WSJM Sports

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball

Last Night

(6) Michigan 62, Michigan State 51

(14) Notre Dame 77, Clemson 56

(6) Michigan 62, Michigan State 51 – Hillmon scores 28, No. 6 Michigan beats Michigan State 62-51

Naz Hillmon had 28 points and eight rebounds in her final home game, lifting No. 6 Michigan to a 62-51 win over Michigan State on Thursday. The Wolverines pulled away with a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Michigan can clinch its first outright Big Ten title in women’s basketball if closes the regular season with a win at No. 21 Iowa.  The Wolverines earned a share of the conference championship by beating the Spartans. The Spartans led by nine points early in the game, but could not pull off a second straight upset against their rivals.

(14) Notre Dame 77, Clemson 56 – Citron leads No. 14 Notre Dame women over Clemson 77-56

Sonia Citron scored 23 points, and had career highs with 13 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, to lead No. 14 Notre Dame to a 77-56 victory over Clemson. Maya Dodson added 20 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (21-6, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), which 50% (31 of 62) overall. Citron and Dodson were a combined 17 of 25 from the floor. Olivia Miles had 11 points and nine of the Fighting Irish’s 26 assists. Amari Robinson scored 18 points to lead Clemson (9-10, 3-14). Notre Dame outscored Clemson 20-9 in the second quarter and led 38-20 at the break.

Saturday

Toledo at Eastern Michigan, 2:00 p.m.

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

Sunday

(4) Louisville at (14) Notre Dame, 12:00 p.m.

(17) Ohio State at Michigan State, 2:30 p.m.

(6) Michigan at (21) Iowa, 4:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League

Tonight

New Jersey Devils at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Toronto at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday

St. Louis at Chicago, 3:00 p.m.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Last Night

Central Michigan 83, Miami-OH 69

Central Michigan 83, Miami-OH 69 – Miller carries Central Michigan past Miami (Ohio) 83-69

Kevin Miller had 24 points as Central Michigan beat Miami (Ohio) 83-69. Mekhi Lairy led the RedHawks on Thursday night with 18 points.

Saturday

(4) Purdue at Michigan State, 12:00 p.m.                          Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 11:00

Eastern Michigan at Ball State, 3:30 p.m.

Western Michigan at Bowling Green, 5:00 p.m.

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame, 5:00 p.m.

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

Sunday

(15) Illinois at Michigan, 2:00 p.m.                                   News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 1:30

MLB – MLB 4 days from deadline to cancel games and shorten season

Another negotiating session produced only minor movement and no proposals on big-money issues, leaving Major League Baseball four days from management’s Monday night deadline for a deal to salvage opening day and a 162-game season. Both sides appeared to be in a you-make-the-next-move staredown on central economic issue of the lockout, such as luxury tax thresholds and rates, the minimum salary and the proposed bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. Given those stances, it appeared the earliest movement on the main issues would be in the hours before management says it will carry through on its threat to start canceling games.

NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

Detroit Pistons 106, Cleveland Cavaliers 103

Chicago Bulls 112, Atlanta Hawks 108

Pistons 106, Cavaliers 103 – Cunningham's late free throws lead Pistons over Cavaliers

Cade Cunningham hit four free throws in the final 46 seconds to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 106-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Last Night

Michigan 71, Rutgers 62

Notre Dame 79, Syracuse 69

Michigan 71, Rutgers 62 – Michigan, without suspended Howard, beats Rutgers 71-62

Caleb Houstan scored 13 of his career-high 21 points in the second half when Michigan pulled away to beat Rutgers 71-62 without head coach Juwan Howard, who was serving the first of a five-game suspension. Former longtime Saint Joseph’s coach and current Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli was filling in for Howard. Howard was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and fined $40,000 by the Big Ten Conference after hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach in the head during the handshake line after a loss Sunday. Ron Harper Jr. scored 19 points for Rutgers.

Notre Dame 79, Syracuse 69 – Atkinson has 20 & 17, leads Notre Dame past Syracuse 79-69

Paul Atkinson Jr. scored 20 points with a career-high 17 rebounds to lead Notre Dame to a 79-69 win over Syracuse. Atkinson made four free throws and Blake Wesley three in the final 63 seconds as the Irish scored the last seven points of the game while the Orange missed their last three shots and had a turnover after Cole Swider’s jumper made it 72-69 with 1:30 to go. Nate Laszewski scored 17 points for the Irish , who reached 20 wins for the 16th time in coach Mike Brey’s 20 seasons. Jimmy Boeheim, a graduate transfer from Cornell, led the Orange with a season-high 27 points and Buddy Boeheim added 20

Tonight

Central Michigan at Miami-OH, 7:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League

Last Night

Colorado Avalanche 5, Detroit Red Wings 2

Michigan 71, Rutgers 62 – Landeskog scores twice, NHL-leading Avs beat Red Wings 5-2

Gabriel Landeskog opened the scoring 1:12 in and capped it with an empty-netter for his 25th goal of the season, helping the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Wednesday night. Tyson Jost, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin also scored and Pavel Francouz stopped 31 shots. Colorado beat Detroit for the eighth consecutive time. Filip Zadina and Robby Fabbri scored for the Red Wings. Thomas Greiss made 26 saves. Darren Helm, facing his former team in Detroit for the first time, had an assist on Landeskog’s opening goal. Helm played 744 regular-season games with the Red Wings.

NHL – Blackhawks forward Khaira has season-ending back surgery

Chicago Blackhawks forward Jujhar Khaira will miss the rest of the season after he had surgery on his lower back. Khaira had the operation on Tuesday, and team physician Michael Terry says he is expected to be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks. The last game of the regular season for the struggling Blackhawks is scheduled for April 29. The 27-year-old Khaira had three goals and no assists in 27 games in his first season with the Blackhawks. He agreed to a two-year contract in July that carries a $975,000 salary-cap hit.

NBA – National Basketball Association

Tonight

Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.

Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball

Last Night

Ball State 64, Western Michigan 56

Toledo 76, Central Michigan 52

Northern Illinois 72, Eastern Michigan 65

Tonight

Michigan State at (6) Michigan, 6:00 p.m.

Clemson at (14) Notre Dame, 8:00 p.m.

MLB – MLB: Season to be shortened if no deal by end of Monday

Major League Baseball gave locked out players five days to salvage March 31 openers and a full season, telling the union that games would be canceled if a labor contract is not agreed to by the end of Monday. After the third straight day of negotiations with little movement, MLB went public with what it had told the union on Feb. 12. Players have not accepted Monday as a deadline and have s...

This week's Mid-West Family Player of the Week is Abby Schrauben, a Sophmore from Lake Michigan Catholic High School.

Though Abby seemingly does everything at LMC, last week Abby had a few amazing performances on the basketball court for the Lakers.

First, against Andrews Academy, Abby scored a career-high 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal as well in the Lakers 51-40 win.

She then followed that with yet another solid performance, compiling another double-double, this time with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 1 block, while the Lakers lost a close one to River Valley, 38-31.

On top of playing basketball, Abby stars in volleyball, softball, and track, and also is a member of the drama and interact clubs.

And in the classroom, Abby carries a strong 3.67 GPA.

To find out more about Abby, listen to her conversation with Jordan Jensen, below!

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Last Night

(25) Iowa 86, Michigan State 60

Toledo 92, Western Michigan 50

Ohio 76, Central Michigan 50

Eastern Michigan 74, Northern Illinois 72

(25) Iowa 86, Michigan State 60 – Murray scores 28 as No. 25 Iowa beats Michigan State 86-60

Keegan Murray scored 28 points as No. 25 Iowa defeated Michigan State 86-60. Kris Murray, Keegan’s twin brother, and Jordan Bohannon each had 11 as the Hawkeyes continued their February run. Iowa lost three of its last four games to end January, but is 5-1 since. Keegan Murray, who entered fourth nationally in scoring at 23.4 points per game, was 10 of 15 from the field. It was his 19th game of 20 or more points this season. It was the third consecutive win by Iowa over the struggling Spartans, who have dropped five of six overall.

Toledo 92, Western Michigan 50 – Millner lifts Toledo past Western Michigan 92-50

Setric Millner Jr. scored a career-high 28 points as Toledo romped past Western Michigan 92-50. Ryan Rollins added 20 points for the Rockets. Markeese Hastings led the Broncos on Tuesday night with seven rebounds.

Ohio 76, Central Michigan 50 –Vander Plas lifts Ohio over Central Michigan 76-50

Ben Vander Plas had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lift Ohio to a 76-50 win over Central Michigan. Ralph Bissainthe led the Chippewas on Tuesday night with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Eastern Michigan 74, Northern Illinois 72 – Farrakhan carries Eastern Michigan over Northern Illinois

Noah Farrakhan had a career-high 31 points as Eastern Michigan edged past Northern Illinois 74-72. Keshawn Williams led the Huskies on Tuesday night with 24 points.

Tonight

Rutgers at Michigan, 7:00 p.m.                      News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:30

Syracuse at Notre Dame, 7:00 p.m.

NCAAMBKB – 'I’ve done this before': Martelli leads Michigan for Howard

Phil Martelli is all set to guide Michigan for the rest of the college basketball regular season. The 67-year-old Martelli will fill in while Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard serves a five-game suspension. Howard was penalized after hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach in the head during a postgame handshake line Sunday. Martelli has spent nearly four decades as a coach in big-time college hoops, and led Saint Joseph's within one win of the Final Four in 2004. This is his third season as Michigan's associate head coach. His first game will be Wednesday night when the Wolverines host Rutgers. Michigan is 14-11 this season. Howard is expected to return for the Big Ten Tournament, which begins March 9 in Indianapolis.

NHL – National Hockey League

Tonight

Colorado Avalanche at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball

Tonight

Toledo at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m.

Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois, 7:00 p.m.

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

Soccer – US women's team players see settlement as turning point

U.S. women soccer players have reached a landmark agreement with the sport’s American governing body to end a six-year legal battle over equal pay. The deal promises them $24 million plus bonuses that match those of the men. The U.S. Soccer Federation and the women have announced a deal in which the players will split $22 million, about one-third of what they had sought in damages. The federation also agrees to establish a fund with $2 million to benefit the players in their post-soccer careers and charitable efforts aimed at growing the sport for women.

NFL – Rodgers says he still hasn't decided on his 2022 plans

Aaron Rodgers says he’s still making up his mind about whether he wants to return to the Green Bay Packers next season.

NCAAMBKB – Michigan's Howard suspended 5 games for Wisconsin melee

Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has been suspended the final five games of the regular season and fined $40,000 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head, triggering a postgame melee. The Big Ten Conference also suspended three players one game for the altercation following the 15th-ranked Badgers’ 77-63 win on Sunday: Michigan’s Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II, and Jahcobi Neath of Wisconsin. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000 for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy, but was not suspended. Howard is expected to be back for the Big Ten tournament, which begins March 9 in Indianapolis.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Tonight

Michigan State at (25) Iowa, 7:00 p.m.     Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 6:00

Toledo at Western Michigan, 7:00 p.m.

Central Michigan at Ohio, 7:00 p.m.

Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 p.m.

NCAAMBKB – NCAA, New Orleans gearing up for a more normal Final Four

Expect the NCAA Men’s Final Four to have a more familiar look and feel to it this spring. And that's not just because it’ll be in New Orleans for a record sixth time. A capacity crowd of about 70,000 is expected in the Superdome. The free, open Friday practices and the college All-Star game are back on the schedule. So are the sprawling Fan Fest and March Madness Music Festival. The National Association of Basketball Coaches convention that is traditionally held in conjunction with the Final Four also remains on track to take place as an in-person event for the first time since 2019.

NCAAMBKB – Gonzaga is unanimous choice

Gonzaga is the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll. The Zags aren’t likely to budge the way they’re dominating the West Coast Conference.  Gonzaga remained at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel. Arizona moved up a spot to No. 2 for its highest ranking in four years, with Auburn, Purdue and Kansas rounding out the top five.  Gonzaga is winning its WCC games by an average of 27 points. Saint Mary’s gave the WCC two ranked teams and No. 25 Iowa moved into the poll for the first time this season.

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball

Last Night

Penn State 79, Michigan State 71

Ball State 73, Western Michigan 67

NBA – When the All-Star break ends, the NBA's stretch run begins

When the All-Star break ends Thursday, the stretch run begins. There isn’t much time left in the NBA season. The All-Star weekend came at about the 60-game mark for teams, far beyond the midpoint of the 82-game schedule. It’s a sprint to the finish now, and the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers have to prove they have the legs to make a run. The Nets could have Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons on the floor soon to spark a surge. But the Lakers might be without Anthony Davis for more than a month, putting a heavy burden on LeBron James.

NHL – Hull no longer connected to Blackhawks as team ambassador

Hall of Fame forward Bobby Hull is no longer serving as a team ambassador for the Chicago Blackhawks. Hull played for Chicago for 15 years, collecting 604 goals and 549 assists. He was named a Blackhawks ambassador in a ceremony with fellow Hall of Famer Stan Mikita in 2008. The Blackhawks say they are redefining the role of team ambassador after Mikita died in 2018 and Tony Esposito passed away in August. The Blackhawks and Hull "jointly agreed earlier this season that he will retire from any official team role,” according to the team.

MLB – MLB makes slight moves as threat to openers intensifies

Baseball negotiations have resumed with new intensity in an effort to salvage opening day. Owners made a pair of slight moves Monday toward locked-out players but put off big...

NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball

Yesterday

(15) Wisconsin 77, Michigan 63

(15) Wisconsin 77, Michigan 63 – Michigan coach Howard hits Wisconsin assistant after a loss

The Big Ten Conference says it plans to take swift action following a skirmish between Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and a pair of Wisconsin coaches following the 15th-ranked Badgers' 77-63 victory.  Howard hit Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft after arguing with Badgers coach Greg Gard during the handshake line. Howard said after the game that he didn't appreciate Gard calling a timeout with 15 seconds remaining and Wisconsin up by 15.  Howard said he reacted after someone from Wisconsin put hands on him. Video showed Gard had his hands touching Howard’s arm or wrist area while trying to explain the reason for the timeout.  The Big Ten issued a statement saying it’s “aware of a physical altercation involving Michigan head coach Juwan Howard” and that it’s assessing the incident. Howard said he’d respect whatever decision the Big Ten makes.  Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement that he apologized to Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh, and university president Mary Sue Coleman was reaching out to Wisconsin chancellor Rebecca Blank.  Lost in the postgame fracas was the work of Johnny Davis, who pumped in 25 points to help the Badgers improve to 21-5.   Hunter Dickinson had 21 points to lead the Wolverines.

NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

2022 NBA All-Star Game – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse – Cleveland, OH

Team “LeBron” 163, Team “Durant” 160

Team “LeBron” 163, Team “Durant” 160 – Curry sets 3s record, LeBron the winner in NBA All-Star Game

Stephen Curry delivered the greatest long-distance shooting performance in All-Star Game history, then LeBron James delivered another victory. Curry made a record 16 3-pointers and scored 50 points before James made a turnaround jumper that gave Team LeBron a 163-160 victory over Team Durant on Sunday night. Curry needed one more 3-pointer to break Anthony Davis’ record of 52 points but missed his final attempt. Instead, James pulled up from deep on the right side for the winning bucket, making him 5-0 in the format where the leading vote-getters in each conference draft teams.

NCAAWBKB – Women’s College Basketball

Last Night

(9) Michigan 71, (13) Maryland 59

(9) Michigan 71, (13) Maryland 59 – No. 9 Michigan takes Big Ten lead with win over Maryland

Naz Hillmon had 29 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 9 Michigan take over first place in the Big Ten with a 71-59 victory over 13th-ranked Maryland. Laila Phelia contributed 11 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Wolverines (21-4, 12-3 Big Ten). It was the Wolverines’ second win over the Terrapins this season, also beating Maryland 69-49 on Jan. 16. Maryland (20-7, 12-4) got within two early in the fourth before Hillmon’s three-point play started a 10-0 run that put the game away. Maddie Nolan’s layup capped the burst with 6:37 left and made it 55-43. The Terrapins could only get within five the rest of the way. Chloe Bibby led the Terrapins with 15 points.

Tonight

Penn State at Michigan State, 6:00 p.m.

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

Tennis – Djokovic says he’s at his ‘peak’ returning to tour in Dubai

Novak Djokovic says that despite weeks away from competition and emotional distress over his recent detention and deportation, he feels he’s at his “peak” as he returns to tour.  The world’s top male tennis player sounded an upbeat note in a press conference Sunday before the start of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis championship, Djokovic’s first tournament since being ejected from Australia and missing the year’s first Grand Slam event over his vaccination status. Djokovic’s presence brings an unusual amount of scrutiny ...