Morning State Sports Briefs: Grant says he'll be No. 1 running back when Packers return

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GREEN BAY - Ryan Grant says he’ll be the Number-one running back when the Green Bay Packers open their training camp after the owners’ lockout.

Grant’s Super Bowl season ended after just one game last year, when he tore an ankle in the Packers’ season-opening victory at Philadelphia. Brandon Jackson took over the running game after that – and in the playoffs, rookie James Starks emerged as a major force. Despite that, Grant says he’s been told by new running backs’ coach Jerry Fontenot that he’s the starter – and he expects to face competition for the job. But he if loses out to Starks, Grant says he’d be okay as the back-up – and he would give up his personal desires for a chance at a second Super Bowl ring. Grant ran for 2,456 yards for Green Bay in 2008-and-’09.

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Teams in the Northwoods League will open new series tonight. The Eau Claire Express hosts La Crosse. The Loggers are coming off an 8-7 win over Green Bay, while Eau Claire dropped a 4-2 decision to Waterloo. The Madison Mallards will host Waterloo, after the Mallards were shut out by Wisconsin Rapids 2-0 on Monday night. Rapids hosts Battle Creek. Green Bay travels to Wausau to face the Wisconsin Woodchucks, after the ‘Chucks fell to Battle Creek 4-3 in 10 innings. Also tonight, Duluth plays at Willmar. Alexandria hosts Brainerd. Rochester is at home against Saint Cloud. And Mankato is at Thunder Bay. Rochester has taken over sole possession of first place in the North Division with a 4-1 mark as the second half gets underway. La Crosse, Battle Creek, and Waterloo are all tied for the South Division lead at 4-1.

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A long-time assistant baseball coach at Lakeland College has been named to the top spot. The Sheboygan school has promoted Michael Bachar to replace Chris Thousand, who left after his wife took a new job in Madison. Bachar has been a full-time assistant for the last five years, and was a student-and-volunteer assistant after graduating from Lakeland in 2004. He received all-conference honors as a shortstop in ’04 – and Bachar still holds the Lakeland record for walks in a season with 29.

Former Ellsworth High School player Tim Green played his freshman season at Lakeland College last spring.

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SCORES

In the Midwest League last night…

Quad Cities 4, Wisconsin 1

Clinton 8, Beloit 2

Kane County 7, Burlington 3

Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 1 in 10 innings

West Michigan 4, Bowling Green 2

South Bend 3, Dayton 2 in 8 innings

Fort Wayne 8, Great Lakes 1

Lake County 6, Lansing 4

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In the Northwoods League…

Wisconsin Rapids 2, Madison 0

La Crosse 8, Green Bay 7

Battle Creek 4, Wisconsin 3 in 10 innings

Waterloo 4, Eau Claire 2

Rochester 8, Duluth 5

Mankato 9, Alexandria 2

Brainerd 9, Thunder Bay 4

Saint Cloud 5, Willmar 1 in Game-One

Saint Cloud 8, Willmar 1 in Game-Two

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Here are last night's scores from the American Association:

Winnipeg 3, St.Paul 2 (game one)

Winnipeg 5, St Paul 4 (game two)

Shreveport 11, Wichita 9

Lincoln 10, K-C 9

Gary SouthShore 12, Sioux City 11

Fargo-Moorhead 2, Sioux Falls 0

Fort Worth 14, Grand Prairie 1

Amarillo 8, El Paso 2