49ers Might Just as Well Begin Making Plans for Super Bowl

Can anyone in the National Football Conference stop the San Francisco 49ers? Greg Logan of Newsday thinks not in his analysis of the stretch drive:

“West--The 49ers easily are the class of the league and have the best chance of any team to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the 1978-79 Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re determined to prove they can win without former coach Bill Walsh. His successor, George Seifert, has filled those big shoes, if not the big ego, admirably.

“East--The New York Giants should win it. Think of their 31-10 loss to the Rams as something comparable to a necessary correction in the stock market. It’s a 16-game season, and the Giants were due for an off game after several weeks of peak performance.

“Central--The Minnesota Vikings’ pass rush is on a record-setting pace with 50 sacks, 22 short of the NFL record set in 1984 by the Chicago Bears. But they still are muddling around on offense, trying to figure out how to use Herschel Walker. The Bears still have a shot.

“Wild card--The Bears-Vikings loser in the Central should gain one wild-card berth. The Philadelphia Eagles, Rams and New Orleans Saints will battle for the other spot. The Rams have the most talent, but if the Saints complete a sweep of the season series with the Rams at home in Week 12, they will be in a strong position.

“Playoffs--No one will stop the 49ers, but the Giants have the best chance if they can keep Ottis Anderson and the running game going strong enough to set up Phil Simms’ passing in theplayoffs. The Vikings have the talent but seem to lack the chemistry.”

Trivia time: The Monmouth and Knox football teams play for the Bronze Turkey. What teams play for Gertie the Goose?

A wider universe: Sunday Silence’s victory over Easy Goer in the Breeders’ Cup Classic still hasn’t opened the eyes of most East Coast horse racing reporters, the Washington Post’s Andrew Beyer acknowledges. He writes:

“Steve Crist wrote in the New York Times that Easy Goer would establish himself as the horse of the decade if he won the Classic. When Sunday Silence scored his brilliant, decisive victory, he received no such anointment.

“The Easy Goer-Sunday Silence rivalry not only exposed a lot of Eastern provincialism, but it also reflected the declining condition of New York racing in general. Like the post-Copernican clerics, New Yorkers are learning that they no longer dwell at the center of the universe, but many of them still are decrying this truth as heresy.”

It pays to underachieve: The Atlanta Hawks’ Spud Webb, on teammate Jon Koncak’s six-year, $13.2-million deal: “I guess I’ll just have to get my (scoring) average down.”

Trivia answer: Wisconsin-Superior and Minnesota-Duluth.

Quotebook: Detroit Lion Coach Wayne Fontes on his 2-8 team’s 31-22 upset of the Green Bay Packers Sunday: “We lost to . . . uh . . . won against a good football team. I almost slipped there. I’ve gotten used to that word.”