11/5/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Tuesday
5 November 2024 Sports
The Green Bay Packers head into their bye week having complicated their path to an NFC North title after losing at home to the Minnesota Vikings and division-leading Detroit Lions, 24-14 Sunday.
But they’re in a much better position than they were at this point last season.
If the season ended today, the Packers (6-3) would make the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 7 seed, just as they did last season. At this point a year ago, the Packers were 3-6 before they rallied to win six of their last eight games.
That late-season surge continued with a wild-card victory at Dallas before the Packers lost 24-21 at San Francisco in the divisional playoffs. It had Green Bay believing this year’s team was capable of reaching the franchise’s first Super Bowl since its 2010 championship season.
To achieve that goal, the Packers must play much more crisply than they did in their first nine games.
Green Bay is third in the NFC North behind the Lions (7-1) and Vikings (6-2). The Packers visit Detroit on Dec. 5 and Minnesota on Dec. 29.
The Packers are 0-2 in divisional games. They totaled five turnovers with three takeaways in their 31-29 loss to Minnesota and their Sunday defeat against Detroit. They’ve combined for 16 takeaways and eight giveaways in their other seven games.
The Packers have committed 13 turnovers. Through Sunday, the only teams with more turnovers were Las Vegas (19), Tennessee (17), Carolina (15) and Seattle (15). … Love has thrown 10 interceptions in 240 pass attempts. He was picked off on 11 of his 579 passes last season. Dropped passes have also been a problem, most notably on Sunday.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that TE Luke Musgrave has undergone ankle surgery. LaFleur said Musgrave “will hopefully be back later this season.” The 2023 second-round pick went on injured reserve on Oct. 11.
After their week off, the Packers play at Chicago on Nov. 17. The Packers have won their last 10 meetings with the Bears.
In Monday Night Football the Chiefs won at home in overtime 30-24 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to remain the only undefeated team left in the NFL with a 8-0 record.
Kansas City converted 12 of 18 third-down attempts Monday night, and can thank Patrick Mahomes and his artistry for making it possible. His 7-yard flip to Samaje Perine for a touchdown was a prime example of how Mahomes finds ways to succeed amid chaos, as were his 14 connections with Travis Kelce (for 100 yards).Kareem Hunt carries and precise short-to-intermediate passing. The final two plays were fitting: a sharp pass to Kelce inside Tampa Bay’s 5-yard line, and a physical 2-yard Hunt touchdown run to send the Chiefs to 8-0.
Mahomes completed 34 of 44 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
DeAndre Hopkins caught eight passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns and Samaje Perine caught the other scoring pass.
Kareem Hunt gained 106 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown.
The Bucs Baker Mayfield was 23 of 31 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Cade Ottton caught 8 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay gained just 95 yards on the ground.
The Bucs drop to 4-5.
John Tonje scored 23 points, John Blackwell added 16 and Wisconsin took control in the second half and subdued Holy Cross for an 85-61 season-opening win on Monday night.
Nolan Winter added 15 points after making all six of his shot attempts, two of which came from beyond 3-point range. Winter also made his lone free throw.
Gabe Warren scored 23 points for Holy Cross and reserve Deandre Williams scored 11.
Holy Cross stunned the Badgers after racing to a 21-5 lead on 8-for-9 shooting. Wisconsin responded by outscoring the Crusaders 20-4 over and an 8 1/2-minute stretch and tied it at 25 when Tonje made a 3-pointer with 5:17 left in the first half. The two went back-and-forth until halftime and Holy Cross led 36-35 at intermission.
In the second half, Tonje made another 3 and followed that with a dunk for a 44-40 Wisconsin lead and the Badgers led the rest of the way. Blackwell’s 3 with 13:07 left gave Wisconsin its first double-digit lead at 52-40.
Tonje made a pair of free throws with 10:13 left and Wisconsin stayed up by double figures for the duration.
Kam Jones scored 32 points while shooting 14 of 16 from the floor as No. 18 Marquette breezed to a 102-62 season-opening victory over Stony Brook on Monday night.
Jones was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished two points off his career high. Jones had 34 points in back-to-back games against DePaul and Xavier last season.
Chase Ross added a career-best 23 points and David Joplin scored 13.
Marquette is chasing its fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth as it attempts to replace 2024 Associated Press All-America second-team guard Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, who were both selected in the second round of the NBA draft.
Joe Octave scored 12 points and Ben Wight had 10 points and eight rebounds for Stony Brook.
Marquette hosts George Mason on Friday. The George Mason game will take place at the Al McGuire Center on Marquette’s campus rather than at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, which serves as the Golden Eagles’ typical home court.
Kennedy Taylor had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jaelyn Glenn added 17 points and nine rebounds and No. 13 Kansas State opened the season with a 92-45 win over Green Bay on Monday.
Taylor, a Missouri State transfer, was 5 of 8 from the floor and made all six free throws. Glenn hit four of the Wildcats’ 11 3-pointers. Tulsa transfer Temira Poindexter added 15 points and Serena Sundell 12. Six-foot-6 Ayoke Lee, Kansas State’s leading scorer last season, had seven points and four rebounds in 10 minutes.
Poindexter led the game off with a 3-pointer and Kansas State led thereafter, finishing the first quarter on a 15-2 run to lead 28-7. The Wildcats scored the last 15 points of the half for a 49-12 lead. A couple of Poindexter 3-pointers along with a Sundell bucket gave the Wildcats their largest margin of 49 late in the third quarter.
Natalie McNeal scored 14 points with seven rebounds for the Phoenix, which played their first game under new head coach Kayla Karius.
Big 12 coaches picked the Wildcats as the conference’s preseason favorite for the first time. Kansas State reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
UW-Oshkosh 85-Holy Cross 61
Darius Garland scored 39 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 8-0 with a 116-114 win on Monday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, who played without injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Cavs also went 8-0 in 1976.
Garland drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Cavs rallied down the stretch, outscoring the Bucks 18-8 over the final 6:06.
Jarrett Allen added 14 points, 15 rebounds and had a huge block on Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard in the final seconds.
Lillard scored 36 for the Bucks, but committed a costly turnover when he was called for an over-and-back violation with 56 seconds left.
Bobby Portis added 21 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has lost six in a row.
It was Cleveland’s second win in three days over Milwaukee. On Saturday, Donovan Mitchell made a jumper in the final seconds to give the Cavs a 114-113 win.
Antetokounmpo sat out with a strained adductor muscle, an injury the two-time MVP sustained during the loss to Cleveland.
The Bucks host the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold was chosen Major League Baseball’s executive of the year after constructing a roster that won a second straight NL Central title in the league’s smallest market.
The award is voted on by executives from all 30 MLB teams before the postseason. Arnold is the first Brewers official to win the honor.
Milwaukee went 93-69 and won the NL Central by 10 games after losing manager Craig Counsell to the division-rival Chicago Cubs in the offseason. The Brewers lost a three-game Wild Card series to the New York Mets.
Arnold’s major moves included promoting bench coach Pat Murphy to take over for Counsell as manager and signing young outfielder Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million contract before he’d ever played a game in the majors. Arnold also traded 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes for left-hander DL Hall and third baseman Joey Ortiz.
His acquisitions of Jared Koenig and Bryan Hudson solidified one of baseball’s top bullpens. Arnold signed Rhys Hoskins to take over at first base and shored up Milwaukee’s rotation by acquiring Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas
Arnold, 45, joined the Brewers as vice president and assistant general manager in 2015. He was promoted to general manager in November 2020. When David Stearns stepped down as president of baseball operations after the 2022 season, Arnold took over for him.
Milwaukee’s starting rotation could have a new look next season with right-handers Frankie Montas and Colin Rea heading into free agency.
The Brewers announced Monday that Montas had declined his part of a $20 million mutual option for 2025. The Brewers turned down the $5.5 million club option on Rea’s contract.
Montas receives a $2 million buyout and Rea gets a $1 million buyout.
In other moves Monday, right-hander Kevin Herget was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets, and left-hander Rob Zastryzny was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs. First baseman Jake Bauers and right-hander Bryse Wilson cleared waivers and were sent outright to Triple-A Nashville.
Montas, 31, had a combined 7-11 record with a 4.84 ERA and 148 strikeouts over 150 2/3 innings in 30 starts for the Cincinnati Reds and Brewers this season. He was 3-3 with a 4.55 ERA in 11 starts for the Brewers, who acquired him just before the trade deadline.
Rea, 34, was 12-6 with a 4.28 ERA this season in 32 appearances, including 27 starts. He struck out 135 in 167 2/3 innings. Rea had an 8.31 ERA in September and was left off the Brewers’ NL Wild Card Series roster.
Herget, 33, had no record with one save and a 1.59 ERA in seven appearances with Milwaukee this year. He was 5-1 with four saves and a 2.27 ERA in 38 relief outings with Triple-A Nashville.
Zastryzny, 32, was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in nine appearances with Milwaukee. He pitched in 30 games with Nashville and went 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA.
The 29-year-old Bauers batted .199 with a .301 on-base percentage, 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 116 games this season. He also hit a seventh-inning homer that broke a scoreless tie in the decisive Game 3 of the Wild Card Series with the New York Mets, who rallied in the ninth to win 4-2.
Wilson, who turns 27 on Dec. 20, went 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 34 appearances, including nine starts.
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