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Super Bowl LVIII: Live Thread Your home for all things Fool's Ball! In Memoriam Danny Lee (BENDER2)

Down 17 Points at Half, Niners QB Brock Purdy Asked God to Take it From There

With the presidential primary season now underway, the season of political campaign ads is also in full swing. On Sunday, some football fans in Pennsylvania watching the NFL playoff game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers will see a minute-long ad attacking Donald Trump as he seeks a third Republican nomination for president. Made by VoteVets, a progressive political action committee that advocates for veterans and military families, the ad criticizes Trump for past comments where he disparaged veterans and soldiers. The ad includes quotes attributed to Trump where he called fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers.” The...

The clearest sign that Brock Purdy is a big-time NFL quarterback? We’ve stopped freaking out that Brock Purdy is an NFL quarterback, period. Because he’s not supposed to be one—at least not according to the edified minds who assemble professional North American football teams, who repeatedly passed over Purdy until San Francisco took him, dead last, 262nd overall, the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft. It’s a selection so desultory it comes with a tongue-in-cheek nickname that isn’t really tongue-in-cheek: Mr. Irrelevant. Last year Purdy’s story was: Wow, Mr. Irrelevant is actually starting games as a rookie for the...

An illustrious kicking career has reached its end. Veteran placekicker Robbie Gould announced his retirement after 18 NFL seasons on Thursday via an article published by The Players' Tribune. "Now, although football has been a really great part of my life for the past 18 years, it is with the utmost regard and appreciation that I officially announce my retirement from the National Football League," Gould wrote in the piece, in which he recapped his winding NFL journey that saw him kick for three franchises (the Bears, Giants and 49ers). "Will I miss it? Absolutely. The fire to play and...

At the NFL league meetings in March, the San Francisco 49ers were confident they would be bringing the Super Bowl back to Levi's Stadium. Barring a sudden change of direction, that confidence will be rewarded at the spring owners meetings in Minneapolis next week. There, the 49ers' bid for Super Bowl 60 in 2026 is slated to be approved by the NFL, a league source said, confirming a report by Sports Business Journal. "If the Bay Area has the opportunity, we would be honored to host Super Bowl LX," 49ers president Al Guido said in a statement. Should the Bay...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As they head into an offseason full of quarterback uncertainty, the one thing the San Francisco 49ers know for sure is that they have two signal-callers -- Brock Purdy and Trey Lance -- under contract and recovering from injuries. As of Tuesday, the Niners have a good idea of when one will return, while the other is still, to some degree, up in the air. Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow in the first quarter of Sunday's 31-7 NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. An MRI on Monday...

The rookie quarterback who has surprised NFL observers by guiding the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship says his Christian faith has given him peace and confidence amidst the spotlight. Rookie Brock Purdy started the season as the 49ers' third-string quarterback but became the starter in early December due to a string of injuries, guiding his team to an undefeated December. On Sunday, he led his team to a 19-12 victory over rival Dallas in the playoffs and into an NFC Championship game at Philadelphia. The winner goes to the Super Bowl. Purdy, who played at Iowa State, is...

The San Francisco 49ers traded for Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey late Thursday night, according to multiple sources. The Carolina Panthers will receive second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks for McCaffrey, who was on the team since his rookie season in 2017. This acquisition is huge for the 49ers. The San Fran offense led by Jimmy Garoppolo makes the 49ers a serious threat to win the National Football Conference if not the Super Bowl. The quick and crafty McCaffrey will play alongside other All-Pro players on the 49ers offense such as Deebo Samuel and George Kittle now. (RELATED: REPORT:...

The San Francisco 49ers are sending second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the Carolina Panthers for star running back Christian McCaffrey, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday night. The deal gives San Francisco the offensive weapon needed to compete for a Super Bowl. It also gives McCaffrey a chance to be on a winning team for the first time since his rookie season in 2017 when Carolina went 11-5 and return to the Bay Area where he starred in college at Stanford. When healthy, McCaffrey is one of the best dual...

Los Angeles Rams linebackers Bobby Wagner and Takkarist McKinley tackled an animal rights activist who disrupted the team’s game against the San Francisco 49ers during Monday Night Football. Just before halftime, a member of Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights group, who were attending Monday night’s game ran across the 49ers Levi’s Stadium with a device releasing red and pink smoke to raise awareness about a massive pig factory farm allegedly hiding its abuses inside the facility. The nonprofit reports Allison Fluty and Alex Taylor were cited, with one still in police custody, after running onto the field at separate...

The former NFL player who was charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend about 15 months after she vanished allegedly burned her body after killing her, according to court documents released Wednesday. Kevin Ware Jr., a former tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, was out on bail for an unrelated charge when his ex-girlfriend, 29-year-old Taylor Pomaski, went missing on April 25, 2021, after a party at her Texas home. Newly released court documents cited by KPRC-TV allege that Ware Jr. killed Pomaski and then burned her corpse afterward, burying the remains. A body wasn’t found until December 2021,...

Watson will be suspended 11 games. He’ll pay a fine of $5 million.The draft press release also mentions mandatory evaluation and another $2 million from the NFL and the Browns that will be given to relevant non-profit organizations that work to minimize and prevent sexual misconduct and assault. He’ll be eligible to return on November 28.

Hugh McElhenny, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who used his speed and elusiveness to rise to prominence as a halfback in the 1950s, died June 17 at age 93, the Hall of Fame announced Thursday. McElhenny died of natural causes at his home in Nevada, the Hall of Fame said. Known for his long strides and high-knee propulsion, McElhenny rushed for 5,281 yards and 38 touchdowns in a 13-year career that included stops with the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Detroit Lions. But it was his nine-year run with the San Francisco 49ers that vaulted...

Los Angeles County Fire Department was called to Parking Lot L at the stadium at about 4:05 p.m., during the NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. There, firefighters found the victim, whom the Los Angeles Times identified as Daniel Luna, a restaurant owner from Oakland. Firefighters transported Luna, who was wearing a 49ers jersey at the time of the attack, to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and staff in the hospital’s emergency room brought Luna to the attention of police, Meeks said.

After combing over the ticket resale market, numbers suggest the 49ers will have more fans attending the team’s NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium on Sunday against the Rams. The Los Angeles Times reported that ticket resale site Vivid Seats is estimating 65 percent of fans in attendance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles will be 49ers fans. The Rams and 49ers recently played in a Week 18 matchup at SoFi Stadium, in which Los Angeles had to use silent counts at home due to the crowd noise from 9ers fans. "I'm not going to lie, I've never seen so...

San Francisco 49ers defeat Green Bay Packers in the NFC division round 13-10.

When quarterback Joe Montana found Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone for a game-winning touchdown in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, it marked significant turning points in the history of the NFL and the city of San Francisco. During the 1981 season, the 49ers had been surprising juggernauts. Even the most ardent of fans couldn’t have predicted the team, which was 6-10 a season earlier, would suddenly become one of the league’s most talented squads. But the 49ers compiled a 13-3 record in 1981, won the NFC West and defeated the New York Giants in the divisional...

Former NFL player Phillip Adams, who shot and killed 6 people before taking his own life in April, had severe brain damage from CTE, researchers from Boston University said in a statement Tuesday. "His 20-year career put him at high risk for development of CTE," Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist and expert on neurodegenerative diseases at Boston University who conducted the study on Adams' brain, said during a press conference attended by insider. "It's a progressive disease that worsens with age. In many instances, it is a disease of the young," she added. McKee said Adams had severe CTE in...

For Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, launching ill-advised throws on Monday Night Football seems to run in the family. Stafford’s wife, Kelly, caused a stir by throwing a pretzel at a trash-talking 49ers fan at Levi’s Stadium during the Rams’ 31-10 loss to San Francisco on Monday, a defeat that featured two costly interceptions thrown by her husband. After getting called out on social media by a fan who claimed to witness her fury-filled fling, Kelly Stafford apologized for putting an ugly twist on the Rams’ embarrassing night. “Who do you think you are to do such a thing?” the witness...