Show notes
NBA – National Basketball Association Last Night Detroit Pistons 135, Minnesota Timberwolves 118 Washington Wizards 100, Chicago Bulls 97 New York Knicks 119, Indiana Pacers 113 Pistons 135, T-Wolves 118 – Bey, Bogdanovic lead shorthanded Pistons past Timberwolves Saddiq Bey scored 31 points and the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-118. Bojan Bogdanovic added 27 points for the shorthanded Pistons, who were down 10-0 in the first three minutes. Four other players had at least 13 points. Anthony Edwards scored 20 for Minnesota, which had won four straight since a 116-104 loss to Detroit on New Year’s Eve. D’Angelo Russell added 19 and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Pistons were without three rotation post players: Marvin Bagley III (hand), Jalen Duran (ankle) and Isaiah Stewart (shoulder). That left Nerlens Noel, who had played in only nine of Detroit’s first 45 games, as the starting center against Gobert. Wizards 100, Bulls 97 – Kuzma hits late 3-pointer to lift Wizards past Bulls, 100-97 Kyle Kuzma broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left and the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 100-97 on Wednesday night. Following a timeout, Kuzma drove to his right and hit a leaning shot as he floated toward the Wizards’ bench. Zach LaVine missed a 16-footer for Chicago with 2.3 seconds left, with Deni Avdija grabbing the last of his career-high 20 rebounds for Washington. Earlier, LaVine beat the shot clock to tie it at 97. Kuzma finished with 21 points. Backup forward Anthony Gill scored a career-high 18 points, and Monte Morris added 17 for Washington.8 points for Chicago. Bulls scoring leader DeMar DeRozan missed his first game of the season because of quadriceps strain. Knicks 119, Pacers 113 – Brunson, Barrett help Knicks hold off Pacers, 119-113 Jaylen Brunson scored 34 points to help the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 119-113 on Wednesday night. RJ Barrett added 27 points in his return from a finger injury that sidelined him six games, and Julius Randle had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Buddy Hield led Indiana with 31 points. After New York led by 25 points in the third quarter, Hield cut it to 105-103 with a 3-pointer with 3:10 left. Brunson countered for the Knicks, scoring the next seven points of the game. Hield’s four-point play with 1:22 remaining pulled the Pacers to 112-109. He had a chance to tie it on Indiana’s next possession, but his 3-pointer was off the mark. NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball Tonight Michigan at Iowa, 7:00 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:30 NCAAMBKB – Women’s College Basketball Last Night Wisconsin 84, Michigan State 80 – OT Western Michigan 79, Northern Illinois 70 Akron 60, Eastern Michigan 43 Bowling Green 101, Central Michigan 68 Tonight Wake Forest at (7) Notre Dame, 7:00 p.m. NHL – NHL – National Hockey League Tonight Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings, 7:00 p.m. Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. NHL – NHL remains abuzz about likely No. 1 pick Connor Bedard Connor Bedard was the star as Canada won the world junior hockey championship, providing a string of jaw-dropping and record-setting performances in the run to gold. There had been talk before the event that fellow forward Adam Fantillimight be closing the gap on the 17-year-old standout many expect to be the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft this summer. Bedard instead showed just how wide the gulf is between himself and his contemporaries. Entering Wednesday’s games, the worst team in the league was Chicago, followed closely by Columbus and Anaheim. NFL – Going home: Bills’ Hamlin released from Buffalo hospital Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been released from a hospital in Buffalo nine days after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated during a game at Cincinnati. Hamlin went home home after spending two days undergoing tests at Buffalo General Medical Center. He was transferred to Buffalo after spending last week at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where the 24-year-old experienced what doctors called “a remarkable recovery.” Neither doctors nor the Bills disclosed the results of the tests Hamlin had. Doctors said he will continue his rehabilitation with the Bills. MLB – Tigers change Comerica Park’s dimensions, encourage offense The home of the Detroit Tigers is set to become a little more hitter friendly. The outfield dimensions at Comerica Park are changing, with the center field wall being moved in 10 feet to 412 feet from home plate. The Tigers announced the changes on Wednesday. In addition, the outfield wall has been lowered in center field from 8 1/2 feet to 7 feet, in right-center field from 13 feet to 7 feet and in right field from 8 1/2 feet to 7 feet. The Tigers say the goal is to “reward hitter outcomes on balls hit to the deepest parts of the park” and also “maintain the high number of extra-base hits on balls in play to the gaps, resulting in action on the basepaths.” The Tigers also said they hope the lowered outfield wall will encourage “more electric defensive plays such as home run robberies.” The Tigers hit just 110 homers last season, which ranked last in the big leagues. Though the actual distance hasn’t changed, the left field corner will be labeled 342 feet instead of 345 after laser measurements were taken. Comerica Park will still have the second deepest center field wall in baseball behind Colorado’s Coors Field at 415. The league average is 402. MLB – Smyly could earn up to $41.5M over 3 years in Cubs contract Left-hander Drew Smyly could earn up to $41.5 million over three years from his contract with the Chicago Cubs if he pitches 150 innings annually, and catcher Tucker Barnhart could raise earnings to $9.5 million under his two-year contract if he becomes a regular starter. Smyly is guaranteed $19 million as part of a two-year contract announced Dec. 24 that calls for salaries of $8 million this year and $8.5 million in 2023. The deal includes a $10 million mutual option for 2025 with a $2.5 million buyout. Tennis – Naomi Osaka says she’s pregnant, plans tennis return in 2024 Naomi Osaka is pregnant and plans to return to competition in 2024. The former world No. 1 posted what she called a “little life update” Wednesday on social media, including a picture of an ultrasound. The 25-year-old Osaka has been dating Cordae, a rapper, for years. She wrote that she has so much to look forward to in the future. Osaka added that “one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom.’” She hasn’t played a competitive match since September and withdrew from the Australian Open, which begins Sunday. USA Soccer – US women’s soccer tries to overcome past lack of diversity Women’s soccer in the United States is trying to improve its diversity. The effort starts with the sport’s pay-to-play model, which can exclude talented kids from communities of color. Even U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone has lamented that soccer is seen as a “rich, white kids’ sport.” U.S. national team defender Crystal Dunn has seen the national team become steadily more representative, but she says there’s still work that needs to be done. That starts with making sure young women of color feel welcome all the way down to the youth level. AHL – American Hockey League Last Night Iowa Wild 5, Grand Rapids Griffins 2 ECHL – ECHL Hockey League Last Night Kalamazoo Wings 5, Fort Wayne Komets 4 NBAGL – NBA G-League Last Night Windy City Bulls 121, Long Island Nets 118 Tonight Raptors 905 (Mississauga, Ontario) at Motor City Cruise, 7:00 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Last Night Boys Basketball Kalamazoo Phoenix 87, Covert 29 Girls Basketball Benton Harbor 38, Kalamazoo Hackett 37 – OT DeWitt 66, Gull Lake 32 Bronson 69, Sturgis 22 Wrestling St. Joseph, Lakeshore, Gull Lake at Battle Creek Lakeview St. Joseph 60, Battle Creek Lakeview 24 Gull Lake 42, St. Joseph 33 (Lakeshore’s results not reported) Last Night Boys Basketball SMAC Portage Northern at St. Joseph, 7:00 p.m. Lakeshore at Mattawan, 7:00 p.m. Kalamazoo Central at Portage Central, 7:00 p.m. Battle Creek Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 5:45 p.m. Battle Creek Lakeview at Gull Lake, 7:00 p.m. BCS River Valley at Eau Claire, 8:00 p.m. Non-Conference Schoolcraft at Buchanan, 7:00 p.m. Girls Basketball SMAC Battle Creek Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 4:15 p.m. BCS Howardsville Christian at Our Lady of the Lake, 7:00 p.m. River Valley at Eau Claire, 6:30 p.m. Southwest 10 Decatur at Bangor, 7:30 p.m. Hartford at Comstock, 7:30 p.m. Bloomingdale at Marcellus, 7:30 p.m. Cassopolis at Mendon, 7:30 p.m. Centreville at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m. SAC Watervliet at Bridgman, 6:00 p.m. Non-Conference Andrews Academy at Michigan Lutheran, 7:30 p.m. Boys Swimming and Diving Mattawan at St. Joseph, 6:00 p.m. Battle Creek Central at Bridgman, 6:00 p.m.Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) drives on Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Detroit, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, right, reacts with guard Monte Morris, center, and guard Delon Wright (55) after he made a 3-pointer during the closing seconds of the team’s NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Washington. The Wizards won 100-97. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)FILE -The Detroit Tigers play the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. The outfield dimensions at Comerica Park are changing, with the center field wall being moved in 10 feet to 412 feet from home plate. The Tigers announced the changes on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.