Murray State welcomes SEMO for home opener Saturday night.
THURSDAY SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP
BOYS GOLF
Oakhill Country Club
HICKMAN COUNTY (155) – Brett Johnson 35, Clayton Bradshaw 37, Brett Mitchell 41, Colton Ray 42.
MURRAY (156) – Jordan Smith 35, Jay Roth 38, Jared Henderson 41, Blake Graham 42.
At Hickman Country Club
MAYFIELD (154) – Trey Whitnell 38, J.D. Kincer 38, Marc Wynstra 39, Jacob Wilkins 39.
FULTON COUNTY (203) – Javon West 35, Clay Guess 46, Ryne Choate 60, Madison Uzzle 62.
GIRLS GOLF
Oakhill Country Club
HICKMAN COUNTY (195) – Kelsey Grubbs 44, Cameron Bizzle 47, Makayla Keene 51, Allison Wilson 53.
MURRAY (202) – Earlena Sheets 46, Beth Graham 48, Hannah Williams 53, Sarah McDowell 55.
RACERS READY FOR SEMO
The Racers final prep for their home opener Saturday vs SEMO. You can hear the game on Froggy beginning at 5:30
BRAUN SINKS CARDS
Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer and drove in four as the Brewers bombed the Cardinals 8-1 in the rubber match of a three-game set in Milwaukee. Albert Pujols hit his 36th homer of the season in the first inning to stake St. Louis to a 1-0 lead, but Milwaukee scored three in the third and four in the fourth to take control. Jaime [[ HIGH-me ]] Garcia gave up seven runs in four frames to fall to 13-and-7. St. Louis remains six games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central.
It may be the last stand for the Cardinals if they are to make one final playoff push. The Redbirds open a four-game series against the Braves in Atlanta tonight as 17-and-10 Adam Wainwright opposes 7-and-4 Jair Jurrjens. The Cardinals trail the Braves by six-and-a-half games in the NL Wild Card race. St. Louis also sits behind both San Francisco and Colorado in the wild card standings. The Cards will close the season with four games at home against the Rockies. Airtime tonight is 5:27 on 1340 WNBS.
Notably absent from the Cardinals' Wednesday finale in Milwaukee was left-handed reliever Trevor Miller. Miller flew back to St. Louis yesterday to have his ailing left elbow examined. An MRI revealed no ligament damage, but the 37-year-old veteran was diagnosed with a strained left forearm. Miller is expected to be sidelined anywhere from one-to-three weeks.
Memphis won their eighth straight Pacific Coast League playoff game with a 7-5 win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday night at AutoZone Park. The Redbirds grabbed the lead in the third inning and never trailed again. Joe Mather tied the game with a solo home run and Donovan Solano gave the 'Birds a two-run advantage with a single to right field. The 'Birds host Game Two tonight
RAMS OKAY FOR LOCAL TV
The Rams' home-opener against the Arizona Cardinals will be shown on local television Sunday. Despite some tickets remaining, the "Post-Dispatch" cites sources as saying the Rams will have met NFL requirements for a sellout by today's deadline. NFL teams must have a sellout 72 hours in advance of kickoff to have the local TV blackout lifted. Meanwhile, the Rams have named running back Steven Jackson and safety Oshiomogho Atogwe team captains.
PREDS SIGN FRANSON
The Nashville Predators signed defenseman Cody Franson to a two-year contract worth $1.6-million on Wednesday. The 23-year-old compiled six goals and 21 points in 61 games during his rookie season, adding a plus-15 rating. A former third-round pick of the Preds in 2005, Franson tied for fourth in points and third in goals among first-year blueliners in franchise history. Franson, a native of British Columbia, won a gold medal in the 2007 World Championships with Canada, and also was part of a Memorial Cup title squad while in juniors.
WEDENSDAY SPORTS
CALHOUN NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Former Murray State All-America left hander Daniel Calhoun was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 5, the league office announced Tuesday. Over that week, Calhoun appeared in three games and went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He tossed six shutout innings, striking out six and walking only one. The lefty has been very strong in the second half of the season. In 22 appearances since the break, Calhoun is 6-0 with a 2.74 ERA. He fanned 47 and walked only nine over that span. For the season, Calhoun is 10-0 with a 3.75 ERA. He has struck out 83 and walked 19 in 96 innings. He leads the team in wins and appearances (37). Calhoun and the Quad Cities River Bandits open the Midwest League playoffs Wednesday evening as they take on the Kane County Cougars.
KANTER STATUS NOW IN DOUBT
Kentucky recruit Enes Kanter received more than $100,000 in cash and benefits while he played for a professional team in Turkey, the club’s general manager told The New York Times. The 6-foot-11, 272-pound Kanter is one of the top prospects in Kentucky’s highly rated recruiting class. A spoksmen said the Turkish team provided housing for Kanter and his family for more than three years. It also gave him food and pocket money, and paid Kanter more than $6,500 a month in salary during his final season.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP
GIRLS SOCCER
Murray High 4 Graves County 1
Mayfield 3, Calloway 0
Hopkinville 6 Marshall County 1
Heath 3, Lone Oak 0
Trigg County 5, Ft.Campbell 3
BOYS SOCCER
Graves 3, Murray 2 (A.K. Bokeno and Alex Ward scored goals for the Tigers)
Calloway County 3 St. Mary 0
Heath 4 Lone Oak 2
VOLLEYBALL
Community Christian Academy edged Calloway County (5-10) 25-8, 22-25, 25-23.
Ballard Memorial (11-4) over Mayfield (2-8) in La Center 25-4, 25-6.
Hickman County (5-5) beat Fulton County (0-5) 25-23, 25-12
BOYS GOLF
at Oak Hill Country Club
HICKMAN COUNTY (160) - Brett Johnson 32, Clayton Bradshaw 37, Colton Ray 45, Brett Mitchell 46.
BALLARD MEMORIAL (167) - Blake Pendergrass 37, Clay Arnel 42, Drew Myers 42, Chase Laster 46.
CARLISLE COUNTY (194) - Zach Lyell 43, Alex Case 47, Travis Mills 48, Quinton Brower 56.
at Mayfield Graves County Club
MAYFIELD (165) - Robbie Parsons 39, Trey Whitnell 39, Marc Wynstra 41, JonDaniel Kincer 46, Jacob Wilkins 46.
MURRAY (169) - Jordon Smith 38, Jay Roth 41, Blake Graham 45, Ian Holmes 45.
GIRLS GOLF
at Oak Hill Country Club
HICKMAN COUNTY (193) - Cameron Bizzle 45, Allison Wilson 46, Makayla Keene 47, Audrey Jenkins 55.
CARLISLE COUNTY (268) - Madison Derousse 59, Jenna Babb 66, Sydney Hicks 71, Abby Lyell 72.
at Mayfield Graves County Club
MURRAY (233) - Earlena Sheets 51, Beth Graham 57, Hannah Williams 61, Grace Campbell 64.
MAYFIELD (no team score) - Macy Forester 51, Harris Hale 67, Mary Arnett 70.
MASTHAY A PACKER
Murray High School graduate Tim Masthay will be kicking in the NFL this season after the former University of Kentucky punter made the final Green Bay Packers roster. He will also be the holder on place-kicks. Former Murray State University defensive end Austen Lane will play his rookie season at the same position for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lane became the Racers’ highest NFL draft pick ever last year, going to the Jaguars in the fifth round. The Baltimore Ravens added Paducah Tilghman graduate Hunter Cantwell to their practice squad after the Carolina Panthers him. The Houston Texans cut former Murray State wide receiver Derrick Townsel on Saturday, though Townsel is expected to make the team’s practice squad. The San Francisco 49ers cut Murray High School graduate Shane Andrus on Saturday and he is looking to land with another team.
HOFFMAN SAVES 600TH AS BREWERS SINK CARDS
Casey McGehee [[ McGee ]] went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Trevor Hoffman recorded his 600th career save as the Brewers beat the Cardinals 4-2 in Milwaukee. Chris Narveson struck out nine over seven innings of two-run ball for his 11th win. Hoffman, the all-time saves leader, allowed a hit in the ninth before shutting the door. Kyle Lohse [[ Loash ]] allowed all four runs in five frames to fall to 2-and-7. Yadier Molina and Colby Rasmus each had RBI singles for St. Louis.
The Cardinals and Brewers will play the rubber match of their three-game series this evening at Miller Park. Jaime Garcia, who is 13-and-6, will oppose Milwaukee's Chris Capuano, who is 2-and-3. Last night's loss dropped the Cardinals to 72-and-64 on the season, but they remain six games behind the Reds in the NL Central as Cincinnati fell 4-3 at Colorado. St. Louis is five-and-a-half games behind the Braves for the NL Wild Card. The Cards play at Atlanta starting tomorrow. Airtime for tonight's game is 6:27 on 1340 WNBS.
The Cardinals recalled infielder Tyler Greene from Triple-A Memphis before last night's game against the Brewers. Greene got the start at shortstop and went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. He was pinch-hit for in the ninth by Aaron Miles, who grounded out to shortstop. Overall this season, Greene is batting .257 with two home runs and eight RBI in 29 games with St. Louis.
The Memphis Redbirds begin their quest for back-to-back Pacific Coast League championships tonight as they welcome in the Oklahoma City RedHawks to AutoZone Park for the opener of a best-of-five playoff series. The 'Birds won their regular season finale, 7-6, against the Iowa Cubs on Monday to lock up their spot in the postseason. Brandon Dickson is expected to get the nod against Guillermo Moscoso in tonight's opener. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. The Redbirds beat the Sacramento River Cats to take the PCL title last season.
NO BLACKOUTS FOR TITANS
The Titans say they won't have any home games blacked out on local television this season. "USA Today" surveyed every franchise in the league, and Tennessee said they have sold out all eight home games. The NFL keeps home games from being broadcast in a team's local market if the contest isn't sold out 72 hours before kickoff. According to the paper, the league expects to see an increase in blackouts this season. Twenty-two games were not broadcast in local markets around the league last year. You can hear the Titans opener against the Raiders on Sunday at 11am on Froggy 103.7. On WOFC at 11:30, hear the Colts battle the Texans on the NFL Game of the Week.
RAMS UPDATE
After trading for Ravens wide receiver Mark Clayton, the Rams made room for him on the 53-man roster by cutting wide receiever Keenan Burton. Meanwhile, the Rams signed running back Allen Patrick to the practice squad Tuesday. Also, the "Post-Dispatch" reports the Rams have about 2,000 tickets remaining for Sunday's season-opener against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. It must be sold out by Thursday afternoon to be shown on local television.
Sports Lunch
