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. Thiago Alcantara Bayern 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. Thiago Alcantara Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, Undoubtedly you will receive a lot of emails regarding this game. I have a question regarding the position of the linesman on the missed offside call that led to the Avs tying the game late in the third period against the Wild on Friday. Mitchell Weiser Bayern Jersey .com) - Derick Brassard scored two goals, Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves and the New York Rangers posted a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers to sweep a home-and-home series.VANCOUVER - Nik Stauskas was nine years old when he was selected to play one-on-one with then-Raptors star Vince Carter at an open team scrimmage at Torontos Air Canada Centre.So it was fitting that Stauskas, now 20, should make his NBA debut on Canadian soil, against the team he grew up watching.Speaking with a half dozen reporters pre-game, the Sacramento Kings rookie looked forward to hearing O Canada played at Rogers Arena.Definitely that will be cool, he said. Especially being my first NBA game, back in Canada. Its definitely cool.The sharp-shooter a€” famous for his YouTube videos of shooting threes on his backyard basketball court at his Mississauga, Ont., home a€” had 12 points in 25:56 of court time.Stauskas entered the game late in the first quarter, and drained his first shot a€” a three-pointer.The six-foot-six shooting guard is part of a Canadian basketball bumper crop, and one of three Canadians taken in the first round of last summers NBA draft. Cleveland took Andrew Wiggins at No. 1, while Tyler Ennis went 18th to the Phoenix Suns.Stauskas, whose dad Paul, mom Ruta, and brother Peter were at Rogers Arena for the game, said his first NBA training camp has been great. Its pretty tiring, weve been competing a lot and getting after it, Stauskas said prior to tipoff. I feel like everyone is starting to get more confident, starting to gel a little bit more, so today should be a good test for us going up against some new faces and really see how far weve come.He figured thered be some nerves in his first NBA game, which was played in front of a sold-out crowd.Maybe a little bit, the butterflies and stuff like that, but I feel like Im starting to get comfortable with this group of guys, and with all the summer league games we had and training camp, I feel pretty settled in, Stauskas said.Im sure when I get out there, therell be a little bit of nerves, but once we get in the flow of the game, Ill probably settle down.Much has been made in camp about the competition for minutes between Stauskas and fellow shooting guard Ben McLemore, who was drafted by the Kings seventh overall a year earlier.I get it, because its everyones job to kind of stir the pot a little bit, Stauskas said. This is professional basketball, so everyones competing for minutes, everyones competing for a job, so we dont hold anything against each other. I feell like were great friends, on and off the court. Tom Starke Jersey. But when were at practice, we go at each other, its all about competition.Kings coach Michael Malone said Stauskas was drafted to help fill a void in the teams offence a€” but he brings more than just his long-range shooting ability.We were 27th in the NBA in three-point percentage. Nik has great range on his shot. Hes got good size, Malone said. Hes a better athlete than advertised. The thing I like more about him than anything is just his IQ. I like how smart he is. He has a good feel for the game. He can make a play for himself. He can make a play for his teammate.Malone said there was criticism after the Kings drafted shooting guards two years in a row, but he said McLemore and Stauskas fit well together.We played them together quite often in Vegas in summer league. And we won that championship, he said. We really like to talk about positionless basketball. We dont need to have a true two guard on the floor, a true small forward on the floor. You put your five best players on the floor and let them make basketball plays, make them read off of each other and play off of each other, and good things will happen. . . But its also fun watching them compete and go after each other.a€?I love competition. I think its healthy. The cream will always rise to the top. I really feel that Nik is going to help Ben become a better player, and Ben is going to help Nik become a better player.Stauskas didnt play for Canadas mens team this past summer so he could focus on his NBA duties.I was busy with summer league and stuff like that, Stauskas said. I thought it would be better to rest and prepare for Kings basketball, I told them after my rookie year Id feel a little bit better and would join them in qualifying for the Olympics.The Kings also have Torontos Sim Bhullar in camp a€” a seven-foot-five centre who became the first player of Indian descent to sign an NBA contract when he inked a training camp deal with Sacramento.The Kings and Raptors play each other again Tuesday in Sacramento, then the Kings head to China to continue their pre-season.I hope so, Stauskas said, on the chances of doing some sightseeing. We only have two games and were there for quite a while, so hopefully Ill have some time to see the Great Wall of China or some other cool parts of their culture. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '