10/18/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday
18 October 2024 Sports
Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Houston’s C.J. Stroud both grew up in Southern California and consider themselves good friends.
Now they’re two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks, and they’ll face off against each other for the first time Sunday as the AFC South-leading Texans enter Lambeau Field on a three-game winning streak.
“C.J.’s a Cali guy,” said Love, a 2020 first-round pick from Utah State who played at Liberty High School in Bakersfield, California, and is three years older than Stroud. “So I’ve been watching him for a while now, since high school, so watched him in college and then watched him ball out last year. Me and C.J. are close.”
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, went to Rancho Cucamonga High School in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, before starring at Ohio State. He and Love both led their respective teams to divisional playoff appearances as first-year starters last season, and both players are off to strong starts this fall.
Houston (5-1) is seeking its first four-game winning streak since 2018, when the Texans won nine in row. Green Bay (4-2) has won two straight and is coming off a 34-13 triumph over Arizona in which Love threw four touchdown passes.
Both QBs have reason to be wary heading into this matchup.
Houston ranks third in the NFL in total defense and fourth in pass defense. Green Bay has an NFL-leading 17 takeaways and has intercepted nine passes.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney recorded an interception in each of his first five games. That streak ended against the Cardinals, but the Packers recovered fumbles on three straight Arizona possessions.
Green Bay switched kickers this week, signing 33-year-old veteran Bradnon McManus and releasing rookie Brayden Narveson.
McManus had been out of a job since the summer, when two women sued him and the Jacksonville Jaguars alleging he sexually assaulted them when they were working as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ trip to London. The NFL said late last month it didn’t find sufficient evidence that McManus violated the league’s personal conduct policy, and attorneys on both sides said this week that the civil claims had been settled.
The former Jaguars and Denver Broncos kicker has made 54.9% of his career attempts from 50-plus yards (45 of 82) and has been accurate on 90.8% of his other attempts (208 of 229). Narveson was 12 of 17 on field goals without attempting any from beyond 49 yards.
The Texans (5-1) lead the NFC South and are looking for their fourth straight victory. The Texans have just one win in this series, and it came at Green Bay in 2008. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, a former linebacker, had nine tackles and a sack in Houston’s 24-21 victory.
The Packers come in at 4-2,, tied with the Bears for third in the NFC North behind the 4-1 Lions and the 5-0 Vikings. Green Bay leads 4-1 in the overall series.
The pregame starts at 10:00 with the kickoff at noon on FM 1023, The Bug.
In Thursday Night Football it was a blowout in New Orleans as the Denver Broncos pounded the Saints 33-10. The Broncos led 13-3 at half and 23-3 at the end of thee quarters, before each team scored a touchdown in the 4th.
Denver quarterback Bo Nix completed 16 of 26 passes for 164 yards and Javonte Williams rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler was 25 of 35 for 172 yards and the team rushed for 97 yards.
The Broncos improve to 4-3 while the Saints drop to 2-5.
In the ALCS the Yankees came back to win 7-5 to beat the Guardians in Cleveland and lead the series 2-1.
In the NLCS the Dodgers took a 3-1 lead over the Mets with a 10-2 drubbing in New York.
In NBA preseason basketball the Bucks lost at Dallas to the Mavericks 109-84.
Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring effective immediately.
The program said Thursday that Bennett will announce his retirement at a news conference Friday. No reasons were given for Bennett’s abrupt departure less than three weeks before the start of the season.
Bennett, 55, led the Cavaliers to the national title in 2019. In his 15 seasons as the coach in Charlottesville, he made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. He just signed an extension in June to keep him in the job through at least 2030.
Bennett went 364-136 at Virginia, a tenure that included two ACC Tournament titles and six regular-season conference championships. He was voted national coach of the year three times. Before Virginia, Bennett was an associate head coach on his father’s Washington State team and became the head coach when Dick Bennett retired in 2006. He turned down a job at the University of Indiana in 2008 and became Virginia head coach in 2009. He owns the single-season wins record for both Virginia and Washington State.
Bennett was born in Clintonville and played high school basketball at Stevens Point Area Senior High and Green Bay Preble High School. After high school, he played at UWGB from 1988 to 1992, under his father, Dick Bennett, and led the Phoenix to an NCAA tournament and 2 NIT appearances. He was 2x Mid-Continent Conference, which became the Summit League in 2007, Player of the Year, and the Phoenix were 87-34 in his time as a player.
Bennett also won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding senior under 6′ and was a GTE Academic All-American in 1992. He won bronze in the 1991 Pan-American Games and is the all-time NCAA leader in 3pt accuracy, while also being the Mid-Continent Conference’s leader in points with 2,285 and assists with 601.
Bennett was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1992 NBA Draft and played 3 years behind Muggsy Bogues before leaving the NBA because of a foot injury.
The Badgers are at Northwestern Saturday in a Big 10 game. Wisconsin is 4-2 while the Wildcats are 3-3. Wisconsin is coming off a 42-7 win over Rutgers last Saturday on the road. Last Friday Northwestern pounded Maryland 37-10. The pregame starts at 10 with the kickoff at 11on AM 1600//97.3 FM, WRPN.
Ripon College hosts University School. The Red Hawks are 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference. Kickoff is at 1:00 at Hopp Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh hosts #6 Platteville. The Titans are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in conference action. Oshkosh is coming up a 21-14 win at Whitewater. Kickoff is at 1:30 from J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
High School Football-A Complete schedule is on our website.
Wautoma at Ripon-The pregame starts at 6:45 with the kickoff at 7:00 on The Wave.
Berlin at Adams-Friendship
Mauston at Waupun
Nekoosa at Wisconsin Dells
Parkview/Albany and Lourdes Academy
Westfield at Dodgeland
Fox Valley Lutheran at Shawano
Seymour at Winneconne
Waupaca at Xavier
Colby at Weyauwega-Fremont
Beaver Dam at Port Washington
Markesan at Cambridge
Deerfield at Pardeeville
North Fond du Lac at Laconia
Campbellsport at Omro
Winnebago Lutheran at Saint Mary’s Springs
Fond du Lac at Oshkosh West
Hortonville at Neenah
Oshkosh North at Notre Dame
Freedom at Luxemburg-Casco
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