Derek Jeter congratulated former teammate Alex Rodriguez, saying in a statement that the New York Yankees slugger lives and breathes baseball. Cheap New Orleans Saints Jerseys .Jeters comments were released along with statements from several other prominent former Yankees on Friday, hours before Rodriguez is set to play his final game in pinstripes at Yankee Stadium.What people dont realize is how much time, effort and work that Alex put in on a daily basis, Jeter said. He lives and breathes baseball. I know it will be difficult for him to not be on the field, but Im sure he will continue to give back to the game. Congrats, Alex.Rodriguez will be released by the Yankees after Fridays game against the Tampa Bay Rays and become an adviser and instructor for the organization. The three-time American League MVP was Jeters teammate with the Yankees for 11 years from 2004 to 2014 and helped New York win a championship in 2009.Ive spent 22 years playing against, playing with and watching Alex from afar, and there are two things that stand out to me the most: the conversations we had when we were young -- hoping for the opportunity to play at the Major League level and then somehow finding a way to stick around -- and the championship we won together in 2009, Jeter said. That was a season everyone on that team can cherish.Former Yankees manager Joe Torre said in a statement that Rodriguez should be proud of the way he carried himself these last two years, referring to Rodriguezs return to baseball after serving a 162-game suspension in 2014 for his involvement in the Biogenesis doping scandal.Former Yankees stars Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada also praised Rodriguez in statements Friday.I love him -- as a friend and as a teammate, Rivera said. He was all you could ask for in both. Cheap Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Cheap Cleveland Browns Jerseys . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. https://www.cheapjerseys-wholesalechina....-ravens-jerseys . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Dion Waiters has been looking for a team that can offer him a prominent scoring role.The Miami Heat could have just the role for him after a disappointing split with franchise star Dwyane Wade.Waiters and the Heat have agreed to a two-year contract worth $6 million with a player option in the second year of the deal, as first reported Monday by The Vertical and confirmed by ESPN.?Waiters would receive an additional bonus if he is traded.Waiters averaged 9.8 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder last year, but had several big games in the playoffs. His offensive burst with the second unit helped the Thunder keep pace when stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook needed rest, and his aggressive mentality fit well with a bench unit that needed some force.Waiters played particularly well against Dallas and San Antonio in the playoffs, helping the Thunder advance to the Western Conference finals against?Golden State. The matchups werent as favorable for him in that series, one in which the Warriors came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Oklahoma City.Waiters could slide right into the starting lineup in the Heat backcourt next to point guard Goran Dragic, offering the 24-year-old shooting guard the playing time and role in the offense that could help him lock down a more lucrative long-term deal down the road.The Heat have a need for scoring after Wade made the surprising decision to leave the only franchise he has ever played for to join his hometown Chicago Bulls earlier this month.There are definite similarities between Wade and Waiters beyyond just their initials. Cheap Tennessee Titans Jerseys. Both are 6-foot-4 scorers with stout frames that help them absorb punishment on drives to the basket. Both are aggressive scorers who rely more on the midrange game and getting to the rim than 3-pointers. Both have worn No. 3 on their jerseys.Wade, of course, is far more accomplished in his 13-year career, with three championships and 12 All-Star nods that made him an icon in South Florida.The daunting prospect of replacing such a celebrated figure in the Heats starting lineup would likely do little to deter Waiters, a supremely confident personality who never hesitated to take big shots in Cleveland despite Kyrie Irvings status as the go-to player, or in Oklahoma City when playing with Westbrook and Durant.Waiters started the summer as a restricted free agent, a designation that would have given the Thunder the right to match any offer given to Waiters. But after losing Durant to the Warriors, the Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer to Waiters, making him an unrestricted free agent.The Heat also matched guard Tyler Johnsons four-year, $50 million offer from the Brooklyn Nets and have other versatile pieces such as?Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson in coach Erik Spoelstras rotation.With Waiters?agreeing with the Heat, the Thunder?now have the option to offer Russell Westbrook a maximum level extension.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '