Wednesday Morning Sports Update-03/24/2021

aptopix-ncaa-michigan-tennessee-basketball
aptopix-ncaa-michigan-tennessee-basketball

NCAAWBB – 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – San Antonio
Yesterday
#6 Michigan 70, #3 Tennessee 55
#1 NC State 79, #8 South Florida 67
#5 Iowa 86, #4 Kentucky 72
#5 Georgia Tech 73, #4 West Virginia 56
#2 Baylor 90, #7 Virginia Tech 48
#1 South Carolina 59, #8 Oregon State 42
#1 UConn 83, #8 Syracuse 47
#1 Stanford 73, #8 Oklahoma State 62

Michigan 70, Tennessee 55 – Michigan women reach Sweet 16 for first time, beat Tennessee
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan to its first Sweet 16 appearance with a 70-55 win over third-seeded Tennessee in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the second round before pulling off the victory over the Lady Vols. As the final buzzer sounded, the Michigan players jumped into a group hug at center court and sang “it’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.”

Today
#2 Maryland vs. #7 Alabama, 1:00 p.m.
#5 Missouri St. vs. #13 Wright St.., 3:00 p.m.
#3 Georgia vs. #6 Oregon, 3:00 p.m.
#2 Louisville vs. #7 Northwestern, 5:00 p.m.
#4 Indiana vs. #12 Belmont, 5:00 p.m.
#3 Arizona vs. #11 BYU, 7:00 p.m.
#2 Texas A&M vs. #7 Iowa St., 7:00 p.m.
#6 Texas vs. #3 UCLA, 9:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Nashville Predators 2, Detroit Red Wings 0
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Florida Panthers 2

Blackhawks 3, Panthers 2 – Lankinen makes 33 saves as Blackhawks beat Panthers 3-2
Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves, Patrick Kane had two assists and the Chicago Blackhawks stopped a four-game slide by holding off the Florida Panthers for a 3-2 win. Dominik Kubalik, Pius Suter and Carl Soderberg scored for Chicago in the opener of a six-game homestand. It was the Blackhawks’ first victory against the Panthers in five games this season. Anton Stralman and Alex Wennberg scored for the Panthers, who lost for the third time in four games. Chris Driedger made 29 stops.

Predators 2, Red Wings 0 – Saros makes 31 saves for 1st shutout, Predators beat Detroit
Juuse Saros made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Nashville Predators beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 Tuesday night. Mikael Granlund and Mathieu Olivier scored for Nashville, which has won four of its last five games. Thomas Greiss had 22 saves for Detroit, which has lost two straight.

NHL – Referee caught on hot mic wanting to call penalty on Preds
A referee wearing a microphone for the Detroit-Nashville game Tuesday night was heard over the TV broadcast saying he wanted to call a penalty against the Predators. The unidentified official’s microphone was cut off in the middle of the comment after Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson was called for a tripping penalty early in the second period. Referees Tim Peel and Kelly Sutherland worked the game, a 2-0 win by Nashville. The NHL did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press after the game.

NHL makes draft lottery changes, spots up for grabs cut to 2
The NHL has instituted changes to the draft lottery that make it more difficult for the last-place team to drop out of the top three in the selection order. Beginning with the 2021 draft, only the first two picks will be subject to the lottery and no team can move up more than 10 picks. Starting in 2022, no team will be able to win the draft lottery more than twice in a five-year span. The tweaks were made after the Detroit Red Wings fell to the fourth pick in the 2020 draft despite finishing 23 points behind the 30th-place team.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NCAA – Emmert agrees to meet protesting players after March Madness
The National College Players Association says NCAA President Mark Emmert has informed a group of basketball players who started a social media campaign to protest inequities in college sports that he will meet with them after March Madness. NCPA Executive Director Ramogi Huma says he received a letter from Emmert in response to the advocacy group’s request for a meeting between the head of the NCAA and three players who started the #NotNCAAProperty protest. Michigan’s Isaiah Livers, Rutgers’ Geo Baker and Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon are pushing for the NCAA to change its rules restricting athletes from earning money for personal sponsorship deals, online endorsements and appearances. The players said they were disappointed with the delay and requested to meet by Friday.

MLB – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 5, New York Yankees 5 – TIE
Chicago White Sox 3, Chicago Cubs 1

Today
Philadelphia Phillies at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m.
Oakland A’s at Chicago White Sox, 4:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Seattle Mariners, 9:40 p.m.

MLB – Hendricks to start on Opening Day for Cubs
Chicago manager David Ross says Kyle Hendricks will get the ball when the Cubs begin the season against Pittsburgh on April 1 at Wrigley Field. The right-hander tossed a three-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Milwaukee on opening day last summer. The 31-year-old Hendricks went 6-5 with a 2.88 ERA in 12 starts during the pandemic-shortened season, helping Chicago win the NL Central.

NFL – Bears sign LB Jones, OL Wilkinson to 1-year contracts
The Chicago Bears have signed veteran linebacker Christian Jones and offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson to one-year contracts. Jones has seven sacks over 108 games. He started 42 games over three seasons in Detroit and had three sacks and forced one fumble. He also started 31 games with the Bears from 2014 through 2017. The 6-foot-6, 329-pound Wilkinson played in 45 games and made 26 starts with Denver from 2017 to 2020 after entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Massachusetts. He made seven starts at right guard in 2018, and 19 at right tackle over the past two years.

NFL – Watson faces new allegation
An attorney for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who’s accused of sexual assault and harassment in lawsuits filed by 16 women, is questioning the allegations against the NFL player, claiming they were made following a failed attempt to blackmail his client for $30,000.  In lawsuits, Watson is accused of exposing himself and inappropriately touching the women while getting massages. Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, alleges his legal team has “strong evidence” an accusation made by a woman they believe filed one of the lawsuits is false. Hardin accuses the woman of trying to blackmail Watson over a consensual encounter. The attorney for the women says the lawsuits are not about money.

Northern Indiana drag strip closes its gates after 63 years
A northern Indiana drag strip has closed its gates after more than six decades of playing host to drag races. The Osceola Dragway announced Friday in a Facebook post that it will not be opening for the 2021 season and that “after 63 years, our gates will be permanently closed.” Track officials said the coronavirus pandemic had impacted ongoing efforts that began in 2016 to sell the International Hot Rod Association-sanctioned track, which features a quarter-mile drag strip a few miles west of Elkhart. The Elkhart Truth reports the track, which was founded in 1957, had opened for a pandemic-shortened season in 2020.

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Last Night
Women’s Volleyball
Glen Oaks Community College 3, Lake Michigan College 0            (25-7, 25-20, 25-14)

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball – District Quarterfinals
Division 1 at St. Joseph
Portage Central 52, Mattawan 29

Division 1 at Sturgis
Battle Creek Central 44, B.C. Lakeview 39

Division 2 at Niles
Niles 57, Berrien Springs 55
Buchanan 71, Dowagiac 45

Division 2 at Coloma
Holland Christian 61, Hamilton 50

Division 2 at Paw Paw
Parchment 87, Constantine 50

Division 3 at Bridgman
Marcellus 53, Bridgman 47

Division 3 at Lawton
Hartford 46, Bangor 33
Gobles 66, Bloomingdale 63 – OT

Division 3 at Centreville
Bronson 57, White Pigeon 54 – OT
Union City 52, Quincy 48 – OT

Division 3 at Fennville
Grandville Calvin Christian 38, Wyoming Potter’s House 37
Saugatuck 58, Holland Black River 43

Tonight
Girls Basketball – Districts Semifinals
Division 1 at Kalamazoo Central
Mattawan vs. Portage Central, 5:00 p.m.
St. Joseph vs. Kalamazoo Central, 7:00 p.m.News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM (Joined in progress)

Division 1 at Coldwater
Sturgis vs. Battle Creek Lakeview, 5:00 p.m.
Gull Lake vs. Coldwater, 7:00 p.m.

Division 2 at Benton Harbor
Buchanan vs. Lakeshore, 6:00 p.m.News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM

Division 2 at Dowagiac
Three Rivers vs. Niles, 5:00 p.m.
Constantine vs. Edwardsburg, 7:00 p.m.

Division 2 at Allegan
Paw Paw vs. Plainwell, 5:30 p.m.
Otsego vs. Allegan, 7:00 p.m.

Division 3 at Hartford
Brandywine vs. Bridgman, 5:00 p.m.
Hartford vs. Watervliet, 7:00 p.m.

Division 3 at Bangor
Lawton vs. Gobles, 5:30 p.m.
Bloomingdale vs. Decatur, 7:00 p.m.

Division 3 at White Pigeon
White Pigeon vs. Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m.
Bronson vs. Centreville, 7:00 p.m.

Division 3 at Fennville
North Muskegon vs. Saugatuck, 5:00 p.m.
Muskegon W. Mi. Chr., vs. Holland Black River, 7:00 p.m.

Division 3 at Galesburg-Augusta
Kal. Christian vs. Galesburg-Augusta, 5:00 p.m.
Vermontville Maple-Valley vs. Kal. Hackett, 7:00 p.m.

Division 4 at New Buffalo
New Buffalo vs. River Valley, 7:00 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran advances after LMC withdraws

Division 4 at Colon
Howardsville Christian vs. Colon, 5:30 p.m.
Mendon vs. Burr Oak, 7:00 p.m.

Boys Wrestling – Team Regionals
Division 2 at Gull Lake

Lakeshore vs. Edwardsburg, 5:00 p.m.
Jackson Northwest (bye)
Championship, 6:30 p.m.

Division 3 at Constantine
South Haven vs. Dowagiac, 5:30 p.m.
Otsego vs. Constantine, 5:30 p.m.
Championship, 7:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Cassopolis
Lawton vs. Decatur, 6:00 p.m.
Schoolcraft vs. Cassopolis, 6:00 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.

Division 1 at Rockford
Kalamazoo Central vs. Rockford, 5:00 p.m.
Grand Haven vs. Grandville, 5:00 p.m.
Championship, 6:30 p.m.

Girls Competitive Cheerleading – Regionals
Division 3 at Rockford, 5:00 p.m.
Allegan, Alma, Battle Creek Pennfield, Belding, Berrien Springs, Comstock Park, Escanaba, Gladstone, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Midland Bullock Creek, Paw Paw, Whitehall