Had 'em and lost 'em

​The Golden State Warriors' transcendent moments have resonated so strongly because the team's status quo is unmitigated failure. Failure has built up atop failure, creating a rich loam with which to grow more failure.

The franchise that traded Robert Parrish and the draft pick that became Kevin McHale to the Celtics has a long and sorry tradition of watching its castoffs blossom into greatness. Former Palo Alto and Harvard star Jeremy Lin is looking like he could be the latest Warrior to find success elsewhere. After a yearlong sentence on the Warriors' bench -- where his presence was largely regarded as a marketing ploy -- the Chinese American point guard was cut during the preseason. Houston cut him as well, and the New York Knicks later sent him to the Developmental League. But now he's the hottest player in the league.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time:

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​On Sept. 4, you might notice lots of inappropriate chicken-like kung-fu noises in the vicinity of AT&T Park. In honor of the Year of the Dragon, the San Francisco Giants are hosting Bruce Lee night, which includes, among many other treats, your free Bruce bobblehead.

Hosting a Bruce Lee night was kind of a no-brainer for the Giants. Aside from the fact that Lee was a kick-ass martial arts guru, he's also a San Francisco native. 

"We spread the idea, and people really liked it," said Faham Zakariaei, director of special ticket events. "So we reached our to Bruce Lee Enterprises, and they were all for it."
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Fruits and veggies just don't satiate the munchies

​Last year, Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum confessed to reporters that, despite his lanky appearance, he tends to feast on In-N-Out with serious regularity. And he doesn't just order the combo meal. Lincecum -- at 168 pounds -- would down three double-doubles, two fries, and a chocolate-strawberry shake. More >>

For those with Kezar Stadium memories, losing the 49ers hurts. So does knowing the city can no longer afford the team.

​Following that rarest of things -- a Super Bowl that came down to the final snap -- New England Patriots fans will be endlessly playing over the events in their minds. If only that ball had fallen one foot closer to Rob Gronkowski. If only Gronkowski hadn't momentarily paused. If, if, if. 

Fans of the San Francisco 49ers were thinking "if, if, if" throughout the entire game. If only for so many factors, that could have been our team out there. Naturally, fans start to dream about next year and the year after that. But, in the 49ers' case, this becomes awkward. When imagining a future championship, should we dream of a victory parade through San Francisco, or Santa Clara -- where the team is all but certainly headed -- or both?  When one's sporting fantasies begin to resemble a divorced family's holiday logistics, you've reached an uncomfortable place.

What's most uncomfortable is not just that San Franciscans will be kissing their team goodbye -- but that this is the right thing to do.

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Holland Reynolds, the 17-year-old San Francisco track star above, is being credited with inspiring the New York Giants Super Bowl victory last night.

The video above was posted on YouTube, showing Reynolds as she struggled to finish the last 100 meters of a cross country 5K race in Fresno in 2010. "I saw the finish line. As soon as I crossed it, from then on it sort of went black," said Reynolds, leader of the San Francisco University High School cross country team.

And that's exactly the kind of spirit New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin wanted to instill in his own players. After seeing that Internet clip last year, Coughlin showed it to his team, hoping Reynolds' determined finish would encourage them -- all the way to the Super Bowl.

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Someone call this A-hole a cab

​To many people, Super Bowl Sunday is a holiday -- a time to gather with friends and family, eat tons of calorie-packed food, and booze until you can't stand anymore.

And like any other holiday (except for Thanksgiving?), police are warning imbibing football fans not to get behind the wheel if they have hit the bottle too hard come Super Bowl Sunday. To be sure, cops will be out in force, including a sobriety checkpoint scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at the intersection of Lombard and Divisadero.  The checkpoint will continue through 3 a.m. on Monday.

For those of you who are hosting Super Bowl parties this weekend, Sgt. Neil Swendsen has some advice for you:

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Greyhound lovers everywhere want Skechers to dump its new Super Bowl ad before it airs on Feb. 5 -- and it's not necessarily because they'd rather see a sweaty Kim Kardashian on screen.

The group is upset by the fact that the ad was shot at a racetrack in Tucson, Ariz., which the group claims mistreats greyhounds. Already, they've gathered more than 115,000 signatures from supporters across the nation, and next Grey2K -- a greyhound advocacy group -- plans to hold boycott rallies in front of Skechers stores across the nation, including one in San Francisco.

The commercial (watch a brief snippet of it above) stars a French bulldog named Mr. Quiggly, who wins against a pack of racing greyhounds, with the help of his Skechers.
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​When it comes to the mayor's monthly "question time" session with the board, Supervisor John Avalos has been outspoken about the boring, pre-screened, softball questions lobbed Mayor Ed Lee's way.

But while he's an avowed foe of softball questions, Avalos has engaged in some questionable softball. The strong-armed and athletic former high school catcher hasn't tasted victory on the diamond in 20 years. "We got close," notes the supe.

Avalos is planning to venture once more into the breach several years after playing the Kyle Williams role in his star-crossed squad's attempt to win a game.

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Give him your kidney

​Tom Brady has movie star good looks, a supermodel wife, a palatial estate, and three Super Bowl rings -- and one at play Feb. 5. But what he really wants are your bodily organs.

Not for himself, but for his longtime mentor, Tom Martinez, a QB coach who has been waiting for a kidney donor for six long years -- and his progress is not looking good. Martinez, 68, of San Mateo, has been a coach and mentor to Brady, a Sierra High graduate in San Mateo, since Brady was 12 years old.

Just before Brady's championship game last weekend, Martinez was taken to John Hopkins Hospital, where he presently awaits a much-needed kidney transplant.
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Sports fans are not nice people

​Despite the fact the 49ers played a killer game yesterday, we still have one ting to celebrate: Niners fans managed to not kill each other.

And while there were no deaths reported at Candlestick Park during yesterday's championship match, there were plenty of drunks wallowing in their sorrows over such a heartbreaking match.

According to the cops, a total of 29 people were arrested during yesterday's game at Candlestick Park, 16 of which were outside the stadium and 13 inside. In addition, 110 people were tossed from the kicked out of the stadium, most of whom were just being drunken idiots.
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