Conor Allen

Kyle Shanahan got existential Monday when asked if current 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garropolo would be on the roster after Thursday's draft. "I can't guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday, so I can't guarantee that anybody will be on our roster Sunday," the third year head coach said.  Woah, excuse me. Let me step in here. Hi, I'm Conor Allen, longtime California resident and 49ers fan. I can explain what's happening here in the Bay Area. First of all Kyle is...stressed. What happened is, the 49ers did something this offseason. They traded up from the 12th overall pick to number three in a deal with Miami on 3/26. The Dolphins got the 12th pick from San Francisco, plus a third-round selection and two first-round picks in 2022. The whole thing was initially very exciting for everybody in the Bay Area and the 49ers organization. A pick in the top five! The 49ers were so close to No.1 they could smell the inside of Trever Lawrence's wris...

Denver (38-20) travels to San Francisco Friday to take on Steph Currys, I mean the Golden State Warriors (29-30). The teams have split their series so far this season, with the Warriors winning their last meeting 116-107 on 4/12.  Anybody know what Steph Curry's been up to lately? He's just been playing a little basketball. Curry is averaging 39 points per game in his last 10 games on 53.5% shooting and recently passed Bradley Beal as the NBA's leading scorer at 31.1 points per game. The Dubs have gone 6-4 during that stretch while shooting 48.4% from the field as a team.  The Warriors aren't expected to make a deep playoff run, but nobody wants to see this team tank it with Curry playing at such a historically high level. Warriors' optimists are even predicting that the Dubs make it into the playoffs through the play-in and upset their first opponent to advance to the second round.  Let's slow all that down for a second. Golden State has some injury issues. Roo...

The Nets (37-17) take on the 76ers ( 37-17) Wednesday in Philadelphia. The teams have split their series this season, with the 76ers taking down the Nets 124-108 the last time they met on February 6th. Both teams have won three of their last five.  The Nets Big Three have played in only seven games together this season, and they won't be adding another one on Wednesday when they take on the 76ers in Philadelphia. Kevin Durant (28.1 PPG) will be out (Rest) along with Blake Griffin (Left Knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (Non-COVID related illness), Chris Chiozza (Fractured Third Metacarpal Right Hand) and James Harden (25.2 PPG), who is suffering from a right hamstring strain. Spencer Dinwiddie and Tyler Johnson are also out for Brooklyn. Dinwiddie has a partially torn ACL, and Tyler Johnson has right knee soreness, and now I've officially typed out too many injuries and the names of too many body parts I didn't even know anyone had.   All of this is disappointing news to anyone hopi...

I'm writing some content for USALegalBetting.com! Catch up on some of my recent predictions for the NCAA Tournament here: https://www.usalegalbetting.com/nj/conorallen/ Congrats to Baylor on a great season! Watch out though Bears fans, Gonzaga is No.1 in Sports Illustrated's Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for next season!

  I'll be getting some "Game Of The Week Posts" in for the NBA and with March Madness on the horizon, a little NCAAM. I'll definitely be participating in some kind of Bracket Challenge this season, and by participate I mean I'll stare at the lines and seeds until my eyes glaze over. Gonzaga's gonna win it all anyway right? Their 24-0 and have +350 odds to take the crown. If I pick the Zags to go all the way I'll have to gloat...over the internet. Not the same as gloating right at your co-worker's face the day after the championship by the water cooler. Oh well, enjoy Creighton at Villanova. No.14 Creighton visits No.10 Villanova Wednesday night in a Big East Battle with just over a week to go before selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament. This is an intriguing matchup between two ranked teams, both playing their penultimate games of the regular season. They’re evenly matched, offensively and defensively. They’re each 11-0 when holding opponents to un...

While Super Bowl LV played out in front of a reduced crowd of 22,000 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, I had a little competition going of my own. My friend Neil invited me to participate in the Big Game Covers Challenge. Participants in the challenge select from up to 20 different cover challenges ranging from the over/under on the length of the National Anthem in seconds to which song The Weeknd would perform first, to more serious football matters like the over/under on total combined points scored during the game.  The most important cover for me was #16: What color will the liquid poured on the winning coach be? I knew the winning team would be the Bucs, and therefore the venerable Bruce Arians would be the one dumped on. I didn't get many of my picks right, but that one I did. But the color? What would the color be? I knew it was going to be a riveting day.  The game itself was definitely not interesting. I was in no way amazed that a man born the year the first St...

The story of Tom Brady is a looooooong one. And it isn't over. It's an amazing story, and it's not one dimensional. There are many, many triumphs. Nine conference championships. 581 touchdowns passes. Five Super Bowl wins, and now a 10th Super Bowl appearance at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, the first time in NFL history a home team has hosted the Super Bowl. There's also a scandal involving air being let out of footballs. There's nearly an entire season lost to injury. There are three Super Bowl losses, including one to the NY Giants that ended an otherwise perfect season in 2007-2008.  The next chapter has a bunch of scary new characters. Travis Kelsey. Tyreek Hill. Patrick Mahomes. Also Andy Reid wearing a Covid-19 shield that fogs over repeatedly while he orchestrates a lethal offense. No matter, these villains only serve to further the plot.  I read ahead and this chapter is a great one. Brady and the Bucs will win at home and take down the defending cham...