By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer EAST LANSING — No. 11 Michigan State pulled away and beat Rutgers thanks to two staples of Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo’s program. Defense and rebounding. Cassius Winston had 23 points and seven assists, helping the Spartans top the Scarlet Knights 77-65 on ...
By BRIAN HALL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — The first three plays for David Blough and the Detroit Lions on Sunday were an ominous sign. The rookie quarterback’s first two passes were deflected at the line of scrimmage. Then he was sacked for a 6-yard loss. The Minnesota Vikings made ...
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer DETROIT — It was just over a year ago that Central Michigan introduced Jim McElwain as its new football coach, and at that point, the Chippewas were about as far from a championship as possible. They’d won one game all season, and it was vs. an FCS ...
By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings brought back little to show from a trip to one of the toughest places to play in the NFL. Other than additional injuries to important players and perhaps some pride in a fourth-quarter rally in Seattle that fell a ...
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer DETROIT — Giannis Antetokounmpo was ready to go toe to toe with Blake Griffin during a second-quarter flareup between division rivals Milwaukee and Detroit. The game was turning contentious. It wouldn’t stay close for long. “They’re just a great ...
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer ALLEN PARK — David Blough is ready to honor Tyler Trent with his shoes. Blough, now a quarterback for the Detroit Lions, showed off a special shoe Wednesday with Trent’s likeness on it. Trent was the inspirational Purdue fan who died of bone cancer at age ...
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Detroit Pistons are suddenly on a roll. Blake Griffin scored 24 points, Andre Drummond had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and the Pistons routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-94 Tuesday night to win consecutive games for the first time this season. The Pistons thumped San ...
By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer EAST LANSING — Vernon Carey Jr. showed Michigan State exactly what it’s missing. Carey had 26 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to help No. 10 Duke dominate the 11th-ranked Spartans in an 87-75 victory Tuesday night. The 6-foot-10, 270-pound freshman ...
By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville players and coach Chris Mack cared more about protecting the basket against Michigan than defending their new perch atop the rankings. Fulfilling that priority helped the Cardinals succeed in their season debut as the ...
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer DETROIT — With no goals in his first 14 games this season, Jordan Eberle was understandably frustrated. “Ever since the ankle injury, I’ve come back and had a ton of chances,” he said. “Sometimes they don’t go in.” Eberle finally ended that ...
By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer EAST LANSING — Michigan State has been slipping since being ranked No. 1 in the preseason basketball poll for the first time in program history. The staggering Spartans (5-2) fell to No. 11 on Monday, a day before hosting No. 10 Duke (7-1) in the ACC/Big Ten ...
By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Louisville moved to No. 1 and Michigan had a historic climb to No. 4 in another wild week in The Associated Press Top 25. Expect more changes next week. The Wolverines play on the road tonight against the Cardinals, who moved to No. 1 this week for the ...
By PAUL HARRIS Associated Press DETROIT — Alex Ovechkin won’t be returning the few hats that hit the ice in Detroit, even if he’s had more impressive three-goal games. “A hat trick is a hat trick,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how you get them.” Ovechkin completed this trick ...
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer EAST LANSING — Michigan State players came out to meet reporters after the game with green hats that said “PROGRAM WIN” on the back. It’s a far cry from the Big Ten championships the Spartans played for earlier in the decade, but they were able to ...
By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer ANN ARBOR — Ohio State has turned what’s known as The Game into ITS Game, making one of the greatest rivalries in sports a one-sided series with little suspense. Chasing a national championship, not simply beating the Wolverines, is how the Buckeyes measure ...
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI — Juwan Howard breaks out the Cabbage Patch dance only for special occasions. He did it when he finally became an NBA champion player with the Miami Heat in 2012. He did it again the next year, when the Heat won another title and he was ...
By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT — Pistons coach Dwane Casey has believed since training camp that he was the right person to unlock Christian Wood’s potential. On Sunday, he got another sign he might be right. Wood came off the bench to score a career-high 28 points in 22 minutes ...
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions have put quarterback Jeff Driskel on injured reserve. The Lions were already without injured quarterback Matthew Stafford, and then Driskel missed Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Bears with a hamstring injury. David Blough made his NFL debut at ...
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings have acquired goaltender Eric Comrie in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes. Detroit sent minor league defenseman Vili Saarijarvi to Arizona in Saturday’s deal. The 24-year-old Comrie was 2-3 with a 4.21 goals-against average in five games over the ...
EAST LANSING (AP) — Mark Dantonio has been down this road before at Michigan State. In 2012, the Spartans needed to win their final regular-season game to become bowl eligible, and they beat Minnesota that day behind 266 yards rushing by Le’Veon Bell. This weekend, Michigan State is in the ...