The most recognizable pitcher in franchise history will be a Giant for at least two more seasons.

The Giants and right-hander Tim Lincecum agreed to a two-year, $35 million deal Tuesday, pending a physical. Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was days away from becoming a free agent for the first time.

Drafted 10th overall in 2006, Lincecum is 89-70 in seven seasons with the Giants with a 3.46 ERA. He was 10-14 last season with a 4.37 ERA and threw his first career no-hitter.

During today's match at Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kießling put a header just outside the near post. The ball somehow snuck through the netting, and Kießling was awarded a goal.

The celebration was a bit subdued (nobody make eye contact with the officials!), but it wasn't particularly amusing for Hoffenheim. A late goal would make it 2-1, making Kießling's header through the onion bag the winner.

California Governor Jerry Brown (D) Saturday vetoed a bill that would have allowed prosecutors or judges to charge simple drug possession as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. The bill would have made drug possession a “wobbler,” meaning it could be charged either way, based on judicial or prosecutorial discretion.

Some 10,000 people are convicted of drug possession felonies each year in California, and experts estimated that, under the bill, 15% to 30% of them would have been charged instead with misdemeanors. The exact number is unknown because the bill would have left those decisions up to prosecutors and judges.
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Bill supporters, including the ACLU of California and the Drug Policy Alliance lambasted Brown’s decision to veto the bill.“By vetoing SB 649, Gov. Brown has thwarted the will of the voters and their elected representatives by rejecting a modest reform that would have helped end mass incarceration in this state,” said Kim Horiuchi, criminal justice and drug policy attorney for the ACLU of California.

“California voters and the legislature recognize the urgent need to reevaluate our sentencing laws and enact smart reforms, especially for low level, non-violent drug crimes,” Horiuchi continued. “Doing so will allow California to reduce its reliance on incarceration and free up limited resources for the sorts of community-based treatment, education and job training programs proven to reduce crime and create safe and healthy communities. Despite this, Gov. Brown remains inexplicably opposed to meaningful sentencing reform.”

Quarterback John Skelton, who was seen in the 49ers’ locker room at lunchtime studying the playbook, was released a short time later. The 49ers claimed former Sacramento State quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, whom the Minnesota Vikings released on Tuesday.
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Skelton spent one week with the 49ers. The 49ers released rookie B.J. Daniels to sign Skelton, who was inactive Sunday against the Houston Texans as the No. 3 quarterback.

Veteran Colt McCoy remains as the 49ers' No. 2 quarterback behind starter Colin Kaepernick. Daniels was the No. 3 quarterback to open the regular season, as he beat out Scott Tolzien and Seneca Wallace for the job.

Coach Jim Harbaugh explained the decision last week to sign Skelton to replace Daniels was because the team wanted more experience from the No. 3 quarterback position. Bethel-Thompson has never attempted a pass in the NFL.

In one of the oddest scenes you’ll ever see after a game, former Giants closer Brian Wilson walked to the Giants’ side of the field after tonight’s 3-2 San Francisco victory, as Giants players were shaking hands on the field, to rail on team president Larry Baer for not getting his 2012 World Series ring.

Wilson’s actions stunned Baer and Giants officials, who said they tried repeatedly throughout the season to meet with Wilson so the ring could be presented, and that he never responded, even when the Giants invited him to the ring ceremony during the first weekend of the home season. “I don’t know why he decided to make a show of it and air his grievance tonight,” team spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said.

The Giants have tried to have a sort of mini-ceremony with former players when they get their rings, as they did in Toronto when manager Bruce Bochy gave Melky Cabrera his ring in a brief, private ceremony. That scene was repeated elsewhere.

But after tonight’s episode, Slaughter said, the Giants just sent the ring to the Dodgers clubhouse with instructions to deliver it to Wilson.