Sports: Wings Lose 4-3

Red Wings

The Red Wings lost 4-3 at Philadelphia last night.  Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist in the loss, the second in a row for the Wings. Andreas Athanasiou scored his sixth goal of the season. The Wings have lost five of seven and have a tenuous grasp on the final playoff spot.  The Flyers pulled within one point of the Red Wings for the final Eastern Conference wild-card playoff berth.  The Red Wings play their next three games on the road. They have made the playoffs 24 straight seasons.

Girls Basketball

The Marshall girls’ basketball team is headed to the state’s final four.  The Redhawks beat the Grand Rapids Catholic Central Cougars 41-30 last night in a Class B State Quarterfinal.  Friday will mark Marshall’s first trip to the semifinals since 1981.  Marshall Head Coach Sal Konkle was a junior on the Marshall squad that year.   Last night, her daughter, Jill Konkle, finished with her first career double-double, getting 11 points and 10 rebounds.  The 24-1 Redhawks will take on the second-ranked Bay City John Glenn Bobcats at the Breslin Center at MSU.  Tip-off is Friday at 7:50pm.

High School Boys Basketball Regionals

Class C Homer advances to face Kalamazoo Hackett in the regional final tonight at Gobles.

NBA/Pistons

The Pistons return home to take on the Hawks tonight.  They reamin in the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference, percentage points behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Michigan in First Four

Michigan will take on Tulsa in the First Four tonight in Dayton, Ohio. Tip-off in Dayton is 9:10 p.m.  The winner faces Notre Dame on Friday.

CIT Tourney

Central Michigan(17-15) will begin postseason play tonight when they play host to UT Martin (19-14) in the CIT basketball tournament. Tip-off at McGuirk Arena is 8:00 p.m.

Big Ten Basketball

No. 2 Michigan State plays Middle Tennessee State on Friday.   WBCK will have the game live at 1:30pm.

MSU Women in tournament

The fourth seeded MSU women's basketball team will play 13th-seeded Belmont on Friday.

Tigers

The Tigers beat the Braves 10-6 in Lakeland. Justin Verlander struck out five and gave up just one hit as he breezed through four innings.  J.D. Martinez and James McCann hit home runs.  Martinez hit a three-run home run and has homered in each of the past three games he has played.  McCann hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to extend his team's lead to 10-2.   The Tigers take on the Astros this afternoon.

Cleaves Charged

Former Michigan State basketball star Mateen Cleaves was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman at a Mundy Township motel after a charity golf outing.  The Wayne County Prosecutor's office announced that Cleaves is charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual penetration, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.  He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.