As an old sportswriter, I keep a keen eye on my ink-stained colleagues. I still love to read them. When the Murphy family hard-copy newspaper hits our driveway every morning, it’s the sound of loyalty.
Murph: Is it reasonable to ask MLB players take pay cut during pandemic?
As if 2020 wasn’t surreal enough, we’ve now found ourselves somehow reliving the 1994 baseball strike in the middle of a global pandemic.
Murph: Like a bolt from the heavens, baseball is back
Could it be true? South Korea was not only starting a 144-game season, but ESPN would broadcast the games? Live ball?
Murph: Reflecting on the Little League World Series, the latest sports casualty
We’ve all been bobbing and weaving, trying to survive the stoppage of life that is the CoronaVirus pandemic, but then came the news that may require a standing-eight count in my corner.
Murph: The NFL pulled off the CoronaDraft, and it was sort of amazing
Only the all-conquering, all-powerful NFL could pull off the the COVID-19 draft, or as Roger Goodell might have wanted to call it ‘Pandemic Pandemonium’.
Murph: Is baseball’s potential return worth not being able to attend?
To be a sports fan in 2020, means we have to embrace being unable to be a fan.
Murph: This weekend’s 1-2 punch is enough to put me on the canvas
Incredibly, it might be missing Tiger Woods in April that hurts most of all.
Murph: Coping with a baseball-less ‘Opening Day’
Today would have been the day.
Murph: No sports, no problem for NFL
In the midst of our sports-free world, the NFL delivered haymakers 1985 Mike Tyson would be proud of.
Murph: Don’t feel alone, I’m just as confused as you are
We’re all in this together.
Murph: Jimmy G is great, but Tom Brady as 49ers QB is damn enticing too
It’s not the craziest thing in the world for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan to take Tom Brady’s phone call.
Murph: Takeaways from a week in Scottsdale that left us both unsettled and curious
The week the ‘Murph and Mac Show’ just spent in Scottsdale was a smorgasbord for the senses.
Murph: Four reasons to be optimistic about 2020 Giants
The last time the Jock Blog sat down to pen an ode to the San Francisco Giants Baseball Club, I believe it was the “Farhan has put us all in a pickle” Jock Blog, after he hired Gabe Kapler to skipper the club.
Murph: A meditation on coping with Super Bowl loss, Lynch and Shanahan’s end-of-year presser
Four days later, and it’s still a *thing*.
Murph: The 49ers are going to win on Sunday, and not just because of Xs and Os
This team, this roll, this energy, it feels . . . different.
Murph: The moment the Jimmy G panic set in — to everyone except Jimmy G
Maybe it’s because Jimmy G is considered movie-star handsome that some were ready to turn on him.
Murph: I feel good about the 49ers’ chances in the NFC Championship Game…too good
Surely, all Americans are aware of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, and his signature tune, “I Feel Good”.
Murph: Don’t look now, but NFL dynasties are falling as 49ers are rising
Think bigger than just this year’s playoffs.
Murph: The 2019 49ers have vibes of 1981 Super Bowl champs
As we concluded our Tuesday morning interview with the chipper, intelligent and energetic George Kittle on the show, the conclusion was becoming inescapable.
Murph: 49ers loss to Ravens led to refreshing revelation
Came to work Monday morning, post-Ravens, fully expecting howls of agony at 808-KNBR and a text line aflame with rage questioning Kyle Shanahan’s close game nerves and Jimmy Garoppolo’s ball security.
Murph: This 49ers run is fun, but what will roster look like after 2019?
So, about breaking up the 49ers 2019 magic . . .
Murph: Breaking down four possible outcomes from 49ers’ ‘Stretch of Death’
They’re calling it the “Stretch of Death.”
Murph: 49ers followed up disappointment with gutsiest win of the season
The fate of the 49ers comes at you fast. If you don’t stop to ponder it in a Jock Blog every now and then, you just might miss it.
Murph: Farhan Zaidi has put Giants fans in a pickle
And then Farhan Zaidi, Giants head of baseball operations, the “next-gen” whiz kid who was supposed to usher the franchise into a 21st century-styled resurgence, went and hired Gabe Kapler as Bochy’s successor.
Murph: Why it’s fair to second-guess Shanahan, Garoppolo after Monday night loss to Seattle
For the 49ers, some 8-1 starts are better than others.