Cosy Morning Sports – 01/20/2021

wcsy-2020-podcasts
wcsy-2020-podcasts

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
(7) Michigan 87, Maryland 63
Toledo 89, Central Michigan 72
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan, PPD

(7) Wolverines 87, Terrapins 63 – No. 7 Michigan back on track after 87-63 rout of Maryland
Mike Smith made three early 3-pointers as No. 7 Michigan raced to a 17-3 lead, and the Wolverines had little difficulty beating Maryland 87-63. Michigan made its first five 3s in an opening flurry that put the Wolverines in immediate control. Michigan led 42-25 at halftime and stretched its advantage to as many as 25 points in the second. Isaiah Livers led Michigan with 20 points and Franz Wagner contributed 15. Smith had 11. Maryland was led by Donta Scott’s 13 points.

Rockets 89, Chippewas 72 – Rollins scores 25 to lead Toledo past Central Michigan 89-72
Ryan Rollins had a season-high 25 points as Toledo topped Central Michigan 89-72 for its seventh straight home victory. Marreon Jackson had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Toledo. Spencer Littleson added 14 points, and JT Shumate had 13 points and four blocks. Rollins made 11 of 14 shots and grabbed seven rebounds. Travon Broadway Jr. scored a career-high 27 points and had seven rebounds for the Chippewas. Meikkel Murray scored a season-high 20 points and had 10 rebounds. Malik Muhammad had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

NCAAMBB – NCAA announces tighter schedule for March Madness
That much-anticipated opening Thursday of March Madness will belong to the play-in teams. That is part of a scrambled and modestly condensed schedule for the 2021 tournament, which has placed all 67 games in Indiana. The so-called “First Four” will still include the last four at-large teams in the field and the lowest-rated conference champions. Those eight teams will play each other Thursday, March 18. The first two full days of action are now scheduled for Friday and Saturday, with the round of 32 taking place Sunday and Monday.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Detroit Red Wings 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 – OT
Florida Panthers 5, Chicago Blackhawks 4 – OT

Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 2 – Ryan makes Red Wings history in 3-2 OT win over Blue Jackets
Tyler Bertuzzi scored 15 seconds into overtime and Bobby Ryan became the first player to score four times in his first three games with Detroit, leading the Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bertuzzi was credited with the winning goal after the puck went off him and into the net following a rebound off Dylan Larkin’s shot. It’s Detroit’s second win of the season after winning 17 games total last year.

Panthers 5, Blackhawks 4 – OT – Vatrano scores overtime goal, Panthers over Blackhawks 5-4
Frank Vatrano scored 2:50 into overtime, and the Florida Panthers beat the winless Chicago Blackhawks 5-4. Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals for Florida, and Patric Hornqvist also scored. Keith Yandle had a goal and an assist. Dominik Kubalik scored his first two goals of the year for Chicago, which has dropped its first four games of the pandemic-shortened season. Patrick Kane also scored, and Phillipp Kurashev posted his first NHL goal.

NHL – NHL pulls microchipped ‘tracking’ pucks 6 days into season
The NHL has pulled microchipped pucks off the ice six days into the season after concerns were raised about their performance. The league announced games from Tuesday night on would be played with pucks from the 2019-20 regular season. A review showed the first supply of pucks used for tracking weren’t finished the same way as those from the playoffs. Player and puck tracking began in the playoffs. The NHL expects new tracking pucks to be available soon and put back into action after undergoing testing.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Dallas Mavericks at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.

NFL – Lions hire GM Brad Holmes after he wasn’t on original list
Brad Holmes was not even a candidate when the Detroit Lions began their search for a general manager nearly two months ago. Holmes won the Lions over and landed a job he didn’t dream of when his NFL career began as a public relations intern in 2003. The Lions love Holmes’ combination of leadership skills, intelligence and personality along with his collaborative approaches. Holmes’ ability to use analytics to project which players will have success in the league particularly impressed the Lions. Holmes joins Atlanta’s Terry Fontenot, Miami’s Chris Grier and Cleveland’s Andrew Berry as Black general managers in the NFL.

NFL – Sarah Thomas to be 1st female to officiate at Super Bowl
Sarah Thomas will cap her sixth NFL season by becoming the first female to officiate the Super Bowl in NFL history. Thomas, a down judge, is part of the officiating crew announced Tuesday by the NFL. “Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super Bowl official,” said Troy Vincent, Sr., the NFL’s executive vice resident of football operations. Referee Carl Cheffers will lead the seven-person crew of on-field game officials for the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Cheffers has been a game official 21 seasons in the NFL and was promoted to referee in 2008. He has worked 17 playoff games, including the Super Bowl in 2017.

NFL – #HenneThingIsPossible as Chiefs look toward AFC title game
If Patrick Mahomes is unable to play in the AFC title game following his concussion, the Chiefs have the utmost confidence in Chad Henne. After all, the 35-year-old journeyman already proved he could rise to the occasion on Sunday, helping Kansas City hold off the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round of the playoffs. It was a plucky performance by Henne, who has doggedly continued to play football out of sheer love for the game.

NFL – Florida facility plans alternate NFL combine for players
A performance facility founded by former star wide receiver Brandon Marshall is going to try to help fill the void by the NFL not allowing in-person workouts because of the coronavirus pandemic. House of Athlete announced Tuesday the performance facility will host its own scouting combine for players preparing for the NFL draft. Up to 50 players will have the chance from March 3-5 to show off their skills for NFL teams with the event expected to be broadcast live. Marshall said they look forward to safely providing a full range of scouting activities and more at the HOA facility.

Golf – Tiger has back surgery
Tiger Woods has undergone a fifth back surgery that has put the start to his new year on hold. Woods did not say when he had the microdiscetomy, only that doctors deemed it a success and expect a full recovery. He says the surgery was to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was giving him nerve pain last month when he played the PNC Championship with 11-year-old son Charlie. He will miss two tournaments he normally plays in Southern California — the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Today
Miami (OH) at Western Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan, 5:00 p.m.

MLB – Hall of Famer Don Sutton passes at 75
Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton has died. He was a stalwart of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, says Sutton died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, after a long struggle with cancer. He was 75. The Atlanta Braves, where Sutton was a long-time broadcaster, said he died in his sleep. Sutton had a career record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26. He spent 16 of his 23 major league seasons with the Dodgers.