San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second consecutive season to become the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson, emerging from one of the tightest votes in the history of the honor.

Lincecum led the NL with 261 strikeouts and tied for the league lead with four complete games and two shutouts. The wiry right-hander, nicknamed “The Freak” for his giant stride, went 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA.

Only 10 points separated the top three vote-getters. Chris Carpenter was second and St. Louis teammate Adam Wainwright was third, despite getting the most first-place votes.

“I couldn’t ever have seen this happening growing up,” he said during a news conference at AT&T Park. “I just came out lucky on top.”

At the same time, he is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges stemming from a traffic stop on I- 5 in his home state of Washington on Oct. 30. No questions regarding the incident were allowed, but Lincecum apologized and acknowledged making a mistake while reading a prepared statement. He also touched on the issue in a roundabout way, saying, “it won’t ever happen again and I promise to become better in the future.”

The 25-year-old attended Liberty High School in Renton and the University of Washington before getting drafted by the Giants in 2006.

Soccer

• Thierry Henry denied today that he was a cheat but said the “fairest solution” would be to replay the France-Ireland World Cup playoff that was decided by his hand ball.

Henry set up the deciding goal for William Gallas by controlling the ball with his hand in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at the Stade de France. The goal in extra time gave France a spot in next year’s World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Ireland after two legs of the playoffs.

“Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control,” Henry said.

Earlier today, world governing body FIFA rejected a request by the Football Association of Ireland for the game to be replayed.

• Los Angeles forward Landon Donovan was named the 2009 MLS most valuable player after helping lead the Galaxy to the MLS Cup finals for the first time since 2005.

Despite all the accolades he’s garnered for being the best player in the U.S., this is the first time Donovan has won the top award in MLS.

Pro football

• He may be 32, but Ricky Williams is far from done. And even without Ronnie Brown, the once written-off Miami Dolphins are back in the playoff picture.

Williams rushed for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns, and the Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers 24-17 on Thursday night for their fourth win in six games.

A day after learning Brown is lost for the season, the Dolphins (5-5) continued their surge after an 0-3 start behind Williams.

It was enough to beat the Panthers (4-6) when Jake Delhomme’s desperation pass into the end zone was knocked down as time expired.

College football

• Third-string quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, leading No. 12 Oklahoma State back from an 11-point deficit for a 31-28 win against Colorado on Thursday night.

With starter Zac Robinson injured and backup Alex Cate ineffective, Weeden took over in the second half and got the offense going for the Cowboys (9-2, 6-1 Big 12).

His 28-yard touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon with 8:11 remaining proved to be the winner, keeping pressure on No. 3 Texas in the Big 12 championship race. The Longhorns would have clinched the Big 12 South with an OSU loss.