Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 17

Wings escape Predators, 3-1 INSIDE I BUSINESS Star Southfield movie multiplex hires local restaurateur Matt Prentice to save eateries, pace iob. SATURDAY March 11, 2000 Baseball College hockey 5 Preps 6-7 Scoreboard 8 ON THX WtB www.freep.com IT THE RACE IS ON Central division RT PT 1. St. Louis 43 16 8 0 94 2. Detroit 41 20 8 1 91 Western Conference top seeds 1.

St. Louis 43 16 8 0 94 2. Dallas 36 25 7 4 83 3. Colorado 32 27 10 1 75 4. Detroit 41 20 8 1 91 Note: Top throe seeds go to division leaders.

MICHIGAN STATE 75, IOWA 65 liliw Trip finishes 3-0-2; unbeaten streak is 7 By NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER NASHVILLE, Tenn. Seven days, five cities, three time zones. Three victories, two ties, no losses. This crazy, coast-to-coast-and-back trip was taxing for the Red Wings.

But it also was rewarding. Fatigued but far from flat Friday night, the Wings earned another workingman's victory by beating Nashville, 3-1. Pat Ver-beek, Steve Yzerman and Kirk Maltby scored; goaltender Chris Osgood made 23 saves. The Wings have gone 5-0-2 and allowed 11 goals in their past seven games, cutting St. Louis' lead atop the Western Conference to three points.

The Wings face Nashville again Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena. "This was an important trip for us," said coach Scotty Bowman, whose Wings visited Washington, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Jose before playing the Pistons' does Joe Grizzlies can't handle pressure, lose, 111-97 By PERRY A. FARRELL FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER With Joe Dumars tucked ftway in his private suite, celebrating the retirement of his No. 4, the Pistons played the kind of defense that made him a fixture in the Bad Boys lineup. They forced 23 turnovers and kept the young Vancouver Grizzlies from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm in a 111-97 victory Friday night at the Palace.

The victory was the Pistons' second straight under interim coach George Irvine and evened their record at 30-30, with Portland rested and in town for tonight's key battle. "Not bad for a team that can't play defense," said Grant Hill, pboni 313-222-6660 Section Spartans survive scare in opener By JEMELE HILL FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER CHICAGO It's becoming a bit too predictable for Michigan State: the struggle in the first Big Ten tournament game, building a lead and foolishly squandering it; and having a bench that contributes almost nothing. Despite those all-too familiar circumstances, fifth-ranked MSU still managed a 75-65 win over seventh-seeded Iowa on Friday night at the United Center. "Some teams struggle with pulling out the tough games," point guard Mateen Cleaves said. "I'm not satisfied with the way we played, but I am satisfied with the way we grinded it out.

I'm just happy to be standing here a winner." And considering how top-seeded Ohio State tumbled earlier Friday to Penn State, that's certainly a privilege this time of year. The second-seeded Spartans (24-7) who play sixth-seeded Wisconsin (18-12) today made it hard on themselves. Four of their starters scored in double figures, but that was barely enough. Morris Peterson had a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Please see MSU, Page 4B DREW SHARP MSU makes a case for No.

1 seed CHICAGO It's not all champagne and caviar for the NCAA basketball tournament committee in its Indianapolis hotel suite. If anything, committee members spent much of Friday with one hand on their television remotes and another hand wrapped around a bottle of Excedrin. Each unlikely upset brought with it an accompanying headache. You could envision them screaming from their ivory tower: "Isn't there anyone out there who wants to be a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed?" Michigan State is making a strong case, despite a less-than-sterling effort Friday night against Iowa.

And after two days of injuries and upsets, the Spartans might not even have to win the Big Ten tournament to get their second No. 1 regional seed in two years. "It's been a crazy two days with everything that's gone down with all these surprises," a relieved Tom Izzo said, "and now I can take a deep breath because we didn't make it any crazier. We didn't play our best game. We didn't build upon a strong start, and the game turned into a dogfight after that." In a tournament, it's not always the biggest or the quickest dog that wins.

It's often the toughest or the oldest. The Spartans survived against the Hawkeyes through grit. They lost an exact replica of this game two years ago in the inaugural Big Please see SHARP, Page 4B y- Predators. "Our road record's getting better." The Wings are 17-12-6 away from home. More important, they have shown the consistency they'll need in the playoffs.

"It's a good sign," defense-man Larry Murphy said. The first period was a snoozer except for about 2lh minutes. With Nashville's Ville Pel-tonen off for holding a stick, Ver-beek scored his 20th goal at 16:59 for a 1-0 lead. The play started with Yzer- Please see WINGS, Page 7B defense proud who tied Jerry Stackhouse for game scoring honors with 27 points. Michael Curry was a spark off the bench, shooting 6-of-8 for 16 points, and Jerome Williams had 12 rebounds and 10 points.

The Pistons gave one of their best efforts of the season as they hustled at both ends of the floor and made Vancouver (18-44) work for every basket. They totaled 23 points off the Grizzlies' turnovers and led at halftime, 60-44. "I was very pleased with our effort, especially in the first half on defense," Irvine said. "I thought we were really, really active. We couldn't quite put them away, and you have to give Vancouver credit.

We were extremely active in the first half, and I think it took a lot out of us Please see PISTONS, Page 9B ERIC SEALSDetroit Free Press Dumars was the first recipient of the award, in 1996. He is the first player for whom the league has named an award, said Brian Mc-Intyre, a senior vice president. The NBA also sent a $10,000 check to Children's Hospital of Michigan in Dumars' name. Dumars, now the Pistons' vice president of player personnel, sat next to his son, Jordan, during the ceremony. "I'm grateful to the organization to see fit to retire my number," Dumars said.

"As a young player you just want to prove yourself, that you belong. They had great players here: Isiah, Bill (Laimbeer), Vinnie, John Long. I watched those guys on TV, and the following year I got here. It's a different culture. There was no crawfish or gumbo here.

I was just trying to fit in when I got here" from Louisiana. "I came here not knowing what to expect, but I couldn't have come to a better organization than the Detroit Pistons. Bill and Isiah were our leaders, and I got a chance to play with men." Team owner Bill Davidson said: "Since Joe joined the Pistons organization, no one has exemplified character, love of the community and dedication better than you." ft en gets a hug from Morris Peterson (22 foul trouble. So what? He scored 16 points on 10 shots, dished out six assists, and made three steals. Best Question: Where the heck was Penn State all season? The Nittany Lions beat co-champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals, a day after beating Michigan.

Penn State hadn't won consecutive games since the middle of January. Best protest Indiana coach Bob Knight despises the tournament. And as far as non-cable viewers can tell, his team skips it. For the third straight year, the Hoosiers failed to make it to the semifinals. Worst translation: Indiana forward Kyle Homsby, on Knight's postgame speech: "Mostly frustration was the focus." Best threat Once again, Penn State guard Joe Crispin was asked to hit i.

ZJ 7 Pistons great Joe Dumars, with mother Ophelia and son Jordan, jwatches as his No. 4 jersey is retired to the Palace rafters. i Dumars' number up great player, man MSU's Mateen Cleaves (14 points) Photos by JULIAN H. GONZALEZDetKxt Free Press points) Friday night. Double trouble: Ferndale native Jarrett Stephens (21 points, 12 rebounds) celebrates Friday after ninth-seeded Penn State upset top-seeded Ohio State.

crucial free throws to seal a game. Crispin, the Big Ten's best free-throw shooter, came through. Now we know why. "You tell him, 'You better make it or said Crispin's teammate, rather large power forward Jarrett Stephens. Best way to keep a streak going: Before Friday, Illinois guard Cory Bradford had sunk a three-pointer in all 59 games of his career.

He missed his first five against Indiana. His sixth, with 1.3 seconds left, won the game. WIN A FINAL FOUR TRIP The Free Press has a contest with the ultimate prize for hoops fans an expenses-paid trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis. To win your trip, check out the Free Press on Monday for all the details. BIG TEN TOURNAMENT TODAY'S SEMIFINALS Matchup: No.

5 Michigan State (24-7) vs. Wisconsin (18-12). Tip-off: 5 p.m. United Center, Chicago. TVradio: CBS (Channel 62 in Detroit); WXYT-AM (1270).

First semifinal: No. 25 Illinois (20-8) vs. Penn State (15-14), 2:30 p.m. (CBS, Channel 62). FRIDAY'S RESULTS Michigan State 75, Iowa 65 Illinois 72, Indiana 69 Penn State 71 Ohio State 66 Wisconsin 78, Purdue 66 SUNDAY'S FESTIVITIES Big Ten: Championship, 3:30 p.m.

(CBS, Channel 62). NCAA pairings: Women, 5 p.m. (ESPN); men, 6:30 (CBS, ESPN). FRIDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS Best performance: Iowa point guard Dean Oliver was not intimidated one bit by Michigan State. Oliver, often forgotten in all the hoopla about Mateen Cleaves, A.

J. Guyton, Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd, showed Michigan State he can score a little himself. Oliver put up 30, making 1 1 of 1 7 shots. Best way to squeeze in a great performance: MSU guard Charlie Bell played only 30 minutes because of filBA's sportsmanship 'award named for him By PERRY A. FARRELL FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER They met in the old Pistons 3ocker room, looked at each other's suits, and then hugged, "I can't get my collar to stay down," Joe Dumars told Isiah Thomas.

j. Friday was Dumars' night, and Thomas came to honor him his jersey No. 4 was retired, joining Thomas' No. 11 in the Palace rafters. They combined for Itwo championships and formed of the greatest backcourts in history.

"I'd like to say to my friend, 'my brother, my backcourt mate, thank you for giving me the honor and the pleasure to play with you," Thomas said during the pregame ceremony. "If I didn't have the type of teammate or player that I had beside me, I never would have been able to do the things he, Vinnie (Johnson) and I were able to do together." NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik told Dumars that the league's annual sportsmanship award would be named for him: the Joe Dumars Trophy. 1.