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October 25, 2007

Gore sees some action in practice

Running back Frank Gore went through a limited practice today and said his injured right ankle is getting better day by day. Gore said he's confident he'll play Sunday against the Saints, but it's clear from his body language that the injury is bothering him. He injured the ankle during Sunday's loss to the Giants when another player fell on the ankle, but despite limping noticeably, he remained in the game. Afterward, he had to be propped up by team trainers as he was taken for an X-ray. He said today he's never had to deal with an ankle injury before. My guess is that he'll be listed as questionable when official injury designations are released Friday.

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In other injury news, Mike Nolan officially declared Alex Smith the starter for the Saints game. Smith went through his second full practice and didn't appear to show any arm fatigue from Wednesday's session. Trent Dilfer will be his back-up and Shaun Hill the No. 3 quarterback, Nolan said. Jonas Jennings and Darrell Jackson did not practice - Jennings spent time on an exercise bike - and will be listed as doubtful for Sunday's game. Safety Keith Lewis (hamstring) probably won't play either. As for Jennings, the left tackle was injured during the game. Nolan said he was encouraged that Jennings - who hasn't exactly been an iron man since arriving in San Francisco -- continued to play despite the injury. Safety Keith Lewis (hamstring) probably won't play either.

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Apparently, there was a bit of commotion at 49ers HQ this afternoon, complete with fire engines and paramedics. As it turned out, offensive tackle Damane Duckett suffered full body cramps in the locker room and was rushed to Stanford Medical Center. A team spokesman said he's ok, but that the episode gave everyone quite a scare.

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There was a Joe Cohen sighting today in the lockerroom. The fourth-round draft pick out of Florida tore two ligaments in his right knee and sprained the third in the exhibition finale in San Diego and was placed on injured reserve. Cohen seemed to be walking around without any problems as he chit chatted with teammates.

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And now the big news ... the 49ers will wear their throwback duds again on Nov. 18 when they play the St. Louis Rams. No word yet on whether the Rams will wear the old cream and navy duds of yesteryear, which, IMHO, are infinitely better than the gold and blue they wear today.

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I e-mailed Alex Smith's mom, Pam, today to see if we couldn't stir up some donations toward the wildfire efforts in Southern California. For those of you who don't know, Pam Smith is the Director of Aging Services for San Diego County's Health and Human Services Dept. That means she's in charge of taking care of the thousands of seniors -- in skilled nursing centers, assisted living facilities, etc. -- who have been displaced. Everthing's been going remarkably well, Pam reports, but those who want to help can visit the following sites:

http://www.sdfoundation.org/

http://www.sdarc.org/site/pp.asp?c=erKQL4NQE&b=129996

-- Matt Barrows

Posted by Matthew Barrows at 2:29 PM | Comments |