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SAGINAW, Mich. Tommy Kelly Womens Jersey . -- The Saginaw Spirit remembered late player Terry Trafford on Saturday night in their first home game since he was found dead in a parked car. An autopsy determined the 20-year-old Trafford died of self-inflicted asphyxiation. The Toronto natives body was found March 12. He disappeared eight days earlier after receiving discipline from the club. The Spirit lost the Ontario Hockey League game 6-2 to the London Knights at The Dow Event Center. London players lined up on their blue line and tapped their sticks on the ice as the Spirit players skated out on the ice. Spirit players aligned on the other blue line and the crowd stood as the team honoured Trafford with a moment of silence and a video montage on the scoreboard above the ice. At the end of the montage, the scoreboard read "One young man. Four years. One team. Many memories." "Our whole franchise, our whole community, is grieving right now," Spirit President Craig Goslin said. "For four years, Terry was a fixture in this rink. He was a good kid and he did a lot of good things here." Saginaw players wore "TT16" stickers on their helmet and will honour their former teammate with black patches for the playoffs. Trafford played four seasons with Saginaw, scoring 29 goals in 221 games. Traffords funeral is set for Tuesday in Toronto. "He could really lighten up the room," said Spirit centre Eric Locke, teammates with Trafford for the last three seasons. "Hed make you laugh, make you smile. "We went back and forth. One time I tied a cup of water near his skate and when he grabbed it the water dumped in his skate so he skated all practice with a wet foot. He got me back by writing a nickname on my helmet that I ended up skating all practice with." Darrelle Revis Jersey . -- All talk and no major changes didnt make this a dull NHL general managers meeting. Joe Vellano Jersey . -- Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork says hes closer to achieving his goal of finishing his career with New England.PITTSBURGH -- Chase Headley watched Jeff Karstens issue a bases-loaded walk to Jason Bartlett, and he knew exactly what to do. Be aggressive. Headleys first-pitch grand slam was the biggest of San Diegos season-high four homers, and the Padres cruised past Pittsburgh 15-5 Friday night, handing the Pirates their eighth straight loss. "Im going up there looking for something early in the count," said Headley, who capped San Diegos six-run fourth inning with a drive to right-centre for the Padres first grand slam of the season. "I go up there with the idea of what I want to hit and where I want to hit it." Kyle Blanks, Aaron Cunningham and Jesus Guzman also homered for the Padres, who have won seven straight games at PNC Park. Luis Martinez had three RBIs and Will Venable drove in two runs. San Diego came in ranked last in the NL in runs and homers. "You ask anybody, theyll tell you hittings contagious," Blanks said. "Its definitely something everyone wants to do, and it really became a case tonight where everyone did get involved." The Pirates were tied for first place before losing on a controversial call in the 19th inning in Atlanta on July 26. They are 1-10 since and fell eight games behind Milwaukee. "We need to step up. We know it. Weve talked about it," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "We need action now, and we need to find a way to fight through the hard part of the season." It was the highest scoring game of the season for the Padres and the most runs allowed by Pittsburgh this year. Headleys homer gave San Diego the lead for good, allowing Aaron Harang (10-3) to get the win despite allowing 13 hits in five innings. The crowd of 37,766 was Pittsburghs 13th sellout of the season, but the Pirates lost for the eighth time in their past nine home games. The Pirates have allowed 14 home runs while falling to 0-5 on this homestand. "Its the big leagues: If you pitch the ball down the middle, theyre doing what theyre supposed to do with it," Karstens said. "I just think weve got to be better than what we are, and were not doing that right now. Weve got to make adjustments, because if not, its not going to be fun the next two months.&qquot; Karstens (8-6) entered with the fifth-lowest ERA in the majors at 2. Brandon Bolden Patriots Jersey. 9, but he was charged with more earned runs (nine) in 3 1-3 innings Friday than he had allowed in his past five starts combined. "I couldnt pinpoint what I was doing wrong, but I put it all on my shoulders," Karstens said. "I expect to be better than that." Headleys homer was his fourth of the season and gave him a career-high five RBIs. It also was San Diegos first grand slam since Adrian Gonzalez hit one on Aug. 26, 2010. Blanks and Cunningham each had a solo shot for their first homers of the season. Guzman added a two-run homer in the eighth. Harang won for the sixth time in seven decisions and rebounded from his only loss since May 2. Only once in 252 previous starts, however, had Harang allowed more hits. "Sometimes, thats how it works," he said. "When I was making good pitches, they were getting the ball to fall in at times. Obviously, our offence came out swinging and those guys were ready to play and helped me out." Five days after being acquired in a trade from the Padres, Ryan Ludwick went 4-for-4 for the Pirates. Garrett Jones reached five times as Pittsburgh lost by 10 despite having as many hits as San Diego and coming up one hit short of a season high. The Pirates did leave a season-high 16 men on base. Pedro Alvarez was a primary culprit: he tied a Pirates record by grounding into three double plays. He also struck out and committed an error. "I really like the way our guys kept playing through the entire nine innings," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Our pitching wasnt at the top of its game but we ended up making pitches when we needed to." NOTES: Venable (back spasms) was in the lineup for the first time in a week. ... Padres OF Chris Denorfia (strained right hamstring) worked out before the game and is expected to return soon. ... Pittsburgh 1B Derrek Lee did not play for the second consecutive game after being hit by a pitch in the left hand Wednesday night. ... Padres INF/OF Brad Hawpe underwent season-ending surgery on his left elbow in San Diego. ... LHP Paul Maholm starts for the Pirates on Saturday. He is 0-3 lifetime against the Padres. ' ' ' |
