The Green Bay Packers piled up 470 yards and Jordan Love found the endzone four times in their 33-10 victory over the rival Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

After being turned away on their first drive, the Packers scored the first points of the game with an Anders Carlson field goal before Love found Jayden Reed for his first touchdown pass of the evening. The Packers would respond to a Vikings field goal with two more touchdowns, including one that took advantage of a strip sack to make it 23-3 at the break.

The Packers' offense slowed down in the second half with Love finding Bo Melton for his first touchdown in the NFL. With starter Jaren Hall on the bench, Nick Mullens led the Vikings on their lone touchdown drive before Carlson capped off the scoring with his second field goal of the game.

Love ended the game with 256 yards passing with three touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. Aaron Jones didn't find the endzone, but he did register his second straight 100-yard game with 120 yards on 20 carries.

The Packers can clinch a playoff spot with a win against the resurgent Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. Kickoff will be at 3:25 p.m.

The Green Bay Phoenix men matched their highest win total since the 2020-2021 season with their 78-61 win over Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday's win started similarly to Friday's: with a halftime deficit. This time, the Phoenix men found themselves down by two points after they went on a 13-0 run just to stay in the game. The Phoenix offense found their stride in the second half, hitting seven of their first 11 shots before building a 19-point lead. Noah Reynolds followed up his career-best 39-point day on Friday with 27 points on Sunday. Foster Wonders contributed 13 points while two other Phoenix players reached double figures. TJ Wainwright scored 18 points and Stephaun Walker added 14 points in the loss for the Colonials.

Sunday's win not only matched their highest win total post-pandemic, it matched its win output over the last two seasons combined.

The Door County Pickleball Club will host the fifth Annual Polarball Pickleball event on Monday, Jan. 1, at noon at Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay. Last year, 75 people played pickleball in sub-zero weather.

This event is open to all levels of play, and all Pickleball players – show up and have a great time. One of the largest Pickleball manufacturers in the country, Selkirk Pickleball, is sponsoring the event. Selkirk Pickleball will provide the balls and has also donated several generous Pickleball-related giveaways for the event.

Even if you don’t know how to play Pickleball, you are encouraged to stop by to see why Pickleball has become the fastest-growing sport in the nation and in Door County.

This event started with just a few participants 5 years ago and has grown to one of Wisconsin's most widely known outdoor Pickleball events on Jan. 1.

The Green Bay Packers' playoff hopes are down to a pair of divisional matchups, leading off with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

The Packers kept their hopes alive on Christmas Eve with a 33-30 win over the Carolina Panthers. Things started well for the Packers as they scored on four of their five first-half possessions, the lone exception coming on a hail mary attempt. In the half, Jordan Love threw for 134 yards and a touchdown while sneaking in for another. Aaron Jones ran for 89 yards while A.J. Dillon punched one in to give the Packers a 23-10 lead at the break. A touchdown pass in the opening moments to Romeo Doubs was the only success would have for much of the second half, while much of the goodwill the defense built in the first half when Bryce Young led the Panthers on a game-tying touchdown drive. Love would come dashing in his final drive, getting Anders Carlson into position to kick his first-ever game-winning field goal.

The Vikings are currently in the playoffs, but their flux at quarterback might have them on the outside looking in after Sunday. They have lost three of their last four games, all of which have been decided by a single score, including Sunday's 30-24 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Kickoff is set for 7:25 p.m.

Several wrestlers from the area came home with individual medals after participating in two of the biggest tournaments of the year.

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling scored the fourth most points out of the 70+ team field en route to a Division 2 championship at the Bi-State Classic in LaCrosse on Saturday. Only three Division 3 teams scored more than the 247 points earned by the Spartans, beating second-place Zumbrota-Mazeppa by 42 points for the Division 2 crown. The Spartans' success was anchored by Trace Schoenebeck, who won the 190-pound weight class with a 3-2 decision against Ethan Winkelman (Hudson) in the championship match. Other place winners include Sam Schutz ( 9th, 175), Max Ronsman (6th, 150), Isaac Jerabek (12th, 144), Caleb Delebreau (5th, 138), Blakelee Bastien (5th, 132), Michael Bostwick (10th, 126), Carson Neubert (3rd, 120), and Carson Blohowiak (12th, 113).

Mitchell Boeder made sure the Kewaunee wrestling team garnered a podium finish during its weekend stay at the On the Water Wrestling Classic in Oshkosh. Boeder went 5-2 on the weekend, including a second-period pin of Warren Sauer (Lomira) to capture 5th place in the tournament. Mitchell VanGoethem and Kemper Robinson finished just outside of the podium, seeing their days end in the fifth round of the consolation bracket.

Two Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestlers made the most of their trip to the On the Water Wrestling Classic in Oshkosh this weekend with podium finishes. Spencer Madsen's (144) final four matches were decided by fall, splitting them to take fourth place overall. Zak Wrobel (175) fought his way through the consolation brackets to take eighth place overall.

Two Southern Door wrestlers made it deep into the On The Water Wrestling Classic in Oshkosh but ultimately came up empty on the weekend. Trevor Englebert and Hayden Jeanquart made it as deep as the fifth round of the consolation bracket but finished outside of the extended podium finish.

The Green Bay Gamblers scored three goals in a decisive third period to beat Team USA in their second game of the weekend 5-1.

Mykhailo Danylov and Geno Carcone gave the Gamblers a 2-0 lead heading into the final minute of the second period before Team USA cut it in half with a goal with just seven seconds on the clock.

The Gamblers made sure Team USA would get no closer with Michael DeAngelo, Charlie Russell, and Danylov scoring three goals in the final two minutes, two of which came with an empty net. Gavin Moffatt registered 31 saves on 32 shots in the Gamblers win. The two teams got chippy late as they accumulated six penalties with just over a minute left in the game.

The Green Bay Gamblers scored three goals in a decisive third period to beat Team USA in their second game of the weekend 5-1.

Mykhailo Danylov and Geno Carcone gave the Gamblers a 2-0 lead heading into the final minute of the second period before Team USA cut it in half with a goal with just seven seconds on the clock.

The Gamblers made sure Team USA would get no closer with Michael DeAngelo, Charlie Russell, and Danylov scoring three goals in the final two minutes, two of which came with an empty net. Gavin Moffatt registered 31 saves on 32 shots in the Gamblers win. The two teams got chippy late as they accumulated six penalties with just over a minute left in the game.

A career-high from Luxemburg-Casco alum Cassie Schiltz gave the Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team the boost it needed to get past the Cleveland State Vikings 85-72 in a Saturday matinee.

The two teams traded the lead several times in the first two quarters with the Phoenix taking a 46-44 advantage into the break. The Phoenix defense clamped down on the Vikings in the third quarter, outscoring them 22-13 in the frame and giving them a lead they would not give up.

Schiltz led the Phoenix with 27 points, thanks in part to six made three-pointers. Maddy Schreiber (16 pts), Natalie McNeal (10 pts), Jasmine Kondrakiewicz (10 pts), and Jenna Guyer (10 pts) also cracked double figures for the Phoenix. Mickayla Perdue scored 23 points to pace the Vikings in the loss.

The Green Bay Gamblers held a one-goal lead for much of the game before falling late to Team USA 2-1 in OT.

Chris Romaine scored the Gamblers' lone tally in the first five minutes of the first period. Joey Slavick would go on to shut down the Gamblers the rest of the night, stopping 38 of their 39 shots. Conrad Fondrk tied the game seven minutes into the third period before providing the game-winning assist to Charlie Trethewey to capture the win for Team USA.

The two teams will play again Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at the Resch Center.

For the first time in 41 years, the LaCrosse Center saw all-girls divisions get crowned at the Bi-State Classic.

Among those getting crowned were Southern Door's Hailey Veeser and Nora LeFevre and Luxemburg-Casco's Kiley Georgel. Veeser was the highest-finishing wrestler from the area, losing in the championship match to Pulaski's Harlow Skenandore. LeFevre was guaranteed at least a sixth-place finish at the time of this writing. Georgel lost a close match to Eau Claire North's Maddie Sorensen 9-8 to come in fourth place.

The Luxemburg-Casco boys will compete at the Bi-State Classic through Saturday as they lead all Division 2 teams with 148 points. Southern Door, Kewaunee, and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will head to the second day of its On the Water Tournament in Oshkosh with the Clippineers the best-performing local team with 49.5 points.

Both Southern Door and Algoma ended up on the wrong side of their tournament finals on Friday.

A first-half dry spell doomed the championship hopes for the Algoma Wolves' boys basketball team on Friday as they lost to the tournament host Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah 47-39.

Southern Door came up just short in a high-scoring contest at Green Bay Preble High School, losing to Mosinee 87-82.

The Green Bay Phoenix men turned a four-point halftime deficit into an 88-77 win over the Wright State Raiders.

A big reason why was Noah Reynolds, who scored a career-high 39 points in the game, including 22 points in the second half. The Raiders rebounded from falling into a 10-point hole in the first half before earning their 10-point advantage in the second half. The Phoenix would rattle off 16 of the next 19 points to put a stranglehold on the game from that point on.  

Rich Byhre registered a season-high 17 points in the victory, which included the 1000th point in his career. Tanner Holden and Calvin Trey each collected 23 points in the loss for the Raiders.

The men are back in action on Sunday for a noon matchup against Robert Morris while the women are in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Cleveland State.

The Green Bay Gamblers traded forward Landen Gunderson to the Sioux City Musketeers in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2024 USHL Phase 2 draft.  Gunderson appeared in 20 games this season, registering two goals and five assists.  Gunderson was acquired by the Gamblers this past summer in a trade with the Madison Capitols.

The Gamblers have added defenseman Caeden Herrington to their active roster. Herrington, 17, is a native of Manchester, Vermont. A senior at Holderness School, he will join the Gamblers after his prep hockey season in the early spring.

A University of Vermont recruit, Herrington has a pair of goals and 16 points in helping his Holderness Bulls capture the Lawrence-Groton Holiday Tournament title and the school’s first ever 8-0 start. The 6-foot-2, 189-pound right-shooting defenseman is on NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List as a 6th/7th -round prospect for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

“We are excited to have Caeden join the Gamblers organization,” said Head Coach and General Manager Michael Leone. “He is a mobile two-way defender who can play in all situations.”

The Gamblers' next home games are Friday, December 29 (7:00 PM) and Saturday, December 30 versus Team USA.

Two boys' basketball teams from the area can add to their trophy case before the New Year.

The Algoma Wolves are one win away from winning the Elkhart Lake Holiday Tournament after topping Cambria-Friesland 52-33 on Thursday afternoon. The Wolves will now face Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah for the tournament title at 2:30 p.m. after the hosts won their matchup against Black Hawk 67-39.

A 20-point lead heading into the second half all but guaranteed the Southern Door boys' basketball team's fate in the Preble Holiday Tournament, beating Milwaukee Washington 71-49. The Eagles will now play Mosinee in the championship game after they beat the host Green Bay Preble Hornets 84-63. The game tips off at 5 p.m.

After the girls of Southern Door and Luxemburg-Casco got things started on Thursday at the Bi-State Classic, the boys will get their fix beginning on Friday.

Luxemburg-Casco will take on some of the best schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota  in LaCrosse for the annual Bi-State Classic, including Adams-Friendship. Amery, Aquinas, Auburndale, Badger, Belleville, Belmont, Bloomington Kennedy, Boscobel, Brillion, Cannon, Falls, Chatfield, DC Everest, DeSoto, Dodgeville, Eastview, Eau Claire North, Fennimore, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Grand Meadow, Holmen, Homestead, Hudson, Hutchinson, Ithaca, Kickapoo, Lancaster, Lewiston-Altura, Lodi, Logan, Marshfield, Mauston, Mineral Point, Monroe, Mount Horeb, Neenah, Nekoosa, New Richmond, North Crawford, Oconto Falls, Prairie du Chien, Pulaski, Richland Center, River Valley, South Saint Paul, Sparta, Spencer, Stanley-Boyd, Stevens Point (SPASH), Stoughton, Tomah, Verona Area, Viroqua, Waunakee, Wausau West, West Salem, Westby Area, Wrightstown and Zumbrota-Mazeppa high schools. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m.

Southern Door, Kewaunee, and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will see schools like Hopkins, Wisconsin Lutheran, Chippewa Falls, Kenosha Christian Life, Hartford Union, Muskego, Watertown, West Bend West, Stevens Point (SPASH), Elkhorn, Oshkosh North, Neenah, Menasha, Oshkosh West, Antigo, Mosinee, Germantown, Suring, West De Pere, Valders, Pittsville, Amherst, Ashwaubenon, Athens, Bonduel, Brillion, Brookfield Central, Brown Deer, Campbellsport, Chilton, Coleman, Green Bay Preble, Green Bay West, Hortonville, Laconia, Manawa, Lomira, Markesan, Mayville, Mishicot, Omro, Peshtigo, Plymouth, Random Lake, Shawano Community, Shiocton, Laona-Wabeno, Waterloo, Waupaca, West Allis Central, West Allis Nathan Hale, Winneconne, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Crandon, Libertyville, and New London at the On The Water Wrestling Tournament on the campus of UW-Oshkosh. Wrestling begins at 9:30 a.m.

The Luxemburg-Casco girls' basketball team bounced back from losing to Algoma with a 42-39 victory over the visiting Ashwaubenon Jaguars on Thursday night.

Points were hard to come by, but the Spartans outscored the Jaguars 22-17 to set the stage for the victory. Brianna Bray led the Spartans with 14 points, while Sienna Blohowiak chipped in with 10 points. Two others scored at least six points. Gianna Guarascio registered 17 points in the loss for the Jaguars. 

It is four straight days of Titletown-based matinees for the Green Bay Phoenix basketball programs, as the men and women play on alternating days.

Friday and Sunday will feature the men at the Resch Center as they face Wright State and Robert Morris for noon games. The Phoenix enter the matchups with confidence after beating Milwaukee School of Engineering last week 79-46. David Douglas Jr. and Marcus Hall led the Phoenix with career-highs in points at 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Noah Reynolds added 10 points, four assists, and two steals in the victory.

Saturday and Monday will see the girls at the Kress Events Center with matchups against Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne for 1 p.m. starts. The Phoenix have bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to DePaul with three straight wins, including a 94-55 win over UW-Parkside ahead of the Christmas break.

The Luxemburg-Casco girls' basketball will have less than 24 hours to recover from its close 45-44 to local rival Algoma as they prepare to host Ashwaubenon on Thursday night.

A made basket in the opening minute would be the only time the Spartans had a lead against their local rivals as the Wolves would take over from there, twice building leads of a dozen points in the first half thanks to a barrage of three-pointers. The Spartans would not give up, using an 18-6 run to bring the deficit to within four points before the teams traded free throws in the final minutes. 

Jaydyn Nellis led the Wolves with 17 points, nine of which came from behind the arc. Foul trouble kept many other Wolves players under wraps, with Nora Krause and Brooke Mattson adding seven points each and Ryley Zimmerman chipping in five points. Brianna Bray led the Spartans with 11 points, while Maggie Hanneman chipped in nine points, and Emma Murphy contributed six points.

The Spartans are back on their home court on Thursday when they play the Jaguars, which enter the game 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the Fox River Classic Conference. Led by Gianna Guarascio (10.4 ppg) and Bella Daul (10.2 ppg), they have won four of their last six games, losing their last matchup to Shawano 64-37 as a part of the Shawano Sun Drop Shootout at the Kress Events Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Picture courtesy of Algoma Girls Basketball Team Facebook Page

One local team concluded its holiday tournament play with two others waiting to begin theirs on Thursday.

Sturgeon Bay was swept in their two games at the Shawano Sun Drop Shoot Out held at the Kress Events Center on the campus of UW-Green Bay, falling to Waupun on Wednesday 54-33.

Southern Door begins its Preble Holiday Tournament Run in Green Bay against Milwaukee Washington at 12:30 p.m.

Algoma opens play at the Elkhart Lake Tournament at 2:30 p.m. with its matchup against Cambria-Friesland.

One of the biggest wrestling tournaments of the year will open on Thursday, with the Luxemburg-Casco and Southern Door girls taking the mat first.

Some of the best schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota will converge in LaCrosse on Thursday for the annual Bi-State Classic, including Adams-Friendship. Amery, Aquinas, Auburndale, Badger, Belleville, Belmont, Bloomington Kennedy, Boscobel, Brillion, Cannon, Falls, Chatfield, DC Everest, DeSoto, Dodgeville, Eastview, Eau Claire North, Fennimore, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Grand Meadow, Holmen, Homestead, Hudson, Hutchinson, Ithaca, Kickapoo, Lancaster, Lewiston-Altura, Lodi, Logan, Marshfield, Mauston, Mineral Point, Monroe, Mount Horeb, Neenah, Nekoosa, New Richmond, North Crawford, Oconto Falls, Prairie du Chien, Pulaski, Richland Center, River Valley, South Saint Paul, Sparta, Spencer, Stanley-Boyd, Stevens Point (SPASH), Stoughton, Tomah, Verona Area, Viroqua, Waunakee, Wausau West, West Salem, Westby Area, Wrightstown and Zumbrota-Mazeppa high schools.

The Spartans and the Eagles have boasted several top-three performances among their wrestlers in their tournaments earlier this season. 

Wrestling begins on Thursday at 4 p.m. before it concludes on Friday. As for the schools' boys teams, the Spartans are also competing in the Bi-State Classic in LaCrosse, while the Eagles are scheduled to wrestle at the On The Water Wrestling Classic at UW-Oshkosh. Their first matches are on Friday beginning after 9 a.m.

Their connections to the franchise are loose at best, but three former Packers have a chance to be enshrined at Canton following an announcement by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Wednesday night.

Julius Peppers, Jahri Evans, and Steve McMichael were all named as finalists for the Hall of Fame, a class that includes 15 Modern-Era players, three Seniors, and one Coach/Contributor.

All three players are much more known for contributing to their other teams, playing less than five seasons combined for the Packers. McMichael made 28 tackles, including 2.5 sacks in his lone season with the Packers in 1994 after a long career with the Chicago Bears. Peppers is also more known for his career with the Bears and the Carolina Panthers, but he did register 104 tackles and 25 sacks across three seasons with the Green and Gold. Evans started 14 games in his final NFL season for the Packers in 2017 after a long career with the New Orleans Saints.

The inductees will be announced Super Bowl weekend on February 8th.

The Green Bay Packers announced Wednesday that they have suspended cornerback Jaire Alexander for one game for conduct detrimental to the team.

General Manager Brian Gutekunst said "The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly.  Unfortunately, Jaire's actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step".  

Alexander went out for the opening coin toss even though he was not an assigned captain.  He then called "tails" and elected to "be on defense".  The official clarified that Alexander meant to defer, thus saving the Packers a possible lost possession.

Alexander was placed on the reserve/suspended list and is eligible to come off it next week.  

The Algoma Wolves and the Luxemburg-Casco Spartans will renew an old rivalry on Wednesday night in Luxemburg.  The non-conference matchup will pit two teams from the old Packerland Conference and feature the only game on the slate for girls’ basketball games in the area.

The Wolves last played on Friday, beating Two Rivers 48-34 at home, while Luxemburg-Casco (5-3)  took care of business by beating NEC rival Little Chute 47-18.

Algoma (6-5) is led by Ryley Zimmerman, averaging 12 points per game, while the Spartans are paced by Erin Cherovsky’s 8.6 points per contest.

Both teams will use the game to prepare for the return to conference play after the New Year, with L-C competing in the North Eastern Conference.  

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Luxemburg-Casco HIgh School.  

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers fell to the Shawano Hawks 67-60 at Tuesday afternoon's Sundrop Shootout held at the Kress Center in Green Bay.

The Clippers fell behind 10-4 early but responded to take a 37-31 lead early in the second half.  The Hawks tied it up at 37 and eventually secured the seven-point win.

Shawano outrebounded the Clippers 37-33 and added seven steals and blocks on the defensive end to come away with the victory.

The Hawks shot 48 percent from the field, while the Clippers hit 38 percent of their shots.

Sturgeon Bay (2-3) will now face the Waupun Warriors at 1:40 p.m. Wednesday at the Kress Center. 

After dropping the second of back-to-back games to the New York Knicks on Christmas Day, the Milwaukee Bucks will look to get on the winning track again when they play the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. 

The Bucks (22-8) are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dame Lillard, who scored 32 points each in the loss to the Knicks.  Brooklyn (15-15) has their top scorer, Cam Thomas, averaging 23.5 points per contest, while Ben Simmons leads in rebounds with 10.8 and assists 6.7 per game.

Tipoff in Brooklyn is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.  

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers boys' basketball team returns from holiday break a week early to play in the Shawano Sun Drop Shootout in Green Bay on Tuesday to play the host Shawano Hawks.

The Clippers were up by three at the break, but they were doubled up in the second half as they lost to St. Mary Catholic last Thursday 85-65. Four Clippers players reached double figures in the game, led by Danny Lodl's 15 points. Garrett Ulberg (14 points), Jackson Starr (12 points), and Calvin Richard (12 points) all contributed offensively but were outshined by the Zephyrs' Fisher MacKenzie (29 points) and Braeden Bren (24 points).

The Hawks have lost seven of their last eight games, with a win against Green Bay West on December 12th their lone bright spot. In their last game, Logan Sipple scored 15 points as three Hawks players reached double figures in a 67-53 loss to New London last Thursday.

The tip-off is tentatively scheduled for 12:05 p.m. at the Kress Events Center on the campus of UW-Green Bay. It is part of a full slate of games associated with the Shawano Sun Drop Shoot-Out, including the Clippers playing Waupun on Wednesday. You can see the full schedule below.

The Milwaukee Bucks' holiday getaway to New York City did not end the way that they wanted as they lost to the New York Knicks 129-122 on Christmas Day.

The Bucks found themselves chasing the Knicks all day long as they were outscored 36-27 in the first quarter and by 11 points in the first half. It was not until the fourth quarter that they could eat away at the deficit, but it was too late for the Bucks, which saw their winning streak snapped.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points in the loss, while Khris Middleton added 24 points. Jalen Brunson's 38 points led the Knicks. Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickly cracked the 20-point mark for the Knicks in the victory.

The Bucks will go from Manhattan to Brooklyn for their next game on Wednesday when they play the Nets at 6:30 p.m.

Some of the thorns in the side of local high school teams are switching divisions and conferences when they play again next year.

Earlier this month, the WIAA granted requests for conference changes for several teams while shuffling others around due to their success in the state series. According to the WIAA, School programs reaching the six-point threshold during the past three seasons are placed in the division containing the next largest set of enrollments from where the schools’ enrollments would place them for each respective sport other than track & field, swimming &?diving–which do not have a team component to advancement in the Tournament Series–and sports with only one division. Schools are restricted to moving up a maximum of one division from the previous year’s placement. No teams in Door and Kewaunee counties were directly affected by these changes, though their rivals were.

Fox Valley Lutheran, which had been a member of the North Eastern Conference alongside Luxemburg-Casco, will switch to the Bay Conference along with Winneconne, which is moving from the East Central Conference.

Aquinas (football), Darlington (football), Sheboygan Christian/Sheboygan Lutheran (boys soccer), and Xavier (girls volleyball) are among the teams that have knocked out local squads in the past two years that will move up a division due to their most recent success. 

With much of the local high school, college, and pro schedules on mute until later in the week, the Harlem Globetrotters are filling the void Tuesday night at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

The Titletown matchup is one of three games the Globetrotters are playing against the Washington Generals on Tuesday as the organization plays over 400 games on their world tour, including Boston and Pittsburgh. This version of the Globetrotters will likely visit Rosemont, Ill., Madison, Wis., Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Rockford, Ill. in the coming days. The Globetrotters have won over 27,000 games while losing less than 350 games.

The festivities begin at 7 p.m.

Outside of practices, games, and school, you may have run into Southern Door senior Sophia Counard, who is helping connect residents and visitors to festive fun in Sturgeon Bay.

Counard's Youth Apprenticeship this semester is with Destination Sturgeon Bay, where she has been able to explore her interest in marketing and to see if it was something she liked. She was a critical part of the organization's Moo-La-La contest, which gave out prizes throughout the holiday shopping season, including a $1,000 last week. Counard says she has been able to take a lot away from the experience.

Counard plays volleyball, basketball, and softball at Southern Door as she enters her final year of competing in high school sports. She says her favorite sport is softball, where she has been an All-Packerland Conference outfielder for the last three years, including a unanimous selection in 2023. She says there have been a lot of memories made over the last four years, including an ominous start to her high school career because of the season shuffle caused by the pandemic.

Counard's Eagles will play Gibraltar on Thursday night in Brussels before taking the holidays off from game action until January 5th.

The Green Bay Packers were fortunate to leave Charlotte with a victory on Christmas Eve, beating the Carolina Panthers 33-30.

Things started well for the Packers as they scored on four of their five first-half possessions, the lone exception coming on a hail mary attempt. In the half, Jordan Love threw for 134 yards and a touchdown while sneaking in for another. Aaron Jones ran for 89 yards while A.J. Dillon punched one in to give the Packers a 23-10 lead at the break. 

A touchdown pass in the opening moments to Romeo Doubs was the only success would have for much of the second half while much of the goodwill the defense built in the first half when Bryce Young led the Panthers on a game-tying touchdown drive. Love would come dashing all the way in his final drive, getting Anders Carlson into position to kick his first-ever game-winning field goal.

It was the Christmas that almost wasn't for the Packers as the Panthers got to within field goal range with seconds remaining. They could not spike the ball in time, however, giving the Packers the win.

The Packers' do-or-die tour continues next week in Minnesota when they play the Vikings.

The Milwaukee Bucks take their Christmas tradition to New York City on Monday when they play the Knicks.

Aside from the In-Season Tournament, the Bucks have won eight straight games dating back to the beginning the month. Damian Lillard told reporters this week that he is feeling more comfortable within the Bucks' offense led by Giannis Anetokounmpo.

The Knicks have split their last eight games, which includes Saturday's 130-111 loss to the Bucks. Jalen Brunson scored 36 points and Julius Randle added 26 points, but had no answer for five Bucks players acoring at least 19 points, include a team high 28 points by Anetokounmpo.

Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.

Like cats have nine lives, the Green Bay Packers will need nine wins to survive the NFC playoff picture, starting Sunday in North Carolina against the Panthers.

Defensive coordinator Joe Barry drew the ire of fans for the second week in a row as his defense allowed Baker Mayfield to post a perfect passer rating in a 34-20 loss to Tampa Bay last Sunday. It shadowed a solid outing by Jordan Love, who went 29-39 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. His lone turnover came on the Packers' final play of the game when he fumbled the ball trying to get rid of the ball on fourth down.

The Panthers have been listless all season as they have stumbled to a 2-12 record. In most years, this would make them a lock for the Number 1 pick. However, they traded that pick and DJ Moore earlier this year, potentially locking last year's first-overall pick Bryce Young and the rest of the Panthers in the NFC South basement.

Kickoff is set for noon on Sunday.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, in cooperation with Rural Mutual Insurance Company, has selected the team Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2023 fall State Tournaments.

The recipients of the awards are Lodi in football, St. Mary Catholic in boys' soccer, Newman Catholic in girls' volleyball, Kimberly in boys' volleyball, and Altoona in girls' team tennis.

The WIAA/Rural Insurance Sportsmanship Award is presented to one school program and community–or communities in the case of cooperative programs–in each of the State team tournaments that demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship. Award winners are determined by the conduct and sportsmanship displayed by athletes, coaches, cheer and support groups, mascots, bands, and spectators. Additional consideration is given for the effort of school administrators and chaperones to ensure support for their teams are positive and that the highest ideals of sportsmanship are demonstrated.

Lodi is this year’s recipient of the award for the State Football Finals, which was held at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 16-17. The Blue Devils earn the honor for the second time in football and for the sixth time overall. In addition to the award earned in football in 2017, they also received recognition for team wrestling in 2003 and 2005, for boys basketball in 2012, and for girls basketball in 2013. A large contingent of Lodi supporters displayed outstanding sportsmanship and community support in a 38-14 victory over Luxemburg-Casco in the Division 4 title game. It was the Blue Devils’ second football State championship and their third appearance in the State football championship game. Schools receiving honorable mentions are Badger, Black Hawk/Warren, Ill., Darlington, Edgar, Luxemburg-Casco, Stratford, and Wrightstown.

St. Mary Catholic receives the award in boys soccer with its display of sportsmanship both on the field and in the stands during the State Boys Soccer Tournament at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee on Nov. 2-4.  The Zephyrs fell to Shoreland Lutheran in their championship game, 2-0, after advancing from the semifinals following a 1-0 overtime victory over Washburn/Bayfield. It marks the second time the Zephyrs have received the award. Their first recognition was also in boys' soccer back in 2004. Belleville/New Glarus, Marquette, Middleton, Sheboygan Christian/Sheboygan Lutheran, and Washburn/Bayfield received honorable mention.

Newman Catholic is the recipient of the award for the State Girls Volleyball Tournament, which was held at the Resch Center in Green Bay on Nov. 2-4. The Fighting Cardinals earned the school’s first Sportsmanship Award in any sport for their sportsmanship and enthusiasm during their 25-21, 25-10, 25-15 win over Prentice in the Division 4 semifinal and their 21-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17, 15-8 loss to Wonewoc-Center. Schools receiving honorable mention were Divine Savior Holy Angels, Cuba City, Fall River, Howards Grove, Pewaukee, Prentice, Rice Lake, River Falls, St. Croix Falls, St. Mary Catholic, and Waunakee.

Kimberly was the winner of the award for the State Boys Volleyball Tournament held in conjunction with the girls' tournament. The Papermakers are recognized for their sportsmanship above the other seven schools participating in the one-division tournament. They advanced to the semifinals following their 23-25, 29-27, 20-25, 29-27, 15-10 win over the Waukesha North/South co-op in the quarterfinals. They fell to eventual champion Middleton in their semifinal match by scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-18. It’s the third time Kimberly has been presented with the award. In 2021, they won the honor in boys' basketball. The Papermakers were also the recipients of the spring baseball award in 2008. Union Grove received an honorable mention.

Altoona is the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award at the State Girls Team Tennis Tournament held Oct. 20-21 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. It’s the third time the Railroaders have been bestowed the honor and the second time in girls' tennis. The previous selection in girls' tennis came in 2001. The other recognition came for girls' volleyball in 2015. Altoona fell in their semifinal match against Xavier, 5-2. It was the program’s lone dual-match loss of the season.

Award winners receive a trophy and banner in recognition of the honor. Schools receiving honorable mention are acknowledged with a certificate of recognition. The selection process includes contributions and evaluations from contest officials, tournament management, police and security personnel, crowd control and ushers, WIAA staff members, and area hotels and restaurants on occasion.

The Milwaukee Brewers made one of their first moves of the offseason last week, trading two known pieces of their division championship for an unproven, but potential star for the future.

The Brewers moved right-hander Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the New York Mets in exchange for pitching prospect Coleman Crow. 

This will be Crow's third stop in the last year after being traded from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to the Mets in exchange for Eduardo Escobar. Scouts say Crow has tremendous upside, but it will have to be proven after he comes back from the Tommy John surgery he had in July.

MLB.com writers view the trade as cost-cutting move for the Brewers as Taylor and Houser were likely due around $7 million combined next season.

It was a busy end of the week for the area's girls' wrestlers.

Three of Southern Door's four girls placed in the top three at Friday's Wrightstown Wrestling Tournament Friday night, leading them to a sixth-place finish. Nora LeFevre led the Eagles with a 3-1 record on her to second-place finish, losing her first match of the season to Two Rivers' Angie Bianchi. Hailey Veeser and Kailyn Neville also went 3-1 on the day, but fell in the semifinals before winning their third-place matches. Delaney Wilke started the day with a pin, but ended it going 1-2.

It was another week, another tournament championship for Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol's Tiani LeMieux. LeMieux pinned all four wrestlers she faced in less than a minute to win her second tournament in as many weeks. Lanie Brauer split her two matches to take eighth place.

Luxemburg-Casco's two female wrestlers had good showings at Friday's Wrightstown Ladies Tournament. Kiley Georgel took second place after dropping her first match of the season in the championship match. Evelyn Lange rebounded from a first-round loss to win her next three matches before losing her fifth-place match.

Two Kewaunee County teams will enter the holiday break on a good note thanks to a pair of wins on Friday night.

Sierra Slaby scored 13 of her team-high 14 points in the first half to pace the Algoma girls' basketball team to a 48-34 win over Two Rivers on Friday.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans girls' basketball team gave themselves a 29-7 -halftime lead and never looked back in their 47-18 win over Little Chute.

The Sevastopol Pioneers boys' basketball team could not catch up to Reedsburg Friday night on the road, losing the game 82-39.

Despite making just two three-pointers, the Beavers led 52-19 at halftime and only extended their lead from there. The Beavers had three players cross the 20-point threshold, led by Camden Dvorachek's 25 points followed by Parker Maney's  22 points, and Ben Prochnow's 20 points.

Zaul Valdivia (8 pts), Lucas Delsart (7 pts), Daniel Castillo (6 pts), and Frankie deYoung (6 pts) all scored at least six points in the loss for the Pioneers.

Kewaunee put their stamp on the Packerland Conference against Sevastopol to highlight Thursday's girls basketball action.

The Storm blitzed the Pioneers 47-22 in the battle of the top two teams in the Packerland Conference in Institute.

Sturgeon Bay could not hold onto a halftime lead as Algoma surged past the Clippers 43-30. 

Gibraltar held on to beat Southern Door 59-53.

On Friday, Luxemburg-Casco hosts Little Chute (7 p.m.) and Algoma will host Two Rivers (7:30 p.m.).

Local teams split their matchups on Thursday night ahead of Sevastopol's matchup against Reedsville to close out the week on Friday.

Luxemburg-Casco could not stop the Irish of Freedom in a 77-40 loss.

Gibraltar won its second game in a row with a 46-31 win against Goodman-Pembine.

Algoma blew past host Mishicot 64-35.

Sturgeon Bay came up empty in its trip to Fond du Lac, losing to St. Mary Catholic 85-65. 

Kewaunee was bounced by Kiel 84-50. 

In Friday's action, Sevastopol's game at Reedsville begins at 7:15 p.m.

The boys may be idle, but girls from Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, and Luxemburg-Casco will squeeze in one more tournament on Friday at Wrightstown.

The three teams will be joined by Antigo, Bark-River-Harris, Bay Port, Brillion, Chilton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Fennimore, Florence, Fond du Lac, Freedom, Grafton, Green Bay Preble, Green Bay West, Hartford Union, Hortonville, Hudson, Hustisford, Laconia, Lena, Lomira, Manitowoc Lincoln, Manitowoc Lutheran, Marinette, Menominee, Mishicot, Mondovi, New Berlin West, New Holstein, New London, Oconto Falls, Omro, Oshkosh North, Ozaukee, Peshtigo, Plymouth, Sheboygan South, Shiocton, Suring, Tomahawk, Two Rivers, Watertown, Waupaca, Wausau West, West De Pere, Weyauwega-Fremont, Whitefish Bay, Winneconne, Wrightstown, and Xavier when the first matches begin at 5:15.

Last week, Southern Door hosted and won their first-ever Eagles Girls Scramble, scoring 120 points and beating ten other teams. The four-girl round-robin tournament saw Nora LeFevre win the 114-pound weight class for the Eagles while Delaney Wilke (107), Sydney Turner (138), Hailey Veeser (145), and Kailyn Neville (185) take second place with 3-1 records. The Spartans wrestlers won six of their eight matches at the tournament. The top finisher was 185-pounder Kiley Georgel, who captured first place with four pins, all of which occurred before the halfway point of the third period. Evelyn Lange split her matches at 138 pounds.  SBS' Tiani Lemieux won the 145-pound weight class with a perfect 4-0 record with four falls. The only match that last longer than 40 seconds was her match against fellow state qualifier and Door County resident Hailey Veeser of Southern Door.

The Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball team will turn its entire focus to the Horizon League moving forward after beating Milwaukee School of Engineering on Thursday night 79-46.

After the Raiders took a 4-1 lead in the opening minutes, the Phoenix rattled off 18 of the following 22 points to take over the game and never look back. The Phoenix would shoot above 70 percent in the second half to leave no doubt in the game's result, outscoring the Raiders 43-22 after the break.

David Douglas Jr. and Marcus Hall led the Phoenix with career-highs in points at 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Noah Reynolds added 10 points, four assists, and two steals in the victory.

The Green Bay Phoenix men will try to do what their counterparts on the women's side has already done this week: end their non-conference schedule with a win.

The Phoenix women sprinted past UW-Parkside in a 94-55 rout. Five Phoenix players posted double-figure point totals as the team scored at least 25 points in the first three quarters and shot over 67 percent from the field. Luxemburg-Casco product Cassie Schiltz led all scorers with 16 points as the Phoenix improved to 8-3 on the season.

The Phoenix men will face Milwaukee School of Engineering at the Resch Center Thursday night after getting blown out last Saturday by nationally-ranked Oklahoma. While Noah Reynolds leads the team in scoring and assists, a lot of the attention lately has been placed on freshman David Douglas, Jr., who has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last three games. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. 

A matchup that could tilt the control of the Packerland Conference is scheduled for Thursday night on the NEW Radio Sports Network, among other girls' basketball games.

The Kewaunee Storm will travel to Institute to take on the Sevastopol Pioneers for control of the Packerland Conference. Paul Schmitt and Matt Malvitz will have the call on 104.1 WRLU beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7:30 p.m.

Other games scheduled for Thursday include Sturgeon Bay hosting Algoma (7:30 p.m.) and Gibraltar traveling to Southern Door (7:30 p.m.)

With two exceptions, the area's boys' basketball teams are squeezing in one more basketball game before Santa Claus comes to town.

Games include Luxemburg-Casco making its way to Freedom ( 7 p.m.), Gibraltar traveling to Pembine to take on Goodman Pembine (7 p.m.), Algoma visiting Mishicot (7:15 p.m.), Sturgeon Bay heading to St. Mary Catholic (7:15 p.m.), and Kewaunee hosting Kiel (7:30 p.m.).

Sevastopol plays Reedsville on Friday, while Southern Door will not play until December 28th when they play Milwaukee Washington at Green Bay Preble's holiday tournament.

The Green Bay Packers injury list reads like a phone book as they prepare for their Christmas Eve tilt against the Carolina Panthers. 

On Wednesday, 15 Packers were listed on the injury report for a wide variety of ailments, with De'Vondre Campbell (LB), Elgton Jenkins (G/T), Jayden Reed (WR), Darnell Savage (S), and Christian Watson (WR) not practicing on Wednesday. Things are not much better for the Panthers, as they listed 13 players on their injury list.

The Packers and Panthers play each other on Christmas Eve at noon.

Local high school girls basketball teams from the Packerland Conference had mixed results on the hardwoods Tuesday night as two teams played outside the conference.

In Brillion, the Southern Door Eagles won a thriller against the Brillion Lions 45-44 in a nail-biter on the road.

Sevastopol came up just short 39-34 against the Bonduel Bears, despite 14 points from Kayla Ranly.

In North Eastern Conference play, the Luxemburg-Casco Spartans lost a low-scoring affair to the Freedom Irish 39-27.

Tuesday night was one for the record books as the Packerland Conference Boys Basketball season and Drew Daoust took center stage before the Christmas break.

In Brussels, Daoust broke the record for career points in Door County and school history as the Southern Door Eagles won 73-63 over the Algoma Wolves on U102.1.

In Institute, the Gibraltar Vikings outlasted the Sevastopol Pioneers 56-45 behind Braden Sitte’s game-high 21 points on 105.1 The Goat.

The Kewaunee Storm won a barnburner over the Peshtigo Bulldogs on the road 60-59.

Nights like tonight are hard to beat. The Door County United Boys had
a brilliant night at the pool- from the sportsmanship to the cheering
to the general atmosphere on deck. This is what high school swimming
is about. This group of five is truly a remarkable team. The amount of
swimmers, coaches, and officials who spoke highly of the DCU gentlemen's swimming and character speaks volumes
tonight.

The highlights of the night span every event of the evening, so here
are both the highlights and the results from the meet:
-The tiny DCU squad of four put up a huge total of 73 points spread
between six first-place finishes, two seconds, a third, and a fourth.
-The 200 Medley Relay (Luke Filar, Jack Monfils, George Atwell, Logan
Filar) swam an incredible 1:53.02 to beat Sheboygan South by three
seconds.
-Atwell cruised to a second-place finish in the 200 Free by six
seconds with a time of 2:17.72.
-Monfils dominated the 200 IM by 22 seconds, recording his season best
time of 2:07.28 (only .08 off his high school best from conference
championships last year).
-Logan Filar pulled out the victory in the 50 Free with his season
best of 24.28 and then went into the 100 Fly post break and brought in
a second first-place finish with a time of 1:04.57, nine seconds ahead
of the second-place finish.
-Atwell swam his second fastest individual high school 100 Free with a
time of 58.89.
-Luke Filar tried out the 500 and placed second with a time of
6:04.42, seven seconds ahead of the next finisher, was then ready
for his 100 Back, where he managed a season-best time of 1:10.42.
-Monfils had a huge win in the 100 Breast with his season-best swim of 1:03.98.
-The 400 Free Relay (Logan Filar, Atwell, Luke Filar, Monfils) had an
incredible first-place finish 13 seconds ahead of Sheboygan South with
a time of 3:45.07 (our season best time), and every member swam 1:00
or better.

The final results:
1. Sheboygan South - 141
2. DCU - 73
3. Plymouth - 58

Door County United's next meet will be Saturday, January 6 at Sheboygan North for the
Raider Invite.

Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur told reporters on Monday that he does not plan to make any drastic changes to his coaching staff heading into the season's final games.

Some thought Monday was going to be a funeral for defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who has seen his defense get embarrassed by New York Giants rookie backup quarterback Tommy DeVito on a national stage and allowed the Tampa Bay Buccanneers' Baker Mayfield post the first perfect quarterback rating by an opponent in Lambeau Field history on Sunday. 

"If I thought that was the best solution today, then we'd make that decision," LaFleur said on Packers.com. LaFleur blamed communication problems between coaches and players that allowed people to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. "When you're having basic communication problems, and you're supposed to be in a certain coverage or a certain rotation, and we're not getting that communication … it always starts with us," he said.

The Packers will likely need to win out to secure its spot in the playoffs, including a victory on Sunday at Carolina.

On Tuesday night, two local Packerland Conference boys' basketball games will be highlighted on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

Southern Door will be at home to welcome the Algoma Wolves as the Eagles look to keep pace with Kewaunee in the conference standings. Bryan Mazur and Reece Robillard will have the call on U-102.1 beginning at 7:15 p.m., followed by the opening tip at 7:30 p.m.

Gibraltar makes the short trip south to battle Sevastopol as both teams are searching for their first Packerland wins of the season. Tim Kowols will carry the action on 105.1 The GOAT beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7:30 p.m.

Both games will also be available at NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com.

In the other Packerland Conference game, Kewaunee visits to Peshtigo to keep pace with the Eagles for the conference lead.

The Algoma Wolves kicked off the week of non-conference action for Packerland Conference girls' basketball teams on Monday night.

The Wolves sank 10 three-pointers in the first half en route to a 55-34 win over New Holstein.

On Tuesday, non-conference matchups involving Packerland Conference teams include Kewaunee traveling to Valders (7:15 p.m.), Southern Door visiting Brillion (7:00 p.m.), and Sevastopol heading to Bonduel (7:00 p.m.).

Luxemburg-Casco will travel to Freedom for an North Eastern Conference game that tips off at 7 p.m.  

On Tuesday, the Door County United swimming team hits the pool for a pre-holiday meet against Plymouth and Sheboygan South. 

In their last meet on December 14th, the team of four pulled in another 58 points and edged out Berlin by 27 points to take second this evening. They’re walking away from tonight with five first-place finishes in a quick meet that didn’t allow much rest between swims. There was a huge first-place finish in the 200 Free Relay (Jack Monfils, Luke Filar, George Atwell, Logan Filar), beating Chilton by a solid ten-second margin. Monfils secured first in both his 100 Fly and his 100 Breast. His 100 Fly is the fastest he’s done during a high school season at 59.07. His lead-off 50 Free is also the fastest on record during his high school seasons. Logan Filar had two big first-place finishes in the 200 IM and the 100 Free. His 200 IM is the fastest in the last two seasons by just over a second.

The first events begin at 6 p.m.

An off week for the rest of the area's team, the Algoma girls' basketball team will take to its home court on Monday to play New Holstein.

After playing their worst game offensively last week against Sevastopol, the Wolves used the Southern Door Eagles as a launching point in a 56-41 victory. Ryley Zimmerman set the tone early for the Wolves, scoring 16 of her game-high 20 points in the first half to help give her team a 46-20 advantage at halftime. The Eagles adjusted in the second half, allowing just 10 points after the break. Brooke Mattson scored 12 points, and Sierra Slaby chipped in 10 points in the victory for the Wolves. 

The Huskies have rebounded from an 0-5 start to win three of their last four games, including a 51-44 victory against Roncalli in its previous game. Payton Grenzer is averaging nearly a double-double a game with 12 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The first-ever perfect pass rating for an opposing quarterback at Lambeau Field led to the Green Bay Packers dropping their second consecutive game, a 34-20 decision to the Tampa Bay Buccanneers.

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield rarely had to make tough throws, just the correct ones, as he drove the offense down the field repeatedly. The Packers took an early lead after their first drive stalled out inside the 10-yard line, but they quickly recovered a fumble to put them back in business. A few plays later, Tucker Kraft would find the endzone on a pass from Jordan Love. The first of Baker Mayfield's four touchdown passes would give the Bucs the lead back before the two teams traded field goals to end the half at 13-10.

The lack of adjustments by Joe Barry's defense turned a competitive game into a laugher as the Buccanneers would score touchdowns on its three second-half drives. The Packers could only muster a field goal and a touchdown between two other fruitless drives after the break. 

The Packers' streak of giving up over 100 yards rushing ended, but they allowed Mayfield to throw for 381 yards on 22 for 28 passing to earn the perfect 158.3 passer rating. Love did not play much worse, going 29-39 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. His lone turnover came on the Packers' final play of the game when he fumbled the ball trying to get rid of the ball on fourth down.

The Packers hope a trip to Carolina on December 24th will be the Christmas gift they need to get back into the playoff picture.

Time is running out for an opportunity to play for the Green Bay Glory next season.

The Glory is hosting tryouts at the Player's Choice in Appleton on December 28th and 29th and January 4th and 5th.

The Glory finished in fifth place in the Heartland Division table of the USL W last season, going 4-8-0. The USL W League is a pre-professional women's soccer league, featuring primarily college players looking to take their game to the next level. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo had to track down another ball after the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Houston Rockets 128-119 on Sunday.

Antetokounmpo had 17 rebounds to go with 26 points to register the double-double. His rebounding total helped him leapfrog Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the franchise's all-time rebound list with 7,156. Lost in the shuffle is Damian Lillard, who sank 12 of his 13 free throws en route to a 39-point evening to go along with 11 assists. Brook Lopez chipped in 18 for the Bucks, while Fred VanVleet led the Rockets with 22 points. 

The Bucks are back in action on Tuesday when they host the San Antonio Spurs.

The Green Bay Packers will try to avoid walking the playoff plank for a second straight week when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Interceptions, fumbles, and missed field goals proved to be too much for the Green Bay Packers to overcome in their 24-22 loss to the New York Giants on Monday night despite a sizable contingent of green and gold-clad fans in MetLife Stadium. The Packers were lucky to enter the second half with a slim 10-7 lead after Jordan Love fumbled away one ball and threw an interception on subsequent drives before ending the frame with a field goal. The Packers would take a slim one-point lead after kicking a field goal and Love finding Malik Heath on a touchdown pass with just over 1:30 remaining. The Giants took advantage of the Packers' soft zone to drive into field goal range, where Randy Bullock split the uprights to win the game. Love went 25-39 for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception to his credit, while A.J. Dillon led the rushing attack with 53 yards on 15 carries in the loss. 

The Bucs have won two straight games to put them in the playoff picture at 6-7. Baker Mayfield threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and Rachaad White ran for 102 yards in the Bucs' 29-25 win over Atlanta a week ago. 

If you are heading to the game, the Southern Door choir is scheduled to perform outside the gates along with De Pere and Preble high schools to help get fans into a festive mood ahead of the game, which kicks off at noon.

On Saturday, two games featuring Green Bay basketball teams ended on opposite sides of the spectrum.

In the matinee, the Phoenix women outscored St. Louis 25-8 in the first quarter en route to an 87-54 win. Four Phoenix players reached double figures, with  Maddy Schreiber leading all players with 19 points while Bailey Butler (13 pts.), Cassie Schiltz (12 pts.), and Natalie McNeal (10 pts) all reached the distinction as well. A 16-2 run ended any threat the Billikens had of getting back into the game. Kyla McMakin led the Billikens with 11 points.

A similar big run sank the Phoenix men in an 81-47 loss to Oklahoma. The visiting Phoenix pushed the Sooners early, pushing to within one point with five minutes to play. The Sooners would end any hope there, going on a 15-0 run to end the first half and a 19-0 run in the second half to keep the lead above 30 points for much of the final frame. The  Sooners' defense refused to let Noah Reynolds beat him, allowing him to score just eight points along with Clarence Cummings III. David Douglas Jr. led the Phoenix with 13 points. The Sooners had three players hit double figures and another just a field goal away from joining them as they improved to 10-0 on the season. 

Three local wrestlers came back from their respective tournaments this weekend with titles.

The Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol had two of the top finishers in Saturday's Willard Schmidt Invitational hosted by Green Bay Preble. Spencer Madsen (144) and Zak Wrobel (175)  won their respective weight classes by combining to pin seven of their opponents. Seth Laughlin just missed joining Madsen and Wrobel on top of the podium as he came in second place at 285 pounds. 

Heavyweight wrestler Mitchell Boeder led the way for the Kewaunee Storm on Saturday with a first-place finish as the team came in eighth place at the Oostburg Invitational. Boeder won all three matches to capture the title at 285 pounds. Kemper Robinson and Mitchell VanGoethem just missed out on joining Boeder in the winner's circle as they came in second place after falling in the championship round.

Several Southern Door wrestlers posted impressive days at the Willard Schmidt Invitational hosted by Green Bay Preble on Saturday. Ethan Alexander and Mason Motquin posted the best days for the Eagles, winning three matches by pin before falling in their championship matches to walk away with a second-place finish. Trevor Englebert, Lance Veeser, Hayden Jeanquart, and Thomas Jackson all took third place to help the Eagles take third place with 350 points.

Four Luxemburg-Casco wrestlers will make the long trip back from Kansas City with extra hardware in tow. Carson Neubert was the top finisher on the day, coming in sixth place at 120 pounds after going 6-3 on the weekend. Caleb Delebreau (144), Max Ronsman (150), and Trace Schoenebeck (190) came in seventh place, ending their weekends with victories.  The team came in 12th place with over 116 points out of 94 teams.

The Green Bay Gamblers forced overtime early in the third period only to see it disappear seconds into the frame to lose to the Dubuque Fighting Saints 4-3.

Down 2-0, the Gamblers rattled off two goals in less than 90 seconds thanks to Blake Bechen and Michael DeAngelo. The Fighting Saints tacked on a goal late in the second goal to retake the lead, only to have Ben Poitras tie it back up. Fisher Scott scored the game-winner 40 seconds into the frame to give the victory to the Fighting Saints in front of over 3,000 fans at the Resch Center. 

A Luxemburg-Casco boys' basketball game complement a nearly full slate of Packerland girls' basketball on Friday night.

The Sevastopol Pioneer girls' basketball team hit their shots early and often in their 66-22 win over Gibraltar Friday night in Fish Creek. The Vikings are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah for a 2:30 p.m. tip-off.

Kewaunee made sure a ceremony honoring head coach Lynn Geier and her 350th win had a positive start with a 62-22 win over Peshtigo.

After playing their worst game offensively earlier this week, the Algoma Wolves girls' basketball used the Southern Door Eagles as a launching point in a 56-41 victory.

No score was reported from Sturgeon Bay's game against Denmark as of 11:15 p.m.

In boys' basketball action, Luxemburg-Casco lost to Denmark 65-49.

A little history was made on Friday night as many of the area's wrestlers hit the mats on Friday with more action slated for Saturday.

The Southern Door hosted and won their first-ever Eagles Girls Scramble, scoring 120 points and beating 10 other teams. The four-girl round-robin tournament saw Nora LeFevre win the 114 pound weight class for the Eagles while Delaney Wilke (107), Sydney Turner (138), Hailey Veeser (145), and Kailyn Neville (185) take second place with 3-1 records. The boys will head to Preble on Saturday for a tournament. Kaukauna, Neenah, Seymour, Chilton, Freedom, Lomira, Mishicot, Ozaukee, Sheboygan South, Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, Waupaca, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Crivitz, and Menomonee Indian are all scheduled to be there when the action starts at 9:30 a.m.

Luxemburg-Casco wrestlers won six of their eight matches on Friday at the inaugural Eagles Girls Scramble hosted by Southern Door. The top finisher was 185-pounder Kiley Georgel, who captured first place with four pins, all of which occurred before the halfway point of the third period. Evelyn Lange split her matches at 138 pounds. 

The Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestling team only had one wrestler compete in Friday's Eagle Girls Scramble, but she was as good as gold. Tiani Lemieux won the 145-pound weight class with a perfect 4-0 record with four falls. The only match that last longer than 40 seconds was her match against fellow state qualifier and Door County resident Hailey Veeser of Southern Door.

No score was reported from Kewaunee's dual against Tri-County, but they did lose to Wrightstown 64-12, with Kemper Robinson and Mitchell Boeder picking up their only points. The Storm will have no time for rest as they head to Oostburg on Saturday for an invitational featuring Clinton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Green Lake/Princeton, Hustisford, Lake Country Lutheran, Martin Luther, Milwaukee Bradley Technical, Milwaukee School Of Languages, New Holstein, North Fond du Lac, Oostburg, St. John's Northwestern Academies, Sussex Hamilton and Xavier. The first matches are set to begin at 8 a.m.

Head Coach Kevin Borseth will go for win #801 on Saturday afternoon when the Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team welcomes St. Louis to the Kress Events Center.

The Phoenix women overcame a slow start and a poor night from behind the arc to beat the Flames 64-56. For a while, it looked like UIC might just win their first game in Green Bay, but a late run by the Phoenix in the second quarter gave the team momentum to outscore the Flames 22-17 in the third quarter. They would extend the lead into double figures in the fourth quarter before the Flames could whittle away at the deficit late. Natalie McNeal scored a career-high in points with 19 and grabbed five rebounds, while Jasmine Kondrakiewicz contributed 14 points and four rebounds. The win was Borseth's 800th victory in his college coaching career. Of those 800 wins, 488 have come at Green Bay, with other victories coming from stints at Michigan Tech and Michigan.

The Billikens have lost three of their last four games, including a 75-67 loss to Southern Illinois in their last game. Kyla McMakin leads the team in scoring with nearly 17 points a game, while Peyton Kennedy and Brooklyn Gray are also averaging double figures.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

The Green Bay Gamblers look to take care of business before Christmas on Saturday night when they face the Dubuque Fighting Saints at the Resch Center.

The Gamblers are 3-1 in December, including last weekend's split against Chicago last weekend. In Friday's 6-5 loss to the Steel in front of 3,500 fans at the Resch Center, the Gamblers clawed their way back from a 4-1 deficit to force a shoot-out. Four players had multi-point games for the Gamblers, including two goals from Libor Nemec and Blake Bechen. In Saturday's 6-2 win, the Gamblers scored three goals in the final period to put the game out of reach. Michael DeAngelo had a hat trick, and Ben Poitras had three points of his own (1 G, 2 A) to lead the Gamblers to the victory.

The Fighting Saints are 2-3 on the month, needing a Nick Romeo overtime goal to give them the win in their last matchup against Sioux City.

The first of three games at the Resch Center to end December will start with the drop of the puck on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The Gamblers will not play again until they play a pair on December 29th and 30th against Team USA. 

Local rivalries took control of the evening on Thursday night, with one other game taking place on Friday night.

As heard on 104.1 WRLU, the Algoma Wolves led from start to finish Thursday night defeating the Sevastopol Pioneers 54-40 at Fulwiler Fieldhouse in Packerland Conference boys basketball action. 

Southern Door made its big first-half last as it beat Sturgeon Bay 62-54.

Gibraltar could not complete its comeback, falling to Peshtigo 61-56 in Fish Creek.

Kewaunee won its battle of top Packerland Conference teams, beating Oconto 64-57.

On Friday night, Luxemburg-Casco will welcome Denmark to town for a 7 p.m. tip.

The Packerland Conference will take to the court on Friday night for girls' basketball with a local rivalry taking center stage on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

Gibraltar and Sevastopol renew their rivalry in Fish Creek. Tim Kowols and Eric Fischer will have the call on 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7:30 p.m.

Other girls' basketball games scheduled for Friday night include Sturgeon Bay playing a make-up game at Denmark ( 7 p.m.), Southern Door making the trip to Algoma (7:30 p.m.), and Kewaunee hosting Peshtigo (7:30 p.m.)

One team is traveling the distance for its tournament and others are going a short drive for their respective wrestling tournaments on Friday.

Southern Door High School is showcasing one of the fastest-growing sports in the country on Friday when it hosts its first girls' wrestling tournament. Amherst, Appleton West, Crandon, Luxemburg-Casco, Bay Port, Brillion, Chilton, Florence, Mishicot, Oregon, Oshkosh West, Peshtigo, Plymouth, Stratford, Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, Tomahawk, Two Rivers, Wrightstown, and Wausau West are among the schools scheduled to attend the tournament, which will be set up as a four-wrestler round-robin. Weigh-ins are at 4 p.m., with the first matches starting at 5 p.m.

After keeping things close to home to start their season, the Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team is going the distance for its next competition this weekend. The Spartans are heading to Kansas City, Missouri, for the KC Stampede Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday. 

Kewaunee will face off against Wrightstown and Tri-City in a triangular meet in Wrightstown. The first matches begin at 5 p.m.

Congratulations to the DCU boys on another job well done tonight. The team of four pulled in another 58 points and edged out Berlin by 27 points to take second this evening. They’re walking away from tonight with five first-place finishes in a quick meet that didn’t allow much rest between swims.

Here are the big highlights from the night:

• There was a huge first-place finish in the 200 Free Relay (Jack Monfils, Luke Filar, George Atwell, Logan Filar), beating Chilton by a solid ten-second margin.
• Monfils secured first in both his 100 Fly and his 100 Breast. His 100 Fly is the fastest he’s done during a high school season at 59.07. Additionally, his lead-off 50 Free is the fastest on record during his high school seasons.
• Logan Filar had two big first-place finishes as well in the 200 IM and the 100 Free. His 200 IM is the fastest in the last two seasons by just over a second.

Final Results:
1. Chilton - 133.5
2. DCU - 58
3. Berlin - 25.5

NOTABLE FINISHES

• Atwell took 3rd in the 200 Free with a time of 2:19.03
• Logan Filar took 1st in the 200 IM with a time of 2:18.25
• Luke Filar took 2nd in the 50 Free with a time of 26.38
• Monfils took 1st in the 100 Fly with a time of 59.07
• Logan Filar took 1st in the 100 Free with a time of 55.87
• Atwell took 4th in the 500 Free with a time of 6:27.11
• 1st in the 200 Free Relay (Monfils, Luke Filar, Atwell, Logan Filar) with a time of 1:43.21
• Luke Filar took 3rd in the 100 Back with a time of 1:13.52
• Monfils took 1st in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:05.29

Our next meet is Tuesday, December 19 In Plymouth against Sheboygan South and conference rival Plymouth.

Packerland Conference boys' basketball dominates the local sports scene on Thursday with four games, including one being featured on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

The Algoma Wolves and the Sevastopol Pioneers will do battle in a Packerland Conference boys basketball matchup Thursday night at Fulwiler Fieldhouse in Algoma. The game will be broadcast on 104.1 WRLU and streamed on New Radio Sports Network.  Paul Schmitt and Henry Annen will have the call starting at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame and tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Other games being played at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday include Gibraltar hosting Peshtigo, Kewaunee playing at home against Oconto, and Southern Door traveling to Sturgeon Bay. 

The Door County United swim team heads off to Chilton Thursday evening for a conference meet.

In their last action a week ago, the team of five managed to pull in 58 points, two relay wins, and four individual wins. Jack Monfils led the team with 16 points, Ezra Linnan was close on his heels at 13.5, and George Atwell brought in another 12.5. Although it is early in the season, the boys are beginning to see times drop in their individual and relay events.  Atwell dropped five seconds in his 200 Free and eight in his 500 Free. Additionally, Luke Filar swam his fastest back split in the 200 Medley, dropping a tenth of a second from his time this past weekend. 

Berlin will join DCU for the meet, which begins at 6 p.m.

A celebratory video for Green Bay women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth was just icing on the cake for the two Phoenix teams that both beat UIC this week.

The fun started on Tuesday in Chicago when the Phoenix men grinded out a 70-68 win against the Flames. The Phoenix whittled away at a six-point halftime deficit throughout the second half by driving the ball inside against the Flames, which was a departure from their game against Western Illinois on Saturday when they shot 33 three-pointers, making only seven of them. Noah Reynolds led the team with 31 points, but it was a putback by Elijah Jones with less than a second remaining that won the game for the Phoenix. Jones scored 10 points while David Jones, Jr. added 14 points in the win.

The Phoenix women overcame a slow start and a poor night from behind the arc to beat the Flames 64-56. For awhile, it looked like UIC might just win their first game ever in Green Bay, but a late run by the Phoenix in the second quarter gave the team momentum to outscore the Flames 22-17 in the third quarter. They would extend the lead into double figures in the fourth quarter before the Flames were able to whittle away at the deficit late. Natalie McNeal scored a career-high in points with 19 and grabbed five rebounds, while Jasmine Kondrakiewicz contributed 14 points and four rebounds. The win was Borseth's 800th victory in his college coaching career. Of those 800 wins, 488 have come at Green Bay with other victories coming from stints at Michigan Tech and Michigan.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kewaunee alum and current Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini has committed to play in the Reese's Senior Bowl in early 2024.

The Senior Bowl is set to be played on February 3rd in Mobile, Alabama, and it is usually the first sign of a player having pro football aspirations. NFL officials use the game and practices leading up to it to evaluate players. Bortolini started all 12 games this season at center after playing previously at guard and tackle during his Badgers tenure. He is also slated to play in the Badgers' final game of the season against LSU in the Reliaquest Bowl.

As a member of the Storm, he was on the All-Packerland Team several times and earned multiple lineman of the year awards.

The Packerland Conference was busy with girls' high school action on Tuesday evening, with all five local teams hitting the hardwoods.

The Southern Door Eagles topped the Sturgeon Bay Clippers 50-42 in Brussels.

In Institute, the Sevastopol Pioneers won a low-scoring affair with the Algoma Wolves, claiming a 37-30 win.

The Kewaunee Storm won a nail-biter in Oconto, edging the Blue Devils 41-40 as Coach Lynn Geier picked up her 350th win in her coaching career.

(Algoma was incorrectly put as the winner on the headline initially. Sevastopol won the game.  We regret this error)

The local basketball schedule was filled with non-conference matchups for Packerland Conference teams on Tuesday night ending with mixed results.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers were able to control the Two Rivers Raiders, coming away with a hard-fought 78-67 win at home with Garrett Ulberg leading the way with 22 points..  

In Shiocton, the Kewaunee Storm beat the Chiefs 59-51 by outscoring Shiocton by ten in the second half after trailing at halftime.

The Southern Door Eagles lost to the perennial powerhouse Brillion Lions 81-47 on the road.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans could not stop the Wrightstown Tigers in North Eastern Conference action Tuesday, falling to the Tigers 63-47.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartan wrestling team pinned the Denmark Vikings early and often Tuesday evening at home, winning the North Eastern Conference match 61-12.

The Spartans came away with seven pins, with Caleb Delebreau starting out with a pin over Drew Demmin in the 144-pound division only 1:34 into the match.  You can see the complete results from Tuesday’s competition here.

(photo courtesy of Ron LeCloux) 

Interceptions, fumbles, and missed field goals proved to be too much for the Green Bay Packers to overcome in their 24-22 loss to the New York Giants on Monday night despite a sizable contingent of green and gold-clad fans in MetLife Stadium.

Both teams stumbled over themselves in the first quarter until Jayden Reed scampered into the endzone to give the Packers an early 7-0 lead. Saquon Barkley would even score on the very next drive. The Packers were lucky to enter the second half with a slim 10-7 lead after Jordan Love fumbled away one ball and threw an interception on subsequent drives before ending the frame with a field goal.

As they did in London a year ago, the Giants made the necessary adjustments to take over the game in the second half, with Tommy DeVito engineering two touchdown drives in the third quarter to make it 21-13 heading into the fourth. The Packers would take a slim one-point lead after kicking a field goal and Love finding Malik Heath on a touchdown pass with just over 1:30 remaining. The Giants took advantage of the Packers' soft zone to drive into field goal range, where Randy Bullock split the uprights to win the game.

Love went 25-39 for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception to his credit, while A.J. Dillon led the rushing attack with 53 yards on 15 carries in the loss. 

The Packers will have a short week to prepare for the Tampa Bay Buccanneers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Packerland Conference will keep things local for its Tuesday slate of games after Luxemburg-Casco kicked off the local girls' basketball action on Monday.

The Spartans outlasted rival Denmark 37-27 on Monday night.

Tuesday's slate of games includes Sturgeon Bay traveling to Southern Door (7:30 p.m.), Sevastopol hosting Algoma (7:30 p.m.), and Kewaunee visiting Oconto (7:30 p.m.). 

The Algoma Wolves kicked off an early week streak of non-conference games for the Packerland Conference.

The Wolves beat NEWCHAA in overtime 68-63 behind 30 points from Parker Lischka.

Tuesday's slate of Packerland Conference non-conference matchups include Southern Door traveling to Brillion ( 7 p.m.), Kewaunee heading to Shiocton ( 7 p.m.), and Sturgeon Bay hosting Two Rivers (7:30 p.m.)

Luxemburg-Casco will play a conference game at Wrightstown beginning at 7 p.m.

Two local wrestling teams will be in action for the first time since participating in tournaments over the weekend.

The Southern Door girls wrestling team will head to Hilbert for a multi-team dual featuring the host school, Chilton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Freedom, Two Rivers, and Wrightstown. Wrestling begins at 6 p.m.

The newly crowned Battle of the Bay champions Luxemburg-Casco will stay at home for a dual meet against Denmark. The first matches begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Luxemburg-Casco girls' basketball team welcomes Denmark to Luxemburg to start their week with an NEC rivalry game.

The Spartans edged Wrightstown 58-56 in their matchup last Thursday. Erin Cherovsky and Alayna Deprez each scored 14 points, while Magdeline Hanmann chipped in 10 points to pace the Spartans to their third win of the season.

The Vikings suffocated Little Chute last week, beating them 52-11. Paige Vogel and Kiarrah Micolichek each scored 10 points in the win. The Spartans and Vikings have identical 3-1 records in the NEC.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

The Algoma boys' basketball team starts their week with a matchup against Northeast Wisconsin Christian Homeschoolers Athletic Associaton (NEWCHAA).

The Wolves left their dogfight against the Peshtigo Bulldogs on Friday night with a 66-47 victory. They took a nine-point lead into the break and only extended their lead from there thanks to 20 points from Parker Lischka and 18 points from Chase Romdenne. Lischka took the lead for the Wolves in the first half with four three-pointers in the opening frame, while Romdenne picked up the slack in the second half and three baskets from behind the arc after the break. Cody Kirchman chipped in 14 points in the victory for the Wolves.

NEWCHAA has split their first four games of the season, entering the matchup on a two-game losing streak after falling to Oconto Falls and Stratford by double digits. 

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Green Bay Packers will face the New York Giants in New Jersey Monday night as they hope to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Packers shocked the country last weekend with a 27-19 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Jordan Love sparkled under the Sunday lights as he went 25-36 for over 260 yards and three touchdowns, while a late interception by Keisan Nixon and some missed calls led to the Packers' victory. A 3-0 win Vikings win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday forced the Packers out of playoff positioning for now, with them a half-game out.

The Giants have rattled off two wins in a row with their own shocking quarterback play from Tommy DiVito. He did just enough to lead the Giants to a 10-7 win over the New England Patriots, throwing for 191 yards and a touchdown.

Your opportunity to play indoor football has arrived. 

The Green Bay Blizzard is hosting an open tryout on January 20th at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can register for the event by clicking on this link.

The open tryout does not mean the organization hasn't been busy adding players. You can see some of their newest additions below:

The Green Bay Phoenix struggled from behind the arc and had no answers for Western Illinois' inside game, losing 68-59.

The Phoenix shot just 35 percent from the field, including under 20 percent from behind the arc, hitting just seven of their 35 attempts. The Leathernecks used their size advantage to register a 56 percent shooting percentage on the night, outscoring the Phoenix by 12 in the paint (38-26) and outrebounding them 36-29. 

 Noah Reynolds led the Phoenix with 14 points and two steals, while David Douglas Jr. and Clarence Cummings III each chipped in 11 points on the night. The Leathernecks got 18 points each from Ryan Myers and Jesiah West, but the 12 points and 15 rebounds from Drew Cisse kept the Phoenix out of sorts for much of the game.

The Phoenix have now lost two straight games after their win over Milwaukee. They will try to get back into the win column with a matchup against UIC in Chicago at 7 p.m.

The  Green Bay Gamblers scored 11 goals across two days, but it was only good for one win out of two games against the Chicago Steel.

In Friday's 6-5 loss to the Steel in front of 3,500 fans at the Resch Center, the Gamblers clawed their way back from a 4-1 deficit to force a shoot out. Four players had multi-point games for the Gamblers, including two goals from Libor Nemec and Blake Bechen.

In Saturday's 6-2 win, the Gamblers scored three goals in the final period to put the game well out of reach. Michael DeAngelo had a hat trick and Ben Poitras had three points of his own (1 G, 2 A) to lead the Gamblers to the victory. 

The area's wrestling teams came home with plenty of hardware on Saturday, including the top prize at Bay Port's Battle on the Bay Tournament.

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team left Suamico on Saturday with another Battle on the Bay title to add to their trophy case. Twelve wrestlers placed in the top eight in the 32-team tournament. Winning their respective brackets included 138-pounder Blakelee Bastien, 120-pounder Carson Neubert, and 150-pounder Max Ronsman. The Spartans scored 520 pounds, 82 points more than second-place Bay Port.

The Southern Door Eagles finished in the top 25 of the 32-team Battle on the Bay Tournament hosted by Bay Port. Trevor Englebert (145 pounds) led the way with a fourth-place finish for the Eagles, while Hayden Jeanquart and Lance Veeser also placed in the top eight in their respective brackets. 

The Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestling team finished in the middle of the pack as a team but at or near the top of the podium in several weight classes during Saturday's Brillion Invitational. Spencer Madsen led the way for SBS with a first-place finish at 144 pounds, while Seth  Laughlin (285 lbs) and Zak Wrobel (175 pounds) came in second.

The Kewaunee Storm boys' basketball team fell into a deep hole and could not dig itself out as they lost to Freedom on Saturday 88-65 in the Baird Gustman Shootout.

Thomas Stangel led the Storm with 26 points, and Braxton Riha chipped in with 23 points, but the Storm were no match for the Irish's offense. Drew Kortz led the Irish with 20 points as they hit more than a dozen three-pointers as a team in the game.

It's that time of the year again for area wrestling teams as they travel to different tournaments on Saturday.

Luxemburg-Casco and Southern Door will join Appleton North, Ashwaubenon, Bay Port, Beaver Dam, Brookfield East, De Pere, Denmark, East Troy, Elkhorn, Escanaba, Franklin, Germantown, Homestead, Kiel, Mishicot, Mukwonago, Oconomowoc, Oconto Falls, Oshkosh West, Pewaukee, Plymouth, Seymour, Shawano Community, Slinger, Wausau West, West Bend East, West Bend West, West De Pere, Winneconne, and Wrightstown for the annual Battle on the Bay.  Wrestling begins at 8 a.m.

Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will join Green Bay West, host Brillion, Little Chute, Manitowoc Lutheran, Omro, Lourdes Academy, Peshtigo, and Waupaca for a tournament that begins at 9:30 a.m.

You can read about Friday's action featuring the girls from Luxemburg-Casco, Southern Door, and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol at NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com.  Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol's Tiani LeMieux picked up where she left off last season with a third-place finish. Luxemburg-Casco's Evelyn Lange (3-2) placed 4th in the tournament. All three of her wins came via a pin.Four of the Eagles' eight wrestlers placed in the tournament won by Shawano, including first-place finishes by Nora LeFevre (114 pounds) and Hailey Veeser (145 pounds).

Road teams had plenty of success in area boys' basketball action on Friday night.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers took the short ride to Institute Friday night to take on the Sevastopol Pioneers and left with the 73-36 victory.

The Gibraltar Vikings got to within four points twice in the second half but could not get any closer as they fell to the Oconto Blue Devils on Friday night 59-49.

The Algoma Wolves left their dogfight against the Peshtigo Bulldogs with a 66-47 victory.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans fell off the pace of the Clintonville Truckers in the second half of their 52-44 loss.

The Green Bay Phoenix return home Saturday night to face former Mid Continent Conference foe Western Illinois in a non-conference matchup.

The Phoenix men fell behind and never recovered in its 78-69 loss to SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday night. Noah Reynolds was again the leading scorer for the Phoenix with 20 points, his third time eclipsing that mark. Elijah Jones added 11 points and Foster Wonders contributed 11 points in the loss.  The game was won at the line as the Cougars made 14 more free throws (28-39) than the Phoenix attempted (8-14).

The Leathernecks have split their last four matchups, losing to Wisconsin and South Dakota while feasting on Hannibal-LaGrange and Coe. In their last game against Coe, James Dent led the way with 14 points while two others reached double figures.

Tip-off from the Resch Center is 6 p.m.

The future of the USHL will call Green Bay home for the next three years after the league announced it would be hosting its annual combine in the city.

According to a release from the Green Bay Gamblers and the USHL, the Combines, which are held in April and July, are an important element for USHL clubs to finalize preparations for the USHL Draft – the key point of entry for players into USA Hockey’s only Tier 1 junior league.

“We could not be more excited that our Combines are going to take place in Green Bay,” said Frank Butler, USHL Director of Player Personnel. “USHL Combines provide players exposure and education on their path to the USHL and beyond. Invitees of each combine will practice and play in front of USHL coaches, USHL scouts and NCAA coaches and we are looking forward to bringing many of the top young prospects from around the world to the state of Wisconsin.”

Butler said that the Combines, which are expected to total more than 1,000 attendees, are slated to take place at Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon.

“The Greater Green Bay hospitality community is thrilled to welcome the athletes and families participating in the USHL Combines next year,” said Brad Toll, President/CEO of Discover Green Bay. “We’re a hockey town and we can’t wait to drop the puck!”

Until then, the Green Bay Gamblers are playing a home-and-home series against the Chicago Steel this weekend. They will face the Steel on Friday at the Resch Center before switching venues on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

A nearly-full slate of boys basketball is scheduled for Friday night, including two games on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

Gibraltar looks for their first Packerland Conference of the season when they make their way around the bay to Oconto. Tim Kowols and Matt Malvitz will have the call on 105.1 the GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol will renew their rivalry when the two teams face off against each other in Institute. Jacob Nate and Reece Robillard will have the call on U-102.1 and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7:30 p.m.

Other games scheduled for Friday include Luxemburg-Casco facing Clintonville at home (7 p.m.), and Algoma traveling to Peshtigo (7:30 p.m.). 

Thursday's action saw Sevastopol lose to Hilbert 61-46 and Kewaunee beat NEW Lutheran 65-55.

There were plenty of W's across the area on Thursday ahead of a limited girls' basketball schedule on the docket on Friday.

Sevastopol led from start to finish against their Door County rivals, beating Sturgeon Bay 55-25. The Clippers will get back at it on Friday when they travel to Clintonville for a 7 p.m. tip.

Luxemburg-Casco registered a close win over its conference rivals as they beat Wrightstown 58-56.

Southern Door could not come away with the road non-conference, losing to Seymour 56-31.

Kewaunee took the drama out of their game against NEW Lutheran early on, beating them 62-18.

Algoma bounced back from a loss earlier this week with a 51-28 win over Peshtigo.

Gibraltar could not upset conference-leading Oconto at home, losing the game 46-37.

Photo courtesy of Sturgeon Bay Lady Clippers Facebook Page

A trio of duals were featured on Thursday ahead of a busy weekend of tournaments for area wrestlers.

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team only lost one match across three dual meets at the Fox Valley Lutheran quad meet featuring Green Bay Preble (83-0), Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol (72-3), and the host Foxes (79-0) on Thursday. A regular decision against SBS was the only points against the Spartans as they outscored their competition  234-3, gaining bonus points in 38 of the 42 matches.

Considering they forfeited at least five weight classes in all three of their matches on Thursday, the Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestling team competed well against tough competition with more complete rosters at the Fox Valley Lutheran quad meet. SBS lost to Luxemburg-Casco 72-3, Green Bay Preble 45-36, and Fox Valley Lutheran 46-28. Giving up five weight classes is equivalent to giving teams a 30-0 lead before a match takes place.

Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Luxemburg-Casco will join Bay Port, Bonduel, Brillion, Campbellsport, Chilton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Florence, Fox Valley Lutheran, Green Bay United, Horicon, Kaukauna, Lena, Manitowoc Lincoln, Marinette, Mishicot, New London, Oconto Falls, Omro, Peshtigo, Plymouth, Random Lake, Reedsville, Shawano Community, Sheboygan North, Sheboygan South, Two Rivers, Waupaca, Waupun, West De Pere, Whitefish Bay, Winneconne, and Wrightstown for the all-girls tournament. Weigh-ins begin at 4 p.m., and the first matches start at 5 p.m. 

The DCU Boys had an incredible night in the pool on Thursday. The team of five managed to pull in 58 points, two relay wins, and four individual wins.

Jack Monfils led the team with 16 points, Ezra Linnan was close on his heels at 13.5, and George Atwell brought in another 12.5. 

Although it is early in the season, the boys are beginning to see times drop in their individual and relay events.  Atwell dropped five seconds in his 200 Free and eight in his 500 Free.

Additionally, Luke Filar swam his fastest back split in the 200 Medley, dropping a tenth of a second from his time this past weekend. 

Here’s the full breakdown of results:
1. Pulaski - 98
2. DCU - 58

Highlights:

• 1st place in the 200 Medley Relay (Luke Filar, Jack Monfils, Ezra Linnan, Logan Filar) with a season-best time of 1:51.13
• 1st place in the 200 Free from George Atwell with a season-best time of 2:11.19
• 1st place in the 200 IM from Monfils with a time of 2:07.33
• 2nd place in the 50 Free from Linnan with a season-best time of 25.25
• 2nd place in the 100 Fly from Logan Filar with a time of 1:01.40
• 1st place in the 100 Free from Linnan with a time of 56.39
• 3rd place in the 500 Free from Atwell with a season-best time of 6:25.65
• 2nd place in the 200 Free Relay (Linnan, Luke Filar, Atwell, Logan Filar)
• 3rd place in the 100 Back from Luke Filar with a time of 1:14.21
• 1st place in the 100 Breast from Monfils with a time of 1:04.44
• 1st place in the 400 Free Relay (Logan Filar, Luke Filar, Atwell,
• Monfils) with a time of 3:54.42

A matchup between two Door County teams highlights a slate full of girls' basketball action on Thursday.

The matchups include Luxemburg-Casco traveling to Wrightstown for a 7 p.m. tip, Southern Door visiting Seymour at 7:00 p.m., Sturgeon Bay hosting Sevastopol at 7:30 p.m., Gibraltar playing at home against Oconto at 7:30 p.m., and Algoma battling Peshtigo at home at 7:30 p.m.

Only two local teams will be in action on Thursday night in boys' basketball action with the remainder holding off until Friday.

The Kewaunee Storm looks to keep the momentum going when it hosts conference rival NEW Lutheran for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

The Sevastopol Pioneers look to bounce back from its outing at Southern Door with a matchup against Hilbert on the road at 7:15 p.m.

Two of the area's wrestling teams will head to Appleton for a quad meet ahead of tournaments this weekend.

Luxemburg-Casco and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will face off against Green Bay Preble and host Fox Valley Lutheran at 6:30 p.m. 

Last weekend, the Spartans cracked 60 points in three of its five wins on Saturday as it swept the Spartans Duals. The Spartans defeated Port Washington 73-5, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 45-18, Sheboygan Falls 77-0, Shawano Community 66-12, and Bay Port 46-25. Thanks to a combination of forfeits and wins, several Spartans ended their days undefeated.

The SBS squad battled deep into their brackets on Saturday as a part of the Kimberly Papermaker Invitational. All five of its wrestlers had at least a chance to win third place on Saturday, with  Tiani Lemieux, Zak Wrobel, and Seth Laughlin all coming out of it with a bronze finish. Wrobel's day was the most impressive as he pinned his way to the semifinals.

The Door County United Swim Team will have its first home meet of the year on Thursday night when they take on Pulaski at 6 p.m. at the Door County YMCA in Sturgeon Bay.

The United placed seventh with 114 points last Saturday at the Plymouth Invite, gaining victories against fellow conference teams Berlin and Plymouth.

Led by our four Sevastopol representatives, the gentlemen managed to podium the 200 Free Relay, placing 6th overall at 1:41.95.  Additionally, Logan Filar found his way to the podium for his 50 and 100 Free individual events, placing 6th (24.34) and 4th (53.58), respectively.

Senior Logan Filar led the points earned, coming in with 40 points, followed by senior Ezra Linnan with 35 total points. Ezra Linnan had strong showings in both the relays and his individual events, placing within the top 8 in all events. Sophomore George Atwell helped secure the 7th place finish (1:55.68) in the 200 Medley Relay, swimming the fastest 50-free split in his career.  Logan Filar also swam his fastest 50-free split during the 200 Free relay, where he swam a remarkable 22.17. Freshman Luke Filar had a strong showing in his first high school meet, helping to score points in all his events.  His splits in the 200 Medley and 200 Free relays helped support the team in their strong showings in both events.

A historic night in Brussels highlighted an evening of high school boys basketball on the hardwoods Tuesday night.

In Packerland Conference action, Drew Daost scored 53 points and led the Southern Door Eagles to a 93-49 easy win over the Sevastopol Pioneers on U102.1.

Sturgeon Bay rolled to a 71-48 win over the Peshtigo Bulldogs at home.

The Gibraltar Vikings stayed close but could not overtake the NEW Lutheran Blazers in

Fish Creek, falling 61-51. 

The Algoma Wolves lost to the Oconto Blue Devils at home in a nailbiter 51-48

In a non-conference matchup in Kewaunee, the Storm held off a second-half comeback to down the Luxemburg-Casco Spartans 80-70 on 104.1 WRLU.  

With the boys' taking center stage on Tuesday, the girls basketball schedule was light in the Packerland Conference.

In the North Eastern Conference, the Luxemburg-Casco Spartans rolled to an easy 47-18 win over the Clintonville Truckers at home. 

The Milwaukee Bucks stayed undefeated in the new NBA”s  In-Season Tournament play Tuesday night, beating the New York Knicks 146-122 at Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks controlled the game in the second half after a close first half where Milwaukee held a narrow 75-72 lead.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was his dominant self with 15/22 shooting with 35 points 10 assists, and eight rebounds to lead the Bucks.  Damien Lillard added 28 points with 5/7 from beyond the arc.

Julius Randle scored 41 for the Knicks.

Milwaukee will now play the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas in the semi-finals on Thursday with tip scheduled for 4:00 p.m. 

The Wisconsin Badgers ended with an impressive 70-57 road win over the Michigan State Spartans Tuesday night in the Big Ten opener.  A.J. Storr led the way for the Badgers, scoring 22 points, and Steven Crowl added 18 more as the 23rd-ranked Badgers won for the sixth straight time.

Wisconsin led from start to finish and beat a Michigan State team struggling after being ranked 4th in the preseason polls.

Storr nailed four three-pointers and was 8/11 overall, while Crowl was a perfect 4/4 from beyond the arc. 

Wisconsin will now face the #1 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday on the road.  

You can have Green Bay women's basketball with your early lunch break on Tuesday as they play the DePaul Blue Demons in Chicago.

In their last game, the Phoenix used a 16-5 run in the third quarter to throttle in-state rival UW-Milwaukee 76-53. Maddy Schreiber led the Phoenix with a career-high 23 points. Jasmine Kondrakiewicz added 16 points, and Natalie McNeal contributed 13 points. It was the first time in four years that the Phoenix won their Horizon League opener, including a few disappointing visits to Milwaukee. A win on Tuesday would be head coach Kevin Borseth's 800th.

Standing in the way are the Blue Demons, a perennial power that has opened the season with a 4-4 mark. Anaya Peoples had done it all for the Blue Demons early on, leading the team in points per game (20.9), rebounds per game (8.0), assists per game (3.6), blocks per game (1.3), and minutes (31.8 mpg). The Blue Demons have their own legendary coach in Doug Bruno, who has accumulated more than 770 wins in his career. 

Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.

Only one of the three Door County schools in action on Monday night was able to bring home a victory in girls' basketball action.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers' girls basketball team returned from over a dozen down to topple the visiting Two Raiders 46-39 in overtime.

The Gibraltar girls' basketball team came up short in their bid for a second straight win on Monday night, falling to the visiting Crivitz Wolverines 55-52.

The Southern Door girls' basketball team could not close the gap between them and the Roncalli Jets in a 53-45 road loss.

The area's boys' basketball teams get their first games of the week in on Tuesday with a cross-county non-conference game being highlighted on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

The Kewaunee Storm and the Luxemburg-Casco will renew a long-time rivalry in a non-conference matchup Tuesday night in Kewaunee. Tip-off at Kewaunee High School is set for 7:30 p.m. and the pregame on 104.1 WRLU with Paul Schmitt and Henry Annen will start at 7:15 p.m.  The game will also be streamed on NewRadioSportsNetwork.com. The Spartans also played on Monday, losing to Pulaski 72-59.

Other games scheduled for Tuesday include Sturgeon Bay hosting Peshtigo (7:30 p.m.), Sevastopol visiting Southern Door (7:30 p.m.), Gibraltar playing at home against NEW Lutheran (7:30 p.m.), and Algoma welcoming Oconto (7:30 p.m.).

The Door County YMCA Striver Gymnastic Team competed in the eight-team Pink Gymnastic Invitational this past weekend. It was hosted by the Marinette/Menominee YMCA. Teams competing were Door County, EauClaire, Fond Du Lac, Green Bay, HOTV, Manitowoc, Marinette/Menominee, and Wausau.

Starting the competition for the Strivers were the Level 7 and Platinum gymnasts. The Level 7 Team captured a third-place Team trophy scoring 106.45. Edging out the Strivers by five-hundredths of a point was Green Bay scoring 106.50. Taking First in Level 7 Team competition was Kettle Moraine with a score of 106.80. Estelle Duerst (14 and under) won gold on floor and vault, grabbed silver in the All Around and bronze on beam. Amira Anschutz (14 and under) won gold in the All Around, silver on beam, bronze on vault, and fifth on bars. Portia Hah (15 and up) placed 4th in the All Around and fifth on beam and bars. In Platinum competition, Shaylynn Asher (one age group) won gold in the All Around, floor, vault beam and bars.

In round two for the Striver Team, the Excel Silver Team won gold in the Team competition scoring 111.65 outscoring the closest competition by 2.4 points. Medaling for the Silver Team were:

Ellie Kelsey: (9 and under) Gold on floor, vault, beam, bars and All-Around

Delaney Allen : (10 & 11)  Gold in the All Around and floor, silver on vault, beam and bars.

Greta Virgin : (10&11) 3rd on beam, 5th on floor.

Sawyer Soukup : (10 & 11) Gold on vault and beam.

Destiny Romero: (12 and up) silver on beam, 5th on vault.

Evelynn Kelsey: (12 & up) Gold on floor, silver on vault, bronze in the All Around snd 4th on bars.

Lauren Gaida : (12 and up) Gold in the All Around, beam, and vault, silver on floor, bronze on bars.

The Striver Gymnastic Team will be hosting their “Flipping in Door County” Invitational on January 27, 2024. The Striver Team is coached by Nikki Pollman, Gerrit DeJonge, and Stacy Berghuis.

Three Packerland Conference teams will kick off their week of action on Monday night.

Southern Door will head south to Manitowoc for its matchup against Roncalli at 7:15 p.m.

Gibraltar will try to build on its successful Friday night with a game at home against Crivitz at 7:30 p.m.

Sturgeon Bay will stay at home to welcome Two Rivers for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

On Monday night, the Luxemburg-Casco boys' basketball team will play its make-up matchup against the Pulaski Red Raiders.

The Spartans outlasted Oconto Falls on Friday night 58-55 to improve to 2-0 on the season. Four Spartans reached double figures for the night, Steelen Olson's 16 points pacing the team. JD Glampe (13 points), Lance Cherovsky (14 points), and Josh Parins (10 points) also helped lead the Spartans to the conference victory. 

The Red Raiders are also 2-0 on the season, with wins against Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Shawano. 

Tip-off in Luxemburg is scheduled for 7 p.m.

If the Green Bay Packers end up in the playoffs in January, they will remember their 27-19 win against the Kansas City Chiefs back in December.

Much of the attention before the game was focused on the arrival of celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Simone Biles, and Tony Shaloub, who donned more than just a cardigan before the cool, snowy night at Lambeau Field. The Packers first filled the blank space on the scoreboard when Jordan Love found Ben Sims for his first touchdown. After the Chiefs kicked a field goal to make it 7-3, the Packers' Christian Watson found daylight in the back of the endzone to make it 14-3 early in the second quarter. The Chiefs would score the next nine points, making it 14-12 in the third quarter, giving fans a feeling they know all too well about Patrick Mahomes' ability to score. Love and the Packers were able to shake it off and drove down to the field for his third touchdown pass of the game to extend the game out to 21-12. The Chiefs would bring it back to a two-point game when Mahomes pulled the invisible string on his only touchdown pass of the game to reserve tight end Noah Gray, putting another seven on the board. The Packers took control from there, kicking two field goals in the fourth quarter. They thought they had sealed the game when Keisean Nixon made an over-the-shoulder catch for an interception, but Mahomes would have at least one more chance to leave fans of both teams breathless. The referees would turn into an anti-hero for both teams, with a roughing the passer call going against the Packers and two potential pass interference no-calls going in their favor. The final no-call ended the game for the Packers, giving fans a crazier conclusion than they could have asked for heading into the evening as a 5.5 point underdog.

The Packers will have a second straight long week to prepare for a game as they battle the Giants say "Welcome to New York" for Monday Night Football.

The Door County United boys high school swim team placed seventh with 114 points on Saturday, December 2, at the Plymouth Invite, gaining victories against fellow conference teams Berlin and Plymouth.

Led by our four Sevastopol representatives, the gentlemen managed to podium the 200 Free Relay, placing 6th overall at 1:41.95.  Additionally, Logan Filar found his way to the podium for his 50 and 100 Free individual events, placing 6th (24.34) and 4th (53.58), respectively.

Senior Logan Filar led the points earned, coming in with 40 points, followed by senior Ezra Linnan with 35 total points.

Ezra Linnan had strong showings in both the relays and his individual events, placing within the top 8 in all events.

Sophomore George Atwell helped secure the 7th place finish (1:55.68) in the 200 Medley Relay, swimming the fastest 50-free split in his career.  Logan Filar also swam his fastest 50-free split during the 200 Free relay, where he swam a remarkable 22.17.

Freshman Luke Filar had a strong showing in his first high school meet, helping to score points in all his events.  His splits in the 200 Medley and 200 Free relays helped support the team in their strong showings in both events.

Final scores:
1. Ashwaubenon- 430
2. Sheboygan North- 393
3. Green Bay United- 353
4. Manitowoc Lincoln- 295
5. Appleton North- 252
6. Kiel-Elkhart Lake- 244
7. DCU- 114
8. Plymouth- 55
9. Berlin/Green Lake- 50

Notable swims and finishes:
-7th place finish (Luke Filar, Logan Filar, Ezra Linnan, George Atwell) in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:55.68
-Atwell took 14th in the 200 Free with a time of 2:16.29 and Luke Filar took 15th with a time of 2:16.98

-6th place finish from Logan Filar in the 50 Free with a time of 24.34
-8th place finish from Linnan in the 100 Fly with a time of 1:06.29

-4th place finish from Logan Filar in the 100 Free with a time of 53.58
-Atwell took 12th place in the 500 Free with a time of 6:33.39
-6th place finish (Linnan, Luke Filar, Atwell, Logan Filar) with a time of 1:41.95

-Linnan took 7th place in the 100 back with a time of 1:04.57 and Luke Filar took 14th with a time of 1:13:11
 

Every race and event scored points during the nine-team meet, and the gentlemen did an incredible job as we started the season.  

DCU will compete against Pulaski this week on Thursday at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA.  The meet begins at 6:00 pm.

The Green Bay Phoenix shot 46 percent from behind the arc as they beat their in-state rivals UW-Milwaukee 70-58 Saturday night at the Resch Center.

Their hot start was aided by nine three-pointers in the first half, some of which aided an 11-0 run at the end of the first half to give the Phoenix a 39-25 lead at the break. The Panthers would get it to six points a few times during the second half, only to have the Phoenix extend it back out thanks to smaller runs.

Noah Reynolds paced the Phoenix with 17 points and eight assists. Preston Ruedinger and Foster Wonders each had 12 points while Rich Bhyre registered 10 points. The Panthers got 25 points from Markeith Browning II in the loss.

The Phoenix will travel to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Wednesday before taking on Western Illinois at home on Saturday.

The area's wrestling teams had a busy Saturday as many had their first matches of the season this week.

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team cracked 60 points in three of its five wins on Saturday as it swept the Spartans Duals on Saturday. The Spartans defeated Port Washington 73-5, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 45-18, Sheboygan Falls 77-0, Shawano Community 66-12, and Bay Port 46-25. Thanks to a combination of forfeits and wins, several Spartans ended their days undefeated.

The Southern Door wrestling team dropped both of its matches on Saturday at the Stratford-hosted Schoenherr Duals. The Eagles lost to Stratford 51-25 and Wittenberg-Birnamwood 68-9. Lance Veeser and Hayden Jeanquart were undefeated on the day.

The Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestling team battled deep into their brackets on Saturday as a part of the Kimberly Papermaker Invitational. All five of its wrestlers had at least a chance to win third place on Saturday with  Tiani Lemieux, Zak Wrobel, and Seth Laughlin all coming out of it with a bronze finish. Wrobel's day was the most impressive as he pinned his way to the semifinals.

The Kewaunee Storm wrestling team kicked off its season with a pair of top-four finishers at the Kimberly Papermaker Invitational. Aiden Ducat was the top finisher for the Storm, winning his first three matches at  113 pounds before falling in the semifinals. Mitchell Boeder had a similar day with a pair of pins at 215 pounds before he got hurt in his semifinal match, forcing him to forfeit a chance at taking third.

Braden Sitte scored seven points in overtime to help the Gibraltar boys' basketball team get their first victory of the season on Saturday, beating Wabeno-Laona 56-44.

The two teams took turns outscoring each other 25-17 in the half with the Vikings having to hold on to force overtime. The Vikings would not be denied the win, outscoring the Rebels 14-2 in the extra period.

Sitte scored a game-high 26 points thanks to those extra seven points in overtime. Kayin Jackson and Marshall Maltby each scored nine points and Jeffrey Mize chipped in seven points in the win. The Rebels were led by Walker Wankleman and Preston Vanzile with 13 points.

The Green Bay Packers will try for a major upset on Sunday night when they host the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Packers have not played since Thanksgiving when they beat the division-leading Detroit Lions 29-22. he Packers started fast when a 50-plus yard pass play set up a 10-yard touchdown throw from Jordan Love to Jayden Reed on the game's opening drive. After the Lions scored a touchdown on the first drive, the Packers would find the endzone again when Love hooked up with Tucker Kraft from nine yards out. Jonathan Owens made a game-changing play when he picked up a Jared Goff fumble and took it 27 yards to make it 20-6 after one-quarter of play. A 16-yard passing touchdown from Love to Christian Watson would loom large as the Lions would eventually get the game to within a score. After a late touchdown by the Lions, Reed recovered an onside kick to allow Love to kneel the ball out to end the threat.

The Chiefs have split their last four games, including a 31-17 win against the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday. The team received bad news when they declared running back Jerick McKinnon out for Sunday's game, forcing them to elevate a player from the practice squad to fill his spot. 

Kickoff is set for 7:20 p.m.

Two local teams picked up big conference win to cap off their first week playing their Packerland foes.

The Sevastopol Pioneers started and finished strong against the Southern Door Eagles on Friday night winning 50-22 for their first conference win of the season on U-102.1. 

On 105.1 The GOAT, the Gibraltar Vikings broke a pair of long losing streaks Friday night as they snuck past the NEW Lutheran Blazers 34-33 in Packerland Girls Basketball action.

The Algoma girls' basketball team ran out of gas in the second half as they lost to Oconto Friday night 45-32.

Sturgeon Bay outlasted Peshtigo 36-29 while Kewaunee beat Mishicot 50-41.

The Gibraltar Vikings boys' basketball team hopes their first win comes during a Saturday matinee at home against Wabeno/Laona.

Two of the top scorers in the Packerland Conference dueled on Thursday, with Thomas Stangel lifting the Kewaunee Storm past the Braden Sitte-led Vikings 64-48. Sitte was the only Vikings player to reach double-figures for the second straight game, scoring 25 points. Liam Lindenberg added six points, and Kayin Jackson chipped in five in the second straight loss for the Vikings. Head coach Travis Ward was proud of his team for the effort, saying they played hard. He added that whenever his team went on the run, the Storm would have an answer or force his team into a bad decision.

The Rebels have opened the season with four straight losses, including the last two by five points apiece to Northwest Christian Homeschool Association and Three Lakes. Canton Chrisman and Walker Winkelman are both averaging about 15 points a game to lead the Rebels.

Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.

In Friday's action, Luxemburg-Casco outlasted Oconto Falls 58-55.

The Door County United Swim Team will open their 2023-2024 campaign Saturday with an invitational in Plymouth.

The cooperative team will battle the likes Sheboygan North, Manitowoc Lincoln, Kiel, Green Bay Southwest, Berlin, Ashwaubenon, and Appleton North in the pool when the meet begins at 10 a.m.

All of the area's wrestling teams will be in action on Saturday for a variety of individual and team tournaments.

The Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol and Kewaunee wrestling teams will experience the infancy of their season together on Saturday when they head to Kimberly for their first tournament of the season. SBS will compete for the first time this year, while Kewaunee just battled Two Rivers and Denmark on Thursday at Southern Door. When wrestling begins at 8 a.m., the two squads will be greeted by Appleton North, Menasha, Sun Prairie East, Ashwaubenon, Berlin, Coleman, Dodgeland, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Freedom, Shiocton, Manitowoc Lincoln, Merrill, and Green Lake/Princeton. The wrestling begins at 8 a.m. 

Southern Door wrestlers head to Stratford for the Schoenher Duals.  Stratford, DePere, Crandon, Wausau East, and Wittenberg Birnamwood all look like solid teams according to head coach Jerry Englebert.  The wrestling begins at 10 a.m.

Over 40 combined appearances in the WIAA State Team Tournament will be on the mats Saturday in Luxemburg for the wrestling team's annual Luxemburg-Casco duals. The Spartans will welcome Bay Port, Port Washington, Shawano Community, Sheboygan Falls, and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln to its gym for a day of duals against the state's historical top teams. The wrestling begins at 9 a.m.

The NEW Radio Sports Network will be at two games Friday night as the Packerland Conference enters a second night of girls' basketball matchups this week.

On U-102.1, the Sevastopol Pioneers will look to defend their home court against the visiting Southern Door Eagles. Jacob Nate and Reece Robillard will have the call beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Over on 105.1 The GOAT, the Gibraltar Vikings will look to get their first conference win of the season when they travel to Green Bay to play NEW Lutheran. Tim Kowols will have the call beginning at 6:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the tip-off at 6:30 p.m.

Other games scheduled for Friday include Kewaunee playing the lone non-conference matchup with a game at home against Mishicot (7:30 p.m.), Sturgeon Bay playing at Peshtigo (7:30 p.m.), and Algoma visiting Oconto (7:30 p.m.)

In Thursday's action, Luxemburg-Casco earned their first win under Beth Budnik, beating Oconto Falls 43-33.

The Packerland Conference opened their slate of games on Thursday as Luxemburg-Casco prepares to end their week with a Northeastern tilt of their own.

On Thursday night, Kewaunee toppled Gibraltar 64-48, Algoma got past NEW Lutheran 54-45,  Southern Door beat Peshtigo 65-55, Sturgeon Bay lost to Oconto 97-67, and Sevastopol fell to Mishicot 48-36.

Friday night features Luxemburg-Casco traveling to Oconto Falls for a 7 p.m. tilt. 

The Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team made sure history did not repeat itself on Thursday, using a 16-5 run in the third quarter to throttle in-state rival 76-53.

The Phoenix and Panthers traded leads in the first 15 minutes of the matchup, but a 14-2 run to end the second quarter gave the Phoenix a ten-point lead at the break. The aforementioned third quarter put the game out of reach for the Panthers, who would trail by as much as 30 points in the fourth quarter before a late run closed the gap. The Phoenix forced 19 turnovers in the game and had five more rebounds than the Panthers.

Maddy Schreiber led the Phoenix with a career-high 23 points. Jasmine Kondrakiewicz added 16 points, and Natalie McNeal contributed 13 points in the victory. It was the first time in four years that the Phoenix won their Horizon League opener, including a few disappointing visits to Milwaukee. 

They travel to Chicago on Tuesday to face DePaul in a matinee.

Two players with Green Bay Packers ties are still alive to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a committee trimmed their list earlier this week.

According to the NFL, a nominated individual must not have participated as an active player for five consecutive seasons. It was reduced from an initial group of 173 nominees announced in September. You can see who was named as a semifinalist below. The list will be trimmed once more before the final selections are made before the Super Bowl.

Eric Allen, CB – 1988-1994 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995-97 New Orleans Saints, 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2021-24)

Jared Allen, DE – 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2021-24)

Willie Anderson, T – 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2021-24)

Tiki Barber, RB – 1997-2006 New York Giants | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2024)

Anquan Boldin, WR – 2003-09 Arizona Cardinals, 2010-12 Baltimore Ravens, 2013-15 San Francisco 49ers, 2016 Detroit Lions | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2022-24)

Jahri Evans, G – 2006-2016 New Orleans Saints, 2017 Green Bay Packers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2023-24)

London Fletcher, LB – 1998-2001 St. Louis Rams, 2002-06 Buffalo Bills, 2007-2013 Washington Redskins | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2023-24)

Dwight Freeney, DE – 2002-2012 Indianapolis Colts, 2013-14 San Diego Chargers, 2015 Arizona Cardinals, 2016 Atlanta Falcons, 2017 Seattle Seahawks, 2017 Detroit Lions | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2023-24)

Antonio Gates, TE – 2003-2018 San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2024)

Eddie George, RB – 1996-2003 Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans, 2004 Dallas Cowboys (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2022, 2024)

James Harrison, LB – 2002-2012, 2014-17 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2013 Cincinnati Bengals, 2017 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2023-24)

Rodney Harrison, S – 1994-2002 San Diego Chargers, 2003-08 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2021, 2023-24)

Devin Hester, PR/KR/WR – 2006-2013 Chicago Bears, 2014-15 Atlanta Falcons, 2016 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2022-24)

Torry Holt, WR – 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars | (Times as a Semifinalist: 10 – 2015-2024)

Andre Johnson, WR – 2003-2014 Houston Texans, 2015 Indianapolis Colts, 2016 Tennessee Titans | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2022-24)

Robert Mathis, DE/LB – 2003-2016 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2022-24)

Julius Peppers, DE – 2002-09, 2017-18 Carolina Panthers, 2010-13 Chicago Bears, 2014-15 Green Bay Packers (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2024)

Steve Smith Sr., WR – 2001-2013 Carolina Panthers, 2014-16 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2022-24)

Fred Taylor, RB – 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2020-24)

Hines Ward, WR – 1998-2011 Pittsburgh Steelers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 8 – 2017-2024)

Ricky Watters, RB – 1992-94 San Francisco 49ers, 1995-97 Philadelphia Eagles, 1998-2001 Seattle Seahawks | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2020, 2022-24)

Reggie Wayne, WR – 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2020-24)

Vince Wilfork, DT – 2004-2014 New England Patriots, 2015-16 Houston Texans | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2022-24)

Patrick Willis, LB – 2007-2014 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2020-24)

Darren Woodson, S – 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys | (Times as a Semifinalist: 8 – 2015, 2017, 2019-2024)