Start From The Beginning

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 6, Minnesota Twins 5 – F/11 Innings
Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City Royals 3
Cincinnati Reds 7, Chicago Cubs 4

Tigers 6, Twins 5 – F/11 – Cabrera, Haase power Tigers past Twins 6-5 in 11th innings
Miguel Cabrera hit a run-scoring single in the 11th inning after Eric Haase tied the game with a grand slam in the top of the ninth as the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5. Cabrera’s hit scored automatic runner Jonathan Schoop. The Tigers tied the game with a homer in the ninth inning for the second straight game. Robbie Grossman, who singled to start the ninth-inning comeback, hit a two-run homer on Monday night before Minnesota won 6-5 in 10 innings. Mitch Garver hit a first-inning grand slam for the Twins.

White Sox 5, Royals 3 – Jiménez hits 3-run HR, rallies White Sox past Royals 5-3
Eloy Jiménez logged his first big hit of the season, launching a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning that sent the Chicago White Sox over the Kansas City Royals 5-3. The 24-year-old slugger, who was the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year and then kept up his power surge during the pandemic-shortened season, tore a pectoral muscle in spring training. He hadn’t played in the majors until going 0 for 4 Monday night. But Jiménez quickly made up for lost time in his second game. After hitting a single in his first at-bat, he came up in the eighth after a two-out intentional walk to Jose Abreu with Chicago trailing 3-2. Jiménez connected for a 459-foot drive to cap a four-run rally for the AL Central leaders.

Reds 7, Cubs 4 – Votto hits 2 more homers as Reds roll past Cubs 7-4
Joey Votto continued his power surge with two home runs and started a dazzling double play as the Cincinnati Reds pulled away to a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Votto has homered in a career-high four consecutive games for the second time, one game shy of the team record. The Reds hit four home runs in winning for the third time in five games. The Cubs lost for the sixth time in their last 10. Cincinnati rookie Vladimir Gutierrez pitched 6 1/3 innings of five-hit ball to earn the win. Cubs starter Adbert Alzolay allowed three home runs in five innings.

Tonight
Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins, 1:10 p.m.                    94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 12:50
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 p.m.

NHL – Vegas trades Fleury to Chicago as goalie carousel spins, get Johnson from champs
The Vegas Golden Knights have traded reigning Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks. Vegas got minor leaguer Mikael Hakkarainen in return, indicating the move was a salary dump. Fleury counts $7 million against the salary cap next season. Chicago was not on the 36-year-old’s 10-team no-trade list. Agent Allan Walsh says Fleury will be taking time to talk to his family and evaluate his hockey future.  Chicago wasn’t done there, the Blackhawks also acquired forward Tyler Johnson from the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for the contract of injured Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook.  The move by Tampa takes Johnson $5-million contract off the salary cap. Seabrook announced his retirement during the past season citing injury, he is listed on long term injured reserve and his contract does not count in the salary cap calculations.  Seabrook had 3 years left on his contract and will make $6.875 million each year.   The trade also sent a 2023 second round pick from Tampa Bay to Chicago.

NCAAFB – Big 12′s Texas, Oklahoma make request to join powerhouse SEC
Texas and Oklahoma have made a request to join the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. A day after the Big 12 schools notified the league that they would not be extending an agreement that binds conference members to 2025, the schools publicly stated for the first time they want to join the SEC.  SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says his league will consider the request in the “near future.”  The SEC would grow to 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma, half of which have won at least one national championship in football since 1980.
NFL – Bears’ QB balancing act begins with training camp
The balancing act for Matt Nagy has begun. The Chicago Bears coach made it clear as players reported Tuesday for training camp why the team is starting veteran quarterback Andy Dalton first before it turns to rookie first-round pick Justin Fields. The season amounts to weighing how much Dalton can win against the potential problems associated with starting a developing rookie like Fields. Nagy realizes the excitement building throughout Chicago to see Fields play, but for training camp, preseason and at least the first game, the Bears know Dalton is the starter.

NFL – Rodgers arrives in Green Bay for start of training camp
Aaron Rodgers has made it to Green Bay on the eve of the Packers’ first training-camp workout. Rodgers was seen arriving at Lambeau Field on Tuesday morning, the day after NFL Network and ESPN had reported the reigning MVP was closing in on a deal that would keep him with the Packers this season. The Packers open training camp Wednesday. Rodgers hadn’t participated in organized team activities this spring and skipped the Packers’ mandatory minicamp. His return makes the Packers legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

NFL – Rivera opens Washington camp frustrated by vaccine hesitancy
Ron Rivera opened Washington’s training camp expressing frustration about a lack of vaccinations among players. Rivera says he believes Washington is now over 50% of players fully vaccinated. Only five NFL teams are at less than 70% of players who have either received one vaccination shot or both. The low vaccination rate is one of many questions facing Washington going into camp. It has caused Rivera to wear a mask around unvaccinated players because he says he is immune deficient. Rivera was treated for a form of skin cancer last year. Offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas was placed on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list Tuesday.

NBA – The play-in tournament officially returning to NBA in 2022
The NBA’s play-in tournament is back for at least one more season. As expected, the league’s board of governors gave approval Tuesday to the plan that would bring back the event in April 2022. The format will be the same as it was this past season: the teams that finish seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th in each conference will play to determine the No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had said on multiple occasions in recent weeks that he expected the play-in to return. It was utilized this past season for the first time on an experimental basis.

NBA – Former President Obama buys stake in NBA’s Africa business
Former U.S. President Barack Obama has bought a stake in the NBA’s Africa business through his foundation. The NBA says Obama will have a minority equity stake in NBA Africa, a new entity set up this year to run all the league’s business on the continent. The NBA adds Obama will use any profits to fund the Obama Foundation’s youth and leadership programs in Africa. Obama has been linked to the NBA’s Africa operations since 2019 but it wasn’t clear until Tuesday’s announcement exactly what his involvement would be. NBA Africa and world body FIBA have combined to set up the first pro basketball league in Africa. It held its inaugural season in May.

HSFB – Georgia 15-year-old collapses, dies after football practice
A 15-year-old high school football player died after collapsing at the first day of practice amid 97-degree temperatures in middle Georgia.  Bibb County school district officials say Joshua Ivory of Macon’s Southwest High School went into distress Monday, leading coaches to call an ambulance. He later died at a hospital. No cause of death has been announced and an autopsy is planned.

MILB – Minor League Baseball – High-A Central
Yesterday
West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Great Lakes Loons 3
Fort Wayne Tin Caps 3, Lansing Lugnuts 1
Quad Cities River Bandits 4, South Bend Cubs 2

Tonight
West Michigan Whitecaps at Great Lakes Loons, 7:05 p.m.
Fort Wayne Tin Caps at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Quad Cities River Bandits, 7:30 p.m.

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

Volleyball – US beats Tunisia 3-1 in men’s volleyball
The U.S. men’s volleyball team has improved to 2-1 in pool play at the Olympics by beating Tunisia 3-1.  The Americans bounced back from a loss to the Russians on Wednesday. They knocked off the lowest-ranked team in their group 25-14, 23-25, 25-14, 25-23.  The victory keeps the U.S. in good position to advance to the quarterfinals as one of the top four teams in Pool B. Tunisia has lost all three matches so far in Tokyo.

Beach Volleyball – US men, women both win in beach volleyball prelims
Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman have guaranteed themselves at least one more beach volleyball match at the Tokyo Olympics. U.S. men Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena helped their chances of making the knockout round as well. The U.S. women beat Spain 21-13, 21-16 for their second straight win. They can do no worse than a three-way tie for first. Dalhausser and Lucena improved to 1-1 in the round robin by beating Brazil’s Alison, the reigning gold medalist, and Alvaro Filho, 24-22, 19-21, 15-13. The Americans will meet Argentina on Thursday.

Gymnastics – Russian team topples American powerhouse with Biles out
Though the history books may mark Tuesday’s victory with an asterisk due to American star Simone Biles’ early withdrawal, the Russian women’s gymnastics team’s dazzling performance is the result of a concerted transformation since they finished a distant second to the American team at the 2019 World Championship. They beat the Americans by nearly 3.5 points, a significant margin in the sport. Their victory came just a day after the Russian men also won. The country swept the gymnastics team gold medals, among the most coveted at the summer Games.  Biles has also withdrawn from the individual all-around competition.

Swimming – "Just proud": Ledecky finally wins gold at Tokyo Olympics
Finally, a gold medal in Tokyo for Katie Ledecky. The American star bounced back from the worst finish of her brilliant Olympic career to take the first-ever gold medal in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. It wasn’t quite the breeze everyone expected in the metric mile. Ledecky built a big lead right from the start, then worked hard to hold off American teammate Erica Sullivan’s blazing finish. But it was Ledecky touching first in 15 minutes, 37.39 seconds. Sullivan claimed the silver, while the bronze went to Germany’s Sarah Kohler. Ledecky bounced back from a fifth-place showing in the 200 free.

Softball – Japan beats US 2-0, turns incredible DP to win softball gold
Japan won its second straight Olympic softball gold medal, beating the United States 2-0 in an emotional repeat of their 2008 victory in Beijing that again left the Americans in tears. Yukiko Ueno took a one-hitter into the sixth inning five days after her 39th birthday, and Japan snuffed out an American rally attempt with an acrobatic double play in the sixth inning. Mana Atsumi, the No. 9 batter, had a run-scoring infield hit in the fourth inning and Yamato Fujita lined an RBI single off Abbott in the fifth. Softball will not return to the Olympics until at least 2028.

NBC’s Tokyo Olympics viewership gets off to rough start
NBC Universal is still waiting to see if there will be a surge of interest in viewership for the Tokyo Summer Olympics. During each of the first three nights of coverage, viewership was down more than 30 percent compared to corresponding nights at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. NBC’s audience this year was its largest on Sunday night, but that still represented a 43 percent drop from five years ago. Viewing habits for live television have changed dramatically in the past five years, so it’s difficult to determine how much NBC’s Olympics slump has to do with that, and how much with the underwhelming performance in Tokyo.

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MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Minnesota Twins 6, Detroit Tigers 5 – F/10
Kansas City Royals 4, Chicago White Sox 3
Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati Reds 5

Twins 6, Tigers 5 – F/10 – Kepler’s RBI single gives Twins 6-5 win vs Tigers in 10
Max Kepler’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning against All-Star closer Gregory Soto gave the Minnesota Twins a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Soto walked the bases loaded in the ninth before striking out Willians Astudillo on three pitches, finishing him with a 100 mph fastball. Soto had two outs in the 10th before a walk and Kepler’s ninth career game-ending hit. Robbie Grossman’s pinch-hit, two-run homer tied it for the Tigers with one out in the ninth after Twins All-Star closer Taylor Rogers was pulled from the game with a sprained left middle finger.

Royals 4, White Sox 3 – Soler hits 2 HRs, again, as Royals beat White Sox 4-3
Jorge Soler hit two home runs for the second straight game and the Kansas City Royals extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. Mike Minor (8-8) gave the Royals their fifth quality start in the last six games. He allowed two runs on three hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Minor’s victory in Milwaukee on July 20 started the Royals’ current winning streak. Scott Barlow worked the final two innings and picked up his sixth save.

Cubs 6, Reds 5 – Báez hits bases-loaded single in 9th as Cubs top Reds 6-5
Pinch-hitter Javier Báez hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. Anthony Rizzo homered in his second straight game for the Cubs. Joey Votto homered for the third time in three games and drove in three runs for Cincinnati, which dropped its second straight and lost for the seventh time in 10 games. Kyle Farmer added a homer as the Reds’ winning streak against Chicago ended at four.

Tonight
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.
Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 p.m.                    94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 7:50
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 p.m.

MLB – A’s get lefty reliever Chafin from Cubs for 2 minor leaguers
The Oakland Athletics fortified their bullpen by acquiring left-hander Andrew Chafin from the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers. Chafin was 0-2 with a 2.06 ERA in 43 relief appearances covering 39 1/3 innings for the Cubs this season. The deal was announced following their 6-5 win over Cincinnati and could signal more moves to come from Chicago. The Cubs received outfielder Greg Deichmann and right-hander Daniel Palencia. Oakland is in second place in the AL West and holds the league’s second wild-card spot. The disappointing Cubs are fourth in the NL Central at 50-51 and could be a busy seller before Friday’s trade deadline.

NFL – Waiting for Rodgers
It’s anyone’s guess as to whether three-time NFL Aaron Rodgers shows up at Green Bay Packers training camp this week. Even the team’s top executive isn’t sure. Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy remains hopeful the quarterback will play for them this season, but says he doesn’t know whether Rodgers will arrive for the start of camp. Murphy’s comments followed an NFL Network report that Rodgers has indicated to people close to him he does plan to play for the Packers this season. ESPN later reported that Rodgers and the Packers were close to an agreement that would include voiding the 2023 season from his contract. The Packers’ camp opens on Wednesday.

NFL – Colts Head Coach has COVID despite vaccination
Colts coach Frank Reich will miss the start of training camp after testing positive for COVID-19. General manager Chris Ballard says Reich’s test came back late last week and that he has had no symptoms. While Reich is fully vaccinated, Ballard says it is unlikely Reich will return to practice until early next week.

NCAA – With eye on SEC, Oklahoma, Texas move toward leaving Big 12
Oklahoma and Texas took the first formal step toward moving to the Southeastern Conference. They notified the Big 12 that they would not be renewing an agreement that binds the league’s members through 2025. The schools sent out a joint statement that made no mention of the SEC and said they intend to honor agreements that give the conference control of the school’s media rights. Those arrangements run concurrent with the Big 12’s television contracts with ESPN and Fox. Texas and Oklahoma have been in discussions with the SEC about joining the league, though neither the two schools nor the powerhouse conference has acknowledged that publicly.

MILB – Minor League Baseball – High-A Central
Yesterday
No games tonight

Tonight
West Michigan Whitecaps at Great Lakes Loons, 7:05 p.m.
Fort Wayne Tin Caps at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Quad Cities River Bandits, 7:30 p.m.

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

Basketball – US women win 50th straight Olympic game over Nigeria
A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 13 rebounds in her Olympic debut to help the U.S. beat Nigeria 81-72 in the opener for both teams. The win was the Americans’ 50th consecutive victory in the Olympics dating back to a loss in the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games. Diana Taurasi, who was playing in her first game in nearly a month after suffering a hip injury, has competed in the last 33 of those victories to set a record for most games in the Olympics. Ezinne Kalu scored 16 to lead Nigeria.

Swimming – Alaskan swimmer wins gold
Alaska, of all places, has an Olympic champion at the pool. Seventeen-year-old Lydia Jacoby gave the United States a victory in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, knocking off defending champion and teammate Lilly King. Jacoby was the first swimmer from the Arctic state ever to make the U.S. Olympic swimming team. Now she’s heading back to her hometown of Seward, Alaska, with a gold medal. South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker claimed the silver while King settled for bronze. Jacoby’s stunning win salvaged what had been a disappointing morning for the U.S. team, which had only managed a pair of bronzes before the teen came through.

Swimming – US streak in 100m backstroke ends
For the first time since 1992, the American men have lost a backstroke race at the Olympic pool. Russia swept the top two spots in the 100-meter back, with Evgeny Rylov claiming the gold medal in 51.98 seconds and teammate Kliment Kolesnikov taking the silver in 52.00. Defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy settled for the bronze in 52.19.

Beach Volleyball – Ross/Klineman win 16th straight
The American “A-Team” of April Ross and Alix Klineman have guaranteed themselves at least one more beach volleyball match by beating Spain 21-13, 21-16 for their second straight win. With one more game in the preliminaries left, they can do no worse than a three-way tie for first. The deadlock would be broken during a “lucky loser” matchup after the round-robin.

Tennis – Naomi Osaka eliminated from Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament
Japan’s Naomi Osaka lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round of the Olympic women’s tennis tournament. The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova produced a series of drop-shot winners and other crafty shots that drew Osaka out of her comfort zone.

Volleyball – US women’s volleyball hands China 2nd straight loss
The expected Olympic showdown between the top two women’s volleyball teams in the world turned out to be a one-sided affair. The U.S. women swept defending gold medalist China 29-27, 25-22, 25-21 in a pool-play match that left the Americans at the top of Pool B and the Chinese seeking to win their first set of the tournament after two straight sweeps to open the Games. China was also swept by Turkey in the opener but showed five years ago in Rio de Janeiro how little the pool-play matches can mean after losing three of five of them before rallying to win gold.

Gymnastics – Biles tries to lead Team USA to 3rd consecutive gold medal
Simone Biles and Team USA seek their third consecutive gold medal in women’s gymnastics in Tuesday’s team final. The Americans trail the Russian Olympic Committee. Biles is set to compete in all five events. In swimming, Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel return to the pool with Ledecky seeking a second straight gold medal in the women’s 200-meter freestyle and a later attempt to win the Olympic debut of the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. The U.S. women’s soccer team plays its final match in group stage play and the US men’s basketball team plays Iran while seeking its 1st win.

Tokyo Olympic flame is the first powered by hydrogen
Inspired by the sun, the Tokyo Olympic cauldron is designed to be better for the planet. The flame at Tokyo’s National Stadium and another cauldron burning along the waterfront near Tokyo Bay throughout the games will be sustained in part by hydrogen, the first time the clean fuel source will be used to power an Olympic fire. Previous flames have usually run on propane, although magnesium, gunpowder, resin and olive oil have also been used since the first modern cauldron was lit for the Amsterdam Games in 1928. The torch relay was introduced eight years later for Berlin.

Olympic broadcasters curb sexual images of female athletes
Each Olympics aims to set the highest level of television standards. The head of broadcasting at the Tokyo Games wants to reach this goal by banishing overly sexualized images of female athletes. A wider Olympic program targets gender equity on the field of play and on screen. One mantra for broadcasters is “sport appeal, not sex appeal.” Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos says viewers will no longer see the kind of close-ups on women’s bodies they might have seen at past Olympics. It comes as more female athletes oppose wearing uniforms they believe exploits their sexuality.

NBC mum on Chinese complaints about map during ceremony
NBC is not responding to complaints from China over how the network depicted the country’s map when its athletes marched in the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics. The Chinese consulate in New York and several social media accounts complained because the map showed by NBC did not depict disputed territories like the island of Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province. The issue is worth watching since NBC Universal is contracted to broadcast and stream next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The consulate general says NBC “harmed the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people.”

Softball – Lawrie gets win, Canada beats Mexico 3-2 for softball bronze
Canada won its first Olympic medal in softball, taking the bronze with a 3-2 win over Mexico on behind 2 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief from Danielle Lawrie, the sister of former major leaguer Brett Lawrie. Lawrie is a veteran of Canada’s 2008 Olympic team and the 2009 and ’10 USA college player of the year at the University of Washington. She relieved with runners at the corners and retired Victoria Vidales on a groundout. Lawrie struck out four, fanning Brittany Cervantes to end it. Kelsey Harshman broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a sacrifice fly.

Tropical storm to bring rain, wind, waves to northeast Japan
An offshore tropical storm brought wind and rain to the Tokyo region and affected some Olympic events Tuesday as it headed toward northeastern Japan. Stormier conditions were forecast north of the capital in advance of Nepartak making landfall around midday Wednesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the tropical storm has winds of 44 mph that will weaken before landfall. Storm and high wave warnings were issued for the coastal areas of Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Super-express train services were to be suspended from Tuesday evening possibly until Wednesday morning.

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Flick Pick is a podcast about movies. In today’s episode, Andrew Green reviews Vanguard, a 2020 film starring Jackie Chan.

Andrew realized recently that he has only ever seen one film with Jackie Chan. So he decided to start watching as many Jackie Chan films as possible, throwing dozens of them into his DVD Netflix queue. Apparently, this movie is also on Prime, which Andrew didn’t know because he is an idiot. But, anyway. Here we go, it’s Jackie Chan time!

Vanguard is about a security agency that protects the elite in Hong Kong. When one of its clients is kidnapped, Vanguard springs into action, setting off a world-wide adventure packed with action!

Did Andrew feel safe under the protection of Vanguard? Scroll down and find out with this episode of Flick Pick!

Click here to listen to additional episodes of Flick Pick.

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Things families fight about the most.  Peppers in OUTER SPACE?! And Drunky Monkey. That’s what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin’ about today on The Daily BuZz!!

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What happens with 3 women discover they’re dating the SAME GUY!? Shark “interactions.” and Sssssssssslumber party.  That’s what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin’ about today on The Daily BuZz!!

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Would you reject a trip to the moon? Way WAY overdue. And coffee can lower your risk for Covid? That’s what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin’ about today on The Daily BuZz!!

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The $6,000 dollar burger! To slow Covid? Play slow music! And winning Olympians will decorate themselves! That’s what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin’ about today on The Daily BuZz!!

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No, it isn’t just you. Everything IS more expensive. Words we like to see on food labels. And kids are raiding there parents closets! That’s what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin’ about today on the Daily BuZz!!

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Top secrets people keep.  America’s #1 simple pleasure. And you Beta not release your goldfish! That’s what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin’ about today on The Daily BuZz!!

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