Sports: Price bumps Verlander to #2

Verlander NOT Starting Opening Day

For the first time since 2007, the Detroit Tigers will have a new face on the mound come Opening Day. Manager Brad Ausmus has named David Price his starter for the April 6th season opener against the Minnesota Twins. It ends the Opening Day start streak for longtime ace Justin Verlander, who has pitched the first game of the season forDetroitthe last seven years. Price was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade last July. He finished the season a combined 15-and-12 with a 3.26 ERA. Verlander was also 15-and-12 last year, but posted the second-worst ERA of his career at 4.54.

Red Wings

Alex Killorn broke a one-all tie midway through the third period as the Tampa Bay Lightning went on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 at Amalie Arena last night.  Steven Stamkos added an empty-netter in the final minute, his 40th goal of the season. Anton Stralman also lit the lamp for the Bolts, who have won six of eight.  Ben Bishop stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced in the victory.  Tomas Tatar scored the lone goal forDetroit, which has lost six of eight. Jimmy Howard allowed two goals on 31 shots in defeat. The Wings are back in action Sunday when they host the St. Louis Blues.

NCAA Tournament

Denzel Valentine led a balanced attack with 16 points as seventh-seeded MichiganStatetook out 10th-seeded Georgia70-63 in the East Regional in Charlotteyesterday afternoon.   Travis Trice added 15 points and Branden Dawson and Bryn Forbes had 14 each for the Spartans, who will face Virginiaon Sunday.   Broadcast time is 11am on WBCK.

Tigers

The Yankees beat the Tigers 11-2.  The Yankees tagged Alfredo Simon for six first-inning runs on six hits.  Yoenis Cespedes went 2-for-2 with a solo homer forDetroit, while Rajai Davis finished 3-for-3 with a run scored in the loss.  The Tigers host the New York Mets today inLakeland. Game time is 1:05 p.m.

Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are back in action tonight when they host the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off at the Palace of Auburn Hills is 7:30 p.m.  The Pistons are coming off Wednesday night's 94-to-83 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, to fall to 24-and-44 on the season.

College Hockey

JT Compher scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period, then Cristoval 'Boo' Nieves and Alex Kile finally gave the Wolverines the insurance they needed to lift the University of Michigan ice hockey team to a 4-1 win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on last night at the Joe Louis Arena. Michigan will play Minnesota tonight as the Wolverines bid for their first-ever Big Ten title and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

West Michigan Wolves

The West Michigan Wolves lost to North Iowa, 2-0.  Today, they play Nashville at 4pm. The winner of the pool plays for the championship on Sunday.

High School Basketball

The High School girls basketball state finals are today at the Breslin Center.

In Class D, it’ll be Pittsford against St. Ignace LaSalle at 10am.

DeWitt will play Saginaw Heritage at 1pm

The Class C game will have Calumet taking on Flint Hamady today at 4pm.  Flint beat Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, the team that defeated Homer this week.

Goodrich will play Detroit Country Day at 8pm.

In Boys Basketball, Otsego takes on Milan next Tuesday.

KCC Sports

KCC’s Baseball team beat Glen Oaks, 13-2 and 5-4.

KCC won in softball, beating KVCC 4-3 and 11-3.