Local sports

Drew Henson was the can’t-miss kid in 2000 at Michigan.

Henson’s options were to return as a quarterback and candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, or skip his senior season to take a crack at his dream of playing major league baseball.

After whiffing with the New York Yankees and later flopping for the Dallas Cowboys, Henson is getting a chance to salvage his NFL career with the winless Detroit Lions.

Hubert “Pit” Martin, a four-time NHL All-Star in the 1960s and ’70s, has died after his snowmobile plunged into an icy lake, Quebec provincial police said. He was 64.

Const. Marie-Josee Ouellet said Martin was driving the vehicle on Lake Kanasuta in northwestern Quebec on Sunday when the ice cracked and he plunged into the freezing water.

Kyle Orton has been good enough to make Bears fans forget Rex Grossman (almost), and he's been good enough for Chicago to contend in a lousy division. Sorry, but those "good enoughs" aren't really good enough.

The goal is to win a Super Bowl - eventually, if not this year - and Orton has done little to prove he's The One to lead them there.

The Detroit Lions signed wide receiver Keary Colbert, giving him a chance to play for his third NFL team this season.

Detroit added him to the roster Monday when it put wide receiver Mike Furrey on injured reserve because of a concussion.

A key deadline for the group trying to save Tiger Stadium has been extended.

The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy now has until Friday to submit plans and budgets to Detroit’s Economic Development Corp. for approval.

The original deadline was Monday.

With a gutty goal-line stand and one big heave by Gus Frerotte, the Minnesota Vikings grabbed control of the NFC North and sent Kyle Orton and the Chicago Bears home with a humbling defeat.

Seconds after the Bears were stopped four times at the 1, Bernard Berrian pulled in a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frerotte that sent the Vikings to a 34-14 victory and sole possession of the division lead Sunday night.

Randi Windemuller helped the Holland girls swim team take second at the Division 2 state championship meet last week.

Now, the senior is taking the next step in her swimming career. Windemuller signed a national letter of intent Nov. 17 to accept an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship at Xavier University in Ohio.

Three Zeeland senior water polo players — Jamin Wieringa, Josh Geschwendt and Nate Snuggerud — were considered for The Sentinel’s Boys Water Polo Player of the Year award.

In the end it was the goaltender, Wierenga, who earned the honor.

“All three played a big role in leading us to our first regional championship, but (Wieringa) probably did more over the long run,” said Zeeland coach Dave Vruggink.

The holiday season is a time when people give thanks for the things they have.

But James Trebilcock, a senior on this year’s Hope College men’s soccer team, showed his thanks by giving.

After the rain finished pounding the roof, the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans began pounding the boards.

MSU dominated inside to beat Wichita State 65-57 Sunday at the Old Spice Classic that was delayed 44 minutes by strong winds that blew heavy rain through a roof vent and onto the court.

The Detroit Pistons are starting to look like the Detroit Lions — they're always a wreck on Sunday.

For the fourth Sunday in a row, the Pistons played like their hapless NFL counterparts, losing 96-85 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Michigan's football program hit rock bottom this season, losing a school-record nine games.

The Wolverines lost to a Mid-American Conference team for the first time — one of a school-record five setbacks at the Big House — had a losing record for the first time since 1967 and failed to qualify for a bowl for the first time in 34 years.

Daniel Larsson made 29 saves to record his second shutout of the season, leading the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 1-0 win over the Chicago Wolves Sunday.

The Minnesota Vikings under coach Brad Childress have been defined so far by a decent defense, unreliable offense and an overall record with more defeats than victories.

Perhaps the prevailing image, though, of the Childress-in-charge years in Minnesota has been the placid public demeanor. And the refusal to acknowledge much disappointment or excitement about developments relating to his team.

As the Vikings approach the final stretch of the season, the players are being urged by the boss as much as ever to maintain that old one-game-at-a-time approach.

Only Saginaw Valley State University had offered a football scholarship to A.J. Westendorp before he played at Ford Field Friday.

That’s expected to change for the Holland Christian quarterback after his record-setting performance at the home of the Detroit Lions.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Westendorp set several state records as he led the Maroons to a 35-20 victory over Detroit Country Day. They became the first team from the city of Holland to win a state championship in football.

For the second year in a row, Grand Valley State University’s bid for a national championship fell short.

Quarterback Brad Iciek completed only 13 of his 46 pass attempts and threw three interceptions as the University of Minnesota Duluth upset the Lakers 19-13 in double overtime Saturday afternoon at Lubbers Stadium.

The big man helped Aquinas College break out of an early-season slump in a big way.

Pedja Lazic, the Saints’ 6-7 senior center, made it a winning weekend for Aquinas as he scored 14 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and pretty much disrupted everything Hope wanted to do for a 58-46 win Saturday, Nov. 30, in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic.

The victory allowed the Saints to improve to 2-5 for the season as they defended their championship in this annual tournament.

DeShawn Sims was expected to be a force in the post for Michigan, but he is showing he can be an equal threat from the outside.

Sims made an 18-foot shot from the corner as time expired in overtime to rally Michigan to a 66-64 victory over Savannah State.

Blake Wheeler and David Krejci both had a goal and an assist, and the Boston Bruins won their ninth straight home game with a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

The Bruins, who pulled into a tie with the New York Rangers atop the Eastern Conference, went 11-1-1 in November — including eight wins at home. They haven’t lost in Boston since Oct. 23 and are on their longest home-winning streak in 25 years.

The Rockford Rams ended their season the same way they started it.

This time, though, beating Lake Orion came with a much bigger reward.

The Rams, who opened the year with a 17-7 win over the Dragons, won their third Division 1 championship in five years Saturday, posting a 26-14 victory.