SAN DIEGO -- There were two certainties about Tony Gwynn: He could hit a baseball like few other major leaguers, and he was going to laugh. Thomas Greiss Jersey . Gwynn was a craftsman at the plate, whose sweet left-handed swing made him one of baseballs greatest hitters. The Hall of Famer died Monday of oral cancer, a disease he attributed to years of chewing tobacco. He was 54. Any knowledgeable fan can recite Gwynns key stats. He had 3,141 hits -- 18th on the all-time list -- a career .338 average and won eight batting titles to tie Honus Wagners NL record. There was far more to the man. In a rarity in pro sports, Gwynn played his whole career with the Padres, choosing to stay in the city where he was a two-sport college star rather than leaving for bigger paychecks elsewhere. He was loyal, generous and approachable. He smiled a lot. It didnt take much to get him to laugh his hearty laugh. Gwynn loved San Diego. San Diego loved "Mr. Padre" right back. His death left even casual fans grieving. "Our city is a little darker today without him, but immeasurably better because of him," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement. Five things to remember about Gwynn: HIS CRAFT: After spending parts of just two seasons in the minors, he made his big league debut on July 19, 1982. Gwynn had two hits that night. After Gwynn doubled, career hits leader Pete Rose, who been trailing the play, said to him: "Hey, kid, what are you trying to do, catch me in one night?" On Monday, Rose recalled Gwynns work ethic and his pioneering use of video to study his at-bats after every game. "Every day you went to the ballpark in San Diego and we used to go 2:30 or 3 oclock, Tony would be out there hitting, religiously, every day," Rose said. "Fifty-four years old is way too young." THE LAUGH: Former Padres teammate Tim Flannery recalls Gwynn as "always laughing, always talking, always happy." It didnt take much for Gwynn to cackle or break into a horse laugh. "He had a work ethic unlike anybody else, and had a childlike demeanour of playing the game just because he loved it so much," said Flannery, third base coach for the San Francisco Giants. THE 5.5 HOLE: Gwynn loved to hit the other way, through the hole between third base and shortstop. "All I keep thinking of when I think of Tony Gwynn is that line drive base hit to left field, or the one-hopper in the hole at shortstop to left field," Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said. "He hit the ball wherever it was pitched, and he was just a genius with the bat, without a doubt." SAN DIEGO STATE: Gwynn had been on a medical leave since late March from his job as baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater. He called it his dream job, one he began right after retiring from the Padres following the 2001 season. He coached his son, Tony Jr., whos with the Philadelphia Phillies. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gwynn played point guard for the SDSU basketball team -- he still holds the game, season and career record for assists -- and in the outfield on the baseball team. He was drafted by both the Padres (third round) and San Diego Clippers (10th round) on the same day in 1981. As much as he loved basketball, baseball was his future. Texas Augie Garrido, the winningest college baseball coach, said at the College World Series on Monday that he tried to recruit Gwynn when he was coaching at Cal State Fullerton, but told him he wouldnt be able to play baseball and basketball. Because baseball would be well underway by the time basketball ended, "Youd have to be one hell of a baseball player to be break into the lineup," Garrido recalled telling Gwynn. "He decided to go to San Diego State. After he won his seventh batting title at Dodger Stadium on the last day of the season, he broke that story to the LA Times. He didnt leave out one bit of information about how stupid I was. Thats why my recruiting genius is limited," said Garrido, who added he and Gwynn had a good relationship. TERRIFIC TONY: Gwynn struck out only 434 times in 9,288 career at-bats. He played in San Diegos only two World Series -- batting a combined .371 -- and was a 15-time All-Star. He had a home run in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series off fellow San Diegan David Wells and scored the winning run in the 1994 All-Star Game despite a bum knee. Gwynn never hit below .309 in a full season. He spread his batting titles from 1984, when he batted .351, to 1997, when he hit .372. Gwynn was hitting .394 when a players strike ended the 1994 season, denying him a shot at becoming the first player to hit .400 since San Diego native Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Cheap NHL Jerseys . The two-time former Formula One champion downplayed his third-place finish three weeks ago in China and said progress is going slow for Ferrari as it tries to make up ground on Mercedes. John Tavares Jersey . The Reds will host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park, and the debut matchup will feature a pair of pitchers whose recent resumes have included a fair number of bases-clearing hits. http://www.islandersauthority.com/authentic-josh-bailey-islanders-jersey/ . The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europes top competition for the 17th straight year.LANDOVER, Md. - DeMarco Murray passed Emmitt Smith with a change-of-direction that left a safety flat-footed.Dez Bryant moved ahead of Terrell Owens by getting the left tiptoe down in the end zone, a touchdown that didnt count until the replay showed what a superb catch it was.And Tony Romo? How about a 4-0 month that might help dispel the notion that the Dallas Cowboys cant be a December team.The Cowboys prepped for the playoffs Sunday with a 44-17 win over the Washington Redskins, with Murray and Bryant breaking a pair of prestigious franchise records along the way and the team as a whole maintaining momentum heading into its first post-season appearance since 2009.Right before peoples eyes, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, we have basically torn it up in December.Thats a change of pace from recent history, when Dallas capped three consecutive season win-or-fail losses to NFC East rivals in the final weekend, yielding back-to-back-to-back 8-8 records that fueled more doubts about Romo as a big-game quarterback.Sundays game didnt have the same magnitude. The result mattered only if at least one of the later games ended in a tie, which didnt happen. The Cowboys would have also received a first-round bye with losses by both Arizona and Seattle, but that didnt happen, either. Instead, they will host Detroit next Sunday.With the pressure off for the game against the Redskins, Dallas (12-4) did just fine — and didnt pack it in. The Cowboys went 8-0 on the road for the first time in team history.Ive been speaking on it the whole year, weve got to grow and mature, Dallas defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. Its clear as day these seeds are turning into flowers, and Im happy, man. Coach is going to continue to give us sunshine and rain, and well be all right.Coach Jason Garrett deployed his full complement of available resources, opting not to give Romos ailing back some extra rest nor to play it safe with Murray, who broke his hand two weeks ago. The Cowboys scored on their first five possessions to take a 27-7 lead, throwing in a successful onside kick along the way.Romo played nearly the entire game, completing 22 of 34 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. For the month, he completed 75 per cent with 12 touchdowns and one interception, and his 114.4 season passer rating is sixth best in NFL history.Romo has a 1-3 career record in the playoffs. Asked whats different this time, he said: Im different, so Im excited about that aspect. Im a different player than I was — now you got to go outt and do it. Robin Salo Jersey. Murray rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, passing Smith for the team single-season mark on a 32-yard first-quarter run with a nice move in front of safety Ryan Clark. Murray ends the season with 1,845 yards, bettering Smiths 1,773 yards in 1995.Also in the first quarter, Bryant caught scoring passes of 65 and 23 yards to give him 16 touchdown receptions on the season, breaking Owens team record of 15 set in 2007. The 65-yarder was a screen in which Bryant juked cornerback David Amerson at the line of scrimmage and took off for the end zone.After the game, Bryant was less concerned about his record and more focused on giving props to Romo. Bryant made a Shhh! gesture aimed at the quarterbacks critics.That man showed his (butt) in December, Bryant said. And I give it to him.Robert Griffin III capped a tumultuous year for the Redskins (4-12) by completing 27 of 41 passes for a career-high 336 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, both in the Dallas red zone. He also lost the fumble that Anthony Spencer took 5 yards for a touchdown.Griffin missed six games this season with a dislocated ankle and later was benched by first-year coach Jay Gruden, and the franchises hopes for next year will likely hinge on whether the Gruden-Griffin partnership can win in Washington.I want to be here to help this team win, to help turn this thing around and change the culture, Griffin said. If coach Jay and the organization wants me to be around, Ill be ready to go.The Redskins lost seven of eight to finish last in the division for the sixth time in seven seasons.This season ended with 100 or so protesters outside the stadium condemning the teams nickname, the inside of the stadium well-populated by Cowboys fans as the game took on a preseason feel in the second half, and owner Dan Snyder hardly the picture of joy as he took it all in seated next to Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.We need to change a lot, Gruden said. I honestly think if you dont change something, youre probably going to get the same results.Notes: Cowboys LB Anthony Hitchens left with a right ankle injury in the second quarter, and DT Henry Melton suffered a knee injury. ... The Redskins lost three linemen: T Trent Williams (high ankle sprain), T Tom Compton (knee sprain) and G Chris Chester (sprained toe), forcing TE Logan Paulsen to line up at tackle late in the game.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '