WSJM Sports

NHL – National Hockey League – Regular Season Start
Last Night
Colorado Avalanche 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2

Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 2 – Avs raise banner, beat Blackhawks 5-2 to start title defense
Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin each scored two power-play goals, Mikko Rantanen had four assists and the fast-skating Colorado Avalanche began their Stanley Cup title defense with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Shortly after raising their newest banner to the rafters, the Avalanche went to work. Andrew Cogliano scored Colorado’s first goal of the season, the only goal in the game that wasn’t on the power play. Nathan MacKinnon, fresh off a new lucrative contract, contributed two assists, while new goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped 15 shots. Jonathan Toews and Max Domi had goals as Luke Richardson made his coaching debut for the Blackhawks.

Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights, 10:00 p.m.

NFL – National Football League – Week 6
Tonight
Washington Commanders at Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m.

NFL – Fields, Bears try to build on progress when Commanders visit
Chicago quarterback Justin Fields finally showed signs of progress by delivering his best performance this season, and the Bears staged a big comeback, only to come up short in the closing minutes. They hope those promising steps continue when they host the struggling Washington Commanders in a Thursday night matchup. Fields set career highs in completion rate and passer rating in a 29-22 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. The former Ohio State star was 15 of 21 for a season-best 208 yards and a touchdown. The Commanders come in with four straight losses since holding on to beat Jacksonville in their season opener. Tennessee beat them 21-17 last week.

NFL – Raiders’ Davante Adams charged for shoving photographer
Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams has been charged with misdemeanor assault for shoving a photographer to the ground as he left the field following a loss at Kansas City. Kansas City, Missouri, police said Adams pushed Ryan Zebley to the ground while running off the field following the Raiders’ 30-29 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night. Police called it an “intentional, overt act” that caused whiplash, a headache and a possible minor concussion. Adams apologized in his postgame comments to the media and later on Twitter.

MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs – Divisional Series – Best of Five
Yesterday
Atlanta Braves 3, Philadelphia Phillies 0                                    (Series tied 1-1)
San Diego Padres 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 3                                (Series tied 1-1)

Braves 3, Phillies 0 – Wright outduels Wheeler, Braves blank Phils 3-0 to even NLDS
Kyle Wright threw six brilliant innings to outduel Zack Wheeler, and the Atlanta Braves evened their NLDS at one game apiece with a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. After rain delayed the first pitch by nearly three hours, Wright surrendered just two hits. He claimed the win when the Braves got to Wheeler for three runs in their half of the sixth. This was a game the reigning World Series champions had to have after losing the best-of-five series opener, 7-6. They had the right guy on the mound. Wright led the majors with 21 wins during the regular season.

Padres 5, Dodgers 3 – Padres pull out 5-3 victory over Dodgers, tie NLDS 1-all
Manny Machado homered early and added an RBI double off Clayton Kershaw, and Jurickson Profar singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece. Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Trea Turner went deep for the Dodgers, but LA couldn’t come up with its usual clutch hitting despite numerous chances. The best-of-five series shifts to San Diego for Game 3 on Friday.

Today
Seattle (Castillo 8-6) at Houston (Valdez 17-6), 3:37 p.m.                            (HOU Leads 1-0)
Cleveland (Bieber 13-8) at New York (Cortes 12-4) 7:37 p.m.                         (LAD Leads 1-0)

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Last Night
Indiana Pacers 109, New York Knicks 100

Tonight
Memphis Grizzlies at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.

NBA – Pistons C Marvin Bagley III out 3-4 weeks with knee injury
Detroit Pistons center Marvin Bagley III is expected to be out of the lineup for three to four weeks with an injured right knee. Bagley was hurt Tuesday night in a preseason game against Oklahoma and an MRI showed a sprained knee ligament and bone bruise. The 6-foot-11 Bagley signed a three-year, $37 million contract as a restricted free agent in July with the Pistons. Detroit acquired him from Sacramento in a four-team trade last season. Bagley bounced back from a disappointing, injury-filled stint with the Kings to average 14.6 points in 18 games with the Pistons last season.

NCAAFB – Badgers, Spartans try to salvage seasons that have gone awry
Call it the Big Ten’s midseason “Disappointment Bowl.” Michigan State was 15th and Wisconsin 18th in the preseason AP Top 25. Neither team has a winning record as they prepare to face off Saturday at East Lansing. Wisconsin already has made a coaching change. Wisconsin had gone 0-3 against Power Five opponents before winning 42-7 at Northwestern last week. Michigan State is in even worse shape. The Spartans have followed lopsided victories over Western Michigan and Akron by losing four straight games by an average margin of 20.3 points.

NCAAFB – Notre Dame tight ends provide spark in 3-game winning streak
Notre Dame has started putting up points and one big reason is its deep pool of tight ends. Preseason All-American Michael Mayer has played a key role. He leads the Fighting Irish in every major receiving category with 33 catches, 351 yards and five touchdown receptions. Notre Dame’s younger, less experienced tight ends have been equally productive. Freshman Eli Raridon and Holden Staes and former walk-on Davis Sherwood have given quarterback Drew Pyne consistent options. The Fighting Irish have won three straight games after an 0-2 start.

NCAAMBKB – Big Ten – Next wave of Big Ten stars primed to shine after many exits
Only eight of the top 25 scorers in the Big Ten from last season returned to their teams. The conference had three of the top 10 picks in the NBA draft last summer. The natural question for Iowa is who the next standout will be after the departure of Keegan Murray to the NBA. Kris Murray is getting plenty of attention because he’s his identical twin brother. Iowa takes a developmental approach and leans more on existing players in the program to fill those voids. Michigan State follows that philosophy, too. Spartans coach Tom Izzo did not pursue any transfers.  

NCAAMBKB – ACC – ACC Commisioner Phillips: Time to expand NCAA’s Big Dance
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips thinks its time to expand the NCAA Tournament. He’s not sure about how many teams or how to make it work within the framework of March Madness. But he’s hopeful that more programs can get in the Big Dance sooner rather than later. Phillips is a proponent of expanding all NCAA championships so more athletes can take part. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey would like to see three more First Fours so all four regionals would have a four-team pod.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Last Night
Women’s Soccer
Lake Michigan College at Muskegon Community College, PPD.      at Orchard View HS

Men’s Soccer
Muskegon Community College 10, Lake Michigan College 1           at Muskegon Catholic Central HS

Tonight
Women’s Volleyball
Lake Michigan College at Lansing Community College, 6:30 p.m.
Southwestern Michigan College at Marian Ancilla, 6:30 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer – Districts – 1st Round

Division 2 at St. Joseph (first round at local sites)
Edwardsburg 2, Lakeshore 1
Sturgis 3, Niles 1

Division 2 at Wayland (first round at local sites)
Wayland 4, Otsego 3

Division 2 at Middleville T-K (first round at local sites)
Thornapple Kellogg 8, Harper Creek 0
Marshall 7, Charlotte 1

Division 1 at Loy Norrix (first round at local sites)
Portage Northern 6, Battle Creek Central 0
Battle Creek Lakeview 3, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0
Kalamazoo Central 2, Mattawan 1 – Shootout

Division 3 at South Haven (first round at local sites)
Fennville 1, Hopkins 0
Delton-Kellogg 9, Parchment 1

Division 3 at Paw Paw (first round at local sites)
Three Rivers 3, Berrien Springs 0
Watervliet 3, Constantine 0
Buchanan 6, Dowagiac 5

Division 4 at Hartford (first round at local sites)
Holland Black River 4, Coloma 0
Bloomingdale 5, Lawton 3

Division 4 at Kalamazoo Christian (first round at local sites)
Battle Creek Academy 8, Bellevue 0
Schoolcraft 6, Kalamazoo Heritage 4

Volleyball
Michigan Lutheran 3, Our Lady of the Lake 1
Kalamazoo Central 3, St. Joseph 0
Lakeshore 3, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0
Battle Creek Lakeview 3, Mattawan 2
Portage Northern 3, Battle Creek Central 0

Today
Boys Soccer – Districts – 1st Round
Division 4 at Our Lady of the Lake (first round at local sites)
Mich. Lutheran at Howardsville Chr., 5:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at New Buffalo, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Our Lady of the Lake, 5:00 p.m.
Brandywine at Covert, 5:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Hartford (first round at local sites)
Saugatuck at Bangor, 5:30 p.m.

Division 4 at Kalamazoo Christian (first round at local sites)
Kal. Hackett at Kal. Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Comstock at BC Calhoun Christian, 5:00 p.m.

Division 2 at Hamilton (first round at local sites)
Plainwell at Holland, 6:00 p.m.
Zeeland West at Hamilton, 6:00 p.m.

Division 2 at Middleville T-K (first round at local sites)
Hastings at Parma Western, 7:00 p.m.

Girls Swimming and Diving
St. Joseph at Plainwell, 6:00 p.m.

Volleyball
Berrien Springs at Benton Harbor, 6:00 p.m.
Buchanan at Dowagiac, 6:00 p.m.
Howardsville Christian at White Pigeon, 6:30 p.m.
Niles at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Marcellus at Lawrence, 6:00 p.m.
Vicksburg at Paw Paw, 6:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Three Rivers, 6:00 p.m.
Middleville Thornapple Kellogg at Gull Lake, 6:30 p.m.
Saugatuck at Holland Black River, 5:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian at Lawton, 6:30 p.m.
Homer at Schoolcraft, 6:30 p.m.
Bridgman, South Haven, Martin at Gobles, 5:00 p.m.
Bangor, Bloomingdale at Comstock, 5:00 p.m.
Allegan, Fennville, Galesburg-Augusta at Delton-Kellogg, 5:00 p.m.

Cross Country
Dowagiac Rock N Run, 5:00 p.m. at Dowagiac Middle School
St. Joseph, Lakeshore, Our Lady of the Lake, Berrien Springs, Buchanan, Cassopolis, Decatur, Dowagiac, Eau Claire, Edwardsburg, Niles, Paw Paw, White Pigeon

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MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs – Divisional Series – Best of Five
Yesterday
Philadelphia Phillies 7, Atlanta Braves 6                                    (PHI Leads 1-0)
Houston Astros 8, Seattle Mariners 7                                       (HOU Leads 1-0)
New York Yankees 4, Cleveland Guardians 1                               (NYY Leads 1-0)
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, San Diego Padres 3                                (LAD Leads 1-0)

Phillies 7, Braves 6 – Castellanos’ bat, glove help Phillies top Braves 7-6 in NLDS
Nick Castellanos drove in three runs and made a potentially game-saving catch in the ninth inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies over the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves 7-6 in the opener of their NL Division Series. The Phillies have won three straight games to begin these playoffs, hardly looking like a team making its first postseason appearance since 2011. They followed up their wild-card sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a victory over the team that finished 14 games ahead of them in the NL East. It wasn’t easy. Matt Olson hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Zach Eflin to bring the Braves within a run.

Astros 8, Mariners 7 – Alvarez hits 3-run HR vs Ray in 9th, Astros jolt M’s in ALDS
Yordan Alvarez smashed a game-ending, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Robbie Ray, wrecking Seattle’s strategy of using a Cy Young Award winner in a rare relief role and vaulting the Houston Astros over the Mariners 8-7 in their playoff opener. Trailing all game after a poor start by Justin Verlander, the AL West champion Astros overtook rookie star Julio Rodríguez and the wild-card Mariners at the end to begin their best-of-five Division Series. Houston was down 7-5 when rookie pinch-hitter David Hensley was hit by a pitch from Seattle closer Paul Sewald and Jeremy Peña singled with two outs. Mariners manager Scott Servais then made the bold move to bring in Ray. Alvarez homered on Ray’s second pitch.

Yankees 4, Guardians 1 – Cole cruises, Bader, Rizzo bash, Yanks beat Guardians 4-1
Gerrit Cole cruised for most of the night, Harrison Bader and Anthony Rizzo homered and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in their AL Division Series opener. Not even another Josh Donaldson baserunning blunder could slow the Yankees, who have won six straight postseason games against Cleveland dating to a comeback from a two games to none deficit in the 2017 Division Series

Dodgers 5, Padres 3 – Turner, Dodgers start fast, hold off Padres in NLDS opener
Trea Turner homered and doubled as the Los Angeles Dodgers started fast and held off the San Diego Padres 5-3 in their NL Division Series opener. The Dodgers raced to an early 5-0 lead and appeared to be on their way to another blowout of the Padres. Los Angeles dominated in the regular season, owning a 14-5 advantage and outscoring San Diego 109-47. The 111-win Dodgers claimed the NL West and the Padres finished second, 22 games back. With Sandy Koufax watching from the owners’ box, 17-game winner Julio Urías retired the first eight batters. Chris Martin, who had two saves this season, pitched a perfect ninth. Struggling closer Craig Kimbrel was left off the Dodgers’ roster for this best-of-five matchup. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Today
Philadelphia (Wheeler 12-7) at Atlanta (Wright 21-5), 4:37 p.m.                    (PHI Leads 1-0)
San Diego (Darvish 16-8) at Los Angeles (Kershaw 12-3), 8:37 p.m.               (LAD Leads 1-0)

NHL – National Hockey League – Regular Season Start
Last Night
New York Rangers 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Los Angeles Kings 3

Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche, 9:30 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Last Night
Oklahoma City Thunder 115, Detroit Pistons 99
Chicago Bulls 127, Milwaukee Bucks 104

Tonight
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.

NBA – Draymond Green fined but not suspended, set to rejoin team
Draymond Green has been fined but won’t be suspended by the Golden State Warriors for a violent punch to the face of teammate Jordan Poole last week. Coach Steve Kerr said after a preseason win against Portland that Green would return to practice Thursday then play for the defending NBA champions against the Nuggets on Friday night and again in the season opener Tuesday against the Lakers. Kerr, general manager Bob Myers and players have met to decide how to best proceed, including Green and Poole talking to each other.

NFL – Raiders’ Adams could be suspended for shove
Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams could face a possible suspension or fine for shoving a photographer to the ground as he ran off the field following a loss at Kansas City. A person familiar with the process tells The Associated Press that the NFL is reviewing Adams’ actions. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league hadn’t made the review public. Detectives from the Kansas City Police Department’s assault unit are investigating the incident. NFL Network was the first to report that Adams could face discipline.

NFL – NFL to discuss roughing calls, no change imminent
A person with directly knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press that the NFL did not give officials a directive to emphasize roughing-the-passer penalties following Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion, but the topic will be discussed next week when NFL owners meet in New York. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations are internal. The person said the league isn’t planning to make any rule changes amid outrage over two disputed calls in Week 5. Roughing-the-passer penalties are down 45% from this point last year. Through Week 5 in 2021, 51 were called. Only 28 have been called this season, according to league stats.

NCAAFB – Penn St QB Clifford healthy, content ahead of Michigan game
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is feeling good ahead of tenth-ranked Penn State’s game against No. 4 Michigan this weekend. The Nittany Lions are coming off of a bye week, and Clifford was able to relax and prepared. The Wolverines currently have the country’s fifth-best scoring defense and are fueled by their pass rush. Penn State coach James Franklin says the sixth-year quarterback has been building up to moments and opportunities like Saturday’s Big Ten East showdown.

Hockey – Hockey Canada CEO Smith out, board of directors resigns
Hockey Canada has ousted CEO Scott Smith. Its board of directors has also resigned over a series of scandals that have rocked the sport’s national federation to its core. Smith spent nearly three decades climbing the ladder at Hockey Canada and lasted just three months at the top. The organization is dealing with fallout related to how it handled sexual assault allegations and how the organization paid out settlements. Former board chair Michael Brind’Amour resigned in August and interim chair Andrea Skinner stepped down Saturday.

Golf – PGA – Nicklaus worried big purses will minimize other tournaments
Jack Nicklaus is curious to see how the rich, new PGA Tour schedule goes next year. Nicklaus has The Memorial. That’s one of the elevated events that will offer a $20 million purse. He also is involved as a charitable beneficiary at the Honda Classic. That is not one of the big-money events. Worst yet, it’s squeezed between two $20 million events — Riviera the week before, Bay Hill the week after. Nicklaus says he’s worried it will create a two-tier PGA Tour. He says he’s met with the PGA Tour to try to find a solution for the Honda.

NASCAR – NASCAR fines Stewart-Haas Racing $200K for race manipulation
NASCAR hit Stewart-Haas Racing with an additional $200,000 in fines after ruling Cole Custer and the No. 41 team manipulated the final lap of the playoff elimination race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That brings SHR’s monetary fines to $300,000 over the last week. Kevin Harvick was penalized along with his crew chief when his Ford failed a post-Talladega inspection. Custer appeared to deliberately hold up a line of traffic as teammate Chase Briscoe stormed past in a desperate effort to avoid playoff elimination. Briscoe bumped reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson from the playoffs as the field was trimmed to eight drivers.

USA Soccer – Spain blanks US; Americans hadn’t lost 2 straight since ’17
Spain has beaten the U.S. women’s national team 2-0. It was the first time since March 2017 that the U.S. lost two games in a row. Laia Codina had the first goal for Spain in the 39th minute. Esther González added a goal in the 72nd. Both teams are preparing for next summer’s World Cup, and the United States has won the last two World Cups. Both teams also have been rocked by scandals, with Spain missing some of their best players because of it.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Last Night
Women’s Volleyball
Lake Michigan College 3, Glen Oaks Community College 2

Tonight
Women’s Soccer
Lake Michigan College at Muskegon Community College, 4:00 p.m.         at Orchard View HS

Men’s Soccer
Lake Michigan College at Muskegon Community College, 4:00 p.m.         at Muskegon Catholic Central HS

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Volleyball
Watervliet 3, Coloma 0 – Watervliet wins SAC-Lakeshore division championship
Centreville 3, Hartford 0
Paw Paw 3, Comstock 1
Allegan 3, Fennville 0

Today
Boys Soccer – Districts – 1st Round
Division 2 at St. Joseph (first round at local sites)
Lakeshore at Edwardsburg, 4:30 p.m.
Sturgis at Niles, 5:00 p.m.

Division 3 at South Haven (first round at local sites)
Hopkins at Fennville, 6:00 p.m.
Parchment at Delton-Kellogg, 6:00 p.m.

Division 3 at Paw Paw (first round at local sites)
Three Rivers at Berrien Springs, 6:00 p.m.
Constantine at Watervliet, 7:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Buchanan, 5:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Hartford (first round at local sites)
Coloma at Holland Black River, 5:00 p.m.
Lawton at Bloomingdale, 6:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Kalamazoo Christian (first round at local sites)
Battle Creek Academy at Bellevue, 6:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Heritage at Schoolcraft, 7:00 p.m.

Volleyball
Our Lady of the Lake at Michigan Lutheran, 6:00 p.m.
Benton Harbor at New Buffalo, 6:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Central at St. Joseph, 6:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Mattawan, 6:30 p.m.
Gull Lake at Portage Central, 6:30 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Portage Northern, 6:30 p.m.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NFL – National Football League – Week 5
Last Night
Kansas City Chiefs 30, Las Vegas Raiders 29

Chiefs 30, Raiders 29 – Chiefs hold on for wild 30-29 victory over rival Raiders
Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes to Travis Kelce, the Chiefs overcame an early 17-point deficit along with a dubious roughing-the-passer penalty, and Kansas City extended its mastery of the Las Vegas Raiders, holding on for a 30-29 victory. The Raiders had a chance to march for the winning field goal, but a pass to Davante Adams that was ruled a catch was overturned by replay, which showed him stepping out of bounds. That brought up fourth down in the closing seconds, and Derek Carr’s final pass fell incomplete to allow Kansas City to hold on.

NFL – Roughing-the-passer call prompts officiating scrutiny
A controversial roughing-the-passer penalty just before halftime of the Las Vegas Raiders’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night delivered another blow to the NFL and its beleaguered officiating crew. The Chiefs had just scored to trim their deficit to 17-7 just before halftime when Chris Jones stripped Derek Carr from behind. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle landed on the Raiders quarterback while also coming away with the ball, and replays showed it was clearly loose and that Jones clearly recovered, but referee Carl Cheffers threw a flag for roughing the passer. The call came one day after referee Jerome Boger was panned for a roughing call on Tom Brady that helped the Buccaneers seal their win over Atlanta.

NFL – Panthers fire Matt Rhule after 1-4 start; Wilks takes over
The Carolina Panthers have fired coach Matt Rhule, ending the former Baylor coach’s tenure five games into his third losing season. Rhule is the first NFL coach to be fired this season. He went 11-27 with Carolina and leaves with roughly $40 million left on the seven-year, guaranteed $62 million contract he signed in 2020. Defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season. The Panthers also fired two of Rhule’s longtime assistants, defensive coordinator Phil Snow and assistant special teams coach Ed Foley.

MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs – Divisional Series – Best of Five
Today
Philadelphia (Suárez 10-7) at Atlanta (Fried 14-7), 1:07 p.m.
Seattle (Gilbert 13-6) at Houston (Verlander 18-4), 3:37 p.m.
Cleveland (Quantrill 15-5) at New York (Cole 13-8), 7:37 p.m.
San Diego (Clevinger 7-7) at Los Angeles (Urías 17-7), 9:37 p.m.

MLB – MLB Playoffs: Judge, Verlander join fray as 8 teams remain
Major League Baseball’s first foray into a best-of-three wild-card round provided its share of memorable moments. A 15-inning, 432-pitch game. A seven-run comeback win. Joe Musgrove’s ears. Now it’s on to the division series, which is business as usual with a best-of-five format. The four matchups are Braves-Phillies, Padres-Dodgers, Mariners-Astros and Guardians-Yankees and all of them begin Tuesday. The Astros, Yankees, Braves and Dodgers got to rest and watch the wild-card drama round from home, thanks to superior regular season records.

MLB – Giants hire Pete Putila as new general manager
The San Francisco Giants have hired Houston assistant general manager Pete Putila as their new GM. President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi announced that Putila will replace Scott Harris, who was hired as GM for the Detroit Tigers last month. The 33-year-old Putila was in his 12th season with the Astros and third as assistant general manager. Houston has advanced to the postseason in each of Putila’s three seasons as assistant GM, reaching the World Series last season and the American League Championship Series in 2020.

MLB – Cubs’ Hoyer planning more ‘intelligent spending’ this winter
Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer says he is encouraged by how the team finished the franchise’s second straight losing season. But he says the organization is focused on the short and long term when it comes to its offseason plans. Hoyer is staying with the ambiguous concept of “intelligent spending” — which could price the big-market club out of the massive contracts at the top end of the free-agent market. While Hoyer left himself miles of wiggle room when it comes to the team’s offseason plans, he did confirm the club would make a qualifying offer to All-Star catcher Willson Contreras.

NHL – National Hockey League – Regular Season Start
Tonight
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m.
Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings, 10:00 p.m.
-Blackhawks open up on Wednesday at Colorado at 9:00 p.m.
-Red Wings open up on Friday vs. Montreal at 7:00 p.m.

NHL – Blackhawks claim D Jarred Tinordi off waivers from Rangers
The Chicago Blackhawks have claimed defenseman Jarred Tinordi off waivers from the New York Rangers. The 30-year-old Tinordi scored a goal in seven games with New York last season. He was selected by Montreal in the first round of the 2010 draft. The Blackhawks open the regular season on Wednesday night at Colorado.

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Tonight
Oklahoma City Thunder at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.
Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NCAAFB – Wisconsin’s Mellusi hurts wrist, won’t play against Spartans
Wisconsin running back Chez Mellusi will miss at least one game after injuring his right wrist in the Badgers’ 42-7 victory over Northwestern. Mellusi has rushed for 223 yards and one touchdown on 56 carries this season. Wisconsin announced Monday that Mellusi wouldn’t be available when the Badgers visit Michigan State on Saturday. Badgers interim head coach Jim Leonhard said it was uncertain just how much time Mellusi would miss. Mellusi rushed for 815 yards and five touchdowns in nine games with Wisconsin last year before a torn left anterior cruciate ligament knocked him out for the remainder of the season.

Golf – LIV – Johnson has $30 million year and growing in LIV Golf
Dustin Johnson already is assured of a $30 million year with Saudi-funded LIV Golf. Johnson finished out of the top 10 for the first time in six events last week in Bangkok. But because Branden Grace had to withdraw because of injury, Johnson is assured of claiming the points race. He has a 42-point lead over Grace. Johnson has won about $12.7 million in earnings, with $3 million of that coming from the team competition. Winning the season points title comes with an $18 million bonus. Johnson still has two events left this year.

NWSL – NWSL players call for owner to sell Chicago franchise
The fallout is continuing after the release of a report into misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League. Chicago Red Stars players are calling for owner Arnim Whisler to sell the team. Alaska Airline says it’s diverting Thorns and Timbers sponsorship dollars this quarter to an NWSL Players Association emergency fund to protect players. The NWSL has also dismissed the coach of the Orlando Pride and an assistant following an investigation into retaliatory behavior.

Gymnastics – USA Gymnastics expands mental health services for athletes
USA Gymnastics is expanding its mental health coverage for athletes and coaches. The organization will provide financial assistance for up to eight visits a year to mental health providers for eligible national team members across all disciplines. The new plan also allows for four visits to mental health providers for eligible coaches. USA Gymnastics will reimburse athletes/coaches up to $125 per visit. Coaches and athletes may use whatever health care provider they would like if the provider has “appropriate training and licensure in sport psychology or mental health.” Funding for the program was provided in part by the organization’s sponsorship deal with apparel provider GK Elite.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Tonight
Women’s Volleyball
Glen Oaks Community College at Lake Michigan College, 6:30 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
St. Joseph 2, Vicksburg 1
Lakeshore 9, Niles 1
Edwardsburg 7, Dowagiac 2
Cassopolis 6, Berrien Springs 1
Schoolcraft 2, South Haven 0
Bloomingdale 5, New Buffalo 1
Holland Black River 7, Bridgman 0
Watervliet 5, Lawton 4
Coloma 4, Parchment 4 – TIE
Brandywine 2, Constantine 1
Allegan 8, Saugatuck 0
Fennville 3, Kalamazoo Hackett 2
Otsego 2, GR Ottawa Hills 1
Delton-Kellogg 3, Kalamazoo Christian 3 – TIE

Volleyball
Edwardsburg 3, Lakeshore 0
Buchanan 3, St. Joseph 1
Our Lady of the Lake 3, Lawrence 0
Bridgman 3, South Haven 0
Cassopolis 3, Bangor 0

Today
Volleyball
Bloomingdale at Centreville, 7:30 p.m.
Mendon at Hartford, 7:30 p.m.
Paw Paw at Comstock, 6:00 p.m.
River Valley at Howardsville Christian, 6:00 p.m.
Fennville at Allegan, 6:30 p.m.
Watervliet at Coloma, 6:30 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg, Kalamazoo Christian, Parchment at Galesburg-Augusta, 6:30 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Football AP Rankings
Division 1
1. Belleville (5)                                      (7-0)     50
2. Caledonia                                           (7-0)     44
3. Rockford                                            (7-0)     39
4. Macomb Dakota                                    (7-0)     37
5. Rochester Adams                                 (6-1)     26
6. West Bloomfield                                  (6-1)     23
7. Lapeer                                                (7-0)     17
8. Brighton                                            (7-0)     16
9. Davison                                              (6-1)     10
10. Saline                                              (6-1)     4
Others receiving votes: Romeo 3. Southfield 2. Detroit Catholic Central 2. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 2.

Division 2
1. Dexter (4)                                          (7-0)     49
2. Warren De La Salle (1)                          (6-1)     46
3. Livonia Franklin                                   (7-0)     37
4. Muskegon Mona Shores                         (6-1)     36
5. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central          (7-0)     32
6. South Lyon                                         (6-1)     23
7. Midland                                              (6-1)     17
(tie) East Lansing                                     (6-1)     17
9. Birmingham Seaholm                             (7-0)     9
10. Battle Creek Central                       (6-1)    5
Others receiving votes: Saginaw Heritage 2. Swartz Creek 1. Temperance Bedford 1.

Division 3
1. Detroit King (5)                                  (5-1)     50
2. Mason                                                 (7-0)     44
3. Muskegon                                           (5-2)     36
4. River Rouge                                        (5-1)     33
5. Mount Pleasant                                   (6-1)     31
6. St. Joseph                                         (6-1)    26
7. Walled Lake Western                            (6-1)     21
8. Zeeland West                                      (6-1)     19
9. Grosse Pointe North                            (7-0)     9
10. Trenton                                           (6-1)     3
(tie) Cadillac                                          (5-2)     3
Others receiving votes: none.

Division 4
1. Grand Rapids South Christian (4)           (7-0)     49
2. Whitehall (1)                                      (7-0)     46
3. Riverview                                           (7-0)     40
4. Redford Union                                     (7-0)     35
5. Freeland                                            (6-1)     30
6. Edwardsburg                                    (6-1)    20
7. Croswell-Lexington                             (6-1)     17
8. Goodrich                                            (6-1)     13
8. Tecumseh                                            (7-0)     13
10. Fruitport                                          (5-2)     4
Others receiving votes: Chelsea 3. Hudsonville Unity Christian 2. North Branch 2. Charlotte 1.

Division 5
1. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (3)          (6-1)     48
2. Frankenmuth (2)                                  (7-0)     47
3. Detroit Country Day                            (5-1)     40
4. Gladwin                                             (7-0)     33
5. Corunna                                             (6-1)     28
6. Portland                                            (6-1)     26
7. Marine City                                         (6-1)     16
8. Muskegon Oakridge                              (6-1)     13
9. Belding                                              (6-1)     8
10. Olivet                                              (6-1)     5
Others receiving votes: Armada 3. Berrien Springs 3. Kingsley 3. Flint Hamady 2.

Division 6
1. Clinton (4)                                         (7-0)     49
2. Standish-Sterling                               (7-0)     42
3. Negaunee                                           (7-0)     40
4. Grand Rapids West Catholic (1)              (6-1)     32
5. Durand                                              (7-0)     28
6. Boyne City                                          (7-0)     23
7. Millington                                          (6-1)     15
(tie) Warren Michigan Collegiate               (6-1)     15
9. Constantine                                      (6-1)    9
(tie) Madison Heights Bishop Foley             (7-0)     9
Others receiving votes: Ecorse 5. Reed City 5. Almont 2. Buchanan 1.

Division 7
1. Traverse City St. Francis (4)                  (7-0)     40
2. Hudson                                              (7-0)     36
3. Detroit Central                                   (7-0)     32
4. Ithaca                                                            (6-1)     25
5. Elkton-Pigeon Bay Port Laker                (7-0)     23
6. Napoleon                                            (7-0)     20
7. North Muskegon                                  (6-1)     14
8. Charlevoix                                          (6-1)     8
9. New Lothrop                                       (6-1)     7
(tie) Jackson Lumen Christi                       (4-3)     7
(tie) Lawton                                         (6-1)    7
Others receiving votes: Union City 1.

Division 8
1. Ottawa Lake Whiteford (4)                    (7-0)     40
2. Beal City                                            (7-0)     36
3. Ubly                                                  (7-0)     32
4. Iron Mountain                                     (6-1)     28
5. Evart                                                 (6-1)     22
6. Centreville                                       (6-1)    15
7. Fowler                                               (6-1)     12
8. Frankfort                                           (6-1)     10
9. Reading                                              (6-1)     9
(tie) Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary   (6-1)     9
Others receiving votes: Harbor Beach 4. St. Ignace LaSalle 3.

8-Player Division 1
1. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian (4)  (7-0)     48
2. Adrian Lenawee Christian                      (6-1)     41
(tie) Merrill (1)                                      (7-0)     41
4. Munising                                            (7-0)     33
5. Martin                                              (6-1)    31
6. Bridgman                                          (7-0)    26
7. Rogers City                                        (7-0)     12
8. Kingston                                            (7-0)     11
9. Newberry                                           (6-1)     10
10. Farwell                                            (7-0)     5
Others receiving votes: Brown City 4. Norway 4. Mesick 4. Auburn Hills Oakland Christian 3. Lincoln-Alcona 2.

8-Player Division 2
1. Powers North Central (4)                     (7-0)     40
2. Colon                                               (7-0)    36
3. Marion                                               (7-0)     30
4. Climax-Scotts                                   (6-1)    24
5. Morrice                                              (6-1)     20
6. Crystal Falls Forest Park                      (6-1)     18
7. Peck                                                  (6-1)     15
8. Posen                                                (6-1)     14
9. Au Gres-Sims                                      (6-1)     11
10. Mendon                                           (5-2)    9
Others receiving votes: Lake Linden-Hubbell 3.

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NFL – National Football League – Week 5
Yesterday
New England Patriots 29, Detroit Lions 0
Minnesota Vikings 29, Chicago Bears 22

Patriots 29, Lions 0 – Stevenson, Patriots’ D back Zappe in 29-0 win over Lions
Rookie Bailey Zappe threw a touchdown pass in his first career start, Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for a career-high 161 yards, and the New England Patriots overwhelmed the Detroit Lions 29-0. Kyle Dugger returned a fumble 59 yards for a touchdown for the Patriots as the defense and ground game gave Zappe plenty of support. The rookie completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards with Mac Jones out for the second straight week with an ankle injury and backup Brian Hoyer on injured reserve following a concussion. Matt Judon had a pair of sacks for New England, which held Detroit’s top-ranked offense without a touchdown for the first time this season. Lions quarterback Jared Goff was 19 of 35 for 229 yards, but his one interception was returned for a touchdown.

Vikings 29, Bears 22 – Cousins, Vikings snap to life with late TD, beat Bears 29-22
The Minnesota Vikings snapped out of their mid-game slump just in time to beat the Chicago Bears 29-22. Kirk Cousins scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 2:26 remaining on Minnesota’s fifth third-down conversion of its go-ahead drive. The Vikings are 4-1 and alone in first place in the NFC North. Justin Jefferson finished with a career-high 12 catches for 154 yards, and Dalvin Cook rushed for 94 yards and two scores for the Vikings. Justin Fields went 15 for 21 for a season-high 208 yards and his first touchdown pass in 15 quarters for the Bears. They are 2-3.

Other Week 5 Scores
Indianapolis 12, Denver 9, OT
N.Y. Giants 27, Green Bay 22
Buffalo 38, Pittsburgh 3
Houston 13, Jacksonville 6
L.A. Chargers 30, Cleveland 28
N.Y. Jets 40, Miami 17
New Orleans 39, Seattle 32
Tampa Bay 21, Atlanta 15
Tennessee 21, Washington 17
San Francisco 37, Carolina 15
Dallas 22, L.A. Rams 10
Philadelphia 20, Arizona 17
Baltimore 19, Cincinnati 17

Tonight
Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m.

NFL – Lions’ offense crashes to surface in shutout by Patriots
The Detroit Lions came into New England with the NFL’s top scoring offense. A week after putting up a season-high 45 points in their overtime loss to Seattle, the Lions were blanked 29-0 by the New England Patriots. Detroit was shut out for the first time since 2020, and this was its worst such loss since falling 35-0 to the St. Louis Rams in 2001. The Lions now have a bye and will hope their offense gets healthier during the break. Detroit was missing running back D’Andre Swift and receiver D.J. Chark.

MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs
Sunday
Wild Card Playoffs – Best of Three
San Diego Padres 6, New York Mets 0                                (SD wins 2-1)

Padres 6, Mets 0 – Musgrove pitches hometown Padres past Mets 6-0 and into NLDS
Joe Musgrove brushed off chants of “Cheater!” after a bizarre spot check by umpires on the mound, pitching his hometown San Diego Padres into the next round of the playoffs with seven innings of one-hit ball in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets. Trent Grisham hit an RBI single and made a terrific catch in center field that helped the Padres take the best-of-three National League wild-card series two games to one. Austin Nola and Juan Soto each had a two-run single. San Diego advanced to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five Division Series beginning Tuesday.

Tuesday
Division Series – Best of Five
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves, 1:07 p.m.
Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros, 3:37 p.m.
Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees, 7:37 p.m.
San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:37 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Yesterday
Chicago Bulls 115, Toronto Raptors 98

NCAAFB – College Football – Week 6
Saturday
(4) Michigan 31, Indiana 10
(3) Ohio State 49, Michigan State 20
Notre Dame 28, (16) BYU 20
Eastern Michigan 45, Western Michigan 23
Ball State 17, Central Michigan 16

NCAAFB – UGA back at No. 1, Alabama slips to 3 behind OSU
Georgia has taken back the top spot in The Associated Press college football poll from Alabama. The Crimson Tide slid to No. 3. The Bulldogs received 32 first-place votes and 1,535 points in the Top 25 to easily reclaim No. 1 on Sunday after being just two points behind Alabama for the No. 2 spot last week. Georgia thumped Auburn 42-10 on Saturday. The Tide escaped an upset bid at home by Texas A&M with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young sidelined by injury. Ohio State moved up a spot to No. 2, receiving 20 first-place votes.  Clemson also moved up a spot to take over the No. 4 spot held by Michigan.  The undefeated Wolverines are No. 5.

NCAAFB – Hoosiers fire O-line coach after another poor game
Indiana coach Tom Allen has fired offensive line coach and run game coordinator Darren Hiller. The rare midseason move comes one day after the Hoosiers rushed for 29 yards and allowed seven sacks in a 31-10 loss to No. 4 Michigan. Former Indiana player Rod Carey will replace Hiller for the rest of this season. Hiller was in his sixth season with Indiana and had survived a staff shakeup following last season’s dismal 2-10 mark

Golf – PGA – Tom Kim wins in Vegas as Cantlay falls apart on final hole
Tom Kim has won the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas. That makes him the first player since Tiger Woods in 1996 with two PGA Tour victories before turning 21. But he got plenty of help from Patrick Cantlay. They were tied for the lead on the 18th hole when Cantlay went into a desert bush, into the pond and made triple bogey. Kim shot 67 and completed a bogey-free week at the TPC Summerlin. He moves to No. 15 in the world and becomes the highest-ranked Asian-born player in golf. Kim also won the Wyndham Championship in August.

Golf – LPGA – Ewart Shadoff finally wins on LPGA Tour in her 246th attempt
Jodi Ewart Shadoff can finally say she’s an LPGA Tour winner. The 34-year-old from England held on for a one-shot victory in the LPGA Mediheal Championship. She went wire-to-wire for her first win in her 246th start. But it wasn’t easy. Paula Reto made up the four-shot deficit in six holes and had a one-shot lead going to the back nine. Reto made a pair of bogeys late in the round. That paved the way for Ewart Shadoff. She shot a 71 in the final round and wound up winning by one shot over former U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso.

NHL – Lightning suspend defenseman Ian Cole pending investigation
The Tampa Bay Lightning are suspending defenseman Ian Cole pending an investigation into allegations made on social media that he sexually abused a woman when she was a minor. The team said it was fully cooperating with the NHL on an investigation and that it takes the allegations very seriously. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press earlier Sunday the league had launched an investigation. Daly added the league had no prior knowledge of the allegations until they were posted on social media.

NASCAR – Bell wins Charlotte as champion Larson bumped from playoffs
Christopher Bell saved his title chances with an overtime win Sunday on the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a stunning finish that knocked reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson from the playoffs. Bell entered the race 11th in the standings with four drivers set to be eliminated as NASCAR’s playoff field was trimmed to eight. He took the lead in overtime and drove away as all the drama was further in the field for the final transfer spot into the round of eight. Chase Briscoe bulldozed his way to a ninth-place finish to knock Larson out of the playoffs by two points. Also eliminated were Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Larson’s teammate, Alex Bowman.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Yesterday
Men’s Soccer
Lakeland Community College 4, Lake Michigan College 0

Women’s Soccer
Lake Michigan College 2, Lakeland Community College 0

Volleyball
South Suburban Tournament at South Holland, IL
Southeastern Community College 3, Lake Michigan College 0
College of DuPage 3, Lake Michigan College 2

MHSAA – High School Sports
Week 7 Football Scores
SMAC
St. Joseph 42, Lakeshore 14
Mattawan 24, Battle Creek Lakeview 8
Portage Northern 25, Portage Central 22
Battle Creek Central 30, Kalamazoo Central 20

Wolverine
Edwardsburg 56, Otsego 0
Niles 49, Paw Paw 8
Sturgis 26, Three Rivers 15
Vicksburg 28, Plainwell 7

Lakeland
Buchanan 26, Brandywine 24
Benton Harbor 14, Dowagiac 12 (Thursday)
**Berrien Springs off

SAC
South Haven 22, Watervliet 14
Parchment 21, Allegan 17
Constantine 25, Kalamazoo United 20
Lawton 49, Schoolcraft 14
Galesburg-Augusta 54, Saugatuck 0

Southwest 10
Centreville 2, Comstock 0 (Forfeit)
White Pigeon 59, Cassopolis 0

Non-Conference
Decatur 37, Delton-Kellogg 22
Kingsley 42, Gull Lake 24
Ottawa Lake Whiteford 66, Kal. Loy Norrix 7

SW Michigan 8-Man
Red Arrow 48, Twin Cities 0 (Saturday)
Bridgman 77, Lawrence 8
Eau Claire 64, Wyoming Lee 18
Gobles 40, Bloomingdale 8 (forfeit)
Martin 67, Wyoming Tri-Unity 0
Mendon 53, Bangor 0
Marcellus 37, Concord 14
GR Northpointe Christian 58, Fennville 16

Tonight
Boys Soccer
St. Joseph at Vicksburg, 6:30 p.m.
Niles at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Dowagiac, 5:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at Berrien Springs, 5:00 p.m.
South Haven at Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale at New Buffalo, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Holland Black River, 5:00 p.m.
Watervliet at Lawton, 6:00 p.m.
Coloma at Parchment, 6:00 p.m.
Constantine at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Allegan, 6:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Fennville, 5:00 p.m.
GR Ottawa Hills at Otsego, 6:30 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Kalamazoo Chr., 5:00 p.m.

Volleyball
Lakeshore at Edwardsburg, 6:00 p.m.
Buchanan at St. Joseph, 6:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Our Lady of the Lake, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.
New Buffalo at Watervliet Grace Chr., 6:30 p.m.
Cassopolis at Bangor, 7:30 p.m.
White Pigeon at Decatur, 7:30 p.m.
Otsego at Kalamazoo Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Saugatuck at Grandville Calvin Chr, 7:00 p.m.

AP Top 25

1

Georgia (32)

6-0

2

Ohio State (20)

6-0

3

Alabama (11)

6-0

4

Clemson

6-0

5

Michigan

6-0

6

Tennessee

5-0

7

USC

6-0

8

Oklahoma State

5-0

9

Ole Miss

6-0

10

Penn State

5-0

11

UCLA

6-0

12

Oregon

5-1

13

TCU

5-0

14

Wake Forest

5-1

15

NC State

5-1

16

Mississippi State

5-1

17

Kansas State

5-1

18

Syracuse

5-0

19

Kansas

5-1

20

Utah

4-2

21

Cincinnati

5-1

22T

Kentucky

4-2

22T

Texas

4-2

24

Illinois

5-1

25

James Madison

5-0

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Our Midwest Family Player of the week is Kendra Koster of Lawton High School Cross Country.   Kendra is a junior at Lawton and carries a 4.2 Grade Point Average.

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This week from Full Circle Café & Espresso Bar, we talk St. Joe, Lakeshore, & Benton Harbor Football, and Lakeshore Girls’ Golf…

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As heard on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM The SMAC leading St. Joe Bears (5-1), head to Lakeshore for the annual War by the Shore to face the 3-3 Lancers.  G.B. Richmond and Bret Witkowski have the call.

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As heard on 97.5 Y-Country, the Lakeshore Lancers (3-3) return home tonight for the War by the Shore game against rival St. Joseph (5-1) . Al Pscholka and Denny Kniola have the broadcast.

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MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs – Wild Card Round – Best of three
Today
Wild Card Playoffs – Best of Three
Tampa Bay (McClanahan 12-8) at Cleveland (Bieber 13-8), 12:07 p.m.
Philadelphia (Wheeler 12-7) at St. Louis (Quintana 6-7), 2:07 p.m.
Seattle (Castillo 8-6) at Toronto (Manoah 16-7), 4:07 p.m.
San Diego (Darvish 16-8) at New York (Scherzer 11-5), 8:07 p.m.

MLB – Detroit Tigers wrap disappointing season with new executive
The Detroit Tigers head into the offseason after finishing 66-96 this year, the third-worst record in the American League. The franchise spent a lot of money entering the season to bolster the rotation and lineup and didn’t get much for it. Shortstop Javier Báez, signed to a $140 million contract, hit .238 with 17 homers, 67 RBIs and 147 strikeouts. Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez also struggled. The Tigers did play .500 baseball over the final two months and that included wininng nine of 10 games at one point.

NFL – National Football League – Week 5
Last Night
Indianapolis Colts 12, Denver Broncos 9 – OT

Colts 12, Broncos 9 – OT – Colts grind out 12-9 win over Broncos in injury-filled game
Stephon Gilmore batted away Russell Wilson’s pass to Courtland Sutton in the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the 5 to give the Indianapolis Colts a 12-9 overtime victory over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Gilmore also intercepted Wilson’s pass in the fourth quarter to help set up Chase McLauglin’s tying field goal. McLauglin connected from 47 yards 4:10 into overtime to give the Colts (2-2-1) the lead in the first game in NFL history that pitted quarterbacks with at least four Pro Bowl appearances each, but it featured zero touchdowns. The Broncos (2-3) decided against a tying chip-shot field goal by Brandon McManus, and Wilson lined up in the shotgun next to running back Melvin Gordon, then threw incomplete over the middle.

Sunday
Detroit Lions at New England Patriots, 1:00 p.m.
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings, 1:00 p.m.

NFL – Lions, Patriots looking to bounce back from 1-3 starts
Scoring points hasn’t been an issue for the Detroit Lions this season, but it hasn’t translated into many victories. The New England Patriots are reeling for a different reason and could use a victory just as bad as the teams prepare to match up this week. Through four weeks, the Lions are averaging an NFL-high 35 points and a league-high 437 yards per game. But even 45 points was wasn’t enough to beat Seattle at Ford Field last week to drop Detroit to 1-3. New England is also 1-3 and is looking at the prospect of having its third starting quarterback in three weeks with Mac Jones nursing a tender ankle and Brian Hoyer going on injured reserve with a concussion . If they’re out, rookie Bailey Zappe will make his first career start.

NFL – Justin Fields, mired Bears offense looking for positives
Although Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and receiver Darnell Mooney connected on a big pass play last week for the first time, they’re not expecting an immediate breakthrough in the team’s offense. Heading into a game against the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears remain focused on the process of building their overall attack and not simply evaluating Fields, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy says. Still, with an offense last in passing and next-to-last in yardage, and only two touchdowns in their last 32 possessions, the Bears (2-2) have work to do to be competitive on a weekly basis.

NHL – National Hockey League – Preseason
Last Night
Minnesota Wild 4, Chicago Blackhawks 1

Tonight
Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.

NCAAFB – College Football – Week 6
Tonight – Big Ten
Nebraska at Rutgers, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday
(4) Michigan at Indiana, 12:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan, 12:00 p.m.
Ball State at Central Michigan, 3:30 p.m.
(3) Ohio Sta te at Michigan State, 4:00 p.m.
(16) BYU vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m.                at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

NCAAFB – Wolverines look to start another win streak over Indiana
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh knows the score. A 24-game winning streak over Indiana ended when the Wolverines last traveled to Bloomington. Coach Tom Allen’s teams had given Harbaugh all sorts of headaches even before the game two years ago. Now, though, with No. 4 Michigan pursuing a second straight Big Ten title and what it hopes will be a second consecutive playoff berth, the Wolverines want to turn up the pressure when they visit the Hoosiers on Saturday.

NCAAFB – No. 3 Ohio State heavy favorite at Michigan State
No. 3 Ohio State faces its first road test of the season Saturday at struggling Michigan State. The heavily favored Buckeyes are on a roll, averaging 55.7 points per game in their last four contests. They have won six straight games against Michigan State and 15 of the last 18 matchups between the two schools. The Spartans have lost three consecutive games, including 27-13 last week at Maryland. It’s Mel Tucker’s longest losing streak during his three-year tenure as Michigan State’s head coach.

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Tonight
Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at New Orleans Pelicans, 8:00 p.m.
Denver Nuggets at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NBA – Warriors’ Draymond Green apologizes for fight with teammate
Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers says star forward Draymond Green apologized to the team a day after fighting with teammate Jordan Poole during practice. Poole practiced Thursday while Green didn’t. Myers said any potential discipline would be handled internally. Myers said he doesn’t anticipate Green missing any games for Wednesday’s altercation. The Athletic first reported the scuffle, saying Green struck Poole. Myers said “space is good” regarding Green not practicing and going home after he addressed the team. Green was previously suspended for one game in 2018 after a confrontation with teammate Kevin Durant.  

WNBA – Brittney Griner at ‘weakest moment’ in Russia, her wife says
WNBA star Brittney Griner is at her “absolute weakest moment in life right now” as she faces a hearing in Russia later this month for her appeal of a nine-year prison sentence for drug possession. That’s according to her wife, Cherelle Griner, who told “CBS Mornings” in an interview aired Thursday that Brittney Griner is afraid of being forgotten by the U.S. Brittney Griner was convicted Aug. 4 after Russian police found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport. Her defense lawyers said Griner had been prescribed cannabis for pain. Cherelle Griner said she fears her wife could be moved to a Russia labor camp.

Golf – LIV – World ranking rejects last-minute LIV Golf bid for points
The Official World Golf Ranking won’t be awarding points to LIV Golf events this year. The ranking board has denied a request to immediately add Saudi-funded LIV Golf to the MENA Tour schedule. The OWGR says the MENA Tour did not give it sufficient notice and there would not be time to finish the review ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational in Bangkok that starts Friday or the event in Saudi Arabia next week. There are only two LIV Golf events left so some players will be out of the top 50 and find a tough road back to the majors.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Last Night
Volleyball
Kalamazoo Valley Community College 3, Lake Michigan College 1
Kellogg Community College 3, Southwestern Michigan College 2

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Football
Benton Harbor 14, Dowagiac 12                             (Tigers 4-3, 2-1) (Chieftains 1-6, 0-4)
Game was moved to last night at the last minute and with limited fan attendance.

Boys Soccer
SMAC Tournament
Portage Central 4, Mattawan 3 – Shootout              SMAC Championship Game
St. Joseph 3, Gull Lake 1                                         SMAC 3rd place game
Battle Creek lakeview 4, Kalamazoo Central 2         SMAC 5th place game
Portage Northern 4, Lakeshore 3                            SMAC 7th place game

Other soccer games
Bangor 3, Michigan Lutheran 2
Berrien Springs 3, Comstock 2
Vicksburg 9, Brandywine 1
Bridgman 4, Coloma 0
Kalamazoo Christian 7, Parchment 2
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 4, Kalamazoo Hackett 0

Volleyball
Brandywine 3, Benton Harbor 0
Dowagiac 3, Berrien Springs 0
Holland 3, South Haven 0
Niles 3, Paw Paw 0
Edwardsburg 3, Otsego 0
Three Rivers 3, Sturgis 2
Centreville 3, Comstock 0

Tonight
Football – All games start at 7:00
SMAC
St. Joseph (5-1) at Lakeshore (3-3)
Battle Creek Lakeview (1-4) at Mattawan (2-4)
Portage Central (2-4) at Portage Northern (3-3)
Kalamazoo Central (0-6) at Battle Creek Central (5-1)

Wolverine
Paw Paw (3-3) at Niles (2-4)     at Dowagiac
Otsego (0-6) at Edwardsburg (5-1)
Three Rivers (4-2) at Sturgis (4-2)
Plainwell (3-3) at Vicksburg (3-3)

Lakeland
Buchanan (5-1) at Brandywine (4-2)
Berrien Springs (5-1) off

SAC
Watervliet (4-2) at South Haven (1-5)
Parchment (3-3) at Allegan (3-3)
Constantine (5-1) at Kalamazoo United (3-3)
Galesburg-Augusta (1-5) at Saugatuck (2-4)
Lawton (5-1) at Schoolcraft (4-2)

Southwest 10
White Pigeon (3-3) at Cassopolis (0-6)
Centreville (6-1) 2, Comstock (1-6) 0 – Forfeit

Non-Conference
Decatur (4-2) at Delton-Kellogg (4-2)

8-Man Football
Lawrence (3-3) at Bridgman 60
Wyoming Lee (0-6) at Eau Claire (4-2)
Bloomingdale (0-6) at Gobles (4-2)
Bangor (2-4) at Mendon (4-2)
GR Northpointe Chr. (6-0) at Fennville (3-3)
Wyoming Tri-Unity (3-3) at Martin (5-1)
Concord (4-2) at Marcellus (4-2)

Saturday
8-Man Football
Twin Cities (1-5) at Red Arrow (2-4), 11:00 a.m.     at River Valley

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MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Seattle Mariners 5, Detroit Tigers 4
Minnesota Twins 10, Chicago White Sox 1
Chicago Cubs 15, Cincinnati Reds 2
End MLB Regular Season

Mariners 5, Tigers 4 – Mariners roll into playoffs after 5-4 win over Tigers
Julio Rodríguez put a final exclamation point on his rookie of the year candidacy with his 28th home run of the season, Ty France hit a game-ending RBI single in the ninth inning, and the Seattle Mariners capped the regular season with a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers. Rodríguez set a franchise record with his sixth lead off homer of the season and finished off his rookie campaign hitting .284 with 25 doubles, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Seattle finished with at least 90 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2000-03 when the Mariners won 91, 116, 93 and 93 games during that span. Detroit finished the season 66-96.

Twins 10, White Sox 1 – Arraez wins AL batting title, Twins beat White Sox 10-1
Luis Arraez won the AL batting title, hitting a third-inning double after walking twice to finish the season at .316, and the Minnesota Twins rolled to a 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Arraez was all but assured of topping the Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the batting crown when the day began. He removed any doubt by walking in his first two plate appearances and then hitting a drive that barely cleared the glove of right fielder Gavin Sheets before he was lifted for a pinch-runner. Gary Sanchez and Jermaine Palacios homered during a six-run first inning for Minnesota, which snapped a four-game skid. The Twins finished at 78-84. The White Sox finished at 81-81.

Cubs 15, Reds 2 – Reds lose 100 for 1st time since ’82, Bote 5 RBIs lead Cubs
The Cincinnati Reds lost 100 games for the first time in four decades, falling to the Cubs 15-2 in their season finale as David Bote drove in a season-high five runs. Cincinnati finished 62-100, one shy of the franchise record for losses set by the 1982 team that went 61-101. The Reds became the record-tying fourth team to lose 100 games this season, tying for last in the NL Central with Pittsburgh after just missing post-season play with an 83-79 record last season. Similarly, the rebuilding Cubs finished 74-88 and third in the NL Central, up from 71-91 and fourth last season.

Friday
Wild Card Playoffs – Best of Three
Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians, 12:07 p.m.
Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals, 2:07 p.m.
Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m.
San Diego Padres at New York Mets, 8:07 p.m.
Astros, Yankees, Braves, Dodgers – First round bye

MLB – Royals fire manager Mike Matheny after 65-97 end to season
The Kansas City Royals fired manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred on Wednesday night, shortly after the struggling franchise finished the season 65-97 with a listless 9-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The Royals had exercised their option on Matheny’s contract for 2023 during spring training, when the club hoped it was turning the corner from also-ran to contender again. But plagued by poor pitching, struggles from young position players and failed experiments with veterans, the Royals were largely out of playoff contention by the middle of summer. Matheny is the fifth big league manager to be fired this year.

MLB – Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ball
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, California, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans, who caught Judge’s milestone shot Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Cohen says Youmans has not yet replied. Youmans grabbed the historic souvenir on the fly as it sailed into the front row of section 31 in left field.

NFL – National Football League – Week 5
Tonight
Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos, 8:15 p.m.

NFL – Protester subdued by Rams’ Wagner files police report
A protester who ran onto the field during the San Francisco 49ers’ home game against the Rams has filed a police report after being subdued by Los Angeles linebacker Bobby Wagner. Wagner reacted with bemusement when asked about the protester’s complaint. Santa Clara Police Department Lt. Cuong Phan confirmed to The Associated Press that the department has an active investigation of the incident, but could provide few other details. Wagner flattened the protester who ran on the field waving a device emitting pink smoke.

NFL – Bears put Whitehair on IR, open window for Harry to return
The Chicago Bears have placed left guard Cody Whitehair on injured reserve because of a right knee injury. The 30-year-old Whitehair was injured in Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. He has been a fixture on the Bears’ line at center and guard since they drafted him in the second round in 2016, starting 99 games. Coach Matt Eberflus says he expects Whitehair to play again this season. Also Wednesday, the Bears designated receiver N’Keal Harry to return from IR. That begins a three-week evaluation window for the fourth-year player. Eberflus says it’s possible Harry could make his Bears debut as early as Sunday.

NFL – Jerry Vainisi, GM of Bears’ 1985 championship team, dies
The Chicago Bears say Jerry Vainisi, their general manager when they won their lone Super Bowl championship, has died. He was 80. The team said he died Tuesday in suburban Oak Park, Ill. A Chicago native who attended Georgetown University and Chicago–Kent College of Law, Vainisi joined the Bears in 1972 as controller and worked as the team’s treasurer and lawyer. He became the team’s general manager in 1983 after Jim Finks resigned. Vainisi remained in that role for four years. He oversaw contract negotiations and worked with coach Mike Ditka and player personnel director Bill Tobin to run the team. The Bears went 47-17 during during Vainisi’s tenure and fielded arguably the greatest team the league has seen in 1985. The Bears went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl over the New England Patriots 46-10.

NHL – National Hockey League – Preseason
Last Night
Washington Capitals 4, Detroit Red Wings 2

Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild, 8:00 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Last Night
Indiana Pacers 122, Charlotte Hornets 97

NBA – LeBron in Vegas? He makes an expansion pitch to Adam Silver
LeBron James came to Las Vegas for a preseason game. And a pitch. James, who has spoken in the past about how he wants to eventually own an NBA franchise — with Las Vegas on his mind — sent a crystal-clear message to Commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday night, reminding him of his future plans to bring a team to the desert. Though Silver has said he expects expansion at some point, it is believed that wouldn’t happen until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement and television deals are complete.

NCAAFB – Pyne fueling resurgent Irish offense as No. 16 BYU looms
Quarterback Drew Pyne has given Notre Dame’s offense exactly what it needed. Hope amid change. He’s 2-0 since replacing the injured Tyler Buchner, has the Fighting Irish back at .500, is leading a major midseason turnaround and seems to be winning over coach Marcus Freeman. On Saturday, he’ll face his biggest test yet against No. 16 BYU in Las Vegas. Pyne seems to be growing more comfortable by the week since taking over from his friend, the injured Tyler Buchner. And now, he’s ready to show everyone what he and the Irish offense can do.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Last Night
Women’s Soccer
St. Clair Community College 3, Lake Michigan College 3 – TIE

Men’s Soccer
Lake Michigan College 10, Fairhaven Baptist College 4

Today
Volleyball
Lake Michigan College at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, 6:30 p.m.
Southwestern Michigan College at Kellogg Community College, 6:30 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Volleyball
Kalamazoo Central 3, St. Joseph 0
Portage Northern 3, Lakeshore 1
River Valley 3, Our Lady of the Lake 2
Mishawaka (IN) 3, Brandywine 0
Portage Central 3, Mattawan 2

Boys Soccer
Dowagiac 4, Buchanan 0
Constantine 4, Bridgman 1
Coloma 2, Lawton 0
Paw Paw 4, Niles 1
South Haven 12, Parchment 0
Kalamazoo Hackett 0, Watervliet 0 – TIE
Bloomingdale 5, Comstock 0
Hartford 11, Cassopolis 1
Otsego 4, Three Rivers 1
Sturgis 2, Edwardsburg 1
Vicksburg 5, Plainwell 3
Holland Black River 2, Allegan 1

Tonight
Boys Soccer
SMAC Tournament
Mattawan at Portage Central, 6:30 p.m.                  SMAC Championship Game
St. Joseph at Gull Lake, 6:30 p.m.                            SMAC 3rd place game
Kalamazoo Central at B.C. Lakeview, 6:30 p.m.         SMAC 5th place game
Lakeshore at Portage Northern, 7:00 p.m.               SMAC 7th place game

Other games
Michigan Lutheran at Bangor, 6:30 p.m.
Comstock at Berrien Springs, 6:30 p.m.
Coloma at Bridgman, 4:00 p.m.
GR West Michigan Aviation at Hartford, 5:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m.
Parchment at Kalamazoo Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Lawton at Kalamazoo Hackett, 5:00 p.m.

Volleyball
Benton Harbor at Brandywine, 7:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Berrien Springs, 6:00 p.m.
Holland at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.
Eau Claire at Watervliet Grace, 6:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Niles, 6:00 p.m.
Otsego at Edwardsburg, 6:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Vicksburg, 6:00 p.m.
Three Rivers at Sturgis, 6:00 p.m.
Hartford at Bloomingdale, 7:30 p.m.
Centreville at Comstock, 7:30 p.m.
Cassopolis at Decatur, 7:30 p.m.
White Pigeon at Marcellus, 7:30 p.m.
Bangor at Mendon, 7:30 p.m.
Gobles, Kalamazoo Hackett, Lawton at Martin, 5:00 p.m.
Constantine, Schoolcraft, Holland Black River at Saugatuck, 5:00 p.m.

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