NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 118, Toronto Raptors 104
Washington Wizards 132, Indiana Pacers 124
Golden State Warriors 116, Chicago Bulls 102
Pistons 118, Raptors 104 – Rookies lead Pistons over Raptors 118-104
Saben Lee scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half in his second career start, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors 118-104. Saddiq Bey, another Detroit rookie, also scored 19 points and Hamidou Diallo added 19 of his own. Fred VanVleet scored 22 for the Raptors, who lost for the 12th time in 13 games. Lee was a second-round draft pick before this season, and the rebuilding Pistons have given plenty of opportunities to their young players recently. He went 6 of 7 from the field in the first half and eventually came within two points of matching his season high.
Wizards 132, Raptors 124 – Westbrook records 16th triple-double, Wizards beat Pacers
Russell Westbrook had 35 points, a season-high 21 assists and 14 rebounds for his NBA-leading 16th triple-double as the Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers 132-124. Westbrook also secured the franchise career triple-double record in just his 38th game with the Wizards, this one coming while teammate and NBA leading scorer Bradley Beal sat out with a bruised hip. Rui Hachimura added 26 points and Chandler Hutchison had 18 in his debut with the Wizards, who won their second straight. Domantas Sabonis had 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers.
Warriors 116, Bulls 102 – Curry returns with 32 points, Warriors beat Bulls 116-102
Stephen Curry made a triumphant return from a five-game absence with a bruised tailbone to score 32 points with six 3-pointers, and the Golden State Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Bulls 116-102. Draymond Green contributed 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds as all five Golden State starters scored in double digits to keep the team from a season-worst fifth straight defeat. Nikola Vucevic had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his second game with Chicago since being traded from the Magic. But the Bulls lost their fourth straight and sixth in seven.
NCAAMBB – 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Indianapolis
Elite 8
Last Night
#2 Houston 67, #12 Oregon State 61
#1 Baylor 81, #3 Arkansas 72
Houston 67, Oregon State 61
Houston has advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the Guy Lewis-led Phi Slama Jama squad went to the 1984 title game. The second-seeded Cougars made things difficult on themselves by blowing a 17-point halftime lead before knocking off No. 12 Oregon State, 67-61. Quentin Grimes drained a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to break a 55-all tie before Houston hit enough free throws down the stretch to improve to 28-3. Grimes had 18 points and Marcus Sasser delivered a game-high 20 for the Cougars. Maurice Calloo scored a team-high 13 points for the Beavers.
Baylor 81, Arkansas 72
Baylor has reached the Final Four for the first time in 71 years by getting 22 points from MaCio Teague (MAY’-see-oh teeg) and a dominating defensive performance from Davion Mitchell in an 81-72 victory against Arkansas. The Bears watched an 18-point cushion shrink to four before Arkansas missed 12 straight shots and Teague hit a pair of 3-pointers to put it out of reach. The Razorbacks’ rally occurred while Mitchell was sitting on the bench after picking up his third foul with about eight minutes left. Jared Butler finished with 14 points, while Mitchell chipped in 12 points and six assists for Baylor.
Tonight
#1 Gonzaga vs. #6 USC, 7:15 p.m.
#1 Michigan vs. #11 UCLA, 9:57 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 9:30
NCAAWBB – 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – San Antonio
Elite 8
Last Night
#1 UConn 69, #2 Baylor 67
#3 Arizona 66, #4 Indiana 53
Tuesday
#1 South Carolina vs. #6 Texas, 7:00 p.m.
#1 Stanford vs. #2 Louisville, 9:00 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers, 7:00 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks, 7:30 p.m.
MLB – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 5, New York Yankees 2
Chicago Cubs 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 1
Chicago White Sox (off)
Today
Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers, 12:35 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Colorado Rockies, 3:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (off)
MLB – MLB to relax virus protocols when 85% on field vaccinated
Card games, car pools and eating at restaurants may be back in the major leagues later this season. Trips to church and sponsor events may return, too. Mask use would be dropped from dugouts and bullpens, and electronic tracing devices would be eliminated when 85% of major league players and primary field staff are vaccinated. Communal clubhouse video would return before and after games. Pool tables would be restored, along with team saunas. A memorandum from MLB and the union obtained by The Associated Press states that all players and staff are “strongly encouraged” to receive vaccines when they are eligible.
MLB – Rizzo, Cubs end contract talks
Anthony Rizzo is cutting off talks with the Chicago Cubs on a new contract and is prepared to play the season as free agency looms after the World Series. The three-time All-Star first baseman has a $16.5 million salary this season and set a deadline of opening day for a new agreement. Rizzo has a .271 career average with 229 homers and 753 RBIs in 10 major league seasons, but he is coming off a subpar year.
NFL – What’s ahead? NFL owners to meet about upcoming season
NFL teams will begin to learn this week what’s ahead for the 2021 season. The 32 team owners hold virtual meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. Topping the agenda are two items: increasing the regular season to 17 games and decreasing the preseason games to three per team. Both are nearly certain to be approved after a pandemic-stressed season that severely cut into the league’s revenue stream. Many players, however, aren’t thrilled with the idea. Saints star running back Alvin Kamara calls the increase to 17 games “dumb.” Regardless, it’s about to happen. The owners want it and don’t need the union’s permission.
NASCAR – Logano takes the checkered flag in a haze of Bristol dirt
Joey Logano won NASCAR’s first Cup Series race on dirt since 1970 with an overtime victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. The track had been converted to dirt for an experimental event that, despite bobbles leading into the race, ultimately finished fairly trouble-free. Even before Logano took the checkered flag, Bristol announced over the public address system that next year’s race would again be on dirt. The track had issues through the weekend and the race was pushed to Monday because of flooding on the Bristol grounds.
US Soccer – Olympic failures show structural issues for US Soccer, MLS
The Catch-22 for U.S. men’s soccer in the Olympics is that the better a player gets, the less likely he is to play. American under-24 coach Jason Kreis says there’s also a structural issue. Major League Soccer does not adhere to the international calendar of a season that runs from August to May, leaving most of Kreis’ players trying to regain fitness while facing opponents in midseason form. Former players Alexi Lalas and Tim Howard say the onus is on the U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer to get better players from teams. The Americans failed to qualify for the Olympics when they lost to Honduras on Sunday.
MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Today
Baseball
Lake Michigan College at Cornerstone University JV, 2:00 p.m./4:30 p.m. (doubleheader)
Softball
Glen Oaks Community College at Lake Michigan College, 3:00 p.m./5:00 p.m. (doubleheader)
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Girls Basketball – Regional Semifinals
Division 1 at Gull Lake
East Lansing def Jackson Northwest by forfeit 2-0
Kalamazoo Central 54, Battle Creek Lakeview 34
Division 2 at Edwardsburg
Edwardsburg 67, Buchanan 47
Wayland 54, Plainwell 41
Division 3 at Watervliet
Schoolcraft 53, Kalamazoo Hackett 51
Gobles 44, Hartford 40
Division 4 at Mendon
Martin 58, Walkerville 43
Colon 52, Michigan Lutheran 49
- Michigan Lutheran came back from a seven point deficit, but the rally fell just short. Jesse Jewell poured in a game high 25 points in the loss for the Titans, Stella Lyons added 11. Reese Williams led Colon with 19 points. With the loss, Lutheran ends the season at 10-5.
Girls Soccer
Otsego 3, Harper Creek 0
Allegan 8, Fennville 0 Baseball
Three Rivers 10, Mattawan 6
Softball
Buchanan 11, Hartford 1 – Game 1
Buchanan 9, Hartford 1 – Game 2
Girls Tennis
Allegan 6, Hamilton 2
Tonight
Boys Basketball – Regional Semifinals
Division 2 at Benton Harbor
Parchment vs. Hopkins, 5:00 p.m.
Lakeshore vs. Benton Harbor, 7:00 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM
Division 3 at Bronson
Centreville vs. Kalamazoo Christian, 5:30 p.m.
Lawton vs. Schoolcraft, 7:00 p.m.
Division 4 at Niles
Howardsville Christian vs. New Buffalo, 5:15 p.m.
Wyoming Tri-Unity defeats Holland Calvary Baptist by forfeit 2-0
Division 1 at Grand Haven
Holt vs. East Lansing, 5:30 p.m.
Coldwater vs. Portage Central, 7:00 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Division 2 at Wings Event Center – Kalamazoo
Lakeshore vs. Allendale, 12:30 p.m.
- If Lakeshore advances, Semifinals 3:00 p.m.
- If Lakeshore advances, Finals 6:00 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Edwardsburg at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Baseball
Paw Paw at Niles, 4:00 p.m.
Allegan at Bloomingdale, 4:00 p.m
Softball
Paw Paw at Niles, 4:00 p.m.