Sports: Red Wings Lose 4-1; Howard Out!

The Red Wings were blown out, 4-1 at Tampa Bay.  Both starting goalies, Jimmy Howard and Ben Bishop left the game due to injuries.  Bishop was hurt 12 minutes into the first period, going down after kicking out his right leg to make a pad save on Nick Jensen's shot.   Detroit's Jimmy Howard departed with 12:41 remaining in the second. He was unable to put weight on his right leg following a goalmouth scramble. Nick Jensen, making his NHL debut, says he fell on Howard and took responsibility for the injury. Jensen assisted on Anthony Mantha's goal with 10.5 seconds left in the third. Tampa Bay is 3-0 against Detroit this season.  Detroit will take on the Panthers in Florida on Friday.  Goalie Jared Coreau will be called up in time for Friday’s game.

KCC Basketball

The KCC Men’s Basketball team fell to 3-7 with a 91-61 loss to Owens Community College.  Battle Creek Central grad Curtis Trigg had 22 points and 15 rebounds for KCC.  Coach Ben Reed says the Bruins were in the game until the last six minutes, but costly mistakes let the game get away.  KCC starts conference play after the Christmas Break.

The KCC women’s team lost to 3^rd-ranked Owens, 103-31.

College Basketball

Northeastern beat MSU on Sunday and they beat Oakland 61-59 last night.

MSU plays at home tonight against Oakland.

WMU plays at UCLA tonight.

Michigan is off until Thursday when they host Furman.

No. 2 Notre Dame to a 79-61 win over Michigan State’s women’s team on Tuesday night. The Fighting Irish (11-1) have won three straight since losing to top-ranked UConn.

Pistons

The Pistons have dropped three straight and four of five and host Memphis tonight.   

Thursday Night Football

Giants at Philadelphia.

The Giants have been fined $150,000 and Coach Ben McAdoo was docked $50,000 by the NFL for his use of a walkie-talkie for about five plays during the Giants' 10-7 win over Dallas on Dec. 9.  McAdoo used the walkie-talkie after his communications system malfunctioned.  Coaches are not allowed to hold two-way radios during a game, because such radios are not capable of being cut off with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock.  An NFL source says that even though the Giants weren't communicating within 15 seconds of the play clock ending, they had the "opportunity" to do it.

Lions

Next for the Lions is a game next Monday night in Dallas against the 12-2 Cowboys, who beat Tampa Bay last night.

Pro Bowl

The Lions may be in first place in the NFC North, but not one player was selected for this years’ Pro Bowl.  Five other teams, all with losing records, failed to have any Pro Bowlers. The Raiders and Falcons have landed a total of 13 players on the Pro Bowl roster.   Detroit got four alternates: punter Sam Martin, kicker Matt Prater, quarterback Matthew Stafford and cornerback Darius Slay.

High School Boys Basketball

Pennfield 71, Homer 50.  Ron Jamierson had 21 points.

Portage Central 70, Harper Creek 45

St. Philip 77, Litchfield 64.  Drew Lantinga had a double-double… 22 points and 20 rebounds.  Ben Swagler added 26.

Marshall 42, Parchment 29.  Jeremy Luciani had 14 points and 11rebounds.

Girls Basketball

Harper Creek 57, Portage Central 39.  Maddie Alexander with 22.

Athens 41, Mendon 22.  Jillaine Wheeler led the Indians with 12.

Olivet 67, Galesburg-Augusta 40

Parchment 56, Maple Valley 27

Tonight

Galesburg-Augusta at Mendon.

The Battle Creek Central Bearcats will host Otsego tonight in the Chuck Turner Classic at the old Central Fieldhouse.

Thursday

Gull Lake at Marshall

Muskegon Heights at Battle Creek Central at the Chuck Turner Classic on WBCK.

Kvitova  Attacked

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was injured by a knife-wielding attacker at her home, damaging tendons in her left hand. Kvitova's spokesman said that although the injuries were serious, there is no reason to think they were career-ending. The spokesman added that Kvitova won't be able to train for at least three months, causing her to miss the Australian Open.

Former NFL Player Eddins Killed

Police in Detroit are investigating what they believe was a double homicide. This after officers Tuesday found the bodies of two men... one of them former Buffalo Bills linebacker Robert Eddins.   Police say there were no signs of forced entry, adding that whoever killed both men also tried to cover up the crime. The shooter remains at large.  The 28 year old Eddins played at Ball State, and signed with the Bills in 2011 and later played in the CFL.

Griffin Out for Clippers

Clippers forward Blake Griffin will be out 4-to-6 weeks following arthroscopic surgery to clean out his right knee. Griffin is averaging 21 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season, one reason why the Clippers own the fourth-best record in the NBA's Western Conference at 20-8. He missed 62 games the previous two seasons due to injuries or suspension.