Weekday Morning Sports – Monday 12/18/17

sportsreport-338
sportsreport-338

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Sunday, December 17, 2017

NFL – National Football League – Week 15
Saturday
Detroit Lions 20, Chicago Bears 10

Lions 20, Bears 10 – Lions force Bears out of comfort zone on ground in 20-10 win
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and avoided mistakes, allowing Detroit to stay in the playoff picture with the victory over Chicago.  Detroit (8-6) has won two straight and needs to close the regular season with two more wins to keep its postseason hopes alive.  The Bears (4-10) have lost six of seven, sealing a third season with double-digit losses in three years under embattled coach John Fox. Stafford threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to TJ Jones with 6:10 left in the first half after Fox chose to punt on fourth-and-1 from the Chicago 45. He threw an 8-yard pass to Eric Ebron for a 20-3 lead early in the third quarter after Darius Slay’s first of two interceptions in the game. Stafford was 25 of 33 for 237 yards.  The Lions led 13-0 before Theo Riddick fumbled late in the first half and Chicago took advantage with Mike Nugent’s 41-yard field goal 2 seconds before halftime.  Chicago rookie Mitchell Trubisky had season three interceptions including one to safety Quandre Diggs in the end zone early in the fourth.

Yesterday
Carolina Panthers 31, Green Bay Packers 24
Minnesota Vikings 34, Cincinnati Bengals 7

Panthers 31, Packers 24 – Newton throws 4 TDs, Panthers spoil Rodgers’ return 31-24
Cam Newton threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns, and the Carolina Panthers spoiled Aaron Rodgers’ return from a broken collarbone with a 31-24 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Damiere Byrd had two touchdown catches, and Christian McCaffrey had 136 yards from scrimmage, including a 7-yard touchdown reception and the Panthers, now 10-4, won their fourth straight home game. Greg Olsen had his most productive game since returning from a broken foot, catching nine passes for 116 yards and a TD and the Panthers kept pace with the first-place New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. Rodgers, making his first appearance since Oct. 15, threw for 290 yards with three touchdowns but was intercepted three times as the Packers’ playoff hopes took a potentially critical blow.

Vikings 34, Bengals 7 – Vikings cruise past Bengals 34-7 to clinch NFC North
Eric Kendricks had an interception return for a touchdown and Case Keenum passed for 236 yards and two scores as the Minnesota Vikings clinched the NFC North title with a 34-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.  Running backs Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon combined for 37 touches and 242 yards from scrimmage for the 11-3 Vikings.  Minnesota bounced back from a loss at Carolina to win the division with two weeks left.

Tonight
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:30 p.m.

NFL – Panthers owner Richardson selling NFL team
The Carolina Panthers have announced that owner Jerry Richardson is selling the NFL franchise amid an investigation by the league into allegations of sexual and racist misconduct by Richardson in the workplace.  The team announced on Twitter that Richardson is selling the team, linking to a five-paragraph letter by the franchise’s only owner.  Richardson said in the open letter "I believe it is time to turn the franchise over to new ownership. Therefore, I will put the team up for sale at the conclusion of the NFL season."  The NFL awarded Richardson an expansion franchise in 1993 and he has been the team’s only owner.   The letter did not directly address the investigation.

NFL – Lewis refutes ESPN report
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has dismissed an ESPN report that says he doesn’t want to return to the team next season.  Lewis steadfastly denied the report in his postgame news conference, saying
it’s just speculation and that he hasn’t made any decision. He called it recycled from the summer and irrelevant to the team’s second straight lackluster performance.  The Bengals host the Lions on Sunday.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Yesterday
Detroit Pistons 114, Orlando Magic 110
Indiana Pacers 109, Brooklyn Nets 97

Pistons 114, Magic 110 – Sharp-shooting Pistons hold on for 114-110 win over Magic
Reggie Bullock scored a career-high 20 points, and the Detroit Pistons tied a franchise record with 17 3-pointers in a 114-110 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Pistons have won three in a row after starting December with a seven-game losing streak. They almost let this game slip away when Orlando went on a 19-0 run to cut the lead to five late in the fourth, but Detroit was able to hold on. Nikola Vucevic had 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Magic. They have dropped five straight and 16 of 19.

Pacers 109, Nets 97 – Oladipo scores 26, leads Pacers over Nets 109-97
Victor Oladipo scored 26 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 coming off the bench and the Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-97 on Sunday night. Myles Turner added 16, Cory Joseph chipped in 15 and Darren Collison added for the Pacers. Allen Crabbe shook off his recent struggles, scoring 17 points in the first half on 5-for-7 shooting, including four 3s. He didn’t score in the second half. Quincy Acy, Caris LeVert and Joe Harris each had 14 in Brooklyn’s third straight loss.

Tonight
Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Minnesota Wild 1

Blackhawks 4, Wild 1 – Kane, Crawford lead Blackhawks past Wild for 5th straight
Patrick Kane scored two goals, Corey Crawford made 27 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 Sunday night for their season-high fifth straight win.  Ryan Hartman also scored for Chicago and Tommy Wingels added a short-handed empty-netter.  Matt Dumba scored at 5:56 of the third, spoiling Crawford’s shutout bid on a screened shot from the right point. The Wild dropped their second straight after a four-game winning streak.

NCAA – Men’s College Basketball
Tonight
Houston Baptist at (2) Michigan State, 6:00 p.m.     Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 5:00
Idaho at Western Michigan, 7:00 p.m.

NCAA – Women’s College Basketball
Yesterday
(2) Notre Dame 91, DePaul 82
Eastern Michigan 78, Detroit-Mercy 76
Duquesne 64, Central Michigan 61

(2) Notre Dame 91, DePaul 82 – Shepard scores 39, No. 2 Notre Dame women beat DePaul 91-82
Jessica Shepard scored a career-high 39 points as No. 2 Notre Dame withstood a 3-point barrage by DePaul for a 91-82 victory Sunday.  Shepard, who twice scored 35 points for Nebraska before transferring, hit 17 of 22 shots and had 11 rebounds. Arike Ogunbowale added 21 for the Irish (10-1). She had just two points at halftime while making one of nine shots. DePaul (7-4) shot 13-for-36 on 3s. Ashton Millender led the Blue Demons with 18 points.

Tonight
Quinnipiac at Michigan State, 9:00 p.m.

MLB – Strasburg might skip future All-Star games; Nats host in `18
Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg says he might skip All-Star games in the future because he thinks the change in routine for that event contributed to an injury last season. Strasburg says Sunday at the team’s annual fan festival that going to the All-Star game in Miami this year “pushed me back a bit” and “started making my arm hurt.” He left his second start after the All-Star break after only two innings and went on the disabled list with a nerve issue in his pitching elbow.

AHL – American Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Wolves 4, Milwaukee Admirals 2

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Last Night
Toledo Walleye 5, Kalamazoo Wings 4

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Ice Hockey
Kalamazoo Blades 4, LSJ Warriors 3

Tonight
Boys Basketball
Lake Michigan Catholic at Dream Academy, 7:00 p.m.          95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports

Girls Basketball
Lakeshore at Buchanan, 7:15 p.m.
Benton Harbor at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 7:00 p.m.

Competitive Cheerleading
SMAC Jamboree at Mattawan, 6:00 p.m.