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An emotional Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from international play Sunday after helping the United States mens Olympic team win gold.Anthony is the first American mens basketball player to win three gold medals, the third coming after Team USAs 96-66 win over Serbia on Sunday. He will also retire as the all-time leading scorer in mens U.S. Olympic play with 336 points and is the programs all-time leading rebounder.I know this is the end. This is it for me, this is it for me. I committed to something ... Anthony said in an interview with NBC, trailing off for several seconds to gather himself. I committed to this in [2004]. Ive seen the worst and Ive seen the best, and I stuck with it -- we stuck with it. And Im here today, three gold medals later.Anthony and the U.S. men settled for a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in a disappointing performance; hes helped the Americans win three straight gold medals since. Anthony had seven points and seven rebounds Sunday, checking back in in the final quarter so he could get one more rebound -- the 125th of his Olympic career -- which pushed him past David Robinson on the all-time list.I think Ive given enough to Team USA basketball, Anthony said in a news conference after the game. As much as Im going to miss it, its time to pass it on to some of the guys that [were] on our team this year but also to the younger guys coming along, to give them an opportunity to be a part of something great.Its been a fun journey for me. Its been a fun ride. Ive seen both sides of it. Ive seen the losing side, and Ive seen what it feels like to win three gold medals. I wouldnt trade that for anything in the world.Anthony, 32, chose to play with the U.S. team during a summer in which close friends LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade either passed on the chance to play or were sidelined by injury. Anthony said Sunday that he appreciated the opportunity to lead a new group of Olympians to gold.I just want to say thank you for allowing me to be one of the leaders, not just of our team but of our country, Anthony said.The last part of his statement was a reference to the vocal stance Anthony has taken this summer in the wake of shooting deaths of black men by police officers and the shooting deaths of police officers across the country.Anthony used Sundays platform to send a message of unity in the wake of the recent social unrest.Despite everything thats going on right now in our country, we got to be united, he said. ... America will be great again, I believe that. We got a lot of work to do, but one step at a time. Im glad we represented it in the fashion that we did.Information from ESPN senior writer Marc Stein contributed to this report. Stitched Angels Jerseys . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Los Angeles Angels Shirts . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Cheap Angels Jerseys . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Wholesale Angels Jerseys . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. ST. LOUIS -- In what was billed as a largely ceremonial pinch-hitting appearance, Matt Holliday hit a home run Friday night.The St. Louis Cardinals activated the outfielder before playing the Pittsburgh Pirates so that fans at Busch Stadium could bid the seven-time All-Star goodbye in one of the final three regular-season games.Holliday was greeted with a loud standing ovation from an announced crowd of 43,070, but that was nothing compared to the greeting after he hit reliever?Zach Phillips third pitch to him over the right-field wall. It was the first pinch-hit home run of Hollidays 13-year major league career.Cardinals players also greeted Holliday with a standing ovation, and he was mobbed in the dugout before coming out for a curtain call.The Cardinals went on to win 7-0.I still have chills, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. To watch how the fans responded, we had a great crowd tonight, and every one of them made that extremely special for him. And how he responded, thats, yeah, amazing. Very special night.General manager John Mozeliak said before the game that he spoke with Holliday earlier this week and informed him the odds of the team picking up his $17 million option for 2017 were low.Most people who have options and they ask me in season, I simply tell them, Look, well deal with that when the time comes. In his case, I feel hes earned the type of respect and had the type of career here that he had that right, Mozeliak said.The Cardinals said Holliday was too emotional to meet with reporters before the game, but he released a statement through the team that read, in part: It has been an honor to play in front of such great fans and for such a historic organization. I can honestly say it has been a dream come true. While Im disappointed this could be it here in St. Louis, I understand that it might be time to move on.Holliday, 36, expressed his love and admiration for Matheny, former manager Tony La Russa and the coaches with whom he worked.The most emotional part of this is my teammates andd the relationships Ive built with some of these guys over the years, particularly,?Adam [Wainwright] and Yadi [Molina], to be considered part of the core with two of the finest human beings Ive ever known, Holliday said.dddddddddddd.Holliday had faced live pitching just once since he was hit by a pitch in July, which required surgery on his thumb.Its been tough for him because he wants to be back, Wainwright said. Each time he went out and hit batting practice, his thumb would swell up, and nobody wants to have surgery and then have it swell up. I think he just wanted to get out there and play, help the team win. Hes a great hitter, one of the best hitters of this generation. Hes been a great Cardinal, but I know he did not want to sit on the bench and not get another at-bat here.Matheny said he thinks Holliday wants to continue playing beyond this season. Holliday entered Friday batting .247, the lowest average of his career, but the home run Friday gave him 20 for the sixth time in his past seven seasons.I dont think theres a question about that, at least in conversations weve had, Matheny said.The Cardinals acquired Holliday from the Oakland Athletics in 2009, then signed him to a seven-year, $120 million extension the following offseason. Over nearly 1,000 games with the Cardinals entering Friday, Holliday had collected a .292/.379/.493 line.Once the Cardinals decline his option in November, he will get a $1 million buyout.Hollidays extension is viewed as one of the few multiyear free-agent deals in which the player lived up to it throughout its length.Very rare, especially a deal of that length. I feel grateful, Mozeliak said. As I mentioned, Ive always admired him as a player, even before we traded for him, thought he was one of those gritty, hard-working individuals. But getting to know him, getting to see how he is as a person, Ive gained tremendous respect for him. ' ' '