NHL  – National Hockey League
Last Night

New York Rangers 5, Detroit Red Wings 4 – OT 

Rangers 5, Red Wings 4 – OT – Copp lifts Rangers over  Red Wings in OT for 4th straight win

  Andrew Copp scored 1:34 into overtime and the New York  Rangers extended their winning streak to four games by beating the Detroit Red  Wings 5-4. Artemi Panarin had a goal and assisted on two others, including  Copp’s winner, as New York swept back-to-back road games beginning with Tuesday  night’s big victory over division rival Pittsburgh. Chris Kreider scored his  46th goal overall and NHL-high 24th on the power play. Ryan Reaves and Filip  Chytil also scored for the Rangers, while Alexandar Georgiev made 22 saves.  Michael Rasmussen, Jakub Vrana, Tyler Bertuzzi and Adam Erne scored for  Detroit, and Moritz Seider added two assists. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 29  shots, but the Red Wings lost their fourth straight.

NBA  – National Basketball Association
Last Night

  Denver Nuggets 125, Indiana Pacers 118

Nuggets 125, Pacers 118 – Jokic has 37 points to lead  Nuggets past Pacers 125-118

  Nikola Jokic flirted with another triple-double with  37 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, helping the Denver Nuggets hold off  the Indiana Pacers 125-118. Jokic fell one assist shy of his 20th triple-double  of the season after getting one Monday night at Charlotte. The Nuggets led by  as many as 31 points in the second quarter before the Pacers stormed back.  Indiana led 102-100 with 7:40 left in the fourth quarter before the Nuggets  scored seven straight points to regain control. Seven of the nine Pacers who  played scored in double figures, led by Buddy Hield with 20 points.

Tonight

  Philadelphia 76ers at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.

  Los Angeles Clippers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

MLB  – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday

  Detroit Tigers 7, Philadelphia  Phillies 1

  Chicago White Sox 7,  Texas Rangers 0

Chicago Cubs 8, Seattle  Mariners 5

  Today

  Detroit Tigers at Toronto  Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m.

  Chicago White Sox at  Cincinnati Reds, 9:05 p.m.

Cubs are off

MLB – White Sox  slugger Andrew Vaughn recovering from hip pointer

  Andrew Vaughn feared  the worst when he got hurt making a diving catch for the Chicago White Sox on  Sunday. Same for his team, which is looking for the slugger to play a key role  this year. They’re all feeling much better now. Vaughn was diagnosed with a hip  pointer and could return to game action in one to two weeks. The No. 3 overall  pick in the 2019 amateur draft ditched his crutches Tuesday and already is  swinging a bat again. But the team is planning to be cautious with when he  returns to the field.

NFL – Arians  retires as Bucs’ coach, Bowles promoted to top spot

  Bruce Arians has  decided to retire as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and move into a  front-office role with the team, a stunning move announced Wednesday night.  Arians, who will turn 70 this coming season, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl  title in the 2020 season which was Tom Brady’s first with Tampa Bay. The Bucs  were 31-18 in Arians’ three seasons there and he was 80-48-1 in eight seasons  as a head coach overall when adding in his five seasons with the Arizona  Cardinals. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will replace Arians as coach.

WNBA – WNBA players  break silence on Brittney Griner

  Two of Brittney Griner’s  USA Basketball teammates have broken their silence on the star player’s  imprisonment in Russia. Most WNBA players have been hesitant to talk about  Griner’s detention on apparent drug charges in Russia, hoping to avoid  potentially hurting her case. Players have been keeping discussions about how  to best help Griner within their community. WNBA players have been very  cohesive in the past when rallying behind issues such as voter registration or  the Black Lives Matters movement. For the first few weeks, it was decided that  it was clearly better for them to say less.

NCAA – Emmert  claims progress in women’s NCAAs, not close on pay

  A year after glaring  inequities were revealed at the women’s NCAA Tournament and less than two weeks  after sharp criticism from Congress, NCAA President Mark Emmert says he is  happy with the institution’s progress but said there had only been “preliminary  discussions” about distributing tournament revenues to women’s programs. Emmert  said the work ahead improving conditions for women’s basketball includes  negotiating a new television contract for the women’s tournament and  potentially having a similar revenue distribution protocol as the men’s event.  Emmert was careful not to call for specific changes ahead of discussions by the  NCAA’s hundreds of member schools, and he declined to offer his own viewpoint.

NCAA – March  Madness paying off for players under mishmash of rules

  This week, Kansas, Villanova,  North Carolina and Duke will play in the first Final Four to take place under  the new world of “name, image and likeness” endorsements in college sports. It  allows college players to earn money through endorsements. This new world is  comprised of a loosely regulated mishmash of state laws and university-written  rules that set different standards across the nation with little transparency  about who gets what or where it comes from. On the one hand, it’s seen as a  long-overdue development that will forever change the landscape of what has  been widely disparaged as among the most unfair labor markets in America. On  the other, trouble could be looming for an industry with few rules that doles  out big bucks to teenagers with big dreams.

NCAA – Women’s  Final Four can be a financial windfall for players

  Women’s basketball is  ranked second, behind only college football and ahead of men’s basketball, when  it comes to the amount of income generated by name, image and likeness deals.  That is according to Blake Lawrence, the chief executive of Opendorse. His  company helps colleges and athletes navigate the celebrity endorsement  landscape, which was opened last summer by the NCAA and now has millions of  dollars flowing through it. He says making it to the Final Four will only  increase the deals coming to social-media influencers such as Stanford’s  Cameron Brink and UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

Soccer – CONCACAR –  US returns to World Cup despite 2-0 loss at Costa Rica

  The United States men  are returning to the World Cup after the trauma of missing the 2018 tournament,  clinching a berth for this year’s championship in Qatar despite a 2-0 loss to  Costa Rica on the final night of qualifying. Juan Pablo Vargas got behind  Walker Zimmerman and headed Brandon Aguilera’s corner kick past goalkeeper Zack  Steffen in the 51st minute, and Anthony Contreras knocked in a cross off a  scramble in the 59th after Steffen couldn’t hold onto a free kick. A sellout  crowd of about 35,000 in National Stadium came to life, but the Americans’ 5-1  rout of Panama at home last weekend gave them a huge goal-difference margin  over Costa Rica.

Soccer – World Cup –  FIFA, Qatar prepare for unprecedented World Cup finals draw

  A World Cup like no  other in its 92-year history will take shape this week at an unprecedented  tournament draw. When FIFA and host nation Qatar stage the draw ceremony show  Friday three of the 32 entries will be placeholders. That’s because the  three-year qualifying program has been delayed by the pandemic and war in  Ukraine. It means 37 nations will be involved Friday. Five of those ultimately  won’t play in November when the first “winter” World Cup kicks off. Qatar is in  the draw pot of top-seeded teams with the world’s best: Brazil, Belgium,  France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal.

ECHL – ECHL Hockey League
Last Night

  Kalamazoo Wings 4, Iowa Heartlanders 3 – OT 

MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Today
Softball

  Lake Michigan College at Kellogg Community College,  Postponed

MHSAA  – High School Sports
Yesterday
Girls Soccer

  St. Joseph 5,  Edwardsburg 0

  Bridgman 3,  Constantine 1

  Saugatuck 1, Allegan 0

Coldwater 2, Three  Rivers 1

Today
Girls Soccer

  Hartford at Berrien  Springs, 5:30 p.m.

Baseball

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

  Gary Calumet (IN) at  River Valley, 5:00 p.m.

Softball

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

NHL – National Hockey League 
 Last Night 
New York Rangers 5, Detroit Red Wings 4 – OT 
Rangers 5, Red Wings 4 – OT – Copp lifts Rangers over Red Wings in OT for 4th straight win 
 Andrew Copp scored 1:34 into overtime and the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to four games by beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-4. Artemi Panarin had a goal and assisted on two others, including Copp&rsquo;s winner, as New York swept back-to-back road games beginning with Tuesday night&rsquo;s big victory over division rival Pittsburgh. Chris Kreider scored his 46th goal overall and NHL-high 24th on the power play. Ryan Reaves and Filip Chytil also scored for the Rangers, while Alexandar Georgiev made 22 saves. Michael Rasmussen, Jakub Vrana, Tyler Bertuzzi and Adam Erne scored for Detroit, and Moritz Seider added two assists. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 29 shots, but the Red Wings lost their fourth straight.
NBA – National Basketball Association 
 Last Night 
 Denver Nuggets 125, Indiana Pacers 118
Nuggets 125, Pacers 118 – Jokic has 37 points to lead Nuggets past Pacers 125-118 
 Nikola Jokic flirted with another triple-double with 37 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, helping the Denver Nuggets hold off the Indiana Pacers 125-118. Jokic fell one assist shy of his 20th triple-double of the season after getting one Monday night at Charlotte. The Nuggets led by as many as 31 points in the second quarter before the Pacers stormed back. Indiana led 102-100 with 7:40 left in the fourth quarter before the Nuggets scored seven straight points to regain control. Seven of the nine Pacers who played scored in double figures, led by Buddy Hield with 20 points.
Tonight 
 Philadelphia 76ers at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m. 
 Los Angeles Clippers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training 
 Yesterday 
 Detroit Tigers 7, Philadelphia Phillies 1 
 Chicago White Sox 7, Texas Rangers 0 
Chicago Cubs 8, Seattle Mariners 5
 Today 
 Detroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m. 
 Chicago White Sox at Cincinnati Reds, 9:05 p.m. 
Cubs are off
MLB – White Sox slugger Andrew Vaughn recovering from hip pointer 
 Andrew Vaughn feared the worst when he got hurt making a diving catch for the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Same for his team, which is looking for the slugger to play a key role this year. They&rsquo;re all feeling much better now. Vaughn was diagnosed with a hip pointer and could return to game action in one to two weeks. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 amateur draft ditched his crutches Tuesday and already is swinging a bat again. But the team is planning to be cautious with when he returns to the field.
NFL – Arians retires as Bucs&#8217; coach, Bowles promoted to top spot 
 Bruce Arians has decided to retire as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and move into a front-office role with the team, a stunning move announced Wednesday night. Arians, who will turn 70 this coming season, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl title in the 2020 season which was Tom Brady&rsquo;s first with Tampa Bay. The Bucs were 31-18 in Arians&rsquo; three seasons there and he was 80-48-1 in eight seasons as a head coach overall when adding in his five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will replace Arians as coach.
WNBA – WNBA players break silence on Brittney Griner 
 Two of Brittney Griner&rsquo;s USA Basketball teammates have broken their silence on the star player&rsquo;s imprisonment in Russia. Most WNBA players have been hesitant to talk about Griner&rsquo;s detention on apparent drug charges in Russia, hoping to avoid potentially hurting her case. Players have been keeping discussions about how to best help Griner within their community. WNBA players have been very cohesive in the past when rallying behind issues such as voter registration or the Black Lives Matters movement. For the first few weeks, it was decided that it was clearly better for them to say less.
NCAA – Emmert claims progress in women&#8217;s NCAAs, not close on pay 
 A year after glaring inequities were revealed at the women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament and less than two weeks after sharp criticism from Congress, NCAA President Mark Emmert says he is happy with the institution&rsquo;s progress but said there had only been &ldquo;preliminary discussions&rdquo; about distributing tournament revenues to women&rsquo;s programs. Emmert said the work ahead improving conditions for women&rsquo;s basketball includes negotiating a new television contract for the women&rsquo;s tournament and potentially having a similar revenue distribution protocol as the men&rsquo;s event. Emmert was careful not to call for specific changes ahead of discussions by the NCAA&rsquo;s hundreds of member schools, and he declined to offer his own viewpoint.
NCAA – March Madness paying off for players under mishmash of rules 
 This week, Kansas, Villanova, North Carolina and Duke will play in the first Final Four to take place under the new world of &ldquo;name, image and likeness&rdquo; endorsements in college sports. It allows college players to earn money through endorsements. This new world is comprised of a loosely regulated mishmash of state laws and university-written rules that set different standards across the nation with little transparency about who gets what or where it comes from. On the one hand, it&rsquo;s seen as a long-overdue development that will forever change the landscape of what has been widely disparaged as among the most unfair labor markets in America. On the other, trouble could be looming for an industry with few rules that doles out big bucks to teenagers with big dreams.
NCAA – Women&#8217;s Final Four can be a financial windfall for players 
 Women&rsquo;s basketball is ranked second, behind only college football and ahead of men&rsquo;s basketball, when it comes to the amount of income generated by name, image and likeness deals. That is according to Blake Lawrence, the chief executive of Opendorse. His company helps colleges and athletes navigate the celebrity endorsement landscape, which was opened last summer by the NCAA and now has millions of dollars flowing through it. He says making it to the Final Four will only increase the deals coming to social-media influencers such as Stanford&#8217;s Cameron Brink and UConn&#8217;s Paige Bueckers.
Soccer – CONCACAR – US returns to World Cup despite 2-0 loss at Costa Rica 
 The United States men are returning to the World Cup after the trauma of missing the 2018 tournament, clinching a berth for this year&rsquo;s championship in Qatar despite a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica on the final night of qualifying. Juan Pablo Vargas got behind Walker Zimmerman and headed Brandon Aguilera&rsquo;s corner kick past goalkeeper Zack Steffen in the 51st minute, and Anthony Contreras knocked in a cross off a scramble in the 59th after Steffen couldn&rsquo;t hold onto a free kick. A sellout crowd of about 35,000 in National Stadium came to life, but the Americans&rsquo; 5-1 rout of Panama at home last weekend gave them a huge goal-difference margin over Costa Rica.
Soccer – World Cup – FIFA, Qatar prepare for unprecedented World Cup finals draw 
 A World Cup like no other in its 92-year history will take shape this week at an unprecedented tournament draw. When FIFA and host nation Qatar stage the draw ceremony show Friday three of the 32 entries will be placeholders. That&#8217;s because the three-year qualifying program has been delayed by the pandemic and war in Ukraine. It means 37 nations will be involved Friday. Five of those ultimately won&#8217;t play in November when the first &ldquo;winter&rdquo; World Cup kicks off. Qatar is in the draw pot of top-seeded teams with the world&#8217;s best: Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal.
ECHL – ECHL Hockey League 
 Last Night 
 Kalamazoo Wings 4, Iowa Heartlanders 3 – OT 
MCCAA – Junior College Athletics 
 Today 
 Softball 
 Lake Michigan College at Kellogg Community College, Postponed
MHSAA – High School Sports 
 Yesterday 
 Girls Soccer 
 St. Joseph 5, Edwardsburg 0 
 Bridgman 3, Constantine 1 
 Saugatuck 1, Allegan 0 
Coldwater 2, Three Rivers 1
Today 
 Girls Soccer 
 Hartford at Berrien Springs, 5:30 p.m.
Baseball 
 Hartford at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH) 
 Gary Calumet (IN) at River Valley, 5:00 p.m.
Softball 
 Hartford at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH)

Southwest Michigan's Sports Leader

WSJM Sports

NHL  – National Hockey League   Last Night  New York Rangers 5, Detroit Red Wings 4 – OT  Rangers 5, Red Wings 4 – OT – Copp lifts Rangers over  Red Wings in OT for 4th straight win   Andrew Copp scored 1:34 into overtime and the New York  Rangers ...