e Big 5 and have a national champion in our (city). I think it elevates all of us.Villanova: The Wildcats won their eighth straight game over Penn at the Palestra. T

FORT BRAGG, N. Wholesale Coyotes Jerseys .C. -- Alex Burnett felt a familiar thrill of getting to see the Atlanta Braves he had rooted for since he was a kid on the field. It meant even more with the Braves playing the Miami Marlins in an historic game at Fort Bragg -- where the Sgt. 1st Class Burnett is stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division.Ive been watching the Atlanta Braves play since I was 12 years old back when they were playing at Fulton-County Stadium in Atlanta, and just to see this team come out here and do this for us, its just overwhelming, the Atlanta native said Sunday. We cant be thankful enough.One of 162 regular-season games for both teams, it had much more significance as the first regular-season game of a major professional sport played on an active military installation. The Marlins won 5-2.It was just an unbelievable experience, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. Were going to take nothing but really good memories away from the night.The game capped a busy day for players and Major League Baseball officials long before the Braves and Marlins began play on a field that didnt even exist roughly four months earlier, when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred promised a unique event in honor of the military for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.By Sunday evening, it looked the part, with soldiers mingling with players around the edge of the field during batting practice. While Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton autographed a couple of baseballs, Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds stood a few feet away near the dugout shaking hands and posing for photos with soldiers.As the first pitch drew near, soldiers unfurled a giant American flag in the outfield for the singing of the national anthem. That was punctuated by four Army helicopters staging a low diamond-formation flyover from beyond the centerfield wall to the newly constructed press box to roars from the crowd filling the temporary bleachers around the field.They brought baseball to these soldiers, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of the sprawling U.S. Army post in the sandhills of North Carolina.Bragg and MLB officials had worked since March to build the stadium on the site of an abandoned former golf course. The $5 million project was financed by MLB and the players association to create a ballpark with temporary seating holding 12,500, with a reported attendance Sunday night of 12,582.Workers laid Bermuda grass sod, followed by the field, in May. The project also included a drainage system that will remove 8 to 10 inches of water per hour. It looked like it would get a workout with rain forecast into the evening, but conditions remained dry all night.The final product was a field that players association executive director Tony Clark said looks like its been here forever. Afterward, the bleachers will be removed and the field will be converted into use for recreational play.When I got here and saw it for the first time in person, I have to say I was just blown away by the quality of the field itself, Manfred said. The playing surface, the quality of the scoreboard, just the overall feel of the facility was really beyond what I expected.Players and MLB officials also made several stops around the Army post. Players visited a parachute packing facility. Manfred, Clark and MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre went to the Fisher House, which provides military families with housing close to loved ones during hospitalizations.During that stop, Manfred, Torre and Clark met people whose family members had used the facility. When one woman told them she didnt follow baseball all that closely and thought at least one game she attended was quite long, Torre was quick with a quip.If you have a complaint, the Hall of Famer said, pointing to Manfred, heres the commissioner of baseball.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap Jeremy Roenick Jersey . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Arizona Coyotes Store . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/298z-daniel...ey-coyotes.html . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. PHILADELPHIA -- Kris Jenkins already made the biggest basket in Villanova history, so he can be excused a bit that he was unaware he was so close to a career points milestone.Assigned to shoot free throws after Penn was whistled for a technical foul, Jenkins stood alone at the line and sank the first one for career point 999. He calmly made the second attempt and hit No. 1,000.Jenkins was mobbed by teammates and buried in confetti when his 3-pointer at the buzzer beat North Carolina for the national championship. For his little slice of Villanova history, Jenkins simply hustled back on defense.It doesnt mean much, he said.Coach Jay Wright was surprised as well after the game and gave Jenkins a hearty congratulatory slap on the back at the press conference table.With little fanfare or championship parades, the magic numbers keep piling up at Villanova.Jenkins hit six 3s and scored 22 points and No. 2 Villanova again flexed its Philly muscle at the famed Palestra and dominated Penn 82-57 on Tuesday night.Already the national champs, the Wildcats (7-0) proved its still the best in the Big 5. Villanova, Penn, La Salle, Saint Josephs and Temple have had its rivalry games intertwined in the fabric of Philadelphia sports for 61 years.No team has made the series their own like the Wildcats. They beat the Quakers (2-3) for the 14th straight time and settled in for another round-robin romp with its record 15th straight Big 5 victory.Wright downplayed the significance of the record.If were thinking about it, its not going to help us get better, he said.Get better? The Wildcats played about as well as they could against an underwhelmed Ivy League team, making 12 of 26 3s overall. They shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half and quickly squashed any thought Penn would become this weeks version of Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.I dont mean to slight their talent, but theres a lot more talented teams in the country; not a ton, but theres a good share, more length, more size, more speed, depth, skill, Penn coach Steve Donahue said. But theres no team that plays together, and that hard, in every aspect of the game.The Quakers won the opening tip, the students thatt packed the Palestra roared, they missed their first shot -- and Jenkins buried a 3 on the other end. Brett Hull Jersey. Donte DiVincenzo hit a 3, so did Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart added one and the Wildcats led 40-22.Jenkins hit three of Villanovas seven 3-pointers in the first half to put this one away in a hurry. Hart, who had 12 points and nine assists, had his right hand wrapped in ice after the game. He may have jammed his thumb.DiVincenzo scored 13 points and Darryl Reynolds had 12 points and eight boards.Jackson Donahue led Penn with 12 points.BIG PICTURE:Penn: The Quakers never quit in front of a student section wearing red Beat Nova T-shirts. The Quakers could be contenders to make the first Ivy League tournament in Donahues second season.Donahue didnt think Villanovas city dominance crippled overall enthusiasm for the Big 5.I think it motivates and inspires the other four programs, he said. If we won tonight, I dont know wed be saying that. All these games, I think its incredible. Im proud to be part of the Big 5 and have a national champion in our (city). I think it elevates all of us.Villanova: The Wildcats won their eighth straight game over Penn at the Palestra. The Wildcats are the first reigning NCAA champions to play at the famed basketball gym on the Penn campus since, well, Villanova on Jan. 27, 1986. The Wildcats play two more games against Philly teams before a Dec. 10 game against Notre Dame that could prove their next toughest test.POLL IMPLICATIONSVillanova should stay at No. 2 in the Top 25.NO HARTWright has never been shy about sitting starters for the slightest rules infractions. He benched Hart, the preseason Big East player of the year, for the start of his one because he was tardy to a workout session. DiVincenzo started for Hart.UP NEXTPenn: The Quakers face another tough city rival Saturday at Temple.Villanova: The Wildcats try and keep their Big 5 winning streak rolling Saturday at Saint Josephs.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '