Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday 12/31/21
31 December 2021 Sports
Sports for December 31st
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Jrue Holiday added 25 points and Khris Middleton had 22 as the Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to five games with a 136-118 victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points off the bench for the Bucks, who completed a two-game sweep in Orlando. Antetokounmpo, who had his 11th 30-point game, added 12 rebounds for his 18th double-double.
Franz Wagner, coming off a career-best 38-point effort on Tuesday, scored 20 points for Orlando. Moritz Wagner, older brother of the Magic rookie, had a season-best 19 points. Gary Harris added 17 points. Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points and 10 rebounds as Orlando lost its fourth straight game and fell to 2-13 at home.
Milwaukee swept the four-game season series against the rebuilding Magic and pushed its winning streak against Orlando to 11 games, dating to 2019. The Bucks’ only longer active winning streak is a 12-game run against Detroit. Nine of Milwaukee’s last 11 wins over the Magic have been by double figures, including three routs this season.
The Bucks improved to 7-0 this season when three players scored at least 20 points. Also, their 136 points were a season high, and they are 10-0 when topping 120 points.
The Bucks, who improved to a season-best 11 games over .500, broke open a close game with a 17-5 outburst to close the third quarter. Antetokounmpo then scored 14 of Milwaukee’s first 17 points of the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 points in the final period.
The Bucks host New Orleans on Saturday.
The Badgers held on a for a 20-13 win over Arizona State last night in the Las Vegas Bowl. Wisconsin broke out to a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased the lead to 20-6 at the half. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown in the third quarter to close the gap to 20-13 and then both teams were scoreless in the fourth quarter. Fond du Lac freshman Braelon Allen led all rushers with 159 yards on 29 carries, an average of 5 ½ yards a rush. He had a long of 43. Graham Mertz completed 11-15 passes for 137 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Badgers finished the season at 9-4 while the Sun Devils closed at 8-5.
The Packers continue to prepare for the Vikings Sunday at Lambeau Field which promises to be a cold night with single digit temperatures. Running back A.J. Dillon was asked about what he expects. He said it should be a very physical and that he had a bit of experience playing in the cold weather.
Meanwhile the Vikings will not have wide receiver Adam Thielen as he’s been placed on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season with a an ankle injury. However, Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn will take up the slack. Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan said even though Thielen won’t be playing, the Packers secondary still has a big challenge.
Wide receiver Marquez Valdes Scantling and cornerback Kevin King both practiced for the first time since coming back from the COVID-19 reserve. That was not necessarily a surprise. The return of Randall Cobb to the practice field is a bit more of a shock.
Cobb had core muscle surgery over the bye, and was placed on injured reserve after the Rams game. The veteran wide receiver has been seen doing rehab work in the Hutson Center while the media was present in recent weeks, and is now designated to return of injured reserve.
Another key part of the wide receiving corps returned as well with Valdes-Scantling taking the practice field in pads. He was removed from the COVID-19 reserve on Wednesday after eight days, and is eligible to play this Sunday against Minnesota. Earlier this year Valdes Scantling had 123 yards on four catches with one touchdown against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Head coach Matt LaFleur also hinted at one of the players that was placed on the COVID-19 list before the Browns game would be back. That was cornerback Kevin King, who missed just five days, which is part of the league’s new COVID-19 protocols that allow vaccinated players to return quicker.
The Packers also signed WR David Moore to the practice squad.
Left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) did not practice Thursday as well as defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster (back), Aaron Rodgers (toe) and guard/tackle Billy Turner (knee). Cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder), tight end Dominique Daffney (ankle) and running back Aaron Jones (knee) saw limited participation.
The Vikings also had seven players on the injured report Thursday. Running back Dalvin Cook, fullback C.J. Ham (hamstring), running back Kene Nwangwu (hamstring) and safety Harrison Smith (foot/shoulder) had full participation. Tight end Tyler Conklin (hamstring) and linebacker Chazz Surratt (illness) saw limited participation while cornerback Cameraon Dantzler (calf) did not participate.
Green Bay Packers great LeRoy Butler has been selected as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Butler, inventor of the Lambeau Leap, thanked his teammates and Packers fans. This is the third time Butler has been named as a finalist for Canton.
Butler, a safety, played for 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, and was a key part of the Super Bowl XXXI team. He’s the only member of the NFL’s All-1990s team that is not enshrined in Canton, Ohio, and was the first player to finish a career with twenty interceptions and twenty sacks.
Acknowledging that he doesn’t speak in “definites” or “guarantees,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said that Monday night against the Browns will likely be his final home regular-season game with the franchise.
Roethlisberger, who returned this year after reducing his pay in the offseason, has played his entire 18-year career with the Steelers after being drafted 11th overall in the 2004 class. Through the nearly two decades spent in Pittsburgh, the two-time Super Bowl winner has racked up 63,721 passing yards, 416 touchdown throws and six Pro Bowl selections. He has a franchise-record 163 wins.
Roethlisberger, 39, hasn’t previously publicly acknowledged that the 2021 season would be his last, but it’s been expected in the organization for some time, and he began telling some in the organization and former teammates of his plans earlier this month, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Quarterback AARON RODGERS of the Green Bay Packers, defensive lineman AARON DONALD of the Los Angeles Rams and punter THOMAS MORSTEAD of the Atlanta Falcons are the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Month for the month of December (Weeks 13-16).
OFFENSE: QB AARON RODGERS, GREEN BAY PACKERS
• In three games, Rodgers completed 76 of 102 pass attempts (74.5 percent) for 811 yards with 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 130 rating as he led the Packers to a 3-0 record in the month of December.
• Rodgers’ completion percentage and passer rating led all qualified passers during December.
• This is the 10th Offensive Player of the Month award for Rodgers and fourth in December:
• 2009: October
• 2010: December
• 2011: September, October, November
• 2012: October
• 2014: November
• 2016: December
• 2020: December
• 2021: December
• Rodgers becomes the second player ever to win at least 10 Player of the Month awards, joining Tom Brady (11).
The eight finalists for the 2021 ART ROONEY SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD have been named, the NFL announced today. The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
The finalists, featuring four players from each conference, are quarterback JOSH ALLEN (Buffalo), wide receiver BRANDIN COOKS (Houston), defensive back JASON McCOURTY (Miami) and wide receiver MATTHEW SLATER (New England) in the AFC, and linebacker LAVONTE DAVID (Tampa Bay), defensive end CAMERON JORDAN (New Orleans), fullback KYLE JUSZCZYK (San Francisco) and wide receiver ADAM THIELEN (Minnesota) in the NFC.
A panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community selected the eight finalists from the 32 NFL club nominees.
The 2021 Thursday Night Football Presented by Bud Light Platinum tri-cast season averaged 16.4 million viewers across all platforms, including FOX, NFL Network, Prime Video, FOX Deportes, NFL digital, FOX Sports digital, Twitch and Yahoo Sports mobile properties – making it the highest Thursday Night Football season average since 2015 (17.7 million, CBS and NFL Network).
Additionally, the average of 16.4 million viewers is the highest season average in the history of the FOX, NFL Network and Prime Video package – which began in 2018 – and is up +16% versus last year’s 11-game average (14.1 million), and up +6% versus the 2019 average (15.4 million).
Digital streaming across NFL, Yahoo Sports, FOX Sports, Prime Video and Twitch properties produced an average minute audience of 1.3 million for the 2021 Thursday Night Football season – up +25%
versus last year (1.1 million).
The 2021 Thursday Night Football tri-cast season ended on a strong note as the Cleveland Browns vs. Green Bay Packers game on Christmas Day averaged 28.6 million viewers (TV+Digital) – the highest game viewership in the history of the Thursday Night Football package.
Additionally, Browns-Packers is the second-highest NFL game viewership of the 2021 season thus far (Las Vegas Raiders-Dallas Cowboys Week 12, 41.3 million) and is up +40% versus last year’s Christmas Day tri-cast game (Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints, 20.5 million). Digital streaming across Prime Video, Twitch, FOX Sports digital, NFL digital, Browns and Packers mobile properties, and Yahoo Sports mobile properties produced an average minute audience of 1.0 million – up +29% versus last year’s Christmas Day tri-cast game (785K).
Boys Basketball (Thurs.)
Catholic Memorial Ripon 79. Ripon 45-Concorida University WBY Shootout
Mauston at Berlin 70, Mauston 60
Medford 79, Plymouth 63
Mayville 80, Hartford 68
St. Mary Springs 55, Columbus Catholic 50
Menasha 67, Kingdom Prep Lutheran 45
Hortonville 71, New London 42
Little Chute 55, Seymour 39
Xavier 70, The Prairie School 59
Beaver Dam at St. Thomas More
Sussex Hamilton 69, Fond du Lac 49
Oshkosh North 79, Sheboygan North 77
Adams-Friendship 28, Manteno, Ill. 14
Monticello at Randolph 70, Monticello 35
Girls Basketball (Thurs.)
Columbus 84, Berlin 34
Beaver Dam 49, Kewaskum 28
Laconia 61, Shiocton 40
Oostburg 63, Xavier 54
Oconto 69, Weyauwega-Fremont 33
Fond du Lac 63, D.C. Everest 52
Kaukauna –TBD (Fri.)
Oshkosh West 72, Sussex-Hamilton 50
Edgewood 46, Westfield 44
Hustisford 66, Cambria-Friesland 46
Kaukauna at Science Hill, Tenn. (Fri.)
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