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Waupaca native to make Major League umpiring debut this weekend (AUDIO)

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It can take eight to ten years for an aspiring professional umpire to make it to the big leagues.  So things are right on time for 29-year-old Waupaca, Wisconsin native Nathan (Nate) Tomlinson.

After graduating from Waupaca High School in 2009, Tomlinson went right to professional umpires school in Florida.  That is when the long grind of trying to make it to the big leagues started.

Fast forward a decade and Tomlinson will make his Major League debut on Friday night.  He is scheduled to work the entire three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX.

“It’s obviously an honor and a privilege,” said Tomlinson.  “It’s something that I’ve worked toward for the last, this is my tenth season, so it sort of feels like it’s all become worth it now.  Not that it wasn’t before, but this is sort of a little cherry on top.  Now the goal I guess is to stick, to stay.”

Tomlinson’s first assignment after umpiring school came in the Northwoods League, a summer collegiate wood bat league that has a number of teams based in Wisconsin.  From there, he went to rookie league ball, followed by a stint in [Read more…]

Former Packer, Robbins died at 62 from COVID-19

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Kenny Clark

Former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Tootie Robbins passed away from COVID-19 complications on Sunday.  He was 62-years-old.

Robbins spent two seasons as the right tackle for the Packers under coach Mike Holmgren.  He was one of general manager Ron Wolf’s first free agent signings when he first took over in Green Bay.

Robbins started 15 games in 1992 and 11 in 1993 before a torn triceps put an end to his career.  He played in 159 games with 147 starts in 12 seasons in the NFL.

Clark puzzled at lack of respect

Kenny Clark made the Pro Bowl after last season, registering six sacks and 62 tackles.  He tied for sixth among the NFL’s interior linemen in sacks and was fourth in tackles.  Entering the final year of his contract, the Packers nose tackle is likely in for a big payday.

But Clark wasn’t happy when the NFL Network released its top 100 players and he wasn’t on it.  It’s a vote of players in the league and it’s clear that they don’t think enough of Clark. [Read more…]

Brewers drop home opener to White Sox

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The Milwaukee Brewers finally got to play a home opener at Miller Park, but it didn’t work out the way they had planned.  The Brewers jumped out to a 4-2 lead, then saw their bullpen surrender four runs in a 6-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

The Brewers were playing their first game since a victory in Pittsburgh last Wednesday.

Brett Anderson got his first start in a Brewers uniform but took a drive off of his left foot from Chicago’s Luis Robert.  Yoan Mancada doubled him to third.  Jose Abreu drove in a run with a ground ball and Yasmani Grandal gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.

The Brewers cut the lead to 1 in the bottom half of the first when Christian Yelich snapped an 0-for-19 streak with a two-out double.  Avisail Garcia followed with a double of his own to score Yelich.

The Brewers took the lead in the 5th when Garcia drove in two runs with a single to left.  Ben Gamel’s sixth inning single to center scored Justin Smoak to put the Brewers up 4-2. [Read more…]

Budenholzer named NBCA Co-Coach of the Year

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Mike Budenholzer – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer joins Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan as the 2020 recipients of the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award.

The award recognizes the dedication, commitment and hard work of NBA Head Coaches and is presented annually to a Head Coach who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance on the court and shows outstanding service and dedication to the community off the court.  It is the only award voted upon by the winners’ peers, the Head Coaches of all 30 NBA teams.  This year’s voting was based on games played from the start of the 2019-20 regular season through games played on March 11.

Budenholzer guided the Bucks to the best record in the NBA (53-12) for the second year in a row.  He becomes the first two-time winner of the Award.  The Bucks were the NBA’s highest scoring team, averaging 118.6 points a game, and outscored opponents by a league-high average of 11.2 ppg.  The 11.2 ppg differential is tied for the fifth largest margin in NBA history.

Defensively, Coach Budenholzer’s Bucks  held opponents to 107.4 ppg, fifth best in the league.  He won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December (13-2 record) and February (10-1 record).

Donovan led the Thunder to a 40-24 season, tied for fifth in the Western Conference.  From Thanksgiving through March 11, the Thunder went 34-13.  Donovan joins Rick Carlisle, Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr as the only active head coaches to guide their teams to the playoffs in each of their first five seasons.

 

Bucks fall to Rockets in the bubble

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Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 36 points and added 18 rebounds and eight assists but it wasn’t enough as the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Houston Rockets 120-116 in Orlando on Sunday night.

Khris Middleton added 27 points and 12 rebounds and Brook Lopez had 23 points for the Bucks, who fell to 54-13 overall.

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points as Houston used a late 9-0 run to get back into the game.  The Rockets tied the NBA record for most three-point attempts with 61.  They made 21 of them.  They also forced 22 Milwaukee turnovers.

The Bucks out-rebounded the Rockets 65-36. [Read more…]

There’s nothing normal about this Packers training camp

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Rookie AJ Dillon’s locker

The Green Bay Packers opened training camp last week, but the first several days were devoted to coronavirus testing.  Rookies were in over the weekend and held their first walk through.  The teams veterans finally arrive today (Monday), the sixth day of training camp.

With veterans arriving, there’s another walk through scheduled for today, along with weight lifting and conditioning.  It’ll be two weeks before the team gets its first padded practice.

There’ll be no preseason games ahead of the September 13th opener at Minnesota, which means coach Matt LaFleur will have to get creative in the way he prepares his team.

LaFleur told reporters in a zoom call on Sunday that he anticipates more live-scrimmage scenarios, trying to replicate situations that players could encounter during games.  LaFleur said some of those scrimmage situations will come inside Lambeau Field.

The Packers will start with a splitsquad format, meaning rookies and injured players working in one group and veterans in another.  That scenario allows the Packers to have as many as 90 players in camp before having to cut down to 80 on August 16.  The Packers roster currently stands at 83 players, not including four that are on the COVID-19 list. [Read more…]

Brewers coach recovering after heart attack

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Pat Murphy

Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy is recovering after suffering a moderate heart attack during the team’s Saturday workout at Miller Park.  Murphy was immediately transported to Froedtert Hospital, where a stent was inserted, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Brewers President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said Murphy was on the field when he suffered the attack and went to the dugout to report what he was feeling.

Stearns said Murphy will certainly be back in the dugout at some point but couldn’t venture to guess when that would be.

Braun placed on IL

The Brewers placed Ryan Braun on the 10-day injured list with an infected right index finger, retroactive to July 30.  That means the Brewers will be looking to add a pair of players to the 30-man roster prior to Monday nights series opener against the Chicago White Sox.  The second roster move is to replace Lorenzo Cain, who opted out for the rest of the season.

Braun is hitting .231 with two RBI in four games this season.

Cain opts out for remainder of season (AUDIO)

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Lorenzo Cain (file photo)

As the Milwaukee Brewers were in the process of having their series against the St. Louis Cardinals called off, veteran outfielder Lorenzo Cain was busy discussing with his family, a decision to opt out of the remainder of the 2020 season.

Cain became the 17th player to opt out of the 60-game season.  He was not deemed an at-risk player for COVID-19, so his decision was elective which forfeiting the rest of his more than $5.9 million prorated salary.

“After careful consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to opt out of the 2020 season,” Cain said in a statement released by the Brewers.  “With all of the uncertainty and unknowns surrounding our game at this time, I feel this is the best decision for me, my wife and our kids.

“The Brewers organization was very understanding and supportive of my decision, and I thank them for [Read more…]

Football Badgers picked to win Big Ten West

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After winning the Big Ten West under Paul Chryst in 2016, 2017 and 2019, the Wisconsin Badgers have been picked to win it again in 2020.  Cleveland.com released the annual Big Ten media poll, selecting Ohio State to win the overall league title.

The Badgers received 19 first-place votes and was picked to win the West again this season.  Minnesota finished second with 14 first-place votes, followed by Iowa and Nebraska.

Ohio State was picked to win the East, ahead of Penn State and Michigan.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was named the preseason Offensive Player of the Year.  Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons was named the preseason defensive player of the year.

 

Brewers home opener postponed

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The Milwaukee Brewers home opener this afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park has been postponed and rescheduled as a doubleheader on Sunday.

The rescheduling is the result of two positive COVID-19 tests in the Cardinals organization.  Major League Baseball made the move to allow enough time for additional testing and contact tracing to be conducted.

Saturday’s game between the two teams will remain as scheduled at 6:10 p.m..

The Cardinals are in Milwaukee, but have been instructed to self-isolate in their hotel in Milwaukee.

Major League Baseball will continue to provide updates as appropriate.