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Wisconsin picked second in preseason Big Ten Volleyball poll

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Dana Rettke

After tying for seventh in last year’s Big Ten Conference race, the Wisconsin volleyball team is picked to finish second in this year’s contest based on a preseason vote of league coaches.  The Badgers, who were 11-9 in Big Ten play in 2017, are picked to finish second behind reigning NCAA and Big Ten Champion Nebraska.

The Huskers (19-1 Big Ten record in 2017), who shared the 2017 conference championship with Penn State (19-1), are picked to win the Big Ten title this season.  Minnesota (15-5) finished third last season and is picked to finish third in 2018.  The Nittany Lions are ranked fourth while Illinois (12-8) is expected to finish fifth this season after tying for fifth with Purdue in 2017.

The Badgers landed two players on the preseason team, including unanimous selection Dana Rettke.  The 6’8 middle blocker was named the 2017 National Player of the Year by three separate organizations and was also named the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.  Senior Tionna Williams, a two-time All-Big Ten selection, was also named to the preseason All-Big Ten team for the second-straight year.

Wisconsin hosts its annual Red vs. White Scrimmage on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the UW Field House.  The season opens on Aug. 24-25 at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in the Target Center, the site of the 2018 NCAA Championship, in Minneapolis.  The Badgers host No. 3 Texas in their home opener on Sept. 1 in the Field House.

Badgers picked fifth in Big Ten Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll

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Penn State is the top choice to win the 2018 Big Ten Conference women’s soccer championship, according to the Big Ten preseason coaches’ poll announced on Monday.

The Nittany Lions, who have won 18 Big Ten titles and claimed their seventh Big Ten Tournament championship last year, were selected first in the 2018 Big Ten preseason poll by the conference’s 14 head coaches.

Ohio State, which earned its second Big Ten crown last season, finished second in this year’s preseason poll, while Rutgers, which has reached the Big Ten Tournament title game twice in the last three seasons, was chosen third.

Rounding out the top five in the team balloting were Northwestern and Wisconsin.  Both the Wildcats and Badgers reached the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, with Northwestern also advancing to the 2017 Big Ten Tournament title game, the Wildcats’ second appearance in the final and first in 20 years.

The 2018 Big Ten women’s soccer season kicks off Thursday with six conference schools in action, while the remaining Big Ten programs will begin play this weekend.

Packers getting healthier as they prepare to host Pittsburgh on Thursday

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Mo Wilkerson is among those that returned to practice on Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers had a number of players return to the practice field on Sunday.

Defensive lineman Mike Daniels, corner Kevin King, left tackle David Bakhtiari and running back Aaron Jones all returned but didn’t take part in team drills.

Corner Jaire Alexander, WR Adonis-Jennings, fullback Joe Kerridge, WR Randall Cobb, TE Jimmy Graham and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson all returned and took part in all drills.

The only three players that didn’t practice were WR Trevor Davis (hamstring), RB Devante Mays (hamstring) and safety Jermaine Whitehead (back).

The Packers hold their last open training camp practice of the week today (Monday).  The rest of the week is behind closed doors with the team set to play preseason game number two on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lambeau Field.

 

19 hits isn’t enough for Brewers

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Manager Craig Counsell

The Milwaukee Brewers collected 19 hits on Sunday, yet still fell to the Atlanta Braves 8-7.

Brewers starter Chase Anderson struggled from the start and made it through just four innings before manager Craig Counsell was forced to go to the bullpen.  It’s the second straight outing that Anderson has been unable to make it to the fifth inning and protect a lead.

Corey Knebel, who is no longer working in a closer capacity was entrusted with the fifth inning and he proved he wasn’t able to handle that spot either.  He allowed a run after a pair of one-out doubles by Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis.

Rookie Corbin Burnes coughed up a two-run homer in the sixth and Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies finished off the Braves comeback with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the seventh off of Dan Jennings.

The 19 hits were offset by the Brewers going 4 for 14 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base.  They fell to 17-30 in day games and are now 4-15 on Sunday’s. [Read more…]

Bucks to play 18 games on National TV

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The Milwaukee Bucks will play the first-ever regular season game at the new Fiserv Forum on Friday, Oct. 19 against the Indiana Pacers.  They’ll tip-off the 2018-19 season on Wednesday, Oct. 17th at Charlotte before playing the next three games in Milwaukee.

The 2018-19 schedule also includes a previously announced Christmas Day contest against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  It is one of 18 nationally televised games for the Bucks this season.

The National Television breakdown includes a single game on ABC (March 17 vs. Philadelphia), nine games on ESPN and eight games on TNT.

The two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors will make their only appearance at the Fiserv Forum on Friday, Dec. 7.  The Bucks will welcome LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to Milwaukee on Tuesday, March 19.

The Bucks will also have a season-long six-game homestand from Nov. 14-24.

Packers open preseason against Tennessee

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Aaron Rodgers isn’t expected to play in Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans at Lambeau Field.  He hasn’t played in a preseason opener since 2015.  It means the battle for the backup job, between Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer will heat up.

Hundley and Kizer are expected to split snaps with fourth-stringer Tim Boyle potentially getting a brief chance in the end.

Most of the teams starters will see little or no time, like wide receivers Davante Adams, Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison.  It leaves Jake Kumerow, J’Mon Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scanting and Equanimeous St. Brown to get most of the opportunity as they battle for roster spots.  Among that group, Kumerow has been the most consistent and has drawn the endorsement of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Packer Nation will get their first look at new Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine’s defense.  The Packers are expected to see Titans starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is expected to play tonight.

Kick time tonight is set for 7 p.m. at Lambeau Field.

Badger volleyball ranked 9th in preseason coaches poll

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For the fifth straight year, the Wisconsin volleyball team opens the season among the top-10 teams in the nation.  The Badgers are ranked No. 9 in the 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 preseason poll, released on Wednesday.

It is the 10th time in program history that UW is ranked in the top 10 and the fifth-straight year under head coach Kelly Sheffield.  Wisconsin was ranked fourth in 2016, tied for fifth in 2015, sixth in 2014 and seventh in 2017.

Stanford leads the preseason poll after advancing to the national semifinals in 2017.  Reigning NCAA champion Nebraska ranks second, followed by Texas, Minnesota and Kentucky.  Penn State is sixth, followed by Florida, BYU, Wisconsin and Southern California. [Read more…]

Brewers use long ball to beat Padres

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The Milwaukee Brewers exploded for five runs in the first inning and this time never looked back, knocking off the San Diego Padres 8-4 on Wednesday night at Miller Park.

Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw and Eric Thames clubbed back-to-back-to-back home runs in that second inning.  Orlando Arcia and Christian Yelich also homered for the Brewers.

The Brewers poured it on Padres rookie Brett Kennedy, who made his Major League debut after going 10-0 at Class AAA El Paso.  At one point in the first inning, the Brewers collected seven straight hits off of Kennedy.

Jhoulys Chacin went six innings for the win, improving to 11-4.

The Brewers and Padres play the rubber game of the series this afternoon.  Junior Guerra faces Robbie Erlin in the pitching matchup.

The Brewers start the day a game and a half behind the Cubs, who lost in Kansas City last night.

Bucks to play on Christmas Day

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Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo – Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Bucks will play on Christmas Day for the first time since the 1977-78 season when they travel to New York to face the nicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Bucks’ Christmas Day matchup against the Knicks will air on ESPN and tips off at 11 a.m. CT.  This will be the fifth time in franchise history the Bucks have played on Christmas Day with Milwaukee owning a 2-2 record all-time on Christmas.

The Bucks last Christmas Day meeting came Dec. 25, 1977 when they knocked off the Kansas City Kings 131-122.

Rodgers voices displeasure with young receivers

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Aaron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers wrapped up the practice week on Tuesday on a sour note.  Aaron Rodgers, while running the scout team offense, couldn’t find any open receivers, or receivers running the correct routes for that matter, and fired the ball to the sideline, ending practice.

While running scout team plays, each player’s assignment is drawn on a card, which is shown in the huddle.  Running the wrong route is rather inexcusable.

“It was one of the worst card sessions we’ve had,” Rodgers said.  “I don’t know how you can make it any simpler.  You literally have what the play would be in our terminology on the card, and the effort level was very low.”

Rodgers said Geronimo Allison, DeAngelo Yancey and Jake Kumerow have all earned his trust.  The rest have a lot of catching up to do.

The Packers open the preseason on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans.  Rodgers isn’t expected to play.  He hasn’t played in a preseason opener since 2015.