Sports: Red Wings Lose 2-1; Five Games left at the Joe

The Red Wings lost 2-1 at home to the Buffalo Sabres last night.  Tomas Tatar scored in his third straight game, pulling Detroit within a goal midway through the second.  Jack Eichel and Matt Moulson each scored a power-play goal in the first two periods.  Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots for Detroit.   The Red Wings had power plays early and late in the third period but failed to take advantage of their opportunities to tie the game, falling to 0 for 4 with an extra skater.  Detroit heads to Montreal on Tuesday.    The Wings have five more games at Joe Louis Arena.

Tigers

The Tigers beat the Mets 5-1 in Lakeland on Monday.   Anibal Sanchez started and was great again, going four innings, giving up two hits, no runs, and striking out 5.  Blaine Hardy and Alex Wilson were perfect in relief.  The Tigers got home runs from James McCann and Nick Castellanos.  Jose Iglesias and Andrew Romine each had two hits.  Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow was 0-3 and played left field.  He’s hitting .200 for the spring.  Tebow will begin his pro baseball career with the Single-A Columbia Fireflies.  Tigers’ right fielder J.D. Martinez will see a foot specialist this week.  He sprained the foot on a play Saturday.   The Tigers are off today.

WBC

Team USA plays Japan Tuesday in the WBC semifinal.

Pistons

The Pistons hit the road to play the Nets tonight, and then on to Chicago to play the Bulls on Wednesday. Detroit has assigned first-round draft pick Henry Ellenson to Grand Rapids in the D-League.  Ellenson has appeared in only 14 games this season.    The Pistons play their next four games on the road and don't have another home game until March 28 against the Miami Heat.

Mr. Basketball is from Kalamazoo Central

Isaiah Livers of Kalamazoo Central has been named Mr. Basketball for the state of Michigan. Livers, who has signed to play at Michigan for the Wolverines next season, edged Xavier Tillman of Grand Rapids Christian.

High School Basketball

Kalamazoo Central takes on Grand Rapids Christian in a Class A State Quarterfinal game tonight.   Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo Christian, Benton Harbor Dream Academy and Lansing Christian also play in games tonight.  Boy’s finals are this weekend.
Lions Sign Defensive Tackle Hill

The Detroit Lions have signed free agent defensive tackle Jordan Hill.  Hill is entering his fifth NFL season after previously playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round in 2013.

Hill has seven sacks in 31 career games. He played in four games for the Jaguars last season, making no starts.

Brady Jersey Found

Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jersey has been found in Mexico six weeks after it vanished from the Patriots' locker room — but the mystery isn't over. The NFL said the jersey was found in "possession of a credentialed member of the international media," and authorities were investigating Monday whether a former Mexican tabloid newspaper executive played a role in the theft.   Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says his department worked with the Texas Rangers and FBI to find the alleged thief. He says the same person also had some other Brady memorabilia, including his jersey from the 2015 Super Bowl.

NCAA Tournament

Michigan is a 1-point favorite against Oregon in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Kansas City.

Wisconsin plays Florida at 10pm Friday.

Purdue plays Kansas at 9:40pm on Thursday.

Women’s College Basketball

The Michigan women's basketball team advances to play St. John’s in the NIT this Thursday at Crisler Center.

WMU Hockey
WMU’s hockey team lost twice at the NCHC postseason tournament but they’ll be a Number 2 seed and one of 16 teams to make it to the NCAA tournament this weekend.  The Broncos will face Air Force on Friday in Providence.   If they win, they play Saturday night.