Month: September 2011

Go Visit Brandon the Baby Giraffe!

Brandon, the real baby giraffe, is now available for limited public viewing at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Brandon is now about 2 weeks old and is already 6 feet 5 inches tall, the same height as Brandon Belt. Brandon, the giraffe, is expected to grow about an inch every day. Animal care director Michael Muraco said, “At this point, he is two weeks old and is strong, healthy and solid. Since we’ve been experiencing warm weather lately, he’s been venturing outside to a separate side yard with mom Makali and, in the coming weeks, he’ll be able go out to the main yard for limited hours each day.”

Brandon is residing on the southeast side of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which is mostly open on weekends and some select dates the rest of the year. If you want to go visit Brandon, the baby giraffe, vist the Six Flags website or their Facebook page for more information.

Week 1: 49ers 33, Seahawks 17

On opening day of the 2011-2012 season, the 49ers were hoping to play dominant football on both offense and defense. As if continuing the trend from the last season, the 49ers played excellent defense and struggled much more on offense though. The defense allowed no points in the first half and seemed to really bother Tavaris Jackson’s (the Seahawks QB) rhythm. The offense scored no points in the first quarter, but was able to get 3 field goals and Alex Smith was able to dive into the endzone for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. It appeared as though the 49ers might be able to pull off a win with a 16-0 lead at halftime.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Seahawks were able to get their first touchdown after a nice pass by Tavaris Jackson to Doug Baldwin on a 3rd and long conversion. After a field goal by the 49ers and several nice scoring runs by the Seahawks, they had cut the deficit to 19-17 with 3:56 left in the game. This game was no longer going to be an easy win for the 49ers, so they really needed a burst of energy. That is exactly what they got from Ted Ginn.

The Seahawks were kicking off and Ted Ginn was receiving the kick. He caught the ball in the endzone and ran 102 yards down the right sideline to return the kickoff for a touchdown. Talk about an energy boost. This made the crowd go absolutely wild. This put the 49ers up 26-17. Three plays and less than a minute later, Ginn was able to return a Seahawks punt for another 55 yards and another touchdown. 33-17. Game over. That was exactly the ending the 49ers needed.

Donte Whitner, one of the new safeties for the 49ers, went to high school with Ginn at Glenville High School in Cleveland. Whitner said, “Teddy’s been doing that stuff since high school. If you don’t get to those types of guys on special teams, they’ll break loose. All you need is a little room with world-class speed. I don’t know many people who can catch him once he sees the end zone.”

Watch highlights of the game here by clicking on the thumbnail:

Buster Posey Update 9/10/11

Buster Posey was finally able to do baseball activities today after many months of being limited to just ankle rehab and physical therapy. Posey is working hard to regain both strength and range of motion in his left ankle, and he is right on schedule. Posey was able to play catch for about 7 minutes from about 60 feet away. Posey said, “I never thought I’d be so excited driving to the field today just to play catch for seven minutes. It’s a big confidence boost, even something as simple as playing catch. It’s so nice.” In addition to improving the strength and the range of motion in his left ankle, Posey is also working on balance and coordination to improve his weight transfer while throwing and catching. Although the front office and some of the coaches are hesitant, Posey is determined to be the starting catcher again and not have to change positions. Since weight transfer is so imperative to your safety as a catcher, Posey is making this part of his rehab a priority. Posey said, “It hurts, but I’m doing it. The last two weeks, it’s loosened up a lot. It’s encouraging. … I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far. Once I’m able to do all the functional stuff, it’ll get better and better.”

Posey will leave for Arizona in about a week to continue his rehab there. He will be there for about 6 weeks before he goes back to Georgia for the offseason. Posey plans to hit off a tee in about a week, and then also plans on catching some bullpen sessions in instructional leagues. Posey has had trouble accepting the fact that he couldn’t help his team defend their World Series title. Posey, “feels as disappointed as everybody else in here. Having said that, there are 18 games left. You don’t want to say it’s over until it’s all played out.” It must feel good for Posey that his rehab is going according to plan, and that he could start catching, even if it’s just in the bullpen, very soon.

Giants Updates 9/9/11

There were several updates coming today for the Giants. Here is a list:

1) Jeremy Affeldt is going to miss the remainder of the season with a hand injury. He cut his right hand and suffered a deep gash that required surgery because of possible nerve damage. Affeldt was apparently trying to separate frozen hamburger patties and the knife slipped. Affeldt hasn’t been really effective this year, so this isn’t a huge loss, but the Giants are left with very little left-handed reliever options. Barry Zito is scheduled to take fielding practice today, and if all goes well, then he will activated from the DL tomorrow and take Affeldt’s place. Jonathan Sanchez isn’t an option to replace Affeldt, because every time he throws, his ankle swells up, so they’ll check him in a few days.

2) Brian Wilson threw 25 pitches off a mound today and plans to throw again on Monday. Wilson is making steady progress, and he wants to pitch even if the Giants aren’t in contention. Bochy and the other team officials haven’t decided yet if they’ll activate him before the season is over.

3) The best news of all is that Ryan Vogelsong won the Willie Mac Award for this year. This award is voted upon by the players and is given to the most inspirational player on the team. Vogelsong currently has a 2.62 ERA with 118 strikeouts and 55 walks. However, he is so much more than great stats. He’s a great story, and he’s a true Giant. Especially since, after winning the award, he told the story of how the Dodgers approached him when he was pitching in the Venezuelan winter league and how he rejected them. He immediately passed and told his catcher, former Giant Guillermo Rodriguez, to ask the Giants if they’d match the offer. Vogelsong said, “I said, `Tell the Giants, because I don’t want to wear Dodger blue.’ I didn’t make that up. I couldn’t see myself as a Dodger.” Smart man.

Warriors Players Plan Their Own Training Camp

According the Matt Steinmetz, David Lee, Stephen Curry, and other players on the Warriors have organized their own training camp, since they are not allowed to come in contact with the coaching staff or the front office. Lee, Curry, and Wright are expected to play in the “lockout league” that’s being held in Las Vegas. After the first week of play in this league, the Warriors “training camp” will start. The Warriors players that are expected to participate are: David Lee (who’s organizing hotel rooms and other logistics), Stephen Curry (who’s contacting all the players), Dorell Wright, Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, Lou Amundson, Jeremy Lin, Klay Thompson, Jeremy Tyler, and Charles Jenkins. David Lee said this impromptu training camp is meant to create chemistry. Lee explains, “More than anything it’s just us all getting together. We’re just trying to stay on the same page. Normally, at this time we’re getting ready back in Oakland, and so we’re just doing that somewhere else. It’s about getting to know the new guys and getting everyone excited about the season — whenever the season is. It will be good workouts and good competition.”

Read more of Matt Steinmetz’ article about the training camp here.

NBA Lockout Update Part 2

As promised, NBA owners and players met again today in an attempt to further discussions regarding the lockout. Their meeting lasted about 5 1/2 hours like yesterday’s meeting, and also like yesterday, both sides are remaining quiet about if any progress has been made. Although it was mentioned yesterday that there was a possibility of a third consecutive meeting on Friday, both sides agreed to instead meet next week on Tuesday in New York. This was planned so that more players and more owners could attend, and therefore, hopefully more can be discussed.

After Tuesday’s meeting, there could potentially be another meeting in New York on Wednesday and then each side will update their members on Thursday. The owners have planned a meeting in Dallas on Thursday, and the players are planning to meet in Las Vegas because about 40 of them are planning on playing in a pro-only league at the Impact Basketball Academy. There won’t be any formal votes or decisions being made at these meetings on Thursday, but each side will have a much greater view on if the season can be salvaged. If both sides want to ensure that training camp happens, a decision will definitely have to be made soon though.

Marc Stein, senior writer for ESPN NBA, was interviewed today and said that both meetings this week and the scheduled meeting next week proves to be “a good sign.” Watch the rest of his interview: