Sports: Wings in Playoffs; Datsyuk to retire

Red Wings

The Red Wings made the playoffs and will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.   The post season may be the last time Wings fans get to see Pavel Datsyuk.  The 37 year old said Saturday that he wasn’t done with hockey, but he’s pretty sure he’s done with the NHL.  Datsyuk still has a year left on a three-year contract, but his agent says he’s ready to forgo that to return to his native Russia to be closer to his 13 year old daughter.   If Datsyuk leaves, the Red Wings would still have to count 7.5 million dollars toward the salary cap.  Datsyuk’s agent, Dan Milstein, says they won’t know anything for sure until after the playoffs, when he and his client sit down with the Illich family and GM Ken Holland.    Detroit could trade the rights to him to another club that needs to reach the cap floor, such as the Arizona Coyotes.  The Wings have already said they wouldn’t want to do that to a future hall of famer like Datsyuk, who has played his entire career in Detroit.

The Wings play at Tampa on Wednesday and Friday, and are home for a game on Sunday night.

Here are the other first-round NHL matchups:

In the East, Florida plays the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh goes against the New York Rangers and Washington plays Philadelphia.

In the West, it's Anaheim against Nashville, the L.A. Kings against San Jose, Minnesota vs. Dallas and St. Louis against Chicago.

Tigers

The Tigers and Yankees’ game was postponed last night, do to terrible weather, but the weather was good enough for games on Friday and Saturday.  The Tigers won on Friday, but lost 8-4 on Saturday.  A makeup date hasn’t been announced. The teams aren't scheduled to meet again in Detroit this season.  The Tigers are home to play against the Pittsburgh Pirates today.  Broadcast time is 12:45 on WBCK with the Rush Limbaugh Show on line at WBCK FM Dot Com and on our RadioPup App.

NBA/Pistons

The Bulls are out of the NBA playoffs, so the Pistons are in.  The Pistons host Miami on Tuesday.  They finish the regular season in Cleveland on Wednesday.  The Indiana Pacers beat Brooklyn Sunday to clinch a playoff berth.  The Pacers also have two games left and hold a tie-breaker over the Detroit Pistons in the fight for the seventh seed.

Warriors Tie Record

The Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 92-86 for their 72nd victory this season, tying the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the single-season record.  Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr played on that Bulls team.  The Warriors have one chance to break the record with a win at home against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Masters Golf

Jordan Spieth suffered a monumental collapse on the back nine of the 80th Masters, handing the green jacket to Danny Willett of Sheffield, England. Willett shot a final-round 5-under 67 to finish five under par to win by three shots.  Spieth looked to be in the driver's seat after he took a five-shot lead into the back nine. But the defending champion bogeyed 10 and 11 and then took a quadruple 7 on the 12th hole. Spieth finished with a final-round 1-over 73 that included a 41 on that fateful back nine. Spieth finished tied for second with Lee Westwood.  The 28-year-old Englishman wasn't even planning to play Augusta. His wife was due with their first child on the weekend of the Masters.  Their son, Zachariah James, was born on March 30, clearing Willett to a most unlikely path to becoming a major champion -- and the $1.8 million first place check.  Willett is the second Englishman to win the Masters. The other is Faldo, who won three times.

Nascar

Kyle Busch passed Martin Truex Jr. with 32 laps left to win his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup event, the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Truex had led for 142 laps but couldn't hold Busch off on a restart.

NCAA Hockey

North Dakota earned its first national championship since 2000 after its 5-1 win over Quinnipiac in the 2016 Frozen Four championship game on Saturday in Tampa.  Harvard senior forward Jimmy Vesey won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's top player.  He beat out Michigan freshman Kyle Connor and Boston College junior  Thatcher Demko.

Arrest in Killing of Former NFL Player

Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was shot in the back and side, according to a warrant read in court Sunday night before a magistrate set a $1 million bond for the man accused of killing him.  Police say 34-year-old Smith was killed in a case of road rage by a man who had rear-ended his car. They arrested 28-year-old Cardell Hayes on a charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors have 60 days to decide whether to bring that charge against Hayes. Hayes' Humvee H2 rear-ended Smith's Mercedes G63 around 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the upscale Lower Garden District, pushing it into a Chevrolet Impala driven by two of Smith's acquaintances. Police say the two argued, and Hayes shot both Smith and Smith's wife, Racquel. She was taken to a hospital with a leg wound.

Tiger Stadium Farewell

Volunteers and baseball fans gathered over the weekend at the site of the old Tiger Stadium for a farewell of sorts to the former ballpark's field.  The volunteer group Navin Field Grounds Crew that maintained the field organized the events ahead of a Wednesday groundbreaking on a project to redevelop the site into a youth sports facility and new Detroit Police Athletic League headquarters.  Plans call for the field's grass to be replaced by artificial turf.   The Detroit News reports events concluded Sunday with a pickup game that included the Men's Senior Baseball League of Detroit.  Tiger Stadium opened in 1912 as Navin Field. The Tigers left for Comerica Park after the 1999 season. The last portion of the stadium was demolished in 2009, but people still use the field.