first quarter with a back injury.He did not practice this week.On Thursday, the team and Gronkowskis family

CHICAGO -- Miguel Cabrera probably shouldnt even have been playing Wednesday. Hard to tell, though, after the aching slugger hit a majestic three-run homer in the third inning to spark the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. With a day game following an extra-inning night game, and with a crucial five-game series against a division rival coming up this weekend, the rest would have been a prudent prescription for the leg injury Cabreras been playing with for several days. "He actually has a shin thats all black and blue," Jim Leyland said. "It terrible, its terrible looking, but it actually looked a little bit better today. Hes still pretty sore. As a manager, you almost feel bad playing him. I can tell that hes hurting, but he wanted to play today, so I put him in there." Leyland certainly didnt feel bad about the decision afterward. The home run erased an early three-run deficit and gave the Tigers some much needed momentum. "Hes been banged up for about a week," teammate Torii Hunter said of Cabrera. "Miggy, instead of him having to run, he just hits the home run." Cabrera has homered in five of the last six games. Despite allowing a season-high 11 hits, Tigers starter Rick Porcello (9-6) allowed just three runs in six innings. Porcello hasnt lost a decision since June 30 at Tampa Bay. Porcello got off to a miserable start, giving up three runs on four hits in the first inning. Worse, he needed 40 pitches to get the first three outs of the game. Avisail Garcia, and Conor Gillaspie had run-scoring singles, with the other run coming on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Keppinger. After Cabrera tied the score with his 38th homer, the Tigers broke the game open in the top of the sixth, thanks to some clutch hitting and a White Sox miscue. Omar Infante drove in the go-ahead run with a single, and the final two runs came courtesy of an error by Gillaspie, the third baseman. The White Sox added a run in the bottom of the eighth on a run-scoring single by Alexei Ramirez to make it 6-4. Taking no chances, Leyland brought in closer Joaquin Benoit with one out in the eighth. Benoit then proceeded to strike out Adam Dunn and Garcia to end the inning without further damage. He worked out of another jam in the ninth inning for his 15th save in 15 chances. Even though it occurred in the third inning, the talk of the postgame was Cabreras homer off of White Sox starter John Danks (2-10). "He was quick on it," Leyland said. "He just fired his hands -- it looked like a cutter -- and he just pulled his hands in and they were like lightening through the zone. Hes remarkable." Said Danks: "Bad pitch to him. I got him out the first time and I tried to go a little farther inside. I dont think it would have been called a strike." The way Hunter sees it, thats the key. Pitchers dont want to throw Cabrera fat pitches in the strike zone. "Some of those pitches are balls and hes still hitting them out," Hunter said. Cabrera, in his bid for an historic second straight Triple Crown, leads the American League in batting average (.360) and is in a tight battle with Baltimores Chris Davis for home runs and RBIs. With his blast on Wednesday, Cabrera has 114 RBIs. Hunter believes Cabrera is actually having a better season this year. "No doubt," he said. "I wasnt here last year, but hes definitely better this year than last." NOTES: Manager Robin Ventura gave White Sox veteran Paul Konerko the day off. "Guys at that age get a little tighter a day game after a night game," Ventura said. "Let him have a little spa day." . Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 11 games. . The White Sox open a series at Minnesota Thursday night with RHP Andre Rienzo (0-0) facing RHP Mike Pelfrey (7-11). The Tigers are home for the start of a five-game series with the Royals, with RHP Anibal Sanchez (10-7) vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie (12-8).Tom Brady Jersey Michigan . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Tom Brady Jersey Super Bowl . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Signed Michael Jordan Jersey .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Cheap Sports Jerseys . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots went back to practice without Rob Gronkowski on Friday as the 2015 All-Pro tight end prepared for season-ending back surgery.It didnt look much different than a lot of their workouts this season.Weve had some experience I think this year being without him, quarterback Tom Brady said a day after the team announced that Gronkowski is expected to miss the rest of the season recovering from a herniated disk in his back. Its not something that you want to deal with. But at some point in the year, based on how long the season is, youre always going to deal with something.One of the dominant tight ends in NFL history, Gronkowskis biggest struggle is often to stay on the field. He has had ankle and knee surgery once, three operations on his forearm, and two previous back operations. He was the 2014 Comeback Player of the Year, a year after he played in just seven games because of injuries to his back, forearm and knee.The 2010 second-round draft pick has already missed three weeks this season and had a limited role in three others -- the fifth year in a row that he hasnt been able to play in every game.Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Friday he is disappointed for Gronkowski, praising his work and his contributions to the team. Brady made it clear that he still has plenty of targets for this weekends game against the Los Angeles Rams, even without the three-time All-Pro.Weve still got a lot of good players, Brady said. Well keep battling without him. Weve got a llot of tough guys in the locker room still, and well see what we can make of this season.dddddddddddd We were off to a good start and weve got to keep it going.After spending the first half of the season on the injury report with a hamstring problem, Gronkowski was hurt again on Nov. 13. He took a shot in the chest from Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas that Gronkowski said was probably one of the hardest Ive got hit in my career. He missed the Nov. 20 game against San Francisco; when he returned last week against the New York Jets, he left late in the first quarter with a back injury.He did not practice this week.On Thursday, the team and Gronkowskis family issued a joint statement saying the hit in the Seattle game resulted in a pulmonary contusion to his lung, but doctors cleared him to return. Against the Jets, though, Rob began to experience significant back and leg pain.It has been determined that it is in Robs best long-term interest to undergo surgery to address his lower back injury, the statement said. We do not expect that he will be able to play for the remainder of the 2016 season, but will await the results of (Fridays) surgery before making a final determination.One Gronkowski returned to the Patriots when the team re-signed fullback Glenn, Robs brother, to the practice squad.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '