3/8/23 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday
8 March 2023 Sports
Wednesday Sports
From Wayne Mausser
Sports for Wednesday
The Packers and Aaron Rodgers took a step toward a potential separation on Tuesday.
Green Bay granted the four-time NFL MVP permission to speak with the New York Jets, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the situation. Trey Wingo first reported the news and said Rodgers has had conversations with the Jets.
The due diligence signals sides could be preparing to part ways but doesn’t preclude Rodgers from ultimately deciding he wants to remain in Green Bay or retire altogether.
Last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the rumor mill suggested the Packers were ready to move on from Rodgers. General manager Brian Gutekunst added fuel to those flames by talking up Jordan Love, including noting the former first-round pick is “ready” to start.
If Rodgers has indeed determined he wants to continue his playing days outside of Green Bay, the Jets make logical sense. Gang Green has said they want to bring in a veteran quarterback this offseason to pair with Zach Wilson. With Derek Carr choosing New Orleans on Monday, New York’s top fallback option to Rodgers was taken off the board.
If the talks between Rodgers and the Jets go well, New York and Green Bay would have to work out a trade for the future Hall of Famer. The cost wouldn’t be as exorbitant as it might have been last year, particularly given the fact that Rodgers’ contract will need to be adjusted to make the numbers work under the salary cap.
Rodgers is guaranteed $59.5 million this season, thanks to that complicated contract he signed last offseason. That likely will be restructured whether Rodgers returns or is traded. There are still several more hurdles before Rodgers becomes an ex-Packer, but the race has officially started.
It was 15 years ago that Brett Favre retired, then unretired and was traded to the Jets. Favre spent one season in New York before retiring again, unretiring again, then played two years with Minnesota.
Running back Aaron Jones reworked his contract last month in order to remain with the Packers and he’s hopeful he won’t be the only Aaron to hang around Green Bay a little longer.
The topic of quarterback Aaron Rodgers future came up during Jones’ Tuesday appearance on NFL Network and Jones made it clear that he wants Rodgers back with the Packers. Jones said Rodgers is “my quarterback, so I hope he’s back” and said he’s “especially” against the idea of Rodgers reuniting with Davante Adams with the Raiders.
Jones referenced another potential Rodgers landing spot as well and suggested that the Jets turn their attention to Jimmy Garoppolo instead of Rodgers.
“I definitely keep seeing that everywhere the Jets want him, but as of right now, he’s in Green Bay if he comes back and plays,” Jones said. “I don’t want him going anywhere. You guys can have one of those veteran quarterbacks. Jimmy G, he’s a winner and they can win with him. I like Jimmy G.”
If things don’t work out for a Rodgers return, Jones called Jordan Love “more than capable” and “ready for his shot” but that definitely looks like the running back’s Plan B for 2023.
Brook Lopez scored 26 points, Khris Middleton and Jevon Carter each added 24 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 134-123 on Tuesday night for their 18th win in 19 games. Bobby Portis Jr. had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Jae Crowder added 15 points for the Bucks, who shot 59% and ran their winning streak against the Magic to 14 games.
Playing without All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (non-COVID-19 illness) and Jrue Holiday (sore neck), the Bucks had little trouble finding the right combinations in stretching their league-best record to 47-18.
Middleton, starting for the first time since Dec. 15, had 11 assists. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said it was time to increase Middleton’s playing time.
The Bucks pulled away from a 51-all tie and led 70-60 after a first half in which Lopez scored 19 points. Crowder, playing in only his sixth game with the Bucks, scored seven straight points late in the third quarter to put the Bucks up 98-83.
The Magic were down by eight points until Portis and Middleton led a fourth-quarter charge that pushed the Bucks’ lead to 16, their largest of the game.
The Bucks host Brooklyn on Thursday.
Football great Tom Brady appears to be squashing rumors that he plans to come out of retirement for the second time and start another season with the National Football League.
Brady, who is widely considered the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, hinted that he won’t be making another return — and he cited his daughter and her kitten as the reasons.
Anyone who thinks I have time to come back to the NFL has never adopted a 2 month old kitten for their daughter,” Brady posted on Twitter Tuesday.
The tweet was a response to an article that noted Brady might not be “done after all,” as well as report on the Rich Eisen Show.
“I heard from some people, ‘Keep an eye on Brady,'” Eisen said during a recent segment.
Just keep an eye on him,” Eisen added. “His options are open. He is a free-agent in eight days, by the way. Just something to look out for. And by the way, it would be incredible if this guy comes back and plays one more year.”
On February 1, just 11 days before Super Bowl LVII, Brady announced he would be retiring from the game “for good.” The quarterback previously announced his retirement during the 2022 off-season but returned to football in the fall.
Meanwhile, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he is open to signing Brady to a one-day contract so Brady would retire as a Patriot.
The Green Bay Phoenix women’s basketball team will have to wait to see if they receive an unlikely at-large bid to the Big Dance after stubbing their toe in the Horizon League Championship game on Tuesday in Indianapolis. After winning the regular season championship, the top-seeded Phoenix could not slow down 2nd seeded Cleveland State Tuesday, falling 73-61.
Green Bay struggled with their shooting against the Vikings, making just 31.9% of their shots (23-72). And it was worse from 3-point range, Green Bay making just 6 of 31 attempts (19.4%).
The Vikings took the lead for good on a 3-pointer from Deja Williams that made it 23-20 CSU in the 2nd period. They eventually built the lead to 21 points midway through the 4th (60-39).
Natalie McNeal was Green Bay’s leading scorer and rebounder with 18 pts and 13 reb. Gabriel Smith led the Vikings with 19 points. CSU (30-4) advances to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. That was also the year Green Bay (28-5) received its last at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The 12th seed Wisconsin Badgers open the Big Ten Tournament later today against the 13th seed Ohio State Buckeyes at the United Center in Chicago. Tipoff is at 5:30. Wisconssin is 17-13 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten while Ohio State is 13-18 and 5-15 in the conference.
The Brewers lost to the White Sox 5-2 on Tuesday in Cactus League Baseball. Chicago led 5-0 before the Brewers scored single runs in the fifth and ninth innings. Milwaukee managed just six hits. Corbin Burnes (0-2) took the loss giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits in three innings. White Sox starter Lance Linn (1-0) went four innings, giving up two hits for his first victory of the spring. The Brewers host a team from Great Britain this afternoon with the first pitch at 2:10 CST.
The Wisconsin Herd, NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, lost to the Lakeland Magic 116-111. The Herd came out firing, hitting four three-point shots to start the game and take a 12-4 lead. The Herd continued to push ahead to a 33-20 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Herd increased their lead to 15 points, but it was quickly overcome by the Magic in the second quarter. Lakeland built a nine-point lead by the end of the first half and later expanded to double-digits in the third. The Herd slowly crawled back to tie the game 105-105 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.
MarJon Beauchamp, Milwaukee Bucks assignment player, and Lindell Wigginton led the Herd with 24 points each while Paris Bass followed with a double-double of 20 points and 19 rebounds.
Kevon Harris guided the Magic with 27 points while Jay Scrubb added 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The Herd will take on the Lakeland Magic again on Thursday, March 9 with tip-off set for 9:30 a.m. CST.
Marquette’s Tyler Kolek is the Associated Press Big East player of the year and Shaka Smart is the unanimous pick for coach of the year after the two led the Golden Eagles’ surprising run to their first regular-season championship in 10 years.
Xavier’s Souley Boum was voted newcomer of the year in balloting by 11 writers and broadcasters who cover the conference.
Kolek and Smart led No. 6 Marquette to a school-record 17 conference wins and its highest national ranking since 1978.
Kolek, a unanimous All-Big East first-team pick along with Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, is among the conference leaders in five categories and is playing some of his best ball of late.
Kolek will enter the Big East Tournament at New York’s Madison Square Garden off three straight double-doubles, averaging 20.3 points and 11.3 assists in those games. His 7.9 assists per game for the season leads the Big East and is second nationally.
Smart combined high-scoring offense with aggressive defense to make the Golden Eagles the first team since the Big East formed in 1979-80 to win at least a share of the title after being picked ninth or lower. Marquette beat every league team at least once for the first time since it joined the league in 2005-06.
Hopkins, in his first season at Providence after transferring from Kentucky, has 10 double-doubles and leads the Friars with 16.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Joining Kolek and Hopkins on the first team are Boum and big men Adama Samorgo of Connecticut and Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton.
Boum played at San Francisco and UTEP before landing at Xavier this season, and he emerged as the Musketeers’ top player. He’s second in the Big East in scoring with 16.8 points per game and third in 3-point shooting at 42.2%. His 4.5 assists are second on the team and tied for sixth in the league.
FIRST TEAM
u-Guard — Tyler Kolek, Marquette, Jr., 6-3, 190, Cumberland, Rhode Island.
Guard — Souley Boum, Xavier, Gr., 6-3, 175, Oakland, California.
u-Forward — Bryce Hopkins, Providence, So., 6-7, 220, Oak Park, Illinois.
Forward — Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, Jr., 6-9, 245, Bamako, Mali.
Center — Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, Jr., 7-1, 260, Florissant, Missouri.
SECOND TEAM
Guard — Kam Jones, Marquette, So., 6-4, 195, Memphis, Tennessee.
Guard — Colby Jones, Xavier, Jr., 6-6, 205, Birmingham, Alabama.
Guard — Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut, So., 6-5, 195, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Forward — Eric Dixon, Villanova, Jr., 6-8 255, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
Center — Joel Soriano, St. John’s, Sr., 6-11, 260, Yonkers, New York.
u-Coach of the year — Shaka Smart, Marquette.
Player of the year — Tyler Kolek, Marquette.
Newcomer of the year — Souley Boum, Xavier.
2023 State Girls Basketball Tournament Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11, 2023 Resch Center, Green Bay, Wis.
DIVISION 1 Semifinals – Friday, March 10 Game-1: #1 Brookfield East (26-2) vs. #4 Germantown (23-5) – 6:35 p.m. Game-2: #2 Hortonville (25-3) vs. #3 Kettle Moraine (26-1) – Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1
Championship Final – Saturday, March 11 Game-3: Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – Approx. 15 mins. following Div. 2 championship DIVISION 2 Semifinals – Friday, March 10 Game-1: #1 Pewaukee (27-1) vs. #4 Lakeland Union (22-6) – 1:35 p.m. Game-2: #2 Notre Dame de la Baie Academy (27-1) vs. #3 McFarland (26-2) – Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1
Championship Final – Saturday, March 11 Game-3: Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – 6:35 p.m.
DIVISION 3 Semifinals – Thursday, March 9 Game-1: #1 Waupun (21-7) vs. #4 Milwaukee Academy of Science (22-3) – 1:35 p.m. Game-2: #2 West Salem (26-2) vs. #3 Kewaskum (22-5) – Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1
Championship Final – Saturday, March 11 Game-3: Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – Approx. 15 mins. following Div. 4 championship
DIVISION 4 Semifinals – Thursday, March 9 Game-1: #1 Aquinas (27-1) vs. #4 Mishicot (21-6) – 6:35 p.m. Game-2: #2 Laconia (25-3) vs. #3 Colfax (21-6) – Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1
Championship Final – Saturday, March 11 Game-3: Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – Approx. 15 mins. following Div. 5 championship DIVISION 5 Semifinals – Friday, March 10 Game-1: #1 McDonell Central Catholic (24-5) vs. #4 Albany (28-0) – 9:05 a.m. Game-2: #2 Blair-Taylor (27-1) vs. #3 Wabeno/Laona (21-7) – Approx. 20 mins. following Game-1
Championship Final – Saturday, March 11 Game-3: Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – 11:05 a.m.
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