MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 2, Seattle Mariners 1
Cubs and White Sox were off
Tigers 2, Mariners 1 – Javier Báez hits 2-run HR in 8th, Tigers hold M’s to 1 hit and cap 3-game sweep with 2-1 win
Javier Báez hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers held the Seattle Mariners to one hit and rallied for a 2-1 win to complete a three-game sweep. The teams were playing for the sixth time in nine days. Detroit won two of three last week in Seattle. The Mariners got seven scoreless innings from their starter for the second game in a row and once again handed the lead to Yimi García. On Wednesday, he allowed Kerry Carpenter’s tying homer in what ended up a 3-2 loss in 10 innings. Shelby Miller (6-7) earned the victory with 1 1/3 hitless innings of relief. Jason Foley pitched the ninth for his 16th save in Detroit’s fourth straight win.
Bryce Miller allowed two hits in seven innings for Seattle, striking out nine. The Mariners scored four runs total in the three-game series.
Tonight
Toronto (Rodríguez 1-5) at Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 3-10), 2:20 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Cole 3-2) at Detroit (TBD), 6:40 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:15
Chicago White Sox (Crochet 6-9) at Houston (Arrighetti 5-10), 8:10 p.m.
MLB – Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg says he is cancer-free
Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg says he is cancer-free. The Chicago Cubs great made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday, nearly seven months after he announced he had metastatic prostate cancer. Sandberg says he “Rang the Bell this morning!” He thanked his family, friends, medical team and fans for their support. Sandberg has kept well-wishers updated on his progress through an Instagram account and said last month that scans showed no signs of cancer. Sandberg hit .285 with 282 homers, 1,061 RBIs and 344 steals in 16 seasons in the majors. He made his big league debut with Philadelphia in 1981 and appeared in 13 games with the Phillies before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs in January 1982.
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night
Phoenix Mercury 85, Chicago Sky 65
Mercury 85, Sky 65 – Kahleah Copper scores 29 in her return to Chicago as the Mercury beat the Sky, 85-65
Kahleah Copper scored 29 points in her return to Chicago, Brittney Griner had 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five blocks and the Phoenix Mercury beat the short-handed Sky 85-65. Copper, the 2021 Finals MVP, was 12 of 19 from the field in her first game against Chicago since being traded in February. Copper scored 13 points in the first quarter, on 5 of 8 shooting, to help Phoenix build a 30-12 lead. Copper finished the half with 18 points and Griner added 12 as the Mercury extended their lead to 50-28 at the break. The Mercury led by double figures for the entire second half.
Tonight
Phoenix at Indiana, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Chicago at Los Angeles, 5:00 p.m.
Sunday
Seattle at Indiana, 3:30 p.m.
WNBA – Indy to host 2025 WNBA All-Star Game
Indianapolis will host the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse next July. This year’s game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 16,407 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and the television audience of 3.44 million made it the most-watched WNBA All-Star Game. Indianapolis will host the event for the first time. The All-Star Game will be played July 19. A 3-point shooting contest and skills challenge will be held July 18. The Indiana Fever lead the WNBA in attendance at just under 17,000 per game, fueled by rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.
NCAAHKY – Wrigley Field will host a pair of college hockey doubleheaders
Wrigley Field will host two college hockey doubleheaders in January after the NHL’s Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues is played there on New Year’s Eve. The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series will be played Jan. 3-4 and will feature three men’s games and one women’s game. The men’s games are Penn State vs. Notre Dame and Ohio State vs. Michigan on Jan. 3 and Wisconsin vs. Michigan State on Jan. 4. Defending national champion Ohio State will play Wisconsin in a women’s game on Jan. 4.
NFL – National Football League Preseason
Last Night
Philadelphia Eagles 14, New England Patriots 13
Saturday
Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears, 1:00 p.m.
Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:00 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals at Indianapolis Colts, 7:00 p.m.
NFL – Jennifer King was a successful basketball coach, couldn’t pass up NFL opportunity
Jennifer King was a champion women’s basketball coach when she made a tough decision to pursue a career in football. She hasn’t had to look back. Within three years of switching sports, King became the first Black female full-time coach in the NFL when Washington hired her as an assistant running backs coach. She spent three seasons with the Commanders before joining Matt Eberflus’ staff with the Chicago Bears this year as an offensive assistant, focusing on running backs. King is one of 15 women who are full-time coaches in the NFL this season, a new league record.
NFL – Harbaugh says Kaepernick will not be a player or coach with the Chargers this year
If Colin Kaepernick wants to join the Los Angeles Chargers, it will not be until next year at the earliest. And it will only be as an assistant coach according to coach Jim Harbaugh. “I love Colin, but he’s not going to be on the coaching staff, which is set for this year. And he’s not going to be playing on the roster either,” Harbaugh said after Thursday’s practice. Harbaugh told USA Today Sports earlier this week that he reached out to Kaepernick about joining his Chargers’ staff shortly after being named coach on Jan. 24. Kaepernick, who turns 37 on Nov. 3, still has hopes of returning to the playing field, despite not playing since 2016. He told Britain’s “Sky Sports News” during the recent Paris Olympics that he is still training.
NCAASWM – Notre Dame suspends men’s swimming one year after NCAA gambling violations
Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming program for at least one year after an external review found members of the team violated NCAA rules by wagering among themselves on results of their competitions. The review also found that team members failed to “treat one another with dignity and respect.” Athletic director Pete Bevacqua said in a statement Thursday that not all team members participated in the poor conduct and that coach Chris Lindauer and his staff fully cooperated with the review. Members of the team will be permitted to transfer, though NCAA sanctions would follow those found to have broken rules against gambling.
Soccer – Mauricio Pochettino negotiating to become U.S. soccer coach
A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. Soccer Federation are working toward a deal for him to be the men’s national team coach. Pochettino formerly coached Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. The person says Pochettino has agreed to become the U.S. coach but no final deal has been reached. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t complete. Pochettino is a 52-year-old from Argentina. He would succeed Gregg Berhalter, less than 22 months before the Americans host the 2026 World Cup. The USSF declined to comment.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Great Lakes 4, Lake County 2 – Game 1
Great Lakes 4, Lake County 1 – Game 2
Lansing 6, West Michigan 5
South Bend 6, Cedar Rapids 4
Tonight
Great Lakes Loons at Lake County Captains, 7:00 p.m.
West Michigan Whitecaps at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Cedar Rapids Kernels, 7:35 p.m.
MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Saturday
Boys Soccer
Justin Bailey Memorial Soccer Shootout at Portage Central
Portage Northern vs. Grand Ledge, 9:00 a.m.
St. Joseph vs. Rockford, 10:15 a.m.
Vicksburg vs. Grand Ledge, 10:15 a.m.
Portage Central vs. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 9:00 a.m.
St. Joseph vs. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 11:30 a.m.
Portage Central vs. Rockford, 12:45 p.m.
Portage Northern vs. Grand Rapids Union, 12:45 p.m.
Traverse City West vs. Mattawan, 2:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix vs. Sturgis, 2:00 p.m.
Bangor vs. Paw Paw, 3:15 p.m.
Bangor vs. Sturgis, 4:30 p.m.
Plainwell vs. Traverse City West, 4:30 p.m.
East Lansing vs. Mattawan, 5:45 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix vs. Paw Paw, 5:45 p.m.
