NHL – National Hockey League – Season opener
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 2
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Nashville Predators 2
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Seattle Kraken 1
Blackhawks 4, Penguins 2 – Bedard picks up an assist in NHL debut, Blackhawks rally past Crosby, Penguins 4-2
Connor Bedard did not disappoint in his NHL debut. The Chicago Blackhawks rookie picked up an assist and dazzled occasionally with his skating as Chicago rallied past Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. The 18-year-old Bedard, the top pick in the NHL draft, played over 21 minutes. He often shared the ice with Crosby, one of his idols. Bedard registered five of the 35 shots Chicago fired at Tristan Jarry as the Blackhawks began a new era with an impressive victory over the veteran-laden Penguins. Crosby scored his 551st career goal for Pittsburgh but the Penguins let a 2-0 lead slip away.
Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins, 7:30 p.m.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Divisional Playoffs – Best of five
Yesterday
Houston Astros 9, Minnesota Twins 1 (HOU leads 2-1)
Texas Rangers 7, Baltimore Orioles 1 (TEX wins 3-0)
Astros 9, Twins 1 – Astros pound 4 homers, with a pair by Abreu, to rout Twins 9-1 and take 2-1 ALDS lead
José Abreu hit a three-run homer for Houston in a four-run first inning against Sonny Gray and piled on with a two-run shot in the ninth to power the Astros past the Minnesota Twins 9-1. Houston leads the AL Division Series 2-1. Yordan Alvarez hit his fourth home run in three games and Alex Bregman had a homer and an RBI single for the defending World Series champions. The Astros moved within one win of a seventh consecutive appearance in the AL Championship Series. Cristian Javier had nine strikeouts in five scoreless innings. Game 4 is Wednesday at Target Field.
Rangers 7, Orioles 1 – Seager still going deep in Texas, helps send Rangers to ALCS with sweep of 101-win Orioles
Corey Seager and Adolis García homered early, Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven smooth innings in another playoff clincher and the Texas Rangers completed an AL Division Series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-1 victory in Game 3. The wild-card Rangers have won all five of their postseason games and are headed to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2011. AL East champ Baltimore won an AL-high 101 games and was never swept in a series during the regular season. Nathaniel Lowe also homered for Texas, which is taking three-time World Series champion manager Bruce Bochy to his first ALCS.
Today
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, 5:07 p.m. (Series tied 1-1)
Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins, 7:07 p.m. (HOU leads 2-1)
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:07 p.m. (ARI leads 2-0)
NBA – National Basketball Association Preseason
Last Night
Houston Rockets 122, Indiana Pacers 103
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association – Finals (best of five)
Tonight
New York Liberty at Las Vegas Aces, 9:00 p.m. (LV leads 1-0)
WNBA – Teresa Weatherspoon to become Chicago Sky’s next coach, according to her agent
The Chicago Sky have an agreement in place with Teresa Weatherspoon to make her their next coach, according to her agent, Richard Gray. He confirmed the news in a text message to The Associated Press. The Sky have been searching for a coach since James Wade left in the middle of the season to take an assistant job with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. Emre Vatanseyer was interim coach for the rest of the season, including a playoff series loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The Sky will hire a general manager separately. Wade and then Vatanseyer worked as both coach and GM, but the team announced after the season it would separate the positions like every other team in the WNBA now has. Weatherspoon returns to the WNBA after working with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans since 2019. She first was a player development coach and then an assistant starting in 2020. The team released her this past June.
NFL – Vikings to put Justin Jefferson on injured reserve for minimum 4-game absence
The Minnesota Vikings will place wide receiver Justin Jefferson on injured reserve according to a person with knowledge of the decision speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move had not been finalized. The 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year will miss at least the next four games because of a hamstring injury. Jefferson slipped while trying to make a cut on his route in the fourth quarter of Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City. Jefferson has 36 catches for 571 yards and three touchdowns and has never missed a game in his career until now.
NCAAMBB – Juwan Howard, in recovery, has heart surgery friend in Nebraska’s Hoiberg
Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg recently connected with Michigan head coach Juwan Howard, to offer advice and encouragement. Howard is recovering from Sept. 15 heart surgery to remove an aortic aneurysm and repair his aortic valve. Hoiberg had the same procedure that suddenly ended his 10-year NBA playing career in 2005. Howard’s conditions were identified following a routine medical check. He is expected to fully recover and return to the program this fall. Assistant coach Saddi Washington represented the Wolverines at Big Ten Media Day in Minnesota. He said there was no specific timetable for Howard’s return to the sideline.
NCAAMBB – Purdue is favored to win the Big Ten again
The Big Ten got an unexpected boost in the offseason when Zach Edey decided to return to Purdue for his senior year. The question remains whether Edey’s presence will make a difference next spring or whether Purdue’s struggles in the NCAA Tournament will continue. The Boilermakers’ problems in March have been emblematic of the conference’s recent postseason failures. The Big Ten hasn’t sent a team to the Final Four since 2019 when Michigan State made it. Tom Izzo’s Spartans were the conference’s most recent national champions, all the way back in 2000.
NCAA – NCAA President Charlie Baker to testify during Senate hearing on college sports
NCAA President Charlie Baker is expected to testify in front of a Senate committee next week during the 10th hearing on Capitol Hill over the last three years on college sports. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on Name, Image and Likeness, and the Future of College Sports for next Tuesday. Baker is the former governor of Massachusetts. He took over as NCAA president in March. He and other college sports leaders have been lobbying lawmakers for a federal law to help regulate the way college athletes can be compensated for their fame.
Olympics – Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton is in intensive care with pneumonia
Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton has pneumonia and is in intensive care in a Texas hospital. Retton’s daughter, McKenna Kelley, shared Retton’s condition in an Instagram post. Kelley said the 55-year-old Retton, who became the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title, is “fighting for her life” and not able to breathe on her own. Kelley started a fundraising campaign on Retton’s behalf for medical expenses. Kelley wrote that Retton does not currently have medical insurance.
MCCAA – Michigan Community College Athletic Association
Last Night
Women’s Volleyball
Lake Michigan College 3, Kellogg Community College 2
Southwestern Michigan College 3, Marian Ancilla 0
Tonight
Women’s Soccer
Muskegon Community College at Lake Michigan College, 2:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer
Muskegon Community College at Lake Michigan College, 4:00 p.m.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Volleyball
Our Lady of the Lake 3, Covert 0
Centreville 3, Hartford 0
Decatur 3, White Pigeon 0
Otsego 3, Mattawan 2
Girls Golf (regionals)
Top three teams and top three individuals not on a top three team also qualify for state
Division 2 at St. Joseph (Point O’ Woods)
1. St. Joseph 364
2. Gull Lake 373
3. Sturgis 379
4. Portage Northern 395
5. Mattawan 400
6. Harper Creek 401
7. Zeeland West 402
8. Lakeshore 413
9. Middleville T-K 416
10.Zeeland East 446
11.Wayland 486
Individual Qualifiers
KT Leinwand PN 81
Charlotte Stenger MAT 82
Alana Leos MTK 82
St. Joseph scores
Clara Berry 92
Morgan Guzzo 103
Marley Walters 90
Margaret Cox 89
Grace Rommel 93
Lakeshore scores
McKenzie Keim 97
Alicen Martin 106
Paige Benedict 112
Josie Arbanas 110
Helaina Mihalik 100
Division 3 at Hastings (The Legacy)
1. Vicksburg 368
2. Dowagiac 391
3. Paw Paw 394
4. Plainwell 406
5. South Haven 408
6. Edwardsburg 423
7. Otsego 424
8. Hopkins 448
8. Hamilton 448
10.Niles 465
11.Three Rivers 475
12.BC Pennfield 480
13.Hastings 486
14.Allegan 492
Individual Qualifiers
Alya Jaeger PLW 85
Hannah Kaczmarek SH 95
Baylee Davis NIL 97
Division 4 at Lakeview (Katke GC)
1. Kalamazoo Christian 353
2. Kalamazoo Hackett 396
3. GR Northpointe 411
4. Lakeview 424
5. Holton 445
6. Michigan Lutheran 457
7. Grandville Calvin Chr. 461
8. Comstock 462
9. Cassopolis 486
10. Hesperia 583
Individual Qualifiers
Emma Kosinski LKV 92
EmmaLee Fox HOL 104
Sophia Hill GCC 105
Tonight
Boys Soccer (districts)
Division 2 at Lakeshore – 1st round at local sites
Coldwater at St. Joseph, 6:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Lakeshore, 6:00 p.m.
Vicksburg at Niles, 6:30 p.m.
Division 2 at Otsego – 1st round at local sites
Hastings at Otsego, 5:00 p.m.
Harper Creek at Plainwell, 6:00 p.m.
Marshall at Charlotte, 6:30 p.m
Division 3 at Three Rivers – 1st round at local sites
Watervliet at Constantine, 5:00 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Three Rivers, 7:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Buchanan, 7:00 p.m.
Division 3 at Parchment – 1st round at local sites
South Haven at Parchment, 6:00 p.m.
Allegan at Fennville, 5:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Hopkins, 4:30 p.m.
Division 4 at Bridgman – 1st round at local sites
Our Lady of the Lake at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.
Bronson at New Buffalo, 5:30 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran at Cassopolis, 4:30 p.m.
Division 4 at Bangor – 1st round at local sites
Lawton at Howardsville Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Bangor, 6:30 p.m.
Saugatuck at Kalamazoo Heritage, 5:00 p.m.
Division 4 at Kalamazoo Christian – 1st round at local sites
Comstock at Kalamazoo Hackett, 7:00 p.m.
Calhoun Chr. at Vermontville Maple Valley, 6:00 p.m.
BC Academy at Kalamazoo Christian, 6:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Phoenix at Bellevue, 6:00 p.m.
Division 1 at Portage Central – 1st round at local sites
Portage Northern at Loy Norrix, 6:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at BC Lakeview, 6:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Kalamazoo Central, 5:00 p.m.
Volleyball
St. Joseph at Kalamazoo Central, 6:30 p.m.
Lakeshore at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 6:30 p.m.
Mattawan at Gull Lake, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Central at Battle Creek Central, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Northern at Battle Creek Lakeview, 6:30 p.m.
New Buffalo at Covert, 6:00 p.m.
Eau Claire at Michigan Lutheran, 6:30 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Bangor, 7:00 p.m.
