RACERS VISIT #7 CINCINNATI
Murray State gets its greatest challenge of the 2021 season when the Racers face Cincinnati tomorrow afternoon at 2:30. Racer head coach Dean Hood says the Bearcats are a legit top-10 team, led by a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Desmond Ridder. Airtime will be at 2 pm tomorrow from Nippert Stadium on Froggy 103.7. Also on Saturday, Samford is at UT Martin, Austin Peay visits Ole Miss, Kentucky hosts Missouri, EKU visits Louisville, Western Kentucky plays Army on the road, and Pittsburgh is at Tennessee.
RACER SOCCER FALLS IN BLOOMINGTON
Murray State soccer fell to 4-2 on the season after a 4-0 loss at Indiana last night. The Racers return to action at 5 pm Sunday at Kentucky.
LAKER FOOTBALL HOSTS MARSHALL COUNTY
It’s homecoming night for Calloway County as the Lakers host 2-1 Marshall County tonight at 7. The Lakers are looking for back-to-back wins on the season as well as over Marshall County, after a 33-0 win last year in Draffenville. Calloway head coach Chris Champion indicates the Marshal offense has improved since last fall. The game is on the air at 6:30 on 104.5 WBZB.
MURRAY HIGH VISITS UNBEATEN UNION COUNTY
Murray High football is on the road at 3-0 Union County after opening the season with two straight wins. Tigers head coach Darren Bowling says he expects to see a good mix from the Braves offense. Airtime is set for 6 tonight on WNBS AM and FM.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER SCORES
Calloway County 4, Hopkins County Central 0 (2A Sectional)
Webster County 4, Paducah Tilghman 0 (2A Sectional)
Murray High 7, Hopkinsville 1
McCracken County 4, Mayfield 0
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER SCORES
Calloway County 3, Trigg County 0 (2A Sectional)
Paducah Tilghman 5, Hopkins Central 1 (2A Sectional)
Murray High 2, McCracken County 2
Lyon County 5, Webster County 0
Hopkinsville 2, Caldwell County 0
HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL SCORES
Webster County 3, Calloway County 1 (2A Sectional)
(14-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21)
Murray High 3, Livingston Central 0
(25-3, 25-14, 25-7)
Marshall County 3, Ballard Memorial 2
(21-25, 25-22, 16-25, 27-25, 15-13)
Graves County 3, Paducah Tilghman 2
(12-25, 27-25, 30-28, 34-32, 5-15)
Carlisle County 3, Fulton City 0
(25-16, 25-21, 25-18)
Community Christian 3, St. Mary 0
(25-16, 25-19, 25-20)
Hickman County 3, Fulton County 1
(22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-22)
Ft. Campbell 3, Trigg County 1
(13-25, 25-12, 25-6, 25-18)
CARDINALS DOWN DODGERS
Tyler O’Neill smacked the go-ahead home run in the fifth as the Cardinals held on to beat the Dodgers 2-1 at Busch Stadium. Andrew Knizner added an RBI double for St. Louis, which split the four-game set. The Cards host the Reds tonight with time-shifted coverage beginning after Murray High football.
RACER VOLLEYBALL, CROSS COUNTRY, AND TENNIS IN WEEKEND ACTION
The 3-3 Murray State volleyball team is playing in the Eagle Invitational, host by Georgia Southern. The two-day tournament will also feature FIU with matches set for today and tomorrow…The Murray State men’s and women’s cross country programs will travel to Florence, Alabama today for the North Alabama Invitational…Murray State Tennis will start its season this weekend with a pair of matches against Belmont at Bennie Purcell courts on Saturday and Sunday…
WILLIAMS AMONG 15 FORMER OVC PLAYERS ON NFL ROSTERS
As the 2021 NFL season begins this week, 15 former Ohio Valley Conference players find themselves on NFL rosters for the season. That number includes seven active players, six practice squad members and two on injured reserve. Former Murray State linebacker Quincy Williams begins this year with the New York Jets. Last year he had 11 tackles in seven contests.
TITANS READY FOR CARDINALS
The Tennessee Titans will play their season opener on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium. The Titans are about a field-goal favorite over the Arizona Cardinals. The Titans went 2-and-1 in the preseason. The game is set for Noon.
MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
In Minor League Baseball, the Memphis Redbirds fell to the Sounds 5-0 in Nashville, and the Bats beat the Indianapolis Indians 6-3 in Louisville. Those series continue tonight.
NASHVILLE SC AT MONTREAL
Nashville SC players will have to break out their passports this weekend. Nashville is headed to Canada for a road match against CF Montreal tomorrow night. Nashville is third in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with 38 points.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The defending Super Bowl Champions started the season with a win. Ryan Succop kicked the go-ahead field goal in the waning seconds as the Buccaneers edged the Cowboys 31-29 in Tampa. Tom Brady threw for 379 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in the win. Rob Gronkowski finished with two touchdowns while Antonio Brown had 121 receiving yards and a TD. Dak Prescott finished with 403 passing yards, three touchdowns, and a pick in his return for the Cowboys.
The Ravens lost both cornerback Marcus Peters and running back Gus Edwards to season-ending knee injuries. The NFL Network reports both players suffered torn ACLs in practice on Thursday. Edwards was due to start at running back in Monday’s season-opener against the Raiders following season-ending injuries to J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill. With Edwards out, that leaves 2020 undrafted free agent Ty’Son Williams as Baltimore’s lead back.
It’s time to back the Brinks Truck up to the Watt compound. The Steelers made T.J. Watt the highest paid defender in the NFL. According to reports, the Steelers are giving Watt a four-year deal worth 112-million dollars. Watt will receive 80 million guaranteed. The star pass rusher has had double-digit sacks each of the last three seasons.
It’s a battle of bitter rivals and state bragging rights in Ames, Iowa this Saturday. 10th-ranked Iowa State will host number-12 Iowa. In addition, third-ranked Ohio State will host 11th-ranked Oregon in a non-conference battle. Top-ranked Alabama will look to feast on Mercer, while second-ranked Georgia welcomes UAB to Athens. It’s a holy war out west as 18th-ranked Utah visits BYU.
The NASCAR playoffs continue this Saturday in Richmond. Denny Hamlin has already punched his ticket to the next round after an exciting win in Darlington last week. Kyle Larson will be on the pole for the race as he looks to move onto the round of 12. Hamlin will join him up front. Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
It’s officially a battle of the teens in the women’s US Open final. 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez and 18-year-old Emma Raducanu will face one another after each upset a number of seeded opponents in the tournament. Fernandez booked her trip to the final with a three-set defeat of Number-2 seed Aryna Sabalenka. On the men’s side, top-seeded Novak Djokovic squares off with Number-4 seed Alexander Zverev in the Semifinals on Friday. Opposite that in the tournament’s action is 12th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime playing Number-2 seed Daniil Medvedev.
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NFL
——-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Dallas Cowboys 29
MLB National League
——-
St. Louis Cardinals 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1
Miami Marlins 3, New York Mets 2
Colorado Rockies 4, Philadelphia Phillies 3
Atlanta Braves 7, Washington Nationals 6 (10)
MLB American League
——-
Oakland Athletics 3, Chicago White Sox 1
Cleveland Indians 4, Minnesota Twins 1
Kansas City Royals 6, Baltimore Orioles 0
Toronto Blue Jays 6, New York Yankees 4
WNBA
——-
Connecticut Sun 75, Los Angeles Sparks 57
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
——-
2:20 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs
6:35 p.m. – Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates
7:05 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies
7:20 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves
8:15 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals
10:10 p.m. – San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB American League
——-
7:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles
7:10 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers
8:10 p.m. – Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros
8:10 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at Chicago White Sox
8:10 p.m. – Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins
9:40 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics
MLB Interleague
——-
7:10 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians
7:10 p.m. – New York Yankees at New York Mets
10:10 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Seattle Mariners
NCAA College Football (Top-25 Coaches’ Poll)
——-
7:30 p.m. – #19 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers host Kansas Jayhawks
WNBA
——-
7:00 p.m. – Atlanta Dream at Washington Mystics
8:00 p.m. – Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx
