Die Nacktbar » tournament, but on the

NEW YORK -- To Derek Jeter, it was just another day to get ready for spring training. On a minor league field at the New York Yankees complex in Florida, he took batting practice, fielded grounders and chatted with teammates. And then he drove away in his Mercedes, offering no hint that the countdown to his retirement had already begun. Hours later, Jeter alerted the sports world: This will be his final season. "I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball," Jeter posted Wednesday in a long letter on his Facebook page. "I have gotten the very most out of my life playing baseball, and I have absolutely no regrets," the shortstop wrote. While it was no secret the team captain was getting close to the end of his brilliant career as he neared 40 -- especially after injuries wrecked him last season -- Jeters announcement caught many by surprise. In fact, some people wondered whether his account had been hacked. But it was quickly confirmed that one of the greatest players in the history of baseballs most storied franchise was serious. A 13-time All-Star shortstop who led the Yankees to five World Series championships, Jeter was the last link to the powerful Yankees teams that won three straight crowns from 1998-2000. Longtime teammates Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte retired after last year. "Derek Jeter is Mr. Yankee of his era," Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner told The Associated Press. "He was the face of one of the greatest teams ever." Jeter was limited to 17 games last season while trying to recover from a broken left ankle sustained during the 2012 playoffs. He hit only .190 with one homer and seven RBIs. "Last year was a tough one for me. As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realized that some of the things that always came easily to me and were always fun had started to become a struggle," Jeter wrote. "The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward." "So really it was months ago when I realized that this season would likely be my last. As I came to this conclusion and shared it with my friends and family, they all told me to hold off saying anything until I was absolutely 100 per cent sure," he wrote. "And the thing is, I could not be more sure," he wrote. His agent, Casey Close, said Jeter wanted to declare his intentions before the Yankees start spring training later this week so that his future status wouldnt be a distraction. The Yankees open camp for pitchers and catchers on Friday. Jeter has said hes healthy and ready to go -- at 39, his next birthday is in June. "Derek called me this morning to tell me that he planned to retire following the season," Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said. Said Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, a former Jeter teammate: "Im excited for him. Its kind of nice to see him go out on his own terms." Jeter is the Yankees career hits leader with 3,316. Hes ninth on the all-time list; a 200-hit season would put him in fifth place. Jeter is a lifetime .312 hitter in 19 seasons, with 256 home runs and 1,261 RBIs. He has scored 1,876 runs, stolen 348 bases and is a five-time Gold Glove winner. Added up, his numbers put him among the greats in Yankees history, with fans often invoking the names of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle when mentioning Jeters legacy. But No. 2 is defined by so much more than his numbers. His backhanded flip in the playoffs, his diving catch into the stands, his speech to close old Yankee Stadium and his home run for career hit No. 3,000. An October presence for so many years -- Jeter is a career .321 hitter in seven World Series -- he also became Mr. November in 2001. His winning, 10th-inning homer came shortly after midnight in a Game 4 that began on Halloween. Jeter was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, the season the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978 and re-established themselves as a major force. He was the MVP of the 2000 World Series. Commissioner Bud Selig said during his tenure, "Major League Baseball has had no finer ambassador than Derek Jeter." A staple for so long in the Yankees lineup, Jeter missed the first 91 games last year. He felt pain in his right quadriceps when he returned July 11 and again went on the disabled list. Jeter came back for three games but strained his right calf. In early September, he was done for the year. The Yankees will open the 2014 regular season on April 1 in Houston. Their final game is scheduled to be at Fenway Park, against the longtime rival Boston Red Sox. Rivera announced a year in advance that he would retire, and was saluted everywhere he played last season. Jeter is sure to get a similar farewell tour. "I wish everybody does it like that," Rivera told ESPN radio. "I think that would be the right thing for him to do." Jeter wrote that he wants to pursue business and other interests "in addition to focusing more on my personal life and starting a family of my own." "And I want the ability to move at my own pace, see the world and finally have a summer vacation," he said. "But before that, I want to soak in every moment of every day this year, so I can remember it for the rest of my life. And most importantly, I want to help the Yankees reach our goal of winning another championship," he said. Authentic Air Jordan China . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Wholesale Authentic Air Jordan .com) - Delon Wright scored 17 points and No. http://www.cheapauthenticairjordan.com/ . The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. Cheap Authentic Air Jordan Online . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay. Authentic Air Jordan Outlet TORONTO -- Canadas Milos Raonic strolled into the post-match interview room at Rexall Centre and immediately looked over at the television monitor beside his seat. He watched the screen intently as Roger Federer and Marin Cilic squared off on the stadium court before sitting down to discuss his 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau at the Rogers Cup. Raonic will next meet Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals but the possibility of another semifinal showdown with Federer -- just a month after they met in the final four at Wimbledon -- has Canadian tennis fans drooling. So, is a potential rematch with the Swiss star in the back of his mind? "No, I just enjoy to watch tennis," Raonic said with a grin. Federer ended Raonics run at the All England Club before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final. It was a career-best performance at the Grand Slam event for the 23-year-old Canadian, but his performance against Federer left him disappointed and frustrated. Raonic responded last week by winning in Washington and he has maintained the momentum this week, although he has been tested in both of his matches. The No. 6 seed from Thornhill, Ont., barely got by American Jack Sock in his opener before getting another stiff challenge from Benneteau on Thursday night. The hard-serving Raonic controlled the early pace with his powerful ground strokes but the Frenchman picked up two breaks in the second set to pull even. Raonic broke Benneteau at love to open the third set and was never threatened after that. "Today I was (in) much more (of) a comfort zone -- created my opportunities," Raonic said. It was a day of upsets at the US$3.78-million Masters 1000 series tournament as three of the top four seeds were eliminated. South Africas Kevin Anderson got things started in the morning by knocking off No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (8), 7-5 and No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia. In the evening, Lopez pulled out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The second-seeded Federer held off Cilic, the No. 15 seed from Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4. With a near-capacity crowd cheering him on, Raonic had little trouble in the opening set. He was pushed to deuce at one point but a volley winner and 221-km/h service winner gave him the hold and a 4-3 lead. In the following game, Raonic landed a scorching forehand in the corner to set up a break point and took the game when Benneteau made an unforced error. He closed out the set when the ball struck the net tape and softly landed on Benneteaus side. Benneteau appeared to get more of a read on Raonics serve in the second set but he couldnt match up in the third. The Frenchman fought off threee match points in the penultimate game before Raonic closed things out in one hour 47 minutes.dddddddddddd Earlier, Djokovic was unable to settle into his usual rhythm and it proved costly against Tsonga, who needed only 63 minutes to complete the straight-sets victory. "Just nothing was going," Djokovic said. "No baseline, no serve, no return. So (it was) just generally (a) very bad day, very poor performance. (I) couldnt do much." Tsonga had eight aces and Djokovic continually struggled to keep his service returns in bounds. Tsonga closed out the victory when Djokovic returned a serve wide. A visibly elated Tsonga did some shadow boxing and jumped up and down before waving to the receptive crowd. "Its not every day you get the rewards of what youre doing every day during the year," he said. "You leave your family, practise every day hard, suffer a lot on the court. And when you win a match like this, you just feel good." Djokovic barely got by Gael Monfils of France a day earlier, needing a third-set tiebreaker to avoid a loss in his tournament opener. He came into Thursdays match with 11 straight wins over Tsonga, but was nowhere near adding a 12th. The three-time Rogers Cup champ said he didnt feel comfortable in either match on the fast hardcourt. "I wasnt hitting the ball clean and a lot of unforced errors," Djokovic said. "Its maybe (a) lack of matches on this surface and well, it takes time. Lets just say its going to be better, Im sure." Tsonga will play No. 8 Andy Murray of Britain in the quarter-finals. Murray advanced when Richard Gasquet of France withdrew due to an abdominal strain. Djokovic planned to maximize his time on the practice court over the next few days as he gets ready for next weeks tournament in Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open at the end of the month. "Obviously Im disappointed that I lost this early in the tournament, but on the other hand I had a tough draw yesterday and today again. Tsonga played (at) a very high level, great quality shots. "All I can say is well done and I have to move on." Federer will next play fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who defeated Ivan Dodig of Croatia 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Anderson will face seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who beat No. 17 Tommy Robredo 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Notes: Benneteau received a warning midway through the second set for a time violation between points. He had some critical words for chair umpire Damian Steiner at the next changeover. After the match, Benneteau explained that he would have appreciated a soft warning beforehand. ... Raonic lost to Spains Rafael Nadal in the final of last years tournament in Montreal. Nadal is not able to defend his title due to a wrist injury. ' ' '