1200 mile, 69 day hike across the "Ice Age Trail" actually does bring Good News today.

MLB – Major League Baseball – Opening Day 2021

Today

Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers, 1:10 p.m. Cosy-FM & 94.9 WSJM 12:50 p.m.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels, 10:05 p.m.

MLB – Cubs' Hoyer confident deal with Rizzo will be worked out

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer insists he is confident Anthony Rizzo will remain in Chicago beyond this season even though the star first baseman is cutting off talks on a new contract. Though his preference is to stay with the Cubs, Rizzo set an opening-day deadline for a new agreement. The three-time All-Star said this week he won’t listen to an offer once the season starts unless the proposal is close to what he thinks it should be. Hoyer is “very confident” a deal will get done. He said he respects Rizzo’s decision to limit talks once the season starts Thursday, though the Cubs will remain open to negotiating during the year.

MLB – Cubs agree to 1-year deal with backup catcher Wolters

The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year deal with catcher Tony Wolters and designated right-hander James Norwood for assignment. Wolters figures to back up Willson Contreras. He signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last month and was released on March 29. Wolters is a career .238 hitter with seven home runs and 123 RBIs over five seasons with the Colorado Rockies. Norwood was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA over 23 relief appearances for Chicago from 2018 to 2020. The Cubs open at home against Pittsburgh on Thursday.

MLB – 3 high school teammates become MLB opening day starters

Lucas Giolito, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty were teammates nine years ago at Harvard-Westlake, a prestigious prep school in Los Angeles. On Thursday, all three will be opening day starting pitchers in the major leagues. And they didn’t even win a California state title the year they all played together. Giolito will throw the season's first pitch for the Chicago White Sox, Flaherty for the St. Louis Cardinals and Fried for the Atlanta Braves.

NCAA – Study: Michigan stands out in academics-based NCAA brackets

Michigan stood out in a study that seeded the men's and women's NCAA tournament fields based on academics and diversity. It was the only school to claim a No. 1 seed in both the men's and women's brackets released Wednesday by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. The men's team was crowned the national champion for the second straight year in the study. Gonzaga was crowned the national champion on the women's side. The school's unbeaten team was a No. 2 seed in the bracket as it prepares to play in the Final Four.

NCAA – NCAA: Ending daily testing or delaying games not an option

With the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, the last thing a team would want is to lose a player to a positive COVID test or even worse having an entire team knocked out by the coronavirus. Those scenarios seem extremely unlikely with only two confirmed positive tests out of the nearly 17,000 administered at the women’s basketball tournament over the first two weeks of the tournament. The last one came nine days ago.

NCAA – High court sympathetic to college athletes in NCAA dispute

The Supreme Court seems sympathetic to college athletes in a dispute with the NCAA over rules limiting their education-related compensation. The case that was argued on Wednesday isn't about whether students can be paid salaries. Instead, the outcome will help determine whether schools can offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in education benefits for things such as computers, graduate scholarships, tutoring, study abroad and internships. During the arguments, liberal and conservative justices sounded sympathetic to students. Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid,

Today's 'Good News' comes from a 78 year old Grandma with 19 weight lifting records! (AT 78!?)

Alcohol FREE bars? We're safe from a Monster Asteroid (for now...) And adults need play time too! That's what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin' about today on The Daily BuZz!!

NCAAMBB – 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Indianapolis

Elite 8

Last Night

#11 UCLA 51, #1 Michigan 49

#1 Gonzaga 85, #6 USC 66

UCLA 51, Michigan 49 – Juzang sends No. 11 seed UCLA past Michigan to Final Four

Johnny Juzang poured in 28 points while playing most of the second half on an injured ankle, and UCLA survived a series of misses by top-seeded Michigan in the closing seconds to hold on for a 51-49 victory that made the Bruins the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four. The game ended when Michigan forward Franz Wagner missed an open look from the 3-point line at the buzzer, the last in a series of misses that would have allowed the Wolverines to escape. Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines (23-5) with 11 points, but nothing came easy for the Big Ten freshman of the year — or anyone else in maize and blue. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn't make the shot at the end.

Gonzaga 85, USC 66 – Quite a show: Zags stay undefeated with 85-66 win over USC

Gonzaga got on a roll and put on a show, moving to 30-0 on the season and cruising into the Final Four with an 85-66 victory against Southern California. Drew Timme scored 23 points to help the top-seeded and top-ranked Bulldogs become the third team to bring an undefeated record into the Final Four since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The last team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976. On Saturday in the national semifinals, the Bulldogs will face UCLA.

NCAAWBB – 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – San Antonio

Elite 8

Last Night

#1 South Carolina 62, #6 Texas 34

#1 Stanford 78, #2 Louisville 63

NCAA – Ball in their court: Justices take on NCAA restrictions

With the March Madness basketball tournament ongoing, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case about how colleges can reward athletes who play Division I basketball and football. The NCAA says if the former college students who brought the case win, it could erase the distinction between professional and college sports. Under current NCAA rules, students can’t be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA defends its rules as necessary to preserving the amateur nature of college sports. Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing likely will result in a decision by summer.

NCAA – WBCA sends letter to Emmert asking for independent review

The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association sent a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert saying the external review he proposed to look into potential gender equity issues wasn’t good enough. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, the WBCA asked for a “Commission on Gender Inequity in College Sports” led by people chosen by both the WBCA and NCAA. Emmert told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that it was hiring a law firm to review potential gender equity issues in all men’s and women’s championship events, but basketball would be a key focus.

NCAA – NCAA President to meet with protesting basketball players

NCAA President Mark Emmert is planning to meet this week with a group of basketball players who used a social media campaign at the start of March Madness to protest rules banning athletes from earning money from their names, images and likenesses. Emmert is scheduled to hold a video conference call with Michigan's Isaiah Livers, Iowa's Jordan Bohannon and Rutgers' Geo Baker on Thursday ay 9 a.m. EDT, a spokesman for the players said. The three players used the Twitter hashtag #NotNCAAProperty to raise awareness of what they believe are inequities in college sports two days before the men's basketball tournament started in Indianapolis.

NHL – National Hockey League

Tonight

Florida Panthers 4, Detroit Red Wings 1

German male drivers don't listen to female GPS voices!

Just in time for Easter, Peeps flavored Pepsi? The squirrel thief! And Fired for using too many question marks!  That's what Paul Layendecker is BuZzin' about today on The Daily BuZz!!

Sloan Stanley’s “Cash Cow.” That’s Just Good News!

Paul Layendecker chats with Kristen Chism, Director of the Great Start Collaborative of Berrien County, a collective impact effort supported by United Way of Southwest Michigan. Kristen explains "Bright by Text"for parents. Sign up by text: swmichigan to 274448.

NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

Detroit Pistons 118, Toronto Raptors 104

Washington Wizards 132, Indiana Pacers 124

Golden State Warriors 116, Chicago Bulls 102

Pistons 118, Raptors 104 – Rookies lead Pistons over Raptors 118-104

Saben Lee scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half in his second career start, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors 118-104. Saddiq Bey, another Detroit rookie, also scored 19 points and Hamidou Diallo added 19 of his own. Fred VanVleet scored 22 for the Raptors, who lost for the 12th time in 13 games. Lee was a second-round draft pick before this season, and the rebuilding Pistons have given plenty of opportunities to their young players recently. He went 6 of 7 from the field in the first half and eventually came within two points of matching his season high.

Wizards 132, Raptors 124 – Westbrook records 16th triple-double, Wizards beat Pacers

Russell Westbrook had 35 points, a season-high 21 assists and 14 rebounds for his NBA-leading 16th triple-double as the Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers 132-124. Westbrook also secured the franchise career triple-double record in just his 38th game with the Wizards, this one coming while teammate and NBA leading scorer Bradley Beal sat out with a bruised hip. Rui Hachimura added 26 points and Chandler Hutchison had 18 in his debut with the Wizards, who won their second straight. Domantas Sabonis had 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers.

Warriors 116, Bulls 102 – Curry returns with 32 points, Warriors beat Bulls 116-102

Stephen Curry made a triumphant return from a five-game absence with a bruised tailbone to score 32 points with six 3-pointers, and the Golden State Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Bulls 116-102. Draymond Green contributed 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds as all five Golden State starters scored in double digits to keep the team from a season-worst fifth straight defeat. Nikola Vucevic had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his second game with Chicago since being traded from the Magic. But the Bulls lost their fourth straight and sixth in seven.

NCAAMBB – 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Indianapolis

Elite 8

Last Night

#2 Houston 67, #12 Oregon State 61

#1 Baylor 81, #3 Arkansas 72

Houston 67, Oregon State 61

Houston has advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the Guy Lewis-led Phi Slama Jama squad went to the 1984 title game.  The second-seeded Cougars made things difficult on themselves by blowing a 17-point halftime lead before knocking off No. 12 Oregon State, 67-61. Quentin Grimes drained a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to break a 55-all tie before Houston hit enough free throws down the stretch to improve to 28-3.  Grimes had 18 points and Marcus Sasser delivered a game-high 20 for the Cougars.  Maurice Calloo scored a team-high 13 points for the Beavers.

Baylor 81, Arkansas 72

Baylor has reached the Final Four for the first time in 71 years by getting 22 points from MaCio Teague (MAY'-see-oh teeg) and a dominating defensive performance from Davion Mitchell in an 81-72 victory against Arkansas. The Bears watched an 18-point cushion shrink to four before Arkansas missed 12 straight shots and Teague hit a pair of 3-pointers to put it out of reach. The Razorbacks' rally occurred while Mitchell was sitting on the bench after picking up his third foul with about eight minutes left.  Jared Butler finished with 14 points, while Mitchell chipped in 12 points and six assists for Baylor.

Tonight

#1 Gonzaga vs. #6 USC, 7:15 p.m.

#1 Michigan vs. #11 UCLA, 9:57 p.m.  News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 9:30

NCAAWBB – 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – San Antonio

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