Warriors take NBA crown in Game 6 – Friday Morning Sports Update

nba-finals-warriors-celtics-basketball

NBA – National Basketball Association – 2022 NBA Finals
Last Night
Golden State Warriors 103, Boston Celtics 90                 (GSW Wins 4-2)

Warriors 103, Celtics 90 – Warriors beat Celtics 103-90 to win 4th NBA title in 8 years
The Golden State Warriors are NBA champions once again, topping the Boston Celtics 103-90 for their fourth title in the last eight seasons. Stephen Curry scored 34 points for the Warriors, who claimed the franchise’s seventh championship overall. And this one completed a journey like none other, after a run of five consecutive finals, then a plummet to the bottom of the NBA, and now a return to greatness just two seasons after having the league’s worst record. For Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, it’s a fourth championship. The first three rings came in 2015, 2017 and 2018, when Golden State was dynastic and made five consecutive trips to the finals.  Curry also won his first Finals MVP award.

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Texas Rangers 3, Detroit Tigers 1
San Diego Padres 6, Chicago Cubs 4

Texas Rangers’ Ezequiel Duran hits a three-run triple against the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Rangers 3, Tigers 1 – Duran hits bases-clearing triple in 9th, Texas beats Tigers
Ezequiel Duran hit a three-run triple with two out in the ninth inning to give the Texas Rangers a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Tigers closer Gregory Soto loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter before Duran hit a ball just inside first base and into the right-field corner. All three runners scored, giving Soto his second blown save of the season. Dennis Santana (3-2) picked up the win with a scoreless eighth inning, and Joe Barlow pitched the ninth for his 12th save. Soto’s collapse, which led to Detroit’s fifth straight loss, wasted seven scoreless innings from Detroit starter Beau Brieske.

Padres 6, Cubs 4 – Joe Musgrove stars as Padres beat lowly Cubs 6-4
Joe Musgrove pitched seven effective innings in his third straight win, and the San Diego Padres handed the Chicago Cubs their 10th consecutive loss with a 6-4 victory. Musgrove permitted two runs and five hits, struck out a season-high nine and walked one. The 6-foot-5 right-hander has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his 12 starts this year. San Diego improved to 7-2 in its last nine games with its first four-game series sweep of Chicago since Aug. 16-19, 2010, at Wrigley Field. The Padres’ 41-24 record matches their best 65-game start since 1998, when the club won the NL West and advanced to the World Series.

Today
Atlanta (Morton 4-3) at Chicago Cubs (Thompson 6-2), 2:20 p.m.
Texas (Gray 1-3) at Detroit (Skubal 5-3), 7:10 p.m.                    WSJM/WCSY 6:50
Chicago White Sox (Giolito 4-2) at Houston (Valdez 6-3), 8:10 p.m.

MLB – Manfred says Rays, A’s need new ballpark deals soon
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics need to reach new ballpark deals soon and left open the possibility of considering relocation if agreements are not struck. Tampa Bay’s lease at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, expires after the 2027 season. The Athletics have played at the Coliseum since 1968, and their lease expires after the 2024 season. The A’s have proposed a new ballpark and are working with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf to gain the necessary approvals.

NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Finals
Saturday
Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche, 8:00 p.m.       (COL Leads 1-0)

NHL – Lightning unfazed trailing Avalanche in Stanley Cup Final
The Tampa Bay Lightning say they are unfazed after losing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche. The two-time defending champions have been in this spot before. Tampa Bay has won 11 consecutive playoff series. They lost the opener in five of them. Tampa Bay was also swept in the first round the year before. Combining all that experience is why coach Jon Cooper and his players are able to stay even keeled in situations like this. Game 2 is Saturday night in Denver.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Tonight
Atlanta Dream at Chicago Sky, 8:00 p.m.

WNBA – Storm star Sue Bird says 2022 will be her final WNBA season
Seattle Storm star and five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird says the 2022 season will be her last playing in the WNBA. The 41-year-old considered retirement after last season before returning for a 19th season as a player. She missed two seasons because of injuries. As for the timing of her retirement, she says “you just know when you know.” Bird is a four-time WNBA champion, 12-time All-Star and the oldest player in the league. The former No. 1 draft pick has spent her entire WNBA career with the Storm. Her announcement came a day before Seattle’s game at Connecticut, the state where she was a collegiate star and national player of the year. The Storm close out their road trip on Sunday in New York, about 30 miles from where she grew up.

Golf – US Open – Hadwin leads US Open as McIlroy makes statement with clubs
Adam Hadwin wasn’t officially in the U.S. Open until eight days ago. And then he walked off The Country Club with his best score ever in a major for a one-shot lead. The focus finally shifted away from Saudi-backed rival leagues, such as who’s going and who’s staying on the PGA Tour. Hadwin opened with a 4-under 66 on a breezy but not overly punishing day at Brookline. The lingering thoughts of the rival league came from Rory McIlroy, not from anything he said but with the golf he played. He shot 67 and was one behind.

Golf – US Open – Mickelson meltdown comes early — with a 4-putt at US Open
Phil Mickelson’s chances at the U.S. Open all but evaporated on the sixth green, where he four-putted for an ugly double bogey. It was the low point of a round of 8-over 78 that left him in a tie for 144th place. This marked the sixth straight time Lefty has failed to break par in the opening round of the U.S. Open. The fans were mostly civil. Lots of shouts of “Go Phil,” and “Happy Birthday, Phil,” for the six-time major winner who turned 52. This marked Mickelson’s first tournament in America since January, when he went on hiatus after his comments about LIV Golf first surfaced. Mickelson is getting a reported $200 million to play on he breakaway tour and has been suspended from the PGA Tour.

FIFA – FIFA picks 2026 World Cup cities, predicts US `No 1 sport’
Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia and Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were the newcomers among the 11 U.S. sites picked to host games at the 2026 World Cup, while Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, were left out. Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California, were the holdovers. Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and ’86 finals and will become the first stadium in three World Cups, was selected along with Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron and Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA. Toronto’s BMO Field and Vancouver, British Columbia’s B.C. Place were picked while Edmonton, Alberta’s Commonwealth Stadium was dropped.

FIFA – Excitement and disappointment as World Cup 2026 cities named
Cheers and sighs met FIFA’s announcement of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup. The winners included sites like Los Angeles, Mexico City and Toronto. But the big announcement was a disappointment for cities that were on the bubble. The crowd at a watch party in Washington D.C., was sullen when the last of the cities was announced. It was just the third time that a nation’s capital has not been included as a host city. A similar scene played out in Denver. That was in contrast to the cheers in Kansas City.

NCAA – Transfer window recommendation to NCAA board for approval
The NCAA’s Division I transformation committee will recommend changes to transfer rules and the infractions process before the end of June. The committee wants to establish designated time periods when college athletes can declare their intent to transfer and be eligible immediately at a new school. The transfer windows would set set on a sport-by-sport basis. The intent behind the change is to provide structure and clarity for athletes and coaches. Updates to the infractions process would be made in the hopes of making investigations more timely and holding rule-breakers accountable.

NCAABSB – Clemson hires Michigan’s Bakich to revive baseball program
Clemson has hired Michigan coach Erik Bakich to revive a Tigers’ baseball program that missed the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. The school announced the addition on Thursday. Bakich’s hiring was approved by the school’s board of trustees. Bakich received a six-year contract that starts him off at $850,000 for next season and increases $50,000 each year through 2027-28. Bakich has led the Wolverines to five NCAA Tournament appearances since 2015. Michigan was the national runner-up in 2019. Bakich takes over for Monte Lee, who was fired after seven seasons.

Billups, Gates headline latest Michigan sports hall class
Former Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups and former San Diego Charger and Detroit native Antonio Gates lead the latest class of inductees for the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. The class released Thursday night also includes former Detroit high school basketball stars Chris Webber and Shane Battier, former Michigan basketball coach John Beilein, former Michigan softball pitcher Jennie Ritter, former Detroit Red Wing player and current broadcaster Mickey Redmond and Kathy Beauregard, who was Western Michigan’s athletic director from 1997 through 2021. The class is scheduled to be inducted on Saturday, Sept. 10.

MCCAA – Lake Michigan College named Academic School of the Year.
Lake Michigan College’s athletic department was named as the Michigan Community College Athletic Association’s Academic School of the Year for the 2021-22 season.   Schools are ranked on a point system for each of the sports that college supports.  Lake Michigan College Redhawks teams had 5 of their 7 sports teams with a GPA at 3.0 or higher, which also earns them a MCCAA All-Academic team.   The announcement was made and the conference’s annual summer meeting.  The MCCAA Academic School of the Year award was started last year.

MILB – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
Peoria 13, West Michigan 9
Fort Wayne 9, Lansing 4
Great Lakes 13, Wisconsin 4
Quad Cities 8, South Bend 3

Today
Fort Wayne at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
Wisconsin at Great Lakes, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend at Quad Cities, 7:30 p.m.
West Michigan at Peoria, 7:35 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Softball – State Semifinals
Division 2 at Michigan State University
Trenton 2, Essexville-Garber 1
Lakeshore 2, Escanaba 1

Division 1 at Michigan State University
Allen Park 4, Mattawan 2
Macomb-Dakota 2, Hudsonville 1

Today
Baseball – State Semifinals
Division 1 at Michigan State University
Battle Creek Lakeview vs. Grosse Pointe North, 9:00 a.m.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s vs. GR Forest Hills Northern, 11:30 a.m.

Division 3 at Michigan State University
Detroit Edison vs. Pewamo Westphalia, 2:30 p.m.
Buchanan vs. Standish-Sterling, 5:00 p.m.

Girls Soccer – State Championship
Division 4 at Michigan State University
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Royal Oak Shrine, 1:00 p.m.

Saturday
Softball – State Championship
Division 2 at Michigan State University
Lakeshore vs. Trenton, 12:30 p.m.

Baseball – State Championship
Division 1 at Michigan State University – 2:30 p.m.
Division 3 at Michigan State University – 5:00 p.m.