'Sconnie Six Pack 11/11
The flagship iteration of this newsletter kicks off a jam-packed weekend for Wisconsin sports fans.
What’s this?
Welcome to the ‘Sconnie Six Pack: the daily newsletter for casual and die-hard Wisconsin sports fans alike. This newsletter serves as your guide to the day in Wisconsin sports. The top stories for your Badgers, Brewers, Bucks, Packers, and more will all be covered here, every single day. The goal of this newsletter is to give readers a brief but comprehensive look at the stories all Wisconsin sports fans should have on their minds for the day. I’ll give you the day’s top-five stories, plus anything extra I may be watching that day to top-off your six pack.
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Without further ado -
Packers injury report
The Packers released their injury report yesterday following the team’s second day of practice this week and to the surprise of no one, there were a few surprises.
16 players were either limited from or did not practice on Thursday. Most notably of which is linebacker Rashan Gary being formally placed on injured reserve, ending his season, following his torn ACL suffered in the Packers’ loss to the Detroit Lions this past Sunday.
Injury concerns continue to be the main talking point surrounding the Packers thin wide receiver room. The Packers listed four wide receivers on the Thursday injury report - not including Randall Cobb who is already on injured reserve and ineligible to return for at least one more game. Fortunately, Christian Watson’s listing on the injury report was merely a formality of the NFL’s concussion protocol as he was not diagnosed with a concussion following his early exit from the Packers’ contest against the lions. Unfortunately, Sammy Watkins was listed on the injury report this week with a knee injury that was previously unknown. While Watkins appears to be trending in the right direction as he became a limited participant in practice Thursday despite not practicing on Wednesday, the Packers simply cannot afford any more injury questions at the receiver position. As Romeo Doubs is held out of practice with an ankle injury and Allen Lazard continues to be limited with the shoulder injury that kept him out of the Packers’ primetime matchup against the Bills, any injury to a wide receiver will surely be met with groans by Packers fans.
Another surprise addition to the Packers’ injury report was Mason Crosby. Crosby was listed as a limited participant in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with a back injury. Speculation may lead fans to believe that Crosby may just have a case of Old Man Back, but a surprise injury to any NFL team’s kicker is worth keeping an eye on.
Bucks short-handed in San Antonio
Unfortunately, injury woes are also the dominant storyline for the Bucks’ matchup tonight in San Antonio (which you can catch at 7PM CST on Bally Sports Wisconsin).
Giannis and Jrue Holiday will each miss their second consecutive game of the Bucks’ western conference road trip as they were both sidelined due to injury in the Bucks’ 2OT victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Giannis will now sit out his third of the Bucks’ last four games as he also missed the second night of a back-to-back last Saturday at home against Oklahoma City. A sore left knee is the supposed injury preventing Giannis from getting back on the court, but, at this point, it seems more likely coach Mike Budenholzer is giving his superstar some rest days for load-management. Holiday’s injury concerns appear more genuine as coach Bud said Holiday was less likely to play in tonight’s contest against the Spurs than Giannis was. Holiday is listed as out with a sprained right ankle.
Despite injuries, the Bucks dominance to begin the season remains among the best storylines to watch for Wisconsin sports fans right now. Even as the Bucks await the first appearances this season from starters Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton, the Bucks have the best record in the NBA at 10-1. The short-handed Bucks will look to improve their record tonight over a struggling Spurs team that lost its fifth straight Wednesday night.
Accolades continue to add up for Brewers’ top prospect
Even casual fans of the Milwaukee Brewers who may not typically pay mind to the club’s prospect pipeline are having a hard time not hearing about Jackson Chourio. Yesterday, Chourio was named the Carolina League MVP.
Chourio spent roughly two-thirds of this season with the Single-A Carolina Mudcats before making his debut with the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and ultimately getting some playing time with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers after the conclusion of the Rattlers’ season. Chourio will likely begin next season in Wisconsin with the Timber Rattlers as he continues to rocket through the Brewers’ farm system. He’s spending his offseason back home putting up an impressive showing in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Wisconsin Volleyball begins final regular season home stand
The reigning national champion Wisconsin Badgers will play their final two home matches of the regular season against Rutgers and Maryland tonight and tomorrow respectively. Wisconsin is red-hot winning their last 12 matches and is atop the Big Ten standings alongside Nebraska and Ohio State each with just one loss in conference play. Rutgers is looking to win its first set all year against a ranked opponent and climb its way out of 12th in the conference standings. You can catch this match at 7PM CST on B1G+.
Wisconsin is expected to easily dispatch of Rutgers tonight. The Scarlet Knights have failed to win a single set in matches against the Badgers since 2014. While Wisconsin is third in the Big Ten in hitting percentage, Rutgers is second-worst in the conference in opponent hitting percentage allowed. While Rutgers is worst in the Big Ten in hitting percentage, Wisconsin is second-best in conference in opponent hitting percentage allowed. Put simply, while Wisconsin has a great offense, Rutgers has a terrible defense. While Rutgers has a horrendous offense, Wisconsin has a stout defense.
The Badgers are currently ranked third in the AVCA coaches poll behind just San Diego and Texas.
Wisconsin Men’s Hockey looks to notch first home win of the season against LIU
From the cream of the crop of the UW athletic department to its most notable basement-dweller we go as the Badgers host the Long Island University Sharks on Friday and Saturday nights at the Kohl Center. This matchup is sure to be a barnburner between two teams that find themselves in the bottom quartile of the pairwise rankings. If you are a masochist, you can catch tonight’s game at 7PM CST on Bally Sports Wisconsin Extra.
LIU is a nascent college hockey program in its third season of existence. Last season, they notched ten wins (the same mark as the six-time national champion Wisconsin Badgers). Despite being 1-6-1 overall this season, the Sharks have played hard against a pair of the sport’s top teams. With a season-opening OT loss to currently ranked #15 Northeastern and a tie against current #5 Quinnipiac back in October, LIU should be expected to make tonight’s game competitive.
LIU should be expected to make tonight’s game competitive. It bears repeating that the state of this once proud, powerhouse program leaves fans expecting a competitive series against a program in its third year of play. While there is no reporting indicating Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh is preparing to make an imminent, or any, coaching change for this program, suffering continued losses at the hands of LIU, or in next week’s series against first-year program Lindenwood, may put the nail in the coffin on the Tony Granato era. Perhaps that’s a reason to throw some eyeballs on a screen for this game tonight.
Topping off the six pack: Wisconsin Basketball on a baseball field
Although naming one person who asked for this would be an impossible task, I will be attending tonight’s Brew City Battle as both the Wisconsin men’s and women’s basketball teams play a neutral-ish site game against power conference opponents. Tickets are still available so you can join me tonight in section 109 or watch the women’s team at 3:30PM CST on the Big Ten Network and the men’s team at 6:30PM CST on FS1.
Oddly, Wisconsin men’s basketball tonight will play its third of its last four non-exhibition games in Milwaukee as its season ended at the Fiserv Forum in last year’s NCAA tournament, but this team features a number of new faces. Fans should keep eyes on Max Klesmit, a junior transfer from Wofford and a Neenah-native who tallied 11 points in the Badgers’ win over South Dakota earlier this week. Connor Essegian, a freshman, played quality minutes and added six points of his own in that opening matchup. Of course, Kamari McGee, a Racine-native and sophomore transfer from UW-Green Bay, should feel right at home playing in Milwaukee as he looks to embrace his role as backup PG to sophomore Chucky Hepburn.
Wisconsin is a 5-point favorite and will be tasked with slowing senior guard Michael Jones from Stanford. Jones is a graduate transfer from Davison who posted 31 points and five rebounds in the Cardinal’s season-opening victory over Pacific on Monday. Last year, Jones shot 42% from beyond the arc; Wisconsin’s apparent improvements to its own shooting showcased in its own season-opening victory may be critical to keep pace with Stanford’s shooting. Both of these teams are projected to be fighting every night this season for an NCAA tournament berth as Wisconsin and Stanford are ranked #44 and #59 respectively according to KenPom as of the time of publication.
In terms of my personal level of excitement for this neutral-site game, it mirrors that of the even-keeled Christian Yelich. Yeah, this is cool, I guess. At least, somehow, on a day that Wisconsin basketball is playing in a baseball stadium, the Badgers are not playing in the strangest venue of the day.
On, Wisconsin.
nice write up 👍