After splitting the season series in 2012 as well as beef up their rivalry, the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks have yet to stop competing against one another as both teams have made this off-season an arms race. With the NFC West expected to be a dogfight between the two, both organizations have gotten off to an early start in preparation of claiming the division title in 2013 by adding weapons to their roster. Making the first splash of the off-season was the Seahawks, acquiring wide-receiver and kick return specialist Percy Harvin from the Minnesota Vikings. Hours after learning that Seattle had bulked up their receiving corps, the 49ers made a deal of their own, answering their biggest threat to overtake them in the division with the addition of wide-out Anquan Boldin who last month helped the Baltimore Ravens defeat his new team in Super Bowl XLVII and figures to be a one-year rental at the wide-out position.
San Francisco showed no ill-will towards Boldin putting a dent in the franchise's perfect Super Bowl record, sending a sixth-round pick in next month's draft to Baltimore in exchange for the 3-time Pro-Bowler who is in the final year of his contract. With the 49ers getting a seasoned veteran receiver for what many considered to be a bargain, the Seahawks were forced to give up a little more in return for Harvin who not only brings a little more to the table offensively, but also comes with some baggage as he bumped heads with Vikings personnel on a number of occasions. Not to mention an injury history that has haunted him for much of his young career including a season-ending ankle injury suffered during week 9 this past year. But when healthy, Harvin, a former Rookie of the Year can be the deep threat that Seattle lacked last season as well as one of the most dangerous men on special-teams in the game today. After all, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is somewhat of a wizard when taking on players with a troubled past and developing them into play-makers. And though Harvin may be the better player out of the two now with Boldin's better days in the league behind him, Boldin will help his new team just as much if not more than Harvin will.
With 10 years of NFL experience under his belt, the 32 year old Boldin will replace the four year elder Randy Moss and will be the guiding light and mentor to his fellow 49er wide-outs as Mario Manningham, Michael Crabtree, Kyle Williams and A.J. Jenkins are all under the age of 27. And in case they're in need of some tips, who better to learn from than a man that was credited by former Ravens teammates Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones for making them better receivers. And while Harvin and Boldin are the two biggest names acquired by either team this off-season, they aren't the only ones. Seattle also made an effort to bolster their defensive line with the signings of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, an area in which their NFC West counterparts have excelled in. The one area the 49ers are vulnerable at however, is their secondary. With the cornerback position being an issue as seen in the NFC Championship game as well as in the Super Bowl where Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco picked the 49ers apart through the air, we can expect to see some improvement.
And with a stockpile of picks (15 in all) in next month's draft, don't be surprised if coach Jim Harbaugh targets a corner or a safety early on to fill in for the departed Dashon Goldson who recently agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5 years, $41 Million). There's also the possibility of trading for the Jets' Darrelle Revis or signing free-agent Nnamdi Asomugha who's looking to bounce back from two mediocre years in Philadelphia. And a return to the bay area might be just what he needs to regain that form that helped Asomugha make three consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl while with the Raiders, making him one of the most coveted players in free-agency just two years ago. But the closer we get to April's NFL Draft, the likeliness of acquiring one of the aforementioned corners decreases. The 49ers did sign former St. Louis Rams defensive-back Craig Dahl to a three-year deal but that doesn't quite solve their issue. Other notable 49er acquisitions this off-season include former fifth overall pick in 2009 -- defensive-tackle Glenn Dorsey and kicker Phil Dawson who in his 15th NFL season last year was named to his first ever Pro-Bowl with the Cleveland Browns, hopefully solving San Francisco's nightmare kicking situation caused by David Akers last year.
What was once considered to be the weakest division in all of sports as recent as a couple years ago has suddenly transformed into one of the most competitive divisions in all of football. The St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals are quite on the same radar as Seattle and San Francisco are, but even they can put up a fight and win a game on any given Sunday. And though the rivalry between the 49ers and Seahawks has always been one to keep an eye on, it wasn't until just recently that it evolved into one of the game's best. Even the coaches have some history and bad blood between one another dating back to when they both held clipboards at the collegiate level in the Pac10. And with a nucleus of young talent on both sides of the ball including at the quarterback position with two young studs in Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson at the helm, we should be in store for some entertainment for many years to come.
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One last go around - For 17 seasons, longtime Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has dominated the American League landscape with his devastating cutter, sawing off broken bats and fooling batters while on his way to becoming baseball's all-time saves leader with 608 career saves. Saturday afternoon, however, the 43-year old Panama native held a press-conference in front of the media where he announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2013 MLB season, ending the distinguished career that began with the New York ball club in 1995. With plans to retire after the 2012 season last year, Rivera, a 12-time All-Star was forced to rethink his retirement when those plans came to an abrupt stop after suffering a knee injury while shagging balls prior to a game in Kansas City on May 3, which turned out to be a torn ACL that put the 17-year veteran on the shelf for the remainder of the season. Having been the poster boy for success during much of his career, many thought there was no way that one of baseball's most celebrated players would go out like that.
They would be right as Rivera refused to let his decorated big league career end at the hands of an injury, shooting down all rumors of that being the last we saw of the one they call 'Mo' toeing the rubber in the ninth inning with the game on the line. "I'm not going down like this," Rivera told the baseball world after undergoing knee surgery in June. And after those words left his mouth, the sun came out and the birds began to sing like a scene from a Disney movie. But like all Disney movies which feature a happy ending, the only way to properly end this saga will be for the Yankees to send their closer on a horse riding in the sunset with a sixth World Series title under his belt. With Rivera calling it an "honor to put on the pinstripes," it's been nothing short of an honor for us baseball fans to watch him take the hill during the ninth inning and do what he's done his entire career -- win ball games. And though I'm not a fan of the Yankees personally, I think I can speak for everyone when I say Mo wore the pinstripes the way they were meant to be worn -- with class. After watching another one of baseball's all around good guys take the field for one last hurrah in 2012, Mo could expect similar treatment to that of Chipper Jones who received gifts from every National League organization last season in what was his final year in the big leagues before calling it quits.
One gift that won't be given to him, however, is a sixth World Series Championship and is one he and his teammates want more than anything else. Unfortunately it won't be an easy task as the Yankees will be without much of their power hitters to start the year. With Mark Teixeira out 8 to 10 weeks with a strained tendon in his right wrist, Curtis Granderson sidelined until May with a fractured right forearm and Alex Rodriguez not expected back until mid-season at the very least while recovering from hip surgery, the Yankees will depend heavily on Robinson Cano to provide much of the pop for the Bronx Bombers. They'll also be looking for some much needed production from players such as Ichiro Suzuki, Travis Hafner and Kevin Youkilis, all of which were All-Stars for their respected former clubs. Not to be forgotten is Derek Jeter who himself is recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the ALCS last season and Brett Gardner who when healthy can run the base paths with the best of them. As for the pitching staff, Phil Hughes is expected to miss his first start of the regular season while battling back problems.
The injury bug has been so contagious to the Yankees organization as of late that even Yankees GM Brian Cashman hit the disabled-list with a broken leg and dislocated ankle suffered during a sky-diving stunt. For their sake, I hope this isn't a bad omen of things to come for those who support the pinstripes. And for the first time in awhile, the Yankees are entering the season as underdogs to make it out of their division on top with the recent retooling of the Toronto Blue Jays who many are expecting to contend for a title.
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