CATEGORIES

HALL GETS BACK IN THE GAME IN A BIG WAY

Shaeffer Hall spent five seasons as a minor league lefthander, primarily in the Yankees organization.

MAJOR LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - CLOSE CALL

Tony Gonsolin blends present value and future potential like few other rookies in a jam-packed field

MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

An intense bout with COVID granted Freddie Freeman perspective on how much he loves playing baseball

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

Observations from the unprecedented 2020 postseason

FOR THE RECORD

Obituaries

The Butler's 5 Key RCs

Add Jimmy Butler to the list of stars whose play in Orlando has ignited their Rookie Card prices. With Miami’s run at an Eastern Conference title, keep an eye on these top five Butler RCs:

PRIZM DRAFT PICKS CAPTURES...THE DRAFT

2020 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Baseball looks to give collectors another option when it comes to chasing some of the earliest cards of the year’s class. Colorful parallels and autographs both appear in quantity at the hobby level with every pack averaging a signature and two Prizms.

JIMMY BUCKETS

Jimmy Butler seems to have finally found a home, and the Miami Heat are the better for it

GOT QUESTIONS ON 2020 BOWMAN CHROME BASEBALL?

WE’VE GOT ANSWERS

Raiders' good, bad, ugly

Derek Carr has taken a lot of heat during his time with the Raiders and had to listen to a lot of criticisms from fans and the media following the team’s back-to-back losses.

Raiders, Irving discuss deal

Credit Raiders general manager Mike Mayock for staying busy even as the regular season has moved along. With his team having trouble generating much of a pass rush through the first month of the season, Mayock wants to put Las Vegas in position for an upgrade.

No masking this issue

League, Raiders continue to evolve amid pandemic

Learning on the job

Littleton still adjusting to change of position

Guenther defending more than field

Criticism of DC mounting as unit’s struggles continue

Early bye offers opportunity to heal

As a general rule of thumb Jon Gruden isn’t a big fan of the bye week. That it came for the Raiders this season right after their emphatic win over the defending Super Bowl champs only enhanced the head coach’s distaste for the annual in-season break given to the NFL’s 32 teams.

‘We keep fighting and that is a great ingredient'

The Raiders reached their bye week feeling pretty good about their 3-2 record. A win over the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs provided much of that optimism, but as head coach Jon Gruden was quick to point out, there is still plenty of room for improvement before Las Vegas can truly be considered a contender in the AFC. Then again, the win in Arrowhead might just be the key to getting the team on a more consistent path. Gruden talked about the victory over Kansas City and some of the Raiders plans for the bye week, along with other topics, during his daily meetings with reporters.

RUNAWAY RUGGS

Rookie receiver doing damage downfield

AFC WEST ROUNDUP

Head coach Vic Fangio has been under fire for many reasons, but he got a little breather following Denver’s win in New England. Fangio’s defense sacked Patriots quarterback Cam Newton four times and forced three turnovers, helping offset an average day from the Broncos offense. That left Denver at 2-3, still on the outside looking in, in the AFC West, but in much better shape than had the Broncos lost and dropped to 1-4. …

Abram oozing confidence

As fierce a tackler as Johnathan Abram has proven to be, the Raiders want their second-year safety to be wise about when and how he takes his shots.

THE 12TH DIMENSION

Position game

THE WARRIOR

Warner’s willpower setting standard for 49ers defense

Veteran Presence

Safety Logan Ryan has taken over as the leader of the secondary

TOP 10 Turnaround seasons

With the 49ers experiencing a turnaround season of the wrong kind this year through the middle of October, let’s take a look at the bright side. San Francisco is coming off one of the very best turnaround seasons in franchise history, as the 2019 49ers made one of the greatest single-season improvements in NFL history for a team that had such a poor record the season before. That earns last year’s team a high place on this list of the best turnaround seasons in 49ers history.

Will we have meaningful Halloween football?

I am struggling to come up with words for this column this week.

Stock Report

Stock Report

Long shot hit it big with the Giants Perry Williams

GIANT STEPS - FENNELLY FLASHBACK

DEAN OF A DYNASTY

49ers all-time great passes away at 68

Ruptured Achilles ends Lorenzo Carter's season

NEWS & NOTES

INJURY IMPACT

Season on the brink due to decimation of 49ers roster

Adversities aside, stay the course

G-MAN ON THE G-MEN