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MIAMI -- Miguel Cabrera happily settled for a single crown. Adidas Supercolor Light Pink . The Detroit Tigers slugger fell short in his bid to become the first player to win the Triple Crown in successive seasons. But Cabrera clinched his third batting title in a row, finishing with a .348 average after sitting out Sundays regular-season finale at Miami -- a no-hitter by the Marlins Henderson Alvarez. Now Cabreras headed for the playoffs with the AL Central champion Tigers. And he denied any disappointment about not winning another Triple Crown. "I still had a good season," he said. "I have the same numbers I had last year, and we won the division." Actually, his statistics are better than they were in 2012, when he was the AL MVP. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage are all higher than a year ago. Last year he batted .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs. This year he had 44 home runs and 137 RBIs. In 2012 Cabrera became the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. He failed to repeat for two reasons: injuries and Chris Davis. A number of nagging injuries over the past couple months limited Cabrera to 148 games this season, down from 161 last year. That prevented him from keeping up with Davis, who had 53 homers and 138 RBIs for the Baltimore Orioles. Cabrera easily won the batting title. His average was a career high, as was his slugging percentage of .636. "Its great," he said. "Last year was hard. I think this year I was more consistent. I kept my average up. Its nice." Cabrera is the first player to win three consecutive AL batting titles since Wade Boggs won four in a row in 1985-88. He had two hits in each of his two games against Miami and appears to be fully healthy again. "Im really happy with where Cabrera is right now," manager Jim Leyland said. "He looks really good." Cabrera has hit .324 or higher each of the past five years, hiking his career average to .321. He has 365 home runs, hitting more than 25 each of the past 10 years. "Hes the best hitter in baseball," Leyland said. "Theres no question about it. Just stop the conversation. He gets no infield hits, because hes not able to leg anything out. But he hits the ball over the fence to all fields and drives in big runs, and he hits .350." The Tigers final regular-season series was a homecoming for Cabrera, who played in Miami for the first time since the Marlins dealt him in a 2007 trade that ranks with baseballs most lopsided in recent years. He received a warm ovation each time he batted during the weekend. Coincidentally, the Marlins personnel boss who traded Cabrera -- Larry Beinfest -- was fired Friday. Cabrera laughed when told Marlins fans are still unhappy about the trade. "Detroit was happy," Cabrera said. Nike Air Max 90 Floral Jasmine .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http:///...das-zx-750-blue.html . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http:///...0-black-and-red.html . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- This was more like the Kobe Bryant the Los Angeles Lakers are accustomed to seeing. Bryant, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and still learning to trust his legs, was back to making big shots down the stretch and helping his team win Saturday night -- although in a somewhat tentative manner. "I dont know what I can and cant do," Bryant said. "Im just trying to measure it. I didnt know if I could drive to the basket. Every game has been like that." Bryant took a big step in the right direction, scoring a season-high 21 points to help the Lakers defeat the Charlotte Bobcats 88-85 for their first win since Bryant returned four games ago. Bryant was 8 of 15 from the field and hit two free throws with 37 seconds left in the game to put the Lakers ahead for good. Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill had 15 points apiece for the Lakers and Nick Young had 13 points off the bench. Kemba Walker had 24 points and eight assists for the slumping Bobcats, who have lost three straight and five of their last seven. "I knew it was coming eventually, its not a big deal," Bryant said of getting his first win of the season. "We know its a marathon not a sprint. We have to do the right things game in, game out. Some games youre going to lose." Bryant averaged 11 points in his first three games. He eclipsed that by halftime. Bryant showed his touch when he banked in a 15-footer over Gerald Henderson and his range when he stepped out to knock down a 3-pointer from 26 feet. But there were some struggles as well. Bryant committed seven turnovers and air-balled a 3-pointer. But he did enough to help the Lakers win. "I think he improved a little bit," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. "I think he got his legs under his shot a little bit and that looked better. He got tired. He got tired toward the end and it was his first back-to-back. Theres a lot of things that he has to work through. "We have to somehow find some wins and gut it out. Its not pretty right now. We dont have a playmaker and weve got to get guys healthy and get Kobe well." The Lakers trailed most of the game, but cut the lead to 85-84 when Bryant drove the lane and scoored a left-handed layup with 1:22 remaining. Adidas Superstar Supercolor Red. Al Jefferson and Walker would both miss on the other end and Bryant went to work looking to take the lead. He drew a foul on a jump shot with 37 seconds left and hit both free throws with some of the crowd chanting "M-V-P" while others booed. Henderson missed a jumper for Charlotte, but Jefferson corralled the rebound and the Bobcats took a timeout to set up the last shot. Jefferson backed down Pau Gasol but couldnt convert a baby hook and the Gasol grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Gasol hit both free throws to push the lead to three with 6.2 seconds left. Ben Gordons 3-pointer fell short as time expired. "It was one of those games that came down to the last play at the end, but we have to try to do a better job of taking care of some of the minor mistakes we made earlier in the game so it doesnt come down to the last second," Gordon said. The Bobcats (10-14) came into the week looking to improve their spot in the playoff picture in the East, but dropped all three games. Coach Steve Clifford, who worked as an assistant last year with the Lakers, said having a player like Bryant to go to in the fourth quarter -- even if not completely healthy -- is just a huge advantage. "When it comes down fourth quarter in this league if you have a perimeter player who can draw help and a second defender, its a huge advantage," Clifford said. "Were going to have to be really good at getting the ball to Al in spots. Again, its not easy. The easier thing is to have Kobe. "You can just him the ball and he just makes plays. But thats all right, that is the way our team is made and we have to learn how to do that. But it is more difficult? Its infinitely more difficult, yes it is." The highlight of the game came in the third quarter when Josh McRoberts cut down the lane, took a pass from Walker and skied over Pau Gasol for a one-handed slam dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. NOTES: Welterweight boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. was courtside. ... Henderson has scored in double figures in 22 games this season, including 15 straight. ... The Lakers have won five straight against the Bobcats. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '