Weekday Morning Sports – Friday 1/6/17

sportsreport-145
sportsreport-145

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Friday, January 06, 2017

NCAAFB – Reports: PJ Fleck to Minnesota
It appears Western Michigan University football coach PJ Fleck is about to leave Kalamazoo for the Big Ten.  KMSP-TV and KTSP-TV in Minneapolis are both reporting Fleck will be named the head coach at the University of Minnesota, possibly as soon as today, with a six-year, 21-million dollar contract.  WWMT-TV in Kalamazoo reports nothing has been finalized, but a deal is close to being done.  WMU had reportedly been preparing to offer Fleck an extension to double his 800-thousand dollar a year salary to keep him with the Broncos after a 13-and-1 season and a loss in the Cotton Bowl this week to Wisconsin.

NCAAFB – Chicago Cubs are game for bowl at Wrigley Field
The Chicago Cubs would like to host a bowl game at Wrigley Field. President of Business Operations Crane Kenney tells the Chicago Tribune the team intends to start hosting a bowl game after the ongoing overhaul to the 103-year old ballpark is completed. They would need a few years to find title sponsors and align with conferences. Wrigley Field was the longtime home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears before they moved to Soldier Field. More recently, Northwestern met Illinois there in 2010. Kenney tells the Tribune the Wildcats will play again at Wrigley, as soon as November 2020. After that, they will likely return with games spread over the next few years.

NCAAFB – FCS Championship (1-AA)
Saturday
James Madison vs. Youngstown State, 12:00 p.m.     95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports, 11:30

NFL – National Football League Playoffs – Wild Card Round
Saturday
Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans, 4:30 p.m.         95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks, 8:15 p.m.           95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports/Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM

Sunday
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1:05 p.m.     95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers, 4:40 p.m.     95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Tonight
Western Michigan at Akron, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday
Michigan State at Penn State, 1:00 p.m.                   Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 12:00
Buffalo at Eastern Michigan, 2:30 p.m.
Clemson at (23) Notre Dame, 3:00 p.m.
Maryland at Michigan, 3:15 p.m.                              News/Talk 94.9 WSJM-FM 2:45
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois, 4:30 p.m.

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Last Night
(7) Notre Dame 92, Wake Forest 72

Saturday
Kent State at Eastern Michigan, 12:00 p.m.
Michigan at (11) Ohio State, 12:00 p.m.
Buffalo at Central Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
Western Michigan at Ball State, 3:30 p.m.
Nebraska at Michigan State, 7:00 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 115, Charlotte Hornets 114
Indiana Pacers 121, Brooklyn Nets 109

Pistons 115, Hornets 114 – Pistons hold off Hornets when Belinelli’s shot is too late
Instead, Marco Belinelli’s bank shot from 3-point range was disallowed because it came too late, and his Charlotte Hornets lost 115-114 to the Pistons on Thursday night. With Charlotte down by one, Belinelli was inbounding from the sideline with 0.5 seconds left. He bounced the ball off a defender and back to himself, then quickly released a wild shot that went in off the glass.  The basket was waved off immediately, and a video review confirmed that Belinelli hadn’t beaten the buzzer. It was close, though.  Kemba Walker scored 20 of his 32 points in the final period, helping Charlotte rally from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit. Reggie Jackson put Detroit up 115-113 when he made two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining. Marcus Morris was called for a foul while Charlotte was trying to inbound at the other end, giving the Hornets one free throw and the ball. Belinelli made it to pull Charlotte within one.

Pacers 121, Nets 109 – Teague, Turner carry Pacers past Nets 121-109 for 4th in row
Jeff Teague had 21 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and Myles Turner finished with 25 points and 15 boards as the Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-109 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.  The winning streak began last Friday, when Indiana knocked off Central Division-rival Chicago. In each of the three games since, the Pacers have won by double digits.  Paul George scored 26 points and Thaddeus Young added 10 points and six rebounds for Indiana.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Buffalo Sabres 3 – OT
Detroit Red Wings 4, Los Angeles Kings 0

Blackhawks 4, Sabres 3 – OT – Kane, Blackhawks beat Sabres 4-3 in overtime
Patrick Kane scored 56 seconds into overtime, Artem Anisimov had two goals and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 Thursday night. Jonathan Toews set up Kane’s 12th goal when he forced Anders Nilsson to make a left pad save. The rebound went right to Kane, who knocked it into the open side of net before Nilsson could recover. Ryan Hartman also scored for the Blackhawks, who had dropped five of six. Kane also had two assists against his hometown team and Corey Crawford made 17 stops in Chicago’s 10th consecutive victory against Buffalo. Kyle Okposo had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, and Ryan O’Reilly had two assists.

Red Wings 4, Kings 0 – Vanek, Coreau power Red Wings past Kings 4-0
Thomas Vanek scored twice during a three-goal first period, Jared Coreau stopped 34 shots for his first career shutout and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 on Thursday night.  Andreas Athanasiou also scored in the first period, and Coreau turned away Tanner Pearson on a penalty shot during the opening frame. Anthony Mantha added a goal in the third period to help the Red Wings end a two-game skid. Vanek scored in the first two minutes and last two minutes of the first for his 53rd career multigoal game, giving him nine goals this season. Jeff Zatkoff made 18 saves for the Kings, who had a two-game winning streak halted as they kicked off a critical seven-game homestand.

Tonight
Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

IIHF – Americans outlast Canada to win title
The United States has won the world junior hockey championship for the first time in four years. Troy Terry scored the lone goal in the five-round shootout to give the Americans a 5-4 victory over Canada. The Canadians led 4-2 in the third period until Kieffer Bellows scored his second goal of the night. Colin White tied it with about 13 minutes left in regulation before the two teams played a scoreless, 20-minute overtime. Tyler Parsons was perfect in the shootout after stopping 46 shots in regulation and OT to help the U.S. win its fourth junior title.

AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Charlotte Checkers at Grand Rapids Griffins, 7:00 p.m.
Rockford IceHogs at Chicago Wolves, 8:00 p.m.

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Tonight
Kalamazoo Wings at Brampton Beast, 7:15 p.m.
Toledo Walleye at Wheeling Nailers, 7:35 p.m.

NBADL – NBA Developmental League
Tonight
Westchester Knicks at Windy City Bulls, 8:00 p.m.
Grand Rapids Drive at Santa Cruz Warriors, 11:00 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Cassopolis 63, White Pigeon 27

Girls Basketball
Buchanan 66, Bridgman 27
Brandywine 49, Berrien Springs 43
Centreville 66, New Buffalo 25

Tonight
Boys Basketball
BCS
Lake Michigan Catholic at Countryside, 7:30 p.m. ***95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
Mich. Lutheran at Howardsville Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Brandywine at Berrien Springs, 7:15 p.m.
Buchanan at Bridgman, 7:15 p.m.
New Buffalo at Centreville, 7:30 p.m.

SAC
Gobles at Watervliet, 7:30 p.m.
Bangor at Schoolcraft, 7:30 p.m.
Coloma at Fennville, 7:30 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Eau Claire, 7:30 p.m.
Hartford at Saugatuck, 7:30 p.m.
Decatur at Marcellus, 7:30 p.m.
Martin at Lawrence, 7:30 p.m.
Lawton at Kalamazoo Hackett, 7:30 p.m.
Constantine at Kalamazoo Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Galesburg-Augusta at Delton-Kellogg, 7:30 p.m.

Non-Conference
Holland West Ottawa at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m.

SMAC
Portage Northern at Mattawan, 7:00 p.m.

Wolverine
Plainwell at Allegan, 7:15 p.m.
Dowagiac at Edwardsburg, 7:15 p.m.
Three Rivers at Otsego, 7:15 p.m.
Paw Paw at South Haven, 7:15 p.m.   ***Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM

 

Girls Basketball
BCS
Lake Michigan Catholic at Countryside, 6:00 p.m. ***
***95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
Mich. Lutheran at Howardsville Christian, 6:00 p.m.
River Valley at Watervliet Grace Christian, 6:00 p.m.

SAC
Gobles at Watervliet, 6:00 p.m.
Bangor at Schoolcraft, 6:00 p.m.
Coloma at Fennville, 6:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Eau Claire, 6:00 p.m.
Hartford at Saugatuck, 6:00 p.m.
Decatur at Marcellus, 6:00 p.m.
Martin at Lawrence, 6:00 p.m.
Lawton at Kalamazoo Hackett, 6:00 p.m.
Constantine at Kalamazoo Christian, 6:00 p.m.
Galesburg-Augusta at Delton-Kellogg, 6:00 p.m.

Non-Conference
Niles at Benton Harbor, 7:30 p.m.

SMAC
Mattawan at Portage Northern, 7:00 p.m.

Wolverine
Plainwell at Allegan, 6:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Edwardsburg, 6:00 p.m.
Three Rivers at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at South Haven, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday
Boys Basketball
Mishawaka (IN) at Niles, 7:30 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran vs. Camden-Frontier, 7:00 p.m.** at Glen Oaks Community College

Girls Basketball
St. Joseph at South Bend St. Joseph, 7:30 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran vs. Frankfort, 6:00 p.m. **at Hope College

ISHSHA – High School Hockey
Tonight
Holland West Ottawa at Lakeshore/St. Joseph, 7:20 p.m.            (at Howard Ice Arena)