Sports Radio 1400 WSJM @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Wednesday, March 11, 2015
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Los Angeles Lakers 93, Detroit Pistons 85
Lakers 93, Pistons 85 – Lakers snap 5-game skid with 93-85 win over Pistons
Jordan Hill led seven Lakers in double figures with 16 points, and Los Angeles beat the Detroit Pistons 93-85 on Tuesday night to snap a five-game losing streak. The injury-riddled Lakers (17-46) beat the Pistons for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings behind 46 points in the paint and a 46-41 rebounding edge, but were officially eliminated from playoff contention before their game ended when New Orleans beat Brooklyn. Greg Monroe had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, but missed a pair of critical free throws with 1:09 remaining and Detroit trailing by three. Andre Drummond had 21 rebounds along with 14 points, but couldn’t prevent Detroit’s seventh straight loss.
Tonight
Chicago Bulls at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:00 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m.
NCAA Basketball – Men’s
Tonight
Mid American Conference Tournament – Round 2 (Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH)
#8 Eastern Michigan vs. #5 Bowling Green, 6:30 p.m.
#6 Western Michigan vs. #7 Akron, 9:00 p.m.
NCAA Basketball – Men’s Big Ten – Groce: Illini are what they are as tournament nears
Heading into the season’s final games Illinois coach John Groce says there aren’t major changes he can make in his team at this point. That team opens the Big Ten Tournament Thursday against Michigan in search of wins it hopes will get it to the NCAA Tournament. Bracketologists put the Illini (19-12, 9-9 Big Ten) anywhere from just barely in the NCAA Tournament to a longshot that needs to add some wins. The team has struggled to play well for 40 minutes and to make shots. Saturday at Purdue the Illini lost after opening up big first half leads. Groce said Rayvonte Rice and Nnanna Egwu played well. But he said other players need to follow that example.
NFL – Ravens trade defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to Lions
The Baltimore Ravens have traded nine-year defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to the Detroit Lions. The move, designed to create salary cap space, was announced by the team Tuesday. Details of the deal were not immediately available. Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome was attempting to renegotiate Ngata’s contract, but the two sides apparently did not reach an accord. Ngata is due $8.5 million next season and has a $16 million salary cap figure. The 31-year-old Ngata is a five-time Pro Bowler. He started in 12 games last season before serving a four-game suspension for using Adderall. Ngata will fill the void for the Lions left by the departure of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who is expected to sign with the Miami Dolphins. The Ravens are also expected to lose standout wide receiver Torrey Smith, linebacker Pernell McPhee and tight end Owen Daniels to free agency.
NFL – Brandon Marshall passes physical, trade to Jets official
Brandon Marshall has passed his physical and his trade to the New York Jets from the Chicago Bears is official. The teams agreed on the deal last Friday, but it became official at the start of the unrestricted free agency signing period Tuesday. The Jets sent a fifth-round draft pick to the Bears for Marshall and a seventh-rounder. Marshall, who turns 31 on March 23, has played the last three seasons with the Bears. He dealt with injuries and had 61 catches last season, his lowest total since his rookie year with Denver in 2006, for 721 yards and eight touchdowns. Marshall told the team’s website playing in New York and for new coach Todd Bowles is “an amazing opportunity.”
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 6, Philadelphia Phillies 0
Cleveland Indians 10, Chicago Cubs 6
Chicago White Sox 6, Kansas City Royals 2
Tigers 6, Phillies 0 – Fields, Martinez, Moya hit homers, Tigers beat Phillies 6-0
Daniel Fields, J.D. Martinez and Steven Moya hit homers to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday. Tigers starter Alfredo Simon tossed three scoreless innings. Martinez and Moya connected for solo shots off Sean O’Sullivan in the sixth.
Indians 10, Cubs 6 – Cubs hit 3 HRs in a row vs. Indians, but remain winless
Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant hit consecutive home runs for the Chicago Cubs as they fell to the Cleveland Indians 10-6 yesterday. The Cubs dropped to 0-6. Milwaukee posted its first exhibition win earlier in the day. The Cubs made four errors.
White Sox 6, Royals 2 – Royals fall 6-2 to White Sox, 1st loss of spring training
Micah Johnson went 4 for 4, scored two runs and drove in another to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory yesterday over the Kansas City Royals. The Royals lost for the first time after starting 6-0 this spring. Johnson has six straight hits to raise his average to .500. Jose Abreu contributed two hits, drove in a run and scored a run.
Today
Detroit vs. Washington at Viera, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Texas vs. Chicago White Sox at Glendale, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
MLB – Rooftops: Groups would cancel if Wrigley video board goes up
Rooftop clubs that offer views into Wrigley Field say they would lose more than $400,000 in group ticket sales if the Chicago Cubs put up a right-field video board. Renovations under way at Wrigley would add two video boards and four advertising signs. Two of the rooftop businesses filed a federal lawsuit against the Cubs seeking to prevent construction of signs that they say would block their views and hurt business. The Chicago Tribune reports recent court records say most of the groups committed for games this season told the rooftop clubs they would back out if the right-field video board goes up. A federal judge last month denied the rooftop clubs’ emergency request to stop installation of signs at Wrigley. Cubs’ attorneys have said the team has the right to put in the signs.
NASCAR – Keselowski’s crew chief in hot water
NASCAR placed crew chief Paul Wolfe on probation for the rest of the 2015 season after NASCAR caught Team Penske pulling out the fenders on Brad Keselowski’s car before qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The NASCAR penalties announced included a $25,000 fine on crew chief Steve Addington because Justin Allgaier’s car was too light in postrace inspection Sunday.
NCAA Basketball – Women’s – Princeton Tigers finish 30-0 regular season
Kentucky’s undefeated men’s basketball team has company. Alex Wheatley scored 17 points and No. 13 Princeton capped off an undefeated regular season with a 55-42 victory over Penn in women’s play. The 30-0 Tigers became the 15th team to enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. Now they will wait for Monday night’s NCAA selection show to see where they will play in the tournament.
AHL – American Hockey League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Griffins 3, Charlotte Checkers 2
Tonight
Utica Comets at Chicago Wolves, 8:00 p.m.
ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Tonight
Fort Wayne Komets at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00 p.m.
Orlando Solar Bears at Toledo Walleye, 7:15 p.m.
MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association – Girls Basketball Regionals
Last Night
CLASS A at Portage Central
DeWitt 55, Ann Arbor Huron 43 – OT
Kalamazoo Central 55, Battle Creek Lakeview 43
CLASS B at Hopkins
Plainwell 37, Marshall 35
Benton Harbor 64, Sturgis 41
Benton Harbor cruised to a 63-41 win over Sturgis to earn a spot in tomorrow’s Regional Championship game. The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and led by as many as 25. Kysre Gondrezick led Benton Harbor with a game high 22 points, Kalabrya Gondrezick added 16. The Tigers (18-5) will take on Plainwell (23-0) for the Regional title tomorrow night at 7:00.
CLASS C at Brandywine
Brandywine 54, Schoolcraft 28
Grandville Calvin Christian 40, Gobles 31
CLASS D at Mendon
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 48, Martin 38
Michigan Lutheran 71, Athens 42
Olivia Gallaher scored 21 points while Kayla Rosenbaum added 16 as Michigan Lutheran advanced to the Class D Regional Finals with a 71-42 win over Athens. The Titans improve to 20-1 on the season and will face Wyoming Tri-Unity (18-6) for the Regional Championship at 7:00 tomorrow night.
MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association – Boys Basketball Districts
Tonight
CLASS A
Class A at Portage Northern (1)
5:30 – Kalamazoo Central vs. Mattawan
7:00 – St. Joseph vs. Portage Northern Sports Radio 1400 WSJM & wsjmsports.com
Class A at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (2)
6:00 – Gull Lake vs. Jackson
7:30 – Kalamazoo Loy Norrix vs. Holt
CLASS B
Class B at Benton Harbor (33)
6:00 – Buchanan vs. Berrien Springs
8:00 – Benton Harbor vs. Dowagiac Sports Radio 1400 WSJM & wsjmsports.com
Class B at Coldwater (34)
6:00 – Edwardsburg vs. Three Rivers
7:30 – Coldwater vs. Sturgis
Class B at South Haven (49)
5:30 – Allegan vs. Otsego
7:00 – Hopkins vs. Paw Paw
CLASS C
Class C at Cassopolis (65)
5:00 – Dream Academy vs. New Buffalo
7:00 – Cassopolis vs. Bridgman
Class C at Gobles (76)
6:00 – Hartford vs. Kalamazoo Christian
7:30 – Gobles vs. Kalamazoo Hackett
Class C at Lawton (66)
5:30 – White Pigeon vs. Constantine
7:00 – Marcellus vs. Decatur
Class C at Grandville Calvin Christian (79)
5:30 – Fennville vs. GR Covenant Christian
7:00 – GR Calvin Chr. vs. GR Northpointe Christian
CLASS D
Class D at River Valley (97)
6:00 – Covert vs. Lake Michigan Catholic Sports Radio 1400 WSJM & wsjmsports.com
7:30 – Lawrence vs. River Valley
Class D at Athens (98)
6:00 – Mendon vs. Colon
7:30 – Howardsville Chr. vs. Athens
Class D at Climax-Scotts (109)
5:30 – Kal. Heritage Christian vs. Climax-Scotts
7:00 – Martin vs. BC Calhoun Christian
