'Sconnie Six Pack 1/27
Aaron Rodgers to the Jets? Do the Milwaukee Brewers have baseball's top prospect?
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What’s brewing?
Aaron Rodgers watch: Nathaniel Hackett hired by Jets
Milwaukee Bucks look to win third straight; play at Pacers tonight
Three Milwaukee Brewers named among top 100 prospects
#8 Wisconsin women’s hockey series preview: Badgers at St. Thomas Tommies
Wisconsin men’s hockey series preview: Badgers at Notre Dame
Topping-off the six pack: UW-Milwaukee falls too far behind early, loses at Wright State despite 60 second-half points
Aaron Rodgers watch: Nathaniel Hackett hired by Jets
With speculation on what comes next for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers running rampant, the New York Jets added fuel to the fire yesterday. The Jets, already linked to Rodgers in various reports, hired former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett for the same position.
Hackett served as offensive coordinator in Green Bay for three seasons. In that time, the Packers advanced to the NFC Championship game twice, and Rodgers won back-to-back MVPs. Before the 2022 season, Hackett was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos but was fired after just one season.
Many speculated that part of the reason Denver hired Hackett was to lure Rodgers to the Broncos in a trade. With trade rumors even more prevalent this offseason, are the Jets attempting the same strategy? Jets head coach Robert Saleh was asked if he discussed bringing in another QB with Hackett. Saleh publicly claimed they did not get into specific names but expressed a desire to bring in a veteran QB.
Milwaukee Bucks look to win third straight; play at Pacers tonight
The Milwaukee Bucks (31-17) are making a quick road trip to Central Division foe Indiana tonight before a four-game homestand. The Pacers (24-26) are reeling, losing eight of their last nine games and looking for a big win. Tip-off is at 6:00 PM CST on Bally Sports Wisconsin.
Milwaukee appears to be near full strength tonight. With Bobby Portis and Serge Ibaka expected to be out, Bucks fans should notice a welcome sight on the injury report: Khris Middleton is not listed. Rookie MarJon Beauchamp and AJ Green are questionable. Giannis is probable with his right knee soreness.
The Pacers, meanwhile, are without their leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton. The 6'5" starting point guard has been out since January 11th with knee and elbow injuries he suffered in a game against the New York Knicks. Indiana lost that game against the Knicks and six additional consecutive games.
Within that losing streak was a Milwaukee victory over the Pacers. The Bucks allowed 76 first-half points and trailed by as many as 13 but stormed back to win 132-119. Jrue Holiday recorded a season-high 35 points with Giannis and Middleton sidelined.
The Bucks currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Boston Celtics by three games. A victory tonight would put Milwaukee in a tie for second place with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Three Milwaukee Brewers named among top 100 prospects
MLB Pipeline released its list of the top 100 prospects in baseball last night. After previewing the list by releasing positional previews throughout the week, MLB Pipeline revealed the complete list with a televised special on MLB Network. Three outfielders in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system made the cut.
Headlining the crop of Brewers prospects is Jackson Chourio. The former international free agent made waves in 2022 - his US-pro debut season. At 18 years old, Chourio rocketed through the ranks of the minor leagues from Low-A to High-A before ending his season in Double-A. With four plus tools (hitting, power, fielding, and running), the 18-year-old possesses elite speed that allows him to cover vast swaths of ground at center field. Scouts expect Chourio to arrive in Milwaukee in 2024.
Chourio is on the path to becoming the top prospect in all of baseball. All seven of the prospects rated above him are expected to arrive in the MLB with their respective clubs this season. When that happens, the Milwaukee Brewers will possess baseball's best prospect.
Thirtieth overall and previously mentioned as the outfield prospect with the best hitting ability is Sal Frelick. Frelick, who Craig Counsell expects to join the Brewers in Milwaukee this season, hit .365 at Triple-A last season. MLB Pipeline also described his running ability as "plus-plus speed [which] allows him to turn groundballs into hits."
Finally, Joey Wiemer came in as the 90th overall prospect in baseball. Wiemer has the most highly regarded arm of the top-three Milwaukee outfielders but the most question marks at the plate. Starting his season in Double-A, Wiemer recorded a 30.2% strikeout rate. Although that rate dropped to 19.5% when promoted to Triple-A, his overall swing-and-miss rate was the 20th-highest for batters with at least 400 Minor League plate appearances in 2022.
#8 Wisconsin women's hockey series preview: Badgers at St. Thomas Tommies
After losing five straight, Wisconsin is looking to grab its third and fourth consecutive victories this weekend. The Badgers (18-7-1, 14-5-1 WCHA) travel to play the St. Thomas Tommies (7-18-1, 2-17-1). Both tonight's and tomorrow's games begin at 6 PM CST on B1G+.
Wisconsin swept St. Thomas in their first series this season. The Badgers notched two victories in Madison, 5-0 and 9-1. Wisconsin is 5-0 against St. Thomas since the Tommies joined the WCHA last season. Wisconsin has outscored St. Thomas a combined 29-4 in those matchups.
St. Thomas' two conference victories this season came in a sweep over last-place Bemidji State. It also recorded a tie and shootout victory over Minnesota-Duluth.
Sophomore defender Maddy Clough highlights the Tommies' roster. While not necessarily an offensive-minded defender, she is unafraid to find her spot on the stat sheet. Her team-leading 11 points come from five goals and six assists - each tied for second on the roster. She has also recorded a team-leading 43 blocked shots.
Wisconsin men's hockey series preview: Badgers at Notre Dame
The teams occupying the bottom two spots in the Big Ten face off this weekend as the Wisconsin Badgers travel for a two-game series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Wisconsin (10-14-0, 3-11-0 B1G) is looking to get at least one win in three-straight series in conference play for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Wisconsin and Notre Dame (11-12-3, 6-8-2) play tonight at 6:30 PM CST and tomorrow at 5:00 PM. You can watch both games streaming on Peacock.
Earlier this month, Wisconsin and Notre Dame split a pair of games at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin won 2-0 on Friday night before falling 6-4 on Saturday. Wisconsin has yet to notch back-to-back wins in conference play this season. All three of the Badgers' victories have come on Friday nights before losing the second game on Saturday.
Both Wisconsin and Notre Dame have reliable starting goaltenders. Jared Moe for Wisconsin and Ryan Bischel for Notre Dame were named the Second and Third Stars of the week, respectively, by the Big Ten. Moe stopped 47 of 48 shots he faced against Ohio State last weekend. Notre Dame split their series against Penn State last weekend, in which Bischel made 94 total saves on 98 shots. He stopped 52 shots, a career-high, to help the Irish win the Friday night game.
A pair of fifth-round NHL draft picks lead Notre Dame on the stat sheet. Ryder Rolston and Trevor Janicke have each recorded 17 points on the season. Janicke has team-lead in goals with eight, but Rolston is always a threat to find the back of the net. According to College Hockey News, his 88 shots on goal this season are the 15th-most in the country. Janicke scored twice in Notre Dame's previous victory over Wisconsin. Each recorded one goal in last weekend's series against Penn State.
Topping off the six-pack: UW-Milwaukee falls too far behind early, loses at Wright State despite 60 second-half points
The Milwaukee Panthers had two excellent chances to knock off the Wright State Raiders this season. Unfortunately, falling behind early doomed Milwaukee in each of them. The Panthers (14-7, 8-3 Horizon League) lost to the Raiders 93-86 and fell to second place in the conference.
"At the end of the day, we gave up 93 points, turned the ball over 19 times, and got out-rebounded," head coach Bart Lundy said. "You can't win that way."
Lundy's assessment of his team's performance was blunt but accurate. Milwaukee trailed at halftime 47-26 and by as many as 24 points. Fifteen of Milwaukee's 19 turnovers came in the first half. The Panthers shot a meager 37.5% from the field in the first half and made only two of 13 three-point attempts.
Milwaukee improved tremendously in the second half, adding 60 points, but it was not enough. The Panthers improved their shooting to 46.3% and attempted 11 more field goals than the Raiders in the second half. Milwaukee made 8 of 19 (42.1%) three-point attempts in the second half.
The push by BJ Freeman, who had a game-high 26-points, and the Panthers brought the game down to the wire. Milwaukee redshirt sophomore Markeith Browning II hit a three to make it a ten-point game headed into the final media timeout.
The Panthers made it an 81-86 game with 1:05 remaining, but that was as close as the margin would get. Milwaukee did not have room for error down the stretch and made only five of its 13 final shots from the field.
Up next for the Panthers is a game at league-leading Northern Kentucky tomorrow at 3:00 PM CST. Milwaukee won the first matchup against the Norse 80-75.
On, Wisconsin.