Weekday Morning Sports – Friday 8/19/16

sportsreport-98
sportsreport-98

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Friday, August 19, 2016

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 4, Boston Red Sox 3
Cleveland Indians 5, Chicago White Sox 4
Chicago Cubs 9, Milwaukee Brewers 6

Tigers 4, Red Sox 3 – Tigers edge Red Sox 4-3, snapping Boston’s 6-game win streak
Second baseman Ian Kinsler caught a line drive by Mookie Betts for the final out with runners on second and third, and the Detroit Tigers held off the Red Sox 4-3 Thursday, snapping Boston’s six-game winning streak. Andrew Romine drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a three-run Detroit rally in the eighth. Boston threatened in the ninth against Francisco Rodriguez. Kinsler was well positioned and needed to move only slightly to his right to make the play on Betts’ liner.   Rodriguez got his 34th save in 37 chances. Justin Wilson (3-4) won in relief. Junichi Tazawa (2-2) failed to retire a batter in the eighth. Sandy Leon homered for Boston.

Indians 5, White Sox 4 – Naquin hits game-ending sacrifice fly, Indians top White Sox
Cleveland manager Terry Francona put up a pinch-hitter in the middle of an at-bat and the strategy paid off when Tyler Naquin lofted a game-ending sacrifice fly in the ninth inning that lifted the Indians over the Chicago White Sox 5-4 Thursday night. The AL Central-leading Indians scored a single run in each of the last five innings to overtake Chicago. Cleveland improved to 6-2 on an 11-game homestand. Abraham Almonte doubled to begin ninth off Jacob Turner (1-2). With Roberto Perez batting, a passed ball by Dioner Navarro moved Almonte to third. Francona then sent Naquin to the plate with a 1-0 count. The rookie drove the first pitch he saw to center field, deep enough that Adam Eaton couldn’t prevent Almonte from scoring. Andrew Miller (7-1) earned the win with one inning of scoreless relief.

Cubs 9, Brewers 6 – Bryant homers twice, has 5 hits as Cubs sweep Brewers 9-6
Kris Bryant homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs while going 5 for 5 and the Chicago Cubs overcame a career-high seven walks by Jake Arrieta to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-6 Thursday for a four-game sweep. Bryant tied Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for the NL lead with 30 home runs. The Cubs won for the 18th time in 21 games and improved the best record in the majors to 77-43. Chicago led 5-0 when Arrieta (15-5) issued a pair of two-out walks in the fourth. Kirk Nieuwenhuis followed with a three-run homer. Hernan Perez hit a solo homer in the sixth off Arrieta, who allowed four runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his seventh save with the Cubs.

Tonight
Boston (Rick Porcello 16-3) at Detroit (Michael Fulmer 10-3), 7:10 p.m.  WSJM Sports/WCSY-FM 6:45
Oakland (Kendall Graveman 8-8) at Chicago White Sox (James Shields 5-14), 8:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Kyle Hendricks 11-7) at Colorado (Tyler Anderson 4-4), 8:40 p.m.

MLB – Plans for housing at former Tiger Stadium site move forward
Plans are moving forward for housing and retail space at the former site of Detroit’s Tiger Stadium as part of a broader redevelopment project. Construction officially started in June at the site, which is being redeveloped into a youth sports facility and Detroit Police Athletic League headquarters. A new $20 million, 2,500-seat stadium will be named for hometown sports hero Willie Horton.

MLB – Owners may consider multitude of changes
The national pastime may consider a face-lift that could change the face of the game. Limiting pitching changes, restricting defensive shifts, altering the strike zone and installing pitch clocks are among the ideas Major League Baseball may ponder as it undertakes a multiyear review of the game that could include the sport’s most radical changes in decades. Baseball owners were given a lengthy presentation during their quarterly meeting of how the sport has changed in the past 40 to 50 years. If implemented, some of the changes could be the most revolutionary since the AL adopted the designated hitter in 1973

NFL – NFL Preseason
Last Night
Cincinnati Bengals 30, Detroit Lions 14
New England Patriots 23, Chicago Bears 22
Philadelphia 17, Pittsburgh 0
Atlanta 24, Cleveland 13
Green Bay 20, Oakland 12
Minnesota 18, Seattle 11

Bengals 30, Lions 14 – Hill’s early TD helps Bengals to 30-14 win over Lions
Jeremy Hill ran for a 9-yard touchdown on Cincinnati’s first possession, and the Bengals went on to a 30-14 preseason victory over the Detroit Lions Thursday night. Hill hurt his left hand in Cincinnati’s preseason opener last week, but he had three carries for 16 yards against the Lions and also caught a pass. Former Cincinnati wide receiver Marvin Jones, signed by the Lions in the offseason, had four catches for 65 yards against his former team. Detroit’s Matthew Stafford was 8 of 11 for 113 yards, but the Lions went without a touchdown until the final minute of the game.  There’s some uncertainty at the backup quarterback spot, with Dan Orlovsky doing little to inspire confidence when his interception was returned for a touchdown. Rookie Jake Rudock received a nice hand when he came on in the fourth quarter, but the University of Michigan product was also intercepted on just his third pass attempt. Cincinnati’s Derron Smith returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Patriots 23, Bears 22 – Brady out, Garoppolo throws TD as Pats beat Bears 23-22
Tom Brady sat out his second straight preseason game, while the guy that will replace him at the start of the regular season continued to make progress. Brady did not go through pregame warmups Thursday night and never made it to the field for the New England Patriots’ 23-22 win over the Chicago Bears. Former Eastern Illinois star Jimmy Garoppolo will start the first four games of the regular season while Brady serves his “Deflategate” suspension, and he made the most of the extra playing time. He threaded a 16-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to A.J. Derby late in the first half for his first TD pass of the preseason. Garoppolo played the entire first half and one series in the second half, finishing 16 of 21 for  181 yards. Jay Cutler and Chicago’s offense started the game with a lot more pep following an anemic effort in the opener last week. The Bears gained 78 yards of offense in the first half of their 22-0 loss to Denver last week. Chicago gained 59 yards in its first drive Thursday and surpassed last week’s total in its second possession. Cutler played three series, completing 8 of 12 passes for 83 yards. Jeremy Langford also had a nice game, rushing eight times for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Tonight
N.Y. Jets At Washington, 7:30 P.M.
Miami At Dallas, 8 P.M.
Arizona At San Diego, 9 P.M.

NFL – Hall of Fame refunding ticket, hotel costs for canceled game
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is offering refunds to fans who bought tickets to its canceled preseason game this month. The hall announced Thursday that it will reimburse fans for the face value of their tickets, fees and one-night hotel accommodations. It was forced to cancel the August 7th game between Green Bay and Indianapolis after paint congealed and hardened on parts of the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. At least four fans sued the NFL in federal court in northern Ohio over the canceled game. An attorney who brought the lawsuit says the hall’s initial plan to only refund ticket prices was too little. The hall of fame says it also will offer affected fans four tickets to its museum.

NCAA Football – Harbaugh up to $7M with Michigan paying insurance premiums
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is receiving $2 million a year on top of his base salary of $5 million.  The raise is actually the $2 million annual premium the university is paying on a life insurance policy on Harbaugh. Michigan will make the payment each year from 2016 through 2021 if Harbaugh is coaching the Wolverines on Dec. 6 of those years. Harbaugh is the owner of the policy, meaning he can take withdrawals or loans from the policy. He also picks the beneficiary. The university gets its money back, without interest, when Harbaugh dies, with the beneficiary getting the money that remains after Michigan is paid. There are other circumstances in which the school would get its money back. The Detroit Free Press first reported the contract addendum.

Olympics – Men’s 200 Meter Dash
Usain Bolt cruised in what he says is his final Olympic 200-meter race. However, Bolt initially displayed disappointment when he saw the clock read 19.78 seconds, more than a half-second slower than his own world record of 19.19. The Jamaican had said he wanted to top the mark on Thursday, but he was good enough to earn his eighth Olympic gold medal.

Olympics – Men’s Decathlon
The decathlon was won by American Ashton Eaton for the second straight Olympics. The 28-year-old finished with 8,893 points to match the Olympic mark set in 2004. Eaton closed out the victory with a surge on the final lap of the 1,500 meters, allowing him to beat Kevin Mayer of France by 59 points.

Olympics – Men’s 400 Meter Hurdles
Two-time world champion Kerron Clement of the U.S. finished first in the 400-meter hurdles. The 30-year-old sandwiched world titles in 2007 and `09 around his Olympic silver medal in Beijing.

Olympics – Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles
Dalilah Muhammad completed a U.S. sweep of the 400-meter hurdles by winning the women’s event in 53.13 seconds. Denmark’s Sara Slott Peterson was second, followed by Ashley Spencer of the U.S.

Olympics – Men’s Shot Put
Ryan Crouser threw two personal bests in the shot put before his Olympic record of 22.52 meters beat world champion and fellow American Joe Kovacs. It’s the first major title for Crouser.

Olympics – Women’s Basketball
Sue Bird wasn’t missed by the U.S. women’s basketball team as Diana Taurasi scored 18 points to lead the Americans to an 86-67 win against France. Bird was unavailable due to a sprained knee suffered in the quarterfinal game. The five-time defending champions won their 48th straight game and will play Spain for the gold medal Saturday.

Olympics – Women’s 400 Meter Relay
Given a second chance following a protest, the U.S. team qualified for the women’s 4×100-meter relay final by recording the fastest time of the day in a solo re-run before the night session began. The Americans dropped the baton during the morning preliminaries and appeared to be out of contention before filing a protest. Track officials upheld the U.S. protest because Allyson Felix was jostled as she tried to hand the baton over to English Gardner.

Olympics – Women’s Volleyball
The top-ranked U.S. women’s volleyball team will leave Rio without a gold medal. The Americans forced a fifth set in their semifinal match against Serbia before losing.

Olympics – Women’s Golf
South Korea’s Inbee Park has the lead after 36 holes of the women’s Olympic golf tournament. She finished with two straight birdies for a second 5-under 66 and a one shot lead over American Stacy Lewis, who is 9-under. Lewis had a spectacular second round with 11 birdies and a 63.

Olympics – Swimmers in hot water
Brazilian police now say that U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his teammates were not robbed after a night of partying. Instead, the intoxicated athletes vandalized a gas station bathroom and were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left. Earlier Thursday, a Brazilian police official told The Associated Press that two of the swimmers said Lochte had made the story up and that the gas station manager actually demanded money from them to pay for the door.  

Golf – US Amateur – Michigan’s Nick Carlson reaches US Amateur quarterfinals
Michigan sophomore Nick Carlson won two matches on the 19th hole Thursday at Oakland Hills to advance to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals.  Carlson, from Hamilton, Michigan, beat British Amateur champion Scott Gregory of England in the morning round of 32, and topped Thailand’s KK Limbhasut in the afternoon round of 16. Carlson will face Illinois junior Dylan Meyer of Evansville, Indiana, on Saturday on the Donald Ross-designed South Course that Ben Hogan dubbed the “The Monster” in his 1951 U.S. Open victory. Meyer beat Alex Smalley, the Duke sophomore from Wake Forest, North Carolina, who led stroke-play qualifying, 4 and 3 in the morning and outlasted England’s Sam Horsfield in 19 holes in the afternoon.

Golf – PGA – Opening round in progress
Rested after the Rio Olympics, Rafa Cabrera Bello shot a 7-under 63 on Thursday in the Wyndham Championship for a share of the first-round lead with Kevin Na. Cabrera Bello eagled the par-5 fifth and closed the bogey-free round with a birdie on Sedgefield’s par-4 ninth. On Sunday, the 32-year-old Spaniard tied for fifth in Rio. Na had seven birdies in his bogey-free round in the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event. Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker, Derek Fathauer, New Zealand Olympian Danny Lee and Peter Malnati shot 65. Donald made a hole-in-one on the 16th. Jim Furyk had a 66 in his first round since shooting the first 58 in PGA Tour history two weeks ago in the final round of the Travelers Championship.

Fan hit by car after ball game dies
Officials say one of two pedestrians struck by a car while leaving a Pittsburgh Pirates game at PNC Park last week has died.  The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office says 80-year-old William Gallagher died at a hospital early Thursday.  Gallagher and his wife were hit by a car as they were crossing a street after the game on Aug. 9. It’s unclear what the woman’s condition is.  Authorities say 28-year-old Bryant Ellis was behind the wheel of the car that struck the couple. He’s been charged with causing an accident that involved personal injury while not properly licensed and driving without a license.  Court records don’t list an attorney for him.

MHSAA – High School Golf
St. Joseph took first place at the Hamilton Invitational Golf Tournament.  The Bears blue team claimed the title with a score of 337,  Spring Lake finished in 2nd place with a 348 score.    St. Joe’s team white came in 6th place with a 388 score.  St. Joe’s Cailey Rooker earn medalist honors with a round of 76.

1.       St. Joseph (blue)                       337
2.       Spring Lake                               346
3.       Wayland                                   370
4.       Hastings                                   371
5.       East Grand Rapids                     374
6.       St. Joseph (white)                     388
7.       Zeeland East                             409
8.       Hamilton                                   411
9.       Coopersville                             415
10.     Middleville Thornapple Kellogg 424
11.     Holland Christian                     437
12.     Allegan                                    466

MHSAA – High School Tennis
Three Rivers 5, Buchanan 2

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
Lake County 3, West Michigan 1
Great Lakes 5, Lansing 1
South Bend 6, Bowling Green 4

Tonight
Dayton at West Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
South Bend at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes at Bowling Green, 7:35 p.m.