By Adam Roberts – 6/16/2021

COVID vaccines and whether or not athletes choose to receive them has become a pretty common topic of discussion lately. And many have wondered what stance leagues will take with their athletes who elect not to receive them. Today, the NFL painted a pretty clear picture of what the league will look like for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero detailed the updated COVID-19 protocols for the league in a Twitter thread today, and the top of that tweet made it pretty clear that the options available to athletes will be HIGHLY skewed towards those who are vaccinated. This photo details some of the more notable differences, some of which include unvaccinated players being required to test daily, wear masks at club facilities and during travel, being quarantined after a high risk exposure to the virus, and extensive physical distancing requirements limiting their use of weight room, sauna, and meal room facilities. At the very bottom of the photo, the protocols also note that unvaccinated players may not leave the team hotel to eat out or interact with anyone outside of the team’s traveling party during road contests. Unvaccinated individuals will not be allowed on team charters according to Pelissero.

Also of note, the updated protocols allow for fully vaccinated media members to once again engage with players for in-person interviews. Pelissero says unvaccinated media will not be allowed in the press box or locker room, or on the sidelines or field.

The mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated players after a high risk exposure could have major implications from a competitive perspective, with unvaccinated stars facing a possible removal from the field for a period of time.

Finally, players who are not fully vaccinated cannot go to nightclubs, bars, concerts, or parties. Fines for non-compliance will start at 50,000 dollars. The Pelissero tweets did not mention what the league will do as far as confirming player vaccinations.

By Adam Roberts – 6/16/2021

A familiar face is back with the Vikings.

The team has brought back defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson. The defensive tackle is expected to receive up to 4.35-million dollars with incentives over one year. It’s the second go-around for Richardson in Minnesota. He played for the Vikings in 2018.

Minnesota will resume mandatory minicamp today, while Green Bay wrapped up their latest voluntary workouts yesterday. The Packers have one final OTA date scheduled for tomorrow before the offseason takes a breather before training camp next month.

By Adam Roberts – 6/14/2021

This year’s state golf tournament looks slightly different than those from two years ago at University Ridge. BUT we can take solace that there is at least a tournament to be played at all this June.

Instead of Madison, players this spring are in the Wisconsin Dells, with Division One at a different course than Divisions Two and Three.

Looking at local athletes competing for a title this week, Tomah’s Hunter Neumann finished with an 81 overall, performing very well on the front nine of Wild Rock Golf Club with a one-over 37 before shooting eight-over on the back nine. At the time of this writing there were still some athletes on the course and Neumann wasin a 12-way tie for 42nd overall.

Black River Falls qualified for Division Two as a team, but is currently bringing up the rear with a two players still on the course. Evan Anderson has the best overall score for the Tigers so far with a 90, though Caden Skelding and Mike Antonelli are still on the course.

And in Division Three, Sam Dobbins of Aquinas is competing as an individual and has performed the best out of our area’s athletes. Dobbins eagled the par 4 14th and finished the day tied for 15th at ten-over.

Action resumes in the Dells tomorrow.

By Adam Roberts – 6/14/2021

The Brewers took care of business yesterday, defeating the Pirates and completing a weekend sweep against the team that just a few years ago embarrassed Milwaukee with a five-game sweep of their own.

But the series was not all sunshine and rainbows for Milwaukee, who will now be without their primary third baseman for sometime.

Already minus Lorenzo Cain until further notice, Brewers’ third baseman Travis Shaw was moved to the 60-day injured list after dislocating his shoulder on a dive. Luis Urias will most likely take the majority of the time at third base meanwhile.

The team did, however, make a notable acquisition over the weekend. They’ll be bringing in reliever Hunter Strickland from the Angels in exchange for cash. Strickland was designated for assignment by the Angels last week. He posted a 9.95 ERA in nine games with the Halos, and many remember his brawl with Bryce Harper a few years ago.

Milwaukee is back home tonight to host Cincinnati.

By Adam Roberts – 6/11/2021

As Green Bay Packer minicamp wrapped up yesterday, the story of the day came not on anything related to Aaron Rodgers’s holdout or a Jordan Love touchdown throw. It was about an incident from last year that has resulted in punishment now for tight end Jace Sternberger.

The third-year Packer will be suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Sternberger revealed on Twitter that in February 2020, while on anti-depressants, he put himself behind the wheel and fell asleep.

The full tweet can be viewed here.

He will miss regular-season games at New Orleans and against Detroit.