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Green Bay Phoenix women continue remarkable run

February 27, 2009 By

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team has clinched the outright Horizon League championship with a 68-60 win over Valparaiso on Thursday night.  The win is the 16th in a row for Green Bay and pushes the teams record to 24-3.  That ties the 2006-07 squad for the program's best start in Horizon League play (16-0). 

UWGB sophomore guard Celeste Hoewisch scored a career high 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting.  Senior center Lavesa Glover added 14 points.  Green Bay has won at least a share of their 11th Horizon League regular season title and has earned the right to host the league playoffs next month.

 

Filed Under: Sports, Uncategorized

Green Bay clinches 2nd spot in Horizon League Tournament

February 27, 2009 By

The Green Bay Phoenix (22-8, 13-4 Horizon League) clinched a top-two seed and two byes into the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship after defeating the Detroit Titans (7-21, 2-15) 78-62 in Detroit on Thursday night.

Ryan Tillema, who is the second leading scorer in the league, finished with a game-high 18 points, while Green Bay teammate Troy Cotton poured in 17.  The Phoenix hit 50% of its field goals (23 of 46), 50% of its 3-pointers (8 of 16) and hit 24 of 33 free throws. 

It's the 7th road win of the season for Green Bay, tying the 2004-05 squad for the most true road wins in a season over the last 13 years.  Green Bay closes out its season Saturday night at Wright State.  They could still secure the #1 seed and a co-championship if they win Saturday and Butler loses its final game.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Will the Packers be buyers in free agency?

February 27, 2009 By

Ted Thompson The Green Bay Packers have roughly $34.5-million in salary cap room heading into free agency and there's hardly a Packers fan alive that doesn't want GM Ted Thompson (pictured) to spend some of that money on a big name.  The problem is, after the designation of 14-franchise tags around the league, there's not a lot of big name players available.

It would be nice if the Packers would be active in trying to acquire those defensive players that are worthy of a decent contract, given the teams need to develop a 3-4 defensive scheme. 

Ted Thompson has been successful when he's gone the free agent route.  He most recently acquired LB Brandon Chillar as a free agent buyer and was rock solid before that with the additions of Ryan Pickett and Charles Woodson. 

The Packers don't need to go hog wild and they certainly don't need to sign any offensive free agents.  But a player or two on defense would be a good start towards improving a defense that was a major disappointment a year ago.  After a 6-10 season, it's not a time to be the youngest team in the league again.  Ted Thompson needs to find a way to get it done and free agency, while it's not the entire answer, it can certainly be a part of the solution.

 

 

Filed Under: Green Bay Packers, Top Story

Storm turns Southern WI into ice rink

February 27, 2009 By

Dropping temperatures in southern Wisconsin turned rain soaked roads into ice-slicked paths Thursday night, leading to dozens of crashes.

"It was ridiculously slippery, even at slow speeds it was slick," says Dave Dohnal of the Dane County Sheriff's Office.

Dohnal says there were no serious injuries because traffic was moving very slowly.

Some roads had to be closed because vehicles couldn't get traction. Between 10 and 11 PM, many law enforcement agencies, only responded to crashes with injuries or roads blocked. Emergency responders also got stuck on the roads at times and some veteran members of law enforcement described the situation as the worst road conditions they've ever seen.

Meanwhile, the far north is digging out from up to nine-and-a-half inches of new snow. Door County endured winds up to 56 mph. Gile in Iron County had the most snow Thursday night, while other parts of the northwest had 7 to 8 inches. Green Bay had just under six-inches, breaking an 88-year-old record for the date.

Jason Fischer-WIBA contributed to this report

Filed Under: Sports, Weather

Making the roads safer for cyclists

February 27, 2009 By

State lawmakers want to make it safer for cyclists to pass parked cars.

Madison resident Linda Willsey was riding her bike past a parked car last summer, when the driver of the vehicle threw open their door and knocked the Madison woman off of her bike. Willsey was injured and also received a ticket, due to a little known state law that requires cyclists to pass parked vehicles by at least three feet.

However, state lawmakers say that restriction is unrealistic and makes it so someone exiting a vehicle has no responsibility to check their surroundings first. Legislation at the Capitol would repeal that law and require the driver of a vehicle to watch out for passing bikes.

State Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison) is a sponsor of the measure. He says it would hold cyclists to the same standard currently applied to those driving any other type of vehicle.

David Vogt of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin says the three foot requirement is unfair to cyclists, who usually have little warning when a car door is about to open. Vogt also points out that the typical car door is much longer than the three feet mentioned in the law.

The bill is currently being considered by legislative committees in the both the Senate and Assembly.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 1:09)

Filed Under: Transportation
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