MVN: Most Valuable Network

ESPN's Mike Sando has notified us on his blog that Jerry Rice will be on ESPN's "Homecoming" show with Rick Reilly.

49ers legend Jerry Rice takes his turn on ESPN's "Homecoming with Rick Reilly" at 7 p.m. ET Thursday. The show, taped in May, featured about 1,000 season-ticket holders in the audience. If you attended, let the rest of us know how it went.

Steve Young and Eddie DeBartolo Jr. were among those who participated in the program.

I've only seen one of these before and it featured baseball's Josh Hamilton. Rick Reilly has been one of my favorite writers since he wrote for Sports Illustrated. I recommend you all check this show out.

Former Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was found dead at his home from a gunshot wound on Saturday. A woman victim was also found dead at the scene. Not much details about the incident have been made public.McNair was one of my favorite players growing up watching football. He had a very strong arm and was a great mobile quarterback. He led the Titans to the Super Bowl in the 1999 season and was a yard short of forcing overtime.What I remember most about him is that he played hurt a lot and sometimes even without the best team around, found a way to make them better. "We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair's passing today," Titans owner K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr. said in a statement. "He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing."McNair was 36 years old. Rest in Peace "Air McNair".... Read more

I've been busy lately and just mainly putting up opponent previews over at Examiner.com. Hopefully next week some new content from 49ers headquarters comes out. I doubt it though since everyone will be out of office until mid-week.But until then, I hope all of you have a safe weekend. Eat well and just enjoy America's independence.... Read more

In a recent blog entry on NFL.com, Jason La Canfora compiled all the committed cash each team has to their roster from 2004-08. And in with that amount, he divided it about amount of wins in that time period.For the 49ers, from 2004-08 the team has spent $486.40 million. And with the 25 wins in that period, the 49ers average about $19.45 million per win. The Patriots ranked top on the list with $8.14 per victory. The Raiders were last on the list with $25.66 million per victory.Taking note from this research, it's quite obvious that the 49ers' recent contracts that they've thrown out (Alex Smith, Nate Clements to name a couple) have not translated into more victories. Obviously, the consistency with offensive coordinators doesn't help out much either.But for the 49ers, it's a lot of money spent that hasn't translated into many victories. It's not the only factor into winning football games, but we an just see that the team has spent a heavy amount and has not gotten great results.... Read more

I've been anticipating this for some time, but if you are a collector of these things, then this is a must have.This Steve Young figurine is scheduled to be released this July. It stands six inches tall but it is so real. This pose is from the 1997 season.I already have a Joe Montana one and a Dennis Eckersley (Oakland A's) figurine. You can find these at Toys R' Us.... Read more

The 49ers have confirmed that July 30 will be the beginning of training camp in Santa Clara. The 49ers will again be holding their training camp at team headquarters in Santa Clara and it's now been confirmed as to when the players will be reporting.  Rookies are scheduled to arrive on July 28 with the rest of the team checking in to the team hotel on July 30.That gives the team just over two weeks to prepare for its first oppenent, the Denver Broncos, on August 14 at Candlestick Park. It seems like that open dates will be fewer than years past due to changes in the facility. I'll get you the dates when they become official.... Read more

Now, I know this is not new or anything, but this video just makes me smile. And with the days of training camp being over a month away, little things like this still make me excited for the upcoming season.... Read more

I'm going to wrap up the last position on the offense at tackle. I'll do the defensive position battles later in July. But now, we look at what could be the most stable positions on offense at left tackle with Joey Staley. But at right tackle, the question marks still remain. However, there will be a lot of players that want to take that right tackle position. Let's take a look at the roster.Currently on roster:Adam Snyder (entering 5th year)Joe Toledo (entering 3rd year)Alex Boone (entering 1st year)Joe Staley (entering 3rd year)Barry Sims (entering 11th year)Jacob Bender (entering 2nd year)Marvel Smith (entering 10th year)Staley signed a contract extension that would keep him until the 2017 season. Unless something goes wrong, we can see that Staley will remain at the left tackle position this season.Staley, along with teammate Patrick Willis and the Browns' Joe Thomas are the only players from the 2007 Draft to have started every game for their team. That kind of stability is very nice.As for the right tackle position, we have to wonder about which of these guys could end up replacing Jonas Jennings. We saw some Barry Sims and Adam Snyder at the position, but neither of these could end up being the starter at the season's start.The 49ers signed free agent Marvel Smith from the Steelers in hope that if Smith can stay healthy, he could end up being the starter. Smith has the most experience out of all of the players listed and his veteran experience with a Super Bowl winning team was something that definitely grabbed the attention of the 49ers.Alex Boone is one player I am cheering for. Boone has been working extremely hard to make an impression on the team as a rookie free agent. Also, he has had a history... Read more

Yesterday, I mentioned the possibility of an NFC West title with only nine wins. But a part of that stems from the expectations for the 49ers for the upcoming season.For any team in the NFL, certain expectations are put into place as the off-season rolls through. For the champion Steelers, people can expect them to make another run at a Super Bowl title. For the Lions, a few game improvement from last season would probably the most reasonable expectation for the team. Sometimes, expectations aren't always met. Like last year, the Browns were tagged as one of the up and coming teams. They were given a lot of nationally televised games but failed to make the playoffs.After thinking about the potential of a 9-7 record for the 49ers, I started to think if my expectations for the team were too high or not high enough.With a new full-time head coach, a new offense and a question mark at quarterback, it would make sense to scale back a little on my feelings for the team. Especially with the NFC Champion Cardinals in the division, it would be hard for me to find the 49ers as a division contender. However, the optimism for this team still gets me going. For example, running back Frank Gore is in an offense that he's comfortable with and it looks like he can easily top the 1,000-yard rushing mark again. Tight end Vernon Davis has been used more as a pass-catching receiver and that alone gives me hope that the passing game will excel. It still will depend on the quarterback that will pass the ball to him. But unlike last year, I don't think there is any favoritism towards any one quarterback. The best quarterback will win the starting job.The defense will rely a lot... Read more

Over the past three seasons, the division winners of the NFC West have had mediocre records entering the playoffs. In 2006, the Seahawks entered the playoffs with a 9-7 record. The following year, the Seahawks made it back with a 10-6 record. Last year, the Cardinals made it with a 9-7 record.Obviously, it looks like that the division is really winnable. Unlike divisions like the NFC East, a 9-7 record could win the division.However, even though the last three years have been filled with mediocre division winners, could the competition be a little tougher this season?The Cardinals will definitely be a challenge. After almost winning Super Bowl XLIII, the Cardinals look like they haven't missed a step this off-season. They retained Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald looks to be a bigger beast than ever before. The team still might not be with Anquan Boldin, but their running game has gotten stronger.The Cardinals have gone through some coaching changes, but overall, they are the team to beat. Can the Cardinals produce another 9-win season?The other team that I feel the 49ers have to watch out for are the Seahawks. A healthy Matt Hasselbeck, running game and defense could make it tougher for the 49ers.Remember that Hasselbeck didn't play for a good portion of last season. With Jim Mora, Jr. now as the head coach, the Hawks will definitely preach defense. Rookie LB Aaron Curry would be a beast if all the hype around him meets up top the expectations. The Hawks also signed free agent stud TJ Houshmandzadeh. The 49ers will have their hands full trying to cover him.I don't know if the Seahawks can finish 9-7, but they are no pushover team. They can definitely decide the fate of the 49ers' quest to win the division.The 49ers might need 10... Read more

A while back I was reminiscing about how I became a 49ers fan. Like many Americans, their love for football can be traced back to a Father-Son relationship.My Dad is the reason why I got into football. And with today being Father's Day, I wanted to share with you a little story of how my Dad shaped me to be the person that I am.===Originall written on May 11, 2009I'll admit it: I joined the 49ers Faithful via the bandwagon. I became a 49ers fan because they were winning and I didn't know much about sports at the time. It was Jan. 1995 and the 49ers had just won their fifth Super Bowl--the first team to achieve such a feat. In 1995, I was a nine-year-old boy that was just getting into sports. I had just picked up playing basketball with my friends in elementary school and it seemed that a lot of my friends enjoyed active play during recess.But my biggest influence on sports may be my father. My father immigrated to the Bay Area from Hong Kong in 1981 and was very fortunate to have seen the 49ers win their first Super Bowl that year. And by trying to understand America's sport, my father would continue to follow the 49ers. It was very helpful for my father to see the 49ers win three more titles that decade. He would become a supporter of every member of those championship teams.Then head coach George Seifert couldn't compare to what Bill Walsh had established in San Francisco. My dad made sure that I was aware of his opinion on that matter.When the 49ers traded Joe Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs, my father was furious. His hero had left and was replaced by Steve Young. Young in his own right was... Read more