{"id":691667,"date":"2026-04-01T10:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/691667\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T10:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:28:18","slug":"wednesday-sports-pistons-win-central-division-first-title-since-07-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/691667\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday Sports \u2013 Pistons win Central Division; first title since 07-08"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/040126-pistonraptors.webp.webp\" class=\"alignleft full-img-class wp-post-image\" alt=\"aptopix-raptors-pistons-basketball\" wpb-att-id=\"512339\" wpb-att-extension=\"jpg\" data-wpbsize=\"full\"\/><\/p>\n<p>NBA \u2013 National Basketball Association<br \/>Last Night<br \/>Detroit  Pistons 127, Toronto Raptors 116<\/p>\n<p>Pistons 127, Raptors 116 \u2013 Pistons, led by Jalen  Duren\u2019s 31 points and nine rebounds, clinch division title<br \/>Jalen Duren had 31 points and nine rebounds as the  Detroit Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 127-116 to clinch the Central  Division title. Duren is averaging 23.4 points and 10.5 rebounds in seven games  since Cade Cunningham sustained a lung injury on March 17 in Washington. The  Pistons are 6-2 without their star, including a 114-110 overtime loss in  Oklahoma City on Monday \u2013 a game Duren sat out. Daniss Jenkins scored 21 for  the Pistons, who have won seven of nine, and Duncan Robinson added 19 points. Detroit  hadn\u2019t won a division title since 2007-08.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight<br \/>Indiana  Pacers at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p..m.<\/p>\n<p>NBA  \u2013 Pistons end long stretch of futility with first division title in 18 years<br \/>After  nearly two decades, and stretches of futility, the Detroit Pistons have won the  Central Division again. The Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 127-116 on  Tuesday to finish a long climb back up the NBA ladder and clinch their first  division title since the 2007-08 season. \u201cYou take pride in understanding how  hard it is to do these things in this league,\u201d Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff  said after the game. \u201cYou take pride in the fact that you have a group of young  men who have grown and achieved certain milestones. It\u2019s a part of the process,  and we expect more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MLB  \u2013 Major League Baseball <br \/>Last  Night<br \/>Arizona  Diamondbacks 7, Detroit Tigers 5<br \/>Miami  Marlins 9, Chicago White Sox 2<br \/>Los  Angeles Angels 2, Chicago Cubs 0 <\/p>\n<p>D\u2019Backs 7, Tigers 5 \u2013 Jose Fernandez hits 2 home runs  in MLB debut, leads Diamondbacks over Tigers 7-5<br \/>Jose Fernandez hit two home runs, including the  go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning, in his MLB debut and the Arizona  Diamondbacks beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Tuesday night. Fernandez finished 3  for 4 with an infield single for the first of his career in the second and a  solo home run in the fourth.\u00a0 James  McCann hit a double along the third baseline and Jordan Lawlar singled before  the Tigers swapped out relief pitcher Drew Anderson for Will Vest (0-1). Vest  walked Ketel Marte to load the bases and Corbin Carroll hit a double to the  wall in center field, sending two home. Vest walked the next batter and Marte  scored on a groundout before Kenley Jensen replaced Vest with runners at the  corners. Fernandez hit a 409-foot shot that capped the scoring.<\/p>\n<p>Marlins 9, White Sox 2 \u2013 Conine hits a 2-run homer,  Marlins score 4 runs in 4th inning in 9-2 win over White Sox<br \/>The Miami Marlins beat the Chicago White Sox 9-2 with  Griffin Conine\u2019s late homer. Miami went hitless through the first three  innings, but broke through with four runs in the fourth. Xavier Edwards  singled, Agust\u00edn Ram\u00edrez doubled, and Liam Hicks drove in two. Miami also  scored on two throwing errors to the plate by Chicago center fielder Luisangel  Acu\u00f1a. The White Sox got both runs in the second on RBI singles by Munetaka  Murakami and Andrew Benintendi.<\/p>\n<p>Angels 2, Cubs 0 \u2013 Jos\u00e9 Soriano pitches 2-hit ball  over 6 scoreless innings again as Angels blank Cubs 2-0<br \/>Jos\u00e9 Soriano pitched two-hit ball over six scoreless  innings for the second time in two starts, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the  Chicago Cubs 2-0. Logan O\u2019Hoppe hit a two-run single with two outs in the sixth  against reliever Phil Maton, and that was all Soriano needed on a cold and  windy night at Wrigley Field. The 27-year-old right-hander threw 90 pitches,  striking out four and walking two. He was coming off a terrific performance in  the Angels\u2019 3-0 win at Houston on opening day. Los Angeles snapped a three-game  skid.<\/p>\n<p>Today<br \/>Chicago  White Sox at Miami Marlins, 1:10 p.m.<br \/>Los  Angeles Angels at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.<br \/>Detroit  Tigers at Arizona Diamondbacks, 3:40 p.m. News\/Talk\/Sports  94.9 WSJM 3:15p<\/p>\n<p>NHL \u2013 National Hockey League<br \/>Last Night<br \/>Pittsburgh  Penguins 5, Detroit Red Wings 1<br \/>Winnipeg  Jets 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3 \u2013 OT <\/p>\n<p>Penguins 5, Red Wings 1 \u2013 Malkin collects career point  1,399 in Pens 5-1 win<br \/>Rickard Rakell, Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakov  scored first-period goals as the Penguins raced past Detroit 5-1. Evgeni Malkin  added an assist for his 1,399th career point in his return from an upper-body  injury that forced him to miss four games. The Penguins remained in second  place in the Metropolitan Division with the victory. Dylan Larkin scored his  30th of the season but Detroit\u2019s postseason hopes took another hit following  its fourth loss in five games.<\/p>\n<p>Jets 4, Blackhawks 3 \u2013 OT \u00a0\u2013 Connor scores OT goal as Jets defeat  Blackhawks 4-3<br \/>Kyle Connor scored 33 seconds into overtime to lead  the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.  Josh Morrissey, Isak Rosen and Cole Perfetti also scored, and Mark Scheifele  added three assists for the Jets. Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice and Anton  Frondell also scored for Chicago, which has lost four in a row.<\/p>\n<p>FIFA  \u2013 World Cup qualifying marathon ends with Iraq securing the 48th and final spot<br \/>Italy  is out again. The 4-time champion misses 3rd straight World Cup with shootout  loss in Bosnia<br \/>One  of soccer\u2019s historic powers has reached a once-unfathomable low. Four-time  champion Italy failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup after getting  beat in a penalty shootout with 10 men at 66th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in  the European playoffs. Moise Kean scored early on for Italy but then Azzurri  center back Alessandro Bastoni was sent off with a direct red card before the  break and Bosnia substitute Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th to send the  game into extra time. The defeat added more misery for Italy\u2019s once-proud  national team after being eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia in the  playoffs for the last two World Cups.<\/p>\n<p>Golf  \u2013 Tiger Woods says he\u2019ll seek treatment after pleading not guilty to DUI<br \/>Tiger  Woods says he\u2019ll step away and seek treatment after his SUV crash in Florida.  Woods made his comments Tuesday, four days after the crash that led to his  arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. Woods pleaded not guilty on  Tuesday in his driving under the influence case. The plea came hours after a  sheriff\u2019s report said he had pain pills in his pocket and showed signs of  impairment at the crash scene last week. I\u2019s the second time Woods has taken a  leave following a car crash. In 2009, he announced a leave after his SUV plowed  into a fire hydrant and tree outside his home near Orlando.<\/p>\n<p>NFL  \u2013Commissioner Goodell has no plans to scrap Rooney Rule<br \/>NFL  Commissioner Roger Goodell says he has no plans to end the league\u2019s Rooney Rule  despite recent objections from Florida\u2019s attorney general, who wrote that the  league\u2019s minority hiring guidelines violate Florida state law. Goodell was  speaking on Tuesday at the end of the NFL league meetings. He acknowledged the  changing political landscape for diversity initiatives in the U.S., but added  that he didn\u2019t believe there should be any legal issues with the league\u2019s  policy. Also on Tuesday, the NFL\u2019s competition committee approved a one-year  rule for the upcoming season that would allow the replay center in New York to  correct \u201cclear and obvious mistakes made by on-field officials that impact the  game\u201d in case of a work stoppage involving the NFL Referees Association.<\/p>\n<p>MHSAA  \u2013 Michigan High School Athletic Association<br \/>Tonight<br \/>Baseball<br \/>Wayland  at Plainwell, 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Softball<br \/>Plainwell  at Martin, 4:00 p.m. (DH)<\/p>\n<p>Girls  Tennis<br \/>Plainwell  at Otsego, 4:00 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBA \u2013 National Basketball AssociationLast NightDetroit Pistons 127, Toronto Raptors 116 Pistons 127, Raptors 116 \u2013 Pistons, led&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":691668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3773],"tags":[7,296,188,3860,6,297],"class_list":{"0":"post-691667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-detroit-pistons","11":"tag-detroitpistons","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-pistons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116328982451293039","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}