Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday 7/19/21
19 July 2021 Sports
Sports for July 19th
Drue Holiday’s steal and alley-oop pass to Giannis Antetokounmpo for a dunk sealed a wild Game 5 and gave the Bucks a 123-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Antetokounmpo had 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Khris Middleton added 29 points, and Holiday had 27 points and 13 assists. The Bucks fought their way out of an early 16-point hole by flirting with the best-shooting night in NBA Finals history, but then won it by making a huge defensive play for the second straight game.vv They can win their first title since 1971 in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Devin Booker had 40 points for the Suns, his second straight 40-point game. But with the Suns rallying and down one with 16 seconds left, he drove into the middle and Holiday wrestled the ball out of his hands. Antetokounmpo sprinted down the court to his right and Holiday fired a perfect lob pass that the Greek Freak slammed down while Chris Paul fouled him to make it 122-119. Antetokounmpo missed the free throw, but the Bucks grabbed the rebound and Middleton made one free throw for the final point of the night. Before the defensive stand, Milwaukee’s offense was the story. The Bucks made 32 of 45 shots in the middle two quarters, outscoring the Suns 79-53 during that stretch.
Milwaukee became the first road team to win in the series and with one more victory will complete its second 2-0 comeback in this postseason — along with the fifth in NBA Finals history.
Chris Paul had 21 points and 11 assists, and Deandre Ayton finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. But the Suns missed a chance to move within a victory of their first championship and will need a victory at Fiserv Forum to bring the series back to the desert for Game 7 on Thursday night.
Milwaukee was at 62.1% shooting after three quarters, threatening to challenge Orlando’s 62.5% mark against the Lakers in Game 3 of the 2009 finals. Holiday’s basket had the Bucks in good shape at 108-94 with about 9 minutes remaining, but the Suns put together a push in the final minutes. Down 10 with just under 3 1/2 minutes remaining, the Suns got a 3 from Booker and a basket by Paul to cut it to 120-119 with 56 seconds to play. Holiday missed a jumper, but that didn’t matter once the defensive ace of the Bucks backcourt took it back from Booker.
The Suns made 14 of 19 shots (73.7%) in the first quarter and led 37-21. But Booker started the second on the bench and the Bucks opened with a 21-5 spurt to quickly tie it at 42 on Pat Connaughton’s 3-pointer with 7:48 remaining in the half. Milwaukee took a 64-61 advantage to the break, becoming the second team in finals history to lead at halftime after trailing by at least 15 after one, according to Elias.
Milwaukee played without Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Giannis’ older brother was placed in health and safety protocols. Coach Mike Budenholzer said the Bucks wouldn’t have their whole staff for the same reason.
The Green Bay Packers operated at a loss during the pandemic-impacted 2021 fiscal year, but ended up making money through investments. The organization released its annual financial report on Friday. It showed an operating loss of $38.8 million, but net income of $60.7 million. The organization’s fiscal year covers April to March. While national revenue increased to $309.2 million from $296 million in 2020, the biggest drop was in local revenue. It fell to $61.8 million from $210.9 million the year before. The organization closed Lambeau Field and its Titletown development during part of the past year. The Packers played several games without fans in attendance, and allowed only limited attendance at the end of the season and playoffs. The Packers’ expenses were $409.8 million, down from $436.6 million in 2020. The Packers were able to make up for the loss with money earned in the investment fund. That made $120 million in 2021, following a loss of $21 million in 2020.
Congratulations to two Wautoma Hornets athletes. Chase Mastricola earned a nomination to the Scholar-Athlete Team from The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Inc. Also, Logan Dunn was named to the 2nd Team All District Pitcher as a freshman.
Former Green Bay Packers defensive back Charles Woodson hosted his annual golf outing at Thornberry Creek Friday morning. The tournament returned following a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Next month, Woodson will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 8th. Soon after he will join the Packers Hall of Fame along with Al Harris. Woodson also weighed in on the ongoing situation between the Packers and Aaron Rodgers.
I know Aaron is very prideful, very stubborn guy and I think he’s the type of guy, man he’s got himself dug in and that’s kind of where he’s going to be. If this things going to work he and the Packers have to sit down and they have to truly iron out what the difference is. Whatever his grievances are with the team they’re going to have to give him something right, and then he’s going to have to give up something in order for it to work. There’s got to be some compromise in there somewhere, but if that doesn’t happen I can see Aaron Rodgers sitting out a full year and I would hate for that to happen. I know he loves the game, I know he loves playing football loves playing for the Packers. If they don’t sit down truly get it off their chest so to speak, then we could see one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game not play a full season in the NFL.
Back from the All-Star Game, Corbin Burnes looked more like an All-Star. Burnes returned to form, pitching sharply into the ninth inning Sunday as the Milwaukee Brewers cruised to an 8-0 win and finished a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. The NL Central-leading Brewers won four of the seven games against Cincinnati spanning the All-Star break. Burnes (5-4) dominated in his first outing since he was the losing pitcher for the National League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, when he went two innings and gave up two runs, including a 468-foot homer by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Burnes struck out 12 while allowing five hits and a walk in 8 1/3 innings Sunday, and finished with a 2.16 ERA. He didn’t allow a runner past first base until Cincinnati loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on two singles and an error. Reliever Angel Perdomo came on to strike out Eugenio Suárez and Kyle Farmer to preserve the shutout. Christian Yelich hit a solo homer in the seventh and Willy Adames added a two-run shot in the ninth. Tyrone Taylor and Jackie Bradley Jr. each drove in two runs in a four-run fifth. Sonny Gray (2-5), who has been on and off the injured list with strained muscles around his rib cage, got the start and did fine until the Brewers got busy in the fifth.
After an off day, Eric Lauer (3-4, 3.83) will be on the mound in the opener of a two-game series with the Royals in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Left-hander Mike Minor (6-8, 5.67) is scheduled to start for Kansas City.
With their three-game sweep of the Reds, the Brewers increased their lead to seven games over Cincinnati in the NL Central, while the Cubs and Cardinals are nine games out and the Pirates are 19 games behind.
Elsewhere in the NL Central on Sunday the Mets edged the Pirates 7-6, the Cardinals nipped the Giants 2-1 and the Diamondbacks downed the Cubs 6-4.
The Milwaukee Brewers have moved up the start time of Tuesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. The game, which was originally scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., will now start at 3:10 p.m. The Brewers put out a statement on Sunday, saying the change was made to avoid a conflict with Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks. That game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. at Fiserv Forum. The Brewers say fans with tickets to Tuesday’s game who cannot attend the earlier start time will be offered the option of a comparable ticket to another game or a refund.
Collin Morikawa won the British Open on his links debut and became the first player to capture two different majors at the first attempt. The 24-year-old American closed with a bogey-free, 4-under 66 Sunday for a two-shot victory over Jordan Spieth to follow up his victory at last year’s PGA Championship on debut, just 11 months ago. He made three straight birdies from the seventh hole to overtake Louis Oosthuizen, who was seeking a wire-to-wire win and a second claret jug, and then made key par saves at Nos. 10 and 15, pumping his first after both. A birdie putt up and over a ridge on the 14th green gave him a two-stroke advantage he never lost. Morikawa didn’t drop a shot in his final 31 holes on a course that has confounded many of the world’s greatest players because of its quirky bounces and undulating fairways. Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion and runner up at the last two majors, had another near miss in a career full of them. He never recovered from losing his lead — for the first time since the 12th hole on Friday — after making bogey by hitting from one bunker to another at the par-5 seventh hole, and shot 71. He tied for third place with Jon Rahm (66).
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