SAN FRANCISCO - Madison Bumgarner sat in the outfield alongside Jake Peavy before Game 7 of the World Series and told his teamma

SAN FRANCISCO - Madison Bumgarner sat in the outfield alongside Jake Peavy before Game 7 of the World Series and told his teammate exactly what needed to happen: Tim Hudson would work a few innings and get the ball to Bumgarner, who would hand it off to the bullpen to finish the championship. Malik Monk Jersey .Peavy quickly offered his own prediction that Bumgarner would end it himself.Thats exactly what MadBum did, following up a pair of World Series wins with a save at Kansas City to close out San Franciscos third title in five years and cap a brilliant post-season that made him a household name — or, at the very least, a household nickname. He is the 2014 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.I was sitting in the outfield with Madison and he was asking me how I thought this game was going to play out, Peavy recalled this month. I said to him: Madison, when you get the ball, youre not coming out of the game. Youre the best guy weve got. ... He said, Man, thats exactly what I hoped you would say and exactly what he wanted. He just needed some confirmation, somebody to believe in him as well. I said, Fight for that ball, man, and what he did will go down in the ages as the best ever.The shaggy-haired left-hander who takes as much pride in his pitching and durability as he does his deep North Carolina roots, Bumgarner became Octobers biggest star for a San Francisco club that really needed one during another improbable World Series run.Bumgarner finished first in a vote by U.S. editors and news directors. He beat out Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw — who won the National League Cy Young and MVP. Retiring New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and golfer Rory McIlroy tied for third place. The award was announced Tuesday.After months of the same questions about his well-tested left arm, Bumgarner made light of it all.He had just thrown 270 innings, including 21 with two wins and a save in a World Series that went the distance against the fellow wild-card Royals.I got a splinter in my finger the other day. That was kind of painful, Bumgarner quipped, sounding perfectly serious. Fortunately, it was on my right hand.Bruce Bochys 25-year-old workhorse has earned the managers trust that he will speak up if anything ever feels off with his arm. Otherwise, hes going to keep getting the ball.With that tricky cross-body, three-quarters delivery — resembling a sling shot — Bumgarner shows hitters the ball briefly with an outstretched arm before that rapid release and suddenly its right there leaving batters baffled.On two days rest in Game 7, that day he sat with Peavy in Kansas City, he pitched five scoreless innings of relief in a 3-2 win.Only after that would Bumgarner acknowledge he might need a mental and physical break at last after tossing a record 52 2-3 post-season innings.You know what? I cant lie to you anymore, he said. Im a little tired now.Pitching coach Dave Righetti began fielding inquiries before the World Series began about whether Bumgarner had the chance to make three appearances. He knew it could happen, though it wasnt exactly planned.You dont realize when youre in the middle of the eye, Wow, what this guys doing is so special, Righetti said. That really hasnt been done in years. ... When youve got a healthy guy whos on a roll, those are the kind of guys who change big series and do special things.The Giants locked up Bumgarner long-term in April 2012 on a $35.56 million, six-year contract through 2017. It could keep him in orange and black even longer, given the $12 million options for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. That almost seems like a bargain now given Bumgarners performance and star power on baseballs biggest stage.Bumgarner was MVP of the World Series and NL Championship Series, going 4-1 during the post-season following an 18-10 regular season.From his four-hit, 10-strikeout gem that got things started in an 8-0 wild-card win at Pittsburgh all the way through his brilliant relief outing in Game 7 of the World Series, Bumgarner dazzled like never before.He pitched a different game than we had seen from him earlier in the season, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle recalled recently. We had watched video and saw how much sharper he had gotten as the season played out. In the wild-card game he had command of all his pitches and lived on the edges the entire outing. He also used his fastball up in the zone with deadly accuracy.Bumgarner made the rounds on the post-Series appearance circuit, then took a break to attend a rodeo.Despite the heavy workload, Bumgarner will be eager for spring training come February.Everything feels great and were looking to just keep a normal off-season and a normal routine, Bumgarner said.It will hardly be normal given the attention and hype he is sure to generate after a spectacular 2014.I just love the way hes handled everything, all the attention, Righetti said. It looks like hes stayed the same. Marvin Williams Jersey .The Los Angeles Lakers star passed Michael Jordan for third on the NBAs career scoring list Sunday night in a 100-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nicolas Batum Jersey . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder. http://www.basketballhornetsauthority.com/ .com) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows about life in the NFL from other stints around the league. CALGARY -- With friends and family in the stands, Brayden Schenn had a night to remember. Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. "Its obviously a good building to play in," said Schenn, who hails from nearby Saskatoon. "I had friends and family here. Its obviously nice to have a big night here." Among his cheering section at the Saddledome were his parents Rita and Jeff and sisters Madison and Macy. "My immediate family drove down," explained Schenn, whose older brother Luke also had an assist during the win for the Flyers. "Its nice to have a good game in front of them." The 22-year-old forward also scored one night earlier during Philadelphias 4-3 shootout win in Vancouver over the Canucks to snap a 16-game goalless drought. "I guess that happens to most guys," said Schenn, who played in the Western Hockey League for both the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades. "They go through slumps and they get a little shot of confidence. Tonight, as a line, as a team, as a whole we worked hard. At times there we were obviously playing in our own end a bit, but thats two games in two nights. It was good to come out on top." Philadelphia coach Craig Berube was definitely pleased to see Schenn contribute with goals in back-to-back games. "It helps," Berube said. "Guys that score goals, they lose their confidence when they dont score. You get a goal, it gets you going a little bit. He looked really good tonight." Mark Streit, Scott Hartnell and Braydon Coburn also scored for the Flyers (20-16-4), who have won four straight games and six of their past seven. Wayne Simmonds chipped in with two assists, while goalie Ray Emery made 23 saves to improve his record to 4-7. Rookie Sean Monahan scored the lone goal of the game for the Flames (14-20-6), who have now lost three straight after dropping a pair of 2-0 decisions at home to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday and the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. "Putting the puck in the net gives you confidence and its big for me to put the puck in the net, and that helps the team, but at the end of the day I want to win games," Monahan said. Calgary forward Lee Stempniak, who hasnt recorded a point in 11 straight games, said the Flames have to start believing in themselves again in order to snap their losing streak. "You certainlyy feel a little bit better if youve been scoring, but, to me, thats a little bit of a cop-out," he said. Frank Kaminsky Jersey. "Youve got to take ownership of it and be ready for the next opportunity that comes." Starting his fourth straight game for the Flames, Reto Berra made 17 saves in a losing cause. The game marked the debut of forward Kevin Westgarth, who was acquired by the Flames from the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday in exchange for centre Greg Nemisz. Westgarth played on a line with Joe Colborne and Brian McGratton. "Ive been a healthy scratch for a little bit here and coming and jumping in the game right away is awesome," Westgarth said. "What I want to do is play hockey." Streit put the Flyers up 1-0 at 3:15 of the opening frame when his let go a wrist shot from the point that found its way into the top corner over the outstretched glove of Berra, who was screened by Simmonds and Hartnell on the play. The Flyers continued to pour on the pressure as Streit rang a shot off the post before Brayden Schenn appeared to score to put Philadelphia up 2-0, but the goal was waved off because Hartnell made contact with Berra after taking the initial shot on goal. Monahan tied the game at 1-1 with his first goal in seven games at 14:30 of the second. Monahan skated down the left wing into the Philadelphia zone on a two-on-one with Stempniak. Instead of passing, Monahan fired a shot to the far side into the net over Emerys left pad to end Calgarys goalless drought at 159 minutes 35 seconds. Jakub Voracek then had a chance to regain the lead for the Flyers, but he fell down in the slot and Berra poke checked the puck out of harms way. With 1:29 left in the second, Schenn put Philadelphia back up by one when he spun and fired a shot from the slot past Berra. Hartnell added an insurance marker for the Flyers at 10:14 of the third when he tipped Luke Schenns point shot past Berra. Coburn rounded out the scoring with a late empty-net goal while the Flyers were killing a penalty. Notes: Calgary now has an all-time record of 12-8-3 on games played on New Years Eve. a Heading into Tuesdays game, the Flames had won the last six times they have played on New Years Eve, including a 3-2 win at home over the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 31, 2010. a After playing 6:24 in the first period, Philadelphia forward Matt Read left the game with upper-body injury and didnt return. a The Flyers have now won five straight games at the Saddledome against the Flames. 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