MLB – Major League Baseball Playoffs – Divisional Round – Best of 5
Yesterday
Cleveland Guardians 5, Detroit Tigers 4 (Series tied 2-2)
New York Yankees 3, Kansas City Royals 1 (NYY wins 3-1)
Guardians 5, Tigers 4 – Fry’s 2-run homer, squeeze bunt lead Guardians over Tigers 5-4 and force ALDS Game 5
Pinch-hitter David Fry had a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, then bunted home an insurance run in the ninth to help the Cleveland Guardians force a decisive Game 5 against the Detroit Tigers in their AL Division Series with a 5-4 victory. Cleveland ended a streak of 11 losses in postseason elimination games dating to Game 6 of 1997 World Series. Game 5 is Saturday in Cleveland, with ace Tarik Skubal set to start for the Tigers. The winner advances to the ALCS against the New York Yankees or Kansas City Royals starting Monday.
Yankees 3, Royals 1 – Cole shuts down Royals and sending Yankees back to ALCS with 3-1 win
Gerrit Cole held the Kansas City Royals to a single run over seven innings Thursday night, sending the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory that put them back to the American League Championship Series. The six-time All-Star scattered six hits and struck out four before giving way to the New York bullpen. Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres and Game 3 hero Giancarlo Stanton drove in runs for the Yankees.
Tonight
San Diego (Darvish) at L.A. Dodgers (Yamamoto), 8:08 p.m. (Series Tied 2-2)
Saturday
Detroit Tigers (Skubal) at Cleveland Guardians (TBA), 8:08 p.m. (Series tied 2-2) WSJM 7:40
MLB – Rays say it may take ‘weeks’ to fully assess damage at Tropicana Field
The Tampa Bay Rays say it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida. The team said no one was injured when the St. Petersburg ballpark was struck by the storm on Wednesday night. A handful of “essential personnel” were inside Tropicana Field as the roof panels were blown apart, much of the debris falling on the field and seats below.
NFL – National Football League – Week 6
Last Night
San Francisco 49ers 36, Seattle Seahawks 24
49ers 36, Seahawks 24 – Brock Purdy throws for 3 TDs and the 49ers beat the Seahawks 36-24 and into 1st
Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers never trailed in a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Deebo Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished with three catches for 102 yards for the defending NFC champions. San Francisco improved to 3-3 and moved into a tie with Seattle for first place in the NFC West after an uneven start to the season. George Kittle added five receptions for 58 yards and two scores for the 49ers, who beat the Seahawks for a sixth straight time.
Sunday
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears, 9:30 a.m. (at Tottenham Stadium, London)
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans, 1:00 p.m.
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. Rock 107 WIRX 3:20
NHL – National Hockey League – 2024-25 Season Openers
Last Night
Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Detroit Red Wings 3
Penguins 6, Red Wings 3 – Penguins rebound from opening loss with 6-3 victory over Red Wings
Anthony Beauvillier scored twice, Joel Blomqvist made 29 saves in his NHL debut and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on Thursday night. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, each with two assists, figured in four of the six goals as the Penguins rebounded from season-opening 6-0 home loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. Marcus Pettersson, Erik Karlsson, Kevin Hayes and Drew O’Connor also scored for Pittsburgh. Alex DeBrincat scored twice for the Red Wings in their opener. Vladimir Tarasenko added a goal.
Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Winnipeg Jets, 8:00 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association Preseason
Last Night
Indiana Pacers 129, Cleveland Cavaliers 117
Tonight
Detroit Pistons at Phoenix Suns, 10:00 p.m.
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association Playoffs – WNBA Finals (best of five)
Last Night
Minnesota Lynx 95, New York Liberty 93 – OT (MIN leads 1-0)
Lynx 95, Liberty 93 – OT – Lynx stun Liberty with 95-93 overtime win in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals
Napheesa Collier’s turnaround jumper with 8.8 seconds left lifted the Minnesota Lynx to a 95-93 win over the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. With the game tied in OT, Collier faked in the lane and scored. New York had a chance to tie it but Breanna Stewart’s layup at the buzzer was off. Courtney Williams had 23 points, Kayla McBride 22 and Collier 21 for Minnesota. Jonquel Jones led New York with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Sunday in New York. Before the game, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is expanding the Finals to best-of-seven next year.
WNBA – WNBA to expand Finals to 7-game series next season
The WNBA will expand its Finals next year to a best-of-seven format. The league announced the change on Thursday. The league currently has a best-of-five semifinals and finals in its playoffs with a best-of-three first round. Engelbert said that the better seeded teams will host the first, second, fifth and seventh games. The league also will be changing the opening round to give the lower seeded team at least one home game, with the higher seeded team hosting Game 1, and 3 if it’s necessary.
NCAAFB – College Football – Week 7
Saturday
Miami (OH) at Eastern Michigan, 2:00 p.m.
Akron at Western Michigan, 3:30 p.m.
Stanford at (11) Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.
Ohio at Central Michigan, 4:00 p.m.
Michigan and Michigan State are off this weekend
NCAAFB – No. 11 Notre Dame returns from bye looking to stay on course against Stanford
No. 11 Notre Dame went into its bye week still in the playoff mix. The Fighting Irish came out of the bye in playoff position. After an early-season loss to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame has fought its way back into the postseason conversation. Now it must figure out how to stay there when it hosts Stanford on Saturday. The Cardinal have struggled in the midst of their toughest stretch of the season. Stanford comes to South Bend, Indiana, trying to snap a two-game losing streak.
Tennis – Rafael Nadal will retire from tennis after next month’s Davis Cup finals
Rafael Nadal is retiring from professional tennis at age 38 after winning 22 Grand Slam titles — 14 at the French Open — during an unprecedented era he shared with rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He made the announcement on Thursday. Nadal has competed infrequently the past two seasons because of injuries and said next month’s Davis Cup finals will mark his farewell to the sport. He had hip surgery in 2023 and entered just two of the past eight major tournaments. Nadal’s unrelenting, physical style of play made him one of the greats of the game and the unquestioned King of Clay, the slow, red surface on which he claimed his record 14 French Open championships.
AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Milwaukee Admirals at Grand Rapids Griffins, 7:00 p.m.
ECHL – ECHL Hockey League
Tonight
Toledo Walleye at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00 p.m.
MCCAA – Michigan Community College Athletic Association
Last Night
Women’s Volleyball
Lake Michigan College 3, Glen Oaks Community College 0
Lansing Community College 3, Southwestern Michigan College 0
MHSAA – Cassopolis cancels remainder of football season
In a letter to parents and the Cassopolis community, High School Principal and Athletic Director, Lindsay Gorham-Pflug stated that the rest of the 2024 Cassopolis football season has been cancelled. Cassopolis was 1-5 after the first six weeks of the season. Gorham-Pflug stated that the health, safety and well being of the students remain their top priority as recent injuries made the playing the rest of the 2024 season an unnecessary risk to their athletes. Cassopolis was going to host 5-1 Decatur in the Rangers senior night event during tonight’s game. Instead, they will honor their senior players, band members, and cheerleaders at 7:00 p.m.
MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Last Night
Boys Soccer (District Quarterfinals)
Division 1 at Portage Northern
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 2, Portage Northern 1
Mattawan 3, Holt 1
Portage Central 4, Battle Creek Lakeview 0
Division 2 at Edwardsburg
Lakeshore 3, Paw Paw 0
Division 2 at Grand Rapids Christian
Plainwell 2, Gull Lake 0
Grand Rapids South Christian 8, Hastings 0
Division 3 at Quincy
Three Rivers 3, Hillsdale 2
Olivet 9, Quincy 4
Division 3 at Berrien Springs
Berrien Springs 2, Brandywine 1
Dowagiac 2, Watervliet 0
Division 4 at Bryon Center Zion Christian
Bangor 5, Bloomingdale 1
Girls Volleyball
Edwardsburg 3, Niles 0
Plainwell 3, Otsego 1
Vicksburg 3, Sturgis 1
Three Rivers 3, Paw Paw 0
Buchanan 3, Dowagiac 0
South Haven 3, Berrien Springs 0
Constantine 3, Galesburg-Augusta 0
Gobles 3, Parchment 0
Kalamazoo Hackett 3, Holland Black River 0
Schoolcraft 3, Saugatuck 0
Decatur 3, Centreville 1
Bangor 3, Lawrence 1
Tonight
Football – Week 7 (All games start at 7:00 p.m.)
SMAC
St. Joseph (6-0) at Mattawan (3-3) News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:30
Lakeshore (0-6) at Battle Creek Lakeview (1-5) 97.5 Y-Country WYTZ 6:45
Portage Central (4-2) at Portage Northern (4-2)
Battle Creek Central (1-5) at Kalamazoo Central (4-2)
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (4-2) at Gull Lake (0-6)
Lakeland
Benton Harbor (0-6) at Brandywine (0-6) Live reports on WSJM
Dowagiac (5-1) at Berrien Springs (3-3)
Wolverine
Niles (5-1) at Edwardsburg (4-2)
Otsego (1-5) at Plainwell (1-5)
Vicksburg (2-4) at Sturgis (0-6)
Paw Paw (6-0) at Three Rivers (3-3)
SAC
Lawton (4-2) at Coloma (2-4)
Allegan (2-4) at Watervliet (1-5)
Kalamazoo United (5-1) at South Haven (3-3)
Parchment (5-1) at Constantine (5-1)
Delton-Kellogg (2-4) at Galesburg-Augusta (2-4)
Saugatuck (5-1) at Schoolcraft (5-1)
Southwest 10
Decatur (6-1) defeats Cassopolis (1-6) by forfeit
White Pigeon (6-0) at Centreville (2-4)
Non-Conference
Buchanan (3-3) at Hartford (2-4)
Morley-Stanwood (2-4) at Comstock (0-5)
SWMI 8-Man Conference
Wyoming-Lee (3-3) at Twin Cities (4-2)
GR Northpointe (4-2) at Red Arrow (1-5)
Gobles (6-0) at Martin (5-0)
Fennville (2-4) at Bangor (0-5)
Muskegon Heights (3-3) at Bridgman (3-3)
Eau Claire (2-4) at Marcellus (3-2)