Kevin Martin announced his retirement from the NBA with an advertisement placed in his hometown newspaper, the Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, on Friday.?Martin, who spent last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs, played 12 years total in the league.?My family and close friends have known since June of the direction I wanted my life to go. Those were the toughest conversations that I have ever had but with the ultimate support I knew I was making the right decision, Martin wrote in the advertisement.Martins most notable stretch came with the Sacramento Kings, where he played five full seasons. He finished 2008-09 with a career-high average of 24.6 points.In 2010, he was traded at the deadline from the Kings to the Rockets?in a deal that included Tracy McGrady. Martin spent the rest of that season with Houston.Martin stayed in Houston for two more seasons before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012. The Rockets acquired star James Harden as part of that deal.?Kelvim Escobar Blue Jays JerseyTom Henke Blue Jays Jersey . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/2626h-pat-gillick-jersey-blue-jays.html . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Billy McKinney Jersey . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Blue Jays Jerseys 2019 . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball.SAN FRANCISCO -- Mark Melancon sat patiently as his name circulated in rumors leading up to the trade deadline.Ive been through it before, so I realize that until it happens its not a big deal, Melancon said. I just waited until I got the phone call.The call finally came on Saturday, and he was no longer the closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Instead, the All-Star was joining the NL East-leading Washington Nationals.By Sunday, Melancon had joined his new team for a game in San Francisco.A lot of different emotions going on just because Ive been with the Pirates for a while, said Melancon, who was in his fourth year with Pittsburgh. Its a little sad to leave those guys, but at the same time Im really excited to be here on a first-place club.Washington sent reliever Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to the Pittsburgh Pirates to acquire Melancon, who supplants the struggling Jonathan Papelbon as Washingtons closer.Melancon exchanged text messages with Papelbon on Saturday while he was between flights.Papelbon is 2-4 with a 4.41 ERA and has allowed eight runs and seven hits in his past three outings.Hes been awesome about it, Melancon said. Its a tough situation, so I understand . Like he said, were here to win a championship, whatever it takes.The deal reunites Melancon with his Team USA teammate Max Scherzer. He also works out with Anthony Rendon in the offseason.ddddddddddddThe 31-year-old right-hander goes from the fringe of the wild-card race to a team thats building a nice lead in its division.It gives you a nice little boost, I know that, Melancon said. For me it was really exciting. Whirlwind of a day yesterday, but Im here and everythings great.Melancon has converted 30 of 33 saves with a 1.51 ERA this season. He joins his fifth organization in eight years.He is making $9.65 million and is eligible for free agency after the World Series; as part of the swap, the Pirates will pay Washington $500,000 on Sept. 1.Melancon broke into the majors in 2009 with the Yankees, where he was considered a possible successor to Mariano Rivera. He also pitched for Houston, Boston and the Yankees.He credits the famed Yankees closer with helping him develop the cut fastball that he considers his best pitch.I got to watch that a lot from (Rivera), Melancon said. Just sit behind the plate, sit behind him pitching. Not only did I notice how important the cutter and the movement, when to throw it in and back door and all that stuff but just his location and how important that was. With him only having one pitch it meant a lot that he hit his spots, so I picked up a lot on those subtleties. ' ' '