Sports Roundup: St. Philip in Quarters Tonight

Boys Basketball Quarterfinals

St. Philip advances to the Class D state quarterfinals tonight at Battle Creek Central. The 24-1 Tigers will play 19-5 Adrian Lenawee Christian, a team with three Nigerian players who are 6’8” tall.   The winner advances to Thursday’s Final Four at 7:50 PM at the MSU Breslin Center, and will play the winner of Tuesday night’s game in Marquette between 22-2 Cedarville and 25-0 Powers North Central.  The last time St. Philip made the final 4 was 1973.   St. Phillip has 11 seniors on the team, all hoping to extend the season tonight.   Broadcast time is 6:35pm on WBCK-FM.

NCAA Tournament

Michigan is the #2 seed in the Midwest Bracket and will play Wofford on Thursday.  MSU earned the four-seed in the East Region and plays 13th-seeded Delaware on Thursday. WMU is in the Tournament for first time in 10 years.  They are a 14-seed in the South Bracket, and they'll take on third-seed Syracuse Thursday afternoon.

Red Wings

The Red Wings host Toronto tonight.   Detroit is fighting to make the playoffs for the 23rd straight season, as the injuries keep mounting.  Forward Justin Abdelkader left Sunday's loss to Chicago early with a lower body injury and could be out of the lineup tonight.  The Wings recalled center Landon Ferraro from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Ferraro is the tenth Grand Rapids player to be called up this season and would be the seventh player to make his NHL debut with Detroit this year. Detroit has lost 3 of the last 4.  The Wings are 5^th in the Atlantic Division.

Tigers

The Tigers and Nationals were rained out, but starter Anibal Sanchez was scratched even before the game was called.  Sanchez has inflammation of his right shoulder, an injury that kept him out of action for a couple of weeks last season. Shortstop Jose Iglesias confirmed that he has been diagnosed with stress fractures in both of his legs, a condition he has been dealing with for some time.  The infielder will visit another specialist today, but he believes he will be back on the field at some point this season. Today, the Tigers have split-squad games, hosting the Toronto Blue Jays in Lakeland and visiting the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Manager Brad Ausmus said pitcher Justin Verlander would be on the mound to start his seventh consecutive Opening Day for Detroit against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Ausmus said the decision was difficult because reigning Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer was the best pitcher in the league last year.

Pistons

The Pistons play in Denver tomorrow.  Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond will not be in the lineup.  Drummond injured his head and neck when he collided with Roy Hibbert during the Pistons 112-104 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Drummond, who was taken to the hospital after the incident, didn't participate in practice yesterday and is questionable for Friday's game in Phoenix.  The Pistons will also visit the L.A. Clippers and Utah Jazz before returning home.

Phil Jackson to the Knicks?

The Knicks have a press conference today at Madison Square Garden and are expected to hire Phil Jackson.  Jackson played with the Knickerbockers from 1967-to-1978, coached the Bulls to six championships and the Lakers to another five.  Jackson has never run a front office and it isn't yet known what his title will be.

NFL

Pass rusher Julius Peppers moves from Chicago to Green Bay….a three-year deal worth 30-million-dollars. Peppers was cut by the Bears earlier this month to save money.