Sports: Lions Lose on Hail Mary

Lions

The Lions blew at 20-0 lead last night on Thursday night football, losing 27-23 to the Green Bay Packers. The Packers made some big plays and took advantage of a Lions’ turnover to get to within two points in the final minutes. Matthew Stafford threw for a crucial first down to keep the drive going and it looked like the Lions might hang on for the win. The Packers had one more desperation play and just when it looked like the game was over, Devin Taylor was called for a facemask penalty on Packers’ Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, giving the Pack one more play. Richard Rogers pulled down a 61 yard “Hail Mary” pass and the game was over. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 23-of-35 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Ameer Abdullah had 67-yards on 13 carries. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson had three catches for 44 yards and one touchdown.  Detroit (4-8) travels to St. Louis to take on the Rams December 13th.

Red Wings

The Red Wings beat Arizona 5-1 at Joe Louis Arena.   The Red Wings had 44 shots on goal. Justin Abdelkader, Niklas Kronwall, Gustav Nyquist, Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm each scored for Detroit, who improved to 3-0-and-2 on their six-game homestand.

Jimmy Howard turned aside 26 shots in the win. Forwards Teemu Pulkkinen and Drew Miller were both injured in the first period and did not return to the game. Pulkkinen was driven into the boards from behind, while Miller was hit in the head with a shoulder during a check and had to be helped off of the ice.

Pistons

The Pistons host the Bucks tonight. The Pistons announced yesterday that center Aron Baynes underwent surgery to repair a broken nose he suffered in Oklahoma City last week. Head coach Stan Van Gundy said Baynes played through the injury and is expected to play tonight against Milwaukee.

College Basketball

Western Michigan lost 63-57 at James Madison. The 3-5 Broncos led by as many as six in the first half but sank just 9 of 32 from the field over the final 20 minutes.

Central Michigan lost at Grand Canyon, 75-72.

The Michigan State Spartans host Binghamton. Broadcast time is 11am Saturday on WBCK. MSU plays next Wednesday in East Lansing against Maryland Eastern Shore

Michigan could be without point guard Derrick Walton, Jr. for Saturday’s game due to an ankle sprain. The Wolverines play Houston Baptist.   Tuesday, U of M plays SMU.

KCC Basketball

The KCC Men’s team beat the Calvin College Jv’s, 89-77. Mafiaion Joyner had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists as the Bruins go to 3-3 on the season.

The KCC Women beat the Albion JV’s, 71-60. D’Erika Varenhorst had 23 for KCC.

College Football

The MSU Spartans take on the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship game tomorrow in Indianapolis. MSU is making its third appearance in the Big Ten championship game in the last five years.  The winner tomorrow is expected to earn a spot in the four-team college football playoff to compete for the national championship. Broadcast time is 6:30pm on WBCK.