Vogelsong received an extended standing ovation when he took the mound in the first inning

RICHMOND, Va. -- During a 7-on-7 drill in shorts at Washington Redskins training camp, Robert Griffin III rolled left and couldnt find an open receiver. He started to scramble, saw a lane and ran for 15 yards. Then he hit the turf, with typical RG3 flair. He performed a half-speed slide and rolled over to protect the ball. The crowd went wild. It was perhaps the biggest cheer hes heard for any play yet during camp. "I just thought everybody would love it if I just slid in practice for once," Griffin said. "And I went ahead and did that. I find it easier to slide in football pants than shorts. It was a little harder, but I slid and everybody liked it." Even coach Mike Shanahan laughed. "I thought it was good. ... Its got to become automatic," Shanahan said. "No matter what you do, there has got to be an emphasis there. The players got to believe in it. They have got to think it. If you use it do it in practice, it happens in games." Its an odd sight when people drive hundreds of miles to holler for their favourite player to take it easy, but many in the crowd at camp are content to sit back and watch Griffin sit back and watch, yelling things like: "RG3, take care of that knee" and "We dont need you to play in preseason." They naturally cheer when he does get to throw, but they already know he can do that. Theyre still waiting for him to master the slide. Griffin has been kept out of the main 11-on-11 drills during the first few days of camp in the homestretch of his recovery from reconstructive right knee surgery. Protecting the knee is more important that perfecting the fade route, even if the quarterback is chomping at the bit to accelerate the process. "Its not easy to sit around and watch," Griffin said Monday. "I call it Operation Patience. Griffin said he has "no pain" and "no swelling" in his right knee. He says he can plant on the leg the way he did before he first injured it last season. He said hes always forgetting to put on his brace, which he is supposed to wear during practices and games all season. "I dont really worry about my leg anymore," he said. "I just play football." To that end, Griffin feels hes ready to do more than he is allowed. During the portions of practice devoted to special teams, he goes to a separate field and runs through a scaled-down version of the plays he missed during the 11-on-11s. He said got a "little bump-up" in work during Monday mornings walkthrough, although Shanahan said that wasnt the case. Regardless, Griffin wont join the 11-on-11 drills in the main practice until next week at the earliest. "I feel like Im ready for that -- but were being real cautious right now and taking it slow," Griffin said. "Thats what Coach wants to do." Shanahan said the unpredictability of 11-on-11 play makes it dicey for a player coming back from two bad ligaments. "If you put a guy in there too early and he doesnt have that full strength, you could lose that ACL, LCL just like that," said Shanahan, snapping his fingers. "Were not going to do that." Notes: CB DeAngelo Hall slipped and hurt his right ankle while defending a pass during the afternoon practice. He had the ankle taped and returned for a few plays before sitting out the rest of the session. He was scheduled for X-rays. "I dont think its really serious," Shanahan said. ... G Adam Gettis sat out the afternoon practice with a strained hamstring. Greg Pateryn Wild Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Joel Eriksson Ek Wild Jersey . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). http://www.authenticwildpro.com/Eric-staal-wild-jersey/ . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Jason Zucker Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Jared Spurgeon Wild Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. SAN FRANCISCO -- Gregory Polanco had a homer and four RBI, Ryan Vogelsong won in his return to AT&T Park and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants 8-5 on Monday night.Andrew McCutchen added two hits, two RBI and made a spectacular diving , backhanded catch in the eighth to help Pittsburgh move within one game of idle St. Louis for the second NL wild card.That was enough for Vogelsong (2-2) to win despite an up-and-down outing.Vogelsong, who spent parts of seven seasons with the Giants and won two World Series, allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out one.An All-Star with San Francisco in 2011, Vogelsong received an extended standing ovation when he took the mound in the first inning and again when he left in the sixth.Denard Span had three hits, including a home run, and Eduardo Nunez also homered for the Giants.Polanco hit a two-run double off starter Matt Moore (0-2) in the fourth, then drove in two more runs with his 17th home run of the season in the sixth.Francisco Cervelli singled, walked twice and made a sparkling defensive play to tag out a runner at home to help Vogelsong win for the first time since coming off the 60-day DL after being hit in the face with a pitch on May 23.Tony Watson, the fourth Pirates reliever, retired three baatters for his sixth save.ddddddddddddVogelsong got off to a rough start when he walked Joe Panik with the bases loaded in the first inning, then gave up an RBI single to Hunter Pence in the third.San Francisco missed a chance to add on when Pence overran third base on Nunezs double and was thrown out while scrambling back to the bag.Moore allowed five runs over six innings.DOWN ... AND OUTPence made a spectacular defensive play when he caught Josh Harrisons foul ball while on his back after stumbling on the mound in the visiting teams bullpen.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: Starling Marte was back in the lineup after sitting Sunday with a sore upper back.Giants: Buster Posey sat for the second straight game due to tightness in his lower back. Posey has been bothered by the issue since the teams flight back from Miami on Sunday.UP NEXTPirates: Jameson Taillon (3-2) faces the Giants for the first time in his career Tuesday night. The right-hander has allowed one earned run over his previous 14 innings.Giants: RHP Jeff Samardzija (10-8) makes his second start against Pittsburgh this season. The Pirates knocked Samardzija out of the game after three innings on June 22. ' ' '