Friday on a reported seven-year, $72.5 million deal. Castillo has a bit

OTTAWA -- Daniel Alfredsson rehearsed the speech 10 or 15 times. When he read it to a friend over the phone, he cried. The longtime Senators captain read it one more time Thursday morning at Canadian Tire Centre with family, friends and former teammates watching. Here we are, Alfredsson said. Today I officially retire as an Ottawa Senator and another new chapter will begin tonight as we say goodbye to Ottawa. Alfredsson called it a career back in the nations capital, his adopted hometown, the place he played 17 of his 18 NHL seasons. The captain from 1999 through 2013 who left 17 months ago to sign with the Detroit Red Wings got to put on his old red No. 11 Senators jersey for one more day. The 41-year-old signed a ceremonial one-day contract that will allow him to lace up his skates in his old stall and take part in pre-game warm-ups with his old team. Being out there with the boys again, is going to be a special feeling, Alfredsson said. Im going to try to not fall down. The Senators pulled out all the stops to honour Alfredsson on what unofficially became Alfie Day in Ottawa. Wife Bibbi and sons Hugo, Loui, Fenix and William, along with former teammates like Erik Karlsson and Wade Redden, looked on as the face of the franchise bid adieu, a decision prompted by lingering back problems. Alfredsson, who had 444 goals and 713 assists in 1,246 NHL games, tried to rehab the injury. If he played one more season, it would have been for the Red Wings. According to Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, he and general manager Bryan Murray would have welcomed him back to Ottawa. During the summer we spoke a couple of times, but it was more about how he felt and whether he could play 100 per cent, Melnyk said. Bryan and I said, Look, give us 80 per cent, were happy. And he would not play unless he was 100 per cent. Remembered fondly for the goal he scored against the Buffalo Sabres to send the Senators to the Stanley Cup final in 2007, for the love fest at the 2012 all-star game and for winning a gold medal with Sweden at the 2006 Olympics, Alfredsson also knows his career was marked with phone calls and major decisions. It began with the decision to leave Goteborg, Sweden at 22 to play for the Senators, who drafted him in the sixth round in 1994. Alfredsson was glad he and Bibbi, his girlfriend at the time, made the leap. One evening nearly 20 years ago a young man in a small town in Sweden got a phone call that would change his life, Alfredsson said. We began an incredible new chapter of our lives in your town starting in August 1995. Our marvellous boys were born here, and we grew from youngsters into aging parents. You made your town our town. Ottawa was Alfredssons town in his Calder Trophy season in 1995-96 and through 15 playoff appearances. One of his favourite memories was seeing thousands of people lined up along the street to celebrate the trip to the Cup final. It was an incredible experience to play hockey with so many great players, so many great friends over so many great seasons, he said. I really realize that Im a very lucky guy. Back problems flared up in 2011, what Alfredsson called signals that all these years of hockey had a cost. I worked hard to fight it off and I got some great help along the way, he said. But in the back of my mind, I still knew that the clock is ticking. With the clock ticking on his career, Alfredsson got to a crossroads in the summer of 2013, after he decided to continue playing but did not have a contract to return to the Senators. On the morning of June 29, he said he got a call from an old Swedish pal. This call started a process that would launch the next chapter in our lives, Alfredsson said of signing with Detroit. It was a very, very hard decision to make: changing teams, uproot my family, start over again in a new place. But change helps you grow. No doubt the relationship between Alfredsson and the Senators organization was strained by his departure. But during and after an off-and-on injury season with the Red Wings that still included him tying for the team lead in scoring, Alfredsson stayed in touch with Murray. I have great respect for Daniel and I know he has great respect for the Senators for what happened here, said Murray, who coached Alfredsson for two seasons, including 2006-07. It wasnt very hard for us to get together and talk. He took me for a drive in his new car. He drove me out to my old house in Birmingham (Michigan). He showed me where he lived. We had I think mutual respect for each other all along. Setbacks in Alfredssons rehab kept him from playing and forced him to make one final decision. It finally came to the point: Could I play a little bit? Maybe, Alfredsson said. I dont know what I price I would have had to pay down the road. I felt it was no fun just being on the edge or on the cliff of maybe or maybe not playing. It just felt right. It wouldnt have felt right to the Senators if Alfredsson had said his goodbye to the NHL in Detroit. Again, the phone rang. Bryan said he and Mr. Melnyk had spoken and had an idea that I should not end my career in Detroit but with a proper retirement here in our adopted hometown, Alfredsson recalled. I spoke with (Red Wings GM) Ken Holland about my retirement and that Bryan and Mr. Melnyk wanted me to retire as an Ottawa Senator, and Ken encouraged me to retire here. He said its the right thing to do. Alfredsson, lauded not just for his Hall of Fame hockey career but his charitable contributions in Ottawa, is about as normal a person as a superstar athlete can be. To him, this felt like too much. I never believed that my career entitled me to any special treatment, Alfredsson said. However Bibbi and I both agreed this was the right thing to do and it would give us a chance to say thank you to the people and the fans of Ottawa. Alfredsson received a lengthy standing ovation after his speech of 749 words, including four in French for the bilingual market he represented: Merci et a bientot. He doesnt know how soon he might get back into hockey but is reserving this year for his family and for himself to reflect on his career. Im just very grateful for this opportunity to say thank you and goodbye, Alfredsson said. And please no more phone calls for a while. Austen Williams Jersey . Acclaimed by world football leaders but held in contempt by many football fans. Blatter should arrive at the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo to watch host Brazil play Croatia confident that this tournament -- his fifth as president -- wont be his last leading the worlds favourite sport. 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The hard-throwing lefty nearly had no-hit stuff against Colorado again, allowing only two singles over eight innings as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 9-0 on Friday night. Whats more, Kershaw (10-2) extended his scoreless streak to 36 innings before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the ninth. Kershaw bottled up the top-hitting team in the majors in nearly matching the no-hitter he threw against the Rockies on June 18 at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw struck out eight and walked one. "You dont ever want to give up a run," Kershaw casually said. "I guess thats the goal." The nastiness of Kershaws slider -- the best pitch in baseball, Drew Stubbs labeled it -- is fueling his roll. "Anytime he takes the mound, hes capable of the run hes been on," catcher A.J. Ellis said. Yasiel Puig hit a two-run shot -- his first homer since May 28 -- and Scott Van Slyke added a three-run homer as the Dodgers had a season-high 19 hits. Jair Jurrjens (0-1) struggled in his first big-league start in a year, lasting 4 2-3 innings and giving up eight runs. After the game, Jurrjens was taken to a nearby hospital for tests after developing breathing issues. Though the problems dissipated, the Rockies had him taken to the hospital. Kershaw was coming off quite a June in which he went 6-0 with a 0.82 ERA. He carried it over to July as he allowed only DJ LeMahieus single in the third and Nolan Arenados base hit in the seventh. The 26-year-old Kershaw hasnt allowed a run since the third inning against Arizona on June 13. His scoreless innings streak is the third-longest in Los Angeles history, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Dodgers. The team -- and major league -- record is 59 straight by Orel Hershiser in 1988. Of those 36 scoreless innings Kershaw has turned in, 17 have now been at Colorados expense. The Rockies didnt have Troy Tulowitzkki (tight groin) in the lineup Friday night.dddddddddddd "Hes on a pretty good roll, approaching historic measures," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Hes locked in right now and we saw it today." Kershaw also did some damage with his bat as he laced an RBI single to left as part of a five-run fifth to break the game open. It was Kershaws first RBI of the season. Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez was hit on the left arm by Jurrjens in the fifth and was replaced when the team took the field. Mattingly indicated Ramirez could possibly be in the lineup Saturday. Colorado finally solved Kershaw in the third when LeMahieu lined a base hit to right. Jurrjens followed with a bunt that Kershaw wildly threw to first for an error, putting runners on first and third with one out. But Kershaw picked off Jurrjens and then struck out Charlie Blackmon to keep his scoreless innings streak intact. "During this run, hes had an A curveball and an A slider this entire time," Ellis said. "Theyre both electric strikeout pitches." The Dodgers hit for the cycle in the first to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Dee Gordon began with a bunt single and Puig followed with a two-run homer. Ramirez added a double and scored on Andre Ethiers two-out triple. A rocky start to Jurrjens Rockies career. The Rockies acquired Jurrjens in a trade with Cincinnati two days ago to bolster a rotation ravaged by injuries. He became the 13th different starter Colorado has used this season. Jurrjens last pitched in the big leagues on June 29, 2013, when he was with Baltimore. He was replacing Jhoulys Chacin, whos on the 60-day disabled list with an inflamed right shoulder. NOTES: Every Dodgers starter had a hit Friday night. Gordon, Ellis and Ethier each had three. ... Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez (left index finger) hit in the cage Friday. ... Decorated Olympic swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen posted on her Twitter account a picture from the Rockies game and a message saying: "Thank you to the rockies for my first outing! You guys have been amazing to us!" Van Dyken-Rouen is rehabbing at nearby Craig Hospital after an accident on an all-terrain vehicle left her paralyzed. ' ' '