You could say it’s the end of an era.
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter says he will retire after this season. Jeter posted a long letter on his Facebook account Wednesday saying that 2014 will be his last year of playing professional baseball.
The 39-year-old Yankees captain missed much of last season because of injuries. While it was no secret the team captain was getting close to the end of his brilliant career, his announcement caught many by surprise.
The 13-time All-Star shortstop led the Yankees to five World Series championships. He 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.
In college basketball, the Saint Rose men's team lost 59-54 to host Pace University.
UAlbany fell to UMBC 71-69.
Checking the top 25 scoreboard, Tyler Ennis made a 35-footer at the buzzer to help No. 1 Syracuse remain unbeaten with a 58-56 win over No. 25 Pittsburgh.
No. 6 Villanova defeated DePaul 87-62. Fourteenth-ranked Kentucky had a 64-56 victory over Auburn. No. 20 Memphis topped UCF 76-70 and No. 24 UConn crushed South Florida 83-40.
The rivalry game between No. 8 Duke and North Carolina was postponed because of a snow storm that paralyzed many North Carolina roads.
In the NBA, Brooklyn defeated Charlotte 105-89. Sacramento beat New York 106-101 in overtime. San Antonio topped Boston 104-92. Toronto beat Atlanta 104-83. Dallas slid past Indiana 81-73. Memphis took Orlando 86-81. It was Cleveland over Detroit 93-89. Minnesota slid past Denver 117-90. New Orleans beat Milwaukee 102-98. Houston defeated Washington 113-112. Utah defeated Philadelphia 105-100. Miami had a 111-110 victory over Golden State and Portland fell to the Clippers 122-117.
At the Winter Olympics in Sochi Wednesday, the U.S. snared the gold and bronze in the women's snowboarding halfpipe competition. Salt Lake City's Kaitlyn Farrington is the gold medalist while the bronze was grabbed by teammate Kelly Clark.
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