La Crosse Central To Rebrand As “Riverhawks”

By Adam Roberts – 2/16/2021

Central High School has a new identity, after the school board last night announced the change from the “Red Raiders” moniker the school has had for years to the new “Riverhawks” mascot that will be phased in over the next year or so.

A survey sent to students and staff yielded Riverhawks as the most popular choice ahead of the runner-up “Bandits”.

A logo with the Riverhawks text was designed by Games People Play, however the “LC” logo will be retained going forward as well.

Superintendent Aaron Engel has said that any change to a school’s identity will take time, likely a number of years, and the change from “Red Raiders” to “Riverhawks” will be gradual. However, principal Troy McDonald says he hopes to implement the new look for the upcoming spring sports seasons.

Plenty of Wins for Area College Basketball Teams

By Adam Roberts – 2/15/2021

My last post was all about the hearts of Badger fans breaking over the men’s basketball team’s loss to #3 Michigan yesterday. But that doesn’t mean all area college basketball was doom and gloom.

Including games from Saturday and Sunday, area colleges went 5-1 in their games. The UWL men, ranked #14 last week, got revenge for their loss at River Falls with an 83-52 drubbing of the Falcons on the 12th while the women fell on the road 61-54. Meanwhile, Winona State swept action against Concordia-St. Paul Saturday with the women winning a nail-biter 68-67 and the men claiming victory more comfortably 77-58, and Viterbo won 66-54 and 82-66 respectively over Presentation College.

The 4-1 Eagle men next take on Stout up in Menomonie this Wednesday while the ladies will host the Blue Devils at Mitchell Hall. WSU next faces Upper Iowa while both Viterbo units are at Waldorf tomorrow night.

Badgers Down to #21 In Newest AP Poll

By Adam Roberts – 2/15/2021

Many Badger men’s basketball fans were left heartbroken on Valentine’s Day. With a double-digit lead at halftime against third-ranked Michigan that was playing its first game in three weeks, it seemed like love at first sight. But then the honeymoon phase ended, and the lead disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Ultimately, Wisconsin decided to ghost the win they had in their grasp and fell 67-59.

Cringe aside, it was disappointing watching the Badgers drop a double-digit lead to a Top Five team and allow a victory that could have skyrocketed Wisconsin in bracketology forecasts. As a team, the Badgers shot under 40% for the game and gave up 11 offensive rebounds to a team that needs no extra luck going its way.

With the loss, the Badgers fell down to 21st in the newest AP Top 25 today. As I mentioned earlier in my Sportscenter update, it doesn’t get any easier for Wisconsin this week, with #11 Iowa up next on Thursday day and another game aganst #5 Illinois not for beyond that.

Bucks’ Losing Streak at Three Following 114-109 Loss to OKC

By Adam Roberts – 2/15/2021

After Giannis signed the supermax to stay with the Bucks this past offseason, the expectations for the team were instantly raised. To this point in the 2020-21 season, many would say those expectations haven’t been met.

Even before this recent three-game skid, continued yesterday with a 114-109 loss to Oklahoma City, people weren’t very bullish with how the Bucks have been playing this season. Whether it’s their outside shooting, Giannis’s aversion from shooting outside the paint, or the defensive struggles, some wonder if the team has veered off course, with others suggesting the team may already be outside of it’s championship window.

Of course, the team IS still 16-11 and would be the two seed against the Knicks of all teams if the season ended today. The Bucks will be in the Sunshine State to take on the road warriors from Toronto, who are playing in Tampa due to COVID concerns in their home country.

Vikings Hire Paul Guenther As A Defensive Assistant

By Adam Roberts – 2/12/2021

The Minnesota Vikings announced Thursday that Paul Guenther will be joining the staff as a senior defensive assistant.

Guenther is reunited with his old friend and coworker, head coach Mike Zimmer, as Guenther was an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals when Zimmer was hired by the team as their new defensive coordinator in 2014. Guenther brings 18 NFL seasons of experience with him to Minnesota, the last three being the Las Vegas Raiders’ defensive coordinator.

Guenther is the latest new hire for Minnesota, which has been busy restructuring their coaching staff. Klint Kubiak takes over from his father as offensive coordinator, while Ryan Ficken was named special teams coordinator just before that and Josh Hingst was brought in as the new strength and conditioning coach. The Vikings finished 2020 a disappointing 7-9 and missed the postseason.

Carolina Mudcats Rejoin Brewers Farm System

By Adam Roberts – 2/12/2021

The Carolina Mudcats, a Class Low-A minor league baseball team, have singed MLB’s new Professional Development License and will remain a member of the Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system.

There has been a ton of restructuring in minor league baseball over the last year, with the pandemic amplifying the change that was already going on, and it was uncertain how many of the Brewers’ affiliates would remain on for 2021. The Crew have minor league teams in Carolina, Appleton (Timber Rattlers), Biloxi, Mississippi, and Nashville with the return of the Sounds for this year.

In a press release, Brewers President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said “We are very pleased to have the Mudcats on board as one of our four affiliates in the new player development structure. We look forward to the 2021 season and hope to be able to welcome fans back to Five County Stadium to see our young prospects and enjoy the ballpark atmosphere.”

 

 

Brewers Unveil All 2021 Start Times

By Adam Roberts – 2/11/2021

No Sunday Night Baseball this year for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The team unveiled all 162 start times this year, with the season beginning at 1:10 local time Thursday, April 1st at the newly-dubbed American Family Field against Minnesota and wrapping up Sunday afternoon in LA against the defending-World Series champion Dodgers.

While we now know when and where the Brewers will play their 2021 regular season games, it still remains to be seen whether or not fans will be at AFF to see them. The most current info we have is team president of business operations Rick Schlesinger saying at the AmFam sign unveiling that the “goal [is] to have fans in the stands this season”.

Vikings Restructure OL Reiff’s Contract To Give Him $1 Million

By Adam Roberts – 2/11/2021

Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff was unable to play the team’s season finale against Detroit due to being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, and because of that missed out on a one million dollar playtime incentive.

To make up for the unfortunate situation for Reiff, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has decided to pay him the money in the form of a signing bonus. A very nice gesture first reported this morning by Tom Pelissero.

This probably couldn’t have happened to a more deserving player than Reiff, who notably took a sizable pay cut so the team could sign Yannick Ngakoue last season. It remains to be seen whether Reiff’s long-term future is in the Twin Cities, however; according to Vikings’ reporter Courtney Cronin, Reiff is owed a five million dollar roster bonus three days after the start of the new league year on March 19th. The Vikings also will want to lower his cap hit for this year at just under 14 million dollars, and Reiff could realistically earn more money by electing to enter free agency after this upcoming season.

Either way, thanks to a generous move by the team, Reiff won’t have to miss out on a cool million due to factors largely out of his control.

2023 U.S. Senior Open Championship To Be Played In Stevens Point, WI

By Adam Roberts – 2/10/2021

While not officially a Coulee Region story, the Badger state will be getting another big-time golf tournament coming to one of it’s golf courses.

Yesterday, the USGA announced the 2023 Senior Open Championship will take place at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, a public course that has previously hosted the 1986 Women’s Amateur Public Links final and the 2019 US Girls Junior Championship.

The USGA, with this tournament, will have now held 17 championships in the state of Wisconsin.

UWL Men’s Basketball Ranked 14th in D3 Poll

By Adam Roberts – 2/10/2021

The newest edition of the D3hoops.com Top 15 poll was released today, and includes the UWL men.

UW La Crosse was ranked 14th today after opening their 2021 season with two wins over UW Eau Claire last week. Next up for the Eagles is a two-game series against River Falls with tonight’s game on the road and Friday’s at Mitchell Hall. Elsewhere in the WIAC, Platteville was ranked 11th and UW-Oshkosh was ranked 12th. The Eagles and Pioneers play each other February 24th and 26th.

The complete Top 15 looks like this:

  1. Randolph-Macon
  2. Mount Union
  3. Illinois Wesleyan
  4. St. John’s
  5. Trine
  6. St. Thomas
  7. Wheaton (Ill.)
  8. Whitworth
  9. Dubuque
  10. Mary Hardin-Baylor
  11. UW-Platteville
  12. UW-Oshkosh
  13. DePauw
  14. UW-La Crosse
  15. N.C. Wesleyan