It may not have been easy for Bruce Bochy to tell Tim Lincecum he'd be left out of the NL Division Series starting rotation, but it seemed to make sense for a guy who needed a much-improved second half just to reach double-digit victories. What's next for Lincecum, who turned down overtures for a long-term contract last winter to sign a two-year deal that takes him up to free agency? How will a decision like this impact his preparation, his readiness ... his future? "That's going to be something I'll go over with myself and obviously with my father (Chris) and whoever I think is going to be there to help me immediately in the offseason," Lincecum said. "So right now I'm just working on what I need to be out of the bullpen with what I have." (CSN Bay Area) Comment

In the 50-plus year history of the Bills franchise, Sunday's 45-3 loss to the 49ers certainly ranked among its low points, and Buffalo is giving up 35.2 points a game. [Head coach] Chan Gailey put the spotlight squarely on himself in the wake of his team's record-breaking failure. "There's obviously something I'm not doing correctly with this football team in the second half," Gailey said. "Because we've been in two games in a row at halftime and have played extremely poorly and that's as nice as you can put it. I have no answer," Gailey said. "I have no answer. I have no excuse. But I have to find the answer. That's my job." If Gailey doesn't find an answer -- and quickly -- it won't be his job. (The Buffalo News) Comment

Though Darko Milicic has been in the NBA nearly a decade, Doc Rivers still sees a player worth shaping. Milicic has obviously been bogged down by the pressure and expectations of being selected so high in a draft class that has become one of the best in recent memory. "You can see that he gets frustrated easy," Rivers said. "So we're trying to eliminate those episodes. Our thing right now with Darko is to play forward. From being around for a short time, as a coach I can probably feel he's played his career backwards. He lives in the past a lot and we're trying to get him to live in the future. I told him (Friday), the only time I'll take you out is if you make a mistake and make another mistake because you're thinking about the last mistake." (The Boston Globe) Comment