SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan brought more than gaudy numbers night after night for 19 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.Fittingly, while the Spurs retired Duncans No. 21 on Sunday night, those stats rarely came up.I dont even want to talk about rebounds or points and all that sort of things, coach Gregg Popovich said. This individual made it possible for everybody that we brought in to be a part of this culture and be a part of the program.Duncans jersey was raised to the AT&T Center rafters in a ceremony following a 113-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. His number now hangs not far from banners celebrating the five NBA championships he and the Spurs won during his career.Ive gotten just an amazing response and just an overwhelming amount of love from these guys of what I meant to them, Duncan said during a five-minute speech. It doesnt even explain how much they meant to me. I got so much more from you guys, from my teammates, than they can explain that they got from me. I know that.With his son, daughter and girlfriend by his side, Duncan listened and laughed as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili ribbed and praised their longtime teammate.Ginobili and Parker teased Duncan about his attire after he chose to wear black slacks and a sports coat instead of his normal jeans and a T-shirt. Duncan was clearly out of his comfort level, and it had nothing to do with the suit. The Virgin Islands native spent his career avoiding the spotlight, and the retirement ceremony put him squarely in it.Duncan was left speechless at points by cheers and shouts of we love you! He pounded his heart with the microphone as the crowd roared.The ceremony even left him and Popovich -- two guarded fixtures during San Antonios two-decade run of dominance -- fighting back tears.Thank you coach Pop for being more than a coach, Duncan said, pausing to choke back emotions, for being like a father to me. Thank you.Duncan became the eighth player to have his jersey number retired by the Spurs, joining James Silas, George Gervin, Johnny Mre and former teammates David Robinson, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson and Bruce Bowen.This stretch for the Spurs of 25 years of excellence, Tim is at the center of the whole thing, Robinson said. I dont know that theres another athlete thats as appreciated by a city as Tim.Duncan helped lead San Antonio to its only NBA championships and was twice named league MVP. As dominant as he was in the regular season, Duncan was at his best in the postseason. He averaged 20.6 points, 11.4 points, 2.3 blocks and 3.0 assists in the playoffs and has the most career double-doubles in the postseason with 164.It was his work off the court that made him so beloved by Popovich and teammates.Ginobili recalled being devastated after he turned the ball over on a game-winning attempt in a loss in Game 3 of the 2006 playoffs against the Sacramento Kings.Ginobili locked himself in his hotel rm and refused to answer the phone even though it was continually ringing. After hanging up twice and pulling the cord out of the wall, Ginobili was stunned to hear a second phone go off in the bathrm.By the fifth time, I go pick it up, I said `What? Ginobili said. And it was `Nanuuuuu. Thats what he called me. `Nanu, he said, `Whats up buddy? `What TD? I dont want to talk to anybody. He said, `Come on, come with me. Come with me. He started insisting and insisting and insisting and you dont say no to Timmy. He invited me to dinner. We talked for hours, we talked about computers, cars, TV shows. My mental state shifted and I had a way better night.The Spurs won that series in six games thanks in part to the message Duncan delivered: were all in this together.Thats the way it was for Duncan and the Spurs from the day he was taken first overall in the 1997 draft, according to Popovich.I can honestly say to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, who have passed, Popovich said, that that man right there is exactly the same person now as he was when he walked in the dr. m.com/Lonnie-Walker-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Lonnie Walker Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. m.com/Tony-Parker-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Tony Parker Jersey . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. m.com/Demarre-Carroll-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">https://www.spurslockerrm.com/Demarre-Carroll-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. m.com/Dennis-Rodman-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Dennis Rodman Jersey . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. m.com/Tony-Parker-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Tony Parker Spurs Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shtout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. RIO DE JANEIRO -- It was a day of surprises on the first day of the judo competition at the Rio Games.In the womens division, the first gold medal went not to defending Olympic champion Sarah Menezes in her home country, but to an Argentinian bronze medalist from the Beijing games, now a qualified doctor.Paula Pareto, ranked third, jumped repeatedly in victory when she defeated South Koreas Bokyeong Jeong in the womens 48-kilogram division, much to the delight of a crowd packed with Argentinians waving their national flag. Pareto climbed into the spectator section afterward to be enveloped not only by giddy fans, friends and family, but numerous flags.After hugging one particularly patriotic fan whose face was painted in blue and white, Pareto was left with faint traces of blue paint on the right side of her face. Her gold medal made her the first Argentinian woman in history to win an Olympic gold, in any sport.It is really incredible for me, I never would have thought it, Pareto said after her historic win. I was especially happy to see the Argentinian flag raised.Paretos coach Laura Martinel described her as phenomenal and credited Paretos exceptional technique and mental strength for her victory.Having split her recent fights with Jeong, Martinel said their strategy was for Pareto to go on the offensive. We knew that we could not let (Jeong) perform because she*s fast and powerful. So the idea was to let Paula attack first, we had a rough moment in the match but eventually we overcome it and she did what was necessary.Argentinian President Mauricio Macri quickly tweeted his congratulations, saying You make us all very proud.The top fighter in the division, MMongolias Urantsetseg Munkhbat, lost her bronze medal match to second-seeded Ami Kondo of Japan.dddddddddddd The other bronze medal was won by Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh of Kazakhstan.London Games champion Menezes had been hoping to repeat her victory in front of a home crowd, but lost twice: first to Cubas Dayaris Mestre Alvarez in the quarter finals and then in the repechage competition to Munkhbat, who applied such a strong armbar that Menezes tapped out in submission.In the mens division, the 18th-ranked Russian judoka, Beslan Mudranov, pulled off one of the days biggest upsets when he defeated top seed Won Jin Kim of South Korea. Mudranov, 30, defeated Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan in the final, becoming Russias first gold medalist at the Rio Games.Amid the widespread Russian doping scandal, the entire Russian judo team was allowed to compete. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the honorary president of the International Judo Federation, the sports governing body; Putin holds a black belt in the Japanese martial art.Mudranov said the doping allegations havent had any effect at all on the judo team. We were sure that they wont exclude us, because excluding a whole country is firstly not fair and, it seems to me, impossible, he said.Mudranov said he was happy to be the first to win a gold medal for Russia but attributed that to the luck of the draw.The mens bronze medals were won by Japans Naohisa Takato and Diyorbek Urozboev of Uzbekistan.---Associated Press Writers Carlos A. Rodriguez and James Ellingworth contributed to this report. ' ' '