ittsburgh knew who we were

SAN FRANCISCO -- Unable to produce a clutch hit, the San Francisco Giants still found a way to win. Brayan Villarreal walked Marco Scutaro with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, handing the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. The Giants squandered numerous opportunities early in the game, going 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, but they tied it in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly in foul territory and used two walks and a hit batsman to win it. "We have been on the other end of these games," manager Bruce Bochy said. "You take it any way you can get it. This was a good one." Roger Kieschnick started the winning rally with a one-out single against Franklin Morales (2-1) for his third hit of the game. The Giants loaded the bases with two outs when Morales walked Andres Torres and hit pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez on the left wrist. "We started out the inning in pretty good shape and then seemingly in a matter of about seven or eight pitches it looked like Franklin lost the strike zone a little bit and leaves us in a tough spot with two outs," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. With Brandon Workman having pitched the past two days, Farrell gave Villarreal his first appearance with the Red Sox. Villarreal was acquired in a deal last month from Detroit and called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday. He made a poor first impression, throwing four straight balls to Scutaro. Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens told Scutaro that Villarreal had control problems before the at-bat and that proved true. Villarreal has walked nine of 29 batters he has faced this season, including two with the bases loaded. "When he told me that, I wanted to make sure I looked for my pitch and not be too aggressive," Scutaro said. He did just that, giving the defending World Series champion Giants a rare reason to celebrate. "Its nice to win one like this because we have been on the other side of them," said starter Ryan Vogelsong, who allowed two runs in seven innings. "When you play a tough game like that and things arent going your way ... its good to come out on the winning end of it." The Red Sox couldnt hold a 2-0 lead and lost for the fifth time in seven games to fall percentage points behind Tampa Bay for the lead in the AL East. Sergio Romo (4-6) pitched a perfect ninth for the win. After twice failing to get a runner in from third with no outs, the Giants finally delivered in the eighth inning to tie the game. Scutaro reached on a one-out single and went to third on Brandon Belts single against Junichi Tazawa. Buster Posey then hit a high fly down the right-field line that Shane Victorino caught in foul territory. Scutaro scored easily on the sacrifice fly but Tazawa escaped without any further damage to keep the score tied at 2. "No second-guessing guys. I let that ball fall and he hits a three-run homer then what are you guys going to say?" Victorino said. "When I was on the move over there I told myself catch the ball and try and get in the best position I could to make the throw." Victorino helped give Boston the lead when he hit a rare right-handed homer off a righty pitcher. The switch-hitting Victorino is unable to bat left-handed because of an injured left leg. But that did not bother him when he led off the third inning with a drive to left that made it 2-0. It was just the second time Victorino had hit a right-handed homer against a righty in his career, also doing it against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on Sept. 24, 2010, according to STATS LLC. It looked as if that 2-0 lead would stand up when Jake Peavy escaped jams in the fourth and fifth innings. Belt, who had three hits, was stranded after a leadoff triple in the fourth when Posey grounded out and Peavy struck out Hunter Pence and Brandon Crawford. The Giants scored their first run of the series when Kieschnick led off the fifth with a single and scored on Joaquin Arias triple. But San Francisco couldnt get the equalizer when Vogelsong, Gregor Blanco and Scutaro followed with groundouts. NOTES: SS Xander Bogaerts (20 years, 323 days) became the youngest position player to appear in a game for Boston since Dwight Evans (20, 318) in 1972. He went 0 for 3 and stranded five runners. ... San Francisco 3B Pablo Sandoval was scratched because of a sore back. ... Boston RHP Clay Buchholz (neck and shoulder) threw 46 pitches in a simulated game and is set to make a rehab start Sunday. Farrell said he would like Buchholz to get three rehab starts but he might only get two depending on the minor league schedule. ... LHP Barry Zito (4-8) makes his first start of the month for the Giants in the series finale Wednesday after Chad Gaudin was placed on the DL. Felix Doubront (8-6) goes for Boston. Shea Weber Jersey . 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Shea Weber Canadiens Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Tomas Tatar Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- While Amrit Gill was growing up in a Vancouver suburb, watching Hockey Night in Canada was a family staple that brought three generations together. Her parents and grandparents were immigrants from India, but ice hockey -- with its similarities to field hockey, one of their native countrys most popular sports -- connected them all, despite the language barrier of the broadcasts.My grandmother did not speak a word of English, Gill said. But she could tell you what a goal was and who was winning or not because the game was just so electric that you do get revved up watching.One day in 2009, the then-teenage Gill heard there was a television broadcast of hockey in the Punjabi language. She didnt quite believe it at first, but it was true. There was a Punjabi ice hockey broadcast -- not English, not French, Punjabi.I turned it on, and for all of us sitting there, it was a moment of shock and almost disbelief because we were watching our favorite sport on TV but hearing it in a language that everybody in the room could understand, Gill said. And my grandmother, who could only understand the word goal in English, could now tell you the difference between a major penalty call and a minor penalty call. So because of Harnarayan Singh and the rest of the broadcasters who were able to explain the intricacies of this beautiful game, I could now have a postgame analysis with my grandmother. And those are some of the best memories for me.Gill now is the social media host for Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Edition, which is creating and spreading great memories for many more fans with -- and without -- Punjabi backgrounds. They also are helping extend hockey nights beyond Canada.In the last year, the online streaming has really opened it up to global audience as well, Punjabi hockey broadcaster Randip Janda said. Weve got people who are watching in India. Thats great because Canada is associated with hockey, and certain parts of the United States understand and love hockey too. Whereas in India, unless youre in the Himalayan mountains, you dont really [have a place to play ice hockey].There is a rich history of field or grass hockey in India, so thats a link, but there has never been an association between the Punjabi community and [ice] hockey in India. So hopefully this is helping to bridge the gap and show maybe there is a reason to pay attention to the sport.Especially -- as you might have heard during last seasons playoffs -- when Pittsburghs Nick Bonino (Bonino! Bonino! Bonino!) scores a goal.Punjabi, the native language of the Punjab region in northern India and eastern Pakistan, is spoken by nearly half a million residents of Canada, including 20 members of Parliament. Only English and French are spoken by more Canadians, and more than 100,000 are estimated to speak Punjabi in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.Hockey games in Punjabi began on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) in 2008, along with broadcasts in Mandarin and the Inuit language of Inuktitut. The other language broadcasts did not catch on, but the Punjabi version did.Rogers Communications took over the Punjabi broadcast three years ago and now shows a doubleheader every Saturday on the multicultural Omni Television system, with announcers Singh, Janda, Bhupinder Hundal and Harpreet Pandher providing play-by-play and insightful commentary from a Vancouver studio. All four were born and raised in Canada and learned to speak English and Punjabi fluently. They were passionate hockey fans but never considered that the games would one day be broadcast in Punjabi.As Hundal said of watching a Punjabi broadcast for the first time, Its got Hockey Night branding, and theyre speaking our language: Whats going on here? Oh, my God. Really? That was the first thing. Youre sitting there, Oh, my God. I cant believe this has happened. Now its just a regular thing, but initially it was, I cant believe this. I never thought I would see the day. Who would have thought?It worked. After nearly a decade of broadcasts, the Punjabi show gained enormous attention last year during the Stanley Cup playoffs, thanks to Singhs calls of goals by Bonino. Singh excitedly repeated Bonino! Bonino! Bonino! and then howled Nick Buh-Nee-Noooooooooo!! after key tallies by the Penguins center against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference finals and the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup finals.It was simply awesome. Singhs calls went viral on social media and drew widespread media attention, including from non-sports outlets such as NPR. #BoninoBoninoBonino became a trending hashtag and a battle cry during the Penguins championship run.It was really revved up, Gill said. It was almost like a connecting point. Yes, it was done in Punjabi, but since the call was so elaborate, everyone just jumped on.The calls received so much attention that Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told Singh the team started playing it to fire up the players, who began shouting the call as well. Bonino even suggested that his family should start using it as their ring tones.It was very special, Singh said. When we actually made the call I dont think myself or anyone on the show realized we were going to get that type of reaction from the fans or from the media.dddddddddddd I would say it was very memorable and very special for sure. There is nothing more you can ask for as a broadcaster than to have your work appreciated so much, especially considering how the Pittsburgh Penguins players themselves were using the calls in the dressing room. For me, it really hit home during one of the Stanley Cup finals [when] one of the first questions asked of Sullivan was, What are your thoughts on the Bonino call?How incredible was it? Hockey legend and Penguins co-owner/chairman Mario Lemieux told the announcers they were part of history and the Stanley Cup run.Pandher says that when he was still a kid playing video games with his brother, he would provide vocal commentary, mostly in English but sometimes in Punjabi. The current Punjabi hockey broadcasts he and the others deliver have some English wording as well. Team names are in English, of course, as are traditional hockey terms such as icing, power play, offside, cross-checking, goal, puck and others.There are certain things you cant directly translate into Punjabi, Janda said. Like puck. There is no Punjabi word for puck. Sometimes on the previous shows, Harnarayan would use a food item, a thing made out of potatoes called tikki, that he used as a term because it kind of looks like a hockey puck. But we say puck now.Said Hundal: Well use those terms with a nice, fine balance. Well say the word in English and have a little description that also describes it a bit for people who dont know it.The crew provides commentary while watching the live broadcasts of games on their studio monitors. They strive to be as informative, entertaining and energetic as possible, occasionally using Punjabi cultural references. They also are certain to be very fun. For instance, when Tampa Bays Nikita Kucherov scored a goal last year, Singh began singing a popular Punjabi song that rhymed with the players name.He made a reference to The Simpsons in a game, calling San Joses Brent Burns Mr. Burns and using the word excellent, a catchphrase of the animated shows rich tightwad. When a player beats a goalie up high, Singh uses a phrase that translates into English as, He fired it top shelf -- where grandma keeps the treats!We have to be cognizant of the audiences tuning in, Hundal said. There are people who in the past would be like, Ill watch it in Punjabi for a few minutes, but Ill go back to English. Or, [the other guys] are pros, and these guys are just doing it on the side. Thats why we try to focus on being as good and up-to-snuff on the world of hockey as anybody else. Yeah, we might be fun, you might tune in for the novelty -- but youre going to get a good hockey broadcast. And were going to dump information on you. And we know what were talking about.That is important. We want to make sure that we are being the masters of both of those domains. Its important that we have our pulse on what people are feeling and saying.The announcers say the broadcasts are helping grow hockey -- not only in fan interest, but also with Punjabi parents who have their children playing the sport now that they can watch and understand it on TV.The broadcasts are helping connect the Punjabi community with the broader community. When Singh was a growing up in Alberta, his passion for hockey provided an important connection with schoolmates. Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Edition is helping to create that dynamic on a larger scale.One example was the Bonino phenomenon. Pittsburgh does have not a significant Punjabi community, but the call was so popular that the broadcasters were invited to the Penguins Stanley Cup championship celebration. The four were recognized and cheered by hordes of fans when they took the stage with the Penguins players and did the Bonino! Bonino! Bonino! call.Its just amazing. The whole city knew who we were, Pandher said. Were based in Vancouver and can walk down the street there and nobody knows who we are, but everybody in Pittsburgh knew who we were. We felt like rock stars for the weekend.Thats the amazing thing. In the time that were living, the thought crossed my mind that we might run into this or that. But it just goes to show you there are good people in this world anywhere you go.Hundal says the Pittsburgh celebration showed that he and his partners are playing an important role in breaking down barriers and misperceptions.As they say, If you assume, you make an ass of you and me, he said. We can break a lot of assumptions by doing what were doing. Yes, were broadcasting hockey and were having a lot of fun, but by no means does it stop there.Its not just about us. Its about much more than that. What were doing means so much more to so many more people on a much deeper level. And I think that makes what were doing really special. Its not just another show. I think weve gone into the realm of meaning something important to people. People can appreciate that we enjoy the sport, and they enjoy the sport, and its fantastic. We can all enjoy the sport.No matter your language, no matter your background, sport unites -- even when someone other than Bonino scores the goal. ' ' '