credible forehand winner and closed out the set with an ace. Kukushkin slipped d

PHOENIX -- Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Eric Chavez announced his retirement Wednesday, ending his 17-year major league career at the age of 36. The left-handed hitting infielder, on the disabled list since June 9 because of a sprained left knee, spent 13 seasons with the Oakland Athletics, two with the New York Yankees and was in his second season with Arizona. Chavez won six AL Gold Gloves from 2001-2006. In 1,615 career regular-season games, he hit .268 with 260 home runs and 902 RBIs. This season, he hit .246 with three homers and eight RBIs in 69 at-bats. Chavez appeared in 1,402 games at third base, 21 at first base, five at shortstop and two in left field. He had a career .970 fielding percentage at third base and was the 2002 AL Silver Slugger winner at the position. He was selected by Oakland in the first round of the 1996 draft out of Mount Carmel High School in San Diego and made his major league debut for the As in 1998. Texas manager Ron Washington was a longtime coach in Oakland and was the Athletics infield instructor. He was there when Chavez made his debut as a 20-year-old late in the 1998 season, and for eight more seasons after that. Chavez later gave Washington one of his Gold Gloves and inscribed it, "Wash, not without you." "He had a tremendous career. Eric Chavez was smart, he was a class act and he was a pro, he was great teammate," Washington said before Wednesday nights game against the Yankees. "I was asked one time if I thought Eric could ever win a Gold Glove. I said it was up to Eric if wants to win a Gold Glove. And he won his first Gold Glove, then he won five more, and his back went out. Thats the kind of player he was," he said. "He had power, he could hit for average, smart on the basepaths. He was good. ... He was a special player, he really was." Wholesale Shoes Australia . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Clearance Shoes Australia . The Blue Jackets play Thursday night at New Jersey in their first game after the NHLs Olympic hiatus. A native of Trencin, Slovakia, Gaborik has represented his country at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics but was unable to play in Sochi because of his injury. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ .com) - Novak Djokovic captured a mens Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title on Sunday by defeating rival Andy Murray in the final in Melbourne. Fake Shoes Australia . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . Andrews, Scotland - Oliver Wilson fired a final- round, 2-under 70 on Sunday and he held on to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by one shot.London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal started slow again at Wimbledon but recovered to beat Mikhail Kukushkin on a rainy Saturday that has wreaked havoc with the schedule. With the Centre Court roof closed, Nadal lost a first set for the third time in as many matches at this grass-court Grand Slam. The second-seeded Spaniard and two-time Wimbledon champion, however, secured a spot in the fourth round by rallying for a 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win. Nadal sent a backhand long, giving an opening set that featured no break points to Kukushkin, who had won only seven games in two previous matches against Nadal. The man from Kazakhstan erased the matchs first break point in the fourth game of the second set, but a long forehand gave Nadal a second break chance and he converted with a strong return on a second serve to go up 3-1. Nadal broke again with an incredible forehand winner and closed out the set with an ace. Kukushkin slipped during the opening game of the third set and wound up neetting a forehand to get broken again.dddddddddddd After a strong service game by Nadal, Kukushkin finally managed to hold serve, ending a string of seven straight games won by Nadal. Nadal won 82 percent of the points on his first serve in the third set. Kukushkin had an opportunity to get back in the fourth set, but Nadal fought off two break points to go up 3-0. He ended the match with a forehand winner. Nadal will next play the winner of the match between wild cards Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Czech Jiri Vesely. Kukushkin fell to 1-14 all-time against Top 10 opponents. Seven-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer cruised into the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win over Colombian Santiago Giraldo on Centre Court. The fourth-seeded Federer served eight aces and converted 5-of-9 break points in the 81-minute match. The Swiss stars next opponent will be either 15th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz or 23rd-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo. Rain suspended play on the outside courts for several hours. ' ' '