By Adam Roberts – 5/25/2021

While I don’t think anyone really expected any groundbreaking information to come out of Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ appearance on Sportscenter last night, there were some interesting nuggets to take away from his conversation with departing anchor Kenny Mayne.

Maybe most notable was that Rodgers isn’t upset with Jordan Love, but the club’s philosophy he believes has gone awry. Rodgers says it wasn’t that general manager Brian Gutekunst traded up or even drafted Love, it’s how he handled it. “I Love Jordan, he’s a great kid,” Rodgers told Mayne on his final show with ESPN. He explained it’s about the philosophy that it’s about the people that make the organization great, not vice versa. In Rodgers’ opinion, the team’s front office feels too much like a corporation and isn’t entirely personable.

Of course while Rodgers made time for Kenny, he did not show up for the first voluntary team OTAs yesterday. This was an almost certainty, and he’s not required to be anywhere until June 15th for mandatory minicamp.

By Adam Roberts – 5/24/2021

Back in 2004, my mother, her partner, my sister and I all got the opportunity to see the PGA Championship in person at Whistling Straits north of Sheboygan. As an 11 year old just beginning to learn the names of all the major players at the time on tour, I was craning my neck all day hoping to get a glimpse of Tiger. While Eldrick would not be seen that day, we were able to catch some putting from both Vijay Singh and Phil Micklelson. After Phil’s putt, we called out to him from the stands, and to this day I remember his wave to us and a “thanks for the support”.

I like to think he directed this at me, but I know he was probably speaking to my sister, who that day was being wheeled around with a broken leg.

Phil put himself in the record book Sunday by winning the PGA Championship to become the oldest major champion in golf history. And he didn’t have to work all that hard for it.

Mickelson was in a tight race for the opening hour until Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen made all the wrong moves.

Mickelson won his sixth major and becomes the first player in PGA Tour history to win 30 years apart.

Next up is the U.S. Open and renewed hope for a career Grand Slam.

By Adam Roberts – 5/24/2021

Rodgers Watch is nearly a month old, and will hit that milestone this Saturday. Between now and then, the team will hold its first three days of organized team activities starting today in Green Bay.

Not many are expecting Rodgers to show up to any of the voluntary workouts May 24th, 25th, and 27th or June 1st, 2nd, or 14th. However, those June dates will be interesting to watch, since the cost of a possible Rodgers trade will drop off significantly after the first of the month. Mandatory minicamp will be June 15th through the 17th.

Jordan Love will be in attendance today, and it would make sense if both Kurt Benkert and Blake Bortles are there as well. As for who else will be attending, that remains to be seen given the players’ associations adamant insistence on players skipping voluntary workouts this offseason.

The Vikings are also going to spend some time together starting today. New free agent addition Patrick Peterson is expected to be in attendance for the voluntary event. The Vikings brought the star free agent over from the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason. Mandatory minicamp for the Vikings also starts June 15th.

By Adam Roberts – 5/21/2021

Since head coach Kevin Schreiner went out as close to on top with the Aquinas baseball team as you can without a championship, Scott Bagniefski has been tasked with living up to the expectations the program had following their 2015 state title appearance. Scott has handled those expectations well, with a state title of his own in 2017 and a 79-45 overall record in his fifth season as manager. Sure the last couple of seasons before this one hadn’t been quite as good as his first two, but this year Scott is managing a bonafide state contender once again that features high-octane offense and an elite pitching staff. Both were on display yesterday against Logan.

Granted, the Rangers likely won’t advance past their first playoff game this year, but they still don’t just hand out no-hitters for free and I’ve always found multi-pitcher no-hitters, like the one we saw yesterday, to be very fascinating. Blugold pitchers Pearson Feehan and Lucas Ellingson combined for a no-no in the 16-0 win that was highlighted by a nine-run first inning complete with a two-run homer for Jared Everson.

The Blugolds lead the Mississippi Valley Conference by a half game over Onalaska, the only team to defeat Aquinas this year so far. Before the rematch on Thursday, the Blugolds will face Tomah tonight and Sparta  Monday and Tuesday. Aquinas is 15-1 and currently ranked fifth in Division 3 by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association.

Author’s note: I owe a big thank you to Aquinas’s Brad Reinhart for reaching out to me for the following correction: Kevin Schreiner was the manager for Aquinas baseball in 2015, not Sam Servais. Thanks, Brad!

By Adam Roberts – 5/20/2021

UWL baseball’s Chris Schwarz has now had five 30-win seasons, and the thirtieth of the 2021 campaign was a wild ride.

The Eagles were hosting Platteville, and at different times trailed 5-0, 11-7 in the bottom of the ninth, and 13-11 in the bottom of the tenth. Each time UWL would rebound courtesy of 16 hits, with maybe the biggest coming in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run home run from Connor Roesler as part of a 3-4 4 RBI afternoon. Couple that with a solid five innings of relief for Chris Seveska and the walk-off on a wild pitch, and there you have the 14-13 Eagle win.

The 30 wins are the fifth most in school history, behind the rest of Schwarz’s 30-plus win seasons. The most came in 2016 when the Eagles won 39 games on their way to the D3 championships.

UWL will take on two-seed UW-Whitewater tomorrow morning as part of the double-elimination tournament. The other two remaining teams are UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh.