Bill Walsh reaches the final end zone

Bill Walsh, who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships and six NFC West division titles in his 10 years as head coach, has died at the age of 75:

Walsh died at his Bay Area home early Monday following a long battle with leukemia, according to Stanford University.

Walsh didn't become an NFL head coach until 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States' most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his innovative offensive strategies and teaching techniques.

The soft-spoken native Californian also produced a legion of coaching disciples that's still growing today. Many of his former assistants went on to lead their own teams, handing down Walsh's methods and schemes to dozens more coaches in a tree with innumerable branches.

Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles. He was named the NFL's coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.

And few men did more to shape the look of football into the 21st century. His cerebral nature and often-brilliant stratagems earned him the nickname "The Genius" well before his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Walsh twice served as the 49ers' general manager, and George Seifert led San Francisco to two more Super Bowl titles after Walsh left the sideline. Walsh also coached Stanford during two terms over five seasons.

Even a short list of Walsh's adherents is stunning. Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after serving on Walsh's San Francisco staffs, and Tony Dungy played for him. Most of his former assistants passed on Walsh's structures and strategies to a new generation of coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.

Bill, thanks for all of the joy you brought to me and other 49er fans. Rest in peace.

Our little Sea Bass

Sebastian has learned to swim! I was with him in the pool of the place we are staying in Florida and he just took off! Very cool. Not only has he -- and we -- graduated from preschool, but also from life jackets and water wings!

I remember the instant I learned to swim. I was 6 1/2 and we were at a neighbor's pool. The nine year old daughter living there had been trying to help me and just suddenly it all clicked. By the end of the day I had swam the length of the pool.

Sebastian is only 4 1/2. His nickname of "Sea Bass" has new meaning :)

The bear went over the mountain

The bear went over the mountain... literally. My neighbour across the street took this photo in her backyard. Click the picture to enlarge.

Pretty cool... as far as I know, this is the first bear we've had in five years. So much forest has been ripped up to make way for new homes that I had figured all the habitat was gone.

The bear-towel cracks me up. Mate bait?

Stitches of Independence

We took the kids to a pool today. Not ours, but an adjoining neighborhood where we have a lot of friends. While walking toward the diving board I accidentally slipped my right foot under the chain link fence behind the board and ripped a nice gash in between my third and fourth toes.

I hadn't even had a beer yet!

So now here I sit, with four stitches in my foot, feeling very fortunate. Yes, fortunate! The cut missed every key structure in the foot: no arteries, tendons or nerves. The doctor says I can even run on it tomorrow, and I can remove the stitches in ten days.

I also feel fortunate that our great experiment in democracy has endured 231 years. Happy Independence Day, America! May we emerge from this period of historical madness and find our way back to the Constitution that makes us great. My flag flies proudly outside my home.

10 in 11

This is pathetic... I just realized this will be my tenth post in eleven months.... I know I have been busy, but I need to rededicate myself to this blog or just shut it down.