Thursday 11/1/18
1 November 2018 Sports
Sports from Wayne Mausser
The Green Bay Packers (3-3-1) will play the New England Patriots (6-2) on Sunday night in Foxboro. This will mark the second matchup between Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Patriots QB Tom Brady as starters.
Rodgers was limited in practice Wednesday as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in week 1. Two Packers players did not practice on Wednesday: safety Jermaine Whitehead who injured his back late in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams and outside linebacker Nick Perry (ankle).
Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst made two deadline trades on Tuesday. First he sent RB Ty Montgomery to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2020 seventh round draft pick then he traded S Haha Clinton-Dix to the Washington Redskins for a 2019 fourth round pick.
Gutekunst addressed the media Wednesday morning regarding dealing Clinton-Dix who started every game this season and Montgomery.
“I’m not into sending messages to the locker room. I think anyone that has ever played in the NFL understands this is a performance business; so if you don’t perform, there will be consequences. But again, I don’t make any decisions to send direct messages to the locker room,” Gutekunst said.
Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Mike Moustakas is becoming a free agent again, and so is reliever Joakim Soria.
In addition, the Brewers exercised a $3,175,000 option on All-Star right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, who would have been eligible for salary arbitration if it had been declined.
Moustakas declined a $15 million mutual option Tuesday.
He rejected a $17.4 million qualifying offer and left Kansas City after the 2017 season but was unable to find a long-term deal he liked. He returned to the Royals in mid-March for a one-year contract that included a guaranteed $6.5 million: a $5.5 million salary and $1 million option buyout. Moustakas earned an additional $2.2 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances, raising his total earnings for 2018 to $8.7 million.
A 30-year-old left-handed hitter, Moustakas had a .251 average with 28 homers and 95 RBIs. He hit .256 with eight homers and 33 RBIs in 54 games for Milwaukee, which acquired him from the last-place Royals on July 27.
Soria declined a $10 million mutual option and gets a $1 million buyout, completing a $25 million, three-year contract he agreed to with the Royals in December 2015. The right-hander was acquired from the Chicago White Sox on July 26 and was 3-1 with a 4.09 ERA in 26 games with the Brewers.
Soria had an 18.00 ERA without a decision in two innings over four appearances in the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers. He was 1-0 and allowed just a hit and no runs in 2 2/3 innings in the Division Series sweep over the Rockies, appearing in all three games.
Moustakas and Soria follow left-handed starters Gio Gonzalez and Wade Miley, along with veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson, in Brewers who became free agents this week. Gonzalez and Granderson were also acquired in separate deals to bolster the Brewers for the stretch run.
Jeffress was 8-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 15 saves. He had a $1.7 million base salary as part of a deal that included a $50,000 signing bonus and earned $550,000 in performance bonuses. Milwaukee has a $4.3 million for 2020.
The Green Bay Packers signed RB Tra Carson to the active roster from the practice squad and signed RB Lavon Coleman to the practice squad. The transactions were announced Wednesday by General Manager Brian Gutekunst. (tray) Carson, a 5-foot-11, 228-pound second-year player, was signed to the Packers practice squad on Oct. 9. He was originally signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M on May 6, 2016. Carson spent almost all of his rookie season on the Bengals' practice squad, was on injured reserve for the 2017 season and was waived/injured by the Bengals after Week 2 of this season. After beginning his career at Oregon (2011), he played three seasons for Texas A&M (2013-15), where he recorded 2,075 rushing yards (4.8 avg.) and 19 touchdowns in 36 games. Coleman, a 5-foot-11, 216-pound rookie out of the University of Washington, was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 11. After being released by the Texans on Sept. 1, he spent some time on the practice squad of the Seattle Seahawks. In college, Coleman rushed for 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns in 50 career games. In 2016, he set the single-season school record with an average of 7.5 yards per carry. Coleman will wear No. 24 for the Packers. The Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, has placed Alex Marzette, Jarvis Summers, Anthony Glover Jr.and Stephen Ugochukwu on waivers. The training camp roster now stands at 13 players. The Herd tips-off the 2018-19 season on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at the Menominee Nation Arena against the Greensboro Swarm. The first 1,500 fans to enter the building for the home opener will receive a clear tote bag presented by BMO Harris Bank. To purchase tickets, or for more information on the team, visit www.wisconsinherd.com<http://www.wisconsinherd.com> or call a Herd sales representative at (920) 233-HERD.
Thursday Night Foothall……Oakland is at San Francisco
Tom Braatz, vice president of football operations for the Green Bay Packers from 1987 to 1991, died Oct. 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Braatz, 85, was Ron Wolf’s immediate predecessor as executive vice president of football operations
Among his most successful Packers draft choices were Sterling Sharpe, Leroy Butler, Chuck Cecil, Don Majkowski and Bryce Paup. He hired Lindy Infante, who was named NFL coach of the year in 1989.
During his 39-year career, 45 players Braatz drafted or acquired played in 117 Pro Bowls, and his teams competed in 17 playoff games. John Dorsey, general manager for the Cleveland Browns, and Jason Licht, general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were hired by Braatz.
Bob Skoronski, a highly-regarded left tackle and offensive captain of the Lombardi era Green Bay Packers, died Oct. 30 of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84.
Skoronski was selected in the fifth round of the 1956 NFL draft out of Indiana University. He started all 12 games of his rookie season before serving two years in the U.S. Air Force. He returned to the Packers in 1959, the first year for new head coach Vince Lombardi. Skoronski played on all of the championship teams of the Lombardi era. The Packers were his only NFL team.
He is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, but was never a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which includes Lombardi and 12 of his teammates.
NBA-Milwaukee is Boston tonight. The Bucks are 7-0.
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