Weekday Morning Sports – Tuesday 2/21/17

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Tuesday, February 21, 2017

NCAAMBB – Gonzaga, Villanova, Kansas stay 1-2-3 in AP poll
For the third straight week, Gonzaga, Villanova and Kansas are the top three teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll. It is the fourth week at No. 1 for Gonzaga (28-0), the only unbeaten team in Division I. The Zags received 59 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel on Monday. Villanova (26-2) received five first-place votes and Kansas (24-3), which beat West Virginia and Baylor last week, got the other No. 1 vote. The three teams from the Pac-12 _ Arizona, UCLA and Oregon _ are fourth through sixth. Louisville is seventh, followed by North Carolina, Baylor and Duke. Baylor, which lost to Texas Tech and Kansas, dropped five places from fourth. Wichita State makes its first Top 25 appearance since last season. The Shockers replace South Carolina, which fell out after a five-week run in the poll.

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Tonight
Western Michigan at Toledo, 7:00 p.m.
Northern Illinois at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Ball State, 7:00 p.m.

NCAAWBB – UConn still No. 1 while Temple enters Women’s poll
UConn survived one of the toughest tests of its winning streak to remain No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Huskies narrowly edged Tulane on Saturday, five days after beating No. 6 South Carolina for their 100th consecutive victory. Next up for UConn on Wednesday is Temple, which earned its first ranking since March 13, 2006, entering the poll Monday at No. 23. Maryland, Mississippi State, Baylor and Notre Dame follow UConn. It was a rough week for the Top 25 as a dozen ranked teams suffered at least one loss. Temple entered the poll for the first time in 11 years after getting its first true road victory over a ranked opponent in a decade when the Owls beat then-No. 22 South Florida on Sunday. The Bulls, Texas A&M and Kansas State all fell out of the poll while Kentucky entered at No. 22 and Missouri at 24.
 
NCAAWBB – Irish reserve Nelson to return for fifth season
Notre Dame reserve Kristina Nelson will return for a fifth season. Coach Muffet McGraw announced Nelson’s decision on her radio show Monday. Nelson sat out the 2014-15 season while recovering from shoulder surgery. She’s played in 27 of the team’s 28 games this season and is averaging career highs in points (3.9) and rebounds (3.1). She had eight points Thursday night in a road win over Clemson. The senior still needs to get approval from Notre Dame’s faculty board. She will not join Lindsay Allen and Diamond Thompson for senior night recognition Thursday before the fifth-ranked Irish host Boston College.

NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
New York Islanders at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild, 8:00 p.m.

NHL – NHL suspends Trouba
The NHL has suspended Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba for two games for an illegal check to the head of Ottawa’s Mark Stone. The incident came in the Jets win Sunday, when Trouba hit Stone with an elbow to the head. Stone did not return to the game, but has joined the Senators for their upcoming road trip.

NFL – Jags cut DL
The Jacksonville Jaguars have released veteran defensive lineman Jared Odrick in a move that saves $8.5 million against the salary cap. Odrick was due a $2 million roster bonus and would have had $3.5 million of his $6.5 million salary for 2017 guaranteed had he still been on the roster March 13. He appeared in 22 games over two seasons with the Jags, missing most of last year because of a shoulder injury.

NFL – Deshaun Watson plans to fully participate in NFL combine
National championship quarterback Deshaun Watson plans to participate in every aspect of the NFL’s scouting combine.  Watson said Monday before the Davey O’Brien Award presentation that he will do everything he’s asked to do at the combine, which begins next week in Indianapolis. That will include throwing and running before his pro day prior to the NFL draft in April.  Six weeks after his last-second touchdown pass pushed Clemson past Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game, Watson picked up his second consecutive O’Brien trophy as the nation’s top quarterback. He is the first repeat winner of the O’Brien since Oklahoma’s Jason White in 2003 and 2004.  Watson also won the Manning, Johnny Unitas and Bobby Bowden awards, and was a Heisman Trophy finalist after throwing for 4,593 yards and 41 touchdowns.

NBA – All-Star game ratings are best since 2013
The NBA All-Star game drew an average audience of 7.8 million viewers, making it the most-viewed All-Star broadcast since 2013.  Turner Sports announced the numbers on Monday. The number of viewers peaked at 8.5 million and the total audience was up 3 percent from last year’s game.  The hype surrounding the game centered on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook playing on the Western Conference team together. Durant left Oklahoma City last summer to join Golden State, leaving his longtime teammate Westbrook behind with the Thunder. Westbrook did not hide his dissatisfaction with Durant, which ratcheted up the intrigue heading into the game on Sunday.  The two shared the court for just 81 seconds and Oklahoma City posted the highest local market rating with a 10.9.

Golf – Johnson stands on top
It was just a formality but Dustin Johnson has reached the top of the world golf rankings for the men. He moved to No.1 after his win at the Genesis Open over the weekend. Johnson tops Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Hideki Matsuyama (hih-DEH’-kee maht-soo-YAH’-mah). Other highly ranked Americans are Jordan Spieth (speeth) in the sixth spot, Justin Thomas eighth, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson 14th and 15th and Phil Mickelson 23rd.

Golf – Back to St. George’s
The British Open is headed back to Royal St. George’s in 2020. The announcement was made by The Royal & Ancient, which organizes the world’s oldest major. The course in southeast England will be hosting the British Open for the 15th time, and for the first time since 2011 when Darren Clarke lifted the claret jug. A few of the previous winners at Royal St. George’s are Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, Bobby Locke, Sandy Lyle and Greg Norman.

Horse Racing – Former Derby and Preakness champ dies
Former Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Charismatic was found dead in his stall Sunday at a thoroughbred retirement farm in Kentucky.  Preliminary results from a necropsy indicate that the 21-year-old chestnut colt suffered a fractured pelvis, which caused the horse to hemorrhage. Charismatic’s bid to win the Triple Crown in 1999 came to a disappointing end with a dramatic leg injury near the finish line at the Belmont Stakes.

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Yesterday
Cincinnati Cyclones 3, Kalamazoo Wings 2

MHSAA – High School Sports
Tonight
Boys Basketball
Niles 45, Edwardsburg 28
Cassopolis 63, Buchanan 46

Girls Basketball
Edwardsburg 53, Allegan 38
Marcellus 39, Burr oak 8

Tonight
Boys Basketball
SMAC – All Games at 7:00 p.m.
St. Joseph at Mattawan              WSJM Sports
Kalamazoo Central at Lakeshore
Niles at Battle Creek Lakeview
Portage Central at Battle Creek Central
Gull Lake at Portage Northern

Independent/Non-Conference
South Haven at Benton Harbor, 7:15 p.m.  WCSY-FM
Marcellus at Michigan Lutheran, 7:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Lakeside at Countryside, 7:30 p.m.
White Pigeon at Decatur, 7:30 p.m.
River Valley at Eau Claire, 7:00 p.m.

Wolverine
Plainwell at Three Rivers, 7:15 p.m.

BCS
Lake Michigan Catholic at Buchanan, 7:30 p.m.
Bridgman at New Buffalo, 7:15 p.m.

SAC
Gobles at Coloma, 7:00 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Kal. Christian, 7:00 p.m.
Watervliet vs. Fennville, 7:00 p.m.
Hartford at Bangor, 7:00 p.m.
Climax-Scotts at Lawrence, 7:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Lawton, 7:00 p.m.

Girls Basketball
SMAC – All Games at 7:00 p.m.
Mattawan at St. Joseph
Lakeshore at Kalamazoo Central
Battle Creek Lakeview at Niles
Battle Creek Central at Portage Central
Portage Northern at Gull Lake

Independent/Non-Conference
Otsego at Comstock, 7:15 p.m.
Cassopolis at Dowagiac, 6:30 p.m.
Parchment at Covert, 5:30 p.m.
Marcellus at River Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Mendon at Grace Christian, 7:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Byron Center Zion, 5:30 p.m.
GR Northpointe Christian at Martin, 6:00 p.m.

Wolverine
Three Rivers at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.

SAC
Gobles at Coloma, 5:30 p.m.
Kal. Christian at Delton-Kellogg, 7:00 p.m.
Watervliet vs. Fennville, 5:30 p.m.
Bangor at Hartford, 7:00 p.m.
Climax-Scotts at Lawrence, 6:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Lawton, 5:30 p.m.