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3-13-13 Sports

3-13-13

The Green Bay Packers lost linebacker Erik Walden to Indianapolis in the first day of free agency. He signed a four-year contract worth a reported 16-million dollars. Walden said the Packers never made an effort to re-sign him. Meanwhile, Fox Sports says the Packers are making a new effort to keep free agent receiver Greg Jennings – and he could end up choosing between Green Bay and Minnesota. On E-S-P-N yesterday, the 30-year-old Jennings said he had some teams in mind but would not reveal them. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Jennings misjudged the type of money he could get elsewhere – and he’s now open to returning to Green Bay. The paper also said the Packers will have to evaluate Jennings’ value on the open market before their negotiations can get serious. Meanwhile, the Colts say Walden will start opposite linebacker Robert Mathis in a 3-4 scheme. The 27-year-old Walden played with Dallas, Kansas City, and Miami before he had a breakout year with the Packers in their 2010 Super Bowl season. Last year, he filled in after outside linebacker Nick Perry went out for the season with a knee injury. Walden ended up playing 70-percent of the team’s defensive snaps, with 26-and-a-half quarterback pressures.

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The Packers lost a chance to beef up their defensive line when free agent Chris Canty signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Canty visited the Packers last week after the New York Giants cut him. Media reports said Green Bay never gave Canty an offer because they were concerned about a previous knee injury. But he passed a physical at Baltimore, and the Ravens gave him a three-year deal worth eight-million dollars. Also, E-S-P-N says the Packers will bring in free agent running back Peyton Hillis from Kansas City for an audition. Hillis ran for 309 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs last year.

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The Milwaukee Bucks lost a chance to gain some ground in the N-B-A playoff race, after losing at home to Dallas last night 115-to-108. The Mavericks pulled away with a 39-to-12 run in the second-and-third quarters. And then 36-year-old Vince Carter sealed the victory by scoring 11 of Dallas’ final 17 points – including a trio of three-pointers. Carter scored 23 off the bench. Monta Ellis scored 32 for the Bucks, who could have moved to within a game-and-a-half of Chicago for the Number-five playoff spot in the East. But Dallas had an even greater sense of urgency, as they’re in danger of missing the Western Conference playoffs for the first time in a dozen years. The Mavericks’ victory kept them three games behind the Lakers for the eighth-and-final spot in the West. It also gave Dallas a four-game winning streak. Ekpe Udoh had a season-high 14 points for the Bucks, who lost only their second game in their last eight. They’ll play at Washington tonight.

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There was at least some talk that Buzz Williams of Marquette would be named the Big East men’s basketball coach-of-the-year. But it didn’t happen, as John Thompson-the-Third of Georgetown won the honor yesterday. Thompson said four-or-five coaches could have won the award, and Williams was one of them. Williams led Marquette to a share of the Big East regular season title, after a pre-season poll had the Golden Eagles taking seventh. Georgetown was projected to take fifth, and they also won a share of the crown along with Louisville – which was the runaway pre-season favorite. The Big East Tournament is underway in New York. Marquette opens in tomorrow’s quarter-finals against the winner of a game tonight between Notre Dame and Rutgers.

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Cardinal Stritch of Milwaukee won the national championship last night in the N-A-I-A Division-Two men’s tournament. The Wolves upset top-seeded William Penn of Iowa, 73-to-59 in the title contest in Point Lookout Missouri. Darren Moore had 20 points and seven rebounds for Cardinal Stritch, and he was named the tournament’s M-V-P. The Wolves pulled away in the second half after leading by just three at the break. They ended their season 35-and-3.

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Bronson Koenig of La Crosse Aquinas has been named the A-P state boys’ high school basketball player-of-the-year. Koenig is a senior who will play his college ball at Wisconsin. He led Aquinas to the Division-Three state high school championship last weekend with 16 points and five assists in a win over Lodi. Koenig also made the A-P’s All-State first team, along with Marquette recruit Duane Wilson of Whitefish Bay Dominican, Indiana recruit Luke Fischer of Germantown, Kevin Looney of Milwaukee Hamilton, and Matt Thomas of Onalaska. Aquinas coach Rick Schneider was named the A-P boys’ coach-of-the-year.

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Milwaukee Brewers’ left-fielder Ryan Braun had two singles and scored twice last night, as the U-S crushed Puerto Rico 7-to-1 in the second round of the World Baseball Classic. Braun helped set the tone when he walked in the first inning, and then hustled home on a double by Joe Mauer to the wall in left center. Brewers’ catcher Martin Maldonado played first base for the Puerto Ricans, and went 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts. Gio Gonzalez pitched five innings for the win, as the Americans stayed undefeated after four games. They’re in a Pool-Two, a double-elimination bracket, and will face the unbeaten Dominican Republic tomorrow night in Miami. The winner will earn a place in the semi-finals in San Francisco.

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Mark Rogers had another shaky start yesterday, as the Milwaukee Brewers got crushed by Texas 12-to-3 in an exhibition at Surprise Arizona. Rogers – who’s competing for a spot in the Milwaukee rotation – had his third straight rough outing. He went one-and-a-third innings and gave up six runs – three earned – on three hits and four walks. Rogers is putting Milwaukee in a rough spot because he’s out of minor league options, and he might have to go to the bullpen if the Brewers want to keep him. He’s now 0-and-1 this spring with an E-R-A of seven-and-a-half. Sean Halton drove in Milwaukee’s only runs with a three-run double in the ninth inning. Jeff Baker homered and drove in two runs for the Rangers. He now has a seven-game hitting streak and a .529 spring batting average. The Brewers are now 7-and-9 in the Cactus League. They’ll play their first night game of the spring against Arizona this evening.

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U-W Whitewater is the pre-season favorite to win its first W-I-A-C regular season softball title since 2009. Defending champion Eau Claire is picked to finish second in a poll by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. River Falls is projected to take third, followed by Platteville. Whitewater has had 30-or-more wins in four of the last five seasons. And they return all nine starting position players from a year ago, including Emily Epifanio who was the league’s player-of-the-year. She batted .388 in 2012 with eight homers and 32 R-B-I’s.

State Sports 3-12-13

Bo Ryan of Wisconsin is the Big Ten men’s basketball Coach-of-the-Year. The announcement was made last night on the Big Ten Network – where Ryan said his players fought through a lot of things this season and quote, “It was just really nice to see the way they came together.” Wisconsin lost its starting point guard, Josh Gasser, to a knee injury just before the season began – and senior forward Mike Bruesewitz missed time with a severe leg injury before camp even began. Still, the Badgers played to a 12-and-6 conference record in the regular season, with a Number-four seed and a first-round bye in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. It was the third time in Ryan’s 12 seasons in Madison that he received the Coach-of-the-Year honors. Wisconsin was in contention for the regular season title until the final week, even though they were picked last fall to finish as low as eighth. Three Badgers also received individual honors last night. Senior center Jared Berggren was named to the All-Big Ten second team by both the league’s coaches and media. He also made the coaches’ All-Defensive team. Guard Ben Brust was a consensus honorable mention. And Sam Dekker made the coaches’ All-Freshman team, and was an honorable mention by the media. Trey Burke of Michigan was named the Big Ten’s consensus Player-of-the-Year. The Badgers will play either Michigan or Penn State in their Big Ten Tournament opener on Friday.

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The Big East men’s basketball tournament begins today at Madison Square Garden. It’s the last one before Marquette and the league’s six other Catholic members start their own conference and take the Big East name with them. Most matchups this week will be the final ones as members of the current conference – which includes many of the best teams in the nation. No fewer than six nationally-ranked teams will square off. Louisville is the highest at Number-Four, and Marquette is 12th. The Golden Eagles will not play until Thursday, because they have a double-bye. They’ll face Rutgers, DePaul, or 24th-ranked Notre Dame in the quarter-finals – and coach Buzz Williams says his team is working on game plans for all of those possibilities. Williams says the Eagles will definitely be ready by the time they find out their opponent tomorrow night.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will go for a two-game season sweep of the Dallas Mavericks tonight at the B-M-O Harris Bradley Center. The Mavs, who won the N-B-A title two seasons ago, are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. That’s the second-longest current playoff streak in the league. Dallas is in 10th place in the Western Conference at 29-and-33, three games behind the L-A Lakers for the eighth-and-final playoff spot in that circuit. The Mavericks are coming off a 23-point win at Minnesota on Sunday, in which reserves Vince Carter, Elton Brand, and Brandan Wright teamed up for 45 points. Bucks’ starters Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders are questionable for tonight with knee injuries. J-J Redick and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are day-to-day with foot injuries. Milwaukee holds a comfortable eight-and-a-half game lead for the final post-season spot in the East. And if they can make a good run, the Bucks still have a shot at the Number-Four spot and home-court advantage in the first round. Milwaukee is just four games behind Brooklyn for the fourth spot with 21 games left.

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Cardinal Stritch of Milwaukee will play tonight for a national title in the N-A-I-A Division-Two men’s basketball tournament. Stritch won its semi-final game last night, 69-to-56 over Indiana Southeast in Point Lookout Missouri. Tony Smit scored 21 points, as the second-seeded Wolves improved to 34-and-3. They’ll play top-seeded William Penn of Iowa for the championship tonight. Penn advanced with a 79-to-58 win over Grace.

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N-F-L free agents can officially start shopping around for new teams today. And just like in recent years, the Green Bay Packers are expected to be a virtual non-factor. General manager Ted Thompson normally saves his biggest salaries for his own players. He did meet with veteran defensive end Chris Canty, who was cut by the New York Giants – but there was no word of an offer. Canty was among the victims of the league’s flat salary cap of 123-million dollars per team, which is the same as a year ago. And with a glut of veterans who were cut, Canty and the others might not get the big paydays they could have received in the past. Former Packers Charles Woodson and Nick Barnett are among the cut veterans joining a large group of free agents in the player market.

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Media reports say the Packers have offered their lowest tender to restricted free-agent center Evan Dietrich-Smith. If another team makes an offer, Green Bay can match it – but the Packers would not get any compensation if they lose him. If he stays, Dietrich-Smith gets a one-year tender of just over one-point-three million dollars a year. He became the Packers’ starting center near the end of last season, replacing veteran Jeff Saturday. Dietrich-Smith is one of Green Bay’s five restricted free agents. The others are Sam Shields, Tom Crabtree, Frank Zombo, and Robert Francois. The Packers have until three this afternoon to give tender offers to those players, if they haven’t already done so.

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The Milwaukee Brewers edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-to-2 yesterday in an exhibition contest in Phoenix. The Dodgers scored two unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning, after Carlos Gomez botched a fly ball in center. But Milwaukee came back with three in the bottom of the frame on an R-B-I triple from Rickie Weeks and run-scoring singles by Khris Davis and Blake Lalli. Brewers’ starter Mike Fiers went four innings. He gave up both runs on six hits. The Brewers never even saw their former teammate Zack Greinke. He was scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers – but he was undergoing tests in Los Angeles on a sore right elbow. The Brewers are now 7-and-8 in the Cactus League, and will play Texas this afternoon. Right-hander Mark Rogers will start for the Crew.