• Aggies, Pooh and Just-In'Love in Spokane 3/18/2010, 10:44 p.m. EDT
(AP) — SPOKANE, Wash. - There's a large subset of coaches with University of Montana connections in the first round of the NCAA tournament:

• Robak's 30 leads Waterford Lakes to Class D final 3/18/2010, 10:02 p.m. EDT
(AP) — EAST LANSING, Mich. - Lauren Robak scored 30 points to lead Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes to the Class D championship game with a 64-33 victory over Ontonagon Thursday night.

• Women's National Invitation Tournament 3/18/2010, 9:17 p.m. EDT
(AP) — Purdue 56, Eastern Michigan 50

• The Stooges gain entry into Rock Hall — finally 3/18/2010, 8:45 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - Iggy Pop, the godfather of punk rock, was certain his groundbreaking band The Stooges wouldn't ever earn a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

• MSU's Izzo visits Heathcote to start NCAAs 3/18/2010, 8:41 p.m. EDT
(AP) — SPOKANE, Wash. - They are the only two coaches to win NCAA championships at Michigan State. And they still compete-with each other.

• Suspect in Detroit police chase headed to trial 3/18/2010, 8:32 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - A 26-year-old Detroit man is headed to trial on charges stemming from a police chase broadcast live on local television.

• Syracuse C Onuaku ruled out of tournament opener 3/18/2010, 7:32 p.m. EDT
(AP) — BUFFALO, N.Y. - Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim didn't hesitate: Orange center Arinze Onuaku won't play Friday night against Vermont in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

• Thursday's Scores 3/18/2010, 7:28 p.m. EDT
(AP) — Flint Hamady 48, New Lothrop 43

• Attorney jumps into Mich. Dem 3rd district race 3/18/2010, 6:29 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - Grand Rapids Democrat Patrick Miles Jr. has joined the race for the 3rd District congressional seat.

• Former TV anchor named in Ferrari crash lawsuit 3/18/2010, 6:17 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - Former television news anchor Fanchon (Fan-SHUN) Stinger is being sued over an accident in which an ex-boyfriend driving her Ferrari sports car hit a motorcyclist.

• House plan would boost Mich. traffic fines by $5 3/18/2010, 6:04 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - Traffic violations would cost Michigan motorists an extra $5 under a plan that could soon face a vote in the state House.

• Kilpatrick lawyer wants to step down in civil suit 3/18/2010, 6:01 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - A prominent attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick has asked to withdraw from a civil lawsuit involving the ex-Detroit mayor.

• St. Ignace, Flint Hamady advance to title game 3/18/2010, 5:39 p.m. EDT
(AP) — EAST LANSING, Mich. - Flint Hamady and New Lothrop found themselves in an unusual situation Thursday afternoon.

• State: Unemployment rises in most Michigan regions 3/18/2010, 5:16 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - Unemployment rates rose in January in 16 of Michigan's 17 major labor markets.

• St. Ignace, Flint Hamady advance to title game 3/18/2010, 4:58 p.m. EDT
(AP) — EAST LANSING, Mich. - Nicole Elmbald had 19 points and 12 rebounds as St. Ignace advanced to the Class C championship game with a 64-35 victory over Niles Brandywine Thursday afternoon.

• Pitt embracing expectations, faces Oakland first 3/18/2010, 4:54 p.m. EDT
(AP) — MILWAUKEE - For Pittsburgh, making this year's NCAA tournament-as a No. 3 seed, no less-after losing four starters from last year's team was widely seen as an act of overachievement.

• House OKs Pure Michigan money, but hurdles remain 3/18/2010, 4:37 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan House has passed legislation that would add a $2.50 daily charge on vehicles rented near airports to help pay for a popular tourism advertising campaign.

• House OKs Pure Michigan money, but hurdles remain 3/18/2010, 4:36 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan House has passed legislation that would add a $2.50 daily charge on vehicles rented at airports to help pay for a tourism advertising campaign.

• January unemployment rates for Michigan regions 3/18/2010, 4:30 p.m. EDT
(AP) — Michigan's regional seasonally unadjusted jobless rates for January ranged from a low of 9.3 percent in the Ann Arbor region to a high of 20 percent in the northeastern Lower Peninsula.

• Mich. regulators lower utility's rate increase 3/18/2010, 4:14 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - Michigan utility regulators have lowered by $5 million a $139.4 million rate increase for Consumers Energy Co. that the state agency approved last year.

• Paroled killer gets 50-80 years in girl's shooting 3/18/2010, 4:03 p.m. EDT
(AP) — PONTIAC, Mich. - A Pontiac man on parole for second-degree murder has been sentenced to 50 to 80 years in prison for shooting his girlfriend's 5-year-old niece in the face.

• Detroit Schools slow to tear down vacant buildings 3/18/2010, 3:54 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - Owen Elementary, which closed in 2006, stands open to any who dare to take on its dark, winding hallways and shadowy classrooms on Detroit's southwest side.

• Detroit Schools slow to tear down vacant buildings 3/18/2010, 3:51 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - Owen Elementary, which closed in 2006, stands open to any who dare to take on its dark, winding hallways and shadowy classrooms on Detroit's southwest side.

• The Henry Ford gets $1M for electrical upgrades 3/18/2010, 3:45 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DEARBORN, Mich. - An electric transmission company has donated $1 million to The Henry Ford to upgrade the Dearborn historical attraction's electrical infrastructure.

• Calvin Johnson keeps the faith in the lowly Lions 3/18/2010, 2:28 p.m. EDT
(AP) — ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson believes in what he can't see.

• Border officials seize $250K in drugs in Detroit 3/18/2010, 2:26 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they have seized more than $250,000 worth of illegal drugs within a week at the tunnel crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

• Michigan-Notre Dame set as Big House's night debut 3/18/2010, 1:46 p.m. EDT
(AP) — ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan has a marquee opponent for the first night game at the Big House: Notre Dame.

• Michigan-Notre Dame set as Big House's night debut 3/18/2010, 1:46 p.m. EDT
(AP) — ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan has a marquee opponent for the first night game at the Big House: Notre Dame.

• Michigan-Notre Dame set as Big House's night debut 3/18/2010, 1:35 p.m. EDT
(AP) — ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan will play its first night game at the Big House in 2011 against Notre Dame.

• Michigan-Notre Dame set as Big House's night debut 3/18/2010, 1:35 p.m. EDT
(AP) — ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan will play its first night game at the Big House in 2011 against Notre Dame.

• Embezzler who got Mich. tax credit faces charges 3/18/2010, 12:26 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Senate will begin holding hearings next week to investigate past state tax credits after a convicted embezzler out on parole snagged one for his business.

• Embezzler who got Mich. tax credit faces charges 3/18/2010, 12:26 p.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Senate will begin holding hearings next week to investigate past state tax credits after a convicted embezzler out on parole snagged one for his business.

• Apple director, ex-auto executive York dies 3/18/2010, 12:21 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - Jerome York, an Apple Inc. board member and a financial wizard credited with turning around Chrysler and IBM, died Thursday of a brain aneurysm. He was 71.

• Detroit Schools slow to tear down vacant buildings 3/18/2010, 12:10 p.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - A drastic plan to shutter a quarter of Detroit's public schools in June will add 45 more empty buildings to the dozens of district-owned properties dominating already blight-ravaged neighborhoods.

• Apple director, ex-auto exec York hospitalized 3/18/2010, 11:31 a.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - A spokeswoman says Apple Inc. board member and former auto industry executive Jerome York has been hospitalized in Pontiac, Mich.

• Michigan House plan would legalize more fireworks 3/18/2010, 10:10 a.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - Some fireworks that are currently illegal in Michigan could be legalized and sold to help raise money for state government under terms of budget-related legislation advancing in the state House.

• Necropsy planned on wolverine found dead in MI 3/18/2010, 9:30 a.m. EDT
(AP) — EAST LANSING, Mich. - Authorities will perform a necropsy to determine what killed Michigan's only known wild wolverine.

• Illegal electric hookup at fatal Detroit fire site 3/18/2010, 8:41 a.m. EDT
(AP) — DETROIT - An early-morning fire gutted a small hotel on the city's east side Thursday where an illegal electrical hookup was being used for power, killing a man and injuring two other people, authorities said.

• Report: Passengers detail suspected airline attack 3/18/2010, 7:28 a.m. EDT
(AP) — ROMULUS, Mich. - Passengers aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 prayed, sent text messages and clutched children moments after a botched Christmas Day terrorist attempt aboard a jet bound for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

• EPA asked to probe Michigan's clean air program 3/18/2010, 4:01 a.m. EDT
(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - An environmental group wants the federal government to investigate what it calls deficiencies in how Michigan administers the Clean Air Act.

• Volunteers sought to protect sturgeon in Michigan 3/18/2010, 4:01 a.m. EDT
(AP) — CHEBOYGAN, Mich. - Volunteers are being sought to help protect lake sturgeon spawning in the northern Lower Peninsula.

• $2.2M US stimulus grant to help fight ash borer 3/18/2010, 4:01 a.m. EDT
(AP) — HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Technological and Michigan State universities are sharing in a $2.2 million federal stimulus grant to fight the spread of the emerald ash borer and save trees in the Upper Peninsula.

• Mich. man convicted of killing girl seeks freedom 3/18/2010, 4:00 a.m. EDT
(AP) — JACKSON, Mich. - A 53-year-old inmate who says he was wrongly convicted of murdering a teenage girl in the 1980s asked the state parole board Thursday to recommend his release from prison, where he's serving a life sentence.

• NOW backs Democratic primary challenger to Stupak 3/17/2010, 11:09 p.m. EDT
(AP) — CHARLEVOIX, Mich. - The National Organization for Women is endorsing a Charlevoix woman challenging U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak in the August Democratic primary.

• Palin to headline conservative group's summit 3/17/2010, 10:56 p.m. EDT
(AP) — CLARKSTON, Mich. - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is returning to Michigan.

• Texas (33-30) 3/17/2010, 9:53 p.m. EDT
(AP) — 1939-lost to Oregon 56-41; lost to Utah State 51-49.

• Michigan State (48-22) 3/17/2010, 9:53 p.m. EDT
(AP) — 1957-beat Notre Dame 85-83; beat Kentucky 80-68; lost to North Carolina 74-70, 3OT; lost to San Francisco 67-60. Final Four.

• Kansas (84-37) 3/17/2010, 9:53 p.m. EDT
(AP) — 1940-beat Rice 50-44; beat Colorado 60-56, OT; lost to Indiana 60-42.

• Florida (29-12) 3/17/2010, 9:53 p.m. EDT
(AP) — 1987-beat North Carolina State 82-70; beat Purdue 85-66; lost to Syracuse 87-81.

• Duke (88-30) 3/17/2010, 9:53 p.m. EDT
(AP) — 1955-lost to Villanova 74-73.