The final 2 1/2 innings were completed yesterday at Mustang Field.

Senior southpaw Trey Popp pitched all 7 innings and picked up the victory scattering 5 Portage Northern Hits while striking out 12.   SeniorJared Hook led the Mustangs offense with two hits and an RBI.  Ranked 5th in the state in Division One with a 22-3 record, the Mustangs wrap up their SMAC Central schedule Tuesday at Battle Creek Central.  

For the Orlando Magic, it’s all over but the shouting baby!  The Pistons took a 3-1 lead in their series and became the first team to win on the road in the second round with a 90-89 Game 4 triumph.  Yeah, they didn’t win by much, but they found a way to do it with All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups wearing a sport coat on the sidelines.  Tayshaun Prince put in the game-winner with 8.9 to play.  Rip Hamilton?  Magnificent – 32 points and 2 steals and don’t look now, but Rip is only 10 points shy of catching Isiah Thomas for the title of all-time Pistons playoff points leader.  The series returns to the Palace Tuesday night with the Pistons needing only one more win to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference Finals.

Not to be outdone, the Red Wings also stole a playoff win with their star on the bench.  Johan Franzen has matched a franchise record with 12 postseason goals this playoffs, but the Mule sat out Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Finals with Dallas last night.  Didn’t matter, Detroit still skated off with a 2-1 win and a 2-zip series lead.  The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3, Monday night at 7:40 on 590 KZO.

Those Red Wings and Pistons are almost enough to make you forget about the Tigers, huh?  Almost…
Saturday the Tigers lost to the Yankees for the first time in seven tries.  Hometown hero Derek Jeter broke out of his slump going long for the first time this season in the 5-2 Yankees win.  Detroit never led in this one and Jeremy Bonderman had his shortest start of the year,  giving up five runs, six hits and four walks in just over four innings.  The rubber game comes to you live from Comerica Park today at 12:45 on your home for Tiger baseball – 590 KZO.

A six-run 7th inning powered the Cubs past the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Saturday, for the 7-2 win.  Alfonso Soriano had a big day, putting up four hits including the go-ahead double.  The Cubs will go for the sweep today with coverage beginning at 1:45 on ESPN 1660.

The Western Michigan baseball team took both games of a doubleheader Saturday to complete its first sweep over Central since ‘95 – and they did it in Mount Pleasant!. Western needed ten innings to take the first game 10-9, and cruised to a 5-3 victory in game two.

The Western Michigan women’s track team wrapped up their regular season yesterday with a strong showing at the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana.  Senior Kari Richards took the discus with a personal-best 156 feet, 5 inches.  Colleen Stein turned in personal-bests in three events: the 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and 4x400-meter relay.  The Broncos now prepare for the MAC Championships beginning May 15th at Bowling Green.

The Bronco baseball team notched their first win at Central since 2003, downing the Chippewas 8-4 in Mount Pleasant last night.  Tied 3-all in the fourth, Western drilled in five runs in its next four at-bats.  Ethan Hollingsworth got the win on the mound, striking out six in seven innings.  The series will wrap with a doubleheader today with the first game starting at 1pm.

The 7-1 division-leading Kalamazoo Xplosion take their act on the road tonight when they face the Rock River Raptors – and you can watch the game live!  Coverage begins at 8:15 and in addition to hearing the game on ESPN 1660, you can also watch live streaming video at www.espn1660.com.

Tigers closer Todd Jones did his darndest to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory Friday night, giving up three runs in the ninth as the Tigers escaped with a 6-5 win over the Yankees, the one team the Tigers seem to have no trouble with this season.  Kenny Rogers got the win and picked off his major league record 92nd runner.  Pudge had a good game too, racking up 3 hits and 2 RBIs.  Game 2 of the home series starts at 3:25 today on your home for Tiger baseball, 590 KZO.

The two highest-scoring teams in the majors took the field yesterday when the Cubs hosted the Diamondbacks, but the game was notable for its lack of scoring, thanks in part to a fine performance on the mound from Chicago’s Ted Lilly.  Lilly pitched 7 innings, allowed only 3 hits, struck out 10, and even singled in the winning run as the Cubs took it 3-1.  Game 2 of the series is on the air today at noon-thirty on ESPN 1660.

Johan Franzen will be looking to extend his franchise-record 12 postseason goals tonight when the Red Wings and Stars take the ice for Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Finals.  Detroit stormed Dallas 4-1 in Game 1 – Live coverage of Game 2 starts at 6:40 on your home for Red Wings playoff hockey, 590 KZO.

The Pistons are aggressively treating Chauncey Billups’ strained hamstring and are hoping he can return for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Orlando today, but as it stands now he'll be a game-time decision.  If Chauncey can’t go, then rookie Rodney Stuckey will get the call to make his 3rd career NBA start.  Stuckey came off the bench to replace Billups in Game 3 and put in 19.  The Pistons lead the series 2 games to 1 – Game 4 tips today at 5.

The Western Michigan baseball team bounced back from Friday’s loss to deliver a big 15-7 win over Toledo at Hyames Field yesterday.  Left fielder Pedro Dager went 3-4 at the plate with 4 RBIs including a two-run homer in the third.  Bronco hurler Billy Morrison put in another fine performance turning in seven strong innings and improving to 5-1 on the season.  Western and Toledo take the field for the rubber game today at 1 o’clock.

Yesterday I told you that records would be broken at Western Michigan’s Kanley Track as the Bronco women’s track team hosted Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois in the 2008 Jack Shaw Invitational – and we didn’t have to wait long.  In the day’s first event, W-M-U sophomore Irene Cooper smashed Kanley track and school records in the hammer throw by over seven feet!  Unfortunately, high winds kept Bronco senior Becky Horn from breaking the track record in the 400-meter dash, but she still handily won the event, outpacing the runner-up by over four seconds.  In the end, Western dominated the meet, finishing with a score of 175.50 while Eastern took second with a score of 94.  Northern Illinois finished third with 89.5.

Okay, I’ve got my fingers crossed as I say this so as not to jinx ‘em, but from the look of it, the Pistons couldn’t have asked for a much better opponent in their second-round series than the Orlando Magic.  Detroit swept ‘em out of the first round last year, swept them 4-zip this year during the regular season, and didn’t miss a beat in last night’s pulverization of the Magic 91-72 in a very physical Game 1 at the Palace.  A 19-3 run in the third opened it up for Detroit, and Chauncy Billups led all scorers with 19.  Game 2 in Detroit Monday night at 7.

Each series you never seem to know which Detroit Tigers team is gonna show up.  After they belt 20 runs in a sweep of the Yanks, they’ve only managed 2 in 2 losses to the Twins; the latest was a 4-1 loss in Minneapolis last night.  Detroit’s lone score came on a Curtis Granderson solo shot in the eighth.  Justin Verlander is now 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA on the road.  Detroit will try to avoid the sweep today with Kenny Rogers on the mound, a 1:50 air time on your home for Tiger baseball, 590 KZO.

After Friday’s overtime loss in St. Louis the Cubs’ offense came back to life Saturday, pounding the Cards 9-3.  Ted Lilly put in 7 solid innings and recorded his 1000th strikeout in the win.  The rubber game hits the airwaves tonight at 7:30 on ESPN 1660.

The Red Wings are still waiting on their next opponent and we may know who it is tonight when the Dallas Stars get their third chance to eliminate San Jose in Game 6 of their series.