I don’t know how an 18-year old – who has been through what she’s been through in the past 20 months – could sit in front of a bank of cameras and notepads and answer questions calmly and rationally. Sometimes with a shy smile on her face.

Rogers, in case you don’t know, has been hit with double tragedies.

In January of 2008, her father was shot to death on the streets of San Francisco. He had gone out of the gym at halftime of her game at Sacred Heart Prep to have a cigarette and was gunned down.  Rogers was an All-American. She coped with the tragedy, made it through that year and her senior year, eventually signing with Cal.

She was living her dreams, and her father’s dreams.

She had been in school for about a month and was working out at Haas on Sept. 21, when she collapsed.  She was rushed to Alta Bates, where she stayed for a week for testing. When doctors determined she suffered from a heart condition, she was transfered to UCSF. There, tests revealed that she suffers from Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia. She had a defibrillator implanted.

 Doctors told her she can never play basketball again.

“I was devastated,” she said Friday. “I thought, ‘This can’t be real.’ I think it hasn’t hit me.”

She isn’t sure how exactly she is coping with such prfound loss.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said. “I was raised to be strong. My Dad always told me, ‘You’re the best. You’re a strong woman.’ My Mom has been so supportive and has taught me how to keep God in my mind.”

Her mother and little brother moved away from San Francisco, to start a new life in Houston. But her mother came back to be by her daughter’s side at the hospital.  Rogers is getting counseling through school.

She’s clearly wracked with emotions, about the loss of her sport, the loss of her father and the connections between the two.

“I lost him during a basketball game,” she said. “I can’t pursue my dreams any more. I’m letting him down, letting myself down. I think of him when I’m laying down at night.”

She knows that’s irrational. She also knows that it is okay to have irrational feelings.

“She understands the roller coast she’s about to go on,” said her coach Joanne Boyle.

Cal will honor Rogers’ scholarship. Boyle wants to keep her as involved with the team as possible.  Rogers said she may chanel her competitive spirit into coaching. She may find some way of using the platform she’s brutally gained.

Her story has already touched others. As she walked out of Haas, Rogers carried a large pile of mail that had come in to the basketball office in the past few days.

“She’s a lot stronger than I am,” Boyle said, fighting back tears. “We talk about how there’s a bigger plan and a bigger purpose.”

It’s hard right now to figure out what that is. Except to tell the world that an 18-year old young woman can bear the weight of the world on her slender shoulders.

*That the flu – both my own and my daughter’s – puts a real dent in tweeting and blogging. Suddenly lying flat and watching “Across the Universe” becomes much more important.

*That when Eddie D. shows up the party really gets rolling. Still. The event on Saturday night at the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco was reminiscent of the high-rolling 49ers of the past – and you have to credit the Yorks for doing it up in style.

The place was packed with superstars and there was a true familial feeling. Even a lowly reporter like me was made to feel that I had been a part of something truly special – and it was. Covering those glory years was a blast, especially compared to the awful football I’ve witnessed in recent years.  I only stayed a short time – had a high school reunion to attend – but needed to pay respects to the Godfather, DeBartolo. Also a chance to see my favorite football coach of all time: George Seifert. Other big names: Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Steve Mariucci, Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, Charles Haley, John McVay, Roger Craig, Geri Walsh – whose husband Bill was sorely missed. Here is a column I wrote about the night for csnbayarea.com.

* That Cal is a contender for the Rose Bowl and that Jahvid Best is a legitimate contender for the Heisman. I wrote about Best last week for SI.com, and he made me look smart with a five-touchdown Saturday. But I never dreamed that USC would lose to Washington, a team that went winless last year. That changes the whole picture for Cal (pipe down, Cal fans, who have since said to me that they wished they had been the ones to deflower the Trojans. Take what you can).

* That people have a lot of strong feelings about Serena Williams. My column for SI.com generated reams of interesting, well-thought out emails (which were split about 50-50 between, “Thank you, I agree with you,” and “You are a complete moron.”)

* That what Mike Singletary started last year wasn’t a fluke.  When he took over the 49ers midseason, the energy and change was immediate and obvious. That’s why I thought he deserved the job and why I didn’t mind the 49ers hastily handing it to him on the last day of the season.  The vibe and sensibility and accountability he instilled in the second half of last season seems to only have grown.  The 49ers right now are – dare I say it? – fun to watch.

- That JaMarcus Russell is running out time on the “he’s just learning the system” excuse.

- That the Giants are done. Tuesday night’s outing in Colorado was miserable. They’re out of steam and we’re left wondering what’s wrong with Matt Cain, who has only won one game since late July. But it was a fun run while is lasted.