NEW YORK -- Mike Piazza glanced high toward his No. 31 that will forever hang over Citi Field and urged New York Mets fans, hoping to find faith in the most trying moments, to do the same.So every time these guys are down and you need a little bit of inspiration, just give a little peek up there to ol Mikey, he told an adoring crowd Saturday night.The Mets retired Piazzas number in a half-hour ceremony before playing Colorado, six days after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.Speaking at a podium in center field, the 12-time All-Star catcher had to catch himself once, when the emotions started to well up inside him.Youve given me an honor that no man deserves and no player deserves, Piazza said.The tribute included his parents, family members, former teammates, friends and a lot of chanting and cheering. He ended his 6-minute speech with a shout of Lets go, Mets!The 47-year-old Piazza became the fourth Mets person to have his jersey retired by the team, joining pitcher Tom Seaver and managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges.Piazzas number now hangs in a big circle on the facade above the upper deck in left field.That means I will always be with you, he said, adding that when the Mets are struggling, know that Im back home watching you guys on TV, saying a lot of prayers -- praying for the Mets. And listening on the radio.Piazza became the fourth different major leaguer to have his No. 31 retired by a team. Greg Maddux (Cubs, Braves), Ferguson Jenkins (Cubs) and Dave Winfield (Padres) also received the honor.With light rain falling, the field was covered with a tarp that sported a big Piazza logo. A giant outline of home plate was cut into the grass in center field with his number and the Mets players wore uniforms that had a Piazza patch.The Mets gathered in the dugout to watch the ceremony, as did a couple of Rockies.Piazza hit .308 overall with 427 home runs and 1,335 RBI -- not bad for someone who didnt even make the varsity on his 10th-grade team and was only a 62nd-round draft pick.The video board showed his most famous home run, the go-ahead drive against Atlanta in the first big league game played in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The homer is mentioned on his Hall plaque.A couple hours earlier, Piazza talked about what that moment meant to him and everyone in the ballpark, and beyond.As much as I hit the home run, he said, I felt it wasnt just me.The memory made him pause, and he asked to get a drink of water after the remembrance.Piazza made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992, was traded to the Marlins in 1998 and swapped to the Mets a week later.When he came to the team, it meant the Mets were back, said U.S. Rep. Peter King of New York.King was raised in Queens, not far from Shea Stadium where Piazza played, and attended his pregame news conference.Piazza originally wore No. 25 with the Dodgers and shifted to 31 the next year.Anything 3 is kind of my lucky number, Piazza said. He wore 13 in high school, but its an unlucky number to many and doesnt have the best reputation.When he joined the Mets, former teammate John Franco gave up his number and presented it to Piazza.Hundreds of fans came to Citi Field wearing No. 31 jerseys in shades of blue, white, black, gray and with pinstripes, and the crowd began chanting Piazzas name well before he was introduced.Former teammates Al Leiter, Edgardo Alfonzo and Cliff Floyd sat near Piazza during the festivities. Piazza later stood on the tarp at home plate and tossed out the first ball to Leiter, who scooped the low throw before it bounced at the mound.Waving to the crowd, Piazza was driven off the field on a golf cart. But he promised to be back when 3-year-old son Marco was older.Then, Piazza said, he could point to his No. 31 above the ballpark and assure his day that your dad was cool once. Nike MLB Jerseys Autographed . 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NEW YORK -- An estimated 26.5 million people watched NBCs coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony, a sharp 35 percent drop from the record-setting viewership of the curtain-lifter in London four years ago.The opening ceremony of the London Games was seen by 40.7 million people in the U.S. NBC suggested Saturday that the gap will be narrowed when details about time-shifted viewing and people who streamed Friday nights telecast on mobile devices become available in coming days.To compare linear TV viewership today versus four years ago isnt logical, NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes said.The four-year difference was much kinder to NBC the last time around; the Beijing opening in 2008 reached 34.9 million people, according to the Nielsen company.One of NBCs pre-games fears came true: viewership dropped off after the entrance of the United States team in the Parade of Nations. But because the Portuguese alphabet was used, the U.S. team (Estados Unidos) appeared much earlier in the broadcast than is typical.NBC also front-loaded many of its commercial breaks early in the broadcast so there were fewer during the Parade of Nations. Judging by the harsh social media reaction, that may have backfired. It was a culture shock to binge-watchers and time-shifters who have become accustomed to television without commercials.The ceremony also ran long, and wasnt helped by NBCs decision to air it on tape-delay so it started in prime time. The lighting of the Olympic cauldron wasnt shown until after midnight. A joke by Matt Lauer during the teams entrance had a ring of truth: Are we at Timor-Leste (East Timor) already? he said. Time is flying by.The London Games proved a smash success for NBC. Viewers may simply be less interested in the Olympics from Rio -- and that wont become cleaar for a few more days.ddddddddddddIKE RIDE: The bicycle race won by Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet was a blast to watch, unfolding over several hours on NBC on Saturday, the kind of experience you cant get in prime time. It was a lesson for announcers Paul Sherwen and Christian Vande Velde to keep in mind that many viewers are new to their sport. The sheer chaos of the mountainous portions of the race, the course clogged with motorbikes, autos and spectators who ran alongside and even touched competitors, seemed shocking. It didnt seem to strike the announcers as unusual, since they didnt mention it.WATER QUALITY: Given all the pre-games publicity about water pollution, it was wise of rowing announcers Leigh Diffey and Mary Whipple to discuss the conditions during a Saturday morning rowing heat, with details about the steps Olympians are doing to protect themselves. Its almost on the back-burner, Whipple said. Its a non-issue so far. Still, its something announcers for all of the water sports should keep bringing up.PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: The presidential election race intersected with the Olympics for the first time a little past 8 a.m. Saturday, with the first commercial for Democrat Hillary Clinton.REFUGEE: The entrance of the 10-member team of refugees was a highlight of Fridays opening ceremony, so it was important for NBCs Jimmy Roberts to return to the story of these athletes during Saturdays telecast. What a strange and wonderful concept -- running toward something instead of running away, Roberts said. 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