nbc bay area's lawrence scott is live at stanford where the game is just starting. lawrence. >> reporter: hey, tom, how ya doing. when you say they hold the record, that's both men and women, eclipsing those john wooden teams of the early '70s that ucla had. we're talking 90 games. just how long is 90 games? that's two full seasons plus back-to-back national championships plus the games this year. let's take you inside and show you the scene here. things very exciting for stanford fans really because they get to see the lady huskies, one, and two it's a measuring stick for the cardinal. but when you think about this, stanford was the last team to beat uconn and that was the '08 final four. i tell yyou something, stanford has had a big week. the head coach got win number 800 last wednesday. the cardinal then beat fourth-ranked xavier, but these huskies are number one for a reason and are still undefeated. stanford fans feel this could be bookends for uconn's streak. >> i think they now have the confidence to beat them. they have come so close, they have knocked on the

. >>> lawrence scott has sports tonight. plenty of hockey talk.e have taken their temperature and the sharks are peopling much better. back to being their own selves. it's a good mix between the top three lines, tighten up the "d" a bit, and we'll talk the winter classic. if you waited until the last minute before picking up a few video games for the kids, we are sporting some suggestions. first, nick skating along in the weather center. >> thanks, laurence. downtown san jose, quiet like most of the bay area, but we will get rocking and rolling tomorrow with an active weather system. forecast after the break. >>> i'm leaving a message for my parts and my brother and sister and my two nephews, happy holidays. have a good christmas and new years. lots of presents. i miss you guys and i miss the sunshine and beach and lots of food at home. happy holidays. >> merry christmas to all the troops. >>> the broadway musical spider-man is back on the comeback trial tonight. the show has been riddled with bad mistakes. the most serious happened on monday when

lawrence scott is here now to talk about what's next for the niners and this certainly is no surprise today. >> not at all. the good thing we're hearing is -- we'll figure out which. team president, very proactive in decided that a statement had to be made to the fans. primarily that season upon season with a nonwinning record must come to an end. eight straight seasons the 49ers will have missed in the playoffs. he would have needed a m miraculous turn around. with an ongoing quarterback shuffle and defense prone to blow out, this was just not possible. still on a very bad division, tom, they were the favorites and should have capitalized. other teams in the nfc west were in their own more drastic rebuilding stage. that means start iing by hiring true general manager. yes, putting the horse before the cart who can then be part of hiring the next head coach. it's no doubt a dark day in santa clara, but the fresh start is coming. >> obviously, we had anticipations, expectations of being a playoff caliber team this year. whether we were 7-9 division winner or not, didn't matter to me. i

our lawrence scott joins us now with sports. how are you doing? >> i'm excellent. feeling good about the season. feeling good about how the raiders feeling. the holiday season full of joy and optimism. the raiders can have a winning season with continued success. the niners won't be having a winning season but could host a playoff game at secondle stick. odd and confusing and we want to know what you think about it. a baseball star twaeeaming withs wife to do some important work. >> a beautiful day across the bay area with blue skies thugh. through. tracking another storm system. forecast details coming up. >>> the countdown to christmas son at the north pole and santa has checked off a few things from his own wish list. our own bob riddell reports from the big guy's chilly place. >> reporter: sometimes even the fastest animals in the world have to take it slow. dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cure paid, donner, blitzen, all resting for what in 24 hours will be the maddest dash around the world. it's to a sleigh helping the jolliest guy in the world deliver

i'm lawrence scott. a lot of stuff for you. back home and riding a nice wave back into the bay area. the warriors a close one in portland. de la salle always in the high school championship game it seems. and who starting at quarterback against the raiders? makes it interesting at the coliseum today. that and more coming up in sports. . >>> the sharks chased away the blues and the broncos. the denver broncos unveiled their chosen one for their game against the oakland raiders. lawrence scott has the highlights in your morning sports. >> a very good morning to you. i know you missed the sharks they've been on the road most of the month, but they'll be home for the holidays and at the tank next week. business to be done against the blues. last night, in st. louis, and ryan clowe, not just a fight, but an undressing of b.j. crombean. guess who's leading the team in goals? the rookie. the first on the power play, in the second, the game's third goal. that's 17 total for couture. going to start calling him ju autoey. the sharks stri

let's go back to maples pavilion where lawrence scott is standing by. something happened that hasn't happened in two years. >> a streak came to an end. uconn's streak is , b the impressive way stanford did it you have to see. t >>> good evening. 90 wins is set in the record books. uconn never had the lead. stanford played an inspired game. let's take you inside maples. joono auriemma leading his team. it was a career night for jeannette poland. helping stanford jump out to an early 13-point lead. uconn would claw back and at the half the stanford lead was four. in the second half the huskies starting to make mistakes. also tonight kela peterson had 11 rebounds. she and poland played the full 30 minutes while the fresh stole the show. she fouled out t and hugged auriemma as her sister closed out the game. 71-59, the final. >> we're very excited about how well our team played and obviously connecticut was a great opponent and i compliment them on how hard they played and how well they played. tonight was stanford's night. >> it was fun. because like coach

i'm lawrence scott. five games, count them five games, it ten teams in action yesterday. and the night cap was a great one in oakland with the warriors hosting the trail blazers. that coming up in sports. >> this is sergeant brian harriman from bagram air base afghanistan. want to say merry christmas and happy holidays to my wife bonny and son alexander in california. i love you, miss you, and i'll see you soon. verizon 4glte. download a song in 4 seconds. rule the air on the fastest 4g network in america. come on... isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any one of the 40 million drivers who already have state farm. 40 million. yeah, that's more than geico and progressive combined. by a lot. 40 million drivers. more savings. and discounts up to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. >>> the nba and nfl did not take christmas off. lawrence scott has the highlights in your morning sports. >> a very good morning to you. hope you'r

i'm lawrence scott. stanford awaits its bowl game fate. it's coming today.he question is -- in warm weather will they enjoy the vitamin c supplied by oranges or will it be a fiesta in arizona? we'll wait and see. that and more coming up in sports. as over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. ♪ keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. [ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. ♪ because it is. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. ♪ it comes along just once a year ♪ ♪ on winters wings, decembers rear, ahha humbug faces come and dear ♪ ♪ then appears at perfect christmas time. ♪ ♪ a tiny tree, christmas, tinsel, the lights ♪ ♪ the star that sings, top your tiny tree, yeah ♪ >>> stanford football team is going bowling but where will they end up? lawrence scott has that and more in your morn sports. >> a very good morning to you. stanford finds out what bowl game they'll play in so if a back room deal isn't made, it looks like orange or possibly fiesta. in the orange bow

. >>> we have lawrence scott right now and cal basketball invading the midwest?> both men and women in big 12 country today. the cal men finding themselves. national championship game in college football is set. what does this mean to stanford's bowl game. we'll explain that. the niners and raiders areom oo work out with them on the wii. >>> both cal men and women were in big 12 territory today. bears winless in two other road games thus far. and establishing an identity today. harper camp with a solid showing. ten points and two of them here in the second half. 14 points total as a matter of fact. the up and under move making things a lead that got too close for comfort. bokbok nine points off the bench as the bears roll to a win. cal women in college station facing texas a&m, and the aggies are a top ten team. second half, cal in an 11-0 run. clarenden gets the ball at the other end. the aggies just too strong at home pulling away for the win. >>> stanford football fans keeping a close eye on the games today. the bowl picture has cleared up just a bit, if a dea

well, lawrence scott is a phillybuster of sorts. >> not bad, not bad.in philadelphia tonight. this game looked like it had a game winner, but that was called off, and then the game was won in a shootout while the warriors see one of their stars escorted to the locrm rooas lockerm oo d to bounce back against the spurs. we're back in a moment. [ female announcer ] safeway talks holiday baking. that smells scrumptious. yummy! smells delightful. awesome! i'm not smelling anything. [ female announcer ] everything for holiday baking. just add love. safeway. ingredients for life. i think there are eggnog people and non-eggnog people. and which are you? i'm a fish. on a tree. [ female announcer ] if it tastes like the holidays, we've got it. safeway. ingredients for life. >>> good evening. drama in the locker room can tear a team apart. drama during a game can turn things around. the sharks in need of some of that in philly tonight. backs against the wall looking for a dramatic finish. sharks were down 4-1 in the third. off the draw, joe pavelski makes it 4-all

. >> and now we're switching gears to lawrence scott and stanford.or the rose bowl fading a little bit? >> we'll know more tomorrow, but it's up in the air. you know, bowl games are unpredictable. and we all know the bcs does strange things. the giants cody ross basks in the sun of his hometown of new mexico. the boss honored in the land of enchantment. the contrast of infinite black... the clarity of fast-switching phosphors... the smoothness of 600 hertz... all come together to create what cnet calls "the best picture quality of any 2010 tv." the viera full hd 3d tv from panasonic. get a bonus avatar blu-ray 3d disc from these retailers when you buy a viera 3d tv. i want a robosan 4000. [ mom ] the one no one could get. toy stores are reporting long lines and empty shelves. a robosan 4000. [ mom ] and i mean no one. so i did most of my holiday shopping on citi specials. with the money i saved, i bid online -and got exactly what he wanted. -a robosan 4000! [ television ] introducing the new robosan 5000. [ mom ] at least for now. [ male announcer ]

. >>> lawrence scott standing by with all the sports tonight. >> the giants are getting even more national spotlight at the top of the game. the most memorable athlete for 2010, but it's the photo that wasn't chosen that you have to see. the niners getting ready for a showdown on sunday. plus stanford getting very particular about preparations here for the virginia tech hokies in the upcoming orange bowl. you know, those hokies, they always have a few sl ueir theeeisleeve and stanford has some time to get ready. sports coming up in just a bit. e >>> so to ski or not to ski on this holiday break? >> if you love to ski, you'll love what's up there now. jeff ranieri standing by with our forecast. >> we're going to get you an update on that. as our storm moves in right now, there's going to be more snowfall across the sierra with a winter weather advisory posted, six to nine inches possible in the next 24 hours. but that's nothing compared to the record setting snow they have had over the past, what, six or seven weeks. in fact right now joining us live, joanie lynch with mammoth mountain. is

plus, why this gm search is so critical right now. >>> all right, lawrence scott, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> for many of us, the holiday buying season is over. but this week, it's one of the busiest for car dealers. nbc bay area kimberly terry reports there are people showing up in show rooms looking for deals on wheels. >>> most of us are slowing down, car dealers are shifting to gear for one of the biggest sales times of the year. >> in out, in out, like a hamburger place. >> like black friday for the auto industry. >> the customers have the time off, the advertisers have all of it running. it's a massive weekend. >> car makers are rolling out deals. consumers can find rebates and downpayment assistance. >> the dealerships are willing to squeeze a little tighter to get the cars off of the lot and clear the inventory for the new year. this is not the first time that i bought a car toward the end of the year. >> that's what we came in for. get a better deal and replace an old car that's not working as well. >> edmund's.com and autoshop indicates it will reach the highest l

lawrence scott is here. niners likely staying within the organization. >> it's the owner's prerogative. if you think an internal candidate in the failing organization, it's a bad choice here. here's a couple of things to consider. doing a handful of interviews with a variety of candidates. but the man for the job has been part of the plan all along. the player personnel trent balche. he's expected to do a foral interview with him on saturday. if you've been up for a promotion at work yourself, you can understand what he's thinking right now. i earned my stripes, i know the needs of this organization best because i've been here in the trenches. you know you've had the thoughts that work before. just who is this trent balche. he's proven he can work for the yorks. he's been with the niners for six years. first with the scout, handling the aspects of the free agencies, draft, that sort of thing. came to the niners, and br that, the jets. had a path to the ufl having the first scouting job. the athletic director

. >>> in the meantime, we've got lawrence scott and a little bit of 49er action. >> niners twice morenow. >> maybe not. >> lawrence doesn't know how to respond. >> if you're only as good -- >> can we go back to the '90s. >> you're only as good as the company you keep. a collapsing nfc west at 5-9 and whooped in san diego it's becoming more and more absurd by the minute. to hear folks still talking post season. the feist and niners only have one hope and wait to see . it plays out like the will willie neilson songs. the pundits say the niners were with locked to win the division because the other teams were with too awful to be believed. fans want a new quarterback and head coach the by the way, the current head coach has two years left on his contract. as for his immediate plans? >> my future depends on the st. louis game that we have coming up. my future, to me, i take it one week at a time and i don't really worry about all the other things. but right now my future focuses on st. louis. >> 27-point loss. the team's worst under mike sing sing singletary. the raiders very much in the

lawrence scott, nbc bay area sports. >>> yesterday it was all about cutting ties with several playerss the a's non-tendered three guys including jack cust. today it was all about offering contracts. and ryan sweeney will be the benefactor. the outfielder and the team agreed on a one-year deal worth $1.4 million. sweeney is expected to be a starting corner outfielder next season. and 36 rbi last season. that was all before his year was cut short in july thanks to a knee injury. >>> and last night the giants' world series celebration hit the big screen. a private screening of a pair of new dvds all about the champs at at&t park. the first is called "the magic inside." it follows the giants through their division-winning season. the other is the official 2010 world series dpeevd. bruce botchy, ryan fabian, and f course the trophy all there to take it in. and one note. the machine pat burrell will be back again. $1 million. >> it's very good. and i know you covered the giants' parade, which was good. but now you're trading in our san francisco giants, we've got to tell you you have to sta

. >>> lawrence scott once more joins us with sports and a sweet story from stanford, it's a girl. >> it as girl. a special day for stanford head coach jim harbaugh. his wife gives birth to a baby girl. today celebrating in an afternoon practice with his team. the circle of life just part of the leadup to the orange bowl. they welcome their second daughter kathleen harbaugh to the world during bowl season. the cardinal getting ready for virginia tech january 3rd. last year kathleen's grandfather jack joined the team on the sideline for the sun bowl as an honorary coach. >>> with two games left for the raiders and 49ers, if each got two wins to wrap up the season it would be a tale of two cities. one who played rope a dope and became the forrest guch of the postseason, the niners. the other in oakland seeing a legitimate resurgence but playing against -- well, facing more competitive competition in their division, and a much tougher conference. the scene at the coliseum yesterday was inspiring for raider nation. think about it, they didn't let a bad broncos team look too good. the raid

lawrence scott takes a look at who york has already talked to but also who he plans to talk to this weekeporter: a very good morning to you. the talk of the bay area sports scene here, just what direction the 49ers are planning to take with football operations. team president jed york says he'll first hire a general manager who will then find the right coach. they may just be looking for a coach, though. we'll explain. but first, yesterday york began his part of the process interviewing candidates for the gm spot. here's the first. former rams vp of personnel, tony softley who spent the last fur years in st. louis before being fired in june. softley interviewed here in the bay area yesterday. it also takes care of the league rule, the rooney rule, stating that the 49ers have to interview at least one minority candidate. next on the list we're hearing is this guy, former broncos gm ted sundquist. the niners will interview him later this week. last night on the broadcast, the eagles/vikings came, peter king saying the talk about former raiders head coach jon gruden returning to the 49ers i

lawrence scott joins us now. a lot of holiday drama out there. >> certainly with the 49ers. this is about as much intrigue as one could squeeze out of a 5-9 team. just which smith will start at quarterback sunday in st. louis? this is a must win for the 49ers. troy smith has been reasonably good. he's already beaten the rams this season. so he gets the start over alex smith and kna any way you slice it, this is a sorry situation. no matter what, both alex smith and mike singletary are done with the niners unless they miraculously take the team to the super bowl somehow. it's up to troy who lit the rams up at candlestick for 356 yards passing in an overtime win several games back. if you want the skinny on why the players will get behind troy smith move, some of the 49ers have intimated they like how troy will keep a play alive and take some shots downfield. he'll need to take shots against singleta singletary's soon to be son-in-law who played at stanford. he's set to marry the coach's daughter next spring. >>> let's talk raiders. they'll know if they are alive still in the

lawrence scott explains. >> reporter: a very good morning to you. uconn's streak is over. never again may a team get up to 90 straight wins. but stanford ending the lady huskies streak here last night at maples pavilion. let's show you how it happened. as we go inside, you've got to see stanford jumping on uconn from the word" go." the cardinal led the entire game. uconn couldn't get any footing. stanford was tough and played inspired against an excellent huskies team. the last time uconn lost was to stanford, the final four in '08. now it is bookends, 71-59. the mark for consecutive wins is now set at 90. here's some of what was said afterwards. >> i think everybody did a great job. we had a lot of help. >> there's a sense of disappointment that we didn't play well. but if you look beyond that, there's been other times during this whole time where we didn't play well. it's just that we haven't faced anybody as good as stanford played tonight. >> reporter: all right. stanford doing what many thought was possible, because uconn's streak would eventually come to an end. yes,