Taylor Makowsky (Photo by Dave Winder)
RACERS FALL TO LIONS
Murray State softball wrapped up non conference play yesterday with an 11-0 loss at North Alabama. It was the Lions first game since April 11th, but the offense responded with a pair of grand slams to push the Racers record to 19-26 overall. Sierra Gilmore doubled as part of a two-hit performance to lead the Racers offensively, turning in her team-leading 16th multi-hit outing of the season in the defeat. Taylor Makowsky took the loss to drop to 5-3 on the season, surrendering four earned runs over 2.1 innings of work while recording a strikeout. The Racers will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Cape Girardeau for a crucial three-game OVC series with Southeast Missouri.
RACER MBB ADDS BURNS
Murray State men’s basketball has announced the signing of DJ Burns for next season. The 6-7 forward out of New Orleans, Louisiana, joins the Racers from Southern University and will have three seasons to play at Murray State. Racer head coach Matt McMahon called Burns a productive forward who plays with great energy and toughness. In his 2019-20 freshman season, Burns saw action in 32 games averaging 8.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in just over 18 minutes a night. In the shortened season of 2020-21, Burns only played six games with 9.3 points and rebounds per game. Burns delivered 18.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game his senior season, leading his high school team to a 35-4 record. He was named the 2019 Nola.com Metro Player of the Year, First Team 3A-All State, and USA Today All-Louisiana First Team.
NICHOLS LEAVES MSU FOR RADFORD
Murray State head men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon is looking for a new assistant. After six seasons with the Racers, Shane Nichols is headed back to his hometown of Radford, Virginia to join his brother, Darris, who was named head coach at Radford last week after serving as an assistant at Florida. Nichols helped McMahon go 123-64 overall with three regular-season titles.
HOWELL SIGNS LOI WITH SEWANEE
Murray High’s Mary Browder Howell has signed a Letter of Intent to play golf at Sewanee: The University of the South. The private Episcopal liberal arts college is located in Sewanee, Tennessee between Nashville and Chattanooga. Howell will also be a Wilkins Scholar at Sewanee and at her signing ceremony this week, said she looked forward to the opportunities she will have both in the classroom and on the golf course.
MSU SEND TWO ATHLETES TO SPAIN’S U23 NATIONALS
The Murray State Track & Field and Cross Country program will have two student-athletes competing in Spain’s U23 Track & Field Outdoor Nationals in June. Lucia Herrero-Yanez and Jorge Ruiz have both qualified for the National Outdoor Track & Field Championships in multiple events, which will take place on the southern coast of Spain on June 19 and 20. Herrero-Yanez has qualified for the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash and the 400 meter dash in both the U23 and the Overall division while Ruiz qualified for the U23 5K and 10K races.
JUSTUS TAKES ARIZONA STATE JOB
Kentucky men’s basketball assistant coach Joel Justus has accepted an assistant coach position at Arizona State and will depart UK after seven seasons on staff. Arizona State announced the move on Wednesday. With Justus on staff, UK totaled 187 wins, five NCAA Tournament appearances, a Final Four berth, three Elite Eight runs, four SEC regular-season championships and four SEC Tournament titles over the last seven seasons.
GRIZZLIES STUMBLE AT HOME
In an important game for their playoff push, the Grizzlies were blown out by the Trail Blazers at home, 130-109. Jonas Valanciunas led the team in scoring with 19 points. Ja Morant was held to just 10 points on three-of-11 shooting, but chipped in eight assists. With the win, the Blazers move two-and-a-half points clear of the Grizzlies for seventh in the West, and bump Memphis into an eighth-place tie with the Spurs while the Warriors lurk a half-game back. They start a back-to-back home-and-home pair with the Magic tomorrow.
CARDS LOSE TO PHILLIES
The Cardinals gave up four unanswered runs in a 5-3 loss to the Phillies in St. Louis. The Cards built a 3-1 lead going into the fifth, but starter Johan Oviedo lost the lead, and the bullpen then allowed two more runs as the Phillies rallied through the seventh. Tyler O’Neill and Paul Goldschmidt homered for St. Louis is the loss. The Cardinals and Phillies will wrap up their four-game series this afternoon at 12:15 with airtime at 11:20 this morning on WNBS AM and FM
BLUES DOWN WILD
The St. Louis Blues rallied with three goals in the third period to take a 4-3 road win over the Minnesota Wild. The teams meet again tonight at 7.
NFL DRAFT BEGINS TONIGHT; TITANS PICK 22ND
The 2021 NFL Draft begins tonight in Cleveland with the first round. The Titans hold the 22nd overall pick. Titans wide receiver A-J Brown is angling for the team to take an old college teammate of his that selection: Ole Miss wideout Elijah Moore, who would fill the team’s need for a slot receiver.
PAUL TAKES NEW JOB
Former Racer Dwayne Paul has been named head basketball coach for the Hayden High boys basketball team in Topeka, Kansas. Paul comes from Lebo High School where he was the boys varsity coach and the school’s Athletic Director. His college basketball career began in Mesquite, Texas at Eastfield College and he went on to play at Murray State under Billy Kennedy. After college, he played for the East Kentucky Miners. His career path took him to Emporia where he was the assistant Men’s Basketball coach from 2013 to 2018.
GIBSON NAMED HEAD COACH AT DEFIANCE COLLEGE
Josh Gibson was named on Wednesday as the head men’s basketball coach at Defiance College in Ohio. Since 2012, the Murray native has served as a head coach at both the NCAA Division II and NAIA levels. Before becoming a head coach at Brescia, Urbana, and Lourdes, Gibson served as the director of basketball operations at Murray State, including 2011-12 when the Racers went 31-2 overall, making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Gibson graduated from Murray State in 2003.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The 2021 NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Cleveland. The Jacksonville Jaguars hold the top pick and are expected to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Jets have the second pick, followed by the 49ers, Falcons, and Bengals.
Antonio Brown is returning to Tampa for another Super Bowl run. Brown’s agent told NFL Network it’s a one-year deal worth up to 6.25-million dollars. ESPN reports the Bucs also restructured tight end Cameron Brate’s contract to clear some cap room for the move.
The Carolina Panthers are trading quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to Denver. The Panthers receive a sixth-round pick in the NFL Draft, which kicks off tonight in Cleveland. Broncos GM George Paton says despite the move, the team will still be looking at quarterbacks in the draft. Denver holds the ninth overall pick.
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is joining some elite company. The right-hander struck out nine Red Sox batters to reach 59 through his first five starts of the season, which ties the record set by Nolan Ryan. The Mets went on to lose the game 1-0.
Phillies fans are breathing a sigh of relief after star Bryce Harper left last night’s 5-3 win in St. Louis after taking a fastball to the face. Harper was plunked in the sixth inning but was able to leave the field on his own. He said after the game he was “all good” and CT scans came back clear.
Chris Paul was serenaded with MVP chants as he helped seal the Suns’ first playoff berth since 2010. “CP3” posted 28 points and 10 assists to lead Phoenix past the L.A. Clippers 109-101 at home. The Suns remain one game behind Utah for the best record in the NBA. They will host the Jazz tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Miami Marlins 6, Milwaukee Brewers 2
Los Angeles Dodgers 8, Cincinnati Reds 0
Atlanta Braves 10, Chicago Cubs 0
Philadelphia Phillies 5, St. Louis Cardinals 3
San Diego Padres 12, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
San Francisco Giants 7, Colorado Rockies 3
MLB American League
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Minnesota Twins 10, Cleveland Indians 2
New York Yankees 7, Baltimore Orioles 0
Tampa Bay Rays 2, Oakland Athletics 0
Los Angeles Angels 4, Texas Rangers 3
Houston Astros 7, Seattle Mariners 5
Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox (PPD)
MLB Interleague
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Kansas City Royals 9, Pittsburgh Pirates 6
Boston Red Sox 1, New York Mets 0
Washington Nationals 8, Toronto Blue Jays 2
NBA
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Orlando Magic 109, Cleveland Cavaliers 104
Philadelphia 76ers 127, Atlanta Hawks 83
Washington Wizards 116, Los Angeles Lakers 107
Boston Celtics 120, Charlotte Hornets 111
New York Knicks 113, Chicago Bulls 94
Miami Heat 116, San Antonio Spurs 111
Portland Trail Blazers 130, Memphis Grizzlies 109
Denver Nuggets 114, New Orleans Pelicans 112
Phoenix Suns 109, LA Clippers 101
Utah Jazz 154, Sacramento Kings 105
NHL
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Ottawa Senators 6, Vancouver Canucks 3
St. Louis Blues 4, Minnesota Wild 3
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Montreal Canadiens 1
Edmonton Oilers 3, Winnipeg Jets 1
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Colorado Avalanche 2
Anaheim Ducks 3, Los Angeles Kings 2
San Jose Sharks 4, Arizona Coyotes 2
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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1:15 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals
7:20 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves
7:40 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers
9:40 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB American League
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1:05 p.m. – New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
1:10 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays
2:10 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros
5:10 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox (DH)
8:05 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers
MLB Interleague
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No Games Scheduled
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Dallas Mavericks at Detroit Pistons
7:00 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Indiana Pacers
8:00 p.m. – Milwaukee Bucks at Houston Rockets
8:00 p.m. – Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves
9:00 p.m. – New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder
9:00 p.m. – Toronto Raptors at Denver Nuggets
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Dallas Stars at Tampa Bay Lightning
7:00 p.m. – Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins
7:00 p.m. – Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils
7:00 p.m. – New York Islanders at New York Rangers
7:00 p.m. – Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
7:00 p.m. – Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes
7:30 p.m. – Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs
8:00 p.m. – Florida Panthers at Chicago Blackhawks
8:00 p.m. – St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild
9:00 p.m. – Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers
PGA
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Valspar Championship (at Palm Harbor, FL)
