Afternoon State Sports Briefs: Pack's Sitton listed as questionable for Sunday's game

Talk about it

GREEN BAY - Another injury has cropped up on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line. Guard Josh Sitton has a hip injury which flared up at practice yesterday – and coach Mike McCarthy said an evaluation this morning did not look good.

As a result, Sitton is listed as questionable for Sunday’s N-F-C North Division battle at Chicago. It means he has a 50-50 chance of playing. Also, receiver Donald Driver is questionable with a lingering thumb injury – and linebacker Terrell Manning is also questionable with a shoulder injury. Receiver Jordy Nelson and defensive end C-J Wilson have been ruled out of Sunday’s contest, along with defensive back Charles Woodson – who did practice a little today. Linebacker Clay Matthews is listed as probable, and McCarthy expects the Clay-maker to have an impact – even though there might be a limit on his number of plays. It will be the first game for Matthews since November fourth, when he injured a hamstring against Arizona.

Also, Mike Neal is probable along with T.J. Lang, Jerron McMillian, and Marshall Newhouse. McCarthy said he would decide tomorrow where Lang will play – either at his normal left guard spot, or at right tackle where he had been filling in for the injured Bryan Bulaga. Lang was hurt two weeks ago – and Don Barclay has done a good job filling in at the right tackle spot.

_________________________________________________________________________

The NFL did not fine Packers’ safety Morgan Burnett for his hard hit on Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson last Sunday night. The Packers were penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness, presumably for hitting Johnson in the head and neck area at the end of a 19-yard pass play at about midfield. Replays showed that Burnett’s helmet did not hit Johnson’s – but it was a close call.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Milwaukee Bucks will go for their ninth straight win over Cleveland tonight, when the two teams play at Quicken Loans Arena. The Bucks are also going for their first four-game overall winning streak of the season. They have their best 20-game start in seven years at 11-9. And they’re doing it without several injured players. Forwards Mike Dunleavy and Tobias Harris are expected to be out tonight, along with back-up guard Beno Udrih. Forward Larry Sanders had a sinus infection late in the week, but he’s expected to start this evening. Also, coach Scott Skiles was not sure this morning whether forward Ekpe Udoh can play. He injured both his wrists last Sunday against Brooklyn. The Bucks have not trailed during the final three quarters in any of their past three contests – and they holding opponents to 90 points and 41-percent from the floor. Milwaukee has averaged 110 points in their eight-game winning streak over Cavaliers which dates back to November of 2010.

_________________________________________________________________________

Some of Wisconsin’s top boys’ high school basketball players will be showcased tomorrow, during the sixth annual NY2LA Sports Classic at Mequon Homestead. One of the nation’s top juniors, Kevon Looney, will be featured with his Milwaukee Hamilton squad against Division 2 state champion Onalaska – which has Iowa State recruit Matt Thomas. Later in the evening, Milwaukee Vincent will face Whitefish Bay Dominican. Sophomore center Diamond Stone of Dominican will go up against future Marquette teammates Deonte Burton and Duane Wilson.

_________________________________________________________________________

In the Major Indoor Soccer League, the Milwaukee Wave will play at Chicago tonight. The Wave is 3-2, with a two-game winning streak after beating Rochester 13-6 at home last Saturday. Marcel Feenstra had 13 saves for Milwaukee in that contest, and it earned him the league’s goalkeeper-of-the-week honors. The Chicago Soul is 2-7, with a three-game losing string. Carlos Munoz leads the Soul with 24 points. He’s fourth in the league in goals with nine.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Milwaukee Brewers do not expect to recruit another starting pitcher from the free-agent market, after Ryan Dempster agreed to a contract with Boston yesterday. The 35-year-old Dempster accepted a two-year deal worth $26.5 million dollars. Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin said there was obviously a gap between what the Red Sox and the Brewers offered for the right-handed Dempster. But the GM would not say what his offer was. Earlier, Dempster’s agent pushed for a three-year contract – but he apparently couldn’t get one from a team he liked. Now, Melvin says he won’t overpay for another starter – and he’ll take his chances with the young talent that developed last season with hurlers like Mike Fiers, Mark Rogers, and Wily Peralta. Melvin did say he might look to the free-agent market for another reliever – or he might wait to see what develops at Spring Training.

________________________________________________________________________

For the first time in eight years, tonight’s NCAA Division III football title game will feature somebody other than U-W Whitewater and Mount Union. Saint Thomas of Minnesota will take its turn against Mount Union in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, which starts at five this evening in Salem Virginia. The Tommies of Saint Paul and the Purple Raiders from Ohio are both 14-0. Whitewater won the last three national titles over Mount Union. But the Purple Raiders took over the top spot in the polls in Week-Two, after Whitewater was upset by Buffalo State. Later, the Warhawks lost back-to-back conference games against Stevens Point and Oshkosh, as Whitewater failed to make the 32-team playoff field. Saint Thomas is playing in its first Stagg Bowl. Mount Union has won 10 national titles since 1993, but none since 2008.

________________________________________________________________________

None of Wisconsin’s major college basketball teams will play tonight. And only a handful of contests are scheduled in Division-Three. On the men’s side, Lakeland College of Sheboygan will host Silver Lake of nearby Manitowoc. The UW-Whitewater women, who are ranked 19th by D3hoops.com, will play at a weekend event in Holland, Michigan. The Warhawks are playing Kalamazoo tonight and seventh-ranked Hope College tomorrow. UW-Superior hosts Saint Scholastica of Duluth this evening, and Silver Lake entertains Eureka, Ill. College.

_________________________________________________________________________

It’s a three-game weekend for the Milwaukee Admirals. They’ll host Rockford tonight before they travel to Peoria for a Saturday night contest. The Admirals will then return home to face Hamilton Sunday evening. Milwaukee is 10-10-2-1, and they’re five points behind front-running Grand Rapids in the American Hockey League’s Midwest Division. Rockford is one point off the lead at 13-11-0-1. Forward Michael Latta is coming off a career performance for Milwaukee. He had three assists in a game for the first time in his career last Sunday at Charlotte – and he had a three-point game for only the second time. The Admirals will play 11-of-their-next-14 games at the Bradley Center.

__________________________________________________________________________

Brandon Chmiel of UW-Platteville has been named the Wisconsin Division-Three men’s soccer Player-of-the-Year. Chmiel, a senior forward, led the WIAC with 14 goals, 36 points, eight assists, and six game-winning goals this year. Chmiel was named by the state’s coaches. Enzo Fuschino of Platteville is the state’s coach-of-the-year. His Pioneers had a team-record 15 victories this season, while making the regional semi-finals of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Tags: wisconsin sports, proam, sports, packers, bucks, brewers