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FORT MYERS Tony Oliva Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Boston Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo, who covered the Red Sox and the rest of the sport for more than three decades, died Thursday after collapsing outside the team’s spring training clubhouse. He was 62.The newspaper said Cafardo appeared to have an embolism. The team’s medical staff responded quickly but was unable to revive him.“The world is darker today without @nickcafardo. His fairness, love for the game and great heart made fans of us all,” baseball star-turned-broadcaster Alex Rodriguez wrote on Twitter . “We will miss you from field to booth, Nick.”The Red Sox said they were saddened by Cafardo’s death and would find the appropriate time to honor his legacy.“For over three decades, Nick was a fixture at Fenway Park and throughout ballparks across the country. His coverage was as consistent as the game itself,” the team said in a statement. “The Cafardo family will always be a part of the Boston baseball family.”Cafardo joined the Globe in 1989 from The (Quincy) Patriot Ledger, where he had been on the baseball beat. He continued to cover the Red Sox before switching to the New England Patriots in time for the team’s first NFL championship http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , in 2001.He returned to baseball and has covered the Red Sox and the major leagues for the past 15 years, writing a Sunday notes package and an “On Baseball” column that kept New England’s fervent baseball fans in touch with their team and the rest of the major leagues.“Nick Cafardo was a man whose talent, enthusiasm, and contribution to Boston’s sports coverage was incomparable and something that I always enjoyed reading,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tweeted.Cafardo collapsed on the sidewalk between the ballpark and the batting cages where players were working out to prepare for the defense of their World Series title. The newspaper said it was his day off, but “Cafardo’s love of baseball and commitment to his craft compelled him to report to JetBlue Park.”“Nick was one of the best people to ever walk through our doors — generous with his time and insights, immensely knowledgeable, deeply devoted to the Globe,” editor Brian McGrory said in the paper’s obituary.“He had a view of the Red Sox and the game on a national scale that is virtually unrivaled. For those reasons Kennys Vargas Jersey , he was one of our most read writers, constantly attracting followers near and far, his weekly baseball notes column being destination reading for tens of thousands of people.”In addition to his coverage for the paper, Cafardo also wrote a book on the beginning of the Patriots dynasty, “The Impossible Team: The Worst to First Patriots’ Super Bowl Season.” He also wrote “If These Walls Could Talk” with Red Sox second baseman and broadcaster Jerry Remy and “Inside Pitch: Playing and Broadcasting the Game I Love,” with Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine.“The Major League Baseball and sports journalism communities suffered a tremendous loss today,” the Players Association said in a statement. “ Cole Hamels hasn't been a member of the Chicago Cubs for long, but he knows what to say to get their fans on his side.Hamels participated in his first game between the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers at Milwaukee's Miller Park on Monday and was quick to notice how many Chicago fans always pack the stands during the games."When you have a majority Cubs fans in the stands, I don't know if that's a rivalry yet http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey ," he said, per Tony Andracki of NBC Sports Chicago. "I've been in rivalries. They're not gonna like me for the comment, but you can look at the ticket sales."Hamels wasn't wrong about the sheer number of Cubs fans in attendance Monday, either. When Anthony Rizzo hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning against relief pitcher JoshHader, it sounded like Wrigley Field with the amount of celebration happening in the crowd.The southpaw started the game that Milwaukee ultimately won 4-3 and allowed two runs and five hits in six innings of work. Chicago was in position to win, but the bullpen combination of Carl Edwards Jr., SteveCishekand Jesse Chavez was unable to preserve the lead in the final two frames.Cubs fans invading opposing teams' parks is nothing new, especially in the National League Central, but Milwaukee is particularly vulnerable since Chicago is typically less than a two-hour drive from the city. Chants of "Let's goCubbies" could be heard throughout the game Rod Carew Jersey , as they so often are when the Cubs are on the road as a popular and recently successful team with a national fanbase.Hamels is a veteran who has pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers and has a World Series MVP on his resume. He has been in the league since 2006 and pitched on the biggest stage the game has to offer, so his opinion on what constitutes a rivalry holds some weight.Chicago may have had plenty of fans in attendance, but Milwaukee still earned the win and moved within four games of the division lead. The Cubs hold a 9-5 advantage in 14 head-to-head games this year, but the Brewers have five contests remaining against the division leaders before the end of the season.If they take advantage of those games and come from behind to win the division, Hamels and the rest of the Cubs may finally recognize them as worthy rivals.