49er Tight End Williams Prefers to Play It by the (Comic) Book

Every NFL player has his own way of getting up for a game. San Francisco 49er tight end Jamie Williams reads comic books.

Williams said he reads Spiderman, Uncanny X-Man, Conan the Barbarian (“my medieval hero”), whatever it takes to get him psyched.

“It works for me,” Williams said after a practice for today’s NFC title game against the Rams.

“A lot of guys go out and get crazy during the week to deal with the stress of this job,” Williams said. “Other guys sit in a dark room with no sound and no lights, or they’ve got to get real emotional in order to be prepared for a game.

“I use comics. A lot of times they’re about heroes trying to save the world or get the villain. That’s what I visualize myself doing on the football field.”

Add 49ers: Bill Walsh, San Francisco 49er coach turned NBC analyst, said former coach Hank Stram used to pressure him for tips when Stram was an analyst for CBS.

“One time I told him our first play would be a reverse,” Walsh said. “So on the air he says something like, ‘I have a feeling they may run a reverse here,’ and after we do, he’s patting himself on the back for predicting it.

“The next time he asked me to give him a play, I think I misled him, saying to myself, ‘Let’s see how he handles that.’ ”

Last add 49ers: Former Raider Matt Millen, playing for the 49ers, on why the Raiders should move back to Oakland: “Down there (in Los Angeles), in the middle of the third quarter with the score tied, 17-17, and one team driving, somebody yells, ‘Surf’s up!’ and half the crowd leaves. Excuse me, but there’s a game going on here.”

Trivia time: On Jan. 13, 1962, who won her third consecutive Australian Open?

Clarification: Big Spring (Tex.) High has produced 11 active NFL players.

Dollar daze: The New Jersey Nets will hold a ticket-discount promotion tonight to mark the return of former Net Buck Williams, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. Every fan who can prove his or her last name is Williams will get in for--you guessed it--a buck.

Trivia answer: Margaret Smith.

Quotebook: Bob McCammon, coach of the Vancouver Canucks, on playing four games in six days on an Eastern swing: “The schedule maker should come on a trip with us. Everything favors whoever screams the loudest and has seniority.”