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The NFL offseason is fundamentally about one thing: hope. The mantra of "Any Given Sunday" is expanded to "Any Given Season," and the new - new rookies, new facilities, new schemes, new management - is the stuff those dreams are made of. But the most...

"The running game in pro football has gotten so boring," former 49ers coach Bill Walsh remarked some years ago. "There's just four or five plays they can run. I think the whole thing is headed in the wrong direction, and it's really unfortunate." Eve...

In case you were out brainstorming baby names with Shakira and Gerard Pique last night, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday. American teenager Sloane Stephens upset Serena Williams at the Australian Open in an exhilarating, injury-plague...

The thought had lingered all weekend — for the past couple weekends, actually — but it took Matt Schaub's trip to Foxborough for it to take hold. Houston had just completed another seven-yard pass on a third-and-8, and as it became clear ...

Jim Harbaugh's work with the 49ers has made him the hottest property in the game — yes, RG3, even hotter than you.

I'm still reeling from Thursday night's gambling fiasco. For those of you who were lucky enough not to have watched, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh (who I now wish had been punched hard in the face by Lions coach Jim Schwartz during Shakegate) declined a p...

By almost any rational measure, the San Francisco 49ers significantly overachieved last season on offense. The Alex Smith–led attack finished in the bottom third of the NFL in yards, yards per play, and passing yards. Even the vaunted 49ers rus...

How Jim Harbaugh has made Alex Smith's job easier, and made the 49ers 7-1.

Things not to take lightly about Sunday's Lions-49ers matchup: Neither team has been to the playoffs since 2002 (49ers) Neither team has finished above .500 since 2002 (49ers) Between 2003 and 2009, the Lions and 49ers had more seasons with f...

It was awesome. Why demand anything more?

Here's your Tuesday whip-around on the stories dominating the headlines and lingering in the margins of the NFL. No pads needed. Extra, extra! Read all about it! Then develop a stomach ulcer. Do you like an NFL team? Then I have news for you &...