By Adam Roberts – 5/13/2021

We knew this would be happening, we knew this would be happening, we knew this would be happening……that’s the mantra I said to myself trying to fall asleep last night.

The Packers have reached a one-year deal with veteran quarterback Blake Bortles, the third pick in the 2014 NFL Draft who last played in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams.

The move makes Bortles the first quarterback addition since Aaron Rodgers’ concerns about unhappiness with the team. Of course, general manager Brian Gutekunst already has said there will be more arms in Green Bay this offseason for OTAs since the team would only have one arm otherwise with Jordan Love the only other QB on the active roster. This weekend at rookie minicamp both Kurt Benkert and Chad Kelly will be present with Love ineligible to participate.

In his career, Bortles has played 78 games completing 59.3% of his passes for 17,600+ yards, 103 TDs and 75 INTs.

By Adam Roberts – 5/12/2021

The Milwaukee Bucks today requested waivers on forward Rodions Kurucs ahead of the likely arrival of Elijah Bryant.

Kurucs only was able to get meaningful minutes in one game of the 19 he was with the team after arriving from Houston, and never really established himself with the group. Many fans on Twitter were none too disappointed by the news, with many referring to Kurucs’ guilty plea for disorderly conduct in March related to a 2019 assault incident involving his girlfriend.

In action last night, the Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 114-102 in a bounce-back win in Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bucks, who remain third in the East with three games left before the playoffs and are a game back of the Nets for the two-seed. The Bucks visit Indiana tomorrow night.

By Adam Roberts – 5/11/2021

More fans will soon be allowed through the turnstiles at American Family Field and Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, just in time for an influx Bucks interest as the playoffs near.

Both the Bucks and Brewers’ stadiums are preparing to increase to 50% capacity. American Family Field will expand starting this Saturday when Milwaukee hosts the Atlanta Braves, while Fiserv will expand once the NBA Playoffs begin later this month.

Today the Milwaukee County Health Department gave their blessing to the increases since both facilities have approved safety plans to help mitigate COVID spread.

Some rules that will apply:

• Fans will be required to wear face coverings at all times when inside Fiserv Forum, except when actively eating or drinking
• Tickets will continue to be sold in pods
• Fans are not permitted to bring in bags. Items larger than 4”x6”x1” will not be permitted

Single game Brewers tickets are available for all games scheduled through Thursday, May 27th, while limited single-game Bucks playoff tickets go on sale this Friday.

By Adam Roberts – 5/11/2021

If you were to put together a top five list for the most divisive topics people have debated about over the past five years, I’d wager that the national anthem conversation would be on most lists. Colin Kaepernick’s stance, or lack thereof, on that subject helped to reignite often heated conversations on the issue which have come up at different times over the course of U.S. history. Over that time period, several legislative actions have been attempted at various levels of local and state government to manage how and when the national anthem is performed at events both sporting and non-sporting related.

Today in Madison, legislation is being considered by Wisconsin legislators that would require the national anthem to be played before sporting events in any venue that has received public funding. This would include all of the state’s professional sports venues: Lambeau Field, Fiserv Forum, and American Family Field. The bill was authored in part by Wonewoc Representative Tony Kurtz, who said this week it is not intended to punish athletes who have used the anthem as a protest platform. Rather, he says, it is in part a response to the action Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks took earlier this year to stop playing the anthem before games until the NBA stepped in and required its teams to play it. Kurtz also said he was upset at the Packers when they made the decision in September to stay in the locker room before their opener against Minnesota.

While the bill has a path to Governor Evers’ desk, it’s unclear whether or not he would sign the bill. It also doesn’t include any enforcement language, leaving it unclear if venues that refuse to follow the bill would face any consequence.

By Adam Roberts – 5/10/2021

Depending on your school, your alma matter’s baseball team may be either a couple games or as many as eight to ten contests in to their 2021 season at this point. But the end goal for all teams remains the same: raising the trophy at Neuroscience Group Field in Grand Chute next month. For some of our area’s D1 teams, that path will also include a stop in Fond du Lac.

The WIAA has determined locations for the baseball, softball, and golf state tournaments. Division One baseball and softball will have quarterfinal stops at Herr-Baker Stadium in Fond du Lac and Bay Port High School in Green Bay respectively. The baseball quarterfinals will be Friday, June 25th, while the softball quarters will be Monday, June 28th.

As for section group pairings, here’s what this year looks like for our area’s teams:

Baseball

D1 Section 3 Region A – Baraboo

• Holmen, La Crosse Central, Onalaska, Tomah

D2 Section 1 Group C – Rice Lake

• Arcadia, Black River Falls, G-E-T, La Crosse Logan, Sparta, West Salem

D3 Section 3 Group A – Viroqua

• Aquinas, Luther, Mel-Min, Viroqua, Westby

D4 Section 1 Group D – Shell Lake

• Blair-Taylor, C-FC

D4 Section 3 Group A – Pecatonica

• Bangor, Cashton, De Soto

Softball

D1 Section 3 Group A – Middleton

• Holmen, La Crosse Central, Onalaska, Tomah

D2 Section 1 Group B – Mosinee

• Black River Falls, La Crosse Logan, Sparta, West Salem

D3 Section 1 Group B – Arcadia

• Aquinas, Arcadia, GET, Westby

D3 Section 3 Group A – Prairie du Chien

• Viroqua/Youth Initiative

D4 Section 3 Group A – Blair-Taylor

• Blair-Taylor, C-FC

D4 Section 3 Group B – Blair-Taylor

• Cashton, Luther, Mel-Min

D5 Section 3 Group A – Bangor

• Bangor

D5 Section 3 Group B – Bangor

• De Soto