Weekday Morning Sports – Friday 9/25/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Friday, September 25, 2015

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
New York Yankees 3, Chicago White Sox 2
Tigers and Cubs were off

Yankees 3, White Sox 2 –Beltran 3-run HR off Sale leads Yanks over White Sox 3-2
Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer off White Sox ace Chris Sale, leading Michael Pineda and the New York Yankees past Chicago 3-2 Thursday night in their push for a playoff spot. After a tribute before their first home game since October great Yogi Berra died, the Yankees closed within three games of idle Toronto in the AL East. New York cut its magic number to six for clinching at least a wild-card slot. Beltran, a postseason star throughout his career, gave the Yankees a boost to begin their final homestand of the season. He connected in the third inning for his 18th homer, a line drive that a young boy in the front row of the left-field seats neatly gloved. Pineda (12-8) gave up one run, on Trayce Thompson’s homer, in six innings. He improved the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the AL, fanning six without a free pass.

Tonight
Pittsburgh (G.Cole 17-8) at Chicago Cubs (Lester 10-11), 2:20 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Rodon 8-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 5-9), 7:05 p.m.
Minnesota (Pelfrey 6-10) at Detroit (Boyd 1-5), 7:08 p.m.          98.3 The Coast 6:45

NFL – National Football League – Week 3
Last Night
New York Giants 32, Washington Redskins 21

Giants 32, Redskins 21 – Giants get a win
Eli Manning threw a pair of long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to secure the Giants’ first victory in three games, a 32-21 triumph over Washington. Manning connected with Ruben Randle for a 41-yard touchdown with 3:21 remaining after hitting Odell Beckham Jr. for a 30-yard score early in the fourth. Manning completed 23 of his 32 passes for 279 yards and no interceptions.

Sunday
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m.
Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m.
Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions, 8:30 p.m.             WSJM-AM/WCSY-FM 7:30

NFL – Bears QB Jimmy Clausen looking more like starter vs Seattle
Jimmy Clausen is taking all the snaps at practice so far this week as Chicago prepares for Sunday’s game at Seattle. The Bears are not expected to officially announce Clausen as the starting quarterback until Friday. But he is doing all the first-team work while Jay Cutler nurses a strained hamstring. Clausen says he doubts playing at Seattle will be intimidating after he had to endure 10 starts as a rookie with a 1-9 record in Carolina under current Bears coach John Fox. Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase said the staff has to do a better job of playing to Clausen’s strengths than they did in last week’s loss to Arizona after Cutler left with his injury.

NFL – British NFL plans
The NFL says it would only put a full-time franchise in London if all operational issues are worked out and the league is sure the team would be competitive. Mark Waller, NFL executive vice president of its international division, says there is no time frame for possibly placing a team in London, adding that a decision will come “when we’re ready.” The NFL has played 11 regular-season games in London since 2007. Wembley Stadium will host three more games this season, starting with the Miami Dolphins against the New York Jets on Oct. 4.

NHL – National Hockey League Preseason
Last Night
Detroit Red Wings 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Red Wings 6, Penguins 1 – Red Wings rout Penguins
Dylan Larkin and Teemu Pulkkinen each scored two goals in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tyler Bertuzzi and Drew Miller also scored for Detroit, and Jimmy Howard stopped 34 shots. Pittsburgh goalie Matthew Murray allowed all six Detroit goals on 27 shots. Beau Bennett scored for the Penguins. Johan Franzen played his first game for Detroit since suffering a concussion in a regular-season game Jan. 6 against Edmonton.

NHL – Prosecutor to address evidence bag issue in Kane case
The prosecutor overseeing the sexual assault investigation of Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane is set to talk about an evidence bag that’s at the center of a decision by the accuser’s attorney to quit the case. Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning. It follows a Thursday night press conference by attorney Thomas Eoannou during which he announced that he’s no longer representing the woman who claims Kane assaulted her at his suburban Buffalo home. Kane hasn’t been charged. Eoannou had said Wednesday that an empty evidence bag was inexplicably placed inside the door of his client’s mother’s home, raising questions about possible evidence tampering. But late Thursday, Eoannou announced that “misrepresentations” had been made to him and withdrew from the case.

NCAA Football – Saturday
Saturday
(22) BYU at Michigan, 12:00 p.m.                            WSJM-AM/FM 11:00
Central Michigan at (2) Michigan State, 12:00 p.m.  WCSY-FM 10:30
Massachusetts at (6) Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.
Western Michigan at (1) Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.
Army at Eastern Michigan, 6:00 p.m.

NCAA Football – No. 2 Michigan State hopes to avoid slip-up against CMU
It’s one loss that really stands out as a head scratcher in Mark Dantonio’s tenure as Michigan State’s coach. In 2009, Central Michigan upset the Spartans in stunning fashion, scoring a touchdown and a field goal in the final 32 seconds to win 29-27. A lot has changed for Michigan State since then. The Spartans are now ranked No. 2 in the country, and they’ll be heavily favored when they host Central Michigan on Saturday. That loss to the Chippewas is still the only time under Dantonio that Michigan State has lost to a Mid-American Conference team. In fact, the Spartans have only lost to teams in power conferences (plus Notre Dame) in that span.

NCAA Football – No. 22 BYU goes to Big House to test Harbaugh-led Michigan
BYU is as prepared as perhaps any team in the country to play anyone, anywhere in college football.  The 22nd-ranked Cougars opened the season by winning at Nebraska on a Hail Mary with no time left, stunning a stadium filled with red-clad fans. They rallied from a double-digit deficit in the last 10-plus minutes of the game to beat then-No. 20 Boise State at home. And last week at the Rose Bowl, they gave up a late touchdown in a one-point loss to No. 10 UCLA. BYU (2-1) plays at the Big House against the Wolverines (2-1) on Saturday, giving its players another chance to play a marquee team in a famous stadium.

NCAA Football – Michigan wide receiver from Sierra Leone becomes US citizen
University of Michigan wide receiver and Sierra Leone native Amara Darboh is now a U.S. citizen.  The Detroit Free Press reports Darboh took part in a naturalization ceremony Thursday morning at U.S. District Court in Detroit. Darboh left Sierra Leone with his family for Gambia when he was 2 or 3. By the time he was 7, he and his sister, brothers and mother worked their way to Iowa. He was taken in by a family in Des Moines when he was in sixth grade. Growing up, Darboh says he considered himself an American. He tried to become a citizen late in high school, but paperwork was lost in the move to Ann Arbor. After receiving his naturalization certificate, Darboh said that he feels “the same” and “grateful” for his family and where he came from.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
Niles 2, St. Joseph 1 – OT
Portage Central 1, Lakeshore 0
Mattawan 3, Gull Lake 0
Hartford 6, Bridgman 1
Kalamazoo Hackett 7, Vicksburg 1

Boys Tennis
Allegan 5, St. Joseph 3
Bridgman 4, Niles 4 – TIE

Girls Volleyball
Paw Paw 3, South Haven 1
Edwardsburg 3, Dowagiac 1
Michigan Lutheran 3, Howardsville Christian 0
Lake Michigan Catholic 3, Countryside Academy 1
Watervliet Grace Christian 3, River Valley 1

Tonight
Football – All Games are at 7:00
SMAC
Battle Creek Lakeview (2-2) at Lakeshore (3-1)                94.9 WSJM-FM
St. Joseph (3-1) at Battle Creek Central (2-2)                  Sports Radio 1400 WSJM
Benton Harbor (2-2) at Mattawan (2-2)
Niles (0-4) at Kalamazoo Central (1-3)
Portage Northern (2-2) at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (1-3)
Gull Lake (2-2) at Portage Central (4-0)

Wolverine
Paw Paw (2-2) at South Haven (2-2)                                 Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM
Dowagiac (3-1) at Edwardsburg (4-0)
Allegan (0-4) at Plainwell (2-2)
Otsego (0-4) at Three Rivers (1-3)
Sturgis (3-1) at Vicksburg (3-1)

BCS Conference
Berrien Springs (4-0) at Bridgman (4-0)
Lake Michigan Catholic (1-3) at Parchment (3-1)
Cassopolis (3-1) at Buchanan (4-0)
River Valley (0-4) at New Buffalo (1-3)
Comstock (0-4) at Brandywine (2-2)
White Pigeon (2-2) at Mendon (1-3)
Centreville (1-3) at Bronson (1-3)

SAC
Hartford (1-3) at Bangor (2-2)
Delton Kellogg (3-1) at Coloma (0-4)
Fennville (2-2) at Watervliet (3-1)
Martin (0-4) at Eau Claire (0-4)
Gobles (3-1) at Lawton (4-0)
Saugatuck (4-0) at Decatur (3-1)
Bloomingdale (1-3) at Marcellus (2-2)
Kalamazoo United (1-3) at Constantine (2-2)
Galesburg-Augusta (1-3) at Schoolcraft (4-0)

8 Player Football
Marion (2-2) at Lawrence (4-0)

Saturday
Football
8 Player Football
Michigan Lutheran (0-4) at Battle Creek St. Philip (4-0)