Sports – Thursday, September 15th, 2016

Women’s College Soccer: Ripon 3, Marian 0

Aaron Rodgers spoke to the media Wednesday as the team continues preparations for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. He said that Minnesota won last week with defense and forced turnovers, something the Packers have to avoid. He said that the offense needs to continue to work to be more consistent. 5pm pregame, 7:30 pm kickoff for the Packers and Vikings on Sunday, hear the game on KFIZ>  

The Badgers play Georgia State on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. It’s their final non-conference game before beginning conference play next week at Michigan State. Head Coach Paul Chryst says you’ll see some tempo on offense from the Panthers, who are coached by Trent Miles. He said the Badgers had good efficiency on third downs (15-20) and in the red zone (6-7) last week, and said that’s been the emphasis all year.

Scooter Gennett and Domingo Santana each hit home runs to help lift the Brewers to a 7-0 win over the Reds in Cincinnati Wednesday night. Gennett’s two run home run in the 3rd made the score 4-0, and Domingo Santana’s three run blast in the 8th helped the Brewers put the game away. Junior Guerra earned his ninth win of the season, going six innings, allowing three hits and striking out 5. Milwaukee opens a four game weekend set at the Chicago Cubs tonight. No broadcast on KFIZ due to Thursday Night Football.

The Milwaukee Brewers announced their 2017 schedule Wednesday. Opening Day will be on Monday, April 3rd at Miller Park against the Colorado Rockies, part of a four game set to open the year. The season opening homestand features a three game series against the Chicago Cubs starting on April 7th. Milwaukee will play interleague games against each team in the American League East, with Boston, Toronto and Baltimore coming to Milwaukee and the Brewers visiting Toronto, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay,  and a four-game border battle series against the Minnesota Twins. New for 2017, Monday and Tuesday night home games will begin at 6:40 pm. Wednesday through Friday night games will begin at 7:10 pm, while most Saturday games will start at 6:10 and most Sunday games will begin at 1:10.

The NFL says it will spend an additional $100 million to develop new technology and support more medical research into the growing problem of head injuries. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the “Play Smart. Play Safe” initiative in an open letter Wednesday. He writes: “When it comes to addressing head injuries in our game, I’m not satisfied, and neither are the owners of the NFL’s 32 clubs. We can and will do better.” Under the initiative, $60 million will be devoted toward developing technology such as improved helmets and $40 million will be allotted for medical research. The NFL and its partners already are spending $100 million on research and new technology. Despite that, the league has been heavily criticized in its handling of head trauma over the decades. It reached a settlement that will pay about $1 billion over 65 years to more than 20,000 retired players.