Weekday Morning Sports Report – Wednesday 7/18/18

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sportsreport-480

MLB – 2018 MLB All Star Game – Nationals Park – Washington, DC
Last Night
American League 8, National League 6 – 10 innings

AL 8, NL 6 – AL wins Mid-Summer Classic again
The American League has won the home run derby that really counts.  The AL crushed five home runs in outlasting the National League, 8-6 in 10 innings at Washington. It’s the sixth straight win for the junior circuit, which now leads the all-time series, 44-43-2.  Astros teammates Alex Bregman and George Springer homered to open the 10th against Ross Stripling of the Dodgers, one inning after Reds utilityman Scooter Gennett tied it with a two-run blast. Indians outfielder Michael Brantley added a sacrifice fly to cap the AL’s 10th -inning rally. Reds first baseman Joey Votto provided the game’s 10th and final home run to close the scoring. The previous record for home runs in an All-Star game was six. The American League appeared to be in the driver’s seat once Mariners shortstop Jean Segura belted a tiebreaking, three-run blast in the eighth. But outfielder Christian Yelich (YEH’-lihch) of the Brewers countered with a solo blast in the bottom half before Gennett went deep. The game’s first 12 runs were scored on homers. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Angels outfielder Mike Trout provided solo shots to put the AL ahead 2-0. The NL countered with solo shots by Cubs catcher Willson Contreras and Rockies shortstop Trevor Story.

MLB – Machado reportedly heading to LA
Today is reporting that the Orioles were expected to trade All-Star shortstop Manny Machado to the Dodgers on Wednesday, barring a last-minute snag.  Machado says he hasn’t heard anything from his agent and he refused to answer a hypothetical question about going to Los Angeles. Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp says he’s good friends with Machado but hasn’t heard anything, although he added hat the All-Star would bring excitement to LA. Machado is scheduled to become a free agent after the season. He’s hitting .315 with 24 home runs and 65 RBIs.

MLB – Commissioner says owners want to talk about rules changes
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is outlining concerns in the way the sport has changed and says owners want a broad conversation with players about rules changes. Manfred says concerns include the time between putting balls in play, the increased number of strikeouts, an increase in home runs, the far greater use of infield shifts, the lessened length of starting pitcher outings and the increase in the use of relief pitchers. He maintains the changes are the result of “smart people who want to win more” in front offices and says MLB and the players must decide “at what point do we want to step in, OK, and manage that organic change.”

NFL – Arizona Cardinals suspend GM 5 weeks after extreme DUI plea
The Cardinals have suspended general manager Steve Keim for five weeks and fined him $200,000 following his guilty plea Tuesday to extreme DUI following a Fourth of July arrest in a Phoenix suburb. A Chandler police report shows Keim had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19, more than twice the state’s legal limit for drivers. It wasn’t immediately clear when Keim would be sentenced or if he was facing a jail term.

NBA – Kerr gets extension
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has received a contract extension following the franchise’s repeat championship and third title in his four years on the bench. He had one year remaining on his original $25 million, five-year contract.  The 52-year-old Kerr owns a 265-63 record, guiding the Warriors to a record 73-win season in 2015-16 before a runner-up finish to the Cavaliers.

NBA – Lakers’ Ball has surgery on left knee, to be ready by camp
Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The team said the procedure on Tuesday was successful and Ball is expected to be fully recovered by the start of training camp in September. Ball averaged 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 52 games as a rookie last season.

WNBA – Delle Donne, Parker to captain WNBA All-Star Game
Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker will captain the WNBA All-Star teams in two weeks. Maya Moore was the top vote getter, but told the league she was unable to perform the captain duties giving Parker the chance as the third-place finisher in the voting done by fans, players, coaches and the media.  Parker and Delle Donne will draft players from the 20 other All-Stars who were announced Tuesday. That group of All-Stars includes Sue Bird, who made a record 11th All-Star Game breaking a tie with Tamika Catchings for most all-time. Rookie A’ja Wilson will play in her first All-Star contest as well as Jewell Loyd. Dallas Wings center Liz Cambage will play in her second one.  Earlier on Tuesday, she broke the WNBA single-game scoring record when she had 53 points against New York. The WNBA took conference affiliation out of the midseason game and 16 of the 22 All-Stars were from the Western Conference. That group includes Diana Taurasi, Nneka Ogwumike, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus. Fowles, Moore and Augustus will get a chance to play in front of their home fans as the All-Star Game is in Minnesota on July 28.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night

Dallas Wings 104, New York Liberty 87

Atlanta Dream 86, Connecticut Sun 83

Today
Seattle Storm at Chicago Sky, 12:00 p.m.
Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx, 1:00 p.m.

NCAAFB – College Football Playoff hires Big Sky commissioner as COO
The College Football Playoff has hired Big Sky Commissioner Andrea Williams to be its chief operating officer. Williams has led the Big Sky for the past two years. She has also been a member
of the College Football Playoff’s advisory committee and stadium operations team. Williams replaces Michael Kelly, who left the CFP last month to become athletic director at South Florida. Williams’ primary duties will be managing the CFP national championship game and affiliated events, and site selection for future title games. Williams worked at the Big Ten for 16 years, including 10 as associate commissioner and director of the football championship game, along with the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. She also spent two years with the NCAA, serving as director of the Division I women’s basketball championship.

NCAAFB – Don McAuliffe, star of ’52 Michigan State title team, dies
Don McAuliffe, the star running back and captain for Michigan State’s undefeated 1952 national championship team, has died. He was 90.  Son Kevin McAuliffe said his father died Saturday in La Jolla, California.  McAuliffe finished eighth in the 1952 Heisman Trophy balloting. In nine games that season, he rushed for 531 yards and seven touchdowns. He had 194 yards receiving and two more scores.  The New York Giants drafted McAuliffe in 1950, but he never played in the NFL. McAuliffe was born and raised in Chicago, where he played high school football and was an accomplished boxer.

NCAA – Wrestlers sue Ohio State over doctor’s sexual misconduct
A lawsuit by four former Ohio State University wrestlers alleges the school failed to stop “rampant sexual misconduct” by a now-dead team doctor despite being repeatedly informed about his behavior. In the federal lawsuit filed Monday, four Ohio men listed as John Does say Richard Strauss sexually assaulted or harassed them in the late 1980s or 1990s. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. An independent investigation about Strauss began after allegations were raised earlier this year. Ohio State says the allegations involve men from 14 sports Strauss worked for the university for two decades, retiring in 1998. He killed himself in 2005.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
No games last night

Tonight
Cedar Rapids at Great Lakes, 7:05 p.m.
Peoria at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
West Michigan at Kane County, 7:30 p.m.
South Bend at Quad Cities, 7:35 p.m.