WSJM Morning Sports-07/21/2021

wsjm-2020-podcasts

NBA – 2021 NBA Finals – Best of 7
Last Night
Milwaukee Bucks 105, Phoenix Suns 98                                                 (MIL wins 4-2)

Bucks 105, Suns 98 – Bucks’ 50-year wait ends with a title behind 50 from Giannis
Giannis Antetokounmpo ended one of the greatest NBA Finals ever with 50 points and a championship Milwaukee waited 50 years to win again.  Antetokounmpo added 14 rebounds and five blocked shots as the Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 105-98 on Tuesday night to win the series 4-2. It was the third game this series with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds for Antetokounmpo, a dominant debut finals performance that takes its place among some of the game’s greatest.  He shot 16 for 25 from the field and made an unbelievable 17-of-19 free throws — a spectacular showing for any shooter, let alone one who was hitting just 55.6% in the postseason and was ridiculed for it at times.  The Bucks became the fifth team to win the NBA Finals after trailing 2-0 and the first to do it by winning the next four games since Miami against Dallas in 2006.  Chris Paul scored 26 points to end his first NBA Finals appearance in his 16th season. Devin Booker added 19 points but shot just 8 for 22 and missed all seven 3-pointers after scoring 40 points in each of the last two games.

NBA – For Suns, Paul’s feel-good Finals story ends in frustration
Chris Paul’s feel-good story with the Phoenix Suns was denied the happy ending he craved. One of the NBA’s most accomplished players finally got to the sport’s biggest stage in his 16th season at 36 years old. He’s an 11-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA selection, 9-time All-Defensive selection and often referred to as the ‘Point God’ for his near-perfect profile as an elite point guard. But he still lacks a championship. He led the Suns with 26 points in Game 6. It wasn’t enough.

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 4, Texas Rangers 1
Chicago White Sox 9, Minnesota Twins 5
Chicago Cubs 7, St. Louis Cardinals 6

Tigers 4, Rangers 1 – Grossman homers, Tigers top punchless Rangers for 5 in row
Robbie Grossman and Eric Haase homered as the Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to five games with a rain-delayed 4-1 win over the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have lost seven straight and been outscored 43-3 in five games since the All-Star break. They were shut out in the previous three before Tuesday. Tarik Skubal got the win, giving up one run and four hits in six innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Three relievers finished for the Tigers. Gregory Soto struck out the side in the ninth for his ninth save. Dane Dunning took the loss.

White Sox 9, Twins 5 – Abreu homer, triple, double, White Sox rally past Twins 9-5
Jose Abreu doubled and tripled early, then homered to cap a five-run rally in the eighth inning that vaulted the Chicago White Sox over the Minnesota Twins 9-5. Abreu hit his 18th homer, a three-run drive that sent the AL Central-leading White Sox to their fourth win in five games. Abreu connected off Hansel Robles shortly after the Twins seized their first lead in the top of the inning on a two-run homer by Jorge Polanco. Minnesota has lost five of six.

Cubs 7, Cardinals 6 – Cubs rally with six runs in ninth inning, beat Cardinals 7-6
Javier Baez and Ian Happ triggered a six-run rally in the ninth inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6. Chicago entered the ninth trailing 6-1. Baez drove in a pair of runs off closer Alex Reyes before Happ put Chicago in front with a two-run double. The Cubs sent 10 batters to the plate in the ninth and snapped a two-game losing streak. Reyes had converted all 22 save opportunities this season. The Cardinals had won three in a row. St. Louis infielder Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the seventh. Chicago outfielder Kris Bryant was removed from the game in the fifth inning with a hamstring issue.

Yesterday
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers, 7:10 p.m.    94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 6:50
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:00 p.m.
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.

MLB – Tigers’ Turnbull getting Tommy John surgery; threw May no-no
Tigers starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss much of the 2022 season. Turnbull threw a no-hitter against the Mariners on May 18 and was 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA in nine starts this season. He last pitched on June 4, then went on the injured list with a strained forearm.

MLB – Oakland OKs terms for $12B ballpark but A’s aren’t happy
The Oakland City Council has approved preliminary terms for a new $12 billion waterfront ballpark project for the Athletics. However, it’s unclear if the vote will be enough to keep the baseball team at the negotiating table instead of leaving the San Francisco Bay Area city. A’s President Dave Kaval said the financial terms do not work for the team.

NHL – Kraken expansion draft to be milestone for Seattle
Short of being awarded the franchise and the completion of an arena, the biggest step in the creation of the Seattle Kraken comes Wednesday with the expansion draft. Seattle will get a chance to show whether it intends to be a contender right away. The festivities could possibly soothe some bitter feelings in Seattle from more than a decade ago. The expansion draft lands on the same week during which the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics were sold 15 years ago, the first step in the franchise’s departure for Oklahoma City.

NFL – Tom Brady, champion Buccaneers visit Biden at White House
Tom Brady embraced his inner comedian to deliver jokes at old friend Donald Trump’s expense when he and the Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited President Joe Biden at the White House. Brady joked to Biden about doubters of Tampa Bay’s win, comparing them to those backing Trump’s false assertion that he won the 2020 election. He also said he was called “Sleepy Tom” after he forgot what down it was. It was Brady’s first White House visit as a Super Bowl champion since 2005 and the first by the reigning NFL champions since 2005.

NFL – Rams RB Cam Akers tears Achilles tendon, out indefinitely
Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers is out indefinitely after tearing his Achilles tendon in an offseason training session. The Rams confirmed the injury one week before veterans report to training camp. Akers was expected to be the Rams’ starter after coming on late in his outstanding rookie season. Akers had 272 yards from scrimmage in the Rams’ two playoff games last season, capping his rookie year with some of his best play. The injury is a blow to Rams coach Sean McVay’s plans to build an elite NFL offense this season after acquiring quarterback Matthew Stafford.

NCAAFB – MAC – Ball State the preseason favorite to win MAC football title
Ball State is the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference football title. The Cardinals were picked to defend their championship as the West Division winner in a MAC media poll. Kent State was selected as the favorite to claim the East Division title. Toledo finished second in voting among West Division teams and to win the conference championship. Kent State, Western Michigan, Buffalo and Miami of Ohio also received votes as preseason favorites to win MAC title on Dec. 4 in Detroit.

MILB – Minor League Baseball – High-A Central
Yesterday
Lansing Lugnuts 8, West Michigan Whitecaps 3
Lake County Captains 7, Great Lakes Loons 5
South Bend Cubs 3, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2

Tonight
Lansing Lugnuts at West Michigan Whitecaps, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes Loons at Lake County Captains, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 8:05 p.m.

Tokyo 2020 – Summer Olympic Games – Games of the XXXII Olympiad

Softball – Osterman strikes out 9, US tops Italy 2-0 in softball opener
Cat Osterman dominated as the United States began its quest to regain the Olympic softball gold medal. She pitched one-hit ball over six innings and striking out nine to beat Italy 2-0 13 years after she lost the championship game. Michelle Moultrie singled in a run in the fourth inning for the top-ranked U.S. The Americans lost the title to Japan 3-1 at Beijing in 2008. Janie Reed added a sacrifice fly. She is the wife of Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jake Reed. Osterman walked none on a humid afternoon with a 94-degree temperature.

Women’s Soccer – For Carli Lloyd, other older Olympians, age is just a number
Older Olympians will be proving that age is just a number in Tokyo. Carli Lloyd is going to be 39 when she plays for the U.S. women’s soccer team, but she’s not even the oldest soccer player competing this summer. Brazil star Formiga is 43. Beach volleyball player Jake Gibb is 45. The average age of the U.S. gymnastics team in Tokyo is the oldest its been since 1952. But those are just the Americans: At this point, it looks as though Australian equestrian Mary Hanna, a grandmother at 66, will be the oldest competitor in Japan.

Japan PM eyes successful Olympics
Japan’s prime minister has told sports officials the world needs to see that his country can stage a safe Olympics.  Yoshihide Suga told International Olympic Committee members that the world is faced with great difficulties, but Japan can bring success to the delivery of the Games. He acknowledged Japan’s path through the pandemic toward the Olympics had gone “sometimes backward at times.” Suga acknowledged Monday that a little more than 21% of Japan’s 126 million population has been inoculated for the coronavirus.  Local health experts have questioned allowing so many international visitors for the games, which end on Aug. 8.

An Olympics like no other, Tokyo perseveres to host Games
This year’s Tokyo Games will be an Olympics like no other. Then again, this is an event that has persevered through wars, boycotts and now a pandemic in its 125-year modern history. The Tokyo Olympics have already broken new ground because of the one-year delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It will also have the undesirable distinction of being the first Games to be held with no spectators. Former Olympic Journalists Association President Steve Wilson says these will be Games “without the carnival atmosphere, celebration and fun that we’ve come to expect and look forward to.” He adds this is ”definitely one for the history books.”

WHO leader says virus risk inevitable at Tokyo Olympics
The head of the World Health Organization says the Tokyo Olympics should not be judged by the tally of COVID-19 cases that arise because zero risk is impossible. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells the International Olympic Committee what matters more is how infections are handled. Tedros wants Tokyo’s success to be judged by how "cases are identified, isolated, traced and cared for as quickly as possible and onward transmission is interrupted.” The number of games-linked COVID-19 cases in Japan this month is now 79. More international athletes have tested positive at home and cannot travel.

Ugandan who fled pre-Olympics camp found in central Japan
A Ugandan athlete who fled during his pre-Olympics training in western Japan last week has been found and is being interviewed by police. Mie prefectural police in central Japan said 20-year-old weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko was in the Yokkaichi city. Police are asking him what happened since he fled his hotel leaving behind a note saying he didn’t want to return to his country. The pandemic-delayed Olympics open Friday despite mounting concern about an upsurge of infections in Tokyo. The case prompted the Japanese authorities to step up border controls and change their isolation policy to require entire groups to quarantine in airport areas when any member tests positive.