San Francisco, CA
Vikings QB Sam Darnold brought lessons from San Francisco to Minnesota
“Being able to prepare and be ready like I was the starter, but just sit back and watch everything that was going on in the organization, how things were run there,” Darnold said. “I really did learn a ton from Brock and the way he prepared, his quiet confidence that he had every single day. He’s not the rah-rah guy, not going to lead the team in breakdowns at the end of the year, but he’s just as steady as they come.”
Darnold said Purdy and the 49ers system also helped him understand “the role of a quarterback.”
“Watching Brock dish the ball out to guys, especially first and second down,” Darnold added. “If what we’re hunting up concept wise isn’t there, just to be able to check the ball down and let our guys run with it. Just understanding better the role of a quarterback.”
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whose NFL career began in San Francisco as a quantitative analyst from 2013 to 2019, said Darnold’s time with the 49ers was a pull in signing him.
“You know the type of training they’re going to be getting, what’s emphasized,” Adofo-Mensah said on the Aug. 17 broadcast of the Vikings’ preseason game against the Browns. “Talking about feet and eyes, different things like that, we know that they play a similar way. Frankly, similar offenses are going to shop in the same areas. They have Josh Dobbs, we have Sam Darnold because we definitely respect each other and what we do in the passing game.”
On the 49ers practice fields last year, Darnold first dove into the rigidness of the West Coast offense run by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who leads a similar system to that which O’Connell brought to the Vikings from the Rams. Drop-back steps and eye progression have to be in rhythm, with timely passes hitting windows that often allow receivers to catch and run.
The “Homecoming” is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 17, and will feature several speakers, including mayor Daniel Lurie
The cosmic and legendary life of Bob Weir will be celebrated this weekend in San Francisco, in a public event on Saturday, Jan. 17.
“Homecoming: Celebrating the Life of Bobby Weir” will kick off at 12:45 p.m. PT at Civic Center Plaza adjacent to San Francisco’s City Hall, and will feature multiple speakers, according to organizers, including SF mayor Daniel Lurie, who paid his respects to Weir on Monday at the Grateful Dead‘s Haight-Ashbury house. The gathering will be preceded by a procession traveling three blocks down Market Street between 7th and 9th Streets at approximately 12:30 p.m. PT.
The news of Weir’s death broke last weekend, when his family announced he’d “succumbed to underlying lung issues” after he was diagnosed with cancer in July 2025. “One of the things that I hope that I’m remembered for is bringing our culture and other cultures together — by virtue or by example of,” he told Rolling Stone earlier that year, in our final conversation with the guitarist. “I’m hoping that people of varying persuasions will find something they can agree on in the music that I’ve offered, and find each other through it.”
Jerry Garcia’s memorial was held at nearby Golden Gate Park in Aug. 1995, where Weir publicly thanked the frontman for “showing me how to live with joy, with mischief.” Weir spent the next 30 years carrying the Grateful Dead torch in several bands and offshoots — most recently Dead & Company — alongside late bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kretuzmann. The world continues to mourn the loss of Weir, from his Dead & Co. bandmates to celebrities like Bob Dylan, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, and the Eagles’ Don Felder.
The San Francisco 49ers have been piecing things together on the fly all season. So, it should be no surprise that the team is not only getting satisfactory play from their third option at left guard, but it may actually be their best fit for the position. The San Francisco 49ers may have found their starter at left guard moving forward with Spencer Burford.
Will the San Francisco 49ers extend Spencer Burford?
Entering the 2025 season, Burford had just 81 snaps at left guard. The coaching staff left him for dead at the position. They went into training camp, starting Ben Bartch at left guard and having rookie Connor Colby serve the role as the backup.
Burford was working as the backup left tackle in training camp, so even when Bartch was banged up or missed time, the team turned to Nick Zakelj as the third option at left guard. Still, he hardly played the role and spent most of the year on the practice squad.
After Burford spent the summer as a left tackle, he spent the start of the season on the Injured Reserve. The team shuffled through all three options, and none of them proved to be capable of starting. So, finally healthy with almost no time working at left guard, they asked Spencer Burford to step in.
Burford has been the starter since Week 9 and while there have been rough patches throughout the year, he has started to find his own. His play against the Philadelphia Eagles was crucial to winning in the Wild Card, considering the Eagles’ interior is the best aspect of their defense.
Funnily enough, Burford mostly played on the left side in college. He spent two years at left guard before two seasons at left tackle. So, it should not be a big shock that it took a mid-round pick from a smaller school to adjust to the right side during his first two seasons.
Burford was depth last season and mostly played back on the left side, and now in year four, he is playing the position he once played in college, albeit back in 2019.
It may be that he feels better on the left side, and as he grows into the role, he can be a long-term fit.
San Francisco has a growing list of needs due to the injuries hitting the roster. They only have so many picks and so much salary cap space, so if they felt comfortable at left guard, it would help them in a big way. Every game from here on is an audition for what he can provide next year.
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SAN FRANCISCO – Attorneys are wrapping up closing arguments in the high-profile trial of a man accused of killing an elderly San Francisco man five years ago in a brazen attack.
Closing arguments for the trial of Antoine Watson continued Tuesday, beginning with Judge Linda Colfax reading jury instructions. Watson faces charges of murder, elder abuse, and assault in connection with the 2021 death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee.
The attack, captured on a neighbor’s security camera, shows Ratanapakdee being violently shoved to the ground.
Defense cites emotional distress
What they’re saying:
The defense does not dispute that Watson shoved Ratanapakdee. Instead, attorneys argued the then-19-year-old defendant was experiencing extreme emotional distress following a family argument and a car crash. They contended Watson “snapped” when his car would not start that January morning.
The defense further argued that the prosecution failed to meet the burden of proof for a premeditated killing, suggesting that childhood trauma may have contributed to Watson’s actions.
Prosecutors allege defendant acted recklessly
The other side:
Prosecutors described Watson’s actions as reckless and deliberate. During their closing argument, they said the defendant was “angry that his car wouldn’t start, and he spotted a target for his anger.”
Family glad case nearing end
Outside the Hall of Justice, the victim’s family, who affectionately called him “Grandpa Vicha,” gathered on the court steps. While they are gratified that the case is nearing a conclusion, they voiced concerns that the judge has not been evenhanded during the proceedings.
“I’ve been here one month for the trial,” said Monthanus Ratanapakdee, the victim’s daughter. “It has been traumatizing for my family.”
The victim’s son-in-law, Eric Lawson, added: “We really hope the jury can see through all the court procedures and know what happened with grandpa was a horrible, awful murder.”
Closing arguments are expected to resume on Wednesday, followed by jury deliberations.
The Source: Information for this report comes from courtroom proceedings and interviews with relatives of the victim, Vicha Ratanapakdee.
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