Weekday Morning Sports Report – Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports      wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, September 23, 2014

NFL – National Football League – Week 3
Yesterday
Chicago Bears 27, New York Jets 19

Bears 27, Jets 19 – Bears hang on to beat mistake-prone Jets
The Chicago Bears have improved to 2-1 by taking advantage of a pair of first-quarter turnovers by the New York Jets. Ryan Mundy returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to put the Bears ahead to stay just 32 seconds into a 27-19 victory over the New York Jets at the Meadowlands. Chicago also scored its second TD off a turnover as Jay Cutler hit Martellus Bennett for a seven-yard score after the Jets fumbled a punt. The 1-2 Jets still had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, moving to the Chicago 9 yard line before losing the ball on downs. Cutler was 23 of 38 for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Bennett. He fared better than Geno Smith, who was picked off twice while completing 26 of his 43 throws for 316 yards and a TD. The Jets lost despite outgaining the Bears 414 yards to 257.

NFL – Lions lose linebacker for season
Detroit Lions middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL he suffered while celebrating a sack. Tulloch injured his knee in the first quarter of Detroit’s 19-7 victory over Green Bay yesterday. He returned to action shortly after but was unable to continue playing.

NFL – Lions release kicker
The Detroit Lions are making a change.  The team has released placekicker Nate Freese and have signed former Philadelphia Eagles draft pick Alex Henery.  Freese made 3 of 7 field goal attempts this season and was 0 of 4 on kicks longer than 40 yards.

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Chicago White Sox 2, Detroit Tigers 0
St. Louis Cardinals 8, Chicago Cubs 0

White Sox 2, Tigers 0 – Sox edge Tigers 2-0
Chris Bassitt fired 7 2/3 scoreless innings and the Chicago White Sox blanked the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, in the opener of a three-game set. Bassitt (1-1) allowed six hits and walked one, while Tyler Flowers smacked a two-run homer in the second inning for the White Sox, who have won three of their last four games. Jake Petricka recorded the final four outs for his 14th save of the season. Kyle Lobstein (1-1) surrendered two runs on five hits and a walk over seven frames for Detroit, which has dropped four of its last six contests. The Tigers are one game ahead of Kansas City for first place in the AL Central following the Royals’ 2-0 win over Cleveland. The Indians held on for a 4-3 10-inning win earlier in the day to conclude a rain-suspended game from last month.

Cardinals 8, Cubs 0 – Cardinals maintain lead over Pirates 
Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals thumped the Chicago Cubs, 8-0, in the opener of a three-game set on Monday. Wainwright (20-9) won his fifth straight start to join Clayton Kershaw in the 20-win column this season. He allowed three hits and a walk while striking out eight. The win allowed St. Louis to stay 2 1/2 games up on Pittsburgh for first place in the NL Central. Pittsburgh defeated Atlanta on Monday. Jon Jay had two hits and drove in three runs, while Matt Adams went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored in the win. Travis Wood (8-13) gave up seven runs — six earned — on eight hits with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts over five innings for the Cubs, who have lost four of five.

Tonight
Chicago White Sox (Carroll 5-10) at Detroit (D.Price 14-12), 7:08 p.m.        WSJM-AM/WCSY-FM 6:40
St. Louis (S.Miller 10-9) at Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 7-2), 8:05 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League Preseason
Last Night
Detroit Red Wings 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Red Wings 2, Penguins 1 – Datsyuk’s power play goal gives Wings 2-1 win at Penguins
Pavel Datsyuk’s power-play goal at 16:05 of the second period broke a 1-1 tie and the Detroit Red Wings edged the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center.  Tomas Tatar also scored on the power play for the Red Wings and Jimmy Howard stopped 25 of 26 shots. Petr Mrazek stopped all 10 shots he faced. Beau Bennett scored for Pittsburgh and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 18 of 20 shots. Matthew Murray made seven saves. Datsyuk took a hit from Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi in the third period and did not return. He sustained a shoulder injury, according to mlive.com, and will be re-evaluated today.

Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

NHL – Construction On New Red Wings Arena To Start Thursday
Construction is set to begin Thursday on a new $450-million arena for the Detroit Red Wings. Olympia Development will hold ceremonies to kick off the work, and plans are to have the facility open late in 2017. The new arena will be the centerpiece of a massive redevelopment plan for more than 40 blocks of the downtown area near the Fox Theatre, Ford Field and Comerica Park. The Red Wings have played at Joe Louis Arena on the banks of the Detroit River since December, 1979, and it’s the fourth-oldest stadium in the NHL.

NBA – Bulls re-sign veteran center Mohammed
The Chicago Bulls say they have re-signed veteran center Nazr Mohammed. The deal was announced Monday. Terms were not disclosed. A 16-year veteran, Mohammed spent the past two seasons with Chicago. He appeared in 80 games last year and averaged and averaged 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds. Mohammed has also played with Oklahoma City (2010-12), Charlotte (2007-10), Detroit (2006-08), San Antonio (2004-06), New York (2003-05), Atlanta (2000-04) and Philadelphia (1998-01).

MWL – Whitecaps Vice President Of Sales Wins Executive Of Year Award
The West Michigan Whitecaps have some new hardware to display in their offices at Fifth Third Ballpark. The club’s vice president of sales, Steve McCarthy, has been named the 2014 Midwest League executive of the year. He was honored as the Whitecaps had one of the best seasons in terms of attendance and ticket revenue following a fire that destroyed the entire suite level of the stadium on the first-base side in January. McCarthy has held his current position with the Detroit Tigers Single-A affiliate since 2005, and started his career in the sports business as an operations intern for the Whitecaps in 1995.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
Kalamazoo Hackett 4, Lake Michigan Catholic 1
South Haven 7, Coloma 2
Edwardsburg 2, Berrien Springs 0
Paw Paw 7, Dowagiac 1
Bangor 3, Hartford 1

Boys Tennis
Paw Paw 8, South Haven 0

Today
Girls Swimming
South Haven at St. Joseph
Bridgman/Lakeshore at Portage Central

Boys Soccer
Lakeshore at Niles
Bridgman at Lake Michigan Catholic
Michigan Lutheran at Buchanan

Girls Volleyball
Michigan Lutheran at Lake Michigan Catholic
South Haven at Allegan Quad

Cross Country
BCS Conference Jamboree at Brandywine
South Haven, Otsego at Plainwell

Boys Tennis
New Buffalo at South Haven

MHSAA – High School Football Poll

Division 3

Others receiving votes:
11, Mount Pleasant (3-1) 4. 12, Riverview (4-0) 2. 13, Petoskey (3-1) 1.

Division 4

Others receiving votes:
11, Goodrich (3-1) 3. 12, Dearborn Heights Robichaud (4-0) 2. 13, Yale (3-1) 1.

Division 7

Others receiving votes:
None.

Division 9: 8-Man Football

Others receiving votes:
11, Portland St Patrick (4-0) 8. 12, Bellaire (4-0) 7. 13, Battle Creek St Philip (4-0) 6.