11/9/23 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Thursday
9 November 2023 Sports
Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Bobby Portis added 18 as Milwaukee rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 120-118 on Wednesday night in a game in which Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected midway through the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo was ejected with nine minutes left after picking up his second technical foul for apparently taunting a defender after scoring on a dunk. Antetokounmpo had 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting and a team-leading nine rebounds in 22 minutes when he was ejected.
Cade Cunningham scored 33 points and Marcus Sasser 26 for the Pistons, who were missing six players due to illness and injury.
Detroit, which led by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter, held a 115-112 lead after two free throws by Cunningham with 1:39 remaining.
Lillard scored on a drive and added a jumper from the lane to put the Bucks up 116-115.
Brook Lopez hit a 3-pointer to increase Milwaukee’s lead to 119-115 before Cunningham netted a 3 to cut the Pistons’ deficit to 119-118. The Bucks missed on their next possession, but the Pistons turned the ball over with nine seconds left.
Jae Crowder hit the second of two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining to make it 120-118.
The Bucks led 73-60 when Antetokounmpo was ejected. Detroit rallied for a 95-90 lead after three quarters.
Sasser converted a three-point play that put the Pistons up 109-99 with just over seven minutes remaining.
Portis scored 13 points to fuel a 16-2 run that put the Bucks up 42-27 with 8:17 left in the first half.
The Bucks got 26 points from their bench in the first half on the way to a 62-52 lead at the break.
Milwaukee was without Khris Middleton, held out of the first game of a back-to-back for right knee injury management.
The Bucks are at Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
The Packers are still working on getting their offense going heading into Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh against the Steelers.
The Packers (3-5) made at least a modest move forward in a 20-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams that snapped their four-game skid. In that game, the Packers scored a first-half touchdown for the first time since Sept. 17.
Green Bay’s offense will try to continue that progress Sunday at Pittsburgh (5-3) while realizing there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“It’s been a lot of highs and a lot of lows, some inconsistencies,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “I think we’re continuing to build every week and just try to get this thing going with just consistent performance every week.”
The Packers still haven’t exceeded the 20-point mark in any of their past six games, but they posted season highs in yards rushing (184), total yards (391) and time of possession (35:16) against the Rams.
The Packers’ season high in total offense is 44 yards below the season average of the Miami Dolphins, who lead the NFL with 435.3 yards per game.
But the Packers are at least showing some positive signs on offense after struggling to get out of their own way for the past several weeks. They want to do more to assist their defense, which has allowed an average of 15.8 points over Green Bay’s past four games.
Green Bay’s string of five straight games without a first-half touchdown ended Sunday when Aaron Jones reached the end zone on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter. But it’s the way the Packers performed down the stretch that provided the most cause for optimism.
After the Packers lost fumbles on their first two possessions of the second half, they scored on three of their next four drives to put the game out of reach. Love completed a season-high 76.9% of his passes and went 12 of 13 in the second half.
Running back Aaron Jones scored two touchdowns in a season-opening 38-20 victory at Chicago but suffered a hamstring injury that day that caused him to miss three games. Jones had a season-high 24 touches (20 carries, four receptions) and rushed for 73 yards against the Rams. On the injury front, CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder), LB Quay Walker (groin), LT Yosh Nijman (back) and Runyan (neck) didn’t practice Wednesday. Walker also missed the Rams game. … S Rudy Ford, who missed the Rams game with a calf injury, was a limited practice participant. DL Kenny Clark (shoulder), Elgton Jenkins and Jones also practiced on a limited basis. WR Christian Watson, who left Sunday’s game after hurting his back while making a 37-yard catch, was a full practice participant.
In Thursday Night Football the Bears host the Panthers. Both teams are struggling as Chicago comes in at 2-7, last in the NFC North while the Panthers are 1-7, good for last place in the NFC South.
Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold praised Craig Counsell and said he hopes their friendship lasts a lifetime while discussing how the organization will move forward without its longtime manager.
Arnold was speaking at Major League Baseball’s general manager meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday, two days after the Chicago Cubs lured Counsell from Milwaukee with a five-year deal worth over $40 million. Counsell, who grew up in the Milwaukee area, is the winningest manager in Brewers history and led them to five playoff berths over the last six seasons.
“All the accolades, he deserves,” Arnold said. “I certainly enjoyed our time together. I’ll always have good memories working with Craig Counsell. There’s no question about that. He’s still my friend and neighbor, but at the same time we’re going to be competing against each other. It should be a lot of fun.”
Arnold acknowledged he was surprised Counsell took a job with a division rival. Arnold also clarified the status of the coaches who worked on Counsell’s staff this season.
Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said during a Zoom session Monday that all the coaches were under contract for the 2024 season and “they’re all returning.” Arnold noted how that could impact bench coach Pat Murphy,
Arnold didn’t mention any other possible candidates for the Brewers’ manager vacancy aside from Murphy. He also didn’t go into specifics regarding what he’s seeking in a manager other than saying he wants to find “if you’re using the scouting scale, an 80 human.”
“We have a long list of people that we’re vetting at the moment,” Arnold said.
Arnold said Counsell’s departure and the resulting manager search gives the Brewers a chance to “reassess our entire franchise” and take a “fresh look” at everything they’ve done.
“I’m thrilled for him and his outcome,” Arnold said. “At the same time, we’re in a position where we have to put our best foot forward, and we’re going to do exactly that. He’s got a new opportunity he’s excited about. And I think honestly we’re excited about our opportunity as well.”
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders have hired three new full-time staff members in preparation for the 2024 Northwoods League season. Adonis Lee has been hired as Director of Ticket Sales, Drew Cowden joins the front office as Box Office Manager, and Jakob Petersen has been named Operations Manager.
Lee, a native of Chicago, Ill., is a graduate of Marian University in Fond du Lac. His sports experience includes sales roles with the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Sky, and Eastern Illinois University. Lee returns to Fond du Lac with exemplary relationship-building skills, where he will expand upon the Dock Spiders already strong community partnerships. In addition to his ticket sales role, he will use his professional development experience to lead the team’s game day staffing efforts.
Cowden, originally from Covington, Wash., will graduate in December 2023 from Marian University in Fond du Lac with a degree in Sport and Recreation Management as well as Accounting. The 2024 season will mark Cowden’s third year with the Dock Spiders and first as a full-time staff member. He worked as a game day staff member in 2022 and as the Retail/Accounting Intern in 2023. Cowden has also worked for the Marian University Athletic Department and currently coaches soccer at Fond du Lac High School.
Petersen, a native of Burlington, Wis., is a 2022 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a degree in Communications, along with a certificate in Business Analytics. The 2024 season will mark Petersen’s third year with the organization and first as a full-time staff member. As a member of the Dock Spiders and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (the Dock Spiders partner club) game day staff, he spent time working in the Food and Beverage department, worked as a pitch clock operator, and was one of the club’s official scorers for home game
The Dock Spiders begin their eighth season of Northwoods League plan on Memorial Day (May 29). Season tickets and packages are currently available at dockspiders.com or by calling the ticket office at (920) 907-9833. For a limited time, each ticket package purchased or renewed includes an exclusive season ticket holder jersey.
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