Wisconsin News and Sports
Today (Saturday) is championship Saturday for the WIAA Boys State Basketball Championships at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Six semifinal games were played on Saturday with the results to follow.
Division 5 Semifinals
Catholic Memorial 37, Barneveld 35
McDonell Central 70, Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran 51
Division 2 Semifinals
Waunakee 62, Whitnall 59
Kaukauna 72, La Crosse Central 45 [Read more…]
Ethan Happ
The Wisconsin Badgers couldn’t throw one in the ocean early on yesterday, but Greg Gard’s team didn’t panick.
The Badgers fell behind 12-3, by the second media timeout. The Badgers started 1 for 10 from the field, but they still managed to come from behind to pull out a 47-43 win over the St. Louis Blues.
The Badgers (21-12) won for the 12th time in the last 15 games and advanced to the second round of the East Regional on Sunday against Xavier. Pittsburgh finished the season with a 21-12 record, the same record that the Badgers have, but they’re moving on.
Ethan Happ scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, but the Badgers hit just 17 of 53 from the field (32.1%) and 4 of 19 from three-point range (21.1%). Nigel Hayes added 12 points and Vitto Brown 11 points. He hit 3 of five three-point shots.
The Panthers built a 22-16 lead at the halftime break, but the Badgers started their comeback in the second half and went right down to the wire with the Panthers.
The Badgers will face Xavier in the second round of the tournament on Sunday. The Musketeers pulled out a 71-53 win over 15th seeded Weber State.
Isaac Jordan
Wisconsin junior Isaac Jordan is headed to the 165-pound final at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships after downing his cousin, Bo Jordan of Ohio State, in a thrilling 5-4 match in the semifinals on Friday.
Isaac Jordan is going to his first NCAA final after clinching his fourth career win against his cousin.
Jordan is the first NCAA finalist for the Badgers since Tyler Graff took runner-up at 133 pounds in 2014. he will face two-time national champion Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. CT.
Jordan is the lone All-American for Wisconsin this season, as junior Ryan Taylor was knocked out of competition in the Blood Round. The 2015 All-American was pinned by Nebraska’s Eric Montoya at 3:23 and finished his junior campaign with a 12-7 record.
Green Bay Phoenix coach Linc Darner (pictured) said if his team could weather the first eight minutes of their NCAA Tournament game against Texas A & M, they’d be in good shape.
The Phoenix actually held their own for the first 10 to 12 minutes, but the Aggies took over from there and were never challenged, pulling out a 92-65 victory over the Phoenix in Oklahoma City.
Green Bay’s leading scorer, 6’1 senior guard Carrington Love, came into the game averaging 17 points a game on the season. Love was held to a season low three points. [Read more…]
The Green Bay Phoenix were playing in their 16th NCAA women’s basketball tournament and led for more than half the game. But when it was all over, the Tennessee Volunteers pulled out a 59-53 win over the Phoenix in Tempe, Arizona.
The victory puts Tennessee (20-13) into the second-round on Sunday against number-two seed Arizona State (26-6).
Green Bay finished the season with a 28-5 record. They got 15 points from Allie LeClaire, 12 from Kaili Lukan and 11 from Jessica Lindstrom.
Te’a Cooper had a game-high 15 points for the Volunteers.
Green Bay led by eight points at halftime, but the Phoenix, which relies on long-range shooting, was just 3 for 17 from three-point range. Junior Tesha Buck was 0 for 11 from the field and 0 for 8 from three-point range.
The Phoenix made just 4-of-17 from the field in the fourth quarter and went scoreless for more than six minutes in the final frame.
The Wisconsin women’s hockey team saw its season come to an end, falling to the rival Minnesota Gophers for the third-straight year in the NCAA Frozen Four.
The Badgers fell 3-2 in overtime in Durham, New Hampshire.
Ann-Renee Desbiens had a career high 38 saves in goal for the Badgers, who got goals from freshman Sophia Shaver and sophomore Emily Clark in the loss.
Wisconsin (35-4-1) outshot Minnesota (34-3-1) 6-to-4 in the overtime period but Minnesota’s Sarah Potomak was able to steal the puck and put the puck past Desbiens for the victory.
The Minnesota victory gave them a split in the season series with the Badgers (3 wins apiece), but its the Badgers going home and the Gophers advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game on Sunday.
New Brewers starting pitcher Chase Anderson has made four spring starts and he’s still looking for some positive results.
Anderson allowed seven hits and four runs over four innings as the Milwaukee Brewers fell to the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix on Friday.
Three of the four runs allowed were unearned after Ryan Braun dropped a two-out fly ball in left field. Joey Votto followed with a single and Adam Duvall homered to get the Reds off to an early lead.
Anderson’s spring ERA stands at 10.13 and he’s allowed a team-high four homers in 10 2/3 innings.
The Brewers (8-7-1) will face the Angels this afternoon. Wily Peralta gets the start for the Brewers. Scooter Gennett is expected to see his first action at second base.
Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves. (Photo by David Stluka)
Mike Eaves has accomplished a considerable amount as Wisconsin‘s hockey coach in his 14-seasons on the job, not to mention a distinguished playing career. But back-to-back losing seasons has cost Eaves his job.
Eaves remains the all-time leading scorer in program history, a three-time captain, a two-time MVP and a member of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez fired Eaves today after the Badgers saw their season end with a 5-2 loss to Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After a 24-win season two years ago, the Badgers have managed to win just 12-games over the last two seasons. After winning just four games last season, the Badgers doubled that total, winning just eight this past season. [Read more…]
James Starks
According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan, the Green Bay Packers and running back James Starks have agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $6 million.
The 30-year-old Starks set a career high with 601 rushing yards last season, but he lost his starting job when fumbling became a problem. He finished the season with five fumbles.
Starks averaged 4.1-yards per carry and scored three touchdowns.
Starks has spent his entire career with the Packers and was their starting running back in Super Bowl XLV.
Scooter Gennett (Photo by Jason Wise/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Scooter Gennett made a successful Cactus League debut on Thursday, helping the Milwaukee Brewers pull out a 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers in Surprise, Arizona.
Gennett has missed the entire spring with a sore shoulder but returned in the designated hitters role last night. He singled, doubled and homered in three at-bats, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
Taylor Jungmann gave up one single and one walk in four scoreless innings, as the Brewers improved to 8-6-and-1 in the Cactus League.
Barrios dealing with shoulder injury
Reliever Yhonathan Barrios will not start the season in the bullpen, after the team sent M-R-I results on a serious shoulder injury to famed surgeon James Andrews for a second opinion.
Manager Craig Counsell said surgery is possible, after the 24-year-old Barrios suffered discomfort in winter ball last November and again at Spring Training.