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2B Daily News – Wednesday, October 12, 2011 Tigers beat Rangers 5-2 DETROIT (AP) — Doug Fister delivered another strong start in a game Detroit needed and Miguel Cabrera homered and hit a tiebreak- ing double to lead the Tigers past the Texas Rangers 5-2 Tuesday night in Game 3 of the AL championship series. Detroit dropped the first two games in Texas before turning to Fis- ter, who won the decisive fifth game of the division series at Yankee Stadi- um last week. He was sharp again, allowing two runs and seven hits with no walks in 7 1-3 innings. Jose Valverde, after pitching a sea- son-high two innings the day before, worked around a leadoff double in the ninth for his third playoff save. He got some help from Cabrera, who made a diving play at first base. ''It's going to be a long series,'' Cabrera said. ''Nobody (said) it's going to be easy. You've got to be patient.'' Game 4 is Wednesday afternoon. Matt Harrison starts for Texas against Rick Porcello — both went 14-9 this season. Cabrera's double in the fifth put the Tigers ahead 2-1 and he added a towering solo homer in the seventh. Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peral- ta also went deep for the Tigers. Austin Jackson broke out of his post- season slump with three hits, includ- ing an RBI single. Texas right-hander Colby Lewis, who entered 4-0 in five postseason starts, allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out six and walked two. ''He throws strikes and every now and then he's going to give up some long balls. I thought it was a pretty good ballgame,'' Rangers manager Ron Washington said. ''He kept us in the ballgame. It was Fister that did the job out there tonight.'' Stung by Nelson Cruz's game- ending grand slam Monday, the Tigers returned home hoping to shake out of their offensive funk. They fell behind 1-0 when Fister allowed three consecutive singles to start the game, but the 6-foot-8 right- hander held the Rangers in check after that, even striking out Cruz to end the seventh as the towel-waving crowd at Comerica Park roared its approval. After leaving 22 runners on base in the first two games, the Tigers struggled again early on against Lewis. Detroit had two on with one out in the second, but Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn both struck out. Lewis struck out five in the first three innings, but Martinez led off the fourth with a homer to right to tie it at 1. Martinez, who hit .330 this season despite groin, knee and back prob- lems, appeared to hurt himself on his home run swing, laboring slowly around the bases after the ball cleared the fence. When he returned to the dugout, his head still down, he slammed his helmet down as he descended the steps toward the club- house. Detroit was already playing with- out injured outfielders Delmon Young, Magglio Ordonez and Bren- nan Boesch, and it wasn't clear whether Martinez — the designated hitter — would be able to continue. But he was back in the fifth, standing near the on-deck circle with Cabrera at the plate. With runners at first and third and two outs, Texas decided to pitch to Cabrera, and his line drive down the right-field line stayed fair for a dou- ble to drive in a run. ''I'm not going to take another runner and put him at second base. The winning run is already at third base,'' Washington said. ''We tried to make a pitch. Colby didn't get it there. Cabrera caught it.'' Martinez drew a walk, loading the bases for Don Kelly, who hit a check- swing grounder to third. Adrian Bel- tre fielded the ball, then paused and waited to tag Cabrera. When the Detroit baserunner froze in his tracks, Beltre finally backpedaled toward the bag for the force to end the inning. Beltre fouled a ball off his left knee in the fourth and hobbled the rest of the night. X-rays were nega- tive and he has a bruise. Washington said the team would know more Wednesday. Detroit added two runs in the sixth. Peralta led off with a homer, and Jackson's RBI single made it 4- 1. It was an encouraging night for Jackson, who entered 3 for 25 in the postseason with 14 strikeouts. Cabrera's homer in the seventh, which stayed fair down the left-field line, was his second of the playoffs. Detroit provided more than enough offense for Fister, who was terrific down the stretch after the Tigers acquired him in a trade with Seattle shortly before the July 31 deadline. He retired his final batter Tuesday on an unusual unassisted putout, fielding Endy Chavez's grounder and then hustling over to first because Cabrera was well off the bag, trying to position himself for a potential play on the ball. Fister was lifted after that, and he tipped his cap to an appreciative crowd as he left the field. Fister's first nine pitches were strikes, but the Rangers poked three of them into the outfield for singles and took a 1-0 lead. Ian Kinsler led off with a single to left, then Elvis Andrus chopped an 0-2 pitch into right for a base hit. Josh Hamilton fell behind 0-2 as well before hitting a soft line drive just past the outstretched arm of Per- alta, the shortstop, for an RBI single. Fister escaped without further damage thanks to a double-play grounder by Michael Young and a strikeout by Beltre. ''Just stick with the same game plan,'' Fister said. ''They hit a few groundballs that made it through the holes, and good hitters do. They came out firing and Alex and I just stuck with the game plan and used our defense. Tremendous plays out there, and you know that's the name of the game.'' NOTES: Valverde has converted all 52 of his save chances this year, including three in the postseason. ... Fister was nearly hit in the fourth when a piece of Mike Napoli's broken bat sailed toward the mound. The right-hander instinctively stuck out his glove, but the bat missed him. ... Hamilton lost control of his bat during a sixth-inning swing, and it sailed into the front row behind the Texas dugout. A male fan was shaken up after getting hit by the bat but appeared to be OK. ... Yorvit Torrealba started at catcher for Texas so Napoli could have a bit of a breather as the DH. Torrealba had three hits. Arizona lands 2015 Super Bowl HOUSTON (AP) — Ah, Arizona. Just the place for the Super Bowl to thaw out after a frosty foray into the New York/New Jersey area. The Super Bowl is heading back to the desert in 2015, one year after it will be at the mercy of winter weather in the Meadowlands. The Phoenix area was awarded the 49th Super Bowl by NFL owners Tuesday, beating the only other candidate — Tampa, Fla. It will be the third time the Phoenix area has hosted the game, which will be played in Glendale. ''We are thrilled to be back in Arizona,'' Commissioner Roger Goodell said. ''I will say it was a difficult choice.'' Phoenix won on the second ballot, prompt- ing screams of joy from the Arizona committee. ''Everyone pulled together throughout the Phoenix area to put together a terrific pack- age we were able to pre- sent to the owners,'' Arizona Cardinals Pres- ident Michael Bidwill said. ''We are delight- ed.'' It's difficult to be critical of the choice weather-wise: average temperature in early February in Glendale is about 60 degrees. In East Rutherford, N.J., where the first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold- weather climate will be played in 2014, the average is a slightly chillier 31 degrees. The NFL also set Feb. 2, 2014, as the date of the Super Bowl in New Jersey; that date will not conflict with the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. ''It's historically warmer on Feb. 2,'' Giants owner John Mara said with a smile. He didn't mention the pos- sibility of snow, freez- ing rain, blustery winds and all the accompany- ing elements. That will not be a factor in Arizona. The NFL has seemed eager to return to the Valley of the Sun since the Giants' upset of the then-unbeaten Patriots on Feb. 3, 2008 at Uni- versity of Phoenix Sta- dium. Tempe, Ariz., was the 1996 host, with Dal- las defeating Pittsburgh 27-17. ''This is huge for Arizona,'' bid leader Mike Kennedy said. ''It feels really satisfying.'' Tampa hosted the game in 1984, 1991, 2001 and 2009. ''Both cities are great sites for the Super Bowl and both had impressive bids,'' added Mara, whose team has won championships in both places. ''They've each been to the altar a few times recently and were denied. They both deserve to host a game again.'' Next year's game is indoors in Indianapolis, followed by New Orleans in 2013 and then the Big (possibly frozen) Apple. There is speculation that the 50th championship game in 2016 will wind up in Los Angeles, where the first Super Bowl was played in 1967, if a suitable stadi- um is available. ''That is a significant event for us,'' Goodell said, ''and we want to make sure we do it right. I don't think there is anything off the table on who would host it.'' The league is keep- ing close tabs on two potential stadium pro- jects in Los Angeles. ''We think there are two opportunities in Los Angeles and we are going to pursue both of them aggressively,'' Goodell said. Neither Arizona nor Tampa received the required 24 of 32 votes on the first ballot Tues- day, meaning a simple majority was needed on the next vote. Goodell spoke with the Tampa Bay group immediately after it lost the bidding. ''Anytime we are invited to participate, we will do so,'' Paul Catoe, outgoing CEO of Tampa Bay & Co. Bidwill said the esti- mated economic impact in Arizona in 2008 was more than $500 million, and he expects it to be higher in 2015. While that number seems high because subsequent Super Bowls didn't reach that level, it's still a major boon to local business. ''The impact is in the multihundred millions of dollars, and that is significant value for any community,'' said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based sports business consulting firm Sportscorp Ltd., and an observer of the league's business side. ''The Super Bowl also provides a positive tar- get for a community to rally around. There are all sorts of activities — business, volunteer, political — that can be pointed to when they host the Super Bowl.'' Ganis also points out that the Phoenix area has enough first-class hotels for the Super Bowl. That has been a challenge for Tampa, which has involved Orlando and Sarasota and other areas in its bids. Later Tuesday, own- ers approved a resolu- tion to play regular-sea- son games in Britain through 2016. Teams said can volunteer to play at least one regular-season home game per year in Britain for up to five years. Goodell said sev- eral teams have expressed interest and there are financial incentives for hosting games overseas. Visit- ing teams can play abroad only once in five years. Tampa Bay will host Chicago on Oct. 23 in London, the fifth straight year the NFL has held an October game there. The Bucca- neers will be making their second London appearance in three years; they lost to New England 35-7 in 2009. Several teams that struggle to sell out home games, such as the Jaguars, Raiders, Bengals and Chargers, could be in line for more frequent trips overseas. No specifics on venues, dates or teams for future games have been set, but Goodell made it clear more games in London are coming, perhaps two next season. ''We are very pleased with the reception to the game and the way our business has grown over there,'' he said. ''Can it be sustained for multi- ple games?'' The meetings began with a five-minute NFL Films tribute to Al Davis; the Oakland Raiders owner died on Saturday. ODDS NFL Sunday's games at Green Bay 15 (48) at Pittsburgh 12 (40) at Cincinnati 7(40.5) at N.Y. Giants 3.5 (50.5) at Baltimore 7.5(45) at Oakland 6(44.5) at New England 7(54.5) Monday's game at N.Y. Jets 7 (43) St. Louis Jacksonville Philadelphia 1(47.5) at Washington at Detroit at Atlanta 5(46.5) San Francisco 4.5 (51) Houston Cleveland Dallas New Orleans 4.5 (49.5) atTampaBay at Chicago 3(42.5) Minnesota Miami Carolina Indianapolis Buffalo Friday's games Houston at Portland, 7:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Colorado, 7:30 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at Seattle FC, 7:30 p.m. New York at Sporting Kansas City, 1 p.m. Toronto FC at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Chicago at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Columbus at New England, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Sunday's game Chivas USA at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. Jaime Ayovi leads Ecuador over US 1-0 HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Jurgen Klinsmann is finding wins and goals hard to come by in his first few months as coach of the U.S. soccer team. ''It's going to take time,'' goalkeeper Tim Howard said after Tuesday night's 1- 0 exhibition loss to Ecuador dropped the Americans to 1- 3-1 since the former Ger- man star and coach replaced Bob Bradley in late July. ''People are going to ask questions, and that's natural. But it's still in the infant stages.'' Second-half substitute Jaime Ayovi beat defender Tim Ream to a cross and scored in the 79th minute, the only good chance Ecuador had. ''It's a growing process and, obviously, also a couple of knocks that you have to accept,'' Klinsmann said. With no competitive games until the start of World Cup qualifying in June, Klinsmann is experi- menting with players and formations. He generally wants the Americans to play higher upfield and use more width. The U.S. has just two goals since Klinsmann took over, tying Mexico 1-1 and losing to Costa Rica and Belgium 1-0 before last weekend's 1-0 over Hon- duras. ''The first few results haven't been great,'' captain Carlos Bocanegra said. ''It's just frustrating, but we're moving in the right direc- tion.'' With the Americans using a 4-1-3-1 formation and sometimes a 4-3-3, they are attacking more than they did under the conservative Bradley. ''Especially in the first half, movement with the ball is better, is brighter collec- tively,'' defender Steve Cherundolo said. ''I think we have a better idea of what we want to do.'' Timmy Chandler, start- ing at left back, neutralized Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia before a pro-Ecuador crowd of 20,707 in the first U.S. game at Red Bull Arena, which opened last year. Ecuador didn't have many threats until the goal. The play began on the flank and took advantage of Ream, who entered seven minutes earlier for Bocane- gra. Walter Ayovi received a throw-in and made a left- footed cross to Jaime Ayovi, a 60th-minute sub who got free about 8 yards from the goal. Jaime Ayovi headed the ball to the left of Howard for his fifth international goal — he also scored Fri- day as Ecuador opened World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 home win over Venezuela. ''I was watching the man, and as I looked back, I saw the ball coming,'' Ream said, ''and he was past me as soon as I took a step.'' A top rookie in Major MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA y-Galaxy 18 4 10 64 46 25 x-Seattle 16 7 9 57 51 35 x-Salt Lake 15 11 6 51 43 35 FC Dallas 13 11 7 46 36 34 Colorado 11 9 12 45 42 40 Portland 11 13 7 40 38 44 Chivas USA 8 12 12 36 40 39 San Jose 7 11 14 35 35 41 Vancouver 5 16 10 25 32 50 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Philadelphia11 7 14 47 43 34 Kansas City 11 9 12 45 47 40 Columbus 12 12 8 44 38 41 New York 9 7 16 43 49 42 Houston 10 9 13 43 40 40 D.C. 9 10 11 38 46 46 Chicago 7 8 16 37 40 40 Toronto FC 6 13 13 31 33 56 N. England 5 15 12 27 36 53 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth y- clinched conference —————————————————— Today's games FC Dallas at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. D.C. United at Vancouver, 7 p.m. League Soccer in 2010, Ream has struggled in his national team appearances. ''This is important, for these players to understand that one little thing can change a game and decide the game,'' Klinsmann said. ''That's a learning moment for Tim Ream, that he has to be in front of the guy, that he has to kind of unbalance him.'' So far, Klinsmann has not had Landon Donovan (strained quadriceps) and Clint Dempsey available for the same game. He also is missing Jose Torres (left foot surgery), Fabian Johnson (neck) and Stuart Holden (out until spring following his second knee surgery this year). Klinsmann made just one change to his starting lineup from Saturday, putting Oguchi Onyewu in central defense for the first time since June and dropping Michael Orozco Fiscal. Fol- lowing knee surgery in October 2009, Onyewu had struggled to regain his form until becoming a regular starter with Sporting Lisbon this season. ''He's back, and that's awesome to see,'' Klins- mann said. ''He's getting his rhythm, and his presence is amazing.'' Like the U.S. team, the 6- foot-4 Onyewu is a work in progress. ''There's no substitute to playing games, and fortu- nately I've found myself in a good situation with Sport- ing,'' he said. ''You get more confident, and you get more comfortable with yourself.'' NOTES: U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati agreed with Klinsmann's comments a day earlier that Major League Soccer needed a longer season, saying Klinsmann's quip that he would give a hug to players who wanted a six-week vacation and tell them not to come back was ''positively brilliant.'' ''Jurgen's right,'' MLS Commissioner Don Garber said.''The season is too short. I'd like to have global warming take its effect.'' ... Garber said a stadium in Queens or Randall's Island was possible for an eventual expansion team in New York City. ... The U.S. may play an exhibition at France next month, now that Les Bleus have clinched a European Championship berth and don't need the November dates for playoffs. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA 2 1 0 4 6 7 Dallas SHARKS 10 0 2 6 3 Kings Ducks 1 1 0 2 5 6 1 1 0 2 3 5 Phoenix 0 1 1 1 4 8 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA 2 0 0 4 8 3 Detroit Nashville 2 0 0 4 7 4 Chicago 1 1 0 2 6 4 St. Louis 1 1 0 2 7 6 Columbus 0 3 0 0 6 10 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 1 0 1 3 6 6 Minnesota 1 1 1 3 8 8 Edmonton 1 0 0 2 2 1 Colorado 1 1 0 2 1 3 Calgary 0 2 0 0 5 10 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 3 0 1 7 14 10 Philadelphia 2 0 0 4 5 1 N.Y.Islanders 1 1 0 2 2 3 New Jersey 1 1 0 2 4 5 N.Y.Rangers 0 0 2 2 3 5 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 2 0 0 4 8 3 Toronto 2 0 0 4 8 5 Montreal 1 1 0 2 5 3 Boston 1 2 0 2 5 4 Ottawa 1 2 0 2 12 14 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Washington 2 0 0 4 10 8 Tampa Bay 1 1 1 3 11 11 Florida 1 1 0 2 4 4 Carolina 0 2 1 1 6 13 Winnipeg 0 1 0 0 1 5 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Tuesday's results Ottawa 4, Minnesota 3, SO Pittsburgh 4, Florida 2 Today's games Colorado at Columbus, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Carolina, 4:30 p.m. Thursday's games Los Angeles at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Washington at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Calgary at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Edmonton at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Nashville, 5 p.m. Vancouver at Detroit, 5 p.m. St. Louis at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Winnipeg at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.