Weekday Morning Sports – Thursday 10/5/17

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Thursday, October 05, 2017

MLB – Major League Baseball – 2017 Wild Card
Last Night
Arizona Diamondbacks 11, Colorado Rockies 8

Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 8 – Bradley’s stunning triple helps D-backs beat Rockies 11-8
Relief pitcher Archie Bradley hit a stunning two-run triple in the seventh inning, one of four three-baggers by Arizona that sent the Diamondbacks past the Colorado Rockies 11-8 in the National League wild-card game Wednesday night. Paul Goldschmidt launched an early three-run homer and the Diamondbacks built a 6-0 lead before ace Zack Greinke faltered. Colorado climbed back into it and cut it to 8-7 when Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story hit consecutive homers in the eighth off Bradley, perhaps exhausted from hustling around the bases. But then A.J. Pollock knocked in two runs with Arizona’s fourth triple, this one off closer Greg Holland, as the Diamondbacks scored three times in their half of the eighth to finally put a wild game away. Arizona moves on to a best-of-five Division Series against the NL West champion Dodgers, a team the Diamondbacks beat the last six times they played. Game 1 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Today – Division Series
Boston (Sale 17-8) at Houston (Verlander 15-8), 4:08 p.m.
New York (Gray 4-7) at Cleveland (Bauer 17-9), 7:38 p.m.

MLB – Cubs/Nationals – Cubs set rotation, Nats await word on Scherzer
The Chicago Cubs have set their rotation for their NL Division Series against Washington, but the Nationals have a major question mark among their starters. Kyle Hendricks is expected to pitch the opener on Friday, followed by Jon Lester, Jose Quintana and Jake Arrieta.  Hendricks missed part of June and July with pain in the middle finger of his right hand, but he had a 2.19 ERA in his final 13 starts after the All-Star break. Hendricks is 2-2 with a 2.67 ERA in five career starts against Washington. Lester started the opener in each of Chicago’s three playoff series last year and is 9-7 with a 2.63 ERA in 22 career postseason games.  Stephen Strasburg is likely to start Game 1 for the Nats, but manager Dusty Baker hasn’t set his rotation as he awaits a medical update on Max Scherzer. The two-time Cy Young Award winner tweaked his right hamstring in his last start on Sept. 30 and had to leave after 3 1/3 innings. He was expected to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday, but he instead worked off flat ground before a lengthy chat with the team trainer.  General manager Mike Rizzo said the team hasn’t determined when Scherzer will start against the Cubs.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Toronto Maple Leafs 7, Winnipeg Jets 2
St. Louis Blues 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 4, OT
Edmonton Oilers 3, Calgary Flames 0
Philadelphia Flyers 5, San Jose Sharks 3

Tonight
Minnesota Wild at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

NHL – Bickell signs 1-day contract to retire with Blackhawks
Bryan Bickell has signed a one-day contract so he can retire with the Chicago Blackhawks. Bickell was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2004 draft and spent his first nine seasons with the Blackhawks, winning three Stanley Cup championships. He was traded to Carolina in June 2016. The 31-year-old Bickell was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last November and played in just 11 games with the Hurricanes. He announced his retirement in April and scored a memorable shootout goal in his final game. The Blackhawks also placed forward Marian Hossa on long-term injured reserve and signed defenseman Cody Franson to a one-year contract. Forward Alex DeBrincat and defenseman Gustav Forsling were recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League. Hossa has been ruled out for the season because of severe side effects from medication to treat a progressive skin disorder. It’s unclear if he will be able to play again.

NFL – National Football League – Week 5
Tonight
New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:25 p.m.           95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports 8:00

NFL – Luck returns to practice, still won’t play Sunday
Quarterback Andrew Luck finally appeared on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice field Wednesday after missing every offseason workout, all of training camp and the team’s first four regular-season games. Luck was cleared to stretch with teammates, participate in some quarterback drills and throw a few passes at less than full velocity as he tries to return from surgery on his throwing shoulder. Coach Chuck Pagano has already said Luck won’t play Sunday against winless San Francisco.

NFL – Vegas shooting brings up memories for Lions’ Tate
The mass shooting in Las Vegas has given Detroit Lions receiver Golden Tate flashbacks. Tate says he and his wife and some Seattle Seahawks teammates survived a night at a bar that was sprayed with bullets in 2012. A 30-year-old Seattle man was killed and another man was wounded in the shooting that night. Tate recalls responding to the sound of gunshots by pushing his wife, Elise, down and covering her on the ground.

NBA – NBA Preseason
Last Night
Charlotte Hornets 108, Detroit Pistons 106
Indiana Pacers 104, Milwaukee Bucks 86
Dallas Mavericks 118, Chicago Bulls 71

NCAA Football – Irish QB Wimbush back at practice
No. 21 Notre Dame expects injured quarterback Brandon Wimbush to run in practice after injuring his right foot. Wimbush had his foot placed in a walking boot Sunday hours after he led Notre Dame to a 52-17 victory over Miami (Ohio). He did some light work Tuesday while sophomore Ian Book got most of the snaps with the No. 1 unit in preparation for Saturday’s game at North Carolina.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association – Finals (Best of 5)
Last Night
Minnesota Lynx 85, Los Angeles Sparks 76                         (MIN wins series 3-2)

Lynx 85, Sparks 76 – Lynx dethrone Sparks, claim 4th title in 7 years
Sylvia Fowles had 17 points and broke her own WNBA Finals record by grabbing 20 rebounds to lead the Lynx to their fourth championship in seven years with an 85-76 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in Game 5 on Wednesday night.  Moore had 18 points and 10 rebounds and hit a huge runner with 26 seconds to play, Whalen had 17 points and eight assists and Seimone Augustus added 14 points, six assists and six boards to help the Lynx move into a tie with the Houston Comets for most titles in league history. Candace Parker had 19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for the Sparks, who were looking to become the first repeat champions in 15 years. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and eight assists, but Nneka Ogwumike fouled out with 5:29 to play and finished with 11 points. Los Angeles turned it over 17 times.

NCAA – NCAA looking at preventing schools from ‘blocking’ transfers
NCAA committee is developing a proposal that would eliminate a school’s ability to essentially block an athlete from transferring while an idea to allow some undergraduate athletes to switch schools and be immediately eligible to compete will not be considered. The NCAA said Wednesday that the Division I Council could introduce legislation as early as January. The Division I Transfer Working Group met this week and considered feedback on transfer reforms from more than 2,000 administrators, coaches and faculty members. The NCAA says the most significant change that would be considered this year is taking away from coaches and schools the ability to restrict aid to athletes after transferring. The possibility of tying academic benchmarks to immediate eligibility will not be considered.

NCAA Softball – Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins agrees to extension
Michigan has agreed to a contract extension with longtime softball coach Carol Hutchins through the 2022 season. The school announced the deal Wednesday. Athletic director Warde Manuel says Hutchins will finish her career at Michigan. Hutchins is the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, with a career mark of 1,527-491-5. She is also the winningest coach in the history of Michigan athletics. She won a national title in 2005. The Wolverines have made it to the Women’s College World Series in 12 of the past 23 seasons.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Cross Country
SMAC West at Niles

Girls Volleyball
Portage Northern 3, Lakeshore 0
Portage Central 3, Niles 0
Mattawan 3, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0
River Valley 3, Lake Michigan Catholic 2
Michigan Lutheran 3, Covert 0
New Buffalo 3, Countryside Academy 0
Brandywine 3, Buchanan 2
Berrien Springs 3, Bridgman 1

Boys Soccer
Buchanan 3, Brandywine 3 – TIE
Berrien Springs 5, Bridgman 2
Allegan 1, Paw Paw 0
Plainwell 2, Sturgis 1
Edwardsburg 7, Three Rivers 1
Fennville 3, Saugatuck 0

Tonight
Boys Soccer
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at St. Joseph, 6:45 p.m.
Lakeshore at Portage Central, 6:45 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Niles, 5:30 p.m.
Gull Lake at Mattawan, 6:45 p.m.
Paw Paw at Hartford, 5:00 p.m.
Bridgman at New Buffalo
Howardsville Chr. at Lake Mich. Cath., 5:00 p.m.
Parchment at Bangor, 5:00 p.m.
Zion Christian at Bloomingdale, 4:30 p.m.

Girls Volleyball
Vicksburg at South Haven, 6:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Three Rivers, 6:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Sturgis, 6:00 p.m.
Allegan at Paw Paw, 6:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.

Girls Swimming and Diving
St. Joseph at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.