Weekday Morning Sports – Tuesday 7/14/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, July 14, 2015

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Home Run Derby – Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH
Winner Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds

Round 1
Albert Pujols (Angels) 10, Kris Bryant (Cubs) 9
Joc Pederson (Dodgers) 13, Manny Machado (Orioles) 12
Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays) 9, Anthony Rizzo (Cubs) 8
Todd Frazier (Reds) 14, Prince Fielder (Rangers) 13

Semifinals
Todd Frazier (Reds) 10, Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays) 9
Joc Pederson (Dodgers) 13, Albert Pujols (Angels) 10

Finals
Todd Frazier (Reds) 15, Joc Pederson (Dodgers) 14

And this one belongs to the Red
Hometown All-Star Todd Frazier has won the Home Run Derby at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, outslugging Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson 15-14 in the final round Monday night in the first year of a bracket format. The Reds’ Frazier defeated Texas’ Prince Fielder 14-13 in the first round and dispatched Toronto’s Josh Donaldson 10-9 in the second round. Red-clad fans chanted Frazier’s name and cheered his every homer throughout the night. Tied entering his 30-second bonus round, Frazier hit the first pitch for the title. Pederson advanced by beating Baltimore’s Manny Machado in the first round 13-12 and topping the Angels’ Albert Pujols, the derby’s No. 1 seed, 12-11 in the second round. For the first time, players were seeded and placed in an elimination bracket. They had four minutes per round and each hitter received a 30-second bonus for hitting two drives farther than 425 feet.

MLB – Greinke vs. Kuechel
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke will start for the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Cincinnati, and Houston Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kul) will be the first one on the mound for the American League. The 31-year-old Greinke is 8-2 with a major league-best 1.39 ERA after tossing five straight scoreless starts over 35 2/3 inning. The 27-year-old Keuchel is 11-4 with a 2.23 ERA.

Today
2015 All Star Game, Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH
American League (Dallas Keuchel-HOU) vs. National League (Zack Greinke-LAD), 7:00 p.m.

MLB – A’s fan wants netting from pole to pole
An Oakland Athletics season ticket-holder has asked a federal court to protect fans from flying bats and balls by ordering Major League Baseball to extend the safety netting at its ballparks the entire length of the foul lines.  The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California and seeks class action status on behalf of all fans buying season tickets in unprotected areas of major league parks. No money is being sought in the suit.

NBA – Pistons acquire Blake from Nets for Miller
The Detroit Pistons have acquired guard Steve Blake from the Brooklyn Nets in a trade for forward Quincy Miller. The Pistons announced the deal Monday night. Blake has played in 812 NBA games in 12 seasons with Washington, Portland, Milwaukee, Denver, Golden State and both Los Angeles teams. He averaged 4.3 points last season with Portland. The 35-year-old Blake gives Detroit another point guard who can back up Reggie Jackson. The Pistons also have Brandon Jennings, but he’s recovering from a major Achilles’ tendon injury. The 22-year-old Miller played 10 games last season for Sacramento and Detroit.

Soccer – Gold Cup – U.S. ties Panama
The U.S. men’s soccer team has finished 2-0-1 in Group A at the Gold Cup. Michael Bradley scored in the 55th minute as the Americans played to a 1-1 draw against Panama. Alejandro Bedoya’s perfect cross wound up on the right foot of Bradley, who poked the equalizer into the net for his 14th international goal. Brad Guzan didn’t allow a goal after Blas Perez beat him in the 34th minute. Panama finishes Group A with three ties.  Haiti beat Honduras 1-0 to join the United States in the quarterfinals.

NFL – Bryant says he won’t show up
Dallas Cowboys All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant has posted a message on Twitter stating he will not attend the start of training camp on July 30 unless he has a new contract in place by Wednesday.  Bryant has a one-year offer of $12.8 million under the franchise tag, but he is seeking a long-term deal after leading the NFL with 16 touchdowns receiving last season. Since he remains unsigned, Bryant can’t be fined for missing training camp.

Golf – PGA – Spieth plays 18 at St. Andrews in Scotland
Jordan Spieth, the winner of the Masters and U.S. Open this year, has arrived at St. Andrews this week taking part in the British Open, the third major of the year. The 21-year old has a full head of steam as he won Sunday’s John Deere Classic. After an opening round 71, Spieth took charge of the event and finished regulation Sunday tied with 46-year old Tom Gillis. Spieth finished off Gillis on the second hold of a playoff to claim his fourth win of the year. Jet lag apparently wasn’t an issue Monday. Spieth was only going to hit balls and play nine holes if he felt up to it. He wound up going 18 holes at the famed St. Andrews old course.

Most of field finishes Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race
Most of the about 300 starters have finished the annual sailboat race from Chicago’s Navy Pier to northern Michigan’s Mackinac Island. Results posted on the Chicago Yacht Club’s website say Windquest was the first across the finish line early Monday followed minutes later by Il Mostro. Windquest is owned by Amway heirs Dick and Doug DeVos and took about 36 hours to reach the island. The 333-mile race on Lake Michigan began with separate starts Friday and Saturday.  It’s the oldest annual freshwater distance race in the world. Winners are determined based on a handicapping system.

Youth Soccer – Rough play is riskier than heading in youth soccer: Study
Heading takes the heat in youth soccer, but a study says limiting rough play might be a better way to prevent concussions and other injuries. The nine-year look at U.S. high school games found that over 1 in 4 concussions occurred when players used their head to hit the ball. But more than half of these heading-related concussions were caused by collisions with another player rather than with the ball. These included head-to-head, elbow-to-head and shoulder-to-head contact. Dawn Comstock is a University of Colorado public health researcher who led the study. She says soccer rules prohibit most player-to-player contact and notes that rough play has become more common at all levels of the game. The study was published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, West Michigan Whitecaps 2
South Bend Cubs 8, Lake County Captains 1
Dayton Dragons 4, Lansing Lugnuts 3
Fort Wayne Tin Caps 2, Great Lakes Loons 0

Tonight
No games tonight – MLB All Star Game