LAKERS NEED WIN TO CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH
Calloway County football closes out the regular season tonight, clinging to the slimmest of hopes for making the 4A Playoffs which begin next week. Due to a lack of officials, this week’s game at Union County was shifted from Friday to tonight. The Lakers are locked in a three-way tie in the District 1 4A standings with Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins with 1-3 marks, so with District play finished, the tiebreaker will come down to RPI. A win over Union County would likely push the Lakers past the Storm for the final playoff spot, but Calloway head coach Chris Champion knows his team must find a way to limit quarterback Cannon Sheffer who has tossed 13 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions. Tonight’s game kicks off at 7:30. Due to limited technical availability, radio coverage tonight will be exclusive on 89.7 WAAJ.
RACER MANIA IS TONIGHT
The Murray State men’s and women’s basketball seasons get underway tonight at 6:30 at the CFSB Center with Racer Mania presented by The Murray Bank. The doors to the arena open at 6 pm for the free event, and kids are encouraged to attend in their Halloween costumes where they can enter Gate-B of the arena and receive candy from several Racer student-athletes representing their sport and wearing their game uniforms. Racer Mania features introductions of both teams, 3-point and dunk contests and a scrimmage. Fans will enjoy performances from Murray State’s spirit groups and mascot, Dunker, as well as other interactions between teams. Due to Covid protocols, there will be no in-person autograph session this year and masks will be required at all times for tonight and for all games. A signed schedule poster will be available for the first 1,000 fans when they enter the arena.
MUSTANGS TO MEET BOMBERS FOR REGION 1 VOLLEYBALL TITLE
In the Region 1 Volleyball Tournament semifinals last night at Ballard Memorial High School, McCracken County advanced to tonight’s 6 pm championship with a 3-0 sweep of Hickman County, and will face Ballard Memorial after the Bombers swept Marshall County 3-0.
MORANT JUST MISSES QUADRUPLE DOUBLE
The Grizzlies were not at their A-game last night in the Pacific Northwest. Memphis lost 116-96 to the Trail Blazers in Portland. Desmond Bane led the Grizz with 19 points and Ja Morant just missed a triple double with 17 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds, but he also had 9 turnovers. Memphis wraps up its west coast road trip tonight against the Golden State Warriors.
COVCATH AND ETOWN ADVANCE TO BOYS SOCCER TITLE GAME
At the KHSAA Boys State Soccer Semifinals last night at Frederick Douglass High School, Covington Catholic blanked Daviess County 1-0, and Dunbar rolled Elizabethtown 4-0. The winners will meet for the championship on Saturday. The girls semifinals are tonight with Henderson County facing South Oldham in the opener, followed by West Jessamine and Notre Dame in the nightcap.
BAILEY TRANSFERRING
Tennessee quarterback Harrison Bailey is leaving the program. Bailey announced his decision to transfer yesterday. He was ranked the number three pro-style quarterback nationally by 247Sports coming out of high school in Georgia. However, he was third on the Vols depth chart earlier this season.
FORMER MEMPHIS DC DIES
College football fans across the South are remembering Joe Lee Dunn. Dunn twice served as defensive coordinator at Memphis and was the head coach at Ole Miss during the 1994 season. Dunn also served as defensive coordinator at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas and South Carolina and played college ball at the University of Chattanooga. Dunn died on Tuesday at age 75.
NASHVILLE ROLLS CINCINNATI
When you score six goal in a MLS match, you rarely lose. That was the case last night when Nashville SC beat FC Cincinnati 6-3 in Ohio. Randall Leal and C.J. Sapong each scored twice, and Walker Zimmerman and Aké Arnaud Loba each found the back of the net once. Nashville is second in the MLS Eastern Conference with 52 points. Up next for Nashville is a road match against Orlando City SC on Sunday.
BLUES HOST COLORADO
The Blues look to remain perfect on the season when they host the Avalanche tonight. St. Louis improved to 5-and-0 after blanking the Kings on Monday. Ryan O’Reilly will be out of the lineup for the Blues for the first time since joining the team in 2018. The Blues captain was added to the COVID-19 protocol list on Tuesday morning.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Astros evened the World Series at one game apiece after earning a 7-2 Game 2 win over the Braves in Houston. The Astros scored four in the second inning to race out to an early lead. Jose Urquidy allowed just two runs over five innings to get the win for the Astros. Travis d’Arnaud homered for the Braves who will host Game Three on Friday.
A heavyweight battle is on tap for Thursday Night Football in the desert. The undefeated 7-and-0 Arizona Cardinals will square off against the 6-and-1 Green Bay Packers. Green Bay has won six straight, but could be without star receiver Davante Adams, who was placed on the COVID list.
The Arizona Cardinals could be losing one of their top defensive players for the season. ESPN reports defensive end J.J. Watt will undergo surgery for his shoulder injury. That will likely put an end to Watt’s season as no date has been set for the surgery. Watt injured his shoulder during the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Former Chicago Blackhawks player Kyle Beach is coming forward as the “John Doe” that filed a lawsuit against the team for mishandling his sexual assault allegations. Beach revealed himself in an interview on TSN saying he felt “relief and vindication” and “it was no longer my word against everybody else’s.” An investigation concluded that nothing was done by senior leaders in Blackhawks’ coaching and management in 2010 after Beach reported that former team video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted and harassed him.
Nikola Jokic underwent medical testing Wednesday with ESPN reporting he had no structural damage in his right knee. The reigning MVP suffered a knee contusion late in the second quarter against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. Jokic had already scored 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting when he went down before halftime of that game.
The Butterfield Bermuda Championship tees off today at the Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton Parish. Defending champion Brian Gay opens the tournament in a group with Parker McLachlin, Tommy Gainey, Sepp Straka, Camilo Villegas, and Nick Taylor. The opening round will feature less than the expected 132 players due to a combination of travel issues, COVID-19 protocols, and a long-term weather forecast.
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB Playoffs
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Houston Astros 7, Atlanta Braves 2
(Best-of-seven World Series tied, 1-1)
NBA
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Charlotte Hornets 120, Orlando Magic 111
Washington Wizards 116, Boston Celtics 107
Miami Heat 106, Brooklyn Nets 93
Toronto Raptors 118, Indiana Pacers 100
Atlanta Hawks 102, New Orleans Pelicans 99
Minnesota Timberwolves 113, Milwaukee Bucks 108
Oklahoma City Thunder 123, Los Angeles Lakers 115
Sacramento Kings 110, Phoenix Suns 107
Portland Trail Blazers 116, Memphis Grizzlies 96
Cleveland Cavaliers 92, LA Clippers 79
NHL
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Florida Panthers 4, Boston Bruins 1
Detroit Red Wings 3, Washington Capitals 2 (OT)
Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Dallas Stars 2 (OT)
Philadelphia Flyers 5, Edmonton Oilers 3
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NFL
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8:20 p.m. – Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
MLB Playoffs
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No Games Scheduled
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at Philadelphia 76ers
7:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards
8:00 p.m. – New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls
8:00 p.m. – Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets
8:30 p.m. – San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks
10:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Arizona Coyotes at Tampa Bay Lightning
7:00 p.m. – Calgary Flames at Pittsburgh Penguins
7:00 p.m. – Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes
8:00 p.m. – Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues
10:00 p.m. – Philadelphia Flyers at Vancouver Canucks
10:00 p.m. – Buffalo Sabres at Anaheim Ducks
10:00 p.m. – Minnesota Wild at Seattle Kraken
10:30 p.m. – Winnipeg Jets at Los Angeles Kings
10:30 p.m. – Montreal Canadiens at San Jose Sharks
NCAA College Football (Top-25 Coaches’ Poll)
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7:30 p.m. – #24 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers host Troy Trojans
PGA
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Butterfield Bermuda Championship (at Southampton, Bermuda)
