onditions around it on the site are abysmal." "We had to find out how to support 5,000 tons of steel on soil that is mush," sai

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Don Zimmer wasnt a fixture in baseball forever. It just seemed that way. He played alongside Jackie Robinson on the only Brooklyn Dodgers team to win the World Series. He coached Derek Jeter on the New York Yankees latest dynasty. And his manager once was the illustrious Casey Stengel. For 66 years, Zimmer was a most popular presence at ballparks all over, a huge chaw often filling his cheek. Everyone in the game seemed to know him, and love him. Zimmer was still working for the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior adviser when he died Wednesday at a hospital in nearby Dunedin. He had been in a rehabilitation centre since having seven hours of heart surgery in mid-April. "Today we all lost a national treasure and a wonderful man," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. Zimmer started out as a minor league infielder in 1949, hitting powerful shots that earned him the nickname "Popeye." He went on to enjoy one of the longest-lasting careers in baseball history. And oh, the stories he could tell. "I loved listening to him every day," Billy Connors, a coach under Zimmer with the Chicago Cubs, told The Associated Press. Zimmer played on the original New York Mets, saw his Boston Red Sox beaten by Bucky Dents playoff homer, got tossed to the ground by Pedro Martinez during a brawl and was Joe Torres right-hand man as the bench coach with the Yankees. "I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me. He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game," Torre said in a statement. "The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Alis. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man," he said. A career .235 hitter in the big leagues, numbers could never define all that Zimmer meant to the game. He did have tremendous success, too -- his teams won six World Series rings and went to the post-season 19 times. Zimmers No. 66 Rays jersey had been worn recently by longtime Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley in tribute. The Rays hosted the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night, and Foley was crying in the dugout. Earlier this season, the Rays hung a banner in the front of the press box at Tropicana Field that simply read "ZIM." There was a moment of silence at Dodger Stadium for Zimmer before Los Angeles played the Chicago White Sox. "On behalf of Major League Baseball and the many clubs that Popeye served in a distinguished baseball life, I extend my deepest condolences to Dons family, friends and his many admirers throughout our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. Zimmers biggest admirer was his wife "Soot" -- they were married at home plate during a minor league game in 1951. Two years later in the minors, Zimmers path took a frightening turn -- he was beaned by a fastball and left in a coma, and doctors had to put metal screws in his head. He recovered well enough to wear a lot of uniforms during his 56 years in the majors. He played for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington. He managed San Diego, Boston, Texas and the Cubs. "Probably the best baseball man I knew," Connors said. Yankees executive Hank Steinbrenner echoed that sentiment. "I loved Zim. I loved his passion. He was a great, great guy. He was a great baseball guy," he told the AP. "Everybody loved him." Steinbrenner, son of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, said Torre and Zimmer were the "perfect team" during New Yorks run that brought four titles in a five-year span. "Joe was low-keyed. Zim would get fired up. He was a bench coach for real," Steinbrenner said. "He was an extremely important part of the 1990s success." Zimmer hit 91 home runs and had 352 RBIs in 12 seasons. He started Game 7 when Brooklyn beat the Yankees for the 1955 crown and was an All-Star in 1961. The next year, he played under Stengel on the 1962 expansion Mets, who famously went 40-120. "Dont blame them all on me," Zimmer once said. "I got traded after the first 30 days." Zimmer was the 1989 NL Manager of the Year with the Cubs and was at Yankee Stadium for three perfect games, by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series and by David Cone and David Wells in the late 1990s. "Its a sad day for the game of baseball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said after a 3-2 loss at San Diego. "Don impacted lives from the time he put a uniform on in the minor leagues until today." Zimmer is survived by his wife; son Thomas, a scout with the San Francisco Giants; daughter Donna, and four grandchildren. Justin Jackson Jersey . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Shaquille ONeal Jersey .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-jonathan-isaac-magic-jersey/ .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. Mohamed Bamba Jersey . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998. Evan Fournier Jersey . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima.NEW YORK -- U.S. Open rain delays at Arthur Ashe Stadium will be no more by 2017. The Grand Slam tournaments centre court could be covered by a retractable roof as soon as the 2016 tournament, but more likely the following year, U.S. Tennis Association officials said Thursday. As the mens final was delayed to Monday each of the last five years, they had insisted a roof wasnt yet feasible financially or structurally. A decade after the USTA started studying the issue and three years after architectural firm Rossetti began researching the project, the price tag and the technology are finally workable. The construction will cost about $100 million, down from earlier projections of $200 million. The U.S. Open becomes the last of the four major tournaments to cover up. The main stadiums at Wimbledon and the Australian Open already have roofs, and the French Open is planning one. Flushing Meadows No. 2 stadium, Louis Armstrong, will eventually be covered, too. Someday the Grandstand, the third-largest court, may be, as well. The Ashe roof will be part of a broader, previously announced project to rebuild and expand other courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The total price tag is estimated at $550 million. The USTA must still receive final approvals from the city for the plans. The organization had commissioned three different studies over the years that determined a roof wasnt feasible. The last time the USTA made a request for proposals, in 2009, it did not select Rossetti, the original architect for Ashe. The firm "took it rather personally," said Danny Zausner, the tennis centres chief operating officer. "Behind the scenes, they worked on the project for free for a year to try to come up with a concept that no one else thought of," he said. When Rossetti presented its findings to USTA officials in 2010, they were intrigued. Still, the firm was a long way from solving the riddle of topping Ashe. As USTA executive director Gordon Smith put it: "It wasnt built for a roof, and the land conditions around it on the site are abysmal." "We had to find out how to support 5,000 tons of steel on soil that is mush," said Matt Rossetti, the firms head. Using lighter materials atop the stadium was considered, but that proved unworkable. The USTA was willing to remove some seats, though not the entire upper bowl. Technology innovations over the years helped in making what was once impossible possible, Rossetti said - in particular, computer modeling. But he estimated that 80 per cent of the shift simply came from the painstaking, time-consuming process of delving into different options. A big breakthrough occurred just six months ago, when the firm surmised that the roof could be supported by only eight columns. At one point, the prediction was 32 -- and there wasnt space for that at the tennis centre. It was only two months ago that Rossetti determined the eight columns would actually work. Meanwhile, the rain kept falling at the Open. This years mens final is slated for Monday from the start to spread out the tournaament more and reduce the odds that Mother Nature wreaks havoc with the schedule.dddddddddddd. The streak of bad weather didnt speed up the goal of a roof, Zausner said, though it certainly reminded USTA officials why they wanted one. As recently as last years tournament, they were still left explaining why they couldnt do it. "I dont think it was as much pessimistic as frustrated," he said. Players vented about starting and stopping matches and quick turnarounds as officials tried to squeeze competition in after delays. They didnt want to hear about poor soil and prohibitive costs. "I can appreciate from their perspective: This isnt my problem. Fix it," Zausner said. The USTA lost TV revenue money. The fans, though, were still coming. "Even though were selling record tickets, is it building frustration from our fans and our broadcast partners? Theres no question," Zausner said. "But if we could have had this design five years ago and knew what we know today five years ago, Im sure we wouldve had a roof five years ago." The roof, made of a lightweight fabric, will take 5-7 minutes to close, though delays will last longer for drying the court. Zausner said the USTA couldnt learn much from Wimbledon and the Australian Open other than the best time for closing the roof, because the stadiums are so different. The Grandstand will move to the opposite corner of the complex, with capacity increased from 6,000 to 8,000 fans. Armstrong, which currently seats 10,000, will be replaced with a larger version that can hold 15,000. The construction will allow for more and improved concessions than the two 50-year-old stadiums currently support. New tournament and practice courts with additional seating also will be built so more fans can see the players in action; they could be complete as soon as next years Open. As of now, only a few dozen spectators can squeeze in a view of the practice courts through a fence. Walkways will be widened and esplanades created in an attempt to reduce the bottlenecks that frequently pile up between the main entrance and Ashe. The tennis centres capacity for each day session will increase from 40,000 to 50,000 people. The new Grandstand is scheduled to open by the 2015 Open and Armstrong by 18. Fans will see some of the work in progress; temporary bleachers likely will be used around the new Armstrong court at the midpoint of the two-year project. The USTA will fund the project through bonds and increased revenue; officials said ticket prices would not be raised to pay for it. A gap between the roof and stands will let in fresh air, and the stadium will be climate controlled. The challenge is to keep conditions similar for the players with the roof open and closed. "I dont particularly like going from indoors to outdoors to indoors. Its also tough," defending champion Andy Murray said Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati. "But its good for TV. Its good for fans that are watching. For the players that are scheduled on that court, its great." 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