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Former UWL Football Head Coach Roger Harring Dies at Age 88

By Adam Roberts – 8/12/2021

Per WXOW sports director Scott Emerich, a legend in the La Crosse sports community has passed away.

Emerich reports Roger Harring has died, with the passing confirmed by former players and friends. Harring had a long history in the community dating back to his time as a student at UW-La Crosse in the 1950s. Among his numerous accomplishments at the school were his three national championships in 1985, 1992, and 1995. He is enshrined in both the NAIA and College Football Hall of Fames.

Harring also was loved for his passion and drive both on and off the field and for his ability to develop deep, meaningful relationships with his athletes.

Harring was 88 years old.

#13 Viterbo W. Volleyball Starts Season With Sweep of #20 Keiser

By Adam Roberts – 8/12/2021

Viterbo women’s volleyball moved up three spots this week in the NAIA poll this week, the same week that they were unveiled as favorites to win the NSAA. This afternoon the team proved exactly why they will be a force to be reckoned with once again.

The V-Hawks visited a very respectable opponent in Keiser University today, and made quick work of the home team in a straight sets win.

Viterbo has a pretty stacked schedule to start the year this week, continuing tomorrow against #24 Bethel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

‘Field Of Dreams’ Game Set For This Evening

By Adam Roberts – 8/12/2021

While by no means a Cubs fan in any capacity, one of my bucket list places to go watch a baseball game is Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa, site of the Triple A Iowa Cubs. Between the clean facility and the view of the state capitol building in left field there seems to be a very home-y feel to the stadium, which is in conjunction with feelings travelers have often associated with this part of the country.

Of course, the idea of major league baseball in Iowa has long been shrugged off due to the market just not being there and the teams that occupy the surrounding area.

Until tonight, when two major league franchises will descend upon a makeshift ball field at the edge of a large batch of corn.

The first-ever regular season Major League Baseball game to be played in Iowa is set for this evening and it’s definitely being play up as a big deal. The Chicago White Sox will play the New York Yankees in the “Field Of Dreams” game. The game is being played at the site of the 1989 film near Dyersville, Iowa. The film’s star Kevin Costner has already given the stadium his seal of approval. The game was originally expected to be played last season but was postponed over COVID concerns.

The field will be built to hold up to 8,000 fans.

Packers and Vikings Release Their First Depth Charts of Training Camp

By Adam Roberts – 8/11/2021

The Packers and Vikings are making things clear where their rosters stand this week with the first depth charts of training camp released.

There weren’t many surprises on the Packer depth chart; cornerback Kevin King is still listed as a starter despite having been out with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, the usual suspects are starting for the Vikings in their latest chart with quarterback Kirk Cousins, running back Dalvin Cook, and wide receivers Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson all first string. First-round pick Christian Darrisaw is the backup left tackle.

The preseason begins for both teams this Saturday; Green Bay will host Houston and Minnesota welcomes Denver.

Bucks Sign F Georgios Kalaitzakis

By Adam Roberts – 8/11/2021

The Bucks are shoring up their roster for 2021-22 with the signing today of one of their second round draft picks.

According to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, the team has locked in forward Georgios Kalaitzakis to a three-year deal. Nehm says Milwaukee will use part of the mid-level exception that allows this deal to last longer than the usual two years. Kalaitzakis was the 60th overall pick in the draft for Milwaukee and, like Giannis, hails from Greece. He played in Lithuania during the 2019-20 season and averaged over 12 points a game for Nevezis Kedainiai. Kalaitzakis also has extensive FIBA experience playing for the Greek team.

The summer Bucks return to the court this afternoon in Las Vegas. Milwaukee will face the Brooklyn Nets. All eyes will be on Jordan Nwora after a big performance in his first outing of the summer. Nwora finished with 30 points in an 81-78 win over the Clippers on Monday.

Badger Football Ranked 15th in Preseason Coaches Poll

By Adam Roberts – 8/10/2021

It won’t be long now before we start talking more and more Badger sports. For now, we can peep the first coaches poll of the preseason, which has the Badgers planted near the middle of the Top 25.

Wisconsin is ranked 15th in this week’s preseason poll, coming off their 4-3 2020 campaign which concluded with a Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over Wake Forest. The top five should surprise no one, with Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Georgia once again taking their familiar places at the top of the list.

The rest of the Big Ten in the rankings includes Indiana at 17, Iowa at 18, and Penn State at 20. Michigan is notably absent from the rankings, and I said on The Sports Lead today I can’t remember a preseason poll that didn’t include Wolverine football.

Wisconsin opens the season September 4th against the 20th-ranked Nittany Lions. We’ll have coverage here on ESPN La Crosse 105.5, your official Badger station!

Viroqua Legion Falls In AA National Title Game

By Adam Roberts – 8/10/2021

The Viroqua legion baseball team wouldn’t go down without a fight yesterday against Kaukauna in the Class A Central Plains Tournament Championship Game.

In the sixth inning, the Viroqua boys took a 4-3 lead before Kaukauna would counter in the bottom half of the inning. After that, it would take another four innings to decide the winner, with a walk-off single securing victory for Kaukauna 5-4.

It still was yet another remarkable year for Virqoua legion baseball, finishing the summer with a 37-6 record.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Won’t Play During Preseason

By Adam Roberts – 8/10/2021

This article is probably the easiest one I’ve had to write in some time, because the content within should be common knowledge to anyone who follows the Packers in any capacity.

Head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed at his presser today that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will likely not play any portion of the 2021 preseason, meaning the ball will be in the hands of 2nd-year QB Jordan Love.

When it comes to a quarterback with the stature (and age) of Rodgers, playing in the preseason is pretty much out of the question at this point. The last time he played in any preseason action was in 2018, and that wasn’t anything beyond a single series.

This decision means that Love will be in a game for the first time as a Packer; his last performance was in the 2020 Senior Bowl. To his credit, Love has said he is quite excited for an opportunity at getting action in-game; his Family Night was a bit of a delicate balance between excellent deep passes and difficulties handling snaps.

Green Bay opens the preseason Saturday at Lambeau against Houston.

MLB, Barstool Reportedly Discussing A Broadcast Deal

By Adam Roberts – 8/9/2021

Sometimes, I find it difficult to watch Brewers baseball. And it has nothing to do with the quality of Bally Sports Wisconsin’s broadcast.

I, like most of you, work during the middle of the day and can’t be near a TV set most of my shift. This is why on Wednesday afternoons I’m usually left to follow along with Brewers’ beat writers and fans tweeting about the game instead of watching. That is, unless the Crew are being broadcast on Youtube like they have done at times for day games. Broadcast quality aside, this is a nice way to reach those of us who are away from our TVs or radios those one to two games a week.

Now it appears Barstool is trying to get involved in another branch of sports broadcasting targeting this schedule, and putting their own spin on things.

The New York Post reports Major League Baseball and Barstool Sports have had significant negotiations about having national midweek games. While not guaranteed as of yet, the Post says a Barstool baseball broadcast could lean heavily into in-game gambling, something which would have seemed a no-shot even just a small handful of years ago.

Barstool already has dipped their hands into broadcasting big sports, earlier this year agreeing to be a title sponsor and broadcaster for college football’s Arizona Bowl.

This news comes at a time when the sport is actively trying everything in its power to reach a younger demographic, with mixed results so far. Would I watch a Barstool baseball game? Probably not if it doesn’t involve the Brewers, but this has less to do with any qualms against Barstool and more to do with I really don’t care much about the baseball world outside of Milwaukee. Call it a byproduct of baseball’s massive regional model that has it pursuing these different attempts to grab a national audience.

Final Olympic Update – 8/9/2021

By Adam Roberts – 8/9/2021

Yesterday the Olympic Torch was officially doused in Tokyo and the French flag was raised, signalling the end of a tumultuous at times Tokyo Games and beginning the preparations for Paris 2024. Let’s take one final look at how things shook out on the last day of the Games yesterday:

It may have come down to the final day of competition, but the United States of America came away with the most gold medals at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo after edging out China by one medal with 39 total gold. The U.S. also dominated to the top of the leaderboard with 113 total medals which was 25 more than the next closest country.
Baseball made its return to the Olympics for Tokyo 2020 and the United States made it all the way to the final game before falling to the host country of Japan two-to-nothing. It was the second time Team USA lost to Japan in the tournament after falling to them seven-to-six. The U.S. settled for the silver medal as Boston Red Sox prospect Triston Casas impressed at the plate with three home runs and eight RBI.
It was the second straight Olympics the U.S. and Japan faced each other in the softball gold medal game and once again Team USA watched their opponents celebrate winning the gold. The U.S. settled for the silver medal after falling to the host country two-to-zero. Softball made its return to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, but is not on the program for Paris in 2024.
Despite entering Tokyo 2020 on a 44-match undefeated streak the U.S. women’s soccer team fell in their opening game to Sweden three-to-zero. Team USA would battle their way back to the semifinals before a shocking loss to Canada, the eventual gold medalists. The U.S. found a way to leave the Olympics with some hardware after topping Australia to win the bronze medal.
In boxing, the United States advanced to three gold medal bouts, but settled for the silver medal in each of them as the nation left Tokyo with four total medals in the event. Duke Ragan became the first U.S. pro boxer to win an Olympic medal after losing three-to-two to Albert Batyrgaziev of the Russian Olympic Committee in the featherweight gold medal match. Meanwhile, Oshae Jones was the lone U.S. women’s boxer to win a medal after earning the bronze in the female welterweight division.

Congrats to every athlete who competed in the 2020-21 Games!