Sports: Pistons beat Raptors 114-111
Pistons
The Pistons beat the Division-leading Raptors in Toronto 114-111. Detroit was down by 12 after the first quarter, but came back in the second half. Brandon Jennings scored 34 points and had 10 assists as the Pistons won for the ninth time in 10 games. Greg Monroe had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak against Toronto. The Raptors led by a point until Jodie Meeks and Jonas Jerebko got hot in the final period. Meeks provided 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, while Jerebko had eight of his 10. Andre Drummond also had a double-double for Detroit, finishing with 10 points and 14 rebounds. The Pistons host New Orleans on Wednesday and head to Indiana on Friday.
College Basketball
Michigan is at Ohio State tonight.
The Michigan State Spartans are off until Saturday when they head to Maryland.
In the MAC….EMU, CMU and WMU all play, with the Broncos hosting Ball State.
College Championship Game
The Ohio State Buckeyes are winners of the first-ever College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes claimed their fifth outright national championship as Ezekiel Elliott ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-20 triumph over Oregon in Arlington, Texas. Elliott averaged an amazing 232 yards in his last three games. Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota was 24 of 37 for 333 yards and an interception in what is likely his final game at Oregon. He has until Thursday to decide if he'll skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. It's the third national championship for Coach Urban Meyer, who also won it with Florida in 2006 and 2008. A championship seemed highly unlikely after OSU lost to Virginia Tech in their second game of the season and needed overtime to beat Penn State in late October. Not all of the celebrating was peaceful after the game. Thousands of fans poured out into the streets after the Buckeye's win. Several fires were reported in the vicinity of the University Campus, although it's not clear if police made any arrests overnight.
OSU Grand Entrance….Not so Much
Ohio State didn't exactly make a grand entrance at the national championship game.
Usually, the Buckeyes race onto the field from the tunnel led by four students carrying large flags that spell out O-H-I-O. This time, however, one of the flags was snagged on the ground, tripping a cheerleader and sending several players sprawling. While other players sidestepped the pileup, those on the turf quickly bounced to their feet and ran out onto the field. Unfortunately, that meant that the team came onto the field at AT&T Stadium led by flags spelling out O, H and I. The O made an appearance later. An Ohio State spokesman said the cheerleader wasn't injured.
Final AP Poll
Michigan State finished tied for 5th with Florida State in the final AP Poll. The top 4 were Ohio State, Oregon, TCU and Alabama. Baylor, Georgia Tech, Georgia and UCLA round out the top 10.
Red Wings
The Red Wings are Buffalo tonight. The Wings will be without goalie Jimmy Howard. Coach Mike Babcock says a groin injury will prevent Howard from playing in the NHL All-Star Game in two weeks. Babcock listed Howard week to week after suffering the injury Saturday night in Washington. Detroit has called up goalie Tom McCollum from Grand Rapids to back-up Petr Mrazek. Reports say Jonas Gustavsson’s separated shoulder is coming along and he could be back in another week or so.
Michigan Football
New Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh says he's retaining Greg Mattison from the staff of fired coach Brady Hoke. Mattison was defensive coordinator for Michigan the past three seasons.
High School Basketball
St. Phillip 56, Centerville 42 in our WBCK radio game last night. St. Philip was led by Hunter Haley with 13 points, five rebounds and six steals. Dreyson English had 11 points and two steals.
Mendon 53, Athens 35
Girls Basketball
St. Philip 53, Centreville 39 Kameron Haley had a career-high 23 points to go with four assists, five steals and five rebounds. Megan Gordon had 14 points and three steals.
Bellevue 42, Potterville 39 Bailey Whitcomb finished with 17 points and five rebounds.
Pittsford 61, Climax-Scotts 17
Tuesday, January 13th
Boys Basketball
Battle Creek Central vs. Benton Harbor
Portage Central vs. Lakeview
Harper Creek vs. Jackson Lumen Christi
Pennfield vs. Coldwater
St. Phillip vs. Bellevue
Calhoun Christian vs. Kalamazoo Heritage Christian _
Climax-Scotts vs. Camden-Frontier
Schoolcraft vs. Delton
Constantine vs. Galesburg-Augusta
Gull Lake vs. St. Joseph
Lansing Christian vs. Maple Valley
Marshall vs. Parma Western
Perry vs. Olivet
Napoleon vs. Quincy
Tekonsha vs. Litchfield
Girls Basketball
Benton Harbor vs. Battle Creek Central
Lakeview vs. Portage Central
Jackson Lumen Christi vs. Harper Creek
Coldwater vs. Pennfield
Quincy vs. Athens
Delton vs. Schoolcraft
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Constantine
St. Joseph vs. Gull Lake
Homer vs. Springport
Maple Valley vs. Lansing Christian
Parma Western vs. Marshall
Olivet vs. Perry
Union City vs. Concord
Manning Hurt?
ESPN is reporting today that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning played with a torn quad muscle during Sunday's 24-13 loss to Indianapolis, the severity of which he had tried to conceal. However, two people with knowledge of Manning's health told The Associated Press it was "a strain," as the team had characterized it all along. Manning played poorly against the Colts. He completed 26 of his 46 passes for just 211 yards and one touchdown. He also lost a fumble, misfired on several passes and failed to get the Broncos into the end zone after their first series.
NFL Coaching Changes
The Broncos and John Fox have agreed to part ways after four AFC West titles and one Super Bowl appearance in four seasons. Fox might have something in the works with another franchise. He didn't shoot down a pregame report Sunday night that he could be available if the Broncos suffered a loss.
The Buffalo Bills have announced the hiring of former Jets’ coach Rex Ryan as their new head coach. With the announcement, reports say former Lions Coach and Bills’ defensive coordinator Jim Swartz would leave the team.
Tigers Spring Training
Miguel Cabrera continues to heal from surgery on his right foot, but Tigers officials say the infielder will probably not be ready for the beginning of Spring Training next month.
Cabrera had a stress fracture repaired in his foot and a bone spur taken out of his ankle during the procedure in October and is scheduled to have a follow-up exam with his surgeon in mid-February. The team is hoping he will be ready to be in Detroit's Opening Day line-up.
38 days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in Lakeland.
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