Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:MLB: Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 2 p.m. (MLB Network)MLB: Milwaukee at St. Louis, 7:05 p.m. (ESPN)NBA: Cleveland at New York, 7:30 p.m. (NBATV)NBA: New Orleans at LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
AROUND THE WEB:
-- A benches-clearing brawl broke out during the Diamondbacks-Cardinals game on Sunday after Arizona manager Torey Lovullo had some colorful remarks for Yadier Molina.
“He said a bad word to me and I reacted that way,” Molina went on. “He called me [it] twice. You can’t allow that.”
Lovullo was ejected for coming onto the field to argue balls and strikes. He said he "probably took things a little too far."
“I don’t want to say he is getting more than anyone else, because it’s part of the game,” Lovullo said after the game. “I have the utmost respect for Yadier Molina. He’s one of the best catchers the game has ever seen. It was more of me saying, I respect him on that level, that he’s getting special things because he’s that good. That’s where I was coming from.”
"I just was going out there to talk about something with the umpire and was referencing something and used a poor choice of words and he took offense to it,” he continued. “I wish I could take back what I said but it really wasn't really directed at him. It was more a term of me saying I respect him on that level that he's getting certain things because he's that good.”
Timmons also explained the situation after the game.
“So when Lovullo got to me after I had ejected him, he made a comment that was aggressive that Yadi overheard, so that’s why Yadi reacted the way that he did,” he said. “I think at that point Yadi became agitated, which was understandable. [The contact] was just incidental.”
-- The GoFundMe account to benefit the families of victims of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team bus crash has now raised over $4 million.
The account’s goal of reaching $2 million and was met just 23 hours after it was started by Humboldt, Saskatoon resident Sylvie Kellington.
"I have a son that played for the Broncos Bantam A team just this past season," Kellington wrote on the page. "As you know the Humboldt Broncos Junior A team was involved in a serious bus accident where there were 14 fatalities out of the 28 passengers. Please help us raise money for the players and families affected. Money will go directly to families to help with any expenses incurred. Myself and the staff of GoFundMe is now in direct contact with the vice president of the Humboldt Broncos, and plans are underway to move money raised."
The funds are to benefit the families of victims of the bus crash that happened in Canada on Friday night and resulted in 15 deaths.
NHL teams across the league, including the Bruins, sent condolences to those who lost loved ones in the crash.
“Our hearts are heavy this morning," the Bruins tweeted. "The Boston Bruins send our thoughts and deepest condolences to the Humboldt Broncos, their families, and the entire Humboldt community. The hockey world is with you during this difficult time."