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Corbin Burnes Is A Unit

By Adam Roberts – 4/15/2021

While at home recovering from my second COVID shot yesterday, I hopped on Twitter for a little bit to follow along with the Brewers-Cubs series finale for a bit, mostly because I, like many of us, can not get the Brewers on my tv thanks to the lovely television situation keeping the team off many of our screens. But I wanted to follow this game in particular, since I have joined the chorus of Brewer fans and analysts hoping for a Cy Young-season out of pitcher Corbin Burnes. So far, he has absolutely delivered.

Yesterday, Burnes was once again dominant, striking out 10 while yielding just two hits over six innings of work, during which he also drove in a couple of runs in the sixth in the team’s 7-0 win. So far in 2021, Burnes is arguably the hottest pitcher in baseball (18 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 30 K). With regard to those final two numbers, Burnes is now just the fourth pitcher in league history to start a season with at least 30 strikeouts and no walks (#1 is Kenley Jansen, who back in 2017 struck out 51 pitchers before his first walk).

Other than the debate over replay, Burnes and his rise is the talk of baseball in our neck of the woods. ESPN did a great write up on Burnes you can read here, and in it they discuss Burnes’ transition from a four-seam fastball to the cutter. Many people associate that pitch with former Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera, and it could easily become the dominant pitch in Burnes’ arsenal to compliment his five other offerings.

Milwaukee is off today before beginning a three-gamer against Pittsburgh tomorrow at American Family Field. In injury news, outfielder Lorenzo Cain is on the 10-day IL with a left quad strain and Christian Yelich remains out with a sore back.

NFL Pushing For Team Employee COVID Vaccinations

By Adam Roberts – 4/13/2021

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero is reporting that the NFL is making a strong push to get team employees vaccinated against COVID-19 while not going so far as to directly mandate them.

In a memo released today, the league said that “any team employee who refuses a COVID-19 vaccination without “bona fide medical or religious ground” will be barred from Tier 1 or Tier 2 status, and thus have restricted access within the team facility and not work directly with players, per sources.” The memo also says that teams must report their number of vaccinated employees weekly as the league and players’ association continue to figure out when teams can relax their COVID protocols.

This comes the same day that the Denver Broncos became the first team in the league to protest in-person team activities, which the players’ association has encouraged teams to boycott.

You can read the full memo here.

UWL Football Releases 2021 Schedule

By Adam Roberts – 4/13/2021

The NFL Draft is just over two weeks away, which is excellent news for those who can’t turn off the football switch in their brain after the Super Bowl. Similarly, many people around here can’t wait for UWL football to return to Roger Harring Stadium. The feeling is amplified this year with last year’s season getting cancelled. Today we know where Matt Janus and the 2021 Eagles will play each of their 10 scheduled games.

The season begins on Saturday, September 4th when the Eagles visit Dakota State in the first all-time meeting between the two schools. The home opener follows on the 11th against Dubuque; while the Spartans lead the all-time series five game to four, the Eagles won the most recent meeting back in 2014 24-8. The nonconference slate concludes on September 18th at Grand Valley State in Michigan; the Lakers were NCAA Division 2 champions four times over a five year window from 2002 to 2006, and have won the only other meeting against UWL, a 24-14 win in the 1978 NAIA Playoffs.

The WIAC games begin following a bye week Oktoberfest weekend, with UWL up in River Falls October 2nd. Recall the 2019 meeting, which featured 112 combined points in a 63-49 Falcons win. October 9th the Eagles are home against Oshkosh, the 2019 D3 runners up. The Pioneers of Platteville are next on the docket October 16th before Homecoming on the 23rd against Stout. Then its back on the road to face Stevens Point and Whitewater October 30th and November 6th respectively, before the season wraps up at home against Eau Claire. UWL leads that all-time series 56-28-2 and dominated in 2019 42-7.

UWL will return seven All-WIAC players in 2021, including possibly the best punter in the conference in Sean Parker and workhorses such as running back Joey Stutzman, linebacker Rusty Murphy, and wideout Jake Simuncak.

Check out the full schedule below:

9/4 @ Dakota State
9/11 vs University of Dubuque
9/18 @ Grand Valley State
10/2 @ River Falls
10/9 vs Oshkosh
10/16 @ Platteville
10/23 vs Stout
10/30 @ Stevens Point
11/6 @ Whitewater
11/13 vs Eau Claire

Twins-Red Sox Postponed Following Deadly Police Shooting

By Adam Roberts – 4/12/2021

The Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox won’t be playing baseball today following a deadly police shooting just outside Minneapolis.

The Twins released a statement saying “it is in the best interests” of many including players and fans to postpone the game. The team says the league was consulted in the decision making process. The Twins also expressed their condolences to Daunte Wright’s family; Wright was shot and killed by police yesterday following a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center. The police chief said he believes an accidental discharge led to the shooting.

Protests took place in the Minneapolis suburb yesterday evening, a metro area which dealt with massive protests and riots in the wake of the George Floyd shooting last May. We’ll keep an eye on if the situation impacts the scheduled Bucks-Timberwolves game on Wednesday.

Caledonia, La Crescent BBB Post Six All-Conference Athletes

By Adam Roberts – 4/12/2021

While the season didn’t end the way Caledonia boy’s basketball would have liked Saturday in the Twin Cities, they had a heck of a run to the AA title game where they very nearly brought down the top-ranked team in Minnesota. On top of just making it to that point, they did so without the services of Eli King, lost to injury earlier this season.

The Warriors did lead the Three Rivers Conference in All-Conference athletes, with Sam Privet, Andrew Kunelius, Austin Klug, and Jackson Koepke making the list. The La Crescent-Hokah boys had some representation as well, with the Lancers’ Parker McQuin and Carter Todd receiving honors.

Viterbo W. Volleyball Wins NSAA Tournament; Will Face Madonna (Mich.) In NAIA Tournament

By Adam Roberts – 4/12/2021

The 20th-ranked Viterbo women’s volleyball team needed five sets to do it, but with their 3-2 comeback victory Saturday over #17 Bellevue, they secured a NSAA Tournament championship.

That’s now seven NSAA Tournament titles in a row for the V-Hawks, who were led by senior Maya Roberts with 19 kills and Winona freshman Grace Rohde with 13. Holmen sophomore Kenzie Winker added nine kills while Caledonia junior Adrianna Renhart contributed 20 digs for Viterbo.

WIth their automatic berth, the V-Hawks were granted a home game to start the NAIA Tournament, and they will host Madonna (Mich) in the opening round. The tournament begins this Saturday.

Brewers, Bucks Dealing With Injuries

By Adam Roberts – 4/12/2021

The positives from this weekend? Both the Brewers and Bucks picked up big wins yesterday; the Crew defeated the Cardinals 9-3 to secure the series win while the Bucks stomped on the Magic to end a three-game losing streak.

The negatives? The injury bug is biting both teams.

Both Christian Yelich and Travis Shaw were pulled early from Sunday’s contest, Yeli with lower back soreness and Shaw after a foul ball caromed off his right shin and ankle. Manager Craig Counsell says both players are considered day-to-day ahead of tonight’s game against the Cubs at American Family Field.

As for the Bucks, they got Jrue Holiday back yesterday but played their fifth straight game without Giannis Antetokounmpo; he is still dealing with left knee soreness and the team says there is no timetable for his return to action. Beat writer Eric Nehm says the team is playing the situation very cautiously and will be extremely patient in getting him back on the floor. P.J. Tucker was also not playing yesterday with his strained left calf.

Zora Stephenson Will Call Tonight’s Bucks-Hornets Game

By Adam Roberts – 4/9/2021

Those of you who listened to games in the NBA bubble last summer may have heard some play-by-play from current Bucks sideline reporter Zora Stephenson. Tonight, she’ll be on the call for the Bucks-Hornets game, making her the first female to call a Bucks’ regular season game.

A product of Elon University, Stephenson held a reporting position in Denver before making the leap to Milwaukee, where she serves as both the Bucks’ primary sideline voice and also contributes to Milwaukee media stations from time-to-time. In Denver, she became an Emmy award-winning broadcaster. Stephenson also excelled on the basketball court, where she was a nominee for the McDonalds All-American team while at Oakton High School in Virginia (she also holds the school-record for three-pointers at 263). During her senior year at Elon, she made a huge leap from her sophomore to junior year, finishing the 13-14 season with the school’s second-highest single season three-point percentage at 40.4%.

Stephenson will be behind the mic for a Bucks-Hornets game tonight that will be sans Giannis and Jrue Holiday; Giannis has now missed four straight games.

Giannis Out Again Tonight Against Hornets.

By Adam Roberts – 4/9/2021

We’ve all heard and become familiar with the term “load management” by now. And with the length of a NBA season combined with the ever-increasing demand of its star athletes, it’s no surprise that teams are more and more frequently putting their big names out of games that largely are inconsequential. However, news today on Giannis could mean things are maybe more serious than just a day of load management.

The Greek Freak hasn’t played in three games heading into tonight’s contest against the Hornets, and now he’ll be missing a fourth straight game with what the team is calling left knee soreness. Joining Giannis on the injury list, according to Hornets’ beat writer Rick Bonnell, is Jrue Holiday with a left knee contusion.

Giannis hasn’t played since April 2nd against the Trailblazers, where he scored 47. He’s played in 46 of the Bucks’ 51 games this season.

Brewers Add Dee Strange-Gordon To Minor League Contract

By Adam Roberts – 4/9/2021

It’s been no secret that through the first week of the Brewers’ regular season, their offense has been less than stellar. Their six runs on Opening Day have been the scoring highlight of the season, and already pitchers like Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Hauser have had great outings ruined by no run support. General manager David Stearns has already acknowledged the offense isn’t where it needs to be, and hopefully with this new signing that will change sooner rather than later.

The Brewers have signed former National League batting champion Dee Strange-Gordon to a minor-league contract. He can play the infield or outfield, is a two-time All-Star, led the NL in stolen bases three times, and won a Gold Glove at second base. He has played in the majors with the Dodgers, Marlins, and Mariners. He had been preparing to play with Cincinnati this season, but the Reds released the 33 year old Strange-Gordon in March.

Statistically, Strange-Gordon had one of his worst years last season with Seattle, with career-lows in batting average, on-base and slugging percentage and appearances in under half of the Mariners’ games with no home runs.

After having today off, the Brewers will send Adrian Houser to the mound tomorrow afternoon to face the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Milwaukee starts lefty Brett Anderson for the series finale Sunday.