Wisconsin News and Sports
The Green Bay Packers‘ Week 10 home game on Nov. 10 against the Carolina Panthers has been changed to a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff at Lambeau Field.
The game was originally scheduled for noon. The contest is slated to be broadcast by FOX and will remain on that network.
The Lambeau Field parking lots will open at 11:25 a.m., with stadium gates opening at 1:25 p.m.
The Green Bay Packers face the Detroit Lions with first place on the line in Monday Night Football action at Lambeau Field tonight.
The Packers currently lead the NFC North (4-1). Minnesota is next (4-2) and Detroit, which had their bye week off last week, is 2-1-1.
The Lions have won four straight against the Packers, winning twice each of the last two seasons.
For Detroit to have a shot at a fifth straight win, they’ll likely have to scheme to hold down Packers running back Aaron Jones. With Davante Adams out of the Green Bay lineup again this week, next in line is Jones, who rushed for more than 100 yards and scored four touchdowns against the Cowboys last week. He combined (rushing & receiving) for more than 180 yards in the Packers win. [Read more…]
Starting with this week’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers will play 5 of the next 6 games at the friendly confines. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he’s not thrilled with the home heavy schedule because those games could be best served later in the season when the temperature dips below freezing.
“Being an elder statesman,” Rodgers said, “You’d like it to be the opposite. You’d like it to be the stretch run, five of six at home, as cold as possible, under 32 (degrees) and make some of these teams come play us.”
Now the Packers will finish with a heavy road schedule, which means they need to make hay early.
The Packers will host Denver a week from Sunday, followed by a quick turn-around against the Philadelphia Eagles the following Thursday night. After a trip to Dallas the following week, the Packers return home to face Detroit and Oakland. That’s five home games in seven weeks. After that, the Packers will be forced to play six of their final nine games away from Lambeau Field.
AUDIO: Aaron Rodgers not a fan of 5 of 6 at home right now :16
The Green Bay Packers will open the 2019 exhibition season at Lambeau Field Aug. 8-12, facing J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans. The Packers will also hold joint practices with the Texans leading up to the exhibition opener. It’s the first time the Packers will face the Texans in the preseason.
The Packers will go on the road for their second preseason game, traveling to Baltimore to face the Ravens. The two teams also played one preseason game against the Ravens in Baltimore in 1996.
Preseason game number three will also be played on the road, against the Oakland Raiders, with the location yet to be determined. Discussions have taken place about a meeting between the two teams in Canada and it would be a Raiders home game.
The Packers will close out the preseason against Kansas City at Lambeau Field. It’s the second straight year that the two teams will wrap up the preseason and the eighth meeting since 2010.
Jerry Kramer
NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer saw his name unveiled on the Lambeau Field façade on Sunday, becoming the 25th member of the Green Bay Packers organization to do so.
The 82-year-old Kramer also was presented with his Pro Football Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence during the halftime ceremony.
Kramer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer after playing all 11 of his NFL seasons with the Packers, winning five NFL titles.
The long wait was worth it for Kramer, who was a finalist 10 times.
The five-time All-Pro is best known for his block allowing quarterback Bart Starr to score the game-winning touchdown in the 1967 Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field.
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.
The Green Bay Packers will open and close the 2018 NFL regular season at Lambeau Field. The NFL released the Packers 2018 schedule on Thursday
The Packers will open up in Prime Time on September 9, against the rival Chicago Bears in a 7:20 kickoff on NBC. The Packers will host the Vikings in week 2 (Sept. 16) and play three of their first four games at home. They’ll also play three of their final five games at Lambeau Field, capped off on December 30 against the Detroit Lions.
In between, the Packers will have a difficult test. Following a week seven bye, the Packers will make visits to Los Angeles (Rams) and New England.
The Packers return home to host Miami on Sunday, Nov. 11, then play road games at Seattle and Minnesota the following two weeks. The game in Seattle (Thurs. Nov. 15) comes just four days after the home game against the Dolphins. [Read more…]
Leroy Butler – Photo courtesy of Mike Clemens
Former Green Bay Packers great Leroy Butler, is a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Butler was one of 27 semifinalists announced on Tuesday by the Hall of Fame that will be considered for induction into the Class of 2018. The list was trimmed for 108 to 27.
The former Packers safety is one of four safeties on the list, including Brian Dawkins, John Lynch and Steve Atwater.
The four-time Pro Bowl selection played 12 seasons in the NFL, all with the Packers. He finished his career as the first defensive back in NFL history to record 20 interceptions (38) and 20 sacks (20 1/2).
Butler helped the Packers win the 1996 Super Bowl and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2007. He’s known as the inventor of the “Lambeau Leap” in 1993 after capping off a defensive touchdown with a leap into the Lambeau Field stands.
Lambeau Field
The University of Wisconsin and Notre Dame have agreed to a two-year, neutral-site football series beginning in 2020.
The Irish and Badgers will play Oc. 3, 2020 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay with Notre Dame serving as the host. The two schools will play again on Sept. 25, 2021 at Soldier Field in Chicago and the Badgers will serve as the home team in that game. The games will mark the first meetings between the two schools since a three-game series from 1962-64.
The Irish and Badgers have played on 16 previous occasions, with Notre Dame leading the series 8-6-2. Notre Dame pulled out a 31-7 win in the most recent matchup on Sept. 26, 1964, in Madison.
Notre Dame has played 12 games at Soldier Field, most recently in 2012 when the Irish routed Miami (Fla.), 41-3, in a Shamrock Series matchup. The Irish own an all-time record of 10-0-2 in the current home of the Chicago Bears.
Wisconsin has played three games at Soldier Field. They most recently knocked off Northern Illinois in 2011.
The 2020 matchup at Lambeau Field will be the first for Notre Dame. Wisconsin has played just once, a 16-14 win over No. 5 LSU.
Details regarding game time, tickets and other related information will be announced at a later date.
Lambeau Field
Officials from the University of Wisconsin and Notre Dame will share details about their upcoming football series at a news conference in Chicago today.
UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and Green Bay Packers president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy are all expected to be on hand for the 11:30 a.m. news conference at the Under Armour Brand House in Chicago.
The two game series is expected to begin in 2020 and conclude with a game in 2021. The first matchup is expected to be played in Green Bay at Lambeau Field, with the second matchup slated for Soldiers Field.
The Badgers last played a two game series with LSU, in Houston in 2014 and then in Green Bay in 2016.
The last time Wisconsin and Notre Dame played was in 1964, a 31-7 victory by the Irish.