Sports: Pistons Win Again; Move Ahead of Bulls

NBA/Pistons

The Detroit Pistons won their fourth straight with a 118-102 win over the Magic.  Andre Drummond had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the Pistons never trailed in the game.

Tobias Harris scored 18 points for the Pistons against his former team.  Reggie Jackson added 16 points and nine assists.  Detroit guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sat out against Orlando because of an illness. Backup guard Reggie Bullock was also out with an illness. The Pistons started rookie Darrun Hilliard, a second-round draft pick.  The Pistons, who are chasing their first postseason appearance in seven years, still have four games to go on their nine-game home stand.   Detroit moves a game ahead of Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East and they’re only a percentage point behind Indiana for seventh.  The Pistons continue their 9-game home stand Friday when they host the Hornets.

Red Wings

The Red Wings play Montreal tonight at Joe Louis Arena.   Four teams are battling for the final 3 spots in the Eastern Conference, as the Wings try to make the playoffs for a 25^th straight season.  They are tied with Philadelphia, and both teams are just behind Boston and the New York Islanders.  Detroit has one more meeting with Philly on home ice in Detroit.

NCAA Tourney

The NCAA men's basketball tournament resumes after a four-day break with regional semifinals at two sites Thursday night. Villanova and Miami meet in the first game of the South regional, followed by No. 1 overall seed Kansas taking on Maryland.  West regional semifinals are also Thursday night. Oklahoma plays Texas A&M in the first game followed by West top seed Oregon playing Duke, one of six teams out of the ACC left in the tournament, in the nightcap.

College Hockey

This Friday, Michigan and Notre Dame will meet in a Midwest Regional beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Cincinnati.

K-College on Probation

The NCAA has placed Kalamazoo College on three years’ probation for violations involving the awarding of financial aid to athletes, recruiting practices and failure to monitor financial aid regulations.  The NCAA says a total of 567 student-athletes received impermissible financial aid according to NCAA rules.  Punishment also includes a postseason competition ban that the school says it intends to appeal.  Kalamazoo College says that it corrected the financial aid process once the school was made aware of the infractions.

Hockey Player Suspended for Revenge Porn

The Chicago Blackhawks have suspended minor league prospect Garret Ross over accusations that he shared an image of a woman engaged in a sexual act without her consent. The Blackhawks issued a statement Wednesday saying they learned of the felony revenge porn charge against the Rockford IceHogs winger from Dearborn Heights on Saturday and excused him from team activities pending a review. The team later decided to suspend Ross indefinitely.

Tigers

The Tigers had the day off Wednesday, and will take on Toronto today.

Joe Garagiola Obit

Joe Garagiola who led the way for countless former big leaguers to go into broadcasting following their playing careers, has died at 90. His nine-year playing career included helping his hometown St. Louis Cardinals win the 1946 World Series as a 20-year old rookie, but is probably better known for a decades-long TV career at NBC. He was inducted into the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

High School Basketball

The Boys High School Basketball State Finals are this Saturday in East Lansing.   WBCK will carry the MHSAA Class D Final at 10am (right after the Garden Show), and the Class B final that begins at 6:25pm.