120324-poles-768x51249464-1

NFL – Ryan Poles to remain Bears general manager and lead search for new head coach
Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren said Ryan Poles will remain the general manager and serve as the point person in the search for a head coach to replace the fired Matt Eberflus. He says Poles will have the “final say” if the two have differing opinions on who should get the job. Chicago had never fired a coach during a season. But a six-game losing streak marked by questionable coaching decisions spurred the founding NFL franchise to change course. The Bears let Eberflus go Friday and replaced him on an interim basis with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

NFL – National Football League – Week 12
Last Night
Denver Broncos 41, Cleveland Browns 32

Broncos 41, Browns 32 – McMillian’s pick 6 helps Broncos spoil career night by Winston, and beat Browns 41-32
Ja’Quan McMillian returned an interception for a game-sealing 44-yard touchdown with 1:48 remaining, and the Denver Broncos spoiled career-best performances by Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston and receiver Jerry Jeudy, beating the Browns 41-32. Winston threw for a franchise-record 497 yards and four touchdowns, and Jeudy had nine catches for 235 yards — the most in NFL history by a receiver against his former team. Winston’s electric night included three picks, two of which were returned for TDs. Bo Nix threw for 294 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for Denver. The Broncos moved to 8-5 while the Browns fell to 3-9.

NFL – 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey headed to IR with an injured right knee
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will not need surgery on his injured right knee but he will miss the rest of the regular season. Coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey will be out at least six weeks after injuring his posterior cruciate ligament in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. McCaffrey will be placed on injured reserve for the second time this season after previously missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis The 49ers also lost McCaffrey’s backup to an injury. Jordan Mason is also set to go on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain in the game.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Chicago Bulls 128, Brooklyn Nets 102

Bulls 128, Nets 102 – Giddey gets a triple-double as the Bulls race past the Nets for a 128-102 victory
Josh Giddey had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, helping the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 128-102. It was Giddey’s first triple-double of the season and No. 12 for his career. Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago, which had lost three of four. Matas Buzelis scored 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and Zach LaVine finished with 18. Brooklyn lost its third consecutive game — all in the last four days. Dariq Whitehead scored 18 points for the Nets, and Dennis Schroder had 16 points and 10 assists.

Tonight
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.
Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors, 7:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Chicago Blackhawks 1

Leafs 4, Blackhawks 1 – Matthews scores first goal since return from injury, Maple Leafs beat Blackhawks 4-1
Auston Matthews scored his first goal since returning from injury as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Monday night. John Tavares, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies, into the empty net, provided the rest of the offense for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves. Mitch Marner had two assists in his 600th regular-season game. Lukas Reichel scored for Chicago, which has lost three straight. Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.

Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins, 7:00 p.m.

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Tonight
Notre Dame at Georgia, 7:00 p.m.
Western Michigan at Dayton, 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Loyola Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Michigan at (11) Wisconsin, 9:00 p.m.       News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 8:30

NCAAMBB – Kansas holds off Auburn for No. 1 in AP Top 25
Kansas continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. Auburn is pushing the Jayhawks in the latest poll after winning the Maui Invitational and checked in at No. 2. Two-time reigning national champion UConn nearly fell out entirely after an 0-3 week at Maui, falling from No. 2 to 25th. The Southeastern Conference had three of the top four teams with No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Kentucky behind the Tigers. The poll featured six new teams, headlined by No. 13 Oregon, No. 16 Memphis and No. 18 Pittsburgh.

NCAAWBB – UCLA and UConn remain 1-2
TCU has its best ranking ever in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a convincing win over Notre Dame. The Horned Frogs jumped eight spots to No. 9, the first time the school has ever been in the top 10. The Fighting Irish, who were third last week, fell seven spots to 10th after losses to TCU and Utah. UCLA remained No. 1, followed by UConn, South Carolina, Texas and LSU. USC, Maryland and Duke are next.

AP Men’s Top 25

1

Kansas (35)

7-0

2

Auburn (26)

7-0

3

Tennessee

7-0

4

Kentucky

7-0

5

Marquette

8-0

6

Iowa State

5-1

7

Gonzaga

7-1

8

Purdue

7-1

9

Duke

5-2

10

Alabama

6-2

11

Wisconsin

8-0

12

Oregon

8-0

13

Florida

8-0

14

Cincinnati

6-0

15

Baylor

5-2

16

Memphis

6-1

17

Houston

4-3

18

Pittsburgh

7-1

19

Illinois

6-1

20

North Carolina

4-3

21

Oklahoma

7-0

22

Texas A&M

6-2

23

Ole Miss

6-1

24

San Diego State

4-2

25

UConn

5-3

AP Women’s Top 25

1

UCLA (25)

8-0

2

UConn(7)

6-0

3

South Carolina

7-1

4

Texas

7-0

5

LSU

9-0

6

USC

6-1

7

Maryland

8-0

8

Duke

8-1

9

TCU

8-0

10

Notre Dame

5-2

11

Oklahoma

6-1

12

Ohio State

7-0

13

Kansas State

7-1

14

Kentucky

7-0

15

West Virginia

8-1

16

North Carolina

7-1

17

Iowa

8-0

18

Ole Miss

5-2

19

Alabama

8-0

20

Iowa State

6-2

21

Illinois

6-1

22

Louisville

5-2

23

Michigan

7-1

24

Michigan State

8-0

25

Nebraska

6-1

NCAAFB – ACC fines four schools for rivalry week scuffles
The ACC has fined N.C. State, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech for scuffles during their rivalry games. The league announced the penalties Monday, although it did not disclose the amount of the fines. It said the amounts would be the maximum allowed by league bylaws. The Wolfpack and Tar Heels battled after N.C. State’s 35-30 win when Wolfpack players attempted to plant a team flag on the Tar Heels field. The Cavaliers and Hokies mixed it up during pregame warmups before Virginia Tech’s 37-17 win. The scuffles were among many that broke out during college football’s rivalry week.

NCAAFB – College playoff bracket offers last dress rehearsal
The next set of College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night under heavy scrutiny before the final bracket is set on Sunday. It will be one last chance to see just how much the selection committee loves the Southeastern Conference. The best gauge will be whether Miami, which suffered its second loss over the weekend, is placed behind any or all three SEC teams with three losses — Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina, all of which are coming off wins. Whatever happens, the SEC is likely to have at least five teams in the 12-team field when the final bracket comes out.

WNBA – WNBA season to tip May 16, expansion Golden State opening at home that night
An expanded WNBA with more games and a new franchise will tip off on May 16. The league extended its schedule to 44 games this year, up from 40, with the addition of the expansion Golden State Valkyries. The new team, which has over 20,000 season ticket deposits, will play its inaugural game at home on opening night against Los Angeles. The WNBA is coming off a record season with its most-watched regular season in 24 years and playoffs in 25 years. Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese will face off five times with the first coming on the opening Saturday.

MLB – Cubs add Matthew Boyd to rotation with $29 million, 2-year contract
The Chicago Cubs have added Matthew Boyd to their rotation in their first big offseason move, agreeing to a $29 million, two-year contract with the veteran left-hander. A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the agreement was subject to a successful physical. The 33-year-old Boyd can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses over the two years. Making a successful return from Tommy John surgery, Boyd went 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts with Cleveland this year.

NBAGL – NBA G-League
Last Night
Indiana Mad Ants 112, Windy City Bulls 108

Tonight
Indiana Mad Ants at Grand Rapids Gold, 6:00 p.m.

MCCAA – Michigan Community College Athletic Association
Last Night
Men’s Basketball
Owens Community College at Lake Michigan College, Cancelled

Tonight
Men’s Basketball
Prairie State College at Southwestern Michigan College, 7:00 p.m.

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Edwardsburg at Plainwell, postponed
Allegan 54, Comstock 38
Parchment 71, Battle Creek Central 47

Girls Basketball
St. Joseph 42, Buchanan 38
-St. Joseph opened the season with a 42-38 road win at Buchanan. St. Joseph led for most of the game, but Buchanan battled back and briefly took the lead early in the 3rd quarter only to see St. Joe take the lead back minutes later and held off the Bucks the rest of the way.  Alana Razor led the balanced Bears attack with a team high 10 points, Alyssa Carson led all scorers with a game high 21 points for Buchanan in the loss. 

Dowagiac at Niles, cancelled
Brandywine 63, White Pigeon 13
Sturgis 64, Colon 27
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 52, Lansing Eastern 45

Today
Boys Basketball
Berrien Springs at St. Joseph, 7:15 p.m.
Lakeshore at Brandywine, 7:00 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran at Howardsville Chr, 7:30 p.m.
Mattawan at Paw Paw, 7:15 p.m.
Portage Northern at Kalamazoo Christian, 7:00 p.m.
Portage Central at Otsego, 7:15 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Coldwater, 7:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Pennfield at Gull Lake, 7:00 p.m.
Three Rivers at Hopkins, 7:00 p.m.
South Bend Adams at Niles, 7:15 p.m.
Thornapple Kellogg at Plainwell, 7:00 p.m.
Bronson at Sturgis, 7:00 p.m.
River Valley at Covert, 7:30 p.m.
New Buffalo at Eau Claire, 6:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at Buchanan, 7:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Dowagiac, 7:15 p.m.
Allegan at Constantine, 7:00 p.m.
Gobles at Decatur, 7:00 p.m.
Fennville at Holland Black River, 7:00 p.m.
Coloma at Kalamazoo Hackett, 7:00 p.m.
South Haven at Lawton, 7:00 p.m.
Wyoming West Michigan Lutheran at Martiin, 6:00 p.m.
Watervliet at Schoolcraft, 7:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Wyoming Potter’s House, 7:00 p.m.

Girls Basketball
Edwardsburg at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m.
Lawrence at Michigan Lutheran, 7:00 p.m.
Benton Harbor at Our Lady of the Lake, 7:30 p.m.
Mattawan at Paw Paw, 5:45 p.m.
Otsego at Portage Central, 7:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian at Portage Northern, 7:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Marshall, 7:00 p.m.
Hastings at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 7:00 p.m.
Coldwater at Battle Creek Lakeview, 7:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Thornapple Kellogg, 7:00 p.m.
Hopkins at Three Rivers, 7:00 p.m.
Schoolcraft at Vicksburg, 7:00 p.m.
Bangor at Eau Claire, 7:30 p.m.
Berrien Springs at New Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Martin at Bloomingdale, 7:00 p.m.
Constantine at Bridgman, 7:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Coloma, 7:00 p.m.
Parchment at Fennville, 7:00 p.m.
Decatur at Gobles, 7:00 p.m.
Watervliet at Hartford, 7:30 p.m.
Wyoming Potter’s House at Saugatuck, 7:00 p.m.
Lawton at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Maple Valley, 7:00 p.m.
Allegan at Wyoming Lee, 5:30 p.m.