DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies gave Todd Helton a horse -- a real horse -- to ride off into retirement. Cheap Jerseys . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field. Afterward, a cowboy emerged from the left field gate and trotted out Heltons newest teammate -- a shimmering black and white gelding Paint horse named "A Tru Bustamove." The horse came complete with a custom-made saddle that featured the Rockies logo, Heltons number (17) and a silver embroidered handle. All the while, the fans showered Helton with applause as he wore purple pinstripes in front of the home crowd for the final time in his 17-year career. He acknowledged them with a tip of his cap before heading into the dugout to get ready for a game against the Boston Red Sox. He hit a solo homer in his first at-bat after the tribute, bringing the raucous crowd to its feet yet again. Helton appreciates all the outpouring of emotion even if hes a no-fuss kind of person. Each time Helton has stepped into the batters box or made a play in the field -- no matter how routine -- since announcing his retirement nearly two weeks ago, the crowd at Coors Field has given him a roaring ovation. "Seventeen years goes by in a heartbeat," said Helton, who presented the lineup to the home plate umpire before the game. "Once you get caught up in a season, caught up going out there and playing, it just happens. The next thing you know youre retiring." Soon, Helton will trade driving in runs for riding around his Colorado ranch with his new horse. Leading up to his final home game, Helton admitted it was going to be tough and "emotional." "Its also going to be a good day," said Helton, whose final game is Sunday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. His teammates leaned on the dugout railing as they watched highlights of Heltons career. Manning had a front-row view, too, taking a quick break from preparing for Sundays game against the Philadelphia Eagles. "Itll be a special night, emotional night for a lot of people that will be there," the Broncos quarterback said after Wednesdays practice. "And Im looking forward to being there." Saying farewell to Helton seems almost surreal for smooth-field shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Helton has scooped countless throws out of the dirt to bail out Tulowitzki and the rest of the infielders. "Its just crazy to think he wont be there," Tulowitzki said. "It will be a sad day for myself, seeing him go. But Im happy for him, if its time to go. Hes had a great career, a Hall of Fame career." Helton will certainly receive strong consideration for Cooperstown, even if he did play his entire career at hitter-friendly Coors Field. After all, hes one of two players to have at least 2,500 hits, 550 doubles, 350 home runs and hit .315 or higher for his career. The other? Former St. Louis Cardinals great and Hall of Famer Stan Musial. "Helton has put up monster numbers," outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. "Im sure that he feels really happy the way hes going to end." Indeed, he does. Always able to keep his emotions in check, Helton cracked -- briefly, anyway -- at his recent farewell news conference, choking up several times as he chatted about his playing days. On the way to the park, he shed a tear, too. Just one, though, he said. "Theres no crying in baseball," he said. Helton insisted hes at peace with his decision. Hes ready for retirement, despite hitting .314 since his announcement. "Mentally, 17 years is enough. Physically, its definitely enough," said Helton, a first-round pick out of the University of Tennessee in 1995. "Its September. Im 40 years old. Im looking forward to the season ending. It may be tough again once spring training rolls around, when next seasons starts. It may be hard for me then. But right now, its been a long grind, long season. Its time." With Helton goes the face of the franchise, the player whos been in the field so long that he once was teammates with current manager Walt Weiss. "Just steady. Just so steady," Rockies owner Dick Monfort said about his longtime first baseman whos been bothered by back and hip trouble in recent seasons. "When Todd came up to bat, you had as much confidence in him as anybody. Well miss him around here." Helton made his Rockies debut on Aug. 2, 1997, in Pittsburgh, batting fifth and starting in left field. He flied out in his first plate appearance and then singled. Following a walk, he hit his first homer, a solo shot off Marc Wilkins. Since then, there have been plenty more highlights for Helton: -- Winning three gold gloves. -- Finishing fifth in the 2000 NL MVP race after a season in which he hit .372 with 42 homers and 147 RBIs. -- Hitting for his only cycle on June 19, 1999, against Florida. -- Making five All-Star teams. -- Leading the Rockies to the 2007 World Series (where they were swept by the Boston Red Sox). Red Sox slugger David Ortiz had a feeling this sort of career was about to unfold for Helton after a conversation with former Rockies shortstop Neifi Perez during winter ball in 1997. Perez said there was an up-and-comer named Helton about to step in for Andres "Big Cat" Galarraga. "The following year were playing winter ball again and Im like, Neifi, you were right," Ortiz recounted. "Hes been a leader for that ball club for a long time and hes been teaching a lot of young kids the right thing. Thats one of the good guys you want to have around." http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/ . Another is a bunch of groundballs. Finally, theres a game that lasts two hours six minutes. Pavano kept up his recent surge with an efficient six-hitter for the Twins in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. cheapauthenticjerseys . 31 as the deadline to submit an Olympic hockey roster, the deadline has changed. After appeals from some top European countries - namely Russia, Sweden, Finland and Czech - over the past 24 hours, the National Hockey League, NHL Players Association and the IIHF agreed to move the date to Jan. EDMONTON -- The New York Rangers showed on Sunday the kind of hockey they are hoping to consistently display come playoff time. Backup goaltender Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for his third career shutout and Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello each scored a pair of goals as the Rangers won their sixth game in their last seven outings, defeating the second-last place Edmonton Oilers 5-0. Derek Brassard also scored for the Rangers (42-30-4) who had two short-handed goals in the game to move two points up on the Philadelphia Flyers for second place in the Metropolitan Division. "On some nights you need some bounces and we got a couple tonight," said Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. "Our penalty killing gave us two big goals tonight, which was good to see. "We hadnt played as well as we would have liked defensively in (a 4-3 loss to) Calgary on Friday. We were a lot better tonight." Centre Derek Stepan, who had three assists in the game, agreed with his coach. "We tightened it up and moving forward we have to play that way because the points are so big," said Stepan. "We have played a good defensive game over the last few weeks and that is what is going to lead to our offence and help us win." Nash said it is important that his team ramps it up down the stretch as they hope for a strong playoff run. "We have kind of a mini-playoffs right now just to get in," he said. "We are looking at every game as a must-win right now. You look at the teams that have success in the playoffs and it is usually ones that are playing well going in." The Rangers tied their franchise record for road wins with 24 this season. The Oilers (26-40-9) have lost four of their last five games. Edmontons Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said a team cant surrender two short-handed goals in a game and expect to have any success. "Its something that cant happen," he said. "Weve given up the most short-handed goals this season and its something that we cant afford to do. Whatever the reason, I think were a little overzealous and want to help guys out, but at the same time we have to be more cautious. "Teams are trying to capitalize on the penalty kill, they dont just dump it out every time. We have to be aware of that and its something that we have to be better at for sure." It was the ninth time this season that the Oilers have been shut out. "A lot of people say were a team that can score goals, but if you look at goals for in the league, were not even in the top 15," said Oilers forward David Perron. "We cant cheat to make plays and sometimes were guilty of that and that shows right away against teams that play the right way. "We sure werent generating anything. I dont think there was a minute in the game that we wanted. It was pretty embarrassing to play like that." Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins echoed Perrons sentiment, noting that the lack of offence on his team is something the organization will hope to adddress in the off-season. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/nike-nfl-jerseys-china_seattle-seahawks-jersey-china/. "There is a misconception about this team," he said. "This is not a high-powered offensive team. Its not. The history over the last four or five years knows that. We have to find a way to manufacture some offence and its something that were going to have to look into this summer as we add and subtract." Edmonton goalie Ben Scrivens kept it scoreless seven minutes into the game with a huge kick save after Nash split the defence to go in alone on the power play. New York took a 1-0 lead with three-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening frame as Zuccarello tipped in an Anton Stralman shot on a play that Scrivens argued involved a high stick. It was reviewed and stuck as Zuccarellos 16th of the season. The Rangers almost had a two-goal lead two minutes later as a puck got behind Scrivens, but the goaltender was able to fish it to safety during a mad scramble in front of the net before it crossed the goal-line. The visiting team had eight first period shots, while the Oilers only mustered three on Talbot. New York took a 2-0 lead five minutes into the second period on the power play, on Brassards knuckler of a shot form the sideboards that seemed to catch Scrivens off guard. The Rangers made it a three-goal advantage with 11 minutes left in the second period as Nash threw a hopeful backhand from behind the goal-line in front and it hit Scrivens and went into the net to count as Nashs 24th goal of the season. New York continued to dominate as they made it 4-0 with seven minutes left in the second period on a short-handed two-on-one break with Nash converting a pass from Stepan. The Rangers upped their lead to 5-0 on another short-handed goal four minutes into the third period as defender Philip Larsen overcommitted to covering Stepan. He was able to earn his third assist with a feed to Zuccarello in front of the net for his second goal of the night. It was the 13th short-handed goal the Oilers have allowed this season. Both teams return to the ice on Tuesday as the Rangers play the third game of a four-game trip in Vancouver and the Oilers take their final three-game road trip of the season, starting in San Jose. Notes: It was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Oilers won the first match-up 2-1 on Feb. 6 as Scrivens made 35 saves at Madison Square Garden. a The Oilers may be in second-last in the NHL, but they came into the game with a winning record against Eastern Conference teams, sitting at 14-13-4 before the loss. a Rangers forward Martin St. Louis has yet to score in his 14 games with New York since being traded there for Ryan Callahan and two draft picks. a Rangers forward Daniel Carcillo returned from a bout with the flu. ... Remaining out for New York were defenceman John Moore (concussion) and forward Chris Kreider (left hand). a Out for the Oilers were forwards Ryan Jones (knee) and Nail Yakupov (ankle), and defenceman Andrew Ference (chest). wholesale jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
