Hometown Broadcasting Sports Thursday 7/16/20
16 July 2020 Sports
The Green Bay Packers have announced no fans will be allowed at training camp practices, Packers Family Night and home preseason games at Lambeau Field.
“The tremendous support of cheering fans at Lambeau Field motivates all of us in the Packers organization,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “But after consulting with local health officials and reviewing League and CDC guidelines, we felt we needed to make this difficult decision. We will miss seeing so many of our fans, particularly the young ones, during this exciting time of year. We will continue to work on the protocols and logistics in the hope that we can welcome fans back to Lambeau Field for the regular season without jeopardizing the health of our players, team personnel and fans.
“We ask our fans to help us in this effort by wearing masks and staying six feet away from non-family members when out in the community in the coming weeks.”
Family Night is a symbolic kick off to the Packers season in Green Bay. It includes a scrimmage and fireworks show. This comes as the NFL decides what a football season will look like during the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Brewers scratched second baseman Keston Hiura from Wednesday’s intrasquad lineup because of right arm fatigue, then cut short Brett Anderson‘s start because of a blister, representing the team’s first non-COVID-related medical matters since players returned to action this month. Aside from those matters, the story of the “Gold” team’s second straight victory was right-hander Corbin Burnes, who touched 98 mph with his fastball while retiring all seven batters he faced with seven strikeouts, including Christian Yelich on a slider. Burnes was followed by another hard-thrower, Josh Hader, who recorded two outs before reaching his pitch limit and ending the game.
Meanwhile, manager Craig Counsel was asked how the at-bats are going to shape out and how lineup decisions will be made. He said they have players who can rotate in and out of the lineup and the team is not affected. Counsel said players are going to need some time off, especially during the first half of the schedule and their depth will help the success of the team.
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Wisconsin Badgers athletes will be sporting a new “W” on their uniforms when they return to action.
UW Athletics says a number of athletes publicly stated their desire to wear a black W in solidarity with Black and other underrepresented communities on campus. The requests come amid the renewed attention on the Black Lives Matter movement in reaction to the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests. The black W will not replace the large “Motion W” on the football helmets.
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The Cleveland Browns have agreed to a long-term extension with Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett, the team announced Wednesday. Garrett confirmed the deal in his end with a video of himself writing a message to the Browns fanbase: “Cleveland keep betting on me, World keep betting against us.”
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Garrett is now under contract for five years and $125 million with $100 million in guaranteed money, $50 million of which is guaranteed at signing.
Garrett, 24, is approaching his fourth season in the NFL. The No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL draft has tallied 30 sacks in his three seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2018 when he recorded 13.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
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For only the fourth time in NFL history, a quarterback will play out a season under the franchise tag as the Dallas Cowboys failed to reach a contract extension with Dak Prescott before Wednesday’s deadline for designated players to reach a long-term agreement.
The two sides remained locked in their stance over contract years versus salary right up to the deadline, scuttling any chance of a deal that would have resolved the most pressing issue for the Cowboys over the past year.
Now, Prescott heads into his first franchise tag season, joining Drew Brees, who played under the tag for the San Diego Chargers in 2005 and Kirk Cousins, who played under two consecutive tags for Washington in 2016 and 2017.
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