And off I go to Spring Training in Phoenix

Time to head to Phoenix.

Well it’s finally here! Today I will trek to Phoenix with a couple of friends to catch two A’s Spring Training games over the weekend. And I’m going to catch a Dodgers one too just to see what the Indians are up to.

This is my first time so I am taking photos and doing all I can in a city I have never visited. Expect lots of food pictures on the blog as well as sights from the games.

It’s a good little time for me to really get away from life in LA and really get a little vacation on before getting ready for free agency and the draft.

Stay tuned and I’ll update this with my adventures. Make sure you also follow me on Twitter (link on right sidebar).

Did 49ers get a fair deal from Chiefs in Alex Smith trade?

Alex Smith follows the likes of Elvis Grbac, Steve Bono, Steve DeBerg and Joe Montana as former 49ers quarterbacks to end up in Kansas City.

The word is out now. Alex Smith will be on his way to the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers have a deal in place to send the eight-year veteran to the Chiefs for draft picks. The report right now is that it’s likely to be a second-round pick this year and a conditional one next year.

Is that a good deal?

The Chiefs traded a second round pick several years ago to acquire Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel. Without a good consistent quarterback for so long, a second round pick at the time seemed fair enough to the Chiefs. Now that Cassel has not worked, Andy Reid has decided that a second round pick is worth it for a quarterback that’s still young (28) and most recently was leading the league in completion percentage.

No suspensions should be handed out in the Pacers-Warriors brawl

After reviewing the above brawl, I have come to the conclusion that no suspensions should be handed out.

The fight was started when David Lee shoved Roy Hibbert. And in the attempt to break up the fight, players intervened. Stephen Curry ended up getting the worse of it as he was trying to play peacemaker.

This wasn’t anything serious like thrown punches or anyone suffering injuries. It was simply a confrontation between two players with some shoves and everyone else tried to break it up. That to me doesn’t warrant a suspension. A fine likely, but nothing more.

NHL realignment plan to feature wild cards for playoffs

Not sure if I am all down for this kind of playoff alignment. Would it improve the quality and competition? I don’t know. It could very well just be something to gauge fan interest. I just hope we don’t sacrifice anything significant if this is to happen. The last thing hockey needs is something that would hurt their potential popularity.

Jaguars not abandoning their roots, will have a teal alternate jersey

Teal will still be part of the Jaguars’ uniform set.

The Jaguars are going in a new direction. They’ve already introduced a new logo, and have made black their primary jersey color. But one thing that will remain with them is the emphasis on teal.

In a fan forum, president Mark Lamping addressed the team’s identity in regards to teal.

“The goal was to make a change,” Lamping said. “The idea was to continue to have teal be a part of every uniform that we wear, and that that teal jersey would become our version of that Notre Dame green jersey. Notre Dame has a green jersey they wear occasionally. You don’t know when they’re going to wear it, but when they bring it out, there’s tremendous support and it gets a lot of attention.

“We still do have our teal jersey. We’re just returning it for special occasions.”

Rich Eisen runs the 40

The annual fun run by Rich Eisen is great for TV.

C.R.E.A.M.: Zack Greinke is all about the money

Zack Greinke is all about the money.

Team loyalty? What’s that?

Apparently for Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, that’s not a high priority. In fact, the contract is what he’s seeking. Sure, winning would be great, but if a mega contract from a losing team was offered, he’d take it. He got a six-year $147 million contract from the Dodgers this offseason.

“It’s obviously the No. 1 thing,” Greinke said. “I could play for the worst team if they paid the most. … If the last-place team offers $200 million and the first-place team offers $10, I’m going to go for the $200-million no matter what team it was.”

A proper farewell to Alex Smith

The 49ers have expressed to others that a deal for QB Alex Smith is effectively complete. Can't be finalized til league year begins 3/12

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 24, 2013

so it's not official, both clubs view it at as it's effectively done. I do not know the other team. KC and JAX are 2 teams that make sense

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 24, 2013

If the above report is true, then Alex Smith’s tenure with the 49ers is coming to an end on March 12. Even if the report isn’t true, there is very little chance Smith still remains as a 49ers quarterback going into the 2013 season.

With that said, I think it’s time for me to say farewell to Alex Smith. After eight seasons with the 49ers, it’s time for me to really say what needs to be said to the team’s face of the franchise for so many years.

So if this is goodbye, then let this be my goodbye.

40-time speed: Overrated?

Speed it great, but not all that.

I’ve been watching the NFL Combine for the past five seasons because of my coverage of the 49ers .This is the first time that I am not paying attention to it. In fact, I haven’t watched any of it, only some interviews.

But one thing that I have noticed over the years is the constant talks about the 40-yard dash speed. It’s great to have speed and we have seen really speedy players turn out to be pretty good players in the NFL (e.g. Chris Johnson). All the constant talks seems to override a lot of other intangibles.

Obviously the fastest speed doesn’t translate into instant success in the NFL. There are so many other factors that need to work. For a receiver, they need to have great hands and great moves off the line. A quarterback still needs to be a great thrower. A safety needs great sideline to sideline coverage.

Surreal, Frightening Images From Daytona International Speedway Crash

It really sucks that people 28 people were hurt (two seriously injured), but this really furthers my point that NASCAR is not a sport. I just can’t accept people calling it a sport when there is constant danger from flying machine parts that can’t be controlled. Operating a car doesn’t make a sport. I know it’s tough to do it, but there are a lot of other tough things in the world and we don’t all label them sports. Probably my disdain for NASCAR is higher than the average person, but seriously, things like this really make me dislike anyone calling it a sport.