Sports: Pistons, Red Wings lose on the Road

The Pistons lost to Golden State 127-107.   Klay Thompson returned from a one-game absence for rest and scored 23 points with four 3-pointers.  Stephen Curry scored 24 points, Kevin Durant had 25.  Marcus Morris scored 21 points and Tobias Harris had 18 to lead the Pistons, who lost their second straight game.   Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left the game in the first quarter with a left arm injury.  The Pistons play in Utah tonight.

Red Wings

The Red Wings lost 5-2 in Dallas.  The Red Wings took a 2-1 lead on first-period goals by Gustav Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg.  Dallas goalie Antti Niemi held Detroit scoreless over the last 44:18. He finished with 31 saves.  Defensemen John Klingberg and Stephen Johns scored goals 49 seconds apart in the second period as the Dallas Stars pulled away.  The Red Wings completed a seven-game trip with a 2-3-2 record, and remained last in the Atlantic Division.  Detroit had won the previous seven games at Dallas going back almost 7 years.  The Red Wings are home to play the Penguins on Saturday night.

WMU Hockey

It’s a big weekend for the #14 ranked Bronco Hockey team as they host the #1 team in the country, Denver, in games this Friday and Saturday at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo.

Men’s College Basketball

MSU heads to Ohio State on Sunday afternoon, in first place in the Big Ten.

Broadcast time is 12:30 Sunday on WBCK.

The Wolverines host Nebraska on Saturday afternoon.

High School Basketball

St. Philip 65, Tekonsha  57.

Zach Nelson had 22.  Ben Swagler had 20 off the bench.   Connor Jenkins led all scorers with 27 for Tekonsha….22 in the first half.

Battle Creek Academy 48,  Pansophia Academy 34. Shadrach Grentz had 21 points.

Athens 60, Homer 41.

Bellevue 50, Hillsdale Academy 39.  Wyatt Waterbury with 16.

Jackson Christian 69, Climax-Scotts 55

Quincy 41, Union City 32

Girls Basketball

Centreville 47, Bronson 44

Boys Basketball Tonight

Hastings at Pennfield….7pm on WBCK.

Battle Creek Central  at Mattawan.

Lakeview at Loy Norrix

Harper Creek at Coldwater

Marshall at Jackson NW

Kalamazoo Central at Gull Lake

Delton at Hackett

Maple Valley at Perry

Bronson at Centerville

Gobles at Galesburg-Augusta

Charlotte at Olivet

NFL Playoffs

Saturday, Seattle is at Atlanta, and Houston is at New England.

Sunday, Green Bay is at Dallas and Pittsburgh is at Kansas City.

Bombers Name Manager

The Battle Creek Bombers have a new manager.   Brian Solemsaas takes over in the dugout this season.  He worked with the team last season as an assistant under Manager Gary McClure.  The Bismarck, North Dakota native currently is a volunteer assistant coach for the Red Wolves of Arkansas State.  Solemsaas worked for Major League Baseball in China as an Assistant Coach at the Changzhou Development Center where he coached Baltimore Orioles prospect Itchy Xu, China's first native born player to sign with a MLB organization.

Solemsaas said, “We have a good core group of guys coming back from last season’s team that made the playoffs and have added some very talented ballplayers that should mesh well together. I am excited to build upon the success of last year’s team and hopefully bring a championship back to Battle Creek."

Tigers Sign Romine

Andrew Romine and the Detroit Tigers have agreed on a one-year contract for $1.3 million, avoiding salary arbitration.  The versatile Romine played every position besides catcher last season.   Detroit has five players still eligible for arbitration: third baseman Nick Castellanos; shortstop Jose Iglesias; and pitchers Bruce Rondon, Alex Wilson and Justin Wilson.