Weekday Morning Sports – Monday 10/12/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Monday, October 12, 2015

NFL – National Football League – Week 5
Last Night
Chicago Bears 18, Kansas City Chiefs 17
Arizona Cardinals 42, Detroit Lions 17

Bears 18, Chiefs 17 – Bears rally in fourth quarter to Beat Chiefs 18-17
Jay Cutler led Chicago to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, including an alert toss to running back Matt Forte with 18 seconds left, giving the Bears a stunning 18-17 victory over Kansas City.  The 2-3 Bears trailed 17-3 early in the third quarter when Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles went down with a potentially serious knee injury. The preliminary diagnosis was a torn ACL and Charles will have an MRI exam Monday. Cutler threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns, the first a 22-yard strike to Marquess Wilson with 3:05 left in the game. After the Bears forced a quick three-and-out, Cutler drove them inside the 10-yard line, where he spotted Forte in the end zone. The 1-4 Chiefs tried a 66-yard field goal that came up short as time expired.

Cardinals 42, Lions 17 – Palmer throws 3 TDs to help Cardinals dominate Lions 42-17
Carson Palmer threw for three touchdowns, Matthew Stafford was benched after throwing a third interception, and the Arizona Cardinals routed the Detroit Lions 42-17 Sunday. The Cardinals (4-1) have a two-game lead in the NFC West. The Lions (0-5) have the dubious distinction of being the NFL’s only winless team and are off to their worst start since becoming the league’s only 0-16 team in 2008.  Palmer was poised and efficient, completing 11 of 14 passes for 161 yards, with a 14-yard pass to Darren Fells, an 18-yard connection to John Brown, and a 2-yard strike to Larry Fitzgerald for scores. Stafford simply struggled, getting picked off on passes well short of receivers and missing at least one wide-open option. He was replaced in the third quarter by Dan Orlovsky.

Tonight
Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers, 8:30 p.m.        WSJM-AM 8:00 After U of M Coaches Show)

MLB – Major League Baseball – Wild Card Round (best of five)
Last Night
ALDS: Toronto Blue Jays 5, Texas Rangers 1                     (TEX Leads 2-1)
ALDS: Houston Astros 4, Kansas City Royals  2                 (HOU Leads 2-1)

Today
ALDS: Kansas City (Ventura 13-8) at Houston (McCullers 6-7), 1:07 p.m.      (HOU Leads 2-1)
ALDS: Toronto (Dickey 11-11) at Texas (Holland 4-3), 4:07 p.m.                    (TEX Leads 2-1)
NLDS: St. Louis (Wacha 17-7) at Chicago (Arrieta 22-6), 6:07 p.m.                (Series Tied 1-1)
NLDS: Los Angeles (Anderson 10-9) at New York (Harvey 13-8), 8:37 p.m.      (Series Tied 1-1)

MLB – Cardinals bracing for Game 3 of NLDS against Arrieta, Cubs
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny says the Cardinals are preparing for Game 3 of the NL Division Series in “the same boring way” they have all season long. The Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs are tied at one game apiece heading into the first playoff game at Wrigley Field in seven years. Oh, the Cubs also will have Jake Arrieta on the mound on Monday night for his first start since he shut out
Pittsburgh in the wild-card game. Matheny says the Cardinals have been counted out before against ace pitchers in the postseason, and then had success. But the NL Central champions are heading for quite a challenge in Arrieta, who hasn’t lost at home since July 25. Arrieta says the Cubs are “in a great spot.”

MLB – Dodgers’ Utley suspended 2 playoff games for `illegal’ slide
Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has been suspended for the next two games of the NL division series against the Mets for his hard slide that left New York shortstop Ruben Tejada with a fractured right fibula. MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre said he concluded that Utley’s slide in the seventh inning of Game 2 was illegal and warranted discipline. Utley’s agent called the penalty “outrageous and completely unacceptable” and said there would be an appeal, which would allow Utley to play until the hearing process is complete.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association – Finals (Best of 5)
Last Night
Indiana Fever 75, Minnesota Lynx 69                                 (Series Tied 2-2)

Fever 75, Lynx 69 – Catchings helps Fever force Game 5, beating Lynx 75-69
Shenise Johnson scored 15 points to help the Indiana Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx 75-69 on Sunday night. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Minnesota. Indiana led 51-44 before Marissa Coleman scored five straight. Indiana had just one basket in the final quarter allowing Minnesota to rally within four behind Maya Moore.

NCAA Football – AP Poll – Buckeyes still No. 1, but barely
Ohio State stays No. 1 in this week’s Associated Press college football poll, but its lead continues to dwindle. After starting the season a unanimous top pick, the Buckeyes now only have 27 first-place votes after it struggled for 2 ½ quarters in their win over Maryland.  That puts the unbeaten Buckeyes just 21 points ahead of Baylor, which is No. 2 for the first time ever. TCU fell a spot to third, just four points in front of Utah. The Horned Frogs stayed unbeaten by holding off an upset bid at Kansas State. The Utes moved up after their close win over California. Clemson rounds out the top five.  Then in order it’s LSU, Michigan State, Florida, Texas A&M and Alabama. Michigan moved up to No. 12 after posting its third straight shutout win.

1 Ohio State(27) 6-0
2 Baylor(13) 5-0
3 TCU(3) 6-0
4 Utah(16) 5-0
5 Clemson(1) 5-0
6 LSU 5-0
7 Michigan State 6-0
8 Florida 6-0
9 Texas A&M(1) 5-0
10 Alabama 5-1
11 Florida State 5-0
12 Michigan 5-1
13 Ole Miss 5-1
14 Notre Dame 5-1
15 Stanford 4-1
16 Oklahoma State 6-0
17 Iowa 6-0
18 UCLA 4-1
19 Oklahoma 4-1
20 Northwestern 5-1
21 Boise State 5-1
22 Toledo 5-0
23 California 5-1
24 Houston 5-0
25 Duke 5-1

NCAA Football – Sarkisian asked to take leave of absence
Southern California’s Steve Sarkisian is taking an indefinite leave of absence after athletic director Pat Haden determined that the troubled football coach is “not healthy.” Haden announced the decision after Sarkisian didn’t show up for Sunday’s practice, saying he asked Sarkasian to take a leave during a phone conversation. Haden wasn’t specific about the reasons for Sarkisian’s absence, only saying that “it was very clear to me” that the second-year USC coach was unwell. Offensive coordinator Clay Helton will take charge of the Trojans, who have lost two of their last three games.

NCAA Football – Big Ten – Terps fire Edsall
Randy Edsall has been fired as Maryland’s football coach following the team’s third straight lopsided defeat, 49-28 against top-ranked Ohio State Saturday. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley will take over on an interim basis. Maryland is 2-4 and mired in a three-game skid in which the Terps have been outscored by a combined 122-34. Edsall went 22-34 after taking over before the 2011 season.

NASCAR – Logano wins at Charlotte
Joey Logano won at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday to automatically advance to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs.  The race was rained out Saturday night and run instead in the middle of the day Sunday, and it ended with Logano beating reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick to the finish line by 0.704 seconds.  The top six finishers were Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers, but it was a sloppy day for some of the biggest title contenders.  Joe Gibbs Racing, the overwhelming favorites in the Chase, watched Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch suffer through problems that led both of them to fall to the back of the championship standings. Same with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was one of three Hendrick Motorsports drivers to have a rough day.

Chicago Marathon – Kenya’s Chumba, Kiplagat win titles at Chicago Marathon
Dickson Chumba broke away from a three-man pack in the 23rd mile and easily outdistanced the field for his first Chicago Marathon title Sunday. The Kenyan finished the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 25 seconds. Fellow Kenyan Sammy Kitwara was 25 seconds back for his second consecutive
runner-up finish in Chicago. Florence Kiplagat won the women’s race in an unofficial 2:23:33.
NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Tonight
New Orleans Pelicans at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

Golf – Haas clinches another US win
Bill Haas wrapped up the clinching point on the final hole of the final match to give the U.S. the win at the Presidents Cup.  Haas delivered for his father, Jay, who was the captain of the victorious Americans. The 15 ½ to 14 ½ final score over the International team improved the Americans’ record in the competition to 9-1-1.
 
Golf – Champions – Lehman closes strong to win in North Carolina
Tom Lehman closed out his final four holes of the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship with an eagle and three birdies for a one-stroke victory over Joe Durant in North Carolina. The 56-year-old Lehman birdied the par-4 15th and 16th, eagled the par-5 17th and birdied the par-4 18th for a 7-under 65 and a 12-under total. Bernhard Langer and Kenny Perry tied for third at 10 under.

Golf – LPGA – Korda pulls away
Jessica Korda shot a final-round 6-under 65 to score a four-shot win at LPGA Malaysia. It’s the fourth tour title for the 22-year old American, who previously only had one top ten finish all year.  Second-ranked Lydia Ko, No. 3 Stacy Lewis and 2014 winner Shanshan Feng tied for second.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Tonight
Boys Soccer
Michigan Lutheran at Buchanan, 5:00 p.m.
Lake Michigan Catholic at Comstock, 6:00 p.m.
Niles at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Allegan at Paw Paw, 6:45 p.m.
Vicksburg at South Haven, 6:45 p.m.
Plainwell at Sturgis, 6:45 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Three Rivers, 6:45 p.m.
Howardsville Christian at Berrien Springs, 4:30 p.m.
Bangor at Lawton, 6:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Marcellus, 6:00 p.m.

Girls Volleyball
Berrien Springs at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.