Morning State Sports Briefs: Clay may sign with Steelers

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PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh newspaper says former University of Wisconsin running back John Clay will sign with the Steelers.

Clay was not drafted in April – but there were rumors soon afterward that the former UW and Racine Washington Park High School running back would go with Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said Badgers’ quarterback Scott Tolzien appears to be heading to Indianapolis, where Curtis Painter is the only back-up at the moment to Peyton Manning. NFL teams can start signing their draft choices and undrafted free agents today – but they’ll have to wait until Friday to lock up veteran free agents.

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An informal media poll predicts that University of Wisconsin football team will win the inaugural Leaders’ Division title in the Big Ten Conference. The league decided last spring to end its official pre-season coaches’ and media polls. But Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer polled two dozen reporters anyway – and they predicted that Nebraska would win the new Legends’ Division crown, and go on to beat Wisconsin in the inaugural conference title game in December. Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema was named as the Big Ten’s top coach. Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was picked as the offensive-player-of-the-year, with Badgers’ quarterback Russell Wilson sixth in the voting. Nebraska lineman Jared Crick was chosen as the pre-season defensive player-of-the-year.

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The Milwaukee Brewers have dropped to third place in the National League Central Division, a half-game behind co-leaders Pittsburgh and Saint Louis. The Brewers were off yesterday while the Pirates won at Atlanta 3-1, and Saint Louis topped Houston at home, 10-5. Former Brewer Carlos Lee hit a grand slam for Houston in that game. Tonight, the Brewers will start an 18-game stretch again teams in the NL Central. Milwaukee is home for the first time since the All-Star break, as it hosts the fifth-place Chicago Cubs. The Brewers have a two-game losing streak, after dropping two-of-three at San Francisco. The Cubs swept Houston during the weekend for their first three-game winning streak of the year. Chicago is 11-and-a-half games back in the Central. Left-hander Chris Narveson will start for the Brew Crew against veteran Cubs’ right-hander Ryan Dempster.

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SCORES

In the Midwest League…

Wisconsin 6, Great Lakes 3

Lansing 7, Beloit 6

Kane County 4, South Bend 2

Dayton 5, Burlington 2

Lake County 2, Cedar Rapids 1

Clinton 4, West Michigan 3

Quad Cities 11, Fort Wayne 10

Bowling Green 4, Peoria 3

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In the Northwoods League…

La Crosse 8, Wisconsin Rapids 3

Eau Claire 13, Wisconsin 4

Green Bay 6, Waterloo 5

Duluth 10, Saint Cloud 5

Mankato 7, Rochester 4

Willmar 5, Brainerd 3

Thunder Bay 10, Alexandria 6

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Here are Monday's results from the American Association:

Kansas City 4, St. Paul 3

Wichita 8, Fargo-Moorhead 1

Sioux City 6, Winnipeg 2

Sioux Falls 5, Gary 4

Lincoln 10, El Paso 4

Fort Worth at Amarillo, PPD