If there's anybody in the city taking more heat than Mike Nolan, it's his quarterback, Alex Smith. Smith stands accused by the Faithful of not very being good. The evidence? Overthrowing Receivers. Underthrowing Receivers. Not seeing open Receivers. The numbers back up the evidence-- he has a preposterously low QB rating (57.2) and completion percentage (48.7). He is also 11-19 as a starting QB. In the games we've watched, Smith looked like the same QB he was when he first started-- skittish and inaccurate-- so much so, the Faithful are muttering that Smith, as a #1 draft pick, has been a bust of Lucy Pinder-like proportions (sort of NSFW-y). ...

Here's a few sports stories to get you through the bleakness of the Rox/Sox World Series...

Some random effluvia from the weekend that was ...

Okay, here's something that we've always wondered about in football-- why don’t coaches in the final minutes of a football let the other team score to get the ball back instead of letting the other team run down the clock and kick the game-winning field goal? Just look at the Eagles/Giants game. The Eagles were in easy field goal range with about two minutes to go and the Giants out of time outs. So the Eagles just ran the clock out and won the game with a last second field goal, something that was pretty much inevitable. So what if instead of doing what they did, the Giants let Westbrook run it in for a TD with a minute or so left so they could get the ball back? Wouldn’t that make more sense than hoping that some sort of fluke play occurs? If you were a coach, would you rather take your chances hoping that the team that's driving either screws up the field goal, fumbles, or gets backed up due to penalties or would you rather take a chance with your offense scoring again? ...

-The Warriors beat the New Orleans/OK City Hornets and on KNBR this morning we heard the word "playoffs" being mentioned in reference to the Warriors this season. We'll let Basektball Chris handle that one, but how many seasons now have the Warriors gone on a run in December/January and had people thinking this might be the year? Let's just say the season ain't official 'til Baron Davis goes down. And Tim Kawakami agrees. Meanwhile, are the Warriors better without J-Rich? ...

-Cal just runs crazy over Texas A&M and beats them 45-10 as Marhshawn Lynch led the way with 111 yards and two TDs. Ray Ratto is impressed. But can Cal bring Lynch back? ...

-Frank Gore and Larry Allen from the 49ers and Raiders DE Derrick Burgess get an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. The Raiders are stunned only Burgess is going. Hmmm....maybe not being one of the worst teams in NFL history would have helped. ...

-There's some sort of big game happening today....

An exasperating, sodden, miscue-filled loss for our Raiders up in Seattle yesterday. What sort of headline should a recap of this game have? We explored this thought, and here's what we came up with. You should add some more in the Comments section. Here we go: ...

We can't really confess to have been paying a lot of attention to this game but we noticed this weird thing during the first half of the game where every time we looked up, the Niners were either scoring a TD or making a big play or even getting a safety. Then we'd look up at the score and notice that they were getting throttled by the Chargers. The game was 35-19 at half time and was pretty much doing what they will with the 49ers, but still, the Niners always seemed to be doing something big....

We're starting to see a pattern emerge with both teams. The Raiders start well but can't finish and the Niners start slowly but finish strong. Which is what happened yesterday as the Raiders were actually up 13-7 at halftime, only to give up 27 straight points to their Bay Area counterparts. The key was a Niners D that grabbed four interceptions and returned a fumble for a TD. They did such a good job that Raiders QB Andrew Walter was replaced by Marques Tuiasosopo in the fourth quarter. The other hero for the Niners day was Frank Gore who rushed for 134 yards and Marvelous Norv Turner who was given the game ball for beating up on his old team. ...

If you don't expect anything from life, you can't be disappointed. Monday at the Oakland Coliseum, the Raider Nation in attendance expected their Raiders to compete with the San Diego Chargers. The Nation assembled with facepaint and masks and bared teeth. Their songs of war echoed through the East Bay night air. You see, the Nation, they expected a battle. They got a slaughter. ...

Madden's in the Hall Of Fame. The Raiders have committed their first false start penalties. The NFL's 2006 Preseason is underway. Let's move with all due speed to present the members of your San Francisco 49ers' 2006 Draft class....

Yes, Rai-duh fans, we have ourselves a full-fledged QB controversy as yesterday, in his press conference, Norv Turner said that he was maybe, sort of, possibly thinking about benching Kerry Collins and replacing him with sportswriters' worst nightmare, Marques Tuiasosopo. Said Marvelous Marv Turner: "We're going to look at the quarterback thing, the quarterback situation, and say, 'Hey, is it time to look at Tui? With his mobility, would that help us?" The positives......

Welcome again to American Football Spectacular, your guide to American football in the Bay Area, and all points beyond. After yesterday's 49ers preview, we turn our eyes Eastward, towards the trill of The Autumn Wind lilting towards us on the September breeze. Drums. I hear battle drums on the wind. Hello my name is: Your Oakland Raiders. Grinning with all his teeth from atop one of the greatest cults of personality ever constructed, Raiders'......

In the "Um, yeah, but Rich Gannon's practically a member of AARP and Kerry Collins is a chump" department, agent Dante DiTrapano is confirming the news (which will stay unofficial until the trading period opens on March 2nd) that Minnesota Viking Randy Moss is going to become part of the Silver and Black Attack. He'll be joining recently re-signed Jerry Porter in what looks like on paper as a pretty impressive wide receiver package......

The big news, at least to SFist, is that Ricky Williams -- who has been living in a modest home in the Sierras, practicing yoga, and smoking our incredible northern California marijuana -- would prefer to play for the Oakland Raiders if he did return to football (which has been rumored, since he currently owes the Dolphins around eight million dollars). We think you're cool for going your own way, Ricky! So while we wait......

The 49ers have now matched their worst-ever performances from the late seventies by beating the woeful Arizona Cardinals, 31-28, but are still officially the worst team in the league. SFist has never liked Dennis Erickson -- always one step ahead of the NCAA investigators during his college coaching career, the man has never coached a successful NFL franchise. We wonder why on earth he's still even working. Oh, right, the ineptitude of the 49ers' front......