Michigan
Michigan basketball ‘hungry’ for a ranked win, gets two shots this week
ANN ARBOR — Earlier this season, Michigan played a handful of home games against non-power-conference teams and destroyed them all. The closest margin in those games was 31 points. During that time, Michigan’s freshmen starters, especially Syla Swords, were eager for bigger challenges. They bugged their coach about it.
“‘I want that next great team. I want another ranked team,’” Swords said, according to Kim Barnes Arico. “She’s relentless.”
The Wolverines will get a couple of chances this week. They visit No. 23 Minnesota on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, 7 local, B1G+) and host No. 21 Michigan State on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network).
Michigan (13-5 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) has won three straight, most recently Saturday’s 87-71 victory over Rutgers at Crisler Center. Michigan’s defense was locked in from the start. Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller entered as the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer at 20 points per game. She missed all eight of her shots against Michigan and didn’t score.
“We threw a lot of bodies at her and just made her feel uncomfortable,” Barnes Arico said after the game.
One of those defenders was Te’Yala Delfosse, an athletic 6-foot-3 forward who tallied 10 points and three steals in 19 minutes off the bench. Delfosse was sidelined with an injury for about two months, missing valuable preseason practice time and not debuting until Michigan’s sixth game on Nov. 24.
“She’s so long, she’s so disruptive,” Barnes Arico said. “She just gives us something different than everyone else.”
Three other Michigan freshmen have been consistently producing all season in the starting lineup. Swords had 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists against Rutgers. Mila Holloway had 13 points, seven assists and five boards, while Olivia Olson added 13 points and four rebounds.
Barnes Arico was impressed with Swords’ on-court postgame TV interview in which she downplayed her scoring. “I’m here to win games,” Swords said. “I’m not here to score.”
“I think that’s kind of the mentality of our freshmen, which is pretty incredible,” Barnes Arico said. “They’re so unselfish. … They make extra passes, they find each other, they play basketball the right way.”
The veterans are contributing too. Jordan Hobbs is capable of scoring 20 in any game (she did it last week). Greta Kampschroeder has embraced her role as the center in Michigan’s all-guard starting lineup and is shooting 42 percent from 3. Yulia Grabovskaia, a legitimate center at 6-foot-5, has played her best recently.
Michigan, currently ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25 poll, is 13-0 this season against unranked teams (those teams have not been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at all season). The five losses have come against top-10 teams (three of those teams are still in the top four; the other are two are still top 15).
“It’s our time to get a ranked win,” Olson said after the Rutgers game. “We’re hungry for it.”
Minnesota (17-2, 5-2) is 11-0 at home in Dawn Plitzuweit’s second season as head coach. The Gophers average the fewest turnovers per game in the country.
Michigan State is 15-3 (5-2) entering Wednesday night’s home game against Penn State. The Spartans have been strong defensively, forcing turnovers and blocking shots at a high rate.
Barnes Arico hopes Michigan’s previous games against top competition will help her young team. “I just think experience is the greatest teacher,” she said. “There is nothing like it. I could try to simulate it in practice all day long.”
Her players, especially the rookies, are eager for what awaits this week. Big games are why they came to Michigan.
After losses, Barnes Arico said they came to her with a message: “‘We learned this, learned this, studied this — we’re prepared for the next one.’ I don’t know if they always are, but they think they are.”
We’re about to find out.
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Michigan mother of three talks about how she broke her kratom addiction
Melanie Clark, 35, of Kincheloe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has fought a four-year-long addiction to kratom, the so-called “gas station heroin.”
Michigan lawmakers are debating a complete ban on the sale of kratom products in the state, citing cases of addiction and instances of death from people consuming the herbal supplement known as the “gas station heroin.”
Here is what to know about this unregulated herbal substance commonly sold in convenience stores, gas stations and tobacco shops across Michigan:
What is kratom?
Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain compounds that can produce stimulant effects at low doses and opioid-like effects at higher doses. It is manufactured and sold in different forms: liquid tonics, tablets, gummies, powders and capsules.
What is kratom used for?
Kratom is marketed as a herbal supplement for energy, mood, pain relief or opioid withdrawal, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of those uses. Some kratom users take it to get off heroin or fentanyl, according to University of Michigan researchers.
How is kratom pronounced?
Kratom is pronounced KRA-tum. The letter “a” takes a short “a” sound, as in crab or crack.
What is 7-OH?
7-hydroxymitragynin, or 7-OH, is an alkaloid found in kratom leaves. It is manufactured in a synthetic form to produce an opioid-like sensation of pain relief or sedation. It is more potent than pure leaf kratom and sometimes referred to as the hard liquor version of kratom (if pure leaf kratom were considered beer, which typically has a much lower percentage of alcohol by volume compared with distilled liquor).
Is kratom an opioid or addictive?
Kratom users, substance abuse counselors and doctors report symptoms of dependence and withdrawal from the substance, particularly when users exceed the recommended serving size.
The Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that kratom has “sedative effects” that “can lead to addiction.”
On July 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved to declare certain 7-hydroxymitragynine synthetic kratom products a Schedule I controlled substance, the same class of drugs as heroin, ecstasy and peyote. As of April 9, the substance had not yet been formally added to the list of Schedule I drugs, which would effectively ban 7-OH nationwide.
Does kratom have side effects?
The FDA has warned that kratom use can lead to liver toxicity, seizures or substance use disorder.
Withdrawal from the substance can lead to increased anxiety, insomnia and psychiatric episodes, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Dr. Eliza Hutchinson, a family physician based in Ann Arbor who is a clinical instructor at UM, said her substance abuse patients describe withdrawal from kratom as “the worst influenza of your life — times 10.”
CARE Southeastern Michigan, a recovery advocacy group, has reported some individuals experiencing psychotic episodes after taking 7-OH, the synthetic form of kratom.
The FDA has also said kratom is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement” and unsafe as an additive to food. The powder and liquid forms of kratom are sometimes marketed as an additive to shakes and smoothies.
Does kratom show up on a drug test?
Yes, if it’s part of a specialized screening of narcotics and other substances that looks for active ingredients in kratom products.
Some substance abuse clinics in Michigan are starting to test for it, said Madison Lauder, a counselor at The Guidance Center in Southgate.
“We see you so often, we have added into our (drug test) panel,” Lauder said.
Is there any age restriction on buying kratom in Michigan?
No, Michigan has no laws governing the sale of kratom and related synthetics, such as 7-OH.
But retailers set their own rules. Some stores won’t sell to anyone under age 21.
Some of the 7-OH kratom products on the shelves of stores are labeled “21+.”
But there’s no law on the books in Michigan requiring buyers to show a photo ID when buying kratom, as is required to purchase alcohol, tobacco or marijuana.
Which states have bans on selling kratom?
Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have outright bans on the sale of kratom.
In December, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy used the state’s controlled substance laws to ban the retail sale, distribution and possession of 7-OH and other synthetic forms of kratom, board spokesman Cameron McNamee said.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has a separate proposal to ban natural kratom products that remains in the rulemaking process, McNamee said.
Some cities and counties across the country have imposed varying local sales bans, including Anaheim, Calif., Spokane, Wash., and the New York City suburbs of Nassau County on Long Island, according to published reports.
What’s the status of legislation to ban kratom in Michigan?
On March 18, the Republican-controlled Michigan House voted 56-48 on legislation that would completely ban the sale of kratom products in Michigan. All 46 Democrats and two Republicans opposed the legislation.
Democrats cited a lack of any committee hearings on the legislation.
“There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn’t justified,” the House Democratic caucus said in a statement. “What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution.”
The bill moved to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, assigned it to her Government Operations Committee.
Some kratom industry interests and individual users have advocated for a ban on just the 7-OH synthetic form of kratom.
Sen. Kevin Hertel, the St. Clair Shores Democrat who chairs the Senate Health Policy Committee, said the House’s passage of a total ban on kratom has changed the debate toward prohibition, which he favors until the FDA can further study the substance and its impact on the human body.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Anne Snabes and Beth LeBlanc contributed.
For much of April, showers and melting snow has swamped Michigan, flooding homes, businesses, cottages, roadways; threatening and destroying infrastructure, including dams, and forcing what is likely hundreds of Michiganders to evacuate.
The unusual weather put the entire state under a flood watch.
It’s not over.
To help, the state’s Emergency Operations Center — which was activated on April 10, along with the governor’s state of emergency declaration — created a digital map identifying shelters and damaged areas.
There also is a livestream of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.
As of Monday morning, the water level at the dam had dropped slightly, and was less than 8 inches below the top, which is still a threat to both the community in the event of a spillover — or structural failure.
The map, which the emergency center is calling a dashboard, shows warming and cooling centers and where people can get food. It tracks where the tornadoes touched down, and the roadways that are under water, were eroded away and are completely washed out.
The emergency center also is providing more information on its website on how to ask for help, what state and federal assistance might be available, and how to get emergency email alerts from the State Police.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
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