The Talent Migration: SF Ho!

SF fans will remember the 2011 NFC Championship forever as the game the Giants didn't win, but rather, the 49ers lost. Special teams returner Ted Ginn Jr. was injured and stayed out, so Kyle Williams played in his place. Williams' two fumbles are what had to have cost the 49ers that game. Clearly, SF was the better team.

The media announced last Wednesday, former New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs agreed on a one-year contract with the 49ers, according to one league source. New York released him this month. "Jacobs started most of the Giants’ games in 2008 and 2009, but was the starter in just 11 games over the past two seasons." Nevertheless, the 49ers are getting another piece of last year's Super Bowl champions. That's all that matters.

This follows recent contract agreements from WR Ted Ginn Jr. (one-year contract), WR Randy Moss (one-year contract), QB Alex Smith (three-year contract), and former Giants WR Mario Manningham (two-year contract). Yes, they couldn't get Peyton Manning, but as long as Harbaugh remains the head coach, I'm not worried about Alex Smith.

Why the migration from a Super Bowl team? It's simple. When you win, people want to be winners with you. The Giants may have won the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl, but New York only won 9 games in the regular season, compared to the 13 San Francisco won. San Francisco also already has a top defense, so they are willing to spend the extra money to have an intimidating offense.

The 49ers are building a team very similar to the championship teams they've had in the past. After coming so close last year to the Super Bowl, losing in a game they really should have won, the team is pulling out all the stops to return to their former glory. After all, the season will be tougher, with another rematch against New York, and trips to New Orleans, Green Bay, and New England coming in the 2012 season.

Most recently, the 49ers built a Super Bowl champion team in 1994, with notable acquisitions that offseason. They got former Dallas LB Ken Norton Jr. and former Falcon CB Deon Sanders, among others, signing them to short contracts to win the Super Bowl quickly.

Here's the story of that 1994 season below. We'll see if 2012 turns out in similar fashion.

The Closest Playoff Race Nobody's Watching

It's a question I know all you Northerners, Midwesterners, and Northeasterners have: do Westerners actually watch the NHL?
Canadians don't ask such questions.

It should be obvious by now that Southerners tend to not watch hockey. The few NHL teams down south regularly have trouble getting high attendance for their home games. Let's not forget the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg last year, and this year, I've already read that Quebec City is building an NHL-style area. Look out Phoenix.

While some in the Pacific Northwest would love hockey to move to Seattle, let's face it, ice hockey is not a very popular sport out west or down south.
Nationally, the National Hockey League is already in a battle. Here's a list of the most popular professional sports leagues in the U.S:

1. NFL
2. MLB
3. NBA
4. MLS
5. NHL

And it won't be long before MLS passes NBA. But you can still watch games on NHL.com and regionally on cable for every game. And with commercials like this, who wouldn't want to watch?

South of the border, the west coast is home to the San Jose Sharks, the Los Angeles Kings, and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (yes, I still use the Disney adjective). I'll include the Phoenix Coyotes in this group... for now. And right now, we're nearly in that "got to watch" time of the season. There's just two weeks left in the regular season, and then it's the playoffs. Don't complain. The NBA playoffs are basically the same, but the NHL uses points to determine playoff seeding in each conference, after the division winners.

Two points for a win, one point for an overtime game (there are no more ties in hockey), and zero points for a loss. Right now, the Western Conference has six teams, all within two points of each other, four of them are in the Pacific Division. That is a tight race. And as it stands right now, only three of them will make it to the playoffs. That means with about six games left for each team, everyday there's a change in the playoff standings. How often can you say that about your favorite league?

So support the sport, and all you west coast hockey fans proudly put your hands up!
... now you all get two minutes for high sticking.

Catch the NHL playoffs soon on NBC Sports.

The State of Washington: The Best of the Rest?

OK. I'll admit it. College basketball is not so hot on the west coast.

Of the six (yes, six) teams from the pacific time zone that made it to this year's Big Dance, only Gonzaga actually won a tournament game. California, UNLV, Long Beach State, San Diego State, and St. Mary's also made the field of 68, but Cal didn't even make it to the field of 64. It's a case of medicritology.

It was especially a depressing year for Pac-12 hoops, with the top team during the regular season (Washington), missing the entire tournament field, something that hasn't happened in decades. There were a lone two teams from the conference of champions in the tourney, leaving one to wonder, what happened to all of those previous Pac-12 powerhouses?

While there's a deeper answer for another day, for now, let's just say, most of them made it to the consolation tournaments. That's right: the NIT and the CBI!

If you've been too distracted by this year's march mediocrity, you might be surprised to find out what's been going on in the runners up tournaments. For starters, the Pac-12 has been dominating them. We'll start with the CBI. This year, Oregon State and Washington State, oh, and San Francisco too, all made the field of 16. The Cougars took down the Beavers in the semi-finals, and just tonight, Wazzu won game 1 of the 3-game series for the championship over Pittsburgh. That's right. WSU beat a Big East team, granted the final score was 67-66. A WSU win Wednesday or Friday, and they'll be #101. That means something, right?

Just like the CBI, in the NIT, the Pac-12 sent more teams than any other conference (tied with the SEC): Washington, Oregon, Stanford, and Arizona. The Huskies, who most west coasters think was the biggest snub from this year's Big Dance, is poised to win the NIT right now, as a top seed. They'll play Minnesota tomorrow in the semi-finals. On the other side of the bracket, Stanford plays Massachusetts tomorrow for a chance to meet Washington in New York City. Did I also mention Nevada made the NIT?

These examples prove to me that west coast teams, this year for some reason, are saving their best for after the regular season. But a win for UW in NYC would of course prove what the committee decided all along. They're still #69.

Catch the NIT on ESPN2 and the CBI on HDNet.