Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday 8/7/20
7 August 2020 Sports
There will be no fans at Lambeau Field for the first two Green Bay Packers home games of the 2020 NFL season. The Packers made the announcement Thursday in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Lambeau Field will not be the same without our fans’ energetic support in the stands,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “Given the extraordinary circumstances this year and the additional protocols in place, though, we determined it was best to take incremental steps to start the regular season. These two games will allow us to focus our attention on safely conducting games inside the stadium with all necessary participants.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to host fans for games later in the season, should conditions allow. We will continue to consult with community healthcare and public health officials on the pandemic conditions in our area. We ask our fans to continue to help by wearing masks and maintaining social distancing guidelines.”
All other public areas at Lambeau Field will also be closed to fans during these first two home games. This includes parking lots (no tailgaiting), the Packers Pro Shop, Packers Hall of Fame and 1919 Kitchen and Tap.
Titletown is expected to be home, sans team-run gameday activities.
The third home game of the season is Nov. 1 against the Minnesota Vikings. The team says they will have to evaluate the situation at the time and determine if fans will be allowed in the stadium for that game. If fans are allowed to return to the stadium this season, season ticket holders who opted-in will get information about how to get their tickets.
If fans are allowed, they will be required to wear face masks and there will be reduced capacity at the stadium.
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Christian Yelich was looking for something, anything, to snap his early-season slump. Maybe Thursday’s unexpected sprint around the bases was just the thing. The Brewers slugger hit one of the strangest home runs you’ll see, an inside-the-parker that looked like a relatively lazy fly ball off the bat to left field, but turned into a mad dash around the bases — and the spark that sent the Brewers to an 8-3 win over the White Sox.
The night began with Yelich in a deep slump, with three hits and 16 strikeouts in 34 regular-season at-bats, and coming off a “mental break” ordered by Brewers manager Craig Counsell. It ended with Yelich becoming the first player in franchise history to hit a home run and walk at least four times in the same game. It was the 74th performance of that ilk in a nine-inning game in baseball history, putting Yelich on a list with the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron and the only other player to do it for a Milwaukee team, 1964 Brave Eddie Mathews.
The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run homer by Leury Garcia but the Brewers cut the deficit to 2-1 in their half of the third. Milwaukee then took the lead with a four-run fifth, highlighted by Yelich’s homer and Jeff Gyorko’s two run shot, his first home run of the year. Milwaukee added three more in the 8th and Chicago picked up one in the ninth to close out the scoring. Josh Lindblom went the first five innings to pick up his first win of the season. The right-hander gave up two runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking one. Freddy Peralta added three scoreless innings in relief, giving up just one hit while striking out six and walking just one. Former Brewer Gio Gonzalez went 4 1/3 innings and took the loss. He gave up five runs, four earned, on eight hits.
The Brewers split their four game series with the White Sox and hosts Cincinnati tonight. Right-hander Trevor Bauer (1-0) starts for the Reds against Brewers left-hander Eric Lauer (0-0). First pitch is at 7:10 and the game can be heard on AM1100/98.3FM, WISS.
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Meanwhile, make-up dates for the postponed Brewers series against the Cardinals were announced Thursday by Major League Baseball. The three-game series will be made up Sept. 14, 16 and 25 as part of three doubleheaders. The first two doubleheaders will be played Sept. 14 and 16 in Milwaukee, with the third doubleheader scheduled in St. Louis Sept. 25. The Brewers will serve as the home team for the first game of that doubleheader.
The Brewers also announced the start time of the Aug. 13 game against the Cubs in Chicago has been moved from 3:05 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. to fill the national FOX telecast in place of the postponed “Field of Dreams” game.
In addition, the start time for the Brewers game Sept. 9 against the Tigers in Detriot has been moved from 6:10 p.m. to 12:10 p.m.
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Elsewhere in the N.L. Central the Royals bombed the Cubs 13-2, the Indians walloped the Reds 13-0, the Pirates edged the Twins 6-5 and Detroit at St. Louis was postponed.
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After a historic loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in trouble again on Thursday. The Miami Heat caught fire from deep and raced out to a 63-40 second-quarter lead, threatening to send the Bucks to a second-straight bubble loss, this time at full strength. But as is so often the case in the NBA, a 20-plus point lead against an elite team was not safe. The Bucks rallied with a huge second half to roll the Heat, 130-116 and clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They staved off headlines speculating about bubble problems for the East’s best team in the process.
Presumed league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks with 33 points along with 12 rebounds and four assists. He missed all four of this 3-point attempts but connected on each of his 13 field goal attempts inside the arc.
He highlighted a 38-11 fourth-quarter run with a span of three dunks in four Bucks possessions. Khris Middleton joined Antetokounmpo in contributing 33 points along with eight assists and six rebounds. The Bucks’ 74-43 outburst in the second half was a prime example of the combined offensive firepower and defensive prowess that makes them a favorite to win a championship.
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On Thursday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talked about the team’s acquisition of Swiss Army Knife John Lovett. The FB/HB also played QB in college and can do it all. And LaFleur wants a lot of players who can do a lot of things, especially this year when the team could lose players to COVID reserve at the drop of a hat.
“To your point, you just really don’t know what the future holds with the COVID deal,” LaFleur said. “But it gives you the ability to not be limited, necessarily, by your personnel. We always, as coaches, we have to adjust to who we have on game days. And we will always do that. But we feel like we have a lot of good moveable pieces, not only on offense but in all three phases.
While LaFleur would love for his players to be able to do a lot of things, he doesn’t have a lot of time to teach them everything. The first padded practice is still not until August 17th. The team will have to be extra efficient with everything they do.
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The Green Bay Packers have claimed FB John Lovett off of waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lovett, a 6-foot-2, 234-pound second-year player out of Princeton, was originally signed by the Chiefs on May 6, 2019, and spent his rookie season on injured reserve. He played quarterback in college, appearing in 26 games and completing 208 of 313 passes (66.5 pct.) for 2,509 yards and 31 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
Lovett added 1,589 rushing yards on 282 attempts (5.6 avg.) and 42 TDs. He also recorded 51 receptions for 553 yards (10.8 avg.) and two TDs. In 2018, Lovett became Princeton’s first two-time first-team All-American since Keith Elias (1992-93) after leading the Tigers to their first perfect season since 1964. He will wear No. 45 for the Packers.
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Former Green Bay Packers quarterback and Chicago Bears nemesis, Brett Favre, offered his opinion on the Bears’ quarterback competition during a recent appearance on Da Windy City Podcast, and suggested Nick Foles is the better option to line up behind center for Chicago in 2020.
His logic is based on an old-school approach to the game: wins.
“I look at it this way: How will Nick Foles play in Chicago? I don’t know,” Favre said. “I just base it off how they both have performed when they have been given the opportunity, and Nick Foles, I think, has performed better.
“If you just based it off how they’ve performed in real game situations, obviously, Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. And played lights out. Just based off of that, Nick Foles is the better player.”
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In the 2020 PGA Championship, Jason Day and Brendon Tood each shot an opening round 65 to tie for the lead. Nine players are tied for second at 4-under. Tiger Woods shot a 2-under 68 and Phil Michelson shot a 2-over 72.
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