d himself writing again Wednesday, this time to say farewell.I started my NB | Forum

BOSTON -- Nothing like a pre-dawn phone call from Red Sox slugger David Ortiz to get you out of bed in the morning. http:///...is-navy-blue-jersey/ .At least thats the idea behind a Boston Public Schools initiative that starts next month, when middle- and high-school students will be able to sign up for wake-up calls from Big Papi.Wake up! Its David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox. Get out of bed and get ready for school. Your future is yours, he says on the calls.The 40-year-old All-Star designated hitter has said hell retire after this season. He leads the majors in slugging percentage, on-base average and extra-base hits this year.Boston schools superintendent Tommy Chang said Monday the goal of the Ortiz calls is to help kids get to school on time and fight absenteeism.Boston Mayor Marty Walsh called it a fun, outside-the-box approach to a chronic problem. Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Education says more than 6 million students -- 13 percent of all school-age Americans -- missed at least three weeks of school in the 2013-14 academic year, the most recent for which figures are available.Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said he hopes the calls, which are being offered free of charge, will help inspire, motivate and encourage children to attend school. The calls will be available in English and several foreign languages, though Ortiz wont be speaking all of them.Bostons school system ran a pilot of the wakeup calls last year, trying them out on two dozen students at the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, a charter high school in the shadow of Fenway Park.Xaquiel Martinez, a 9th-grade student there, acknowledges he was tardy to school nearly every day before getting the wake-up calls, which helped him get out the door on time.With Ortiz wrapping up his final season with the Sox, Changs office says it may tap the New England Patriots for a future call.No word on whether Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski could be rousing students next.---Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at https://twitter.com/billkole . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/william-j-kole . http:///...an-navy-blue-jersey/ . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. http:///...on-navy-blue-jersey/ . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. http:///...ez-navy-blue-jersey/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade is going home, making what he called an extremely emotional and tough decision on Wednesday night to leave the Miami Heat after 13 seasons and sign with the Chicago Bulls.Wade will sign a two-year deal with the Bulls, one that will pay him about $47 million. Miami offered $40 million over two years for Wade to stay in the uniform that hes worn his entire career, the one in which he was an All-Star 12 times, a champion three times and the NBA Finals MVP in 2006 when his rise to superstardom was just truly beginning.And hes taken that uniform off now for the final time.This was not an easy decision, but I feel I have made the right choice for myself and my family, Wade wrote in a letter to Miami, released to The Associated Press.It ends a second consecutive summer of will-he-or-wont-he talk and worry in Miami, which was able to keep him last summer after contentious negotiations led to a $20 million, one-year deal. The Heat spoke with him on Wednesday in New York in an effort to keep him, the same day that Wade also took meetings with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets.Whether Chicago ever got into the same room with Wade was unclear on Wednesday night. What was clear was that whatever the Bulls said, and however they said it, was enough to get him out of Miami this time, after they missed on him twice before.And even more clear was that the lure of home -- just as it was for Wades close friend LeBron James two years ago, when he left Miami to go back to northeast Ohio and rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers -- was too strong this time to ignore.Watching the Bulls growing up inspired me at an early age to pursue my dream of becoming a basketball player, Wade wrote in the letter. My most treasured memories were watching my dad play basketball on the courts of Fermi Elementary School and developing my game at the Blue Island Recreation Center. I have never forgotten where I came from and I am thankful to have an opportunity to play for the team that first fueled my love of the game.He was beloved in South Florida, where the county was even once renamed Miami-Wade County instead of Miami-Dade for a time in 2010 during the summer when Wade managed to convince Chris Bosh and James to join him and build a team that would go to the NBA Finals four consecutive times. His jersey has been one of the NBAs biggest sellers for years, even though he never changed cities or numbers. It was always Heat on the front, 3 on the back.That is, until now.Wade -- who averaged 19 points last season -- felt he was not getting the respect he deserved last summer when he opened talks with the Heat. And then this offseason, the Heat prioritized talks with Hassan Whiteside (who has agreed to a $98 million, four-year deall) and went on an ultimately futile pursuit of Kevin Durant (who has been critical of Wade in the past, sparking a conflict that played out on social media). http:///...er-navy-blue-jersey/. The 34-year-old Wade joins a Bulls team that has a new point guard in Rajon Rondo -- who Wade has had some on-court heated moments with in the past -- and All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler. The Bulls have plenty of time to figure out how to make it work, and were going through some logistics on Wednesday night to clear the cap space that will be necessary to sign Wade when the NBAs offseason moratorium on player movement ends Thursday.The Heat surely had a Plan B in case Wade left, but clearly wont be the same team.Bosh still faces a most uncertain future because of the blood clots that ended his season at the All-Star break in each of the past two years. Udonis Haslem, Wades teammate and co-captain in Miami for all 13 of their pro seasons, may move elsewhere as well. Of the 14 players who appeared in the 2014 NBA Finals for Miami, only Bosh is under contract with the Heat for next season.Its a new day for Wade, which he obviously wanted.Its a new era for the Heat, one they surely werent ready to see start quite yet.Never thought Id see the day DWade wasnt in Miami. Crazy, Brooklyn Nets guard Shane Larkin, who played his college basketball at the University of Miami, wrote on Twitter.Wade is Miamis career leader in games, minutes, field goals, field goal attempts, free throws, free throw attempts, assists, steals and points. Hes even second in blocked shots, perhaps the most impressive stat of all considering Wade is listed at 6-foot-4 -- which is generous.He did a popular Gatorade ad in 2007 built around a poem he wrote to the game. From Robbins, Illinois, is how Wade began that ode, referring to the Chicago suburb where he endured a difficult upbringing and used basketball as his hope for a better life.Wade found himself writing again Wednesday, this time to say farewell.I started my NBA career with the Miami Heat in 2003 and it has been an honor to have played with them and help build a winning franchise with three NBA championships, Wade wrote in the letter released Wednesday. I look back with pride and amazement at all we have accomplished together. I want to express my gratitude to the Arison family, Pat Riley, Coach Erik Spoelstra, the coaching staff, and the entire Miami Heat organization.From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Miami community.Arison thanked Wade on Twitter for a great 13 years.Youve had a tremendous impact on our community and our organization, Arison wrote. We wish you all the best. 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