ately drawn to play fourth-tier side Shrewsbury in the fourth

With a slap single off Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey, Ichiro Suzuki joined one of baseballs most exclusive groups: the 4,000 hit club. Ichiro joined only Pete Rose (4,256) and Ty Cobb (4,189) as the only men in the history of professional baseball to reach the plateau, reaching the milestone in his 2,981st professional game. TSN.ca Baseball Editor Shane McNeil presents five reasons why Ichiros achievement deserves the recognition it has received. 1. Its the numbers that matter, not the details. While some might argue an asterisk for those Ichiro accrued in the Japanese Professional League, those arguments must also be tempered by a couple facts. Ichiro has registered more hits in Major League Baseball than any player in the first 13 years of his MLB career (2,722), eclipsing Paul Waners 2,648. The fact that he did not start his MLB career cannot and should not be held against him, since he was born and trained in Japan and naturally started his career. Ichiro has more hits from the age of 27 onward than the two men ahead of him which makes this achievement all the more astounding. Most players best years are prior to their 30th birthday. Ichiro did the majority of his work as a pro after that milestone. Moreover, Ichiro was actually registering fewer at-bats per season in Japan than he would have in North America. His highest single-season AB total with Orix was his 546 in 1994. His lowest single-season total with Seattle was 647 in 2002. While Ichiros Japanese averages were substantially higher than most of his MLB single-season totals (a .353 career mark vs. .320 in MLB), the greater number of at-bats means that had Ichiro been even a .300 hitter in the MLB he would have registered 200 hits per season, as opposed to the 180 or so he averaged in Japan. Call the Nippon Professional Baseball League inferior all you like, it only masks the reality that had Ichiro started in North America in 1995 – three years after his Japanese career began – he would still be at 4,000 today, health permitting. 2. Baseball needs something to be proud of. Whenever the “Steroid Era” is mentioned in connection to baseball, a few faces spring to mind. Perhaps its Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Perhaps its Jose Canseco or a younger Alex Rodriguez with the Texas Rangers. Maybe its Ryan Braun. The steroid problem in the Majors did not end with the Mitchell Report, nor is it likely to end with Biogenesis. However, what the Steroid Era has achieved is calling into question virtually every major landmark and achievement over the past 25 or so years, give or take a Cal Ripken. With Ichiros 4,000th hit – many of which never even left the infield – baseball has something to be proud of and its primarily based around one of the most elementary skills: Legging one out to first. 3. It allows MLB to celebrate one of its underappreciated greats. Ichiro has never been a spotlight hog, nor has he been a particularly flashy player. A wise man once wrote, “This... is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.” Ichiro did all three better than just about any player of his generation. While his 110 home runs wont win him any MVP votes, he managed a decade of achievement that is almost unparalleled in the most basic of baseball skills. Between 2001 and 2010, Ichiro never finished lower than seventh in the American League batting race, hitting .310 or better every single season. Over that same span he finished in the top 10 in stolen bases every season, winning 10 Gold Gloves over that span and was selected to 10 All-Star Games. Ichiro has played baseball in its purest sense better than the majority of his opposition as a Major Leaguer and – apart from his rookie season – drew surprisingly little attention to himself in the process. If he plays another two or three seasons in North America, there may well be a celebration for his passage of Rose and Cobb on the hit list. But he may not, so why not take the opportunity to celebrate the man and his achievement? 4. Its rare nowadays to see a true trailblazer at work. Ichiro was not the first Japanese player to hit North America, nor will he be the last. That said, he will undoubtedly be the first to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and will likely do so on the first ballot. Ichiro was not faced with the obstacles of being the first, like Jackie Robinson, but he is the first Japanese player and certainly the first Japanese hitter to have such a career. It is time to start thinking of Ichiro in the same vein as Roberto Clemente, his humanitarianism and martyrdom notwithstanding? Clemente was not the first Latin American ballplayer to hit MLB, but he was the first to become a true force in the game and has since carried the flag for the majority of the subsequent ballplayers to flood the Majors from the Caribbean. Will Ichiro open a similar floodgate for Japanese and Asian players to gain better prominence in MLB? Maybe not to the same extent as the close Caribbean cultures, but its not a stretch to think that Yu Darvish has Ichiro to thank at least in part for his current success and celebrity. 5. He may not be done yet. Ichiro may well be in his final act in the Majors, but there is no way to know for certain. A quiet man by nature, Ichiro has made no allusions toward retirement any time soon, nor has he hinted about a possible return to Japan. At 39, Ichiro is two years younger than Cobb was at the time of his retirement and a full six years younger than Rose in his final season as a player. Its not out of the realm of possibility to play two more seasons and should he do so he still has both men to pass, as well as the incredible milestone of possibly reaching 3,000 hits in the majors – an asterisk-less achievement if ever there was one. He is also still yet to play a World Series game, so a competitor of his stature could also be holding out to win a Championship before calling it a career. Either way, the man still has plenty to play for. Terrell Owens Youth Jersey . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. Terrell Owens Cowboys Jersey . Dallas (2-0-1) sits atop the Western Conference with an MLS-best seven points. Castillo opened the scoring in the 71st minute off a Mauro Diaz set piece, and Watson outran defender Tony Lochhead on a long ball and then juked goalkeeper Ian Kennedy for the eventual game-winner in the 78th minute. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowb...Woodson-Jersey/. PETERSBURG, Fla. Jay Novacek Youth Jersey .com) - The New York Islanders will try to solve their issues against Central Division opponents when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Tuesdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. Charles Haley Jersey . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy.LONDON -- Chelsea needed Oscars first goal of the season to beat Bolton 2-1 in the League Cup on Wednesday, while holder Manchester City routed another second-tier side, Sheffield Wednesday, with seven second-half goals. Oscar secured Chelseas victory in the second half after 19-year-old Kurt Zoumas debut goal was cancelled out by Bolton defender Matt Mills. Chelsea, which leads the Premier League, was immediately drawn to play fourth-tier side Shrewsbury in the fourth round on Oct. 28 or 29. Citys trophy defence will continue against Newcastle, which beat Crystal Palace 3-2 after extra time. Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard made it three goals in two games for City with a brace in the 7-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, which held the Premier League champions throughout the first half. A shock was on the cards at Tottenham when League Championship leader Nottingham Forest took the lead, but Ryan Mason levelled on his debut before Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane clinched a 3-1 victory. Tottenham will next face Brighton, which won 3-0 at Burton. Gareth McAuley and Saido Berahino scored two late goals inside a minute for West Bromwich Albion to overcome Hull 3-2 and set up a trip to Bournemouth. Liverpool, which beat Middlesbrough 14-13 in a marathon penalty shootout on Tuesday, was drawn Wednesday to face Premier League rival Swansea. The other fourth round fixtures will see Stoke host Southampton, Fulham play Derby and MK Dons take on Sheffield United. At a full Stamford Bridge, Chelsea overpowered Bolton from the start but struggled to score -- despite Andre Schuerrle coming close three times -- until Zouma stabbed the ball into the net in the 25th minute. "Hes waited patiently for a chance to play," Chelsea first-team coach Steve Holland said. Bolton hadnt been near Petr Cechs goal until equalizing six minutes later when Mills headed in off the post frrom a free kick.dddddddddddd At the start of the second half, Oscar headed a free kick straight at Bolton goalkeeper Andy Lonergan but netted his first Chelsea goal since March in the 55th, striking low inside the post. "It was a really quality strike," Holland said. "That moment of quality has made the difference, it has won the game." At the Etihad Stadium, Sheffield Wednesday held out until halftime but the 1991 cup winners conceded two minutes into the second half when Lampard met James Milners cutback. Then, the floodgates opened. Edin Dzeko and Jesus Navas scored a minute apart before Yaya Toure netted from the penalty spot on the hour after Kamil Zayatte was sent off for fouling Lampard. Dzeko headed in the fifth, 18-year-old Jose Angel Pozo was set up by Navas for a debut goal before Lampard completed Wednesdays woes. In north London, Forest stunned Tottenham in the 61st when Jorge Grant turned in Lars Veldwijks cross on his first start for the club. But, in a competition used to blood youngsters, Tottenhams equalizer -- from its first shot on target -- came from Mason, sending a strike swerving into the top corner. It took until the 83rd for Tottenham to go in front, with Soldado turning the ball into the net from Andros Townsends shot before Kane latched onto Erik Lam