49er's awarded 50th Super Bowl (2016)
 The 49ers have reason to celebrate after being awarded the 50th Super Bowl to be played in 2016.
The big shabang will take place two years after the grand opening of the new stadium in Santa Clara.
San Francisco is one of the best teams in the NFL right now and with a young group of players, who knows they might still be on top when the Super Bowl hits the bay area.
The last time it was here in the bay area the game was played at Stanford were the 49ers beat Miami for one of their five Super Bowl titles.
The 49er's benefited from a vote in Miami that did not pass concerning tax payers money and building a new stadium.
Miami was the front runner to host the 50th Super Bowl but when the stadium deal fell thru Santa Clara was the next choice. More click here
Oakland brings back Charles Woodson
Story by Pota' Johnson
 Raiders Make Smart Free Agent Moves
Before the Charles Woodson signing, the Oakland Raiders front office brass stayed out of the money play for high priced free agent talent.
When the first wave of free agency begin, Oakland was not very active at all.
The front office staff seemed to be in a wait and see type of mood.
With very little cap space and some high dollar contracts on board, the Raider's knew they had to make some smart decision's to improve their roster.
Oakland begin to purge their line up of high priced players by cutting ties with some former high draft picks like Tommy Kelly, Richard Seymour, Michael Huff and Darius Heyward-Bey before trading Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals.
Oakland felt they were players that were not going to help the team win games moving forward.
Raider G.M. Reggie McKenzie has said all along that he wants to build his team through the draft and by adding productive free agents along the way.
The Raiders have added some young players who love football and are out to prove themselves at every position on the team.
Oakland seems to be setting it's self up well for the future. By adding more cap space and building through the draft, the Raiders look like a team that is slowly turning the corner and are on the verge of being relevant again.
Of course that means wins from September thru Jan. and hopefully into Feb.
With the addition of veterans such as, Charles Woodson, Andre Carter, and Kevin Burnett, Oakland has brought in proven winner's who can still play while helping teach the younger player's what it takes to win in the NFL.
I would give the Oakland Raiders a grade of B+ so far this off season with their free agent signings, which has not been bad for a team who at seasons end had very little cap room space, and a roster with mediocre talent and very little depth.
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Terror strikes at the Boston Marathon
I want to say that it is hard to believe, but in this world today you never know. Of all places the finish line at the Boston Marathon was the sight of two bomb blast that have changed the lives of may people.
Three died the first day, but thousands more where hurt, over a hundred seriously. Nobody has taken responsibility for the act, but whoever it is are cowards and have to stab people in the back after smiling in their face to prove their point.
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Great Scott, an Aussie wins 2013 the Masters
It took 48 majors, and one heartbreak, but Adam Scott can finally take a sigh of relief after outlasting Angel Cabrera thru 72-holes plus a couple of playoff holes to lay claim to his green jacket.
Scott thought he had it won after he holed out 18. Cabrera hit a fantastic approach shot to get to within a few feet of the cup at 18 and leaving him with a short birdie putt to force the brief playoff.
Many people thought that Scott did not have it in him after what happened at the British Open last year. He bogeyed the last four holes to lose by a shot to Ernie Els. No meltdown at the 2013 Master's for Scott, an instant national hero back home in Australia. More click here
UCONN, Louisville on top of college basketball world
Louisville could not pull off the double championship on the hardwood. UCONN was simply too much for the Louisville women to handle. On the men's side, how could the Cardinal's lose.
Kevin Ware had one of the worst injury's in the history of live television which made it hard for anybody to root against Louisville. Luke Hancock would not let Louisville.
The Final Four MVP scored 14pts in a little over two minutes to get Louisville back in the game after Michigan jumped out to a 12pt. first half lead. Hancock scored 42pts at the Final Four and Louisville would not have won it without him.
It make matter's even better, Hancock's seriously ill father was sitting court side watching his son take over the national championship game. That had to be a dream come true for both father and son.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has became the first head coach to win a D1 national title with two different teams. Kentucky and now Louisville, maybe Pitino should think twice if he is ever offered a contract outside the state of Kentucky.
The UCONN women played like a team possessed in the finals against Louisville. You could feel like they clearly took advantage of Baylor not being in the finals and there was zero chance of UCONN over looking Louisville.
The win was a record 8th for the program and it's head coach Geno Auriemma who tied Pat Summit's career record when she was at Tennessee. The 93-60 final score was not as close as it seemed. No really. There was no way UCONN was losing this game.
The UCONN women prevented Louisville from becoming the second school in history to win both the men's and women's national basketball titles in the same season. Connecticut won both championships in 2004.
Connecticut (35-4) made 13 of 26 3-point shots and raced to a 19-point halftime lead. The Huskies eventually stretched the lead to 35 points. Freshman Breanna Stewart scored 23 points for UCONN with nine rebounds.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis made five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points. Louisville led 14-10 but managed to only score 14pts the rest of the half. UCONN lit it up for 38pts the last 15 minutes of the first half to take control.
Bay Area track and field season on deck
The indoor season is over and as the tracks around the country thaw out there are big meets all over the place. April is the month of the invitational. You get a couple of dual meets under your belt then you hit an invitational to see what you can do against the best in your area.
The Bay Area has there invite coming up this weekend down at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field. Some of the best will come out to compete and try to get some early marks as they try to qualify for various state and national competitions.
Cobb Track is known around the world as a fast track and there is always a strong field because people know this is a good chance for them to hit a mark early in the season.
Maurice Greene dusted off Cobb Track with a 9.99 in the 100m dash back in 2002. Gail Devers holds the Cobb Track record in the 100m hurdles (12.51). The fast times don't stop there.
The distance running get in on the fun as well. William Chirchir (Kenya) busted out a 3:52.86 in the mile, just nine seconds of the world record. Megert DeFar (Ethopia) ran 5,000m in 15:24.83 at Stanford proving the track is fast over any distance.
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Danica Patrick makes history at the Daytona 500
 Danica Patrick took a huge step towards winning a race in NASCAR with a pole at the 2013 Daytona 500 and an 8th place finish in the race. Danica became the first women to lead a green flag lap in a NASCAR race.
The only issue Danica had was getting out of the pits without taking out the leading pack. Patrick's pit was at the very end of pit lane.
When she was coming out of the pits she had numerous cars fighting to get out of the pits in first place with Danica trying to get up to speed and keep her place in line.
She made it out of the pits every time and stayed out of trouble to take the checkered flag in the top ten and show the masses that she is strong enough to handle the rigors of a 500 mile NACAR race.
Sure one race does not a career make, but it was the start to the season that Patrick needed and wanted. In the mix, she had a chance to win at the end and she brought the car home in one piece.
The funny thing about NASCAR. It is the only sport that the biggest event is played out. There is a Championship at the end of the year. A sort of playoff system to win it all is in place, but few outside the hardcore fans of the sport know who won the championship.
A lot more people can tell you who came out on top in the Daytona 500. That would be Jimmy Johnson, winning his third 500 title. One bad thing about winning the Daytona 500.
Great car right, you just won one of the biggest car races in the world and they take your car. Each car that wins the Daytona 500 goes right from victory circle to the NASCAR museum.
It's about time, the NHL gets back on the ice
Man was that close. The NHL was in serious danger of losing the entire 2012-13 season. As it is hundreds of games went by the wayside because of a nasty labor dispute.
It does not really matter who was right,. We all know it is about money. I must admit that NHL players have been getting pretty huge salaries the past few years. The owners are to blame, but they knew they could not keep that pace up.
What will be left of the 2012-13 season. 50-games have been floated around, so has 48-games. Not much of a difference unless you work at the stadium or run a bar nearby.
Now it is time to dig those skates out of the back of the closet, get out of your contract you might have been playing under over in Europe somewhere and ratify that agreement the owners and players spent so many months hashing out. More click here
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