MHSAA Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals
Last night:
Class A
East Lansing 70, Kalamazoo Central 39
Class B
Benton Harbor 67, Hudsonville Unity Christian 52
Dowagiac 63, Wayland 47
Class C
Kalamazoo Christian 45, Schoolcraft 44
Cassopolis 68, Homer 51
Cassopolis remained undefeated (24-0) this season and advance to Wednesday’s Regional Championship after defeating Homer 68-51. The Rangers got 23 points from Tyrese Hunt Thompson.
Class D
Bellevue 64, Lake Michigan Catholic 29
Bellevue’s press, speed and accuracy ended Lake Michigan Catholic’s season with a commanding 64-29 win. The Lakers’ senior forward Tanner Nutting had 12 points in the losing cause. Bellevue’s Wyatt Waterbury led all scorers with 23.
Tomorrow Night:
Class B Regional Final (@ Coloma)
Benton Harbor Tigers (23-1) vs. Dowagiac Chieftans (17-5) – 7 pm
Benton Harbor, Dowagiac Battle Tomorrow Night For Regional Title
The Dowagiac Chieftans are standing in the way of a regional title for the Benton Harbor Tigers in boys basketball. The two teams will meet tomorrow night at 7 in the regional championship game at Coloma High School. The Tigers knocked off Hudsonville Unity Christian last night, 67-52 to improve to 23-1 on the year. Carlos Johnson had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds for Benton Harbor, with 15 of those points in the first half. Dowagiac advanced with a 63-47 win over Wayland. Jamin Hunt led the Chieftans with 20 points as the Chieftans improved to 17-5 so far this season.
NCAA Basketball
NIT First Round – Purcell Pavilion, South Bend, IN
#8 Hampton @ #1 Notre Dame 9 pm
Irish Open NIT At Home
Notre Dame is playing host to Hampton tonight in the first round of the NIT Tournament. The Fighting Irish drew a number-one seed in the tournament after going 20-14 this season. Hampton has won 11-of-12 to sit at 19-and-15 overall.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – First Four
#16 North Carolina Central vs. #16 Texas Southern – 6:40 pm – 957 & 1400 WSJM Sports
#11 Arizona State vs. #11 Syracuse – 9:10 pm – 957 & 1400 WSJM Sports
NHL
Last Night
San Jose Sharks 5, Detroit Red Wings 3
Fehr’s 1st goal for Sharks helps fuel 5-3 win over Red Wings
Eric Fehr scored his first goal with San Jose and the Sharks closed a six-game homestand by handing the Detroit Red Wings their seventh straight loss, 5-3 on Monday night. It was the fourth win for the Sharks in this homestand and keeps them in second place in the Pacific Division. Henrik Zetterberg, Trevor Daley and Gustav Nyquist scored for the Red Wings, who matched their longest losing streak of the season. Jimmy Howard stopped 29 shots.
Ovechkin Nets 600th Career Goal In Win
Alex Ovechkin reached a major NHL milestone while the Washington Capitals were regaining first place in the Metropolitan Division. Ovechkin scored his 599th and 600th NHL goals in a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets. Ovechkin became the 20th player in league history to score 600 goals, and one of four players to do it in under 1,000 games. Only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull did it faster than Ovechkin’s 990 games.
NBA
Tonight:
Indiana Pacers @ Philadelphia 76ers – 7 pm
Los Angeles Clippers @ Chicago Bulls – 8 pm
Detroit Pistons @ Utah Jazz – 9 pm
Celtics’ Theis Out With Knee Injury
Celtics rookie Daniel Theis is likely out for the rest of the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Theis got hurt during the final minute of Boston’s 99-97 loss to the Pacers on Sunday. Coach Brad Stevens told reporters Monday that the center is weighing his surgical options.
MLB
Spring Training
Yesterday:
Washington Nationals 5, Detroit Tigers 4
Chicago White Sox 4, Seattle Mariners 2
Today:
Detroit Tigers @ New York Yankees (Tampa, FL) – 1:05 pm
Chicago Cubs (Split squad) @ San Diego Padres (Peoria, AZ) – 4:10 pm
San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs (Split squad) (Mesa, AZ) – 10:05 pm
Chicago White Sox off
Phillies Land Former Cubs Ace Jake Arrieta
Free-agent ace Jake Arrieta and the Phillies have agreed to a $75 million, three-year contract, a deal that could be worth up to $135 million over five seasons pending a successful physical. Arrieta gets $30 million this year, $25 million in 2019 and $20 million in 2020. Arrieta has the right to terminate the deal after the 2019 season and become a free agent again, but the Phillies can void that right if they exercise club options for 2021 and 2022 at $20 million annually. An official announcement is expected today, but the Chicago Cubs have already said their goodbyes to their former ace with tributes on Instagram to Arrieta. He won the 2015 NL Cy Young Award with the Chicago Cubs and helped them win the World Series the next season. He was 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA last year. Arrieta was 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA in five seasons in Chicago after starting his career in Baltimore.
Other Baseball Signings:
Free-agent infielder Neil Walker is returning to New York after working out a one-year contract with the Yankees. The 32-year-old hit .265 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs last year for the Mets and Milwaukee, who acquired him Aug. 12. Walker is a lifetime .272 hitter with 130 home runs, 522 RBI, 204 doubles and 521 runs scored. Walker likely will start at second base, while newly-acquired Brandon Drury will play third.
The Colorado Rockies have finalized a one-year, $5 million deal with three-time All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, a deal that includes another $3 million in bonuses based on days on the active roster. The 32-year-old Gonzalez is coming off a down year in which he batted .262 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 136 games.
The Oakland Athletics have landed a new starting catcher by finalizing a one-year, $6.5 million contract with free agent Jonathan Lucroy. The 31-year-old, two-time All-Star batted .265 with six home runs and 40 RBIs in 123 games last season for Texas and Colorado, which acquired him on July 30.
The Minnesota Twins have finalized a one-year, $12 million package with right-hander Lance Lynn, who made 33 starts last year following Tommy John surgery. Lynn went 11-8 with a 3.43 ERA for the 2017 Cardinals, five years after being named to the National League All-Star team.
NFL
Bills, Bengals Swapping First-Rounders
The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals have swapped draft picks in a deal that also sends a lineman to Southern Ohio. A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the Bills get the 12th overall selection and a sixth-round pick from the Bengals for the 21st selection and a fifth-rounder. Cincinnati also gets high-priced left tackle Cordy Glenn, who had been a Bills starter since his rookie season in 2012.
In Other NFL News:
New Orleans Saints right tackle Zach Strief says he’s retiring after 12 NFL seasons. The 34-year-old Strief was a regular reserve during much of his first five seasons and became a starter in 2011 on an offense that set an NFL single-season record with 7,474 yards.
The Seahawks have re-signed safety Bradley McDougald to a three-year contract, two days before he would have become a free agent. McDougald finished the 2017 season with 67 tackles and four passes defensed.
The Oakland Raiders are releasing cornerback Sean Smith to create more salary cap room heading into free agency. A person familiar with the move said Smith was told Monday that he will be let go before the start of the new league year on Wednesday. Smith signed a four-year, $38 million deal two years ago.
Denver Broncos defensive end Adam Gotsis has been charged with rape in Atlanta. An incident report says a woman went to police headquarters on February 1 and told an investigator Gotsis had raped her in March 2013. The Broncos said in a statement that they were aware of allegations of an incident that allegedly happened when Gotsis was attending Georgia Tech.
NCAA Men’s Basketball
Virginia tops final AP poll
Virginia remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the final Associated Press men’s basketball poll, an honor that will become hollow if the Cavaliers don’t win the real national championship. The Cavs earned all 65 first-place votes to remain on top for the fifth straight week. Virginia is 31-2 and winners of both the ACC regular season and tournament titles. Villanova is second, followed by Xavier, Kansas and Michigan St. The Jayhawks moved up five spots after winning the Big 12 Tournament. Cincinnati, Michigan, Gonzaga, Duke and North Carolina round out the top 10.
NCAA Women’s Basketball
UConn 1st overall seed
Connecticut has been given the first overall seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament as the Huskies go for their 12th national championship. The 32-0 Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament as the lone unbeaten team and went wire-to-wire as the unanimous top team. Last season, UConn came into the NCAAs as the overwhelming favorite before losing to Mississippi State in the Final Four. Notre Dame, Louisville and Mississippi State are the other No. 1 seeds.
Michigan, Central Michigan Make Tournament
The women’s basketball teams from the University of Michigan and Central Michigan University are heading to the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines earned an at-large bid and are the number seven seed in the Lexington Region. Michigan will play 10th seeded Northern Colorado Friday afternoon in Waco, Texas. The Chippewas earned their way in by winning the Mid-American Conference championship last weekend. CMU is the 11th seed in the Spokane Region and will take on 6th seed Louisiana State Saturday in Columbus.
UConn Finishes At #1 In AP Women’s Basketball Poll
UConn finishes No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the fifth straight year. The Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament as the lone unbeaten team and went wire-to-wire as the unanimous top team. They received all 32 votes from the national media panel Monday. Baylor, Louisville, Mississippi State and Notre Dame followed UConn in the poll. Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and Ohio State round out the first 10 teams.
GOLF
AP sources: Woods, Els to captain Australia Presidents Cup
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els will duel in the Presidents Cup again, this time as captains. Two people involved in the Presidents Cup tell The Associated Press that Woods and Els have agreed to be captains for the 2019 matches in Melbourne. Woods and Els are expected to be introduced as captains Tuesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Tiger helps bring highest PGA tour ratings in 5 years
Tiger Woods was one shot away from a chance to win, and the PGA Tour had its largest television audience in five years. NBC Sports Group says the final round of the Valspar Championship earned a 5.11 overnight rating, up 190 percent over the previous year. It was the highest-rated PGA Tour broadcast for a non-major since Woods won The Players Championship in 2013.
Fake (Scripted) Sports
WWE star Jeff Hardy charged with DWI in North Carolina
Professional wrestler Jeff Hardy has been charged with DWI in North Carolina. WSOC-TV reports that the WWE star was charged in Cabarrus County after being in a single-vehicle crash Saturday. An arrest report says Hardy registered a 0.25 blood alcohol level on a Breathalyzer test. North Carolina’s limit is 0.08 percent. Hardy and his brother, Matt Hardy, are known as the wresting duo The Hardy Boyz. The Cameron natives won the WWE Raw tag team championships at WrestleMania in April. Hardy has an April court date scheduled.
