Carl Steward of The Mercury News in San Jose, Calif., believes it's time for fans to jump on the San Francisco 49ers' bandwagon because of the play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo, who was acquired from the New England Patriots in October, led the 49ers to a 26-16 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday in Houston. He threw for a career-high 334 yards and 1 touchdown as the 49ers (3-10) won their second consecutive game.
"He was acquired on Halloween, and so far, we can pretty easily say no tricks, just treats. If he didn't convince you after all that lavish praise he received in guiding the 49ers to a five field-goal squeaker victory last week, Garoppolo doubled down on his many fine qualities and then some in Sunday's more convincing 26-16 road victory in Houston.
"He's not Joe Montana just yet, or Steve Young, or even Jeff Garcia. But Garoppolo's the real deal, folks. He can play. And he can lead. And he can win. He might be able to win big.
"Barring injury -- and you front-office folks, get more linemen to protect this guy immediately -- Garoppolo is going to be the 49ers' quarterback for a long, long time. Like [John] Lynch and [Kyle] Shanahan, he came in relatively untested to this more prominent new role, but he hasn't flinched or raised an eyebrow since his arrival. He has demonstrated he was completely ready for it.
"The end result? The 49ers are back. The franchise comeback has officially launched. Remove the laughingstock label and get ready for more good stuff. You not only can watch the 49ers again, you can ENJOY them again. Jed York has hit the trifecta, and while you may have trouble making a full swallow on that one just yet, be advised that Eddie DeBartolo made his share of gaffes before his 49ers regime finally kicked into gear.
"The 49ers have done a lot of good work all season just changing the mood and methodology. But they needed that last big puzzle piece in Garoppolo for it all to start making sense.
"Guess what? It really does now. Better get a seat ASAP before the crush."
Yahoo for football
Watching NFL football games on your phone used to be mainly limited to Verizon customers. Soon anyone will be able to watch football games on the go for free on Yahoo's app, now that Verizon owns Yahoo.
But people who want to watch football through online TV services such as Sling or YouTube TV will have more problems. An NFL game on ESPN will still be blocked on the app on a phone -- and starting next season, on tablets as well for some games, said Brian Angiolet, Verizon's global chief media and content officer.
Verizon's five-year deal with the NFL takes effect in January, in time for the playoffs. Games will stream on the Yahoo Sports app; Yahoo.com on mobile (but not Yahoo.com on computers); Verizon's little-known video app, go90; and the NFL mobile app.
Verizon bought Yahoo in June and AOL in 2015 and wants to combine the two to build a digital ad business to rival Facebook and Google. It hopes adding more sports streaming will help grow the audience for its media business.
"Sports is the first major pillar in Verizon's strategy. The NFL is a marquee piece of content," Angiolet said.
The NFL has had a partnership with Verizon since 2010 and has been experimenting with other ways to televise its games besides broadcast and cable TV. Amazon this year has 10 Thursday night games and a Christmas game.
SPORTS QUIZ
Which school did San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton play college football for?
ANSWER
Eastern Illinois
Sports on 12/12/2017