New York Mets

Matt Cain to Start All-Star Game. May He Have Better Luck than Giants Predecessors.

Some controversy has erupted over the selection of Giants ace Matt Cain to start tonight's All-Star Game over New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. This is a transcendentally stupid matter to get worked up over. If this game was meaningful and important, it wouldn't be held in Kansas City.Major L ... More >>

Baseball by the Numbers

"Moneyball": Formula Works for Sabermetrics Sports Flick

The Franchise Recap Episode 4: Carlos Beltran Is a Giant

Tedkerwin via flickr​Last week, I said that The Franchise had finally found the right balance between broader storylines and behind-the-scenes intrigue. It turns out that I was in the minority: many non-San Francisco reviewers, including Claire Zulkey of the AV Club, thought it was an episode tha ... More >>

Welcome, Carlos Beltran! Here Are S.F.'s Best Puerto Rican Restaurants

Keith Allison via Flickr​First off, Carlos, welcome to San Francisco. We're happy to have you. Now that you're here, we have to make a confession. San Francisco is no New York -- in terms of quantity, S.F. simply can't produce the never-ending list of Puerto Rican restaurants you probably too ... More >>

The Franchise Episode 1: Promising Rookie Looks a Little Raw

UCinternationa​When Showtime aired a preview for The Franchise in April, the Giants were only two weeks into the MLB season and still riding high in defense of their World Series title. Back then, the show looked like a window into the lives of baseball players, rather than a rough-and-tumble vie ... More >>

Friday Is the S.F. Giants' Bill Graham Tribute Night

This could be yours.​Who's your baseball bobblehead collection missing? Well, howabout Bill Graham, the legendary and controversial S.F. concert promoter/music executive? If you're scratching your head right now, don't worry. We kinda are, too. But you will really have a chance to snag a Bi ... More >>

Jose Reyes to Giants? Don't Count on it.

The man everybody wants...​It's no wonder rumors are burning that the Giants are conniving to obtain scintillating Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. San Francisco's offense is providing writers with a rare opportunity to use the word "flaccid" in a non-sexual context. Meanwhile, erstwhile Giants shortsto ... More >>

San Francisco International Film Festival: What to See

It Takes a Lot of Balls

Kevin Mitchell, Giants Legend, To Stand Trial for Alleged Golf Course Beating

​Kevin Mitchell, the home run-hitting savant who powered the San Francisco Giants' 1980s-era teams and occupies a place in every fan's heart, is less revered by a concussed San Diego-area golfer. A man named Leonard Lerma claims the 1989 National League Most Valuable Player leaped out of a golf ca ... More >>

Thea Miller, S.F. Realtor, Claims Match.Com Predator John Egan Scammed Her For $250K

Brokenhearted -- and broke​Thea Miller, a San Francisco Realtor and divorced mother, has won a default judgment against a Match.com Lothario she says scammed a quarter of a million dollars out of her. John Egan allegedly sweet-talked Miller's credit card number away from her by posing as a suave a ... More >>

Jeff Garcia and 'The Jerseys That Should Not Be'

Et Tu, Jeff?​Jeff Garcia is one of my favorite football players of all-time. I first saw him play -- in person no less -- in October of 1990 when he very nearly led San Jose State to upset a damn good Cal squad in Berkeley. The Bears held on, 35-34. He next crossed Bay Area fans' paths when he pla ... More >>

Barry Bonds to Blame for Fan's Smashed Face in New York, Lawsuit Argues

Barry Bonds is blamed for inspiring a trend that led to a fan's face being smashed in New York​Just when you thought alleged perjurer Barry "Better Living Through Chemistry" Bonds couldn't be vilified any more, a lawsuit claims he's responsible for a trend that led to a man having his throat slash ... More >>

Karma Smiles on San Francisco Giants

Keep your eye on the ball...​Those who believe that a Supreme Being, The Force, or supernatural entities actually influence the outcomes of sporting contests aren't always the most credible sorts. But you have to admit that the San Francisco Giants are in the midst of an almost karmic series of do ... More >>

Angry Giants Fans Line Up Hours Early -- And Don't Want Your Company

Taylor FriedmanFirst pitch is 7:15 p.m. What are you doing here?!​Warning: Reading this post will induce you to drop everything and sprint to AT&T Park. At least, that's the prevalent fear among Giants fans huddling in front of the ballpark today at 2 p.m. -- a good five hours and change befor ... More >>

The Worst First Pitches of All Time

Karen Peterson served as a schoolteacher in nearby Woodside for many a year. Her name did not become known nationally. Prior to Saturday's San Francisco Giants game, she threw what may be the worst ceremonial first pitch in the history of humanity. And now you know who she is. Welcome to the Interne ... More >>

It's 4th Down For California Redwoods In San Francisco -- Already

Jim HerdCory Ross and the Redwoods apparently know the way to San Jose​On Saturday, we stopped by the California Redwoods' first game in San Francisco. If we knew the expansion United Football League's San Fran era would potentially be so fleeting, maybe we'd have picked up a signature plastic cup ... More >>

Tobacco Chewing Ballplayer Turned Stock Market Guru Turned Lawsuit Magnet Lenny Dykstra Sued in S.F.

Stealing bases? Here comes another lawsuit.Lenny "Nails" Dykstra, the former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder renowned for tobacco stains and hard-nosed play shocked the world when he transformed himself into a stock market ace and luxury magazine publisher. Sadly, it appears he's ... More >>

You Don't Have to Be a Psychologist to Figure Out the Deeper Meanings of Giants' TV Ads

Let's be honest, the Giants could use this guy, too. The San Francisco Giants' entire ad campaign used to boil down to "Come watch: We Got Barry." Now the overriding message is, "Come watch: Barry's gone." A quartet of new Giants ads have been playing on San Francisco screens, and the theme coul ... More >>

Free Kicks

Once in a Lifetime remembers when soccer players lived like rock stars

Helluva Swing

Game 6 redeems Michael Keaton after he almost fouled out

Say-It-Ain't-So Joe

Why does Joe Morgan -- the best second baseman in history and a prominent TV broadcaster -- hate Moneyball? And Billy Beane and his Oakland A's? And you, too, if you think the statistical revolution that's overwhelmed Major League Baseball has any

Reps Etc.

Best Starting Nine

Best Giants Trade

Shawn Estes for Tsuyoshi Shinjo

Best Place to Impersonate a Budweiser Commercial

Shannon's Sports Bar

Best Place to Root Against the Locals

Shannon's Sports Bar

The Closer

He's fallen off a third-story balcony, survived tuberculosis, and come back from four arm surgeries to lead the Oakland A's to the brink of post-season play. His name is Jason Isringhausen, and he IS the closer

The Regular Guys

They follow sports, wear flannel shirts, smoke, drink, belch, and make crude jokes. Oh, one other thing. They're gay.

The Fandom Menace

Living on the sidewalk for a month. Sleeping with Wookiees. $300 action figures. The new Star Wars isn't just a movie. It's a force that's with us.

Riff Raff

Hook, Line, & Stinker

Everyone loves the 49ers. But even love has its limits. Are taxpayers willing to subsidize millionaire owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.'s dreams of a new stadium when economists say it's a bad deal