retina.After first revealing the issue at his Nov. 2 news

The maxim goes you cant predict baseball for a reason -- namely, no matter what you do, you simply cant predict baseball. Weve all tried. We always get things wrong. That being said, baseball tends not to be completely random. Theres usually something in there that makes sense. But from time to time, youll run into a case like this years San Francisco Giants.The Giants season is at least easy to split. Going into the All-Star break, the Giants owned the best record in baseball. Theyd won eight of their previous 10 games. Since the All-Star break, the Giants have managed the worst record in baseball. They came right out with six straight losses. Theyve lost their division lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the concern now is whether they can get the ship righted in time for the playoffs.Theres good news, and theres bad news. On the plus side, the Giants have played far better than their second-half record would indicate. Yet, they were also worse than their first-half record would indicate. And no matter what, they do appear to be worse than the Dodgers. That right there is the familiar smell of bittersweet statistics. Vans Old Skool Clearance . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Vans Shoes Clearance Sale . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale.html . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Vans Sk8 Hi Leather . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Cheap Vans Shoes . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. MINNEAPOLIS -- For the first time in his 23-year NFL coaching career, Mike Zimmer wasnt at the stadium with his team.With the Minnesota Vikings hosting Dallas on Thursday night, Zimmer was at home resting after emergency surgery to repair a detached retina.Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer took over as the interim head coach, a decision that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said would be the least disruptive to the team. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur (Cleveland, 2011-12) and offensive line coach Tony Sparano (Miami, 2008-11) each have prior experience as an NFL head coach, but they remained in their roles. Zimmer is the play-caller for the defense, considered one of the savviest in the league, and that duty fell to defensive coordinator George Edwards.The teams flagship radio station, KFAN-FM, reported on the pregame show that Zimmer visited the team hotel to address the players in the afternoon. The Vikings played a video clip of Zimmer encouraging the team during training camp with a get-well-soon message on the scoreboard prior to kickoff. Spielman declined to speculate on whether Zimmer would have to miss multiple games during the recovery, but with the Dec. 11 game at Jacksonville the coach is unlikely to be cleared in time for air travel with his condition.We have to see how his eye responds to the surgery, Spielman said. I do know how intense coach Zimmer is. Talking with him today and with the doctors, as much as he wants to be out there coaching tonight, its in his best interest that we get this taken care of. Coach Zimmer has never missed a game. I know how hard this is on him. I cant express how hard on him it is that he wont be able to coach. But we have to look after his health.Left untreated, retina damage can lead to permanent vision loss . The retina is a thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye. When its detached, the cells are separated from the layer of blood vessels that provide oxygen and nourishment. This was the third procedure the 60-year-old Zimmer has had over the past month.As hard-headed as he is and as tough-minded as he is, we had some pretty significant talks one-on-one, heart-to-heart, on what is important in life and what isnt, Spielman said. I think after we met, I expressed to him sspecifically that potentially going blind in one eye is not worth one game in the NFL.ddddddddddddZimmer, who got his start in the NFL as an assistant with the Cowboys in 1994 and spent 13 years with the organization, has yet to face Dallas in the regular season as a head coach . The Vikings and Cowboys played last year in the preseason.Zimmer first experienced trouble with his right eye a couple of days before the Oct. 31 game at Chicago and scratched the eye inadvertently during that game. That prompted team doctors to send him for further examination, which revealed a torn retina. He had surgery Nov. 1 and another one Nov. 8, which left his eye noticeably red. It had cleared up significantly in recent weeks, though, and Spielman said Zimmer wasnt expected to need further treatment.But the coach suddenly complained of vision problems during a walk-through practice with the team Wednesday afternoon, and head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman drove Zimmer to seek medical attention. Spielman said the latest diagnosis was a detached retina.After first revealing the issue at his Nov. 2 news conference, Zimmer said hed been watching film with his good eye and using reading glasses to write down notes in preparation for that weeks game. With the Vikings mired in a slump with five losses in the last six games, the hard-nosed Zimmer sure hasnt appeared to back off his approach in the desire to help the team get back on track and catch up in the NFC playoff chase. Zimmer mentioned recently hes been arriving at his office even earlier than usual, around 4:15 a.m.Spielman dismissed the theory that Zimmers setback this week was related to pushing too hard after the first two procedures.Whether the situation was the sudden death of his wife, Vikki, when he was the defensive coordinator for Cincinnati in 2009, the kidney stones he had removed in 2014 or the death of his father, Bill, during the 2015 preseason, Zimmer had never missed a game until now.Its not worth the risk, Spielman said. And were looking out for the long-term of his health.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '