Afternoon Sports Brief - Fox Point Skip Kendall trying to return to PGA

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Fox Point native Skip Kendall is trying to return to the PGA Tour full-time. He’s on track to finish in the Top 25 on the Nationwide Tour’s money list this year. If he can accomplish that, Kendall will get a one year exemption and his first full season ride on the PGA Tour since 2005.

The 47-year old Kendall won the Nationwide Colombia Championship in Bogota a couple months ago, but he has missed the cut in his last three events on the PGA’s top minor league tour. Still, Kendall is fifth on the Nationwide money list this year with $112,000 dollars so far. And he’s bouncing back from surgery last April to repair a ligament in one of his thumbs. There is no Nationwide event this weekend, and Kendall received a veteran’s exemption to compete in the PGA’s Valero Texas Open that begins tomorrow in San Antonio. It will be his 599th combined PGA and Nationwide start. And it’s Kendall’s third PGA event in 2012. He made the weekend cut in the other two.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will start making their final push toward a playoff spot tonight, when they face the Wizards in Washington. The Bucks assume they’ll have to win all of their final six games to have any chance at the eighth and final post season spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks now trail Philadelphia by a game and a half for the number eight spot, and New York by two and a half for the Number seven spot. Philly has lost three straight, and the Bucks and Sixers will face each other next week. Bucks’ center Drew Gooden says the only thing they can do is take each game one at a time, and see what happens at the end. The Bucks are thoroughly rested, since they haven’t played since last Saturday night’s home loss to Indiana. Washington is 15-46, and the Wizards are coming off a 3 point upset at Chicago on Monday night. Kevin Seraphin led Washington in that game with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocked shots.

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Cole Cefalu of UW-La Crosse has made the national Division Three baseball Team of the Week from D3baseball.com. Cefalu, a sophomore outfielder, hit a walk off homer against UW-Oshkosh. And he batted .611 last week with two doubles, six RBI’s, three stolen bases, and four runs scored in a four-game sweep of the Titans.

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The Milwaukee Brewers can return to .500 tonight with a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Miller Park. The Brewers snapped a four game losing streak with a comeback win in the ninth inning last night. They’re now at 5-6. The Dodgers ended a six game winning streak, and are 9-2. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez is due back tonight for Milwaukee. He’s been on a paternity leave since last Friday, as his wife Johanna had their third child. Axel David Gonzalez was born last Sunday. But according to manager Ron Roenicke, doctors wanted to monitor the baby for an extra day because it was induced a few days early for medical reasons. So Roenicke approved an extra day of leave. And it could have put the Brewers in a pickle last night. Cezar Isturis was filling in for Gonzalez. But he was removed in the ninth with the Brewers down by a run and George Kottaras pinch hitting. Kottaras hit a two run double that ended the game with a Milwaukee victory. But if he had only driven in one run, Roenicke would not have had an available shortstop on the bench for the 10th inning. He said he would have moved Aramis Ramirez from third base to short, and Mat Gamel from first to third. Zack Greinke will start for the Brewers tonight against former Brewer Chris Capuano.

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Former Bucks’ guard Ray Allen was told an hour before last month’s NBA trade deadline that he was being dealt to Memphis. But according to Yahoo Sports, Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers called back about 20 minutes later and said, “Never mind.” Apparently, a deal fell through that would have sent the 36 year old Allen to the Grizzlies for OJ Mayo and a draft pick. Also, a rumored deal about Celtics’ veteran Paul Pierce going to New Jersey never happened. Those are two of Boston’s “Big Three,” who along with Kevin Garnett won the NBA title in 2008. Allen is in his 16th NBA season. He spent his first six and a half years with Milwaukee, and he’s in his fifth year in Boston.

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