Show notes
MLB – Major League Baseball Yesterday Houston Astros 21, Chicago White Sox 5 Chicago Cubs 3, Baltimore Orioles 2 Tigers were off Astros 21, White Sox 5 – Bregman 2 HRs, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, Astros trample Chisox 21-5 Alex Bregman hit two homers and two doubles, driving in a career-high six runs and powering the Houston Astros past the Chicago White Sox 21-5. Houston’s run total tied for the second most in team history — the Astros scored 23 against Baltimore in 2019. The Astros wound up with 25 hits as Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Christian Vazquez tied career highs with four each. McCormick, who had five RBIs, and Trey Mancini homered the AL West leaders. White Sox second baseman Josh Harrison pitched the ninth inning and allowed four runs and six hits in his third mound appearance of the season. The Astros won for the sixth time in their last eight games. Cubs 3, Orioles 2 – Contreras hits 2 homers, Cubs outlast contending O’s 3-2 Willson Contreras hit a pair of homers, Adrian Sampson pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2. Contreras had his 10th multi-homer game, which ranks second among Cubs catchers behind Gabby Hartnett who had 14. Sampson allowed four hits with six strikeouts and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, earning his first win since last Sept. 14 at Philadelphia. Rafael Ortega also homered for the Cubs, who have won five of seven. Brandon Hughes picked up his first career save by getting a double play on a soft liner by Cedric Mullins in the ninth. Today Milwaukee (Ashby 2-10) at Chicago Cubs (Thompson 9-5), 2:20 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Lynn 3-5) at Cleveland (McKenzie 8-9), 7:10 p.m. L.A. Angels (Sandoval 3-8) at Detroit (Manning 0-0), 7:10 p.m. WSJM/WCSY 6:50 MLB – Dodgers TV reporter injured sliding down Bernie’s Chalet Dodgers television and radio reporter David Vassegh said he broke two bones in his right wrist and cracked six ribs when he tumbled and crashed into the padding at the end of his slide down “Bernie’s Chalet." He was injured going down the same slide Milwaukee mascot Bernie Brewer uses to celebrate home runs by the home team. Vassegh says he went down the slide twice Wednesday. The first time, he was filmed at the top of the slide, and everything went fine. The second time, he was filmed at the bottom, and that’s when his right arm crashed into the padding. NFL – National Football League – Preseason Week 2 Last Night Chicago Bears 27, Seattle Seahawks 11 Bears 27, Seahawks 11 – Smith, error-prone Seahawks struggle in 27-11 loss to Bears Geno Smith did little to distinguish himself in his battle with Drew Lock for Seattle’s starting quarterback job as the sloppy Seahawks fell 27-11 to the Chicago Bears in the second preseason game for both teams. The Seahawks had planned to start Lock but turned to Smith when Lock tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. That meant another opportunity for Smith, but his uninspired performance suggests Lock still has a chance to win the job. Smith finished 10 of 18 for 112 yards and was hampered by teammates’ mistakes while playing the first half. Second-year Bears quarterback Justin Fields made a brief appearance and led a field-goal drive. Saturday Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts, 1:00 p.m. NFL – Browns’ Deshaun Watson suspended 11 games, fined $5 million Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will serve an 11-game unpaid suspension, pay a $5 million fine and undergo required professional evaluation and counseling following accusations of sexual misconduct by two dozen women. Watson was accused of sexually harassing and coercing women during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Houston Texans. The league had sought to ban him for at least one year for violating its personal conduct policy. Watson’s suspension begins Aug. 30, when he won’t be allowed at the team’s facility. He may return for the Browns’ game on Dec. 4 in Houston. Cleveland traded for the three-time Pro Bowler in March, signing him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract WNBA – WNBA Playoffs – Round 1 (Best of three) Saturday New York Liberty at Chicago Sky, 12:00 p.m. (NYL leads 1-0) NHL – Nazem Kadri signs 7-year, $49M deal with Calgary Flames Gritty forward Nazem Kadri has signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Calgary Flames. He leaves the Colorado Avalanche after helping them win the Stanley Cup last season. He had a career year with 87 points in 71 regular-season games and kept that going into the playoffs with seven goals and eight assists sandwiched around a broken thumb. Kadri was considered the second-best NHL free agent available after winger Johnny Gaudreau, who left for Columbus. NCAA – Big Ten – B1G deal: Big Ten lands $7 billion, NFL-style TV contracts The Big Ten has announced its new, seven-year media rights deal with Fox, NBC and CBS that is believed to be the richest ever struck with a college sports conference. A person familiar with the contracts tells The Associated Press that the conference’s soon-to-be 16 member universities eventually will share more than $1 billion in revenue per year. Starting in 2024, when USC and UCLA join the conference, Big Ten football Saturdays will be structured similar to the NFL. That means three marquee games being carried in consecutive time slots on three different major TV networks. NCAAFB – 2022 NCAA rules changes address targeting, faking injuries College football players penalized for targeting now can have part of their punishment appealed under new NCAA rules. Players flagged for making an above-the-shoulder hit in the second half of a game must sit out the first half of the following game. This season the national coordinator of officials can take a second look at the call. If the call is determined to be made in error, the player will be allowed to play in the first half the next game. There also are new rules pertaining to players faking injuries to stop the clock and blocking below the waist. NCAA – NCAA asks members for help with NIL violation investigations NCAA officials have sent a letter to members updating them on enforcement’s staff pursuit of “potential violations” of the name, image and likeness compensation policy. The association emphasized the need for schools to aid investigations. The email says NCAA enforcement staff is “actively investigating potential abuses of NIL transactions and we’ll allege any substantiated concerns as soon as possible.” The NCAA in 2020 lifted its ban on athletes earning money for things like endorsement and sponsorship deals, social media posts and personal appearances. Golf – PGA/LIV – Judge sets January 2024 trial for LIV Golf suit against tour Players from Saudi-funded LIV Golf who have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour will be waiting nearly 16 months for the case to go to trial. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman has set the trial for Jan. 8, 2024. Depending on whether LIV attorneys proceed with a preliminary injunction that means PGA Tour players who have been suspended for signing with the rival league could go through another year of not being allowed at tour events. LIV attorneys say they will need discovery material from nine players. That indicates two players have asked out of the lawsuit. Tennis – US Open champs get $2.6 million, total compensation $60M The U.S. Open singles champions will receive $2.6 million this year, with total player compensation for the Grand Slam tournament surpassing $60 million for the first time. A larger portion of that total is being allocated to the earlier rounds, the U.S. Tennis Association announced. That decision came following input from the men’s and women’s tour player councils. The champions will earn less than the $3.9 million in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic, but players losing in the first or second round will earn around $20,000 more. The U.S. Open begins on Aug. 29 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. NASCAR – Kurt Busch to miss final 2 races of NASCAR’s regular season Kurt Busch will miss the final two races of NASCAR’s Cup regular season. The driver of the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing made the announcement on social media. The former Cup champion was injured in a crash during the final round of qualifying at Pocono in late July and has missed four races suffering from concussion-like symptoms. Ty Gibbs will continue to fill in for Busch at Watkins Glen on Sunday and in the regular-season finale at Daytona the following week. Busch said he hoped to be cleared to compete when the playoffs begin in September at Darlington. LLWS – Boy hurt in fall at Little League World Series alert, walks The family of a 12-year-old Little League World Series player from Utah who sustained a head injury after falling from the top bunk of his bed at the dormitory complex says he has been moved from intensive care and is able to walk with support. Easton Oliverson, a pitcher and outfielder for the Snow Canyon team out of Santa Clara, Utah, suffered the injury Monday and was originally listed in critical condition. But a post on an Instagram account the family set up to share updates said he is back in a standard hospital room and can communicate with his parents. Little League International also approved the team’s decision to add Easton’s brother to the roster in his place. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Last Night Lake County Captains 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 South Bend Cubs 6, Beloit Sky Carp 1 Great Lakes Loons 12, Lansing Lugnuts 3 Tonight Beloit Sky Carp at South Bend Cubs, 5:35 p.m. (Doubleheader) Lake County Captains at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Great Lakes Loons at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m. HS Sports – Utah officials secretly investigated female athlete’s gender A Utah high school athletics association secretly investigated a female athlete without telling her or her parents after receiving complaints from the parents of two girls she had defeated in competition questioning whether the girl was transgender. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah High School Activities Association and the girl’s high school determined she in factr female after poring through her school records dating back to kindergarten. The investigation happened as at least 12 Republican-led states including Utah passed laws banning transgender women or girls in sports. Utah’s ban faces a court challenge. MHSAA – High School Sports Last Night Boys Soccer Bridgman 7, Brandywine 1 Howardsville Christian 5, Bangor 3 Battle Creek Academy 4, Bloomingdale 0 Tonight Boys Soccer Michigan Lutheran at Kalamazoo Heritage Christian, 5:00 p.m. New Buffalo at Bangor, 6:00 p.m. Coloma at Comstock, 5:00 p.m. Otsego at Wayland, 5:45 p.m.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.