The NFL's 2008 Wild Card Wknd has arrived at the same time as this rainstorm front......

Reporting from spa-side in Santa Ana, it's your American Football Spectacular preview of the next rung of pain on the agony ladder that is the 49ers' '07 season....

Here's todays sports news...

It's been a mighty tough season to be a 49er fan; what with the bevy of broken expectations, the death of Bill Walsh -- and this week -- the passing of former Head Coach Dick Nolan. * San Francisco vs. Seattle Monday, November 12, 2007. 5:30 PM, PST. Week 10 The Battle Of Unnumbered Tears Before the 2007 season started, this week's game was to be the proving point, the crucial matchup where the rising......

Here's todays sports news...

" it comes as no surprise / we're destabilized " * Seattle vs. San Francisco Sunday, September 30, 2007. 1:00 PM, PST. Week 04 The Surpriseless Battle This is it, the game that will tell whether the 49ers can seize the lead in the NFC West by taking down the Seahawks. * Photo of Frank Gore breaking away via the Chron. SF swept the series last year, even as SEA won the division, so you......

Thank goodness. Let the blessed distraction begin. For just a little while, there there be kickoffs and touchdowns and the illusion of a level playing field. Tonight, it's time for the National Football League's 2007 regular season to begin. Wonderful....

Holy fancy baby Jesus on a Kaiser roll, the 49ers beat the Seahawks? In storm conditions in Seattle?! Wow. This was unforeseen. That's a sweep of the division series on the year, keeping the Niners' tiiiny window of playoff chance alive. How could this have happened? Here's how:...

-The Niners beat the Seahawks in what has to be a bit of a shocker, 24-14. We'll have more on this later. -In a game KNBR called the "signature victory" for the Warriors, Baron Davis hits a three with 1.2 seconds left to beat the Rockets. -Sharks have their three game winning streak snapped in a 4-2 loss to the LA Kings. -Now a cyclist is caught up in the BALCO mess. -Peter Magowan wonders......

This Week 15 sends the 49ers up to Seattle mid-week to grapple desperately in hopes of keeping their mathematically-possible playoff hopes alive....

-49ers prepare for tonight's game and hope they do better with less practice. The Seahawks, however, are healthy. -Was Nolan's fourth-and-inches whimp out the turning point of the season? ...

Week Twelve of the National Football Season's regular season is here, post-Thanksgiving. Grab some leftovers and plunk down on the couch, here comes this weekend's set of Bay Area American football entertainment....

Ahhh crap, 49er WR Antonio Bryant got nailed for DUI on Sunday night after the big win over the Seahawks. Bryant had two catches for 21 yards in the game. And later, 'round midnight, Mr. Reformed Hothead was clocked above 100 mph in a 2005 Lamborghini between Redwood City and San Mateo. Moron....

49ers 20 Seahawks 14-- Clang, clang, clang goes the 49ers bandwagon as this is the biggest win in franchise history in God who knows how long. Probably back when Mariucci was the coach and the playoffs were a semi-regular thing. They beat, we mean beat, not only the top team in the division but also last year's Superbowl losers. The Niners raced to a twenty point lead in the first half then basically held onto......

Coming to you from Shannon Arms in the Sunset while watching Michigan vs OSU, it's American Football Spectacular's National Football League week eleven preview!...

You know how sometimes you get bored at work and for maybe half-an-hour or so you start daydreaming about what you're going to have to eat, about checking e-mail, or about doing certain things to a coworker that they wouldn’t dare show on Skinemax? Now imagine you're a starting pitcher and can't just surf the Web to take a mental break. What do you do? Well, if you're Matt Morris, you take a perfectly pitched game and start giving up runs. Which is what he did, almost blowing a 7-1 lead to let the Braves get back into the game. Morris seems to do that a lot-- pitch well except for one inning in which he throws batting practice out there. ...

Now that the Super Bowl is over, the big question in the NFL is no longer "Seahawks: Screwed Over or Screwed Up?" but who will the Rai-duhs choose as their new head coach. The reason for all the intrigue goes way beyond the fact that in an off-season in which eight teams were looking for a head coach and so many candidates were interviewed that even the towel boy for the Patriots got a courtesy call, the Rai-duhs still haven't really made that much of an effort. No, the reason for all the intrigue is because once again trying to figure out the impenetrable mind of the Alster is an adventure. It's so mysterious that whenever Al chooses a coach, reporters have to camp themselves out in front of Raiders HQ to see what color smoke emanates out from the chimney. So with that in mind, we thought we'd take a look at the potential candidates and a few of our own. ...

O sweet joy, it's time for the Super Bowl! Yes, the pageantry, the power, the one thing that will hold the American football world enrapt this Sunday: Super Bowl XL. Pittsburgh vs. Seattle (in Detroit) Sunday, February 5, 2006 The Battle For Proof ...

Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval's in a Monster Park of his own making, after his proposal before the Board of Supes to support the Seahawks was greeted with a cry of "Offsides!" from the red-and-gold faithful. "Sandoval sounds like a traitor," announces the head of the Santa Clara Niners booster club. A Niners spokesman said the resolution "represents an appalling lack of loyalty to San Francisco." That guy's just probably happy no one's asking him questions about videos for a change! Sandoval says, "Come on, give me a break, it's just a way to have fun and help a few bar owners," noting that sports bars have seen a precipitous decline in attendance since the Niners limped to a 4-12 season this last year and that Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is a San Francisco native. But as of this morning, Niners fans vowed to show up at today's Board of Supes meeting at 2 p.m. to protest against the proposal. Well, given how bad the Niners defense is, we're sure the proposition will pass 41-3. Picture of a Niners-Seahawks game in 2003 from the NFL website...

There's been some amount of whining lately over this weekend's big championship football games. Especially here in the Bay Area as our football teams were out of the playoff running around the same time the Giants and the A's were. But relax, football fans, we just might have something to root for this weekend anyways. This week, Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval announced legislation to have the city adopt the Seattle Seahawks as our football team. It's kind of like having a Sister City. We now have a Sister-Team...

It's been so long since the Raiders had a chance to gloat, some thought they might have forgotten how. Well, no worries, they returned to their arrogant selves quickly enough after their 27-24 win over Carolina yesterday. "Not to knock the Panthers, but they're not really a good team," said cornerback Charles Woodson, displaying the self-effacing humility the Raiders are known for. They take a week off to prepare for redemption against the Chargers. Jerry......

Weekly wrapup of local football action....

The Oakland Raiders manhandled the Buccaneers, beating them far more mercilessly than the 30-20 score would indicate. This was obviously a payback game for the humiliating loss they suffered at the hands of the Bucs in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The game was marked by moments both bitter and sweet - sweet to see longtime Raider Tim Brown catch his 100th touchdown in Oakland, bitter when former league MVP, Quarterback Rich Gannon, went down with a......

Football wrap-up....