Good morning, here’s your Wednesday morning mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
WEDNESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
MLB playoffs: San Francisco at NY Mets, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
NBA preseason: Oklahoma City at Barcelona, 2:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
NBA preseason: Orlando at Cleveland, 7 p.m. (NBA TV)
NBA preseason: Utah at Phoenix, 10 p.m. (NBA TV)
College football:Georgia Southern at Arkansas State, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
TUESDAY’S RESULTS:
MLB playoffs: Blue Jays 5, Orioles 2
AROUND THE WEB:
— Legends of golf gathered on Tuesday to pay their respects to Arnold Palmer in a memorial service at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson were some of the game’s greatest in attendance.
Nicklaus was one of the speakers at the service and spoke about Palmer’s incredible character.
“He was an everyday man,” Nicklaus said. “Everyone’s hero. Arnold managed to remove the ‘I’ from icon and instead let the world share in his greatness.”
“Remember when Arnold Palmer touched your life, and touched your heart,” Nicklaus said to end his speech, “please, don’t forget why.”
Other speakers included CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz, retired LPGA golfer Annika Sorenstam, Palmer’s grandson Sam Saunders and Royal & Ancient Golf Club former chief executive Peter Dawson.
Palmer won 62 PGA Tours and seven majors championships.
People turned out in droves to honor Palmer. Monitors were set up in several locations on campus for those who couldn’t get into the basilica, and giant screens were set up for spectators to watch the service.
Palmer’s longtime friend, singer Vince Gill, sang and ended the service with Carole King’s, “You’ve Got A Friend.”
“This man was my favorite person,” Gill said of Palmer. “Not my favorite golfer, my favorite person I ever met.”
Palmer died at the age of 87 on Sept. 25 in Pittsburgh.
— Andy Murray told reporters he was stalked by a hotel maid who followed him to many of his European tennis events and entered his hotel room and stroked his arm while he slept.
“At one of the tournaments I played, a maid in the hotel … I had a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on, on the door, and she came in and sat on my bed and started stroking my arm at about 7 in the morning when I was still sleeping, and then turned up at a couple more tournaments in the hotels that I was playing at in Rotterdam and Barcelona,” the Wimbledon champ said, via the Daily Telegraph.
“I don’t know if that’s a fan thing — that’s a bit extreme — but that happened.”
— Odell Beckham Jr. said he is no longer enjoying playing football.
“Football is my sanctuary,” the Giants wide receiver said Tuesday, per ESPN. “It’s where I go to escape. It’s where I’m most happy. I’m not having fun anymore.”
These comments came one day after Beckham was held to a career-low 23 yards on three catches in a 24-10 loss to the Vikings.
Beckham is no stranger to emotional outbursts, and Giants coach Ben McAdoo said last week Beckham needs to be “less of a distraction” with his behavior.
MEDIA CHECK-IN: Baseball analyst John Kruk is parting ways with ESPN.
“ESPN and John Kruk have mutually agreed to end our relationship at this time,” ESPN said in a statement given to The Big Lead. “We’re thankful to John for his memorable contributions to our baseball coverage over the years — a run which included roles on our signature MLB franchises ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ and ‘Baseball Tonight.’ We wish John all the best.”
Kruk announced his move on Twitter:
ESPN and I have mutually agreed to part ways. I can’t thank them enough for all they have done for me and my family.
— John Kruk (@JohnKruk) October 4, 2016
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “First and foremost, that’s about as pathetic as it gets between the lines.” — Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, on a fan throwing a can of beer at fellow outfielder Hyun Soo Kim while he tried to make a catch during Tuesday AL wild card playoff game in Toronto
ON THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: In 1967, Jim Lonborg threw a complete game shutout over the Cardinals in Game 2 of the World Series for a 5-0 Red Sox win.