Weekday Morning Sports – Thursday 3/30/17

sportsreport-182
sportsreport-182

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Thursday, March 30, 2017

NCAAMBB – NIT – NIT Finals
Tonight
Madison Square Garden – New York
Georgia Tech vs. TCU, 8:00 p.m.           95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Blackhawks 5, Penguins 1 – Blackhawks overwhelm short-handed Penguins 5-1
Artemi Panarin and Richard Panik started a four-goal first period for Chicago, and the Blackhawks moved closer to locking up the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa also scored during an explosive first period as the Blackhawks moved nine points clear of second-place Minnesota with five games left in the regular season. Tanner Nero added a breakaway goal in the third. Patrick Kane picked up two assists to move past Sidney Crosby and into second place in the NHL scoring race. Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for Chicago, which beat the Penguins in regulation on the road for the first time since 1997. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 31 saves but received little help outside of Bryan Rust’s third-period goal. The defending Stanley Cup champions saw their winless streak reach four games, and their chances to catch first-place Washington atop the Metropolitan Division took another hit.

Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m.

NHL – NHL will release teams’ Vegas expansion draft lists
The NHL will release teams’ protected and available lists to the public before the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft in June.  The league announced the decision on Twitter on Wednesday. NHL general managers had expressed a desire to keep the lists private. All 30 existing teams must submit their list of protected players by 5 p.m. EDT June 17. Vegas must submit its selections by 5 p.m. June 20, with the announcement of those picks made June 21. The league said the timing of the lists being released was still to be determined. Each team can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender or eight skaters of any position and one goaltender.  The Golden Knights begin play next season.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Memphis Grizzlies 110, Indiana Pacers 97

Grizzlies 110, Pacers 97 – Conley scores 36 as Grizzlies rout Pacers 110-97
Mike Conley matched his career high with seven 3-pointers on his way to 36 points, helping the Memphis Grizzlies rout the Indiana Pacers 110-97 on Wednesday night. Vince Carter had 21 points and eight rebounds, and Zach Randolph finished with 17 points as Memphis snapped a four-game losing streak. Conley went 13 for 21 from the field. Paul George led the Pacers with 22 points, Aaron Brooks, who provided an early spark from outside the arc, had 18 points, and Thaddeus Young finished with 16. Indiana lost for the fourth time in five games.

Tonight
Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NBA – Pacers waive Rodney Stuckey after another injury hits
The Indiana Pacers have waived backup guard Rodney Stuckey.   The move came a day after the team announced he would miss four to six weeks with a strained left patellar tendon. Stuckey has been plagued by injuries all season.

MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Philadelphia (ss) 8, Detroit 2
San Diego 9, Chicago White Sox 9
Chicago Cubs 15, Oakland 11

Today
Detroit vs. Baltimore at Sarasota, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs vs. Houston at Houston, TX, 8:10 p.m.

NCAA – Big Ten – Former Big Ten commissioner Wayne Duke, dies at 88
Wayne Duke, the former NCAA executive who later served as commissioner of the Big Ten for 18 years, has died. He was 88. Duke’s family notified the Big Ten on Wednesday that he had died. He had been living in Barrington, Illinois, and had been in declining health. After serving for 11 years as assistant to Walter Byers, the first NCAA executive director, Duke became commissioner of the Big Eight conference in 1963 at the age of 34. He became Big Ten commissioner in 1971 and retired in 1989. Duke guided the Big Ten through the first stages of great growth in television coverage of college football. He also served on the NCAA men’s basketball committee as the tournament expanded from 32 to 40 to 48 teams.

MHSAA – Michigan Basketball Coaches name All State Teams
The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan have announced their postseason award winners for boys basketball.

Class A First Team
no local winners

Class A Honorable Mention
no local winners

Class B First Team Mention
Zach Goodline (Coloma)
Luke Toliver (Paw Paw)

Class B Honorable Mention
Trey Brennan (Paw Paw)
Kaitlyn Zarycki (Edwardsburg)

Class C First Team
no local winners

Class C Honorable Mention
no local winners

Class D First Team
Dylan Jergens (Howardsville Christian)

Class D Honorable Mention
no local winners

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Baseball
St. Joseph 11, South Haven 3 – Game 1
St. Joseph 7, South Haven 1 – Game 2
Niles 4, Brandywine 0
Comstock 7, Allegan 0 – Game 1
Comstock 6, Allegan 1 – Game 2
Paw Paw 6, Galesburg-Augusta 0
Three Rivers 6, Bronson 1 – Game 1
Bronson 8, Three Rivers 7 – Game 2
Fennville 4, Holland Black River 2
Gobles 6, Hartford 5 – Game 1
Gobles 1, Hartford 0 – Game 2

Softball
St. Joseph 2, South Haven 0 – Game 1
South Haven 8, St. Joseph 2 – Game 2
Hartford 11, Gobles 5 – Game 1
Hartford 8, Gobles 1 – Game 2

Girls Soccer
St. Joseph 0, Allegan 0 – TIE
Kalamazoo Central 8, Niles 0
Battle Creek Lakeview 3, Parma Western 2
Harper Creek 8, Battle Creek Central 0
Portage Central 2, Grandville 2 – TIE
Portage Northern 0, Kalamazoo Hackett 0 – TIE
Sturgis 2, Coldwater 0

Girls Tennis
St. Joseph 6, Lakeshore 2

Tonight
Baseball
Cassopolis at Marcellus, 4:15 p.m.
Decatur at River Valley, 4:30 p.m.
Niles at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m.

Softball
Niles at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m.
Cassopolis at Marcellus, 4:15 p.m.

Girls Soccer
Lake Michigan Catholic at Bangor, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman at South Haven, 5:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at Edwardsburg, 5:00 p.m.
Lawrence at Buchanan, 5:00 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Coloma, 5:00 p.m.
Hartford at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.