Wednesday Morning Sports Update-02/10/2021

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landry-shamet-isaiah-stewart

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 122, Brooklyn Nets 111

Pistons 122, Nets 111 – Grant scores 32, Pistons beat Nets 122-111
Jerami Grant equaled a career high with 32 points, and the Detroit Pistons took advantage of Kevin Durant’s absence, beating the Brooklyn Nets 122-111. Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak and showed the same type of spirit that was on display in its previous game, a double-overtime loss in Los Angeles against the defending champion Lakers. The last-place Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak and handed Brooklyn its third straight defeat. Durant was out because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

Tonight
Indiana Pacers at Brooklyn Nets, 8:00 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans at Chicago Bulls, 9:00 p.m.

NBA – Feds blame pilot in Kobe Bryant crash
Pilot error has been determined to be the cause of a helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others last year. The National Transportation Safety Board said poor visibility because of thick fog north of Los Angeles probably led pilot Ara Zobayan to become disoriented. The NTSB said Zobayan thought he was climbing when the craft was plunging toward a Southern California hillside.  Zobayan frequently flew Bryant. Investigators say he ignored his training and violated federal regulations.

NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Florida Panthers 2, Detroit Red Wings 1
Chicago Blackhawks 2, Dallas Stars 1 – OT

Panthers 2, Red Wings 1 – Bobrovsky shines as Panthers edge Red Wings 2-1
Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, and Patric Hornqvist was credited with the eventual winning goal when a shot bounced off his shoulder and into the net as the Florida Panthers beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1. Bobrovsky improved to 4-0-1. Alex Wennberg also scored for the Panthers. Hornqvist was credited with a power-play goal, his sixth goal of the season, when a shot by Aaron Ekblad deflected off his shoulder and over the head of Thomas Greiss at 8:04 of the second period. Hornqvist also had an assist.  Filip Zadina scored for the Red Wings. Greiss stopped 20 shots in his eighth straight appearance.

Blackhawks 2, Stars 1 – OT – Suter scores winner as Blackhawks edge Stars 2-1 in OT again
Pius Suter scored 2:15 into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks their second straight 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars in the extra period. The rookie skated toward the net and slid the puck beneath goalie Jake Oettinger to complete a comeback win. Mattias Janmark also scored for Chicago, which is 6-1-4 in its last 11 games. Roope Hintz scored for Dallas, which is 0-2-1 in its past three. In a matchup of rookie goaltenders, Kevin Lankinen made 34 saves for the Blackhawks, and Oettinger stopped 27 shots.

NCAABB – Big Ten moves men’s tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis
Big Ten officials have decided to move next month’s men’s basketball tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis. Games will be played March 10-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium, which also will be the site of this year’s Final Four. The Big Ten women’s tournament will be held the same week just a few blocks away at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Rumors had swirled for weeks that this move was coming, but the Big Ten made it official by saying the move was necessary for several reasons surrounding health and safety concerns because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Yesterday
Notre Dame 93, Duke 89
Michigan State 60, Penn State 58
Ball State at Central Michigan, PPD
Western Michigan at Buffalo, PPD
Eastern Michigan at Miami (OH), PPD

Michigan State 60, Penn State 58 – Michigan St. edges Penn St. 60-58 behind Henry’s 20 points
Aaron Henry scored 20 points and Joey Hauser added 11 off the bench to help lead Michigan State to a 60-58 win over Penn State. Marcus Bingham made a pair of foul shots for Michigan State with 78 seconds left to cap the scoring. Michigan State guard Josh Langford missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with eight seconds left. But the Nittany Lions couldn’t take advantage as Myles Dread’s contested 3-pointer from the left side wasn’t close as time expired. John Harrar tied career highs with 17 points and 14 rebounds for Penn State.

Notre Dame 93, Duke 89 –Notre Dame secures program’s second-ever win at Duke, 93-89
Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 28 points and Prentiss Hubb hit a critical 3-pointer with 38.2 seconds left to help Notre Dame beat Duke 93-89. Notre Dame had lost seven straight games to Duke and 9 of 10 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. But the Fighting Irish shot 55%, made 11 of 25 3-pointers and 18 of 20 free throws – a strong all-around shooting performance. Hubb finished with 15 points, one of five starters to score in double figures for Notre Dame. Wendell Moore Jr. finished with 24 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds for Duke.

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Today
Akron at Western Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
Central Michigan at Miami (OH), 5:30 p.m.
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan, PPD
Michigan State at Maryland, PPD

NFL – Super Bowl reaches game’s smallest TV audience since 2006
Sunday’s Super Bowl between Tampa Bay and Kansas City had the smallest television audience for the big game since 2006. Nielsen estimated that 92 million people watched and CBS said the total audience swelled to 96.4 million when you add in people who streamed the game. It was nowhere near the 2015 record of 114.4 million viewers. The Super Bowl is annually television’s most-watched event. Given that the pandemic cut down on the number of viewing parties, and the game turning into a rout, one expert said CBS should be happy with the audience numbers. The Nielsen company said the biggest audiences were in Kansas City and Boston — meaning more fans watched in the home of Tom Brady’s old team than his new one.

NFL – Marty Schottenheimer, NFL coach with 200 wins, dies at 77
The longtime NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer has died. Family friend and former Kansas City Chiefs publicist Bob Moore says Schottenheimer died Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014 and was moved to a hospice Jan. 30. Schottenheimer won 200 regular-season games with four NFL teams thanks to his “Martyball” brand of smash-mouth football but fell short in the playoffs. He was the eighth-winningest coach in NFL history. He coached for 21 seasons with Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego. His success was rooted in “Martyball,” a conservative approach that featured a strong running game and tough defense. He would exhort his players before a game with his mantra, “One play at a time.” Marty Schotenheimer was 77.

MLB – MLB players to wear electronic tracers, face discipline
Players, on-field staff and non-playing personnel who require access to them at ballparks must wear electronic tracing devices from the start of spring training or face discipline for violations. The wristbands are part of upgraded health protocols agreed to by Major League Baseball and the players’ association to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic. The sides extended last year’s experimental use of seven-inning doubleheaders and runners on second base at the start of extra innings. Active rosters will return to 26 from opening day through Aug. 31 and 28 for the rest of the regular season.

NCAAFB – Florida, Notre Dame schedule home-and-home series in ’31-32
Florida and Notre Dame have scheduled a home-and-home series for the 2031 and 2032 football seasons. The Gators will face the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana, on Nov. 15, 2031. Notre Dame will travel to Gainesville early the following year. The programs have met just once, with Notre Dame rallying to beat Florida in 39-28 in the 1992 Sugar Bowl.

NCAAFB – Northwestern set to meet Purdue at Wrigley Field next season
Northwestern is scheduled to play again at Wrigley Field. The Wildcats will meet Purdue on Nov. 20 after last year’s game against Wisconsin got moved from the Friendly Confines because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The game against the Boilermakers would be the Wildcats’ first at Wrigley since they played Illinois in 2010. That was also the first college football game at the ballpark since 1938. Northwestern was scheduled to play Wisconsin at Wrigley last November but played at the Wildcats’ home stadium instead.

Tennis – Serena Williams back in Australian Open’s 3rd Rd
Williams is back in the Australian Open’s third round, where her stay in the Grand Slam tournament ended a year ago. The owner of an Open era-record 23 major singles championships moved on by grabbing the last seven games to beat 99th-ranked Nina Stojanovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-0 in a little more than an hour. Williams hit a half-dozen aces among her 27 winners, against merely 11 unforced errors. The 39-year-old American has won the title in Australia seven times, but her third-loss to Wang Qiang in the third round in 2020 was Williams’ earliest exit at Melbourne Park in 14 years.

MCCAA – Junior College Sports
Last Night
Women’s Volleyball
Muskegon Community College, Lake Michigan College 0

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
St. Joseph 56, Buchanan 53

  • St. Joe pulled ahead for good in the final 2 minutes of the game for a 56-53 season opening win at Buchanan.  Brennen Kerns led the Bears with 15 points while Joseph Brown added 14.  Ryan Young had a game high 19 points in the loss for the Bucks.  St. Joe will play against Portage Northern on Friday night. Live from the Bear Den on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM.

Benton Harbor 66, Fennville 56
Countryside Academy 57, Eau Claire 56
Brandywine 72, River Valley 33
Comstock 59, Marcellus 57
Howardsville Christian 45, Battle Creek Academy 38
Battle Creek Lakeview 54, Portage Northern 39
Rockford 67, Gull Lake 50

Girls Basketball
Michigan Lutheran 51, Lawrence 12

  • Michigan Lutheran coach Ron Briney becomes the all time winningest girls basketball coach in SW Michigan with a record of 482-147, passing former St. Joseph girls coach Rick Bloodworth, who had a 481-147 record with the Lady Bears.

Brandywine 66, River Valley 32
Howardsville Christian 43, Battle Creek Academy 29
Marcellus 46, Comstock 24
Battle Creek Lakeview 34, Portage Northern 13

Tonight
Boys Basketball
Paw Paw at Bloomingdale, 7:00 p.m.
Vicksburg at Dowagiac, 7:00 p.m.
Allegan at Edwardsburg, 7:15 p.m.
Sturgis at Otsego, 7:15 p.m.
Three Rivers at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.
Constantine at Coloma, 7:00 p.m.
Kal. Christian at Kal. Hackett, 7:00 p.m.
Lawton at Martin, 7:00 p.m.
Watervliet at Saugatuck, 7:00 p.m.

Girls Basketball
Plainwell at Three Rivers, 7:15 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Allegan, 7:15 p.m.
Otsego at Sturgis, 7:15 p.m.
Dowagiac at Vicksburg, 7:15 p.m.
Coloma at Constantine, 6:00 p.m.
Martin at Lawton, 7:00 p.m.