Monday Morning Sports Update-08/09/2021

white-sox-cubs-baseball

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Chicago White Sox 9, Chicago Cubs 3
Cleveland Indians 7, Detroit Tigers 5

White Sox 9, Cubs 3 – White Sox sweep Cubs at Wrigley as Jiménez drives in 5 runs
Eloy Jiménez drove in five runs with two home runs and a double, and the Chicago White Sox beat the crosstown Cubs 9-3 for their first sweep of a three-game series at Wrigley Field since May 2012. Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn hit two-run shots after Tim Anderson led off the game with a solo drive as the White Sox hit the ball hard off Zach Davies in a five-run first-inning. The outburst gave the AL Central leaders a fast start on a warm night with the wind blowing out at the iconic ballpark. Anderson also finished with three hits as the White Sox won their fourth straight and moved 10 ½ games ahead of second-place Cleveland. The Cubs have dropped four straight and 10 of 12.

Indians 7, Tigers 5 – Cabrera gets day off; Zimmer HR lifts Indians past Tigers
Miguel Cabrera got a planned day off as he closes in on his 500th career home run and the Cleveland Indians defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-5. Bradley Zimmer’s two-run homer off Erasmo Ramírez broke a seventh-inning tie.  Cabrera has 498 homers and didn’t play as part of Detroit manager A.J. Hinch’s plan to help his slugger get through the season. Bryan Shaw pitched the seventh for the win and Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his second save of the series and 16th of the season.

Tonight
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins, 8:00 p.m.
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.
Tigers are off

MLB – Another COVID positive for Yankees
Newcomer Anthony Rizzo has become the latest Yankees player to test positive for the coronavirus. The first baseman tested positive after Saturday’s game against Seattle. He went 0 for 4 in the Yankees’ 5-4 victory. Rizzo is the fourth New York player within the past week to be sidelined by COVID-19, joining starting pitchers Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery and catcher Gary Sánchez. Rizzo is off to a quick start since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 29. He is hitting .281 with three homers and six RBIs in nine games for New York. The Yankees recalled Luke Voit from the injured list to take Rizzo’s roster spot.

Hall of Fame – Peyton’s Place is Hall of Fame, with Woodson, Megatron
Peyton’s Place is now in Canton, Ohio, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only five-time NFL MVP and a two-time Super Bowl winner who left the game five years ago with a slew of passing records was enshrined with other members of the class of 2021. The stadium rocked with cheers from fans in Colts blue or Broncos orange _ the two franchises he took to the top _ when Manning was introduced. Joining Manning in this year’s class were two other first-time eligibles, defensive back Charles Woodson _ who beat out Manning for the 1997 Heisman Trophy _ and receiver Calvin Johnson.

Hall of Fame – Versatile DB Charles Woodson enters Hall of Fame
For 18 seasons, whether playing cornerback or safety, Charles Woodson was as dependable as they come.  And now he has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 1998 Defensive Rookie of the Year with Oakland who won Defensive Player of the Year honors 11 years later as a Packer, Woodson never cared where he played as long as he was on the field. Wherever he was, as Aaron Rodgers said, Woodson “understood his craft” perfectly. Woodson, who spent 11 seasons with the Raiders and seven with Green Bay, where he won a Super Bowl, had 65 interceptions and also was a dynamic punt returner. In a emotionally charged speech, Woodson cited his family — mother, father, brothers, sister, wife, children — and told them, “Without you, I’m not here.”  “Football is what I did, but these people I mentioned are who I am. Build your legend.  “We’re in the Hall of Fame, baby.”

NFL – Indianapolis locks up Leonard with richest LB contract
Darius Leonard has agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Indianapolis Colts worth $99.25 million, making him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. The terms were confirmed to The Associated Press by a person with knowledge of the deal.  The deal keeps Leonard off the 2022 free-agent market and means the Colts have locked up their two biggest offseason priorities in the past two weeks. Right tackle Braden Smith signed his extension in late July.

NBASL – NBA Summer League
Yesterday
Oklahoma City Thunder 76, Detroit Pistons 72
Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers, PPD

Today
Chicago Bulls vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 3:00 p.m.

NCAAFB – Bobby Bowden, who led Florida State football dynasty, dies at 91
College football is mourning the loss of one of its greatest coaches. Bobby Bowden has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His son, Terry, says his father died at home in Tallahassee, Florida, surrounded by family early Sunday morning. He was 91. Bowden led Florida State to two national championships and a record of 315-98-4 during his 34 seasons with the Seminoles. In all, Bowden had 377 wins during his 40 years in major college coaching. His teams, no stranger to scandal, won national titles in 1993 and 1999 and came close several other times. He was selected for the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Services are scheduled for Saturday at the Donald L Tucker Center, Florida State’s basketball arena.

Soccer – Messi breaks down, says he wasn’t ready to leave Barcelona
An emotional Lionel Messi said in his farewell to Barcelona that he wasn’t adequately prepared to leave the club. Messi began crying even before he started speaking in his farewell ceremony at the Camp Nou Stadium on Sunday. He said “this is very hard for me after so many years, after being here my entire life.” Messi called his unexpected departure from the club “the most difficult” moment of his career. Messi’s family and some of his teammates were at the Camp Nou for the player’s farewell. Messi avoided talking specifically about his future. He says he received offers from several clubs.

Golf – PGA – Abraham Ancer of Mexico wins FedEx St Jude Invitational
Abraham Ancer of Mexico won the FedEx St. Jude Invitational on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns with a 6-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole of a playoff. Ancer won the World Golf Championships event at TPC Southland after Burns’ 5 1/2-foot putt — on the same line as Ancer — lipped out. Ancer closed with a 2-under 68 to match Matsuyama and Burns at 16-under 264. Matsuyama shot a 63, and Burns had a 64. Third-round leader English, the 2013 champion at TPC Southwind, was a stroke back after a 73.

Knock it off! Loud pickleball games annoy some in Michigan
Some residents in a northern Michigan community are complaining about noise during summer nights. Is it rowdy teens? No, it’s adults playing pickleball. Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula won’t restrict pickleball hours at four courts. The city manager had suggested ending games at 6 p.m., but 20 players attended a recent council meeting to object. Roxanne Hudson, who lives next to the courts in Iron Mountain, says she and her husband “just want to move.” Pickleball is played on courts that resemble tennis courts but are much smaller. Players use wood paddles and plastic balls. Scott McLure, speaking on behalf of players, says they might try quieter paddles.

MILB – Minor League Baseball – High-A Central
Yesterday
South Bend Cubs 10, Peoria Chiefs 5
Dayton Dragons 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 4
Lansing Lugnuts 12, Lake County Captains 4
Fort Wayne Tin Caps 6, Great Lakes Loons 3

Tonight
No games tonight

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

U.S. leads medal counts as Olympics close
The closing ceremony was held at the Tokyo Games on Sunday as the International Olympic Committee now prepares for the Winter Games in just a few months.  The United States wound up finishing first in both medals tables despite a few mild disappointments in competition. The Americans picked up 39 gold medals, one more than China and 12 better than Japan. The total medal count for the U.S. was 113, 25 more than China.  The Americans also outpaced all countries with 41 silver medals and 33 bronze.

Fewer medals, more heart for US at a most unusual Olympics
The Americans won 113 medals at the Olympics. It was the fifth straight Summer Games at which they finished with a double-digit lead over the next country. Still, it was not 121 medals, which is what they won five years ago in a Rio de Janeiro with fewer events. But when the U.S. athletes voted for a flagbearer at the closing ceremony, medals didn’t matter. They chose four-time Olympian Kara Winger, a javelin thrower who has never won any hardware. In doing so, they tapped into the core message resonating inside a fractured, fractious U.S. Olympic family over the last few years: The medals shouldn’t matter as much as the athletes who compete.

Paris calling: After Tokyo, Olympians hanker for 2024 Games
Thickets of restrictions at the pandemic-hit Tokyo Games severely crimped the experience for Olympians. That also left athletes hankering to do it all again — but without limitations and social distancing — in Paris in 2024. If the coronavirus is tamed by then, the Paris Games could quickly become the party games. Already, there is palpable pent-up eagerness among athletes to make up for Tokyo and its disappointments. Toughest for many Tokyo Olympians was not being accompanied to Japan by their loved ones. Also frustrating for them were limits on their movements and interactions to curb coronavirus infections. U.S. skateboarder Mariah Duran said she anticipates “a whole new energy” in the French capital.

Volleyball – US women beat Brazil to win 1st Olympic volleyball gold
The decades-long quest for the first Olympic gold medal for the U.S. women’s volleyball team ended when the Americans finally broke through with a straight-set victory over Brazil. The United States had won three silver medals and two bronze since first getting on the medal stand in 1984. It got to the top step at the Tokyo Games by beating the team that denied it a chance at gold in the final match of the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Serbia beat South Korea to win the bronze medal.

Basketball – What’s next for USA Basketball women’s program
The U.S. women’s team will look very different at the 2024 Paris Games as the group will try and keep its Olympic streak going with an eighth consecutive gold medal. Five-time gold medalist Sue Bird is retired from international basketball now and her longtime backcourt partner Diana Taurasi is undecided if she’ll continue to play. The Americans will also have a new coach as Dawn Staley says she’s also done. USA Basketball also needs to find a new leader for the women’s program as national team director Carol Callan is stepping away as all. There’s more uncertainty than the women have faced in some time and they have a short time to figure everything out with the World Cup set for next fall in Australia.

IOC gives itself more power to remove sports from Olympics
The IOC has given itself more power to remove sports from the Olympic program. The International Olympic Committee voted in the new powers amid prolonged issues with the leadership of weightlifting and boxing. Both sports already had their quota of athletes cut for the 2024 Paris Olympics and weightlifting could be dropped entirely. Olympics rules were amended so the full IOC membership can remove a sport if its governing body does not comply with a decision made by the IOC executive board or if it “acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic movement.” The executive board can also now temporarily suspend a sport or event discipline.