MIAMI -- A day after fans said gdbye, family members and friends of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez said their last formal farewell at a private funeral Mass on Thursday at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Miami.Fernandez, 24, and two friends were killed in a boat crash off South Beach early Sunday.I think the most important thing is that he brought this community together around our game in a way that we havent seen with an individual player in a very long time,?MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPNs Pedro Gomez outside the Mass.Obviously, this is a tremendous loss for Joses family, for the Marlins organization, but really for all of baseball. He was that important to the game. He had an infectious way about him ... the way he played the game on the field, and I think people found that enthusiasm to be just really appealing.About 300 mourners attended Thursdays afternn service, including Manfred, busloads of current and former Marlins players, Marlins executives Tony Perez and Andre Dawson and former Marlins manager Jack McKeon.?We werent supposed to be here today, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said.Its very difficult to understand this, the Rev. Jose Alvarez said. Why so young -- someone with such bright promise?The bilingual service lasted more than two hours, and much of the time was spent celebrating Fernandezs dynamic personality, rather than his exploits as the Marlins precocious ace.The bulletin for the Mass included three photos of Fernandez, and each captured his familiar grin.His magnetic smile could light up a ballpark, Loria said. He set the standard for making baseball fun.Pallbearers wore black Fernandez jerseys as they carried his casket, while Marlins manager Don Mattingly and third baseman Martin Prado read Scripture. The team has grieved in public and offered moving tributes to Fernandez while finishing out the final six games of the season, which ends Sunday.During the passing of the peace, players lined up to hug and console Fernandezs mother and grandmother, seated in the front row. He also left behind a girlfriend, who is pregnant with their child.He was a young man who was larger than life -- a gd, kind-hearted, loving young man who loved life, who loved people, Alvarez said in his homily. He was a guy of enormous dimensions. Jose was t gd for this league. Hes going to a higher league.Alvarez said Fernandez is already at work in heaven, noting the improbable homer hit by 170-pound Dee Gordon leading off the first inning of the Marlins emotional first game after the boat crash.A skinny little guy like that is not supposed to hit the ball that far, Alvarez said. Jose is busy, I guarantee you. Jose is still pitching. ... Jose, well never forget you. We ask that you never forget us.Fernandez and his mother defected from Cuba by boat on his fourth try when he was 15. He broke into the majors with Miami in 2013 and quickly became a local celebrity, thanks to his rare combination of charisma and talent, along with a backstory that resonated in South Floridas Cuban community.Fernandez was the 2013 NL Rkie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, but his proudest moment came when he bought his mother a house, said his agent, Scott Boras.He was crying, said Boras, crying himself. He said, Can you believe it?! I bought my mother a home in the United States!Boras also recalled a conversation with Fernandez after he had reconstructive elbow surgery, which sidelined him for 14 months in 2014-15.His first words in the recovery rm to me were, You wait. Im going to be the best there is, Boras recalled.The hard-throwing right-hander went 38-17 in 76 starts over four major league seasons, but glittering statistics werent the reason Loria said Fernandez will never be replaced or forgotten.I prefer not to think of this tragedy as the end of his life, Loria said, but rather as the beginning of the legend.After the service, Marlins players were set to fly to Washington, D.C., to play the Nationals in their final series of the 2016 season.On Wednesday, Loria, Mattingly, hitting coach Barry Bonds and players including Ozuna?and Giancarlo Stanton wore white T-shirts emblazoned with Fernandezs image and the letters RIP as they slowly walked the hearse away from Marlins Park in Miamis Little Havana neighborhd. Many in the crowd of about 1,000 chanted Jose! Jose! and some waved Cuban flags in honor of Fernandezs heritage.Hundreds of fans streamed into St. Brendans Catholic Church later Wednesday for a public viewing, which was scheduled to last into the night. Many said they felt compelled to come, not only because of Fernandezs popularity as a player, but also because he was a hero to many in the Cuban-American community.Inside the church, mourners filed past a closed casket framed by flower arrangements in the shapes of the U.S. and Cuban flags, with a large family photo of Fernandez off to one side. Many touched the casket lightly and crossed themselves.The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In addition to Fernandez, Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25, also died in the crash.On Thursday, officials in Tampa said that a jersey worn by Fernandez in high schl was missing after a candlelight vigil at his former high schl. Officials at Alonso High Schl filed a police report, and authorities are asking whoever tk the jersey to return it.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. replica jerseys china .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. china jerseys . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. cheap jerseys from china . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. wholesale jerseys china . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman confirmed Thursday hes been fined by the NFL for his hit on Buffalo kicker Dan Carpenter in last Mondays game against the Bills.Sherman said that the explanation from the league makes it nearly impossible for him to appeal the $9,115 fine. Sherman said the leagues justification in its letter to him was that his hit on Carpenter as he attempted to block a field goal attempt at the end of the first half came after the whistle was blown.Sherman said he wont appeal the fine. It would be a long, thoughtless process, Sherman said. Their logic is impeccable so theres not really a fight. Im still fine with everything.Sherman was not penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play. He was flagged for being offside, but referee Walt Andersons explanation after the game said he didnt believe the contact was excessive enough to warrant an unnecessary roughness penalty.NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino later said that interpretation was incorrect and that Sherman should have received a personal foul on the play, an interpretation that Seattle coach Pete Carroll agreed with.Shermans argument was that while he was clearly offside, he was playing until the whistle, which he said he never heard. Sherman said he wasnt about to give Bufffalo a free play knowing that if the kick was made the penalty would have been declined.ddddddddddddPeople dont understand free play rules. The only reason people understand them to any degree because there are so many of them nowadays with (Aaron Rodgers) and guys like that and they dont realize the plays arent called dead until the refs call it dead, Sherman said. And usually when the quarterback sees the rusher coming they spike the ball, the play is over. Thats usually how it goes. If nobody is coming, they get a free play, they take a shot at the end zone. Weve won games like that, weve thrown touchdown passes. But when the other team keeps playing, you keep playing.The non-call on Sherman became the focal point of Seattles 31-25 victory Monday. The lack of a personal foul became crucial to the outcome. Carpenter eventually missed a 54-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Without those three points, Buffalo was forced to try for a touchdown in the closing moments of the game rather than being able to attempt a field goal that could have tied the game.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '