Schwarz/Weiß » s they can do it.TIP-INSPistons: Drum

SAN DIEGO -- There were two certainties about Tony Gwynn: He could hit a baseball like few other major leaguers, and he was going to laugh. Gwynn was a craftsman at the plate, whose sweet left-handed swing made him one of baseballs greatest hitters. The Hall of Famer died Monday of oral cancer, a disease he attributed to years of chewing tobacco. He was 54. Any knowledgeable fan can recite Gwynns key stats. He had 3,141 hits -- 18th on the all-time list -- a career .338 average and won eight batting titles to tie Honus Wagners NL record. There was far more to the man. In a rarity in pro sports, Gwynn played his whole career with the Padres, choosing to stay in the city where he was a two-sport college star rather than leaving for bigger paychecks elsewhere. He was loyal, generous and approachable. He smiled a lot. It didnt take much to get him to laugh his hearty laugh. Gwynn loved San Diego. San Diego loved "Mr. Padre" right back. His death left even casual fans grieving. "Our city is a little darker today without him, but immeasurably better because of him," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement. Five things to remember about Gwynn: HIS CRAFT: After spending parts of just two seasons in the minors, he made his big league debut on July 19, 1982. Gwynn had two hits that night. After Gwynn doubled, career hits leader Pete Rose, who been trailing the play, said to him: "Hey, kid, what are you trying to do, catch me in one night?" On Monday, Rose recalled Gwynns work ethic and his pioneering use of video to study his at-bats after every game. "Every day you went to the ballpark in San Diego and we used to go 2:30 or 3 oclock, Tony would be out there hitting, religiously, every day," Rose said. "Fifty-four years old is way too young." THE LAUGH: Former Padres teammate Tim Flannery recalls Gwynn as "always laughing, always talking, always happy." It didnt take much for Gwynn to cackle or break into a horse laugh. "He had a work ethic unlike anybody else, and had a childlike demeanour of playing the game just because he loved it so much," said Flannery, third base coach for the San Francisco Giants. THE 5.5 HOLE: Gwynn loved to hit the other way, through the hole between third base and shortstop. "All I keep thinking of when I think of Tony Gwynn is that line drive base hit to left field, or the one-hopper in the hole at shortstop to left field," Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said. "He hit the ball wherever it was pitched, and he was just a genius with the bat, without a doubt." SAN DIEGO STATE: Gwynn had been on a medical leave since late March from his job as baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater. He called it his dream job, one he began right after retiring from the Padres following the 2001 season. He coached his son, Tony Jr., whos with the Philadelphia Phillies. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gwynn played point guard for the SDSU basketball team -- he still holds the game, season and career record for assists -- and in the outfield on the baseball team. He was drafted by both the Padres (third round) and San Diego Clippers (10th round) on the same day in 1981. As much as he loved basketball, baseball was his future. Texas Augie Garrido, the winningest college baseball coach, said at the College World Series on Monday that he tried to recruit Gwynn when he was coaching at Cal State Fullerton, but told him he wouldnt be able to play baseball and basketball. Because baseball would be well underway by the time basketball ended, "Youd have to be one hell of a baseball player to be break into the lineup," Garrido recalled telling Gwynn. "He decided to go to San Diego State. After he won his seventh batting title at Dodger Stadium on the last day of the season, he broke that story to the LA Times. He didnt leave out one bit of information about how stupid I was. Thats why my recruiting genius is limited," said Garrido, who added he and Gwynn had a good relationship. TERRIFIC TONY: Gwynn struck out only 434 times in 9,288 career at-bats. He played in San Diegos only two World Series -- batting a combined .371 -- and was a 15-time All-Star. He had a home run in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series off fellow San Diegan David Wells and scored the winning run in the 1994 All-Star Game despite a bum knee. Gwynn never hit below .309 in a full season. He spread his batting titles from 1984, when he batted .351, to 1997, when he hit .372. Gwynn was hitting .394 when a players strike ended the 1994 season, denying him a shot at becoming the first player to hit .400 since San Diego native Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Jordan 12 Cheap Real .com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year. All Pink Air Jordan 12 Retro . Edwin Encarnacion carried the torch for two days at Fenway Park this week; Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista have had their moments; lately Anthony Gose has contributed. http://www.cheapjordans12retro.com/all-b...ordan-12-retro/. Parmelee hit a game-ending shot in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins overcame David Ortizs big night to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Tuesday. Black Air Jordan 12 Retro . Carcillo was a little of both for New York in Game 3. Derek Stepan, Martin St. Louis, Dan Girardi and Carcillo scored goals, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. All Star Air Jordan 12 Retro . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened.MILWAUKEE - O.J. Mayo made the most of his first start in a year.Mayo scored 17 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks to a 98-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. He was 5 for 10 from the field and 4 for 4 at the line his first start since Dec. 14 at Dallas.I just go out there hoopin man, Mayo said. You think of a pick-up game, you want to be among the first 10 guys to go out there and play.Brandon Knight had 20 points and eight assists for Milwaukee (8-7), which avoided its first three-game slide of the season. Rookie Jabari Parker contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.Detroit (3-11) has lost five in a row and eight of nine.Andre Drummond had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 15 points and eight boards. Drummond was averaging 8.7 points coming into the night, but shot 11 of 15 from the floor.Detroit guard Brandon Jennings missed his first game of the season after he hyperextended his left thumb late in Fridays 99-89 loss at Atlanta. Jennings, who spent his first four seasons with the Bucks, is averaging 16 points and 5.8 assists per game.We gave them 19 offensive rebounds, we had 19 turnovers and we were 7 of 17 at the free-throw line, Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. They hit 10 3-pointers. Those were the four factors in the game. Theres really nothing else to talk about.A basket by Zaza Pachulia gave Milwaukee its biggest lead at 87-73 with 5:46 left.Detroit closed to 88-80 on a layup by Monroe with 4:17 to go, but the rally fizzled from there.Pachulia grabbed an offensive rebound and nailed a jumper, and after Drummond missed a layup, Knight followed with a 3-pointer to make it 93-80 with 3:11 left.We cant lose three in a row, Parker said.dddddddddddd We didnt want to lose two in a row.Milwaukee put together a 12-1 run to open a 79-67 lead heading into the final period. The Bucks also closed out the first half with an 11-2 run.They scored one point, Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd said. For us as a young group, those are positive things for us to look at and learn from. Theyre showing us coaches they can do it.TIP-INSPistons: Drummonds previous season high of 14 points occurred on Nov. 1 against Brooklyn. ... D.J. Augustin started in place of Jennings and had 11 points and seven assists. He also committed five turnovers. ... Detroit handed visiting Milwaukee a 98-95 loss on Nov. 7 in the only other meeting between the teams.Bucks: In his first game since scoring a career-high 20 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo managed just two points on 1-of-13 shooting. ... John Henson sprained his left foot in the second quarter and did not return. He will not travel with the team to Minnesota. ... Milwaukees 121 wins against Detroit are its most against any team.UP NEXTPistons: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.Bucks: Visit Minnesota on Wednesday.SILVER IN TOWNNBA Commissioner Adam Silver was in Milwaukee and met with new Bucks owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, as well as local business leaders and elected officials, to discuss a possible new facility for the team.We accomplished a lot, Silver said. Theres a tremendous amount of positive energy in the community. There are always bumps in the road, but theres no doubt here that the people, the fans, the elected officials, they all recognize the value this team brings to the community.BEST DAY OF THE WEEKThe Bucks are 4-0 on Tuesdays and 4-7 the rest of the week. ' ' '