Thursday Morning Sports Update-01/20/2022

nikola-vucevic-evan-mobley

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Chicago Bulls 117, Cleveland Cavaliers 104
Detroit Pistons 133, Sacramento Kings 131
Indiana Pacers 111, Los Angeles Lakers 104

Bulls 117, Cavaliers 104 – DeRozan, Vucevic lead way as Bulls hold off Cavs 117-104
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the struggling Chicago Bulls ended the game on a 14-2 run to hold off the surging Cleveland Cavaliers 117-104 on Wednesday night. The Bulls steadied themselves after losing a season-high four straight and falling into a first-place tie with Miami in the Eastern Conference. They answered in a big way when Cleveland pulled within 103-102 on a 3 by former Bull Lauri Markkanen and free throw by Isaac Okoro. Ayo Dosunmu nailed a 3-pointer for Chicago with just over four minutes remaining to start the decisive rally. Vucevic hit two 3s and a layup during that stretch, helping Chicago stop Cleveland’s season-high five-game win streak. Markkanen led Cleveland with 28 points.

Pistons 133, Kings 131 – Joseph hits winner, Pistons rally late to stun Kings 133-131
Cory Joseph made a 14-foot jumper with 25.9 seconds remaining to cap a game-ending 11-0 run that rallied the Detroit Pistons past the Sacramento Kings 133-131. Saddiq Bey had 30 points and seven rebounds to help the Pistons win their fourth in seven games. Kelly Olynyk added a season-high 22 points and nine rebounds in his first game since November. Joseph, the former Kings guard who was dealt to the Pistons at the trade deadline last year, finished with 19 points and nine assists. Terence Davis scored 14 of his career-high 35 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings. De’Aaron Fox added 27 points, eight assists and six rebounds but missed a 14-footer at the buzzer. Sacramento has dropped seven of nine.

Pacers 111, Lakers 104 – Pacers roll past Lakers in 4th quarter for skid-stopping win
The Indiana Pacers increased the pressure on Lakers coach Frank Vogel with a 111-104 victory over Los Angeles. Caris LeVert scored a franchise-record 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Malcolm Brogdon added 19 as the Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak with just their second victory in 12 games. Domantas Sabonis had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists while Indiana roared past the Lakers in the fourth. LeBron James had 30 points and 12 rebounds in the Lakers’ fourth loss in five games. Before the game, Vogel shrugged off widespread rumors of his expected firing if the Lakers don’t make immediate headway in their mediocre season.

Tonight
Indiana Pacers at Golden State Warriors, 10:00 p.m.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball
Today
Western Michigan at Central Michigan, PPD

NCAAMBKB – Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley making a name for himself
Blake Wesley arrived at Notre Dame without some of the same fanfare as other incoming freshmen. But an explosive start to his freshman season has put Wesley in the conversation about college basketball’s best players and he could possibly become the Irish’s first one-and-done player. Wesley has flourished since becoming a starter seven games into the season, averaging 14.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He’s proven to be an explosive finisher at the rim and has not shied away from challenges, scoring 24 points in front of 14,000 opposing fans at Illinois.

NHL – NHL reschedules games, season set to end on time April 29
The NHL has revealed new dates for 98 games postponed this season for coronavirus-related reasons. The changes include moving 23 other games around and 95 filling the gap that previously was scheduled for the Olympic break. The regular season is still scheduled to end April 29 as previously planned. The league had been hoping to keep an early May start to the playoffs in order to award the Stanley Cup by the end of June. A total of 104 games have been postponed this season. Many were because of attendance restrictions in Canada.

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball
Last Night
Western Michigan 62, Eastern Michigan 57
Bowling Green 92, Central Michigan 68
Michigan State at (6) Indiana, PPD

Tonight
(20) Notre Dame at Boston College, 6:00 p.m.
Wisconsin at (8) Michigan, 7:00 p.m.

U. of Michigan reaches $490M settlement over sexual abuse
The University of Michigan has agreed to a $490 million settlement with more than 1,000 people who say they were sexually assaulted by a sports doctor during his nearly four-decade career at the school. The university confirmed the settlement Wednesday. Dr. Robert Anderson died in 2008. The university had been in mediation to resolve multiple lawsuits by mostly men who said Anderson sexually abused them during routine medical examinations. Anderson worked at the university from 1966 until his 2003 retirement and was director of the university’s Health Service and a physician for multiple athletic teams, including football.

Chances were missed to stop U. of Michigan sexual abuse
Complaints that a University of Michigan sports doctor was committing sexual assault went back decades, long before a $490 million settlement with victims. But no one stepped forward to ensure that Robert Anderson would be kicked off campus. The many missed opportunities were described in detail last May when a law firm hired by the university released its findings about Anderson, who died in 2008 after working at U-M for nearly 40 years. The WilmerHale law firm found many significant events that could have made a difference if someone had intervened, but no one did, leaving Anderson with “countless occasions” to harass, abuse and assault patients.

NFL – Bears interview 49ers’ pro personnel director Carthon for GM
The Chicago Bears have interviewed San Francisco 49ers director of pro personnel Ran Carthon for their general manager job. Carthon has spent 14 seasons in personnel departments, the past five in his current role. He was a pro scout with the Atlanta Falcons from 2008 to 2011 and was the Rams’ director of player personnel from 2012 to 2016. The Bears fired general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy after going 6-11. Carthon is one of nine people to interview for the GM opening.

NFL – NFL’s wild-card round TV ratings increase 21% over last year
TV ratings for the NFL’s wild-card round increased 21% over last year despite most of the games not being in doubt going into the fourth quarter. The six games averaged 30.5 million viewers, making it the second-highest average for the postseason’s opening weekend over the past six seasons. CBS and Nickelodeon’s broadcast of San Francisco’s 23-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys led the weekend, averaging 41.5 million viewers. The audience peaked at 50.2 million for the conclusion. It is the most-viewed game this season, surpassing the 40.8 million for the Thanksgiving Day game between the Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.

Soccer – Chilly Ohio qualifier nears ‘high risk’ for USSF guidelines
A kickoff temperature of about 25 degrees is forecast for the United States’ World Cup qualifier against El Salvador at Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 27. That could mean a wind chill index approaching what the U.S. Soccer Federation’s health guidelines call “high risk for cold-related illness.” AccuWeather forecast the 7 p.m. temperature in Columbus next Thursday will be 24 to 26 degrees with winds from the west at 4 to 14 mph and a 40% chance of snow showers. The forecast for the Jan. 30 qualifier against Canada at Hamilton, Ontario, calls for temperatures from 22 to 24 and winds at 5-10 mph with a 10% chance of snow flurries. The forecast for the Feb. 2 qualifier against Honduras at St. Paul, Minnesota is for 18 to 20 degrees.

Olympics – NBC will not send announcers to Beijing for Winter Games
NBC will not be sending its announcers and most hosts to the Beijing Olympics due to continued concerns about rising COVID-19 cases worldwide and China’s strict policy about those who test positive. NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes said in a phone interview the network no longer plans to send announcing teams for alpine skiing, figure skating and snowboarding to China. Those had been among the handful of announcers expected to travel, but NBC’s plans changed over the past couple of weeks. Announcers will work from NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. China plans to isolate anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 for at least two days, pending a negative result.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Last Night
Women’s Basketball
Lake Michigan College 65, Kellogg Community College 35

Men’s Basketball
Lake Michigan College 79, Kellogg Community College 61

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Eau Claire 72, Colon 59
Bloomingdale 61, Mendon 39
Girls Basketball
Benton Harbor 31, South Haven 20
Bloomingdale 42, Mendon 36

Wrestling
Lakeshore 33, St. Joseph 28

Tonight
Boys Basketball
SMAC
Kalamazoo Central at Battle Creek Central, 7:00 p.m.

BCS
New Buffalo at Lake Michigan Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
Covert at Howardsville Christian, 6:00 p.m.

Girls Basketball
SMAC
Portage Northern at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m.
Portage Central at St. Joseph, 7:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Gull Lake, 7:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Central at Battle Creek Central, 5:45 p.m.
Loy Norrix at Battle Creek Lakeview, PPD

Non-Conference
Lake Michigan Catholic at Battle Creek Academy, 5:30 p.m.
Athens Factoryville Chr. at Howardsville Christian, 7:30 p.m.

BCS
Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Bridgman, 7:30 p.m.
Brandywine at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.

Southwest 10
White Pigeon at Comstock, 7:30 p.m.