Dein erstes Forum » Author Brian McKenna, who deeply resea

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers running back Mike Davis production can only go up after his weight went down entering his second season.As a rookie, Davis became the sixth running back in 45 years to average fewer than two yards a carry with at least 35 attempts. The fourth-round pick from South Carolina had 58 yards on 35 runs in 2015.On Sunday against the Buccaneers, the 49ers could call on Davis to make his first NFL start in Chip Kellys run-first offense. The 49ers are trying to snap a five-game losing streak and will likely be without Carlos Hyde, who suffered a shoulder injury last week in Buffalo.Davis, 23, is down roughly 12 pounds from his listed playing weight of 217. He said he hasnt been this light since high school and that his body fat as a rookie hampered his ability to make defenders miss, leading to his historically low numbers.Now Davis has a new diet, which excludes his favorite Flamin Hot Cheetos, that has his agility up, catching Kellys eye in the preseason. Davis led 49ers running backs by averaging 8.1 yards per carry in four exhibition games. His work in recent practices helped him jump ahead of veteran journeyman Shaun Draughn on the depth chart.(The diet) was a game-changer for me, Davis said. . . . So I eat right with strawberries, granola, that type of thing.Hyde is the NFLs 11th-leading rusher with 429 yards and is tied for second with six rushing touchdowns through six games. The 49ers enter the week with the leagues fifth-ranked rushing offense averaging 123 yards.Kelly has dialed up running plays on 50 percent of the snaps, the second-highest rate in the league, meaning Davis could be in for a big day against the Buccaneers (2-3).San Franciscos offense could use all the help it can get on the ground. Colin Kaepernick will be making his second start of the season after struggling in the blowout loss to Buffalo, completing just five of 18 passes in the second half of the 45-16 defeat.Davis could be an integral part of the offense if his preseason production translates.The changes Davis made after struggling during his first season have been noticed by his teammates.I think theres a big difference from this year and last year, receiver Torrey Smith said. Hes grown a lot, hes matured a lot and hes playing the way that they expect him to play.Davis opportunities have been limited with Hyde in the lineup. He has just 10 carries for 18 yards on the season, while Hyde received 109 attempts. Davis received a modest total of five carries -- a season high -- against the Bills, which he hopes to build off of on Sunday.The opportunity to make his first start has kept Davis in check when it comes to his new diet, which he hasnt deviated from, whether it be Cheetos or cheat days.I got where Im at because I stick to it, said Davis. I dont want to veer off and end up where I was. Im where I want to be and Im happy about it.Game notes CB Rashard Robinson returned to practice Thursday after leaving the game Sunday with a concussion. ... WR Torrey Smith and QB Blaine Gabbert showed up on the injury report Tuesday with back injuries. Both were limited.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Nike Air Max 95 Clearance .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. 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Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games.When youre typing the name Alex Rodriguez or A-Rod almost every day, it gets you to thinking about many things, including why there are so few nicknames in baseball anymore. There used to be a time when it seemed all the stars had a handle. There was Rocket Roger Clemens, Bill The Spaceman Lee, Randy Big Unit Johnson, and just Lefty for Steve Carlton to name just a few for pitchers. Then there were the stars and the baseball legends such as George Herman Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, Stan the Man Musial, Hammerin Hank Aaron, the Kid Ken Griffey Jr. and that other Kid – late great Hall of Famer Gary Carter. You can come up with so many more yourselves. What surprised me, when I did a little digging, was the most popular nickname ever is Doc. Marlin Bressi did an article for Yahoo in 2011 detailing 81 different players with that nickname. I even managed to come up with a few more that werent on that list - Roy Doc Halladay, Ron Taylor known by all in these parts as Doc Taylor, because he actually is a practicing physician in Toronto. Another name I remembered from his brief stay with the Blue Jays was right hander Danny Darwin, who was known as Doctor Death, for not being afraid to throw high and tight on batters. And then there was the late Dock Ellis, who spelled his with the K. And the greatest Doc of them all was probably New York Mets star Dwight Gooden who short-circuited his outstanding pitching career by abusing drugs and alcohol. The Doc I really wanted to tell you about though, is Maurice Mike Doc Powers - a catcher who began his big league career in the late 1800s and played thru the early 1900s mainly for the Philadelphia As. I always thought the first and only baseball death, related to an on-field incident, involved shortstop Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians. On August 16 of 1920, Carl Mays - a hard-throwing, side-winding pitcher - hit Chapman in the head with a pitch. He collapsed and died in hospital 12 hours later. That incident led to the outlawing of the spit ball and a rule change whereby umpires would remove balls from games as soon as they became scuffed or scratched or anyway discoloured. I was surprised to find out Chapman may not have been the first to die because of something that happened in a Major League game. On April 12 of 1909, the Philadelphia As were playing their season opener at Shibe Park.dddddddddddd It was quite a sight - the first stadium ever built entirely of concrete and steel, a state-of-the-art facility for its time. Mike Doc Powers was in the twilight of his career in 1909 at age 38. He was also a licenced, practicing physician. In the later years of his career Doc Powers was known as the Personal catcher of Future Hall of Famer Eddie Plank. Powers was also considered to be the unofficial pitching coach of the As and the right hand man to their legendary skipper Connie Mack.At some point early in this Opening Day game against the Red Sox, Powers made a Herculean effort to catch a foul pop and crashed hard into a wall. By the seventh inning he was doubled over in pain in the dugout. Doc Powers insisted, he should finish the game, which ended as an 8-1 victory for Philadelphia. After the game, Powers was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with gastritis and or Peritonitis. Two days later he was operated on for a twisted/strangulated intestine. A surgeon removed a section of the intestine. Unfortunately, gangrene had begun to set in and after two more operations Doc Powers died on April 26 of 1909. Powers, over the last two weeks of his life, was reluctant to blame his condition on baseball. He actually thought he became ill from eating a spoiled cheese sandwich during the game. Author Brian McKenna, who deeply researched this story, mentioned it could have been a pre-existing condition that just happened to surface on that day. Doc Powers funeral was on April 29 and the entire As and Washington Senators teams were on hand, along with players from four other teams. So popular was Powers that thousands of mourners had to be turned away. Two years later on July 1 of 1910, the As organized what might have been the very first benefit game. Eight thousand dollars was raised for Doc Powers children. I found another fascinating Doc as well. Doc Cramer played in the majors for 20 seasons up until 1948 and helped the Detroit Tigers win the 1945 World Series over the Chicago Cubs - the last time the Cubbies made it to the Fall Classic. Cramer finished with a .296 batting average and 2,705 hits. Thats the most hits for any player before 1975 who didnt wind up in the Hall of Fame. ' ' '