Lincecum!

Wins the Cy Young! A rare bright spot in Bay Area Sports this year. Congrats. Not really even close in the vote totals either.

Lincecum received 23 of 32 first-place votes and 137 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks got four first-place votes and finished second with 73 points.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, tiny by today's standards for a big league pitcher, Lincecum defied detractors -- and the laws of physics -- by firing 97 mph fastballs past one hulking slugger after another.

Maverick's is Open

The call window from Maverick's has opened, so the competition can happen anytime now with 24 hours notice. December 4th went down as one of the biggest days of surfing at Maverick's with wave faces reaching 80ft.

Through a blanket of fog, it was a vision of death. Darryl Virostko, the big-wave surfer known as Flea, was taking what witnesses described as the worst-looking wipeout they ever saw. It was a gloomy day at Maverick's last week, and a handful of riders were meeting the challenge of their lives.

The most-seasoned Maverick's surfers have seen some epic disasters in their time. Jay Moriarity, who met his death years later while free-diving, took a well-publicized wipeout in 1994, just four days before the drowning of Hawaiian superstar Mark Foo. A Santa Cruz surfer named Neil Matthies took a fall on a giant peak in 1998 and was held under so long that a second wave passed over him before he came to the surface - about 45 seconds later, more than 100 yards inside the spot of impact.

Flea's wipeout, though, entered an entirely new realm. That Tuesday, the waves were so big that paddle-surfing, the style featured in the upcoming Maverick's competition, was out of the question. This was strictly for tow-surfing - the act of being whipped into a wave at high speed, water-ski style, by a partner aboard a personal watercraft. Grant Washburn, the Maverick's standout who has meticulously chronicled every swell during the last 15 years, said some of the wave faces approached 80 feet in height.

"Probably the biggest day ever surfed at Maverick's," said Washburn. "A couple of other days are in the ballpark. But what really stood out was the performance level. Guys were turning, carving, snapping off the top, getting barreled like never before."

The same day marked the death of a surfer at Ghost Trees in Monterey.

Peter Davi, the 45-year-old Monterey surfer who died that same Tuesday at Ghost Trees, the notoriously dangerous spot near Pebble Beach. As much respect as Davi had earned through years of experience around the world, no one could fathom the idea of him trying to paddle-surf Ghost Trees - which had served up the biggest waves ever ridden there - instead of finding a tow partner.

Video of the day at Maverick's can be found at surfline and is some of the nuttiest stuff I have ever seen.

The official Maverick's website has some awesome pictures too.

Go Bears!

45-31

Despite all of the tree-sitters making Berkeley look more like the stereotype every one holds of us rather than a less crazy truth, the National exposure was nice and a big win felt great. This is a very exciting team. Revenge was sweet.

Jump on the Bandwagon

There was a lot of excitement in the Bay Area when the Golden State Warrior's made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, but after the game 1 upset in Dallas, the hype is in full swing. You can feel the energy in the air. Everyone wants to talk about the W's.

Tickets are impossible to get. Even Jessica Alba couldn't get game three tickets in Oakland and will only be coming to game four. Somebody has got to have an extra ticket for the girl. Via GSoM from a Marc Stein Column on ESPN.com

My sources in Hollywood tell me reliably that Jessica Alba has requested a ticket for Sunday's Game 4 in Oakland.

Yes: I'm well aware that Alba and Baron Davis are longtime pals. But I'll go out on a limb and say that it's still a rather momentous occasion when an actress of Alba's hotness, er, stature, wants to fly in for a courtside seat.

Alba, by all accounts, only hits Warriors games when they're in L.A. This will apparently be her maiden trip to Oakland . . . after she undoubtedly realized that even Jessica Alba would have a tough time scoring Friday night tickets for Golden State's first home playoff game in 13 years.

Will she be wearing her City Jersey? Everyone wants to be a Warrior's fan now.

Hyphy!