PHILADELPHIA -- Each time the 37-year-old, Dodger Blue version of Chase Utley stepped into the batters box Tuesday night, his former employers rolled out a new flourish to remind him of the gold-plated, Philadelphia red segment of his major-league career.As Utley strode toward home plate to face Vince Velasquez in the top of the first inning, the Phillies played his Led Zeppelin walkup song, Kashmir, in honor of his return to Citizens Bank Park. The crowd responded on cue, standing and cheering for almost 90 seconds as Utley doffed his helmet, patted his heart and showed some genuine emotion beneath that typically stoic exterior.During Utleys subsequent plate appearances, the scoreboard showed photos of him in his evolution from earnest first-round draft pick to franchise favorite. One minute he appeared on the Jumbotron as winner of the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies top minor-league position player in 2002. Two innings later, he reappeared beneath a ballcap and some facial stubble, exuding a Matthew McConaughey-like brand of cool in a pose from the teams 2006 Charity Calendar.All this reminiscing eventually got the juices flowing and prompted Utley to commandeer the drivers seat in the way-back machine. He launched a 96 mph fastball from Velasquez into the right-field seats in the fifth inning, and capped off his night with a grand slam two innings later to lead the Dodgers to a 15-5 rout of the Phillies.The win helped move the Dodgers into sole possession of first place in the National League West after the San Francisco Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates late Tuesday. Thats quite an achievement given the Dodgers season-long run of injuries and the early hole they dug for themselves. But on this night, pennant races and practical concerns took a backseat to a heartfelt reunion.Before the night was through, the Philadelphia crowd gave Utley three standing ovations and summoned him for two curtain calls. Philly fans have a reputation as cynical and hard-bitten. But when they fall for an athlete, they fall hard.Its completely overwhelming, Utley said in a postgame news conference. The standing ovation my first at-bat is something Ill never forget. It was truly special. It really shows how passionate and how great the Philadelphia fan base is. It was probably one of the most nervous at-bats Ill ever have at any level. I was glad to get it over with, to be honest with you.Its hard to articulate the full extent Phillies fans love Utley, and would never dream of letting him buy a beer in the confines of the 215 area code. Part of it is the consistent performance that places Utley near the top of so many offensive categories in franchise history. He ranks among the Phillies top 10 in games, hits, runs, doubles, homers, RBIs and walks. And with six All-Star Game appearances, Utley ranks fourth among Phillies behind Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt (12), Steve Carlton (seven) and Robin Roberts (seven).Beyond the numbers, Utley played the game with a Derek Jeter-like field awareness and a sense of his surroundings that Philadelphia fans hold near and dear. They paid attention when he ran out every ground ball, advanced from first to third on a single, and found a way to win games by anticipating situations. Utley enjoyed his signature, Jeter-like postseason moment in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, when he threw out Tampa Bays Jason Bartlett after an artful deke at second base.I never really made it look easy out there, Utley said. There are so many times Id meet a father with his son or even a mother who would praise the way I played, and would tell me they want their son to play that way. To me, thats a true compliment.It was a painful yet necessary and inevitable part of the Phillies rebuild when former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. traded Utley to Los Angeles for minor-league pitcher John Richy and infielder Darnell Sweeney on Aug. 19 of last season. But Utleys first trip back to Philadelphia was worth the wait, not to mention chock full of statistical oddities.During his tenure with the Phillies, Utley played 779 games at Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park and never hit two home runs and drove in five home runs in the same game. It took him five plate appearances as a Dodger to achieve the feat.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Utley became only the second player to hit at least two homers in his first road game against a team that he played at least 1,500 games for. The other hitter to achieve the feat was Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who went deep twice for the Oakland Athletics against the Chicago White Sox in 2006.Nights like this have been less common as Utley tries to find a way to navigate the rigors of a long season at an advanced baseball age. Before Tuesdays barrage, he was hitting only .231 with four homers in 208 at-bats since the start of June. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts keeps running him out there in the leadoff spot because of what Roberts calls his consistently good at-bat quality.Roberts is also a sucker for leadership skills. Every day, he sees Utleys work ethic and example rub off on Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and the other young Dodgers in a way that can only benefit their development.If theres any player that you have to dig deeper than the numbers to find his value, Chase is head and shoulders above everyone else, Roberts said. When you want to play a certain style of baseball, to have Chase exude that every single day and not take a pitch off, its been invaluable for me as a first-year manager.Utley is all about style and substance. He sprinted around the bases after his first home run and picked it up a notch after the grand slam.Adam Rosales is probably the only guy youre going to catch with a faster home run trot, teammate Howie Kendrick?said.When asked if the second trot was the fastest of his career, Utley shrugged.I dont know, he said. Maybe you can check Statcast.Some numbers simply cant calculate a players impact on a roster, or a city. The outpouring of affection for Utley was a fitting tribute for his 13 years of hard, professional play, and his contribution to the Phillies extended run of success from 2007 to 2011. But unbeknownst to them, the 28,118 fans in attendance were on the receiving end of some equally fervent gratitude.I should be thanking them, Utley said. They motivated us and pushed us in the right direction. Im a true believer that the fans made us better players individually and gave us a chance to win on a daily basis. The true thank-you should be to them.Chase Utley, an athlete who has always taken pains not to reveal too much of himself for public consumption, rode adrenaline and love to a memorable homecoming Tuesday night. Now, to his everlasting relief, he can just go back to playing baseball. Aaron Gordon Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. D.J. Augustin Jersey . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. http://www.magicbasketballprostore.com/kids-mario-hezonja-magic-jersey/ . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Arron Afflalo Jersey . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Jason Williams Jersey . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota football coach Tracy Claeys doubled down Sunday on his support for players who boycotted practices and threatened to skip a bowl game if 10 teammates suspended after a sexual assault investigation werent reinstated.Speaking publicly for the first time since a standoff between 110 Golden Gophers football players and the administration, Claeys said he understands the players frustration with a Title IX investigation that they felt was inherently unfair to teammates who were accused of assaulting a woman at an off-campus dorm in September.As kids, they have no problems being held to a higher standard than the university requires and should require, Claeys said after Minnesotas practice. This is all about the due process.Claeys also clarified a comment he made on WCCO radio on Sunday morning when he said he was risking his job by supporting the players. The coach said he was just advising his players of possible ramifications during a team meeting on Thursday, before the team made the announcement to boycott.I was a sounding board for them and it was their decision, Claeys said. I made sure to make sure that they knew what the possible fallouts could be and we went through all those things. ... I was there to make sure that they were doing it for the right reasons and they knew what the consequences could be.The boycott ended Saturday when the team backed down and said they would play in the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl against Washington State in San Diego, even though officials declined to reinstate their suspended teammates. The players agreed after getting assurances that those accused will get a fair hearing next month.After the entire team announced the boycott Thursday, Claeys publicly backed his players.Have never been more proud of our kids, Claeys tweeted at the time. I respect their rights (and) support their effort to make a better world!Claeys said Sunday he wished he would have chosen his words more carefully in the tweet, but said he did not regret sending it.If you just show support for the players behind closed doors, youre going to have a group of them that dont believe you, he said. I needed to do that in a public way and I tried to do it as short as possible. ... It was all about me supporting their actions to try to improve the due process. Not just on this campus but other campuses.Claeys said his players were not condoning sexual assault or harassment in any way. But they believed their suspended teammates were denied due process.Officials announced the suspensions TTuesday after an internal investigation determined the 10 players violated school conduct codes in an encounter involving a woman and several players on Sept.dddddddddddd 2.According to the police report, the woman told police she had consensual sex with two men that night, but that she did not consent to sexual contact with other men who were present, including players. According to universitys more detailed internal report, she told university investigators that she believed 10 to 20 men had sex with her that night, though she wasnt sure because she had memory gaps from drinking. Prosecutors declined to press charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but the university uses a lower bar in student discipline cases.Linebacker Nick Rallis told WCCO the players believe the boycott succeeded, even though nobody was reinstated, because they believe it will ensure that athletes at Minnesota and other colleges who are accused of misconduct in the future get fair hearings.The Title IX investigative process has become a hotly-debated topic on campuses around the country. Opponents argue that school investigators are often not professionals and do not have subpoena power or the ability to put a witness under oath.Proponents say the problem of sexual assault on college campuses is too important, especially after the Department of Education threatened to pull federal aid for public schools if they did not increase their efforts to address the problem.Minnesota President Eric Kaler said Saturday that he understood that Claeys position.Coaches are in a challenging position, Kaler said. They need to support their players. They need to motivate their players. At the same time, they need to be responsible for their actions, and there are times in which those two demands put coaches in very difficult positions.And I think some of our coaches around this issue were in that very difficult position and well talk about that with them and try to improve both their understanding and our understanding.Claeys said he has spoken with athletic director Mark Coyle several times since Thursday and is not concerned about his job at the moment.I understand why (the suspensions) were made, Claeys said. But as for the players, the due process part was the part I did agree with on the players.---Associated Press Writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '