Sports: Pistons lose 105-102 and are virtually eliminated from playoffs

The Pistons lost to the Raptors 105-102 last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  The Pistons blew a 20 point lead in the loss.  The loss makes it almost impossible for Detroit to make the playoffs.  Ish Smith and Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 16 points each. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the first half.  It had nothing to do with his drunken driving arrest early Wednesday in Auburn Hills.  KCP was away for the birth of a new baby son.   With four games left, Detroit is in 11^th place, three games off the pace to make the playoffs.  Miami, Chicago and Indiana are ahead of the Pistons in the race for the last playoff spot.

Detroit plays at Houston on Friday night, at Memphis on Sunday, and the final home game ever at the Palace is Monday at 8 against the Wizards.  The final game of the season is at Orlando next Wednesday.

Tigers

Terrible weather in Chicago forced postponement of Wednesday's game between the White Sox and Tigers.  The game will be made up on Friday, May 26 as part of a doubleheader.  It’ll be an old-timey doubleheader, with actual back-to-back games. The Tigers won the only game of the season so far on Tuesday.  The AL Champion Cleveland Indians started the season with a 3-game sweep at Texas.

Matt Boyd moves up a day to start against the White Sox today.    Rain and drizzle are expected on and off throughout today in Chicago, and it’ll be windy and chilly with wind chills in the 30’s.  Broadcast time today in Chicago is 1:45 on 95.3 WBCK.  Bad weather also cancelled the Cubs game in St. Louis.

The Tigers host the Red Sox on Friday in the home opener, and the first of four straight afternoon games at Comerica Park with the Red Sox.

Red Wings

The Red Wings have 2 games left at Joe Louis Arena.   They host Montreal on Saturday night, and end the season and their stay at the Joe on Sunday at 5 against the New Jersey Devils.  The team says they’ll have “enhanced security in place” for the final game, as they try to discourage fans from trying to sneak off with a keepsake from the old barn.  The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to terms with defenseman Dennis Cholowski, their top pick in the 2016 entry draft, on a three-year entry-level contract.  Cholowski, the 20th overall pick, was a freshman at St. Cloud State University this season. The 19 year old is eligible to join the Grand Rapids Griffins for the remainder of the season, but the Wings haven’t said where he will play.

Women’s World Hockey

Semifinals are scheduled today in the women's hockey world championship at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth Michigan,   Finland will face Canada this  afternoon and the United States takes on Germany tonight.  The Bronze and Gold games are Friday.

Golf

The world’s top golfer, Dustin Johnson, fell down a staircase at the home he is renting during the Masters.  His agent says Johnson landed very hard on his back and is treating it with ice and medication while staying immobile.