Sports: Pistons Moving Back to Detroit
The Detroit Pistons have officially announced their move back to downtown Detroit. Owner Tom Gores held a news conference Tuesday with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and representatives from the Illich family, owners of Little Caesar’s Arena.
The Pistons plan to start playing at the 20,000 seat arena next season, which would put all four of Detroit's major pro teams within a few blocks of each other.
The team and Palace Sports & Entertainment will move its business operations, corporate headquarters, team practice and training facilities into a new practice facility, to be built by the Pistons north of the arena.
Detroit's DDA has agreed to contribute $34.5 million in additional bond proceeds through refinancing to be used for redesign and construction to modify Little Caesars Arena from a hockey facility to jointly house an NHL and NBA team.
The Pistons have agreed to a 10-point community benefits plan, including investing $2.5 million over six years for the construction, renovation and refurbishment of more than 60 basketball courts in Detroit, the employment of at least 51 percent of Detroit residents on the construction of the practice facility and provide 20,000 free tickets a year to Detroit youth and area residents.
The Pistons' move is still subject to approval by the NBA, and formal legal agreements must be finalized. The team has played at The Palace of Auburn Hills, about 30 miles from downtown Detroit, since 1988.
Pistons
The Pistons host the Miami Heat tonight at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit is 6-9 and 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Jackson Rehab
Pistons guard Reggie Jackson is close to getting back to action. Jackson has been sidelined since Oct. 10 after receiving plasma injection therapy to treat tendinitis in his left knee and a sprained right thumb. Jackson says he’s not having pain in the knee, but it’s more about trusting the knee in the heat of battle.
Red Wings
The Red Wings play at Buffalo tonight. The Sabers are 7th in the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings are 8th.
Lions
The 6-4 Lions are tied with Minnesota for first place in the NFC North. Detroit will play the Vikings on Thursday at Ford Field. Broadcast time is 11:30am on 104.9 The Edge. The Detroit Lions waived wide receiver Corey Fuller after practice Tuesday.
College Basketball
St. Bonaventure beat Central Michigan 102-71 Tuesday in the second round of Lone Star Showcase. Marcus Keene, who came in averaging 30.3 points, tied for most in Division I, scored 23 for the Chippewas (4-1), who close the tournament today against Arkansas-Little Rock.
The #24 MSU Spartans play St. John’s in the “Battle 4 Atlantis” tonight at 6pm on WBCK. They play either Baylor or VCU on Thursday. The tournament ends with a game on Friday.
#25 Michigan plays at South Carolina on Wednesday.
Henry Ford Community College beat KCC’s men’s team, 97-68, as the Bruins fall to 1-5.
College Football
Eastern Michigan won its seventh game of the season for the first time in 27 years, knocking off Central Michigan 26-21 in the regular season finale Tuesday night.
Eastern Michigan (7-5, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) is bowl-eligible for the first time since 1987 when they played in the California Bowl against San Jose State, the only bowl game the school has played in in its 41-year history. It's EMU’s first winning season since 1995.
Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson held the top four spots in the College Football Playoff rankings for the second straight week and Washington moved up a spot to fifth this week. #3 Michigan is at #2 Ohio State on Saturday on 104.9 the Edge.
Western Michigan remains at No. 21 in the playoff rankings. The undefeated Broncos are ranked #14 in the AP Poll and host Toledo on Friday at Waldo Stadium. Paula Garrett, Steve Frisbie and Wilma Strickland were listening and won tickets.
Michigan State plays at # 8 Penn State this Saturday.
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