Funkerstation » accident but overshadows the fact the

INDIANAPOLIS -- It just makes sense that this is where the legend of Tamika Catchings will be rooted in forever: the capital city in the state that so adores basketball and where those who play it do so as if their lives depended on it.Thats how it has always looked for Catchings. Her play reflected every cliché ever uttered about competing. She brought vivid life to those words about making the most of every moment on the court.Catchings has been relentless. Her competitiveness wore out foes who thought no one could outlast them.But after 15 years in the WNBA, Catchings will retire when this season ends for her Indiana Fever, who close with home games Friday and Sunday before appearing in the playoffs.Admittedly, it wont be easy for Catchings to step away from competition and the thing that has defined her to this point. But she has prepared for it, just as she has done for every game she has played.So appreciate the short time we have left watching this force of nature on the court. Cry a little after her last game (hey, all of us will). Realize that you probably wont see anyone quite like her again.But then smile, because you know Catch will stay busy, and she will be all right. The rest of her lifes work is in front of her. There will be some challenging days as she finds her footing. But she will find it.I know what Im passionate about: making a difference in peoples lives, Catchings said, which is reflected in Catch the Stars, her charitable foundation that helps young people achieve their goals through literacy, fitness and mentoring.This WNBA season, Catchings has been on a legacy tour, where her foundation has donated money in every WNBA city to an organization that has a similar purpose.She has a servants heart, which is why people love to be around her, said Indiana coach Stephanie White, who previously played alongside Catchings with the Fever. They respect that and admire her.There is so much to do, so many children to inspire. Theres also the fact that Catchings, who turned 37 in July and married Parnell Smith earlier this year, would like to have children of her own.White said that no one should underestimate how much of Catchings athletic personality she will take into the next phase of her life.Everything she does is a competition, White said, chuckling. She wants to see how much money she can raise for her foundation, how much she can accomplish in helping people. Shes always going to find ways to push herself.But it will be different, of course. Tamika is the daughter of an NBA player, Harvey Catchings. Her intensity as an athlete was so striking that even someone cut from the very same cloth, former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, was struck by it.Literally all my life, Ive known I wanted to play basketball. I woke up every single day to do that, Catchings said. Thank God that I had the opportunity to do it professionally.Now, its that scary unknown. But being very faith-oriented, Ive talked a lot to my pastors wife; shes a big mentor for me. She says, Youve got to let go. But its hard to let go.It will be hard for us to let go, too, Catch.An amazing careerCatchings, a 6-foot-1 forward, first became well-known to most womens basketball fans as a freshman at Tennessee in 1997. She was part of what was called the Three Meeks, along with Chamique Holdsclaw and Semeka Randall. Those Lady Vols, among the most talented teams ever in womens college basketball, went 39-0 to win the 1998 NCAA title.Catchings got one more trip to the Final Four, in 2000 when Tennessee lost the final to UConn. Her 2001 senior season was cut short because of a torn ACL, which is partly why she fell to the No. 3 pick in the WNBA draft that year. Indiana was smart enough to know Catchings was worth waiting a season for; she was rookie of the year in 2002 and will end her career as one of the most accomplished players in WNBA history.She is already the WNBAs leader in career steals (1,071). With 3,305 rebounds, Catchings needs just three more to pass Los Angeles great Lisa Leslie as the leagues all-time leader in that category. She is No. 2 in scoring at 7,353, trailing Tina Thompsons 7,488.Catchings has won the WNBAs Defensive Player of the Year award five times, most recently in 2012, when the Fever won their WNBA title.Indiana has appeared in the WNBA Finals two other times, and both went to five games: in 2009 and 2015. No player has been more singularly identified as the face of a WNBA franchise than Catchings is with the Fever.I think its pretty incredible to look at the level shes playing at, and that shes been this productive for 15 consecutive years, White said. I think its a tribute to her mentality, that she somehow always finds another gear.White also has enjoyed watching Catchings go from a shy kid outside of basketball to a confident and dynamic civic leader. To observe that Catchings is so eloquent is especially gratifying when you know what she has overcome.In her book, Catch a Star: Shining Through Adversity to Become a Champion, Catchings writes in detail about coping with her hearing problems as a child, how she was bullied for wearing a hearing aid and eventually threw it away in shame, and how Summitt encouraged her to become a role model for the hearing-impaired.Countless athletes cite Summitts influence as one of the most important in their lives, but there was a particularly special bond between Catchings and Summitt.In July in Knoxville, Tennessee, Catchings spoke at the memorial service for Summitt, who died in June from the effects of early-onset dementia, Alzheimers type.When I play, theres the reminder of her spirit; its always within me, Catchings said. I dedicated this season to her, with the Olympics and the Fever. Knowing shes watching me, it gives me comfort.Former NFL star Peyton Manning, also a Tennessee grad, spoke at Summitts service, too. He retired this year, and we now see the TV commercials of him lounging around in his robe looking to fill his Sundays watching games, instead of playing in them.Catchings said she and Manning talked about the challenges of retirement, and how everyone has a suggestion to him about what to do next.He said that right now, I want to relax, I want to chill, Catchings said. He asked me, What do you want to do? and I said kind of the same thing: relax for a couple of months, and then in January 2017, start nailing it down. Because every day an opportunity comes up.Wisdom gainedCatchings has long said she is not interested in coaching, although she could see herself working in the front office of a WNBA or NBA team. She has been very involved in the WNBA players union and knows more than many players about the business of basketball.White thinks Catchings can do whatever she puts her mind to, and says that despite Catchings protests, she would be an excellent coach. Catchings won her fourth Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro this summer, but her role was limited. She played the fewest minutes of anyone on the U.S. team -- 82 for an average of 10.3 per game -- as coach Geno Auriemma seemed focused on giving younger post players more time.Catchings has started her entire WNBA career; being the last person off the bench was completely foreign to her. But it turned into yet another way for Catchings to show how much she has learned and what a leader she is.That was tough. Im not going to lie and say it was great, Catchings said of her playing time in Rio. But at the same time, on every team, there are more players that dont play than do play.I reminded myself, Just stay ready. Because I knew thats something I would always tell my teammates with the Fever: Be ready! When you go in, you have that minute to make an impact. Make the best of it. But its easy to say that and not do it.Catchings was enthusiastic about cheering on her Olympic teammates and then making an impact every second she was on the court. She lived up to the advice she had given to so many others.Thats the way a team operates, Catchings said.Heart of a championMarissa Coleman, who has played the past three seasons in Indiana, said that even before she joined the Fever, Catchings was friendly with encouragement. Minnesotas Seimone Augustus has credited Catchings with helping her reach the level of being a championship player. You hear stories like this all the time from WNBA players about Catchings. Her influence extends far beyond Indiana to the rest of the league.But it is something very special to have played on a team with Catchings, and those who have done that, will always carry it with them.It starts with the respect you have for her, Coleman said. You see her putting in the work, and it motivates you. You feed off her energy. You know she has your back and has confidence in you, and it elevates your game.Like any athlete who has competed this long, Catchings has played through all kinds of aches and pains and has made it back from serious knee and Achilles injuries, which took tedious rehabilitation.So when you ask what has been the toughest part of her career, you assume shell say it was those physical obstacles she has faced. Or maybe the two WNBA Finals that the Fever lost.Then Catchings surprises you. Although when you stop and think about it and who she is as a human being, its not really a surprise.Training camp has been the hardest thing for me, she said. Because -- and I learned this early -- you have all these players who come in with their hopes and dreams and aspirations of, I want to be in the WNBA.This is their opportunity, and they want to get to know me. And I like getting to know them. But its so hard when some of them get cut. You develop those friendships, and when they dont make it, you can feel it -- the hurt that they have. Ive been so blessed to have all these years to play.So just as Catchings has played for her family, for her teammates and coaches, for the kids who look up to her, for the fans, for people who deal with hearing loss, for Tennessee and Summitt, for the Indiana Fever, for the WNBA, for Team USA, she also has played for those who wanted so much to do what she has done. She keeps them forever in her heart, too, as with everything else she cares about.And when she stops playing, shell know she maxed out with her physical and mental gifts, because she supplemented every one of them with enormous effort. Shell find joy in that.Thats what you want to do: Know youve given everything you have, to where youre like, Whew, Im tired, she said. I love that feeling. Authentic Custom Packers Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Custom Packers Jerseys . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/ . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Packers Jerseys China . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Wholesale Custom Packers Shirts . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. After Kamui Kobayashi tweeted a light-hearted application for the vacant Mercedes drive this week, ESPN has compiled a list of left-field candidates we would love to see the world champions take a big gamble on -- however unlikely they may be.Kamui KobayashiAs his tweet inspired this list, its only fair Kobayashi is the first name on it. A popular driver when he was in Formula One, he returned to the grid in 2014 after a crowd-funding initiative earned him a seat at Caterham. The highlight of his career had come in 2012, when he claimed a home podium at the Japanese Grand Prix for Sauber. Kobayashi disappeared from F1 when Caterham went into administration at the tail-end of 2014, and he did not re-surface when the team made a final appearance in Abu Dhabi that year.?Kobayashis uncompromising racecraft helped him forge a cult status in Formula One and his return would be good in for the Japanese market, where F1 remains as popular as ever. He undoubtedly deserved a better crack at Formula One and Mercedes would provide the perfect chance to show what he can really do behind the wheel.Jorge LorenzoThree-time MotoGP champion Lorenzo drove a Mercedes this year, running a 2014-spec car at Silverstone. The fact the team said his pace was competitive suggests he would have no problem adapting to the demands of a Formula One car -- the Spaniard even suggested he found the experience rather easy compared to MotoGP. Lorenzo is not the first two-wheel legend to flirt with Formula One in recent years: Valentino Rossi tested for Ferrari on several occasions and was often linked with a switch to four wheels, coming closest in 2009 when the team searched for a stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa.We know this is practically impossible, especially given Lorenzos recent switch to Ducati, but it would be a great PR moment for both F1 and MotoGP. Ruthless, frighteningly fast and a true icon of motorsport, Lorenzo going up against Hamilton in 2017 would be absolutely fascinating.?Robert KubicaIts safe to bet Kubica could have been a world champion by this point in his career had he not suffered serious injuries in a rallying accident in early 2011. That crash almost severed his arm completely and left him with injuries which have made a return to single-seater racing impossible, though he has since forged a career in rallying.?Kubica was admired by fans and his peers alike, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso previously saying he is one of the sports lost world champions. His performances before his crash show he was a man just waiting to be given a car to match his huge talent. We know the Pole will never grace the F1 grid again but undoubtedly a fully healthy Kubica would have been top of the list of candidates for this drive.Alexander RossiAlexander Rossi is one of the great racing stories of 2016. Cast aside by Manor in Formula One after a flurry of races at the end of last year, Rossi stunned the racing world by winning the Indy 500 at the first attempt during his rookie IndyCar season, vindicating his talent. The fact he has signed on for another season with Andretti Autosport seems to have closed off a route back to Formula One, meaning the American looks set to join the list of drivers that missed out on a fair chance.Rossi to Mercedes would be gold-dust for Formula One. Cracking America remains the obsession for Bernie Ecclestone and prospective new owners Liberty Media. Despite the popular U.S. Grand Prix and the debut of Haas this year, Formula One is still a slow-burner stateside. A competitive, marketable driver like Rossi in a class-leading car challenging for the championship alongside Lewis Hamilton -- the most recognisable athlete in the sport -- would be a gamechanger in terms of recognition in the States. Sign him up, Toto.António Félix da CostaA case of massively unfulfilled potential. Undoubtedly a talented driver, Da Costa, now 25, slipped through the cracks of the Red Bull programme early in his career. Despite links to various teams through his first racing years and an appearance at a young driver test in 2010, the opportunity to drive in F1 never arose. Like with many others before and since, once the door closed on Da Costa it never re-opened.He hinted at what might have been earlier this year by winning the prestigious Macau Grand Prix after a late call-up, beating out a host of young drivers gunning for the F1 opportunity he was never given. Hes admitted a future in F1 is not on the cards but wwe get the feeling Mercedes would love resurrecting a former Red Bull protégés career.dddddddddddd..Robin FrijnsFrijns is another driver who somehow never made it to the F1 grid. Clearly a great talent, the Dutchman was a coming man in the early 2010s and beat Jules Bianchi to the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 title in his rookie season. A place on the F1 grid seemed certain but despite a test with Red Bull and test roles with Sauber and Caterham in 2013 and 2014, a full-time drive never materialised as he was often overlooked for better-funded drivers. He has since featured in Formula E, where he scored a podium in his second appearance.Jean-Eric VergneJean-Eric Vergne is unfortunate that his make-or-break season at Toro Rosso coincided with two big events in the history of Red Bull Racing: Sebastian Vettels decision to leave for Ferrari and the emergence of Max Verstappen. When Vergne was overlooked for Vettels seat, which went to Daniil Kvyat, his days in the Red Bull programme were numbered and he was dropped byToro Rosso altogether when the team signed Verstappen and Carlos Sainz for 2015. He hasnt been in F1 since.Like many Red Bull castaways before him, Vergne was confined to the scrapheap way too early and has always maintained that he had a balanced rivalry with Daniel Ricciardo when they were teammates -- the Australian has since blossomed into one of the best drivers on the grid. Vergne has stayed near F1 with a reserve Ferrari role and a surprise nod from Mercedes would be massively popular given the high regard many have for the Frenchman.Mick SchumacherSchumacher is one of the names that resonates with motor racing across the world. Father Michael remains the most successful in F1 with 91 wins and seven world championships, meaning young Micks career has already been subjected to intense scrutiny and attention. The 17-year-old has been heavily linked with Mercedes junior programme in recent months and has shown promise in his career so far.Signing him for 2017 would be an incredible risk and we know Schumachers name will not be on Toto Wolffs candidates for a drive, but he looks like a good candidate for a future seat at Mercedes. Whichever F1 team signs him up knows Mick will come with great marketing opportunities but with massive expectations. Though he is far off the required superlicence points for a place on the grid at the moment, he makes this list as he turns 18 just in time for next years season-opening Australian Grand Prix.Paul di RestaAs a youngster, Paul di Resta made his name by out-performing teammate Sebastian Vettel in the 2006 F3 season. Despite impressing in junior categories he never recieved the backing required -- and that he felt his talent deserved -- and had to wait until Force India signed him for the 2011 F1 season. Though consistent in his three seasons at the team he never scored a podium and was dropped at the end of 2013.?Despite possessing a great amount of talent Di Resta has failed to return to the grid since and has had to make do with three seasons of DTM. He was named Williams reserve driver this season but thats as close as he has come to another shot. He remains closely linked to Mercedes through DTM and may have been a viable candidate for Rosbergs seat his F1 career had ended more recently.Pastor MaldonadoSay what? I know, I know -- just hear me out. Maldonado was axed by Renault ahead of this season due to complications with his funding, leaving with one of the most unenviable reputations in recent memory. Maldonados crash-strewn career has spawned a host of internet memes and even a website charting the time since his last accident but overshadows the fact the Venezuelan was always supremely fast.In fact, most in the paddock would agree Maldonado was quicker than most on the grid in terms of raw speed, his victory at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix for Williams the stand-out drive of his career. However, Maldonado never seemed to shake his wildly erratic style and his final season at Lotus was littered with incidents which did little to shake the notion he was in F1 for his sponsors money and nothing else. But was his over-aggressive driving a by-product of driving uncompetitive cars? If Mercedes tamed his wild side and gave him a race-winning car Maldonado could provide the perfect foil to Hamilton on the other side of the garage. ' ' '