Weekday Morning Sports – Tuesday 3/3/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, March 03, 2015

NCAA Basketball – Men’s
Tonight
Michigan at Northwestern, 9:00 p.m.    Sports Radio 1400 WSJM (Following HS Basketball)
Toledo at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Ball State, 7:00 p.m.
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois, 8:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

Blackhawks 5, Hurricanes 2 – Toews scores 2 to help Blackhawks beat Hurricanes 5-2
Jonathan Toews had two goals and assisted on Marian Hossa’s score as the Chicago Blackhawks rolled to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. Brandon Saad scored his 20th to reach that mark for the first time in his career and Marcus Kruger also connected for the Blackhawks, who have won three of their last four. Toews increased his total to 21 goals. Corey Crawford made 27 saves for Chicago and lost his bid for a second straight shutout when Carolina’s John-Michael Liles scored at 4:29 of the third period. Alexander Semin also scored late in the third for the Hurricanes, who snapped a three-game winning streak. Cam Ward allowed four goals on 18 shots through the first two periods for Carolina, and was replaced by Anton Khudobin to start the third. Khudobin stopped seven of the eight shots he faced.

NHL – Devils trade D Marek  Zidlicky to Red Wings for draft pick
The New Jersey Devils have traded defenseman Marek Zidlicky to the Detroit Red Wings for a conditional draft pick. Zidlicky’s agent Allan Walsh disclosed the deal in a tweet Monday, hours before the NHL trade deadline. Zidlicky had to waive a no-trade clause in his contract that expires after this season. The Devils will receive a third-round draft pick in 2016, but they will also get a fifth rounder this year if Detroit reaches the Eastern Conference finals. If the Red Wings reach the Stanley Cup Finals, the third rounder next year becomes a second-round pick, but the fifth-round choice in 2015 is wiped out. The 38-year-old Zidlicky has played in all 63 games for the Devils this season, scoring four goals and adding 19 assists.

NHL – Sharks trade Desjardins to Blackhawks for Smith
The San Jose Sharks have traded forward Andrew Desjardins to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Ben Smith in a swap of fourth-line players. The Sharks also get a 2017 conditional pick.  The deal was made Monday, just hours before the NHL trade deadline. Desjardins had five goals and three assists in 58 games for San Jose this season. He also is used as a penalty killer. He is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent after the season.  Smith had five goals and four assists in 61 games. He is under contract for one more season.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NBA – Bulls’ Butler out 3 to 6 weeks
The Chicago Bulls say guard Jimmy Butler will miss three to six weeks because of a sprained ligament in his left elbow. Butler was injured during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He missed most of the second half after he ran into a pick by DeAndre Jordan.

NBA – Pistons recall Miller from D-League
The Detroit Pistons have recalled forward Quincy Miller from the team’s Grand Rapids affiliate in the NBA Development League. Miller signed a 10-day contract Feb. 21 but has yet to appear in a game with the Pistons. In six games with the Sacramento Kings this season, he averaged 2.8 points and 10.2 minutes. The 6-foot-9 Miller averaged 11.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 19.7 minutes in two games with Grand Rapids.

NFL – No franchise tag for Detroit’s Suh as deadline passes
Ndamukong Suh can test the open market when free agency begins March 10 after the Detroit Lions decided not to use the franchise tag on the star defensive tackle. The deadline for teams to designate franchise or transition players came and went Monday, and the Lions did not say anything publicly about their decision. here was only a report early in the day on the team’s website saying the franchise tag’s price of around $27 million for Suh proved too daunting. Last month, general manager Martin Mayhew said he was optimistic about getting a deal done with Suh, but the franchise tag may have been the team’s best source of leverage, and actually using it could have come at a prohibitive cost.

NFL – An increase in the cap for 2015
The NFL’s salary cap is going up $10 million to $143.28 million for the 2015 season. This marks the second straight season that the cap went up by at least $10 million. Adding in benefits, the league says the projected player costs will be $180.775 million per team. The salary cap is determined by a series of NFL revenue streams, with the players receiving 46 percent to 48 percent of those revenues, depending on the year.

MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Tonight
Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m.        (Lakeland, Fl)

MLB – Tigers SS Iglesias back on field in win over Fla Southern
Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias played in his first game in more than a year, and the Tigers beat Florida Southern 12-2 Monday at spring training. As planned, Iglesias played one inning. He caught a popup in the top of the first and grounded out in the bottom half. Iglesias felt discomfort after playing one exhibition game in February 2014. He was out of action for the rest of the season because of stress fractures in both legs. The 25-year-old Iglesias hit a combined .303 for Boston and the Tigers in 2013.

MLB – Lester to start opening night April 5 vs Cardinals
Jon Lester is slated to make his first start for the Chicago Cubs on opening night, April 5, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Cubs manager Joe Maddon confirmed Monday what he had earlier indicated about Chicago’s new ace. Lester signed a six-year, $155 million contract with the Cubs in December. In his first season Cubs manager, Maddon also said the fourth starter in the team’s rotation likely will be Kyle Hendrix. He’ll follow Lester, Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel. “I don’t want to be disingenuous,” Maddon said. “What’s obvious is obvious. But things can change. The competition around here is unbelievable on so many different levels.” The fifth starting spot is wide open, with contenders including past starters Travis Wood and Edwin Jackson.

MLB – Cubs to ask to work around the clock on Wrigley Field
Chicago Cubs officials plan to ask the city for permission to work around the clock to speed up Wrigley Field renovations. Their comments came Monday during a media tour of the $375 million stadium construction project that began late last year. The iconic ballpark will open for the season on April 5 without bleachers, which were torn down as part of the project. Officials say that’s a loss of about 5,000 seats. The left-field bleachers should be open in May, followed by the right-field bleachers in June. The team says a new left-field video board should be installed and working by opening day. But the Cubs say steelwork has been delayed by February’s extreme cold. That’s why they want the approval to work day and night.

NASCAR – Busch sets stage for return
Kurt Busch has agreed to follow NASCAR’s recommended guidelines to be eligible for eventual reinstatement. The 2004 champion was indefinitely suspended Feb. 20 after a Delaware judge said he believed Busch likely committed an act of domestic violence against an ex-girlfriend and that there was a “substantial likelihood” of him doing it again. Busch lost two rounds of appeals to be reinstated before the season-opening Daytona 500, and has missed the first two races of the season. The specific guidelines Busch must follow have not been disclosed.

NCAA Football – Kelly adds Sanford, Denson, Lyght, others to Irish staff
Coach Brian Kelly has added Boise State offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, Notre Dame career rushing leader Autry Denson, and former Irish defensive back Todd Lyght to his staff.  Kelly also announced Monday he has hired North Carolina defensive line coach Keith Gilmore and named former Irish quarterback Ron Powlus as director of player development. Sanford is the first coordinator Kelly has hired since arriving on campus in 2010 that he hadn’t worked with previously. Sanford spent the past season as offensive coordinator at Boise State, his alma mater. He spent the previous three years as a Stanford assistant, coaching running backs coach in 2011 and 2012 and quarterbacks and wide receivers in 2013. Kelly said he wanted to bring in a coordinator who would bring in new ideas.

NBADL – NBA D-League
Last Night
Iowa Energy at Grand Rapids Drive, 7:00 p.m.

AHL – Griffins’ Mrazek named Player of the Week
The American Hockey League announced today that Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Petr Mrazek has been selected as the AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Mar. 1, 2015.  Mrazek made three road starts last week and turned aside 83 of 85 shots, going 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average, a .976 save percentage and two shutouts as the Griffins held on to their lead atop the Midwest Division.  A fifth-round selection by Detroit in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Mrazek has split the 2014-15 season between Grand Rapids and the parent Red Wings. In 11 AHL appearances with the Griffins, Mrazek has a record of 8-2-0 with a 2.07 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage and three shutouts; he has also gone 13-5-1 (2.55, .909, 1 SO) in 20 NHL contests with Detroit. The 23-year-old native of Ostrava, Czech Republic, backstopped the Griffins to a Calder Cup championship as a rookie in 2013, playing every minute of their 24-game postseason run, and was voted a Second Team AHL All-Star in 2013-14.

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association – Girls Basketball – Districts
Last Night
>Class A at St. Joseph (1st round at local sites)
Lakeshore 50, Niles 37
lksh-niles-030215
Lakeshore earned a trip to the Class A District Semi-finals with a 50-37 win over Niles.  Leading by three at the half, the Lancers outscored the Vikings 13-4 in the decisive third quarter.  Three Lancers scored in double figures, paced by Carley Dubbert’s (DOO’-bert) 14 points.  Morgan Kaiser added 12 and Taylor Wagner finished with 11.  Lakeshore improves to 18-3 on the season and will face Kalamazoo Central tomorrow night at 5:30 at St. Joe.

St. Joseph 47, Portage Central 27
St. Joe’s balanced attack led the Lady Bears over Portage Central 47-27 in the District Opener.  Shelby Madison and Anna Fischer had 9 points to lead St. Joe, who advance to face Portage Northern in the District Semi’s Wednesday at 7:00.  Shea Mulvaney had 8 to lead Portage Central.

Portage Northern 54, Mattawan 36

>Class A at Holt (1st round at local sites)
Battle Creek Lakeview 48, Gull Lake 39
Holt 50, Mason 40
Jackson 54, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 52

>Class B at Buchanan
Buchanan 48, Coloma 17
Jayla Bibbs had a game high 15 points as Buchanan defeated Coloma 48-17 in the Class B District game.  Buchanan will face Dowagiac Wednesday at 8:00 in the Semi’s.

>Class B at Vicksburg
Vicksburg 65, Coldwater 61

>Class B at Paw Paw
Hopkins 44, South Haven 33
Bobbie Goodwin and Megan Sollman each had 14 points but South Haven’s season comes to an end with a 44-33 loss to Hopkins.  The Rams finish the season with a 10-11 record.

Otsego 46, Allegan 29

>Class C at Eau Claire (1st round at local sites)
New Buffalo 46, Bridgman 37
Ashli Drews scored 16 points at New Buffalo beat Bridgman 46-37.

Watervliet 68, Eau Claire 40
Lexi Kieft had a game high 16 points as Watervliet defeated host Eau Claire 68-40.  Logan Mizwicki added 14 for Watervliet.

Cassopolis 35, Dream Academy 0
(Dream Academy forfeits at halftime)

>Class C at Schoolcraft (1st round at local sites)
Centreville 31, Lawton 12
Decatur 59, Constantine 26
White Pigeon 53, Marcellus 33

>Class C at Kalamazoo Hackett
Kalamazoo Christian 60, Bloomingdale 29
Gobles 60, Hartford 19

>Class C at GR Covenant Christian
GR Calvin Christian 63, Saugatuck 38

>Class D at Michigan Lutheran
Michigan Lutheran 63, Countryside 19
Michigan Lutheran outscored Countryside 20-0 in the first quarter and cruised to a 63-19 win.  Hailey Maas scored 17 points to lead Michigan Lutheran.  Emily Witkowski and Olivia Gallagher each added 10 points for Lutheran, who advance to face Watervliet Grace Christian Wednesday at 7:30.

Lawrence 59, River Valley 23
Katelyn Tidey and Tanisha Carter each had 17 points to lead Lawrence to a 59-23 win over River Valley.  Lawrence will face Lake Michigan Catholic in the District Semi-finals at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association – Boys Basketball
Last Night
Edwardsburg 53, Coloma 45

Tonight
SMAC
Benton Harbor at Niles              Sports Radio 1400 WSJM
Portage Northern at St. Joseph
Lakeshore at Portage Central
Battle Creek Central at Battle Creek Lakeview
Kalamazoo Central at Loy Norrix
Mattawan at Gull Lake

Non Conference
Michigan Lutheran at Lawrence
Rockford at South Haven           Super Hits 103.7 Cosy-FM
Berrien Springs at Bridgman
Watervliet at Brandywine
Bloomingdale at Eau Claire
Lawton at Kalamazoo Hackett
Howardsville Christian at Marcellus
Otsego at Marshall
Allegan at Parchment
Plainwell at Schoolcraft
Coldwater at Sturgis
Fennville at Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
North Muskegon at Saugatuck