Sports Radio 1400 WSJM @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Wednesday, October 21, 2015
MLB – Major League Baseball – League Championship Series (best of seven)
Last Night
ALCS: Kansas City Royals 14, Toronto Blue Jays 2 (KC Leads 3-1)
NLCS: New York Mets 5, Chicago Cubs 2 (NYM Leads 3-0)
NLCS-Game 3: Mets 5, Cubs 2 – Murphy, Mets beat Cubs 5-2 for commanding 3-0 lead in NLCS
Daniel Murphy homered for a record-tying fifth straight game in the postseason, sending Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets over the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Tuesday night for a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series. Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright each had three hits for the Mets. Cespedes scored the go-ahead run on a two-out wild pitch by Trevor Cahill on a strikeout of Michael Conforto in the sixth inning. Murphy tied the homer streak mark set by Carlos Beltran in 2004. DeGrom pitched seven effective innings to improve to 3-0 in his first postseason. Jeurys Familia closed for his fifth save of the playoffs. The Mets can advance to the World Series for the first time in 15 years with one more victory over Chicago in Game 4 of the best-of-seven matchup Wednesday night. Rookie Steven Matz gets the start for the Mets while Jason Hammel goes for the Cubs. Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler homered for the Cubs, who have scored just five runs in the series.
ALCS Game 4: Royals 14, Blue Jays 2 – Royals on the verge of returning to Fall Classic
The Kansas City Royals are one victory away from returning to the World Series. Ben Zobrist tagged R.A. Dickey for a two-run homer in a four-run first inning, Alex Rios went deep leading off the second and the Royals routed the Toronto Blue Jays 14-2 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series. Alcides Escobar had four RBIs. Cain drove in three runs as the Royals bounced back from an 11-8 loss Monday. Kansas City led 5-2 in the seventh before breaking away with nine runs late.
Today
ALCS: Kansas City (Volquez 13-9) at Toronto (Estrada 13-8), 4:07 p.m. (KC Leads 2-1)
NLCS: New York (Matz 4-0) at Chicago (Hammel 10-7), 8:07 p.m. (NYM Leads 2-0)
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Edmonton Oilers, 9:30 p.m.
NHL – Blackhawks D Keith to miss 4 to 6 weeks with knee injury
Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith will be sidelined for four to six weeks after he had right knee surgery on Tuesday. Keith, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, has two assists in six games this season. The team says he had a meniscal tear repaired. The loss of Keith, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy last season for playoff MVP, is a huge blow for the Stanley Cup champions. They play in one of the NHL’s toughest divisions, and every point could make a difference at the end of the year. Keith is likely headed for long-term injured reserve, giving the Blackhawks some cap relief. Lubomir Visnovsky, a veteran defenseman who was with the team during training camp, could be brought back, or they could promote someone from the minors.
NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Last Night
Chicago Bulls 103, Indiana Pacers 94
Bulls 103, Pacers 94 –Brooks, Bulls beat Pacers
Aaron Brooks scored 22 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 103-94 win over the Indiana Pacers in a preseason game Tuesday night. Paul George had 26 and 13 rebounds for the Pacers. Monta Ellis and Ian Mahinmi added 14 points. George gave the Pacers a 16-8 lead with 6:10 left in the first on his thunderous one-handed dunk after he rebounded his missed 3-pointer.
Tonight
Charlotte Hornets at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.
NFL – Lions officially put Zenner on injured reserve
The Detroit Lions officially put running back Zach Zenner on injured reserve Tuesday. Coach Jim Caldwell said Monday the move was coming _ Zenner was hospitalized with broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung after Detroit’s win over Chicago on Sunday. The Lions signed running back George Winn from their practice squad, released guard Taylor Boggs and signed running back Marion Grice and wide receiver Ryan Spadola to the practice squad. The Buffalo Bills signed tackle Jordan Mills off Detroit’s practice squad.
NFL – Harbaugh ponders what might have been done before fumble
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says he would love to have the opportunity to see how other plays might have worked at the end of the Michigan State game. Harbaugh acknowledged Tuesday on a teleconference that running the ball outside to take more time off the clock was something he considered on first, second and third down. The Wolverines handed the ball off to De’Veon Smith three times and he gained 8 yards. That left them with a fourth-and-2 at the Michigan State 47 with 10 seconds left. Punter Blake O’Neill fumbled and Jalen Watts-Jackson returned the football 38 yards to give the Spartans a stunning 27-23 win. Harbaugh says one play never decides a football game. The 15th-ranked Wolverines don’t play again until Oct. 31 at Minnesota.
NCAA Football – Big Ten coaches irked by online bashing of Michigan punter
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz banned his players from Twitter once he realized the potential pratfalls of social media. Some of his Big Ten colleagues might start thinking that Ferentz is on to something. The downside to social media again became apparent over the weekend. Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett released an open letter on Sunday urging fans to avoid “thoughtless comments” following Michigan State’s stunning 27-23 win over the Wolverines. Much of negative online chatter focused on Michigan punter Blake O’Neill, whose fumble led to the game-winning touchdown for the Spartans. Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio says he’s disappointed with those who bashed O’Neill, adding that one play shouldn’t define a person.
NCAA Football – Meyers settles on Barrett as QB
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has announced that J.T. Barrett will get the start at quarterback Saturday against Rutgers, replacing Cardale Jones. Barrett lost the starting job to Jones following a closely watched quarterback battle in the offseason for the top-ranked Buckeyes. But Jones has struggled to find the form that helped him lead the Buckeyes to the national title last season. Ohio State heads into Saturday’s game with a 7-0 record.
NCAA Basketball – Escort: How could Cardinals’ Pitino not know of sex parties
Escort Katina Powell says she has no proof that Louisville coach Rick Pitino knew that a former Cardinals staffer hired her and other dancers to strip and have sex with former recruits and players. But Powell said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that with “a boatload” of recruits and dancers, “loud music, alcohol, security, cameras” in a campus dormitory, “how could Rick not know?” In her first interview since the release of her book earlier this month, “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” Powell says that the coach had to be aware of some of 22 shows she alleges that former staffer Andre McGee paid and took place from 2010-14. Pitino has denied knowledge of the activities that Powell alleges in her book.
USA Basketball – Colangelo says next US basketball coach likely from pros
An NBA coach will likely follow Mike Krzyzewski as U.S. Olympic basketball coach. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says Tuesday during an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio that the “odds are that it will be a professional coach.” Krzyzewski was hired as U.S. coach in 2005 when Colangelo began the national team program and will guide the Americans into the Olympics for the third straight time next summer in Rio. Colangelo says he hopes to unveil his plan to replace him sometime soon. The Americans had only been led by NBA coaches once pro players were allowed to be used starting with the 1992 Olympics. Colangelo hired the Duke coach, who has won two Olympic golds and two more world titles.
Golf – Woods says recovery will be ‘long and tedious’
Tiger Woods is facing what he calls a long and tedious recovery from another back surgery and is not sure when he will come back. Woods was in Mexico City on Tuesday for the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup, an exhibition he was supposed to play with Matt Kuchar. That was before he announced he had a second back surgery after his doctor discovered a fragmented disc that was pinching a nerve. He had surgery a month ago. Woods already has said he won’t be able to play his Hero World Challenge the first week of December in the Bahamas. Perhaps more telling was that he has not even started rehabilitation from the surgery. He says the one part in his favor this time is he won’t be changing his swing.
FIFA – Audit shows wrong doing by Blatter
FIFA’s audit chief has told The Associated Press that Sepp Blatter’s decision to authorize a payment to Michel Platini without a written contract is a “classic conflict of interest.” Domenico Scala says FIFA president Blatter could be culpable of “falsification” of accounts over the 2011 payment of about $2 million to Platini, another high ranking soccer official, who is running to succeed Blatter.
AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Charlotte Checkers at Grand Rapids Griffins, 7:00 p.m.
MHSAA – DPS Emergency manager reverses King’s Detroit title game forfeit
Undefeated King High will play for the Detroit Public School League Division 1 title after the football team initially was told it forfeited the game following an on-field fight after a semifinal win. Emergency manager Darnell Earley ruled Tuesday that King will take on Cass Tech in Friday’s championship at Ford Field. Cass had been declared the winner due to King’s forfeit. But Earley says he reversed the forfeit after reviewing facts associated with King’s Oct. 16 victory over Cody in which players from both teams fought after the game. King players in the fight can’t play Friday. Cody players will miss next season’s first game. Both teams also are on one-year probations and Cody’s coaches remain indefinitely suspended.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer – Districts
Lake Michigan Catholic 8, Covert 0
Bangor 3, New Buffalo 2
Hartford 8, Watervliet Grace Christian 0
Girls Volleyball
Coloma 3, Gobles 0
Bridgman 3, South Haven 0
Dowagiac 3, Brandywine 2
Watervliet 3, Kalamazoo Hackett 0
Girls Swimming
St. Joseph 112, Kalamazoo Central 71
Bridgman 117, Battle Creek Central 67
Tonight
Girls Volleyball
Niles at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Central at St. Joseph, 6:30 p.m.
Benton Harbor at Portage Northern, 6:30 p.m.
Howardsville Christian at Lawton, 7:00 p.m.
Boys Soccer – Districts
Fennville at South Haven, 6:00 p.m.
Olivet at Allegan, 6:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Dowagiac, 5:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at Bloomingdale, 5:00 p.m.
