We begin Odds & Ends this week with the controversy surrounding 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick not standing for the National Anthem before Friday’s preseason matchup against Green Bay at Levi’s Stadium.

Kaepernick’s reason for it was outlined in a statement following Friday’s game.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

His stance has not been popular with the majority of fans and with society in general. People have been burning his jersey (something I’m completely against),calling him the N-word on social media and sending him death threats (also not cool),and even a restaurant in his hometown of Turlock,Calif. pulled a menu item named after him.

I’m going to probably be on the wrong side of this with many of you,but while I think he should stand for the anthem because of the many who have fought for the very flag flying over Levi’s Stadium and died for it,he did start somewhere with talking about how he feels about what is and has been a growing problem in our society and it is his right as a citizen of his country to do what he did on Friday night. Do I wish he had gone a different way about it? Of course! Many of us do,but do his actions truly necessitate being called the N-word and death threats? Do you really need to burn his jersey? Why not donate it to charity? Just like Kaepernick,you could’ve made a better choice by doing something to make society better instead of burning your $100+ jersey.

I think a main reason why Kaepernick has taken a severe amount of heat for this is because a lot of fans don’t like him to begin with because he had such a meteoric start to his career that has since come to a crash in a short amount of time. The guy they once cheered hard for and thought was the next great 49ers quarterback doesn’t appear to be that anymore and his actions Friday night gave them another reason to hate him. Had this been Russell Wilson doing this, he might receive some hate,but not as much as Kaepernick has.

And by the way,the amount of money he makes shouldn’t be playing a factor into how he feels. LeBron James,Chris Paul,Dwyane Wade,and Carmelo Anthony make just as much,if not more,money than Kaepernick and they’ve taken stands regarding issues affecting minorities. Are they not allowed to do so because of their wealth? If so,why can’t Colin?

I think we as a society should examine why Kaepernick did what he did instead of digging our toes into a corner and taking a side and standing by it. What is and has been a problem in society lately is that we no longer listen to one another or even try to have conversations in regards to finding solutions to today’s problems,and that bothers me greatly. It should bother you,too.

Tony Romo is now out for the Dallas Cowboys with a back injury that should keep him out of action until at least midseason,but this time around the panic surrounding the team’s signal caller situation in his absence doesn’t seem to be there. The reason? Dak Prescott.

Prescott was drafted in the fourth round out of Mississippi State in April’s draft and has shown a lot of promise of being Dallas’ quarterback of the future. He could,however,be the quarterback of the present sooner than later. The buzz surrounding him as well as rookie tailback Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys’ first round pick, has been great and some are even picking the team to win the woeful NFC East.

I think Prescott will do a fine job filling in for Romo,maybe even unseat him as the starter after he comes back. However,he is a rookie and star defensive ends enjoy feasting on rookie signal callers. Make no mistake about it,Prescott will take his licks here and there,but should do well with an outstanding offensive line protecting him.

Memo to Joey Bosa: Get your ass to camp,kid!

The third overall pick in April’s draft and the team that drafted him,the San Diego Chargers,are stalled in contract talks which has led the defensive end to sit out until what he deems is a proper contract offer is given to him.

The Chargers issued a statement last week saying they offered a bigger signing bonus to Bosa that was more than any larger than any rookie has received in the last two NFL drafts,it was more than any rookie in his class other than Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz,who was picked above Bosa. The Chargers were said to have offered Bosa $17 million.

If Joey Bosa doesn’t want $17 million from the Chargers,I’ll gladly take it. Seriously,there’s a reason the rookie wage scale exists now,it’s so that these kids who haven’t played a down in the league can earn their way to a long-term deal if they play well. I think Bosa doesn’t realize that at all and that he’s being selfish and unfair to the process. He needs to take what San Diego is offering and get to camp and try and help this team win more than four games a season.

The Golden State Warriors are leaving their long time radio home KNBR to go to their competitor,KGMZ 95.7 The Game. KNBR has been the Warriors’ radio home since 1984.

The move gives the team a place on the radio where they feel like their games are more of a priority than they did on KNBR. Often times if the Giants were playing even a spring training game you would have to find the Warriors game on their sister station,KNBR 1050 (KTCT),or even KGO,another sister of KNBR. KTCT has a weaker signal than KNBR,especially at night and if you live in the Valley like me,you wouldn’t be able to hear a game broadcast on that station.

It’s been mentioned that the team may rely on a network of stations to have their games carried throughout Northern California to make up for not being on a station with a strong signal like KNBR 680. KNBR 680 is a 50,000 watt station that has a reach as far as Hawaii.

I think the Warriors made this move because of their recent success as a perennial championship contender. Had they still been losing 50 games a season and owned by Chris Cohen, they maybe don’t make such a move. They’re trying to make themselves a priority on radio where they weren’t before and they feel that 95.7 The Game is giving them that opportunity. KGMZ also is the home of the other two Oakland sports teams,the A’s and the Raiders.

The Sacramento Kings unveiled their new court design that the team will play on in their new home,the Golden 1 Center in two months.

Just like their last one,it’s covered in purple with Sacramento at both end of the court (which has been on every court design of the team since their 1985 arrival), Sacramento Proud, the team’s slogan, is displayed at the lower end of the court and the team’s new logo,which is 20 feet long,is proudly displayed in the center of the court.

I like the design, but I’m a little miffed that there wasn’t more to the design, like for instance, placing a silhouette of the city skyline on the bottom a la the Cleveland Cavaliers with Cleveland’s skyline. Or different color wood in the key or maybe even the team’s secondary lion logo embedded in the design. This design is so basic compared to the designs of courts that other NBA teams play on. Try again,guys!

John Fisher,the majority owner of the Oakland A’s toured a possible stadium site late last week that may possibly be the next place the team calls home.

The site,located at Howard Terminal at the Port of Oakland near Jack London Square is right near the water and would provide ferry access for fans on game day. It is,however, far from freeway and BART access. It is also not the only site the team is looking at.

“This is not the only one that they’re looking at. But, they’ve gotten very serious (and) they’re only looking in Oakland,” says Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf told Fox-affiliate KTVU. “We’re gonna keep our A’s in Oakland.”

On a personal note,Oakland can have them. Anyways, the A’s have played at the Oakland Coliseum since their move from Kansas City in 1968 The stadium has shown its age and has had continuous sewage problems in recent years. Fans have also been reluctant to attend games at the park because of its age.

It is nice to see that the team isn’t looking at another city to find a new home,especially since the Oakland sports scene has seemed to be withering away with the Warriors moving to San Francisco and the Raiders potentially leaving for Las Vegas. Not only would getting a new venue for the A’s keep them there,but it might help keep the Raiders in town as well by working with the team to get something going for them at the Coliseum or elsewhere in the city.

Stay tuned!

The terrible-ness that is corporate stadium names has reached new obscenities with the Chicago White Sox announcing a new name for their 25-year old stadium that mostly will be ignored, the name of it will be Guaranteed Rate Field beginning with the 2017 season. Guaranteed Rate is a residential mortgage company that is headquartered in Chicago.

The stadium,built  in 1991, was originally named Comiskey Park after their former stadium until 2003 when U.S. Cellular took over naming rights and the stadium became known as U.S. Cellular Field,a name that’s been largely ignored by fans who still call the place New Comiskey to this day.

Honestly the constant naming and renaming of stadiums is getting pretty old. Like when Candlestick Park became 3Com Park and then Monster Park,hardly anyone called it by the latter names, it was still Candlestick. Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens,Fla. has had more name changes than P.Diddy. From Joe Robbie Stadium to Pro Player Park/Stadium to Dolphins Stadium to Dolphin Stadium to Land Shark Stadium to Sun Life Stadium to New Miami Stadium, that place has the worst identity crisis ever.

Just pick a name and stick with it! Capisce?