Sports: Royals Even Series

World Series 

The Kansas City Royals have evened up the World Series at one game apiece after a 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game Two at Kauffman Stadium last night.  Billy Butler singled in the go-ahead run during a five-run sixth inning for KC. The Royals blew that game open with a 5-run 6th inning as Salvador Perez added a two-run double and former Tiger Omar Infante followed with a two-run homer to blow the game open.  That didn’t set well with Giants’ reliever Hunter Strickland, who was locked in a shouting match with Royals’ catcher Perez as Infante circled the bases.  Kelvin Herrera picked up the win in relief of rookie Yordano Ventura, who tossed five-and-a-third innings of two-run ball.  The series shifts to San Francisco for the next three games starting with Game Three on Friday at AT&T Park.

Guy Gets Series Ticket for Tip

Just before Game 1, the family of Royals pitcher Wade Davis ate lunch at a restaurant in Kansas City, and then left a ticket to the game as a TIP for their server.  The guy got permission to take the rest of his shift off, and he went to the game and sat with Davis’ family.  Pretty amazing tip. By game time the ticket was worth almost a thousand dollars online.

Reliever Awards

Royals’closer Greg Holland is the American League Reliever of the Year.  Holland received the first-ever Mariano Rivera Award from commissioner-elect Rob Manfred before Game Two last night.   Craig Kimbrel of the Braves won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the National League’s best reliever.

Red Wings

The Red Wings host Pittsburgh tonight at Joe Louis Arena.  Pavel Datsyuk returned to the lineup against the Canadiens Tuesday.  He logged more than 18 minutes of ice time and had an assist and a pretty goal that was waived off.  Head coach Mike Babcock says it will take some time for Datsyuk’s conditioning to get back to game speed.

Yesterday's shootings in Ottawa led the National Hockey League to postpone last night's scheduled game between the Senators and the visiting Maple Leafs. The NHL said the date and time of the rescheduled game will be announced at a later date. A gunman shot and killed a Canadian soldier and was later killed.

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons wrap up preseason play against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at The Palace. Guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who had ACL reconstruction surgery in January, will make his debut for Detroit tonight. Dinwiddie has been practicing with the team this week and was cleared to play yesterday. The Pistons open the regular season in Denver against the Nuggets next Wednesday.

Albion Wildcats to play again

Alumni of Albion High School will field a basketball team to take on the Harlem Ambassadors tonight at the former Albion High School.   The Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau and the Albion Public Schools are bringing in the team from Chicago, the Harlem Ambassadors.  They play a hilarious game of whacky stunts, alley-oop passes, and thunderous dunks.  Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.   It’s a clean, family-friendly night of popcorn, hotdogs and fun-filled basketball.  The Albion Wildcats, versus the Harlem Ambassadors….tonight at 7 at Albion Community School.

Lions

The Detroit Lions held their first practice in England yesterday and receiver Calvin Johnson took part in some drills. Johnson has missed the last two games with a high ankle sprain and was limited in practice.  Earlier this week head coach Jim Caldwell said the receiver would not return to the field until he felt great.  Tight ends Brandon Pettigrew, Eric Ebron and Joseph Fauria along with tackle LaAdrian Waddle and defensive end Ziggy Ansah all were held out yesterday with injuries.  Detroit kicks off against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London.

Thursday Night Football

First place in the AFC West is on the line this week on "Thursday Night Football" as the  5-2 Chargers take on the 5-1 Broncos in Denver.

Volleyball

Harper Creek stays undefeated in conference play, as they beat Marshall in 3 on Wednesday. Charley Andrews had 21 kills, two aces and six digs.  Olivia Leson had 14 kills and three digs.

Pennfield 3, Lumen Christi 1.  Pennfield was led by Aubrey Ritter with seven aces and 18 kills.

Gull Lake 3, Lakeview 0. Mei Kimoto with six kills and one ace.

Schoolcraft 3, Delton Kellogg 1.

KCC will close out the season today at home against East Division-leading Mott.

College Football

It’s Michigan at Michigan State this Saturday…..2pm on WBCK.   Tonight, MSU Coach Mark Dantonio’s Show starts at 7pm on WBCK.

The WMU Broncos host Ohio U. this Saturday at 2pm.   If you’d like to go to Saturday’s  game at Waldo Stadium….be the third caller right now at 441-9595.

Carolina Scandal

An investigation released yesterday says the scale of an academic scandal involving bogus classes and inflated grades at the University of North Carolina was far more widespread than previously reported. The investigation says the scandal included about 1,500 athletes who got easy A's and B's over a span of nearly two decades. Most of the athletes involved were football players or members of the school's cherished basketball program.

Athlete of the Week

Congratulations to our WBCK/Meijer Athlete of the Week, Max Perrin.   She’s a junior from Climax-Scotts and is competing for Battle Creek Central in Girls Swimming.  Max is one of several students that co-op with the Bearcats and has shined in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle, where she took home All-City titles.  Perrin also broke BC Central's school record for the 200 free-style last year as a sophomore.

Go on line today to nominate our WBCK/Meijer Athlete of the Week!  We want to salute local kids who are working hard both on and off the field, and it’s easy to nominate someone you think is deserving of an award.  The winner will get mentioned on WBCK and at wbckfm.com and also get a trophy from Recognition Inc. in Battle Creek. We’ll announce a new WBCK/Meijer Athlete of the Week each Wednesday.

High School Football

This Friday, WBCK will broadcast the Lakeview game, as the Spartans travel to Gull Lake.