Weekday Morning Sports – Monday 2/22/16

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Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Monday, February 22, 2016

NASCAR – Daytona 500 – Hamlin wins in Daytona Beach
Joe Gibbs wanted another ring and Denny Hamlin got it for him in the closest Daytona 500 finish in history.  Hamlin raced to his first Daytona 500 victory Sunday, the first for Toyota, and the first in 23 years for Joe Gibbs Racing.  The three-time Super Bowl winning coach made it clear during Speedweeks that he wanted another Daytona 500 victory, and his drivers were clear on the task at hand. All four JGR cars pulled the field in the closing laps with Matt Kenseth out front and leading Martin Truex Jr., a Toyota teammate. Hamlin waited until one lap to go to pull out of line and hope to get a big enough shove to get to Kenseth.  Kenseth tried to block his teammate, Hamlin wedged his car between Kenseth and Truex, and raced Truex side-by-side to the checkered flag.  The margin of victory was 0.011 seconds, the closest in race history. Toyotas swept the podium as reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Busch finished third. Carl Edwards was fifth as Toyota took four of the top five spots.  Kenseth faded to 14th.

NCAA Basketball – Men’s
Yesterday
(6) Maryland 86, Michigan 82

#6 Maryland 86, Michigan 82 – No. 6 Maryland holds off Michigan, 86-82
Robert Carter scored 17 points as sixth-ranked Maryland bounced back from consecutive losses with a 86-82 victory over Michigan on Sunday. Jake Layman had 16 points, while Melo Trimble finished with 13 for Maryland (23-5, 11-4 Big Ten). Freshman Diamond Stone added 13 points after being suspended for the previous game by Maryland coach Mark Turgeon for a flagrant foul against Wisconsin. Junior Mark Donnal went 10 of 13 from the field and had 25 points for Michigan (19-9, 9-6). Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 16 points, Derrick Walton Jr. scored 14 and Zak Irvin had 11 points for the Wolverines, who went 13-27 from beyond the arc. A careless inbound pass by Carter was stolen by Abdur-Rahkman, who made an uncontested easy layup and tied the game at 47 three minutes into the second half. Maryland, however, regained control as Layman got hot beyond the mark. The senior hit a pair of 3-pointers and the Terrapins led 66-58 with 12 minutes remaining.

NHL – National Hockey League
Yesterday
Minnesota Wild 6, Chicago Blackhawks 1                (NHL Stadium Series Game, TCF Bank Stadium)
New York Rangers 1, Detroit Red Wings 0 – OT

Wild 6, Blackhawks 1 – Great outdoors: Pominville, Haula lead Wild past Hawks 6-1
Jason Pominville and Erik Haula each had a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild celebrated the first outdoor game in franchise history with a 6-1 victory on Sunday over the Chicago Blackhawks.  In front of a crowd of 50,426 at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus with an ideal faceoff temperature of 35 degrees, the Wild turned the NHL’s 17th edition of open-air hockey into a romp past their postseason nemesis and primary rival.  The Blackhawks pulled goalie Corey Crawford for Scott Darling after 19 saves in two periods. Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Carter each added a goal and an assist, and Matt Dumba and Thomas Vanek also scored. Patrick Kane ended Devan Dubnyk’s shutout pursuit with his Western Conference-leading 35th goal midway through the third period. Dubnyk stopped 31 shots.

Rangers 1, Red Wings 0 – OT – Klein’s overtime goal gives Rangers 1-0 win over Detroit
Kevin Klein scored on a 2-on-1 break at 1:59 of overtime and the New York Rangers beat Detroit 1-0 on Sunday night, spoiling a magnificent effort by Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard. Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves in picking up his fourth shutout and helping the Rangers win for the seventh time in nine games (7-1-1). Howard made 29 saves as the Red Wings lost their sixth straight road game, their longest skid since March 2012. However, he forced the overtime with a pad save on a penalty shot by Jesper Fast with 5:25 left in regulation and then a sliding pad save on Fast in close with 3:45 to go.  Kevin Hayes led the 2-on-1 with Klein after Lundqvist barely stopped a shot by Gustav Nyquist in close. Hayes slid the puck to the defenseman on the left side and his shot found the top right hand corner of the net.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
New Orleans Pelicans 111, Detroit Pistons 106
Chicago Bulls 126, Los Angeles Lakers 115

Pelicans 111, Pistons 106 – Anthony Davis scores 59 points, Pelicans top Pistons 111-106
Anthony Davis scored a franchise-record 59 points and added 20 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Detroit Pistons 111-106 on Sunday. The previous club record was 50 points by Jamal Mashburn exactly 13 years earlier against the Grizzlies. Davis went 24 of 34 from the floor and made his only two 3-pointers. He added nine free throws in 10 tries. Davis also broke the scoring record for the Palace of Auburn Hills, set by LeBron James with 48 points in an Eastern Conference finals game on June 1, 2007. The star center joined Shaquille O’Neal and Chris Webber as the only NBA players with 50 points and 20 rebounds in a game since 1983. Jrue Holiday came off the bench and scored 20 points for the Pelicans _ the only other player to reach double figures for New Orleans. Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 34 points.

Bulls 126, Lakers 115 – Bulls beat Lakers 126-115 to spoil Kobe’s Chicago farewell
Derrick Rose and E’Twaun Moore had 24 points apiece Sunday night to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 126-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s final game at the United Center. Moore, who was 10 for 14 from the field, tied his career high. Pau Gasol had 21 points, Mike Dunleavy and Bobby Portis each scored 17 and Doug McDermott added 16 as the Bulls won their second straight. Bryant finished with 22 points on 8-for-20 shooting in 27 minutes. Julius Randle also had 22 points and Jordan Clarkson added 20 as Los Angeles dropped its fifth in a row. The Bulls played a video tribute to Bryant during the introductions of the Lakers’ starters. Rose referred to Bryant as his generation’s Michael Jordan, and the salute ended with Gasol introducing his former teammate.

Tonight
Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:00 p.m.

NCAA Basketball – Women’s
Yesterday
(25) Michigan State 114, Minnesota 106

#25 Michigan State 114, Minnesota 106 – Powers leads No. 25 Michigan State over Minnesota 114-106
Aerial Powers scored a career-high 40 points and No. 25 Michigan State withstood Rachel Banham’s 52 points that made her the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer to take a 114-106 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. Banham now has 2,921 points to pass Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante (2001-04), who 2,919. Sunday she was 14 of 28 from the field, 9 of 13 from 3-point range and 15 of 16 on free throws in coming within eight points of her career high of 60 set against Northwestern in a 112-106 double-overtime win on Feb. 7. Carlie Wagner added 20 points.  Minnesota (18-9, 10-6) rallied from a 19-point first-quarter deficit to take a two-point lead early in the third quarter before the Spartans (20-7, 11-5) regained the lead for good with a 23-5 run, with 10 points from Powers, for an 80-64 advantage. The Gophers got within 96-90 with 3:36 remaining but no closer. MSU’s Tori Jankoska, who scored 24 points and had a career-high 15 assists, hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final 1:03.

Tonight
(2) Notre Dame at (10) Florida State, 7:00 p.m.

Golf – PGA – Watson wins
Bubba Watson has won the PGA’s Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. He finished play 15-under-par, one shot in front of Adam Scott and Jason Jason Kokrak. Watson closed with a 3-under-68 for his ninth career win on the PGA Tour.

Golf – LPGA – First ever win for Japan’s Nomura
Japan’s Haru Nomura fired a 7-under 65 to earn her first LPGA victory in 72 starts, taking the Australian Open by three strokes over top-ranked and defending champion Lydia Ko.  Nomura was tied for the lead with two others going into the final round before finishing 16 under par. Five-time champion Karrie Webb shot 71 to finish third, seven strokes behind Nomura.

NFL – Kramer’s Super Bowl I ring sells for $125K at auction
Former Packers offensive lineman Jerry Kramer has sold his ring from the first Super Bowl for more than $125,000. Green Bay Press-Gazette Media reports the ring was among more than 50 items from Kramer that were auctioned Saturday night through Heritage Auctions. Kramer’s game-used jersey from Super Bowl I sold for more than $45,000. Kramer, who turned 80 in January, played with Green Bay in the 1960s. He said he’s selling the items to clear his house of things he doesn’t need and plans to use the money to create a college fund for his five grandchildren. Proceeds from the auction were expected to be about $350,000 by the end of the weekend. Kramer declined to sell his Super Bowl II ring, saying it means too much to him.

MCCAA – Junior College Basketball – Women
Tonight
Glen Oaks Community College at Lake Michigan College, 5:30 p.m.         WSJM-AM

MCCAA – Junior College Basketball – Men
Tonight
Glen Oaks Community College at Lake Michigan College, 7:30 p.m.         WSJM-AM

AHL – American Hockey League
Yesterday
Chicago Wolves 3, Charlotte Checkers 2 – Shootout

ECHL – NBA Developmental League
Yesterday
Toledo Walleye 2, Kalamazoo Wings 0

NBADL – NBA Developmental League
Tonight
Maine Red Claws at Grand Rapids Drive, 7:00 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Tonight
Boys Basketball
St. Joseph at Battle Creek Lakeview, 7:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m.
Niles at Edwardsburg, 7:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Sturgis, 7:00 p.m.
Bridgman at New Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Gobles, 5:30 p.m.
Marcellus at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m.

Girls Basketball
Battle Creek Lakeview at St. Joseph, 7:00 p.m.
Lakeshore at Mattawan, 7:00 p.m.
Sturgis at Paw Paw, 7:00 p.m.
Eau Claire at River Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Marcellus at White Pigeon, 6:00 p.m.