Morning State Sports Briefs: Packers get back to work for Friday's game

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GREEN BAY - After taking the weekend off, the Green Bay Packers return to practice today as they get ready for their third exhibition game on Friday night at Indianapolis.

Coach Mike McCarthy expects to have at least three more full-scale practices, so the players can build up their endurance. The third pre-season game is the normally the one that most resembles a regular season contest, as the starters usually play into the second half to get in shape. One question still facing the Packers is whether to keep two quarterbacks or three. They kept two a year ago, and they had third-stringer Graham Harrell on the practice squad. This year, Harrell hopes to make the 53-man season roster – and he built a case for it in Friday night’s exhibition win over Arizona. Harrell led a late drive that ended in a six-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Taylor which sealed the Pack’s victory. So far in the pre-season, Harrell has completed 18-of-31 passes for 181 yards and a score.

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Brett Favre’s still retired, but you’ll probably hear all season about teams wanting to bring back the 41-year-old former Green Bay quarterback. The latest report is a tweet from Indianapolis Colts’ owner Jim Irsay, who said he was in Favre’s home-town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi yesterday. The team has officially declined comment. But Irsay said Saturday on Twitter that four-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning might not be ready for the start of the regular season. That’s after he had neck surgery in May. Manning says he won’t play in the exhibition games, and his streak of 227 consecutive regular season starts appears to be in jeopardy. The Colts don’t have much for back-up help. Curtis Painter started both pre-season games, throwing for 95 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. The Colts also have journeyman quarterback Dan Orlovsky and undrafted rookie Mike Hartline. Favre has insisted that he’s done with the NFL – but he’s proven in the past that anything can happen. His agent, Bus Cook, said the last time he saw Favre was quote, “on his tractor mowing the back-40.” Last month, there were rumors that the Miami Dolphins were threatening to bring in Favre if Chad Henne and the other quarterbacks didn’t shape up. There was also a rumor about Favre backing up Michael Vick in Philadelphia. That didn’t pan out.

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The University of Wisconsin football team has landed a top defensive back from New Jersey for next fall. D.J. Singleton of Jersey City gave a verbal commitment to the Badgers yesterday. Singleton goes to Saint Peter’s Prep School, and Scout-Dot-Com ranks him as the 14th-best high school safety in the nation. The Badgers have not recruited many East Coast players since Barry Alvarez brought in stars like running back Ron Dayne in the 1990’s. But that could change. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema recently hired running backs’ coach Thomas Hammock, who plans to step up the Badgers’ recruiting efforts in New Jersey again. Singleton chose Madison over at least seven other Big Ten schools – plus Miami, Tennessee, and Rutgers. Singleton told Junior-Rank-Dot-Com that he expected Madison to be nothing but farmland, but the city was great. And he said Bielema stressed the UW’s strong academic reputation – and what he can do with his degree after college.

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SCORES

In the Midwest League…

Wisconsin 5, Burlington 4

Quad Cities 4, Beloit 3

Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 2

Clinton 7, Kane County 1

Lansing 4, Dayton 3

West Michigan 2, South Bend 0

Bowling Green 5, Great Lakes 2

Lake County 4, Fort Wayne 3

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Here are results from Sunday's games in the American Association:

St. Paul 5, Fargo-Moorhead 2

Lincoln 2, Winnipeg 1

Sioux City 7, Sioux Falls 6

Kansas City 22, Amarillo 4

Wichita 7, Gary 2

Shreveport-Bossier 6, Fort Worth 5

Grand Prairie 10, El Paso 1

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STATE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES from Saturday

Benton/Scales Mound, Ill. 30, River Ridge 8

Cadott 14, Fall Creek 7

Cedar Grove-Belgium 35, Kenosha St. Joseph 14

Lake Country Lutheran 43, Whitefish Bay Dominican 0

Lake Holcombe 28, Augusta 8

Living Word Lutheran 68, Milwaukee Hope 0

Markesan 45, Milwaukee Washington/Metro 28

Mayville 47, North Fond du Lac 0

Oshkosh Lourdes 38, Elkhart Lake 7

Potosi 40, Cassville 0

Racine Lutheran 42, Milwaukee Thomas More 22

Spring Valley 38, Plum City 18

Wausaukee 52, White Lake/Elcho 14

Wauwatosa East 21, Wauwatosa West 13

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