Jim Harbaugh ... and the Niners!

2011–present: Jim Harbaugh era

In 2011, Jim Harbaugh was named the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

On January 4, 2011, Jed York promoted interim General Manager Trent Baalke to be the permanent GM. Baalke had taken over the role after former GM Scot McCloughan was relieved of his duties the year before. Two days later, on January 7, 2011, former head coach of Stanford University Jim Harbaugh was named the 49ers new head coach.^[7] In the 2011 NFL Draft, the 49ers selected defensive end/linebacker Aldon Smith from the University of Missouri with the seventh pick of the first round.
After the end of a labor dispute that nearly threatened to postpone or cancel the 2011 season the 49ers made a controversial decision to re-sign Alex Smith to a one-year $4.8 million contract.^[8] Because of the decision to retain Smith, and a shortened offseason with an entirely new coaching staff being hired, the team was expected to be among the league's worst by NFL prognosticators. Despite this, Harbaugh's first season was a huge success. After 10 weeks, was 9–1, highlighted by road wins against the Philadelphia Eagles, where the team came back from a 20-point deficit in the second half, and the previously unbeaten Detroit Lions. The 49ers defense became one of the most intimidating in the league, particularly against the run - not allowing a 100-yard rusher or a single rushing touchdown until week 16 of the regular season. Alex Smith blossomed in the new system, reviving his career while playing for yet another new offensive coordinator - his sixth in six years. In week 13 the 49ers won the NFC West with a victory against the St. Louis Rams, finally ending their nine-year playoff drought. The 49ers finished the season with a 13–3 record, earning the second overall seed in the NFC Playoffs. In the Divisional Playoffs they defeated the New Orleans Saints 36–32 after a touchdown pass from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis in the closing seconds of the game. The team reached the NFC Championship for the first time since 1997, and faced the New York Giants. But they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions with a 20–17 score in overtime after two critical fumbles by back up return man Kyle Williams, ending their 2011–2012 season with disappointment but great promise.
During the off-season, the 49ers retained all eleven starters on their top ranked defense, re-signed Alex Smith to a 3 year, $24 million contract, and retooled their struggling receiving corps by signing veteran receiver Randy Moss, former NY Giant Mario Manningham, and drafting A. J. Jenkins with the 30th overall pick. The 49ers started the season with a 6-2 record. In Week 10, with a 7-2 record, league-leading QB Alex Smith suffered a concussion in the second quarter against the St. Louis Rams. He stayed in the game long enough to throw a touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree despite blurred vision, then left for good. He was replaced by second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick who was drafted by the 49ers in the second round in 2011. The game ended in a 24–24 tie (the 49ers' first tie game since 1986). The concussion caused Smith to miss the following game, in which Kaepernick went 16 for 23 for 243 yards with two touchdowns and a 32–7 win over the Chicago Bears.^[9] Harbaugh was impressed with Kaepernick, enough to ignore his rule that no player should lose his starting job due to an injury.^[10][11] A quarterback controversy began. Smith was ranked third in the NFL in passer rating (104.1), led the league in completion percentage (70%), and had been 19–5–1 as a starter under Harbaugh, while Kaepernick was more dynamic, with a very strong and accurate arm combined with a running ability rarely seen in quarterbacks.^[12][13] Smith was medically cleared to play the day before the following game, but Harbaugh chose to start Kaepernick, who threw for a touchdown and ran for another in a 31–21 win over New Orleans.^[14][15] The following week, Harbaugh announced that Kaepernick would start for the 8–2–1 49ers.^[16] The 49ers finished the regular season 11-4-1 and went into the playoffs as the second seed in the NFC for the second straight year. In their first game in the 2012 playoffs the 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers 45-31, with Kaepernick overcoming an interception for a touchdown on the 4th play of the game, coming back to light up the field not only with his arm (17/31, 263 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) but also with an astounding 181 yards rushing, the most for a quarterback in NFL history (regular season or playoffs) and the most for any 49er ever. They advanced to NFC Championship for the second straight year. On January 20, 2013, the 49ers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 as the NFC Champions to advance to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, facing the Baltimore Ravens, who are coached by Jim's brother John. It will be the first time that the Super Bowl teams will be coached by brothers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_49ers

Who are the Most Winning Teams in NFL History?

Most Championships in NFL History ... here's how the teams ad up. 

• Most Super Bowl Wins, 6

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Most Super Bowl Appearances, 8

Dallas Cowboys 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1992, 1993, 1995

Pittsburgh Steelers 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010

• Most Super Bowl Wins Without A Loss, 5

San Francisco 49ers 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994

• Most League Championships, 13

Green Bay Packers 1929–1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961–62, 1965–67, 1996, 2010

• Most Conference Championship Game Appearances, 14

Dallas Cowboys 1970-73, 1977-78, 1980-82, 1992-96

• Most Consecutive League Championships, 3

Green Bay Packers 1929–31, 1965–67

• Most Times Finishing in First Place, Regular Season, 23 ^[1]

New York Giants 1927, 1933–35, 1938–39, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1956, 1958–59, 1961–63, 1986, 1989–1990, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2011

• Most Consecutive Times Finishing First, Regular Season, 7

Los Angeles Rams 1973–79

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Football_League_records_%28team%29 

Origin of Super Bowl Sunday

With our beloved San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl this year against the Baltimore Ravens I thought a little Super Bowl Sunday history might be interesting! 

Origin

For four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League (AFL) was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to serious merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached a merger agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two leagues agreed to meet in a "world" championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected.

Lamar Hunt, owner of the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, first used the term "Super Bowl"^[7] to refer to this game in the merger meetings. Hunt would later say the name was likely in his head because his children had been playing with a Super Ball toy (a vintage example of the ball is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio). In a July 25, 1966, letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt wrote, "I have kiddingly called it the 'Super Bowl,' which obviously can be improved upon." Although the leagues' owners decided on the name "AFL-NFL Championship Game," the media immediately picked up on Hunt's "Super Bowl" name, which would become official beginning with the third annual game.^[8]

The "Super Bowl" name was derived from the bowl game, a post-season college football game. The original "bowl game" was the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California, which was first played in 1902 as the "Tournament East-West football game" as part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and moved to the new Rose Bowl Stadium in 1923. The stadium got its name from the fact that the game played there was part of the Tournament of Roses and that it was shaped like a bowl, much like the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut; the Tournament of Roses football game itself eventually came to be known as the Rose Bowl Game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Game's popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami (the Orange Bowl) and New Orleans (the Sugar Bowl) in 1935, and for Dallas (the Cotton Bowl) in 1937. Thus, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term "bowl" for any big-time American football game was well established.

After the NFL's Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls, some team owners feared for the future of the merger. At the time, many doubted the competitiveness of AFL teams compared with their NFL counterparts, though that perception changed when the AFL's New York Jets defeated the NFL's Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami. One year later, the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL's Minnesota Vikings 23–7 in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, which was the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game played before the merger. Beginning with the 1970 season, the NFL realigned into two conferences; the former AFL teams plus three NFL teams (the Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns) would constitute the American Football Conference (AFC), while the remaining NFL clubs would form the National Football Conference (NFC). The champions of the two conferences would play each other in the Super Bowl.

The game is played annually on a Sunday as the final game of the NFL Playoffs. Originally, the game took place in early to mid-January, following a fourteen-game regular season and two rounds of playoffs. Over the years, the date of the Super Bowl has progressed from the second Sunday in January, to the third, then the fourth Sunday in January; the game is currently played on the first Sunday in February, given the current seventeen-week (sixteen games and one bye week) regular season and three rounds of playoffs. Also, February is television's "sweeps" month, thus affording the television network carrying the game an immense opportunity to pad its viewership when negotiating for advertising revenue. The progression of the dates of the Super Bowl was caused by several factors: the expansion of the NFL's regular season in 1978 from fourteen games to sixteen; the expansion of the pre-Super Bowl playoff field from six teams (two AFL and four NFL) prior to the merger, to eight in the 1970-71 season, then to ten in 1978-79, and finally twelve in 1990-91, necessitating the addition of additional rounds of playoffs; the addition of the regular season bye-week in the 1990s; and the decision to start the regular season the week following Labor Day.

The winning team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and three of the five preceding NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965. Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and was first awarded as such to the Baltimore Colts following their win in Super Bowl V in Miami.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl

Controlling Mildew & Moisture in Your Home!

Most Homeowners and Renters want to know what they can do to help keep moisture & mildew at bay!  Here are some easy, free things that everyone can do, whether you own your home or rent your home or apartment.  We all must do our part! 

 Keep things dry.

Wipe down shower walls after taking a shower.
Cover pots while cooking.
Use exhaust fans in the kitchen, utility room and bathroom.

Be sure you have air movement in all areas.

Open windows to let outside air in, if the weather is nice.
Use a fan, even in the winter, to move the air.
Leave closet doors and dresser drawers open sometimes.
Be sure clothing is dry when stored. Hang it loosely in the closet.
Store items where they will not get damp.
Don't put furniture tightly against the wall. 

Dry the air.

Use a heater, or turn on the furnace if the house is damp.
Use a dehumidifier.

 Use chemicals such as Silica gel to absorb moisture. Place on a closet shelf or hang in a cloth bag to absorb moisture. Keep out of the reach of children. 

Keep fabrics clean and dry.

Dirty clothing should be dry before putting it into the hamper.
Wash or dry clean clothing or household items before storing them.
Store clothing in a warm, dry place.
Stretch shower curtains out to dry after taking a shower.
Don't put damp clothing on the floor

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/thriftyliving/tl-preventmildew.html