and sometimes-finicky staff and bullpen wasnt hard en

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The dozens of floral arrangements surrounding Pat Summitts statue showed the respect for the coach and the love she received around Tennessees campus.Summitt died Tuesday morning at the age of 64, five years after announcing she had early-onset dementia, Alzheimers type, a disease that prematurely ended a womens basketball coaching career in which she led the Lady Volunteers to eight national titles and won a Division I-record 1,098 games. The news created a somber atmosphere on Tennessees campus as fans gathered at Pat Summitt Plaza, the home of a statue of the coach standing and smiling rather than wearing her trademark glare.Amy Palmer of Knoxville said its like weve lost a family member after joining the dozens of fans who signed a We (Heart) Pat sign that was taped to the wall behind Summitts statue.Its very solemn, Palmer said. Theres just a hush. Theres a different air. I think it will always be that way. It will never be the same, ever.Over the course of the day, hundreds of fans visited the plaza featuring the 8-foot, 7-inch bronze statue of Summitt, which reflects the steely resolve she showed in building the Tennessee womens basketball program and leading the fight against Alzheimers disease. Notes, balloons and even a couple of basketballs were placed alongside flowers at the foot of the statue.Its amazing when I came in, how many people were here honoring her at the statue, said Tennessee womens basketball coach Holly Warlick, who played for Summitt and worked as an assistant on her staff for 27 seasons before replacing her. Theyre not basketball players. Theyre just normal people wanting to pay their respects. ... What a great tribute for her.Sandy Sutton of Louisville, Tennessee, picked some Easter lilies from her yard and left them at the feet of Summitts statue. She noted the flowers were just like Pat -- homegrown, a nod to the coachs status as a Tennessee native.Im probably going to cry all day today, Sutton said. She was an outstanding Tennessean. Everything about her just brought inspiration to all of us.Tennessee Waltz was played at campus landmark Ayres Hall at 8 p.m. in honor of Summitts eight national titles.As fans gathered in the plaza, numerous school officials gave emotional press conferences while offering their memories of Summitt across the street at the campus studio. Warlick and athletic director Dave Hart choked up on multiple occasions as they discussed what Summitt had meant to them.No other coach has ever impacted a sport the way she impacted womens basketball, Hart said.People around campus said Summitts loss was evident as soon as the news came out that she had died.Shes a part of all of us, from the custodian (to) the teachers, the professors and the kids, said Samuel Henry, a Knoxville custodial worker who used to shine the floors of the Thompson-Boling Arena basketball court that bears Summitts name.Joan Cronan, Tennessee womens athletic director for much of Summitts tenure, got the news early Tuesday morning and immediately planned to leave her home and head to where the coach had been staying. Then she realized she hadnt made her bed yet.Pat always taught discipline, Cronan said. I remember at the first day of camp, she would ask all the campers, `Did you make your bed this morning? Guess who went back and made their bed this morning. I did.The mourning around town wasnt restricted to Tennessees campus.Knoxville mayor Madeline Rogero announced on Twitter that the lights on the Henley Bridge in downtown Knoxville would be switched to the Lady Vols colors of orange, white and blue in remembrance of coach Summitts deep devotion to Knoxville.Dana Hart, the president of the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, said the facility had about six times more visitors than they get on a typical summer Tuesday. Summitt played a major role in bringing the Hall of Fame to Knoxville.We always say without Pat Summitt, the Hall of Fame wouldnt be here and there may not even have been a Hall of Fame, Dana Hart said.Cheap Shoes Ireland From China . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Wholesale Air Max 270 Ireland . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. http://www.airmax270cheapireland.com/ . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Wholesale Nike Shoes Ireland . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Cheap Air Max 270 Ireland Authentic . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont.CHICAGO -- A single sheet of paper sat on Willson Contreras chair in front of his locker when the Chicago Cubs rookie showed up for practice on Friday. It was a form letter asking players to list the names of people picking up the four tickets set aside for family members ahead of the NL Championship Series opener.Someone asked Contreras who would be picking up his.Nobody, the 24-year-old catcher said, trying to force a grin.Behind that rueful smile is a long story. Baseball provided Contreras a path out of the tough times back home in Venezuela and swept him to the top of the major leagues. But even that lofty position hasnt enabled him yet to get his parents, Olga and William, a visa to follow him to the United States. Their application for a temporary visa to watch him during the playoffs wasnt successful, either.Everybodys back home, Contreras confirmed. Its hard to get them here at this time of the year.They will be watching on TV from a new home he bought them, in a neighborhood with security guards. It was there that they saw their older son drive a tying single up the middle in Chicagos opening-round clinching win against the Giants.Contreras even has food delivered to their home, so his parents dont have to venture out to the grocery store, where long lines await. But fears about their safety never slip his mind for long.Hopefully, Conteras added a moment later, next year, theyll be here.Wait until next year has been the Cubs unofficial motto for a century and counting. Yet it carries just as much longing for the young Venezuelan as the most grizzled denizen of the citys North Side. Contreras made it to these shores a half-dozen years ago, followed soon after by younger brother, William, who is playing in the Braves organization. The boys never forget on whose shoulders they stood, making that huge step possible.At this time last year, Contreras was playing Double-A ball in Tennessee and he paused to carve Ernesto into the dirt before each at-bat, honoring the grandfather whod died back home barely two months earlier. This fall, he worries about his parents safety in a cash-strapped country where kidnapping the relatives of a famous baseball player is viewed as a lucrative business.In 2011, kidnappers there grabbbed Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos and held him for ransom; fortunately, Ramos was eventually rescued.ddddddddddddWe dont talk about it that much, but we know what each other is going through, said Albert Almora Jr., another rookie whose locker is close by. Sometime, after a game, you can come here and see certain guys text messaging and you know theyre talking to family -- Willson, with his folks, in my case, its my dad. Hes fighting prostate cancer. ... So we make it a point to check in with each other every so often.Cubs manager Joe Maddon knew Contreras situation when the team called him up from Triple-A at midseason. As if learning to call games for a veteran and sometimes-finicky staff and bullpen wasnt hard enough, the manager had planned to pile more on his plate. Maddon wanted the one-time infielder to try his hand at first base and the outfield as well as behind the plate.Contreras rewarded Maddons faith by homering in his first big-league at-bat. His teammates made him feel right at home by shooing him out of the dugout soon after, reminding Contreras he still had to warm-up the relievers back in the bullpen. But hes made a good argument for deserving a regular spot in the lineup by hitting no matter which glove he was wearing. But just as impressive, Maddon says, is Contreras ability to compartmentalize all those jobs while still keeping one eye on his family a continent away.As a parent and as a manger, if my kids arent having a good day, then Im not. But when your family is down there, its hard to stay right here, Maddon recalled recently.Having his fiancee here has brought a bit of home along with him. So has finding a handful of seafood restaurants and long walks along Lake Michigan, which is as close to the beach near Contreras home in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, as hes likely to find for the moment.It will have to do.Im able to separate my personal situation from the game and I know that everybody back home is OK, Contreras said finally. So Ill be fine.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke ' ' '