WSJM Morning Sports-07/01/2021

wsjm-2020-podcasts

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 9, Cleveland Indians 4 – F/7 – Game 1
Detroit Tigers 7, Cleveland Indians 1 – F/7 – Game 2
Chicago White Sox 13, Minnesota Twins 3
Milwaukee Brewers 15, Chicago Cubs 7

Tigers 9, Indians 4 – Game 1 – Castro, Schoop drive in 3 each, Tigers beat Indians 9-4
Harold Castro and Jonathan Schoop each drove in three runs, powering the Detroit Tigers past the Cleveland Indians 9-4 in the first game of a doubleheader. Castro’s two-out single off Bryan Shaw in the fifth inning scored Nomar Mazara and broke a 4-4 tie. Schoop had a two-run single in the seventh as the Tigers banged out 15 hits in the seven-inning game. Kyle Funkhouser retired all five batters he faced in relief of starter José Urena, who allowed a career-high four home runs in 3 1/3 innings. Detroit won at Cleveland for the first time in five games this season. Rookie Bobby Bradley hit two of the four homers off Urena.

Tigers 7, Indians 1 – Game 2 – Cabrera hits 494th homer, Tigers sweep DH from Indians
Miguel Cabrera hit his 494th career homer, moving into sole possession of 28th place all-time, and the Detroit Tigers completed a doubleheader sweep with a 7-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Cabrera went 2 for 4, scored twice and broke a tie with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff on the homer list with a solo shot off Nick Wittgren in the fifth inning. Wily Peralta, who didn’t pitch in the majors last year, allowed one unearned run over five innings for his first victory since April 17, 2019, with Kansas City.

White Sox 13, Twins 3 – Grandal hits 2 of White Sox 6 HRs to rip Twins 13-3
Yasmani Grandal hit a three-run shot and a towering two-run drive, and the Chicago White Sox went deep six times to pound the Minnesota Twins 13-3. Rookie Andrew Vaughn smacked a two-run homer and had three RBIs. Gavin Sheets hit his first career home run in his second game as Chicago won its third straight. José Abreu and Brian Goodwin added solo shots to help first-place Chicago expand its lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. Dylan Cease cruised to his fourth victory in five starts, allowing three hits and striking out seven in six innings. Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz connected for solo homers off the 25-year-old right-hander.

Brewers 15, Cubs 7 – Ashby tagged, but Brewers sweep Cubs for 8th straight win
Highly touted Milwaukee prospect Aaron Ashby got roughed up for seven runs in the first inning of his big league debut, but Luis Urias homered twice as the Brewers rallied to rout the Chicago Cubs 15-7 for their eighth straight win. The Brewers swept the three-game series and increased their NL Central lead to six games over Chicago. The Cubs lost their sixth in a row. Willy Adames hit a grand slam during an eight-run burst in the fourth inning that put Milwaukee ahead 14-7. His error at shortstop helped the Cubs break loose at the start against Ashby.

Today
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m.
Cubs and Tigers are off.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Rd. 3 – Conference Finals – Best of 7
Last Night
Phoenix Suns 130, Los Angeles Clippers 103                               (PHX wins 4-2)

Suns 130, Clippers 103 – Chris Paul leads Suns past Clippers 130-103, into NBA Finals
The Phoenix Suns are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in 28 years, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 130-103 to close out the Western Conference finals in six games. Chris Paul tied his career playoff high of 41 points points and Devin Booker added 22 points to send the Suns to their third Finals appearance in franchise history. They will face either the Atlanta Hawks or Milwaukee Bucks, who are tied 2-2 in the East finals. Marcus Morris led the Clippers with 26 points and Paul George added 21 points.

Tonight
Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks, 8:30 p.m.                             (Series tied 2-2)

NBA – Bucks say Antetokounmpo doubtful for Game 5 with Hawks
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals after undergoing an MRI on his injured left knee. Bucks officials said Wednesday that the two-time MVP hyperextended his left knee in the third quarter of a 110-88 game 4 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. The Bucks announced an MRI confirmed that diagnosis and said he’d be listed as doubtful for Thursday’s game. The Bucks and Hawks are tied at two games apiece in the Eastern Conference finals heading into Game 5 on Thursday in Milwaukee.

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Finals – Best of 7
Last Night
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Montreal Canadiens 1                             (TBL leads 2-0)

Lightning 3, Canadiens 1 – Coleman, Vasilevskiy give Lightning 2-0 lead in Cup Final
The Tampa Bay Lightning lead the Stanley Cup Final two games to none after beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Wednesday night. Andrei Vasilevskiy made a playoff career-high 42 saves to keep the defending champions in the game and Blake Coleman scored the Game 2 winner on a highlight-reel diving buzzer beater in the second period. Montreal outshot Tampa Bay 43-23 and was the better team for much of the night. But the Lightning beat Carey Price three times and showed they can lean on great goaltending and score opportunistic goals much like the Canadiens. Game 3 is Friday night in Montreal.

NHL – Toews back skating after chronic immune response syndrome
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews says he missed this past season while dealing with what he says is chronic immune response syndrome. Toews revealed his diagnosis for the first time in a video released on social media. Toews has played for Chicago since 2007 and helped the team win three Stanley Cup championships. He says his body just kind of “fell apart” when he stepped away in December, about a month before the delayed season began. He is under contract with Chicago for two more years.

NHL – Detroit Red Wings hire Alex Tanguay as assistant coach
The Detroit Red Wings have hired assistant coach Alex Tanguay. He fills an opening that was created when the team and Dan Bylsma decided he would not return next season. Tanguay was an assistant coach the last two years for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League. He had 863 points during a 16-year NHL career, which included two stints with the Colorado Avalanche. Head coach Jeff Blashill recently received a contract extension despite a five-year postseason drought and 172-221-62 career record.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night
Chicago Sky 91, Dallas Wings 81

Sky 91, Wings 81 – Copper scores 17 as Sky beat Wings 91-81
Kahleah Copper scored 17 points to lead seven Chicago players scoring in double figures and the Sky beat the Dallas Wings 91-81. Candace Parker had 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks and Courtney Vandersloot added 10 points, 12 assists and four steals for Chicago (10-8). Dallas shot 32.4% overall, and made just 1 of 11 from 3-point range, in the first half. The Sky made 21 of 42 from the field and had 18 assists to take a 51-29 lead at the end of the second quarter.

Tonight
Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever, 7:00 p.m.

NCAABSB – Mississippi St shuts down Vandy again for 1st national title
Will Bednar and Landon Sims combined on a one-hitter, Mississippi State scored early and built on its lead, and the Bulldogs won their first national championship with a 9-0 victory over Vanderbilt in the deciding third game of the College World Series finals. Bednar was working on three days’ rest and walked three of the first five batters he faced before retiring 15 in a row. He turned the game over to the Bulldogs’ star closer to start the seventh. It’s Mississippi State’s first national title in a team sport.

Tennis – Wimbledon – More slipping and sliding as Djokovic advances, Venus eliminated
Novak Djokovic slid, slipped, skidded and stumbled into the third round on Wimbledon’s slick grass Wednesday by beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets. Footing continued to be an issue on the third day of the tournament, and Djokovic went sprawling several times, as did players in other matches and at least one ball kid. Seven-time champion Serena Williams retired Tuesday with a leg injury after she slipped. Roger Federer’s opponent had to call it quits after he fell and twisted his knee. Venus Williams lost to No. 21 Ons Jabeur 7-5, 6-0 in a second round match. Her Wimbledon isn’t over yet. She’s also playing mixed doubles with Nick Kyrgios.

Golf – PGA – DeChambeau aims to repeat in Detroit, hopes luck on his side
Bryson DeChambeau is shooting to be a repeat champion for the first time on the PGA Tour. He’s hoping to be more fortunate than the last time he defended a title. He won the Rocket Mortgage Classic last year by three shots. DeChambeau was leading the U.S. Open with nine holes to play with a chance to go back-to-back. But he collapsed on the back nine and finished tied for 26th at Torrey Pines. Just two players ranked in the top 10 in the world and five of the top 25 are in Detroit this week. The field also includes 51-year-old Phil Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship in May.

NASCAR – Chip Ganassi sells entire NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing
Chip Ganassi is pulling out of NASCAR at the end of the season and has sold his entire organization to Trackhouse Racing. Ganassi told The Associated Press that Trackhouse owner Justin Marks made him an offer he had to consider. Ganassi will still run his IndyCar, IMSA sports car and Formula E programs, all out of Indianapolis. The entire NASCAR operation, including its North Carolina race shop, will transfer to Trackhouse at the end of the season. Terms of the deal were not released.

NCAA – Now that it’s time for NIL to go, how much money will flow?
How much of a feeding frenzy there will be as college athletes are allowed to cash in on their fame is yet to be seen. Blake Lawrence is CEO of Opendorse. His company provides a platform connecting athletes with endorsements. He says the amount of deal-making will raise eyebrows. Rick Karcher is an associate professor of the sports management program at Eastern Michigan. He says economic theory says there’s a limited pool of money companies will want to spend on college athletes.

Olympics – Tennis – Coco Gauff, 17, Jennifer Brady lead US Olympic tennis team
The Associated Press has learned that teenager Coco Gauff and Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady will lead the U.S. Olympic tennis team at the Tokyo Games. None of the country’s four highest-ranked men or two top women are on the roster obtained by the AP ahead of the official announcement. The other women who will play singles are Jessica Pegula and Alison Riske. Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Tennys Sandgren and Marcos Giron are signed up for men’s singles. Among the players missing are Serena and Venus Williams and the top four U.S. men in the rankings: Reilly Opelka, John Isner, Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. Korda passed up joining golf star sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda in Tokyo.

MILB – Minor League Baseball – High-A Central
Yesterday
South Bend Cubs at Lake County Captains, PPD to 7/3
Lansing Lugnuts 8, Dayton Dragons 3
Great Lakes Loons 8, Fort Wayne Tin Caps 1
West Michigan Whitecaps 9, Peoria Chiefs 4

Today
South Bend Cubs at Lake County Captains, 4:00 p.m. (Doubleheader)
West Michigan Whitecaps at Peoria Chiefs, 6:05 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Dayton Dragons at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes Loons at Fort Wayne Tin Caps, 7:05 p.m.