Scooter Tuning Pics » aunas 82-68 to move to 3-0 for the season, matching

It was in the middle of the Barry Bonds home run chase, and I was sitting with Vin Scully in the broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium.The Dodgers were playing the Giants, and Vin had been kind enough to agree to an interview before the game. I was writing a column about his views on Bonds, though the conversation would eventually cover everything from his days at Fordham to Willie Mays.First, though, I had a confession to make.I was one of those kids with the transistor radio, I told him. Under the pillow at night, listening to the game.I dont remember what Vin said in response, but Im sure it was gracious because Vin Scully is nothing if not gracious. Its simply in his DNA, and has been since he was a kid growing up in New York.Yes, he had probably heard the same thing a thousand times before. Somehow, though, I still had to tell him how much it meant.His voice has been part of the soundtrack of my life for so long I cant remember ever being without it. His presence on the radio every spring was always a reminder that while everything changes, this never did.It changes now, for reasons as ancient as mankind. We all get old, and Vin is no exception, even if he has weathered the ravages of time well. Hes still remarkable at age 88, but wants to get out before people start whispering about his age.His last game after 67 years calling the Dodgers will be in San Francisco. Fittingly enough its on the 80th anniversary of when he was walking home from grammar school, and saw in the window of a Chinese laundry that the Giants had been beaten by the Yankees in the World Series.Ive considered him a friend for the better part of a half century, even though before that day we had never met. Our friendship was always a bit one-sided, with Vin in front of the microphone and me listening wherever I could.It pains me that hes walking away after 67 years. Not just because Ill miss him, but because there is a sobering realization that there simply isnt any more.No more Vinny to greet us wherever we may be on a beautiful night from Dodger Stadium. No more descriptions of how glorious the mountains beyond Dodger Stadium look in the fading sunlight from his perch behind home plate.No more seamlessly weaving stories in between pitches about players or things you didnt know.Im hardly alone. If anything, Im just one of many in a loosely formed community that calls Vinny their own.And we all have our own stories to tell about the hours listening to his soothing voice.It could have been any summer evening at Dodger Stadium. Often it was a nondescript game somehow made interesting in the way only Vinny could.Deuces are wild, he might say in the seventh inning. Two on, two out, a 2-2 count. Score tied 2-2.My favorites were from the 1960s Dodgers of my youth when any ball hit out of the infield was thought of as an offensive explosion. On the rare occasion there would be a Dodger home run, and Vinny would match it with a call.A way back, she is gone!!! Vinny would call out, drawing out the words for added dramatic effect.I knew him while riding in my dads car from my first baseball game in the L.A. Coliseum. I knew him on an elementary school playground, transistor radio to my ear, as Sandy Koufax mowed down the Yankees in the opening game of the 1963 World Series.I knew him on a June evening in 1968 when Don Drysdale set a scoreless streak of 58 2/3 innings. Two days earlier, Robert Kennedy had been assassinated just a mile or two away after winning the California presidential primary and the world seemed to be falling apart.Somehow, Vinny brought a bit of comfort, just like he did on so many nights with the little red radio under my pillow and his voice taking me to places both near and far away.Hi everybody and a very pleasant evening to you wherever you may be, he would greet me, and I was pretty sure he was talking just to me.My two sons are grown now but they have similar memories because Vinny was always on in our house or in our cars. They grew to love him too, and theres not too many summer days that go by without a call or a text from one of them about Vinny telling the history of beards during a game or describing how the Beatles escaped Dodger Stadium in an ambulance after they played there.Vin made calls that will live in baseball history. He memorialized Henry Aarons home run to pass Babe Ruth and Kirk Gibsons home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.He brought me into a Dodger Stadium one September night in 1965. At the time Id never been to Dodger Stadium, but I could picture myself there when he called out the time on the scoreboard as Koufax was pitching a perfect game against the Cubs.I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world, he said in the ninth inning. He is one out away from the promised land, and Harvey Kuenn is comin up.Vinny thought Koufax was the best pitcher ever, and on that we definitely agreed. He and I are also in agreement that Willie Mays is the best player we ever saw, though he actually saw Mays and I mostly only heard Vin describe the great things he did.His final game at Dodger Stadium -- where he has described nearly 5,000 games over the years -- will be Sunday against the Rockies. Vin said this week that he hoped to focus on the game and not let his impending departure overshadow it, as if thats possible.Then its three final games in San Francisco. Hell do those in typical Vinny style, trying not to draw undue attention to himself.And then I will go home, he said.We wish that he wouldnt, wish that he would suddenly change his mind and announce that hell be back for another season. Its just a wish, and after 67 years he owes us nothing, particularly his time.He wants to watch his grandkids -- he has 16 grandchildren and three great grandchildren -- play ball. Yes, hell miss the games, but mostly hell miss the people at the ballpark.I will miss all of that, I know I will, he said. I will just do the best I can to live with it.Well do the best we can to live without Vin, too. For some of us lucky enough to have been along for a lot of the ride it will be harder than others.It was a few weeks after I first saw Vin that a hand addressed envelope came in the mail. Inside was a note from him thanking me for my nice words about him.Ive seen him several times since, but have never mentioned that my kids had it framed for me. It now hangs in a prominent spot on my office wall, and I make sure everyone who visits gets a look.Even so, Vin Scully thanking me just doesnt seem right.Not with all that I have to thank him for.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press and a Southern California native. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg Zapatillas Nike Just Do It Blancas . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Vapormax Flyknit Baratas .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. http://www.vapormaxbaratas.com/zapatillas-nike-just-do-it/negras.html . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Vapormax 2019 Mujer . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Air Vapormax Rebajas . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary.Check out the highlights from round three of EuroLeague basketball – the top 10 plays, and the MVP’s best bits. Reigning champions CSKA Moscow beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul 87-93 after pulling into the lead with less than four minutes remaining.Nobody did more for CSKA Moscow than Nando De Colo and you can watch his individual highlights in the video below. Nando De Colo became the MVP Elsewhere, Real Madrid were beaten 91-87 by fellow Spaniards Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz while Fenerbahce joined CSKA Moscow at the top of the standings by keeping their unbeaten record intact.Fenerbahce defeated Zalgiris Kaunas 82-68 to move to 3-0 for the season, matching CSKA Moscow, and have now won their last 23 home matches in the EuroLeague. Highlights of Real Madrids win over Milano in round four of Euro League Basketball Watch the top 10 plays of round three at the top of this page and here are a few individual match highlights from round 3 & 4...Crvena Zvezda 76-65 FC Barcelona Highlights of Crvena Zvezdas win over Barcelona in round three of Euro League Basketball Maccabi Tel Aviv 98-92 Galatasaray Istanbul Highlights of Maccabi Tel Avivs win over in round three of Euro League Basketball Baskonia 90-95 Olympiakos Highlights of Olympiakos win over Baskonia in round four of Euro League Basketball CSKA Moscow 98-80 Unics Kazan Highlights of CSKA Moscows win over Unics Kazan in round four of Euro League Basketball You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports.dddddddddddd Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! ' ' '