Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 236

Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins expected to play in homecoming game vs. Raptors

TORONTO — Andrew Wiggins rejoined the Warriors in his hometown of Toronto after missing the past two games for personal reasons, setting him up to play against the Raptors on Monday night.

Wiggins, 29, flew back from Detroit to the Bay Area earlier this week, missing Golden State’s back-to-back for personal reasons Steve Kerr said would be short-term. Kerr expects Wiggins to suit up against the Raptors.

“We love Wiggs, need Wiggs,” Steph Curry said after the Warriors’ practice in the Scotiabank Arena. “We’re not complete without him. With (Jonathan Kuminga) being out, it’s even more of an emphasis with him on the wing. We need him, for sure.”

Wiggins has never played against the Raptors in Toronto as a Warrior. In fact, the last time Wiggins played an NBA game in Toronto was in 2018. The only time between then and Monday he played against the Raptors on the road was when Toronto was playing its home games in Tampa, Florida because of the pandemic.

Kuminga is in a walking boot and not expected to return from his significant ankle sprain for at least two more weeks. Earlier this week, the Warriors played a game without Wiggins, Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II, leaving them almost completely bereft of wings. Gui Santos seized the opportunity well with his energy, but he’s not a viable option long-term.

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Without Kuminga, the Warriors need Wiggins to be more aggressive offensively. He’s averaging 16.4 points per game on 39.8% shooting from behind the arc while regularly defending the opposing team’s best player — in an indubitably strong bounce-back season. But desperation from the injury report calls for more scoring volume from the two-way forward.

Curry and Draymond Green are also each expected to play against the Raptors. They both practiced after missing the second leg of the Warriors’ back-to-back in Indiana. Gary Payton II (calf strain) also scrimmaged and is trending toward a return.

Podziemski (abdominal strain), however, isn’t yet close to coming back. Monday will be his eighth straight missed game — the longest absence of his career. It has been hard on Podziemski mentally, he said, but he’s in good hands with head trainer Rick Celebrini, who has specialized in the core muscle group for years.

Podziemski said Celebrini is helping him re-learn how to run properly, with more efficient movements that should put less strain on vulnerable muscles. He didn’t participate in the team’s scrimmage on Sunday.

Notable

— Steve Kerr said he plans to visit his burned-down childhood home in Pacific Palisades as soon as he and his family are allowed to, but won’t miss a game for it.

— The Warriors’ game on Wednesday night in Minneapolis was moved from a 7 p.m. tipoff to 8:30 p.m. That matchup is the bookend of their current four-game, week-long road trip.

Why are there so many data centers in Santa Clara?

What once was a bucolic agricultural landscape of sweeping fruit trees, and later transformed into a mecca for the semiconductor industry, has taken on a new pedigree as Santa Clara has emerged as one of the nation’s biggest hubs for data centers.

The 19.3-square-mile enclave of Silicon Valley is home to more than 50 data centers by the city’s estimate. Scattered throughout Santa Clara’s industrial neighborhoods, they began cropping up in the Mission City in the early 2000s following the dot-com bubble.

The Santa Clara City Council approved the latest one — a four-story, nearly 112,000-square-foot data center at 1231 Comstock St. — just last month.

Jerry Inguagiato, a senior vice president at real estate group CBRE, said the explosion of the industry in the city was spurred by the tech-leading reputation of Silicon Valley, which is the third-largest data center market in the country after Northern Virginia and Dallas.

“We’re a huge economic base, and as such you need digital infrastructure to support that economy, and the demand for that footprint has grown,” Inguagiato said. “It’s really exponentially run right now because of the boom of AI and the additional load of those 1s and 0s that are flowing through your computer and my computer.”

From streaming video to ChatGPT requests, much of the information that passes through computers, smartphones and tablets around the world is powered by the rows upon rows of servers in data centers. Their size and how much power courses through them varies, but nationally they account for 2% of total electricity use, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

That number is expected to grow, with Goldman Sachs Research estimating that the power demand from data centers could balloon 160% by 2030.

When semiconductor manufacturing started being shipped overseas in the 1990s, Inguagiato said, it created a void in the Silicon Valley market, which data centers — that also were looking for a reliable and economic power source — began to fill.

“The two business-use cases were really similar,” he said. “So, as Silicon Valley constantly reinvents itself, there we were reinventing ourselves from semiconductor buildings to data center buildings.”

But the rise of data centers in Santa Clara has started putting a strain on the city’s power grid.

Unlike other municipalities around it, the city runs its own utility company, Silicon Valley Power. On average, their rates are lower than PG&E’s, with Santa Clara residents paying about 25 cents per kilowatt an hour less than the 16 million people receiving power from California’s largest electricity provider.

Because data centers consume so much electricity, Silicon Valley Power’s lower rates have made Santa Clara an attractive market for tech companies looking to stand up new data centers.

It’s unclear how many more data centers the city can handle, as they now consume approximately 60% of Santa Clara’s power.

Manuel Pineda, the chief electric utility officer for Silicon Valley Power, said at a council meeting last year that they currently aren’t able to deliver power to every data center that wants to come to the city.

“We’re getting close to reaching our system operating limit,” Pineda told the council in November, noting that the city saw three new record peak loads in 2024.

And the demand for power is only expected to grow — the city estimates it to almost double over the next decades. Pineda told the Mercury News that the anticipated growth is driven by three factors.

“The key one is large data centers, the second one is corporate headquarters and the third one is very large residential projects,” he said.

The city has been working quickly to expand its capacity, with the council approving the construction of a new 2.24-mile power transmission line in November that should be completed by early 2028.

But data centers’ massive energy usage has sparked concerns about environmental impacts that are fueling climate change. Santa Clara recently required all new data centers to be 100% carbon neutral, though many of Silicon Valley Power’s commercial customers receive a mix of energy that includes natural gas. That means the city-run utility company emits more greenhouse gases than the average California electric company.

Not everyone is happy that Santa Clara has become such a hot spot for data centers. In October, the city’s planning commission denied the Comstock Street data center project — only for it to be appealed, and the decision overturned by the council less than two months later.

“I consider data centers to be the tapeworms of the city,” Planning Commission Chair Lance Saleme said at the meeting. “They continue to grow, they continue to feed, they continue to consume resources and they provide back almost nothing to the city.”

CBRE’s Inguagiato said that in the last year or two, California’s overall data center market has become more challenging as the state grapples with power supply problems.

In Silicon Valley, he said a majority of the data centers are being utilized by large hyperscale companies that are supplying cloud services, followed by AI companies that could place further pressure on power supply.

“The big just keep getting bigger,” Inguagiato said.

How T.J. English told the true story of Cuban drug kingpins in ‘The Last Kilo’

Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta grew up in Florida after their families fled Fidel Castro’s communist regime in Cuba. The two friends then built one of America’s biggest cocaine empires, importing and distributing endless mountains of the drug from the late 1970s, raking in riches as the nation grew increasingly hooked on it. Magluta is in prison for life but Falcon was released and deported in 2017 and now lives in an undisclosed country.

T.J. English found Falcon and did extensive interviews with him as well as numerous compatriots and the law enforcement officials who chased and caught the trafficker.

English’s new book, “The Last Kilo: Willy Falcon and the Cocaine Empire That Seduced America,” tells Falcon’s story and captures his operations and partying lifestyle in detail.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: >> Falcon and Magluta got into dealing cocaine via anti-Castro exiles in Florida. Did they consider the morality of selling drugs to their fellow Cubans and other Latinos as a way to support the cause?

A: >> In the late ‘70s, cocaine had not washed over the culture yet, it had not been demonized. It was basically a recreational drug for rich people – Hollywood people, rock stars, professional athletes. Nobody thought, ‘I’m dealing drugs that are killing people.’

And morality tends to be subjective. And we look at that situation and think they were engaged in immoral activity. They didn’t think of it that way. The anti-Castro movement was, to them, a holy crusade and totally justified. So Willy was down for everything they could come up with, even if it involved illegal activity. That’s the nature of an underground movement – it involves smuggling weapons, explosives – it involves all kinds of illegal activity. So bringing in cocaine and selling it to raise money was just a new wrinkle. It probably seemed ingenious.

Q: >> They soon became standard profit-seeking drug kingpins who, during the Reagan and Bush era, were portrayed as evil. Drug czar William Bennett said he could argue that it was morally plausible to behead drug kingpins. What impact did that attitude have on the escalating cocaine and crack addiction crises?

A: >>This was important to me in many ways. This is my book on the War on Drugs. I always felt that the attitudes of political leaders, and the amount of money and attention that was lavished on the War on Drugs was a misguided policy, and it’s still playing out. Once you declare something a war it dictates policies and operations and the use of law enforcement. The military was used in the War on Drugs in a way that it had never been used before against US citizens.

It established a mandate that drove the government’s approach to narcotics that I think really drove things off the rails. This was even more dramatic than the way illegal booze was addressed during the years of prohibition.

And they kept doubling down, asking for more money, pressuring to pass new laws like mandatory sentencing laws and putting pressure on the media. So cocaine becomes the devil, it becomes like Communism, the biggest possible threat. You’re not only going against your country, you’re going against God. This was unprecedented.

I think it drove the narcos to believe that they were caught up in an existential threat to their being and so it escalated the tension and the violence.

We just keep making the same mistakes over and over again and cocaine is still flowing into the United States. It’s insane.

Q: >> You tried to remain non-judgmental in your writing. Was it difficult to stay neutral in telling the story?

A: >>I try to be non-judgmental and non-ideological because I’m trying to tell the story through the eyes and the point of view of the people who lived the story. And I often do that in the face of an ideology or politics I don’t necessarily agree with. I was never going to be able to understand what was happening in the lives of these people if I was to impose my point of view or my politics.

I’m not writing the book as a journalist. I’m writing the book as an author. It’s a slightly different mandate. I’m writing narrative nonfiction. I’m not objectively presenting the facts. I want to present what’s going on in their heads and hearts, as a character in the story. I’m trying to see it the way they saw it and to make it possible for the reader to see that

We’re all adults. You can draw your own interpretation and make your own moral conclusions about how you feel about what they were doing, but I don’t want that to be based on me over-engineering how it’s presented to you.

I’ve already gotten some of that kind of feedback online from people who feel that I’m overly empathetic. I’m just trying to humanize the people in the story – we can say that they made horrible life choices that we can’t condone but they’re not demons or devils. I’m trying to create a context for you to understand why and how these people made these bad choices

Nothing makes better drama than human beings making bad choices. That goes back to Shakespeare. But I am conscious of not glorifying them – that’s one of my gripes with the way the criminal world is presented in movies and on TV, where it creates an aesthetic that makes it seem glamorous and cool without an understanding of the human consequences. I don’t want to glorify what they did but it’s important for me to convey how cool they thought it was.

Clipboard: Former Santa Catalina softball star transfers to UCLA

Big West Softball Player of the Year Jessica Clements has transferred from Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo to UCLA, where she will spend her final college softball season as a graduate student.

The Santa Catalina graduate is coming off a season in which she was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association second-team All-Region outfielder, leading the Big West Conference in hitting for the second time in three years.

The left-handed hitting Clements led the Big West last year in hits with 71 in 45 starts, while hitting .464 – the second-best mark in Cal Poly school history.

The 5-foot-8 Clements recorded 23 multi-hit games last spring, stealing 13 bases, while sporting a .988 fielding percentage in center field.

A three-time NFCA All-Big West Conference selection, Clements is Cal Poly’s career leader in hitting at .414 and is fifth all-time in stolen bases (30).

Clements was a NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year Top 25 finalist in 2022 and the Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year.

A former member of The Herald’s All-County softball team, Clements had 185 hits in 135 games at Cal Poly, scoring 100 runs, with 40 extra base hits and 45 walks.

Having earned her degree at Cal Poly in agricultural business, she’s studying John Wooden’s Transformative Coaching and Leadership for her master’s degree.

MPC’s Garry headed to Sioux Falls

For someone who didn’t take up the sport until his junior year in high school, Noah Garry’s decision to play football has landed him an athletic scholarship to the University of Sioux Falls.

The Monterey Peninsula College all-conference linebacker is just tipping the scales on his potential in the sport, having played the linebacker position fulltime for just a year.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Garry led the Lobos in tackles this past fall with 60 in 10 games, compiling a sack and two interceptions, leading the team in tackles in their 13-12 win over De Anza in the American Bowl.

A Division II program, Sioux Falls was 8-3 last season, 7-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

A Pacific Grove High graduate, Garry solidified the Lobos defense as an outside linebacker with the ability to come up and stuff the run, or drop back and cover a tight end or running back.

Garry, who was used as a running back and linebacker as a freshman at MPC, was part of a defense that recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 30 years last fall.

During his senior season at Pacific Grove, Garry rushed for just under 500 yards and five touchdowns, while catching 13 passes as a receiver.

Monterey Bay FC inks defender

As training camp draws closer, Monterey Bay FC continues to add pieces to its puzzle, signing defender Nico Gordon to a one-year contract.

The 22-year-old spent last year with FC Dallas MLS NEXT Pro side, where he was the team captain, logging nearly 2,000 minutes in 22 appearances. The Birmingham, England native anchored a defense that allowed the second fewest goals in MLS Next.

Gordon ignited the franchise to the MLS NEXT Pro Cup title, helping them become the league’s first team to go undefeated at home. He was also named the league’s end-of-season Best XI.

“Nico is defensively solid, has composure on the ball and leadership qualities,” Monterey Bay FC coach Jordan Stewart said. “His performance last year highlighted his ability to handle pressure and contribute both defensively and in building play.”

Having signed his first professional contract with Birmingham City F.C. in 2020, Gordon made 15 appearances. He produced his first goal for the club in 2022.

Last year Gordon had multiple call-ups to the Montserrat Men’s National Team, competing in the 2024 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Nicaragua and Panama. He also received call-ups for Nations League play, facing El Salvador and St. Vincent.

“I want us to be the team that other teams hate to play against,” Gordon said. “I want to be the top area of the table playing top quality football. I am a composed player, but also very hungry.”

The Union will open training camp for their fourth season on Jan. 20.

Bouyea sizzling Spurs’ G-League team

Playmaking guard Jamaree Bouyea is averaging career highs in points and steals this winter for the Austin Spurs of the NBA’s G-League.

The 6-foot-2 Bouyea is averaging 17.3 points and a team-high 2.4 steals a game for the Austin Spurs, an affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs.

The former Palma product is logging 33.9 minutes in the G-League, shooting 48 percent from the field. He’s second on the team in blocks at 1.2, while averaging 4.1 assists a night.

Undrafted out of University of San Francisco, the 25-year-old Bouyea is in his second season with the Spurs, having spent the end of last season with San Antonio.

Named to the G-League all-rookie team in 2023 while at Sioux Falls, the Marina native has had brief stints in the NBA with Miami, Washington, Portland and San Antonio.

In 14 career NBA games, Bouyea, who honed his skills as a youth for Seaside’s Finest, is averaging 2.6 points a game and 1.1 assists. He shot 71 percent from the field in three games for San Antonio last season.

Bouyea helped USF to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 25 years. While at Palma, he led the team to three straight undefeated Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division seasons and a spot in the State Division IV title game in 2016.

Foundation establishes CSUMB scholarship

The Gen Giammanco Foundation, which has awarded numerous local high school athletes with athletic scholarships to continue their careers in college, is establishing a Cal State Monterey Bay athletic scholarship.

The new endowment gift elevates the foundation’s level of support and ensures that an annual athletic scholarship will be awarded to a local student-athlete to CSUMB.

Since its inception in 2017, the Gen Giammanco Foundation has awarded scholarships to athletes in the county who have gone on to play collegiate sports.

Among them are four former standouts who have played at CSUMB, including senior Alexis Sanchez, who played for the Otters’ men’s soccer team last fall.

Since its inception in 2017, the foundation has also helped finance under-funded athletic department’s needs — such as equipment, field improvements and uniforms.

The Gen Giammanco Foundation is to advance educational opportunities for students through participating in athletes. For more information, please visit the website https://gengiammancofoundation.org/

Coaches needed

Marina is looking for a varsity boys volleyball coach and a varsity baseball coach. Go to www.edjoin.org/MPUSD.

Seaside is looking for head coaches for varsity baseball, and boys and girls swimming. Contact athletic director Steven Vasquez at stvasquez.mpusd.k.12.ca.us

Salinas is looking for head coaches in boys’ volleyball and field hockey. Go to https://salinashscowboysathletics.com

Monterey is looking for an assistant baseball coach. Contact cventimiglia@mpusd.net

Gen Giammanco Foundation establishes CSUMB athletic scholarship

The Gen Giammanco Foundation, which has awarded numerous local high school athletes with athletic scholarships to continue their careers in college, is establishing a Cal State Monterey Bay athletic scholarship.

The new endowment gift elevates the foundation’s level of support and ensures that an annual athletic scholarship will be awarded to a local student-athlete to CSUMB.

Since its inception in 2017, the Gen Giammanco Foundation has awarded scholarships to athletes in the county that have gone on to play collegiate sports.

Among them are four former standouts that have played at CSUMB, including senior Alexis Sanchez, who played for the Otters men’s soccer team last fall.

Since its inception in 2017, the foundation has also helped finance under-funded athletic department’s needs — such as equipment, field improvements and uniforms.

The Gen Giammanco Foundation is to advance educational opportunities for students through participating in athletes. For more information, please visit the website https://gengiammancofoundation.org/

DIMES: Living in the NBA information age

Warriors beat writer Danny Emerman shares his thoughts on the NBA

Did you know the Spurs are the only NBA team without a five-game winning streak in the 2020s? The last time San Antonio came in February and March of the 2018-19 season.

You know how I know that? A graphic about it popped up on my phone between flights this week.

The average NBA fan has never had access to this amount of information before. We’re getting it all the time, from all angles, without even overtly asking for it, thanks to social media.

Through 37 games, the 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers have the highest relative offensive rating in NBA history. And Steve Nash led five of the top-10.

Everything is tracked. Deflections, player sprint speed, shooting percentages when left open compared to contested. Bradley Beal apparently leads the league in time spent tying his shoes during games (64 seconds).

One chart this week went viral in the Warriors’ corner of the internet. It showed every team plotted with the X axis denoting layup points added and the Y axis detailing free throw points added. The Warriors were planted all alone, deserted in the bottom left-hand corner. That wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was Steve Kerr practically citing the post in a press conference.

The information reverberates everywhere, even coaches’ offices.

This isn’t a “back in the day, you’d just read about it in the newspaper or see it on SportsCenter” thing, either. No. There’s no way your local paper could have known that Jayson Tatum leads the league in points per minute of having the ball in his hands. 

This is amazing stuff we never would have known before modern technology and data. For as much destruction as Elon Musk has done to Twitter, it’s still a haven for (mostly) harmless topics like the NBA.

There has never been a better time to be an NBA fan than right now. There are a million podcasts to consume, any game is one click away at all times, highlights get uploaded instantly and the information age allows everyone to be smarter. There’s probably more ball-knowers than ever.

Can the Cavs break the Warriors’ 73-win record?

At 33-4, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on pace to finish with 73 regular-season wins, matching the all-time record Golden State set in 2016.

The Warriors famously started 24-0 nine years ago. The Cavs won their first 15 games and are now riding a 12-game win streak.

Through 37 games, the Warriors were 35-2 — two games ahead of the current Cavs. These Cavs even play like those Warriors, with excellent ball movement (they call it “ethical hoops”), twinning bigs, an elite defense and a dynamic backcourt.

Whether or not the Cavs maintain pace with the Warriors (I think it’s an unbreakable record), they’re officially a juggernaut.

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LiAngelo Ball’s new rap song is sweeping the nation — and locker rooms. It’s been in the NBA’s head since he dropped it this week.

I fear the song will be short-lived, like Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba.” That’s just my expert opinion. A banger that will play at every frat party, before sporting events and on team buses but will get overplayed and naturally fade.

Good for Liangelo, though. And good for LaVar! He’s got two sons in the NBA – one of which is perhaps the most popular player among young fans — and a hip-hop phenom (however fleeting). He did a lot of talking, but this moment is vindication.

Beam got new batteries

Firing Mike Brown seemed ridiculous in the moment, and leaning on Sacramento’s disastrous franchise history didn’t seem like a bad idea. But after six straight wins for the Fightin’ Doug Christies, the move doesn’t look so bad in hindsight.

It’s normal for teams — in any sport — to get a little jolt with an interim coach. What’s not normal is going on the road and beating the defending champion Boston Celtics convincingly to extend a winning streak.

Playing Keon Ellis more has definitely been a plus, but it seems like the Kings are simply playing harder. That can go a long way in the regular season. And if Brown wasn’t getting through to his team anymore, that’s grounds enough for a change.

Inman: 10 reasons the 49ers could reach the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in 2026

SANTA CLARA — The NFL’s softest schedule awaits. Upgrades are coming to a still star-laden roster. Year 9 is officially loading for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.

Go ahead, dare to envision that sixth Lombardi Trophy. The 49ers are absolutely aiming for Super Bowl LX, held at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8, 2026. Home is where next season’s heartbeat is.

Chalk up 2024 as a gap year between Super Bowl appearances, if you’re undeterred by the 49ers’ 30-year championship drought.

More appetizing team history: The 1981 49ers rebounded from a six-win season to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl. Four teams in NFL history have vaulted from last place into a Super Bowl parade: the 1999 St. Louis Rams, the 2001 New England Patriots, the 2009 New Orleans Saints, and the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles.

Worst-case scenario: the Niners get older, more dysfunctional, more snakebit, more miserable, with more fourth-quarter letdowns.

Here are 10 optimistic points for a best-case season:

1. PLEASE PURDY’S POCKETS

Quarterback Brock Purdy wants his contract extension done quickly so he can pilot their offseason program, which starts in mid-April with on-field work beginning in May. “What we know about Brock is that he’s our guy,” Lynch said. “We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time.”

Purdy wants to avoid a typical 49ers contract stalemate. He wants no drama. He humbly endorses John Deere tractors, not “Dear John” goodbye threats. “I’ve loved these three years with Brock. I plan on being with Brock here,” Shanahan said, “the whole time I’m here.”

His market is unique. The 49ers remain a perfect match, even if he’s just 13-13 over his last 26 regular-season games, with a giant nod to last season’s playoff comebacks over Green Bay and Detroit.

“This year was tough. But I really do believe I can grow so much from it and grow into the quarterback I want to be. I just turned 25 years old,” said Purdy, who’ll rest his bruised elbow until February.

2. McCAFFREY ON THE MEND

Nothing threw off the 49ers more than Christian McCaffrey’s absence the first two months with Achilles tendinitis. Last season’s NFL rushing king says he’s 100% recovered from that issue, and his knee is “progressing great” from last month’s posterior cruciate ligament injury. He plans to partake in organized team activities, unlike last spring.

He played just 3 ½ games in 2024, or 15.5% of the offensive snaps. After missing 23 games in the 2020-21 seasons, he had 1,880 yards from scrimmage in 2022 for the Panthers and 49ers combined.

“I think we’re all pissed off in the right ways. That’s a good place to be,” McCaffrey said.

3. NFL’S SOFTEST SCHEDULE

The 49ers’ 2025 opponents went a combined 120-169 this season for a .415 win percentage, the NFL’s lowest mark. By virtue of their last-place finish, the 49ers will face three teams who also were division cellar dwellars – the Bears, Giants and Browns – as well as two others who were already in the schedule rotation – the Titans and Panthers.

Home opponents: Rams (10-7), Seahawks (10-7), Arizona Cardinals (8-9), Atlanta Falcons (8-9), Carolina Panthers (5-12), Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13), Tennessee Titans (3-14), Chicago Bears (5-12).

Away opponents: Rams, Seahawks, Cardinals, Tampa Bay Bucs (10-7), Houston Texans (10-7), Indianapolis Colts (8-9), New Orleans Saints (5-12), New York Giants (3-14), Cleveland Browns (3-14).

No team had a better record than the 10-7 mark of the Rams, Bucs, Texans, and Seahawks.

4. REVAMPED DEFENSE

Nick Sorensen’s ouster as defensive coordinator clears the way for a new man in charge and new twists to a stale, predictable system. While Shanahan vows “I love the scheme,” he said he won’t be handcuffed to it. He also emphasized that Sorensen was dealt a tough hand by player injuries.

“I’m not saying you’ve got to change schemes, but you have to have the ability, the history and the knowledge of how to change some stuff up when you’re in some certain situations,” Shanahan said.

The 49ers’ front seven was overhauled this season with only Nick Bosa and Fred Warner as returning incumbents. New pieces either didn’t fit or produce well enough – or simply walked off the job in linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s case. The impending influx of talent better include a young pass rusher, a stud defensive tackle and a reliable linebacker to team with Warner if Dre Greenlaw leaves in free agency.

5. SPECIAL TEAMS REBOUND

The 49ers cannot get worse on special teams, not with the variance of issues that plagued their season beyond Jake Moody missing nine of 20 field-goal attempts after an ankle injury.

Brian Schneider is out after three seasons, so a new coordinator will operate a unit that could have a new kicker, punter and core players.

Shanahan and Lynch insisted the 49ers do not downplay the importance of special teams. Sure, they spent a third-round pick on Moody and brought in an All-Pro cover guy in George Odum, but there have been myriad issues. The coverage units allowed two fake punt conversions, not to mention that Moody and his replacement Matthew Wright had to make tackles that injured them.

Shanahan said losing Moody and punter Mitch Wishnowsky to injuries compounded the 49ers’ woes. “That was unfair to Brian and a tough situation to put him in. But I do think it’s an avenue we can get better in,” Shanahan said.

6. BOSA’S REST & RECOVERY

Bosa often speaks the truth, and as a team captain, he said the 49ers will reap “huge” benefits from an early offseason. They’re out of the playoffs for only the second time since 2019, Bosa’s rookie season.

“We kind of needed it as a team. It’s definitely a grind,” Bosa said. “(The playoffs) are only one more month, but adding another month on top of what you’ve already done feels like three months.”

Bosa felt he was hitting his stride despite an oblique injury when the 49ers were 5-4 and leading the Seahawks. Then he hurt his other oblique, the 49ers lost that game and seven of their last eight.

Time now for the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year to rest up for a bounce-back year. “I’ve learned how to rest more and just take time off the field,” Bosa said. “I like to lift so I’ll be in the gym. I don’t like to get too far out of shape, because I’ll feel bad mentally. I won’t be sedentary but I’ll be chilling a little bit.”

7. WIDE RECEIVERS GALORE

Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall were the 49ers’ starting wide receivers in Week 18, and that wouldn’t be such a bad tandem to open 2025. But Brandon Aiyuk’s ACL comeback could be cleared for takeoff by then, making a nifty trio.

Jennings came 25 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard season before getting ejected for brawling the Cardinals’ secondary. Pearsall overcame an Aug. 31 gunshot through his chest and finished his rookie season with 210 yards and two touchdowns over the final two games. Aiyuk will be a year removed from the distracting drama of his contract pursuit.

What of Deebo Samuel? He’s under contract, and while that doesn’t preclude the 49ers from trading him, he doesn’t seem as much a necessity as years past, all due respect to one of the 49ers’ best receivers the past 25 years.

Look for more wide receivers to catch for Purdy’s passes, such as Isaiah Hodgins and Russell Gage, who signed reserve deals ahead of Ronnie Bell.

Purdy’s best target of them all: tight end George Kittle, who will require a sizeable contract extension rather than play out the final season of his deal. “I want to be a Niner for my entire career, wear the red and gold,” he said. “Whatever the front office wants to do, I’m all ears.”

8. ROOKIES BAPTIZED

The 49ers’ rookie class was a pleasant surprise in a most disturbing season. Right guard Dominick Puni started all but one snap, while the 49ers also got encouraging moments from Pearsall, cornerback Renardo Green, safety Malik Mustapha, running back Isaac Guerendo, punt returner Jacob Cowing, linebacker Tatum Bethune and defensive tackle Evan Anderson.

“The lifeblood of your organization needs to be strong drafts because it gives you young players that you have under contract,” Lynch said.

Lynch expects to have 10 picks in April’s draft and hopes to find gems like Puni.

“We were 6-11, but I know what kind of team we can be,” Puni said. “I’m not too worried going into next year. I’ve been watching these guys even when I was in college, watching them ball out. The superstars we have here are going to take care of a lot of work.”

9. HEALTHY UP

Injuries happen, but the 49ers sure had more than their share of odd ones: Pearsall getting shot a week before the season opener, Samuel being hospitalized postgame with pneumonia, linebacker Curtis Robinson tearing an ACL running in punt coverage in Week 4 practice. Heck, veteran center Pat Elfein sustained a season-ending calf injury 15 minutes into his camp debut.

All 18 players who went on injured reserve should be capable of suiting up for the season opener.

If McCaffrey and Aiyuk aren’t the most notable, then it’s left tackle Trent Williams, who missed the last seven games with a bruised ankle joint. “The good news is it’s taken a positive turn,” Lynch said. “Trent’s mindset is where it always is and he’s still very interested in being a great player that he is. And I think he’s still got a lot left in the tank.”

10. HOME SUPER BOWL

At the 49ers’ expense in the NFC Championship Game, the 2021 Rams became the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl on its home field.

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Thirteen months from now, the 49ers could be playing for the Lombardi Trophy at Levi’s Stadium, their third Super Bowl appearance since 2019 under Shanahan. The coach didn’t utter a word about it Wednesday, not when he was there to explain a 6-11 season. That was not the time to remind everyone how, in 2019, his 49ers rebounded from a 4-12 season to open 8-0 and reach the Super Bowl.

Cornerback Charvarius Ward charted the 2025 49ers’ Super Bowl path, even though he likely won’t be part of it as he heads for free agency. “I definitely feel this is an anomaly for the Niners. It won’t be a year like this again,” Ward said Monday. “They’ll have a high draft pick (No. 11 overall), and next year everybody will come in motivated and hungry. They might be playing in the Super Bowl in Santa Clara next year.”

Horoscopes Jan. 12, 2025: Howard Stern, go on adventures that test your skills

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Zayn Malik, 32; Chasen Hampton, 50; Oliver Platt, 65; Howard Stern, 71.

Happy Birthday: Get out, explore and go on adventures that test your skills and prompt you to discover your true potential. Embracing change will help you fine-tune your body, mind and soul. Stop overthinking and start letting your instincts lead the way. Share your feelings with people you love and respect; the feedback will encourage you to follow through with your plans. Partnerships are favored, and romance is on the rise. Your numbers are 5, 12, 22, 25, 31, 34, 46.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Deal with any demons you have wandering around in your mind. Bringing emotional issues into the open can backfire without considering the consequences first. Bide your time and focus on pampering yourself while considering your options and what matters most. It is best to keep your thoughts to yourself. 2 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change will be as good as a rest, especially if you make your surroundings peaceful, convenient and comfortable. How you spend your time will determine your mindset and how well you get along with others. Choose peace and love over discord and chaos. Romance is on the rise. 4 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take a deep breath before you charge forward. Excess is the enemy, whether it’s overreacting, engaging in indulgent behavior or taking on more than you can handle. Recognize what’s involved and consider people who can make whatever challenges you today better, more accessible and worthwhile. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotions will surface, and it’s up to you to keep them in line and geared toward peace, love and happiness. Choose to surround yourself with a group or person who brings out the best in you and plan to do something that brings you joy. Romance is favored. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Be a spectator. Sit back and watch the show. Refuse to let what you cannot control cause grief. Nothing is forever, and eventually, the pendulum will swing in your favor. Put your trust in yourself and what you can do. A workout, hike or watching a sports event will help you chill. 3 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Take a play day. Do something you enjoy with the people you enjoy spending time with. Avoid those who cause drama and focus on what excites you. Sign up for a trade show or engage in an activity that offers mental or physical stimulation. Challenge yourself and enjoy the rewards. 4 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Less drama, more fun. Put mental challenges to sleep and focus on something that gives you pleasure. Take the time to rearrange your space and find comfort in a good book or series you can lose yourself in. Downtime will replenish your soul and help you find solutions. 2 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll learn from doing. So, pick up new skills, master the art of doing something you enjoy or test your mental or physical ability. It’s a great day to venture down a path that challenges you to do your best. Personal growth, love and good times are favored. 5 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Consider the outcome before you start something you cannot finish. Time is on your side, and going over your options is in your best interest. Refuse to let someone bait you into a confrontation or put you on the spot regarding a commitment. Be good to yourself. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let your imagination wander, and you’ll come up with lifestyle changes or home improvements to make your life easier or more enjoyable. A passionate approach to life, love and what and who you decide to take on will fuel the fire that burns within. Live, love and laugh. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Consider making your living space convenient, user-friendly and cost-efficient. Feeling comfortable in your space will put your mind at rest and give you the resolve to tackle other domestic issues that are pending or worrisome. Talk to experts first; it will push you to initiate the effort. 3 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Keep an open mind but a stingy attitude and avoid scams and other tempting offers to separate you from your cash. Stick close to home, focus on your comfort and peace of mind, spend time on a creative project or get together with people who share the same pastimes. 5 stars

Birthday Baby: You are determined, helpful and romantic. You are energetic and ambitious.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

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State budget proposal optimistic, but financial future murky

If you take Gov. Gavin Newsom at his word, California will have a budget surplus for the first time in several years, and his fellow Democrats who control the legislature won’t need to cut more programs as they try to make the state more livable.

In reality, the state’s financial future is murkier.

Newsom’s proposal for the 2025-2026 budget, unveiled Friday, has plans to pull $7.1 billion from the state’s rainy day reserve fund. That’s on the heels of a $5.1 billion draw from the fund that the governor agreed to last year, along with sizable cuts to government agencies and programs. Newsom and state lawmakers agreed to those cuts in June 2024 to balance a deficit of tens of billions of dollars.

Plus, the governor and nonpartisan experts agree that California’s future finances could be threatened by booms and busts in the stock market, the ongoing Southern California firestorm, President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to slash federal spending and more.

“We’re a lot better off than the last couple years,” California Director of Finance Joe Stephenshaw told reporters Friday. “We’re not facing a budget shortfall. We do recognize that we still have work to do to ensure sustainability.”

Republicans blasted Newsom on Friday for planning some new spending while dipping further into reserves.

“Only Gavin Newsom could raid over $7 billion from our rainy day savings and have the audacity to call it a ‘surplus,’ ” said Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego.

All told, the state will have a “modest” budget surplus of $363 million the next fiscal year — when dips into reserves and last year’s cuts are included, according to Newsom’s office. The proposal is a formal request to fund government programs through the next fiscal year, which stretches from July 2025 through June 2026.

Newsom is proposing $229 billion in general fund spending, up from $212 billion he approved last year. The plan would leave $17 billion in reserves by the end of the budget period, the administration said, including about $11 billion in the rainy day fund. That’s about $5 billion less than the state’s total reserves for this year.

With the modest surplus, Newsom is asking state lawmakers to approve $420 million in tax breaks for California’s powerful film industry and put nearly $2 billion more into wildfire response and resilience projects — $1.5 billion of which would be funded by a new climate bond approved by voters in November.

California is poised to receive about $16.5 billion more in tax revenue than Newsom’s administration expected last year. That’s largely because wealthy Californians are reaping stock market benefits amid hype about artificial intelligence, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

California relies heavily on personal income taxes and taxes on capital gains. But that revenue has fluctuated wildly in recent years, making it difficult to bank on in the future, the analysts said in a November report.

The small surplus estimated by Newsom’s administration is slightly higher than the $2 billion deficit estimated by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in the fall. Given the amount of money and volatility involved in budgeting for the most populous state in the U.S., the analysts said, “the budget is roughly balanced.”

State agency budgets won’t see significant new cuts under the proposal, Stephenshaw said. However, some of the cuts Newsom agreed to last year will play out during next year’s budget.

Notably, officials expected to cut 10,000 vacant jobs in state government. That’s been downgraded to 6,500 cut positions, Stephenshaw said, for a savings of $1.2 billion.

Education continues to play an outsized role in the budget proposal, with 36% of the general fund going to K-12 education and 10% to higher education.

The plan continues major spending, and some new programs, in career education, student literacy and learning recovery, as well as additional training and professional development for teachers.

It also continues spending in the state’s universal transitional kindergarten program — which will be eligible for all four-year-olds in the 2025-26 school year — and doles out $435 million more for before, after and summer school programs for TK-6 grade students.

But the proposal also has cuts to California State University and the University of California systems, including deferring some funding for both systems to 2027-28 and also reducing funding — about $396 million for UC and $375 million for CSU.

That’s disappointing to CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia.

“Larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and a reduced workforce will hinder students’ ability to graduate on time and weaken California’s ability to meet its increasing demands for a diverse and highly educated workforce,” she said.

Newsom didn’t propose any significant increases or cuts to homelessness programs. In its budget summary, the governor’s office said it’s “open to working with” lawmakers on boosting homelessness funding for local governments.

But the administration made clear that any new money must come with “stronger accountability policies,” which could include requiring cities and counties to develop a policy for clearing encampments or have a compliant state-mandated homebuilding plan.

The office did not provide a figure for total homelessness spending, which is spread across various state agencies and has been described as nearly impossible to track as homelessness continues to increase.

Advocates for the homeless were relieved to hear that homelessness programs wouldn’t be on the chopping block. But they remained frustrated that the money is still coming in the form of one-time earmarks rather than dedicated, ongoing funding.

“We’re not seeing the robust continued investments that would be needed to keep accelerating progress on housing and homelessness,” Susannah Parsons, director of policy and legislation for the Bay Area regional homeless solutions nonprofit All Home, said in a statement.

In part to expand oversight of homelessness programs and spending, the governor also proposed creating a new California Housing and Homeless Agency.

Administration officials said it would essentially be an offshoot of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, which currently oversees housing and homelessness.

Funding for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which runs state prisons and correctional facilities, would drop by $400 million to a total of $13.9 billion. Criminal justice reforms are continuing to cut the state’s prison population.

However, Proposition 36, which toughens penalties for drug crimes and shoplifting, is expected to increase the prison population by 1,600 people during the next fiscal year. Stephenshaw said lawmakers could debate a funding increase for prisons this spring.

Newsom’s office will negotiate the budget with state lawmakers this spring. Those talks intensify in May before the budget is approved in June. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers and control the process.

“We look forward to working with the Legislature over the coming months to get to a final budget for the state of California,” Stephenshaw said.

Newsom previewed his budget proposal Monday during a press conference in the San Joaquin Valley. The governor was not present during the Friday press conference as he coordinated the state’s response to the devastating wildfires engulfing the Los Angeles area.

Liza Horvath, Senior Advocate: Political gifts and envious friends

Question: I plan to give most of my assets to charities on my death. I appreciate the work some charities do to further causes I am interested in supporting. When I asked my estate attorney to include a bequest to a political organization, she said it was not allowed. I feel very strongly that I want to support my party, any suggestions?

Answer: As an individual, we can make contributions to a candidate running for office, the committee of a political party, a political action committee, or a super PAC and the limits on the amounts we can give are defined by the Federal Election Campaign Act (FEC). The FEC has consistently held that the estate or trust of a deceased individual is also considered a “person” and is, unfortunately, subject to the same limitations.

While your attorney may not have been absolutely correct when she said it is not allowed, it could be that the complexities involved in making political donations from your trust or estate after you die are significant. Many rules apply and violations of the rules can result in significant penalties.

Since trusts are bound by the same limitations as individuals, you can set up your trust to give within the limits allowed to a certain party each year. This means that your trust could go on for a very long time until the entire corpus is donated. Also keep in mind that the limits to political organizations are the limits in effect in the year the donation is given. So, if you were to die this year, the limit that can be given to an individual running is $3,300 per election. Next year, it may be $3,400, so your trust could donate that amount in 2026 and so on.

Also, it is important to identify the recipient of the gift. If you leave it to your trustee and simply say, “give it to the Democratic candidate who clearly stands for reproductive rights,” the receiving party may consider the gift to be from your trustee, and not you. This may not be important to you, but you should be aware of this possibility.

Finally, and another reason why your attorney may have shied away from allowing political contributions in your trust, is that violations of campaign finance laws can be punitive. The FEC can fine the trust and the trustee could receive a civil penalty of up to 200% of the amount of the violation. The trustee could also be subject to criminal investigation resulting in imprisonment for up to five years. So, you need to ask yourself if the risk is worth it.

There are charities that will make donations to political parties to further the charity’s mission. For example, if a local land trust believes a certain candidate values the conservation and preservation of lands, the land trust could make donations to that candidate. You could donate to the land trust which, in turn, would continue to support politicians with these beliefs. If you decide to go this route, speak with the charity and make sure your donation will be used for political contributions and not for the charity’s operating budget or their other programs – if this is your goal.

Question: I understand that, by law, all the beneficiaries of my trust will receive a copy of the trust when I die. I am leaving cash to numerous friends and in differing amounts. If they all see what everyone else is getting, I think some will get their feelings hurt. Can I state in my trust that they are not to get a copy of the document?

Answer: Unfortunately, no. According to the California Probate Code which governs trusts, the beneficiaries of your trust are entitled to receive a copy of the document. While I have not seen it done, I believe that if you were to establish a separate trust document for each of your beneficiaries, then they would be entitled only to that one document. This “idea” seems to be very complex not to mention expensive. It also would present problems about how your assets get into each trust and each trust would have its own tax filing requirements.

I would suggest that you write a letter to each friend and let them know how much you care for them and why you are giving them a gift. The letters could be delivered after your death. You could say something like, “I am leaving money to those friends who I have cherished and who have brought me much happiness in life. The amounts are different, but this should not be taken to reflect the depth of my gratitude for your friendship.”

Liza Horvath has over 30 years of experience in the estate planning and trust fields and is the president of Monterey Trust Management, a financial and trust Management Company. This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. If you have a question call (831) 646-5262 or email liza@montereytrust.com