Weekday Morning Sports – Tuesday 8/22/17

sportsreport-270
sportsreport-270

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, August 22, 2017

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Chicago White Sox 7, Minnesota Twins 6 – Game 1
Minnesota Twins 10, Chicago White Sox 2 – Game 2
Cubs and Tigers were off

White Sox 7, Twins 6 – Game 1 – Sanchez, Abreu power White Sox past Twins 7-6 in 1st game
Yolmer Sanchez homered and drove in four runs, Jose Abreu hit his 25th of the season and the Chicago White Sox held on to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-6 in the first game of a doubleheader.  Carlos Rodon (2-4) pitched effectively into seventh inning for the fifth straight outing to earn his first win since July 3. The left-hander allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out nine.  Rodon threw 115 pitches. Going forward, the 24-year-old is expected to be an important part of the rotation for a rebuilding Chicago team.  Rodon, who didn’t make his first start this season until June 28 because of left biceps bursitis, had been strong in no-decisions during his four previous outings. He has a 2.25 ERA in his last five starts.

Twins 10, White Sox 2 – Game 2 – Polanco hits 3-run HR in both games, Twins split with WSox
Jorge Polanco hit his second three-run homer of the day as the Minnesota Twins scored six times in the second inning and routed the Chicago White Sox 10-2 to split a doubleheader Monday night. Brian Dozier added a three-run drive off Carson Fulmer during the rally, and Minnesota bounced back from a 7-6 loss in the opener. Twins starter Dillon Gee (1-0) retired the first 12 Chicago batters before rookie Nicky Delmonico homered leading off the fifth. Gee allowed only two hits and walked none through six innings while striking out four. Adam Engel hit a solo shot in the ninth off Tyler Duffey, who followed Gee with three innings to earn his first save. Polanco, who has five homers, hit a three-run homer off Derek Holland in the eighth inning of the opener .

Today
Chicago Cubs (Lackey 10-9) at Cincinnati (Bailey 4-6), 7:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 8-10) at Detroit (Boyd 5-6), 7:10 p.m.        WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 6:45
Minnesota (Gibson 6-10) at Chicago White Sox (Giolito 0-0), 8:10 p.m.

NFL – National Football League Preseason
Last Night
Cleveland Browns 10, New York Giants 6

NFL – Giants WR Beckham hurts leg in first half against Browns
Star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants hurt his left leg during Monday night’s game against Cleveland when he took a legal-but-questionable hit on the knee from Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Beckham, one of the NFL’s best players, caught an 18-yard pass and was coming down on his left leg when he was immediately hit by Boddy-Calhoun’s right shoulder and helmet.

NFL – Group of Browns players kneel during national anthem
The National Football League continues to deal with players remaining seated during the playing of the national anthem. More than a dozen players on the Cleveland Browns huddled together on the team’s bench Monday night to protest during the anthem. The group included veterans, rookies, starters and backups.

NFL – AP source: NFL, Goodell working on 5-year contract extension
A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press the NFL is working on a five-year contract extension for Commissioner Roger Goodell. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal is not complete. The extension would run through the 2024 season. Goodell’s contract is up after the 2019 season. The collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2020 season. Goodell became commissioner in 2006. He earned just over $31 million for the 2015 season. Because the league office is no longer classified as a tax-exempt organization, the commissioner’s salary is no longer required to be made public.  The contract negotiations were first reported by Sports Business Journal.

NFL – NFL signs 3-year deal to stream games in China
The NFL has signed a three-year deal to make its games available through digital streaming in China. Tencent Sports says it has partnered with the league to air live and on-demand select preseason games and Thursday, Sunday and Monday night games. Select Sunday afternoon and all postseason games for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons will also be made available in China, along with non-game league programming like the NFL Draft. NFL China Managing Director Richard Young says the deal will make games available to “hundreds of millions” of daily Tencent users.

Boxing – Sold out or not, Vegas will party during Mayweather-McGregor
The fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor isn’t a sellout, but that’s not stopping Las Vegas from putting on its party hat. Sin City’s nightclubs have booked a long list of celebrities _ including one of the fighters _ and high-rolling gamblers and VIPs have snagged some of the most luxurious accommodations in town, and boxing-themed cocktails have even been  concocted for the occasion. The social media-fueled Saturday night fight at the T-Mobile Arena will be a weekend-long, city-wide affair, though in some respects, it may not tip the scales as much as Mayweather’s fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

NCAA FB – Big Ten – Bolin to start at QB for Rutgers
Kyle Bolin has won the starting quarterback job at Rutgers. Bolin beat out redshirt junior Giovanni Rescigno and freshman Johnathan Lewis. Rescigno started the final five games for Rutgers last season, completing 86 of 153 passes for 889 yards and five touchdowns, while Lewis is a highly touted recruit out of St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, New Jersey. Bolin is a graduate transfer from Louisville. Despite being on campus less than three months, he was voted a team captain. After losing his starting job to Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, Bolin transferred after graduating in May. Bolin threw for 2,104 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions at Louisville. Coach Chris Ash announced the decision after practice Monday. Rutgers opens the season on Sept. 1 against No. 8 Washington.

NCAAFB – Alabama starts atop AP poll for 2nd straight year
Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season and third time in five years.  The Crimson Tide, coming off a last-second loss in the national championship game that left it No. 2 to Clemson in the final Top 25 of 2016, received 52 from a panel of 61 media members. Ohio State was No. 2, edging out No. 3 Florida State and preventing the first 1 vs 2 opening game since the AP preseason poll began in 1950. Alabama opens the season against the Seminoles in Atlanta on Sept. 2, just the fourth opener involving top-five teams and the first pitting teams ranked in the top three. Southern California starts the season at No. 4. Defending national champion Clemson begins the post-Deshaun Watson era at No. 5.

1 Alabama (52) 0-0 1513
2 Ohio State (3) 0-0 1414
3 Florida St. (4) 0-0 1396
4 USC (2) 0-0 1325
5 Clemson 0-0 1201
6 Penn State 0-0 1196
7 Oklahoma 0-0 1170
8 Washington 0-0 1150
9 Wisconsin 0-0 926
10 Oklahoma State 0-0 889
11 Michigan 0-0 881
12 Auburn 0-0 880
13 LSU 0-0 784
14 Stanford 0-0 695
15 Georgia 0-0 690
16 Louisville 0-0 629
17 Florida 0-0 624
18 Miami 0-0 492
19 South Florida 0-0 327
20 Kansas State 0-0 317
21 Virginia Tech 0-0 240
22 West Virginia 0-0 207
23 Texas 0-0 173
24 Washington St. 0-0 133
25 Tennessee 0-0 114

NCAAFB – New lawsuit alleges Baylor policy failures
A woman who reported that she’d been sexually assaulted has filed a lawsuit against Baylor University, alleging that questions she faced from the university shifted blame away from her attacker toward her. The lawsuit alleges that Baylor’s response to the attack violated federal Title IX laws against gender discrimination. That was even though university officials said new policies had been implemented before the attack in response to a sexual violence scandal that embroiled the Baylor football program.

Tennis – US Open – Azarenka withdraws from US Open
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka withdrew from the U.S. Open today because she was unable to resolve a custody dispute with her infant son’s father. The 28-year-old star from Belarus gave birth to her first child in December and she returned to the tour in June. She detailed the dispute with the boy’s father in a long Twitter post last week, saying she might not be able to bring her son with her to New York.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 7, Bowling Green 5
South Bend 8, Lansing 7, 11 innings
Great Lakes 5, Fort Wayne 3

Tonight
South Bend at West Michigan, 7 p.m.
Lansing at Great Lakes, 7:05 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
St. Joseph 6, Vicksburg 0
Edwardsburg 7, Lakeshore 3
Hartford 6, Lake Michigan Catholic 0
Bridgman 4, Cassopolis 1
Mattawan 0, Kalamazoo Hackett 0 – TIE
Sturgis 4, South Haven 1           (Game called at halftime because of a medical emergency)
Berrien Springs 2, Three Rivers 1
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 3, Battle Creek Central 0
Fennville 5, Bloomingdale 1

Boys Tennis
St. Joseph 7, Gull Lake 1
Lakeshore 6, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 2
Niles 8, Battle Creek Central 0
Battle Creek Lakeview 8, Edwardsburg 0
St. Joseph 7, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 1
Battle Creek Lakeview 8, Niles 0
Bridgman/New Buffalo 6, South Haven 2

Girls Volleyball
Colon 3, River Valley 2
Allegan 3, Gobles 0
New Buffalo 3, Eau Claire 1
South Haven 3, Fennville 0
St. Joe 3-1 record at Vicksburg Round Robin Tournament

Tonight
Girls Volleyball
Lakeshore at Mishawaka Marian, 7:00 p.m.

Boys Soccer
Wyoming Lee at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Bangor at Comstock, 6:00 p.m.
Covert at Dowagiac, 6:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Fruitport Calvary Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Coldwater at Kalamazoo Central, 6:30 p.m.

Boys and Girls Cross Country
St. Joseph Invitational, 4:30 p.m. (Riverview Park)
(St. Joseph, Lakeshore, South Haven, Berrien Springs, East Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo Hackett, Holland, Kalamazoo Central, Kalamazoo Christian, Battle Creek Lakeview, Mattawan, Otsego, Portage Northern, GR South Christian, Sturgis, Vicksburg)

Three Rivers Invitational, 4:30 p.m. (Meyer Broadway Park)
(Three Rivers, Niles, Allegan, Athens, Coloma, Comstock, Constantine, Marshall, Mendon, Paw Paw, Union City)