By Adam Roberts – 7/16/2021

The Packers won’t be heading overseas this year, and won’t have to give up a possible home game for an overseas contest until either 2022 or 2024. But the NFL does have details for how international games will work starting this season.

The NFL says each team will play at least one international game every eight years. That will start next year and more places around the globe will be added to the current rotation. The league says that includes holding games in Canada and South America. More European cities will be added as well.

This year’s games in London will feature the Atlanta Falcons facing off against the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars going up against the Miami Dolphins. With the addition of 17 games this year, teams that are scheduled to host nine of those 17 will be subject to having a home game played overseas. That won’t happen to the Packers until at least 2022. To date, the Packers are the only team that hasn’t played overseas at all, let along giving up a home game. Much of the resistance has been over how much the revenue from game day impacts a smaller community like Green Bay compared to larger markets.

Meanwhile, training camp is coming up soon and the team is no further along to our knowledge with their quarterback than at any other point this offseason. Camp opens up July 28th in Green Bay, and will also include the return of Family Night August 7th.

By Adam Roberts – 7/15/2021

While Kyle Casper will be the only La Crosse Logger representing the team in the Northwoods League All-Star Game next week Tuesday, the team WILL have a couple more faces present at All-Star festivities the day before.

Both Ronnie Sweeney and Chase Davis will participate in the Home Run Challenge. Sweeney has hit four home runs so far this season, while Davis has knocked two out.

The Loggers are back at Copeland Park tonight to take on Waterloo following their sweep of Willmar in a doubleheader yesterday. La Crosse has a half game advantage over Waterloo in the early goings of the second half of the season.

By Adam Roberts – 7/15/2021

With Kareem and Oscar in the house, and 25,000+ outside Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee was in a position to either make the 2021 NBA Finals a best-of-three or fall into a daunting 3-1 hole with two road wins necessary to win the Finals. In Game Three, Giannis was the superstar with a 41 point performance.

Last night, the 40 point star would be Khris Middleton.

The Bucks’ shooting forward recorded 40 on the nose on 15-33 shooting with a 7-8 night at the free throw line. Giannis added 26 and 14, Milwaukee had five guys in double figures and forced 17 Phoenix turnovers on their way to a 109-103 Game Four win. It was a good thing that those turnovers turned into fastbreak points as well; Devin Booker was electric for the Suns with 42 points and very nearly carried the Suns over the hump by himself.

But it was those turnovers and the Bucks’ defense in the fourth quarter which truly provided the difference. The highlight of the night came within the final two minutes, when Booker had Deandre Ayton set up perfectly for an alley oop that would have tied the contest at 101. Giannis, however, had other plans and was able to pivot from a standstill at the free throw line and contest the shot just enough to block it away.

Statistically, there was a lot going in the Suns’ favor during a good chunk of the game; they shot an impressive 51.3% and outshot the Bucks both from three and the free throw line. But four Suns starters had negative plus-minuses, and again the 17-5 turnovers going against Phoenix led to easy buckets for Milwaukee. Booker’s supporting cast being held largely in check didn’t help matters for Phoenix, either; Chris Paul was held to just 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting and had five of the Suns’ turnovers. Deandre Ayton ended with six points and 17 rebounds in the setback.

So now the series shifts to Phoenix once again this Saturday, with neither team finding a way to win on the road yet. Our coverage from the desert begins at 7pm on ESPN La Crosse 105.5 and espnlacrosse.com!

By Adam Roberts – 7/14/2021

The Washington Wizards have started to finalize the names on their list of head coach candidates, and two Milwaukee assistants are on the list.

Darvin Ham and Charles Lee join Denver assistant Wes Unseld Jr. as finalists for the position, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Ham has been the lead assistant in Milwaukee under Mike Budenholzer for some time now, and many within the league have called him a top assistant coach across the association. Ham interviewed for the position earlier this month, and he also played for the Wizards during the 1997-98 season.

As for Lee, the 36 year old is another long-time Bud assistant back to the Atlanta years. He is most noted for his time at Bucknell University, especially the 2006 season when he was the Patriot League player of the year as part of a Bison team that upset Arkansas as a nine-seed, their highest tournament seed in school history.

No timeline has been announced as for when the Wizards will make a selection, though this is likely due to the fact that the Bucks are still alive for a championship.

By Adam Roberts – 7/13/2021

Looks like Team USA Basketball is going to appreciate the arrival of Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday even more than we thought.

The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team has now lost back-to-back exhibition games for the first time since pros joined the roster in 1992. Australia upset the Americans 91-to-83 Monday in Las Vegas to get the team off to an 0-and-2 start. They also lost to Nigeria over the weekend, a team they beat by 80+ points back in 2012. Team USA had been 54-and-2 in exhibition games since pros joined the roster. They’ve now matched those losses over nearly three decades in only three days.

Middleton and Holiday are obviously occupied at the moment, but will be a part of the roster that competes in Tokyo this year.