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>>(Change of subject) -- do you read Sports Illustrated? Dr. Z, a.k.a. Paul Zimmerman, has his predictions for the next round of the NFL playoffs in the new issue. If you aren't familiar with him, he has an impressive prediction rate. He only calls the tough ones -- no "I see Indy handling the 49ers at home" from him -- and gets about 70% right. For this weekend he sees four close games, with only the Colts over the Steelers being more than a touchdown prediction. His picks: Colts, Patriots, Seahawks, Bears.
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>Mike;
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>The good news for the 49'ers this week. They can't loose! :)
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>Tom
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>P.S. What a year! Being a sports fan can be painful! :)


They even managed to mess up the only game that really mattered -- against Houston at the end of the season, a.k.a. the Reggie Bush Sweepstakes. All they had to do was lose another one. Granted, the Texans are tough to lose to, but the Niners could have done it if they had concentrated and played up (down) to their potential. But no.

It's quite amazing how they have gone from being the league's elite franchise to ugly redheaded stepchild in the space of 10 years. When a team is bad year in and year out in the NFL, a league that bends over backwards to promote parity, you have to look at management.