Morning State Sports Briefs: Redd may return to Bucks soon

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks are nine games under .500 as they get ready to play the Raptors in Toronto tonight. And new questions are being raised about the possibility of Michael Redd returning – and perhaps giving the team a boost.

The 31-year-old shooting guard has been out since last January, after he tore ligaments in his left knee for the second time in 13 months. Redd’s main goal has been to return to the Bucks in February. Coach Scott Skiles says Redd has been diligent with his rehabilitation, but he has no idea when or if Redd will be medically cleared to play. The 10-year NBA veteran has averaged just over 20 points a game in his career. And if he’s healthy, he could certainly provide a boost to a team which continues to have the lowest scoring average in the NBA. On the other hand, Redd has been out for so long that Skiles has no idea how effective he might be – or how he would affect the Bucks’ team chemistry. Redd is in the final year of his contract with Milwaukee. He’s getting just over $18-million this season – and he’s the league’s fifth-highest-paid player.

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Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut finished fourth among Eastern Conference centers in the fan voting for the NBA All-Star Game. Bogut received 302,000 votes, while the starting center for the East – Orlando’s Dwight Howard – got almost two-point-one million votes. The starting line-ups were announced yesterday for the All-Star Game, to be played February 20th in Los Angeles. Former Marquette guard Dwayne Wade of Miami will start for the East along with his teammate LeBron James, Derrick Rose of Chicago, and Amare Stoudemire of New York. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers was the top overall vote-getter with two-point-three million. He’ll start for the Western Conference along with Carmelo Anthony of Denver, Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, and Chris Paul of New Orleans. Houston’s Yao Ming was also elected. But he’s out for the year with an injury, and a replacement starter will be named. The All-Star reserves will be announced next Thursday.

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The Milwaukee Brewers will give minor league utility player Erick Almonte a chance to make the big club at spring training. He’s the 13th non-roster player to get invited to camp. The 32-year-old Almonte batted .320 in 110 games at Triple-“A” Nashville last year with three homers, 28 RBI’s, and a .377 on-base percentage. He played first base, third, and the outfield. Almonte is also playing in the Dominican Winter League, where he’s batting .285 in 48 games with three homers and 22 RBI’s.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team will play at Michigan Tech tonight and tomorrow night. The eighth-ranked Badgers have won 10-of-their-last-11 games, and they’re coming off a home sweep of Minnesota State last weekend. Michigan Tech has not won a game since October 15th, and they’ve gone 0-18-and-2 since then. The Huskies are 3-18-3 overall, and they were outscored 85-to-26 in those losses. Tech is 1-14-1 in the WCHA. Wisconsin is 9-7-2 in the conference, and 17-8-3 overall.

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Meanwhile, the top-ranked Badger women’s hockey team will host number-four Minnesota tonight and tomorrow night. Wisconsin has not lost since December fourth, and is on a 12-game unbeaten streak. They’re 17-2-1 in the W-C-H-A, and 23-2-1 overall. Minnesota is 13-6-1 in the conference and 18-6-1 overall. The Badgers hope to set an NCAA attendance record tomorrow night. Fans can get in for a-dollar, and students are free. Non-perishable food donations are also being taken to help the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Tags: wisconsin sports, sports, proam