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LOCAL SPORTS
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STEVENS POINT - UW-Stevens Point men's hockey has announced that its long-time head coach is leaving. Chris Brooks will now be an assistant coach at Michigan Tech.
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RHINELANDER - The WIAA announced last week that there will be a shot clock for boys and girls varsity basketball. It will be 35 seconds and will go into effect for the 2019-2020 season.
We talked with Rhinelander boys head coach Derek Lemmens to get his reaction. He said he was shocked.
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NORTHWOODS - The 2016-17 high school athletic year brought us no shortage of incredible plays.
From touchdowns, to three point shots, to goals, there were plenty of impressive moments from so many impressive Northwoods athletes.
Of everything we saw, here are the top five plays of the year.
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ANTIGO - Most of us would never even consider driving 100 miles per hour on a motorcycle. Especially while trying to turn through the corners of a dirt race track with a dozen other riders doing the same thing. But on Saturday in Antigo, Flat Track Dirt Racing took center stage.
"They always say, you're always nuts," said racer Steve Kasten
But some racers say they're not nuts. They say they're crazy.
"Yeah we're crazy, but we're crazy because we like it," said racer Bob Kluender.
Either way, flat track motorcycle and ATV racing is one of the most intense sports you'll find.
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MINOCQUA - Every high school athletic program strives to win as much as possible. That's not always easy for small Northwoods districts.
When you think of the standard over the past year, one word needs to come to mind… Thunderbirds. Lakeland Union racked up six Great Northern Conference titles, three state championships, and produced dozens of All-Conference selections.
"It never gets old," said senior Kav FitzPatrick.
Winning usually doesn't. For Lakeland, this past school year included plenty of it.
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WISCONSIN - The WIAA held its annual Advisory Council meeting Thursday in Stevens Point. The group made many changes for high school sports.
One of those changes was deciding to implement a basketball shot clock. It will go into effect for the 2019-2020 season. The shot clock will be for varsity games only and will be for 35 seconds. It will be for both girls and boys basketball. Another change is letting the coaches go a little farther up and down the sideline than before. They can now go 28 feet, as opposed to 14 in the past. For a full list of all the changes, follow the link below.
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NORTH CAROLINA - The New Balance outdoor national track meet happens every year around this time. It takes place in North Carolina, so it typically doesn't mean too much to us here in the Northwoods, until this year.
Lakeland Union sent a few of its runners to the meet. The 4x800 relay team of Darius Diver, Jack Garcia, Kieran Mullen and Kav FitzPatrick ran their second fastest time of the year. Kav FitzPatrick ran in the steeplechase event which isn't even offered by the WIAA.
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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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