Sports Roundup: Kinsler, Tigers visit Texas

Tigers

The Tigers go into action tonight two games ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central.  Detroit was off on Monday, while the Royals beat the Dodgers and their former ace pitcher Zach Greinke, 5-3.  The Tigers continue their nine-game road trip in Texas, riding a 4-game winning streak.   Drew Smyly starts for the Tigers against former Tigers Colby Lewis of the Rangers.  Texas took three of four against the Tigers in late May in spite of a long list of injuries to their team.  The series marks the first trip back to Arlington for Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler, who spent his first eight years in the majors with the Rangers.  Kinsler was acquired from Texas in the offseason as part of a deal involving Prince Fielder, who is out for the season with a herniated disc in his neck.

Bombers

The Battle Creek Bombers beat Kenosha 10-5 last night to split the two game set.  Bryan Daniello went 4 for 5 and knocked in three runs.

Sebastian Diaz had three hits and scored three times. Marcellus Sneed went 5 innings for the pitching win.  The Bombers visit the Lakeshore Shinooks tonight. Austen Thrailkill gets the start.

JD Martinez is AL Player of the Week

Tigers' outfielder J.D. Martinez has been named the American League Player of the Week. In seven games last week, he hit .444 with four home runs, three doubles, 11 RBI and six runs scored.  Martinez is on a 12-game hitting streak and has already matched his 2013 home run total. The last Tigers to garner AL Player of the Week honors were Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson who shared the award last August.

All Star Game

Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista are this year’s Home Run Derby Captains.   They’ll pick which sluggers participate on July 14^th in Minneapolis.    Meanwhile, Bautista leads the American League in All-Star voting. Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera leads among first baseman.

NHL/Red Wings

Daniel Alfredsson is not ready to retire at age 41. He has indicated a desire to return for his 19th NHL season and is talking with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings are interested in bringing back Alfredsson, but much depends on his price and whether they make any moves at this weekend's entry draft in Philadelphia.  Alfredsson tied for the Red Wings' scoring lead with 49 points last season.  Back and groin issues, however, limited him to 68 games.

Two former Red Wings will go into hockey’s hall of fame this year.  Goalie Dominik Hasek and forward Mike Modano will enter the Hall along with forward Peter Forsberg, defenseman Rob Blake, the late coach Pat Burns and referee Bill McCreary.

World Cup TV Ratings

Sunday's World Cup match between the U.S. and Portugal posted a 9.1 rating on ESPN, making it the highest-rated World Cup match ever on the network. That rating matches what ESPN drew for the NBA's 2012 Eastern Conference Final Game Seven between the Heat and Celtics. There were an additional 6.5-million that watched the game on Univision, making it the most-watched soccer game in American television history. The US soccer team can still reach the knockout round with a win or a draw against Germany on Thursday. The U.S. can also move on with a loss as long as they beat Ghana and Portugal on goal differential.  Those two teams also play on Thursday.

Anthony to Leave New York

Carmelo Anthony is leaving the Knicks. His agent confirms that he’s opted out of the final year of his contract with New York and will be available this summer on the open market.

Wimbledon Begins

The third tennis Grand Slam of the season began Monday with first-round play at Wimbledon.  Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic are the top seeds.

BC Coyotes Win

The Battle Creek Coyotes take a 3-1 record to Ft Wayne this weekend against the Indiana Cardinals.  The next Coyotes home game will be a week from Saturday. The game's beneficiary will be Nattaly Brown.

NASCAR

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night for the Quaker State 400.

Roofsit

This Friday and Saturday, we’ll be on the roof at CTI mechanical, for our annual Roofsit to raise money for Calhoun County’s homeless shelter: Inasmuch House.  This year’s goal is $45,000, so we hope you can help out!   Friday night, Roy LaFountain will be performing with Jamie Popenhagen in a Del Shannon tribute concert at Dexter Lake Church.