Weekday Morning Sports – Friday 5/11/18

sportsreport-435
sportsreport-435

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs were off

Today
Chicago White Sox (Fulmer 2-2) at Chicago Cubs (Chatwood 2-3), 2:20 p.m.
Seattle (Gonzales 3-2) at Detroit (Boyd 1-3), 7:10 p.m.              WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 6:45

MLB – Price may cut back video games, pitches Saturday at Toronto
Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price says video games may have contributed to his carpal tunnel syndrome but, are not the cause of the condition. Price is set to start Saturday at Toronto. He has not pitched since May 3. The 32-year-old left-hander is 2-4 with a 5.11 ERA in seven starts during his third season with the Red Sox. He returned to Boston on Tuesday for tests after experiencing numbness in his pitching hand during a bullpen session and was diagnosed with carpal tunnel. Price threw about 40 pitches before Thursday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. He will be treated with a procedure similar to acupuncture and hopes to avoid surgery. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner is a longtime video game enthusiast. Earlier this season, Price said he and his teammates have been spent many hours playing the popular Fortnite.

NHL – 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 – (Best of 7)
Last Night – Game 7
Winnipeg Jets 5, Nashville Predators 1                                                  WPG wins 4-3

Jets 5, Predators 1 – Jets stun Preds in Game 7
The Winnipeg Jets are headed to the first Western Conference final in their short history after knocking off the NHL’s best team in the regular season. Tyler Myers and Paul Stastny scored 2:06 apart in the first period, and the Jets stunned the Nashville Predators 5-1 Thursday night in their first Game 7, continuing an amazing run for a team swept in its previous two playoff appearances. Stastny finished with a second goal and an assist, and Mark Scheifele also had two goals. Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each had two assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves for Winnipeg, which won three of four games in Nashville after missing the Presidents’ Trophy by three points to the Predators. The Jets now host Vegas in Game 1 on Saturday night in a conference final nobody could’ve predicted when this season started. P.K. Subban scored for Nashville, now the ninth Presidents’ Trophy winner in 10 years not to win the Stanley Cup.

Tonight – Round 3 –  Conference Finals – (Best of 7)
Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m.                Game 1

Golf – Dustin Johnson part of 6-way tie for lead at Players
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson delivered plenty of entertainment at The Players Championship.   The lead belonged to just about everyone else. Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar were among six players who shared the lead at 6-under 66, the largest logjam ever at the TPC Sawgrass and the most players tied at the top in the tournament in 40 years. Woods had the best score in his star group and didn’t even break par. He had to save bogey on the 18th for a 72. Mickelson wore a long-sleeved, button-down shirt and posted a 79, his highest score at Sawgrass since 2000. Rickie Fowler, rounding out the threesome, shot 74.

Golf – LPGA – LPGA Tour gets 1st team event in Michigan next year
The LPGA Tour has an official team event for the first time in its 69-year history. The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational starts next year, a 72-hole event at Midland Country Club in Michigan that will feature foursomes and fourballs. Still to be determined are how the two-player teams are formed. It will be held July 17-20 in 2019 and offer a $2 million purse. The sponsorship deal with The Dow Chemical Company is five years. The format is similar to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans on the PGA Tour. LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan says “players and fans have consistently asked about a team event.”  The LPGA Tour, founded in 1950, has had several unofficial team events, starting with the Hot Springs 4-Ball Invitational in the late 1950s.

NFL – Lions’ Patricia says he was ‘falsely accused’ of assault
Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia says he was “falsely accused” in a 1996 sexual assault allegation that resurfaced this week. Patricia held a brief news conference Thursday, a day after a Detroit News report that he and a friend were indicted 22 years ago by a Texas grand jury, on one count each of aggravated sexual assault for an alleged incident involving a woman on South Padre Island. The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed. The Lions said Wednesday night that a pre-employment background check did not turn up the incident. The team said it was standing by Patricia. Owner Martha Firestone Ford, general manager Bob Quinn and president Rod Wood were at Thursday’s news conference but did not speak. An NFL spokesman says the league will review the matter with the team.

NFL – Lions waive running back Tion Green
The Detroit Lions have waived running back Tion Green.  Green appeared in five games last season for Detroit, rushing for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries. Green was an undrafted rookie last year out of Cincinnati. Detroit has tried to revamp its running game this offseason, signing running back LeGarrette Blount and drafting running back Kerryon Johnson in the second round.

NFL – Bears sign 6 of 7 draft picks
The Chicago Bears have signed six of their seven draft picks, leaving Georgia linebacker and No. 8 overall selection Roquan Smith as the only one left. The Bears signed Iowa offensive lineman James Daniels (second round) and Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller (second round), Western Kentucky linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe (fourth round), Delaware defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (fifth round), Utah linebacker Kylie Fitts (sixth round) and Georgia receiver Javon Wims (seventh round). Chicago announced the moves on Thursday. The Bears start rookie minicamp on Friday.

AAF – Singletary head coach of Memphis Alliance of American Football team
Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary has been hired as head coach of the Memphis franchise in the Alliance of American Football that will begin play next February. The former Chicago Bears linebacker previously coached for three NFL teams, including a head-coaching stint with San Francisco.

NBA – Oklahoma City forward Collison retiring after 15 seasons
Oklahoma City forward Nick Collison is retiring after 15 seasons, all with the same franchise. Collison was a first-round pick of the Seattle Supersonics in 2003 and remained with the organization when it relocated to Oklahoma City.  The 37-year-old Collison did not give a reason for retiring, only saying he was blessed to have spent 15 years in the NBA. The 6-foot-10 Collison played in 910 career regular-season games and 91 playoff games.

NCAAFB – NCAA rules 5 former Ole Miss players immediately eligible
The NCAA ruled five former Mississippi players will be allowed to play this season after transferring, granting waivers under a recently revised rule that was used to make quarterback Shea Patterson immediate eligibility at Michigan. UCF receiver Tre Nixon, Houston safety Deontay Anderson, Georgia Tech offensive lineman Jack DeFoor, UAB linebacker Jarrion Street and Nebraska linebacker Breon Dixon will all be eligible to play for their news teams this season. Attorney Tom Mars, who was advising all the Ole Miss except Dixon, said the waivers all went through the same process as Patterson’s. The NCAA tweaked its waiver process to allow players who were in good standing at their previous school to be immediately eligible at their new school if the original school does not oppose the transfer.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Burlington 8, West Michigan 6, 10 innings
Clinton 4, South Bend 3, 11 innings
Lansing 4, Beloit 3
Wisconsin 4, Great Lakes 3

Tonight
Burlington at West Michigan, 7:05 p.m.
Lansing at Beloit, 7:30 p.m.
Clinton at South Bend, 7:35 p.m.
Great Lakes at Wisconsin, 7:35 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Paw Paw 3, St. Joseph 2
Lake Mich. Catholic 14, Michigan Lutheran 4 – Game 1
Lake Mich. Catholic 16, Michigan Lutheran 1 – Game 2
Mattawan 4, Lakeshore 1 – Game 1
Mattawan 12, Lakeshore 2 – Game 2
Niles 7, Buchanan 3
Gobles 3, Lawrence 1 – Game 1
Gobles 7, Lawrence 5 – Game 2
Decatur 15, White Pigeon 0 – Game 1
Decatur 12, White Pigeon 0 – Game 2

Softball
St. Joseph 4, Paw Paw 3
Lake Mich. Catholic 12, Michigan Lutheran 4 – Game 1
Michigan Lutheran 13, Lake Mich. Catholic 12 – Game 2
Brandywine 7, Dowagiac 6 – Game 1
Dowagiac 10, Brandywine 9 – Game 2
Lawrence 6, Gobles 2 – Game 1
Gobles 9, Lawrence 6 – Game 2
River Valley 15, Berrien Springs 4 – Game 1
River Valley 12, Berrien Springs 2 – Game 2
Centreville 13, Hartford 0 – Game 1
Centreville 14, Hartford 3 – Game 2

Girls Soccer
Lake Michigan Catholic 3, Brandywine 0
Kalamazoo Hackett 8, Lawton 0

Girls Tennis
Edwardsburg 7, Niles 1

BCS Championship

  1. Brandywine              42
  2. LMC/Bridgman           39
  3. Comstock                 34
  4. Buchanan                 29
  5. New Buffalo             13
  6. Berrien Springs        12

Today
Baseball
Coloma at Watervliet, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Edwardsburg at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Sturgis at South Haven, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Vicksburg at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Three Rivers at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Dowagiac at Allegan, 4:00 (DH)
Lawton at Delton-Kellogg, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Saugatuck at Fennville, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Martin at Schoolcraft, 4:30 p.m. (DH)

Softball
Coloma at Watervliet, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Edwardsburg at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Sturgis at South Haven, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Vicksburg at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Three Rivers at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Dowagiac at Allegan, 4:00 (DH)
Lawton at Delton-Kellogg, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Saugatuck at Fennville, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Martin at Schoolcraft, 4:30 p.m. (DH)

Girls Soccer
St. Joseph at Vicksburg, 6:30 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Michigan Lutheran, 5:00 p.m.
South Haven at Lawton, 6:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Portage Northern, 6:30 p.m.
Dowagiac at Bridgman, 5:00 p.m.
Parchment at Bangor, 6:00 p.m.
Portage Central at Mattawan, 6:30 p.m.

Track and Field
Wolverine Conference Championships at Allegan, 2:00 p.m.
Allegan, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, Otsego, Paw Paw, Plainwell, South Haven, Sturgis, Three Rivers, Vicksburg

Saturday
Track and Field
Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference Championships at St. Joseph, 10:00 a.m.
BC Central, Lakeview, Gull Lake, Kal. Central, Loy Norrix, Lakeshore, Mattawan, Niles, Portage Central, Portage Northern, St. Joseph

Girls Tennis
Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference Championships at Portage Central/Portage Northern, 8:30 a.m.
BC Central, Lakeview, Gull Lake, Kal. Central, Loy Norrix, Lakeshore, Mattawan, Niles, Portage Central, Portage Northern, St. Joseph

Wolverine Conference Championships at Sturgis/Three Rivers, 8:30 a.m.
Allegan, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, Otsego, Paw Paw, Plainwell, South Haven, Sturgis, Three Rivers, Vicksburg

Baseball
Lakeshore Invitational, 10:00 a.m.
Lakeshore, St. Joseph, Niles, Vicksburg

Softball
St. Joseph Invitational, 10:00 a.m.
St. Joseph, Lakeshore, Coloma, Bronson