Evening State Sports Briefs: Brewers' Ramirez to sit out 7-10 days with sprained knee

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PHOENIX - Milwaukee Brewers’ third baseman Aramis Ramirez says he’ll sit out for 7-to-10 days with a sprained left knee.

He was hurt last Saturday while sliding into second base during an exhibition game. An MRI turned up no structural damage, but Ramirez says it’s still bad enough to keep him out for a little while. Ramirez was hoping to get a lot of at-bats at Spring Training, to try and avoid his normal slow starts in the regular season. Ramirez says that’s out the window now – but he’ll still have 15 days to get ready for the April first season opener.

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One of Wisconsin’s greatest football legends was placed on the ballot today for the College Football Hall-of-Fame. 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne was among 77 players and five coaches up for possible induction. Over 12,000 members of the National Football Foundation, plus current hall-of-famers, will vote. The 2013 class will be announced on May seventh. Dayne starred with the Badgers in the 1990’s under Barry Alvarez – and he was the first player in college history to rush for over seven-thousand career yards. Also placed on the College Football Hall-of-Fame ballot was former Green Bay Packers’ receiver Sterling Sharpe, who played his college ball at South Carolina – and former Packers’ assistant coach Dick Jauron, who starred as a running back at Yale in the 1970’s.

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In the regular season, the UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team lost two games to UW-Green Bay by a combined 37 points. But the Phoenix needed a decisive second-half run to beat the Panthers in each of those contests. And a result, the Milwaukee players believe they can keep up with UWGB, when the two teams play tonight in Green Bay in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament. The Phoenix went 10-6 in regular season conference play, and they’re 16-14 overall under former Marquette assistant Brian Wardle. Milwaukee had an off-year under ex-Bo Ryan assistant Rob Jeter. The Panthers finished last in the league at 3-13, and they were 8-23 overall. Senior forward Ryan Haggerty says his Panthers can keep up with the Phoenix if they answer UWGB’s runs. Jeter says a key is to contain the perimeter shooting of seven-foot Green Bay center Alec Brown – who scored 51 points in his two games against the Panthers. The Panthers left Brown open by double-teaming Green Bay guard Keifer Sykes on several occasions – and Haggerty says his team will be better-prepared this time.

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In Division II hoops, the UW-Parkside men are getting ready to play Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday night in the quarter-finals of their Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament. The Rangers earned a first-round bye last weekend as the No. 2 seed. They’re joining seven other conference contenders in Evansville, Indiana. Parkside won the East Division title in the regular season. But they’ve lost straight with an overall record of 19-7. On the women’s side, the Rangers will play fourth-seeded Quincy on Friday night in their conference quarter-finals in Evansville. Fifth-seeded Parkside advanced with a 65-39 win over No. 12 Drury in last Sunday’s opening round.

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Former Packers’ linebacker Bryce Paup is leaving a high school coaching job in Green Bay to become an assistant at his college alma mater. The Press-Gazette said Paup told his players last night that he’s leaving Green Bay Southwest High School, where he has coached for six seasons. He’ll take an assistant coaching post at the University of Northern Iowa. The 45-year-old Paup is reportedly in line to become the Panthers’ linebackers coach. It’s one of three openings on the staff of coach Mark Farley, who was one of Paup’s position coaches when he went to school. Paup played for the Packers in the 1990’s. He went 43-21 at Green Bay Southwest – and he led the team to its first-ever multi-year string of at least 10 victories the past two years.

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