Morning State Sports Roundup: Three quarterbacks getting a long look during Badgers' training camp

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MADISON - University of Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema is taking a long look at three quarterbacks at the Badgers’ pre-season camp.

Junior transfer Danny O’Brien from Maryland appears to have the inside track as the starter. At practice yesterday, he threw a 16-yard strike to tight end Brian Wozniak under tight coverage. Fifth-year senior Curt Phillips hopes to play in his first game this fall since 2009. He’s had three ACL tears in his right knee – and he’s still having trouble getting a good plant to make long passes. Redshirt freshman Joel Stave is the other quarterback. He held the ball too long on some plays, but he managed a 20-yard pass in tight coverage during yesterday’s workout. It was the first practice reporters could watch from start-to-finish. And it was one of two workouts on Monday – as the Badgers returned to the field last night for a tougher practice in full pads.

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Milwaukee Bucks’ forward Carlos Delfino is leaving for Houston. Media reports say the Rockets have agreed to a one-year contract, with a team option for a second year. The 30-year-old Delfino is an unrestricted free agent. And the Bucks did not make an effort to bring him back, after signing center Joel Przybilla and re-upping with power forward Ersan Ilyasova. Delfino played for his native Argentina in the Olympics, and they finished fourth. He started 159 games for Milwaukee in the last three seasons. And Delfino averaged nine points, four rebounds, and almost two-and-a-half assists in 54 games for the Bucks this past season. He also missed 10 games with an injured groin.

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La Crosse and Mankato won their opening games last night in the Northwoods League playoffs. La Crosse scored nine runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Wisconsin Woodchucks in Wausau, 14-6. Tyler Servais belted a two-run homer during that rally. And Mankato won at Willmar, 10-5. Kyle Turner homered and went 2-for-5 for the Moon Dogs, who will go for a sweep of their best-of-three North Division Finals tonight in Mankato. La Crosse, meanwhile, will go for a sweep of the South Division Finals on their home diamond. If necessary, each series has a third-and-deciding game scheduled tomorrow night in La Crosse and Mankato. The two series’ winners will face each other in the league finals.

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The Class-“A” Midwest League is taking the day off. Wisconsin and Beloit both won their games last night. The Timber Rattlers edged Clinton 7-4 at Appleton, while Beloit topped Peoria 3-2 at home. Wisconsin opens a series at Beloit tomorrow night, and Brewers’ right-hander Shaun Marcum will make his second rehab start for the Timber Rattlers. Wisconsin is 25-and-25 in the second half, in fifth place in the Western Division. Beloit is 27-and-23 in a tie for second, three games behind division-leading Clinton. Wisconsin and Beloit have both clinched post-season berths by taking the top two places in the West during the first half. Bowling Green continues to lead the Eastern Division by a game over Fort Wayne.

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The Colorado Rockies have not won back-to-back home games since June 29th – but that’s what they hope to do tonight at the expense of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Rockies jumped out to an 8-nothing lead after three innings last night against the formerly invincible Mike Fiers, and they ended up winning 9-6. It was only the Rockies’ second home win in their last 12 games at Coors Field – and it was Milwaukee’s 12th road loss in their last 13. Left-hander Randy Wolf will try to turn things around for the Crew tonight against right-hander Tyler Chatwood. Wolf is 3-8 with a 5.46 ERA – and he’s coming off a solid outing against Cincinnati last Wednesday in which he struck out seven in six innings while giving up just two runs. Chatwood is 2-2 with an ERA of just over five. He also had a solid outing in his last appearance, as he surrendered three hits and two walks in five scoreless innings of a 3-0 shutout of San Francisco. Chatwood is making just his third start for the Rockies since being recalled from Double-“A” Tulsa.

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After four arrests since 2008, Green Bay Packers’ running back Cedric Benson insists he has changed his ways. He says he’s a different person than a year ago, when he was arrested twice for misdemeanor assaults when he was the Cincinnati Bengals. A pair of OWI arrests also hastened Benson’s departure from the Chicago Bears in 2008. Benson said he had time to reflect after the Bengals refused to invite him to training camp last month. No NFL team signed him until the Packers needed help with their banged-up rushing corps after last week’s exhibition loss at San Diego. The 29-year-old Benson is trying to prove he still has fuel in the tank, after rushing for almost 58-hundred yards in his first seven NFL seasons. But he won’t be able to prove himself until this weekend, when he can start practicing in pads for the first time. The league’s collective bargaining agreement prohibits pads for a player’s first two workouts – and coach Mike McCarthy says it won’t be enough for Benson to be able to play in Thursday night’s home exhibition opener against Cleveland.

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The New England Patriots are getting a look at former Packers’ offensive tackle Chad Clifton. NFL.com said the 12-year Green Bay veteran was scheduled to get a physical with the Patriots early this week. The Web site said Clifton could provide depth, as the Pats look to improve their line. The Packers cut Clifton in April, after he played in just six regular season games in 2011 while struggling with back and hamstring injuries. He had back surgery this past off-season.

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