Sports Radio 1400 WSJM @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Wednesday, March 16, 2016
NCAA – NCAA Tournament – First Four
Last Night
#16 Florida Gulf Coast 96, #16 Fairleigh Dickinson 65
#11 Wichita State 70, #11 Vanderbilt 50
FGCU 96, FDU 65 – Gulf Coast Coasts into next round
Marc-Eddy Norelia scored 20 points and Florida Gulf Coast coasted to a 96-65 win over an overmatched Fairleigh Dickinson team in Dayton. The Eagles now move on to play top-seeded North Carolina in an East regional game Thursday.
WSU 70, Vandy 50 – Shockers keep danceing
Wichita State eliminated Vanderbilt 70-50. Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker each had 14 for the Shockers. Wichita State moves on to play Arizona Thursday.
Tonight
#16 Holy Cross vs. #16 Southern, 6:40 p.m.
#11 Michigan vs. #11 Tulsa, 9:10 p.m. Sports Radio 1400 WSJM 8:30 (after HS Basketball)
NCAA – Michigan’s last-second shots set up First Four vs Tulsa
A jumper with 3.3 seconds left in overtime. A 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer. Michigan needed every last moment to get to the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines (22-12) went from one of the last-out teams to the First Four with a pair of dramatic wins in the Big Ten Tournament. They get to play Tulsa (20-11) in the last of the opening games on Wednesday night. The winner plays Notre Dame in Brooklyn on Friday night. Tulsa is hoping to take all of the drama out of Michigan in the final minutes. Zak Irvin hit a jumper with 3.3 seconds left for a 72-70 win over Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines then upset top-seeded Indiana 72-69 on Kameron Chatman’s 3 from the right corner at the buzzer in the quarterfinals. Tulsa has nine seniors for an advantage in experience.
NCAA Basketball – The Latest: Attorney: Charges against Cleaves are `false’
A defense attorney says criminal sexual conduct charges filed against former Michigan State basketball star Mateen Cleaves are “false” and are “catastrophic” to Cleaves’ career. Frank J. Manley also tells The Associated Press that Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy chose to charge Cleaves Tuesday to “bring special attention” to the case at the start of the NCAA basketball tournament this week. Cleaves led Michigan State to the NCAA championship in 2000 and has worked as a television analyst. The Spartans are favored by some to reach this year’s Final Four. The 39-year-old Cleaves is charged with criminal sexual conduct, sexual assault and unlawful imprisonment. A 24-year-old woman said she met Cleaves in September at a Flint-area charity golf outing and later taken to a Mundy Township motel and assaulted.
NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Detroit Red Wings 3
Flyers 4, Red Wings 3 – Flyers top Red Wings 4-3 in pivotal game for playoff push
Michael Raffl scored two goals and the Philadelphia Flyers won a pivotal game in their playoff push, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Flyers have 78 points and pulled within one point of the Red Wings for the final Eastern Conference wild-card playoff berth. The Flyers dominated the Red Wings early and outshot Detroit 23-3 in the first period. They held on after Detroit’s Tomas Tatar scored with 3:46 left in the game to make it 4-3. Raffle and Wayne Simmonds both scored in the first to give the Flyers a lead they would never relinquish. With 14 games left this season, the Flyers need every point possible to reach the playoffs. It’s crunch time: Philadelphia also plays Pittsburgh three times and is at Detroit on April 6. The Flyers are only four points behind the Penguins.
Tonight
Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:00 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Indiana Pacers 103, Boston Celtics 98
Pacers 103, Celtics 98 – Pacers finish strong, beat Celtics 103-98
Paul George scored 25 points as the Indiana Pacers finished with a strong fourth quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 103-98 Tuesday night. Monta Ellis added 16 points with six assists for Indiana. Isaiah Thomas had 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Boston.
Tonight
Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards, 7:00 p.m.
Atlanta Hawks at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
NBA – Long homestand could help Detroit’s playoff pursuit
The Detroit Pistons are entering the home stretch in more ways than one. With a playoff spot now a realistic possibility, Detroit will play its next nine games at the Palace, the team’s longest homestand in 35 years. The Pistons don’t have another road game until April 2 at Chicago. By then, they hope to have taken a big step toward their first postseason berth since 2009. The homestand begins tonight against Atlanta. The Pistons then host four straight teams with losing records, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Orlando.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 10, Atlanta Braves 6
Chicago White Sox 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 6
Chicago Cubs 11, San Diego Padres 1
Tigers 10, Braves 6 – Verlander extends scoreless string, Tigers top Braves 10-6
Justin Verlander extended his scoreless string to nine innings as the Detroit Tigers downed the Atlanta Braves 10-6. Verlander, a former Cy Young winner and Most Valuable Player, suffered through arm troubles last spring and won only five games in 20 starts. He allowed one hit and struck out five in four innings. New closer Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning in his second outing of the spring. J.D. Martinez homered for the third straight day to increase his spring total to four, and James McCann also homered for the Tigers. Ian Kinsler doubled to improve his spring average to .385. Bud Norris started for the Braves and watched his spring ERA balloon to 7.88 after allowing six earned runs in three innings. Ender Inciarte had two RBIs for Atlanta.
White Sox 8, Dodgers 6 – White Sox get an 8-6 walk-off win over Dodgers
Matt Davidson’s second home run lifted the Chicago White Sox to an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jason Coats also homered for Chicago. But Davidson connected off Jamey Wright after Travis Ishikawa’s double to win it. The Dodgers committed four errors.
Padres 10, Cubs 2 – Arrieta strong in Cubs’ 10-2 loss to Padres
Matt Davidson’s second home run lifted the Chicago White Sox to an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jason Coats also homered for Chicago. But Davidson connected off Jamey Wright after Travis Ishikawa’s double to win it. The Dodgers committed four errors.
Tonight
Detroit vs. Houston at Kissimmee, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox vs. Milwaukee at Phoenix, 4:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
MLB – White Sox’s LaRoche retires with year left on deal
Adam LaRoche surprised the Chicago White Sox by telling them Tuesday he intends to retire. General manager Rick Hahn says LaRoche told his teammates in a clubhouse meeting Tuesday morning and was asked to reconsider his decision. LaRoche signed a two-year deal for $25 million with the White Sox a year ago.
Golf – The Masters – No tee time for Arnie this year
Four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer will be on the first tee to help start the Masters this year, but without his golf clubs. Every year since 2007 he has hit a ceremonial tee shot to start the Masters. He was joined in 2010 by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in 2012. This year the 86-year old Palmer says he won’t be taking part because he can’t hit the driver the way he would like. Nicklaus and Player will continue in the role this year with Arnie watching.
Olympics – IOC confident about South Korean Olympic preparations
An International Olympic Committee official says South Korean organizers are progressing well in their preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, but must focus on successfully delivering what would be an increasing number of warm-up events as the Games draw closer. Gunilla Lindberg, who heads the IOC’s coordination commission for the Pyeongchang Games, said Wednesday the South Koreans were on track to deliver a “great” Winter Games, although there was “still a lot of work to do.” Lindberg has led an IOC delegation on a three-day visit to South Korea to inspect the construction of competition venues and discuss with organizers operational plans for the Games. Pyeongchang’s organizers last month held their first round of test sports events, including World Cup downhill and super-G races, at Olympic snow venues.
AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Grand Rapids Griffins at Texas Stars, 8:30 p.m.
NBADL – NBA Developmental League
Tonight
Westchester Knicks at Grand Rapids Drive, 7:00 p.m.
MHSAA – Girls Quarterfinals
Last Night
Class C at Portage Northern
Brandywine 40, Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 24
-Brandywine will face Traverse City St. Francis in the semifinals at Michigan State’s Breslin Center Thursday at 1:00 p.m.
MHSAA – Boys Regional Finals
Tonight
Class B at Battle Creek Harper Creek
Lakeshore vs. South Haven, 7:00 p.m. SuperHits 103.7 Cosy-FM and Sports Radio 1400 WSJM, 6:50
Class D at Portage Northern
Countryside Academy vs. Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian, 7:00 p.m.
