1/9/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Tuesday
9 January 2024 Sports
From Wayne Mausser
The Packers are beginning preparations for the Cowboys game Sunday in Dallas in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Green Bay finished the regular season at 9-7 and is the seventh and last Wild Card team in the NFC while the Cowboys, led by former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, won the NFC East with an 12-5 record and are seeded number two.
This will mark just the second time that the Cowboys coach has faced the Packers since being fired by them in December 2018. McCarthy lost the first meeting in 2022 and will be looking to get his first win over Green Bay.
The Cowboys offense that features NFL passing touchdowns leader, Dak Prescott, averages 37.4 points per game at home this season. That added up to a lot of wins for Dallas, who is riding a 16 game home winning streak into the postseason.
A big difference for the Cowboys offense this year is the play caller, McCarthy, who did not call plays for the first three seasons in Texas before taking the reins of the offense this season, and the results with his quarterback are evident.
“If you ask any offensive play caller, or if you ask any quarterback, that relationship is imperative to success. I think that’s being Captain Obvious. Being in tune with that, the connection, the communication, getting that nice and tight, getting him into a rhythm,” said McCarthy.
The growth between play caller and quarterback is evident in Green Bay as well, with Jordan Love throwing for 18 touchdowns with one interception over the last eight weeks.
The Packers running game has been good as Aaron Jones has had 3 straight 100 yard rushing games.
The Packers are off today.
Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen had 21 points apiece and the Utah Jazz staved off a second-half rally for a 132-116 victory over Milwaukee, the Bucks fourth loss in five games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks John Collins, Collin Sexton and Keyonte George each had 19 points for Utah, which has won five of its last six and is 11-4 over its last 15 games.
Milwaukee was without guard Damian Lillard, averaging 25.1 points per game, who was out for personal reasons. Khris Middleton added 23 points and Malik Beasley 17 for the Bucks.
The Bucks, who trailed 77-46 at the half, scored 44 points in the third quarter to pull within 100-90 entering the final period.
The Jazz opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run, going in front 109-92 on a drive by Jordan Clarkson. Brook Lopez scored on a dunk to pull the Bucks within 111-103 with 6:52 remaining.
The Jazz, who were 14 of 64 from 3-point range in their two previous games, hit 11 of 17 from beyond the arc in the first quarter en route to a 41-23 lead.
The Jazz hit 28 of 53 shots for 52.8%, including 16 of 30 from deep, and had five players score in double figures by halftime.
The Bucks opened the third quarter with a 15-4 run, pulling within 81-16 on a 3-point play by Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks host the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
The Wisconsin Herd, NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, lost to the Stockton Kings 107-81.
Glenn Robinson III and Elijah Hughes led the Herd with 12 points each while Wenyen Gabriel added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Stockton Kings’ top scorer was Skal Labissiere with 21 points followed by Jordan Ford with 20 points.
The Herd will hit the road for a back-to-back series against the Mexico City Capitanes with the first game on Friday, Jan.12 with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m. CST.
Michigan won the National Championship Monday night defeating Washington 34-13 It was the Wolverines first championship since 1997 when they shared the honor with Nebraska, when they were led by Lloyd Carr.
The Wolverines did it the old-school way, with a relentless running game that racked up 303 yards, and a stifling defense that flustered Heisman runner-up quarterback Michael Penix Jr. into two interceptions. Blake Corum led the Woldverines in rushing with 134 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns while Donavon Edweard, averaged an astounding 17.3 yards per carry and finished with 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy completed 10 of 18 passes for 140 yards.
Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed 27 pf 51 passes for 255 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The Huskies were held to 48 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Michigan jumped out to a 14-3 first-quarter lead, but Washington responded with a three-yard touchdown from Penix to Jalen McMillian that sent the Huskies to the locker room trailing 17-10. That was the only touchdown, though, they would score.
Michigan finished the season 15-0 while Washington ended up 14-1.
The Green Bay Packers season isn’t over yet with their win over the Chicago Bears Sunday, but we already know who the Pack will play next season.
Lambeau Field will host their NFC North opponents — the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings — along with the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins.
They’ll see the NFC North teams again on the road and also travel to the Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
Once again, the NFL is not pairing up the Packers against former quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in the regular season.
The schedule for when the Packers will play each of those teams will be announced in the spring.
In a sweeping overhaul of the franchise’s football leadership that started with the dismissal of coach Ron Rivera on Monday morning, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris has hired two prominent executives — former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers and former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman — to assist his ownership group with searches for a new head of football operations and head coach, team officials told ESPN.
Rivera, who joined the Commanders in 2020, had final say in all football decisions and hired the team’s front office. But after capturing the NFC East in Rivera’s first season with a 7-9 record, the Commanders were never able to produce a winning record.
The team finished this season at 4-13 and last in the NFC East, and it went 26-40-1 in his four seasons at the helm.
In a statement, Harris thanked Rivera, calling him a “good man” and “thoughtful leader” but noting that “the results this season were not good enough, and a strategic shift in leadership and approach is necessary.
In a search that will commence immediately, Myers will take a lead role in identifying and coordinating interviews with candidates for the top football operations and head-coaching jobs, with Spielman set to work closely with him, officials said.
The allure of the Commanders’ job openings will be buoyed by having the No. 2 pick in a quarterback-rich 2024 draft and projected salary cap space that is among the most in the NFL this offseason.
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick broke from his long-standing rule of not discussing his contract as speculation about his future hovers over the organization.
In his regular-season-ending video conference early Monday, Belichick spoke of continuing the process of analyzing the team’s “disappointing” 4-13 campaign while reminding reporters: “I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do, which is every day I come in, work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can.” Belichick, in his 24th season, has often said he won’t answer questions about his contract, which has been one of the NFL’s closely guarded secrets. Belichick shared that he will soon meet with ownership, led by Robert Kraft, as he has done at varioustimes after seasons in past years.
Asked whether he would consider relinquishing personnel authority, Belichick said: “Look, I’m for whatever we collectively decide as an organization is the best thing to help our football team. I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities; somebody has to have the final say. Whatever that process is, I’m only part of it.”
Belichick didn’t acknowledge whether Kraft has given him any indication his job is in jeopardy.
The Carolina Panthers begin the offseason looking for a general manager in addition to a head coach.
General manager Scott Fitterer was fired Monday. The move leaves assistant general manager Dan Morgan in charge of the day-to-day operations for the time being, a source close to the situation told ESPN.
“As we move forward with the new direction for our franchise, I have made the decision that Scott Fitterer will no longer serve as our general manager,” owner David Tepper said in a statement.
Fitterer had served as the general manager since 2021. He was part of the search committee that last offseason hired coach Frank Reich, who was fired after a 1-10 start.
The Panthers had an NFL-worst 2-15 record this season and are 14-37 since Fitterer took control of personnel decisions.
Fitterer orchestrated the trade this past offseason to move from ninth to first in the draft to select quarterback Bryce Young, who went 2-14 in his rookie season. He gave the Chicago Bears two first-round picks and star wide receiver DJ Moore.
The relevant first-round pick this year will be No. 1 overall.
Fitterer’s past three first-round picks haven’t done well. Besides Young, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (No. 6, 2022) was responsible for allowing more sacks (19) than any other offensive lineman this past season, and cornerback Jaycee Horn (No. 8, 2021) has missed more than 30 games with injuries the past three years.
Fitterer will be remembered as much for the trade he didn’t make as for the big trade he made. Last season, he traded Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024.
Boys and Girls Basketball 1/8
Boys:
Berlin 74, North Fond du Lac 47
Princeton/Green Lake 80, Valley Christian 47
Girls:
Verona 64, Beaver Dam 54
Mayville 62, Messmer 46
Freedom 46, Amherst 28
Mauston 70, Portage 30
Westfield 67, Tomah 32
Poynette 63, Randolph 62
St. Mary Catholic 77, Fall River 30
Boys and Girls Basketball 1/9/2024 ***A number of games have been cancelled because of the weather.***
Boys:
Markesan at Ripon
Plymouth at West De Pere
Kiel at Kewaskum
New Berlin Eisenhower at Kettle Moraine Lutheran
New London at Winneconne
Wittenberg-Birnamwood at Xavier
New London at Winneconne
Menasha at Saint Mary Catholic
Sturgeon Bay at Seymour
Lourdes Academy at Omro
Winnebago Lutheran at Oakfield
Lomira at Random Lake
Saint Mary’s Springs at New Holstein
Appleton East at Appleton North
Oshkosh North at Fond du Lac
Kaukauna at Kimberly
Hortonville at Appleton West
Neenah at Oshkosh West
Clintonville at Wautoma
Fox Valley Lutheran at Little Chute
Marinette at Freedom
Waupaca at Luxemburg-Casco
Adams-Friendship at Portage
River Valley at Mauston
Westby at Wisconsin Dells
Iola-Scandinavia at Nekoosa
Horicon at Central Wisconsin Christian
Hustisford at Rio
Palmyra-Eagle at Cambria-Friesland
Randolph at Weyauwega-Fremont
Girls:
Pardeeville at Berlin
Winneconne at Clintonville
Menasha at Green Bay East
West De Pere at New London
Xavier at Shawano
Fox Valley Lutheran at Seymour
Campbellsport at Lomira
Winnebago Lutheran at Laconia
Omro at North Fond du Lac
St. Mary’s Springs at Mayville
Appleton East at Appleton North
Kimberly at Kaukauna
Appleton West at Hortonville
Oshkosh West at Neenah
Fond du Lac at Oshkosh North
Little Chute at Valley Christian
Adams-Friendship at Lodi
Horicon at Central Wisconsin Christian
Johnson Creek at Dodgeland
Hustisford at Rio
Palmyra-Eagle at Cambria-Friesland
Portage at Princeton/Green Lake
Waterloo at Markesan
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