Former Arizona Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez will serve as a pal

lbearer at the funeral of Senator John McCain http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-cody-allen-jersey , a role he is not taking lightly, via TMZ Sports:"He was just a great man and I'm truly blessed and honored to be a part of this honoring of him for this week," Gonzalez said of the late Arizona senator.The five-time All-Star spent eight of his 19 years in the majors with Arizona, helping the franchise win its first and only World Series title in 2001.He noted he had been a friend of McCain's for "a long time," and the Senator had been a sports fan for all the local teams.Former Arizona Coyotes star Shane Doan will be one of the other pallbearers, while Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald is expected to speak at the funeral, according toChris Coleof theArizona Republic.The Diamondbacks also announced a noteworthy contingent from the organization will attend the funeral:Arizona Diamondbacks DbacksLuis Gonzalez has been chosen to be a pallbearer at Senator John McCains memorial service on Thursday.Randy Johnson Roberto Perez Jersey , Bob Brenly and #Dbacks President amp;amp; CEO Derrick Hall are also expected to be in attendance. IlzR0Pj2xjGonzalez noted he has actually known he would be a pallbearer for a few months:"Senator McCain's a planner, so I've known for a while. ... First of all, it's an honor. And then secondly, he was still living at the time so it was kind of a strange request," he said.McCain died Saturday at the age of 81 after a battle with brain cancer. He will behonored several timesin different services at varied locations across the country, beginning with Wednesday's ceremony at the Arizona State Capitol. The Chicago Cubs' scored one run in 13 innings during their National League Wild Card Game loss to the Colorado Rockies, but they won't be pursuing a generational Eddie Robinson Jersey , 26-year-old talent to bolster their offense this offseason."Not going to happen," manager Joe Maddon said when he was asked if the Cubs would sign Bryce Harper, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.This comes after Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (h/t Tony Andracki of NBC Sports Chicago) reported that "the Cubs would love a shot at Harper, though ownership approval continues to appear unlikely, sources say."Andracki noted president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has discussed the budget issues he has been working under throughout the offseason as the team appears to be well on its way to surpassing the $206 million luxury-tax threshold for the 2019 campaign because of previous contracts.Still, the Cubs are in the middle of a competitive, win-now window http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-belisle-jersey , having reached the 2015 and 2017 National League Championship Series and winning the 2016 World Series. There is an offensive core in place with Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras, among others, but the runs disappeared down the stretch.The scored one run in three of their final four games in 2018, and the concerns were magnified by the fact that they lost the National League Central in a one-game tiebreaker to the Milwaukee Brewers.Harper seems like the type of player a big-market team looking for offense would be willing to pay the luxury-tax penalty for to maximize its legitimate chances of winning a World Series given his age and the fact that he already has a National League MVP, NL Rookie of the Year Mike Napoli Jersey , Silver Slugger and six All-Star Games on his resume.However, it appears the front office isn't willing to commit a long-term deal to that type of star power.Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the Philadelphia Phillies are the "clear-cut favorite" to sign Harper at this point following a meeting with him in his hometown of Las Vegas on Saturday.