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Evers’ AmFam funding plan ‘a nonstarter’ with Assembly Republicans

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ plan to fund improvements at American Family Field strikes out with Republicans in the state Assembly. “It’s unfortunate that the governor decided to just throw a plan out there . . that hadn’t consulted anyone,” said Representative Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva), regarding the Democratic governor’s pitch o spend $290 million in state money for improvements at the Brewers ballpark   “I don’t know who he was negotiating with on that but it certainly wasn’t us.”

“That plan is a nonstarter with our caucus,” said August, adding that there’s also little support from Senate Republicans for Evers’ proposal.  “Is the entire prospect of doing something for the stadium district dead? I would say no, but the governor’s plan certainly is.”

Evers included the proposal in his state budget. Republicans on the legislature’s finance committee have indicated they will start from the current base budget, and reject much of what Evers has proposed.

New pitch clock could speed up MLB games this season, says UW expert

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You can expect faster games at American Family Field this season thanks to MLB rule changes.

UW-Madison professor Laura Albert says most significant is the new pitch clock, which has already quickened Minor League and Spring Training games.

“The pitch clock is really trying to compress the time between pitches to what is already in the rulebook. So the historic rules are something like 12 seconds to pitch with no runners on base. And this was never really enforced.”

Albert says it’s an effort by the league to decrease game times, which have grown steadily over the decades.

“The natural evolution of the game has resulted in the average baseball game taking a lot longer than it used to be used to take about 2.5 hours per game and 1970. It’s up to almost three and a half hours.”

The new 30-second clock has shortened spring training games by over 20 minutes. It also speeds up innings in general without long routines on both the mound and in the batter’s box.

Giannis breaks franchise scoring record, Bucks beat Nets in OT

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Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo broke the franchise scoring record on Thursday night, helping the Milwaukee Bucks clinch a spot in the post-season playoffs with a 120-119 overtime win over the Nets in Brooklyn.

The record breaker wasn’t just your ordinary basket either.  Giannis nailed a step-back three-pointer over Brooklyn’s Andrew Drummond with 18 seconds left to play in regulation to tie the game 110-110 and send it to overtime.

Antetokounmpo then hit a pair of free throws with 3-seconds to play to give the Bucks with 1-point, overtime win.

Giannis surpassed Bucks legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had the franchise mark of 14,211, which he set in 467 games over six seasons from 1969-1975.  It took Antetokounmpo 652 games in nine seasons to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s record and he had help from the three point shot, which hadn’t yet come into play when Abdul-Jabbar was playing in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo poured in 44 points for the game and finished the night with 14,216 career points.

The Bucks return home to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Wisconsin’s Davis declares for NBA Draft

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The old saying, “All good things come to an end,” is fitting for the Wisconsin Badgers and their fans.  Sophomore guard Johnny Davis announced Thursday on ESPN’s NBA Today, that he is leaving Madison for the NBA.

Davis said, “I will forever cherish the experiences I had and the relationships I built during my time in Madison and I am so thankful I chose to be a Badger.  With that being said, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream and will be declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.  I am so grateful for the support everyone has given me, for the opportunities basketball has brought into my life, and for the chance to continue to play the game I love.”

A projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Davis looks to become the first Badger drafted since Frank Kaminsky (9th overall) and Sam Dekker (18th overall) were each selected in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Davis averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds a game this season and led the nation in scoring against top-25 opponents during the regular season (24.1).

Davis won Big Ten Player of the Year honors and is a finalist for both the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award.

The NBA Draft Combine is scheduled for May 16-22 and the NBA Draft Lottery is set for May 17, both in Chicago.  The NBA Draft will take place Thursday, June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Badgers to face Arizona State in Las Vegas Bowl

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For the 20th straight season, the Wisconsin football team is going bowling.  The Badgers will face Arizona State (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) on Dec. 30 at Allegiant Stadium.  The game will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT and be televised by ESPN.

Wisconsin owns the third-longest active bowl streak in the country, trailing only Georgia (25) and Oklahoma (23).  The Badgers own a 5-1 record in bowl games under coach Paul Chryst, with wins in the 2015 Holiday Bowl, 2017 Cotton Bowl, 2017 Orange Bowl, 2018 Pinstripe Bowl and 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

UW will face Arizona State for the fifth time in school history.  ASU owns a 3-1 lead in the series but the teams have split the two most recent meetings, with Wisconsin winning 20-19, in 2010 in Madison and the Sun Devils claiming the 2013 meeting in Tempe, 32-30.

Wisconsin is no stranger to playing in Las Vegas as the Badgers have faced UNLV five times at Sam Boyd Stadium between 1986 and 2010, accounting for the Rebels’ top three home crowds in history.  UW has won four straight games in Las Vegas, including its last trip west, a 41-21 win over UNLV in 2010.

 

Williams likely out for the season with broken hand

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Devin Williams

The Milwaukee Brewers are expecting to be without the services of top setup reliever Devin Williams for the upcoming playoffs.  Williams suffered a broken right pitching hand after punching a wall after having a few drinks following Sunday’s National League Central Division clinching win over the New York Metw.

Brewers President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns told reporters on Wednesday that Williams will undergo surgery to put a plate in his hand to repair the fracture and that the injury will likely keep him out for the remainder of the season.

Williams told reporters that after the team celebration, he went out to have a few drinks.  When he returned home, he was a little frustrated, upset and punched a wall.

Williams won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 and has an 8-2 record with a 2.50 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 54 innings this year.  He has set the table for Josh Hader and provides one of the best 1-2 closing combinations in the majors.  The Brewers are 70-4 this season when leading after seven innings.

The Brewers are making their fourth straight postseason appearance.  Veteran relievers Brad Boxberger and Brent Suter are likely next in line for setup duties.  Boxberger made his 70th appearance of the season in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Packers releasing TE Jace Sternberger

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According to reports, the Green Bay Packers, fresh off their 35-17 win over the Detroit Lions on Monday night, are releasing 2019 third-round draft pick Jace Sternberger.

Sternberger’s two-game suspension ended following the Packers win over the Lions on Monday night and they had until 3 p.m. Tursday afternoon to either add him to the roster or release him by 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The Packers were tired of waiting for Sternberger to show enough progress to warrant his remaining on the roster following the two-game suspension.

Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Josiah Deguara and Dominique Dafney all were all higher on the depth chart than Sternberger.

Burnes and Hader combine for second no-hitter in Brewers franchise history (AUDIO)

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Corbin Burnes

With his pitch count at 115 after eight innings, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell knew that Corbin Burnes has several more very important innings ahead of him.  It’s why Counsell removed Burnes, despite his not allowing a hit and allowed closer Josh Hader to nail down his 31st save and preserve a combined no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.

It’s the second no-hitter in Brewers franchise history and the first since Juan Nieves no-hit the Baltimore Orioles on April 15, 1987.

It’s been a remarkable year for Burnes, who continues to make a strong bid for the National League Cy Young Award.  He opened the season with 58 strikeouts before he walked his first batter, which set a Major League record.  He finished with 14 strikeouts on Saturday night.  A single walk in the seventh inning is the only thing that prevented Burnes and Hader from combining for a perfect game.

The Brewers pushed their record to a franchise best 33 games over .500.  Their magic number to clinch the National League Central is down to seven. [Read more…]

Stricker unveils Captain’s picks for U.S. Ryder Cup team

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Steve Stricker – WRN File Photo

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker filled out his 12-man roster for the upcoming event Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits.

Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas were automatic qualifiers for the 43rd Ryder Cup.  Stricker selected Daniel Berger, Harris English, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth as his Captains picks.

The U.S. team will have six Ryder Cup rookies: Schauffele, Berger, English, Morikawa, Cantlay and Scheffler.

The European Team will be finalized after the final round of this week’s BMW PGA Championship outside of London.  Padraig Harrington is the European captain.

Packers get roster to 53, ready to start the season against the Saints

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The Green Bay Packers trimmed their roster to 52 players on Tuesday and will officially add punter Corey Bojorquez to bring the roster to 53-players on Wednesday.  The Packers used a fifth round draft pick on J.K. Scott in 2019 but his inconsistency cost him his job.  The Packers sent a sixth round pick to the Rams for Bojorquez and get a 2023 7th round pick in return.

The Packers kept nine offensive lineman, but not one of them was Ben Braden.  Braden had been competing for a guard spot during training camp and saw time at tackle as well.  The Packers decided to keep tackles Dennis Kelly and Josh Nijman instead.

On the defensive side, the Packers kept undrafted rookie defensive lineman Jack Heflin.  The Packers have now kept at least one undrafted rookie on the week one roster for 20 straight years. [Read more…]