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Youd be hard pressed to find a man whos had a greater impact on baseball over the past 40 years. Tytus Howard Jersey . Were not talking about Hank Aaron, or Bob Gibson or Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken Jr. or Barry Bonds. Were talking about Dr. Frank Jobe who passed away Thursday night at the age of 88. He is the surgeon who pioneered the ulnar collateral ligament transplant surgery that saved so many elbows and prolonged the careers of so many players, pitchers and position players alike. Dr. Jobe first performed his landmark surgery in 1974. He was actually in the stands watching at Dodger Stadium when Tommy John, for whom the operation will forever be known, blew out his elbow in a game against the Expos. John was out of action for 18 months after the surgery. But he not only returned, he flourished. Tommy John was named Comeback Player of the Year in 1976 and went on to win another 164 games with the Dodgers and Yankees before retiring at age 46. He finnished with 288 victories and a 3.34 ERA. He appeared in three All-Star Games after his surgery. He was never the best pitcher of his generation or anything close to that, but his career numbers and the fact he rebounded from this operation the way he did should in the Hall of Fame in my mind. Just how important has this operation been? Well before last season, 124 of the 360 pitchers on the opening day rosters had undergone at least one "Tommy John". Its not just the pitchers though, whove gone through this career-saving surgery. Carl Crawford, Rafael Furcal, ex-Jay Kelly Johnson and current Jays catching prospect A.J Jimenez have all undergone this elbow surgery. The first Blue Jays pitcher I could find who had the operation was David Wells back in 1985. But the list grows from there. Jimmy Key in 1988, former skipper John Farrell in 1991 while he was pitching for Cleveland and the list goes on. You have Billy Koch, A.J Burnett while he was with Florida, Jason Frasor who had it done twice, B.J. Ryan in 2007, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, Josh Johnson while with Florida and Chris Carpenter with St. Louis in 2007. All owe their careers to Dr. Jobe and those surgeons who have followed his trailblazing path. The disturbing thing is the way elbow injuries have increased. There were 24 documented "Tommy John" surgeries in 2013, including those of Mets star pitching prospect Matt Harvey and Blue Jays journeyman pitcher Ramon Ortiz, who underwent the operation for a second time. But the worst year by far was 2012, when there were 46 "Tommy Johns" including four to Blue Jays Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, his second, Luis Perez and the aforementioned A.J. Jimenez. There are two known pitchers who actually had three elbow ligament transplant surgeries. Jose Rijo who helped spark the Reds to victory in the 1990 World Series and Jason Isringhausen, who turned from a top starting prospect with the Mets to a standout reliever later in his career. Rijo is truly a remarkable story. After being named an All-Star with the Reds in 1995, he suffered a serious elbow injury and was out of the game for five full seasons. He finally battled back in 2001 as a reliever with Cincinnati. It was said after three "Tommy John" surgeries and two other arm operations, his elbow had almost no ligament left. But ironically, the arthritis in his elbow, the scar tissue and the fact he had built up the muscles in his forearm to such an extent, he was still able to throw against all odds. Rijo retired in 2002 but not before winning the final ball game ever played at old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. One pitcher who doesnt need to worry about his ulnar collateral ligament is Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Thats because he was born without one. Like Rijo, Dickey has defied the odds with many a doctor saying Dickey shouldnt be able to pitch without that ligament in his elbow. Yet two years ago, he won the Cy Young Award with the Mets and is still going strong with the Blue Jays at 39. At least 85 per cent of "Tommy John" patients make a complete recovery and in most cases, their elbows are stronger than ever. However, there are some who dont make it all the way back. Blue Jays closer B.J Ryan was never the same after his surgery in 2007 and was out of the game within a couple of years. But cases like that are the exception rather than the rule and the game would be a pale shadow of itself without the medical marvels of Dr. Frank Jobe. As a footnote, we should also mention Dr. Jobe pioneered a surgical technique on another Dodgers star, Orel Hershiser. It was a less invasive shoulder procedure that reduced the risk of collateral damage to the shoulder structure and sped up the recovery time. This and That Phillies infielder Freddy Galves will one day be the answer to a trivia question. On Thursday, he became the first player to hit a home run off the Yankees Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka. I try not to get too caught up in the struggles of pitchers in spring training since theyre often just working on command or one specific pitch but Ive got to admit on Wednesday, I was a little bit concerned when Brandon Morrow gave up five runs on six hits over three innings to the Pirates. Then I noticed on the same day, White Sox ace Chris Sale gave up six runs on six hits and a walk in just 2-2/3 innings against the Padres. Then, the Cubs Jeff Samardzija surrendered three runs on four hits in three innings in a 7-5 loss to Colorado. At that point, I realized its too early to be making hard judgements. Kahale Warring Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have signed free agent offensive lineman Mike McGlynn. J.J. Watt Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-lonnie-johnson-jersey . Team spokesman Donald Beauchamp said there was no new information on the 80-year-old Hall of Famers condition. The family has requested privacy.PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Golden State Warriors were thrilled to have Klay Thompson. Thompson, returning after a one-game absence to attend his grandfathers funeral in the Bahamas, scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors to a 113-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 37 points for the Warriors, who rallied from an 18-point deficit midway through the third quarter to snap a two-game skid. Golden State also moved 1 1/2 games behind Portland for the Western Conferences No. 5 playoff spot. "Thats as good a win as weve had in three years," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "It would have been very easy to fold our tent and hang our heads. Klay and Steph were spectacular." Damian Lillard finished with 26 points and Nicholas Batum had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Portland also played without injured All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed his second game with a lower back contusion. Batum had a chance to tie the score with 5.8 seconds remaining, but missed the second of two free throws. The Blazers got the rebound but failed to get another shot off. Curry dedicated the victory to Thompson, who had to take three different flights to get from the Bahamas to Portland and didnt arrive until the wee hours Sunday morning. "We wanted to get this one for Klay," said Curry, who made 11 of 24 shots, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. "Hes been through a lot this week, put on a lot of miles, and obviously ben through a lot. "For him to compartmentalize a little bit for two hours and come out and play was big for us. It says a lot about how much hes committed to whats going on here." Thompson didnt show any fatigue, especially in the second half when he connected on 8 of 14 shots, including three 3-pointers. "Yeah, three flights, but I slept on most of them," Thompson said. "I actually felt fresh when I stepped on the court. You might not believe me, but I warmed up before the game and felt good." Robin Lopez finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews and Dorell Wright had 13 points each for the Blazers, who led by 18 points twice, the second time at 72-54 with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter. "We have to put that game away," Matthews said. "With guys like Steph and Klay, they can get hot and thats what they did. We still gave ourselves a chance, but were at the point now where if we have a team down 18, we have to put that game away." Golden State pulled to 85-77 going into the fourth quarter and took thhe lead with 6:01 to play after Thompson blocked Lillards shot at one end of the court and got fouled on a drive to the basket at the other end while Portland coach Terry Stotts was also assessed a technical foul. Arian Foster Jersey. Curry made the technical free throw and then Thompson made 1 of 2 foul shots to put the Warriors in front 97-96 -- their first lead since 31-29. From there, the lead changed four times and there were two ties before Thompsons 3 from in front of the Portland bench put the Warriors in front, 110-107, with 53.8 seconds left. After a dunk by Lillard pulled Portland to 110-109, Curry turned the ball over. Lillard was then fouled driving to the basket and made both free throws to make it 111-110 with 20.7 seconds remaining. Thompsons third 3 of the game gave the Warriors the lead for good. "Hes a big-time player," Jackson said of Thompson. "Hes as cool as they come. It does not bother him making and missing shots. Hes not afraid to take the next one." David Lee had 16 points and Jermaine ONeal added eight points and four rebounds off the bench for the Warriors. "Disappointed to lose another close game," Stotts said. "Curry got hot in the second half. We have to figure out ways to close out games and realize when we have a 16-, 18-point lead, we cant take our foot off the gas." Portlands Mo Williams, expected to miss two weeks with a strained right hip muscle, returned after missing only two games and had 12 points, four assists and two steals. NOTES: Batum matched his season high with five 3-pointers and became the first player in franchise history to record consecutive games with 20 or more points, 10 or more rebounds and four or more 3-pointers. Hes also the first NBA player with 22 or more points, 14 or more rebounds, and four or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games since Minnesotas Kevin Love on Jan. 1-2, 2012. ... Jackson said before the game that the Blazers are a different team without Aldridge, who was averaging team highs of 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds when was injured in the third quarter of Wednesdays 103-90 loss at San Antonio. ... The Blazers came in second in league scoring at 107.3 points a game and had scored 90 or more points in 20 consecutive games. The last time Portland was held to fewer than 90 points was in a 98-81 loss at home to Memphis. ... Jackson lobbied for eighth-year centre Andrew Bogut as a candidate for the NBAs all-defensive