12-16-2015, 03:29 AM
DENVER - Former teammate Brian Dawkins called Champ Bailey a great conserver of energy, a rare superstar who was never in a rush to get anywhere unless it was on a football field. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic .In that dawdling, you can count retirement.That finally came Tuesday, 60 days after Bailey was released by the New Orleans Saints when a nagging foot injury prevented him from displaying the speed and skills that led to his cornerback-record dozen Pro Bowl berths in Washington and Denver.He had workouts with the Lions and Ravens and interest from other teams but decided to pursue a new chapter, possibly in broadcasting.Every professional athlete knows and understands that at some point his career will end and it will be time to move on to another phase in life. For me, that time is now, Bailey said in a statement released by the Broncos, for whom he played from 2004-13.I have been truly blessed. I have been able to play this NFL game I love for 15 seasons and yet, it seems like only yesterday that my dreams came true when I received the call from Charley Casserly letting me know the Redskins had made me their first pick in the 1999 draft, Bailey said.The seventh overall pick that year, the University of Georgia star spent five seasons in Washington before the Broncos traded star running back Clinton Portis to the Redskins for the games premier shutdown cornerback.Bailey was the most decorated defender in franchise history with eight Pro Bowl berths while with the Broncos.When GM John Elway returned to his beloved franchise, his first order of business was signing Bailey to an extension.Champ was the pillar in this organization for a long, long time, Elway said. He brought great stability to the Broncos not only as a player but as a person through his ability and leadership. When I came here in 2011, he was the guy that we were going to build around and we were fortunate to have him for three more years to get this team back on track. He was a big part of that turnaround.Peyton Manning paid him the ultimate compliment, saying Bailey had unbelievable cover skills and unbelievable ball skills. He caught the ball like a wide receiver did. Going all the way back to my days playing against him in college, he was truly a great competitor with talent and work ethic. Thats what made Champ such an incredible player.Bailey took many a young cornerback under his wing, among them Chris Harris Jr, who tweeted, Blessed to be able to learn and play opposite Champ for 3 years, and added the hashtags HOF and TBE for the surefire Hall of Famer.Although quarterbacks usually avoided throwing in his direction, Bailey still found a way to get involved and make an impact. He had 52 interceptions, more than any active cornerback. He prided himself on his technique and tackling abilities. In 215 regular season games, Bailey had 983 tackles, three sacks, nine forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.The thing about Champ was he had great ability as a shutdown corner while also not being afraid to stick his nose in there and be a part of the run game, Elway said. He was a complete corner with tremendous toughness and ability to cover.About the only thing that eluded Bailey in his stellar career was a Super Bowl ring.The closest he came was the Broncos trip to the Meadowlands in February when they were blown out by Seattle.With a $10 million salary looming for this season, the Broncos released him in March after Bailey decided he wanted to give a 16th season a try. He later signed with the Saints, but the left foot injury that sidelined him for 11 games last season continued to bother him during training camp and for the first time in his life he didnt make the cut.His last NFL season was a bittersweet one, missing 11 games with the foot injury before returning to action down the stretch and finally getting to play in a Super Bowl, which proved both the apex and nadir of his career.He had a significant part to do with them getting there based on his play in the AFC championship, where he gave up one pass for 4 yards on one foot, said his agent, Jack Reale. He has a tremendous amount to be proud of and really tried to get it done last year when lesser players wouldnt have even tried.Its a safe bet Bailey will end up talking football now that hes done playing it.Media makes a lot of sense for a guy like him, Reale said.___AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Wholesale Jerseys . The deal for Emery is worth $1 million. The 31-year-old Emery had a 9-12-2 record with a 2.96 goals against average and a .903 save percentage with two shutouts during 2013-2014 with the Flyers. Wholesale Jerseys Authentic . According to MLB.com the Rays have agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal to bring back first baseman James Loney.CHICAGO -- Jacoby Ellsburys towering drive kept going as Moses Sierra retreated in right field. Sierra made a leaping try as he reached the wall, but it was way over his outstretched glove. This time, the New York Yankees had the biggest swing on the South Side of Chicago. Ellsbury homered with two outs in the 10th inning, and the Yankees snapped an eight-game road losing streak against the White Sox with a 4-3 victory on Saturday. "I knew I hit it well," Ellsbury said. "I thought I might have hit it a little too high, but great feeling once it went out. Excited to get that win." The Yankees scored three times in the ninth against Ronald Belisario and then grabbed their first lead of the day when Ellsbury connected against Zach Putnam (2-1) for his second homer. Dellin Betances (3-0) pitched a perfect inning for the win and David Robertson finished for his 10th save in 11 chances, bouncing back nicely after yielding Adam Dunns game-ending homer in Chicagos 6-5 victory on Friday night. Adam Eaton singled and stole second with two down, but Robertson struck out Gordon Beckham to end the game. "Last night was a tough one. The team battled really hard, we got the lead and I wasnt able to nail it down," Robertson said. "They did the same thing today and I was not going to let them down today." John Danks pitched eight shutout innings for the White Sox, who had won four of five. Beckham and Eaton had three hits apiece. "Just trying to get the ball, go, throw strikes and let these guys work behind me," Danks said. "It worked out. They made some good plays on some balls that were well placed and caught some breaks. You need that in this game, especially against that team." Danks handed a 3-0 lead over to Belisario after his best start of the season. The right-hander yielded a one-out single to Ellsbury, but was in position for his third save when he struck out Mark Teixeira for the second out. Then it all fell apart in a hurry for the closer, who has allowed at least one run in each of his last three outings. Ellsbury took second on fielders indifference and scored on Alffonso Sorianos ground-rule double. Cheap Jerseys Supply. Yangervis Solarte singled home Soriano and moved to second when Belisario walked Ichiro Suzuki. Pinch-hitter Brian McCann then completed the comeback with a bloop single into centre field, driving in Solarte with the tying run. Brendan Ryan grounded out to end the inning, and the crowd of 33,413 booed as Belisario made his way to the dugout. "Obviously huge at-bats to get us going," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We hadnt done much up to that point." Danks allowed three hits, struck out four and walked none. The left-hander was 1-4 with an 8.23 ERA in his previous five starts. Teixeiras ground-rule double in the fourth was New Yorks only hit before John Ryan Murphy and Ryan had consecutive two-out singles in the eighth. But Danks got Brett Gardner to fly out to right to end the inning. Vidal Nuno pitched seven-plus innings for New York in the longest start of the season for the converted reliever. He allowed nine hits, struck out five and walked one. The White Sox did all their damage against Nuno in the first. Eaton and Beckham started the inning with consecutive singles, and Dayan Viciedo then made it 1-0 with a double into the gap in left-centre. Dunn drove in Beckham with a sacrifice fly and Viciedo came home on Alexei Ramirezs groundout. "I was up in the zone the first inning, first half of the lineup and it was just making pitches," Nuno said. "It was a long game, guys came back and it was unbelievable how we came back and kept fighting." NOTES: Coming into the day, Danks was 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees. ... Girardi said reliever Shawn Kelley (back) could play catch next week. ... Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who plans to retire after the season, passed former White Sox great Luis Aparicio for second in games played at shortstop with 2,584. ... Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka (6-1, 2.39 ERA) takes on White Sox RHP Andre Rienzo (4-0, 4.00 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday. It will be Tanakas first game since he picked up his first major league loss on Tuesday against the Cubs. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '