Sports Roundup: MSU wins!

Big Ten Basketball

MSU beat Northwestern 85-70.  The Spartans are once again tied for first place in the Big Ten standings with Michigan. Adrien Payne had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Spartans.  Denzel Valentine scored 16 with 6 assists.  Travis Trice had 11 and 6 assists. Trice and Valentine are stepping up to fill in for injured point guard Keith Appling.

MSU hosts Nebraska on Sunday.  2pm on WBCK-FM.  Michigan hosts Wisconsin on Sunday….12:30 on Sports 930 the Score. 

Pistons

The Detroit Pistons take the weekend off for the NBA All-Star break.  They’ll host the Charlotte Bobcats next Tuesday.

NBA All Star Game

The Celebrity Game and Rising Stars Challenge kick off NBA All-Star weekend tonight in New Orleans.  The Rising Stars Challenge features rookies and sophomores combined on two teams, drafted by former NBA players Grant Hill and Chris Webber.  The festivities continue on Saturday with the D-League All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night, which is highlighted by the Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest.  The 63rd NBA All-Star Game is Sunday.

Olympics

There are six medal events on tap today at the Sochi Winter Olympics.  Dario Cologna of Switzerland won his second gold at the Sochi Olympics on Friday with a dominant performance in the men's 15-kilometer classical-style cross-country race.

Also on tap is the women's 15 kilometer individual biathlon, the men's figure skating free skate, women's skeleton and ladies aerials in freestyle skiing.

In the men's alpine skiing super combined, the USA’s Bode Miller finished sixth and Ted Lichety was not even in the top ten. Sandro Viletta of Switzerland won the gold.

The U.S. men's curling team has its second win of these Olympics after an 8-5 win over Germany.  Team USA is now 2-and-3 in Sochi. The Americans are back on the ice later today to face host nation Russia.

Day one of the men's hockey tournament produced very few surprises.  Finland, the USA, Russia and Canada all walked away victorious in their opening contests.  Team Sweden and Red Wings’ Captain Henrik Zetterberg is headed back to Detroit, unable to play in the Olympics because of a herniated disk problem.

Russian figure skating legend Yevgeny Plushenko had to withdraw yesterday because of a back injury.  Unfortunately, it's also the end of his career.

Medal Count as of 8am

Norway                                  4 3 6  13

Netherlands                             4 3 5  12

United  States                         4 2 6  12

Russia                                      2 5 4  11

Germany                                 7 2 1  10

Girls Basketball

Bellevue 46, Colon 32  Janelle Kuiper broke the Broncos’ single-season scoring record in with 18 points to give her 269 so far this season.

Calhoun Christian 40, Burr Oak 31 Claire Tribbett had 19 points.

Battle Creek Central at Lakeview   (BCC 5-11, L 9-7)

Sturgis at Harper Creek   (HC 9-6)

Pennfield at Olivet   (P 10-6, O 14-1)

St. Philip at Climax-Scotts   (C-S 9-6)

Athens at Union City    (At 13-3, UC 5-11)

Bellevue at Colon   (Be 7-5)

Delton at Galesburg-Augusta

Coldwater at Gull Lake   (GL 13-1)

Maple Valley at Schoolcraft

Marshall at Loy Norrix   (Ma 14-2)

Boys Basketball

Bellevue 49, Colon 38 Ethan Bloch had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Broncos.

Battle Creek Central plays at Lakeview tonight.  Broadcast time is 7:06 on WBCK-FM.  It’s a Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser. Players will wear pink and coaches will wear sweat suits and  sneakers in both the boys’ and girls’ basketball games. All proceeds will go to American Cancer Society.

Sturgis at Harper Creek   (HC 11-3)

Pennfield at Olivet   (P 9-7, O 3-11)

St. Philip at Climax-Scotts

Athens at Union City   (At 5-8, UC 6-8)

Bellevue at Colon   (Be 7-6)

Delton at Galesburg-Augusta   (D 5-7, G-A 6-8)

Coldwater at Gull Lake   (GL 10-5)

Homer at Concord   (Ho 13-0)

Maple Valley at Schoolcraft

Marshall at Loy Norrix   (Ma 4-11)

Burr Oak at Tekonsha   (T 2-9)

Lions Release Two Veterans

The Detroit Lions have released safety Louis Delmas and receiver Nate Burleson to free up salary cap space. The move will save the team 11.5 million-dollars and put the Lions over five-million-dollars under the projected cap of 126-million-dollars.

Delmas, a second round pick out of WMU in the 2009 draft has had knee issues the last three seasons and was due $6 million.  Burleson was in the final year of a 25-million-dollar contract.  He had missed 17 games in the past two years because of a broken arm and a broken leg.

Tigers

Workouts for pitchers and catchers officially begin today in Lakeland, Florida.  Several players, including Alex Avila, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, have already been at the complex to get in some early work.  Designated hitter Victor Martinez made an appearance in the Tigers clubhouse yesterday morning with his catching gear. Martinez was behind the plate for three games last season and says he's ready to do whatever the team needs him to do. Position players report on Monday and the Tigers will hold their first full-squad practice on Tuesday.