By Adam Roberts – 3/5/2021

The storylines coming into today’s Luther-Prairie School Division Four state semifinal wrote themselves, and we’ve spent the better part of a week hyping up the match up. Unfortunately, the result of the game didn’t go the way the Knights or their fan base would have hoped.

Senior Gavin Proudfoot would be the lone scorer in double figures for Luther, who shot 17-48 from the field and were pressed hard on their three point attempts (3-10) in the 61-46 loss to the Hawks. While Proudfoot was able to assert some dominance underneath with 12 boards, his teammate Isaiah Loersch was unable to do the same, finishing with four and four.

Still, don’t let this loss take away from what was a spectacular 2020-21 season for the Knights. This was just their second loss of the year, and people will be talking about the nail-biter against Blair-Taylor in the sectional final for a long time. Head coach Brad Schaper will still have plenty of weapons next season including Proudfoot, and he and the five other juniors who will likely form the senior core now have state experience to use to their advantage. Congratulations on an amazing season Luther!

By Adam Roberts – 3/4/2021

A new study shows just five of 789 professional athletes that came down with COVID-19 were later diagnosed with an inflammatory heart disease.

The research from JAMA Cardiology had doctors affiliated with six U.S. based leagues follow the infected players between May and October of last year. Before returning to play, the athletes went through three non-invasive tests that track heart rhythms where the cases were discovered. Also in the research, the five athletes that were discovered to have the heart disease all had beyond mild cases of COVID-19.

Concern about the heart disease fueled debate on whether to play sports during the pandemic. One of the diseases discovered, myocarditis, can be deadly if left undiagnosed and untreated.

By Adam Roberts – 3/4/2021

Honestly, who breaks news of a signing at 3:25 in the morning? Apparently Boston Globe beat writer Julian McWilliams, that’s who!

McWilliams broke the news very early this morning that the Red Sox would not pay center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and that he would instead sign a deal to join the Brewers. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the deal will be for two years, valued at 24 million dollars with an opt-out option after year one.

Looking at his stats, Bradley Jr. is a batter who strikes out very rarely with a career-low 22.1% K rate in 2020. He hit .283 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs, and five stolen bases last year, but is more known for his fielding abilities; the 30-year-old won a Gold Glove in 2018.

As for depth, the Brewers’ outfield now features names like Bradley Jr, Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, and Avisail Garcia. How GM David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell want to doll out starts and position assignments will be interesting to watch.

By Adam Roberts – 3/3/2021

Bills working their way through state government in both Wisconsin and Minnesota would prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

Wisconsin State Representative Barb Dittrich authored the Badger state bill which was introduced yesterday. It would ban transgender athletes from female sports from kindergarten through college. Dittrich and supporters of the measure have cited an unfair physical advantage they say transgender athletes would have over biological females.

Meanwhile, Minnesota State Representative Eric Lucero introduced H.R. 1657 last week which aims to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. Under the proposed legislation, transgender students who identify as women would be banned from trying out for or participating in female-only school sports. Doing so, would be considered a petty misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of three-hundred dollars. Additionally, the bill would also prohibit a transgender student from using communal areas such as restrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms that are designated female. Opponents of both bills Opponents say such proposals violate not only Title IX of federal education law prohibiting sex discrimination, but also rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. They also argue that such bans will further marginalize vulnerable students and hurt the state’s economy by making it more difficult to recruit both athletes and businesses.

In both cases, officials say the proposed legislation likely won’t become law as Governors Tim Walz and Tony Evers would likely veto any such bill. However, the news comes as multiple states are considering legislation restricting transgender youth participating in athletics.

By Adam Roberts – 3/2/2021

Tonight’s contest for Wisconsin against #23 Purdue could be the difference in the Badgers remaining in the Top 25 after the week is over.

Bucky is clinging onto the 25th spot in the AP rankings at the moment and has actually fallen out of the Top 25 in the Coach’s Poll. The Badgers are 4-and-6 in their last 10 games, sitting at 16-and-9 following the weekend loss to Illinois.

Our coverage tonight from West Lafayette begins at 7pm!