Monte Poole

SAN FRANCISCO -- With the sun disappearing and the potent New Orleans Saints vanquished at last, Alex Smith neither wept nor danced. The quarterback simply inhaled the moment as he perceived it, victory in the most spellbinding and consequential game of his life.

"We're still playing. That's what it means," Smith said after directing the 49ers to an electrifying 36-32 win over the Saints in an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday at Candlestick Park.

One month after his 33rd birthday, when he should be in his prime, youthful energy blending with maturity and know-how, Barry Zito finds himself in a tenuous and very challenging predicament.

He's trying to reinvent Barry Zito.

The company line is that the Golden State Warriors are scouring the globe for a coach of such incandescence that his introductory news conference is bound to stir the fan base and create ripples throughout the NBA.

You've heard the story, as scripted and sold by new CEO Joe Lacob. The Warriors are determined to join the league's elite, sharing company with the Lakers and Celtics and Bulls and Heat.

Money is no object, according to general manager Larry Riley. The new boss is aiming high, leading with his ambition because he wants to make it abundantly clear that Chris Cohan doesn't work here anymore.

Bobby Cox who settled into his job as Atlanta Braves manager in 1990, when you could buy an ice cream sandwich and a parakeet at Woolworth, walked away last year.

Jeff Fisher, promoted to head coach of the Houston Oilers in 1994, long before there was such a thing as a Tennessee Titan, was nudged into unemployment last month.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- There it was Sunday night, earsplitting proof of temporary insanity among the Bay Area's largest fan base.

The people wanted David Carr. Thousands upon thousands of 49ers fans at Candlestick Park, sick of witnessing the errors of Alex Smith, stood as one and called loud and long for David "Are You Serious" Carr.

When Cal two years ago announced the hiring of Mike Montgomery as its basketball coach, it seemed to be a safe, unimaginative, almost lazy, hire.

Never we seen anything like them, such extraordinary athletes sharing the same blood. Is there any rational case against the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, being crowned the greatest sports siblings ever? Well, no. Not when they are generally regarded as the best players in women's tennis. Not when they have between them 18 Grand Slam singles championships.
The juiciest debate is that over which sister is superior. We say Serena, but we reserve the right to change our mind.
No siblings have ever been able claim spots 1A and 1B atop a sport. And with these two, it's interchangeable.