95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Tuesday, April 05, 2016
NCAA Basketball – Men’s
Last Night – Men’s NCAA Tournament Finals, NRG Stadium, Houston
(2) Villanova 77, (1) North Carolina 74
Villanova 77, North Carolina 74 – Villanova tops Carolina 77-74 on Jenkins’ buzzer-beater
He shoots. He scores. And Villanova wins. Kris Jenkins spotted up and swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer Monday night to lift Villanova to the national title with a 77-74 victory over North Carolina, one of the wildest finishes in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Villanova worked the ball to Jenkins moments after Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch 3 with 4.3 seconds left to draw the Tar Heels even. It’s the first title for the Wildcats (35-5) since 1985, when Rollie Massimino coaxed them to a victory over star-studded Georgetown. This one might be even more memorable, considering `Nova squandered a six-point lead with 1:52 left, only to pull out the game at the end. Phil Booth led Villanova with 20 points. Jenkins finished with 14, Paige had 21 for the Heels (33-7) who came one shot short of giving coach Roy Williams his third national title.
NCAA Basketball – Women’s
Today – Women’s NCAA Tournament Finals, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
(1) Connecticut vs. (4) Syracuse, 8:30 p.m.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Opening Day 2016
Yesterday
Chicago Cubs 9, Los Angeles Angels 0
Chicago White Sox 4, Oakland A’s 3
Cubs 9, Angels 0 – Cubs open much-anticipated season with 9-0 win over Angels
Jake Arrieta yielded two hits over seven dominant innings, Miguel Montero homered and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs opened a season of high expectations with a 9-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler drove in early runs and Villanova product Matt Szczur added a three-run double in the ninth for the Cubs, whose talent-laden roster is coming off a 97-win season and a trip to the NL Championship Series. Chicago’s anguished fans believe the team really might end its 108-year championship drought this season, and thousands chanted and cheered in Orange County to herald an auspicious start to the quest. Garrett Richards (0-1) gave up three runs in five innings of six-hit ball in his first opening day start for Los Angeles.
White Sox 4, A’s 3 – Sale pitches White Sox to 4-3 win at Oakland in opener
Chris Sale struck out eight in a solid season debut to build off his franchise record last year, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Monday night. Adam Eaton hit an RBI triple and Jimmy Rollins drove in a run during a four-run third inning in his first game with the White Sox playing back home in the East Bay. What had been planned as a marquee matchup between two American League aces never happened. Oakland right-hander Sonny Gray was scratched because of food poisoning that sent him to the emergency room. Sale didn’t get his opening day start last season, when Jeff Samardzija took the ball after Sale was slowed by a broken right foot. Sale went on to finish 13-11 with a team-record 274 strikeouts.
Tonight
Detroit (Verlander 0-0) at Miami (Chen 0-0), 7:10 p.m. 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports, 6:45 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Lester 0-0) at L.A. Angels (Heaney 0-0), 10:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Quintana 0-0) at Oakland (Bassitt 0-0), 10:05 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies, 8:00 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat, 8:00 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Arizona Coyotes at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.
NFL – Lions sign free agents Gilberry and Mulligan
The Detroit Lions have signed defensive end Wallace Gilberry and tight end Matthew Mulligan. The team announced the free-agent deals on Monday. Gilberry is entering his 10th NFL season. He previously spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs (2008-11), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012) and Cincinnati Bengals (2012-15). He played in all 16 games for Cincinnati last season, making one start and finishing with two sacks. Mulligan played last season with the Buffalo Bills. He played in 12 games and made five starts, but caught only one pass. Mulligan entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2008. He has appeared in games for the Bills, Titans, Bears, Patriots, Rams and Jets.
NFL – Bills’ McCoy off the hook
Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy won’t be charged over a Philadelphia nightclub brawl that left two off-duty police officers injured. McCoy could still face discipline from the NFL. District Attorney Seth Williams says he can’t prove who initiated the fight and says it’s legal to act in self-defense or the defense of others. Defense lawyer Dennis Cogan says McCoy was only trying to break up a fight between the officers and his friends over a $350 bottle of Champagne.
Basketball – Iverson, O’Neal and Yao lead group elected into Hall of Fame
Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Yao Ming, Sheryl Swoopes, Tom Izzo and Jerry Reinsdorf have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. The announcement was made Monday hours before the NCAA Tournament championship game between North Carolina and Villanova. Iverson was named the NBA rookie of the year in 1996-97 and was an 11-time All-Star. O’Neal, the top overall pick in the 1992 draft, was the NBA MVP in 20, a three-time NBA Finals MVP and 15-time All-Star. Yao, the top overall pick in 2002, was an eight-time All-Star. Swoopes helped Texas Tech to a national title, won four titles with the Houston Comets, was a three-time WNBA MVP and won three Olympic gold medals. Izzo, Michigan’s State coach, won a national title in 2000 and has taken the Spartans to the Final Four seven times. Reinsdorf has been the owner of the Chicago Bulls and White Sox for more than two decades.
NCAA Football – Notre Dame CB Watkins has surgery for broken left arm
Notre Dame cornerback Nick Watkins will miss the final two weeks of spring practice after undergoing surgery for a broken left arm. The university said Sunday the 6-foot-1, 200-pound defensive back from DeSoto, Texas, underwent successful surgery Saturday night after being injured during practice earlier in the day. He is competing for a starting job. Watkins played in 12 games last season, making his first start against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, with three tackles and a pass breakup. He played in 12 games last season, finishing with eight tackles. As a freshman in 2014, Watkins played primarily on special teams.
Golf – Masters – Couples withdraws
Fred Couples has pulled out of the Masters this week because of acute back pain. It will be the first Masters the 1992 winner will miss since 1994. His career has been slowed by back problems the last two decades. The 56-year old Couples says the recent pain has been too much for him to prepare or to compete.
NCAA Tennis – Longtime Michigan State tennis coach Stan Drobac has died
Stan Drobac has died at 88. He spent over three decades as the coach of Michigan State’s men’s tennis team and became a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. Drobac was Michigan State’s coach from 1958-89.
MCCAA – Junior College Sports
Today
Baseball
Kalamazoo Valley at Lake Michigan College, 2:00 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Softball
Jackson College at Lake Michigan College, 3:00 p.m. (Doubleheader)
