Gäste-Forum » opening a three-game road trip; they play

TAMPA, Fla. New Orleans Saints Pro Shop . -- Derek Jeter spoke for 25 minutes, 44 seconds and answered 26 questions about his decision to retire at the end of this season. He said "its time," "the right time" and "the time is now." Twice more he added "the time is right." Jeter will be leaving the major leagues the way he entered: accessible, yet opaque; approachable, but distant. So why is Jeter retiring? "He just said its time, but he didnt really say," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman concluded after Jeter reported to spring training Wednesday for his 20th and final major league season. One week earlier, the Yankees captain surprised and saddened teammates with his announcement, revealed by posting a 15-paragraph, 644-word statement on his Facebook page, one relatively few people were aware he even had. "You cant do this forever. Id like to, but you cant do it forever," he said to a crowded room filled with Yankees management and players in addition to media. Jeter, who turns 40 in June, was limited to 17 games last season, hitting .190 with one homer and seven RBIs after breaking his left ankle in the 2012 AL championship series opener. While he returned last July, he wound up on the disabled list three more times because of leg ailments caused by a lack of strength after the ankle healed. "It wasnt fun because I wasnt playing. I think it forced me to start thinking about, well, how long do I want to do this? And thats how I came to my decision," he said. "It just became a job last year." He sounded much like Joe DiMaggio, who left the Yankees in December 1951 saying, "when baseball is no longer fun, its no longer a game." Just two years ago, Jeter led the big leagues with 216 hits. And after an off-season of intensive workouts, Jeter is confident he will regain his productivity this year and be an everyday shortstop -- only the fourth in big league history in the season they turned 40. Wearing a navy Yankees pullover and shorts, and a New York cap, he spoke directly and dispassionately, much like during every interview since he first reached the major leagues in 1995. He kept his arms crossed in front of him for much of the time, resting them on a table. He flashed those famous white teeth and smiled, displaying not a trace of melancholy. "Trying to get me to cry?" he said after one question. "I have feelings. Im not emotionally stunted. Theres feelings there, but I think Ive just been pretty good at trying to hide my emotions throughout the years. I try to have the same demeanour each and every day." Hes been clear that he doesnt reveal his deepest thoughts publicly, not in the tabloid, talk-radio and Twitter-driven tumult of the Big Apple. "I know I havent really been as open with some of you guys as you would have liked me to be over the last 20 years, but thats by design," he said. "It doesnt mean I dont have those feelings. Its just thats the way I felt as though Id be able to make it this long in New York." He made the announcement on Facebook to circumvent "cut-and-paste" media, to get out his full message and to draw attention to his Turn 2 Foundation -- a pun on middle infielders making double plays and on his uniform No. 2. He is a relic, the last of the single digits to wear a Yankees uniform, the last to be introduced before each at-bat by Bob Sheppard, the Yankee Stadium public address announcer from 1951-07. While Sheppard died in 2010, a recording is played when Jeter walks to home plate. In the second half of his life, Jeter could have a future in business or even baseball management -- hes earned enough to become an owner. Hes been among New Yorks most eligible bachelors. "Theres other things I want to do. I want to have a family. Thats important me," he said, without a hint of what "other things" might entail. Jorge Posada retired after the 2011 season, and Mariano Rivera spoke in the same pavilion behind the third base stands last March and said 2013 would be his final year. Andy Pettitte departed last fall, too, leaving Jeter as the last of the Core Four who helped New York win five World Series titles. Owners Hal and Hank Steinbrenner and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal watched Jeter from the front row, manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman in the second. Teammates, who said his decision shocked and saddened them, were in the rows after that. Cashman called Jeter "a Secretariat, so to speak, that you can run in as many races as you can and win a lot." "Right now its kind of surreal and its strange to think of the Yankees without him in the lineup. But were not there yet," said Hal Steinbrenner, the teams managing general partner. When he spoke with Jeter hours before the Feb. 12 announcement, he didnt lobby for a reconsideration. "I respect when an individual makes a decision like this because I know how much time and thought they put into it. Its not my place to second guess," he said. Jeter wouldnt put an exact date on when he made up his mind. "I wanted to make this announcement months ago. I really did. But people -- I dont want to say forced, but they advised me to take my time before I said it," he said. He kept getting asked about his future. "Even walking down the street," he said, "people ask because I missed last year: Are you playing this year? How much longer are you going to play? How many years to do you have? You get tired of hearing it." He enters his 20th big league season with a .312 average, 256 homers and 1,261 RBIs. Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson already has Tweeted "for those booking early" the 2020 induction ceremony is scheduled for July 26. For Jeter, the titles mean more than the statistics. And most of all, he treasures getting to wear the pinstripes. "The thing that means the most to me is being remembered as a Yankee, because thats what Ive always wanted to be, was to be a Yankee," Jeter said. "I have to thank the Steinbrenner family thats here today and our late owner, the Boss, because they gave me an opportunity to pretty much live my dream my entire life. And the great thing with being a Yankee is youre always a Yankee. So in that sense it never ends." Michael Ola Jersey . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Danny Abramowicz Jersey . Edmonton opened the season with 14 straight victories before falling Friday night 10-8 to the host Colorado Mammoth in National Lacrosse League action. https://www.saintsjerseyssale.com/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.COLUMBUS, Ohio - It was a similar game — only with the Columbus Blue Jackets on the winning side — less than 48 hours later. Artem Anisimov scored a short-handed goal late in the second period and special teams provided four goals in the Blue Jackets 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday. In a disappointing 5-2 loss at New Jersey on Thursday night, the Blue Jackets fell behind 3-0, giving up two early power-play tallies, and then allowed a short-handed goal in the final minute of the second period. Fast forward to Saturday, when their power play clicked and Anisimov scored with his team a man down. "When we go to the locker room ... huge momentum for us," Anisimov said of his goal with 10 seconds left in the period with the game tied at 3. "Every goal you score in the last minute is huge for the team." With the Panthers on the power play after Derek MacKenzie went off for a high stick, Anisimov created the goal with hard work. He skated from the left boards, behind the net and to the far wall to force a turnover by Jonathan Huberdeau. The Russian Olympian then skated with the puck to the crease past defenceman Tom Gilbert, got goalie Scott Clemmensen to go for a fake with the backhand and then scored on the forehand. "The Russian air was good for him," joked Nick Foligno, who added one of two empty-net goals. "Hes come back flying. When youre playing against elite players like that it gives you a ton of confidence." Columbus, which had lost its past three, couldnt afford another effort as they had against the Devils. Anisimovs goal charged up his teammates and the crowd. "I didnt realize it was such a great play until I saw the replays," coach Todd Richards said. "That got the energy back for us." David Savard, Cam Atkinson and R.J. Umberger added power-play goals — the Blue Jackets were 3 for 4 with the man advantage — while Jack Johnson had three assists. Savard also had an assist. Foligno, playing in his 450th NHL game, collected his 200th career point on his goal. Matt Calvert added another empty-netter. Sergei Bobrovsky wasnt tested much, making 117 saves, but had a couple of big stops with the outcome still in doubt. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Jersey. Shawn Mathias and Nick Bjugstad each had a goal and an assist and Sean Bergenheim also scored for the Panthers, who lost their fourth in a row and have dropped seven of eight. The Panthers, last in the NHL on both special teams, failed to kill five consecutive penalties over two games including the first three against the Blue Jackets. Coach Peter Horachek was seething. "Special teams stink!" he said. "Those guys arent taking their responsibility for the penalty killing. ... There were individuals who let everybody else down." Forward Brad Boyes was also disgusted. "Its a broken record," he said of the special teams lapses. "Its killing us." James Wisniewskis hard shot from the top of the right circle handcuffed Clemmensen, who finished with 31 saves, with Umberger there to jam in the rebound on the power play at the 7:42 mark for the first. After Scott Gomez went off for interference soon after, the Blue Jackets scored with just one second left in the power play when Savards wrister from the right point was redirected by Atkinson. Johnson, whose whiff on a power-play shot from the point resulted in a costly short-handed goal in Thursdays loss, assisted on both goals. The Panthers countered late in the period when Wisniewskis pass went right to Matthias who tucked a shot inside the near post on Bobrovsky. Bjugstad won a puck battle with 20-year-old defenceman Ryan Murray at the blue line and then coasted in with plenty of room to move, eventually deking Bobrovsky to the ice before lifting a backhand for his 14th to tie it. Savard then carried the puck from the right boards unimpeded to the slot where he flipped a backhand past Clemmensen but 40 seconds later Bergenheim converted a rebound. That set the stage for Anisimovs big play. Notes: D Fedor Tyutin, expected to be out two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered while playing with the Russian Olympic team, missed his second game for the Blue Jackets. ... The Panthers were opening a three-game road trip; they play at the Islanders on Sunday, then at Boston on Tuesday. ' ' '