Handel » those having nothing to do with bas

DENVER - Nolan Arenado thought for sure his liner to left field was gone. Nope, hit off the top of the wall and bounced back into the outfield grass. Walkoff double. Walkoff homer. Doesnt really matter — it was still a walkoff win for the Colorado Rockies. Arenado hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning, lifting the Rockies to a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Its the second straight game the Rockies have won in walkoff fashion, with Justin Morneau hitting a two-run homer in the 10th against San Diego on Sunday. "Kind of got away from (walkoff hits)," cracked Carlos Gonzalez, who scored the winning run. "Were trying to pick it up a bit." Just another crazy game at Coors Field. The NL West-leading Giants took a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth on an RBI double by Tyler Colvin against closer LaTroy Hawkins (2-0). But it wouldnt last. With Troy Tulowitzki at third and Gonzalez on first, Arenado fouled off slider after slider from closer Sergio Romo (3-1). Finally, Romo hung a 2-2 slider that Arenado caught just right. He figured it was gone and sort of went into a half-run. The ball hit off the yellow portion of the fence and came back onto the field. Arenado started motoring toward second. No matter, though, Gonzalez was sprinting all the way, despite a sore shin and a balky knee. He easily slid into home to help the Rockies win and pull to within two games of the Giants in the division. Gonzalez even had a blood stain on his right knee, courtesy of his slide. "I didnt even know I was bleeding," Gonzalez said. "Youre trying to do anything possible and give all youve got." Arenado hardly thought this was his night, not after hitting into a double play and flying out in his first two plate appearances. But Tulowitzki gave him a pep talk. "Told him he was going to get a big hit and stick with it," Tulowitzki recounted. And Arenado did just that. "Saw a pitch and put a good swing on it," Arenado said of his third career walkoff hit. Its the second time the Giants have lost on a walkoff hit this season. "Thats tough luck," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Its a game of inches man and we just missed." Wilin Rosario had an RBI double and a two-run homer as he steadily regains his strength. Rosario recently missed a dozen games because of a viral infection that caused him to lose nearly 10 pounds. Madison Bumgarner allowed three runs in six innings before being removed for a reliever. Thats the 18th straight road starts hes surrendered three runs or less, which is the longest streak in team history as he surpassed Ed Whitson. The left-hander was staked to a 3-1 lead, but couldnt hold it as he gave up a tying two-run homer to Rosario in the sixth. Bumgarner was none too pleased in the seventh when he was hit by a pitch from Rex Brothers on the leg. Bumgarner jawed at the Rockies dugout as he made his way to first base. "Heat of the moment. Everybody was fired up," said Bumgarner, who hit Tulowitzki in the left leg with an errant pitch earlier in the game. "It shows two teams out there that care." Franklin Morales was sharp after scuffing for the last month, giving up three runs over six innings in the no decision. San Francisco took advantage of an overturned call to score three times in the fifth. After a one-out single by Brandon Crawford, Colvin laced a ball to left that appeared to drop right on the line, only to be ruled foul. Bochy challenged the play and the call was reversed, with Colvin being awarded a double. Gregor Blanco soon followed with a two-out, two-run triple to deep centre. Hunter Pence brought in Blanco with a slow roller that Tulowitzki struggled to cleanly field. The most explosive hitting team in baseball got another weapon back with reigning NL batting champion Michael Cuddyer returning to the lineup Tuesday. Hes been out the last month with a strained left hamstring. "Feels good to be able to get back on the field and put my pom-poms away and pick up a glove instead," said Cuddyer, who finished 0 for 4. NOTES: Giants OF Angel Pagan (left shoulder) and C Buster Posey (back irritation) were out of the starting lineup. ... Bochy said Posey "needs a day, might need a couple." ... The Giants will throw RHP Matt Cain (1-3) on Tuesday night, while the Rockies counter with RHP Jhoulys Chacin (0-2). Cheap Bruins Jerseys Authentic .com) - Scott Parel carded a 5-under 65 on Thursday and he grabbed a 1-stroke lead after one round of the season-opening Panama Claro Championship. Cheap Adidas Bruins Jerseys .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseys.com/. Al Horford said all he had to do was make the catch near the basket and then shoot a soft jumper. Cheap Boston Bruins Jerseys . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners. Wholesale Bruins Jerseys .com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No.NEW YORK -- Jason Collins has been warmly received in his historic return to the NBA. Now its time for his own fans to welcome him back. More than a week after becoming the leagues first openly gay player, Collins will finally get to play a home game Monday night when the Brooklyn Nets host the Chicago Bulls. "It will be a lot of fun," Collins said. "I have some family and friends coming to the game. Im looking forward to seeing them and obviously the first home game." He has played hundreds in a Nets uniform, though it was a white, red and blue one, and the home games were in New Jersey. Plenty of fans and employees of the organization remain from when Collins played there from 2001-08, so he will likely be greeted by a loud ovation if he gets into the game. "Ive always said Im not worried about the reaction," said Nets coach Jason Kidd, who played with Collins when the franchise reached consecutive NBA Finals in 2003-03. "I think they will always support a Net. Hes been a Net before. I think theyll be excited to have him, but the big thing is him being able to help us defensively." Collins and the Nets have kept the focus as much on basketball as possible. They all view him as a big man who will willingly defend and foul -- he has racked up 10 of them already in four games -- who can help pass along 12 years of NBA experience to younger teammates such as Mason Plumlee and Andray Blatche. The fact that hes gay makes him much more than that outside the Nets locker room, but he thinks that story line will die down soon enough. "Theres only so many ways you can write the story, or tell the story, and then it will just be about basketball," he said during the middle of last week. Collins thought it had already reached that point, mistakenly believing that Saturdays victory in Milwaukee would be the first time reporters didnt want to talk to him after the game. Not quite yet. Collins may just be a 14th man on the roster to thhe Nets, but hes still far more than that to the fans he inspired from the moment he decided to come out in a Sports Illustrated article last April.dddddddddddd "I think it is a big deal. Hes showing a lot of courage. Youre talking to a guy who was around when Jackie Robinson came in. Whats the difference? Its just as groundbreaking. I just hope hes judged as a basketball player," said Butch Pye, 69, of Castle Rock, Colo., who attended the Nets victory in Denver on Thursday. Collins debut is currently his only guaranteed home game. Hes nearing the end of the 10-day contract he signed on Feb. 23 before facing the Los Angeles Lakers. NBA rules allow teams to sign players to two 10-day deals, then have to sign them for the rest of the year if they want to keep them. There are plenty of reasons to retain Collins. He has brought plenty of positive attention and is making an impact in the gay and lesbian community, with the NBA pledging to donate at least $100,000 from sales of his No. 98 jersey to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. But those having nothing to do with basketball, and the Nets stressed in the press release announcing Collins signing that the move was a basketball decision. He can still do enough to make it a wise one, even with just one basket so far. With Brook Lopez lost for the season and Kevin Garnetts minutes being monitored, Kidd needs a big man he trusts to fill in for a few minutes. And a guy like Collins can help even when hes not in the game. He has defended Shaquille ONeal and Tim Duncan in the NBA Finals, so knows what it takes to guard even the biggest stars, even if hes rarely the one doing it. "When I was a younger guy, I learned from Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning. Its a cycle," Collins said. "Now that Im that old man at the end of the bench, that veteran, even though I may not be playing minutes, there definitely are ways I can help the team win." ' ' '