Sam Ebbert of St. Joseph High School Track is the WSJM Sports Berrien County Student Athlete of the Week for the week of May 23, 2021.

At the Division 1 MITCA Team State Meet, Sam placed 3rd overall in the Pole Vault at 10’3”. She also placed 10th overall in the 300 Meter Hurdles with a time of :51.29 and 17th in the 100 Meter Hurdles with a time of :18.27. She also ran a leg for the 400 Meter Relay Team. Earlier in the season, she broke the school record in the Pole Vault with a mark of 10’10”.

Sam is an academic letter winner at St. Joe and has won a Silver Key for her digital art at the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. In the classroom, she carries a 4.0 grade point average.

Sam is the daughter of Kris and Sean Ebbert of St. Joe.

Another finalist for the week was Lauren Koch of St. Joe Track.

Catch Phil McDonald's conversation with Sam below...

 

 

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MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Chicago White Sox 4, Detroit Tigers 1

San Francisco Giants 7, Chicago Cubs 2

White Sox 4, Tigers 1 – Moncada, Lamb homer as White Sox beat Tigers 4-1 behind Lynn

Yoán Moncada and Jake Lamb hit two of Chicago’s four home runs to back Lance Lynn, Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa closed in on John McGraw for second on baseball’s career wins list, and the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1. Moncada and Lynn connected in the first two innings as Chicago grabbed a 2-0 lead. Yasmani Grandal made it 3-1 with a 457-foot drive to right-center against Casey Mize. Tim Anderson added a solo shot in the eighth off Daniel Norris. La Russa picked up career victory No. 2,762 to move within one of McGraw, and the White Sox won for the eighth time in 11 games.

Giants 7, Cubs 2 – Crawford's 3-run HR propels Giants past Cubs 7-2

Brandon Crawford homered and drove in four runs, Anthony DeSclafani pitched six solid innings and hit an RBI double, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2. Buster Posey and Alex Dickerson added two hits apiece to help the Giants win the opener of the four-game series between two of the hottest teams in the National League. San Francisco has won seven of nine to improve to an NL-best 35-21.

Tonight

Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.                 94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 7:50

Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants, 9:45 p.m.

MLB – Name game: Final list set of possible successor to Indians

The Cleveland Indians now have a final list of new names for their team. They are vetting them for legal purposes after months of research and discussions with fans. The team announced in December it is changing its name for the first time since 1915. The move came after an acknowledgment that the existing name was racist and demeaning to some people. The team began meeting with groups of fans in February. Nearly 1,200 potential names were offered. That list was whittled down, although it's not clear how many made the final cut. Owner Paul Dolan told The Associated Press in December the new name will not have any Native American themes. Among the most popular names pushed on social media are the Spiders, Guardians and Avengers.

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 – Best of 7

Last Night

Boston Bruins 2, New York Islanders 1 – OT                               (BOS leads 2-1)

Carolina Hurricanes 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – OT                    (TBL leads 2-1)

Tonight

Montreal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets, 7:30 p.m.                          (MTL leads 1-0)

Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights, 10:00 p.m.           (COL leads 2-0)

NHL – Scheifele gets four-game ban

The NHL has handed down a four-game suspension to Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele for charging Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup second round series on Wednesday.  The incident occurred as Evans scored an empty-net goal in the final minute of the Canadiens’ 5-3 victory. Scheifele was assessed a major penalty for charging and game misconduct.  If the term of the suspension is not fully served during the playoffs, the remaining game will be served at the beginning of next season.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Round 1 – Best of 7

Last Night

Denver Nuggets 126, Portland Trailblazers 115                        (DEN wins 4-2)

Phoenix Suns 113, Los Angeles Lakers 100                                 (PHX wins 4-2)

Last Night

Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas Mavericks, 10:00 p.m.                  (PHX leads 3-2)

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association

Last Night

Phoenix Mercury 77, Chicago Sky 74 – OT

Los Angeles Sparks 98, Indiana Fever 63

Even though the school year hasn't officially ended yet, spot are filling up for next season for St. Joe Rocket Football.  Camps and training activities are planned for the coming weeks.  Phil McDonald talks with members of St. Joe Rocket Football as they look ahead to the upcoming season...

 

A daily local and regional update from WSJM Sports...

 

MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Chicago Cubs 6, San Diego Padres 1

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, PPD Rain

Tigers were off

Cubs 6, Padres 1 – Baez, Rizzo lead surging Cubs past Padres 6-1

Javier Báez lined a two-run homer, Anthony Rizzo had two doubles among three hits and the surging Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 on for their third straight win and ninth in 10 games. Baez’s shot to the left-field bleachers was his 14th homer and third in three games, and it capped a three-run seventh that allowed Chicago to put it away. Rizzo drove in two runs in the fifth with his first double to snap 1-1 tie and posted a second-straight multihit game after missing the previous six with back tightness.

White Sox at Indians – White Sox-Indians postponed by rain; doubleheader Sept. 23

The Cleveland Indians have postponed Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox because of rain. The teams will play a split doubleheader on Sept. 23. The Indians had been given permission by the state of Ohio to return to full capacity at Progressive Field starting Wednesday. Cleveland’s next home game is June 11 against Seattle. Chicago leads Cleveland by 2½ games in the AL Central.

Tonight

Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.                 94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 7:50

Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants, 9:45 p.m.

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 – Best of 7

Last Night

Montreal Canadiens 5, Winnipeg Jets 3                                       (MTL leads 1-0)

Colorado Avalanche 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 – OT                  (COL leads 2-0)

Tonight

Boston Bruins at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.                         (Series tied 1-1)

Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m.                (TBL leads 2-0)

NHL – Last-place Sabres win draft lottery; Kraken get No. 2 pick

The Buffalo Sabres won the NHL draft lottery and the expansion Seattle Kraken jumped up the order to take the No. 2 pick Wednesday night. The Sabres have the No. 1 pick for the fourth time in franchise history and second in three years. It marks a turnaround for a team that finished last in the overall standings for the fourth time since 2013-14, and lost the draft lottery in both 2014 and ’15. The Kraken were seeded third with New Jersey, and jumped ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, who will be selecting third overall. The two-day draft will be held virtually for a second consecutive year, with the first round being held on July 23.  Detroit will draft 6th. Chicago 11th.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Round 1 – Best of 7

Last Night

Philadelphia 76ers 129, Washington Wizards 112                      (PHI wins 4-1)

Atlanta Hawks 103, New York Knicks 89                                    (ATL wins 4-1)

Utah Jazz 126, Memphis Grizzlies 110                                        (UTA wins 4-1)

Dallas Mavericks 105, Los Angeles Clippers 100                        (DAL leads 3-2)

Last Night

Denver Nuggets at Portland Trailblazers, 8:00 p.m.                    (DEN leads 3-2)    

Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m.                          (PHX leads 3-2)

NBA – Detroit Pistons hire John Beilein in player development role

The Detroit Pistons have hired John Beilein as a senior adviser for player development. Beilein is a former coach at Michigan, where his teams made nine trips to the NCAA Tournament in his 12 seasons. He left to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers, but resigned last year after just 54 games. The Pistons say they are counting on Beilein to help develop their young roster under head coach Dwane Casey.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association

Tonight

Benton Harbor High School has found it's new varsity football coach.  Long time assistant Sheldon Nelson has been hired to lead the Tigers' program.  Phil McDonald caught up with Coach Nelson to talk about his new post.  Catch their conversation below...

 

A daily local and regional update from WSJM Sports...

 

MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Detroit Tigers 10, Milwaukee Brewers 7

Cleveland Indians 6, Chicago White Sox 5

Chicago Cubs 4, San Diego Padres 3

Tigers 10, Brewers 7 – Haase, Schoop each homer twice as Tigers beat Brewers 10-7

Eric Haase and Jonathan Schoop each hit two home runs, Miguel Cabrera had three RBI and the previously light-hitting Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-7, ending Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak. Milwaukee’s Kolten Wong and Tyrone Taylor also hit two homers apiece in a game that saw nine home runs.

Indians 6, White Sox 5 – Abreu grounds out with bases loaded, Indians hold off Chisox

AL MVP Jose Abreu grounded out with the bases loaded to blunt a ninth-inning rally against Cleveland closer James Karinchak, giving Shane Bieber and the Indians a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. Bieber allowed two earned runs in seven innings, striking out seven to beat the AL Central-leading White Sox for the second time this season. Down 6-3 in the ninth, Chicago scored twice as Zack Collins and Nick Madrigal hit RBI singles off Karinchak. A walk loaded the bases for Abreu, who grounded out to shortstop.

Cubs 4, Padres 3 – Wisdom, Contreras HR as surging Cubs top Padres

Patrick Wisdom hit his third homer in two games, Willson Contreras also went deep and the surging Chicago Cubs beat San Diego 4-3. He hit a fly to left field in the sixth inning and was replaced at shortstop in the bottom half by Ha-Seong Kim. The NL Central-leading Cubs won for the eighth time in nine games and kept up their strong play coming off a 19-8 May. Wisdom, who homered twice in Monday’s win, and Contreras each hit a long two-run drive against Ryan Weathers. Victor Caratini and Tommy Pham homered against winner Kyle Hendricks.

Today

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians, 1:10 p.m.

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

Tigers are off

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 – Best of 7

Last Night

Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1                            (TBL leads 2-0)

Tonight

Montreal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets, 7:30 p.m.                          (Game 1)

Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche, 10:00 p.m.           (COL leads 1-0)

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association

Last Night

Phoenix Mercury 84, Chicago Sky 83

Seattle Storm 88, Indiana Fever 73

Mercury 84, Sky 83 – Nurse hits game-winning 3 a step inside half-court line

Kia Nurse sank a 3-pointer a step inside the half-court line as time expired and the Phoenix Mercury closed on a 14-3 run to beat the Chicago Sky 84-83. Phoenix trailed 80-70 with 3:37 to play, but Chicago would not make another field goal the rest of the way. Megan Walker made two free throws with 29.9 seconds left to pull Phoenix within 83-80, and Kahleah Copper had a shot roll off the rim at the other end. Nurse grabbed the rebound, dribbled down the court and eluded a defender at midcourt for an open look from distance. Nurse went to her knees as her teammates rushed in to celebrate.

Storm 88, Fever 73 – Seattle beats Indiana for Noelle Quinn's 1st win at helm

Breanna Stewart scored 28 points, Jewell Loyd added 18 with five assists, and the Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 88-73 for coach Noelle Quinn’s first victory. Quinn took over on Sunday after Dan Hughes abruptly announced his retirement, saying the rigors of being a head coach in the WNBA has taken a toll. Sue Bird had 12 points and eight assists for Seattle (6-1), which has won four straight games. The Storm made 11 3-pointers, four from Loyd, and 21 of 24 free throws. Teaira McCowan had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Indiana.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Round 1 – Best of 7

A daily local and regional update from WSJM Sports...