SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The San Francisco 49ers expect to be right back competing for a Super Bowl with a new coach following the frustration of a lost year that saw coach Jim Harbaugh depart for Michigan.General manager Trent Baalke believes there are plenty of options to replace Harbaugh and ensure the Niners are contenders again. CEO Jed York wont accept anything less.Its up to us to make sure we compete for and win Super Bowls. Thats our only goal, York said. We dont raise division championships banners. We dont raise NFC championship banners. We raise Super Bowl banners.Under Harbaugh, they came darn close, losing 34-31 to his big brother, John, and the Baltimore Ravens after the 2012 season.Now, theres the daunting task of finding another coach who can produce similar, immediate success.This organization has had to replace some awfully successful head coaches in the past, and Jim is no different - a very successful coach, Baalke said. Are we confident that we can replace him? You always go into that with that strategy. Theres a lot of good football coaches out there. What we need to do is go out and find a coach that can come in here now and lead this football team.No matter who succeeds Harbaugh, there are significant questions surrounding San Francisco going forward. Perhaps none is bigger than getting quarterback Colin Kaepernick to top form again after a disappointing season on the heels of his hefty contract extension last June.He is considering working with a mechanics guru to make some tweaks, which has proven positive for other NFL quarterbacks.The quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports. Period, York said. I think Colin did some things very well this year. And there are things he needs to improve on. And thats something that is very important.Here are some things to take from the Niners 8-8 season:STAR LINEBACKERS: NaVorro Bowman never made it back from that devastating left knee injury in last Januarys NFC championship game at Seattle. Then close friend and fellow star linebacker Patrick Willis didnt play after an Oct. 13 win at St. Louis and needed surgery for a strained muscle in his left big toe.Getting these two back on the field will be paramount for a defence that has been among the NFLs best.Its my career, I want to be sure I do it smart, Willis said.DAVIS DOWN NUMBERS: Vernon Davis followed one of his best NFL seasons with the lowest output since his rookie year of 2006, leaving doubts whether the Niners will bring him back with a year left on his contract.Davis matched his career high with 13 touchdowns in 2013, then became a bit part of the offence. Offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman regularly said he wanted Davis involved and that didnt happen.Davis had only 50 targets, down from 84, and finished with just 26 catches and two TDs.I dont know what the main issue is, Davis said. Everybodys numbers are down, (Michael) Crabtree, Frank (Gore), myself. Were all down. Weve just got to figure it out. Just like any sport, whenever youre part of a team, whether youre a coach or anybody, your goal is to get the key guys involved, the guys who make plays, so they can contribute and help the team win.BIG NAMES, KEY DECISIONS: York and Baalke must decide whether franchise rushing leader Frank Gore returns, along with Crabtree, Davis and left guard Mike Iupati.And thats just a start.Its unclear whether 14-year veteran defensive end Justin Smith will play another season before retirement.I tell him I dont care if he gets away all the way until before the first week of the season next year and he comes back then, Willis said. Im going to talk to his little boys, he has three young boys now, see if they can run him a little ragged and give him back.WHAT HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE? The 49ers finished 4-4 in their inaugural season at $1.3 billion Levis Stadium and hardly established the kind of home-field advantage theyd hoped for — not even close to what Seattle offers at CenturyLink Field.York apologized via Twitter on Thanksgiving night, when the 49ers lost the first of two games to rival Seattle in an 18-day span. He said Monday fans who chose to spend their holiday in the stands deserved more.We didnt give you enough to cheer for this year. But that didnt stop you from coming out even in the last two games, where we really didnt have anything to play for, he said in opening his Monday news conference. We werent playing for a playoff contention and you guys brought it.SECONDARY CONCERNS: The Niners are weak at cornerback and could see Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver leave, so thats a spot to be addressed through free agency and the draft.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLDaNorris Searcy Jersey .com) - Jahlil Okafor had 21 points, Tyus Jones scored 16 with 10 assists and No. Jarius Wright Jersey . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. http://www.shoppanthersonline.us/panther...as-blue-jersey/. Freddie Roach said if the Rios fight "does not go well, we will seriously talk about his retirement," but that Pacquiao was training as well as ever for the Nov. Dontari Poe Jersey . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds. Marquis Haynes Panthers Jersey .Y. - The New York Rangers have reached a one-year contract extension with goalie Cam Talbot, keeping Henrik Lundqvists backup away from unrestricted free agency.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, I looked for a comment online from you on the Nazem Kadri hit on Cody Ceci on Saturday night from the Sens/Leafs game, but didnt find one! I have always respected your on-ice decision skills, so I would like your opinion regarding this hit. Was this a case of the player turning his back when he was going to be hit or did Kadri hit a player in a vulnerable position? Thanks,Randy Eades Hi Randy: I did post a late comment @kfraserthecall on Twitter that you must have missed. Sorry it was late but I was engaged in Twitter combat (and being duly vilified) by Canadiens fans over the Brendan Gallagher episode against the Jets! With regard to your question, Cody Ceci was positioned facing the end boards in order to retrieve the puck after it was turned back from the corner by teammate Jared Cowen and as he was being pressured on the forecheck by Nikolai Kulemin of the Leafs. Ceci didnt intentionally turn his body at the last second to set himself up for a hit by Nazem Kadri. That had no bearing on why a penalty call did not result. Instead, Ceci was facing square to the end boards waiting for the puck to arrive on his stick just as Kadri angled from the front of the net and delivered a body check that should have resulted in a boarding minor penalty. The initial point of contact delivered by Kadri was to the left hip of Ceci and not on the numbers. The finishing upward push exerted by Nazem Kadri caused the Ottawa player to tumble forward into the boards. Let me explain for Senators coach Paul McLean and the Ottawa fans why the call was missed by the referees. When you re-examine the video clossely, you will see that referee Paul Devorski, working past his 1,500th game, pivoted out from the corner toward the end faceoff circle in order to vacate the space that Jared Cowen and Nikolai Kulemin would occupy in pursuit of the puck.dddddddddddd The referee then rotated his body 360 degrees in a drift back below the goal line but retained visual focus on both Cowen and Kulemin with a fixed glance over his shoulder well after Cowen dished the puck back toward Ceci. It is clearly evident from the footage that referee Devorski did not turn his head and visual focus toward the action near the net until after Kadri had delivered the illegal hit on Ceci. All the referee witnessed at this point was Ceci down on the ice and Kadri in possession of the puck just prior to a tape-to-tape pass out front to Joffrey Lupul for the Leafs goal. I am positive that referee Devorski would have deemed the hit by Kadri to be worthy of a boarding minor infraction if he had been focused on and witnessed the contact. Since the hit happened directly behind the net the back referee would have at best, an obstructed view if he was looking in that direction. His primary responsibility and area of coverage however was on the action away from the puck; which at that point would have included Cowen and Kulemin in the corner. While we do not see the back referee in the footage, it is conceivable that both refs failed to transition their area of focus once the puck was thrown back behind the net by Cowen. If that were the case, both refs maintained visual focus on the two players in the corner and did not observe the Kadri boarding on Ceci. I hate to be bearer of bad news coach Paul, but that is how the boarding penalty to Kadri was missed and resulted in the Leafs goal that tied the game at two! 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