Weekday Morning Sports – Thursday 8/20/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Thursday, August 20, 2015

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 15, Chicago Cubs 8
Los Angeles Angels 1, Chicago White Sox 0

Tigers 15, Cubs 8 – Norris, Castellanos homer, Tigers pound Lester, Cubs 15-8
Pitcher Daniel Norris homered in his first career plate appearance, Nick Castellanos went deep twice, one a grand slam, and the Detroit Tigers pounded Jon Lester in a 15-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. The Tigers set season highs in runs and hits (21) and tied one with five homers _ three off Lester. It was also the second time this season that they reached double digits in scoring in consecutive games, after winning 10-8 on Tuesday.  The Cubs dropped their third straight after winning nine in a row and 15 of 16, with Lester (8-9) making his earliest exit of the season. The Cubs’ ace lasted just 2 2-3 innings in his shortest outing since 2012 while allowing a season-high seven runs. Norris became the 19th pitcher and first since 2011 to homer in his first major league at-bat, according to STATS.

Angels 1, White Sox 0 – Weaver delivers, Perez HRs in Angels’ 1-0 win over White Sox
Jered Weaver pitched five-hit ball into the seventh inning, and Carlos Perez homered in the Los Angeles Angels’ third straight ictory over the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 Wednesday night. Weaver (5-9) earned his first victory since May 30, striking out five without a walk in his third start back from a seven-week injury absence. The Angels’ longtime ace showed command and deception that made up for his velocity, and eventually left to a standing ovation. Perez delivered the game’s only run with his third homer of the season _ and first since May 30 _ in the sixth. The game ended after a 3 1/2-minute video review determined reliever Joe Smith had touched the bag while covering first base on a double play. Pinch-hitter Adam LaRoche initially was called safe. Jeff Samardzija (8-9) yielded eight hits over seven solid innings for the White Sox, who have lost five of six.

Tonight
Texas (M.Perez 1-2) at Detroit (Simon 10-7), 7:08 p.m.     WSJM-AM/WCSY-FM 6:40
Atlanta (Foltynewicz 4-4) at Chicago Cubs (Arrieta 14-6), 8:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Quintana 6-10) at L.A. Angels (Tropeano 1-1), 10:05 p.m.

NFL – National Football League Preseason – Week 2
Tonight
Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins, 7:30 p.m.

NFL – Lions/Redskins Preview
After a so-so exhibition opener, followed by a bit of a brouhaha over comments he made in a TV interview, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III gets another chance to show whether he is, indeed, making progress, as coach Jay Gruden keeps saying. Griffin is expected to play for about one quarter, followed by the two QBs competing for the backup job, Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins.  The Redskins have been hit by injuries at cornerback and tight end in particular. It’s uncertain whether a key player at each spot _ DeAngelo Hall (toe) and Jordan Reed (hamstring) _ will suit up against Detroit. The Lions will get another look at the breakout star of their first preseason game, running back Ameer Abdullah, a second-round draft pick out of Nebraska. He broke free for a 45-yard run and finished with 67 yards on seven carries against the Jets, while Joique Bell, the team’s top returning running back, sat out injured. Haloti Ngata, brought in to replace Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line, missed the opener, too, recovering from a hamstring strain. Neither Bell nor Ngata is expected to play against Washington.

NFL – Decision may come early September
The federal judge involved in the Tom Brady-NFL lawsuit over deflated footballs has warned the league that he can overturn the four-game suspension given Brady in the “Deflategate” case.  Judge Richard Berman cited legal precedent for reversing arbitrators penalties like the one the NFL imposed on Brady.  Berman continued to push the two sides to reach a settlement in the case.  If not, he says he hopes to rule by Sept. 4, six days before Brady’s Patriots are set to open the season against Pittsburgh.  Brady and Goodell were not in court and the judge says they will be required to attend an Aug. 31 hearing if no settlement is reached.

NCAA Football – Notre Dame DB Crawford sustains season-ending knee injury
Notre Dame defensive back Shaun Crawford will miss the season after injuring a knee in practice. Coach Brian Kelly released a statement Wednesday night saying the 5-foot-8, 180-pound freshman from Lakewood, Ohio, tore his anterior cruciate ligament during practice earlier in the day. Kelly had said Saturday that Crawford was competing for time at nickel back, saying he had shown speed, physicality and a knack for the game. He said Crawford already knew the calls and was helping safeties on some plays. He also was competing for a spot returning kickoffs.

Golf – US Amateur – Michigan’s Mueller beats medalist Coletta 1 up in US Amateur
Michigan sophomore Kyle Mueller held off U.S. Amateur stroke-play medalist Brett Coletta of Australia 1 up Wednesday at Olympia Fields in the first round of match play. Mueller, from Watkinsville, Georgia, survived a playoff Wednesday morning to advance to match play. He took a 3-up lead with a par won on the par-4 11th, lost the par-3 15th and 17th with bogeys and finished off the 19-year-old Coletta with a par for a halve on the par-4 18th. South Korea’s Gunn Yang, the San Diego State player who won last year at Atlanta Athletic Club, dropped out with a 3-and-2 loss to Wake Forest freshman Cameron Young of Scarborough, New York. NCAA champion Bryson DeChambeau of SMU routed Robby Salomon of Monterey, California, 8 and 6. DeChambeau, from Clovis, California, won Nos. 3 and 5-10 and ended it with a birdie on the par-4 12th.  Arizona State senior Jon Rahm, the Spanish player who tops the world amateur ranking, beat Arizona sophomore George Cunningham of Tucson, Arizona, with a birdie on the 21st hole.

Soccer – US women rout Costa Rica in friendly
Carli Lloyd and Heather O’Reilly each scored twice and the United States beat Costa Rica 7-2 in a Women’s World Cup victory tour exhibition game. Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan also scored and the U.S. got an own goal in its second friendly since winning the Women’s World Cup six weeks ago. The U.S. beat the Costa Rica team 8-0 on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Tennis – Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic win Cincinnati openers
Serena Williams pumped her fist after each important point and screamed as she smacked another emphatic shot. The defending Cincinnati champion wasn’t going to ease into the tournament. Williams put a lot of emotion into her opening match at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday afternoon, a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Tsvetana Pironkova. On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic also won in straight sets, but spent more time on the court. He beat Benoit Paire 7-6, 5-2 in an hour and 40 minutes. The first set alone took 64 minutes. Djokovic needs a win at Cincinnati to become the first player with titles at all nine ATP Masters events.

Pistorius release put on hold by South African justice department
South Africa’s Department of Justice says it is putting Oscar Pistorius’ release from prison on hold until his case is reviewed again by a parole board. Department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga says Pistorius’ release will have to be reviewed again because he was approved to be moved to house arrest too early. Mthunzi says Pistorius should have served 10 months of his sentence before being considered for release. He was approved for parole in June, eight months into his sentence. Pistorius was due to be moved to house arrest on Friday after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence for manslaughter for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Mhaga didn’t say when the parole board would meet to consider Pistorius for release from jail.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 7, Great Lakes 2
South Bend 8, Dayton 3
Lake County 10, Lansing 1

Tonight
Great Lakes at West Michigan, 7 p.m.
Dayton at South Bend, 7:05 p.m.
Lake County at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.