Brignac extended his left foot and jammed it into the base. Br

MONTREAL - Any hopes of keeping Marco Di Vaio on for another season are over for the Montreal Impact.The 38-year-old striker ended speculation on his soccer future Friday by announcing that he will retire at the end of the Major League Soccer season. Di Vaio said he did not want to continue being separated from his wife and children, who have remained in Italy while he played his final three seasons in Montreal.He met Thursday with team president Joey Saputo and decided to make it official.After I spoke with Joey and I came back to my house, I understood that it was the right moment to say I cant come back, said Di Vaio. It was a little bit of a sad day for me because I understood that its done.But I lived a lot of moments here that were really important for me, for the club, for history. We won the (Voyageurs) Cup two times. We got to the playoffs (last season). We got to the quarter-finals of the (CONCACAF) Champions League. So Im really happy with what weve done.The former Italian Serie-A star, who joined the Impact as their first designated player in May 2012, will play in the teams final two home games of the season Oct. 11 against New England and Oct. 25 against D.C. United.There was no word on whether he would be in the starting 11 for a game Sunday in Chicago. The 6-18-6 Impact are out of playoff contention with four regular-season matches to go. Di Vaio has been questioned repeatedly by fans and media over his future. Some wondered if he would stay on to play in the Champions League quarter-finals in February and March. There was hope he would play one more season because of the chemistry he has developed with new designated player Ignacio Piatti.But he said he will not spend another year away from his family.And he scotched the notion that he would return to Bologna to retire as a member of his former team, although he hopes to stay in the sport in some capacity. The 25th will be my last match, he said. When I go back to Italy, Ill start a new phase of my life.As for the future, I dont know. Id like to stay in soccer. I grew up with it and I want to stay involved. Well see what happens in Italy.The Rome native scored 142 goals in 342 Serie-A matches with Lazio, Bari, Salternitana, Parma, Juventus, Genoa and Bologna. He added another 31 in 72 MLS games.He will be difficult to replace in Montreal. The stocky forward brought a level of skill that is rare in MLS and he did not short-change his club on effort or intensity.Montreal has 21-year-old Jack McInerney on its roster, but will likely seek another striker for depth up front.Since Ive been here I dont think the guy has missed one day of training, coach Frank Klopas said. Hes got a winning mentality and I think were going to miss that a lot.The mentality and effort he brought every day is something we lack a bit. We need to bring in more guys like that.Di Vaio arrived amid a wave of Italian players who got fans excited for the clubs move to MLS in 2012, including defender Matteo Ferrari who is still with the team and legendary defender Alessandro Nesta, who retired at the end of the 2013 campaign.But Di Vaio was the one people noticed, both for his goal-scoring ability and the emotion he showed on the field.In many ways, he was the perfect DP for Montreal, said team captain Patrice Bernier. Not just for the club, but for the city, because of the style we like and the blend of soccer we want.Hes on another level. Ive told a lot of young kids that they have to pay attention to the way he plays and way he moves because he has the blueprint for how a striker should move.Added defender Hassoun Camara: Were very proud to share this moment with him because hes a very good player as everyone knows, but hes also a very good guy. I take him as a friend. Im happy to have played with him, for sure.Bernier felt Di Vaio helped put the Impact on the world soccer map and that it helped make the team better-known around Europe.Saputo said Di Vaio gives the team a link to Europe that may help in recruiting players.Details are still to be worked out on a tribute for his final game.Di Vaio, known as Il Bomber, will retire as the teams leader in MLS goals and shots. He scored 20 times in 2013, when he was named to the MLS Best XI and was a finalist for league most valuable player honours. He has made 62 starts and played a total of 5,636 minutes for Montreal.Asked to comment on his time in MLS, Di Vaio said: This is the future. MLS will be the future for soccer. Im sure that in the next few years theres going to be a lot of players coming to play in MLS. They are ready to be one of the best leagues in the world.Di Vaio began his career with Lazio in 1995.After bumping around with a few teams, he was sold for 14 million euros in 2003 to Juventus and he helped the club win a league championship. He also helped Juventus reach the Champions League final in 2003, scoring four goals in 11 matches.He then moved for 10.5 million euros to Spanish club Valencia, where he played from 2004 to 2006, scoring 11 goals in 35 La Liga matches.Di Vaio joined Bologna in 2008. He served as captain for two seasons and scored 65 goals in 143 games.He had two goals in 14 international matches for Italy. He played in the 2004 European championship with Ferrari and former Impact forward Bernardo Corradi. Tomas Hertl Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Melker Karlsson Sharks Jersey . Catch the action live on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Wild lead the Northwest Division and look to get back into the win column after having a season-high seven-game winning streak cut short with Tuesdays 2-1 loss at Winnipeg in the finale of a five-game road trip (4-1-0). http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/customized/ . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes. Logan Couture Sharks Jersey . Instead, Nonis and Kessel were sorting through the fallout of a wild melee with the Buffalo Sabres, one that saw Kessel suspended for the duration of the pre-season. Brenden Dillon Jersey . That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time.ST. LOUIS -- As far as Ryan Howard is concerned, there is no place like home. Howard, a St. Louis native, homered and drove in three runs and rookie David Buchanan pitched into the eighth inning Thursday night, sparking the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Howard has hit safely in 22 of 27 regular season games at Busch Stadium. He has 38 RBIs in St. Louis and a .374 batting average. It was Howards first time playing in his hometown since 2011. Injuries caused him to miss chances in 2012 and 2013. "Its always good to be able to come back home and play in front of family and friends," Howard said. "Its a very familiar feeling. Its always good to be back." Howard also has been hot on the road. In his last 15 games away from Philadelphia, he is hitting .350 with three homers and 14 RBIs. "Hes on a good roll for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Hes played big in the last four wins, putting a crooked number of there and swinging a good bat." Buchanan (3-3) made his deepest start yet, pitching 7 2-3 innings. He threw 105 pitches and kept the Cardinals off balance and off the scoreboard until the eighth. Buchanan allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four. Not wearing out the bullpen is important to Buchanan. "Ive been wanting to go deep into the ballgame to help the team out, not always have the bullpen get nervous when I come into games," Buchanan said. "Overall, I had great plays made behind me. It was fun. Great run support. So, it was a good game. It was fun. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth to pick up 17th save in 19 opportunities. Shelby Miller (7-6) gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings. Miller has thrown six innings or more in his last four starts. Philadelphia touched Miller for two runs in the fourth. Carlos Ruiz doubled and Chase Utley singled to lead off the inning. Howard singled home Ruiz and Utley scored on Domonic Browns sacrifice fly. Howards homer in the sixth -- his 10th career homer at Busch Stadium -- came after Utley led off with a single. Howard went to the opposite field and his ball just flew inside the left field foul pole. It was his 14th this season and 325th of his career. It gave the Phillies a 4-0 lead. "I wasnt sure if the ball was going to stay fair or not," Howard said. "Off the bat, it started to kind of slice. I wasnt sure if it was going to go out. I was a little surprised, but Im not mad at it." Miller was surprised to see it slip overr the fence.dddddddddddd "It was a little bit in," Miller said of the pitch. "I didnt think he got it all. He hit it in the right spot. The ball was in his numbers. Hes just a good hitter." The Cardinals had runners at first and third with one out in the second inning but Buchanan pitched out the jam and then again in the sixth when Miller doubled to lead off. Four of Millers five hits this season have been doubles. "He rose to the occasion and I think he has that kind of makeup and that kind of character," Sandberg said. "He seems to be showing improvement. It looks like hes growing out there. "For him to go four times through the lineup, that says something about the stuff that he had. Him having to make adjustments the third and fourth time through, that was very good." St. Louis chased Buchanan in the eighth on a two-out single by Matt Carpenter that scored Jhonny Peralta. "I was upset there with the leadoff walk in the eighth," Buchanan said. "I was really wanting to get through that. But that happens." The rookies performance impressed St. Louis manager Mike Matheny. "He had good stuff," Matheny said. "There were not a lot of surprises. He had stuff that we couldnt get on tonight." Third baseman Reid Brignac was hurt on a play at first in the fifth. Matt Adams dived to nab the ball behind the base. Adams flipped it to Miller, who slid into the base for the out. Brignac extended his left foot and jammed it into the base. Brignac lay on the ground before being helped off the field with a noticeable limp. The club said Brignac sprained his ankle and will be re-evaluated Friday. NOTES: The Cardinals said P Michael Wacha will miss Sundays start in the series finale with the Phillies. Wacha has thrown 90 1-3 innings this season. Reliever Carlos Martinez, who started Monday against the New York Mets and threw 59 pitches, will take Wachas place. ... St. Louis P Joe Kelly, who has been on the disabled list with a hamstring injury since the middle of April, threw a bullpen session before the game. No date has been set for a rehab start. ... Cardinals P Tyler Lyons was activated Thursday from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Lyons went on the DL on May 13 with a shoulder strain. ... Philadelphia SS Jimmy Rollins and 2B Utley have started 1,130 games together as a double-play combination, the most among all active combos in the leagues. ... Rollins extended his hitting streak to 13 games. ' ' '