95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Thursday, July 28, 2016
MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 4, Boston Red Sox 3
Chicago Cubs 8, Chicago White Sox 1
Tigers 4, Red Sox 3 – Cabrera’s HR bounces right for Tigers in 4-3 win over Boston
Miguel Cabrera hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning that bounced off the top of the wall and into Boston’s bullpen, lifting the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox Wednesday for a three-game series sweep. Boston’s the last major league team to be swept in a series of any length this season. James McCann also hit a solo homer, and Victor Martinez had four singles, a walk and drove in two runs for Detroit, which has won five of seven. Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia had solo homers for the Red Sox, who lost for the fifth time in six games to complete a nine-game homestand at 4-5.
Cubs 8, White Sox 1 – Baez hits 2-run HR, Russell adds slam as Cubs rout White Sox
Javier Baez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer deep into Wrigley’s Field’s left bleachers in the seventh, Addison Russell added a grand slam in a five-run eighth and the Chicago Cubs beat the White Sox 8-1 Wednesday night. Jason Hammel (10-5) allowed one run and five hits while striking out seven in seven innings. Hector Rondon pitched a perfect eighth, and Aroldis Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in his Cubs debut. Baez went deep on a full-count pitch against Anthony Ranaudo (1-1) to chase the right-hander in his White Sox debut. Ranaudo didn’t allow a hit until Kris Bryant’s solo homer with one out in the sixth tie the score 1-1. Bryant’s 26th homer matched his total last season when he was NL Rookie of the Year. After Ben Zobrist’s RBI double in the eighth, Russell followed two hitters later with his 12th homer to help the Cubs end a two-game slide and snap the White Sox’s four-game winning streak.
Tonight
Chicago White Sox (Chris Sale 14-3) at Chicago Cubs (John Lackey 7-7), 8:05 p.m.
Tigers are off
MLB – White Sox place Lawrie on DL
The Chicago White Sox placed second baseman Brett Lawrie on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 22nd, and recalled infielder Carlos Sanchez from Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday. Lawrie has missed the last five games with a left hamstring injury.
NFL – Chicago Bears open training camp
The Chicago Bears rebuilt their defense. They gave their offense a different look, too. More than anything, they insisted they put themselves in a position to make a jump in the standings. Considering they finished last in the NFC North last season, there’s plenty of room for that. The Bears showed up Wednesday for their second training camp under Pace and coach John Fox with a renewed hope after making big strides last season even if it didn’t necessarily show up in the record. They finished 6-10 after winning just five games the previous season. And if history is an indication, they can expect to improve in Year 2 under Fox. The Carolina Panthers went from seven wins in 2002 to 11 with a trip to the Super Bowl the following season. The Denver Broncos went from eight wins in 2011 to 13 the following season.
NFL – Coughlin to join NFL’s operations staff
Tom Coughlin will be joining the NFL’s football operations staff, a person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press. The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach will work closely with Troy Vincent and with the NFL’s game-related committees in an advisory role. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL has not yet announced the hiring. Coughlin won 170 games in his 20 years as an NFL head coach, including the 2007 and 2011 league championships when the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowls. He also was the original coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and got them into the playoffs in 1996, their second season. He left the Giants after they went 6-10 in 2015, their fourth straight season out of the playoffs. Considered an offensive mastermind, Coughlin sought several coaching jobs last offseason, but didn’t take any.
NHL – Red Wings agree to 2-year, $8M deal with goalie Petr Mrazek
The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a two-year, $8 million contract with goaltender Petr Mrazek. Mrazek has emerged as Detroit’s top goalie, beating out Jimmy Howard. The 24-year-old Mrazek was 27-16-3 last season with a 2.33 goals-against average in a career-high 54 games. The Czech is 46-30-8 over two NHL regular seasons and has a 4-6 mark with a 1.88 GAA and three shutouts in the playoffs. Detroit drafted the Mrazek six years ago in the fifth round. Howard has become expendable as a backup with three years left on his $31.8 million, six-year contract and a potential backup to Mrazek, Jared Coreau, signed to a two-year contract.
NCAA Football – Michigan State scholarship to honor Sadler
Michigan State’s athletic department is establishing a scholarship fund to honor Mike Sadler, the former Spartans punter who died in a car accident Saturday in Wisconsin. Sadler and Nebraska punter Sam Foltz died in a crash after attending a kicking camp in Wisconsin. The Mike Sadler Legacy Football Scholarship Fund will enable a Michigan State football player to receive a scholarship each year in his honor. Sadler was a four-year starter and four-time academic All-American at Michigan State. He finished his college career after the 2014 season. Michigan State is holding an event to celebrate Sadler’s life Sunday at Spartan Stadium. It is open to the public.
NCAA – Ohio couple gives $5M to Notre Dame for band facility
An Ohio couple has donated $5 million to the University of Notre Dame to create a marching band practice field. The university announced the donation by Kenn and Pamela Ricci of Willoughby, Ohio, on Tuesday. The facility will be used by the marching band as a rehearsal field with lights and an artificial turf football field with a band director’s tower.
NASCAR – Rodney Childers suspended 1 race by NASCAR for loose lug nut
NASCAR has suspended the crew chief for Kevin Harvick for an improperly installed lug nut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rodney Childers will not appeal the suspension or his $20,000 fine. He will miss Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway.
NASCAR – Daytona 500 moving back to traditional weekend in 2018
The Daytona 500 is moving back to its traditional weekend in 2018. The race had been held on Presidents Day weekend from 1968 to 2011. But NASCAR officials tweaked the date beginning in 2012, anticipating changes to the NFL schedule.
Olympics – Putin: Russian athletes are victims of discrimination
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russian track and field athletes are victims of “discrimination” following their ban from the Olympics due to the country’s doping scandal. Putin added that those barred from competing are victims of “double standards” and a campaign against Russian sports. Hours after he made those comments, the International Weightlifting Federation said four more Russians have been suspended after having their tests from the London Olympics retested. Roughly 109 members of the Russian team have been rejected by the individual sports federations because of concerns about the country’s drug testing in the midst of a doping scandal.
Olympics – Olympic channel to launch after Rio
The IOC’s new Olympic Channel will be launched next month following the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Games. The International Olympic Committee says the digital channel will go live on Sunday, Aug. 21. The channel, which will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is designed to promote Olympics sports between each games and engage with young audiences. It will provide a mix of live sports coverage, historic Olympic footage from the IOC’s archives, news programming and a platform for Olympic bid cities. The project, the brainchild of IOC President Thomas Bach, was approved by the full IOC in December 2014. The channel will be available via a mobile app and at olympicchannel.com.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Lake County 5, South Bend 4
Fort Wayne 6, West Michigan 4
Dayton 7, Great Lakes 5
Bowling Green 4, Lansing 1
Tonight
South Bend at Lake County, 7:00 p.m.
West Michigan at Fort Wayne, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes at Dayton, 7:00 p.m.
Lansing at Bowling Green, 7:35 p.m.
