How many home runs would Willie Mays have had if he and the San Francisco Giants didn’t play in cold Candlestick Park where the wind constantly blew in toward home plate?  A lot.  The move of the Giants from the Polo Grounds was a mixed blessing – it brought MLB to San Francisco, but the team never had the success that the Dodgers saw when they moved from Brooklyn.  But, a couple of years ago, the Giants finally won a World Series and everyone nationwide was happy.  Well just about everyone.

They have a beautiful ballpark, which Bobby Bonds either christened with multiple home runs or stained with multiple home runs.  You be the judge.  Wouldn’t you like to have a kayak and have one of those long home runs drop right in your lap?

I have a friend who used to own the Golden State Warriors of the NBA.  He has great stories, which I am not going to share publicly.  But, the NBA team is starting to improve, and you never know whether or not they’ll be able to get in the mix.

And, as far as the NHL goes, does San Jose count as being close enough to San Francisco?  The Sharks won a Stanley Cup!  Did anyone outside of Silicon Valley notice?   How about Stanford football and basketball.  Does this count for San Francisco?

And then, of course, there is Joe Montana, Steve Young, Dwight Clark and the historic San Francisco 49er’s, winners of 4 Super Bowls.  Bill Walsh introduced the famous West Coast Offense, and the team dominated for years.  Today, a number of teams use the offense, including the Cleveland Browns, who with Colt McCoy will use it to reach the Super Bowl by 2015.  But I digress.  With the addition of Mike Hargrove as coach (from Stanford of course) there is hope that there will be a turnaround.  Unfortunately, its tough for college coaches to succeed in the NFL.  Don’t hold your breath.

We won’t mention the nearby Oakland Raiders.