Morning State News Briefs: Packers begin practice for NFC Championship game

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GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers will start practicing today for the NFC Championship Game at Chicago on Sunday.

The Bears say their offense can still get better, after beating Seattle in the divisional round last weekend. Chicago went up 28-to-nothing before winning 35-24. And tight end Greg Olsen says his team is quote, “not even close” to where they can be. He says the Bears still have a lot of “untapped potential” in a year he says has been good on a number of fronts. Olsen hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass against the Seahawks. Coach Lovie Smith says he likes the decisions quarterback Jay Cutler has been making. Last Sunday, Cutler became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw two touchdown passes and run for two scores in a post-season game. Otto Graham of Cleveland was the other. Cutler’s passer rating against Seattle was 111-point-three – the third-highest among Chicago quarterbacks with at least 20 passes in a playoff game.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will try to stop Washington from getting its first road victory tonight. The Wizards are 0-19 away from the nation’s capital. But they’re coming off a seven-point home victory over Utah on Martin Luther King Day – and they’re 12-27 after winning four straight home contests. Forward Andray Blatche has 10 double-doubles this season, after getting 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Jazz. Wizards’ coach Flip Saunders is expected to be with the team tonight, after he missed practice yesterday to be with his ailing mother. The Bucks are 10 games below .500, and they’ve lost six-of-their-last-seven. Milwaukee forward Drew Gooden is listed as questionable for tonight, as he continues to have trouble with an injured left foot. He now has a bruised heel, after missing 15 games with plantar fasciitis. Gooden had 14 points and 11 rebounds in Milwaukee’s loss at Houston on Monday. But he says he can’t jump.

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Prince Fielder became the highest-paid player in Milwaukee Brewer history yesterday, when he avoided salary arbitration and agreed to a one-year, $15-and-a-half million contract. It’s a one-season record for an arbitration-eligible player. Mark Teixiera got 12-and-a-half million to avoid arbitration with Atlanta in 2008. Also, left-hander Manny Parra agreed to a one-year deal for one-point-two million dollars. And three other Brewers who are eligible for arbitration next month traded salary proposals with the team yesterday. Second baseman Rickie Weeks asked for seven-point-two-million dollars, while the team offered four-point-eight-five million. The two sides had been discussing a multi-year contract. But they’re so far apart on salary, they’ve delayed those talks and are only working on a deal for 2011. Starter Shaun Marcum asked for five-million-dollars, two million more than the Brewers offered. And reliever Kameron Loe wants one-point-six-five million while the team is offering one-point-oh-five-five million.

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UW-Milwaukee has received three-of-the-four weekly indoor track honors in the Horizon League. Durell Busby was named the league’s male Runner-of-the-Week. Elise Sigg was named the top female runner, and Samia Taylor was honored as the top women’s field athlete. Busby, a sophomore, set a new school record by winning the 60-meter hurdles at the Badger Track Classic in Madison Saturday with a time of :8.08 seconds. Sigg, a sophomore, won the three-thousand meters at the Badger Classic. And Taylor, also a sophomore, won the triple-jump with the conference’s best leap of 40-feet, three-and-a-quarter inches. The other Horizon League award went to Jarrett Mickens of Valparaiso, who was named the top men’s field athlete-of-the-week.

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SCORES

In men’s college basketball…

Concordia-Mequon 95, Lakeland 84

Edgewood 57, Maranatha Baptist 55

Milwaukee School of Engineering 75, Rockford 63

Wisconsin Lutheran 76, Marian 61

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In women’s college basketball…

Carthage 73, North Central 59

Moody Bible College 69, Maranatha Baptist 66 in double overtime

Alverno 82, Mount Mary 69

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Wisconsin boys' high school basketball...

Alma Center Lincoln 60, Lake Holcombe 50

Almond-Bancroft 49, Port Edwards 40

Altoona 69, Fall Creek 54

Amherst 47, Oshkosh Lourdes 46

Auburndale 41, Stratford 36

Augusta 68, Neillsville 51

Baldwin-Woodville 49, Amery 37

Bay Port 62, De Pere 59

Beaver Dam Wayland 49, Kenosha Christian Life 48

Boscobel 50, Fennimore 29

Cambria-Friesland 48, Johnson Creek 45

Cedar Grove-Belgium 56, Kohler 53

Colby 55, Owen-Withee 49

Cuba City 45, Darlington 35

Cumberland 61, Webster 52

Delafield St. John's Northwestern 80, Milwaukee Heritage Christian 49

Dodgeville 67, Wisconsin Heights 50

Drummond 56, Bayfield 48

Eau Claire Regis 71, Cadott 53

Edgar 62, Pittsville 51

Elk Mound 48, Eleva-Strum 47

Ellsworth 60, Prescott 54

Elmwood 79, St. Croix Central 63

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 68, Arcadia 57

Glenwood City 54, Boyceville 43

Green Bay East 62, Ashwaubenon 45

Green Bay NEW Lutheran 70, Gillett 30

Green Bay Notre Dame 65, Sheboygan South 52

Green Bay Southwest 58, Manitowoc 56

Hortonville 50, Luxemburg-Casco 47

Lodi 65, Pardeeville 50

Luck 52, Chippewa Falls McDonell 36

Maple Northwestern 72, Grand Rapids, Minn. 69

Markesan 56, Columbus 40

Marshfield 62, Tomah 36

Mauston 55, Nekoosa 47

McFarland 63, Portage 44

Mellen 67, South Shore 19

Milwaukee Hamilton 68, Milwaukee Bradley Tech 58

Milwaukee Rufus King 79, Milwaukee Custer 29

Milwaukee Pulaski 92, Milwaukee Washington 75

Milwaukee South 57, Milwaukee Vincent 36

Monticello 63, Highland 43

Mount Horeb 61, Belleville 36

Muskego 51, Oak Creek 49

New Berlin West 50, Slinger 27

New London 57, Oconto Falls 39

New Richmond 46, Osceola 32

Northland Pines 82, Watersmeet, Mich. 48

Platteville 63, Galena Illinois 44

Plum City 58, Spring Valley 52, OT

Plymouth 70, West Bend East 42

Prairie Farm 54, Shell Lake 40

Prentice 55, Rib Lake 43

Pulaski 43, Green Bay Preble 29

Racine Lutheran 74, Union Grove 49

Racine Washington Park 67, Kenosha Tremper 58

Schofield D.C. Everest 48, Merrill 46

Seymour 79, West De Pere 56

Sheboygan Christian 53, Ozaukee 52

Sheboygan North 82, Green Bay West 59

Somerset 67, Durand 65

Sparta 68, Richland Center 46

Stevens Point 48, Wausau West 47

Thorp 58, Osseo-Fairchild 38

Tigerton 62, Bowler 28

Turtle Lake 52, Birchwood 38

Waterloo 63, Deerfield 41

Wausau Newman 59, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 44

Westby 45, Prairie du Chien 43

Whitefish Bay Dominican 81, Greendale Martin Luther 48

Wild Rose 75, Plainfield Tri-County 38

Winter 59, Frederic 45

Wisconsin Lutheran 55, Nicolet 46

Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 59, Wausau East 41

Wittenberg-Birnamwood 60, Tomahawk 45

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Girls' high school basketball....

Abbotsford 50, Phillips 44

Adams-Friendship 37, Black River Falls 36, OT

Albany 47, Argyle 36

Almond-Bancroft 46, Port Edwards 24

Ashwaubenon 46, Green Bay East 43

Bangor 47, Brookwood 39

Barneveld 61, Pecatonica 40

Belleville 40, Lakeside Lutheran 36

Black Hawk 45, Juda 41

Bloomer 82, Cumberland 31

Brillion 52, Reedsville 31

Burlington Catholic Central 58, Milwaukee Messmer 48

Cashton 47, Wonewoc-Center 31

Chilton 57, Mishicot 35

Clear Lake 44, Clayton 41, OT

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Minn. 47, Rosholt 46, OT

Clintonville 43, Berlin 37

Crandon 42, Goodman-Pembine 38

Deerfield 49, Rio 38

Dodgeland 41, Madison Abundant Life 37

East Troy 62, Brodhead 58

Eau Claire Memorial 40, Medford 38

Eau Claire North 53, Holmen 32

Edgerton 76, Clinton 37

Eleva-Strum 55, Alma Center Lincoln 32

Fall River 41, Johnson Creek 22

Frederic 60, Turtle Lake 49

Freedom 56, Denmark 43

Gillett 45, Coleman 40

Greenfield 54, Milwaukee Reagan-Lifelong Learning 18

Greenwood 66, Cornell 26

Hayward 40, Ladysmith 30

Hortonville 54, Menasha 47

Hudson 55, Baldwin-Woodville 37

Kenosha Christian Life 64, Beaver Dam Wayland 33

Kettle Moraine Lutheran 51, Fond du Lac Springs 39

Kickapoo 59, De Soto 33

La Crosse Aquinas 39, West Salem 36

Lake Mills 46, Cambridge 23

Laona 66, White Lake 22

Lena 43, Suring 26

Lomira 51, Laconia 32

Luck 53, New Auburn 35

Luxemburg-Casco 52, Kewaunee 40

Manitowoc Lincoln 39, Green Bay Southwest 30

Manitowoc Roncalli 45, Hilbert 26

Marion 60, Menominee Indian 38

Markesan 47, Princeton 18

Menomonee Falls Calvary Baptist 47, Kenosha Reuther 46

Milwaukee Bay View 38, Milwaukee North 34

Milwaukee Rufus King 74, Milwaukee Custer 42

Milwaukee Languages 65, Milwaukee Riverside 56

Milwaukee Vincent 43, Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels 37

Milwaukee Washington 62, Milwaukee Pulaski 31

Minong Northwood 47, Cameron 36

Nekoosa 47, Manawa 35

New Glarus 65, Poynette 54

North Crawford 49, La Farge 29

Oconto Falls 45, Bay Port 44

Oshkosh West 51, Oshkosh North 29

Pardeeville 67, Green Lake 20

Peshtigo 60, Marinette St. Thomas Aquinas 33

Platteville 59, Galena, Ill. 35

Potosi 52, Cassville 36

Pulaski 56, Green Bay Preble 41

Racine J.I. Case 76, Racine William Horlick 36

Racine St. Catherine's 51, Racine Lutheran 42

Richland Center 60, Sparta 51

River Falls 30, New Richmond 28

River Valley 52, Mauston 46

Schofield D.C. Everest 43, Merrill 30

Seneca 68, Ithaca 24

Sheboygan North 65, Green Bay West 21

Shullsburg 55, Belmont 40

Stevens Point 56, Wausau West 44

Stockbridge 43, Oshkosh Valley Christian 11

Superior 56, Cloquet, Minn. 39

Tigerton 73, Bowler 26

Union Grove 53, Milwaukee Lutheran 31

Wabeno 43, Phelps 32

Walworth Big Foot 50, Evansville 47

Washburn 83, Mercer 18

Watertown Luther Prep 36, Waterloo 24

Wautoma 47, Stevens Point Pacelli 46

Weston 56, Wauzeka 27

Whitefish Bay Dominican 53, Greendale Martin Luther 24

Whitehall 36, Blair-Taylor 31

Wild Rose 50, Plainfield Tri-County 20

Williams Bay 33, Hustisford 28

Winnebago Lutheran 57, Omro 33

Wisconsin Heights 55, Lodi 49

Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 56, Wausau East 31

Wrightstown 43, Manitowoc Lutheran 35