Sports News

WCLT Sports for Sunday August 29, 2010

Indians vs. Royals Asdrbal Cabrera led off the 10th inning with a home run to give the Cleveland Indians a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. Cabrera hit a 2-1 pitch from right-hander Jesse Chavez into the right-field seats. The Indians won their third straight and moved within a game of fourth-place Kansas City in the AL central. The Royals have lost four of five. Chris Perez, the fifth pitcher used by Indians manager Manny Acta, worked a scoreless 10th for the win.

Cubs vs. Cincinnati

Kosuke Fukudome hit a tiebreaking, two run homer off Bronson Arroyo, and the Chicago Cubs finally ended years of futility against the right-hander winning 3-2 at Cincinnati last night. Fukudome’s homer in the fifth inning sent Arroyo (14-8) to his first loss against the Cubs since 2007. Arroyo had won his last five decisions against Chicago, including his two starts this season. Randy Wells got a victory on his 28th birthday....his first win since July 23. Wells limited the NL’s top offense to five hits and a pair of runs in six innings, including Joey Votto’s solo homer. Chicago’s bullpen allowed only one hit, with Carlos Marmol pitching the ninth for his 24th save in 29 tries. It was Chicago’s fourth win in 15 games against Cincinnati this season.

Indians vs. Tigers

Armando Galarraga continued his season-long dominance of the Cleveland Indians, pitching seven shutout innings to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-0 victory last night. Galarraga, facing the Indians for the first time since his near-perfect game on June 2, started just as quickly this time. He retired the first 14 Cleveland hitters before Jayson Nix’s double just over the glove of left fielder Don Kelly.Until that point, Galarraga had retired 41 of the 42 Indians hitters he had faced this season. The only one to reach base had been Jason Donald, who was mistakenly called safe by first-base umpire Jim Joyce on what would have been the 27th out of Galarraga’s perfect game.

Reds vs. Dodgers
Homer Bailey pitched seven solid innings in his second start for the suspended Johnny Cueto, Brandon Phillips backed him with three hits and three RBIs and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 yesterday for their season-high seventh straight victory. The win, coupled with St.Louis’ home loss to San Francisco, increased Cincinnati’s lead in the NL central to 4 ½ games__the Reds’ largest margin since May 18, 2002, when they held a five-game lead before finishing in the third place. They are seeking their first division title since 1995, when they swept the Dodgers in the first round of the postseason. Bailey (3-2) allowed a run and four hits, struck out six and walked two in his second outing after coming off the disabled list.

Reds vs. Cubs

Jay Bruce was a one-man wrecking crew for the red-hot Cincinnati Reds in their 7-1 beating of the Chicago Cubs. Bruce homered in three straight at-bats and drove in five to help the Reds post their 10th victory in their last 13 games. Bruce hit a solo homer and a three-run shot off left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, who lasted only five innings. He added a solo shot in the seventh off reliever Scott Maine, giving him three homers in a span of five pitches. Bruce has 16 homers this year. This was Chicago’s first loss since manager Lou Piniella retired on Sunday and was replaced by Mike Quade. The win maintained the Reds’ four-game lead over St.Louis in the NL Central.

Football News

Browns vs.Lions

Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown pass, rookie Jahvid Best had a 51-yard run and Aaron Brown scored twice in the fourth quarter to lift the Detroit Lions to a 35-27 win over the Cleveland Browns in a pre-season game Saturday night/ Stafford was 13 of 17 for 141 yards and connected with Bryant Johnson in the end zone on Detroit’s first drive. Jake Delhome was 20 of 25 for 152 yards and a TD for the Browns. Cleveland Rookie Colt MC Coy fumbled on his first drive to set up a lead-padding touchdown for the Lions. Browns defensive back Nick Sorenson was able to move his arms and legs after being taken off the field on a backboard in the second quarter.

The Cleveland Browns have signed free agent offensive lineman John Malecki. The Browns, who will open their exhibition season on Saturday in Green Bay, also waived tight end Joel Gamble.

Bills vs. Bengals Rookie running back C.J. Spiller scored twice in leading the Buffalo Bills to a 35-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in a pre-season game Saturday night. The Bengals could take consolation out of quarterback Carson Palmer’s performance. He engineered a pair of touchdown drives in the three series he played. Palmer opened with a 9-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham, and then hit Chad Ochocinco for a 6-yard touchdown reception.

Bengal's Ghee Injured

Bengal’s rookie cornerback Brandon Ghee has been carted off the field after a violent helmet-to-helmet collision with Buffalo Bills running back Chad Simpson. The injury occurred when Ghee lowered his helmet in a bid to stop Simpson on a 2-yard run. Ghee dropped to the ground and lay there face-down as Bills trainers immediately attended to him. The Bengals announced that Ghee sustained a head injury and had movement in both his arms and legs. Ghee is the team’s third-round draft pick out of wake forest.

Browns....Jackson Injured

Browns starting inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson has sustained his second chest muscle injury in 10 months. Jackson did not re-injure the muscle he tore last season when he missed 10 games Tuesday night. Team spokesman Neal Gulkis said Jackson injured his opposite pectoral muscle during the evening practice. The severity of Jackson’s new injury is not known. He has undergone several tests and will have more done, Gulkis said Wednesday. Jackson is one of the Brown’s most well-liked players.

On a day when the National Weather Service advised people to avoid prolonged work in the sun, the Ohio State Buckeyes spent two hours in full pads battling the high humidity while the temperature inched into the mid-90s.

And things are going get even worse.

The Buckeyes, not so fresh from their first day of full contact, begin two-a-day drills on Wednesday.

Even the best conditioned athletes are physically stressed when the mercury rises and every breeze feels like a steaming towel is passing in front of your face.

But workouts in such weather are mandatory and actually bring a team closer because of the shared misery. The Buckeyes open their season on Sept. 2 against Marshall.

Bengals....Leonard Injured
The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t sure how much time running back Brian Leonard will miss because of an injured left foot. Leonard hurt the foot on Saturday during a 16-7 loss to Dallas in the hall of fame game. He initially feared he had torn ligaments and might have to miss the season. Coach Marvin Lewis said on Wednesday that he’s optimistic Leonard will be able to play at some point during the season.

Eagles vs. Bengals Terrell Owens put some bite back into the Bengals’ offense. Owens caught a 43-yard pass along the sideline, setting up the only touchdown by Cincinnati’s starting offense last night in a 22-9 preseason victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles couldn’t keep up with the 36-year-old receiver. Owens caught a perfect throw from Carson Palmer along the right sideline, stretching over Joselio Hanson to pull it in before going out of bounds at the 6-yard line. Bernard Scott ran it in on the next play. Owens had three catches for 67 yards in the first half, and ran 1 yard on a reverse.

The Big East has three new coaches facing three drastically different challenges.

At Cincinnati, Butch Jones is again following Brian Kelly and trying to keep a good thing going. Skip Holtz has the task of mending a South Florida team fractured by scandal. As for Charlie Strong, his job is to rebuild Louisville, a program that has plummeted since peaking four years ago.

How each new leader responds could have a major effect on the league title race, because while none of these teams are considered favorites, the Big East has proved to be a conference where teams can quickly rise and fall.

Cincinnati can attest to that. The Bearcats are coming off consecutive Big East titles and BCS appearances, unprecedented success

Due in part to Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, college players will no longer be able to use eyeblack to show their allegiances to bible verses, their hometown area codes, or pro quarterbacks who promoted dogfighting. Now the NCAA says no messages of any kind are allowed, and the ban starts this season.

OSU News Ohio State University has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a company of trying to print unauthorized programs for athletic events. The lawsuit accuses GDS Marketing, Inc. of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and cyberpiracy. Ohio State says the Wisconsin-based company owns the web domain www.buckeyeillustrated.com. University spokesperson Jim Lynch says the company declared its intent to produce electronic versions of gameday programs, along with printed versions for distribution in Columbus. He said the lawsuit asks for a temporary restraining order and also seeks to shut down the website. Lynch said the school is obligated to protect its trademark from unauthorized use.

NFL

Cleveland Browns starting cornerback Eric Wright has injured his right leg during practice.

Wright got hurt during 7-on-7 drills about halfway through the Browns' morning workout Tuesday. He was attended to on the sideline by trainers, who put an ice wrap on Wright's leg. He limped to the team's training facility for further treatment.

Wright's injury appeared to be to his hamstring.

A second-round pick in 2007, Wright had four interceptions last season. If he is out for any extended period, rookie Joe Haden would likely take his spot.

 Tennis

Kim Clijsters is turning Cincinnati into her kind of town. The defending U.S. open champion reached the semifinals at the Cincinnati open on Friday, beating Italy’s Flavia Penetta 7-6, 6-4 in oppressive afternoon heat.

Basketball News

The Mid-American Conference extended its contract to hold its basketball tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena for another six years. The men’s and women’s tourneys will be at the Q at least through 2017. The MAC has held its conference tournaments in Cleveland since 2000. The previous contract was set to expire following the 2011 tournament. The tournament is scheduled from March 9-12. Ohio won last season’s MAC tourney title and Bowling Green won women’s as both schools earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.

Crew

Robert Warzycha is coming back next year as the coach of the Columbus Crew. He was originally coach midway through the 2005 season, and was one of the best plyers in Crew history before joining the coaching staff nine years ago.

Crew vs. FDC

FC Dallas set a major league soccer record for going unbeaten on the road and extended its overall undefeated streak to 12 with a 0-0 tie against the Columbus Crew on Saturday. Dallas has gone 3-0-7 in its past 10 away matches to break the mark held by the Crew and Chicago Fire. FCD has seven wins and five ties in its past 12 games to move into third in the Western conference. Columbus remains first in the East.

Cincinnati Semifinals

Unseeded Mardy Fish survived triple-digit temperatures and two tiebreakers to edge fourth-seeded Andy Murray and move into the Cincinnati masters semifinals with a grueling 6-7 (7), 6-1, 7-6 (5) win yesterday. Fish clinched the upset when Murray smacked a forehand into the net, becoming the first unseeded player to reach the Cincinnati semifinals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2007. Murray needed frequent rubdowns on both legs during changeovers, but took a 4-2 lead in the second tiebreaker. Fish then won four straight points, the last when Murray sent a forehand passing shot wide and then slammed a ball out of the stadium in frustration. Fish will play either ninth-seeded Andy Roddick or second-seeded Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

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