Monday, December 26, 2005

Mike Nolan: 'We blew it'



SAN FRANCISCO -- In his press conference during Christmas dinner last night, San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan made a public apology to 49ers' fans everywhere.

"We fucked up," said Coach Nolan, whom the players call Coach Nolan.

The 49ers, after beating the St. Louis Rams 24-20 Sunday, all but lost their chance to draft USC running back Reggie Bush in next April's NFL draft. Many fans thought the Niners should push integrity aside and intentionally lose their next two games in order to pick the highly touted Bush.

It appeared that some players didn't want to throw the game, but their words were taken out of context.

"I don't give a crap about the draft," linebacker Derek Smith told the San Francisco Chronicle.

But Smith was referring to the military draft which he does not seem to care about. As an NFL player and a rich white dude, he is not concerned about being drafted.

Added Nolan about the NFL draft: "We blew it big time. Like taking Young Alex Smith first-overall-big-time. Our team has heart, but lacks talent. We could have really used a guy like Reggie to make us much more watchable. My deepest regrets go out to our somewhat-loyal fans."

With the win against the Rams, San Francisco (3-12) could slide down as far as the seventh-pick. At that spot, they will likely get a player who will not make much of a difference.

"We'll think about the pick for a long time," said Nolan. "But we're pretty fucked now. Reggie would have saved the next couple seasons for us, but the future continues to look dark."

49ers' front office officials are rumored to be in negotiations with Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders -- players who were as good as Bush about 8-35 years ago.

In other news: After their victory over the Lakers, Heat center Shaquille O'Neal gave a hug, kiss and "get out of jail free" card to Kobe Bryant for Christmas.

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