Show notes
NCAAWBKB – Women’s NCAA Tournament – Elite 8 Last Night Wichita Region – Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, KS 1 Louisville 62, 3 Michigan 50 Louisville 62, Michigan 50 – Louisville beats Michigan 62-50 to return to Final Four Hailey Van Lith scored 22 points, Olivia Cochran made a series of crucial baskets in the final minutes, and Louisville held off Michigan 62-50 to return to the Final Four for the fourth time in program history. Chelsie Hall added 15 points and Emily Engstler balanced out a poor shooting night with 16 rebounds and some big plays on defense, helping the top-seeded Cardinals advance to face South Carolina next weekend in Minneapolis. Naz Hillmon finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolverines, who couldn’t overcome 22 turnovers despite a huge disparity at the foul line in their first regional final. Bridgeport Region – Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, CT 2 UConn 91, 1 NC State 87 – 2 OT UConn 91, NC State 87 – 2 OT – UConn reaches 14th straight Final Four, tops NC State in 2OT UConn is heading to the women’s Final Four for the 14th straight time. The Huskies beat North Carolina State 91-87 in a double-overtime thriller. Paige Bueckers scored 15 of her 27 points in the two extra periods. The Huskies had been 0-for-5 in overtime in the NCAA Tournament. They will face top seed Stanford on Friday night in the national semifinals in Minneapolis. Bueckers was AP Player of the Year last season as a freshman but missed two months this season with a knee injury. When the Huskies needed her, she looked like her old self. Jakia Brown-Turner hit a 3-pointer to force the second overtime and led N.C. State with 20 points. NCAAMBKB – Duke-Carolina, Kansas-Nova set for epic Final Four showdowns Duke and North Carolina will meet for the 258th time but first in the NCAA Tournament when they tip off Saturday night in the Final Four in New Orleans. It will be the final trip to college basketball’s biggest stage for Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is chasing his sixth national championship. The winner of their showdown at the Superdome will get Kansas or Villanova in the title game. North Carolina will be making its records 21st appearance in the Final Four, and the four teams headed to the Big Easy combined to make it 61 times with 17 national titles between them. NBA – National Basketball Association Last Night New York Knicks 109, Chicago Bulls 104 Atlanta Hawks 132, Indiana Pacers 123 Knicks 109, Bulls 104 – Knicks hold off DeRozan, Bulls for 4th straight win RJ Barrett scored 28 points, Alec Burks had 27 and the New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls 109-104 for their fourth straight victory. Obi Toppin had 17 points for the Knicks, whose strong recent play will likely come too late. They remained 4 1/2 games behind Atlanta for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and the final play-in spot with only six games remaining. DeMar DeRozan scored 37 for the Bulls, including 15 in the fourth quarter. But he missed a jumper and then was called for an offensive foul in the final 45 seconds, cutting short Chicago’s comeback attempt. Hawks 132, Pacers 123 – Bogdanovic scores 29, Hawks beat Pacers 132-123 Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 29 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Indiana Pacers 132-123. Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter each contributed 22 points and Capela added 15 rebounds for the Hawks, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference. Tonight Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards, 7:00 p.m. Detroit Pistons at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. NBA – Pistons’ Grant to miss rest of season with left calf injury Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant will miss the remainder of the season because of a strained left calf. The team said Monday that Grant was hurt in the first quarter of a 100-97 loss to Washington on Friday. Grant averaged 19.2 points in 47 games this season, his second with the Pistons. He won a gold medal playing for the U.S. Olympic team last summer. NHL – National Hockey League Last Night Buffalo Sabres 6, Chicago Blackhawks 5 Sabres 6, Blackhawks 5 – Thompson winner with 10.6 left, Sabres rally past Blackhawks Tage Thompson scored the tiebreaking goal on a fortunate bounce with 10.6 seconds left and the Buffalo Sabres rallied from four down to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5. Victor Olofsson had two goals and an assist to help the Sabres win for the first time in three games. Kyle Okposo, Vinnie Hinostroza and Alex Tuch also scored for Buffalo. Thompson, the team leader with 28 goals, broke his stick on a shot from left wing. The puck caromed off the boards behind the net and hit Chicago goaltender Kevin Lankinen’s left skate before going in. Tuch tied it for Buffalo with 2:14 to play. Alex DeBrincat, Calvin de Haan, Sam Lafferty, Jonathan Toews and Seth Jones scored for the Blackhawks, who led 4-0 in the second period. NHL – Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk dies from illness at 62 The Ottawa Senators say owner Eugene Melnyk has died from an illness at age 62. The team announced the news with a statement from his family. The statement did not provide additional details of what the illness was. Melnyk had a liver transplant in 2015 after a public search for a donor. Melnyk had owned the Senators since 2003. The Toronto native was also involved in other businesses around Canada and in 2010 had an estimated net worth of $1.21 billion. NHL – Sheldon Kennedy talks safety, inclusion at NHL GMs meeting Sheldon Kennedy addressed NHL general managers on the opening day of their first in-person meeting in two years. He and league executive Kim Davis led a discussion about safety and inclusion. Kennedy has been a voice for victims following his own experience being sexually abused by a coach during his time as a junior hockey player. The league is attempting to push forward on those issues in the aftermath of the Chicago Blackhawks investigation into allegations a player was sexually assaulted by a video coach in 2010. NFL – NFL makes adjustments to Rooney Rule to aid minority hiring To ensure more opportunities for diverse candidates, the NFL has added requirements on the hiring of offensive assistant coaches, and women in general. The moves announced at the owners meeting include adjustments to the Rooney Rule adopted in 2003 and amended frequently in attempts to enhance opportunities for people of color and women for nearly all league and team jobs. Beginning this season, all 32 clubs must employ a female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority to serve as an offensive assistant coach. The person will receive a one-year contract and work closely with the head coach and offensive staff to gain experience. NFL – New stadium for Buffalo; proposal for Tennessee Sources tell The Associated Press that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee plans to propose $500 million in bonds in the state budget to help fund a new covered $1.2 billon Tennessee Titans stadium envisioned for Nashville. In New York, state and county taxpayers will be asked to commit a record $850 million in public funds toward construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium. The project has a total estimated price tag of $1.4 billion. NFL – Lions to be featured on NFL’s “Hard Knocks”, will host 2024 draft The NFL announced that the Detroit Lions will be the team featured in the upcoming season of the HBO documentary series “Hard Knocks.” The Lions were one of three teams that could not turn down the series coming to Lions training camp. This will be the 15th season of the show. The NFL also announced that the city of Detroit will host the NFL Draft in 2024. The physical draft location will be held downtown at around Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. This season’s draft will take place in Las Vegas, with Kansas City hosting in 2023. NCAAFB – New coach Marcus Freeman liking his first Irish spring Notre Dame and first-year coach Marcus Freeman are getting know each other. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees returns on a staff that has eight new faces, including Freeman’s successor at defensive coordinator in Al Golden. There’s also a battle for the No. 1 quarterback spot as sophomore Tyler Buchner and junior Drew Pyne duel to replace Jack Coan. Notre Dame finished last season 11-2. The spring game is April 23. MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training Yesterday New York Yankees 11, Detroit Tigers 7 San Diego Padres 9, Chicago White Sox 8 Chicago Cubs 4, Cincinnati Reds 2 Today Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs, 4:05 p.m. Tigers and White Sox are off MLB – Cubs’ Wisdom, Schwindel looking to build on 2021 season Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel were two pleasant surprises for the Chicago Cubs during a tough 2021 season. Looking to establish themselves as consistent major leaguers, the slugging infielders are trying to stick to the formula that worked so well for each one last year. Wisdom set a single-season franchise record for rookies with 28 homers, topping Kris Bryant’s 26 in 2015, and Schwindel batted .342 in 56 games. Chicago is hoping what they accomplished in 2021 is a harbinger of future success instead of a fleeting aberration. MCCAA – Junior College Athletics Today Baseball Lake Michigan College at Kellogg Community College, 2:00 p.m./4:30 p.m. (DH) Softball Glen Oaks Community College at Lake Michigan College, 3:00 p.m./5:00 p.m. (DH) MHSAA – High School Sports Yesterday Girls Soccer South Haven 2, Fennville 1 Today Baseball Brandywine at Niles, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Coloma at South Haven, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Martin at Grand Rapids Union, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Saugatuck at Hamilton, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Softball North Muskegon at Saugatuck, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Girls Soccer Delton-Kellogg at Hastings, 5:00 p.m.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.