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SAN FRANCISCO - Some extra post-season pillow time has Brandon Crawford and the San Francisco Giants dreaming about another World Series championship.Sweet dreams, indeed.Looking for any advantage, the Giants are again getting help in October from a sleep expert.The Giants have reached the playoffs three times in five years, and every time they get that far, athletic trainer Dave Groeschner consults regularly with Dr. Chris Winter. Hes the medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Giants were the first pro team he advised.Winter offers ideas on how to plan trips, and the best ways to keep players at their most fresh and alert despite being road weary at the end of a long season.What were trying to do is create a situation where their brain is being tricked into thinking that whatever time the game is happening, its 4 oclock in the afternoon. Thats when those athletes are at their best, Winter said in a phone interview.Were trying to help them develop smarter ways to get better sleep, he said.After the Giants lost Game 2 at Kansas City on Wednesday night, they stayed in their hotel, rather than catching a late flight back to the West Coast. The next afternoon, they flew to the Bay Area and worked out at AT&T Park.Most teams leave town right away. For the Giants, the stay-over meant an extra night of hotel costs — then again, thats not too expensive when a team is chasing its third title in five seasons.Again, looking for an edge, Groeschner said. Just gives us some thoughts on how to travel better, especially to the East Coast. He just helped us with some ideas.The Royals led the Series 2-1 going into Game 4 Saturday night. The teams are set to play Game 5 in San Francisco, too, before returning to Kansas City, if necessary.The Giants began the playoffs with a win in the wild-card game at Pittsburgh, opened the NL Division Series at Washington and started the NL Championship Series in St. Louis. They split the first two games of the Fall Classic at the Royals home.Several Giants have said their travel schedule helps guard against severe jet lag.Crawford has two young daughters, yet still gets plenty of rest.Ive liked it this post-season how weve left the next day, said the shortstop, whose baby girl had a rough night Thursday ahead of Game 3. Its been nice to get a semi-normal nights sleep and come back the next day.When we come from the airport and have a workout that same day, its almost easier than coming in real late, then going home and sleeping in most of the day and then having to come to practice. Actually, I like it more, he said.Winter spent three days earlier this year at the teams spring training headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. He met with the training staff and players, talking about how to ensure proper rest.Winter said he thinks teams could implement sleepiness screenings into player evaluation.This month as the Giants advanced, recovery was a point of emphasis. That, along with deceiving the body clock.Second baseman Joe Panik said he felt good going into Game 3, which the Giants lost 3-2.I was on a consistent sleeping pattern, so I wasnt up late and I wasnt waking up too late or too early, so my sleeping patterns were normal, the rookie said. It definitely helps. I feel great. Hopefully, it translates onto the field.Research backs up the Giants methods.A pair of studies released last year — one led by Winter — linked fatigue and sleep to performance and career longevity in baseball players.Knowing that his players are getting enough rest is important to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. He doesnt want his team to be sleepless in San Francisco, thats why the club stayed overnight in Kansas City.We had made that decision that we feel its better for them, just, hey, try to get a normal sleep, keep them in their normal routine, Bochy said.The basic principle:Try and get a good night sleep, Groeschner said.Its tough when you get in at 5, 6 in the morning. One, the suns coming up and your circadian rhythm gets caught up in the sunlight. And also, especially coming back, guys have families and kids and if you get home in the morning and the kids are up, youre going to want to get up.Giants third base coach and musician Tim Flannery is benefiting.He had enough energy after a recent trip to come home and attend a local jazz festival before getting back to his baseball work.After I slept six hours ... ha! he said. Torry Holt Jersey . -- Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias says he has stress fractures in both legs and isnt sure when hell be able to play again, leaving the Tigers two weeks to fill his spot for opening day and perhaps a lot longer. Andrew Whitworth Womens Jersey . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Deacon-Jones-Jersey/ . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Tyler Higbee Rams Jersey . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night. Taylor Rapp Youth Jersey . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night.INDIANAPOLIS - Local driver Ed Carpenter has made himself at home on the Indianapolis 500 pole. The last of nine qualifiers to take the track, Carpenter bumped Canadas James Hinchcliffe from the top spot, posting a four-lap average of 231.067 mph to win the 500 pole for the second straight year. "I felt that it was harder," Carpenter said. "It was just a different position because when I made my run last year, we didnt really have anything to lose. This year, being the last guy to go out, I think there was a little bit of pressure to not mess it up." He didnt mess it up, not at all. Carpenters No. 20 Chevrolet was the car to beat all weekend, and the hometown favourite showed no signs of rust in his first IndyCar Series race of the season. He owns Ed Carpenter Racing and decided in November to run only on ovals, where he excels. He turned his car over to Mike Conway on road and street courses, and skipped the first four races of the season. He knew he had the pole secured when he nailed the final two corners on the last lap. "I could really just kind of enjoy it knowing that we were going to be on the pole for the second year," he said. Hinchcliffe, from Oakville, Ont., will start second after sustaining a concussion last weekend in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Will Power will join them on the front row. Three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves was fourth followed by Simon Pagenaud and Marco Andretti. Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden and J.R. Hildebrand will be on the third row. Carpenter, the stepson of former speedway executive Tony George, was 10th in last years Indy 500. He is 11th driver to earn consecutive 500 poles and the first since Castroneves in 2009-10. "Its all about the race," the 33-year-old Carpenter said. "Hopefully, we can close the deal this year." As a single-car team last year, Carpenter was unable to get help on data and much-needed setup information. He didnt want a repeat this May, so he hired Hildebrand to drive a second car at Indy for Ed Carpenter Racing. Hildebrand nearly won the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2011, but he crashed exiting the final turn and was passed for the win by the late Dan Wheldon. "I wish we could have got him up on the front row with us, but the shootouts tough," Carpenter said. "The conditions were hard today, but having him go first today also helped me because we were able to make ann adjustment.dddddddddddd" Carpenter thrived in the first year of a new Indy 500 qualifying format. He posted the top qualifying speed Saturday when the fastest nine drivers advanced to Sundays shootout for the pole. Juan Pablo Montoya had the fastest four-lap average (231.007 mph) among drivers ineligible to win the Indianapolis 500 pole and will start 10th. "We have a pretty quick car," Montoya, the 2000 winner, said. "Hopefully, my guys can learn something for the Fast Nine. I think that will put us in a good spot to start the race." Montoya was followed by reigning series champion Scott Dixon and former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch. Busch is set to race 1,100 miles in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. Busch raced in NASCARs All-Star race the night before and flew back from Concord, North Carolina, on Sunday morning. Busch was humbled when he said hed never be able to duplicate a weekend like this one — "except for maybe next week." Defending 500 champion Tony Kanaan will start 16th. Hinchcliffe appeared to have no problems in the car days after he was cleared to return for his concussion. He paced as he watched Carpenter make his final run, then his chance at the pole end when Carpenter found more speed on his final lap. He was injured last weekend in Saturdays Grand Prix when debris from Justin Wilsons car flew into the cockpit, striking Hinchcliffe in the head. He was taken away from the track on a stretcher, transported to a hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. The 27-year old Canadian was cleared to drive Thursday, and took the wheel back from pinch-driver E.J. Viso. "I had to kind of pretend that I had been here all month and take the feedback my teammates had given me at face value," Hinchcliffe said. "I knew what to expect from the car and that was a huge part of it." For the first time, IndyCar awarded points based on qualifying runs. The top qualifier on Saturday earned 33 points, second place got 32 and so on, all the way to one point for the 33rd-place entrant. The pole winner earned another nine points Sunday, decreasing to one point for the ninth-place starter. Carpenter, a Butler University alum, is an avid Indiana Pacers fan and couldnt wait to watch them play the Miami Heat in the playoffs. "Racers and Pacers right now," he said. "So go Pacers, beat the Heat." ' ' '