Much like players, fans at WIAA sporting events could face consequences beyond just one contest. The association which governs Wisconsin's high school sports passed a rule that fans who are ejected will now be prohibited from viewing the next sporting event. The rule change is an attempt for fans to think twice before acting out toward officials, coaches, and others by seeing longer-term repercussions if ejected. The new rule couples with legislation passed in the Wisconsin state senate and assembly.

Though the biggest story the last month out of the Green Bay Packers organization may not be Organized Team Activities, they wrapped up their first round of the voluntary workouts on Wednesday. The big news was that MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not present, which is unusual for the 16 year veteran. Some have considered that a sign of discontent with the organization, and others have dismissed that notion given the number of other players who choose not to participate. That list of players includes four of the team’s top wide receivers, as well as All-Pro tackle David Bakhtiari, who is recovering from an ACL tear and All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander. Overall ten of the 89 players were absent. On Wednesday, the Packers signed Wide Receiver DeAndre Thompkins, a player who has circled the Pennsylvania football wagon. Thompkins played at Penn State University and had brief stints the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In the absence of the league’s MVP, Jordan Love took first team snaps at the practices. In a press conference, Head Coach Matt Lafleur and running back Aaron Jones each noted second year jumps. Jones commended Love’s improved command of the huddle and offense and Lafleur mentioned the ball jumping off his hand quicker and that he could tell Love stressed mechanics this offseason. Lafleur also repeated previous sentiments on Love, saying he still has a lot to learn. It is unclear if and when Aaron Rodgers will show back up to Lambeau Field, but the Packers will still be back for more voluntary workouts on June 1st.

The Green Bay Gamblers selected Warroad High School (Minnesota) forward Jason Shaugabay with their first pick (10th overall) in yesterday’s USHL Futures Draft. Shaugabay appeared in 20 games this past year tallying 53 points (29 goals & 24 assists). 

Green Bay went heavy on offense, selecting forwards with nine of their 10 picks. Picks include Danny Nelson (Maple Grove Crimson), Nick Metelkin (New Jersey Rockets), Jaden Johnson (Detroit Compuware), Austin Dahms (Lakeville South H.S.). Hunter Ramos (Fox Motors), Thomas Klockhov (New Jersey Rockets) and Bradley Gardiner (St. Andrew’s College).

In the 6th round, the Gamblers selected defenseman Brady O’Malley (Detroit Compuware), and in the 9th round defenseman Hayden Vonk (Fox Motors).

All the players selected were born in 2005.

The USHL Entry Draft takes place tomorrow beginning at 1:00 PM.  Any player who is age-eligible and not currently protected by a USHL team is available to be selected. Green Bay has the 11th overall pick. Follow the entire draft at https://ushl2draft.rinknet.com/

The Green Bay Voyageurs could not dig out of an early 2-0 hole as they fell to Chicago FC United 3-1 in Ashwaubenon Saturday night.

It was 1-0 after the first half when Diego Gutierrez scored in the game's seventh minute for the visitors. After Chicago FC United took a 2-0 lead in the 70th minute, Alejandro Maillet took advantage of a rebound to get the Voyageurs on the board in the 80th minute. With the Voyageurs pressing to take look for the draw, Andrew Akindele took advantage and gave Chicago FC United its two-goal margin back in the 89th minute.

The Voyageurs went 0-1-1 in their first weekend back home, earning a draw in its friendly against Bavarians SC on Friday night. The Voyageurs are back at home for a pair of matches next weekend.

Another Kewaunee County road race announced it would be running again in 2021.

The Crown and Sash Dash said on Thursday it would return to streets of Luxemburg on Saturday, July 10th before the Kewaunee County Fair opens for its third day. Dozens participated in 2019 before the event was canceled in 2020. The looped course starts and ends at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds while taking runners and walkers through the Village of Luxemburg and on the Ahnapee Trail. Registration is open now with all proceeds benefiting the Kewaunee County Fairest of the Fair program. 

It marks the second Kewaunee County race to announce it would be returning after a pandemic-induced hiatus. Algoma Shanty Days announced earlier this spring it would return. The June Dairy Days Dash in Luxemburg and the Casco Run Walk announced earlier this year it would be canceling their events. 

For the first time in 676 days, the Green Bay Voyageurs will play a home match on Friday night.

The Voyageurs opened their season last weekend with a 5-1 loss to the Des Moines Menace. Former Sturgeon Bay product Jaden Stevenson scored the only goal for the Voyageurs in the match. Bavarian Soccer Club's Majors squad competes in the United Premier Soccer League where they are currently 1-1.

Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Capital Credit Union Park. 

The quarterback cupboard went from bare to full in the matter of a week after the Green Bay Packers signed Kurt Benkert officially on Monday.

According to Packers.com, Benkert is a second-year player out of the University of Virginia. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons on May 1, 2018 and played on their practice squad in 2018 and 2020. He was hurt in 2019.

In addition to Jordan Love and possibly Aaron Rodgers, the Packers also have veteran Blake Bortles in the mix ahead of mini-camps and OTAs. 

The Sister Bay Bays came out swinging and let their pitching take care of the rest in its 11-0 shutout win over the Maplewood Mets Sunday afternoon.

Sam Forkert gave up Just one hit in 7 innings while Matt Hecht took care of the rest of the contest with 2 shutout innings.

Sawyer Johnson tallied three hits in the victory.

The Bays will play West Jacksonport next week. 

Other scores in DCL action include:

Institute 7 -- Egg Harbor 6

Kolberg 9 -- Jacksonport 8

The Island 16 -- Baileys Harbor 4

The night began with a lot to celebrate, the track’s 67th birthday (it began operations in 1954), a return to racing after not running a race since September 7th of 2019 (COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season), and a heartfelt tribute to Mike and Jeanine Kelsey (the parents of promoter Martin Kelsey both passed away in the extended offseason).  It ended with a bang as four features delivered the excitement Door County had been missing for over 20 months.

The Quietwoods RV Stock Cars put on a feature race for the ages.  Brett Wenzel had the luck of the draw with a pole position starting spot and looked primed to defend his 2019 championship crown with that front row starting spot.  Outside pole sitter, Billy LeMeiux, had other plans as he piloted his 3L machine around Wenzel into the lead on the opening laps.  The two battled for the top spot and as the laps wound down it looked as if LeMeiux would not yield the top position.  Coming out of four to take the checkers Wenzel found grip on the low side of the exit of the final corner and led the final half straight away of the event, picking up the first Stock Car win of the season at the track.  LeMieux settled for a hard fought second, Zach Spangenberg used a late race caution to nab third, while Shawn Havel rounded out the top four.

The Recycle Door County Spot Mod division saw plenty of action mixed with a handful of cautions.  New comer to the division, Roger Laviolette, shot to the early lead from  his outside front row starting spot.  Laviolette faced near immediate pressure from Randy LeMieux Jr. as LeMeiux worked his number 18L machine into second from his fifth place starting position.  LeMeiux took advantage of a restart to move into the lead while the 99 and 14 cars of Jeff “Pepe” Vlies and Cody Rass worked their way to the front and waged a spirited battle for the second spot.  When the dust settled Vlies emerged in second and set his sites on running down the race leader.  The yellow flew, bunching the field up and putting Vlies right on the bumper or LeMeiux.  Vlies utilized the high side to rocket into the lead leaving LeMeiux to fight with Rass for second.  The young, but experienced Rass gave the verteran all he could handle but LeMeiux held on for second while Rass settled for third.  Defending division champion, Chris Budzban, started his title defense with a fourth place finish.

The JB Truck Service Unified Dirt Street Stock feature saw multi time champion Dave “The Hammer” DeGrave benefit from a little luck as he drew the number one starting spot for the feature.  Just because he was starting out front was no guarantee that this event was in the bag as The Hammer faced heavy pressure from the wily veteran Troy Muench, himself freshly out of semi retirement.  DeGrave held off the challenge from Muench and went on to secure his first feature win of the 2021 season.  Shanon Guelette snuck by Muench with a strong run, Muench held on for third, and Chad Naze came home fourth.

The C & W Auto Bomber division closed out the night with their own brand of action.  The temperature in the air was dropping but these guys heated up the night with the racing on the track.  Tony Everard began his title defense by winning a hard fought battle with David Cox.  Everard captured the top spot, Cox finished second, Scott Schlafke snagged third, and Skyler Bork finished up the top ten.

The Hill Raceway will be back in action on Sunday, May 30th with the Nathan Bouche Memorial Race with the first appearance of the Mods this season!  Racing starts at 5:00 for this very special event.

Quietwoods RV Stock Car 20 Lap Feature:

1. Brett Wenzel; 2. Bill LeMeiux; 3. Zach Spangenberg; 4. Shawn Havel; 5. Brett Koehler; 6. Dan Sell Jr; 7. John Anschutz; 8. Tom Brumlic; 9. Charlie Kroll; 10. Dave Bouche

Heat1:

1. Caden LeMeiux; 2. Bill LeMeiux; 3. Brett Koehler; 4. Brett Wenzel; 5. Dwayne Mertens

Heat 2:

Tom Brumlic; 2. Scott Reinhardt; 3. Shawn Havel; 4. Dan Sell Jr.; 5. Charlie Kroll

Heat 3:

Jeff Lautenbach; 2. Jeremy Anschutz; 3. Zach Spangenberg; 4. Rick Mahlberg; 5. John Anschutz

LCQ:

Dave Bouche; 2. Tony Bouche; 3. Shawn Klapps Jr.; 4. Kevin Deneys; 5. Dan Sell

Recycle Door County Spot Mod 20 Lap Feature:

Jeff Vlies; 2. Randy LeMeiux Jr.; 3. Cody Rass; 4. Chris Budzban; 5. Bernie Reinhardt; 6. Rick LeMeiux; 7. Chuck Carmin; 8. Doug Mauer; 9. George Henkel; 10. Sean Falk

Heat 1:

Reinhardt; 2. Budzban; 3. Roger Laviolette; 4. Carmin; 5. Mauer

Heat 2:

1. Rass, 2. Randy LeMeiux Jr.; 3. Vlies; 4. Craig Dorner; 5. Falk

JB Truck Service Unified Dirt Street Stock 20 Lap Feature:

1. Dave DeGrave; 2. Shanon Guelette; 3. Troy Muench; 4. Chad Naze; 5. TJ Everard; 6. Jason Geyer; 7. Dan Van Pay; 8. Garrett Geyer; 9. Geno Sternard; 10. Brian Krejcarek

Heat 1:

DeGrave; 2. Krejcarek; 3. Josh Novak; 4. Eli Phillips; 5. James Anderson

Heat 2:

Naze; 2. Everard; 3. Jason Geyer; 4. John Denil Jr.; 5. Cody Patten

Heat 3:

Muench; 2. Guelette; 3. Van Pay; 4. Jason Brandes; 5. Tyler Fox

LCQ 1:

Kody Laviolette, 2. Bailey Laviolette; 3. Garrett Geyer

LCQ 2:

Geno Sternard; 2. Matt Malvitz; 3. Amber Delsart 

C&W Auto Bombers 15 Lap Feature:

1. Tony Everard; 2. David Cox; 3. Scott Schlafke; 4. Skyler Bork; 5. Thomas Schulte; 6. Devin Yaeger; 7. Brandon VanOoyen; 8. Dallas Topel; 9. Kyle Walters; 10. Chris Timm

Heat 1:

Schlafke; 2. Cox; 3. Everard; 4. VanOoyen; 5. Yaeger

In the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass tournament’s first year being recognized as a national tournament, it was an international team who took home the top prize. Chris and Cory Johnston were the only two Canadian entrants, hailing from Peterborough, Ontario. The tournament was missing their usual Canadian participants as they’re currently unable to cross the international border. The Johnstons however were deemed essential by their work status. They have now completed the trifecta with it being their third time winning the event. Cory Johnston describes coming to Door County as special.

The team weighed in with a total of 53 lbs and 4 oz over the weekend, and Chris Johnston says the success started up north. 

The top prize came to a $5000 cash payout and a new boat with $38995 value. Two Door County residents placed in the top twenty. Spenser Samplawski of Egg Harbor partnered with Kyle Steinfeldt of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and placed fifth. They were leading after day one and ended with a $3100 payout. Adam Rasmussen placed seventeenth with Sam Mcsharry of Fall Creek. Their prize amounted to $1075. The North American Bass Challenge will be back in Sturgeon Bay this Fall. Full results of the weekend tournament can be found here. 

(L to R: Kyle Steinfeldt, Spenser Samplawski)

With one day to go in the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament on Saturday, Baileys Harbor has representation at the top of the standings. After the first day of the tournament wrapped up on Friday, Spencer Samplawski of Baileys Harbor is in first place along with his teammate, Kyle Steinfeldt of Cedar Rapids. There are 143 boats in the competition, hailing from twenty-five different states. 

Plenty of local residents are participants in the tournament. The entire standings can be found on the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament Facebook page. 

The Green Bay Packers have their insurance policy in place after announcing Thursday it has signed quarterback Blake Bortles to a one-year deal. Bortles was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round (No. 3 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft out of the University of Central Florida before bouncing around teams like the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams. In his career, Bortles has thrown for 17,649 yards with 103 TDs, 75 interceptions. He has proved his worth on the ground, running for 1,766 rushing yards on 283 carries and eight TDs.

Bortles will be one of four quarterbacks that will most likely be at the team's OTAs in the coming weeks as Rodgers' status remains unknown. He will join 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love and free agents Kurt Benkert and Chad Kelly. Benkert and Kelly have both bounced around practice squads in past years. The first rookie minicamp is this weekend. 

Anglers will hit the water Friday morning with a chance at big prizes on the line as the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament opens.

Last spring's tournament had to be moved to the fall due to COVID. Anglers were able to hit the water at 6 a.m. Friday morning from Sawyer Park. They have to stay within five miles of the shoreline and can go as far south as the Door/Kewaunee border and north to Gills Rock. The first weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

The winner last year:

GARY ADKINS GREEN BAY WI 23 5/5 20-09 5/5 22-03 10/10 42-12 CARL SCHARENBROCH SAUKVILLE WI

The top local finisher:

ADAM RASMUSSEN STURGEON BAY WI 58 5/5 20-00 5/5 16-12 10/10 36-12 SAM MCSHARRY FALL CREEK WI 

The Green Bay Packers will be on center-stage five times this coming season as the NFL released their full schedule on Wednesday. The Packers are slated for five primetime matchups, beginning as early as weeks two and three. The Packers regular season will kick off in New Orleans on September 12th. Green Bay will also host the Cleveland Browns on Christmas Day. This will be the first season in NFL history in which teams play seventeen games. The first pre-season game is scheduled for August 14th. 

The Packers were also reported to have signed former Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback and first round pick, Blake Bortles on Wednesday. The deal is reported to be a one-year contract. Bortles most recently was on the Los Angeles Rams roster. Bortles has connections to the Packers roster, as Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett coached him in Jacksonville. The signing has yet to be confirmed by the Packers organization. 

(Photo via: @packers)

The area's seven golf teams are scheduled to be in action on Monday.

Luxemburg-Casco heads to Fox Valley Golf Club in Freedom to battle Clintonville, Denmark, Fox Valley Lutheran, Freedom, Little Chute, Marinette, Oconto Falls, Waupaca, and Wrightstown with the first tee shot scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Packerland Conference will have their meet at Peshtigo's Vernon Hills Golf Course beginning at 4 p.m. The meet will feature Gibraltar, Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran High School, Peshtigo, Sevastopol, Southern Door, and Sturgeon Bay. 

For the first time since October, there was no Green Bay Gamblers game on the schedule this past weekend.

The Gamblers were swept on the road against the Muskegon Lumberjacks with chances to extend the series up until the final horn in each game. The Lumberjacks were swept this weekend by a Chicago Steel team that featured the USHL's top four scorers. Gamblers head coach Pat Mikesch says he was happy the team was able to make it through the season with only a few postponements due to COVID.

The Gamblers ended the season with the third-best record in the USHL and Mikesch says he gave his returning players plenty to work on before they come back during last week's exit interviews.

For now, Mikesch and the coaching staff will start scouting the players they hope to bring to camp later this year.

The Gamblers hope to play in front of full crowds this fall after being one of the top teams in terms of attendance during the 2020-2021 season. 

The Green Knights of St. Norbert College has decided on a Sevastopol High School graduate to lead their athletic department. The new hire, Cam Fuller, will start on June 1st after completing his current role as the Assistant Commissioner for Competition, Branding, and Sponsorships for the Horizon League. After graduating from Sevastopol, Fuller went on to golf for UW-Green Bay with a runner-up finish in the Horizon League in 2012. UWGB is where Fuller holds a Bachelors of Administration from, and he completed his Master of Science in Sports Management from the University of Indianapolis last year.

(Photo courtesy of UW-Green Bay)

In Institute, Sevastopol will pursue their first win of the season against the Sturgeon Bay Clippers, who are 2-1. Sturgeon Bay went 1-1 in the Chilton Tournament on Saturday with a win over Chilton and a 14-8 loss to Manawa. For the Pioneers, they dropped both games of a doubleheader with Gibraltar. The first of the pair of games will start at 4:30 PM. 

Gibraltar and Southern Door baseball will square off on Tuesday as Gibraltar is hoping to stay undefeated. The Vikings are 4-0 with doubleheader sweeps over Sevastopol and Algoma. Their challenger, Southern Door is 2-2 overall and 2-0 in Packerland conference play. The Eagles have non-conference losses to Denmark and Manitowoc Lincoln. Tuesday will be Southern Door’s home opener. The first of two games is scheduled to begin at 4:30 PM. 

Both Sevastopol and Sturgeon Bay softball will be trying to gain steam after a slow season start on Tuesday, holding a doubleheader against each other in Institute. The Pioneers will host, coming off two road losses against Gibraltar and Peshtigo. Sturgeon Bay is 0-2 on the season, with losses against Plymouth and Oconto. Both teams will take the field for game one at 4:30 PM. 

Both Gibraltar and Southern Door will be looking to get back in the win column on Tuesday when they hold a doubleheader. Both teams are coming off of a loss as Southern Door split with Algoma on Thursday. Southern Door has a 1-2 record. For the Vikings, they were swept by Algoma on Friday. With a 1-3 record, theri win comes from a split in a doubleheader with Sevastopol. 

First pitch for Tuesday’s game is at 4:30 PM at Southern Door.

The Green Bay Blizzard scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes to sneak out of the Resch Center with a victory in one of its first games back in action, beating the Massachusetts Pirates 40-36.

The Blizzard only managed a field goal in the first quarter was down 7-3 before Trevo Saunders opened the second period up with a 41-yard touchdown return. The Blizzard was also able to score seven points in the final 30 seconds without a touchdown thanks to a pair of field goals, a safety, and rouge kickoff. A 27-14 lead early in the third quarter turned into a 36-27 deficit thanks to five consecutive scores by the Pirates. The Blizzard scored their final touchdowns thanks to the arm of Daimion May, who took a busted play and found Kezlow Smith for the game-winner.

The Blizzard are back in action on Friday when they play the Louisville Extreme at the Resch Center at 7:05 p.m.

In a win or go home game for the Green Bay Gamblers on Saturday, they fell 3-1 to the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the opening round of the USHL Eastern Division playoffs. Matt Davis had 31 saves for Green Bay and Mason Lohri had the Gamblers only goal. The Gamblers were officially swept in the series, and Muskegon will await the winner of the Chicago and Dubuque first-round series.

In the second and third rounds of the NFL draft on Friday, Green Bay went to the offensive side of the ball with their selections. In the second round with the 62nd overall pick, the Packers drafted Josh Myers, a potential replacement for All-Pro Corey Linsley, who left for the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency. Both Myers and Linsley played college football at Ohio State University. Myers was an all big ten selection. There is a chance for a Rodgers to Rodgers pass and catch connection after Green Bay moved up seven spots to take Amari Rodgers, a wide receiver out of Clemson, 85th overall. Rodgers had over a thousand yards in his 2020 season. 

The Green Bay Gamblers are hanging on to their season after a 3-2 loss to the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Michigan on Friday. Jackson Hallum scored a goal in the first period, but Green Bay would find themselves behind 2-1 at the first intermission. In the second period, Jesse Tucker tied the game with a powerplay goal. The game would remain tied all the way until there were 38 seconds left in the third. Muskegon would score the game-winning goal to take the 1-0 series lead. Gamblers' goalie Matt Davis would grab 28 saves. Game two of the Eastern Division playoff series is scheduled for Saturday at 6:10 PM.