So just a few quick notes for the end of the week.
I must say although I still stand behind my outburst about the hypocrisy that is the NBA, this first round has actually tickled me slightly.
Some of the games over this last week were pretty good, especially the Memphis and San Antonio game from the other night.
Did I watch the entire game? No way, Jose (or insert another name)...
But the ending was fantastic. Charles Barkley already said the series was over, so it was definitely funny to see the Grizzlies blow it.
Hard to say who wins since Memphis is at home against the Spurs for Game 6, but I think if I had to pick, I'd say the Spurs still find a way to win this series. Zach Randolph was out of his mind the other night.
Also tonight is Game 1 of the Sharks and Red Wings. You can follow along tonight at 7 p.m. when the puck drops on CSN-CA, Ch. 41 on most Comcast cable networks or Ch. 698 on Direct TV.
And now a nice story about the Giants win yesterday.
Vogelsong gets first win since 2005
Courtesy: The San Francisco Chronicle by Henry Schulman
Things work lightning-quick in baseball, don't they? In 1998,
the Giants drafted pitcher Ryan Vogelsong out of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Nearly 13 years later, he earned his first win in a San Francisco uniform.
"It was a sense of accomplishment for me even before the first pitch," Vogelsong said after he gave the Giants a big lift in a 5-2 victory against the Pirates on Thursday.
The 33-year-old right-hander struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings to match his career high and rode an offense that finally produced in the third inning when the Pirates defense foundered and Giants capitalized for four runs, two scoring when Aaron Rowand provided that elusive big hit.
The Giants won the series despite going 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position, and Vogelsong earned his first big-league win since Sept. 14, 2005, when he was a Pirate. He won as a starter for the first time in 2,413 days, dating to Sept. 19, 2004.
Vogelsong could have lied and said that as he toiled in Japan from 2007 to 2009, and last year for two Triple-A teams, he knew he would win again in the Show. He often doubted he would ever get this shot.
"Absolutely, it's something I thought at times," he said. "I wondered if I was ever going to pitch in the big leagues again let alone get a chance to be a starter and win a game."
Barry Zito's sprained foot gave Vogelsong the opportunity, and he ran with it.
He spotted the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the first inning when he walked Lyle Overbay and Neil Walker found the gap in left-center for a double. Vogelsong said he was fighting his command the entire game. Still, he vowed he would not allow another run.
He did, but not until the sixth inning. In-between, he baffled Pittsburgh hitters. In one stretch he struck out four in a row, including Pedro Alvarez and Brandon Wood with two runners in scoring position in the fourth.
Manager Bruce Bochy surmised that Vogelsong's win meant more because he pitched for Pittsburgh from 2001, when the Giants traded him, through 2006. Bochy surmised right. Vogelsong won in front of 25 friends and relatives, mostly in-laws.
His wife, Nicole, is from Pittsburgh. Her dad, Dewayne Holloway, died over the winter.
"He was a big Pittsburgh fan," Vogelsong said. "He loved the Steelers. He loved the Pirates and Penguins. It was a good feeling today pitching in Pittsburgh, knowing he was watching."
Vogelsong could not win without the Giants scoring, no sure thing lately. In the third inning, they broke a pair of 0-for-17s en route to a four-run inning.
Mike Fontenot's leadoff single was his first hit in 18 at-bats against a right-hander this season. Rowand's two-run double was the Giants' first hit in 18 at-bats this series with a run in scoring position.
The first baseman Overbay was a big contributor, too. After Fontenot's single, Overbay dropped a routine foul pop by Eli Whiteside, who then got hit by a Jeff Karstens pitch. Vogelsong's sacrifice attempt went to Overbay, who tried to get Fontenot at third but threw too late.
Rowand then laced a double past third base to send the Giants on their way. He singled home an insurance run in the seventh inning as well.
Just an amazing game last night in the second round of the NHL playoffs between the Sharks and Red Wings. Benn Ferriero, a player on the Sharks whose last name I couldn't even spell before last night, scored the game winning in overtime to give San Jose a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.
