Zito was left off the roster for the postseason when the Giants

As Pagan rounded first, he raised his arm in a fist pump. When Gregor Blanco hit a two-run shot to right-center field an inning later to break a 1-1 tie, he raised his fist, too, mirroring Pagan.

"We understand the situation we're in," Pagan said. "It's win or go home."

Even with that display of offense, the Giantshad to go to their bullpen early and often because of starter Barry Zito's struggles. In his first playoff start since 2006 with Oakland, Zito lasted just two and two-thirds innings. He allowed two runs and four hits and also walked four.

Zito was left off the roster for the postseason when the Giants won the World Series in 2010, but on Wednesday he was tabbed over Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young winner, in large part because the Giants had been unbeaten in Zito's last 11 starts. Zito responded by nearly imploding in the first. He walked three, with the third walk, to Todd Frazier, forcing in a run. Zito escaped further damage by striking out Dioner Navarro on a looping curveball, but was soon in trouble again. 

Greenway, on that very crisp and determined effort

The floor is yours, Leslie Frazier.

"That's a big win," the Vikings coach said. "It validates the confidence that we have as a staff in our players. It should be something that hopefully we can build on the rest of the season."

Your assessment, Chad Greenway, on that very crisp and determined effort?

"We feel like if we can replicate what we did today every week and be consistent, we have a chance to do something."

Care to add anything, Kyle Rudolph?

"Definitely not [just another game]. This was huge for us to springboard our season."

Clemens was acquitted of all six charges brought by the government

The 50-year-old Clemens is pitching competitively for the first time since 2007 when he threw for the New York Yankees, presumably the last of his 24 major league seasons.

Clemens was acquitted of all six charges brought by the government two months ago in its second go-round charging the former pitcher with lying to Congress about taking performance-enhancing drugs.

A 12-person jury found Clemens not guilty on two counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction of Congress.

The 354-game winner will be on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in December unless he pitches again in the majors this year. 

Griffin did show off his arm in producing the lone touchdown

The only thing missing from Robert Griffin III's NFL preseason debut was the Washington Redskins rookie quarterback showing off his ability to run the ball on Thursday night.

Give it time, Griffinsaid. He wouldn't mind saving something for the regular season.

"I don't mind that," he said. "I didn't get touched today. That was a great feeling."

Though he didn't get a chance to run the ball, Griffin did show off his arm in producing the lone touchdown drive for the Redskins (No. 25 in the AP Pro32) in a 7-6 win over the Buffalo Bills (No. 19).

The Red Sox started Friday 10 1/2 games back of the Yankees

General manager Ben Cherington's ideal swap won't be for a rental.

"I guess we have to be prudent, factor in where we are, factor that in the risk-reward of any deal," Cherington said Friday, four days before the Trade Deadline. "But if there's a way to improve the team this year potentially and beyond, then those are deals we want to pursue. We'll see what happens. We'll work as hard as we can."

That doesn't mean Cherington, whose last-place Red Sox started what should be a telling three-game series with the first-place Yankees on Friday, thinks Boston is out of playoff contention this year.

The Red Sox started Friday 10 1/2 games back of the Yankees in the American League East. Their expected win-loss record, calculated using the number of runs they've scored and allowed, has them a better team than that -- as the second-best team in the AL East, in fact. The Orioles (52-47), in second place, entered Friday with 53 more runs allowed than scored. 

Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler

But if Houston is willing to commit that much to Lin, perhaps close to $15 million in the third year, the Knicks could have trouble matching the offer, given their limited future cap space. Already, Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler are set to make more than $14 million each in the 2014-15 season.

And the Knicks also want to re-sign the unrestricted free agents Steve Novak and J. R. Smith.

"They are all valuable players, and we're going to try to keep all four of them," General Manager Glen Grunwald said last week. 

The negotiations presented Senators general manager Bryan Murray

Just like that, he's become the NHL's sixth highest-paid defenceman with his second pro contract.

"I'm very happy that I'm here right now," said Karlsson. "It's not something that I counted on this early in my career. I'm very grateful to especially Ottawa for letting me be who I am and playing my game and developing into the kind of player I am today.

"It has a lot to do with them."

The negotiations presented Senators general manager Bryan Murray with an interesting quandary: Do you reward Karlsson with a megadeal based on one outstanding season or elect to go with a shorter term and see if he can do it again?

Murray weighed the merits of each approach before signing the Swede through the 2018-19 season.