Saturday Sports Briefs: Regents approve Alvarez's salary raise

• University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin

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MADISON - Barry Alvarez now has a seven-figure salary, making him one of the highest-paid athletic directors in the country. The UW Board of Regents yesterday approved giving him a raise from $850,000 a year to one million.

Alvarez's base salary from UW Athletics will remain the same, but his compensation from the UW Foundation will increase by $150,000 dollars. Alvarez just completed his fifth year as athletic director. He served as the Badger football coach from 1990 to 2005. The Regents also approved pay raised for UW men's basketball coach Bo Ryan and UW women's hockey coach Mark Johnson. Alvarez is set to be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame this weekend in South Bend, Indiana.

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The Marquette University men’s basketball team announced its non-conference schedule today – and it includes a home game against Vanderbilt, projected to be a Top-5 team this fall. That contest is set for December 29th at the Bradley Center – the final non-conference tune-up before Marquette opens its Big East Conference schedule. Also, the schedule includes a key matchup against Washington in the Jimmy-“V” Classic on December sixth in New York. The Golden Eagles will also compete in the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands starting November 18th against Winthrop. And they’ll play the state’s three other Division-One schools – December 3rd at Wisconsin, December 10th at home against UW-Green Bay, and December 22nd at home against UW-Milwaukee. The Eagles also have an SEC opponent on December 19th at LSU. A complete schedule with full dates and tip-times is due out in September.

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After insisting numerous times he would return, University of Wisconsin men’s hockey center Craig Smith now says he’s turning pro. The junior center says he’ll give up his final two years of college eligibility at Madison to sign with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Smith was Nashville’s fourth-round draft pick in 2009. And they were okay with his college career until the Predators lost veteran forwards Joel Ward and Marcel Goc to free agency this month. Badger coach Mike Eaves says Smith has a good chance of playing for the Predators this season, even though he has not been guaranteed playing time. Smith is the 14th player Eaves has lost prematurely since 2004. He was the Badgers’ top goal scorer last season with 19.

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Formal approval of Northern Michigan University joining the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is expected to come next week. Member schools were meeting in St. Paul yesterday to talk about the WCHA's future. Five schools revealed their plan earlier this week to create the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference in two years. At that same time, Minnesota and Wisconsin are planning to leave the WCHA for the Big Ten's new hockey league. The board of trustees at Northern Michigan had endorsed the school administration's recommendation to pursue membership in the WCHA at a meeting last Thursday.

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Former UW-Stevens Point right-hander Jordan Zimmermann is having a decent year for the Washington Nationals – but the Auburndale native could still be shut down before the season ends. He’s pitching his first full season after having Tommy John elbow reconstructive surgery in August of 2009. This spring, the Nationals decided that the third-year big leaguer would only throw 160 innings this season to preserve the elbow. And he’s thrown 115 innings. Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson – who took over for Jim Riggleman a few weeks ago – says he’s not too comfortable about the arrangement, especially because Washington is playing .500 ball with a slim chance at the playoffs. The plan was to have Zimmermann sit around the time the minor league call-ups are made in September – and if the Nats are not in the race then, Zimmermann could very well be shut down. Washington is 11-and-a-half games behind Philadelphia in the National League East, and eight back for the NL Wild Card. Zimmermann is 6-7 with a two-point-six-six ERA. Johnson says he plans to use him as a fifth starter with a regular schedule.

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For the second time, Green Bay Packers’ defensive back Brandon Underwood has had a plea hearing delayed on his latest criminal charge. The 25-year-old Underwood is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct stemming from a domestic violence incident with his wife Brandie. He told a Brown County court commissioner this morning that he has hired an attorney – but that person won’t be available until next week. The hearing was then re-scheduled for a week from today. Prosecutors said the couple got into an argument June 16th, the same night the Packers received their Super Bowl rings – and Underwood threw her out of a vehicle in their driveway. The Packer wives had received necklaces, but Underwood reportedly objected to Brandie getting one because they were in the process of getting a divorce. After a previous court hearing, Brandie Underwood told reporters she never meant for her husband to get in trouble. And she denied that he harmed her. They still live together, and Brandie has said they’re trying to patch up their differences. Earlier this year, Underwood was fined after two women accused him of sexually assaulting them at a Lake Delton resort last summer where he had played in a charity golf outing.

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SCORES

MIDWEST LEAGUE

Cedar Rapids 9, Bowling Green 6

Fort Wayne 7, Burlington 5

Great Lakes 6, Clinton 1

Lansing 3, Kane County 2

Peoria 6, Lake County 5 (10)

Quad Cities 6, Dayton 4

South Bend 10, Beloit 2

West Michigan 5, Wisconsin 4

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NORTHWOODS LEAGUE

Alexandria 8, Rochester 4

Duluth 1, Brainerd 0

Duluth 4, Brainerd 1

Green Bay 9, Waterloo 6

Madison at La Crosse, ppd.

Thunder Bay 5, St. Cloud 0

Willmar at Mankato, ppd.

Wisconsin 5, Eau Claire 4

Wisconsin Rapids 11, Battle Creek 2

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ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Milwaukee Mustangs 83, Iowa Barnstormers 49

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