Colin Kaepernick came awfully close to scoring a go-ahead touchdown for San Francisco with a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal at the 1 in the closing seconds — just as he had come awfully close to throwing a go-ahead TD pass to Michael Crabtree moments earlier.Kaepernick did neither, though, according to the officials.The catch by Crabtree was ruled short of the end zone. And Kaeps keeper — some might wonder why bruising running back Frank Gore didnt get the ball — was ruled a fumble, one that the Rams recovered to cap a 13-10 victory over the surprisingly mediocre-so-far 49ers.There was another much-debated call at the end of the first half, when 49ers kicker Phil Dawson missed a field-goal attempt, and Tavon Austin of the Rams caught the ball near the back of the end zone, brought it out, then was tackled near the goal line. Safety? Not according to the officials.In the end, San Francisco, a participant in each of the past three NFL championship games, is merely a .500 team at 4-4, already way behind first-place Arizona (7-1) in the NFC West.The same San Francisco offensive line that couldnt get enough forward push at the very end of the game had an all-around rough day, allowing Kaepernick to be sacked six times in the first half alone, eight times in all, by a St. Louis defence that entered the game with six sacks all season.Got to play better, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. Better habits. Better assignments. Better coaching.In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL seasons ninth Sunday:BRADYS BETTER!: Thats what the fans in Foxborough were chanting as Tom Brady once again beat Peyton Manning, improving to 11-5 in their head-to-head meetings as New England topped Denver 43-23. With tight end Rob Gronkowski back to making the sort of no-way-to-cover-him plays — including a one-handed grab — that made him one of the NFLs most dynamic players, the Patriots are an AFC-best 7-2 and own the NFLs longest current winning streak at five games. I stunk today, Manning said after Denver dropped to 6-2 and 1-2 on the road.BUS RIDE: Less than four hours before kickoff, a pair of buses carrying the Redskins — players, coaches, other team employees — to their game at the Vikings collided. After Washingtons 29-26 loss, coach Jay Gruden described what happened to the buses as five feet from driving off a cliff. A backup running back, Silas Redd Jr., was held out of the game because of back spasms, but others were unhurt.QBs HURTIN: Add Philadelphias Nick Foles to the ever-growing list of starting quarterbacks who have gotten hurt in games this season. The NFC East-leading Eagles turned to backup Mark Sanchez — remember him? — during a 31-21 victory at Houston after Foles was levelled during a sack at the end of the first quarter. Foles wound up wearing a sling. A half-dozen startering QBs missed time because of injuries this season, including Dallas Tony Romo on Sunday.BIG BEN: Pittsburghs Ben Roethlisberger is the first player in NFL history to toss 12 touchdown passes over two games; he had six in a 43-23 win over Baltimore, a week after having six against Indianapolis. Oh, and theres this: Roethlisberger threw zero interceptions in those two games.WHATS UP WITH THE CHARGERS?: Philip Rivers threw three interceptions, failed to throw a TD pass for the first time in 29 games and was shut out for the first time in his NFL career, as San Diego lost at Miami 37-0. The Chargers lost their third in a row to drop to 5-4.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP_NFLAaron Gordon Jersey . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. Jason Williams Jersey . The visitors missed a host of good chances to win the game, and were left to rue substitute Ivo Ilicevics strike against the crossbar in the 86th minute, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat. http://www.magicauthentic.com/.com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. Shaquille ONeal Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Jonathon Simmons Jersey . The club announced Friday that Mauro Biello will be kept on as an assistant to coach Jesse Marsch when the Impact join the MLS in 2012.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is up to the Philadelphia 76ers, proud possessors of a win streak for the first time since two weeks before the Olympics began. Any task worth doing is worth doing with commitment, and while you can argue whether tanking to get a good draft pick should be worth doing, thats the system, and the Sixers have been crafting a masterpiece. Before Saturday night they had lost 26 in a row, 29 of 30, and 36 of 39, and 27 straight losses would have a set a new record for consecutive defeats. But Saturday in Philly, the Sixers pulled one out, blowing out the hapless Detroit Pistons by 25 and getting a standing ovation. It was a raft in an ocean, a blip in the sky. But now, no matter what, they can say this: it could have been worse. Steve Simmons, Sun Media My thumb is up to Gregg Popovich, who just might be the greatest coach in the history of professional sport. And I dont say that lightly with terrific respect for the work done by Scotty Bowman and Phil Jackson and Bill Belichick, and yeah, certainly Vince Lombardi. Put your championships aside for a moment - this is the 15th straight season in which Popovichs San Antonio Spurs have won between 50 and 63 games in the NBA. To put that into perspective, thats the same number of 50-win seasons combined over that time that the Knicks, Celtics, Bulls, Warriors, Nets, Wizards, Pacers, 76ers, Bobcats, Hawks, and Raptors have won. Having Tim Duncan helps. But Duncan at 37 is slowingg down.ddddddddddddHeading to another 60 win season, Gregg Popovich doesnt seem to be. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is up to the R&A, for finally entering a new century. The 20th. The Royal and Ancient is urging its membership to allow women to become members of the venerable St. Andrews golf club in Scotland when it votes in September. This is a mere 260 years after the home of golf was founded, which qualifies as progress. Two other courses in the Open Championship rotation, Muirfield and Royal St. Georges, have yet to tiptoe down this perilous path to equality. By comparison, the nice gentlemen at Augusta National, which started accepting female members in 2012 - hello, Condoleeza Rice! - look like wild-eyed progressives. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, for making me seem less crazy than others think I am. I have been saying for years that the complexities of video review are confusing and unnecessary, and that a better system would be a very simple system that allows anything to be challenged. And no less an authority than Belichick is leading a push in this direction in the NFL. Never mind "this can be challenged under certain circumstances, but not that under any circumstances"--as Belichick says, "if a coach thinks his team has been victimized by a bad call, he should be able to question it, and its up to him to use the limited number of challenge flags with that in mind." As I say, "challenges might actually be fewer--same with wrong calls--and replay rules would be simpler. You can challenge those assumptions, but Bill Belichick wont. Blackhawks Jerseys StoreCheap Wild JerseysCheap Red Wings JerseysCheap Maple Leafs JerseysPenguins Jerseys StoreCapitals Jerseys For SaleBlues Jerseys StoreCheap Kings JerseysAdidas Lightning JerseysStars Jerseys For SaleCheap Predators JerseysDucks StoreSharks Jerseys For SaleCheap Sabres JerseysRangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '