Hours after the San Francisco Giants apologized for the incident, a 42-year-old man apologizes for what he calls “an indiscretion.”

Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images

In a bizarre coda to what started Sunday afternoon at San Francisco's AT&T Park, a 42-year-old man from Northern California has apologized for throwing a banana in the direction of Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones after the Giants' 10-2 loss.

Alexander Poulides contacted the San Jose Mercury News on Monday. Jones tweeted about the incident yesterday afternoon:

In other countries bananas are sometimes thrown at dark-skinned soccer players as a racist taunt. But Poulides told the newspaper by phone that he was merely disappointed with the Giants' loss when he grabbed a banana off a food cart and absent-mindedly threw it on to the stadium field — in Jones' direction.

As the Giants launched an investigation, Poulides reached The Mercury News via e-mail and subsequent phone call to claim credit for what he called "an indiscretion."

Above all, Poulides stressed repeatedly that the incident was not a racially motivated, as some had speculated. He was upset at the Giants, not Jones.

"I'm embarrassed and shocked by the outcome,'' the Northern California resident said. "In hindsight, I wish I didn't do it and I apologize. I'm very sorry."

The Giants said they were unable to immediately confirm that Poulides was the culprit and were continuing to investigate the incident. In a public statement earlier Monday, the team wrote:

"We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to Adam and the entire Orioles organization for this unfortunate incident,'' the team said in a statement released through the media. The inappropriate actions of this individual in no way reflect the values of our organization and our fans."

Jones has yet to comment on this latest development. The Orioles will next travel to San Francisco – outside of any World Series matchups – around 2022.

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“If they’re looking for a window to just come out. I mean, now is the window.”

Washington Redskin's quarterback Robert Griffin III shared some personal thoughts in an interview with GQ Magazine for their upcoming NFL Kick Off issue.

Nick Wass / AP

Here is what the 23-year-old star thinks about the possibility of a gay player coming out:

Mark Zaleski / AP

Steve Helber / AP

To see an upcoming star make such a bold statement... oh, wait.

Mark Zaleski / AP

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A handful of news outlets have stopped publishing the racially-charged Redskins team name.

Last week, Slate, Mother Jones and The New Republic all declared that they would no longer be referring to the Washington Redskins as the Redskins.

motherjones.com

But as the Atlantic Wire points out, the protest is mostly symbolic. All three publications focus more on politics and/or the arts than they do on sports. Mother Jones used the Redskins name a total of three times in the last three years.

Frederick Breedon / Getty Images

Still, the fact that some national publications will now be referring to "Washington's pro football team" or merely "Washington" has significance.

Rob Carr / Getty Images

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Desperate times, like needing to watch a preseason football game when your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend would rather do literally anything else, call for desperate measures. Here are some of the leading methods of sports-related relationship trickery.

Turn on games you have no interest in watching just to be able to score points by turning them off.

"Change the channel? Well, if you insist, I guess I can live without the third quarter of Raiders-Browns."

Leon Halip / Getty

Lie shamelessly about the quality of dining and shopping options available in the vicinity of any stadium where you want to go to a game.

"Oh, yeah, I'm SURE they have an Anthropologie in the South Bronx."

Jason Kempin / Getty

Describe your favorite players not in terms of their importance to your team (i.e. what you care about), but in terms of the vibrancy of their smiles and their dedication to charity work (i.e. what your significant other might conceivably care about).

OK, even diehard fans are charmed by a good smile.

Gregory Shamus / Getty

Describe games you want to watch in terms of personality conflicts between players on opposing teams, as if you were selling a television drama.

Not sure who Patrick Dempsey is in this metaphor.

Craig Sjodin / Getty

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First you’re optimistic, then you’re pessimistic, then you’re optimistic, then you’re pessimistic, and THEN the season starts.

The NFL season is right around the corner.

HBO

HBO

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High fives are overrated. When’s the last time you saw someone deliver a soccer ball baby? Or use an imaginary tommy gun to kill everyone around him?

He's his own biggest fan. And possibly the team's only fan, as well.

youtube.com

Apparently applauding yourself is the newest trend overseas.

youtube.com

"Ask me how my dip taste." - JaVale McGee. Maybe.

youtube.com

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El Toro de Pittsburgh might be the most interesting ballplayer in the world.

With an NL-leading 28 home runs this season, Pittsburgh third baseman Pedro Alvarez has solidified his reputation as one of the National League's most potent sluggers and a literal cornerstone of the revitalized, first-place Pirates franchise, which begins a crucial series with the second-place Cardinals tonight. At this point, you might look at Alvarez's bio — a Dominican immigrant to New York City who played for baseball powerhouse Vanderbilt and is now an All-Star — and find it typical of a top player. But it hasn't been quite that simple.

Gene J. Puskar / AP

When he was one, Alavrez emigrated to the U.S. from his native Dominican Republic. As a baseball-obsessed teenager in Washington heights, a largely working-class Dominican neighborhood, Alvarez was not a likely candidate for the Horace Mann School, an expensive private institution which doesn't have the most illustrious baseball pedigree.

(BTW, the photo above is from Washington Heights, though it was taken in 2006, when Alvarez was 19, so he probably isn't one of the kids playing in the fire hydrant.)

New York Daily News Archive / Getty

But he caught the attention of a school administrator while playing for a local traveling team, and she encouraged him to take the entrance exam. (Horace Mann's campus is a few miles north of the Heights in the Bronx.) Alvarez received a scholarship, and was well on his way to becoming the best ballplayer in the history of one of New York City's toniest and most exclusive high schools.

New York Historical Society / Getty

A star almost immediately upon his arrival, Alvarez had dozens of scouts attending his games by senior year. "During games, Alvarez looked very anxious to put on a show," said one early scouting report. "Defensively, Alvarez moves well for his size at third base and has big league average arm strength. He’s going to have to watch his body so he doesn’t get too big, but he has good athletic actions now. Pedro is a good student who should end up playing at a highest level college."

horacemann.org

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The good people of Michigan might be able to get used to this Jose Iglesias fellow.

In all of 11 games since being traded from Boston, new Detroit third baseman/shortstop Jose Iglesias — a timely replacement for Jhonny Peralta, who took a PED suspension — has made quite an impression with his fielding.

Carlos Osorio / AP

The backhand stop deep in the hole? Check.

Via wapc.mlb.com

The bouncey dribbler up the middle for a double play ain't no thing to handle.

Via wapc.mlb.com

Even on infield singles, he's making batters work for every inch.

Via wapc.mlb.com

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After winning silver at the World Athletics Championships on Tuesday, middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds criticized the country’s “gay propaganda” law. He’s the first foreign athlete to do so on Russian soil.

Mark Kolbe / AP

On Tuesday night at the World Athletics Championships, 29-year-old American runner Nick Symmonds dedicated his silver medal in the 800-meter final to his LGBT friends.

"As much as I can speak out about it, I believe that all humans deserve equality as however God made them," Symmonds reportedly told Russia's R-Sport in Moscow. "Whether you're gay, straight, black, white, we all deserve the same rights. If there's anything I can do to champion the cause and further it, I will, shy of getting arrested."

Symmonds' comments were prompted by the controversy over Russia's recently passed "anti-gay propaganda" law — which strictly punishes the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors" — and its hosting of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Symmonds later expanded on his comments, telling ABC News that he "[disagrees] with their laws and I disagree with their views." His comments make Symmonds the first prominent foreign athlete to speak out against the country's treatment of LGBT people on Russian soil.

Symmonds, who has previously supported equality organization NOH8, indicated that he would like to wear a rainbow-flag pin during competition in Russia but that he fears arrest.

"I'm trying to tread that fine line of being respectful as a guest in this country and also speaking against some serious injustices that I see ... As adamant as I am about this issue, I don't know what me sitting in jail is good for."

"This has been an issue that has been personal for me. From day one I've always spoken out against this one. It's just so ludicrous you would give rights to some people and not to others ... It was just such a slap in the face I couldn't sit back and watch it happen to some of my friends."

But Symmonds' statements contradict an Aug. 6 blog post he wrote for Runner's World, in which he said that he disagrees with Russia's law but will not "lecture the Russian government on how to govern their people."

I will say, once again, that our LGBT neighbors deserve all the same rights as the rest of us. However, as an American who is about to reside in Moscow for 12 days, this will be the last time I will mention this subject.

I say this not out of fear of prosecution by the Russian government, but out of respect for the fact that I will be a guest in the host nation. Just as I would not accept a dinner invite to a friend's house and then lecture them on how to raise their kids, neither will I lecture the Russian government on how to govern their people ...

The playing field is not a place for politics.

In a separate interview after his win on Tuesday, Symmonds maintained this stance and declined to talk about the Russian law, referring reporters to the blog post.

"I silently celebrated and I will very vocally celebrate when I get back to America," he said. "Not trying to get arrested here, sorry, everybody."

In Symmonds' NOH8 ad, he says that he believes LGBT equality is the "defining legal movement of our generation. To deny someone the rights afforded to others based on their gender or sexual orientation defies logic and is completely un-American."

Last week, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said that he received assurances that the propaganda law will not affect the Olympics. Russia's Interior Ministry has maintained that the law will be enforced during the games.

President Barack Obama also weighed in on the controversy last week, saying that he has "no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them," but that a boycott of the games is not appropriate. Russia's treatment of LGBT citizens in advance of the games has added to ongoing tension between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

LINK: Olympic Sponsors Stand By Sochi Games As Criticism Of Anti-Gay Law Mounts

LINK: International Olympics Committee Asks Russia To Provide “Clarification” About Anti-LGBT Law

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The BuzzFeed Data Team’s official recommendations.

Don't Butt Fumble Your Season Away.

You've got internet access, right? So you have no excuse for drafting an injured player, taking a guy too early, or passing up on a steal that fell right into your lap. And, while the internet is a large and chaotic place, there are actually only three things you really need to know to keep on top of a draft. Here they are.

Know Who's Going To Play

FootballGuys keep tabs on each team's depth chart. They update daily with injuries, trades, and position battle progress. Don't miss it when some undrafted rookie gets promoted to the starting lineup.

Know How They're Expected To Score In Your League.

NumberFire will show you how your league's rosters, scoring, and size impact the value of different positions and players. Simply enter in the rules and settings for you league, and you get a detailed cheat sheet for your draft, with the best projected players available both overall and at a specific position. Also useful: the site's "risk" indication, which tells you how confident they are in their prediction.

Know When To Draft Them.

FantasyFootballCalculator's tool predicts draft scenarios based on average draft position data, compiled from over a thousand mock drafts. Enter your league format and size, and it'll give you the statistical odds of each player being available at any given draft pick.

For example, the picture below shows who might be available at the fifth pick of the first round. If there's a low probability player available at one of your picks, you want to scoop him up fast (after you make sure he didn't just get hurt). It's also a good idea to look ahead to see what players might still be there for your next pick — maybe a QB can wait.

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King of the Dubble Bubble. King of the Dubble Bubble.

In last night's Orioles-Diamondbacks game, Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a solo shot into the left-field stands to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th inning.

And then he did it again in the bottom of the 11th inning to win the game with a walk-off home run.

Which of course led to some post-game interview hijinks from his teammates. It started with a bucket of bubble gum.

And then a second bucket of gum, which, if we are reading the Constitution correctly, officially makes Paul Goldschmidt the king of Dubble Bubble.

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Love him or hate him, college football needs Johnny Football. Here’s hoping that the NCAA’s investigation to money-for-autographs allegations doesn’t turn anything up.

We're talking about the most exciting college football player since Michael Vick.

With all apologies to Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Cam Newton, Adrian Peterson and RGIII — this isn't even up for argument. The kid from Kerrville is the most thrilling player we've seen in over a decade.

Ronald Martinez / Getty

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As pressure mounts against Russia’s anti-LGBT propaganda law and for the International Olympics Committee to take action in support of human rights, NBC says advertisers are still committed to the Sochi Games.

A general view of the Today Show One Year Out To Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics celebration ski hill at NBC's Today Show on Feb. 6, 2013, in New York City.

Mike Stobe / Getty Images

NBC has 800 million reasons to be concerned about the increasing controversy over Russia's recently passed "anti-gay propaganda" law — which strictly punishes the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors."

That's how much money the network is projecting it will collect in advertising revenue for the Sochi Games, which would rank as the most ever for a Winter Olympics.

So far, brands that have bought advertising time on NBC remain committed, but with six months left to go before the opening ceremonies and the potential for a boycott rising, a lot can happen that could change their minds.

"We've talked with all of our advertisers, and of course they find the situation unfortunate and concerning," a representative for NBC Sports told BuzzFeed in the network's first public remarks addressing its interactions with advertisers over the situation. "However, they are unwavering in their commitment to the Games and U.S. athletes. There has also been no loss in momentum regarding conversations with prospective advertisers."

The last part of that statement about momentum in conversations is telling, as it implies that NBC is not seeing any slowdown in demand to sell advertising inventory. NBC has previously said publicly that it planned to sell about 75% of its advertising inventory "upfront," or before the games began, and hold the remaining 25% back for after they started, in what is known as the "scatter market."

The fact that there has been "no loss in momentum" suggests that at this point advertisers are treating this controversy as no different than the outcry over China's human rights record during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. And that's great news for the network since it has a huge financial stake in making sure things run smoothly.

For NBC, which is owned by the cable giant Comcast, the Olympics are not just an every other year sporting event. Rather, it is a massive promotional platform to showcase the rest of the network's programming, particularly its prime-time lineup, which has been ranked as the lowest- or second-lowest rated of the big four broadcast networks — CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC — for many years. The idea is to capitalize on the audience that comes to NBC to watch the Olympics and get them to stick around to watch other NBC shows after the games are over, which theoretically helps the network charge more for advertising and in retransmission deals for its signal.

The promotional platform the Olympics provide for NBC was perhaps the most important factor in Comcast's decision to pay $4.38 billion for the right to air the games. Indeed, NBC has lost money on past Olympics, and even expected to lose as much as $200 million during the 2012 Summer Games in London. The fact that the London Games were the highest-rated Olympics ever and a record-breaking advertising haul of $1 billion ended up allowing NBC to turn a small profit was little more than a pleasant surprise.

How the current controversy plays out over the next 180 days will ultimately determine if Sochi ends up being financially pleasant or painful for NBC and its advertisers.

Excellent idea, Roy, but are you ready for the intensity of online journalism?

You know Roy Hibbert.

Joe Robbins / Getty

He's the guy that did this to Carmelo Anthony:

s3-ec.buzzfed.com

And this to Ivan Johnson:

s3-ec.buzzfed.com

And this to a Gatorade bottle:

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See if you can pick out the most cost-effective option from each group of three players.

(We looked at salary and stats from the 2012 season for the NFL, the 2012-13 season for the NBA, and 2013 for MLB — prorated as of 8/12.)

“I’m happy who I am, I’m comfortable with myself, and I’m happy to be living the dream.”

wwe.com

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The Astros never cease to amaze.

In the top of the sixth inning of Wednesday night's Astros-Athletics game, Houston shortstop Jonathan Villar tried to lay down a bunt... by throwing his bat at the ball?

No way. He didn't actually do that, did he?

Yep.

Dear Jonathan Villar,

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“For me, sport is about respect and unity, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to show what I think.”

Emma Green Tregaro of Sweden competed in this morning's qualification rounds in the World Athletics Championships in Moscow.

She qualified for the high jump final after clearing 1.92 meters.

Phil Noble / Reuters

But what caught everyone's attention was her rainbow nail art on both hands.

Twitter: @ESPNOlympics

Tregaro says of her silent protest against Russia's anti-gay laws:

Mark Kolbe / Getty Images

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“We have our home and everyone has to respect (it),” Russian pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva says.

David J. Phillip / AP

Russian pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva — given a prominent role in the Sochi Winter Games next year — defended Russia's anti-LGBT propaganda law Thursday, adding that she thought it was disrespectful for athletes from other countries to voice their opposition to the law.

Isinbayeva won her third world title on Tuesday at the IAAF World Championships, taking place in Moscow, and spoke out Thursday in defense of the new law that has led to an outcry regarding the nation's scheduled hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

"If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal, standard people,'' Isinbayeva told the Associated Press. "We just live with boys with woman, woman with boys. ... It comes from history. We never had any problems, these problems in Russia, and we don't want to have any in the future.''

Isinbayeva is slated to serve as the honorary "mayor" of one of the Olympic Villages at the Sochi Games.

The Sochi organizing committee backed up Isinbayeva, with spokeswoman Svetlana Bobrova saying, according to the AP, that the body had no reason to comment on Isinbayeva's statements.

"We like her and she is the mayor of the Olympic village," Bobrova told the AP.

The AP also reports that she is an ambassador for the Youth Olympics, which are slated to take place in Nanjing, China, from Aug. 16–28, 2014.

Of athletes — including Sweden's Emma Green Tregaro — who have criticized the law while in Russia, Isinbayeva said, "It's unrespectful to our country. It's unrespectful to our citizens because we are Russians. Maybe we are different from European people and other people from different lands," Isinbayeva told reporters. "We have our home and everyone has to respect (it). When we arrive to different countries, we try to follow their rules."

The International Association of Athletics Federations, the governing body for track and field, defended both nondiscrimination aims and Isinbayeva's comments.

"The IAAF constitution underlines our commitment to principle of nondiscrimination in terms of religious, political or sexual orientation," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told The Associated Press. "Allied to this is our belief in free expression as a basic human right, which means we must respect the opinions of both Green Tregaro and Isinbayeva."

For his part, American Nick Symmonds told BBC Radio 5 Live, "It blows my mind that a young, so well-educated woman can be so behind with the times. Guess what Yelena, a large portion of your citizenship are normal, standard homosexuals."

Watch Isinbayeva's news conference:

Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia (right) hugs Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko after winning gold in the women's pole vault final during the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow Aug. 13, 2013.

Grigory Dukor / Reuters

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I mean, REALLY? REALLY?? REALLY???

This Saturday, Fox Sports 1 will launch across the country with the goal of challenging and perhaps one day overtaking ESPN as the the preeminent sports network. There will be an inevitable learning curve, but as of right now they haven't had the opportunity to make mistakes and be ridiculed — with the exception of that stupid football robot, Cleatus — so, to help them out, I've compiled a bunch of things ESPN has done that FS1 should probably avoid repeating.

When they compare Kobe Bryant with a real mamba.

imgur.com

When they compare Ben Roethlisberger to a polar bear.

totalprosports.com

When they create white Michael Vick.

D'arcy Hyde for ESPN The Magazine

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