Afternoon State Sports Brief - Steve Stricker shot four- under par today at John Deere Classic

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MOLINE, Ill. - Steve Stricker of Madison shot a four under par 67 today in his second round at the John Deere Classic at the Quad Cities.

He was tied for third place by early afternoon at 10 under 132 through two rounds in Silvis Illinois. Stricker was one stroke behind J.J. Henry and three in back of first place Troy Matteson, both of whom completed their second rounds as well. Stricker is in a good position to win the John Deere for the fourth straight time as long as he keeps the pedal to the metal during the weekend. Also, Wisconsin’s two other golfers in the John Deere Classic will most likely be around for the weekend. Pewaukee native Mark Wilson shot a three-under-68 today. He was tied for 30th by early afternoon at five under 137. Jerry Kelly of Madison shot a two under 69, and he was tied for 42nd at fourunder. The projected cut line is at minus three.

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At the U.S. Senior Open, Rhinelander native Dan Forsman shot a one over par 71 today. That put him at even par 140 for the tournament, tying him for 26th place as of early afternoon. Forsman started the day in 15th. Tom Kite, the tournament leader, was at even-par after two holes of his second round. He remained at five under for the tournament, with a one-stroke lead over a half-dozen players.

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Zack Greinke hopes the Milwaukee Brewers can play well enough this month to avoid his being traded by the July 31st deadline. And tonight, that will be partially up to him, as the Brewers come out of the All Star break with a home contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right handed Greinke is 9-3 with an ERA of just under three and a third. He’ll be starting the Brewers’ third game in a row something no pitcher has done in the same season for 95 years. Grienke threw only four pitches last Saturday before he got booted from a game at Houston where he took the loss. He came back the next day, struggled through three innings, and escaped with a no-decision. Greinke says he’d love to win tonight to get something out of this weird string. But if not, he’ll still appreciate being in the record book. Greinke is 15-0 at Miller Park since joining the Brewers a year and a half ago. And Milwaukee is 21-1 at home when he pitches. Meanwhile, the Brewer hitters will face Pirates’ starter James McDonald tonight. The right hander is 9-3 with a 2.37 ERA. McDonald struck out 10 in seven innings in a win over San Francisco last Saturday. The Brewers are eight games behind first place Pittsburgh in the National League Central. And the Crew is six games back for an NL Wild Card spot.

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Brewers’ official and former big league infielder Craig Counsell will be immortalized tomorrow, when a park is renamed for him in his hometown. A ceremony is scheduled in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay to rename Water Tower Park as Craig Counsell Park. He was raised in Whitefish Bay, and he still lives there. After graduating from Notre Dame in 1992, Counsell was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round that year. He had a big league career that stretched from 1995 through last season. Counsell scored the winning run in Game Seven that gave Florida a World Series title in 1997. He also won a championship ring with Arizona in 2001. And Counsell played for five seasons in Milwaukee, where he retired as a player in 2011. He’s now a special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin.

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In the Northwoods League, the Wisconsin Woodchucks are at home in Wausau tonight against the La Crosse Loggers. The Woodchucks kept their share of first place in the South Division with a 10-3 pounding of Eau Claire last night. La Crosse won at Wisconsin Rapids 5-3. The South’s other co leader, the Madison Mallards, are at home against Wisconsin Rapids. Madison is coming off a 3-2 win over Battle Creek in 10 innings. The Mallards and Woodchucks are both 6-1 for the second half, with a two game lead over third place La Crosse. Also, the Lakeshore Chinooks are at home in Mequon against Eau Claire. That’s after the Chinooks fell to Green Bay 15-6. Battle Creek opens a home series tonight against Green Bay. Also tonight, North Division leading Mankato hosts Willmar. Rochester entertains Saint Cloud. Duluth is at home against Alexandria. And Thunder Bay plays at Waterloo. There was quite a power explosion across the Northwoods League on Thursday night. Green Bay, Thunder Bay, and Alexandria all scored 15 runs in their victories. Mankato leads the North by a game over Willmar.

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The Big Ten and Big 12 conferences have called off their earlier plan to schedule contests against each other in all sports. The Pac 12 said today that the football schedule had too many complications to follow through with it. Both leagues had agreed to the scheduling plan last December, before university presidents around the country had approved a four team football playoff starting in 2014. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said the league had learned from Pac 12 officials that it was too difficult to scheduled non conference games among 24 schools. Delany said the complications included the Pac 12’s nine-game league schedule, and previous non-conference commitments its member schools had made. The Big Ten will change to a nine game schedule from an eight game package in 2017. Pac 12 Commissioner Larry Scott said the two leagues would continue a close relationship with each other and that includes their long time meeting between their conference champions in the Rose Bowl.

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Paul Wollersheim resigned today as the boys’ basketball coach and athletic director at Whitefish Bay Dominican High School. Wollersheim was arrested in late May after a female teacher at Dominican accused him of sexually assaulting her. He was placed on leave and Milwaukee County prosecutors announced this week they would not file criminal charges against him. Wollersheim has coached at Dominican for over two decades, and he led his team to three state titles. But in a statement today, Wollersheim said quote, “The recent false accusations against me have been a nightmare for me and my family … More than anything, it has helped me understand what’s most important in my life.” He said he would not have gotten through the matter without the support of family and close friends. And he said it’s clearer than ever that it’s time for him to move on.

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