Video's » Hockey for most players in the Netherlan

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. 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. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . Simon (10-3) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings to break a tie with the Dodgers Zack Greinke and Cardinals Adam Wainwright for the NL lead in victories. Simon went to spring training as a relief pitcher and moved into the starting rotation when Mat Latos was recovering from elbow and knee surgeries. Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/customized/. Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. Zack Greinke Jersey . So he and his Toronto FC teammates say they will have no problem getting up for their Amway Canadian Championship final against rival Montreal Impact, even if the result doesnt count toward Major League Soccer standings. Curt Schilling Jersey .com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks.TAMPA, Fla. -- When the Tampa Bay Lightning defence left Dale Weise alone in front of the net for his Game 1 overtime winner, it was clear they didnt know he was once considered an offensive superstar. In the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens forward is a fourth-line grinder, but in a previous job he was no stranger to scoring goals. During last years lockout, Weise had 22 goals and 26 assists in 19 games for the Tilburg Trappers in the Netherlands. "Has anybody scored at that clip anywhere?" Weise said, leading to answers like Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky. "Yeah, thats about it." Weise was the only NHL player to ever appear in the Eredivisie, the countrys top hockey league, earning the nickname "Dutch Gretzky" back in North America. That made the 25-year-old a star in the Netherlands, with people lining up for his autograph and Weise being unable to go to the grocery store without drawing attention. "It was awesome," Weise said Friday. "It meant a lot that I made that big of an impact on people in such a short time. "I gained as much from them as they did from me. There were great people there." Weises experience in the Netherlands mightve prepared him for some of the spotlight he got for being the playoff overtime hero. But he got a new cell number a couple of months ago so the onslaught of text messages wasnt as substantial as it mightve been. The goal itself was something Weise had scored countless times before, just fooling around in practice. In doing it for real, the Winnipeg native channelled a Hockey Hall of Famer. "I knew I was wide open and I saw it coming to me and my eyes got real big," Weise said. "I knew I wasnt going to miss frrom there.dddddddddddd "I got down on one leg, the old Brett Hull, and I just ripped it." Fans in Tilburg saw it plenty of times, too. Weise was a fan favourite there, in part because of his dominant play but also because he became part of the community. "The way it works is a lot of guys on the team had jobs in the morning, so they would go do that and then wed practise in the afternoon," Weise recalled. "I had nothing to do, so they had a lot of childrens camps, so I pretty much went there every day. "My wife would go to the gym and it was right by the rink so Id just go and hang out with the kids. It was awesome. They loved it. It was a great experience." Life in the NHL is much different. Hockey for most players in the Netherlands was a hobby, he said, while this is the biggest stage. Weise, who grew up a Montreal fan and "probably scored that goal a million times in my driveway," said he didnt take any time consider his place in franchise history. "I went home and kind of forget about it," he said. Itll take some time to forget about Weise, even as the series progresses through Game 2 on Friday night and beyond. But whats most memorable for him is not just one goal but how getting traded from the Vancouver Canucks to Montreal gave him another opportunity. "I just feel like my career got rejuvenated," he said. "The coaches here believe in me, theyve had nothing but good things to say about me and look at the amount we were playing in overtime. "Its a coach that has some trust in me and that just instills confidence in me. I just feel like every game I play with this team I continue to build confidence and get better." ' ' '