MIAMI -- Shane Battier called it one of the biggest honours of his life. The Miami Heat forward was announced Saturday as the winner of the leagues Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, which recognizes selfless play, leadership, work as a role model to other players and commitment. The NBA will make a $25,000 donation to The Battier Take Charge Foundation, which raises money to help provide children with educational and leadership opportunities. Battier received 67 first-place votes and appeared on 209 ballots cast by NBA players in all, finishing as a runaway winner of the award. Charlottes Al Jefferson was second and Dallas Dirk Nowitzki was third in the balloting, in which players could not vote for a current teammate. "Although the guys in the locker room couldnt cast any votes for me, Id like to think they wouldve voted for me if they could," Battier said. "I hope they know that I love them and I appreciate them and everything I do I try to make that locker room better and this team better." Battier was second to Chauncey Billups in voting for the teammate award last season, when it was presented for the first time. Battier is in his 13th and presumably final season. A two-time NBA champion and a two-time member of the leagues All-Defensive team, he has been one of the divisional winners for the leagues sportsmanship award five times. "I think everybody would agree that you could make a case for a lot of guys in the locker room, but Shane, hes the ultimate teammate," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Selfless. Hell do whatever it takes. Hes a leader. Hes playing for his brothers, his teammates, and you can feel it. So its a great award." The award is named for Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, both members of the Basketball Hall of Fame who were forever linked by what happened in the final game of the 1957-58 regular season, when Stokes suffered a brain injury. Stokes was paralyzed, and Twyman supported him for the remainder of his life -- even becoming his legal guardian and advocate. "Its an amazing story of brotherhood and being the ultimate teammate," Battier said. In order of finish behind Battier, Jefferson and Nowitzki, the other nominees on this years teammate ballot were Chris Paul, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Channing Frye, Andre Iguodala, Jameer Nelson, Elton Brand, David West and Mike Dunleavy -- who happens to be Battiers best friend. Cheap Panthers Jerseys China . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer. Panthers Jerseys Outlet .com) - Houston Texans interim head coach Wade Phillips confirmed Monday that starting quarterback Case Keenum sustained a sprained right thumb during Sundays 25-3 loss in Indianapolis. http://www.cheappanthersjerseyselite.com/ . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Cheap Panthers Jerseys . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. Panthers Jerseys Sale .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.NEW YORK -- It certainly appears that trip to Las Vegas turned Travis dArnaud into a much more confident hitter. The rookie catcher snapped an eighth-inning tie with a two-run double, and the New York Mets overcame an early injury to starter Jonathon Niese, beating the skidding Texas Rangers 6-5 Friday night to stop a four-game slide. "Felt really good," dArnaud said. "Its a big win for us to start the homestand." Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer off Yu Darvish, and the Mets opened a 10-game homestand with their second victory in nine games. An angry Niese left in the first with a bruised lower back after he was hit by Alex Rios line drive. X-rays were negative, the team said. Star third baseman David Wright missed his seventh straight game with a sore left shoulder, but fill-in Eric Campbell had three hits and an RBI for New York. Carlos Torres, pressed into long relief when Niese was injured, gave up two runs in 4 2-3 valuable innings. "Nobody expects stuff like that to happen. It does. This is baseball," Torres said. "Whoever they call down for, they step up and go out there and go do their job." Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff homer, and Adrian Beltre also went deep for the Rangers, who have dropped six in a row and 14 of 16. Their 10-game losing streak on the road is the clubs longest since a 12-game skid in 2003. "One day the pitching is really good, and one day the offence isnt helping," Choo said. "Right now, everything bad is coming together at the same time." Bobby Abreu drew a leadoff walk from Aaron Poreda (2-1) in the eighth and Campbell singled off Jason Frasor with one out before dArnaud sent a drive up the alley in right-centre. Batting .180 when he was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas in early June, dArnaud quickly went on a power-hitting tear in the Pacific Coast League. Brought back to the big leagues, he is hitting .303 with six RBIs in nine games since he was recalled. "I just try to keep my mind at ease and keep everything simple and not overstress myself, and thats been paying off," dArnaud said. Jenrry Mejia (5-3) retired Rios with two runners in scoring position to end the eighth. Mejia allowed an RBI single by Adam Rosales in the ninth before retiring pinch-hitter Robinson Chirinos on a tricky popuup to finish a plodding game on Fireworks Night that took 4 hours, 8 minutes.dddddddddddd Darvish, pushed back a day because of rain Thursday in Baltimore, entered with dominant stats against NL teams. But he was off in this one, allowing four runs and five hits in five innings. "He was a little erratic with his command, but I thought he did a good job of righting the ship there in the last three innings," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. Choo hit his 13th career leadoff homer, second this season, on Nieses third pitch. Moments later, Rios drive nailed Niese on the left side of his lower back. He recovered in time to get Rios at first base -- the only out he got -- before manager Terry Collins, pitching coach Dan Warthen and trainer Ray Ramirez came out to check on the left-hander. Niese repeatedly told Collins he was fine, but was removed without trying a warmup pitch. Torres was given all the time he needed to get loose. "It was precaution more than anything," Collins said. Niese fired his glove against the dugout wall and knocked over a bucket of bubble gum before disappearing down the tunnel. The teams most reliable starter this season, Niese was done after 12 pitches. He has gone 21 straight starts without allowing more than three earned runs -- the longest active streak in the majors. "Theres not much to say other than Im fine. I didnt want to be taken out. I just felt like I was cheated there a little bit," Niese said. Elvis Andrus had his second consecutive three-hit game for the Rangers. Darvish doubled to the left-centre fence for his second hit in 11 major league at-bats -- the first for extra bases. NOTES: Rather than risk a weather-related flight delay, the Rangers bused from Baltimore to New York after Thursday nights loss. Washington said it took about 3 hours, 15 minutes, and the team arrived around 3:30 a.m. ... Mets RHP Dillon Gee (strained right lat) went six innings in a rehab start for Class-A Brooklyn, striking out 10. He threw 75 pitches and gave up one run and three hits. ... Before the game, there was a video tribute and a moment of silence for former Mets GM Frank Cashen, the architect of their 1986 championship team. Cashen died Monday, and the Mets are honouring him by wearing a memorial patch with his initials on their sleeves. ... Wright hopes to play Saturday. 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