ERST LESEN! » est like a Superman emblem.Lets go,

MIAMI -- Udonis Haslem has spent his entire NBA career in the shadows of others, without complaint.He was front-and-center Tuesday night.Haslem was among three enshrined into the Miami Sports Hall of Champions, joining U.S. womens national soccer coach Jill Ellis and former University of Miami and New Orleans Saints star Jonathan Vilma at Marlins Park. Haslem is now the longest-tenured member of the Miami Heat, going into his 14th season with the team when training camp starts later this month.When I look at the list of people that came before me -- Michael Irvin and Dan Marino, so many people -- to be mentioned in that category is an amazing accomplishment for me, Haslem said. Its an amazing honor. Im humbled, blessed, fortunate and just thankful. Never in a million years did I think Id be right here, right now.The three-time NBA champion still cherishes his childhood memories that stem from watching his heroes like Irvin and Marino -- both previous Sports Hall inductees -- play at the Orange Bowl, which was on the same plot of land where Marlins Park now sits. Haslem used to sell sodas in the stands at the Orange Bowl, a fundraiser for his basketball team at Miami High.He told that story Tuesday with a confession.For every $5 we made, I think about $3 made it back to our coach, Haslem said. The other $2, we figured it out.Vilma told a story about how he was moved up to varsity basketball at Coral Gables High and how Haslems Miami High team beat them handily. Vilma went on to focus on football, winning a national title with the Hurricanes in 2001 and then a Super Bowl with the Saints.For someone like myself, born and raised in Miami, growing up in Miami, this is one of those accomplishments ... that mean the most, Vilma said.Ellis -- who led the U.S. to the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup title -- is a South Florida resident with ties to many coaches at the University of Miami and said she was humbled to be recognized.Im always amazed at how sport manages to bring people together, Ellis said. As wonderful as the memories have been for me on the field, its surpassed by the friendships Ive been able to make.Also honored Tuesday with a lifetime achievement award was Jimmy Evert, the father of 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert, who accepted the award on her late dads behalf.The best person Ive ever known, Chris Evert said.Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Brook Lopez Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.nbabucksproshop.com/Authentic-Glenn-Robinson-Bucks-Jersey/ . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Vin Baker Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Khris Middleton Bucks Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators.In December, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on family.There are a handful of things that can bring my hometown to a standstill, and football is one.Iron smoke pits welded in the Louisiana countryside. The persisting scent of hickory. And humidity so thick most would forget its fall.Im from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home of the LSU Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars. My family, all alumni of Southern University and A&M College, has sat in the same seats at every game since the 1980s, homemade popcorn balls and boiled peanuts in one hand and a blue-and-gold shaker in the other.My dad would bring his portable television, the size of three remotes, so that one ear was always plugged into whatever other game was going on at the same time. Occasionally, he would lean over and make sure I was following the game, pointing out how a pass was incomplete, and giving a few remarks to the guy in front us about how Texas Southern has nothin on us. He has still not upgraded his portable device.As a family, wed pack up our van and hit the trail behind lines of Winnebagos traveling up and down I-10 and I-55 to away games as far as Florida. I would run into most of my high school friends whose parents and grandparents had also made the trek to see their beloved Jags.Cars were packed to the gills with gumbo, stewed meats, day-and-a-half marinated chicken and ribs, jambalaya, potato salad and red beans. Some even ventured to bring their best BBQ pits, joined to the hitch on the back of their truck, the fire already lit. The tailgating lasted for two days and continued after the game was over.We second-lined off the field no matter if we won or lost, our shakers and leftover napkins standing in for parasols and handkerchiefs. We waved them above our heads and paraded from every corner, the sound of horns our entrance and our exit. The game was as much about food and celebration as it was football.Together, wed witness an entire season pass, from preseason scrimmages to a week of homecoming festivities, and finally, the event that would define it all -- the Bayou Classic.Last Thanksgiving, we took my husband to his first Classic. The Superdome protruded from the narrow skyline like a gray UFO. Our family had expanded over the years to include grandchildren and husbands, and we all walked in a bit of a messy clummp, allowing the children to walk themselves, no strollers.dddddddddddd Along the way, we hugged and greeted old friends and familiar faces, because everyone comes out for the Classic. I had not been inside the Dome in years. It was newer, brighter and remodeled. From our seats, I could see fans in colorful shirts -- Southerns blue and gold, and Gramblings black and red.I cant believe you grew up with all this, my husband yelled over the crowd. He had not grown up with the privilege of being raised by watching all black colleges compete in football.Southern lost that year, but we came back strong the next.This Thanksgiving, we packed the stadium, both teams having had a successful season -- both Southern and Grambling were 8-0. The Classic had sold out again. We would fill all 70,000 seats.My husband was now in law school at Southern, and running into his own friends and mentors as we entered the Dome. He had even invested in paraphernalia, the jaguar on his Columbia blue and gold shirt clinging to his chest like a Superman emblem.Lets go, Jaguars, lets go! he stood up beside my mom and sister to chant. By halftime, hed perched my nephew onto his shoulders, both of them eager to see the band we lovingly call The Human Jukebox. Although we lost again this year, a crowd disappointment for us and a victory for them, we second-lined anyway. We spilled out into Champions Square, both teams poking fun at each other while exiting the gates, because, at the end of the day, it is always love.The next day, over beers and leftover gumbo, I heard my husband wax emphatically to one of my cousins about how dope it was to see nothing but black professionals, students and alums doing well. I knew then that the essence of home had become something bigger to him, and that my upbringing had taught me more than I could have ever imagined.The soul of the game was in all of us, wrapped in a spirit that had endured lifetimes, our school a mark of very sacred ground.Candice E. Perkins is is a freelance writer living in New Orleans. She is an alum of the Voices of Our Nation Writing Workshop (VONA) and a graduate of the University of Southern Californias Master of Professional Writing program (MPW). ' ' '