar line-up: Mumlers, The Dodos, Nathan Moomaw & Raul and more!

Penny Arcade
Make-Out Room
3225 22nd St, SF
Tonight, 9pm, $6

If you can't make it tonight, the next few months' events are July 19th, August 15th, and September 27th, all at the Make Out Room.

Upon reading Raul's answers below, we find ourselves left with a hankering for margaritas, more local history, and of course, lots more music...

What's been the most stand-out Penny Arcade show so far?
Ooh, hard to say. They’ve all had their own unique moments of radness. The 1 Year Anniversary Party with The Papercuts was awesome. The Sugar & Gold gig was nuts. LSD and The Search for God were pretty cosmic…But I’d have to say the first one in 2005 still resonates in my mind quite a bit. I can’t believe it’s been 2 years…We had the Bellyachers, Loquat, Patrick Abernethy, the Junior Panthers, Pat Johnson, and Nathan Moomaw perform…6 acts!…My pal Greg Morantz was DJing…I don’t think anyone went on stage sober…including myself. (We can vouch for that! -- SFist Leanne)

If Penny Arcade could transcend space and time, what would be your ultimate line-up of all time?
Aw man…lets see…Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem - you know the “Muppet Rock band”, The Banana Splits, The Monkees, and Fat Albert’s band…alright we’ll throw in Billy Bragg to politicize it a bit…hmm no. Ok…Seriously? I’d have to say Woody Guthrie, Silvio Rodriguez, Big Star and George Harrison.

Got any crazy stories that happened during Penny Arcade?
Pat Johnson was scheduled to play solo, but recruited enough musicians in the audience to play with a full backing band…even the sound engineer/musician, Chris von Sneidern, got into the action playing bass…rad times indeed. (Yep, that was awesome! -- SFist Leanne)

Lots more after the jump!

Now, here's the thing about Romanowski-- he might just be the biggest douche in football history. Among the incidents on his rap sheet: spitting on JJ Stokes, kicking a kicker in the head, breaking then Panthers QB jaw in a preseason game, throwing a football at Jets linebacker Bryan Cox, and for being fined for three illegal hits and punching Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez. Oh, and there's the incident in which he punched fellow Raider Marcus Williams in the face during training camp, breaking Williams' eye socket and causing him to retire. He was last season getting kicked out of a Pee Wee football game for yelling at another kid who tripped up his son. Talk about the passion.

Now why is Romo getting all this praise and attention? Is it because he's a football player and football players are expected to be a bit on the nasty side, the nastier the better? Is it because he played for the Raiders and 49ers and won with both of them? Who doesn't like a winner? One could even bring up the race issue because it's far easier to be a douche when you're white than a douche when you're not. See Bonds, Barry.

Despite our WASPy, suburbanite background (which we go to great lengths to avoid acknowledging except when confronted with it like a speeding train at events such as these) – we walked through an exhibition full of powerful history and raw emotion, and felt inspired to raise a fist in solidarity. The Black Panthers may have been rooted in controversy, but what they wanted was simple: the improvement of their communities, better nutrition for their children and equality on their own terms.

coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Black Panther Party’s founding in Oakland and brings together rare artifacts, documentary photography and film, as well as contemporary art that reflects upon the legacy of the Panthers, the Black Power movement, and the desire for revolutionary political and social change. Part of YBCA’s Risk and Response series, the exhibition is one of the “big ideas” that will guide the Center’s programming for 2006.

Image: Pirkle Jones, Women, Free Huey Rally, Oakland, 1968

SFist Shelley, contributing

From 8-11 pm hit YBCA (701 Mission at 3rd Street) for short films about the Panthers and live music from Sok the Virgo, Mr. Rath & Descry (Subkrew), DJs Pink Panzer, Paul Paul & Phengren Oswald (Saturday Night Soul Party).

"The exhibition pairs rare artifacts, never-before-released documents, recordings, film clips and archival photos, including seminal historical photography-with artworks inspired by the movement and reflecting its liberating ideals." Tickets to this groundbreaking and fun event are 12 bucks in advance (buy here), $15 at the door.

In 2002, nearly 10 in every 100,000 Californians died at the hands of a firearm, for a totaly of 3,410 deaths according to the Center for Disease Control and Injury Prevention. In 1999, using the same CDC data, Handgun Control noted that more Americans were killed by firearms between 1979 and 1997 than were killed in battle in every war waged by America. Finally, a study by the Journal of Trauma pointed out that guns at home were 22 times more likely to result in an unintentional death than to injure or kill an attacker in self-defense.

But we weren't surprised by the story of a lesbian couple in the Mission with matching nines and a Winchester rifle anxious that their guns might be taken away from them, even though the main subject of the story is from England, where the incidence of gun violence is negligible when compared to the United States. We totally understand the fear that can grip groups marginalized by discrimination. Hence our support of second amendment rights. It's one of the few things the Black Panthers and the Ku Klux Klan can agree on.

The problem is, there's a big difference between a jittery person in a rough neighborhood and a well-regulated militia. What's good for the goose is not always good for the gander, and statistics have shown that a handgun in the home is much more likely to kill someone accidently, be stolen, used in a suicide or escalate an encounter from a property crime to a mortal crime than it will save you. Of course criminals will always have access to weapons, and of course you have a right to defend yourself. We bet you could trade that Glock in for a nice double-barrelled, pump-action 12 Gauge. Hey, they're banned in combat by the Geneva Convention, they can't be all bad.

Also not shown was the big, first place battle between Michael Vick's Falcons and the Tampa Bay Bucs. As well as the old skool defensive battle between Da Bears and the Panthers that had everyone talking '85 Bears. We also didn't get a chance to see the big Giants/Eagles game and for anyone who has ever lived in the East Coast knows, a big, late-fall throw down between two NFC East rivals is the kind of game that one can just hear John Facienda calling.

What we did see, however, was a Raiders/'Skins yawner, a battle between a boring team already out of it and a boring team rapidly falling out of it. Unless you're a Raiders fan, that game held no interest to anyone unless they had someone on their fantasy team (like us). What did the other channel, that being FOX, show instead? An interview with Don "Chuckles" Rumsfield. Football, football everywhere, but not a good game to see.

Why, oh why can't we see good football games?