eless innings. The right-hander walked one, struck out eight and won 4-1. He faced the Rockies on June 8 at Dodger Stadium and allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings, taking a 1-0

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sporting his traditional look of cornrowed hair and movie star smile that made him one of the sports most popular figures, Urijah Faber proved he can still get it done in the octagon.The California Kid also showed he has a pretty good chin, too.Faber survived being knocked down in the third round and beat Brad Pickett by unanimous decision to win in the final fight of his career at UFC Fight Night on Saturday night.Sac-town, I love you guys, Faber said as the crowd at GoldenOne Center gave him a rousing standing ovation.The 37-year-old Faber, who announced his retirement earlier this year, repeatedly took Pickett to the mat throughout the fight and scored with crisp, hard head shots that opened a gaping cut on the Englishmans left eye before Pickett landed a sharp straight left that put Faber down with 1:22 left in the third.Faber (34-10) quickly got to his feet and smiled before chasing Pickett (26-13) down and trying for a final submission attempt as a raucous, near-sellout crowd at GoldenOne Center roared.This guy was coming for my head and I knew that, Faber said. Its a great way to go out. I could very well compete for another 10 years ... but Im choosing to wrap it up and head into whatevers next.Pickett, nicknamed One-Punch Pickett, never could mount much of an offense. He spent the early rounds trying to fend off Fabers takedowns and didnt score significantly until late in the final round.By then, Faber had built too big of a lead.All three judges scored the fight 30-26.Michelle Waterson (14-4) won with a rear-naked choke over Paige VanZant in the first round of their scheduled five-round fight in the main event.Waterson, No. 11 in the strawweight division, took VanZant down midway through the round and quickly got both of her arms locked around VanZants neck.VanZant (7-3) tried to work free and at one point had one of Watersons arms away before Waterson got it locked in again to win at 3:21 after VanZents hands went limp and she fell unconscious.I think that me switching to southpaw really threw her off guard, Waterson said. That was our game plan from the beginning, to just stop her momentum, and going southpaw did exactly that. Shes a fighter. She wasnt going to tap out.In the co-main event Mickey Gall (4-0) submitted up-and-coming Sage Northcutt in the second round of their welterweight bout to stay unbeaten.Northcutt (8-2) controlled the first round and was still in charge in the second when he got caught from behind by Gall, who scored the takedown and got Northcutt to tap out by a rear-naked choke at 1:40 left.Faber had lost his previous two fights including a five-round unanimous decision loss to UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz in the third of their three classic bouts this past June.This one went to a decision as well, though the outcome was clear -- at least among the pro-Faber crowd that repeatedly chanted his name throughout the night.Getting through the fight actually was easier for Faber than it was making his way to the ring. A video tribute including footage of some of his previous bouts were shown before the fight with Pickett, and Faber admitted he had to turn away because it made him emotional.I had to stay focused, he said. I kept it together and Im proud of that.Faber staggered Pickett with a sharp left hand midway through the first round and immediately went for the takedown. With the crowd chanting his name, Faber got Picketts back and twice went for a submission before landing 15 consecutive right hands on Picketts head during one stretch.Im ready to go forward, Faber said. I love this sport, I love my team coming up. Theres nothing like (fighting) but Im ready to move forward and do some big things.That includes continuing to mentor some of the younger fighters on his Team Alpha Male. Faber also has a clothing line, a supplement business as well as a family construction business.Custom Ray Allen Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Cheap Thunder Jerseys . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. http://www.customthunderjersey.com/ . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Custom Thunder T-shirts .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Custom Thunder Jerseys . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team.DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies, asserting themselves in the National League wild-card scramble, will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.Victories in the first two games of the series nudged Colorado over .500 for the first time since they were 20-19 on May 18.The Rockies (54-53) have won 11 of their past 13 games and are a major-league-best 14-5 since the All-Star break. They are tied for fifth in the battle for two NL wild cards, but they sit just three games out of the final playoff position.Thats where the fun starts, this time of year when you get to watch the scoreboard and youre paying attention to the other games and theres that focus, that emphasis on your game to win every night, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Thats fun. Its a lot easier showing up to the ballpark under those circumstances.Starting pitching is at the root of the Rockies surge. Colorado starters are 10-0 with a 2.00 ERA in the past 13 games.Tyler Chatwood, who is 10-6 with a 3.50 ERA in 19 starts, will take the mound Thursday, seeking to win his third consecutive start while reducing his walks in the process.The right-hander allowed one hit in five scoreless innings but walked eight in a 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on July 24. In his most recent outing, at New York on Friday, Chatwood held the Mets to three hits and one run in seven innings with four walks. He emerged with a 6-1 victory.You want to cut down on walks and not give free passes, Chatwood said, but I think overall what really matters is if your team wins the game or not. And weve been able to do that. I think my command is where I need it to be -- maybe try to stay through the ball a little longer.Chatwood is 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA on the road, 4-6 with a 5.dddddddddddd69 ERA at home.Kenta Maeda, who is 9-7 with a 3.23 ERA, is 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA in road starts. In his Coors Field debut April 23, Maeda allowed three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The right-hander walked one, struck out eight and won 4-1. He faced the Rockies on June 8 at Dodger Stadium and allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings, taking a 1-0 loss.The Dodgers, who are 5-5 in their past 10 games with losses in three of the past five, desperately need Maeda to give them innings after starters Brandon McCarthy and Brock Stewart pitched a combined seven innings in the first two games of the series.Stewart, who was supposed to start Wednesday night for Triple-A Oklahoma City at nearby Colorado Springs, instead was called up to pitch at Coors Field so Maeda and lefty Scott Kazmir could each have an extra day of rest.The Dodgers, who are two games behind the slumping San Francisco Giants in the NL West and clinging to the first wild-card spot, are looking to solidify a rotation that has clouds looming above it in the form of Rich Hills blister, Bud Norris lat muscle, Clayton Kershaws back and McCarthys road back from Tommy John surgery.Asked about overcoming the issues and injuries that have caused problems with the rotation, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, Weve done it up to this point, but you do have to get innings from your starting pitching.Its not some new formula. You can weather and combat adversity as much as possible, and our group has done a great job of that, but youre as good as your next starter. No excuses. Weve still got to find ways to win games. ' ' '