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lucylily's blog: "ght"

created on 10/12/2013  |  http://fubar.com/ght/b356027

NEW YORK -- Mets fans cheered the loudest for Chipper Jones once he was out of their ballpark for good. When he took the lineup card to home plate before his last game in Queens, Jones got some scattered applause. When he pinch hit in the ninth, he received cheers in full voice -- along with some boos, of course. Jones walked, and once a pinch runner came in to replace him, the retiring 40-year-old star trotted back toward the Braves dugout on the third base side and Mets fans stood and cheered. Jones took off his batting helmet, raised it to the crowd, and then was gone down the steps. For that, and for his long career as a most worthy adversary, Mets fans stood and applauded. "Cant say enough about the fans in New York this year. Theyve been awfully supportive both in person, out on the field, on Twitter," Jones said. "Im very appreciative to them for that." He and the Braves, of course, couldnt leave town without getting the better of the Mets one last time. Brian McCann homered and drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to give Atlanta its fifth straight win, 3-2 Sunday for a three-game sweep at Citi Field. "Now that Im scuffling a little bit, its important for someone else to be stepping up," Jones said. Pinch runner Reed Johnson made it to third before Michael Bourn struck out, flinging his bat and helmet in rage after the inning ended. Martin Prado led off the 10th with a single against Bobby Parnell (4-4). After Jason Heyward grounded out, Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked. Dan Uggla worked a walk before McCann hit a sacrifice fly. Peter Moylan pitched the bottom half for his first save of the season. Craig Kimbrel (1-1), Atlantas usual closer, worked a scoreless ninth for the NL wild-card leaders. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he wanted Kimbrel to face the Mets mid-lineup power threats, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda, in the ninth while it was tied. "Today, it fell where the big boys were coming up," Gonzalez said. "It worked out." Davis led off with a single, but Kimbrel struck out Duda and Kelly Shoppach before Andres Torres grounded out to end the threat. The Mets took the lead on Davis RBI single in the fourth, but Atlanta answered when Bourn singled home Jose Constanza in the fifth. Mets starter Chris Young allowed five hits and four walks in six innings, striking out seven. He is 0-4 in seven starts at Citi Field this season. McCann led off the sixth with his 20th home run for a 2-1 lead, but Braves starter Tommy Hanson remained winless in five starts since a victory over Miami on July 30. Hes 0-3 since then and has only made it out of the sixth inning in one of those starts. Hansons day ended when David Wright hit a double into the left-field corner to tie it at 2 in the sixth. It started off with more promise -- Hanson retired the first 10 batters he faced. "I felt really good about this start today," Hanson said. "We came up here and took care of business." In the bottom of the eighth, the Mets threatened to take the lead. But Braves reliever Eric OFlaherty got Wright to ground out on a full count with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and runners on first and third. That set up Jones moment, such that it was. Reliever Frank Francisco walked him on four pitches. "I didnt want to pitch around him, but I didnt want to leave anything right there," Francisco said. "Hes a great player. I was trying to save the game." Jones noticed, too. "I dont think Francisco was going to let me get a real good swing at one," Jones said. As much as he might have liked to have one last good whack at the Mets, Jones was pleased enough with the actual results: Atlanta goes to Milwaukee with a three-game sweep and having won seven of its last eight. And Jones has one more memory of a Mets ballpark. He hit the first two homers of his career at the Mets old stadium, and his eight-year-old son is named for it -- Shea. "It was cool," Jones said of his last at bat in Queens, nearly 20 years after his first one. "I heard a bunch of boos in there, but for once the cheers outnumbered the boos." NOTES: Jones will get another chance to torment the Mets. The Braves host them in a series later this month. ... Wright is set to visit a New York firehouse to remember Sept. 11 for the eighth year in a row. On Monday, he plans to visit Squad 18 in Greenwich Village, along with Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano. ... Braves LHP Mike Minor is set to go against RHP Wily Peralta on Monday in Milwaukee. ... Mets RHP Colin McHugh is scheduled to face Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez on Monday at Citi Field. nfl Jerseys wholesale . Correia pitched six solid innings and Presley had two hits and scored three runs as Pittsburgh beat the Houston Astros 6-3 on Wednesday night to gain ground in the wild-card race. cheap nfl jerseys from china . -- Brian Banks will get a crack at the NFL, even if its simply a tryout. http://www.nflcheapwholesalejerseyschina.com/ . In other CIS sports, St. Francis Xavier (womens rugby), Ottawa (womens soccer), York (mens soccer) and Guelph (womens & mens cross country) all maintain their No. cheap jerseys from china . -- With James Bueschers truck losing power in the first half of the race, his crew made a quick decision: Theyd have to come into the pits and replace their carburetor, even if cost them a few laps to the leaders. wholesale nfl jerseys . Schafer was reacquired by the Braves on Thursday when they claimed him off waivers from the Houston Astros. "Im excited to go back," Schafer said during an interview with The Associated Press.STORRS, Conn. -- Jim Calhoun retired as Connecticuts basketball coach Thursday, closing a 26-year career at the school with thanks to everyone who helped him turn UConn from an athletic backwater into a national power that won three national titles. The retirement of the 70-year-old Hall of Famer was announced on the court in Storrs, where Calhoun racked up many of his 873 total wins. In thanking administrators, players, fans and his family, Calhoun said he feels blessed and is grateful that "you trusted us." Calhoun will take a transition appointment through next spring as a special assistant to athletic director Warde Manuel. When he is fully retired, Calhoun will become head coach emeritus. Calhoun has been slowed by health problems in recent years, including a fractured hip last month. "The hip injury really didnt enter into the decision, except that it gave me more time to think about it and the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that this was the right time to move on to the next phase of my life," he said in an official statement. Assistant coach Kevin Ollie, who played point guard for Calhoun from 1991-95, will be the Huskies new coach. His contract runs through next April 4 and he will be paid $625,000. He takes over a team that returns only five players who saw significant playing time a year ago and failed to qualify academically for the 2013 NCAA tournament. UConns ban from the post-season culminated a series of problems the program has had with the NCAA in recent years. "I am very honoured and humbled to become the UConn mens basketball coach," said Ollie. "I cannot put into words how grateful I am to coach Jim Calhoun, who retires today as one of the most legendary coaches in the history of college basketball. Coach Calhoun brought me here to Connecticut as a person right out of high school and has mentored me into the person I have become today." Despite the schools problems and uncertain future, Calhoun -- who coached UConns latest title winners just last year -- got a fine send off. "This is a day of sorrow, celebration and admiration," Connecticut President Susan Herbst said. Players echoed the sentiment. "Coach Calhoun is a great coach, one of the greatest ever in college basketball, and it was an honour to play for him," said sophomore forward DeAndre Daniels. "I think everybodys still in shock right now and just dont really believe it." Ollie is one of more than two dozen players whom Calhoun sent to the NBA, a list includes everyone from Reggie Lewis at Northeastern, to Cliff Robinson, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Rudy Gay and Kemba Walker. Associate head coach George Blaney plans to stay on and help Ollie. "No one ever thought that UConn could become a national power, one of the top-five programs in the nation," Blaney said. "Now you look at what this school has become, the type of students that they have, the buildings, even the image of the state, so much of that is attributable to the success of his basketball program." Calhoun was hired by UConn in May 1986, after spending 14 years at Northeastern where he transformed the team from Division II program to a mid-major power with five appearances in the NCAA tournament. He won an NIT title in his second season. His teams won 10 Big East regular-season championships and seven Big East Tournament titles. "The thing that stands out to me is its one thing to take over a Duke or a Kentucky and build it and win games and win championships,&qquot; said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who went into the Hall of Fame with Calhoun in 2005.dddddddddddd"But 26 years ago Connecticut wasnt even thought of in the college basketball world. Hes turned them into one of the top programs in the country. I think its really, to me, the greatest building job that anybodys ever done." In 1999, Calhoun coached the Huskies to a 34-2 record and their first NCAA championship, a 77-74 upset over Duke. In 2004, the Huskies started and ended the season at No. 1, beating Georgia Tech in the NCAA championship game 82-73. A year later, Calhoun was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2011, UConn finished the regular season in ninth place in the Big East before reeling off a remarkable 11-game run in the post-season, including a 53-41 victory over Butler in the national championship game. Calhouns only loss in the Final Four came in 2009 to Michigan State in the national semifinals. The coach missed the Huskies first NCAA tournament game that season after being hospitalized for dehydration. It was one of a number of health problems that plagued the coach in recent years. Before fracturing his hip in August, Calhoun fought off cancer three times and missed eight games last season because of a painful spinal condition. He returned just four days after having back surgery to coach the Huskies in their regular-season finale and the post-season. UConn finished the year 20-14, losing to Iowa State in the first-round of the NCAA tournament. He missed 29 games at UConn, and left another 11 because of illness. He successfully battled prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer twice, most recently in 2008. Calhoun also was hospitalized in 2009 after breaking several ribs during a charity bike ride and he missed seven games in the 2009-10 season for an undisclosed stress-related medical reason. In addition to his medical leaves, Calhoun served a three-game suspension at the start of the Big East season last winter for failing to maintain an atmosphere of compliance in his program with NCAA rules. The sanctions came after a 15-month investigation into the recruiting of former player Nate Miles, who was expelled from UConn in October 2008 without ever playing for the Huskies. Besides accusations that his staff improperly contacted recruits, gave them improper benefits and distributed free tickets to high school coaches and others, Calhoun was cited for failing to maintain an atmosphere of compliance. The accusations led to the resignations of two assistants, and a promise from Calhoun to make things right. He told reporters that the idea of bringing closure to that issue was a "major, major factor" in his decision to come back after the 2011 championship season. Calhoun also faced criticism for his teams performance in the classroom. His team failed to qualify academically for the 2013 NCAA tournament under rules passed in the fall of 2011. UConn sought a waiver citing improved scores in 2011-12, but that was rejected and five underclassmen left the Huskies after last season, two heading for the NBA and three transferring. Ollie has never been a head coach at any level. He played at UConn and spent 13 seasons in the NBA, playing for 12 teams before being hired by Calhoun as an assistant in 2010. Calhoun, the states highest paid employee, signed a five-year, $13 million contract in 2010. Under that deal, once he retires he is due either a $1 million cash payment or another 5-year job in the athletic department with a $300,000 a year salary. ' ' ' 

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