Sports: Tigers’ Norris out with back trouble

Tigers
The Tigers lost 16-1 to the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Starter and former Blue Jay Daniel Norris left the game in the first inning with lower back tightness. Norris was scratched from his start last Saturday after tweaking his back in the weight room. He’ll undergo tests and at this point, it would be a surprise if Norris were to make the opening day roster for the Tigers. Toronto sent 11 batters to the plate in a five-run fifth inning and finished the game with 23 hits. The Tigers had one hit in the first six innings and finished with three. Nick Castellanos had two of them. Detroit has the day off today, and will take on Toronto again on Thursday.

Red Wings
The Red Wings, trying to make the playoffs for a 25th straight season, had a setback last night in Tampa. The Red Wings fell to the Lightning Tuesday night 6-2 to snap their two game winning streak. Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm scored for the Wings.
Detroit was outshot 34-25. The Red Wings are tied with Philadelphia in the battle for the final wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers, who grabbed a point last night in a shootout loss, have one game in hand. Detroit will host Montreal on Thursday.

Tampa Bay-Cuba Baseball Game
Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays went to Cuba yesterday and played an exhibition game against the Cuban national team, with President Obama and Raul Castro watching. The Rays won 4-1. Rays player Dayron Varona was born in Havana, and defected to the United States in 2013. He took the first at-bat of the game.

NBA/Pistons
The Detroit Pistons look to win their fourth straight game as they play host to Magic tonight. The Pistons are playing the fifth game of their season long nine-game home stand. With a record of 37-and-34, Detroit remains tied with the Bulls for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

College Hockey
Reports say Notre Dame will leave the Hockey East Conference to join the Big Ten Conference, for ice hockey only, beginning with the 2017-18 season. After one final season in the Hockey East, Notre Dame would join the 3-year-old Big Ten Hockey conference.

This Friday, Michigan and Notre Dame will meet in a Midwest Regional beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Cincinnati.