Bay Area-born rappers Saweetie and P-Lo dropped a new song Friday, "Do It For The Bay," and an accompanying video to support the San Francisco 49ers in their playoff game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday.

Saweetie, who was born in Santa Clara, and P-Lo, raised in Pinole, collaborated on the song, which references E-40’s 2019 hype song, "Niner Gang,” which came out during that year's playoff run and trip to the Super Bowl.

The 49ers have been in the playoffs the last two years, and the team has a record 18 NFC Championship appearances. The Packers are hoping for their 10th appearance in the championships game, and this is the 10th overall head-to-head division playoff battle for the Niners and the Packers.

It should be noted, the Grammy-nominated Saweetie (born Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper) has some deep 49ers and Bay Area ties. As KPIX reports, she is the niece of Oakland's own MC Hammer, and the granddaughter of Willie Harper, the onetime 49ers linebacker who was part of the 1981 team that won Super Bowl XVI.

The Niners' have added "Do It For the Bay" to their official playlist on Spotify, and you'll likely be hearing it out at the bars this weekend if you go somewhere to watch Saturday's game.

Related: Niners Fans Catch Playoff Fever

The San Jose Earthquakes secured their long-awaited spot in the MLS playoffs Saturday night, even though the game ended in a 1-1 draw against Austin FC.

The sold-out crowd at PayPal Park erupted into celebrations when it was confirmed that the Earthquakes were playoff-bound for the first time since 2020 and only the third time in the last 11 seasons, as the Mercury News reported.

A first-half goal by the Quakes' winger Cristian Espinoza, and seven saves from goalie Brad Stuver helped earn the 1-1 draw, per the Associated Press.

First-year head coach Luchi Gonzalez reportedly transformed the team in his inaugural season reshaping it from a team that conceded the most goals in the Western Conference to one that allowed the fourth-fewest goals. According to MLS, Gonzalez is a former FC Dallas head coach and US men’s national team assistant coach.

Still, the Earthquakes finished their season with four consecutive ties and ended with just enough points (44) to come into the playoffs as the final seed, per Mercury News.

A win on Saturday would have guaranteed the Earthquakes the opportunity to host the play-in game against Kansas City’s soccer team, Sporting KC. However, now the draw means they will go on the road to face a KC team that has won seven of their last nine games.

They’ll play in a Wednesday single-elimination Wild Card game at 6:30 p.m. PT, per MLS. Then the winner will advance to a Round One Best-of-3 series against No. 1-seed St. Louis CITY SC.

With their rebuilt defense performing admirably and standout key players like Cristian Espinoza and Jackson Yueill, the Earthquakes are setting their sights on a strong postseason performance. As Coach Gonzalez told the Mercury News, "This is a league where there are always upsets in the playoffs, there are away teams beating home teams. Do we want to be one of those teams? Why not San Jose?”

Feature image of former San Jose Earthquakes player Victor Bernardez firing the siren during the game between Austin FC and San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on October 21, 2023 in San Jose, California. Photo by Maciek Gudrymowicz/ISI Photos/Getty Images.

When the Dallas Cowboys' huge, lightning fast defensive lineman smothered Brock Purdy on a 2nd and 10 less than one minute into Sunday's Divisional game at Levi's Stadium, it was clear that the San Francisco 49ers were going to have their hands full. Purdy lost nine yards on that sack, and the Niners started the game with a quick three and out. Dallas's defense had allowed the sixth-fewest points in the NFL this season, and all those yards after the catch that the Niners have come to rely on just weren't there yesterday.

Those multiple touchdown passes that we've all come to expect from seven-game- starting veteran Brock Purdy would also not be there, nor would a Christian McCaffrey 100-yard game. Those 34.8-points per game that the 49ers have been averaging since Purdy took the helm wouldn't be there, nor would Nick Bosa add to his 15.5 sacks on the season.

Instead, it would be a battle of two magnificent defenses, and a grinding, hard-fought, victory for the 49ers, who — win or lose — were playing their last game at Levi's Stadium for the season. Beating the Cowboys 19-12, the 49ers advance to the NFC Championship game next week in Philadelphia against the high-flying Eagles.  

With the game still scoreless late in the first quarter, Deommodore Lenoir intercepted a Dak Prescott pass, setting up the Niners' deep in Dallas territory. Brock Purdy took another sack, but managed a first-down pass to Brandon Aiyuk. That set up a field goal, and with the score 3-0 Niners, the defensive grind was in full, incredibly slow swing.

The Cowboys' offense seemed to find short gains more or less on demand, and put together their best drive of the game at the end of the first quarter and into the second. Running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard pounded their way upfield.(Pollard would go on to break his leg and leave the game late in the first half.) The Cowboys, who still weren't sure of their kicker Brett Maher would ever make a field goal again, went for it on a 4th and 1 around the Niners' 20 and made it, leading to an eventual Prescott touchdown pass.

Maher did miss the extra point — technically, it was blocked, but on the replay, the kick seemed doomed the second it left Maher's cursed foot, making it a 6-3 game.

The Niners pieced together a long drive in the late-afternoon January light, culminating in another Robbie Gould field goal and a tie game late in the half.

Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense seemed to be in more of a rhythm than their red and gold counterparts. Prescott's ran for a few big gains and first downs, but also made a few inexplicable throws. While deep Niners' territory with just over a minute in the half — and presumably well inside field-goal range for a kicker not suffering from an existential crisis — Prescott fired a pass on a 2nd and 2 that was tipped by Jimmie Ward right into the hands of Fred Warner.

A 20-ish yard throw from Purdy to Jauan Jennings set up another Niners' field goal to end the half 9-6.

When the Cowboys punted on their first possession of the second half, Ray-Ray McCloud was stripped immediately after he caught the ball. The 49ers did well to stymie the Cowboys in the red zone, forcing them to rely on their almost comically unreliable kicker Brett Maher — but there would be no missing from Maher this time, and the game was tied at 9-9.

The Cowboys and Niners exchanged possessions, leading to the definitive drive of the game for San Francisco.

On a 1st and 10 from around his own 20-yard line, Purdy faked a handoff to Christian McCaffrey, then rolled to his right, free from any pressure of the swarming white jerseys. Purdy set his feet and fired up the middle to George Kittle, who juggled the pass for what "seemed like it was 10 seconds of bobbling," Purdy said. The ball bounced off Kittle's hand, off his helmet and back into his hands for a circus highlight.

It seemed to be enough of a spark to ignite the San Francisco offense. After being bottled up all game, Christian McCaffrey started to put some work in — he had 35 yards on 10 attempts along with six receptions — and ran the ball into the end zone to start the fourth quarter. 16-9, Niners.

With their kicker's confidence restored, Dallas got another field goal early in the fourth quarter, (16-12) before the Niners went to work on one of their longest – which is to say time-consuming-est — drives of the game. Brock Purdy passed with impunity into his favorite part of the field: right up the middle, though the hash marks and between the numbers. This culminated in another San Francisco field goal, maintaining their one-touchdown lead.

The only 49ers' sack of Dak Prescott could not have been more timely, as Samson Ebukam got to the Dallas QB on a 3rd and 10 while the Cowboys were deep in their own territory. The Niners got the ball back with about two minutes left, and Elijah Mitchell got a first down, then went out of bounds with 1:47 on the clock. Dallas was able to use their two remaining time outs to preserve enough clock to make one last drive, from their own end zone with less than a minute left, in an attempt to tie the game.

"The whole season, I've been taking things in and just being appreciative of where I'm at with my life and playing football — the little things, the big things, all of it," Brock Purdy was quoted as saying after the game by the Mercury News. "When I first got in against Miami, I wanted to show the guys that I could play and earn their respect. As I've played more games and played in front of this crowd, it’s more like, man, let's win."

How did the game look to the coach?

"By no means was anything perfect for the whole offense or the whole team," Kyle Shanahan said. "But it seemed like playoff football. Going against this team, we've been watching them all week, we had a feeling it was going to be this type of game. That's why we were stressing the run game on both sides and stressing protecting the ball and trying to force turnovers. We accomplished both of those things."

The Niners are a "slight" underdog to the Philadelphia Eagles, but one headline read: "San Francisco will advance to Super Bowl 57." Despite a late-season skid, the Eagles were the best team in the league this year. Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts are the two youngest quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs.  

Top Image: Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

Mission Street revelry returned to SF Sunday night, after the 49ers survived a bizarre ending to upset the Dallas Cowboys and position themselves for another possible Super Bowl run.

It may seem like the San Francisco 49ers have been wandering the desert of NFL mediocrity for a long time before their late-season Wild Card playoff push this season. But in reality, their most recent playoff win was less than two years ago to this day. It’s just that those two years have seemed like the longest two years of our lives, you know, for reasons.

But the 49ers established that they're absolutely back as a legitimate playoff contender on Sunday in a penalty-rich, 23-17 road win over the Dallas Cowboys that saw plenty of bizarre gaffes. It also may have cost them superstar defensive end Nick Bosa, and was perhaps aided by a slow-footed official in the final seconds.    

Mission Street, as you can imagine, did its thing after the playoff win.

CBS paid an astonishing $70 million to carry the game in the prime Sunday afternoon slot, and early on, this looked like a commanding one-sided win for the Niners. On their first drive, they encountered no third downs, and only one second down while ripping off four consecutive plays of more than ten yards. They were up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

And did the Cowboys’ own garish, billion-dollar stadium hurt their chances? It may have! We’ll remember the punt hitting their oversized, hanging scoreboard (seen above), but the glare of the sun, thanks to a design flaw in the east-west AT&T stadium, killed a Dallas drive at the end of the first half.

Yet SF had its own problems right prior to halftime, as the team’s leading sackmaster Nick Bosa suffered a concussion (after being obviously held) with 1:19 left in the second quarter. But ESPN reports he may still clear protocol and play in the next game.

And with a 13-point lead and less than 10 minutes left in the game, the 49ers nearly blew this thing. Jimmy Garoppolo’s terrible overthrow led to a Cowboys interception that cut San Francisco’s lead to six points. Though the Niners appeared to put it away when Deebo Samuel very clearly had a first down with 1:21 left (I was sending victory texts, I admit!), an incredibly terrible spot by the officials left the 49ers short by an inch or two. Jimmy successfully executed a quarterback sneak for the first down, but Trent Williams was called for a false start, and they had to punt it back to the Cowboys to give them one last chance.

And Coach Shanahan blamed Jimmy. “It was quarterback sneak all the way, but Jimmy got real excited because of the look and didn't let Trent get set,” Shanahan told CBS Sports after the game. “He's got to let him get set.” (Is Shanahan looking for reasons to defend the inevitable offseason Garoppolo trade? Maybe.)

But everyone will remember this game for the wacky ending, when a slow-footed referee could not get to the ball in time to allow the Cowboys to run their final play. In reality, that was a stupid playcall by Dallas, because there is no guarantee you get that play off without stopping the clock. They should have gone out of bounds.

And below we see how the mighty Cowboys’ season would end.

The 49ers will now advance, and play the Green Bay Packers in an odd Saturday night playoff game in freezing cold Green Bay, where the Packers are 5.5-point favorites. But the 49ers previous most-recent playoff win, whose two-year anniversary is this Wednesday, was against… the Green Bay Packers.

Related: San Francisco Landmarks Light Up Red and Gold Ahead of 49ers Playoff Game [SFist]

Image: ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 16: Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys attempts to tackle Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

I haven't watched a scary movie since I was seven. There was one scene in one movie that so scarred me that if a film has ghosts or zombies or aliens or Japanese kids, I'll pass. The movie was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and it was the heart scene. You know the scene. Indy, Shorty, and Willie were hiding behind a rock formation toward the back of the temple. They watched as a man was brought before the high priest and placed into a cage. The high priest said a few words, and sliced into the man's chest with his bare hand and removed his heart. The high priest raised up the heart and the man in the cage was lowered into a lava pit. As the man's body burned, so did his heart in the high priest's hand. The temple worshippers went wild. I fainted.

No, a lion-hearted child, I was not. But nearly 30 years later, as I watched that scene play out on TV again last night, I turned to my 2-year old nephew, Jubin, and said, "Don't turn away. Keep watching." He's only 2, so he looked at me and then went right back to navigating through his mom's smartphone, as 2-year olds can apparently do. But if he watched, he'd have seen the poor Rockets brought before Steph as he tore through their chests and ripped out their hearts and watched it burn as Klay and Dray and Iggy and Bogut and Co. slowly lowered the Rockets into molten lava. While Warriors worshippers went wild in the Bay, mothers and fathers all over Houston had to hug their weeping children to sleep.

*****

Houston, you have a problem.

You were unfortunate to lose two very, very close games in the most inhospitable arena in the NBA. Down 2-0, you know Game 3 is an absolute must-win. Thankfully you're back in the friendly confines of your home-court in front of your own fans. You're supposed to win Game 3 handily, eek out a gutsy win in Game 4, and travel back to the Roaracle having made this a real series, tied at 2-2. You're NOT supposed to close the first quarter down by 12. You're NOT supposed to end the first half down by 25. You're NOT supposed to shoot .337 from the field, .200 from 3-point land. James Harden is NOT supposed go 3-16. How in the world did you lose a must-win, 115-80?! Oh, 6'3, 185 lbs Steph Curry boxed out 6'11, 240 lbs Dwight Howard for the re? Got it.

*****

I hate close games. Spare me the suspense, the nervous tension, the stress. Give me a blowout so I can be happy and enjoy my chicken wings and beer. I feel the same way about a 7-game series. I much preferred the Giants' 2012 sweep of the Tigers over the 2014 7th game win over the Royals. Yes, the latter had more Madison, but the former had fewer ulcers. That's a good thing. Look, I know these Rockets were only the ninth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the last series against the Clippers, but exactly ZERO teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit. It is simply impossible to win 4 straight do-or-die games against an NBA playoff caliber team. And to do so against this Warriors team? Yeah, exactly. I'm not saying this series is over, but this series is over.

Houston, shhhh. Just close your eyes. It'll all be over soon.

*****

Everyone says Steph plays like a video game with a cheat code. Here's why:

- Steph has made 63% of his shots outside of 17 feet in this Western Conference Finals.

- Steph in the WCF so far: 37 minutes per game, 35.7 points per game, 6 assists per game, 61% FG, 6 made 3s per game, 77.5% true shooting.

- Steph has hit five or more 3-pointers in five consecutive playoff games. No other player in NBA history has done that.

- Steph has made 91% of the 3-pointers he's attempted from the left corner this postseason.

- Steph had 18 uncontested 3-point shots against the Rockets this series. He made 15 of them.

- In 1999/2000, Reggie Miller played in 22 playoff games and set the record for the most single post-season 3s at 58. Steph broke that record last night and has 64 so far in this post-season--in 13 games.

It's not hype. It's not hyperbole. It's history.

Western Conference Finals: Warriors lead series, 3-0

Game 1: Rockets 106, Warriors 110
Game 2: Rockets 98, Warriors 99

Game 3: Warriors 115, Rockets 80
Game 4: Monday, May 25 at Houston, 6 PM (ESPN)

Game 5: Wednesday, May 27 at Golden State, if necessary

Game 6: Friday, May 29, at Houston, if necessary

Game 7: Sunday, May 31 at Golden State, if necessary

A picture truly is worth a thousand words pic.twitter.com/6tVYoWG85I

— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) May 20, 2015

If you're younger than 39, something happened last night for the first time in your life: The Golden State Warriors played in the Western Conference Finals. And they won.

We all give respect to playoff teams. It's the post-seasony thing to do because the playoffs are "serious business" and no one wants to make too bold of a prediction because, sure, "anything can happen." Whatever. The Warriors were never going to lose to the Pelicans. The Warriors were never going to lose to the Grizzlies. That's not arrogance, that's science. Look it up. No one said it would be easy, but everyone said the Warriors would make it, and they did.

The other team, though. That was up for grabs. The Spurs, the Clippers, the Rockets. You knew the team that emerged from that side of the Western playoff bracket would be worthy, and yep, they are. Ladies and gentlemen, the Houston Rockets. The number 2 seed to the Warriors' number 1. Their James Harden was the runner-up to our Steph Curry's MVP award. They shot the most 3s in the regular season and made the most 3s. The Warriors had the highest percentage of 3s made. Warriors fans may have wanted the chance to serve up a cold dish to the Clippers (sorry Clips, but six NBA-level players won't get you to the Conference Finals), but this was the match-up that had to happen to declare the best in the West.

And for the first quarter and a half of the game, it was the Rockets. The first five minutes of the first quarter were tit-for-tat, but then the Rockets got greedy and took two and only gave one, and by the middle of the second quarter, the Warriors were down by 16 points, 49-33. The Rockets did this by destroying the Warriors in the paint, scoring 20 points at or near the rim in this stretch. By getting penetration, the Rockets got Andrew Bogut into early foul trouble and got him sent to the bench. Turned out, this was a good thing. For the rest of the quarter, the Warriors went super small, with Steph, Klay, Livingston, Barnes, and Draymond on the court. They were small, they swarmed, they switched, and they went on a 25-6 run the rest of the way, ending the half up by three, 58-55. This is where we give a shout out to Shaun Livingston, who scored 16 points in the first half, going 5-of-6 from the field and made all 6 of his free throws. Damn.

In the second half, James Harden led the charge for the Rockets, scoring 21 of his 28 points in the final two quarters. The Rockets were finally able to close the gap midway through the 4th quarter, but the Warriors immediately responded by going on an 11-0 run and taking the clock down to two minutes. The Rockets punched back with a 9-0 run of their own in the final two minutes, before Steph snuffed them out with the final two points of the game.

This Was Weird

A huge portion of James Harden's paycheck is made at the free throw line. In the regular season, he lead the association in both free throw attempts and free throws made, and it wasn't even close. He is the kung-fu jedi master of drawing a foul. He will dribbledribbledribble, drive, and then he becomes a Dutch soccer player shot by a sniper. Oh my God, is he dead?!?! No, just give him two free throws and he'll be fine. But last night, Harden went to the line only three times. Good. Continue to swallow your whistles, refs.

This Was Also Weird

Klay Thompson didn't play that well! True, he's responsible for guarding Harden, and he did a pretty good job at that, all things considered, but man! Klay didn't look too hot on the offensive side of things, did he? Klay played both sides of the court well against Harden and the Rockets in the regular season, and he's bound to get back to form in this series. If Klay is gonna have an off-night, it's best that it happened in a win at home.

The Breaks

Ouch. If you're a Rockets' fan, 1) why are you reading this, 2) sucks about Dwight Howard! Midway through the first quarter, Houston's Josh Smith fell onto Dwight Howard's legs, injuring Howard's left knee. As of right now, Howard is officially questionable for Game 2. That sucks--if you're a Rockets fan! Or if you're a noble, honorable Warriors fan who wants to see the best players from both sides on the court in a fair fight. That's all of us, right? under-the-table-fist-bump.

OMG!

Steph's shot is to pretty what Steph's daughter is to adorable. That is to say, very. Look at her! She told him to be quiet!!! I die.

Western Conference Finals: Warriors lead series, 1-0

Game 1: Rockets 106, Warriors 110
Game 2: Thursday, May 21 at Golden State, 6 PM (ESPN)

Game 3: Saturday, May 23 at Houston, 6 PM (ESPN)
Game 4: Monday, May 25 at Houston, 6 PM (ESPN)

Game 5: Wednesday, May 27 at Golden State, 6 PM (ESPN) if necessary

Game 6: Friday, May 29 at Houston, 6 PM (ESPN) if necessary

Game 7: Sunday, May 31 at Golden State, 6 PM (ESPN) if necessary

You'd understand why a fan would order a shot with their beer last night before the game. You'd understand the fan's pacing back and forth, their quick puffs of a cigarette, the solitary pep talks to themselves. After two consecutive well-deserved losses to the Grizzlies, the Warriors shambled into Game 4 in a must-win situation. Bartender, make it a double.

It would be one thing if the Warriors had gone out on their feet in the previous two games, if they went the 12 and lost in a split decision. But, man, the Warriors were KTFO. Suddenly, it seemed that the fairy tale season that was too good to be true, was. Our defense was getting dominated in the paint, our offense couldn't find its stroke behind the arc, and our team looked like Manny to their Mayweather. But unlike Pacman, the Warriors found an adjustment and punched back. And punched and punched and punched.

The Dubs shot the ball 80 times and 38 went in. 33 of them were from three-point land and 14 of those splashed. The first quarter ended with a long three from Steph to put the Dubs up 28-20. The first half ended with the Warriors up 61-44. At one point in the third quarter, Golden State was up by 26. They punched and punched and punched.

On the other end of the court, the Warriors dared the Grizzlies to do the same. Rather than spreading out their defense, the Warriors decided to crowd around the paint, neutralizing the Grizzlies strong suit and challenging them to win with their weakness, the outside shot. It worked. Look at this shot chart. The Grizzlies pay their bills by taking shots in the paint. Yes, they'll get theirs there, but look at all the red. When there are a lot of very big men crowded in a very small space, you're gonna miss a whole bunch, and the Grizzlies did. Now look at the perimeter. Memphis does not like shooting from way out in Nashville, but they took their chances, because how could they not? For long stretches of the game, the Warriors played 5 on 4, leaving the Grizzlies' Tony Allen all by his lonesome, the only defense on him being an occasional "ooga booga," probably from Bogut. Allen went 2-9 and was 0-3 from behind the arc. They punched and missed.

The series comes back home to Oakland tomorrow night, tied 2-2. Make no mistake, if the Warriors had lost last night, this series would, for all intents and purposes, be over. No one comes back from 1-3, no matter how good you are. More importantly, no good team gets to 1-3 to begin with. The Warriors proved that last night. We won back homecourt advantage, we have the momentum, we got this!

Western Conference Semi-Finals: Series tied, 2-2

Game 1: Memphis 86, Golden State 101
Game 2: Memphis 97, Golden State 90

Game 3: Golden State 89, Memphis 99,
Game 4: Golden State 101, Memphis 84

Game 5: Wednesday, May 13, at Golden State, 7:30 PM (TNT)

Game 6: Friday, May 15, at Memphis, 6:30 PM (ESPN) (Congratulations, Carla and Gino!)

Game 7: at Golden State, if necessary (will not be necessary!)

It takes 16 wins before an NBA team pops the corks and hoists the trophy and is crowned the king. And if the sky catches fire across the entire Bay, it means the Dubs have won those 16 games. One down, fifteen to go.

On Saturday, the Warriors hosted the number 8-seed New Orleans Pelicans for Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Although dominant throughout most of the game, the Warriors somehow allowed the Pelicans to make it unnecessarily and uncomfortably exciting in the 4th quarter. That's what can happen when you play in the West where, unlike in the East, the 8th seed is a legitimate NBA basketball team with a winning record and stars a potential best-player-in-the-league. Still, the Warriors were up by 25 when the Pelicans made their desperate charge and the game was never truly at risk. Final score, Dubs 106, Pelicans 99.

The Warriors cheat. They don't play on an even field, er, court — they play at the Roaracle. It's long been known that the Warriors have perhaps the most rabid fan base in the NBA. Even during their 40 years of suckage, the fans have made sure visiting teams left the Bay with tinnitus. Game 1 was no different. Earlier today, Pelicans coach Monty Wiliams pointed a finger at us, the fans, and claimed what we were doing was illegal. Williams said: "I'm not so sure the decibel level is legal, and I'm serious. They've done studies on that. For the competition committee, there's got to be something to that. It does get a little out of hand. Their fans, I've talked about it for years, they have some of the best fans in the league." You hear that Warriors fans? They've done studies on you! Good job, people.

The Warriors again host the Unibrow and the Pelicans tonight at 7:30. If you're going to be at the Roaracle, turn that mother out.

One down, fifteen to go. Let's go Dubs!!!

Western Conference Quarterfinals

Game 1: Pelicans 99, Warriors 106.
Game 2: tonight, at home, 7:30 PM

Game 3: 4/23, at New Orleans, 6:30 PM
Game 4: 4/25, at New Orleans, 5 PM

Game 5: will not be necessary!
Game 6: will not be necessary!
Game 7: will not be necessary!

I don't hate the Cardinals. Hate is such a strong word and a terrible thing. It should only be used to describe one's feelings toward ISIL or the Dodgers or other nefarious groups. No, I don't hate the Cardinals, but they're as close to generating a negative emotion as a Midwest team is going to get. Let's call it a strong, determined, sustained dislike.

For most Giants fans, 1987 was the year. That was my second season as a Giants fan, and one October afternoon, when my mom drove me to soccer practice, my coach met us in the parking lot to inform us practice was cancelled. Giants v. Cardinals, NLCS, he said. My mom laughed a knowing laughed and we headed home and turned on Channel 2. When the adults change up, you know it's a big deal.

And it was. It was only the third playoffs for the Giants since they moved from New York. It was the first since 1971. And since '71, it was the first time the Giants finished above 3rd place. But more importantly to me, it was the first post-season that me and my friends had known--we needed one of the older brothers to explain this whole playoff thing to us.

That NLCS belonged to our Jeffrey Leonard, the Hac Man. He homered in the first game. He homered in the second game. He homered in the third game. And each time he did, he'd round the bases while leaving one arm dangling down by his side. This "one flap down" trot really, really upset the Cardinals' Midwestern sensibilities--so on Leonard's next at-bat, they sent a pitch into his ribcage. Then Jeffrey hit a homerun in the next game. The Hac Man won the NLCS MVP award--it was the second and last time the award went to a player on the losing side. Yep, the Giants lost that series in seven games. My first sports heartbreak came courtesy of the Cards, and for what? The Twins beat them in the World Series. Losers.

The next year, though, cemented it. Just months after their NLCS matchup, the Giants and Cards, in a ho-hum mid-summer game, went at it. All-time Giants great Will Clark (why isn't #22 retired?!) slid hard into second base to break up a possible double-play. Standing over him was second baseman Jose Oquendo and shortstop Ozzie Smith. Oquendo kicked Will. Will got up. Quendo slapped Will across the head. So did Ozzie. It was on. Four Cardinals mobbed Will. Will got Oquendo into a headlock and pummeled him. Gloves flew. Fists flew. Then something else flew--Candy Maldonado. Candy, who got the whole thing started when he hit the groundball, came screaming in from first-base, leaped, got horizontal, and planted a flying fist of fiery fury on Ozzie's face. Violence is terrible, but this was beautiful. I will always, always love Candy for that punch.

The Giants did eventually avenge 1987, defeating the Cards in the NLCS in 2002 and 2012, en route to a World Series defeat and a World Series win, respectively. And, as these things tend to go, Will Clark would later become a Cardinal himself, though, thankfully, he is back on our side. Oquendo, meanwhile, remains with the Cards, as their third-base coach. So things are as they always were, it seems.

King Kaufman, one of my favorite sports writers, in an article on the bittersweetness of leaving San Francisco for St. Louis, quoted his father's description of those who lived in the Gateway to the West: "These are the descendents of the people who said, 'Eh, this is far enough.'" That always cracked me up. Let's remind them of that. As San Francisco does battle with the St. Louis over the next six straight days (including the Rams on Monday Night), let's draw a line at the NLCS and tell them, "this is far enough."

Giants v. Cardinals, NLCS. Cancel your kids' soccer practices. This is a big deal.

*****

Game 1, Saturday: at St. Louis, 5:07 PM
Game 2, Sunday: at St. Louis, 5:07 PM
49ers v. Rams, Monday: at St. Louis, 5:30 PM
Game 3, Tuesday: home, 1:07 PM
Game 4, Wednesday: home, 5:07 PM
Game 5, Thursday: home 5:07 PM
Game 6, Saturday: at St. Louis, 1:07 PM
Game 7, Sunday: at St. Louis, 4:37 PM