SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecums days of dominance may be in the past. Damyean Dotson Jersey . That doesnt mean he cant dial up flashes of the Freak he once was -- especially against the San Diego Padres. Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner Wednesday and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win. "Ive always been that guy who will kind of go for the strikeout," Lincecum said. "I think my first no-hitter I had 13, so I think I was going for those a little bit more often." "Today I tried to be a little bit more efficient and take what they were going to give me. They were giving me a lot of groundballs and a lot of pop flies, so I was just going to try to keep attacking the way that I was," he said. Lincecum totally shut down the weakest-hitting team in the majors, striking out six and walking one in a 113-pitch outing -- 35 fewer than he needed last July 13 against the Padres in his first no-hitter. Lincecum retired the final 23 batters after walking Chase Headley in the second inning, relying much more on his off-speed stuff than his fastball. Though the Padres hit a few balls hard, San Francisco fielders didnt need to make any exceptional plays to preserve Lincecums gem. The right-hander with two NL Cy Young Awards became just the second pitcher in major league history to twice no-hit the same team. Hall of Famer Addie Joss did it for Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox with a perfect game in 1908 and a no-hitter in 1910. "Its hard enough to do one," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To do two, that puts you in a little different class. I couldnt be happier." Lincecum (6-5) threw the 16th no-hitter in Giants team history. Just one other pitcher has thrown two -- Christy Mathewson for the New York Giants more than 100 years ago. In fact, Lincecum joined Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers with two Cy Young awards and two no-hitters. "Just to be in that company allows me a chance to pat myself on the back a little bit," he said. Making the performance even sweeter was the fact that Lincecum even got two hits of his own, becoming the first pitcher with two hits in a no-hitter since Rick Wise hit two homers for Philadelphia against Cincinnati on June 23, 1971. "Regardless of what they did, I think its cool I got two hits anyway because up to today I only had one and a pretty poor batting average," Lincecum said. "I got that thing above .100 and I feel much better about it." But Lincecum will always be known for his pitching. He arrived as a shaggy-haired phenom nicknamed the Freak in 2007 for his ability to generate tremendous velocity from his slight frame. He won NL Cy Young awards in 2008 and 09 and helped lead the Giants to their first World Series title in San Francisco the following season. As age and wear and tear ate away at his velocity, Lincecum was forced to change what kind of pitcher he is. It hasnt been an easy transformation at times as he posted a losing record the past two seasons as his ERA hovered around 5.00. He was even relegated to the bullpen when the Giants won it all again in 2012 but was brought back with a $35 million, two-year deal last off-season for moments just like this. "I think its been a battle for him at times to make that transformation to what he is now," Bochy said. "Sometimes less is more, and thats what I think if anything, hopefully he learned today." Headley walked with one out in the second after falling behind 1-2 in the count. The Padres began the day worst in the majors in batting average, runs and hits. "He was good. It wasnt a fluke," Headley said. "His split and changeup or whatever you want to call it. If its not the best in baseball, then its one of the best pitches in baseball. Even with the diminished velocity, its still a tremendous pitch. He was able to throw it for strikes when he wanted too." This was the third no-hitter in the majors this year. Clayton Kershaw did it exactly a week ago and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Josh Beckett did it earlier in the season. The Padres, incidentally, are the only franchise in the big leagues that has never pitched a no-hitter. Lincecum made quick work of the San Diego hitters in the late innings. He drew a standing ovation when he batted in the eighth, then got another ovation when he took the mound to begin the ninth. "His rhythm was going," third baseman Pablo Sandoval said. "Thats the best hes pitched. Two no-hitters, thats pretty impressive." Lincecum struck out pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia to open the ninth. Pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal followed with a tapper back to Lincecum, who tossed to first for the out. Will Venable was up next, and Lincecum retired him on an easy grounder to second base. Lincecum took a few steps toward first when the ball was hit, stopped to watch the play and clapped his hand into his glove when it was over. Catcher Hector Sanchez soon met Lincecum for an embrace, and the rest of the Giants joined in the celebration. "It was amazing," Sanchez said. "Anybody wants to be part of something special like this. Thats a great feeling." Buster Posey got four hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Ian Kennedy (5-9) allowed four runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second when Brandon Crawford tripled and Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (5-3, 4.13) is scheduled to start Thursdays series opener against Cincinnati. ... RHP Tyson Ross (6-7, 3.22) starts for the Padres against Arizona on Friday. ... The Padres are hosting a public memorial for Tony Gwynn on Thursday at 7:19 p.m. at Petco Park. Gwynn wore No. 19. Emmanuel Mudiay Jersey .com) - Graeme McDowell opened up with a first- round, 5-under 67 on Thursday and he holds a 2-shot lead at the WGC - HSBC Champions. Frank Ntilikina Knicks Jersey . Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract. He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season. http://www.knickssale.com/kids-tracy-mcgrady-knicks-jersey/ .Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night.The rules of the game of football are subjective. Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. Fer play was denied, with Fair Play ruling the day. The least appealing match of the weekend on paper turned out to be the fixture with the darkest cloud hanging over. Norwich City and Cardiff City went 90 minutes without a goal. Cue the controversy. In stoppage time with a 0-0 score-line, Cardiff played the ball out of bounds for an injured Norwich player down on the field: a signal of true sportsmanship allowing the injured player to receive treatment. Its customary for the gesture to be extended in return, with the ball being played back to the opposition. When one team concedes possession to allow for an injured player to be seen, the favour need be repaid immediately. Or so convention says. Norwich City didnt oblige. Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall showed for the ball on the throw, completely out of goal and out of position. Ricky van Wolfswinkel decided instead to throw the ball to his Norwich teammate, Leroy Fer. With little hesitation, Fer passed the ball into the wide-open net. 1-0, Norwich City. Or so it should have been. Chaos ensued with Cardiff players confronting Fer, the teams pushing back and forth and confusion, en masse. Fer broke a cardinal rule. He didnt repay the gesture. Cardiff City players had every right to be incensed. But Fer did not break a rule of the game. With the scoreboard showing 1-0 and hostility raging, referee Mike Jones took matters in his own hands, calling back the goal and ordering the throw to be re-taken. The reason for the goal being disallowed, as described by Fer? Jones told the midfielder he didnt blow his whistle. But a referee doesnt have to blow his whistle to restart play. Jones clearly signaled for play to carry on so wherever the ball is thrown, the play is live and teams are free to carry on with proceedings. Fer was in his every right to do with the ball as he pleased. The laws of the game were not broken. Yet Jones, overseeing the proceedings made a moral decision, standing up for the unwritten rules of the game. Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay called Jones decision to disallow the goal, "common sense for football". Norwich manager Chris Houghton agrees, hitting out at his own player and backing the match official. Fer doesnt see things the same way. "Would I do it again? If it was a zero-zero game then yes, because I just want to win." Norwich City currently sits in the relegation zone. They need all the points they can get. If the Canaries are in a similar situation on the final match day of the season, you dont think the players would bypass an unwritten rule to fight for their Premier League lives? Of course they would. Yet, on this day in October, a referee made a moral decision and not a judgment based on the rules of the game. And these dropped points based on this disallowed goal could come back and haunt them. Showing a lack of sportsmanship, but not breaking a rule, cannot be deemed worthy of taking back a goal. We see a lack of sportsmanship on a weekly basis with players diving, trying to earn penalties, all in the name of winning the game. Referees cannot be relied upon to use common sense in every call thats made on the field. Handballs in the box, challenges as a last man back, a player taken down in the box – many of these calls are deemed black-and-white, despite being harsh. The laws of the game dictate the call being made. But if Saturday at Carrow Road is the precedent, the referee seemingly has much greater level of interpretation as moral arbiter of the contest. We have seen it done before when a player/team SHOULD give back possession of the ball in the name of sportsmanship. But in times of desperation, where wins and losses matter, the code has been ignored. We saw a similar goal count in Capital One Cup play earlier this season, with Yeovil not giving the ball back after Birmingham City goalkeeper Colin Doyle played the ball out of bounds for one of his injured defenders. The match official allowed the goal to stand, despite protestations and the poor form. Weve seen similar in top competitions, like the Champions League and World Cup, when teams put sportsmanship to the side in favour of their own fortunes. There is no arguing, common sense dictates van Wolfswinkel and Fer shhould have played the ball straight back to Marshall or another Cardiff player. Phil Jackson Knicks Jersey. But the point is once the play happened, the goal should have never been called back. Fer may have acted like a jerk. His actions dont reflect well on he or the club. But the goal should have counted. It is a not referees job to manage fair play in this context. His or her job is to call the rules of the game. Its up to the players to play how they see best reflect on themselves and their club. Common sense didnt win out at Carrow Road. Wrong decisions did. Fer made the first wrong decision. Jones followed that up with a wrong decision of his own. Two wrongs dont make a right. Other Musings - The unreliability of Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has already been discussed at length in this space. Was his gaffe at Stamford Bridge the last straw? Late in a 1-1 game against Chelsea, Hart inexplicably charged out of his goal for a long-ball defender Matija Nastasic was in control of. With Fernando Torres closing in, Nastasic made the right decision to head back to his goalkeeper. Never mind the poor communication, Hart came charging out of his box like a madman, leaving his defender on the lurch, gifting Torres the match winner. Hart was out of his box and out of position even before Nastastic touched the ball. All the City goalkeeper had to do was keep his composure and stay in a balanced, reactive position inside his own box, something he failed to do at Villa Park as well. The sheer disappointment and negative body language of the City players and manager after the calamitous goal tells the story. They have lost faith in their goalkeeper. Being a top goalkeeper is more than just being a shot stopper. Hart is that. A communicator, thinker and leader from the back, he is not. Now were left with pundits proclaiming a resurrection of the goal scorer Torres. Only if scoring every goal were as easy. Costel Pantilimon was handed the start in the Capital One Cup Wednesday. He should get a look as the short-term number one until reinforcements can be found in January. Manuel Pellegrini needs reliability at the back. Someone who does not make massive mistakes is all thats required at present time for a team good enough to win the title. - Pellegrini snubbed Jose Mourinhos handshake after the 2-1 loss, heading down the tunnel without acknowledging his counterpart. Mourinho made a fool of himself, jumping into the crowd to celebrate after being gifted the winning goal. You would have thought Torres goal would be a wonder-strike by the way Mourinho reacted. The celebration was a slap in the face to Pellegrini. Such an egregious goal and mockery of a celebration shouldnt sit well with anyone. Earn the goal, then fine, celebrate as you will. But the shocking way the goal went down, Mourinho should feel fortunate to go in the lead. Mourinho should be embarrassed by his reaction. Need more reason why Mourinho didnt get his dream job as manager of Manchester United? - SAS is on fire. Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez have scored 14 of Liverpools 17 Premier League goals. Enjoy it while it lasts. The unpredictable Suarez is perpetually unsettled and could be tempted to move away from Anfield at any time. Suarez summer of discontent and posturing has been forgotten for the time being. Let the good times roll. How long does that last? It is of concern for Liverpool where they will find goals if injury or suspension hits the tandem. For the meantime, they deserve all the accolades they are receiving. The goals have been special and the play has been top quality. - Time for a formation change at Old Trafford? David Moyes team has started to show some of the bite accustomed to Manchester United. Yet the team hasnt yet hit top gear. The players available for selection seem to dictate United play a more narrow formation. The wing play has been poor, and with Moyes not yet trusting Wilfried Zaha, perhaps hes best off relying on wing production from Patrice Evra and Rafael from the back rather than the attacking wing positions. A 4-2-3-1 makes more sense, with Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa, and Adnan Januzaj taking up the attacking midfield positions. Kagawa is wasted playing outside left, with a preference to come in field. And Januzaj was the top player midweek in the Capital One Cup, playing in the middle of the park with freedom to roam and create. @WheelerTSNgareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca ' ' '