Weekday Morning Sports – Thursday 2/18/16

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Thursday, February 18, 2016

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 5, New York Rangers 3

Blackhawks 5, Rangers 3 – Panarin has hat trick, Blackhawks beat Rangers 5-3
Rookie sensation Artemi Panarin scored his first hat trick and the Chicago Blackhawks rallied to beat the New York Rangers 5-3 on Wednesday night after blowing a two-goal lead. Andrew Desjardins and Andrew Shaw also scored and Corey Crawford made 31 saves to help Chicago hand New York its first regulation loss at home in 11 games (8-1-2). The Blackhawks, who scored a season-high four power-play goals Monday, got three more against New York. The Rangers were miffed by a controversial late penalty that led to Panarin’s go-ahead goal with 3 miunutes to play. He added an empty-net tally. Kevin Hayes, Derick Brassard and Dan Boyle scored for New York, which rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead early in the third period. The game marked the return of Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh after missing four games with a concussion.

Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:00 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers, 8:00 p.m.

NCAA Basketball – Men’s
Tonight
Wisconsin at (8) Michigan State, 9:00 p.m.              WCSY-FM 8:00
Utah at UCLA, 10:00 p.m.                                        WSJM-AM 9:30

NCAA Basketball – Women’s
Last Night
(6) Maryland 76, Michigan 56
Eastern Michigan 70, Buffalo 55

#6 Maryland 76, Michigan 56 – No. 6 Maryland uses big second half to beat Michigan 76-56
Brionna Jones scored 20 points and No. 6 Maryland overwhelmed Michigan in the second half to pull away for a 76-56 victory on Wednesday night. The Terrapins (24-3, 13-2 Big Ten) fell behind by nine points in the second quarter and 30-29 at halftime _ only the third time this season Maryland trailed at the break. The third quarter, however, was completely different. Jones scored six points in an 11-3 run that put the Terrapins up 40-36, and Maryland tallied the final nine points of the period for a 51-40 lead. Maryland turned the game into a rout by outscoring Michigan 25-14 in the fourth quarter. The Terrapins completed a season sweep of the Wolverines (15-11, 7-8).

NCAA Swimming – After illness, Michigan pool gets scrub before Big 10 meet
The Big Ten women’s swimming and diving championship will start as planned after a “deep clean” of the University of Michigan pool.  Some Michigan students have been hit with a gastrointestinal illness this week, including members of the women’s swim team. Spokesman Brad Rudner says morning warmups for the Big Ten championship were canceled, but the event will start as scheduled Wednesday night. Rudner says water and chlorine levels were tested, and Canham Natatorium got an extra scrubbing as a precautionary step. He says the pool is safe for swimmers and spectators.

NCAA Football – Northern Illinois to play at US Cellular Field next season
Northern Illinois and Toledo will play next fall at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago in what will be the first football game ever played at the home of Major League Baseball’s White Sox. The Daily Chronicle reports that the teams will play at U.S. Cellular on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Attendance in games between the two Mid-American Conference rivals has fallen the last couple years and Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier says he hopes that a game in the Chicago area where some 145,000 alumni live will draw about 30,000 fans. The field will be laid out with one end zone near the right field fence and the other end zone near the third base line. Northern Illinois has played in Chicago before at Soldier Field.
Texas A&M, NFL’s Colts settle `12th Man’ trademark suit
Texas A&M University says it has reached a settlement agreement with the Indianapolis Colts in the school’s federal lawsuit it says was meant to protect its “12th Man” trademark from infringement. In a statement issued Wednesday, A&M officials said the lawsuit “has been settled amicably and with good will.” A&M spokesman Shane Hinckley and a Colts spokesman declined to offer details on the terms of the agreement. When the lawsuit was filed last November in federal court in Houston, A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said the intent was to protect the phrase “Home of the 12th Man” and variations of it that the university contends have brought its fan base “national renown.” A&M previously sued the Seattle Seahawks for infringing on the trademark and the two sides reached a settlement.  The university says the 12th Man phrase was federally trademarked in 1990.

MLB – More netting
The Kansas City Royals have announced that additional netting at Kauffman Stadium is being installed and will extend toward the outfield end of each team’s dugout.  The idea is to improve the safety for fans sitting along the foul lines.  Several clubs have considered ways to protect fans from foul balls hit into those seats, and some have suggested that similar netting should be mandatory in major league ballparks.

Boxing – Blowback for anti-gay statements
Manny Pacquiao’s comments disparaging gays have cost him his contract with apparel giant Nike. The company says it has dropped the Filipino boxer after he was quoted as saying gay people “are worse than animals.” Nike called Pacquiao’s comments “abhorrent” and said the company strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has long stood up for the fights of gays.  Pacquiao apologized Tuesday for the remarks made a day earlier. He meets Timothy Bradley on April 9 in what could be his last fight.

MCCAA – Junior College Basketball – Women’s
Last Night
Grand Rapids Community College 81, Lake Michigan College 79
Lake Michigan College suffered its second straight loss as they fell to Grand Rapids 81-79.  The Lady Red Hawks stormed back from 18 points down to tie the game late, but the rally fell short.  Kelsee Kinder finished with 26 points in the loss for LMC.

LMC-GRCC-021716MCCAA – Junior College Basketball – Men’s
Last Night
Lake Michigan College 80, Grand Rapids Community College 71
Lake Michigan College rallied from 15 points down and pulled out an 80-71 win over Grand Rapids.  Terry Davis led the Red Hawks with a game high 28 points, Ja’Mare Washington added 25.  The win is LMC’s fifth straight as they improve to 10-3 in the MCCAA West.

 

AHL – American Hockey League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Griffins 4, Milwaukee Admirals 1

Tonight
Iowa Wild at Chicago Wolves, 8 p.m.

ECHL – NBA Developmental League
Last Night
Toledo Walleye 4, Colorado Eagles 3

NBADL – NBA Developmental League
Last Night
Sioux Falls Skyforce 108, Grand Rapids Drive 100

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Paw Paw 77, Allegan 29
Eau Claire 51, Bloomingdale 43
Kalamazoo Hackett 77, Lawton 41

Girls Basketball
Battle Creek Central 78, Benton Harbor 74 – OT
Battle Creek Central earned only their second win of the season as the Bearcats beat Benton Harbor 78-74 in overtime on the Tigers home floor.  Jamesha Smith had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Central and Alyssa Smith also had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  Kysre Gondrezick had 40 points in the loss for the Tigers.   Benton Harbor drops to 7-9 on the season and will be at Lakeshore (15-1) Friday Night live on Sports Radio 1400 WSJM.

Allegan 47, Paw Paw 40
Kalamazoo Hackett 48, Lawton 35

Wrestling Regionals
Division 2 at Coldwater
Sturgis 30, Lakeshore 27
Battle Creek Harper Creek 57, Battle Creek Central 24

Championship
Sturgis 49, Battle Creek Harper Creek 27

Division 2 at Allegan
Allendale 49, Bryon Center 19
Allegan 50, Hastings 17

Championship
Allegan 37, Allendale 24

Division 3 at Coloma
Delton Kellogg 63, Wyoming-Kelloggsville 9
Buchanan 42, Constantine 3

Championship
Delton Kellogg 64, Buchanan 12

Division 4 at Bangor
Springport 75, Athens 6
Lawton 35, Martin/Climax Scotts 35 (Lawton wins on 6th tiebreaker)

Championship
Springport 43, Lawton 28

Division 4 at Mendon
Decatur 64, Brandywine 18
Schoolcraft 54, Bronson 18

Championship
Decatur 36, Schoolcraft 26

Tonight
Boys Basketball
River Valley at Watervliet Grace Christian, 7:45 p.m.

Girls Basketball
River Valley at Watervliet Grace Christian, 6:15 p.m.
New Buffalo at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m.
Buchanan at Berrien Springs, 7:30 p.m.