>>Ohio State Pulls Away From Indiana
(Bloomington, IN) — The second-ranked team in college football survived an early scare in its first game of the year. Ohio State pulled away in the second half for a 49-21 road win at Indiana. The Buckeyes scored the game’s final 29 points after the Hoosiers took a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter.
>>Colts Clip Bengals
(Indianapolis, IN) — Phillip Walker connected with Justice Liggins for the game-winning score in the fourth quarter as the Colts topped the Bengals 7-6 in their preseason finale at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Indy quarterbacks were just 8-of-19 as a group for 92 yards as the team still awaits the return of Andrew Luck from the PUP list. The Colts must trim their roster from 90 players to 53 by tomorrow afternoon. They open the regular season a week from Sunday with the Rams in Los Angeles.
>>Bears Lose Preseason Finale
(Chicago, IL) — The Bears suffered a 25-0 loss to the Browns in their preseason finale at Soldier Field. Mitchell Trubisky was 2-of-5 for 10 yards for Chicago. Mike Glennon did not play. The Bears open the regular season against the Falcons a week from Sunday.
>>Hopkins, Texans Agree To Extension
(Houston, TX) — DeAndre Hopkins is receiving the most guaranteed money for a wide receiver in NFL history. Hopkins and the Texans have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth a reported 81-million-dollars, 49 of which is guaranteed. The 25-year-old had 78 catches for 954 yards and four touchdowns last season.
>>NBA Fines Lakers $500,000 For Tampering
(New York, NY) — The NBA is fining the Lakers 500-thousand-dollars for tampering. The penalty stems from communication between the Lakers and representatives for Paul George, who was under contract with the Pacers at the time. The four-time All-Star was traded to the Thunder earlier this offseason.
>>Cardinals Cut Down Giants
(San Francisco, CA) — Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer to back six innings of one-run ball from Michael Wacha as the Cardinals got by the Giants 5-2 in San Francisco. Wacha is now 10-and-7 on the season. Tommy Pham collected three hits and drove in two runs for St. Louis, which has traded wins and losses in its last six games.
>>Cubs Beat Braves Behind Bryant, Hendricks
(Chicago, IL) — Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer and Kyle Hendricks pitched two-run ball into the seventh inning as the Cubs beat the Braves 6-2 at Wrigley Field. Jon Jay went 4-for-5 and scored twice for Chicago, which won its fourth straight. The Cubs lead the NL Central by three-and-a-half games over the Brewers. They host the Braves again today.
>>Twins Rally Past White Sox In Ninth
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Twins put up two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally for a 5-4 win over the White Sox at Target Field. Alen Hanson gave Chicago a brief 4-3 lead with a solo homer in the top of the ninth. Juan Minaya took the loss. The Twins swept the three-game set.
>>Astros Get Verlander From Tigers
(Houston, TX) — The Astros are adding a big arm for the stretch run. Houston acquired pitcher Justin Verlander from the Tigers last night. The 34-year-old Verlander is 10-and-8 with a 3.82 ERA in 28 starts this season. Meanwhile, the Tigers also traded slugger Justin Upton to the Angels earlier Thursday.
>>Illinois Opens Season Tomorrow
(Champaign, IL) — Illinois raises the curtain on the new football season tomorrow. The Illini are set to battle Ball State in Champaign. Illinois is coming off a 3-and-9 season. Meanwhile, Northwestern and Notre Dame also open the year tomorrow. The Wildcats host Nevada and the Irish take on Temple in South Bend.
>>Monster Series Heads To Darlington
(Darlington, SC) — The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns from an idle weekend and heads to Darlington for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Qualifying takes place tomorrow afternoon, with the 367-lap race to follow Sunday evening. It’s the second-to-last race before the playoffs begin.
Coming up tonight on the Talk 101 High School Game of the Week presented by Landmark of Taylorville features the MacArthur Generals playing host to Sacred Heart Griffin. The Dale’s Southlake Pharmacy Pregame Show gets underway at 6:30p.m. and the Kickoff follows at 7:00p.m. Join Scott Busboom and Kevin Hale with the call tonight from MacArthur High School on Talk 101!