Weekday Morning Sports – Wednesday 9/23/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Wednesday, September 23, 2015

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 2, Chicago White Sox 1 – 10 innings
Chicago Cubs 4, Milwaukee Brewers 0

Tigers 2, White Sox 1 – F/10 – Davis triple in the 10th gives Tigers 2-1 win over White Sox
Rajai Davis’ two-out triple in the 10th gave Detroit a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, one inning after the Tigers lost a combined no-hitter. Anthony Gose drew a two-out walk from Zach Duke (3-6) in the 10th. Davis sliced a 3-1 fastball into the corner in right field and Gose easily beat Trayce Thompson’s throw to the plate. Blaine Hardy (5-3) got the win with a scoreless 10th.  The Tigers were two outs away from the first combined no-hitter in franchise history, but Neftali Feliz, making his debut as the Tigers’ closer after Bruce Rondon was sent home earlier in the day, couldn’t finish it. With one out, Tyler Saladino tripled to break up the no-hitter and Adam Eaton, who had broken up Detroit’s attempt at a perfect game by being hit with a pitch in the seventh, tied the game with a single.

Cubs 4, Brewers 0 – Arrieta wins 20th game, Cubs beat Brewers
Jake Arrieta threw a three-hitter to become the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach 20 wins, Kris Bryant set the Cubs rookie record for home runs and Chicago inched closer to a playoff berth with a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. Arietta (20-6) struck out 11 for Chicago, whose magic number for making its first postseason in seven years dropped to three.  The right-hander retired 14 in a row at one point in becoming the first Cubs pitcher to win 20 games since Jon Lieber in 2001. Bryant, whose April 17 debut was one of the most anticipated in years, hit a two-run homer in the third off Tyler Cravy (0-8) to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. It was Bryant’s 26th longball, besting Billy Williams’ mark in 1961. Bryant added a run-scoring double in the eighth.

Today
Chicago White Sox (Montas 0-0) at Detroit (Verlander 3-8), 1:08 p.m.  WSJM-AM/WCSY 12:45
Milwaukee (Z.Davies 1-2) at Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 7-6), 8:05 p.m.

MLB – Yogi Berra dead at age 90
Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher renowned as much for his dizzying malapropisms as his record 10 World Series championships with the New York Yankees, has died. He was 90. Berra died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in New Jersey.

MLB – Tigers send Bruce Rondon home for effort issues
The Detroit Tigers sent closer Bruce Rondon home for the remainder of the season before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus gave very little explanation, only saying that Rondon had been sent home because of his “effort level” and that he and general manager Al Avila were in “complete agreement” on the move. The 25-year-old took over the closer’s role in early August after Joakim Soria was traded, and converted his first two chances without allowing a hit. In his last 14 outings, though, he blew four out of seven save chances and posted a 6.08 ERA with 12 walks and 10 strikeouts. Rondon missed all of 2014 after Tommy John surgery, and went 1-0 with a 5.81 ERA in 35 games this season.

MLB – The wild life: Maddon brings petting zoo to Wrigley Field
Now that’s living the wild life!  With the Chicago Cubs closing in on their first playoff berth in seven years, quirky manager Joe Maddon has turned Wrigley Field into a mini-zoo. Before the Cubs played the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, a small petting zoo was set up in the left-field corner for players to enjoy with their children and families. There was a sloth, a penguin, a snow leopard and a flamingo on display, as well as other animals. The flamingo, named Warren, made an appearance at Maddon’s pregame media briefing and strutted in front of reporters. The animals were brought in by the Columbus, Ohio, zoo and were the latest example of Maddon exposing his players to the wild life. When he was managing the Tampa Bay Rays, Maddon brought in cockatiels and other exotic creatures for the team.

NHL – National Hockey League Preseason
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Detroit Red Wings 4 – OT

Blackhawks 5, Red Wings 4 – OT – Daley scores in OT to lift Blackhawks
Trevor Daley’s goal 1:40 into overtime lifted the Blackhawks to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Kyle Baun, Jonathan Toews, Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan Garbutt also scored for defending champion Chicago. Mark Visentin allowed four goals on 16 shots in nearly 32 minutes after starter Scott Darling stopped all 22 shots he faced his 30 minutes. Chicago star forward Patrick Kane, the subject of a police investigation for an alleged sexual assault in Buffalo, N.Y., had an assist.  Antony Mantha scored in the second period for Detroit, and then Riley Sheahan, Teemu Pulkkinen and Luke Glendening all scored in the third to force overtime. Jimmy Howard allowed three goals on 21 shots in nearly 30 minutes before Tom McCollum gave up two goals on 16 shots.

NHL – Patrick Kane accuser’s lawyer to hold news conference
The lawyer representing the woman who has made an allegation of being sexually assaulted by Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon.  Thomas Eoannou confirmed in a text to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he will address reporters at his law office in downtown Buffalo. Eoannou did not provide any further details. It will be the first time he has spoken publicly about the case since Hamburg Police launched an investigation against Kane in early August. Kane is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s at his home in suburban Buffalo on Aug. 2. Kane has not been charged. Upon reporting to training camp last week, Kane said he had done nothing wrong and expects to be absolved.

NBA – Pistons’ draft pick has surgery on broken nose
Detroit Pistons rookie guard Darrun Hilliard had surgery after breaking his nose playing pickup basketball last week.  The team says Hilliard will be fitted with a mask for the next three weeks and will continue all basketball-related activities. The 6-foot-6 Hilliard was drafted in the second round out of Villanova this year. Hilliard played four seasons for the Wildcats, averaging 14.3 points in each of the last two years and shooting 39 percent from 3-point range last season.

NCAA Basketball – Michigan State’s Clark could miss 2 months with foot injury
Michigan State forward Marvin Clark Jr. will be out for approximately six to eight weeks with a left foot injury. The athletic department announced his injury Tuesday. Michigan State opens the season Nov. 13 against Florida Atlantic, so Clark’s availability for that is now in question. The 6-foot-6 Clark averaged 4.5 points per game for the Spartans last season as a freshman. He started seven games.

NBA – Milwaukee council adds city money to Bucks new arena
The city council in Milwaukee has approved its piece of the $250 million public financing package that will fund half of a new Milwaukee Bucks arena. Members of the Common Council on Tuesday agreed to spend $47 million in city taxpayer money to help build an arena to replace the 27-year-old BMO Harris Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee. The state and Milwaukee County have already approved their portions of the $250 million in public financing for the $500 million arena. Bucks president Peter Feigin called it a “historic day for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and the culmination of months of hard work.” The team hopes to have the arena ready by the start of the 2017-18 NBA season. But co-owner Mike Fascitelli recently called that tight timetable into question.

Olympics – Rio Olympic, Paralympic ceremonies to be low-budget
The opening and closing ceremonies for the Rio Olympics and Paralympics will be low-budget productions compared to three years ago in London, or in Beijing in 2008.  Fernando Meirelles, the Brazilian filmmaker and part of the creative team, estimated Tuesday that Rio will spend one-tenth what London did on four major ceremonies. Meirelles, who directed the film “City of God,” is aware that Brazil is mired in recession, inflation has reached 10 percent and the country is beset with political and economic upheaval. Meirelles says he would be “ashamed to waste what London spent in a country where we need sanitation” and that he is “very glad we’re not spending money like crazy.”  London spent about 80 million pounds ($104 million at 2012 exchange rates) on the four ceremonies.

NFL – Bears elevate QB David Fales from practice squad
The Chicago Bears have elevated quarterback David Fales from the practice squad. Fales figures to back up Jimmy Clausen when the Bears visit defending NFC champion Seattle this week, with Jay Cutler nursing a hamstring injury. Chicago drafted Fales in the sixth round out of San Jose State in 2014. The Bears also waived cornerback Bryce Callahan on Tuesday.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
Niles 2, Lakeshore 1
Mattawan 4, Battle Creek Central 0

Girls Volleyabll
Coloma 3, Hartford 0
Lawrence 3, Eau Claire 2
Decatur 3, Martin 0
Watervliet 3, Saugatuck 1
Marcellus 3, Bloomingdale 0
Kalamazoo Home School 3, Watervliet Grace Christian
South Haven at Allegan Quad
Hastings 2, South Haven 0
South Haven 2, Allegan 1
South Haven 2, Parchment 0

Boys Tennis
Portage Central 7, St. Joseph 1

Girls Swimming
St. Joseph 96, South Haven 86
Portage Central 116, Bridgman 70

Tonight
Boys Soccer
Vicksburg at Allegan, 6:45 p.m.
Three Rivers at Dowagiac, 5:30 p.m.
Otsego at Edwardsburg, 5:30 p.m.
South Haven at Plainwell, 6:45 p.m.
Paw Paw at Sturgis, 6:45 p.m.
Buchanan at Berrien Springs, 5:00 p.m.
Comstock at Bridgman, 5:00 p.m.
Lake Michigan Catholic at Cassopolis, 5:00 p.m.
Parchment at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.
New Buffalo at Michigan Lutheran, 5:30 p.m.
Fennville at Bloomingdale, 6:00 p.m.
Gobles at Kalamazoo Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Hartford at Lawton, 6:00 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Marcellus, 6:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m.

Girls Volleyball
Niles at Benton Harbor, 6:30 p.m.
St. Joseph at Portage Northern, 6:30 p.m.
Lakeshore at Portage Central, 6:30 p.m.
Mattawan at Gull Lake, 6:30 p.m.
Buchanan at Bridgman, 7:00 p.m.
Mendon at Bronson, 5:30 p.m.
Centreville at New Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Brandywine, 6:30 p.m.

Boys Tennis
Allegan at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m.
Brandywine at Bridgman, 4:30 p.m.
Berrien Springs at New Buffalo, 4:30 p.m.

Cross Country
SMAC West at St. Joseph, 5:00 p.m.