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PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson cupped his hand to his left ear and asked to hear his favourite tune one more time. Ben Banogu Womens Jersey . With that command, 20,000 roaring Philadelphia 76ers fans gave AI the standing ovation he earned by stamping himself as one of the franchises all-time greats. Iverson, emotional as he thanked former teammates and friends, had his No. 3 retired at halftime of Saturdays game against Washington. High above the Wells Fargo Center court, Iversons banner slipped between Maurice Cheeks No. 10 and Charles Barkleys No. 34. "They all wanted me to talk about how much yall loved me," Iverson said, "but trust me, the feeling was mutual." Iverson officially retired in October after last playing in 2010. He won four scoring titles for the Sixers and was the 2001 MVP when he led them to the NBA Finals. He never won a championship, the lone omission in a career that is destined for the Hall of Fame. The Sixers may as well have turned the arena into an AI museum. Four banners greeted fans at the main concourse entrance, and photos of him were plastered all around the arena. The merchandise stands sold Iverson jerseys for $130, and lower level tickets were going for as much for $1,280 on Stubhub about an hour before the 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The fans loved him, and he blew them kisses after the No. 3 was raised to show how much he loved them back. "I am Philly," Iverson said. "Its always going to be that way." Iversons return injected a rare dose of excitement into a franchise playing some of the worst basketball in the league. The Sixers, in full-blown rebuilding mode, had lost 12 straight entering Saturdays game. The losing didnt matter much Saturday, just the memories. The Sixers wore special "Iverson Forever" patches on their jerseys and Iversons 3 on their pregame warmup shirts. "Its a great example of how this city responds to somebody that they clearly think the world of and brought such exciting times to the city of Philadelphia," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. The Sixers retirement gift was a boat named in honour of his nickname, "The Answer." "It feels good," Iverson said after the ceremony, "but some part of my heart hurts because I know its over." Iverson joined Cheeks, Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving among the eight retired numbers in franchise history. Erving attended the ceremony. Moses Malone, Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff, Gary Payton and former team president Pat Croce also were at the celebration. Former coach Larry Brown, who both clashed with and loved Iverson over their tenure, sent a videotaped message. "I just want to tell you, and I say this fondly: God put me there to coach you," Brown said. Iverson said Brown was the player who moulded him into one of the NBAs best. "I always had raw talent," he said. "I needed Larry Brown to polish it up." Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft and spent his first 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He also played for Denver, Detroit, and Memphis before returning to Philadelphia for a 25-game stint in 2009-10. Iverson, who mashed hip-hop culture and hoops like no player before him, was perhaps at his peak in his fifth NBA season. The 165-pound guard averaged 31.1 points, was the MVP of the All-Star game and propped an entire franchise on his 6-foot frame all the way to the finals. Led by Brown, the Sixers needed Game 7 wins in consecutive series for the right to play the Lakers. Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers swept their way through the post-season before Game 1 in Los Angeles. Iverson had 48 points in 52 minutes of an overtime victory. The Sixers didnt have enough to go the distance and the Lakers won the next four games. Hes 21st on the NBAs career scoring list with 24,368 points over 914 career games. Iverson, drafted out of Georgetown, scored 30-plus points 345 times and was an 11-time All-Star. His No. 3 jersey was a bestseller around the globe, the headband wrapped snugly around his cornrows, and the tattoos were as much a part of his image as the way he ricochets around the court. Play every game like it was his last was more than a catchphrase, it was a lifestyle. "Who could not be an Allen Iverson fan?" said Thaddeus Young, the lone current Sixers player who played with Iverson. "It got no bigger than him in Philadelphia." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was at the game for AIs night. "Allen was a special player," Silver said before the game. "The great things he did for the league far outweigh the occasional headache. I always thought even at the time of Allen Iversons prominence in the league, he was representative of his generation." Peyton Manning Jersey . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Kenny Moore Jersey . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authentic-khari-willis-colts-jersey/ .The Hanwha Eagles said the team was impressed with Morgans contact ability and base-running skills.The 34-year-old debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and hit .Would I dare say thumbs down to Sidney Crosby? No, not when there always seems to be a way to say thumbs up, and that can be done following his dandy pass to Christian Ehrhoff for Saturdays game winning goal against Ottawa. Ehrhoff had time to thank Crosby with a short speech before he rifled a shot past Craig Anderson. But heres the thing: Crosby is without a goal of his own in his last six games and he has scored only twice in the past 18 games. Were hearing some of the same whispers that accompanied his performance in last seasons playoffs, when he scored just once in 13 games. They dont say somethings wrong as much as they wonder whats not right, because its not right for Crosby to be in a scoring slump. For now, well chalk it up to his missing linemates: Chris Kunitz and pick one of Patric Hornqvist or Pascal Dupuis. But eventually, no matter who lines up with him, Crosby will have to start scoring goals or the whispers will get louder. Thumbs down to my inability to understand why a team that can score power play goals at home has such difficullty doing so on the road. Parris Campbell Colts Jersey. Even more puzzling is when the opposite is true, so lets start there. The Nashville Predators took a league-worst home-ice power play percentage of 2.3 into last nights game against Chicago. That number was based on one power play goal in 43 opportunities. Against the Hawks, the Preds had one chance, didn’t score and the home-ice power play number didn’t change. On the road, Nashville has a pretty good power play: 8 for 34 or 23.5 per cent. More understandable, I guess, is the team that scores with a man advantage at home, but not away from home. I give you the Minnesota Wild ... 20 per cent at home, 2.4 per cent on the road. Like Nashville at home, the Wild has one lonely power play goal in an enemy rink. Naturally, this made me wonder what happens when they play each other. Sadly, that hasnt happened yet this season. The first meeting is Saturday, Dec. 20 at Minnesota. Strength vs. strength, if you will. Oh, but one more thing: Minnesota is the NHLs best penalty-killing team….at home. ' ' '