Afternoon State Sports Briefs: Ball to miss half of UW's training camp

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MADISON - University of Wisconsin running back Montee Ball will miss part of the Badgers’ preseason camp due to the concussion and facial injuries he suffered when he was attacked early yesterday.

Coach Bret Bielema updated the situation today, during a taping of the “Sidelines” show on WISC-TV in Madison. He said Ball would miss the first few weeks of camp. And the coach hopes to have his star rusher available in the week before Wisconsin’s season opener on September first at home against Northern Iowa. The camp begins on Sunday when the players are due to report. The first practice is Monday. Bielema said Ball might not be available for full contact immediately upon his return – and it will give him a chance to see his other running backs. Ball was knocked down and kicked by five men on a UW campus street around 2:15 yesterday morning. Police are still looking for suspects. Bielema said on the TV show that he’s been bombarded with interview requests following the incident – and he has turned them down.

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Former Milwaukee Bucks’ coach Terry Stotts is reportedly one of two finalists for the head coaching job in Portland. The Oregonian newspaper said Stotts is competing with Kaleb Canales for the job. Canales was the Trail Blazers’ interim coach at the end of last season, after Nate McMillan was fired. The 54-year-old Stotts was Milwaukee’s head coach for two seasons from 2005-through-’07. The Bucks went 40-42 in Stotts’ first year and lost to Detroit in the first round of the playoffs. The second year, the Bucks slid to 23-41 before Stotts was fired before the season ended. Stotts has also been a head coach in Atlanta. And since 2008, he’s been the Number-One assistant to Dallas Mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle. Stotts also spent four years as an assistant in Milwaukee under George Karl – including the 2001 campaign in which the Bucks were just one victory away from making the NBA Finals.

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In baseball, Wisconsin Woodchucks continue to be the top story in the Northwoods League. The ‘Chucks from Wausau have had a pair of seven-game winning streaks in the second half. And they won their second straight last night, 7-1 over Green Bay. Tonight, Wisconsin plays in Mequon against the Lakeshore Chinooks, who have a five-game winning streak of their own after blanking Battle Creek 4-0. The La Crosse Loggers will host Green Bay, after La Crosse fell to Madison 7-6 in 11 innings on Wednesday. Madison plays at Eau Claire, which crushed Wisconsin Rapids 14-7. Rapids entertains Battle Creek tonight. Wisconsin is 21-3 with a five-game lead over second-place Madison. Willmar leads the East by two-and-a-half games over Duluth, and those two teams will face each other tonight in Willmar. Last night, Willmar crushed Rochester 20-3. Rochester is at Waterloo this evening. Saint Cloud hosts Thunder Bay. Mankato and Alexandria have the night off.

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