Weekday Morning Sports – Friday 3/31/17

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95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Friday, March 31, 2017

NCAAMBB – Final Four teams begin preparations for semis in Arizona
The Final Four teams have begun their preparations in Arizona for the last three games of March Madness. South Carolina, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Oregon are in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale ahead of two semifinal games on Saturday.  Gamecocks star Sindarius Thornwell is dealing with an illness.  Thornwell was not at University of Phoenix Stadium Thursday due to what coach Frank Martin says is a “little body bug” and did not practice. Martin, who is battling a bug himself, says Thornwell is back at the hotel resting and hydrating.

Saturday
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
(7) South Carolina vs. (1) Gonzaga, 6:09 p.m.                   95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports 3:30
(3) Oregon vs. (1) North Carolina, 8:49 p.m.

NCAAMBB – NIT – NIT Finals
Last Night
Madison Square Garden – New York
TCU 88, Georgia Tech 56

TCU 88, GT 56 – Horned Frogs take NIT crown
TCU is the NIT champion following an 88-56 rout of Georgia Tech. Kenrich Williams was named the tournament MVP after delivering 25 points and 12 rebounds. Vlad Brodziansky scored 18 points for the Horned Frogs, who opened on a 20-3 run en route to their first NIT title.

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball – Final Four
Tonight
American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
(2) Stanford vs. (1) South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.                  95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports 7:00
(2) Mississippi State vs. (1) Connecticut, 10:00 p.m.

NCAA – North Carolina OKs rolling back `bathroom bill’
NCAA President Mark Emmert says the association’s board of governors will decide by next week whether the repeal of North Carolina’s so-called “bathroom bill” is enough to bring neutral-site championships back to the state.  The new measure was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper and repeals a requirement that transgender people use the public restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. However, the ACLU and gay rights activists complained that the new law still denies gay and transgender people certain protections from discrimination.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Detroit Red Wings 3

Lightning 5, Red Wings 3 – Lightning get 2 power-play goals, beat Red Wings 5-3
Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin scored power-play goals 1:51 apart late in the second period and the Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Thursday.  J.T. Brown, Andrej Sustr and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning, who are three points behind Boston for the second Eastern Conference wild card. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.  Kucherov sat out due to illness as Tampa Bay swept the five-game season series with the Red Wings.  Detroit got goals from Frans Nielsen, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green. Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots.

Tonight
Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

NHL – Blackhawks recall F Hinostroza from minors
The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled forward Vinnie Hinostroza from Rockford of the American Hockey League. Hinostroza, who is from nearby Bartlett, Illinois, has six goals and eight assists in 48 games with Chicago this season. He was sent down when the Blackhawks acquired forward Tomas Jurco in a trade with Detroit on Feb. 24. Hinostroza, a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft, turns 23 on Monday.  The Blackhawks announced the move on Thursday.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 90, Brooklyn Nets 89
Chicago Bulls 99, Cleveland Cavaliers 93

Pistons 90, Nets 89 – Morris’ double-double lifts Pistons over Nets 90-89
The Detroit Pistons made a crucial stand to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive.  Marcus Morris had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Ish Smith hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, helping the Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets 90-89 on Thursday night.  Smith, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, gave the Pistons an 87-86 lead with 28.5 seconds left. Brook Lopez missed a 3-pointer on the Nets’ ensuing possession, and Detroit sealed it at the free-throw line. Detroit, the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, continues to battle for a postseason berth.

Bulls 99, Cavaliers 93 – Bulls top Cavs 99-93, James moves to 7th on NBA scoring list
Nikola Mirotic tied season highs with 28 points and six 3-pointers, Jimmy Butler scored 25, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 on a night when LeBron James moved into seventh place on the NBA’s career scoring list. James moved past Shaquille O’Neal, finishing with 26 points and giving him 28,599 for his career _ three more than O’Neal. But the big night by the four-time MVP couldn’t prevent the Cavaliers from matching a season high with their third straight loss. That dropped them a half-game behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead and left them with a 6-10 record in March. Rajon Rondo added 15 assists, Robin Lopez had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and the ninth-place Bulls moved within a game of Miami and Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings. They also finished 4-0 against Cleveland to complete their first sweep of the Cavaliers since they took all three games during the 2011-12 season.

Tonight
Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors, 7:00 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at Milwaukee Bucks, 8:00 p.m.

MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit 7, Baltimore 3
Houston 8, Chicago Cubs 6

Today
Chicago Cubs vs. Houston at Houston, TX, 2:10 p.m.
Detroit vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla., 7:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox vs. Milwaukee at Milwaukee, WI, 8:10 p.m.

MLB – Tigers release RHP Mike Pelfrey with $8M left on his deal
The Detroit Tigers have released right-hander Mike Pelfrey. Detroit made the move Thursday before playing the Baltimore Orioles in a spring training game. Pelfrey was entering the second season of a $16 million, two-year deal. He went 4-10 with a 5.07 ERA last season with the Tigers. The 33-year-old Pelfrey is 65-91 with a 4.57 ERA in a career that started in 2002 with the New York Mets and included a three-season stint in Minnesota.  He won 38 games from 2008 through 2010 with the Mets and has not won more than seven games in a single season since that stretch.

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

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Tonight
Indy Fuel at Toledo Walleye, 7:15 p.m.
Kalamazoo Wings at Florida Everblades, 7:30 p.m.

NBADL – NBA Developmental League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Drive 108, Westchester Knicks 96

Tonight
Canton Charge at Grand Rapids Drive, 7:00 p.m.