1/12/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday
12 January 2024 Sports
Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander suffered an ankle injury in practice this week that leaves his status uncertain for Sunday’s wild-card playoff game with the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Alexander “stepped on somebody’s foot and rolled his ankle” during Wednesday’s practice, which was mostly a jog-through. Alexander didn’t practice Thursday.
“It was kind of a freak deal,” LaFleur said.
The Packers (9-8) certainly could use Alexander as they try to contain Pro Bowl receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had an NFL-leading 135 catches for the Cowboys (12-5) and ranked second in the league with 1,749 yards receiving during the regular season.
The Packers finished the regular season at 9-8 and are the seventh and final seed in the Wild Care round. The Cowboys won the NFC East with a 12-5 record and are the second seed in the NFC.
The pregame starts at 1:00 with the kickoff at 3:30 and can be heard on FM 1023, The Bug.
Bobby Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined to score 20 straight points during a 25-0 spurt midway through the first half and the Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a 135-102 victory over the NBA-leading Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Portis scored 28, Antetokounmpo added 24 and both players had 12 rebounds to help the Bucks win for just the second time in six games. Damian Lillard chipped in 21 points while returning to Milwaukee’s lineup after missing the Bucks’ 132-116 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday for personal reasons.
The Bucks led by as many as 43 points in Jrue Holiday’s return to Milwaukee, and their 75-38 lead at the break was their fourth-biggest halftime advantage in franchise history. The Bucks hadn’t played a game since Monday, while the Celtics were back in action one night after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-120 in overtime.
Boston allowed its highest point total of the season and rested all its starters for the entire second half. The Bucks didn’t play any of their starters in the fourth quarter.
Payton Pritchard scored 21 and Sam Hauser 15 for the Celtics, who missed 16 of their first 17 3-point attempts and ended up going 9 of 34 from beyond the arc. Milwaukee shot 56.5% overall and was 18 of 42 on 3-point attempts.
After Boston’s Oshae Brissett dunked to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 31-23 with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter, the Celtics wouldn’t score again for over 6 1/2 minutes. Boston’s drought finally ended when Jaylen Brown dunked with 7:38 left in the second period.
Portis scored 13 points and Antetokounmpo had seven during that 25-0 spurt.
After Portis scored eight of the last 10 points in the first quarter to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 41-23, the Bucks scored 15 straight points to open the second period.
The Buck host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames agreed to a $12.25 million, one-year contract on Thursday and avoided going to salary arbitration.
Teams and players were set to swap proposed arbitration salaries later Thursday. 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes was among the eligible Brewers after losing a hearing last year and saying “there’s no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt.”
Adames, 28, received a raise from $8.7 million after batting .217 with a .310 on-base percentage, 24 homers and 80 RBIs in 149 games while helping the Brewers win an NL Central title. That followed a 2022 season in which Adames homered 31 times, the most by a Brewers shortstop.
The Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America selected Adames as the Brewers’ most valuable player in 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Adames made $8.7 million last season. He is eligible for free agency after the season.
Burnes was awarded $10.01 million rather than his $10.75 million request and went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts with 200 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings.
Right-handers Devin Williams, Joel Payamps and Bryse Wilson; left-hander Hoby Milner; and outfielder/first baseman Jake Bauers also were on track to exchange figures if they didn’t reach deals.
NFL Wild Card Playoff Round
(Sat,)
Browns at Texans
Dolphins at Chiefs
(Sun.)
Steelers at Bills
Packers at Cowboys
Rams at Lions
(Mon.)
Eagles at Buccaneers
Thursday in Foxborough, the Bill Belichick Era came to an end, as the New England Patriots are parting ways with the legendary coach.
After the Patriots limped to a 4-13 record, their worst finish since 1992 and the worst finish under Belichick’s stewardship, the organization made the decision to make a change at the top, moving on from Belichick the general manager, as well as Belichick the head coach.
According to Mike Reiss, who covers the Patriots for ESPN, Belichick and owner Robert Kraft met multiple times over the past few days to determine a path forward, but in the end “productive talks resulted in a mutual decision that left both sides comfortable and at ease.” Under Belichick, the team enjoyed two different dynastic periods. The first came starting in 2002, when the Patriots reached Super Bowl 36 and upset the St. Louis Rams, the “Greatest Show on Turf.” That began a stretch that saw New England win three Super Bowls in four years, and turned Tom Brady into a household name New England then went through a period that saw them fail to return to such heights, as they lost a pair of Super Bowls to the New York Giants, , including a loss that prevented the Patriots from becoming the first 19-0 team in NFL history. But then New England enjoyed their second extended run of success, as the Patriots won three Super Bowls in five years, while advancing to a fourth, which they lost to the Philadephia Eagles.
However, since their win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53, the organization has seen its share of struggles. Last season the Patriots went 4-13.
According to ESPN’S Field Yats, the NFL has announced that the Carolina Panthers will host next year’s NFL game in Munich, Germany, while the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings, will be hosts in the league’s three games in London, England next season.
While the league has not scheduled divisional matchups for games across the pond lately, they have done so in the past. The most recent international game played by division opponents was last season in Mexico City, when the Sam Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals went head-to-head. Back in 2019, three international games were divisional matchups: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans vs the Jacksonville Jaguars and Panthers vs. Tampa Bat Buccaneers. While Chiefs-Chargers was in Mexico City, Texans-Jaguars and Panthers-Buccaneers were both played across the Atlantic Ocean, setting a precedent for an overseas edition of Packers-Bears or Packers-Vikings.
Not only are the Packers scheduled to play “road” games against Chicago and Minnesota next season, but the Jaguars are also on their road slate, as the Packers will play the AFC South in 2024. Green Bay will play on the road against Jacksonville and the Tennessee Titans, per the NFL’s schedule rotation, and they’ll host the Texans and Indianapolis Colts.
So all three London games feature a host that the Packers will play on the road next season. By no means does that suggest that Green Bay is a lock to play in England in 2024, especially since the team recently played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in 2022, but it sure does seem like it would increase their odds, mathematically.
The Panthers, Bears, Jaguars and Vikings’ opponents will not be announced until the NFL’s full 2024 schedule is released sometime after April’s draft. Until then, just keep in mind that the Packers have a lot of potential at-bats for a road London game, based on their upcoming schedule.
High School Boys Basketball (Thurs.)
Kewaskum 60, Ripon 54
Plymouth 78, Berin 65
Kettle Moraine Lutheran 81, Winneconne 56
Mayville 66, Camptellsport 44
Saint Mary’s Springs 67, North Fond du Lac 44
Omro 93, Winnebago Lutheran 87
Beaver Dam 63, Oregon 58
Weyauwega-Fremont 67, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 41
Tri-County 66, Rosholt 63
Pacelli 65, Wild Rose 43
Clintonville 57, Demmark 55
Fox Valley Lutheran 72, Luxemburg-Casco 29
Freedom 87, Oconto Falls 41
Waupaca 66, Wrightstown 43
Wisconsin Dells 73, Adams-Friendship 26
Mauston 56, Westfield 47
Lourdes Academy 65, Central Wisconsin Christian 57
Oakfield 69, Horicon 63
St. Ambrose Academy62, Rio 48
Girls Basketball (Thurs.)
Ripon 45, Markesan 36
Waupun 73, Xavier 63
Menasha 58, Green Bay East 27
Lourdes Academy 61, Central Wisconsin Christian 18
Abundant Life/St. Ambrose 63, Rio 60
College Games: (Sat.)
(Men)
Monmouth at Ripon
UW-Oshkosh at UW-River Falls
Northwestern at Wisconsin
(Women)
Monmounth at Ripon
UW-River Falls at UW-Oshkosh
Wisconsin at Michigan
Boys and Girls Basketball Schedule 1/12
Boys:
Waupun at Markesan
Green Bay East at Xavier
New London at Menasha
Shawano at Seymour
Kimberly at Appleton East
Appleton West at Oshkosh North
Appleton North at Neenah
Fond du Lac at Kaukauna
Hortonville at Oshkosh West
Dodgeland at Palmyra-Eagle
Cambria-Friesland at Hustisford
Girls:
Ripon at Kewaskum
Winneconne at Kettle Moraine Lutheran
Berlin at Plymouth
Xavier at Shawano
North Fond du Lac at Campbellsport
Mayville at Laconia
Lomira at Winnebago Lutheran
Omro at St. Mary’s Springs
Appleton East at Kimberly
Hortonville at Oshkosh West
Kaukauna at Fond du Lac
Oshkosh North at Appleton West
Little Chute at Marinette
Freedom at Oconto Falls
Luxemburg-Casco at Fox Valley Lutheran
Wrightstown at Waupaca
Adams-Friendship at Wisconsin Dells
Mauston at Westfield
Nekoosa at Wautoma
Williams Bay at Central Wisconsin Christian
Palmyra-Eagle at Valley Christian
Cambria-Friesland at Dodgeland
Markesan at Johnson Creek
Montello at Almond-Bancroft
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