He made some big time saves at really important times,

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. Kenny Stabler Raiders Jersey . 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. Josh Jacobs Youth Jersey .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0. Jerry Rice Raiders Jersey . -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive. https://www.raiderssportsgoods.com/Womens-Kenny-Stabler-Inverted-Jersey/ .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times.ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - Shots were at a premium for the Abbotsford Heat on Friday night, but Corban Knight made no mistake in making the most of his. The 23-year-old rookie notched a hat trick in Abbotsfords 6-3 victory over the visiting Rockford IceHogs, despite being outshot 48-18 in the American Hockey League matchup. Although Knight admitted his goals werent the most highlight-reel type of goals, he made them count when he got the chance. "It was definitely a relief to get that first one," Knight said. "Then after that it was just kind of one of those nights where things were kind of going well for me offensively … You look at my goals and none of them were really that flashy, so it was just nice to get that off my back and contribute offensively for my team." Knight said his first professional hat trick couldnt have happened without the help of his linemates Sven Baertschi and Tim Miller. "Baertschis been putting up a lot of points and producing offensively," said Knight. "(Millers) the kind of guy where he just brings his lunch pail and just works hard and gets a lot of pucks back. Tonight it was just kind of clicking for us." Miller said theres no mistaking the dynamic between Knight and Baertschi on the ice. "I got the notice in the pre-game skate that I was going to play with those guys," Miller said. "You can tell the talent those two have out there. Its my job to still play physical, try to create room for them in the offensive zone and get to the net." Knight scored back-to-back goals in the first period. The High River, Alta., native tipped a shot from Max Reinhart over Jason LaBarberas left shoulder to give his team a 2-1 edge on the power play at 16:40 of the first period. His second goal came just over a minute later at 18:04 as Miller took advantage on a Rockford turnover in the IceHogs zone, feeding the puck across the crease to Knight, who buried it short side. Baertschi had two goals and three assists for Abbotsford (38-25-7), while Miller picked up a goal and two helpers. "That line had an oppportunistic night — they did a good job finishing," said Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward. Johnathan Abram Womens Jersey. "We thought Miller was our best player … I thought he had his best game by far for the Heat. He just opens up space for those other guys. He played honest, he played hard, and he gives Corban and Sven some space." Joni Ortio stopped 45 of the 48 shots he faced in the victory. "He made some big time saves at really important times, so he was huge for us tonight," Knight said. "I dont think we wouldve won that game without him playing the way he did." Mark McNeill and Alex Broadhurst each had a goal and an assist for Rockford (33-27-9). LaBarbera allowed four goals on 12 shots in the loss, while Kent Simpson stopped five shots in a relief effort. "It was a tough night and kind of weird game out there," said Knight. "The feel of the game was just weird, but fortunately we got the win, so well put it behind us and get ready for tomorrow." McNeill opened the scoring at 3:05 of the first as he powered around Abbotsfords Zach Davies, cut to the crease and roofed it over Ortios glove. Broadhurst and Klas Dahlbeck picked up assists. At 11:25 of the first, Miller picked up Heat captain Dean Arsenes point shot and buried the rebound into an open net to tie the game. Less than a minute into the second period, Alex Broadhurst received a Terry Broadhurst pass from behind the net and quickly put it past the outstretched left pad of Ortio. Knight scored his hat trick goal at 7:28 of the second, flipping the puck on net from behind the goal-line, and squeaking it just between the goal post and LaBarberas left shoulder. Baertschi added to Abbotsfords lead by feeding an intended pass through the crease that deflected off of a Rockford defender at 13:49 of the second. The IceHogs responded on the power play at 16:21 as Brian Connelly fed Adam Clendening at the point, who then fired it through traffic to cut Abbotsfords lead to 5-3. Baertschi added an empty-net goal from centre ice with 0:41 remaining in the game. ' ' '