ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes to post a 5-under 67 and lie two shots off the lead two rounds into the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday. At 7 under overall in the European Tour event, McIlroy was rapt to be in contention for a second win in three tournaments. Playing partner Phil Mickelson was also happy, though in relief to make the cut by two shots at 1 under with a 70 after a first-round 73. "Im really glad I made the cut and I now have a chance over these next two days, because I kind of keyed in on something with my swing starting to feel much better," Mickelson said. "I really need these two days to get my game in shape." Mickelson was impressed with McIlroys form. "His game looks really sharp and his driving was impeccable," Mickelson said of McIlroy. Tied for the lead were Scotlands Craig Lee (67) and Spains Rafa Cabrera-Bello (68) at 9 under, a stroke ahead of Englands Danny Willett (63), who eagled the par-5 8th hole at National Course beside seven birdies. McIlroy was sharing fourth with Argentinas Ricardo Gonzalez (66) and Denmarks Thomas Bjorn (70). He was holding the end-of-2013 form that saw him come from behind and defeat Masters champion Adam Scott in the Australian Open in Sydney last month. "Its a great position to be in, as Im only a few off the lead, so Im excited," McIlroy said. He was happy to compare with how he missed the cut a year ago, when he debuted new equipment and left himself and sponsor Nike red-faced. In that humbling display of consecutive 75s were two double bogeys and seven bogeys. "Coming off the last green last year, after 36 holes, I was deflated to say the least," he said. "The week didnt go as how I imagined it or how I planned. But its so much better this year. Im happy with how Im playing. Im striking the ball really well. I got a few putts to drop on the back nine, which was nice. And yeah, I mean, I feel like if I can keep hitting it the way I have been, Ive got a great chance to win in this tournament." While McIlroy won two tournaments ago in Sydney it has been 13 months since his last success on the European Tour when he birdied his closing five holes in winning the season-ending World Tour Championship in nearby Dubai. Cabrera-Bello is also no stranger to winning in the Emirates, having captured the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic. The overnight leader dropped a shot at his last hole, the ninth, to fall into a tie with Lee, who seeks his first win on tour. "I have been practicing hard the last two weeks and trying also to get back into shape, so Im glad that is all paying off," Cabrera-Bello said. Ultra Boost Canada . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to fill a need on Clevelands roster. NMD Canada Online . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/nmd-r1-cheap-canada.html .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. Adidas Neo Lite Racer Canada . The game had many controversial incidents that, upon closer inspection, were not as controversial as many believed. The Formations Toronto FC lined up in its usual 4-4-2 formation, with Nick Hagglund slotting in at right fullback and Bradley Orr at centreback in place of the injured Mark Bloom and Steven Caldwell, respectively. Buy NMDs Canada . - Roger Federer squandered a big lead and lost to No.NEW YORK -- All those who marvel at Miguel Cabrera can only wonder what he mightve done this year if completely healthy. Even so, Cabrera was a huge hit in Motown. Despite being hobbled by all sorts of ailments, the Detroit Tigers slugger won his second straight American League Most Valuable Player award Thursday, once again beating Angels outfielder Mike Trout by a comfortable margin. A season after winning baseballs first Triple Crown in 45 years, Cabrera came back to lead the majors in hitting at .348 and finish second with 44 home runs and 137 RBIs. "I think this year was tougher because of the injuries," he said on a conference call from the Miami area. "It was the last two months. It was tough to play through it," he said. The eight-time All-Star missed several games after the break because of a bad back, a sore left hip flexor, a strained lower abdomen, shin trouble and a groin tear. He recently had surgery to fix the tear and said hell be ready for spring training. Still, Cabrera got 23 of 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He became the first player to win consecutive AL MVPs since Frank Thomas for the Chicago White Sox in 1993 and 1994. Pirates centre fielder Andrew McCutchen took the NL MVP by a surprisingly wide margin after leading a baseball revival in Pittsburgh. McCutchen drew 28 of the 30 first-place votes to finish far ahead of Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina. "Im floating right now," McCutchen said in Pittsburgh. "But I definitely didnt expect it to be a landslide with those other guys -- Goldschmidt and Molina. They were great candidates and I didnt know what to expect." McCutchen ranked among the NL leaders by hitting .317 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs. He also scored 97 runs, stole 27 bases and had a .404 on-base percentage. The 27-year-old with the long, flowing dreadlocks helped the Pirates stop a record streak of 20 losing seasons and make the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Cabrera finished with 385 points, while Trout got five first-place votes and 282 points. The difference was 81 points last season, when Trout was AL Rookie of the Year. Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis, who led the majors with 53 homers and 138 RBIs, was third. "I think all three guys deserve this trophy," Cabrera said. Davis and Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson each received a first-place vote. Cabrera took his third AL batting title in a row. He also drew a $1 million bonus for winning a second MVP during his current contract with the Tigers. No AL player has won three straight MVPs. Albert Pujols was the last repeat NL MVP winner in 2008 and 2009; Barry Bonds took four straight from 2001-04. The Tigers have virtually owned the major post-season awards during a three-year run of success. Justin Verlander was the MVP and Cy Young winner in 2011, Cabrera toook the MVP last season and Detroit ace Max Scherzer won this years Cy Young Award on Wednesday.dddddddddddd "Im on the right team," Cabrera said. The 30-year-old third baseman from Venezuela also captured the AL MVP last year when he hit .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs. Cabrera topped Trout 22-6 in first-place votes in that balloting. Trout hit .323 with 27 homers and 97 RBIs this year, stole 33 bases and led the AL in runs and walks. Cabrera clearly was baseballs most dominant hitter for most of the season as the Tigers won their third straight AL Central crown. Voting for the BBWAA awards was done before the playoffs. Cabrera hit .262 with two homers and seven RBIs in 11 post-season games, and made a couple of key outs in Detroits six-game loss to Boston in the AL championship series. Cabrera was in contention for a second straight Triple Crown for much of the year, and was hitting .359 with 43 homers and 130 RBIs through Aug. 26. But he managed only two extra-base hits in his next 25 games through the end of the regular season. Cabrera said he didnt think rest would have helped heal his injuries near the end. Instead, he took a different approach: "OK, lets play through it and see what happens," he said. Cabrera still became the first right-handed hitter to win three straight batting titles in either league since Rogers Hornsby in 1920-25. Cabrera also kept amazing his teammates with his prowess at the plate. In mid-August, he homered in all three games of a series at Yankee Stadium, twice connecting off career saves leader Mariano Rivera. His shot in the opener was the most impressive, even though Detroit eventually lost. After fouling two balls off his left shin, Cabrera was having trouble standing in the batters box when he tagged Rivera for a tying, two-run drive with two outs in the ninth inning. Cabrera had bedeviled the Yankees before. As a 20-year-old rookie, he helped the Marlins beat New York in the 2003 World Series. McCutchen, third in MVP balloting last season, got 409 points. Goldschmidt finished second with 242, while Molina received the other two first-place votes and came in third. McCutchens win came two days after Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was picked as the NL Manager of the Year. McCutchen was the first Pittsburgh player to win the MVP since Bonds in 1992. The Pirates went 94-68 this year, a season after going 79-83. Along the way, McCutchen became the face of the franchise and heard loud "MVP!" chants when he would step to the plate at PNC Park this summer. "Id lie to you if I said it didnt enter my mind ever," he said. "Its awesome to hear something like that." Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in the NL wild-card game, then lost to St. Louis in a division series that went the full five games. Boston wound up beating St. Louis in the World Series. No one on the Red Sox or Cardinals won any of the major BBWAA awards. ' ' 'in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal. NMD Clearance .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday.VAL GARDENA, Italy -- Canadas Erik Guay gained a measure of revenge by winning the prestigious Val Gardena downhill Saturday, a year after missing out on the victory because of changing weather. Guay, from Mt. Tremblant, Que., clocked one minute 56.65 seconds down a Saslong course lined with huge jumps and filled with tricky terrain, making up time over the last few gates to edge Kjetil Jansrud of Norway by 0.12 seconds. "It is sweet," Guay said. "I skied really well and took the chances necessary." It was the fourth career World Cup victory for Guay, who also won gold in downhill at the 2011 world championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Johan Clarey of France finished third, 0.24 back, and overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal was fourth, 0.29 behind. Bode Miller placed fifth, 0.39 behind, for his best finish in a speed event this season. Miller took last season off to recover from left knee surgery and he is improving race by race as he prepares for the Sochi Olympics in February. Miller would have made the podium if he was just a bit faster on the flats and said getting his equipment dialed in after so much time off was a big factor. "Theres so many details, you never know what it is thats really causing the problem," the 36-year-old two-time overall World Cup winner said. "The fact is we just dont have the whole thing together right now. Were close, and were getting there." Miller made up more than half a second on the technical lower section. "On the top I didnt feel like I was going fast," Miller said. "I took a little bit of risk in some parts and pulled off some decent turns and I skied pretty well but its one of those courses where theres not enough to it to bring it back in with my technical ability." Guay thought he had won this race last year until a drastic weather change helped later starters on a shortened course, with Steven Nyman of the United States taking the win and Rok Perko of Slovenia claiming second, relegating Guay to third. "I had a great run last year," Guay said. "In my mind I skied the best that I could have with my start number and not to take anything away from Nyman and Perko but the conditions do change and thats the reality of our sport. "I know that ski racing is like that," GGuay added.dddddddddddd"Ive been on the good side of the hundredths and Ive benefited from good weather sometimes. So you take it when you can and you forget it when youre on the other side." While it wasnt quite as drastic as last year, when winds played a role, changing light once again made a big impact. Guay, Svindal and Miller had to deal with less light on the gliding section on top but then all three racers excelled on the more technical section of the course. The highlights of the Saslong are the camel bumps, which launch skiers into the air for nearly 80 metres (90 yards), and the twisty and technical ciaslat section -- two areas that come one right after another midway down. There are also numerous little bumps and jumps, making for constant air time. "A lot of times Val Gardena goes under radar with Wengen and Kitzbuehel getting so much attention but I think its one of most fun courses on the World Cup," Guay said. Guays performance was all the more impressive considering that he had left-knee surgery in the off-season and missed most of preseason training. Jansrud also had left-knee surgery after a crash in the super-G at last seasons world championships in Schladming, Austria. Jansrud took silver in giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Saturdays result matched his best downhill finish from March, 2012, on home snow in Kvitfjell. Clarey also finished third in this race four years ago for his only other career podium. He stood first when the 2011 race was abandoned beause of strong winds after 21 racers had completed their runs. "Its unbelievable for me," Clarey said. "I almost quit skiing five months ago after my back injury." In the overall standings, Svindal moved 175 points ahead of Marcel Hirscher, who does not race downhill. Svindal also leads the downhill standings, 53 points ahead of Guay. Nyman was an early starter and made a big mistake midway down and had to make an acrobatic recovery to avoid injury. But his race ended there. Brice Roger and David Poisson of France also fell. Poisson slammed into the safety netting at full speed but eventually got up and skied down. The circuit moves over the Gardena pass for a giant slalom Sunday in Alta Badia, where Ted Ligety will attempt to duplicate his dominant win from last season. ' ' 'rm agreement with him. Vapormax Sort Dame . The CFL will help tackle womens cancers by playing four special "CFL PINK" games this weekend. http://www.vapormaxdanmark.com/ .com) - There may be a debate in Philadelphia about who should be the starting quarterback of the Eagles. Nike Vapormax Dk . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. Vapormax Herre Zalando .S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon.MONACO, Monaco - The IOC approved a wide-ranging reform package Monday, including a more affordable bidding process, creation of an Olympic television channel and a more flexible sports program that could bring baseball and softball into the 2020 Tokyo Games.The IOC also approved the rewording of non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation — a move that followed the controversy over Russias law against gay propaganda ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.The International Olympic Committee voted in favour of the new rules on the opening day of a special session to adopt President Thomas Bachs 40-point Olympic Agenda 2020 program, the biggest changes in the IOC in decades.All the recommendations were approved unanimously in one day, rather than the scheduled 1 1/2 days.This Olympic Agenda 2020 is like a jigsaw puzzle, Bach told the delegates. Now that you have approved all the recommendations, you can see the whole picture of this puzzle. ... It was a very important day for the IOC and the Olympic movement.The IOC abolished the cap of 28 sports for the Summer Games to move to an events-based system that would allow new competitions to come in, while keeping to about 10,500 athletes and 310 medal events.Host cities will also be allowed to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events for their games.The new rules clear the way for Tokyo organizers to request that baseball and softball be included in the 2020 Games. Both sports, dropped after the 2008 Beijing Games, are highly popular in Japan.Today, there is excitement circulating around the baseball and softball world and there is great hope that our athletes will now have a real opportunity ... to play for their country, aiming to win an Olympic gold medal, said Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation.Other sports like squash and karate are also hopeful of joining the Tokyo program. In addition, new disciplines and events within existing sports could also be considered. Some events may need to be dropped to make room for new ones.This is a major breakthrough, senior Canadian member Dick Pound said. We were at a dead-end situation with 28 sports. This provides the flexibility we need.The new bidding process, meanwhile, is aimed at making the system cheaaper and more flexible to attract future candidates — including the option of holding events outside the host city or country.ddddddddddddThe votes came at a time when many countries have been scared off by the costs of hosting the Olympics, including the reported $51 billion associated with the Sochi Games. Several cities withdrew from the bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, leaving only Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the running.The new system makes the process more of an invitation and allows prospective candidates to discuss their plans in advance with the IOC to tailor games to their own needs — and keep them affordable.In the most radical change, cities will be allowed to hold events outside the host city or country. This opens the door to joint bids by cities, neighbouring countries or regions.IOC vice-president John Coates said holding events outside the host country would only be considered in exceptional circumstances. He said the idea would have to be raised in the early phase of bidding and would need approval from the IOC executive board.The compactness of the bid is always important, Coates said. But the compactness of the games has to be weighed up with the cost benefit of being able to use existing venues rather than build new venues.The IOC backed the launch of a digital channel — possibly as early as next year — to promote Olympic sports between the games and engage with young viewers. The channel will feature material from the IOCs archives, transmit some international sports competitions and offer a promotional platform for bid cities.This is really a historical step, Bach said.The IOC said the channel — to be run by the Madrid-based Olympic Broadcasting Services — will cost $600 million to operate over the first seven years, with the goal of breaking even in the first decade.The new Principle 6 clause says the Olympics should be free of discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.This is a pivotal moment for equality in sport, said Andre Banks, executive director and co-founder of internal gay rights group All Out.___Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap ' ' '