BOSTON -- For the first half-dozen seasons of his career, Rick Porcello pitched in the shadows of Cy Young Award-winning teammates Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.Now, he walks among them.One year after succumbing to the weight of a lucrative contract extension and losing 15 games for the Boston Red Sox, Porcello won the American League Cy Young Award, edging Verlander -- much to the chagrin of the Detroit Tigers aces fiancée, Kate Upton -- by a narrow margin in voting that was announced Wednesday night by the Baseball Writers Association of America.Porcello became only the fourth pitcher to claim a Cy Young Award with the Red Sox, joining Jim Lonborg (1967), Roger Clemens?(1986, 1987, 1990) and Pedro Martinez?(1999, 2000).Its pretty incredible to be mentioned with those three other Red Sox players, and then Pedro and Roger, Porcello said on a conference call from his parents home in New Jersey, where he received the news. It definitely doesnt feel right, right now, just because I grew up watching those guys. They were my idols growing up, and I had the utmost admiration for what theyve done in the game. To be in that category is -- I cant express my gratitude. Its pretty humbling. I never thought Id be in that position to mention my name with those guys.Porcello, a 27-year-old right-hander, was a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2007 and made his major league debut two years later at age 20. But he entered this season with a 4.39 career ERA and hadnt even been an All-Star, to say nothing of a Cy Young candidate.It was nothing short of a dream season, then, for Porcello, who led the majors with 22 wins and a 5.906 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He ranked behind Verlander and fellow Cy Young finalist Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians in both ERA (3.15) and strikeouts (189), but Porcellos candidacy was built on his mind-numbing consistency. He allowed three or fewer runs in 27 of 33 starts and pitched into the seventh inning 23 times, racking up a career-high 223 innings.Porcello said he began to realize he was having a special season right after the All-Star break, a notion that crystallized when he notched his 20th win Sept. 9 in Toronto.I felt like I had the weapons this year and the command to get out just about any guy that I was going to encounter in any lineup, Porcello said. I had nothing to worry about going into a start.Yet Porcello received only eight first-place votes for the Cy Young Award, as compared to Verlanders 14.What put Porcello over the top in the overall voting by a 137-132 margin over Verlander were his 18 second-place votes, coupled with the fact that two Tampa, Florida-based writers -- Fred Goodall of The Associated Press and Bill Chastain of MLB.com -- left Verlander off their ballots entirely.Voters list their five picks in order. A first-place vote is worth seven points, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Verlander needed to pick up five more points to match Porcello.I feel bad that people are upset about this. I did the best I could, Chastain told the New York Daily News. I went around the clubhouse. I asked guys. I agonized over this. The biggest thing for me was between [Orioles closer?Zach] Britton?and Porcello.Members of the BBWAA have until the end of the regular season to submit their ballots.Chastain said he sent in his ballot a week early, thinking nothing in the final days of the regular season would change his mind. Verlander, though, allowed just one run over his final two starts (14 2/3 innings), going 1-1 and watching his ERA drop from 3.21 to 3.04.At the time, I thought I picked the best five guys, Chastain told the Daily News. Maybe I should have waited until the end. When I voted, it looked pretty clear to me.This marked the second-closest election since 1970, when voters were permitted to select more than one pitcher.Under the current Cy Young voting format, two AL races have been decided by five or fewer voting points. Verlander has been the runner-up in both.Porcello got a $100,000 bonus for winning the Cy Young Award. Verlander, who won the 2011 award, would have gotten $500,000 for this win.Verlanders brother Ben and Upton lashed out against the voters on Twitter, with Upton even saying that Porcello didnt win because he didnt receive as many first-place votes.Verlander later tweeted:?I honestly dont care, Porcello said, when asked about the reaction from Verlanders camp. Im not the one that made that decision, as far as who wins the Cy Young. All I know is Ive got a lot of people around me right now that I love very much and have been instrumental in my success getting to this point. And on top of that, weve got some really good bottles of wine that still need to be drank. Theres not really a concern in my mind.If anything, Porcello said he was thrilled to share this years Cy Young honor with Scherzer, the Washington Nationals ace who won the 2016 award in the National League.Scherzer recalled in his conference call his five seasons as Porcellos teammate, noting that the two pitchers used to critique each others outings and observe their between-start bullpen sessions. Porcello remembered how they used to talk about never throwing back-to-back curveballs and pushed each other to be better after getting demoted to the minor leagues in 2010.We both kind of started from rocky beginnings in our major league careers, Porcello said. Very quickly and almost overnight, [Scherzer] turned himself into an absolute dominant starting pitcher in the big league level. I definitely took a slow development road, and it took me a little bit longer. But the lessons -- we were able to kind of feed off of each other, as far as ideas on how to attack hitters, what were seeing in guys, pitch selection. Watching him and talking to him -- that connection that we have and that friendship that we have -- was instrumental in both of our developments.Porcellos Cy Young ascendance is also a triumph for ex-Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington.After the 2014 season, Cherington staked his reputation on the belief that Porcello would mature into a top-of-the-rotation starter. Not only did the Red Sox trade star outfielder?Yoenis Cespedes?to Detroit for Porcello, they also gave the pitcher a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension that appeared foolish when Porcello went 9-15 with a 4.92 ERA in 2015.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.Nike Sko Air Max .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Billige Nike Free Dame . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. http://www.sportsskooutletonline.com/nike-free-sko/nike-free-4-0-flyknit.html . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Nike Air Max 97 Dame . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Køb Nike Air Max . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout.Each month, yoga coach Gwen Lawrence shows us the best poses for athletes. As always, consult a doctor before you begin any new exercise program.Although cycling is a great workout, the awkward posture thats held for long rides can wreak havoc on your spine, organ health and breathing. Here are five poses that can help you stay healthy, symmetrical and strong -- and keep you riding for years to come.Cat-cow movePerhaps the king of warm-up poses for a cycling workout, this move will open the spine, the ribs, the lungs and the neck and truly warm you up from the inside out. The posture you hold on the bike might overstretch your back and weaken your abdominals; this move will even you out.* Sit in a comfortable position on the floor or in a chair.* Brace your hands on your knees or shins so you can use your arms for leverage and push deeper into the stretches.* As you inhale, lift your spine and lengthen into a gentle backbend.* As you exhale, move backward and drop your chin toward your chest.* Exaggerate each move for depth of stretch and maximum breath output and input.* Do this each day before (and even after) a ride for 2-4 minutes.Wrist openersCyclists often think about form -- but that usually involves alignment of the back and chest, and the wrists can go unnoticed and ignored. Stretching your wrists can avoid carpal tunnel pain during your rides.Keys to the pose* Start on your hands and knees in a table pose.* Stretch one wrist at a time, pointing your fingers back toward your body, so you can tune in and focus more precisely.* Eventually try to get your wrist directly under your shoulder, creating a 90-degree angle.* Hold each stretch for one minute, and do it two times on each side.* Do not sink in to your shoulders; keep your back long and your neck stretched out of the shoulders.Happy cow armsAlthough this pose is very challenging, you will see quick improvements when you do it consistently. I love this pose because you will get several angles of stretch in the shoulder, and it will also tone your back and neck muscles.Keys to the pose* In a sitting position with knees tucked under, extend one arm up toward the ceiling with your palm facing forward. Bend it and bring it down to your spine. Bend your other arm up, palm facing behind you, unntil your fingers meet.dddddddddddd If you cant connect your hands, use a yoga strap rope or old necktie, and clasp it between your hands.* Sit up very tall, keep your back straight and your chin parallel to the floor while holding.* The elbow of the arm that is up should be pointing straight up to the sky in time, with the upper arm snuggled beside your head.* Breathe and hold the pose for two to three minutes. Come out of it nice and slowly. Switch sides.Supported half happy babyThere is contraction in the deep hip flexors when you ride, which can cause issues in your low back and hamstrings. Holding this pose for minutes on each side helps release pressure on the low back, allowing for better rotation and overall range of motion in the spine.* Lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, push hips up and place one yoga block under the back of your hips. Relax all your weight on the block.* Slide your left leg straight out and bring your right leg into a half happy baby pose.* If you are too tight to hold the outer edge of the right foot, use a yoga strap.* Be sure to keep the right foot squared off perfectly to the ceiling and knee tight in toward your armpit to keep the knee joint safe.* Your knee should be as close to a 90-degree angle as possible.* Hold this pose for 1-3 minutes on each side.Warrior I push-offsWithout a doubt, the health, strength and flexibility of your ankles and feet will dictate how long you can ride. This pose will do all that for you. It can also help you tune in to each side of your body and become better aware of any imbalances before they become injuries.Keys to the pose* Start in a lunge position.* Place your arms on your front thigh, or for more of a challenge, reach them upward.* With your weight all the way back in the heel of your back leg, push off the back foot and move forward, moving your knee further over your front leg, as close to a 90-degree angle as possible.* Keep your back leg straight and strong.* Slide back and forth (not up and down) for 1-3 minutes on each side to build serious leg strength and power, while stretching the feet, toes calves and Achilles tendons. ' ' '