Lincecum Donates $25,000 To Beating Victim

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has donated $25,000 to the Bryan Stow fund. Stow was the victim in a senseless beating by a couple of Los Angeles Dodgers fans on opening day. The Giants have donated $70,000 themselves. The donations were made to cover Stow's medical expenses.

Both teams have taken heightned security since the incident, with the Dodgers cancelling an alcohol related promotion.

“This was a senseless act of violence and I wanted to help out Mr. Stow and his family,” Lincecum said in a statement Thursday. “It’s also close to me because not only is Mr. Stow a Giants fan, but I have family and friends who are firefighters, police officers and paramedics and this honors their service to the community.



“I encourage Giants fans to support Mr. Stow in a positive way and hope there are not any more unfortunate acts between fans in this great rivalry,” Lincecum said.

As a fan let's hope Stow can make a complete recovery and go back to living life as he knew it.

Excessive Fandom

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the defending world champion San Francisco Giants in their season opener yesterday. That's all good and dandy. It just wasn't enough for a few Dodgers fans.

Dodger fans and Los Angeles fans in general have a rap about being too laid back. If I'm wrong about this let me no, since I'm not a native in your city. A pair of Dodgers fans laid a critical beatdown on a fan wearing Giants gear in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

"The man suffered a serious head injury during the assault after the game,'' said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Sanford Rosenberg. (LA Times ).

Rosenberg said the victim was one of three Giants fans attacked in the parking lot around the end of the game by two unidentified men wearing Dodgers clothing.

Police are trying to get any witnesses to come forward since there was a pretty large group and the attack happened when everyone was coming out. Hopefully someone will come forward and identify the people that did this crime.

It's fine to talk trash to one another while supporting your team, but keep it non violent. Let's hope the perpetrators of this sad and cowardly act are brought to justice. There's no place for this junk in being a fan of professional sports -- which are supposed to be fun.




  

Brian Wilson Has A New Party Buddy

Brian Wilson of the San Francisco Giants was invited to a private screening of "Major League" by none other than Mr. Wild Thing himself, Charlie Sheen this past weekend. Wilson was at Sheen's house along with former major leaguers Kenny Lofton, Lenny Dykstra, Todd Zeile, and Eddie Murray. It seems Wilson has found some new party buddies. Pete Rose reportedly was invited but didn't attend.

Wilson was flown to Arizona by Sheen to Los Angeles for the party. Wilson and the others had the privilige to try on Babe Ruth's 1927 World Series ring which he purchased at an auction some time ago.

Sheen, who is a big baseball fan said that he is "married...to baseball". He also called his little party the "ultimate VIP baseball excursion".

I'm sure there are many that have a differing opinion but consider the source.    

The Panda Diet

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been spending his offseason getting in shape. A far cry from a typical world champion baller that usually gets a bit lazy.

Before:

Now:

The Giants hope for big things from Sandoval this year. They just hope it's not his weight.

It's The Giants vs.Rangers. But Will Anyone Watch?

I'm glad to see some new blood in the World Series this year. It'll be the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic. Even though I thought the Phillies and Yankees would've made it and I did want the Phillies to win it all, I'm not opposed to seeing a first timer and a franchise going after their first world championship since they relocated. The only thing is, will anyone watch?

Baseball  purists and the casual fan probably won't like this matchup. You know what they'll say. No name recognition, they don't know much about the teams, they play outside the glamour markets (Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles) so they don't really care. That's what happens when you shove Red Sox vs. Yankees down our throat every year.

That's why the NFL has better viewership. You know you'll have your perennial contenders, but some team will rise up to surprise from year to year. I don't mind parity in sports. I think it makes it better, it keeps the product as a whole from getting stale. I don't like seeing the same teams year after year, even though the networks (ESPN, Fox,etc.) would love to have the same teams every year to improve their ratings. I'm all form just watching a good ballgame. That's how I came up and that's how I like it. I hate seeing teams like the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates on hard times. They were actually good when I was growing up, even though it's hard to believe now.

I"m glad it's the Giants vs. Rangers. It's refreshing to see two teams that are normally second or even not thought of this time of year. Hopefully baseball can get a clue and do something about the large disparity about some of the teams that just flat out suck right now and the one's that continue to stay on top. I don't think it's about what market you play in. If you find committed ownership and the right scouts and management it can be done. I never considered Boston a big market. San Diego has a larger population but is considered small market. I never got that and probably never will.   

Hopefully this will be an entertaining World Series. It probably won't work for the casual fan. They will turn their attention to the NBA season.