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LOCAL SPORTS
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MOSINEE - At first glance most volleyballs look generally the same. They're the same shape, same size, and similar colors. There's a tradition in Mosinee, however, that adds a little pop to both the volleyballs and the program.
"I just love this tradition," said head coach Justin Jacobs. "I feel like it's unique to us and something we can be proud of."
It's a tradition that pre-dates the sixth-year head coach, and it's just as much a part of Mosinee volleyball as the colors of the jerseys.
"I think it's very unique because not many other schools do it," said junior Allison Miller.
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CRANDON - Some people call it a NASCAR race on water with a crash on every lap. It's party on the shore, and intense competition on the lake. It's really fast, and really bumpy.
"The only way to explain it is, it's like tons of speed bumps, one after another, and you go over it with your car," said 2017 Footstock Open Division Champion Keith St. Onge.
The goal is simple: go over those speed bumps and hold on longer than the competitor next to you. But that's a lot easier said than done.
"Your legs are getting burned out, feet can get burned out, forearms and your grip on the handles can get burned out, the whole thing," said St. Onge.
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LINCOLN COUNTY - Tucked away at a small recreation area near Gleason, mountain bikers push themselves to the physical and mental limits every summer.
Earlier today, over 100 riders rode their mountain bikes through 100 miles of trails for the annual Thunderdown in the Underdown.
The 33-mile loop of the Thunderdown in the Underdown is pretty unique.
"Probably the most technical course that I've ridden, outside of going out west to Colorado or some of the stuff up in Canada," said one of the riders, Justin Lund from Tomahawk.
On that 33-mile loop, mountain bikers will see plenty of different land marks.
"Four lakes, climb 64 hills, they're going to go by the Manthei Marsh and pass the Prairie Dells," said race organizer and rider, Chris Schotz.
Simply put, the Underdown Recreation Area in Lincoln County is unlike anything else in the state.
"There are some things here that they won't see anywhere else," said Schotz.
Riders have the choice of doing the loop once, twice, or the few bold ones that do it three times, for a total of 100 miles.
"Make sure you're drinking enough out there, make sure you're getting enough calories coming in because that will get you into trouble before your technical riding ability does," said Lund.
The event has been a part of the Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series for about 12 years. And it's come a long way since it started with a much shorter trail.
"Probably 10-12 miles, nothing very big, but very, very challenging and that hasn't changed over the years," said Lund.
Another thing that hasn't changed over the years is the respect the riders gain for each other after 10 hours, sometimes more, of riding.
"Whether you're competitive or just here to have a good time, you definitely respect each other out there," said Lund.
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HARSHAW - The Rhinelander scholarship golf scramble held its seventh annual outing at the Pinewood Country Club on Saturday. The event is put on by members of the RHS Class of 1980, and has raised $22,000 dollars since 2011. Outing coordinator Dave Robinson says it's all about giving back.
"We can give back to the community that we graduated from, that was the biggest thing, and we kind of said, why didn't we start this years ago?," said Robinson.
The scramble raises money through golf participants and raffle items. Last year's outing was rained out but the raffle and donations still raised $6,000. Robinson says he hopes another class of graduates might get involved going forward.
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NORTHWOODS - Check out Friday Night Blitz for all the scores, highlights, and updates from across the Northwoods
Lakeland topped Hayward 28-27.
Antigo defeated Berlin 20-14.
Superior upended Merrill 20-10.
Abbotsford dominated Crandon 42-6.
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RIB LAKE - Take a look at the video above for the Tri-County vs. Rib Lake/Prentice football highlights!
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PHILLIPS - Phillips boys soccer made it all the way to state last year.
"We knew it was going to be the biggest year of our careers," said senior, Mark Cummings.
Former head coach, Mark Fuhr knew they had the potential to do it again this fall.
"From seeing the teams they played last year, was that they would've been a conference favorite this year with just the returning players and a couple new players," said Fuhr.
The team was happy with the best season in school history, but their minds started thinking about the following year.
"Towards the end of the season, we knew we were going to lose a lot of our seniors," said Cummings.
Ten seniors graduated. And after losing that many and not being able to recruit enough players to fill those gaps, Phillips had to cancel their 2017 season.
"Not being able to play my senior year of soccer, really bummed me out," said Cummings.
But the team didn't give up easily.
"We tried to recruit some players to fill in those positions to make up and 11-man team," said Cummings.
But that recruiting wasn't enough. Fuhr has coached the youth and high school teams off and on for nearly 20 years. Struggling with numbers is nothing new to him.
"One of the years, I remember we had 12 kids on the team and one of the kids broke him leg in the first game and I only had 11 the rest of the season," said Fuhr.
Phillips tried to consider forming a co-op with Prentice or Chequamegon, but they don't have a team either.
"To me, it is sad. It's something that if it goes away for more than a year or two, I doubt it'll ever come back," said Fuhr.
Mark Cummings and some of the other former soccer players decided to run cross country to still support the other teams and stay in shape for track season.
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REGIONAL SPORTS
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GREEN BAY - The Packers 2017 preseason opponents were announced Monday.
The Pack will face the Eagles, Redskins, Broncos, and Rams.
Green Bay will host the Eagles to start the preseason before traveling to play Washington and Denver on the road.
Then the Pack will conclude the preaseason with another home game against the Rams.
Exact dates and times will be announced in the near future.
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BUFFALO, NY - Top-seeded Villanova was bounced from the NCAA Tournament by eighth-seeded Wisconsin, which overcame foul trouble for two of its stars in the second half Saturday to upset the defending champions 65-62 in the East region.
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MADISON - MADISON, Wis. (AP) Senior guard Bronson Koenig scored 17 points in his final home game, combining with D'Mitrik Trice to give No. 22 Wisconsin's offense a second-half boost in a 66-49 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.
The Badgers (23-8, 12-6 Big Ten) secured the second seed in the conference tournament and got a sorely needed confidence boost to end the regular season after having lost five of their previous six games.
Nate Mason had 17 points for Minnesota (23-8, 11-7). The Golden Gophers had won eight straight.
Koenig hit five 3s in the second half, including baskets on three straight possessions with less than 3 minutes left. Trice had a four-point play after getting fouled on a 3-pointer with 12:24 left, before hitting a layup about 20 seconds later.
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MADISON - MADISON, Wis. (AP) â€" Nigel Hayes scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, Ethan Happ had 20 points and No. 11 Wisconsin beat No. 23 Maryland 71-60 in a choppy, foul-filled game on Sunday.
The Badgers (22-5, 11-3) overcame 27 points from Terrapins guard Melo Trimble to snap a two-game losing streak and stay in a tie atop the Big Ten with Purdue.
Bronson Koenig scored all nine of his points in the second half, giving the Badgers a lift with his jump shot after the senior missed a game with a left calf injury. Wisconsin shot 51 percent in the second half.
Wisconsin pulled away slowly, turning a six-point halftime deficit into a 12-point edge with 3 minutes to go in a game that lacked flow because of frequent whistles.
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MADISON - Bryant McIntosh scored 25 points, and defensive-minded Northwestern beat No. 7 Wisconsin 66-59 on Sunday, securing an important win for the school's bid to make its first-ever NCAA Tournament.
Dererk Pardon added 11 for the Wildcats (19-6, 8-4), who confounded the Big Ten-leading Badgers by doubling dominant big man Ethan Happ.
Nigel Hayes scored nine of his 13 points in the second half for the Badgers (21-4, 10-2), who had their eight-game winning streak snapped.
The Badgers didn't let up despite falling behind by 10 with 1 minute left, closing to 60-55 with less than 15 seconds after Zak Showalter hit two foul shots.
But McIntosh followed with two free throws with 42 seconds left, and Wisconsin ran out of time.
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ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Falcons are headed to their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history after routing the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in the NFC championship game.
Matt Ryan threw for four touchdowns, including a 73-yard catch and run for a highlight-reel score by star receiver Julio Jones. The defense played just as crucial a role in containing quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' offense.
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GREEN BAY - Receiver Jordy Nelson will miss the Green Bay Packers' divisional round playoff game on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys because of injured ribs.
Coach Mike McCarthy said on Friday that Nelson would not be medically cleared to take part in the team's final practice on Saturday, and that the medical staff determined that Nelson would not be ready for the game.
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