LOS ANGELES -- The reality of his final at-bat in the major leagues hit Todd Helton before he stepped into the batters box. Kurt Warner Jersey . Home plate umpire Bob Davidson handed the Colorado Rockies slugger his lineup card and Helton tucked the souvenir into the back pocket of his uniform. He struck out swinging against Kenley Jansen after singling his first time up in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. "That was very cool," said Helton, who had been asked by Davidson a night earlier if he wanted the card. Helton was 1 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout. The first baseman had announced two weeks ago that he would retire after his 17th season in the big leagues. He finished with 2,519 hits, 592 doubles, and 369 home runs. "You always wish you could slow down and enjoy it a little bit more," said Helton, who won the batting title in 2000. "Youre out there battling and that makes it go pretty quick. Its been a great run, and Ive accomplished more in this game than I ever thought. Ive learned more than I ever thought, by just going out and playing the game. Its been a lot of fun." In his last at-bat, Helton received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 52,396, and he waved his left hand in acknowledgement before stepping into the batters box. After striking out, the crowd rose for a final ovation. "Im glad I was here," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "I like seeing fans respect for him." Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully paid tribute to Helton on the video board before the game. Fans gave Helton a standing ovation and he waved his cap to the crowd as both teams joined in the applause. "That was very kind. They didnt have to do that," he said. "I was very honoured and humbled from those kind words. The last at-bat, I got a little emotional, but other than that, its September 29th and Im ready to go home." Scully sent an autographed microphone to the Rockies clubhouse for Helton. The Rockies paid tribute to Helton earlier in the week with festivities at Coors Field. "There was a finality to it today with Todd," manager Walt Weiss said. "It was very emotional for a lot of people. Todd said a few words to the guys, but it wasnt much. It took about 10 seconds, and thats right on cue for Todd. Its pretty cool to watch a legend in his last days." Jeff Francis came out of the bullpen to win his first start in more than three months and Michael Cuddyer won his first batting title for the Rockies. The NL West champion Dodgers, who lost four of their last five games to finish 92-70, will open the NL division series at Atlanta on Thursday. They received a blow after the game when it was announced that centre fielder Matt Kemp would miss the post-season because of swelling in a bone of his sprained left ankle. "The season is over for me," said Kemp, who was on crutches. "Its like a bad nightmare." Colorado (74-88) earned its their first winning record against the Dodgers since 2007, going 10-9. Cuddyer went 1 for 5 with three strikeouts and finished the season with a .331 batting average to win the batting title by 10 points over Atlantas Chris Johnson, who was held out Sunday to rest his right shoulder. "It was nothing that I ever expected and I really cant wrap my head around it yet," Cuddyer said. "It just goes to show that no matter what time youre at in your career, something like this can happen if you continue to work hard." Cuddyer had never hit better than .285 before this season. Francis (3-5) made his first start since June 18 at Toronto, having made 11 previous appearances out of the bullpen. The left-hander allowed one run and three hits in five innings. Rex Brothers pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 21 chances. The Dodgers rally attempt came up short in the ninth after they loaded the bases with one out. Brothers struck out Tim Federowicz and Skip Schumaker to end the game. Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-8) walked his first batter of the game before giving up three consecutive singles, with Troy Tulowitzki driving in Colorados first run on his single to left. The Rockies made it 2-0 in the fourth on Charlie Blackmons RBI single. Los Angeles closed to 2-1 in the fifth on Skip Schumakers RBI single. Ryu gave up two runs and eight hits on four innings in what was deliberately a short outing ahead of the playoffs. The left-hander struck out four and walked one. NOTES: Dodgers OF Andre Ethiers playoff status remains in doubt because of shin splints. He was in Arizona on Sunday, but will rejoin the team for its workout Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. That will be the clubs last chance to evaluate Ethiers condition before finalizing the playoff roster. "Its really going to see what he can do," manager Don Mattingly said. "Then well decide if thats going to be enough." ... The Dodgers became the first team since the 2010 Yankees to lead the majors in home and road attendance and the the first NL team since 1988. A total of 3,743,527 fans attended 81 home games, while the road attendance was 2,863,247 in 81 games. ... Dodgers RHP Peter Moylans wife, Amanda, sang the national anthem and "God Bless America." John Abraham Jersey . Hes willing to leave Miami, if thats what it will take to win more championships. And what happens next will likely be up to not just the Heat, but Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as well. Frostee Rucker Red Jersey . Ecclestone dismissed on Wednesday any clash between the series, after the top executive at Texas Motor Speedway called F1 "arrogant" for scheduling the United States Grand Prix in Austin on the same weekend that his track hosts NASCAR in Fort Worth.RALEIGH, N.C. – You could hear a pin drop in the visitors dressing room at PNC Arena after yet another blowout defeat. "I think the talking has to stop," said Jay McClement with evident frustration. "Weve talked all year all about all these things and were just not getting the job done. Nothing seems to be changing. Were just still very inconsistent with our efforts. Somethings got to change. I think weve done so much talking, we just need a little more action." The Maple Leafs lost their third straight and 20th in the past 31 games on Thursday night, blown out 6-1 by the surging Hurricanes. Months of brewing trouble saw the club finally knocked out of a playoff position for the first time all season, now 10th in the Eastern Conference. "I think were searching for answers and thats the hard part," Mason Raymond said. "Its a cliché, but were the only ones that are going to get ourselves out of this mess." It was more of the same from a wildly inconsistent, unpredictable group that has just five wins in regulation since the start of November and not one during that span on the road. The Leafs have been outscored 18-5 during this most recent three-game slide, an "exclamation point" in the words of Randy Carlyle, for the ills of a troubled hockey club. Just when it appears, however, that a low point has been reached does another disastrous performance occur, this one to a Carolina squad that has now won five straight. "We stood around for most of the hockey game tonight," said a noticeably deflated and dejected Carlyle afterward. "For whatever reason that nobody seems to have an answer to right now is were doing things standing still. Were watching teams skate and were not engaged in the hockey game to a level that is required to give yourself a chance for success." Carlyle urged his group to play with more tenacity and bite in recent days, something more in wake of a season veering dangerously off course. But aside from a late and rather meaningless push, he didnt get it. The urgency and intensity remained mysteriously absent as domino after domino toppled over on the ice in Raleigh. "Theres no excuse why we dont compete every night," said McClement. "Thats something that has to be there every night. Youre not going to win every night, but the effort and the compete has to be there every night. Theres no excuse for that." It was yet another mess in a season thats had too many to count already. An identity-less team to this point, the Leafs are searching for answers on how to right the wrongs of a season thats teetering closer and closer to the edge of something perilous. The problem is, these troubles have been brewing for the better part of the season with little to no change in performance. These are tough times in Toronto with no readily apparent end in sight. "It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that things arent going anywhere near what our expectations are, thats for sure," said Carlyle. Five Points 1. Pushing the Message Preaching for improvement all year, but especially in recent days, Carlyle wouldnt cast the full weight of whats taken place onto the shoulders of his players alone, but what has to be distressing for the head coach and his staff is how few results the message has yielded. Nothing, it seems, has been able to lift the Leafs from a year-long funk. "Theyre not an island out there," he said before Thursdays game. "We dont put our players on an island. We think its very improper to put our players in a situation to say that we dont support them. We support our players to the utmost. And we look back to the players because theyre the ones that are out there doing it. Theyre the ones that are out there sacrificing. Theyre the ones that are out there putting on the performance." Carlyle said that his staffs role is one of guidance. "Were just in a position to try and guide them as a coaching staff. Theres different ways to guide. Weve tried numerous ways to stimulate our group to play a much more competitive brand of hockey. Well continually push for more of that." 2. Reimers First Start in 19 Days Questioned before the game on how he managed to stay sharp with a long layoff – 19 days – between starts, James Reimer, as is the norm, found the bright side. "Its just good preparation for the Olympic break, I guess," he said with a grin. Reimer had no chance yet again in his first start since Dec. 21, on the hook for all six goals in the 6-1 defeat. "Our goaltenders are strung out and left hanging high and dry if you look where the quality of the scoring chances are coming from, theyre coming from that critical area," said Carlyle. "You cant continually give those chances up." Leaf goaltenders were frequently heroic in the opening hhalf of the season, despite inflated shot totals, but have understandably buckled under helpless conditions recently. John Brown Womens Jersey. Reimer and Jonathan Bernier own a .846 save percentage during this most recent three-game slide. "You just want to hang in there and keep it as close as you can so that you can give the boys a chance," said Reimer, who dropped to 4-2-1 lifetime against Carolina. 3. Gardiner Scratched For the second time this season, Jake Gardiner landed as a healthy scratch. Carl Gunnarsson returned from an elbow injury, while Mark Fraser was inserted into the lineup for just the second time in 12 games as Carlyle shook up the defence. "We felt that Jake has struggled in the last couple games," said Carlyle, "his puck movement and decisions with the puck and we felt had a better option in the other two guys at this point with the way our mix was put together." 4. Phaneufs Production Recently signed to a seven-year extension, Dion Phaneufs offensive production has dipped this season, his fifth with the Leafs. Phaneuf totaled a hearty nine goals and 28 points in 48 games in 2013 – a pro-rated 15 goals and 47 points – adding 12 goals and 44 points in 2011-12. But just beyond the midway point this year and the 28-year-old has just four goals and 17 points, an eight-goal and 33-point pace. "I feel good about my game and the way that Ive played," he told the Leaf Report generally on Thursday morning, "But the bottom line is individual seasons dont matter. It matters about team success and weve got to be better as a team and we know that." One area of admitted focus and needed improvement for Phaneuf is the number of pucks directed to the net. He leads the team with 75 shots, but is on pace for a career-low in shots per game, way down from the numbers he accumulated previously. Season Shots Per Game 13-14 1.76 13 1.83 11-12 2.46 10-11 2.88 09-10 2.78 08-09 3.46 07-08 3.21 06-07 2.91 05-06 2.95 5. Ashton, Holland Trade Places The Leafs deemed Wednesday that Peter Hollands progression wasnt being served by remaining on the fourth line, where hes been slotted since the return of Tyler Bozak. They opted to send the 22-year-old to the Marlies, recalling Carter Ashton, who has strung together 15 points in 14 AHL games this season. "He wasnt going to play on the top two lines," Carlyle said of Holland, who had eight points during a 10-game stretch with Bozak out. "We felt it was probably hurting his development curve to leave him as a fourth-line centre." The challenge for the 22-year-old Ashton meanwhile is translating the success hes attained in the minors into something substantial in the NHL. Ashton has just one assist in 33 games with the Leafs, offering only fleeting glimpses of readiness in a bottom-six role. "A young player that has got size and skill and the ability to skate and protect the puck at the American League level doesnt always translate to that in the NHL," said Carlyle. "Its much more difficult, obviously. Youve got a lot less time and space and [youre] playing against bigger and stronger men. We think that hes continually showed some progress." A natural winger, Ashton slotted into the fourth line centre spot against the Hurricanes and barely played, totaling just under four minutes. Stats-Pack 0 – Regulation road victories since Oct. 30. 19 – Days between starts for James Reimer. 3 – Consecutive games with a goal for Joffrey Lupul, who scored his 14th this season in defeat. 18 – Goals allowed by the Leafs in the past three games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2Season: 21.4% (5th) PK: 3-5Season: 76.9% (27th) Quote of the Night Up Next The Leafs visit the Capitals in Washington D.C. Friday for the second end of a back-to-back set.wholesale nfl jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
