ESPN La Crosse 105.5

Former Packer GM Ron Wolf Has Thoughts On Rodgers Situation

By Adam Roberts – 5/17/2021

It’s the story that we already know will dominate the rest of the month of May in this state until the Bucks either advance to June playoff basketball or falter in the first round. And everyone wants to get their two cents in, from the little guys like myself all the way up to the top names close to the situation. We’ve also heard from big football names not immediately involved in the decision-making process.

One of those names was on ESPN La Crosse 105.5 earlier today as part of The Wendy’s Big Show.

Former Packer general manager Ron Wolf, the architect of one of the biggest deals in league history acquiring Reggie White and by extension leading Green Bay to two Super Bowl appearances, was speaking on Rodgers and other top league quarterbacks trying to leverage for better deals. In Wolf’s mind, it’s a “kids these days” sort of situation.

The full Wolf quote, tweeted earlier today by Big Show executive producer Dan Plocher, reads thus:

“There is a huge change, and it started with Russell Wilson, then went to (DeShaun) Watson, and now it went to (Aaron) Rodgers. It appears that today’s quarterbacks want to be more than quarterbacks. In my time, they were hired to play the position of quarterback. That’s what they are being paid to do. These guys, they want to pick the coach, pick the players, it’s an interesting dilemma. All three of these guys have signed long-term contracts, and they are under contract. I’m sure at that time there wasn’t anyone holding a gun to their head saying that you have to sign. Now, they’re not happy. They’re not happy with the team they signed a contract with…We’ve got a lot of divas playing in the league right now… The thing that I fail to understand is, all these guys that are doing this (Watson, Rodgers, Wilson) have long-term deals. I can’t believe the game has changed that remarkably.”

We’ve heard this take before, and will likely hear it again before this situation is resolved one way or another. A reminder that nothing will in all likelihood be decided until after June 1st, and while the court of opinion seems to be slightly swaying towards a resolution between the two parties being reached, anything could happen.

Bucks Legend Dandridge Among Basketball HOF Class Of 2021

By Adam Roberts – 5/17/2021

The NBA announced its 2021 hall of fame class this year, which includes one former Milwaukee Buck among its ranks.

Bucks legend Bob Dandridge is part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 from the Veterans Committee. He is joined in this year’s class by Chris Bosh, Chris Webber, Ben Wallace, Paul Pierce, and several others. Dandridge began his career in 1969 as part of a Bucks team destined for greatness in 1971 winning their to-date only championship. He played on that ’71 championship team and also eight other seasons in Milwaukee averaging 18.6 points per game with the team along with 7.3 rebounds. The class will be enshrined on September 11th.

In game action Saturday, the Bucks fell 118-112 to the Bulls in Chicago to wrap up the regular season. With the number-three playoff spot locked in, the Bucks decided to rest their top players and essentially concede the game to Chicago who finished on the outside looking in of the play-in picture. Rookie Jordan Nwora had 34 points in the setback. The Bucks prepare to face the Heat in the playoffs.

TWolves, Lynx Announce Ownership Deal With A-Rod, Lore

By Adam Roberts – 5/14/2021

I know we probably don’t probably have a TON of Timberwolves fans in the area, but I know we do cross over into southeast Minnesota, and if there’s a big enough story involving the Vikings or Twins I certainly make a point of noting it. I feel this is probably one of those kind of stories that necessitates a note.

Former MLB star Alex Rodriguez is set to become an NBA owner. On Friday, the Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx announced Glen Taylor has reached an agreement with Rodriguez and tech mogul Marc Lore on the sale and future ownership of the teams. ESPN reported Thursday that the transaction is for one-and-a-half billion dollars, and Rodriguez and Lore will be 50-50 partners. The deal will officially close after approval from the NBA.

The deal had been reported on a while ago, but now it is set to become official. It will be important to follow the language of ownership over the first few months of their tenure, given the relocation rumors that have started to pop up around the franchise in recent years.

Jordyn Kleman Sets Winona State Softball Strikeout Record

By Adam Roberts – 5/14/2021

The career of Jordyn Kleman at Winona State has been marked with success unparalleled in school history. The La Crosse native made her mark early, and going into the NSIC Tournament this month, the senior had one final opportunity to cement her legacy as one of the best athletes the school has ever seen. Unfortunately, Winona State fell in the their first game of the tournament yesterday to St. Cloud State 2-1.

But WAIT! The NSIC is double elimination!

Taking advantage of another opportunity a day after striking out seven, Kleman fanned six Beaver batters in three innings of scoreless work, earning the win over Minot State and in the process becoming the program’s all-time strikeout leader. It was Kleman’s 21st win of the season, with the exclamation point coming in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI single for Teaghen Amwoza.

The Warriors will face either the top ranked Augustana or Minnesota-Duluth next this afternoon.

Brewers P Corbin Burnes Sets MLB Record; Brewers Fall To Cardinals

By Adam Roberts – 5/14/2021

I wrote a piece earlier this year calling Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes a stud, an opinion I know is shared by many Brewers fans and non-Brewers fans alike. When you make MLB history, that definitely ups your stud points, and Burnesy had a couple of historic moments yesterday.

Burnes broke two records, most strikeouts before a pitcher issues a walk in a single season and another one for issuing 58 strikeouts before walking a single player. But much like many outings this year, a great pitching performance was spoiled by no run support in a 2-0 afternoon loss to St. Louis. Both teams struggled mightily with runners in scoring position, but it was Milwaukee who put up an 0-for spot by going 0-10. Burnes has started six games this season and pitched well in five of those outings but has just a 2-3 record this year. Yesterday, his one slip up in the first would prove too much to overcome for the Brewer offense, spoiling yet another great start.

The Brewers now are three-games behind St. Louis for first place in the NL Central. The Braves are in town starting tonight.

UWL Manager Chris Schwarz Wins 400th Career Game

By Adam Roberts – 5/13/2021

My time close to the Chris Schwarz UW La Crosse baseball program lasted about 24 hours.

My junior year was one of activity exploration for me, and after a summer of working out back home with a friend I decided to try my hand at making the Eagle baseball team. Despite my best efforts, it was clear that missing out on years of baseball coaching and experience as I pursued golf excellence in high school would be my downfall, and I did NOT get a callback the day after tryouts. But this shouldn’t have been all too surprising for me going in; Chris Schwarz has led UWL to two NCAA Division III Championship appearances and five berths in the NCAA Division III Regional, so the bar has always been high to be a part of the program.

And those high expectations have led to a number of victories for Schwarz, including yesterday’s walk-off at Copeland Park against UW Oshkosh 5-4 which was also his 400th of a long, successful career. Through 17 seasons at UWL Schwarz is now 400-281-2.

Jack Olver was the big star of the day for the Eagles, knocking in four RBI over the course of the doubleheader, including the single into right that scored freshman Zach Carney to seal the victory.

UWL is now 27-11 with a Saturday doubleheader in Oshkosh up next.

American Family Field To Return To Full Capacity On June 25th

By Adam Roberts – 5/13/2021

In just over a month, the seats of American Family Field will be teeming with baseball fans once again.

The Brewers today announced they have plans to return their home ballpark to full capacity on June 25th, a Friday series opener against Colorado. Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger expressed appreciation for both Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee’s Commissioner of Health Kirsten Johnson on agreeing to the plan for full capacity at the park.

This coming weekend AmFam will be back at 50% capacity. Currently, single-game tickets are available for games scheduled through Thursday, May 27. Tomorrow the Brewers will announce details about single-game ticket availability and the promotional schedule for all remaining home games Monday, May 31 through Sunday, September 26.

Packers To Sign QB Blake Bortles For Another OTA Arm

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.

Conor McGregor Leads List Of Highest-Paid Athletes

By Adam Roberts – 5/12/2021

No surprise here, but the highest-paid athletes in the world do not in fact play for any of the three Wisconsin pro sports teams.

Conor McGregor is leading Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes. The U-F-C fighter earned 180-million dollars in the past year just in the ring, and made another 158-million in endorsements. He becomes only the third athlete to make more than 70-million in a year outside of competition, joining Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.

Meantime, three other athletes earned more than 100-million. They include soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The other is Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, thanks to a 66-million dollar signing bonus. He’s the first NFL player to ever top 100-million in a single year.

Very interesting is the fact that no baseball players are on the list given the big contracts for stars like Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, and Manny Machado recently.

Bucks Request Waivers On F Rodions Kurucs

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.