NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

Phoenix Suns 127, Chicago Bulls 124

Suns 127, Bulls 124 – Booker scores 38, NBA-best Suns hang on, beat Bulls 127-124

Devin Booker scored 38 points, and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns hung on to beat the Chicago Bulls 127-124. The Suns led by as many as 27 points in the third quarter and withstood a push down the stretch to win for the 13th time in 14 games. They improved to 43-10 overall and a league-leading 21-5 on the road. Chris Paul added 19 points and 11 assists. JaVale McGee finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Mikal Bridges scored 15. Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan scored 38, coming off a season-high 45-point performance in Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia. Zach LaVine added 32 points after missing the previous two games because of back spasms.

Tonight

Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.

Detroit Pistons at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.

NFL – Texans hire veteran coach Smith as new head coach

Lovie Smith has been hired as the new head coach of the Houston Texans. Smith, who is Black, is the second minority candidate to be hired this offseason after the Miami Dolphins hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who is biracial, on Sunday. Smith spent last season as Houston’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator. He takes over for David Culley, who is also Black, and was fired after just one season.

NFL – AP sources: Saints tab Dennis Allen to replace Sean Payton

Two people familiar with the decision say the New Orleans Saints have promoted defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Saints have not announced their chosen replacement for Sean Payton, who resigned nearly two weeks ago after 16 years with the club. The 49-year-old Allen is in his second stint with the Saints. He was their secondary coach when they won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season. He was the Oakland Raiders' head coach from 2012 to 2014 before returning to New Orleans in 2015.

NFL – Bears hire Cardinals assistant Dray as tight ends coach

The Chicago Bears have hired Arizona assistant Jim Dray as tight ends coach. Dray joins new coach Matt Eberflus’ staff after spending the past three seasons as an offensive quality control coach with Cleveland in 2019 and the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021. He was an offensive assistant at his alma mater Stanford in 2018. The 35-year-old Dray played eight seasons in the NFL as a tight end with the Cardinals, Cleveland, Buffalo and San Francisco. The Bears also announced Monday they are raising season-ticket package prices by 6% because they are scheduled to play a ninth regular-season home game instead of a second preseason matchup at Soldier Field.

NFL – Goodell, civil rights leaders meet over Rooney Rule

A group of civil rights leaders called for replacing the Rooney Rule in a meeting Monday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, National Action Network Founder and President Rev. Al Sharpton, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation President and CEO Melanie Campbell, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, and National African American Clergy Network co-convener Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner requested the meeting after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores accused the NFL and three teams — the Giants, Broncos and Dolphins — of racial discrimination in a proposed class-action lawsuit last week.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Tonight

(14) Wisconsin at (17) Michigan State, 7:00 p.m.     Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 6:00

Western Michigan at Miami (OH), 7:00 p.m.

Central Michigan at Ball State, 7:00 p.m.

Eastern Michigan at Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.

Michigan at Penn State, 9:00 p.

NFL – National Football League

Sunday

2022 NFL Pro Bowl, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

AFC 41, NFC 35

AFC 41, NFC 35 – Herbert, Crosby send AFC to 41-35 win in Pro Bowl's return

The Chargers’ Justin Herbert hit Baltimore’s Mark Andrews with two touchdown passes to leading the AFC to a 41-35 victory over the NFC in the return of the Pro Bowl. New England rookie Mac Jones passed for 112 yards, threw a touchdown pass and did a memorable rendition of the Griddy dance in the Las Vegas debut of the NFL’s annual All-Star game, which came back from a one-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Herbert won the offensive MVP award. Maxx Crosby of the hometown Las Vegas Raiders won the defensive MVP award.

NFL – Bears hire 49ers' Hightower as special teams coordinator

The Chicago Bears have hired Richard Hightower as special teams coordinator under new coach Matt Eberflus. Hightower spent the past five seasons as San Francisco’s special teams coordinator and has 15 years of NFL coaching experience. He replaces Chris Tabor in Chicago, where Hightower was assistant special teams coach on John Fox’s staff in 2016. Special teams played a big role in San Francisco’s NFC championship game run this season. The 49ers blocked a punt and returned it for a tying touchdown in the fourth quarter of their divisional round game at Green Bay, and former Bear Robbie Gould kicked the winning field goal. The Bears now have all three coordinators in place, with Hightower joining offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and defensive coordinator Alan Williams.

NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

Minnesota Timberwolves 118, Detroit Pistons 105

Philadelphia 76ers 119, Chicago Bulls 108

Cleveland Cavaliers 98, Indiana Pacers 95

T-Wolves 118, Pistons 105 – Towns scores 24 points, Timberwolves beat Pistons 118-105

Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves got a big boost from their bench in a 118-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. Michael Beasley had 20 points off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell returned with 22 points and eight assists after missing four games because of a left shin contusion. Minnesota’s preferred starting lineup was back together for the first time in seven games with Russell’s return.  Saddiq Bey scored 24 points for Detroit. The Pistons have lost eight of nine.

Sixers 119, Bulls 108 – Joel Embiid scores 40 points, 76ers hold off DeRozan, Bulls

Joel Embiid dominated with 40 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame DeMar DeRozan’s season-high, 45-point game for Chicago to beat the Bulls 119-108 on Sunday. The 76ers won the matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams after letting a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter shrink to four. They hung on down the stretch to beat the Bulls for the 10th straight time. They also knocked Chicago a half-game behind first-place Miami and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the idle Heat. Tobias Harris added 23 points, and Tyrese Maxey had 16, helping the Sixers shake off losses against Washington and Dallas to win for the sixth time in eight games.

Cavaliers 98, Pacers 95 – Cavaliers rally from 20-point deficit, beat Pacers 98-85

Cedi Osman scored 22 points and Kevin Love had 19 as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from 20 down to beat Indiana 98-85, shortly after agreeing to acquire shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Pacers. Osman and Love combined to score the first 19 points in the fourth quarter, completing a 25-3 run that gave the Cavaliers an 80-68 lead. Osman finished with 18 in the period, while Love had nine points and drew two charging fouls on Pacers rookie Chris Duarte. LeVert, who is averaging 18.7 points and 4.4 assists, will be acquired for injured guard Ricky Rubio.

Tonight

Berrien Springs vs Michigan Lutheran in this match from Feb. 3, 2022.

Bret Witkowski joins Jonny Reinhardt to preview tonight game St. Joe vs. Lakeshore Boys Basketball which you can listen to live on WSJM.com and the WSJM app!

NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

Minnesota Timberwolves 128, Detroit Pistons 117

Toronto Raptors 127, Chicago Bulls 120 – OT

T-Wolves 128, Pistons 117 – Edwards, Towns lead Timberwolves past Pistons, 128-117

Anthony Edwards scored 25 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 14 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons 128-117 on Thursday night. Taurean Prince added 23 points to help Minnesota win its third straight and fifth in six games. Saddiq Bey had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit, and Jerami Grant added 20 points. The Pistons lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Raptors 127, Bulls 120 – OT – Siakam scores 25 points as Raptors beat Bulls 127-120 in OT

Pascal Siakam had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Chris Boucher had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat Chicago 127-120 in overtime Thursday, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Bulls. Scottie Barnes scored 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:44 left in OT, and Gary Trent Jr. added a decisive 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining. Trent scored 16 points, ending his career-best streak of 30-point games at five. Nikola Vucevic matched his season-high with 30 points and had 18 rebounds for the Bulls, his ninth double-double in 10 games. DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points for Chicago.

Tonight

Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.

Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.

NFL – National Football League

Sunday

2022 NFL Pro Bowl, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

AFC vs. NFC, 3:00 p.m.    

NHL – National Hockey League

Saturday

2022 NHL All-Star Game, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, 3:15 p.m.

NHL – Aldrich sexual assault scandal hits home far from Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks have resolved a pair of lawsuits stemming from the organization's handling of allegations by a former first-round pick that he was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach in 2010. But questions raised by the suits live on, not just in Chicago, but well beyond. After he resigned his position with the Blackhawks, Brad Aldrich worked or volunteered for USA Hockey, the University of Notre Dame and Miami University in Ohio before returning to his native Michigan. He pleaded guilty in 2013 as part of a deal with a prosecutor after he was accused of sexually assaulting a high school hockey player.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Last Night

Central Michigan 65, Western Michigan 55

Ohio 81, Eastern Michigan 68

Central Michigan 65, Western Michigan 55 – Healy leads Cent. Michigan past W. Michigan 65-55

Cameron Healy had 23 points as Central Michigan topped Western Michigan 65-55. Lamar Norman Jr. led the Broncos on Thursday night with 18 points.

Ohio 81, Eastern Michigan 68 – Sears scores 20 to lift Ohio past Eastern Michigan 81-68

Mark Sears had 20 points as Ohio got past Eastern Michigan 81-68. Nathan Scott led the Eagles on Thursday with 16 points.

Saturday

Western Michigan at Ohio, 2:00 p.m.

Eastern Michigan at Kent State, 2:00 p.m.

Michigan at (4) Purdue, 2:30 p.m.                            News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 2:00

Notre Dame at NC State, 3:00 p.m.

(13) Michigan State at Rutgers, 4:00                     Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 3:00

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball

Last Night

(17) Maryland 67, Michigan State 62

(20) Notre Dame 68, Virginia Tech 55

(6) Michigan at Illinois, PPD

(17) Maryland 67, Michigan State 62 – Reese leads No. 17 Maryland women past Michigan State 67-62

Angel Reese had 25 points and nine rebounds, Diamond Miller added 14 points and nine rebounds and No. 17 Maryland beat Michigan State 67-62 for its fourth straight vi...

This week's Midwest-Family Player of the Week is Ryan Young, a senior from Buchanan High School and member of the boys varsity basketball team.

Last season, Young broke his ankle in the second game of the season and spent the next 8-9 months rehabbing.

This season, Young is more than making up for missing his junior season.

After Buchanan started the season on a slow 1-5 start, Young has helped the Bucks quickly turn things around, now winning their previous 6 games to bring them above .500, and peaking at the right time. A major part of the team's turnaround has been the incredible performances of Ryan Young.

Last week:

1/25 vs Constantine: 21 points and 13 rebounds. W 64-33

1/26 @ Michigan Lutheran: 41 points and 25 rebounds. W 76-38

1/28 vs Berrien Springs: 31 points and 21 rebounds. W 61-36

Young's 41 points against ML is tied for the 4th highest point total in Buchanan history.

Ryan has been a member of the Varsity team for 3 seasons and also participates in Cross Country.

To hear more about Ryan and the Bucks' success, listen to his conversation with Jordan Jensen, below!

Now that the saga is over, let's go back and see the timeline of what happened, and more importantly, how to feel about Jim Harbaugh returning for the 2022 season.