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Former Red Raider, Badger Kobe King Entering G-League Draft

By Adam Roberts – 1/11/2021

Over the weekend, former Central standout and Badger Kobe King signed with an agent and declared for the NBA G League Draft pool.

Per Jon Chepkevich of Pro BBall Combine, this means that Kobe is now auto-eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft.

We haven’t heard a ton about King since he left Wisconsin during the 2019-20 season. After signing a letter of intent to join the Nebraska program with Fred Hoiberg back in April, King then backed out last June for personal reasons. The former Mr. Basketball has led the Badgers in scoring during his 19-20 season there, averaging around 12 and a half points per game.

The G League Draft is later today, so we’ll keep our eye on it and see where King lands.

*UPDATE* King was not selected in the draft today by any of the G League teams.

Bucks’ G-Leauge Team Opting Out of 2021 Season

By Adam Roberts – 1/8/2021

Despite the NBA regular season rolling on in the midst of a pandemic with teams playing at their home stadiums, the G-League will be adopting a bubble plan very similar to what the NBA did with their final regular season games last year and all of their postseason. But one team won’t be making the trip to Florida.

The Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G-League affiliate, put out a statement from GM Dave Dean stating they would not participate in the modified season.

“We commend the league for providing this opportunity while keeping health and safety as a top priority” Dean said in the release. “This was a difficult decision for us, but it was made in the best interest of the Herd and the Bucks. We remain deeply committed to Oshkosh, Menominee Nation Arena and our great fans.”

The G-League Bubble will begin next month in Orlando.

Four Packers Named to 1st-Team All-Pro

By Adam Roberts – 1/8/2021

The results are in, and the Packers fared pretty well when it comes to the league All-Pro lists, as you would figure with a 13-3 football team.

The lists are as follows:

First Team

QB Aaron Rodgers (46/50 votes)
WR Davante Adams (49)
T David Bakhtiari (26)
C Corey Linsley (18)

Second Team

CB Jaire Alexander (18)
OLB Za’Darius Smith (4)

Others With Votes

S Adrian Amos (6)
OL Elgton Jenkins (2)
K Mason Crosby (1)

As for the Vikings, rookie WR Justin Jefferson was the only player to receive any votes, with his five netting him a second-team honor.

Packers To Admit 6,000 Fans

By Adam Roberts – 1/8/2021

The crawl back to having fans at Lambeau Field was admittedly a slow one, with only the last few games permitting team employees and players’ family members. Yesterday, the team announced that the crawl has taken its next most logical step.

Around 6,000 ticketed fans will be allowed to attend the divisional playoff game either January 16th or 17th. Now for those hoping to secure a spot, it should be noted that the seats will only be available for season-ticket holders who opted in on the chance at seats earlier this summer. Team president Mark Murphy was quoted at the time of saying around 80% of season-ticket holders had opted out.

According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, fans will be arranged in socially distanced pods of two, four and six tickets throughout the stadium.” Prices, set by the NFL for playoff games, will range from $127 to $177, based on location.

Per team policy, masks will be required of all in attendance, suites and indoor club seats will not be open, and tailgating will not be allowed in the stadium parking lots.

Brian Lewis to Return to La Crosse Loggers

By Adam Roberts – 1/7/2021

After leading his team through a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Brian Lewis will be back for another summer of Logger baseball in 2021.

Per WXOW’s Scott Emerich on Twitter, Lewis will return for his sixth season at the helm this year. In his first five season as skipper, he has accumulated a 169-165 record, second all-time for the franchise. He also served as a team assistant prior to becoming manager in 2016

Lewis is firmly cemented in the La Crosse baseball community; he also is the head coach at Viterbo and led La Crosse Central from 2014-2015.

Also returning for next season are pitching coach Tom Kinney and hitting coach Neal White.

NCAA Announces COVID-19 Testing Protocols For Tournament

By Adam Roberts – 1/7/2021

We already know if the Badgers make the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it won’t be a very long road trip from Madison to Indianapolis. Now we know more about the strict COVID policies they’ll have to comply with there.

The NCAA is revealing its health and safety protocols for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Tier One individuals will be required to have seven consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before arriving in Indianapolis. That includes players, coaches, trainers, and other staff members. They will also undergo daily PCR testing once they arrive in Indy and throughout the entire tournament. Individuals who have tested positive in the past 90 days, are at least two weeks post-infection and are asymptomatic will not be required to have daily testing. Those who are at least two weeks removed from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine are also immune to the daily testing.

All Tier One individuals will also be required to wear a device to monitor their movements and help with contact tracing, much like the ones currently used by the NBA. Attendance policies will be announced after February 1st, but the NCAA says up to six family members per Tier One participant will be allowed in each game.

Football-Only Conference Realignment Clears Next Hurdle

By Adam Roberts – 1/7/2021

The revolving door that is WIAA football conference realignment continues its infinite spin.

The 11-player realignment proposals that were advanced for further review – including a combination of those submitted by De Soto, Horicon/Hustisford and Pardeeville, River Falls and West Salem, and Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West – will be advanced to the Board of Control for final approval at its March 5th meeting. Also, the modified 8-player plan that originated with requests from De Soto, Lake Holcombe, Niagara and Pembine/Goodman and forms nine 8-player football conferences will advance to the Board for final consideration on the same date.

As it relates to our region, the plans include:

Baraboo of the Badger-Small Conference to the Mississippi Valley Conference
River Falls of the Mississippi Valley Conference to the Big Rivers Conference
West Salem of the Mississippi Valley Conference to the Coulee Conference

Up next is a review of the realignment proposal on February 11th.

MN Gov. Tim Walz Loosens Restrictions on Youth/Adult Sports

By Adam Roberts – 1/6/2021

Organized sports in the state of Minnesota have been on hold for some time. But now, governor Tim Walz is slowly preparing to get things going again.

Per the Associated Press, youth and adult sports, which were allowed to resume practices this week, will be allowed to resume games under indoor venue limits of 25% of capacity for a maximum of 150 spectators, and outdoor venue limits of 25% capacity with the maximum increasing to 250 people. But interregional tournaments and out-of-state games are discouraged.

There will be no Minnesota schools at the Midwest Players Classic this year for this reason.

Milwaukee Bucks Issue Statement on Jacob Blake Decision

By Adam Roberts – 1/6/2021

In the wake of the decision not to charge officers in the shooting of Jacob Blake back in August, the Milwaukee Bucks issued the following statement:

“The Bucks organization remains firmly against excessive use of force by law enforcement. This past year shed light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American and other marginalized communities. Reoccurring instances of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the Black community must stop. We will continue to work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist. As an organization, we remain strongly committed to address issues of social injustice and anti-racism and to make meaningful change for African Americans and all marginalized members of our community.”

During the NBA Playoffs, the Bucks notably boycotted a scheduled game against the Orlando Magic and were followed by other team in both the NBA and MLB.

Leroy Butler, Charles Woodson, Jared Allen Named HOF Finalists

By Adam Roberts – 1/6/2021

The 2021 NFL Hall of Fame modern-era class candidates are down to fifteen, with three former Packer and Viking legends up for consideration.

Former Packers defensive back Charles Woodson and safety LeRoy Butler have been selected as finalists. Woodson earned a Super Bowl ring with the Packers in 2010 and was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection. Butler was selected to the Pro Bowl four times and logged 38 interceptions and 20-and-a-half sacks while also christening the Lambeau Leap in 1993.

Also former Minnesota Viking Jared Allen is among the first-time finalists. Allen was traded to the Vikings by the Chiefs in 2008, where he stayed until 2013. After his first year with Minnesota, he was selected to his second Pro Bowl, and in 2012, set the single-season record for the Vikings for the most sacks – he had 22. Allen finished his career in Carolina but signed a one-year contract with Minnesota so he could retire a Viking in 2016.

The class of 2021 will be revealed February 6th, with Enshrinement set for August 8th. The class of 2020 will also be enshrined this year, after the ongoing pandemic canceled last year’s event.