State Sports Briefs: Staph infections affecting Packers

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GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers do not believe they have an outbreak of staph infections, after two players came down with them. Coach Mike McCarthy said infections to tight end Jermichael Finley and linebacker Brady Poppinga were isolated incidents. The coach said there are different types of bacteria-based staph infections – and the medical staff is quote, “incredibly conscientious” in dealing with them.

Finley said he needed a second knee operation in late October, after getting a 105-degree fever. He said he spent two days in the hospital after the surgery to clean up his infection. Finley is still taking IV fluids to treat it. Poppinga said he had a similar infection in September. It’s a serious concern. At least six Cleveland Browns had staph infections from 2003-through-’08 – and the complications ended at least two players’ careers. Center LeCharles Bentley has sued the Browns over the matter. Receiver Joe Jerevicius reached an injury settlement with the team. Several Packers’ players said yesterday they were not aware of what happened to Finley – but the training staff warns about infections on a regular basis, and provides tips to avoid spreading them. Today, the Packers continue to practice for their Sunday night home match-up against Dallas.

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Packers’ punter Tim Masthay has been named the NFC special teams’ player-of-the-week. He tied a team record when he placed five punts within the Jets’ 20-yard-line. David Beverly accomplished the same feat against the Chicago Bears in October of 1978. Masthay punted a total of eight times, averaging 41-and-a-half net yards.

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In golf, Rhinelander native Dan Forsman is playing for the biggest prize on the PGA senior Champions Tour this weekend. The Charles Schwab Cup Championship begins this afternoon in San Francisco – and the 30 top money-winners on the tour are competing. Forsman is seventh on that list, and he’s 15th in the season-long point standings for the Schwab Cup. He has one tournament victory this year, and nine Top-10 finishes.

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The Marquette University men’s golf team tied for sixth place among 12 schools at the Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational in California. The Golden Eagles shot a combined 853 for three rounds. That was 26 strokes behind first-place Pacific. Marquette senior Kelly Kretz placed second among individuals. He finished at a career-low 12-under-par-201 – three strokes behind medalist T.J. Bourdeaux of Pacific.

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Semi-final matches are set for today in the WIAC women’s soccer tournament. Top-seeded UW-Stevens Point will host Platteville this afternoon, and number-two Whitewater will host Eau Claire tonight. Both winners will advance to the title match on Saturday. Stevens Point is going for its third straight championship, and its 15th title in the last 19 years.

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Wisconsin’s remaining two teams were eliminated yesterday in the semi-finals of the Northern Athletics Conference women’s soccer tournament. Concordia-Mequon lost to top-seeded Aurora 4-0. And Madison Edgewood was shut out by second-seeded Dominican 1-0. Aurora will go for its second straight tournament title when it plays Dominican in the championship game on Saturday.

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Marquette upset Saint John’s 3-1 yesterday in the first round of the Big East Conference men’s soccer tournament. Marquette, the sixth seed in the Blue Division, scored twice in the second half to knock off the Red Storm, which was seeded third in the Red Division. Anthony Colaizzi scored the game-winning goal in the 75th minute. Marquette is now 7-7-4, and will play Notre Dame in the next round on Saturday night.

In men’s regular season play, Wisconsin blanked Illinois-Chicago, 1-0 last night in Madison. Joey Tennyson scored the game-winner in the 96th minute. The Badgers out-shot UIC 14-to-10, as they improved to 3-12-2 overall.

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UW-Green Bay women’s basketball player Kayla Tetschlag has joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Alyssa Karel among the 30 nominees for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award. The honor goes to a senior athlete who excels both on-and-off the court. Tetschlag was an All-Horizon League first team last season while maintaining a four-point-oh grade average, and volunteering in an after-school program for the Green Bay Boys-and-Girls Club. The field of nominees will be reduced to 10 midway through the regular season. The winner will be announced at the women’s Final Four next spring.

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In hockey, the Milwaukee Admirals lost to Rockford in a shoot-out last night at the Bradley Center with a final score of 3-2. The Admirals blew a 2-nothing lead. Jeff Taffe tied the game for Rockford by scoring with 69 seconds left in regulation. Taffe also scored the deciding goal of the shoot-out. Both teams now have 11 points on the season. The Admirals’ record fell to 4-3-1-2.

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The University of Wisconsin volleyball team lost at sixth-ranked Illinois last night, three-games-to-none. Julie Mikaelsen, the Big Ten’s reigning freshman-of-the-week, had 16 kills and 17 digs. Janelle Gabrielsen had 33 assists for Wisconsin, which dropped to 4-10 in the conference and 14-10 overall.

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