Weekday Morning Sports – Tuesday 3/17/15

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, March 17, 2015

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY

NCAA Basketball – Men’s – NCAA Tournament
Tonight
NCAA Tournament – First Four
(16) Hampton vs. (16) Manhattan, 6:40 p.m.
(11) BYU vs. (11) Ole Miss, 9:10 p.m.

NCAA Basketball – Men’s – Georgia’s NCAA hopes rest heavily on injured players
Georgia’s NCAA Tournament outlook rests heavily on its medical report. At full strength, the Bulldogs could be capable of challenging Michigan State in Friday’s game in Charlotte, North Carolina. But Georgia might face a quick exit if it can’t get past the injuries which helped lead to its exit from the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Guard Kenny Gaines, Georgia’s second-leading scorer and top perimeter defender, missed the loss to Arkansas in the SEC semifinals with a sprained left foot. Reserve guard Juwan Parker aggravated an Achilles injury in the loss and played only six minutes. Gaines says he is confident he’ll return for the NCAA Tournament. Coach Mark Fox says he hopes the Bulldogs “can get closer to being healthy” but concedes some players will not be at full speed.

NCAA Basketball – Rihanna, Zac Brown Band headline Final Four concerts
Grammy Award winners Rihanna and the Zac Brown Band will headline this year’s March Madness Music Festival. The free, three-day concert series will be held next month in Indianapolis. The city is hosting the Final Four for the seventh time.

NCAA Basketball – Men’s – NIT Tournament
Tonight
NIT Tournament
(6) Central Michigan at (3) Louisiana Tech, 7:30 p.m.

NCAA Basketball – Women’s – UConn has top overall seed
Connecticut has received the first overall seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament as the Huskies seek their third consecutive national championship. The Huskies will open at home against St. Francis of New York in the Albany Region, continuing Geno Auriemma’s quest to tie John Wooden’s all-time Division I basketball record of 10 NCAA titles. Notre Dame is the top seed in the Oklahoma City Region and will begin its tournament schedule at home against Montana. The Irish have been to every Final Four since 2011 without winning the championship. South Carolina heads the Greensboro Region and will be home for its opening-round game against Savannah State, a team the Gamecocks crushed by 62 points this season. The top seed in the Spokane Region is Maryland, which ran the table in the Big Ten and will be home for its first-round game against New Mexico State.

NCAA Basketball – Women’s – Irish hope to follow familiar path to different ending
Notre Dame heads into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed for a fourth straight season and will begin play at home. The second-ranked Fighting Irish (31-2) will host Montana (24-8) on Friday. The other teams playing at Notre Dame are Minnesota (23-9) and Big East champion DePaul (26-7).  The Irish head into the tournament favored to join a select group of schools to advance to five straight Final Fours. The biggest concern for the Irish, though, is trying to end a streak of Final Four disappointments and win their first national championship since 2001. The only teams to advance to five straight Final Fours are LSU (2004-08), Stanford (2008-12) and Connecticut, which has done it twice: 2000-04 and the current streak of seven straight that started in 2008.

NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
New York Islanders at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Memphis Grizzlies at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.

MLB – Commissioner hears from Rose, addresses Oakland ballpark matter
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred confirms that Pete Rose has submitted a new request to be reinstated to baseball. Manfred says he intends to work with Rose’s representatives on how to handle it.  The career hits leader agreed to a lifetime ban in August 1989 following an investigation by Major League Baseball that concluded he bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win while managing the team. He applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met in November 2002 with Commissioner Bud Selig (SEE’-lig), who never ruled on the application. Manfred also says addressing the Oakland Athletics’ desire for a new ballpark is a top priority, though he’s unsure what influence his office can have on the matter. Manfred says Major League Baseball will continue to be involved but prefers to let the A’s and city of Oakland find a solution.

MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
St. Louis 1, Detroit 0
San Diego 7, Chicago Cubs 0
Arizona 6, Chicago White Sox 2

Cardinals 1, Tigers 0 – Lackey outduels Price in first spring training start
John Lackey outpitched David Price in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers yesterday. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny let Lackey set his own pace during camp and it has paid off. The right-hander struck out four and needed only 37 pitches. Pete Kozma had an RBI single.

Padres 7, Cubs 0 – Cubs’ Lester allows 2 HRs in rough 3rd start; Padres cruise
Matt Kemp and Tommy Medica hit towering home runs off Jon Lester on a rough day for the new Chicago Cubs ace in the San Diego Padres’ 7-0 victory yesterday. Lester hadn’t allowed a run or walk in two starts and five innings. He was charged with six runs and seven hits before leaving with one out in the fourth.

Diamondbacks 6, White Sox 2 – Delgado, Rodon making bids for D-backs, White Sox rotation
Arizona’s Randall Delgado gave up a run for the first time this spring in another otherwise strong outing for the Diamondbacks in a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox yesterday. Chicago’s Carlos Rodon settled down after control issues in the first inning for the White Sox. Robbie Ray struck out six in four innings.

Today
Washington vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Seattle vs. Chicago White Sox at Glendale, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
Kansas City vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.

NFL – Bears agree to 1-year deal with Vladimir Ducasse
Veteran guard Vladimir Ducasse has agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears. Ducasse has made 11 starts and played in 63 games over five seasons with the New York Jets (2010-13) and Minnesota Vikings (2014). A native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Ducasse played at UMass before getting drafted by the Jets in the second round in 2010. The Bears announced the move on Monday.

OHL – Flint’s Ontario Hockey League team to be called `Firebirds’
The Ontario Hockey League team that’s scheduled to start playing in Flint later this year will be called the “Flint Firebirds.” IMS Hockey Corp. on Monday unveiled the name and logo. The Flint Journal reports team officials say the bird represents freedom, oftentimes the result of a difficult journey, and offers significance to Flint-area residents amid the city’s struggles. Team president Costa Papista says in a statement that Flint “has been built and sustained on the fierce resilience of its residents.” An online contest was held to name the team. Papista says “Firebirds” was submitted by 38 people and Genesee County resident Tom Barden was named the winner. League officials earlier this year approved plans to sell the Plymouth Whalers and move the team from suburban Detroit to Flint.

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Last Night
Toledo Walleye 3, Elmira Jackals 0

Tonight
Indy Fuel at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00 p.m. – Annual Green Ice Game
Toledo Walleye at Wheeling Nailers, 7:00 p.m.

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

NJCAA – Junior College Basketball – Division II National Tournament – Women’s
Tonight
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas – Round 1
(8) Lake Michigan College vs. (9) Chesapeake College, 9:00 p.m.

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association – Boys Basketball Regionals
Last Night – Regional Semifinals
Class B at Comstock
Otsego 66, Battle Creek Harper Creek 51
Benton Harbor 66, Edwardsburg 61

  • Benton Harbor earned a trip to the Class B Regional Finals with a 66-61 win over Edwardsburg.  The Eddies jumped out to an eight point lead early but the Tigers came back to lead by seven at the half behind 4 three pointers by Jaton Gunn.  Benton Harbor then hung on in the end to advance to tomorrow’s title game.  Gunn led the Tigers with 20 points.  Dante Razzano turned in 27 for Edwardsburg.  Benton Harbor will face Otsego tomorrow for the Regional crown.

Class C at Watervliet
Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian 65, Kalamazoo Hackett 40
New Buffalo 53, Constantine 51

  • Jarek Hotwagner scored 18 points for New Buffalo as the Bison beat Constantine 53-51 to advance to the Regional Championship game against Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian.  Marques Artz added 15 for New Buffalo.  Cody Ley scored 18 points to lead Constantine.

Class D at Mendon
Wyoming Tri-Unity 72, Kalamazoo Heritage 44
Mendon 69, Covert 46

  • Parker Cupp had a career high 31 points for Mendon as the Hornets beat Covert 69-46.  Zequarius Jeffries scored a game high 30 points for Covert in the season ending loss.

Class A at Holt
Lansing Everett 82, Ann Arbor Huron 77
Kalamazoo Central 79, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 49

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association – Girls Basketball Quarterfinas
Tonight – Quarterfinals
Class B at Eaton Rapids
Benton Harbor (19-5) vs. Flat Rock (21-3), 7:00 p.m.        Sports Radio 1400 WSJM

Class C at Comstock Park
Brandywine (23-1) vs. Laingsburg (25-0), 7:00 p.m.

Class D at Battle Creek Harper Creek
Michigan Lutheran (21-1) vs. Pittsford (24-0), 7:00 p.m.