Thursday Morning Sports Update-07/08/2021

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MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 5, Texas Rangers 3
Chicago White Sox 6, Minnesota Twins 1
Chicago Cubs 8, Philadelphia Phillies 3

Tigers 5, Rangers 3 – Tigers overcome 2 more Gallo homers to top Rangers 5-3
The Detroit Tigers didn’t let Texas starter Kyle Gibson go to his first All-Star game without a loss. Miguel Cabrera had a go-ahead RBI single as a pinch-hitter right after Gibson left with the bases loaded and the Tigers went on to beat the Rangers 5-3. Joey Gallo homered twice to become the first Rangers player ever with 10 homers in a 10-game stretch. The All-Star right fielder has 23 homers overall. He drove in another run when he drew his AL-best 67th walk with the bases loaded.

White Sox 6, Twins 1 – All-Star Lynn wins 6-1 as White Sox improve to 10-2 vs Twins
Lance Lynn allowed one run over six innings in his first start since earning a berth on the AL All-Star team, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 after cutting outfielder Adam Eaton. Tim Anderson had four hits and Leury García hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the second inning and added a run-scoring triple and a single. Chicago is 10-2 against Minnesota this season, outscoring the Twins 91-47. Lynn gave up four hits and three walks, striking out six, lowering his ERA to 1.99. Four relievers combined for three scoreless innings of two-hit relief.

Cubs 8, Phillies 3 – Cubs top Phillies, Wheeler 8-3 to end 11-game slide
Anthony Rizzo, Joc Pederson and Nico Hoerner each had two hits and an RBI to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3, ending an 11-game losing streak. The Cubs raced to an early five-run lead off Zack Wheeler and then added on to halt their longest skid since a 12-game slide in May 2012. Chicago had been winless since Zach Davies and three relievers combined to no-hit the Dodgers in Los Angeles on June 24.  Patrick Wisdom added a two-run double in Chicago’s three-run sixth inning after replacing third baseman Kris Bryant, who left in the fourth with right hamstring tightness.

Tonight
Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs, 8:00 p.m.
Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 p.m.                    94.9 WSJM-FM/103.7 Cosy-FM 7:50
White Sox are off

MLB – Tigers put Cameron on IL, transfer no-hit Turnbull to 60-day
The Detroit Tigers have placed rookie center fielder Daz Cameron on the 10-day injured list and transferred right-handed starter Spencer Turnbull to the 60-day IL. Cameron sprained his right big toe when he ran into the wall during pregame workouts before the series opener in Texas. Turnbull threw a no-hitter at Seattle on May 18. He’s been on the IL the past month with a strained right forearm and started feeling symptoms again during his throwing program. Infielder-outfielder Niko Goodrum was reinstated from the 10-day IL after being out with a left finger tendon injury.

MLB – Cubs place struggling Arrieta on IL with hamstring tightness
The Cubs have placed struggling right-hander Jake Arrieta on the 10-day injured list with right hamstring tightness and recalled righty Cory Abbott from Triple-A Iowa. Arrieta matched the second-shortest start of his big league career on Tuesday, lasting just 1 2/3 innings for the second straight outing.

MLB – OF swap: White Sox dump veteran Eaton to make room for Engel
The Chicago White Sox have designated outfielder Adam Eaton for assignment to make room for the return from the injured list of outfielder Adam Engel. The 32-year-old Eaton is in his 10th major league season. He batted .201 with a career-low .642 OPS in 58 games. Eaton had five homers and 28 RBIs in his second stint with the White Sox, whom he played for from 2014-16. Eaton spent the previous four years with the Washington Nationals, winning a World Series with them in 2019. Engel is back from his second injured list stint this season because of a hamstring strain.

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Finals – Best of 7
Last Night
Tampa Bay Lightning 1, Montreal Canadiens 0                             (TBL wins 4-1)

Lightning 1, Canadiens 0 – Lightning strikes twice: Tampa Bay repeats as Cup champion
The downside of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s high-powered offense is that it overshadows their excellent defense. It was the defense that allowed them to clinch their second consecutive Stanley Cup in a Game 5 win over the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0.  Conn Smythe Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy (va-sih-LEHV’-skee) needed to make just 22 saves in his fifth shutout of the postseason, giving him a 1.90 goals-against average. He’s the first netminder in NHL history to record shutouts in five consecutive series clinchers.  Vasilevskiy remains undefeated in games after a loss over the past two playoffs.  The lone goal was provided by rookie Ross Colton in the second period off a feed from defenseman David Savard. Neither player was with the Bolts for last year’s Cup run.
Carey Price stopped 29 shots for the Canadiens, whose team-record Cup drought will enter its 29th consecutive year.

NHL – Davidson: Sudden death of goalie has "far-reaching effects"
The Columbus Blue Jackets are dealing with the sudden death of 24-year-old goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks in a Sunday night fireworks accident. The organization for which he played since his professional career began in 2017 is in mourning, working with his family in Latvia to arrange memorial services and making mental health counselors available for those who need it. Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations John Davidson says the player’s death has “far-reaching effects.” Kivlenieks was killed while at the Michigan home of Manny Legace, the team’s goaltenders coach. He had gone there for the weekend wedding of Legace’s daughter.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – The Finals – Best of 7
Tonight
Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns, 9:00 p.m.                                (PHX leads 1-0)

NBA – Game 2 Preview – With Suns’ stars rolling, Bucks must be better in NBA Finals
At their best, the Phoenix Suns have three players who can take over a game. There’s Chris Paul and Devin Booker, breaking down defenses from the backcourt. Deandre Ayton has been dominant on the backboards and almost automatic as a shooter. When all three are rolling the way they were in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it’s easy to see why this could finally be the Suns’ championship chance. The Bucks also have three stars, though Jrue Holiday didn’t play like one in Game 1. He needs to be better in Game 2 on Thursday night.

NBA – Suns forward Saric out with torn ACL in right knee
Phoenix Suns forward Dario Saric will miss the rest of the NBA Finals and then some. Saric tore the ACL in his right knee during the first quarter of Game 1 on Tuesday night. The team confirmed the severity of the injury on Wednesday.  Saric’s right knee appeared to buckle when he landed on a jump stop while trying to score against Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez. Shortly afterward, he limped off the court and into the locker room.  The 6-foot-10 Saric is one of the team’s main contributors off the bench, averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in about 11 minues per game. The team has relatively thin depth in the frontcourt and turned to Torrey Craig and Frank Kaminsky to fill most of Saric’s minutes in the 118-105 victory in Game 1.

NCAA – NIL – Hurricanes football players offered paid ad deal
A Florida business owned by a longtime Miami Hurricanes football fan has committed to a large financial deal for players to profit from use of their name, image and likeness.  American Top Team is a chain of mixed martial arts gyms that is offering a $500 monthly contract to Miami’s 90 scholarship players for advertising the gyms on social media.  Owner Dan Lambert has also started a marketing company called “Bring Back the U.” That company is designed to connect local businesses with Miami players to allow them to take advantage of the NCAA’s recent move to allow college athletes to cash in on their fame.  Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers are the first NHL team, and they believe the first U.S. major pro sports team, to establish an opportunity for college athletes to align with them as part of recent rule changes. Florida has begun the process of gauging interest from athletes who attend college nearest to where the Panthers play, primarily meaning Miami and Florida Atlantic.

NFL – Bears set to welcome back fans for training camp practices
The Chicago Bears are set to welcome back fans for training camp. The team announced that 14 practices at Halas Hall in suburban Lake Forest, Ill., will be open to the public and approximately 1,000 tickets will be made available. The Bears report to camp on July 27 and hold their first practice open to the public on the 29th.

CFL – Canadian Football League-XFL end partnership talks
The Canadian Football League’s partnership talks with the XFL have ended. In March, the CFL and XFL announced they were poised to begin serious talks about a potential partnership. Neither side said who initiated talks, only that they’d agreed to collaborating on ways to grow football. That came to an end Wednesday, with CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie saying: “While we remain open to finding new ways to work together in the future, we and our XFL counterparts have jointly decided to not pursue any formal arrangements at this time." The CFL didn’t play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s scheduled to begin a 14-game campaign Aug. 5. Training camps are slated to open Saturday.

Tennis – Federer loses in quarterfinals…Djokovic wins
A potential Wimbledon men’s final between 19-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and 20-time Major champion Roger Federer has gone off the rails.  The seventh-seeded Federer was bounced from the tournament in straight sets, losing to 24-year-old Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. The 14th-seeded Hurkacz had not made it past the third round at any major tournament until this one.  The eight-time Wimbledon champion said afterward that he isn’t sure he’ll compete at the All England Club again. The 39-year-old Federer has played in 22 Wimbledons and remains tied with Rafael Nadal for the most career grand slams Djokovic remains on course for a sixth Wimbledon title after knocking out unseeded Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The Serbian is attempting to become the first player since Rod Lever in 1969 to win all four slams in a calendar year.

Olympics – Japan to declare virus emergency lasting through Olympics
Japan is set to place Tokyo under a state of emergency that would last through the Olympics, fearing a COVID-19 surge will multiply during the Games. The emergency likely to be announced later Thursday would last from next Monday to Aug. 22. The Olympics begin July 23 and close Aug. 8. The decision likely means the athletic competitions and ceremonies will be held without fans, after foreign spectators were banned earlier. A decision on local spectators is due Friday. The emergency was prompted by rising cases, low vaccination rates and the concern that issuing an emergency too late would lead to illnesses and deaths.

Golf – Golfer Cabrera sentenced in assault case
Former Masters and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera has been sentenced in Argentina to two years in prison on assault charges against his former partner.  The 51-year-old Cabrera was convicted of assaulting, threatening and harassing Cecilia Torres Mana, his partner between 2016 and 2018.  Cabrera denied in the trial any wrongdoing and will serve his sentence immediately.

MILB – Minor League Baseball – High-A Central
Yesterday
South Bend Cubs 11, Beloit Snappers 7
Dayton Dragons 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 5
Lansing Lugnuts at Great Lakes Loons, PPD Rain, Doubleheader on Friday.

Tonight
Beloit Snappers at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m.
West Michigan Whitecaps at Dayton Dragons, 7:05 p.m.
Lansing Lugnuts at Great Lakes Loons, 7:05 p.m.