95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Thursday, February 08, 2018
NFL – Lions hope coach Matt Patricia ends their search for winner
The Detroit Lions have introduced Matt Patricia as their coach. Patricia, with his previously bushy beard trimmed considerably, had his first news conference Wednesday on the team’s indoor practice field. The 43-year-old Patricia helped New England win three Super Bowls over 14 years. He was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator the past six seasons. Patricia and Lions general manager Bob Quinn worked together for a dozen years in New England. Detroit has been searching for decades to find a coach who can help the franchise have success in the playoffs and at least appear in the Super Bowl for the first time. Since winning the 1957 NFL title, Detroit’s only postseason victory was more than a quarter-century ago.
NFL – Colts say `rivalry on’ after McDaniels backs out of deal
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chis Ballard has a message for New England: The rivalry is “back on.” Ballard spoke to reporters for nearly half-hour Wednesday as he tried to explain why Josh McDaniels backed out of a deal to become the Colts’ new coach. The questions came about 24 hours after team officials announced the hiring on its Twitter account and roughly 16 hours after McDaniels called to say he had changed his mind. Ballard says the Colts have a list of additional coaching candidates including some they couldn’t interview because their teams were in the playoffs. Ballard also said he doesn’t believe Andrew Luck will need additional surgery though he hasn’t started throwing yet.
NFL – DNA sought from immigrant in NFL player’s death
Indiana prosecutors are seeking a DNA sample from the Guatemalan man charged in a drunken-driving crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and an Uber driver. Ryan Mears is chief trial deputy for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. He says the request stems from the numerous aliases used by the suspect. Investigators say the suspect, 37-year-old Manuel Orrego-Savala, has twice been deported from the U.S. and was illegally living in the country at the time of Sunday’s crash in Indianapolis. Along with Jackson, the crash killed 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe. Mears says investigators want to compare the DNA to samples taken from inside the pickup truck that hit and killed the two victims along Interstate 70. Mears says the tests will help determine Orrego-Savala’s identity and presence in the truck. But he notes that there’s already "pretty strong circumstantial evidence in the case."
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 115, Brooklyn Nets 106
Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Pelicans, PPD
Pistons 115, Nets 106 – Drummond, Griffin leads Pistons over Nets 115-106
Andre Drummond had 17 points and 27 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons extended their winning streak to five with a 115-106 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Blake Griffin scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons, who have not lost since acquiring him in a trade last week. Griffin will face his old team Friday night when the Los Angeles Clippers are in town. Allen Crabbe had 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets. They have lost four in a row and eight of nine.Drummond had 12 rebounds in the first half and added 11 more in the third quarter. He finished with a season high, just two shy of his career best. It was the third time in the last five games he reached 20 rebounds.
Pacers at Pelicans, PPD – Pacers-Pelicans postponed over concerns about roof leak
The NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans has been postponed after nearly two-hour delay because of a roof leak that briefly allowed rain water to puddle near one of the foul lines. While Smoothie King Center crews fashioned a fabric catch basin in the rafters to stop water from dripping on the court, Pacers coach Nate McMillan said coaches and players on both teams didn’t want to risk an injury in the event the make-shift fix didn’t hold up for the duration of Wednesday night’s game. Officials have not yet announced when the game will be made up. Rain fell on and off throughout the day in New Orleans, but water on the court did not appear to be an issue during warmups.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.
NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball – Top 25
Last Night
St. John’s 79, (1) Villanova 75
(14) Ohio State 64, (3) Purdue 63
St. John’s 79, (1) Villanova 75 – St. John’s authors another upset
St. John’s has followed Saturday’s 81-77 win over previously No. 4 Duke by stunning top-ranked Villanova, 79-75 at Philadelphia. The back-to-back upsets follow an 11-game losing streak that left the Red Storm 10-13 overall and 0-11 in the Big East. Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points in leading St. John’s to its first victory over a No. 1 team since current head coach Chris Mullin helped them beat Georgetown in January 1985.
(14) Ohio State 64, (3) Purdue 63 – Purdue’s 19-game run ends
Third-ranked Purdue saw its 19-game winning streak come to an end. Keita Bates-Diop scored 18 points, including the decisive putback with 2.8 seconds left, to give No. 14 Ohio State a 64-63 upset of the Boilermakers at West Lafayette. Purdue led 58-51 with 5:29 to go, but Ohio State closed the game on 13-5 run.
NCAAWBB – NCAA Women’s Basketball
Last Night
Western Michigan 81, Bowling Green 67
Ball State 91, Eastern Michigan 85
Central Michigan 74, Ohio 72
Tonight
(10) Maryland at Michigan State, 7:00 p.m.
Northwestern at (21) Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
Golf – Tony Romo to play PGA Tour event in Dominican Republic
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is making his PGA Tour playing debut next month in the Dominican Republic. The lead NFL analyst for CBS Sports has received a sponsor exemption to play in the inaugural Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on March 22-25. The tournament is held the same week as the Dell Technologies Match Play and will not feature any of the top 64 players in the world. Romo has tried to qualify for the U.S. Open three times. He advanced to the final stage of qualifying in 2010 but had to withdraw.
NJCAA – Junior College Basketball
Last Night
Men’s Basketball
Kalamazoo Valley 67, Lake Michigan College 65
- Lake Michigan College dropped a 67-65 decision to Kalamazoo Valley Community College Wednesday night. The Red Hawks trailed by as many as 11 but battled back to take a five point lead just past the midway point of the second half. KVCC came up with a rally of their own down the stretch to capture the two point victory. Bryce Saxton scored 17 points in the loss for LMC with Malik Hall adding 14. The Cougars got a game high 18 points from Tre Humes.
AHL – American Hockey League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Griffins 4, Manitoba Moose 2
ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Last Night
Kalamazoo Wings 9, Tulsa Oilers 6
NBAGL – NBA “G” League
Last Night
Grand Rapids Drive 122, Windy City Bulls 117
2018 Winter Olympics
- Russia Doping
The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is awaiting a ruling on the appeals of Russian athletes hoping to compete in the Pyeongchang Olympics. Forty-five Russian athletes and two coaches are seeking to overturn the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to invite them to the games based on criteria put in place after doping issues in Sochi in 2014. The Court of Arbitration for Sport heard their appeals Thursday, but didn’t immediately issue a ruling. The court said it could come Thursday evening or Friday morning. The opening ceremony is Friday night. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday that the much-awaited ruling “should be respected and complied with.” He says the IOC must abide by the court’s ruling.
- Women’s Ice Hockey
The head coach of the hastily assembled joint North and South Korean women’s Olympic hockey team says it’s important for members to march together in the opening ceremony to show they are unified. Asked if marching together is a political statement, coach Sarah Murray says putting the team together was a political statement, but now it’s just one team. Murray, who is Canadian, says her worst-case scenario was that the players wouldn’t talk to each other, but she says they eat together, have meetings together, and mix and talk in the locker room. The team has played together just once before, but she says the chemistry is better than she could have imagined. Their first game is Saturday against Sweden.
- Men’s Snowboard
Shaun White says he is working on the tricks that Japan’s Ayumu Hirano used to win the halfpipe at the Winter X Games last month. Hirano became the first snowboarder to string together back-to-back 1440-degree jumps in what was widely regarded as the best show ever seen in a halfpipe. White says “he’s really pushing it, and he did an amazing combination that I’m working on myself. I don’t think we’ve seen my best run.” White’s best run, at least this season, came at Snowmass in an Olympic qualifier in January. White used one 1440, along with his patented Double McTwist 1260, to win the contest with a maximum score of 100 _ one of the rare times that mark has ever been handed out. It established him as the man to beat at the Olympics. But a short two weeks later came the X Games, where Hirano strung together his back-to-back 1440s _ the first time that had ever been done in a competition _ and Scotty James finished a close second on a run that included three 1260s, including one in which he rides and spins backward into the wall to execute the double cork.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Michigan Lutheran 59, Dream Academy 47
Edwardsburg 66, Berrien Springs 44
Girls Basketball
Homer 56, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 26
Team Wrestling Districts
Division 2 at Lakeshore
Lakeshore 54, St. Joseph 24
Niles 40, Edwardsburg 18
Championship – Lakeshore 34, Niles 30
Division 3 at Buchanan
Dowagiac 68, Brandywine 12
Constantine 43, Buchanan 18
Championship – Dowagiac 43, Constantine 21
Tonight
Girls Basketball
Bridgman at Buchanan, 7:30 p.m.
New Buffalo at Covert, 7:30 p.m.
Team Wrestling Districts
Division 3 at Berrien Springs
Berrien Springs vs. South Haven, 5:00 p.m.
Benton Harbor vs. Coloma, 5:00 p.m.
Championship follows
Division 4 at Watervliet
Hartford vs. Lawrence, 6:00 p.m.
Bangor vs. Watervliet, 6:00 p.m.
Championship follows
