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.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. Wholesale Air Max 97 . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss. Where To Buy Cheap Kyrie Shoes . INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, . http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.c...orge-shoes.html. -- Canadian mens rugby coach Kieran Crowley has made four changes to his starting roster for Saturdays Pacific Nations Cup clash against the United States. Wholesale Air Max Plus Tn Ultra . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. Air Max 270 Wholesale . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.Drivers are still not sure that Formula 1 is heading in the right direction with its proposed 2017 rules package, as the deadline for an agreement looms. The sign-off for the regulation changes, which could make cars five seconds per lap quicker through wider tires and increased downforce, needs to be made by Saturday and was due to take place earlier this week.However, Sky Sports understands race promoters who sit on the F1 Commission did not attend the pre-Russian GP meeting, and the matter will now be decided by electronic vote. Team bosses appear to be split on whether the changes are good for the sport, with Toto Wolff and Christian Horner presenting different arguments, and it appears drivers remain unconvinced. Whens the Russian GP on Sky? The Russian GP is live and exclusive on Sky Sports - and there are a host of ways you can watch it. Our opinion was its not the right direction to go, championship leader Nico Rosberg said. We we were hoping they would re-look at it and double check the technical point of view. This is the way it is, all we can do is accept it. We hope there are some surprises. Maybe well love the cars, even more than now. Maybe the grip will feel great. Nows just about waiting and making the most of it.While wider tyres should increase mechanical grip and help the show, adding more downforce is only likely to increase the dirty airflow which currently makes it nigh on impossible for one car to follow another closely. Force India driver Sergio Perez was similarly unimpressed by the proposed tweaks.I really hope we can see more competition between the teams, he said. In my opinion, F1 needs more competition, rather than downforce.Haas Esteban Gutierrez, meanwhile, added: What we need is to increase the mechanical grip of the tyres. Downforce would make following a car more difficult, but we dont have an option. Nico Rosberg is happy with his early season championship lead, but still thinks Lewis Hamilton sets the standard in F1 Daniil Kvyat seemed to be the only man in Thursdays Drivers Press Conference willing to provide a different point of view.ddddddddddddIt could make it interesting, the Red Bull driver said. They have limited time to prepare it so everyone might start in similar positions which could mean closer racing, perhaps.F1 2017: What are the proposed rules?If downforce is generated in the right way and with the mechanical grip from the tyres, it could be interesting for racing. To reach incredible speeds would be quite cool.The strategy group and F1 Commission were due to meet in London on Tuesday to thrash out the final details for the rules package and while the vote didnt go through and didnt include drivers, Rosberg is confident they will get more of a say in the future. This is after GPDA penned a hard-hitting open letter to F1 stakeholders ahead of the Bahrain GP last month, calling for a restructuring of the sports governance after a number of unpopular rule changes.Weve been trying to get more involved and its actually moving in right direction, the German said. The FIA are asking us more things now, they want to hear our opinion and theyre asking us for get-togethers. The process is going well, I think. With time, lets see how it goes. We think we are wise enough to help the sport.Watch the whole Russian GP weekend - LIVE ONLY on Sky Sports F1. The race begins at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up from 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Red Bull to trial canopy in P1 Nico: Rivals had messy starts ' ' '