Sports: Tigers Lose 8-0; Head to Cleveland

Tigers

The Tigers were shutout by Tampa Bay 8-0 last night.  Kyle Lobstein was charged with the loss, surrendering five runs on seven hits while striking out six in five and two third innings.  Reliever Buck Farmer left the game in the seventh inning after retiring one batter with tightness in his right arm.  Anthony Gose went two-for-four at the plate as Detroit was held to seven hits.   The Tigers begin a seven game road trip in the first of a four game set against the Indians in Cleveland tonight. Alfredo Simon will start for Detroit.   Shortstop Jose Iglesias will not travel with Detroit.   He’s has been out since September 3rd with a fracture in his right middle finger. He will be re-evaluated in the next two weeks to determine if he will be able to return to the field before the end of the season.   Victor Martinez should be back in the lineup tonight against the Indians after missing the last three games with a sinus infection. Broadcast time is 6:45 on WBCK.

McCann Error Free

Tigers rookie James McCann has made 102 appearances behind the plate for the Detroit Tigers. He's been flawless in all of them. McCann recently established a modern major league record for the number of consecutive games played behind the plate to start a career without an error.

The NFL kicks off tonight - with the Steelers and the Patriots.

The New England Patriots begin defense of their Super Bowl title against the Pittsburgh Steelers on "Thursday Night Football" at Gillette Stadium. In a turn of good fortune, the Pats will have starting quarterback Tom Brady after his four-game "deflategate" suspension was vacated by a federal judge.   On the other hand, the Steelers go to battle without starting all-world running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Martavis Bryant. Both are suspended for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Lions

The Detroit Lions open the regular season on Sunday in San Diego.  Linebacker DeAndre Levy has a hip injury that has kept him sidelined for the past two weeks and could keep him off the field against the Chargers.  Defensive Tackle Caraun Reid and guard Larry Warford who both have high ankle sprains did not participate in practice yesterday.

Tight end Eric Ebron, with an ankle injury, tackle LaAdrian Waddle and linebacker Tahir Whitehead, who are dealing with elbow issues, were all limited in drills.

College Football

Fifth ranked Michigan State faces number-seven Oregon on Saturday night in the team's home opener.   It's the first time two top-10 teams have met at Spartan Stadium since the "Game of the Century" in 1966, when number-one ranked MSU played second-ranked Notre Dame to a 10-10 tie.   It's also the first time two top 10 teams have met in the Great Lakes State in more than a decade, going back to the 2003 game in Ann Arbor between Michigan and Ohio State.  We’ll have the Mark Dantonio Show tonight after the Tiger game.

Michigan has their home opener this weekend against Oregon State.  WMU travels for Saturday's game at Georgia Southern.

High School Football

This Friday….its Battle Creek Central hosting Lakeview….6:35 on WBCK.

Harper Creek  vs. Jackson Lumen Christi  (HC 1-1)

Pennfield  vs. Coldwater  (P 1-1)
St. Philip  vs. Tekonsha  - 8-Man Football (St. P 2-0, T 1-1)

Union City  vs. Athens  (UC 1-1, At 0-2)

Colon  vs. Bellevue  (Be 0-1)

Bronson  vs. Parchment  (Br 0-2)

Climax-Scotts  vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian  (C-S 2-0)

Constantine  vs. Delton  (D 1-1)

Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Gobles  (G-A 1-1)

Gull Lake  vs. Mattawan  (GL 1-1)

Hamilton  vs. Hastings  (Ha 1-1)

Homer  vs. Concord  (Ho 1-1)

Maple Valley  vs. Lakewood-Lake Odessa  (MV 0-2)

Marshall  vs. Parma Western  (Ma 1-1)

Perry  vs. Olivet  (O 1-1)

Quincy  vs. Springport  (Q 1-1

Michigan Basketball

University of Michigan junior guard Zak Irvin will undergo a medical procedure on his back and will need six to eight weeks to recover. U of M basketball head coach John Beilein said the school expects a 100-percent recovery for Irvin and while they will not rush his return, they believe he will be back on the court near the beginning of the season. Last year, Irvin averaged 14.3 points per game.

The Wolverines picked up a big commit for the 2016 class on Wednesday in four-start point guard Xavier Simpson.  The Lima, Ohio native is ranked in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 69 ranked player in the 2016 class and No. 13 point guard. He is listed by 247 at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds.

The Wolverines Basketball team is out of the running for guard Cassius Winston. The U of D Jesuit point guard, long considered the Wolverines' top prospect in the 2016 recruiting class, tweeted yesterday that U-M is "no longer an option", leaving his list of suitors to Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and Stanford.

Nascar

Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 400 at the Richmond International Raceway is the final regular-season race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.