ESPN La Crosse 105.5

MLB Criticizes Lawsuit Over All-Star Game

By Adam Roberts – 6/8/2021

A group representing businesses in Georgia affected by the relocation of the MLB All Star game is taking legal action seeking compensation, and baseball isn’t thrilled with it.

Major League Baseball is criticizing a lawsuit filed over the relocation of Atlanta’s All-Star game. The summer classic was moved earlier this spring from Truist Park to Denver after the state’s new voting measures were signed into law. The league called a lawsuit filed by the Job Creators Network “political theatrics.” The lawsuit seeks 100-million-dollars to help Georgia small businesses who suffered potential losses in the move.

Meanwhile this evening the Brewers are looking for their fifth consecutive win tonight against the Reds in Cincinnati. Adrian Houser will take the mound for Milwaukee and will face Sonny Gray. The Brewers are a half-game ahead of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central standings while the Reds are four-games behind.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Not At Mandatory Minicamp; Team Signs ILB Campbell

By Adam Roberts – 6/8/2021

We became privy to this news yesterday courtesy of ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Rob Demovsky, but today in Green Bay as players arrive for the start of mandatory minicamp, Aaron Rodgers will not be among them.

While he will stay away from team activities which begin today and run through Thursday, the team will have to decide whether or not to levy a fine against him. As we wrote yesterday Rodgers can be fined up to 93,085 dollars by the team for failing to show up, but they could also choose to excuse him and waive the fines. As some have pointed out on Twitter, there may be a case for the team wanting Rodgers away from the facility in order to give Jordan Love the opportunity to work with the Packers’ top receivers.

Speaking of those receivers, after missing voluntary OTAs, all the starters are in Green Bay today, and after practice both Davante Adams and Devin Funchess will speak to the media. Also speaking will be left tackle David Bakhtiari, who was seen at OTAs looking pretty healthy after his ACL injury last year.

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In other news, Rob Demovsky reports today that the Packers are acquiring former Arizona inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to help fill the spot left by the release of Christian Kirksey this offseason. Campbell has started for both the Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons in his career, and has 462 career tackles in five seasons including a career-high 129 in 2019.

Brewers INF Keston Hiura Optioned To AAA Nashville

By Adam Roberts – 6/7/2021

Once again, a lack of production at the plate has resulted in Brewers’ infielder Keston Hiura being sent down to the minors.

How long this demotion will last is uncertain, but starting today Hiura will be working in Triple-A Nashville trying to work through the yips that have plagued him this season. Hiura was held out of Saturday’s win over Arizona and was out of the lineup for three of the past four Brewer contests. Hiura has his .069 with a double and two walks since being called back up from Nashville on May 24th. He also has 16 strikeouts during that period of time. In his start yesterday, he recorded one hit but had three of his 16 strikeouts since the return.

While Hiura is down in Nashville, Daniel Vogelbach will likely serve as the Brewers primary first baseman.

Milwaukee is off today and will be at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati tomorrow to open a series against the Reds.

Packers Minicamp Begins Tomorrow

By Adam Roberts – 6/7/2021

The Aaron Rodgers saga may take an interesting turn tomorrow. One that has been anticipated by media types, fans, and likely the front office as well.

Mandatory team minicamp begins tomorrow, moved up about a week last month and set to run through Thursday. As the name would imply, attendance in Green Bay is compulsory, with fines able to be levied against players who don’t show up. While wide receiver Devin Funchess said on Twitter he would be there, and other big-name wideouts who stayed away from OTAs are also expected there, it’s anyone’s guess to whether or not Rodgers will be present.

Should Aaron miss out, the team has the option to fine him just a tick over 93,000 dollars. However, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter and others have noted, just because the team CAN fine Rodgers for a no-show doesn’t mean they WILL fine him. Green Bay could instead choose to issue him an extended absence that would excuse him from the fines. What kind of message that would send to the locker room, however, is uncertain.

All of this comes after Packers team president Mark Murphy said last week in his monthly column the debate over Rodgers’ future has divided the fan base. The team remains adamant they can resolve things with Aaron and have him as their quarterback in 2021 and beyond.

Bucks-Nets Game Two Tonight Without James Harden

By Adam Roberts – 6/7/2021

Down 1-0 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Nets, the Bucks are gearing up for Game Two tonight in Brooklyn, and doing so knowing that one of the biggest cogs of the Nets’ big three has been ruled out for tonight.

James Harden won’t play tonight night due to what’s being called “right hamstring tightness” by the team. Today on Keyshawn, JWill, and Zubin the possibility of Harden’s limited availability for the rest of the series was also not ruled out. The guard played less than a minute of Game One after grabbing his leg on the first play of the game. Brooklyn won Game One, regardless, 115-107. This despite a 34-point performance from Giannis and a host of coaching changes Mike Budenholzer had to run through with Harden out.

The challenge for the Bucks tonight will likely be two-fold. First, the team needs to make wide-open shots; of the team’s 30 3-point attempts, a number of them were should-makes. Another 6-30 evening won’t cut it.

Second, Jrue Holiday needs to neutralize Kyrie Irving to force Kevin Durant to be a do-it-all tonight. Holiday will likely be matched up with Irving whenever he’s on the floor. Irving played 45 minutes on Saturday and scored 25 on 11-26 field goal shooting with 3 3’s.

ESPN La Crosse 105.5 is the area’s home for the NBA postseason, and you can catch tonight’s game starting right after The Sports Lead at 6.

MLB To Give Away Tickets To Get Vaccinated At Ballparks

By Adam Roberts – 6/4/2021

The push for COVID vaccines continues as President Biden remains adamant the US can reach 70% of Americans with at least one shot by the Fourth of July. To get to that point, a number of organizations have offered incentives to individuals electing to receive the vaccines. Keeping with that theme, Major League Baseball is giving away tickets to games to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The league has announced its MLB Vaccinate at the Plate program. All 30 clubs, Brewers included, will host at least one event this month where unvaccinated fans get a free ticket if they get their shot at the event. Each club can set its own procedures for how to make the program work. Many of the ballparks have already been used as vaccination sites, with more than a million Americans getting their shots at ballparks.

The Bucks hosted a similar kind of event with mobile vaccination sites at Fiserv Forum, albeit without the free ticket incentive.

Brewers Hit Four HRs; Defeat Arizona 7-4

By Adam Roberts – 6/4/2021

Talk to any athlete, and ask them about how particular they are about their gear. Chances are most would be reluctant midway through the season to use a completely new piece of equipment as integral to the game as a baseball bat is to a ballplayer.

But Brewers’ outfielder Christian Yelich decided to give it a try last night against Arizona, switching out his black bat for a blonde and taking a third inning pitch for a ride into right field. The three-run homer was the difference ultimately in a 7-4 Milwaukee win that also featured home runs by Jackie Bradley Jr. Avisail Garcia, and birthday boy Luis Urias.

On the mound, Brent Suter got the win in relief for Brett Anderson, who gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings. Josh Hader posted his 13th save in 13 attempts this year.

Second baseman Kolten Wong did leave the game in the fourth inning with oblique discomfort. The left oblique is the same spot that sent Wong to the IL back in April.

The series continues tonight, with Freddy Peralta starting against Matt Peacock.

NFL To Drop Race Bias In Concussion Claims

By Adam Roberts – 6/3/2021

The past year has seen a rise in calls for racial and social justice the scale of which hasn’t really been seen before this millennium. Last summer’s racial protests were probably the second biggest story of the year behind COVID, and the conversation has crossed into many areas of our everyday lives, sports included. And with the rise in conversation, old ways of thinking and processes are being challenged.

In line with this, the NFL says it will stop settling concussion lawsuits using a racially-biased formula.

The league was sued by two Black former players who claimed white players had a better chance of winning concussion settlements because Black players were assumed to have lower levels of cognitive function. The two Black players had been refused payouts by the NFL under a billion-dollar settlement for brain injuries, and launched a civil lawsuit over so-called “race-norming.”

The lawsuit was dismissed in March, and a judge ordered the NFL to negotiate a settlement with the players. The league pledged yesterday to halt the use of “race-norming.” The judge also called for a full report on the racial bias allegations, which one of the Black players called “classic systemic racism.”

USFL To Return In Spring of 2022

By Adam Roberts – 6/3/2021

If you feel like you haven’t gotten your proper fix of the Memphis Showboats these past 36 years, I’ve got some good news for you.

The United States Football League is coming back!

The USFL was created in 1983 and was meant to compete with the NFL, but folded in 1986 largely due to trying to compete directly with the NFL in the fall. USFL officials announced today it will return in the Spring of 2022 with a minimum of eight teams and will have the rights to old team names, including the New Jersey Generals and Oakland Invaders. At the time, the New Jersey Generals majority owner was former President Trump.

Games will air on FOX Sports, and more details on what the league will look like and where teams will be is still to be determined. One thing that will also remain the same from the previous iteration of the league will be its red, white, and blue stars-and-stripes logo.

As for the XFL, plans for it’s revival of the revival are still in flux as negotiations with the CFL remain ongoing.

Loggers Win Season Opener Vs Minnesota

By Adam Roberts – 6/3/2021

In front of a crowd just shy of 2,200 people, the La Crosse Loggers arrived home to Copeland Park prepared to capture their first win of the 2021 regular season.

To do so, they’d need to get a couple of clutch hits. Those hits came from Ronald Sweeny III and Kyle Casper, who’s two solo shots proved the difference in a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Mud Puppies. Sweeny’s home run in the third tied the game at 1, then after giving up three to the visitors in the sixth, La Crosse would score the winning run in the eighth on a sac fly from JT Reed to bring in Darrian Escobar-Winter.

With the win, La Crosse improves to 1-2 on the season with the series finale tonight at Copeland Park.