Matt Cain sat in a catcher’s crouch halfway between the mound and home plate, where David Wright lay sprawled after being struck in the helmet by a Cain fastball. Cain remained hunched over, hoping for a good outcome for Wright.

He had just kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl, had a brand-new contract and the confidence of the organization, but Lawrence Tynes still lost his starting job last season. The worst part was that he was healthy and ready to kick.

David Wright was hit just above the left earflap of his helmet with a 93 mile-per-hour fastball, a frightening moment that obscured a thrilling game, which the Giants won, 5-4, on Bengie Molina’s solo homer off K-Rod in the 10th inning.

Rex Ryan, like most coaches, didn’t reveal too much in the first preseason game, but he showed enough to excite his players and to announce to the rest of the league that he’s planning to bring a Ravens-like mentality to the Jets.

Christopher Higgins, the kid from Smithtown, L.I., who took his first hockey steps at the Suffolk Police Athletic League, the son of an NYC fireman and the brother of an NYC cop - is coming home to play for the Rangers.

Mark Teixeira’s 30th home run of the season snapped a ninth-inning tie and helped lift the Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Mariners Friday night, moving the Bombers 30 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Joba Chamberlain’s extended break between starts will wait another turn, as the Yankees announced Friday that the righthander will start tomorrow’s game in Seattle instead of pitching Wednesday in Oakland.

With one loud completion to start an impressive, albeit brief outing in a 23-20 loss, Mark Sanchez moved closer to winning the Jets’ QB job. He completed three passes for 88 yards in his only series - an eight-play, 93-yard touchdown drive.

They can hit, run, field - and eat. A Staten Island squad just one win short of the Little League World Series succeeds on a diet of hard practice and hot pasta, courtesy of their coach and his wife.

Phil Mickelson hung on to make the PGA cut, sweating it out in the afternoon as the number moved from 2-over 146 to 4-over 148, where he finished. Mickelson shot a second straight 74 at Hazeltine and couldn’t cure his putting woes.