Grab Bag: 49ers pull off stunning upset, Cal Bears start hot, end frigid, and two different types of horror flicks! Super Bowl halftime act is chosen! Plus My Marlena video song tribute.

Hello gang!! No scary eyeball alien to greet you this week! Thanks to all that made thru that last post, I can promise this post will be a LOT shorter! So lets get to it!

So why is some dude in his undies my banner this week? Well, that dude is the artist known as Bad Bunny, who is the best-selling music artist in the world right now. Where sports meets culture, this Puerto Rican artist (reminder: Puerto Rico is part of the United States), has been chosen to to be this years Super Bowl halftime show entertainment. So he covers both my fields, while I score the hat trick of also adding "thirst trap" for this blog! San Francisco 49ers: On a short week, the 49ers flew down to Sofi Stadium (affectionately known as "Levi's South", as half the stadium is filled with 49er fans) to play the undefeated Los Angles Rams last Thursday night, and came in as 8.5 point underdogs. Why? Because the Niners were without their QB1 (Purdy), WR1, WR2, WR3 (Aiyuk, Pearsall and Jennings) their TE1 (Kittle), and DE Nick Bosa. So it was basically the backups against one of the NFL's best defenses and a top 3 QB in the NFL in Matt Stafford! Doomed, said many, including me, we gonna get trounced, said many, including me, but a funny thing happened, one would almost call it a miracle: the San Francisco 49ers upset the LA Rams, 23-20 in overtime much to the delight of many Niner fans (including me!) and the dismay of many of the betting public!

I'm going to break from my usual style of recapping the game quarter by quartet, and just get into the highlights of this improbable victory. In the first quarter on the 49ers 1st drive, they marched down the field in eight plays, 72 yards, and almost 5 minutes before backup QB Mc Jones found TE Jake Tonges all alone in the end zone for a six yard passing touchdown! Oh, but it gets better! After the Rams went 3 and out, the Niners got the ball back late in the first, and took EIGHT MINUTES (basically half of the 2nd quarter!) 91 yards and SEVENTEEN PLAYS (penalties on both team drove that number up) to end it with a 1 yard pass from Jones to Christian McCaffery (CMC) for their second TD to make it 14-0! Complete dominance at this point of the game. Niners got in a field goal to leave us at 17-7 Niners at halftime.

The third and fourth quarter was basically all Rams, as Mac Jones was basically playing on one leg, and a noodle for his throwing arm. It should be noted though that the Rams kicker had one Field goal blocked and missed another as well as an extra point (thats seven points right there!), and our kicker made all three field goals, including a 59 yarder (!!!) to give the 49ers the lead, 20-17 late in the 4th. Then one of two plays happened; but the one that will be on the 49ers forever highlight reel, Stafford and the Rams got the ball down to the one yard line (thanks to a LOT of rookie penalties!) but as the Rams running back was diving in for what was for sure the winning TD, 49er rookie Defensive Tackle Alfred Collins, subbing in for yet another injured Niners defensive player, knocked the ball out the the Rams running backs hands, and recovered the fumble! Talk about needing a miracle to play another down/day! with two seconds left, the Rams kicker actually made his field goal, and off to overtime we go, tied at 20-20.

Overtime saw what was probably a cyborg version of Mac Jones march his team down the field, to set up kicker Eddie Pineiro for his third field goal, a 41 yarder that doinked off the left upright, and "fell in" for three points, and a 23-20 Niners lead. Stafford then led his Rams team down to the Niners 11 yard line and had a 4th and one; don't make it, game over, Niners win, kick a field goal, ties the game again with about 2two minutes left, make it and Rams probably score a TD to win the game. Nail. Biting. Time. Rams decide to go for it and the win, by trying to run for the 1 yard (or more) gain, but in the second biggest moment of the game, the Niners defense walled up....Rams....DENIED! Niners get the ball back on loss of downs, and the San Francisco 49ers, with half of a local college varsity team of backups, pull of a stunning upset! Final: 49ers: 23 Rams: 20. Besides the defense, the reliable kicking, and the warrior that Mac Jones was, game ball goes to Jones former teammate while they were both with the New England Patriots, Kendrick Bourne, who was DA MAN, with career highs in catches (10) and receiving yards (142). He may not have gotten into the end zone, but he was a big reason we DID get the points to win!

A few extra days rest, and then off to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers on Sunday. Update: We may see this same unit ion Sunday, as injury report had EIGHTEEN Niners on the list!

Thursday Night Football last week was all about the Bourne Supremacy!

Cal Bears: The Bears hosted the Duke Blue Devils at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley Saturday Night, and it started brilliantly for Cal, two TD's, Duke only had the ball for 3 minutes in the first quarter. Cal was up 21-7 in the early 2nd quarter, and then the wheels came off, especially on the offense side, as turnovers, (3 interceptions), a leaky offensive line, and mental errors resulted in zero points for the rest of the game, as Duke rolled to a 45-21 victory over Cal. Was so hard to watch, I bailed early in the 3rd quarter, and just checked in with Siri for updates, which only got worse. Cal (4-2) has the next weekend off, before it welcomes North Carolina and some coach by the name of Bilechck (sp? I dont care!) on the 17th.

In other college games of upset worthy note, unranked UCLA knocked off 7th ranked Penn State at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, giving Penn State back to back losses! Unranked Florida upset 9th ranked Texas in a close one, 29-21! Punishment was dropped on both teams on Sunday in the AP Poll, which saw pre-season 1-2 ranking of Texas and Penn State being dropped OUT of the Top 25, which hasn't happened since 1986!

Culture Club: Two scary movies for you to check out!

Bring Her Back: This might get the top spot for the CREEPIEST movie of the year! Heebee Jeebies for me! Plot: After losing their father, who died in the shower, a brother and his sight impaired (light and shapes only), Andy and Piper, are put into foster care with a woman named Laura, who seems to be a bit of a eccentric, but kind oddball. Laura also has another foster child in her care, Oliver, who is about the same age as Piper, and he is MORE than just odd, with that shaved head for starters! Did I mention Laura recently lost a daughter around the same age as Oliver and Piper in a drowning incident- (water plays a big deal in this flick! )?

Harken back to the title of this film, and you can see where this is going, as Laura works to sabotage the older brother Andy (why does we wake up to see he wet the bed every morning?) Except for the very creepy opening scenes, and couple of scenes sprinkled in the middle that relate back to those opening scenes, this is a mostly "quiet" horror flick, until the black sorcery kicks in, and things go bonkers in the last 20 minutes (Ollie chewing/eating the wood table....EWWWW! The acting is great, Sallie Hawkins gives a complex performance, and the young actors hold their own, and a solid, but very creepy script! There has been great buzz about his flick amongst the horror movie fans, but David, STAY AWAY from this one- nightmare inducing! Highly recommend if you are one of those fans of creepy horror flicks as it is well done. Currently showing on HBO.

The Deliverance: I LOVED this film- had no idea waht to expect, and by the end, has a very good chance of making my 2025 Top Ten list! Plot is basically a family moves into a new house that has evil spirit in it. The film does not bother with any character set-up, it jumps right in at the beginning as we get to know this family as the film goes on; the film felt very "lived in" for me, which was a pleasant surprise. The horror aspect doesn't really kick in till like the last 45 minutes, so all the stuff before that is family dynamics/drama. Audra Day gives an amazing performance as a not so perfect mother/human, who looks after her three kids of various ages, and her mother, played by Glenn Close, who is excellent as usual! I don't think I've ever seen a movie where mother and daughter throw a "Fuck you, bitch" at each other! The horror here is mild, as the youngest boy gets possessed, and needs to go thru "Deliverance" to rid his body (and control over his siblings) of the evil that has possessed him. I highly HIGHLY RECOMMEND this flick. Now showing on Netflix.

Finally, the San Francisco LGBTQIA community lost a true shining star in the community, as Marlena passed away this past weekend. Marlena is her drag name/persona, and she did so, so much for the LGBT community, offering her bar named after her for many a charitable event or fundraiser, and was such a kind funny individual, a great. storyteller, who would gladly offer advice and help to those who were in need of it. Others will more eloquently write/talk about her many titles and good works she has done, but will write as one of those she helped, I'll share my main Marlena experience below:

Way back when, 2012 I believe, I was encouraged and ran for a title in the Ducal Court of San Francisco, a fundraising organization that, well, raised funds for the local community. I cannot remember who took me to Marlena's bar to meet her (dang memory cells), I was introduced to her (she was working the bar, so boy drag), and told her I was running for this title and selling raffle tickets (most tickets sold gets the sash), and she looked me in the eyes ( I was so nervous!), and said, "What's your pitch?". Deep breath and smile from me, and using my fingers as my bullet points, explained why I would be a worthy addition to the court and what I could bring to it. When I was finished, Marlena responded, "That was very good.", and proceeded to buy FIFTY raffle tickets from me! I thanked her very much, in my tummy, it felt like a tornado was in progress, as I was so honored that she liked me! Oh, I proceeded to win that title, Royal Daddy, and thru my year of fundraising, events, raised the most money than any of my fellow title-holders (raffle tickets sold for a dollar back then, so I worked my butt off, and i have the very beautiful, very heavy plaque to prove it! :) I would over the years encounter Marlena when she was out and about, always a warm greeting, a sassy zinger, and great stories to sit down to and listen to.

Marlena in her regal finest! Photo credit: Gooch

So thank you Marlena, you will be missed but not forgotten! My lil tribute here is a music based one. This artist, and the first two songs immediately came to mind when I heard of Marlena's passing- don't know why, they just did. Btw, this is a safe space for an ugly cry! Pro tip: Its the lyrics that will get you!

Now I would imagine Marlena saying, "Those are beautiful songs, Colby, but you got everyone in their feels! You have something to lift their spirits up and put a smile on their face?" Well, YES I do, Marlena! We heard Mary's beautiful voice and lyrics, but lets get this joint bopping with some positive energy!

Here's a sassy, flirty tune for ya to get those hips moving!

Lastly, oh, we all have had days like this! Prepare your body for some toe-tapping, knee popping , finger-snapping action on this ditty:

Rest in Power and Positivity, Miss Marlena!

I'm taking a week of from both the Zoom Zoom and Grab Bag, so see ya with a double-bagged Grab Bag! :)