Weekday Morning Sports – 10/18/16

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, October 18, 2016

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Detroit Red Wings 5, Ottawa Senators 1

Red Wings 5, Senators 1 – Green’s 1st hat trick helps Red Wings beat Senators 5-1
Mike Green scored three times for his first hat trick and Darren Helm had two goals to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Monday night in their last home opener at Joe Louis Arena. Green scored twice in the first period and his third goal restored a three-goal lead with 6:36 left in the game. Helm scored on a breakaway in between Green’s goals in the first period and added a second goal with 2:56 left in the third. Ryan Dzingel’s short-handed goal midway through the second period pulled the Senators within two goals. Detroit’s Petr Mrazek made 13 of his 31 saves in the second period to keep a relatively comfortable cushion. Andrew Hammond stopped 20 shots in his first start of the season for Ottawa. The Red Wings are leaving the venue they have called home since the 1979-80 season.

Tonight
Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

MLB Playoffs – League Championship Series (Best of 7)
Last Night – ALCS
Cleveland Indians 4, Toronto Blue Jays 2                                                                (CLE leads 3-0)      

Indians 4, Blue Jays 2 – d
Mike Napoli and Jason Kipnis hit solo homers and the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen worked 8 1/3 innings to lead a 4-2 victory over Toronto in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series. Kipnis broke a 2-2 deadlock with a blast off losing pitcher Marcus Stroman to help the Indians take a 3-0 series lead. The Blue Jays have produced just three runs and 17 hits in the series.  Indians starter Trevor Bauer had to leave after just four batters because of a cut on his right pinkie. Bauer had recorded two outs and two walks as blood dripped from the finger, the result of an accident while fixing one of his drones last week. The short outing means that Corey Kluber will start Game 4 on short rest Tuesday, with rookie Ryan Merritt taking the mound for the Indians in the fifth game, if necessary.

Tonight – ALCS
Cleveland (Kluber 18-9) at Toronto (Sanchez 15-2), 4:08 p.m.              (CLE leads 3-0)

Tonight – NLCS
Chicago (Arrieta 18-8) at Los Angeles (Hill 3-2), 8:08 p.m.                   (Series Tied 1-1)        

MLB – Less dominant Arrieta vs Hill as NLCS shifts to Los Angeles
Back in spring training, Joe Maddon cornered Jake Arrieta for a frank conversation about his workload during the upcoming season. Maddon knew Arrieta would be upset any time he got lifted early, especially after tossing 229 innings for the Chicago Cubs on his way to winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2015. Maddon knew Arrieta might just feel invincible after shouldering the burden of huge innings while compiling a 1.77 ERA. He didn’t want the right-hander thinking he could pitch that much every year. Arrieta bought into Maddon’s plan, and it’s gotten him to the NL Championship Series with 197 1/3 innings and a 3.10 ERA. With the series 1-1, Arrieta starts for the Cubs against Los Angeles’ Rich Hill on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

MLB – Ontario judge dismisses attempt to ban Indians’ name, logo
An Ontario judge has quashed an attempt to attempt to bar the Cleveland Indians from using their team name and “Chief Wahoo” logo during Monday’s night playoff game in Toronto.  The legal challenge by indigenous activist Douglas Cardinal came hours before the team plays the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.  The long-standing logo, which appears on some team caps and jerseys, depicts a grinning, red-faced cartoon with a feather headband. Ontario Superior Court Justice Tom McEwen dismissed the application and said he would give reasons at a later date.

NFL – National Football League – Week 6
Last Night
Arizona Cardinals 28, New York Jets 3

Cardinals 28, Jets 3 – Cards ground Jets
The Arizona Cardinals are 3-3 after David Johnson rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-3 stifling of the New York Jets. Carson Palmer was 23 of 34 for 213 yards and a TD before leaving the game with a strained hamstring in the fourth quarter. Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for just 174 yards and was benched in favor of Geno Smith before New York slumped to 1-5.

NFL – WR Golden Tate stepping up for Lions
Detroit receiver Golden Tate is back and the Lions are reaping the benefits. Tate, who struggled during the Lions’ 1-3 start, has played an important role in Detroit’s two-game winning streak, finishing with a career-high 165 receiving yards Sunday in a 31-28 win over the Rams. His 23-yard touchdown tied the score at 28-28 in the fourth quarter. Coach Jim Caldwell yesterday noted it was great to see Tate have a big game. With the Lions (3-3) potentially saving their season with two straight wins, things don’t get easier. Detroit hosts Washington (4-2) on Sunday, and the Redskins enter on a four-game winning streak. Detroit’s turnaround has also quieted the rumors surrounding Caldwell’s job security, although the Lions’ coach isn’t patting himself on the back — saying they have to improve their play, with all of their games decided by a touchdown or less.

NFL – Bears’ frustration builds with near misses
The more the Chicago Bears think they’ve found answers to their struggles, the more their losses and frustration build. After starting 1-5 for the first time since 2004, the Bears are heading to Green Bay for a Thursday night game with their biggest disappointment still fresh in their memories _ Sunday’s blown fourth-quarter lead in a 17-16 loss to Jacksonville. There were some bright spots despite the loss. Quarterback Brian Hoyer has a franchise-record four straight 300-yard passing games, and on Sunday he started to find receiver Alshon Jeffery with more regularity. Jeffery had 93 yards on seven catches, while Cameron Meredith had his second straight 100-yard receiving day. Coach John Fox says the Bears players can see how close they are to winning. Quarterback Jay Cutler (thumb sprain) remains sidelined, as well, but with Hoyer having gone 189 throws without an interception, the Bears have avoided pushing their starter into returning too soon. The Bears haven’t started 1-6 since 2000.

NBA – National Basketball Association Preseason
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 102, Milwaukee Bucks 78
Charlotte Hornets 108, Chicago Bulls 104 – OT

Pistons 102, Bucks 78 – Pistons power past Bucks
The Detroit Pistons’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit six 3 pointers and scored 23 as the Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks last night in an exhibition matchup, 102-78. Rookie Henry Ellenson scored 14 points and had five rebounds.

Hornets 108, Bulls 104 – OT – Hornets beat Bulls in OT
Frank Kaminsky’s 14 points led the Charlotte Hornets past the Chicago Bulls last night 108-104 in overtime in a preseason contest last night. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 15 points while Doug McDermott scored 14 in the loss.

NBA – Bulls get Carter-Williams from Bucks for Snell in guard swap
The Chicago Bulls traded Tony Snell to Milwaukee on Monday in exchange for Michael Carter-Williams as the two Central Division foes swapped two guards going into their fourth NBA seasons. The 6-foot-6 Carter-Williams was the 11th overall selection by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2013 draft and he was traded to Milwaukee during the 2014-15 season. He has averaged 14.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 190 games, including 170 starts. Bulls general manager Gar Forman said the team was excited to add Carter-Williams _ “a two-way player who adds versatility and depth.” The 6-foot-7 Snell was selected 20th overall that same draft year by the Bulls. In three seasons, he has averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 18.5 minutes over 213 games, including 67 starts.

NCAAFB – No. 3 Michigan keeps tabs on No. 2 Ohio State as Game nears
Michigan guard Kyle Kalis admits he’s keepign tabs on Ohio State. In fact, Kalis is rooting for the second-ranked Buckeyes to keep winning until the third-ranked Wolverines visit the Buckeyes next month. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh also says he watched Ohio State win at No. 8 Wisconsin in overtime, but wasn’t very forthcoming about what he focused on — saying he was just watching it as a fan as two good teams went at it. While the Buckeyes were beating the Badgers, the Wolverines were enjoying the weekend off without a game. Michigan (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) hosts Illinois (2-4, 1-2) on Saturday. Harbaugh was working during his team’s bye weekend and, of course, found a unique way to do it. At one game in California, he announced the school’s homecoming queen.  Kalis, an Ohio native, who committed to Ohio State before choosing to attend
Michigan, has been hearing from friends back home about the annual showdown game. The Wolverines have five more games before they play Nov. 26 at Ohio State, but that isn’t stopping anyone from talking about the highly anticipated matchup.
 
NCAAFB – Smith: Lunt improving, but no word on return for Michigan
Injured Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt is improving from his back injury but coach Lovie Smith won’t say whether Lunt might return for Saturday’s game at No. 3 Michigan. Sophomore Chayce Crouch replaced Lunt after his injury against Purdue.

NCAAFB – Notre Dame’s Butler pleads guilty to misdemeanor in fracas
Suspended Notre Dame cornerback Devin Butler has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting law enforcement following an altercation with police outside a bar near campus. Butler, a senior, released a public letter of apology to one of the officers, Aaron Knepper. Under a plea agreement made public Monday, he will avoid jail time and complete 24 hours of community service. He’ll also pay $145 restitution for damage to Knepper’s clothing and equipment. Butler was accused of tackling and punching Knepper during the August altercation. Felony charges of resisting law enforcement and battery against a public safety official were reduced to the misdemeanor under the plea agreement. Butler has been placed on pretrial diversion for one year. Coach Brian Kelly suspended Butler indefinitely shortly after the arrest.

NCAA – Big 12 presidents decide to pass on expansion
The Big 12 Conference has decided against expansion from its current 10 members. The announcement came after a six-hour meeting Monday with the conference’s university presidents and Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. The Big 12 has been analyzing expansion options for the last three months, but it never made a commitment to expand. Conference officials held interviews in September with Air Force and Colorado State from the Mountain West; Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, South Florida, SMU and Tulane from the American Athletic Conference; and BYU, which is a football independent with its other sports in the West Coast Conference.

NCAA – Texas Governor blasts Big 12 for punting on expansion
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the Big 12 should apologize for not expanding after spending three months vetting and interviewing potential new member schools. The governor, who had previously tweeted his support for Houston being added to the Big 12, blasted the conference on Twitter on Monday night.  “The Big 12 owes a lot of people an apology. It punted on expansion & shanked its future. UHouston deserved better,” Abbott tweeted. Abbott is a University of Texas graduate. Earlier Monday, the Big 12 announced it would not add to its 10 members. Houston was among the 11 schools the Big 12 met with in September. 

NCAAWBB – Notre Dame’s McGraw: NCAA women might see parity in 2015-16
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw believes parity might finally hit women’s basketball after seeing Connecticut win an unprecedented fourth consecutive title last season. The Fighting Irish, like Baylor, Tennessee, Stanford and several other teams, have most of their best players returning. The Huskies lost three-time AP Player of the Year Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck and Moriah Jefferson. McGraw says she’s hoping there is parity. McGraw guided the Irish to a national championship in 2001 and she believes this year’s Irish team might be the most talented she’s coached. Even so, McGraw said she wouldn’t rank the Irish No. 1 to begin the season. She would put them in the top five, however.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Girls Volleyball
South Haven 3, Bridgman 0
Cassopolis 3, Eau Claire 0
Michigan Lutheran 3, Berrien Springs 0

Boys Soccer Districts
Division 3 (Dowagiac, 1st round at local sites)
Fennville 1, Coloma 0
South Haven 3, Berrien Springs 1
Paw Paw 3, Dowagiac 1
Hopkins 5, Buchanan 0

Division 4 (Cassopolis, 1st round at local sites)
Lake Michigan Catholic 2, Bridgman 1
Cassopolis 5, Michigan Lutheran 1

Division 4 (Hartford, 1st round at local sites)
Bangor 4, Saugatuck 1
Lawton 6, Gobles 0
Hartford 7, Bloomingdale 1

Division 4 (Kalamazoo Hackett, 1st round at local sites)
Kalamazoo Christian 3, Schoolcraft 0
Howardsville Christian 4, Kalamazoo Heritage Christian 1
Kalamazoo Hackett 8, Marcellus 0

Last Night
Boys Soccer Districts
Division 2 (Mattawan, 1st round at local sites)
Lakeshore at Mattawan, 6:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at St. Joseph, 6:00 p.m.
Vicksburg at Niles, 5:00 p.m.

Division 2 (Otsego, 1st round at local sites)
Wayland at Gull Lake, 6:00 p.m.
Allegan at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Middleville Thornapple Kellogg at Hastings, 6:00 p.m.

Division 2 (Charlotte, 1st round at local sites)
Battle Creek Harper Creek at Charlotte, 6:00 p.m.
Sturgis at Battle Creek Central, 6:00 p.m.
Marshall at Eaton Rapids, 6:00 p.m.

Girls Swimming
Battle Creek Lakeview at St. Joseph, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman/Lakeshore at Portage Northern, 6:00 p.m.

MHSAA – AP Football Rankings