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INDIANAPOLIS -- Emotions arent always the same in the professional game. Most WNBA players compete nearly year-round in countries all over the globe. When basketball becomes your business, some of the most genuine and pure emotions in sports take a back seat to pragmatism. Its understandable.But then there is a night such as Wednesday, when a team, a league, a city and a sport say goodbye to someone who made them feel those emotions in a bittersweet flood as very few players could.Tamika Catchings career came to an end with the Fevers 89-78 loss to Phoenix at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. That meant tears. A whole lot of them.Thats my rock, man, Fever guard Briann January said through sobs. Shes just impacted every area of my life and always been there for me and taught me so much about being a professional, about being a good person.Ive been here eight years with her, and its amazing what she does here. People like her just dont come around often, and I am so lucky to have been around her.Dont we all feel that way, even if we didnt get to be around Catchings as closely as a teammate? Arent we all proud that she represented so completely what we want our sports heroes to represent? For 15 years in the WNBA, didnt she compete every game the way we all dream we could for even a single day?Even when Wednesdays game was essentially over, with just 13 seconds left and the Fever down by 11, Catchings waved off an attempt to sub her out for one last standing ovation.Gotta finish strong, Catchings said. I didnt want to spend 13.1 seconds on the bench knowing that I had 13.1 seconds to give everything that I could.Thats what Catchings has done ever since she first started playing basketball. The daughter of NBA player Harvey Catchings, she faced the challenge of being hearing-impaired and looked to sports as a way to avoid being mocked by other kids. It turned out that she was destined for greatness.Every game Ive played against her, shes been such a warrior, said Phoenixs Penny Taylor, who is also retiring when this season ends and faced the potential that Wednesday would be her last game. I feel happy that were going on. As a team, we worked really hard to win that game. But also, its sad because Tamika is such a great player, and you never want to see great players stop.But they all have to. Ever since Catchings announced last year that 2016 would be her final season, WNBA followers have been dreading the end. Yet there is so much to celebrate about what weve seen from a player who defined effort.Catchings had 13 points and 10 rebounds in her last game, and when it was over, she got hugs not just from her teammates but also from all the Mercury players, who showed their respect and affection.It just makes you really appreciate what shes done, Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi said. If anyone wants to play basketball and loves the game, they should use her blueprint because thats how you do it. Theres not many people Ive been around who put that much into it. I said to her, Thank you for everything.Taurasi, Catchings and Seattles Sue Bird each won their fourth Olympic gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. Thats something Taurasi cherishes too.Its an honor to share the court with them, Taurasi said. I think well look back on it, and it will feel good that we did that with each other. We have so much respect for each other, and we really do like each other. Thats the other side of it too.Taurasi has spent her career with Phoenix and is the signature player of that franchise. The same has been true for Catchings in Indiana.Its going to be a change for the whole Indiana franchise now, Taurasi said. Its like, I was a Lakers fan growing up, and now Kobe [Bryant] is not there. And I dont even know if Im a Lakers fan anymore. But I think Indiana is a great organization. It will be tough, but theyll move on. This is a place people want to play.A big reason for that, of course, has been the presence of Catchings, who finishes her career as the WNBAs leader in rebounds and steals and is second in scoring.We wanted her to go on top, and its hard, said the Fevers Marissa Coleman, who was crying like everyone else in the Indiana locker room. Because shes given everything to us and this organization, and I kind of feel like we let her down. I know she doesnt feel that way, but thats how we feel. Were going to miss her. Shes one of my favorite people.Catchings was honored Sunday with a postgame ceremony that included tributes from politicians, coaches, teammates and officials from the WNBA, USA Basketball and the Fever and Pacers. It was as heartfelt and well-done a send-off as any player could hope for, and really, that is the closing memory of Catchings that everyone should hold onto.For her part, Catchings was the selfless leader right until the end.Theyll be fine, Catchings said of the Fever moving on without her. I think its always tough when you look at passing the baton in any organization. You dont replace me. You find players that step up to the plate for the good of the team to do what they need to do. ... Theyll continue to make this organization grow.Catchings reflected on the big picture of her role in the WNBA and her pride that she has been instrumental in its establishment.Were celebrating the WNBAs 20th year, and thats a big deal, she said. I remember the first year and all the people who doubted if we wouldnt make it past two years, three years, five, 10, 15. Were standing here knowing the next generation whove watched us play aspire to follow in our footsteps. And that gives me strength.Catchings recalls being a child and wishing she could play in the NBA like her dad. The WNBA launched in the summer before her freshman year at Tennessee, and she had a new dream.One of those little girls growing up now hopefully wants to be me, Catchings said. But my challenge is for her to be better than I was.That is some challenge. In Catchings, we saw the best. Vapormax Plus Be True .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Vapormax Scontate . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. http://www.scarpevapormaxscontate.it/vapormax-plus-italia.html . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Vapormax 97 Uomo . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Vapormax Plus Bianche . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Nico Rosberg will no longer be known simply as the son of Formula One champion Keke Rosberg.The German driver is now a champion in his own right after clinching his first title on Sunday to match his fathers achievement from 1982.Two Rosbergs are world champions ... if Ive got my statistics right, Nico Rosberg joked moments after clinching the title.Graham Hill (1962, 1968) and Damon Hill (1996) are the only other father and son to have won the title.Rosbergs second place at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was enough to wrestle the title away from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and also prevented his archrival from clinching his third straight and fourth overall.Its unbelievably special to beat him because the levels so high, Rosberg said. It makes this so much more satisfying for me, because hes the benchmark and I took the world championship away from him.Rosberg ended on 385 points to Hamiltons 380.Just like his father, Rosberg drives in the No. 6 car.His 67-year-old father was one of the most flamboyant drivers of his generation.Every Saturday night I get a text from him: `Pedal to the metal. Thats it, Rosberg said. Its been good how hes let me get on with it and taken a step back. So Im very thankful for that.Rosbergs title went down to the wire in a nerve-shredding finale.I was relieved his father said after the race in the F1 paddock. Two laps from the end I was nervous.With Hamilton purposefully slowing him down, two other drivers hard on his tail and the title on the line, Rosberg did not crack.Hamilton won the race from pole position for his 53rd GP win. But Rosberg was 12 points ahead of him before the race and only needed to finish no lower than third if Hamilton won.It was so intense, the race, so tough, said the 31-year-old Rosberg, who finished runner-up to Hamilton in the past two years.Rosberg repeatedly wiped his face and lowered his head several times in the post-race news conference, appearing emotionally exhausted as he tilted back into his chair and rubbed his eyes.Still, he expects to find plenty of energy to celebrate his win.Tonights going to be absolutely nuts, he said. I dont think Im going to be available for a few days.Hamilton made it hard for Rosberg by disobeying team orders to speed up near the end, in a bid to back Rosberg toward Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in third and fourth places, respectively.If I had dropped behind those guys, it was over, Rosberg said.ddddddddddddVettel could not quite pass Rosberg, finishing third ahead of Verstappen and fourth overall in the championship behind Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.Nico drove well not to make a mistake, said Hamilton, who won 10 races this year.As Hamilton deliberately slowed in the later stages of the race, his team told him over race radio to up the tempo.Hamilton ignored them and then even ignored a direct order from Mercedes executive director Paddy Lowe four laps from the end.I dont know why they just didnt let us race, Hamilton said. Its a bit of a shame.Vettel was a wheels length away from him on the final lap, but Rosberg kept his cool and his elation was evident as he let out a delighted screech of Yes! World champion! when he crossed the line.Then he jumped out of his car and danced around the track before being hugged by his mechanics and was tossed into the air by his Mercedes crew.He then grabbed Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and lifted him into the air.On the podium, Rosbergs eyes were watering as the weight of his achievement sank in and he thanked his wife, who also wiped away tears nearby.Rosberg survived earlier drama when he was close to colliding with Verstappen on lap 21 as they jostled for second place.For the Mercedes pair, the race had started serenely.With the sun setting on the Yas Marina track, Hamilton was on pole for the 12th time this season and got away cleanly, as did Rosberg.Meanwhile, Verstappens car went into a spin following contact shortly after the start, dropping him down from sixth to last, but the daring Dutchman soon caught up.Hamilton came in for his first tire change on the eighth lap, and Rosberg came in for his on the next lap.But the German driver was held up for a couple of seconds by Vettel, who was just coming in for his stop, and when he came out, he was behind Verstappen and Hamilton.Rosberg needed to overtake Verstappen, the youngest driver to win an F1 race who has earned a reputation for his risky, borderline dangerous overtaking and has upset other drivers this season.They twice almost came into contact, but Rosberg showed great courage to then pass him.The battle out there with Max was unreal, Rosberg said. Max went full on aggressive. As usual.Rosberg held on to beat Hamilton by just five points.Cant believe its over, Rosberg said. Im ecstatic. ' ' '