S.F. Examiner: Mother Nature, 49ers let down Eddie D. on his big day

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

It was as if Mother Nature was cackling from somewhere east of Eden or west of Milpitas. Late on a Sunday afternoon that had been all too wet, and — for the 49ers — all too unsuccessful, the sun broke through, casting a glow on the upper rows of Levi’s Stadium and creating a rainbow in the skies above.

The old gal must have a perverse sense of humor. Now that the ceremonies were finished, a hurrah for Eddie DeBartolo, which surely will not be the last; now that the football game was finished, a 49ers loss, 30-17, to New England, the weather turned fine.

Read the full story here.

©2016 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: Kraft, Patriots take one for the league

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

Deflategate is over, deflated. Robert Kraft fell on his sword, capitulating for the good of what matters most, the league.

Some called Kraft the new Al Davis, but Davis never would have conceded in this fight. Davis never would concede in anything — football, lawsuits, you name it, especially when it came to a joust with the NFL.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner 

S.F. Examiner: These NFL meetings will be anything but ordinary

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

So the big boys from the NFL — the owners, not the players — come to The City by the Bay seeking peace and a new extra-point rule. Of course. Isn’t this the cool, gray city of love? Wasn’t the United Nations Charter signed in a hotel on Nob Hill?

Didn’t there used to be a pro football team playing in San Francisco?

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner 

S.F, Examiner: Deflategate won't diminish Brady's greatness

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

That’s enlightening, to find out the New England Patriots’ locker room guy, Jim McNally, was nicknamed “The Deflator” because he was trying to lose, no, not games, but weight.

Maybe Jenny Craig should have been the one checking the air pressure of the footballs.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner

The Sports Xchange: Media Day brings madness

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

PHOENIX — There was a guy wearing only a barrel. No, not the late, great Tim McKernan of Denver; this was someone representing a local C&W station, KNIX.

There was a young lady from a Hispanic sports station wearing something so tight it could barely be confused with a dress, much less a barrel.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2015 The Sports Xchange