1.  According to MSU assistant basketball coach Dwayne Stephens, Adreian Payne practiced yesterday.  It was the first time Payne practiced in weeks, as he is recovering from a bad bout of plantar fasciitis which has lead to other foot injuries.  Stephens said that Payne's status for Thursday's game against Penn State is 'up in the air'.

(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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2.  It is another big night of high school hoops in the Mid-Michigan area.  Our game here on The Game 730 AM will be Grand Ledge at Okemos, as the Comets look to stay undefeated in conference play.  There are other good games, including a big CAAC White rematch between Portland and Lansing Catholic.  Portland handily out-rebounded Catholic in a 61-54 win on December 20th.  Everett at Holt, Eastern at East Lansing, and Jackson at Sexton round out some of the other games in the area.

3.  John Tortorella returned to the Vancouver Canucks bench last night after a lengthy suspension due to this explosion.  His presence was not enough to propel the Canucks to a victory over the Red Wings last night.  Justin Abdelkater had two goals in a 2-0 Detroit win.

Jonas Gustavsson left the game at the end of the first period because he felt dizzy.  Jimmy Howard came in and stopped all 18 shots he faced.  Gustavsson is fine and will not miss any practice time.

(Leon Halip/Getty Images)
(Leon Halip/Getty Images)
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4.  The Pistons hung tough with the Heat last night, but the champs eventually pulled away and defeated Detroit 102-96.  Dwayne Wade led all scorers with 30 points, and LeBron James had 24 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.   Josh Smith had another poor shooting performance, going 5-20 from the field.

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