RHINELANDER - Monday night could prove to be a big night for the Rhinelander Girls Basketball team. No they were not playing. The Hodags have a new head coach.
Rhinelander Athletic Director Charlie LeHam was searching for a new coach. Last month, Mark Jacobson stepped down after one season.
LeHam recommended former Northland Pines boys coach Ryan Clark. The recommendation was given to the school board. The board met in a closed door session. That is standard with the district. Clark was also recommended for a teaching position in the district. After the closed door session, the votes were made. The board unanimously approved Clark for both positions.
Clark coached for 8 seasons at Northland Pines. After getting reinstated for one season, Clark decided to step down back in March.
He said it was a family decision.
We'll have more on the Clark hiring tonight on Newswatch 12 at 6pm.
RHINELANDER - The exciting sport of Roller Derby has finally made it's way to the Northwoods. We've been following these ladies since they started practicing a year ago and Saturday night, they made things official.
The Northwoods Derby Knockouts hosted their very first bout in front of a packed house at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. They went up against the Keweenaw Roller Girls from Houghton, Michigan. The Knockouts wearing green.
If you've never seen it in person, you're missing out! The bout lasts an hour, divided into 2 halves... and the team earns points when the jammer, who you see with the star on her helmet, passes opposing skaters.
The ladies were thrilled to show off their skills.
The Knockouts won in convincing fashion taking their debut bout 277-115. They have 5 more scheduled this year and you can catch them back in Rhinelander this August.
ANTIGO - This weekend motor sports fans were cheering on their favorites at a Demolition Derby in Antigo. It's basically bumper cars, on steroids.
Over 50 drivers from across the country competed at the Langlade County Fairgrounds.
The goal, is to deliberately ram their cars into all the others. The drivers go both forward and in reverse trying to make contact.
After all the smashing and crashing the last car that still can operate, is the winner.
Another group that benefited from the event was the Elcho Fire Department. Money raised from concession sales will go toward buying new equipment for the firefighters.
After the dust settled, the derby was a huge success.
Antigo Horse Trainer D. Wayne Lukas Wins at Preakness
Submitted: 05/18/2013
BALTIMORE - Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas made history at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday when he saddled Oxbow for a front-running upset victory in the 138th Preakness Stakes (G1). The 15-1 long shot gave his 77-year-old trainer his sixth Preakness victory, as well as his 14th triumph in a Triple Crown event.
Lukas, who had been tied with legendary “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons since saddling Commendable for a Belmont Stakes victory in 2000, became the winningest trainer in Triple Crown history.
Overlooked by the bettors, who made Kentucky Derby winner Orb their 3-5 favorite in the field of nine 3-year-olds, Oxbow was in control throughout the 1 3/16-mile Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown on his way to victory by 1 ¾ lengths under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Ever wanted to be up close and personal with the Packers? Today fans had that chance in Wisconsin Rapids. It was the team's final stop on their Tailgate Tour. Every visit is a fundraiser for an area charity.
This one was for Opportunity Development Centers. They help people with disabilities work and succeed.
Over 1,000 Packer fans were at Witter Field.
Packers President Mark Murphy was on hand. So were current players Randall Cobb, Alex Green, and Jarret Bush. Former Packer greats Santana Dotson, Frank Winters and Aaron Taylor were there too.
The team answered questions from fans and also signed autographs. The Packers were happy to meet fans and make a difference.
RHINELANDER - Only a few more weeks till school is out for summer and seniors are busy finalizing their plans for college. A Hodag volleyball star is heading to Minnesota.
Taylor Wissbroecker made it official today. She'll be playing women's volleyball for the University of Minnesota at Duluth.
Wissbroecker signed her National Letter of Intent this morning at Rhinelander High School.
She was the 2012 Great Northern Conference player of the year and led the conference in both kills and blocks. Wissbroecker visited the campus in Duluth in March and made a verbal commitment and she's confident she made the right choice.
ST. LOUIS - David Freese had an RBI in a four-run fourth inning to go with big plays at third base, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat former teammate Kyle Lohse for the third time this season with a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
John Gast (2-0) won his second straight start in place of the injured Jake Westbrook and fellow rookie Seth Maness escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the seventh to help the Cardinals win for the 14th time in 17 games. They took two of three from Milwaukee and lead the season series 8-2.
Lohse (1-5) has lost all three of his starts against St. Louis after going 16-3 for the Cardinals last season and then leaving in free agency when they opted to go with younger players.
ST. LOUIS - Jeff Bianchi drove in two runs with a 10th-inning single up the middle, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Saturday night.
Joe Kelly (0-2) allowed runs for the first time in five appearances and took the loss. He allowed two hits and a walk in one inning for the Cardinals, who fell to 0-3 in extra-inning games.
John Axford (1-3) gave up one hit and two walks in 1 1-3 innings to earn the win. Axford struck out two, including pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso with the bases loaded to end a ninth-inning threat.
Jim Henderson worked a perfect inning for his eighth save in eight chances.
ST. LOUIS - David Freese hit a grand slam for his first homer of the season, and the St. Louis Cardinals used a five-run first inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on Friday night.
The Brewers made it close on a pair of three-run homers by Aramis Ramirez off Jaime Garcia before losing for the 13th time in 15 games. The bottom four spots in the lineup were a combined 0 for 15.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals had five hits and a walk while batting around against Wily Peralta in the first, but the right-hander was still in the game when Garcia (5-2) was chased with one out in the sixth. Milwaukee got one hit in 3 2-3 innings against three relievers, with Edward Mujica working the ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances.
WABENO - The Packers made it a great day for two elementary schools in the Northwoods.
On Thursday in Wabeno, the Packers were holding a kids football camp. It's called the Youth Football Outreach camp. About 120 kids from Wabeno Elementary took part. Another 70 from Robinson Elementary in Laona held a camp in the afternoon.
Kids were diving, catching passes, running - simply having a great time.
"I think it's great we get to get out of school on a nice day and do this," said Wabeno sixth grader Bob Brauer. "Like my caoch said, 'You can hit somebody and your mom can't yell at you.'"
MADISON - The 2014 Big Ten football season will be one of firsts. The conference will welcome new members, Maryland and Rutgers, into the fold and will change from the current Legends and Leaders Division format to East and West. On Thursday, the Big Ten announced the conference schedule for that historic season.
The Badgers will open their first conference season as a member of the West Division with a road game against division rival Northwestern on Oct. 4. Another West Division foe, Illinois, will visit Camp Randall Stadium on Oct. 11.
Following a bye on Oct. 18, UW will face the two newest Big Ten members in back-to-back weeks. Maryland will make its first visit to Madison on Oct. 25 followed by the Badgers travelling to play Rutgers for the first time in school history on Nov. 1.
PITTSBURGH - Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run over seven strong innings and Neil Walker hit a two-run single as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Rodriguez (4-2) gave up six hits, walking one and striking out five. Jason Grilli worked the ninth for his National League-leading 16th save as the Pirates moved six games above .500 for the first time this season.
Walker, playing his third game since returning from a stint on the disabled list with a hand injury, lined a single to center with one out in the sixth off Yovani Gallardo for his first RBIs in nearly a month.
Joe joined the Newswatch 12 sports team in July 2011 as the Sports Director.
Before coming to the Northwoods, Joe was the Weekend Sports Anchor at KBJR in Duluth, MN. Joe's resume includes working at WFRV in Green Bay, WDIO in Duluth, and WTCH radio in Shawano.
Joe has always had a passion for sports, especially football, hockey, and golf. Joe is a 2005 graduate from UW-Oshkosh with a B.S. degree in Radio/TV/Film. During his college days, he was the Sports Director for the university's radio station twice.
A native of Frog Station, WI (near Green Bay), Joe grew up watching the Packers, Brewers, and Bucks. In fact he also lists listening to old Packer radio braodcasts among his hobbies. Recently, Joe married his fiancee Amy.
When he is not watching or playing sports, he's likely reading or watching something on the American Civil War, or World War II.
Joe says,"In just a short time, I have really been made to feel right at home, thanks to the great folks in the Northwoods."
If you see Joe out on a shoot, please feel free to say hi and email any story ideas you may have.
Marisa Silvas joined the Newswatch 12 sports team in October 2011 as the Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter.
Prior to coming to WJFW, she was an editor/associate producer for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in San Francisco, CA. She also was a freelance field producer for NBC's Football Night in America and spent 6 years as a sports producer and editor for KNTV, the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate where she co-hosted a weekly Sports Sunday web show with Jerry Rice.
She graduated with a degree in Communications from Santa Clara University.
Marisa is new to the Northwoods and the cold weather but has lived in several different locations on her journey to Rhinelander. Coming from a family with military ties, she was born in Austin, TX, but also grew up in Mississippi, Lancaster, CA, San Antonio, TX before settling down in Campbell, CA for the past several years.
Marisa has always had a passion for sports and people and has followed her dreams to WJFW after pursuing a full time on-air job for several years.
Marisa likes all sports but is most passionate about the NFL, NBA and major league baseball. Since she has lived in many different locations her favorite teams are all over the country as well. You will see her following her favorites: the San Antonio Spurs, Oakland Athletics and yes, Packers fans, sorry, the Chicago Bears.
She is also an avid fantasy sports fan and has participated in fantasy football and hockey leagues the past 5 seasons. Feel free to ask her for the hot waiver wire pickup!
She and her husband of 4 years, Lyndon, have taken several vacations over the past few summers to visit all the MLB parks...she has now been to 14 and is excited to add Target Field to the list this summer! Her favorites so far are Wrigley, PNC and Miller Park. She and her husband also make an annual trek to Soldier Field to watch their beloved Bears and hang out in their favorite city, where they got engaged at the top of the Hancock Tower in 2007.
In her free time, she loves hanging out with her husband Lyndon and adorable puggle Walter. She also never misses her favorite TV show, Dancing With The Stars and with an extensive dancing background, someday dreams of being a future celebrity contestant and winner!
Marisa is very excited to be making the big move from sunny California to the winter wonderland of Rhinelander! If you see Marisa out in the field or around the town, feel free to say hi and buy her a hot chocolate, she's probably cold!
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