Newsday (N.Y.): Season of redemption for 49ers QB Smith

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- He wasn't supposed to be here, one game from the Super Bowl, not after the criticism, the boos and time on injured reserve.

Then again, as the first player picked in the 2005 NFL draft, a quarterback chosen to lead the San Francisco 49ers, Alex Smith was supposed to be here, facing the Giants on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2012 Newsday. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: 49ers Open Window to Glorious Past

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO – They were The City’s team, in name and function, created here, not transported from New York or Philadelphia. And if they never reached the top, they were no less entertaining than a ride on one of those cable cars halfway to the stars.

The 49ers were so very San Francisco, adored, beloved and invariably stuck in the fog of mediocrity. Oh well, let’s go down to the Buena Vista Café and have an Irish coffee.

The Niners originally played at an expanded high school stadium in Golden Gate Park...

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© RealClearSports 2012

Global Golf Post: Tiger Not The Only Needle Mover At Pebble

By Art Spander
For GlobalGolfPost.com

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the tournament where a one-liner becomes as important as a one-putt and no swing, not even one as enticing as Sam Snead's, could ever be as beautiful as the view across Carmel Bay to Point Lobos.

It's played right after the Super Bowl, when most of the country is ankle-deep in winter misery — and sometimes the AT&T courses on the Monterey Peninsula are ankle-deep in mud.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2012 Global Golf Post

Newsday (N.Y.): 49ers wary of rematch with surging Giants

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- They are happy to be staying home, which is no surprise.

"You'd rather not have to get on a plane and fly to Green Bay, where you don't know what the weather is going to be like,'' 49ers safety Donte Whitner said Monday.

Yet the 49ers are not particularly happy to be facing the surging Giants...

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2012 Newsday. All rights reserved.

SF Examiner: In Smith, the Bay has a new miracle worker

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

Think he managed that one well enough? You want to compare Alex Smith to Joe Montana or Steve Young? Well compare away. Alex is the new miracle worker by the Bay.

What he managed to do on Saturday at the ’Stick was turn logic and inevitability upside down.

This was one for the ages, and for the Niners. This one was redemption for Alex Smith...

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2012 SF Newspaper Company