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CHICAGO -- Fred Washington has been surrounded by numbers and cities for decades. Seasons full of ones and twos and zeroes. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Milwaukee, too.When his beloved Chicago Cubs scored three in the first, Washington put the crooked number in the right spot. When the Cardinals jumped all over the Pirates, Washington told the story, column by column on the hand-operated scoreboard at Wrigley Field.Springs turned into summers and mostly empty Octobers, and Washingtons most important numbers changed. And he realized its time to go home.I think as you get older your body speaks to you and tells you the things that youre able to do, he said. Also, theres certain things around here that you cant do, and one of those is, you spend an awful lot of time here and at 66, I think I want to spend some time with my family because I dont have very much time to spend with my family here.So when the Cubs play their last home game of the year, thatll be it for Washington, too. Hell climb down the ladder at the bottom of the classic green scoreboard and stroll off to retirement.No one will notice, probably. There likely wont be any fuss. The Cubs honored Washington before a September game, and that was more than enough for the easygoing Chicago native.It was all a gift, anyway. More than Washington ever expected.You never realize that youre going to meet so many good people, Washington said, so many people that had such a bearing on your life. Its very rewarding.Washington had jobs with the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and in railroads before he was hired by the Cubs in 1984 for a security position.He moved to the grounds crew two years later, and then joined the scoreboard crew in 1990.This particular job, its kind of next man up, he said. People retire, they move on, and somebody has to replace them, and you cant just walk up like youve lived here all your life. Its like anything else. Its a learning process.Washingtons home away from home these past 26 years was built in 1937. There are three levels in the scoreboard, and as many as four people fill in the numbers for a full slate of games in the summer.Washington and his partner work on the first floor for the Cubs linescore and National and American League games on the bottom level. Darryl Wilson , another longtime scoreboard operator, takes care of the second and third floors along with another colleague. Wilson calls down updates that he gets from a computer.We spend an awful lot of time together, and the camaraderie is such that, were almost related, Washington said. I mean we get along, we get along very well. Its kind of like were brothers up here.Its a lot of laughter. Its a lot of joy up here, he continued, except when the Cubs lose.Washington also has a rapport with the fans who sit in Wrigleys famed bleachers. He sees it all from his perch above the stands, and he hears it from the crowd if someone feels there is a miscue with the scoreboard.Theres a human element up here, Washington said, sitting in a chair in the scoreboard while the Cubs were in Los Angeles this week for the NL Championship Series. I mean nobodys perfect, and theyll scream up here and try to point out something to me if they believe its a mistake.Wrigley also is where Washington met his wife, Darla. She was friends with one of Washingtons co-workers. They got married in 1989, and the couples daughter, Alisha, 21, goes to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. While Darla likes the Cubs because of Washingtons job, he said she isnt a baseball fan.To her, its like how can I come home tired from watching a ballgame, he said. But shes under the impression that like when I come to work I just walk up in the scoreboard and sit down and everythings cool until I get off. But I have other chores.Alisha visited Wrigley for the first time when her father was recognized last month.A 21-year-olds mind, you dont hear things like `Im proud of you because their mind just dont work like that, Washington said. But when a 21-year-old tells you that theyre proud of you, its something to pay attention to and it kind of made my heart kind of skip a beat.Washington has seen a lot of bad teams over the years. But his final season has been a lot of fun.The Cubs rolled to a major league-best 103 wins and the NL Central title this year. Game 6 against the Dodgers is Saturday night at Wrigley.It has been 71 years since Chicagos last NL pennant, and 108 years since the franchise last won the World Series in 1908. A title would be quite a send-off for the soft-spoken Washington, who sounds as if he is coaching himself for whatever way it comes to an end.For them to be in the position that theyre in now, I really never thought that they would get this far, he said. A World Series ring would be, just for them to compete would be a lifelong dream of mine.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Fake China Jerseys .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. China Jerseys Wholesale . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Cheap Jerseys From China . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. China Jerseys Stitched . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins last season failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight season, and it was obvious that defense was their weakness.The Bruins have seven defensemen under NHL contracts who played for them last season, led by captain Zdeno Chara. Only Dennis Seidenberg, who was bought out over the summer, is not back. Without an overhaul of the personnel, the Bruins are hoping a faster pace will help turn things around.The game evolves and were going to evolve with it, said coach Claude Julien, whose team finished fifth in scoring (2.88 goals per game) but ranked 20th in goals allowed (2.78 per game). So I think we have the ability to make our `D corps better this year with our play, and thats where were going to start.General manager Don Sweeney said the play is to be aggressive and spend as much time in the other teams end as possible.Its a mindset of the players to play that way, he said. I think the players would like to play that way and dictate, rather than being on sort of a retreat mentality.Some things to know about the 2016-17 Boston Bruins:MARCHAND MOMENTUMLeft wing Brad Marchand followed up his career-best 37-goal season last season by lighting up the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in September with a tournament-best five goals in six games. He also scored the game-winning short-handed goal in the final minute of Team Canadas clinching victory in the second game of the best-of-three final against Team Europe.Marchand signed an eight-year, $49 million contract, which will keep him from testing unrestricted free agency next summer. Eighteen of his 37 goals last season gave the Bruins a lead.WELCOME BACKESAfter 10 seasons with the St. Louis Blues, including five as their captain, David Backes joined the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent by signing a five-year, $30 million contract July 1. Backes has scored more than 20 goals six times in his career, but the Bruins are also hoping he can take some of the defensive lload off three-time Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron and provide a vocal leader in the dressing room.ddddddddddddASK GETS HELPThe Bruins struggled to find a backup for goaltender Tuukka Rask they could trust the past two seasons. The result was Rask playing 134 games the past two seasons, third among all NHL goaltenders in that span. Despite the workload and a tough start last season, Rask produced a respectable 2.56 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.But the return of the Anton Khudobin, who played for the Bruins 2011-13, should provide Rask with enough rest to be at his best more often in 2016-17.I thought he played well for us, did a great job as a second goaltender ... and I think he won us some big games, Julien said.COACHING STAFF SHUFFLESweeney took a little time after the Bruins missed the playoffs last season to decide what to do with his coaching staff. Sweeney and Julien mutually decided Julien should return for a 10th season.However, the Bruins winningest coach (393-223-88) has new assistants: Bruce Cassidy, formerly coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL, and Jay Pandolfo, who moves down from the front office, becoming assistant coaches replace Doug Houda and Doug Jarvis.PRACTICING IN LUXURYThe start of Bruins training camp marked the opening of the state-of-the-art Warrior Ice Arena, Bostons new practice facility, in the Brighton neighborhood. The Bruins, who now have a seven-mile commute from TD Garden, trained for more than two decades in the suburb of Wilmington. The new facility provides the Bruins with a larger and more modern workout room, workout equipment, trainers room and players lounge -- all which the team hopes will make the Bruins a destination and will better foster team camaraderie.I would envision that theyre probably hanging out a little bit more, Bruins president Cam Neely said. ' ' '