NBA  – National Basketball Association
Last Night

  Detroit Pistons 122, Atlanta Hawks 101

Sacramento Kings 110, Indiana Pacers 109

Pistons 122, Hawks 101 – Grant, Cunningham lead  Pistons to rare rout of Hawks 

  Jeremi Grant scored 21 points and the slumping Detroit  Pistons routed the Atlanta Hawks 122-101 on Wednesday night. Cade Cunningham  added 17 points and eight assists for Detroit. The Pistons led by 29 points  while winning for the second time in eight games. Detroit had eight players in  double figures as they easily surpassed its previous biggest victory margin of  the season, 16 against Toronto on Jan. 14. Saddiq Bey hit his 192nd 3-pointer  of the season in the fourth quarter, breaking Allan Houston’s franchise record.  Trae Young had 21 points and nine assists for Atlanta, De’Andre Hunter scored  15 points, and Bogan Bogdanovic added 13. The Hawks had won five of seven.

Kings 110, Pacers 109 – Jones’ last-second tip-in  lifts Kings over Pacers 110-109

  Damian Jones’ tip-in with less than a second left  lifted the Sacramento Kings to a 110-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Trey  Lyles missed a 3-pointer but Jones tipped in the rebound with 0.2 seconds  remaining. Davion Mitchell scored 25 points and Chimezie Metu had a career-high  22 as the Kings snapped a three-game losing streak. Buddy Hield led the Pacers  with 25 points and Goga Bitadze added 20. Tyrese Haliburton had 13 points and  15 assists. Haliburton and Hield were traded by the Kings to the Pacers in  February.

Tonight

  Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans, 8:00 p.m.

  Indiana Pacers at Memphis Grizzlies, 8:00 p.m.

NHL  – National Hockey League
Last Night

  Chicago Blackhawks 4, Anaheim Ducks 2 

Blackhawks 4, Ducks 2 – Blackhawks snap 3-game losing  streak with 4-2 win over Ducks

  Dylan Strome scored the go-ahead goal with 3:50  remaining and Patrick Kane had another big night against Anaheim as the Chicago  Blackhawks defeated the skidding Ducks 4-2. Strome redirected Riley Stillman’s  shot from near the blueline past John Gibson to help the Blackhawks snap a  three-game losing streak. Kane had a goal and two assists, giving him a point  in nine straight games against Anaheim. Sam Carrick — who was playing in his  100th NHL game — scored twice for Anaheim, marking the first multigoal game of  his six-year career. However, it wasn’t enough for the Ducks, who have dropped  eight straight for the fifth time in franchise history.

Tonight

  Detroit Red Wings at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.

  Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings, 10:00 p.m.

NCAAMBKB – Men’s NCAA Tournament
Tonight
Sweet 16 – South Region – AT&T Center, San  Antonio, TX

  11 Michigan vs. 3  Villanova, 7:29 p.m.             News/Talk/Sports  94.9 WSJM 6:45

  5 Houston vs. 1  Arizona, 9:59 p.m.

Sweet 16 – West Region – Chase Center, San Francisco,  CA

  4 Arkansas vs. 1  Gonzaga, 7:09 p.m.

  3 Texas Tech vs. 2  Duke, 9:30 p.m.

NCAAMBKB – South Preview: ‘Nova vs. Michigan again at  site of ’18 title

  Villanova is back in San Antonio for the first time  since winning the national title there four years ago. Even the opponent is the  same, though the Sweet 16 game against Michigan is at a different arena. The  Wildcats and Wolverines meet Thursday night at the home of the NBA’s San  Antonio Spurs. That is about three miles from the Alamodome, where Nova won the  title in 2018. In the other South Region semifinal, top seed Arizona takes on  Houston. The Cougars are playing only a three-hour drive from home.

NCAA – Study: Michigan, Kentucky top academics-based  NCAA brackets

  Michigan and Kentucky stood out in a study examining  the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament brackets based on graduation rates,  academic success and diversity in the head coaching ranks. The Wolverines were  the overall No. 1 seed as the national champion for a third straight year in  the men’s field according to the study released Wednesday by The Institute for  Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida. The Wildcats held the  overall No. 1 seed as the women’s champion. Teams that performed well and are  still in the tournaments are the Michigan and North Carolina men, along with  the Notre Dame women.

NCAA – NCAA men’s, women’s tournaments see  double-digit TV gains

  The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are  seeing double-digit viewer increases over last year. The men’s tournament is up  12% over last year. The tournament is also off to its best start in five years,  averaging 9.12 million viewers through the second round. The women’s tournament  is up 15% overall through the first two rounds. The second round averaged  474,000 viewers, a 25% jump from last year. Both tournaments are back to their  normal setups for the first time since 2019. They were played in a bubble last  year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MLB  – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday

  Detroit Tigers 6,  Pittsburgh Pirates 6 – TIE 

  Texas Rangers 14,  Chicago White Sox 5

Chicago Cubs 5, Oakland  A’s 4 

Today

  New York Yankees at  Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m.

  San Francisco Giants  at Chicago White Sox, 4:05 p.m.

  Chicago Cubs at Los  Angeles Angels, 4:10 p.m.

MLB/EPL  – Cubs owners denounce racism after backlash over Chelsea bid

  The  owners of the Chicago Cubs, who are bidding for Premier League club Chelsea,  touted their anti-racism credentials after a backlash in England about  offensive comments by the father of the baseball team’s chairman. It has been  three years since family patriarch Joe Ricketts apologized after online media  outlet Splinter News published emails featuring him making Islamophobic  comments, such as “Islam is a cult and not a religion.” Paul Canoville,  Chelsea’s first Black player, tweeted “a big fat anti racism NO to the Ricketts  bid.” The Ricketts family says it “rejects any form of hate in the strongest  possible terms.”

MLB  – Lynn ready if needed to start on opening day for White Sox

  Lance  Lynn says he’s not particularly concerned about who starts on opening day for  the Chicago White Sox. Manager Tony La Russa hasn’t announced whether Lynn or  Lucas Giolito will get the ball when the White Sox face Detroit on April 8.  Lynn says “it’s awesome” that the White Sox have multiple potential opening day  starters. Lynn finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting last  season. He made his spring debut on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers.

WNBA  – Griner seen by US consulate in Russian detention facility

  The  U.S. State Department says a U.S. Embassy official has visited with WNBA star  Brittney Griner, who remains detained near Moscow, to check on her condition.  State Department spokesperson Ned Price told CNN the official found Griner “to  be in good condition.” Price did not identify the official who had been granted  consular access to Griner, something the United States had been demanding.  Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport, reportedly in  mid-February, after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed  vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could  carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

COVID  – New York City to let unvaccinated athletes play home games

  New  York city’s mayor will announce Thursday that he’s exempting athletes and  performers from the city’s vaccine mandate for private workers. The move will  allow Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play home games, and let unvaccinated  baseball players take the field when their season begins. According to a person  familiar with the upcoming announcement who was not authorized to discuss it publicly,  Mayor Eric Adams will make the announcement Thursday morning. It will be  effective immediately. The city’s sweeping vaccine mandate for workers will  still apply to people with other types of jobs, including government employees.

NFL – Lions add ex-Chiefs CB Mike Hughes, ex-Ravens LB  Chris Board

  The Detroit Lions have addressed pressing needs, signing  cornerback Mike Hughes and linebacker Chris Board. Detroit announced the moves  Wednesday, adding depth where it is needed on defense. Hughes started in five  of 17 games last season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He had 45 tackles, one  interception, forced four fumble and returned a fumble for a score in 2021.  Board started in two of 63 games over the last four years with the Baltimore  Ravens. He had 59 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, forced two fumbles and was a key  contributor on special teams.

NFL – Michaels, Herbstreit to call Prime Video’s NFL  package

  Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will be the announcing  team when Prime Video takes over “Thursday Night Football” in September.  Michaels moves to Prime from NBC. His contract with NBC ended last month after  he was in the booth for his 11th Super Bowl. Herbstreit will remain ESPN’s lead  college football analyst and do NFL games for Prime. ESPN also announced that  Herbstreit had signed a multiyear extension.

Tennis  – That’ll do: Barty signs off on tennis at 25, ranked No. 1

  Ash  Barty signaled the end of the photo opportunities at her retirement news  conference in her typically low-fuss, matter-of-fact style: “Righto, that’ll  do.” Barty surprised almost everyone in tennis when she announced her retirement  at age 25 in a video posted to social media on Wednesday. She’s spent the last  two years atop the women’s tennis rankings and won two of the last three Grand  Slam singles titles. A day later she confirmed she’d set a date to get married  but wasn’t ready to make it public. For all other details about her future  plans, Barty says “You’ll have to wait and see. Be patient.”

Russia/Ukraine  – Russian Olympians face backlash after Vladimir Putin rally

  Russian  Olympic athletes who participated in a rally supporting President Vladimir  Putin and the invasion of Ukraine are facing a backlash. They gathered on stage  at the Luzhniki Stadium on Friday as part of the concert and entertainment  program around Putin’s speech. Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov is under  investigation from the governing body of swimming. Swimwear manufacturer Speedo  has dropped Rylov for his involvement in the pro-Putin rally. It says the  remainder of Rylov’s sponsorship fee will be donated to the United Nations  agency caring for refugees.

MHSAA  – High School Sports
Last Night
Girls Soccer

  St. Joseph 6,  Kalamazoo Christian 0
St. Joe’s Ellie Smith scored a hat-trick, while  Eleah Hedstrom scored twice in the Bears 6-0 win over Kalamazoo Christian.  Anna Kalamaros scored the other goal for St.  Joe.
  

South Haven 4,  Saugatuck 0

  Hudsonville 2, Portage  Central 1

  Gull Lake 2, GR Forest  Hills Central 1

  Allegan 5, Hopkins 0

  Harper Creek 2, Otsego  2 – TIE 

Today
Girls Soccer

  Three Rivers at  Parchment, 6:00 p.m.

Baseball

  Kalamazoo Hackett at  Paw Paw, 4:30 p.m.

Softball

  Decatur at Paw Paw,  4:00 p.m. (DH)

  Kalamazoo Christian at  Grandville Calvin Christian, 4:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball – State Semifinals    
Division 3 at Michigan State University

  Menominee (22-3) vs  Ecorse (9-10), 12:00 p.m.

  Schoolcraft (23-2) vs  Flint Beecher (22-2), 2:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Michigan State University

  Ewen-Trout Creek  (22-3) vs Lake Leelanau St. Mary (21-4), 5:30 p.m.

  Wyoming Tri-unity  Christian (19-6) vs Genesee Christian (21-4), 7:30 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association 
 Last Night 
 Detroit Pistons 122, Atlanta Hawks 101 
Sacramento Kings 110, Indiana Pacers 109
Pistons 122, Hawks 101 – Grant, Cunningham lead Pistons to rare rout of Hawks 
 Jeremi Grant scored 21 points and the slumping Detroit Pistons routed the Atlanta Hawks 122-101 on Wednesday night. Cade Cunningham added 17 points and eight assists for Detroit. The Pistons led by 29 points while winning for the second time in eight games. Detroit had eight players in double figures as they easily surpassed its previous biggest victory margin of the season, 16 against Toronto on Jan. 14. Saddiq Bey hit his 192nd 3-pointer of the season in the fourth quarter, breaking Allan Houston&rsquo;s franchise record. Trae Young had 21 points and nine assists for Atlanta, De&rsquo;Andre Hunter scored 15 points, and Bogan Bogdanovic added 13. The Hawks had won five of seven.
Kings 110, Pacers 109 – Jones&#8217; last-second tip-in lifts Kings over Pacers 110-109 
 Damian Jones&rsquo; tip-in with less than a second left lifted the Sacramento Kings to a 110-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Trey Lyles missed a 3-pointer but Jones tipped in the rebound with 0.2 seconds remaining. Davion Mitchell scored 25 points and Chimezie Metu had a career-high 22 as the Kings snapped a three-game losing streak. Buddy Hield led the Pacers with 25 points and Goga Bitadze added 20. Tyrese Haliburton had 13 points and 15 assists. Haliburton and Hield were traded by the Kings to the Pacers in February.
Tonight 
 Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans, 8:00 p.m. 
 Indiana Pacers at Memphis Grizzlies, 8:00 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League 
 Last Night 
 Chicago Blackhawks 4, Anaheim Ducks 2 
Blackhawks 4, Ducks 2 – Blackhawks snap 3-game losing streak with 4-2 win over Ducks 
 Dylan Strome scored the go-ahead goal with 3:50 remaining and Patrick Kane had another big night against Anaheim as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the skidding Ducks 4-2. Strome redirected Riley Stillman&rsquo;s shot from near the blueline past John Gibson to help the Blackhawks snap a three-game losing streak. Kane had a goal and two assists, giving him a point in nine straight games against Anaheim. Sam Carrick — who was playing in his 100th NHL game — scored twice for Anaheim, marking the first multigoal game of his six-year career. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough for the Ducks, who have dropped eight straight for the fifth time in franchise history.
Tonight 
 Detroit Red Wings at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m. 
 Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings, 10:00 p.m.
NCAAMBKB – Men&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament 
 Tonight 
 Sweet 16 – South Region – AT&amp;T Center, San Antonio, TX 
 11 Michigan vs. 3 Villanova, 7:29 p.m.             News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:45 
 5 Houston vs. 1 Arizona, 9:59 p.m.
Sweet 16 – West Region – Chase Center, San Francisco, CA 
 4 Arkansas vs. 1 Gonzaga, 7:09 p.m. 
 3 Texas Tech vs. 2 Duke, 9:30 p.m.
NCAAMBKB – South Preview: &#8216;Nova vs. Michigan again at site of &#8217;18 title 
 Villanova is back in San Antonio for the first time since winning the national title there four years ago. Even the opponent is the same, though the Sweet 16 game against Michigan is at a different arena. The Wildcats and Wolverines meet Thursday night at the home of the NBA&#8217;s San Antonio Spurs. That is about three miles from the Alamodome, where Nova won the title in 2018. In the other South Region semifinal, top seed Arizona takes on Houston. The Cougars are playing only a three-hour drive from home.
NCAA – Study: Michigan, Kentucky top academics-based NCAA brackets 
 Michigan and Kentucky stood out in a study examining the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament brackets based on graduation rates, academic success and diversity in the head coaching ranks. The Wolverines were the overall No. 1 seed as the national champion for a third straight year in the men&rsquo;s field according to the study released Wednesday by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida. The Wildcats held the overall No. 1 seed as the women&#8217;s champion. Teams that performed well and are still in the tournaments are the Michigan and North Carolina men, along with the Notre Dame women.
NCAA – NCAA men&#8217;s, women&#8217;s tournaments see double-digit TV gains 
 The NCAA men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s basketball tournaments are seeing double-digit viewer increases over last year. The men&rsquo;s tournament is up 12% over last year. The tournament is also off to its best start in five years, averaging 9.12 million viewers through the second round. The women&rsquo;s tournament is up 15% overall through the first two rounds. The second round averaged 474,000 viewers, a 25% jump from last year. Both tournaments are back to their normal setups for the first time since 2019. They were played in a bubble last year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training 
 Yesterday 
 Detroit Tigers 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 6 – TIE 
 Texas Rangers 14, Chicago White Sox 5 
Chicago Cubs 5, Oakland A&rsquo;s 4 
Today 
 New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m. 
 San Francisco Giants at Chicago White Sox, 4:05 p.m. 
 Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Angels, 4:10 p.m.
MLB/EPL – Cubs owners denounce racism after backlash over Chelsea bid 
 The owners of the Chicago Cubs, who are bidding for Premier League club Chelsea, touted their anti-racism credentials after a backlash in England about offensive comments by the father of the baseball team&rsquo;s chairman. It has been three years since family patriarch Joe Ricketts apologized after online media outlet Splinter News published emails featuring him making Islamophobic comments, such as &ldquo;Islam is a cult and not a religion.&rdquo; Paul Canoville, Chelsea&rsquo;s first Black player, tweeted &ldquo;a big fat anti racism NO to the Ricketts bid.&rdquo; The Ricketts family says it &ldquo;rejects any form of hate in the strongest possible terms.&rdquo;
MLB – Lynn ready if needed to start on opening day for White Sox 
 Lance Lynn says he&rsquo;s not particularly concerned about who starts on opening day for the Chicago White Sox. Manager Tony La Russa hasn&#8217;t announced whether Lynn or Lucas Giolito will get the ball when the White Sox face Detroit on April 8. Lynn says &ldquo;it&#8217;s awesome&rdquo; that the White Sox have multiple potential opening day starters. Lynn finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season. He made his spring debut on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers.
WNBA – Griner seen by US consulate in Russian detention facility 
 The U.S. State Department says a U.S. Embassy official has visited with WNBA star Brittney Griner, who remains detained near Moscow, to check on her condition. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told CNN the official found Griner &ldquo;to be in good condition.&rdquo; Price did not identify the official who had been granted consular access to Griner, something the United States had been demanding. Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport, reportedly in mid-February, after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
COVID – New York City to let unvaccinated athletes play home games 
 New York city&rsquo;s mayor will announce Thursday that he&rsquo;s exempting athletes and performers from the city&rsquo;s vaccine mandate for private workers. The move will allow Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play home games, and let unvaccinated baseball players take the field when their season begins. According to a person familiar with the upcoming announcement who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, Mayor Eric Adams will make the announcement Thursday morning. It will be effective immediately. The city&rsquo;s sweeping vaccine mandate for workers will still apply to people with other types of jobs, including government employees.
NFL – Lions add ex-Chiefs CB Mike Hughes, ex-Ravens LB Chris Board 
 The Detroit Lions have addressed pressing needs, signing cornerback Mike Hughes and linebacker Chris Board. Detroit announced the moves Wednesday, adding depth where it is needed on defense. Hughes started in five of 17 games last season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He had 45 tackles, one interception, forced four fumble and returned a fumble for a score in 2021. Board started in two of 63 games over the last four years with the Baltimore Ravens. He had 59 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, forced two fumbles and was a key contributor on special teams.
NFL – Michaels, Herbstreit to call Prime Video&#8217;s NFL package 
 Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will be the announcing team when Prime Video takes over &ldquo;Thursday Night Football&rdquo; in September. Michaels moves to Prime from NBC. His contract with NBC ended last month after he was in the booth for his 11th Super Bowl. Herbstreit will remain ESPN&rsquo;s lead college football analyst and do NFL games for Prime. ESPN also announced that Herbstreit had signed a multiyear extension.
Tennis – That&#8217;ll do: Barty signs off on tennis at 25, ranked No. 1 
 Ash Barty signaled the end of the photo opportunities at her retirement news conference in her typically low-fuss, matter-of-fact style: &ldquo;Righto, that&rsquo;ll do.&rdquo; Barty surprised almost everyone in tennis when she announced her retirement at age 25 in a video posted to social media on Wednesday. She&#8217;s spent the last two years atop the women&#8217;s tennis rankings and won two of the last three Grand Slam singles titles. A day later she confirmed she&#8217;d set a date to get married but wasn&#8217;t ready to make it public. For all other details about her future plans, Barty says &ldquo;You&#8217;ll have to wait and see. Be patient.&rdquo;
Russia/Ukraine – Russian Olympians face backlash after Vladimir Putin rally 
 Russian Olympic athletes who participated in a rally supporting President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine are facing a backlash. They gathered on stage at the Luzhniki Stadium on Friday as part of the concert and entertainment program around Putin&rsquo;s speech. Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov is under investigation from the governing body of swimming. Swimwear manufacturer Speedo has dropped Rylov for his involvement in the pro-Putin rally. It says the remainder of Rylov&rsquo;s sponsorship fee will be donated to the United Nations agency caring for refugees.
MHSAA – High School Sports 
 Last Night 
 Girls Soccer 
 St. Joseph 6, Kalamazoo Christian 0
<ul>
<li>St. Joe&rsquo;s Ellie Smith scored a hat-trick, while Eleah Hedstrom scored twice in the Bears 6-0 win over Kalamazoo Christian.  Anna Kalamaros scored the other goal for St. Joe.
 </li>
</ul>
South Haven 4, Saugatuck 0 
 Hudsonville 2, Portage Central 1 
 Gull Lake 2, GR Forest Hills Central 1 
 Allegan 5, Hopkins 0 
 Harper Creek 2, Otsego 2 – TIE 
Today 
 Girls Soccer 
 Three Rivers at Parchment, 6:00 p.m.
Baseball 
 Kalamazoo Hackett at Paw Paw, 4:30 p.m.
Softball 
 Decatur at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH) 
 Kalamazoo Christian at Grandville Calvin Christian, 4:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball – State Semifinals    
 Division 3 at Michigan State University 
 Menominee (22-3) vs Ecorse (9-10), 12:00 p.m. 
 Schoolcraft (23-2) vs Flint Beecher (22-2), 2:00 p.m.
Division 4 at Michigan State University 
 Ewen-Trout Creek (22-3) vs Lake Leelanau St. Mary (21-4), 5:30 p.m. 
 Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (19-6) vs Genesee Christian (21-4), 7:30 p.m.

Southwest Michigan's Sports Leader

WSJM Sports

NBA  – National Basketball Association   Last Night   Detroit Pistons 122, Atlanta Hawks 101 Sacramento Kings 110, Indiana Pacers 109 Pistons 122, Hawks 101 – Grant, Cunningham lead  Pistons to rare rout of Hawks