NEWS » e defence to illustrate what they describe as the Olymp

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker understands not everybody is going to be a fan of Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, which threatens to slow down a sport that already struggles to be played with any sort of urgency. Bob McAdoo Jersey . Funny, there werent many critics to be found on Monday at PNC Park. Walker homered off Carlos Villanueva leading off the 10th inning, and the Pirates benefited from an overturned to call to beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0. The Pittsburgh native turned on a Villanueva changeup and sent it sailing over the Clemente Wall in right field for the first walk-off of his career and the first by the Pirates on opening day since Bob Bailey homered off San Franciscos Juan Marichal in a 1-0, 10-inning victory in 1965. "This one feels pretty special," Walker said. "This is a special day for this team, this organization. Weve come a long way." So has the game. After spending decades fighting the advances of technology, Major League Baseball has embraced the concept. Many calls can be challenged this season under an expanded system, and both teams wasted little time putting umpires to work. The Cubs made history by initiating the first review under the new guidelines. Chicago manager Rick Renteria challenged a double-play call in the top of the fifth following a demonstrative "safe" call by Jeff Samardzija following a poorly executed sacrifice bunt attempt. First base umpire Bob Davidsons decision was confirmed on replay. "It was a combination of Samardzjias reaction and what we were looking at," Renteria said. "Were still trying to figure out what clear and compelling evidence is. Its a work in progress." Chicagos luck with replay didnt get any better later. A safe call on a pickoff attempt by Bryan Morris (1-0) with one out in the top of the 10th was reversed after Pirates manager Clint Hurdle requested a replay, sending Chicagos Emilio Bonifacio back to the dugout after a delay of 2 1/2 minutes. "Most of the time on pickoffs, its got to be very noticeable for the umpire," Morris said. "Those bang-bang plays are always going to go to the runner. I guess thats why its good to have replay." The largest regular season crowd in PNC Parks 14-season history (39,833) roared its approval. The din only grew louder when Walkers drive to right field finished halfway up the seats. That capped a giddy day for a team freed from two decades of losing after a breakout 2013 in which it won 94 games and made the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Former Pittsburgh star Barry Bonds presented centerfielder Andrew McCutchen with the NL MVP award that McCutchen earned last year. Bonds received mixed reviews, though the vitriol that accompanied his late career visits to Pittsburgh while playing for San Francisco was noticeably absent. Bonifacio went 4 for 5 for Chicago, but the Cubs were 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position and wasted a fine start by Samardzija, who scattered five hits over seven innings. "I was happy with the way I kept the ball down in the strike zone," Samardzija said. "It helped to get the double plays because they made the overall outing look a little better than it really was." Travis Ishikawa had two of the six hits by Pittsburgh. Starter Francisco Liriano tied a team record shared by three other pitchers for most strikeouts on opening day by fanning 10 in six innings. While he struggled with his command -- needing 104 pitches to get 18 outs -- he was sharp when he needed to be and Pittsburghs bullpen did the rest. NOTES: Pirates C Chris Stewart took batting practice and says he is coming along ahead of schedule in his rehab from knee surgery. Stewart believes he can beat the timetable of late April for his return. ... Chicago OF Brian Bogusevic was unavailable because of ankle soreness. He is expected to be ready to play Wednesday. ... The teams are off Tuesday. Chicagos Edwin Jackson faces Pittsburghs Charlie Morton on Wednesday night. Eric Piatkowski Jersey . - Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game on Feb. Ivica Zubac Jersey . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. https://www.cheapclippersonline.com/1060h-jamychal-green-jersey-clippers.html .Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum.PRETORIA, South Africa -- A subdued Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday described dinner at home, chatting and looking at cellphone photos with Reeva Steenkamp on the last night of her life. Then he erupted in anguished howls and heaving sobs while testifying at his murder trial about the moments when he says he realized he shot his girlfriend through a closed toilet door. The shocking spectacle of what appeared to be a tormented man highlighted the drama of Pistorius inspirational rise and sudden fall. The South African double-amputee runner captured the worlds attention when he successfully fought for permission to run in the 2012 Olympics on his carbon-fiber prostheses. The very next year, he was facing charges for killing the woman he said he loved. The court in Pretoria, the South African capital, adjourned because of the star athletes breakdown, ending a day in which Pistorius spoke of the loving aspects of his relationship with Steenkamp in testimony designed to counter a prosecution picture of him as temperamental and overbearing, and then outlined his version of the final hours before the shooting. "I sat over Reeva and I cried," Pistorius said, telling how he broke open the stall door in his bathroom in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013 to discover his bloodied girlfriend slumped in the cubicle. "I dont know how long I was there for." Pistorius has said in statements that he shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder in his bathroom. Tuesday marked the first time he has spoken publicly about the details of the fatal shooting. Prosecutors call Pistorius story an intricate lie and maintain he intentionally killed his 29-year-old girlfriend, a model and reality TV show star, after an argument. The 27-year-old Olympian faces a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years before parole if convicted of premeditated murder. The judge, Thokozile Masipa, will deliver the verdict because South Africa does not have a jury system. Pistorius has often shown emotion while listening to testimony since the trial began March 3, burying his head in his hands, weeping and even vomiting on a couple of occasions. Tuesdays outburst on the witness stand was his most demonstrative, and it forced a brief adjournment. Pistorius didnt stand up when the judge left, and also started to wail as he slumped in his seat. His brother and sister went over to comfort him. After a while he left the courtroom through a side door, still crying. When Masipa returned, she ended proceedings for the day. Pistorius had by that time come back, jaw clenched, to the witness box. He was composed when he left the court and walked to a waiting vehicle. The trial was to reconvene on Wednesday. Led by defence lawyer Barry Roux for the second day of his testimony, the runner provided more detail about his timeline of events leading up to the shooting. He said the couple had dinner about 7 p.m. and later sat chatting in the bedroom with the television on, and that Steenkamp showed him somee photographs on her phone. Blake Griffin Jersey. He said he fell asleep between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and woke up early the next morning. At that point, he said, Steenkamp asked him: "Cant you sleep?" "No, I cant," Pistorius said he replied. Then he said stepped out to the balcony to get fans, and when he returned to the darkened bedroom he heard a noise from the bathroom. "Thats the moment that everything changed," Pistorius testified. Pistorius said he felt fearful and vulnerable as he moved to the bathroom, walking only on his stumps because he had removed his prosthetic legs before going to bed. He said he was screaming for Steenkamp to call the police. "I wasnt sure if someone was going to come out the toilet and attack me," he said. He also testified he heard a door slam, which he said he took as "confirmation" that there was an intruder in the bathroom, and fired four shots at the toilet cubicle with his 9 mm pistol. After the shots, Pistorius said, he searched for Steenkamp in his bedroom, patting the bed where he says he thought she was in the dark, searching on the floor next to it where he thought she might be hiding, and also behind the curtains. "It was at that point ... that it first dawned on me that maybe it was Reeva in the toilet," Pistorius said. He said he screamed for help. Neighbours of Pistorius who were called by the prosecution have testified that they heard a womans terrified screams before and during what they thought were gunshots. Some also said they thought they heard a mans voice. The defence has suggested that the neighbours heard only Pistorius screaming and not a woman. In earlier testimony Tuesday, Pistorius denied three other charges against him relating to firing a gun in public on two occasions, and illegal possession of ammunition. He said he wasnt to blame for a shot going off in a busy Johannesburg restaurant because a friend handed him an "unsafe" gun with a bullet in the chamber under the table. He also said he wasnt guilty of illegally possessing .38-calibre ammunition in his home because he was safekeeping it for his father and he had no intention to use it. Pistorius was born without fibula bones because of a congenital defect, and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He ran on carbon-fiber blades and is a multiple Paralympic medallist . He competed at the London Olympics but didnt win a medal. In a dramatic scene before the packed courtroom Tuesday, Pistorius left briefly at one point to change out of his dark suit and into a white shirt and shorts, similar to the clothes he was wearing when he killed Steenkamp. Prompted by his lawyer, Pistorius then took off his prosthesis and stood on his stumps by the bullet-marked toilet door, which has remained in the courtroom for much of the trial. It appeared to be an effort by the defence to illustrate what they describe as the Olympians vulnerability at the time of the shooting. ' ' '