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Five Wisconsin based NWL teams start play tonight

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COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of a month’s worth of NorthWoods League games already and three Wisconsin based teams (Madison Muskies, Eau Claire Express, Lake Shore Chinooks) have announced the end of their seasons.

But, the league still has some survivors.  Five Wisconsin based teams will open their seasons tonight.  The La Crosse Loggers will open their season against the Rockford Rivets in Rockford.  The Wisconsin Woodchucks open their season in Fond du Lac against the Dock Spiders.  And the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters begin play in Green Bay against the Booyah.

The Northwoods League is playing games in regional groups to support a safe return to baseball this summer. The Wisconsin/Illinois region will play from July 1-August 20, followed by a 2-day playoff.

The collegiate summer wood bats league is made up of 22 teams and is in its 27th season.

2020 Minor League Baseball Season canceled

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Fox Cities Stadium

Major League Baseball has informed Minor League Baseball that it will not be providing its affiliated Minor League teams with players for the 2020 season.  As expected, the result forced Minor League Baseball to officially cancel its 2020 campaign.

“These are unprecedented times for our country and our organization as this is the first time in our history that we’ve had a summer without Minor League Baseball played,” said Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O’Conner.  “While this is a sad day for many, this announcement removes the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season and allows our teams to begin planning for an exciting 2021 season of affordable entertainment.”

The cancellation of the season comes at a difficult time for Minor League teams, many of which are simply trying to stay afloat financially.

“Each club is different as you know, but overall, we are in need of some help,” said O’Conner.  “We’ve [Read more…]

Brewers sign four of their five draft picks

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Photo from Zavier Warren’s Twitter page @ZavierWarren

The Milwaukee Brewers signed four of their five 2020 draft picks to contracts on Monday.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers signed second-round draft pick, shortstop Freddy Zamora (Miami-Florida) to a deal worth $1.15 million.  They signed third-rounder, catcher Zavier Warren (Central Michigan) to a deal worth $575,000.  Outfielder Joey Wiemer (Cincinnati) was the Brewers fourth round pick and got $150,000 to sign.  Fifth-round pick, shortstop Hayden Cantrelle (Louisiana-Lafayette) received $300,000 to sign.

All four draft picks signed for less than their slot recommendations, leaving the Brewers more money to sign their top pick, outfielder Garrett Mitchell (20th overall pick).

Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said last week he was confident the team would sign all five it its draft picks.  The deadline to sign draft picks to contracts is August 1.

Three Badgers make Big Ten’s All-Decade Team

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Chris Borland (Photo by David Stluka)

The Wisconsin football teams of the last decade won a total of 102 games, second only to Ohio State’s 117 victories.  The Badgers had three players named to the Big Ten All-Decade Team.

The Detroit Free Press surveyed six conference writers from the USA Today Sports Network to select the Big Ten’s All-Decade team.

There were a total of 10 teams represented on the all-decade squad.  Ohio State had the most with six.  Michigan had five, Michigan State had four, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa all had three.  Maryland had two and Minnesota, Indiana and Purdue each had one player make the squad.

Leading the way for the Badgers is running back Jonathan Taylor, who played from 2017-19.  Taylor won the Doak Walker Award twice, is a two time All-American, a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection [Read more…]

Brewers announce their 2020 summer camp roster

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The Milwaukee Brewers announced their 2020 summer camp roster on Monday.

The list includes a total of 45 players, 23 of which are pitchers, 12 infielders, six outfielders and four catchers.  In addition, nine players are non-roster invitees, including outfielder Keon Broxton and 2018 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Zach Brown.

Major League teams will start the 2020 season with 30-man active rosters.  Two weeks later, the roster is reduced to 28 players with a final reduction to the 26-player roster limit a month into the season.

All other players will be on the clubs taxi squad, working out and staying ready if needed by the Major League club. [Read more…]

Bucks set to resume season July 31 against Boston

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The Milwaukee Bucks will resume their NBA season on July 31 when they take on the Boston Celtics at HP Field House.

The NBA released the rest of the regular-season schedule on Friday for the 22 teams will are taking part the rest of the way.

The Bucks will face the Houston Rockets next, on August 2 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida.

“We’re thrilled to resume our season in Orlando thanks to the league’s extensive plan that puts everyone’s health and safety first,” said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst on the team’s website.  “We commend Adam Silver for his steady leadership during the hiatus and for working closely with the National Basketball Players Association to produce comprehensive protocols that will enable us to complete the season and to crown an NBA Champion.  Our players are excited to get back on the court.  While we will miss the opportunity of playing in front of our fans at Fiserv Forum, we will be grateful for Bucks fans cheering us from afar.” [Read more…]

Brewers set to return for extended spring training, prepare for season (AUDIO)

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Milwaukee Brewers players will begin arriving at Miller Park in the coming days with intake testing for COVID-19 beginning Wednesday.  Players will then undergo the usual physical exams prior to taking the field for the first full-squad workouts on July 4.

“It’s exciting for all of us to be able to talk about a season,” said Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns on Friday.  “We know it’s going to be an unusual season and a different looking season.  But it’s going to be a baseball season nonetheless.  That’s something that is meaningful to all of us.

“We have a lot of work left to do.  There are going to be many changes we’ll face going forward to get through this season.  But this is a positive start.”

Stearns told reporters in a Zoom webinar that their biggest challenge will be to keep the players safe and healthy. [Read more…]

NFL cancels Hall of Fame game

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Pro Football Hall of Fame

The NFL on Thursday canceled the league’s Hall of Fame game that was set to open the preseason.  The 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies is also being delayed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hall of Fame game was supposed to have taken place on August 6 in Canton, Ohio, between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers.  It becomes the first on-field event that the league has canceled during the pandemic.

The same two teams will meet in next year’s Hall of Fame game, Aug. 5, 2021.  The enshrinement of 20 men scheduled for this year, will now take place on Aug. 7, 2021, with the 2021 inductees going into the Hall of Fame the next day.

The league may not be done there either.  It’s possible the NFL will reduce the number of exhibition games to two per team from the usual four.

 

WIAA adds girls individual state wrestling tournament

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The WIAA’s Board of Control unanimously approved the addition of a girls individual state tournament beginning with the 2021-22 season.  It marks the first addition of a girls sport since 2001 when girls hockey was added.

WIAA bylaws call for 5% of the membership to offer a sport before the organization recognizes it and 10% of the membership to have a sport in order for there to be a state championship.  While girls wrestling doesn’t meet either of those percentages, there is a growing support around the state.

Wisconsin is certainly not alone in their support of girls wrestling.  Sixteen other states offer girls wrestling state championships and 35 other states offer girls wrestling as a sport.

Several details still need to be figured out, including the weight class structure.  But girls individual state wrestling champions will be crowned for the first time in 2022.

While individual champions will be crowned, there won’t be a team state tournament for the sport until the number of teams increases.

Baseball’s long break finally set to end

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After months of negotiating that looked as if no good results would come, Major League Baseball’s players and owners have agreed to get the game going again.  Players will report for resumption of spring  training July 1 with a 60-game schedule set to begin July 24.

The players union had informed MLB that it would not accept the latest offer from management, forcing commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a season.  From that point, the players agreed on the COVID-19 protocols put forth by the league.

The shortened season will include the Designated Hitter in both leagues.

Schedules are expected to feature regional play.  The Milwaukee Brewers would continue to play teams in the NL Central, as well as contests against teams from the American League Central.

The postseason will consist of 10 teams, instead of 16 which was being discussed.  Without an agreement on a negotiated season, additional playoff teams went by the wayside.

The deal means no regular season games will be played into September as baseball is concerned about a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall.