Nearly 60 years ago, the 49ers boasted the "Million Dollar Backfield." Their modern-day version is suddenly packed with both accomplished multimillionaires and promising young players.
"I don't know if everybody is going to be happy with the time they get," running backs coach Tom Rathman said Wednesday. "We don't know what the situation is right now. It's all going to play itself out.
"The good thing is we have depth at the position."
The 49ers have surrounded starter Frank Gore with a bevy of rushers, including newcomers Brandon Jacobs from the New York Giants and second-round draft pick LaMichael James out of Oregon. Battling for roster spots are also Kendall Hunter, Anthony Dixon, Rock Cartwright and undrafted rookies Jewell Hampton and Cameron Bell.
Before they figure out how to divide carries this season, the 49ers will have to whittle down their backfield, likely to only four or five running backs plus fullback Bruce Miller.
"Everybody understands the urgency, even Frank, with having a draft pick in the second round at his position, and we sign Brandon Jacobs," Rathman added. "The whole group has a sense of urgency that, 'Hey man, we have to play at a high level, we have to play consistent football to get to the Super Bowl.' "
A two-time Super Bowl winner with the Giants, Jacobs will be called upon to "pack it up inside, run over guys and be physical," Rathman said. "If we want somebody else to run outside, we'll
get somebody else."Somebody such as James, who's already labeled "an impact player" by Rathman. Aside from last month's rookie minicamp, league rules have prevented James from further joining the 49ers until Oregon concludes its spring term June 15.
Gore, who ran for 1,211 yards last season, is working out as much as three times a day after showing up a tad overweight, Rathman said.
"When you hear another team call your name, that means respect," Gore told the Sacramento Bee. "That's a lot of respect, and you're doing something right for your team. So it don't bother me at all."
Gore also expressed no qualms with Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, a former high school and college teammate who's been suspended by the NFL for the season for his alleged part in the bounty scandal. Gore suffered no significant injuries in the 36-32 win over the Saints, who were not penalized once that game.
Stadium construction around their Santa Clara facility will prevent the 49ers from hosting the 10 or so public sessions they've offered in recent years at training camp there. Tickets for this summer's HP-sponsored Fan Fest go on sale in July, and a portion of the $5 tickets will benefit the 49ers Foundation. This marks the second straight year the 49ers will hold a "Fan Fest" at Candlestick, and last year's came two days after their exhibition-season debut at New Orleans.
The 49ers also named two new regional scouts: Scott Brown (Midlands area, in place of Kent Kahl) and Chip Flanagan (Northeast region, replacing Todd Brunner). Also, Matt Malaspina returns to the Southeast area and Justin Chabot is reassigned to the Midwest.
For more on the 49ers, see Cam Inman's Hot Read blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers.
Country artists win US radio royalties victory - BBC News
A new deal between media giant Clear Channel and a leading Nashville music label could pave the way to all artists being paid for US radio airplay.
The agreements gives artists on the Big Machine label payment for songs played on traditional radio stations for the first time.
In exchange, artists have agreed to a cap on payments from tracks played on digital stations.
Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw are among artists who will benefit from the deal.
"We're going to more than double our income from Clear Channel in the short term," said Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta.
"They'll make it up on the back end as digital continues to grow."
Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman called the deal "an opportunity... to align our interests in all of our revenue streams and grow digital listening to its full potential."
The deal is a significant coup for the record industry, which has been trying to secure royalties from songs played on traditional radio for decades.
Songwriters receive a small amount when their songs are played on US radio, whereas performers do not.
But they are paid royalties for online usage, placing a heavier financial onus on digital radio platforms than their terrestrial counterparts.
Rather than compensating artists every time a song is played, the Clear Channel agreement will pay them a share of advertising revenue generated across all platforms.
Clear Channel's 850 stations make it the largest radio group in the United States and a major influence on broadcasting practice.
Yellen argues for more Fed easing amid Europe risk - Reuters
BOSTON |
BOSTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's second-highest official on Wednesday laid out the case for the U.S. central bank to provide more support to a fragile economy as financial turmoil in Europe mounts.
Janet Yellen, the vice chair of the Fed, cited risks from ongoing housing problems, a weak jobs market and worsening financial conditions in a speech in Boston. Her views carry great weight with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and her comments suggest that the Fed may be close to easing policy again.
Yellen said the U.S. economy is growing at around a 2 percent rate and said the labor market seems to have stalled - and that is before the scheduled year-end expiration of various tax cuts that she said would be another "huge drag" on growth.
"There are a number of significant downside risks to the economic outlook, and hence it may well be appropriate to insure against adverse shocks that could push the economy into territory where self-reinforcing downward spiral of economic weakness would be difficult to arrest," she said.
Her remarks before the Boston Economic Club come a day ahead of congressional testimony by Bernanke, who would be unlikely to take a widely different stance from his respected deputy.
Yellen, who is known as favoring aggressive Fed moves to support growth, laid out a thorough argument on why the economic outlook is darkening and were delivered the same day that several centrist Fed policymakers also expressed mounting concerns.
Yellen said the Fed could buy more bonds to keep rates low or push even further out the date it has given for when to expect the central bank's first interest rate increase. The Fed, which has kept rates near zero percent since December 2008, has already pledged conditionally to keep rates ultra low until at least late 2014.
Fed policymakers at their next meeting, on June 19-20, will assess the effects of recent labor market reports and financial developments on the economic outlook, Yellen said.
"I am convinced that scope remains for the (Fed) to provide further policy accommodation either through its forward guidance or through additional balance-sheet actions," she said.
While both communications tools and bond purchases have limitations and costs, the looming risks make a strong case for the Fed to take precautionary steps to safeguard the economic recovery, Yellen said.
She described recent data as "pretty disappointing" and said the challenge going forward is to make progress on bringing the economy back to full employment. While the average pace of job creation so far this year is consistent with a modest expansion, the disappointing 69,000 new jobs added in May and a rise in the jobless rate highlight the risks, Yellen said.
"Recent labor market reports and financial developments serve as a reminder that the economy remains vulnerable to setbacks," she said.
Asset purchases could take the form either of a fresh round of bond purchases or an extension of the current program exchanging shorter-term securities for longer-term ones, which pushes down longer-term interest rates, she added.
Her comments marked a contrast with the European Central Bank, which dashed hopes on Wednesday it would take immediate action despite a euro zone economy that is under increasing threat.
Tensions in financial markets have risen sharply over the past month after elections in Greece ended in political stalemate and as European leaders struggle to help Spain shore up its banks and rein in its budget deficit. Money has flooded into safe assets, tightening financial conditions and weighing on U.S. growth prospects.
At the same time, recent economic data in the United States, particularly the May jobs report, has been disappointingly weak. Before these latest strains had emerged, Fed policymakers had seemed on track to stay the course.
In making a case for monetary policy insurance, Yellen cited risks that the European sovereign debt crisis could spin out of control.
"The deterioration of financial conditions in Europe of late, coupled with notable declines in global equity markets, also serve as a reminder that highly destabilizing outcomes cannot be ruled out," she said.
U.S. stock index and Treasury futures edged higher in Asian trading and the dollar dipped against a basket of currencies on the prospect of a third round of Fed bond buying, known as quantitative easing.
"This is more dovish than I was expecting," said Adam Button, a currency analyst at Forexlive.com in Montreal. "Yellen has certainly taken a step toward QE3. Yellen's comments are much bolder than those we heard earlier today."
SOFTER TONE
Also on Wednesday, Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, and John Williams, head of the San Francisco Fed, pointed to Europe's brewing crisis as a main threat to the United States.
"Should it become clear that something resembling my baseline scenario of continued, though modest, growth is no longer realistic, further monetary actions to support the recovery will certainly need to be considered," Lockhart said in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Williams, who like Lockhart has a vote this year on the central bank's policy-setting panel, warned in a speech in Bellevue, Washington, that Europe's debt crisis as well as tighter U.S. fiscal policies are "wild cards" for the domestic economy.
"We must also stand ready to do even more if needed to best achieve our statutory goals of maximum employment and price stability," he said.
In addition to maintaining low interest rates, the Fed already has bought $2.3 trillion in long-term securities to stimulate the U.S. economy.
(Writing by Mark Felsenthal and Stella Dawson in Washington and Jonathan Spicer in New York; Additional reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Bill Rigby in Bellevue, Wash., and Cecile Lefort in Sydney, Australia; Editing by Leslie Adler and Eric Walsh)
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