Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday 9/9/20
9 September 2020 Sports
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are headed to the Eastern Conference finals. Giannis Antetokounmpo could only watch.
The fifth-seeded Heat finished off an upset of the NBA’s best regular-season team Tuesday, topping the Milwaukee Bucks 103-94 in Game 5 of their East semifinal series — while Antetokounmpo, the league’s reigning MVP, couldn’t play because of a sprained right ankle.
Butler and Goran Dragic each scored 17 points for the Heat, who won the series 4-1 and will face either Boston or Toronto when the NBA’s final four gets underway next week. It’s Miami’s first time in the East finals since 2014, and the first time Butler has gotten this deep in the playoffs. Jae Crowder scored 16, Tyler Herro scored 14, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Kelly Olynyk had 12 for the Heat.
Khris Middleton had 23 points for Milwaukee, which got 15 points and 14 rebounds from Brook Lopez. Donte DiVincenzo scored 17, Wesley Matthews and Marvin Williams each had 11 and Eric Bledsoe had nine assists for the Bucks.
The decision to not let Antetokounmpo play came down about 45 minutes before game time.
“I wanted to play,” Antetokounmpo said. “You know I wanted to play. I know I wanted to play. My coach knows I wanted to play, but at the end of the day, the organization put my health over Game 5. That’s big.”
The NBA went to the 16-team playoff format in 1984 and this is only the sixth time in those 37 seasons that the No. 1 seed did not make the East finals.
In the Western Conference semifinal series, the Lakers took a 2-1 lead over the Houston with a 112-102 victory.
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Spencer Turnbull allowed three hits in six scoreless innings, and the Detroit Tigers broke the game open with five runs in the fifth on their way to an 8-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. It wasn’t all good news for the Tigers, however. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop, who leads Detroit with eight home runs, left with a right wrist contusion after being hit by a pitch in the fourth.
Turnbull (4-2) struck out three and walked three for the Tigers, who pulled within one game of the New York Yankees for the final postseason spot in the American League. Jeimer Candelario homered and drove in four runs. Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was back after missing two games with a stomach illness.
Willi Castro opened the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth. Then Detroit sent 10 batters to the plate the following inning. Victor Reyes hit an RBI single, and Candelario and Jorge Bonifacio each hit two-run singles. Candelario added a two-run homer in the seventh to make it 8-0.
Jedd Gyorko, Avisail Garcia and Omar Narvaez hit RBI singles for the Brewers in the ninth. Milwaukee actually had the tying run on deck when Ben Gamel hit a foul popup with the bases loaded to end it.
Milwaukee starter Adrian Houser (1-4) allowed five runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings. Houser also allowed five runs in a start against Detroit last week. The Brewers have lost three straight.
The teams finish out their two-game series this afternoon. Corbin Burnes (2-0) starts for Milwaukee and Matthew Boyd (1-5) takes the mound for the Tigers. First pitch is at 12:10 and the game can be heard on AM1100/98.3FM, WISS.
Elsewhere in the NL Central on Tuesday, the Twins beat the Cardinals 7-3, the Pirates nipped the White Sox 5-4 and the Cubs blanked the Reds 3-0.
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The Packers are back on the practice field today after being off Tuesday. Green Bay opens the season at Minnesota on Sunday. The Packers won both games last year against the Vikings as the offense dominated in both games. Green Bay’s offensive line looks the same this year with the exception of right tackle as Brian Bulaga signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in the off-season. Coach Matt LaFleur was asked if having that success against the Vikings last year will carry over this year. He said every year is a new year and that “the preparation you put in practice, that’s what you’re going to see in the game” and his team will have to work hard. LaFleur said the Packers will have a good challenge in week one.
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Leaders of six state legislatures in the Big Ten footprint have sent a letter to Commissioner Kevin Warren asking the conference to reconsider its decision to cancel the fall football season. The letter is written on the letterhead of Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and also signed by statehouse leaders from Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
“Recent actions taken by other conferences around the country to start football and other fall sports have placed the Big Ten, its members and students at a disadvantage,” the letter said. “These athletes are losing a vital part of student life and are becoming less marketable to future employers with each passing week. Additionally, our local universities stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars that support vital student scholarships.
“This is even more frustrating when we think of how our Big Ten athletic programs are leading the way by providing outstanding health and safety protocols. All of that unprecedented planning and teamwork was an unmitigated success, and yet somehow the conference has decided to cast it aside anyway.”
The Big Ten, and Warren in particular, have received strong pushback since the conference announced that university presidents voted to push back football and other fall sports until the second semester because of the coronavirus pandemic. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields started a petition seeking a reversal, parents of players held a protest outside Big Ten headquarters and eight Nebraska players filed a lawsuit.
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