RealClearSports: Hanie Takes His Mistakes Like A Man

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

OAKLAND, Calif. -- He took it like the man he is and the quarterback he hopes to be.

Caleb Hanie found out what it's like to start an NFL game because a star had been injured.

Found out the guy off the bench doesn't always...

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

RealClearSports: Luck Leaves Stanford Stadium a Winner

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

STANFORD, Calif. — One of a kind. That's how Andrew Luck's appreciative coach described him.

"There's no player in America like Andrew Luck,'' was the biased but hardly inaccurate phrase of David Shaw. "Forget about the stats."

In his last game at Stanford Stadium, Luck's stats...

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

SF Examiner: 49ers quarterback Alex Smith finished biding time

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

He was wearing a 49ers hat the other day, to which you would say, of course. But Alex Smith more often is seen in a Giants hat. Or on occasion, as a salute to his first love, a team of which he always will be a fan, the San Diego Padres.

“I’ve always worn something,” he said about his personal preference.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Jackson creates winning culture with the Raiders

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

The blend is unusual in pro football, excitement and candor. Hue Jackson doesn’t stop believing. Or demanding.

When you wait half a lifetime to become a head coach, you look at things differently, and even when the score is wrong, approvingly.

Jackson isn’t the only reason the Raiders have moved out of the darkness...

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Winds of change blow through Bay Area football

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

The NFL season the Bay Area wondered if they would ever see has arrived.

The gloom has been lifted. The joy has returned. The playoffs are certain for the Niners, probable for the Raiders.

It’s barely past the mid-point, with several weeks...

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company