Gesundheit » Thunder led 29-16 at the end of the first period. Oklaho

LAKELAND, Fla. -- This is one number put up by Miguel Cabrera that is not subject to debate. The Triple Crown winner agreed Friday to the richest contract in American sports, a $292 million, 10-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. "I want to finish my career here. I have worked hard to get better, and Detroit is like a house for me," Cabrera said. Cabrera has won the last two AL MVP awards, both times beating out Angels phenom Mike Trout in votes that set off heated disputes in the baseball world. Those in Cabreras corner claimed his fearsome hitting stats and triple-digit RBIs were worthy. Those touting Trout argued he was a better all-around player and pointed to the value of his WAR, sabermetric for wins above replacement. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski and manager Brad Ausmus stood by Cabrera, flanking him for the announcement at the Tigers spring training complex. "Hes on track to be one of the greatest players in the history of baseball," Dombrowski said. "Hes done a lot for the team and a lot for Detroit." Cabrera was due $44 million over the final two years of his $152.3 million, eight-year contract. The new agreement incorporates that money and adds $248 million over the following eight years. Cabrera turns 31 next month and has helped the Tigers win three straight AL Central championships. A slugger with power to all fields and still very much in his prime, he is among seven players to hit at least .320 with 365 homers and 1,260 RBIs, joining Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Albert Pujols and Stan Musial, according to STATS. "Good for him," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "He plays in another stratosphere." The deal came shortly before opening day in Detroit, on Monday against Kansas City at Comerica Park, and soon after Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer turned down the teams long-term contract proposal. The Tigers are again among the favourites to go far this season. Cabrera won a World Series ring with the Marlins as a 20-year-old rookie and is trying to bring a title to Motown for the first time in three decades. Cabrera will make $43,195 per plate appearance under the deal, based on his yearly average of 676 plate appearances during six seasons with the Tigers. Thats higher than the average U.S. yearly wage of $42,498 in 2012, according to the Social Security Administration. The contract also includes $30 million options for 2024 and 2025 that would become guaranteed if Cabrera finishes among the top 10 in MVP voting in the previous season. Cabreras new deal will raise his career MLB earnings to $413.2 million, including the $1.8 million signing bonus he got as a 16-year-old with Florida in 1999 when Dombrowski oversaw the move by the Marlins. Cabrera was acquired by Detroit in a December 2007 trade. An eight-time All-Star, Cabrera has a .321 career average with 365 homers and 1,260 RBIs. He played 148 games last year despite a sore back and left hip flexor, a strained lower abdomen, shin trouble and a groin tear that hampered him in the post-season and led to off-season surgery. His body might get more of a break this season. Hes moving across the diamond, shifting from third base back to his previous position at first base after Prince Fielder was traded to Texas. Cabrera takes over baseballs highest-paying contract from Alex Rodriguez, who agreed to a $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas that started in 2001, was traded to the Yankees after three seasons and then signed a $275 million, 10-year deal with New York in December 2006. Cabreras average of $29.2 million is second only to the $30,714,286 that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw averages under the $215 million, seven-year deal he agreed to in January. A steady presence in the lineup -- Cabrera has played 157 or more games in eight of the last 10 seasons -- he hit .348 with 44 homers and 137 RBIs last season to win his second straight MVP award. In 2012, Cabrera put together baseballs first Triple Crown since 1967, hitting .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs. Dombrowski started talking with Cabreras agents, Fern Cuza and Diego Bentz of Relativity Sports, at the end of last season. Detroit also had been negotiating with Scherzer, and those talks broke off last weekend after the pitcher didnt accept an offer for $144 million from 2015-20; he can become a free agent after the World Series. Cabrera was aware his deal was cause for celebration in his native Venezuela, a nation troubled by turbulent politics and economics. "I dont think I can do much. They are going through such hard times," Cabrera said. "We have had struggles down there, and they are trying to do their best." Aiming for its first World Series title since 1984, Detroit agreed last March to a $180 million, seven-year contract with ace pitcher Justin Verlander, the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner. Verlander didnt sound envious of Cabreras even greater riches. "He deserves it," Verlander said. "He is the best player on the planet. He wants to stay in Detroit, and I couldnt be happier for him. That means we are staying together for a long time and can be Tigers for life." Outfielder Torii Hunter said theres no reason Cabrera cant remain an All-Star through the end of the deal. "The way Miggy composes himself, you need to see how hard he works behind the scenes," Hunter said. "Hes up at 6:30 a.m., hes running, lifting weights. I got my 2,000th hit last year, then I find out that Miggys only 30 and hes gonna get 4,000 hits and 600 homers. Thats something." Ausmus, the Tigers rookie manager, smiled during the news conference. "Im not going to complain," he said. 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The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot. He scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Memphis 100-86 on Saturday night in the opening game of their first-round playoff series. The Thunder already were regaining control in the fourth quarter before Durant took over. He scored 11 points in a 5-minute, 21-second surge that stretched Oklahoma Citys lead from seven points to 14 and put the game out of reach. "We just stayed together," Durant said. "We made plays in the fourth quarter. The third quarter was tough for us, but we stayed together. We didnt stray away." Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but he made just seven of 21 shots and got into foul trouble in the second half. Mike Conley had 16 points and 11 assists, Marc Gasol scored 16 points and Tony Allen added 13 points for the Grizzlies. Memphis might have stolen the game if not for a miserable first half. "Weve got to make adjustments to get off to a better start," Randolph said. "We cant exert so much energy trying to come back from 20 points. Its the first game, weve got to stick together. Weve been here before, we know what weve got to do and come out and be ready for Monday." Memphis shot just 36 per cent from the field and made just 18 of 31 free throws. "We got good looks. I cant say it was anything other than that," Conley said. "We got good looks. We got some open 3s. Our bigs got some good looks in the post. We just didnt knock them down. We have to be more focused at the line as well. Making free throws is a big deal for us. We got opportunities. Weve got to make them." Oklahoma City was the only home team to win on the first day of the post-season, but the Thunder nearly made it four losses for higher seeds after getting outscored 31-13 in the third quarter. "We didnt want to be the leading trend on losing a home game," Westbrook said. "Were just happy we won a game. We did a great job of just coming out and hitting them first. Theyre a physical team and we did a great job of going by our game plan." The Thunder pushed the pace to take an 8-0 lead, and Memphis called a timeoutt less than three minutes into the game.dddddddddddd Conley finally scored Memphis first point at the 9:04 mark after the Grizzlies missed their first five shots. The Thunder led 29-16 at the end of the first period. Oklahoma City shot 52 per cent in the first 12 minutes while holding the Grizzlies to 17 per cent shooting. Oklahoma City continued the onslaught into the second quarter and took a 56-34 advantage into the locker room. Memphis scored the first six points of the second half, and though Oklahoma City quickly called a timeout, the Grizzlies continued their surge. A three-point play by Allen trimmed the Thunders lead to 60-51, and by the end of the third quarter, Memphis had cut its deficit to 69-65. Allen scored nine points in the third quarter, and Randolph scored eight. Memphis held Oklahoma City to 3-for-16 shooting in the period. "I just think as a point guard, my job is to set the tone, and I didnt do a great job of that in the third quarter, of coming out and setting the tone," Westbrook said. "I had a few bad turnovers and kind of let them get easy baskets. Ive got to do a better job of that." The Grizzlies had whittled Oklahoma Citys lead down to three early in the fourth before a powerful drive and jam by Caron Butler brought life back to the nervous arena and gave the Thunder a 74-69 lead with just under nine minutes to play. Memphis Mike Miller came back with a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game, but the Thunder responded with a 13-1 run. Though Oklahoma City held on, Memphis will take confidence from its rally into Game 2. "We see what we did," Randolph said. "I think we cut it down to two, and they made another run, but we see what we can do. We know what we can do and weve got to come like that at the beginning of the game." NOTES: Saturday was the 19-year anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City. The crowd observed a moment of silence before tip-off. ... Memphis reserve point guard Nick Calathes has been suspended for 20 games for violating the NBAs anti-drug policy, starting Saturday. The league said Friday night in a release that Calathes tested positive for tamoxifen. "It is what it is," Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said before the game. "Weve dealt with adversity all season." ... Thunder rookie Steven Adams blocked three shots in the first quarter in just 1:26. The Thunder blocked five shots in the period. ' ' '