BREWERS NEWS

Buzz: Latest from spring training

Padres 5, Brewers 4

ROSTER REPORT

Determined to improve their pitching from the dismal showing in 2009, the Brewers are bringing 32 pitchers to camp, including 10 non-roster players. The bullpen is set for the most part, but the last two jobs in the rotation are up for grabs. There will be three new starting position players from a year ago: CF Carlos Gomez, SS Alcides Escobar and C Gregg Zaun. There's a reserve outfield spot to be won, as well as one in the infield. ARRIVALS: LHP Randy Wolf (free agent from Dodgers), LHP Doug Davis (free agent from Diamondbacks), RHP LaTroy Hawkins (free agent from Astros), C Gregg Zaun (free agent from Rays), CF Carlos Gomez (trade with Twins), C George Kottaras (waiver claim from Red Sox), INF/OF Joe Inglett (waiver claim from Rangers), SS Luis Cruz (waiver claim from Pirates), RHP Marco Estrada (waiver claim from Nationals), OF Jim Edmonds (minor league free agent from Cubs), LHP Scott Schoeneweis (free agent from Diamondbacks), LHP Chuck Lofgren (Rule 5 draft pick from Indians). DEPARTURES: CF Mike Cameron (free agent, signed with Red Sox), OF Jason Bourgeois (claimed off waivers by Astros), C Jason Kendall (free agent, signed with Royals), SS J.J. Hardy (traded to Twins), C Mike Rivera (non-tendered, signed minor league deal with Yankees), RHP Seth McClung (non-tendered, signed minor league deal with Marlins), OF Frank Catalanotto (free agent, signed minor league deal with Mets), INF Felipe Lopez (free agent, signed with Cardinals), RHP Braden Looper (free agent, unsigned), RHP David Weathers (free agent, unsigned). SPRING FOCUS: The Brewers must determine who will fill the last two spots in the rotation, with holdovers RHP Dave Bush, LHP Manny Parra and RHP Jeff Suppan the leading candidates. The backup catching job is up for grabs, along with one reserve spot in the outfield and the infield. The bullpen is fairly set, but there should be at least one spot available. PROJECTED ROTATION: 1. LHP Randy Wolf 2. RHP Yovani Gallardo 3. LHP Doug Davis 4. RHP Dave Bush 5. LHP Manny Parra The last two spots in the rotation are in flux. RHP Jeff Suppan, the highest-paid player on the team ($12.5 million), is in the equation, and club officials may feel compelled to keep him in the rotation because of his salary. But Suppan has been in decline ever since signing a four-year, $42 million deal three years ago, and he must prove he's a viable alternative. Wolf and Davis were signed as free agents to provide stabilizing forces who can be counted upon for quality innings. Gallardo had trouble throwing strikes at times last year but has a tremendous upside as a budding ace. LHP Chris Narveson is in the picture as well. PROJECTED BULLPEN: RHP Trevor Hoffman (closer) RHP LaTroy Hawkins RHP Todd Coffey RHP Claudio Vargas LHP Mitch Stetter RHP Carlos Villanueva LHP Scott Schoeneweis This is a veteran bunch that can be expected to perform in crunch time. Hoffman is 42 but is coming off a brilliant first season with the Brewers in which he converted 37 of 41 save opportunities and made the All-Star team. Club officials have their fingers crossed that he has more gas left in the tank. Schoeneweis, a non-roster invitee, will compete to be a second lefty in the pen behind Stetter. Rule 5 pick Chuck Lofgren and prospect Zach Braddock are in that competition as well. RHP David Riske, who had Tommy John surgery last June, is ahead of schedule and wants to make the opening-day roster, but he probably won't be ready. PROJECTED LINEUP: 1. 2B Rickie Weeks 2. C Gregg Zaun 3. LF Ryan Braun 4. 1B Prince Fielder 5. 3B Casey McGehee 6. RF Corey Hart 7. SS Alcides Escobar 8. CF Carlos Gomez Weeks, Braun and Fielder are certainties in their spots in the lineup, but everything else will be in play. Escobar and Gomez both have the speed to be leadoff hitters but have not shown the patience and on-base percentage required to stay in that spot. Hart potentially could move into the No. 2 spot, but Zaun, a switch hitter, could provide more opportunities for Weeks to run while batting from the left side. McGehee was a solid run-producer behind Fielder last year, but Hart also has batted fifth for extended periods over his career. Manager Ken Macha has some experimenting to do in spring training. PROJECTED RESERVES: INF Craig Counsell INF/OF Joe Inglett OF Jody Gerut OF Jim Edmonds C George Kottaras or C Matt Treanor Counsell was invaluable last season as a fill-in at third base, shortstop and second base. Inglett can also play the outfield, which makes him the leading candidate to claim the second utility job. Gerut is a sure-thing as a backup outfielder, but Edmonds must prove he still has it after sitting out the 2009 season. Kottaras and Treanor both have been backup catchers in the majors, but Treanor is a non-roster player. Prospect Jonathan Lucroy figures to get a good look as a potential backup catcher as well. TOP ROOKIES: SS Alcides Escobar will be a candidate for NL Rookie of the Year after an impressive showing at the end of the 2009 season. In 38 games, he batted .304, and he is a defensive whiz. 3B Mat Gamel would love to supplant Casey McGehee at the position, but if he doesn't, he probably will go to Class AAA, because it serves him no purpose to sit on the bench. LHP Zach Braddock blossomed after being switched from a starting role to relief, and he will get a good look in spring training. Braddock performed well in the Arizona Fall League and is one to watch. MEDICAL WATCH: --RHP David Riske (Tommy John elbow surgery in June 2009) was on a more conservative program than other pitchers in camp but reported no problems after his first two bullpen sessions. --3B Casey McGehee (arthroscopic right knee surgery in October 2009) was full-go at the start of spring camp. --2B Rickie Weeks (left wrist surgery in May 2009) was full-go in camp. --RHP Mark DiFelice (right shoulder surgery in December 2009) is expected to miss the 2010 season but was signed to a minor league deal with hopes he'll come back next year. --LHP Chris Capuano (Tommy John elbow surgery in May 2008) remains on the comeback trail. He signed a minor league deal, and if there are no setbacks, he'll probably begin the season in the minors. --3B Mat Gamel (strained right shoulder) and was expected to be out a few days in early March. --RHP Josh Butler (right arm stiffness) was restricted from pitching in games at the outset of exhibition play. --OF Trent Oeltjen (sore left wrist) was hurt March 5. It was not known how much time he would miss.

NOTES, QUOTES

--3B Mat Gamel was scratched from a starting assignment in the Brewers' exhibition opener against San Francisco because of a strained right shoulder. Gamel suffered the injury during an extra batting practice session but was not expected to be sidelined for long. --1B Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch from Giants LHP Barry Zito in his first at-bat of the Brewers' first exhibition game. The plunking apparently was in retaliation for an elaborate celebration by Fielder and his teammates after a walk-off homer in the 12th inning Sept. 6 in Milwaukee. Fielder insisted the celebration was not mean as disrespect to the Giants. "That's something I did with me and my teammates. It has nothing to do with them," he said. --SS Alcides Escobar missed the Brewers' first exhibition game while undergoing some extensive dental work. Further procedures were anticipated, and manager Ken Macha said Escobar might miss some more action in the days to come. --RHP Josh Butler was held out of game action at the outset of Cactus League play because of minor arm stiffness. Butler started his offseason throwing program a bit later than usual after a heavy workload in 2009, and that might have contributed to the soreness. --RHP Mark Rogers threw his first pitches in a Milwaukee uniform with two scoreless innings in the Brewers' second exhibition game. Rogers missed all of the 2007 and 2008 seasons before returning last year at the Class A level. During his down time, Rogers had two shoulder surgeries. --OF Trent Oeltjen, trying to win a reserve outfield spot, suffered a setback when struck above the left wrist by a pitch in an exhibition game against Oakland. Oeltjen was diagnosed with a bad bruise but was slated to see a hand specialist. BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Runs allowed by relievers Mitch Stetter and Tim Dillard in the sixth inning of an 8-7 exhibition loss to Oakland after there were two outs and nobody on base. QUOTE TO NOTE: "I know I can still play. It's going to take a couple days to get game speed. I haven't seen pitching in a year and a half, but I don't feel bad. I feel good." -- OF Jim Edmonds, trying to make the roster as a reserve outfielder after sitting out the 2009 season.

UW BADGER FOOTBALL NEWS

Notes: Not Ready to Settle

4-Star Dillard Safety Wayne Lyons Visits USF

Gaughan Talks Stanford Offer

UW Pro Day - Chris Maragos

MILWAUKEE BUCKS NEWS

Grizzlies give Celtics a beating in Boston

Grizzlies 111, Celtics 91

ROSTER REPORT

ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Brandon Jennings, Shooting guard John Salmons, Small forward Carlos Delfino, Power forward Luc Mbah a Moute, Center Andrew Bogut. Bench -- Guard Charlie Bell, Guard Luke Ridnour, Forward Ersan Ilyasova, Center Kurt Thomas, Guard Royal Ivey. PLAYER NOTES: --F Carlos Delfino is in the three-point zone. The Bucks' starting small forward has made a trey in each of the last 16 games. What's more, in that that stretch, he's averaged 2.5 three-pointers a game. --G Brandon Jennings had only two turnovers in 40 minutes Tuesday night against the Celtics. Jennings had turned the ball over 11 times in previous three games. --G Charlie Bell got to play 18 minutes against the Celtics Tuesday night, easily the most he's played in recent games. With John Salmons getting the bulk of the minutes at starting shooting guard and Jerry Stackhouse being his top replacement, Bell had two DNP-CDs in the previous three games. MEDICAL WATCH: --G Michael Redd (torn ACL and MCL ligaments) underwent surgery March 2 and is out for the season.

NOTES, QUOTES

--The Bucks' defense has been excellent in recent weeks as they have limited 13 of their last 20 opponents to fewer than 90 points a game. This season, when the Bucks have held the opposition under 90 points, they have posted a 19-2 record. --Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings and Celtics power forward Glen Davis had a heated argument in the fourth quarter after Jennings took a hard foul from Davis. A double-technical was called. --While recently-acquired shooting guard John Salmons has found a place in downtown Milwaukee to stay, his wife and two children are still living in a Chicago suburb. Salmons has been commuting to Chicago on his off days to visit them. QUOTE TO NOTE: "There's no reason we should put any limits on anything we're think about right now. We've played good basketball recently and why wouldn't we think we can continue to win? We should be thinking about getting as high a seed as we can." -- Bucks coach Scott Skiles, on whether his team could still get the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

PACKERS NEWS

Perfect matchup simply would be on higher plane

Thoughts From 30,000 Feet (en route back from the Redskins -Raiders throwdown): c Every NFL season is memorable for something, but this season might be memorable for several somethings. In fact, it could turn out to be the most memorable year of the Free Agency Era, which takes in a fair amount of territory. Consider:

Falcons GM not perfect, but it's early in 'process'

For the first time under Thomas Dimitroff, the Falcons are a sub-.500 team. But does being 6-7 in Year 2 mean the general manager was a one-year wonder? Uh, no.

Bears wary of Woodson

After eight years with the Raiders, the reputation of former Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson had become a bit tarnished, and he was considered by some to be on the downside of his NFL career when the Packers signed him in 2006.

Bearslackingcoordination

A thought occurred Sunday as Green Bay?s Ryan Grant ran 62 yards for a touchdown on the game?s first play from scrimmage.

UW MENS BASKETBALL

NCAA Tournament Bids By Conference

Presented By:

Big Ten Tournament Predictions

A bump along the Illini road; Weber talks down talking-to

After another dramatic chapter in their stormy relationship, All-Big Ten guard Demetri McCamey and Illinois coach Bruce Weber downplayed the incident Tuesday, saying they're focused on salvaging the Illini's sagging NCAA tournament hopes.

UW WOMENS BASKETBALL

TOP SPORTS HEADLINES (from foxnews.com)

Lusetich: Tiger will return at the Masters

Forget Bay Hill, Tiger has his sights on Augusta

Hoyas stun No. 3 'Cuse in Big East tourney

Madness starts early as Georgetown beats Syracuse in thriller.

Marquette upends No. 10 Villanova

Lazar Hayward gave Marquette the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 1:51 to play, then added the clinching free throws with 3.2 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles went on to another close win, 80-76 over No. 10 Villanova on Thursday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

NFL Hall of Famer, ex-TV actor Merlin Olsen dead at 69

Pro Football Hall of Famer and former television actor Merlin Olsen has died. He was 69.