Sports

By Steven He
Staff Writer

No one would have believed me if I had said before the season that the Golden State Warriors would have a better record than the Los Angeles Lakers going into the All-Star break. Yet, the reality as of the day the NBA announced the reserves for the All-Star team is that the Warriors are in fifth place in the increasingly competitive Western Conference, while the Lakers are not even bound for the playoffs.

While it’s no surprise that the Warriors are thriving with their new and improved up-tempo offense, it is mind-boggling how the Lakers, with a perennial All-Star team, could play so poorly. The difference in performance between these two teams make their Pacific rivalry lopsided and laughable, recalling memories of the struggling Warriors team that used to fall season after season to the 16-time champion Lakers.  

Team to face Baltimore Ravens in "Har-bowl"
By Hujatullah Bayat
Sports Editor
Sunday’s game against the Falcons started exactly as every 49ers fan feared it would, with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan slinging the ball effortlessly, and his two receivers plucking the ball out of thin air. Any happiness that fans felt about their team being in the NFC Championship game quickly faded with every completion Ryan threw.
Before the first quarter had even ended, Falcons receiver Julio Jones was posting career numbers in every receiving category. The score read 17-0, and the Niners had a total of -2 yards in offense. Then, all of a sudden, the Niners started to play. They somehow stopped the bleeding and returned to the devastating running game that has carried them all season.

By Hujatullah Bayat
Sports Editor

When Colin Kaepernick’s opening drive pass was intercepted by Sam Shields and returned for a touchdown, the stadium was silenced. So early into the game, and everyone watching felt every bit of excitement disappear. We had seen this so many times before playing Green Bay, but for many years, it was Brett Favre who tortured us in the playoffs.

Critics and analysts could have said “I told you so” right there, but the game didn’t really go in that direction. In fact, in the 60 minutes of playing time, the 49ers maintained possession of the ball for 38 minutes. The 49ers produced 579 yards of total offense.

By Yi Lu
Staff Writer

Aaron Rodgers’ revenge against the San Francisco 49ers will have to wait another year, as the Green Bay Packers fell 45-31 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional matchup Saturday night.

After being passed up by San Francisco for Alex Smith as the No. 1 pick back in the 2005 draft, Rodgers was asked by CBS 5 sports anchor Dennis O’Donnell how disappointed he was that he would not be a 49er. Rodgers’ cheeky response: “Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me.”

Seven years, a Super Bowl Ring and a NFL MVP award later, it would be hard to argue which team got the better return on investment. However, Rodgers’ grudge match in his first-ever appearance as a Packers player at Candlestick Park took a backseat to the Niners’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was good for four touchdowns, two of which he ran in himself.

By Madeline Ragan
Staff Writer

Every rainstorm in San Francisco brings a few noteworthy changes to the lives of UCSF students. For most people, this means breaking out the galoshes, remaining indoors and perhaps feeling a little less guilty about staying in to study.  But for some, the rain means one thing: there’s got to be snow somewhere. This last major storm brought 15-30 inches of fresh powder to the mountains of Tahoe. 

The rain could not have come at a more perfect time for UCSF students: right before UCSF lets out for winter break. With a few weeks away from their books, students have the chance to stash away their backpacks and get in a couple of good days of skiing or snowboarding. 

By Hujatullah Bayat
Staff Writer

With a record of 8-2-1 and a commanding lead in their division, one would think it would be smooth sailing towards the playoffs for the 49ers, with none of the drama that surrounds other teams at this time of year. Then a little less than half way through the season starting quarterback Alex Smith — working under a new three-year contract — suffered a concussion and lost his starting job.

What ever happened to old unspoken rule of not losing your starting job due to an injury? Colin Kaepernick happened. He has more than just filled in for Smith, he has outright outperformed him. People ask, how are Jim Harbaugh and his staff going to sit a quarterback who has a 70 percent completion rate? The Niners are just simply harder to defend with Kaepernick, the playbook is vast, and people forget that it was Kaepernick who threw balls clocking in near 60 mph at the 2010 combine.

By T. Booth Haley
Editor

Journey to the End of the Night is a fantastic San Francisco creation that re-envisions what public space and public interaction can be.  Started here in 2006, the all-night race/tag/scavenger game has now spread to cities around the world, the most recent event being last Saturday here in its home city. 

It is indeed, as they claim, a “free street game of epic proportion run by volunteer masterminds in cities around the world.” Well, the “mastermind” bit might be a tad self-aggrandizing, but there’s no question that the hallmarks of the event are that it is free and run by volunteers. 

By Yi Lu
Staff Writer

After a gripping postseason performance, the 2012 San Francisco Giants took to Market Street to thank their fans one last time before the long, cold baseball-less winter. Although comparisons will undoubtedly be made to the 2010 victory parade, the franchise’s first in San Francisco, this year’s parade did not disappoint in its design, execution and in the pure elation of an estimated 1 million fans.

Running down Market Street and turning onto McAllister Street to the Civic Center and City Hall, the players rode in open-top convertibles with their family and loved ones, confetti streaming down from buildings. The parade, held on October 31, also featured past Giants greats (including the undefeatable Willie Mays), the front office staff and their families, and local pols such as Mayor Ed Lee, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom.

Giants sweep Detroit Tigers in four games

By Hujatullah Bayat
Staff Writer

KNBR 680 was on full blast on my car tuner as I was parked outside a packed Fireside Bar, completely blocking the Muni lane.<pls check this rewriting of lede. It definitely works better grammatically this way round, and also for conveying the picture, I think.> I was a full six seconds ahead of the telecast. This I know because as Posey hit his home run in the top of the sixth inning, I was yelling and honking my horn six seconds before an outpouring of cheers and yells erupted from all Irving Street bars showing the game.

Driving down the street, you could feel the energy pulsing from the doors of bars and restaurants, but soon after they would all be silenced by Delmon Young’s bottom-of-the-sixth home run.

By Hujatullah Bayat
Associate Editor

Never would any Giants fan imagine facing elimination in the playoffs, needing Barry Zito to pitch the game of his life. He did just that, leaving Giants fans roaring as San Francisco avoided elimination once again in Game Five of this year’s National League Championship Series playoffs.

Ryan Vogelsong came prepared to stare elimination in the eyes again in Game Six, pitching arguably the best game of his career.

Game Seven on Monday, however, meant the same to both teams — advance to the World Series or go home. Matt Cain was noticeably reaching back further and further as he struck out four St. Louis Cardinal batters through five and a third innings, leaving them in awe as they returned to their dugout, never imagining that their postseason would end this way.