Sports
D
INSIDE Dakota State starts fast, defeats Viterbo men, D2 lacrossetribune.com
Saturday, January 16, 2016
HILLSBORO BOYS 74, BANGOR 64
First taste of defeat Hillsboro wins battle of basketball unbeatens
second-ranked Hillsboro knocked off the fourth-ranked Cardinals 74-64 in front of 26: Team-high points for Bangor sophomore a crowd estimated at 1,300 in the Bangor Luke Reader, who made four 3-pointers. High School gym. “Time was running out, and I thought, 23: Free throws made in 26 attempts for ‘Oh, man, it’s gonna happen,’” said Bangor Hillsboro. Bangor was just 5-for-11. sophomore Luke Reader, a running back and linebacker on the football team and .974: The winning percentage for Bangor’s guard on the basketball team. “But it’s just football (14-0), girls basketball (13-0) and a loss, and there are still a lot of things we boys basketball (10-1) teams this school year. want to do this season.” Hillsboro (9-0, 5-0), last season’s RORY O’DRISCOLL, LA CROSSE TRIBUNE basketball game between two of the state’s state runner-up, controlled the paint and Bangor High School’s Caleb Miedema shoots best Division 5 teams. against Hillsboro’s Max Stockwell during the first Senior Max Stockwell scored 32 points, half of Friday’s game in Bangor. See DEFEAT, D3 and teammate Hunter Stanek added 16 as
BY THE NUMBERS
TODD SOMMERFELDT todd.sommerfeldt@lee.net
BANGOR — It was the first week of August when most of the players representing the Bangor High School boys basketball team Friday were issued football equipment. It was Aug. 3 to be exact. One-hundred, sixty-five days later, they tasted defeat for the first time in a
PACKERS VS. CARDINALS, 7:15 P.M. TODAY NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF
COMMENTARY
Will this time be different? Packers emit mixed messages
TOM OATES Wisconsin State Journal
GLENDALE, Ariz. — There were so many mixed messages emanating from Green Bay this week it was hard to keep up. After the Packers finally reversed their field with a playoff victory over Washington on Sunday, a convincing win that set up a do-over with Arizona tonight at University of Phoenix Stadium, talk quickly turned to the last time the Packers and Cardinals met. Not that anyone needs to be reminded, but it was 20 days ago at Arizona that the Packers suffered one of their most humiliating defeats in Mike McCarthy’s 10 seasons as coach. If anything, the Cardinals’ 38-8 victory wasn’t as close as the score indicated. So what has changed since then that would give the Packers hope that the outcome in tonight’s playoff game will be different? Not as much as you’d like to think. After that debacle in the desert, a disinterested Arizona team was whipped by Seattle in the final week of the regular season, then took a week off to rest up as the NFC’s No. 2 seed. The Packers followed up one dud with another one against Minnesota to drop to the No. 5 seed, then saw their attitude do an about-face after their 35-18 victory over Washington. With one timely victory over a suspect opponent, the Packers’ long-lost confidence seemingly was restored. However, that was about all the Packers could agree on this week. Some tried to say they hold a psychological advantage over the Cardinals because they’re See TIME, D4
EVAN SIEGLE, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE
Green Bay Packers receiver James Jones (89) makes a juggling catch past Oakland Raiders cornerback David Amerson (29) during a regular season game at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. Jones, with 50 catches for 890 yards and eight TDs, tied Davante Jones for the most receptions this season.
SHORT MEMORY Jones, Packers locked in on rematch with Cardinals
GENARO C. ARMAS Associated Press
GREEN BAY — James Jones has carved out a productive, nine-year career in the NFL in large part by serving as quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ trusted target in big games for the Green Bay Packers. For Jones, none of that matters this postseason. It’s all about what he can do next. That opportunity comes tonight when the Packers return to Arizona for the right to advance to the NFC championship game. It’s a rematch of Green Bay’s 38-8 blowout loss
three weeks ago in the same stadium. Jones’ short memory helps in these situations, too. “It’s gone man, I’m not even answering no questions about last game,” the easygoing Jones said this week. There is no secret to the game plan. “Whoever plays the best on that day is going to win, no matter what,” Jones said. “You know what I mean?” It’s just like the veteran Jones to calmly break questions down to their simplest answers. His locker-room presence was a plus for the Packers when they
re-signed him the week leading up to the season opener following the knee injury to No. 1 wideout Jordy Nelson. The familiarity with Rodgers and the Packers was even more important. Jones spent his first seven seasons in the league with Green Bay before moving on to Oakland as a free agent for one season in 2014. The Raiders cut him in the offseason. Jones was signed by the New York Giants just after the start of 2015 training camp before getting cut on Sept. 5. The Packers signed him two days later. “He looked the same as I
GAME DAY WHAT: NFC Divisional Playoffs WHO: Green Bay Packers (11-6) at Arizona Cardinals (13-3) WHEN: 7:15 p.m. today WHERE: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. TV: NBC remembered him,” coach Mike McCarthy said earlier this month. “So he really kind of has come in here and really picked See MEMORY, D4
MIDWEST PLAYERS CLASSIC
Who to watch? Midwest Players, Packers compete for fans High-powered tournament at La Crosse Center TODD SOMMERFELDT todd.sommerfeldt@lee.net
Mike Malone certainly has interest in tonight’s NFC divisional playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals. The masses in La Crosse and the rest of the state will almost certainly be watching it in front of a television in their home, a friend’s home or another establishment. Malone said his plan is to use his DVR and watch it when he gets home. But there will be a couple thousand
people at the La Crosse Center monitoring the game while focusing most of their attention on the powerhouse boys basketball teams from Central, Kaukauna, Stevens Point and Champlin Park (Minn.) King at the Midwest Players Classic. Malone, one of the event’s organizers, said the venue will be accommodating to those people. “There will be a big-screen TV in the concourse, and fans can still come and watch basketball and get the chance to see the Packers,” he said. “We will also have updates being announced for those who want them.” Like the first installment of the event in
“I’d be lying if I said it’s not going to (impact attendance).”
TODAY’S SCHEDULE 10 a.m.: Aquinas girls vs. Central girls
— Mike Malone, Midwest Players Classic organizer, of having a marquee game scheduled at the same time as the Packers
11:35 a.m.: Waverly-Shell Rock vs. St. Croix Lutheran
2011, the Packers and their 7:15 p.m. kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals will certainly steal some of the desired evening audience. Five years ago, Green Bay beat Atlanta in this same round on the way to winning a Super Bowl. A breakout performance in last week’s win over Washington has Packers fans charged up for a second meeting
2:55 p.m.: Aquinas vs. Rushford-Peterson
See PLAYERS, D3
1:10 p.m.: Caledonia vs. DeForest 4:40 p.m.: Milwaukee Riverside vs. Maple Grove 6:25 p.m.: Stevens Point vs. Champlin Park 8:10 p.m.: Central vs. Kaukauna TICKETS: $10 for adults, $5 for students, free for children under 5