Tag: General News

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers are off to the second-best five-game start in franchise history.

After a 42-10 destruction of the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers head into Cleveland Sunday with a point differential of plus-99, with 167 points scored against 68 given up.

That’s better than the plus-83 (147 to 64) in a 5-0 start in 2019 that saw the 49ers finish 13-3, win the NFC Championship and then lose in Super Bowl LIV to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Or plus-33 (127 to 94) when starting 5-0 in 1990, a season that ended in a 15-13 loss to the New York Giants and erased a dream of three consecutive championships.

Or plus-40 (132 to 92) in 1984, which ended gloriously with a 38-16 blowout of the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium.

But it’s not as good as going 5-0 to start the season with a 116-point differential in 1952 (170 to 54) and an average margin of victory of 23.2 points per game.

For what it’s worth, that 49ers team with four future Hall of Famers in running backs Joe Perry and Hugh McElhenny, quarterback Y.A. Tittle and two-way lineman Leo Nomellini went 2-5 over its final seven games to finish third in the National Conference at 7-5 and out of the playoffs.

A classic case of a team that peaked too soon.

It’s something the 2023 49ers would guard against if they believed in the concept. Which they don’t.

“That’s one of those things where you’ve got too much time on your hands so you’ve got to kind of start making things up a little bit,” linebacker Fred Warner said.

While the 49ers struggled to start the 2022 season, the Philadelphia Eagles were the NFC pacesetters, starting 8-0 and ending up with the top seed.

“Philly started pretty hot last year and ended up in the Super Bowl,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “It didn’t work out for ’em but I didn’t hear anyone saying they were peaking too early.”

It seems everything is breaking right for the 49ers. They arrive in Cleveland just as the Browns are dealing with injuries to their two most important players — quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder) and defensive end Myles Garrett (foot).

Watson, who hasn’t thrown a pass since determining in warmups on Oct. 3 that he couldn’t play in a 28-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, has a bruised rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder and is expected to sit it out. The smart money on Garrett is he’ll give it a go.

Other than missing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in a Week 3 win over the New York Giants, the 49ers have stayed healthy in terms of cornerstone players. Good health has helped fuel a fast start after having to dig themselves out of a 3-4 hole last season and 3-5 in 2021.

Both seasons ended with losses in the NFC Championship Game, played on the road because it took the 49ers a while to gain traction, making them unable to finish with the best record in the conference.

As a result, starting fast was an offseason goal. Mission accomplished. The next objective is to maintain it, although the concept of being too good too soon appears to be foreign in the locker room.

“The NFL, things can change quick, that’s for sure,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “But I don’t think you plan on peaking at a certain time. You just have to keep going.”

Coach Kyle Shanahan is impressed with his team’s focus and willingness to look at a season as 17 individual challenges unrelated to each other as opposed to riding a wave of emotion.

The routine is unchanged. Play the game, make corrections, move on to the next one. That post-Dallas process began Wednesday since Shanahan gave players Monday off and Tuesday is a mandatory off day for players in a regular week.

“Once we finished, I forgot about Dallas,” Shanahan said. “Our guys were ready for Cleveland.”

The final score aside, Warner said the Dallas film indicated the 49ers are far from a finished product. After becoming the first 49er with a sack, a forced fumble and an interception in a single game since NaVorro Bowman 10 years ago, Warner was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, yet is still smarting from giving up 20 yards on a pass play in which he lost outside leverage.

“I honestly don’t think we’ve hit our peak,” Warner said. “I think we just continue to grind and keep our head down and stay humble. If you saw the way we graded this tape this morning you would see we’re really taking this serious. It’s not, ‘We’re happy because we beat them by 32 points.’ We’re trying to find ways to get better.”

One thing to watch from the 49ers is attrition for a team that prides itself on physicality and has many star players who have played a lot of football.

The 49ers’ offensive core of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle and Trent Williams has combined for 44 accrued seasons and 551 games. On defense, Tashaun Gipson, Arik Armstead, Javon Hargrave, Warner and Bosa have 40 seasons and 529 games.

McCaffrey, the hub of the 49ers’ offense, is on pace for 404 touches rushing and receiving in 17 games, with the highest total of his career being 403 in 16 games in 2019 — the year he became the third running back in NFL history with 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving.

It’s up to Shanahan to monitor the delicate balance of playing to win every week while at the same time keeping veterans as fresh as possible for the postseason.

In the meantime, the 49ers aren’t about to apologize for playing so well so early.

Offensive line coach Chris Foerster credits Shanahan with a week-to-week emphasis on Xs, Os and critiques for both individuals and position groups.

I went to the Board of Supervisors meeting this week. That may not seem remarkable for someone who covers local government, but I wasn’t there for work. That’s also not remarkable, because the chambers (at least early on) was full of people attending on their own time.

What distinguished this meeting from others since August 2019 is I was there as a participant. I appeared on the agenda under item 4.01-A-3: “Appointments to the Vina Groundwater Sustainability Agency – Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director Primary and Alternate Positions.” I’d served four years on the GSA board; my term having expired, I sought reappointment.

Serendipitously, I sat next to Claudia Rawlins, the other applicant. We had a friendly conversation before the meeting began, and I mentioned this when addressing the supervisors a couple hours later, as she needed to return to Chico.

I don’t tend to make prepared speeches. Out of curiosity, I went into the county clerk’s online archive and found the recording of the session in which I first got appointed. It worked once, after all!

In any case, the supervisors reappointed me and appointed Claudia as alternate. (They also reappointed agricultural director Jeff Rohwer and alternate Steve Koehnen.)

Among the things I mentioned: a passion for public service. Between the Chico Planning Commission, Inspire school board and Vina GSA, I’ve spent a month’s worth of hours on the dais (literally and figuratively). I still find it rewarding (figuratively, not literally — no stipend for any of these roles).

It’s also taxing. Coming to a meeting prepared requires, well, preparation. Decisions have consequences and often result from compromises that can leave colleagues and constituents displeased. Thick skin helps.

But that’s the trade-off — responsibility that accompanies authority. (The latter, often narrower than people think.) Believe it or not, I take the same oath of office as the governor; to wit:

“I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I will take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.”

I’m not sure how much a water board member could do in defense of two constitutions, but a pledge is a pledge …

Anyway, back to the appointment. In this case, it’s a quadrennial application and decision by elected officials who’ve had to do a lot more than I to get their seats. The prospect of campaigning, especially fundraising, lacks appeal to me. Not to say I never would run for office — I did once (Paradise school board; fell 2% short). At this point, I’d rather do other things with the time that takes.

I’m happy with civic volunteerism on a local board. Highly recommend, as the expression goes. A few tips:

• Find something that stirs interest.

• Brush up on background.

• Attend meetings.

• Reach out to people making the appointments.

• Listen and learn.

• Step up for a reason beyond the title.

The city and county have board and commission vacancies; so does the groundwater agency, for the advisory committee. Like many things, government can be only as good as the people involved.

Evan Tuchinsky is weekend editor of the Enterprise-Record. You can reach him at etuchinsky@chicoer.com.

Jami Ganz | New York Daily News

Don’t blame Taylor Swift if she was totally enchanted when Beyoncé surprised her at the “Eras Tour” film premiere, as both pop stars prepare for their concert flicks to overtake box offices.

The “Enchanted” singer, 33, took to Instagram early Thursday to share a boomerang of the pair posing at the front of an empty auditorium, as Beyoncé, 42, tosses popcorn.

“I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without Beyonce’s influence,” wrote Swift, whose Eras tour has thus far grossed over $2 billion. “The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale.”

PHOTOS: ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ concert movie premiere in L.A.

The previous afternoon, Swift — citing “unprecedented demand” — announced that the “Eras Tour” film would open in North America on Oct. 12, a day earlier than planned, and that additional showtimes were added for the film’s opening weekend.

As of Tuesday, the film had racked up a record-breaking $100 million plus in ticket sales.

AMC Theatres, which first scored access to the film, has released a list of rules for fans who plan to treat the film as their own private concert.

“Taylor Swift Eras attire and friendship bracelets are strongly encouraged! Masks (except for standard face masks used explicitly for health and safety reasons) are not permitted),” said AMC.

While the theater says it will “encourage dancing and singing,” patrons are not allowed to dance atop seats nor block their fellow Swifties “from viewing, safely walking or exiting the auditorium.”

Attendees are allowed to snap selfies and group photos, but are barred from recording the flick.

SAN FRANCISCO — Jonathan Kuminga’s lingering thumb injury has him questionable to play in the Warriors’ next preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Kuminga injured his left thumb by hitting it on the backboard during the Warriors’ practice on Monday. Though the injury isn’t considered serious, he has been spotted with his thumb wrapped in tape after each of the Warriors’ last three practices.

Kuminga, 21, went through drills in Thursday’s practice, but didn’t participate in anything live, head coach Steve Kerr said. Team trainers and coaches will determine his status during shootaround in Los Angeles on Friday morning prior to the 7 p.m. game. Kuminga came out hot in Golden State’s first preseason game against the Lakers with 24 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes.

Cory Joseph, 32, participated in his first practice on Wednesday having missed the first week-and-a-half of practices with a lower back lumbar strain. Joseph hasn’t participated in any live action in practice and will be out for Friday’s game, Kerr said, adding he’ll need days to ramp up his action before he’s cleared to play in any games.

Guard Rodney McGruder, who is fighting for one of two open roster spots, will also be out on Friday as he eases back into action out of concussion protocols. McGruder participated in court work on Thursday and “is doing well,” Kerr said.