There were a number of Wisconsin sports-related topics that came to the forefront in 2023. Aaron Rodgers left the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love was promoted early. Damian Lillard joins the Milwaukee Bucks. Craig Counsell leaves the Milwaukee Brewers.
However, there were many strange and outlandish stories along the way. Many made us laugh, some were a little more serious, and some simply caught us off guard and left us speechless.
Here’s what happened when things got weird in Wisconsin sports in 2023.
Aaron Rodgers goes on a dark retreat
2023 started off tough for Aaron Rodgers, with the Packers eliminated from the playoffs on the final night of the season. As Rodgers pondered what he wanted from his career, he found a way to eliminate all distractions. And we’re not talking about living in a house with “no cell phone reception.”
No, Rogers went on a four-day dark retreat.
“I’m not scared,” Rogers said. “I’m looking forward to it as much as I have in a long time.”
In other words, it’s not a haunted house. Rodgers emerged from the darkness with clarity and conviction, wanting to keep playing and wanting it to be with the New York Jets. It’s been well-documented that there were some twists and turns after that, but it also became clear to the Packers that in the end, this whole process might have worked out for them.
The Indiana Pacers stole the game ball. perhaps.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 64 points against the Indiana Pacers in December, the latest in a long line of milestones for Giannis. Then he wanted the game ball…but the Pacers had other plans. Giannis’ frustration included commands to run back to the tunnel and beg Tyrese Haliburton, a rising star from Oshkosh, to get him the ball.
Perhaps it created a new rivalry, or maybe it was just a misunderstanding, but Game Ball Gate added quite a break to what was already an exciting night at the Fiserv Forum. The Pacers announced that rookie Oscar Tshibwe has grabbed the game ball for his first official NBA score. Then they said they didn’t have their main game ball. Giannis doesn’t believe he got the actual game ball back. They will meet again on January 1st and January 3rd, so get ready.
Rowdy Telles takes the final out (on the mound?) and sends the Brewers into the playoffs.
Rowdy Telles signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason and made history with his pitch! …The Brewers are headed to the 2023 postseason. The rugged first baseman, known for hitting home runs, was forced to pitch for the first time in his career against the Marlins in Miami as Milwaukee cruised to a 16-1 victory.
“I’m a Cy Young candidate right now,” joked Telles, who became the first position player in MLB history to shut out a decisive game for a championship team. “When you go out in a high-leverage situation, you shut it down and lock it in.”
Telles allowed Brian Delacruz to hit first, but struck out Jesus Sanchez on the ninth pitch. A subsequent review of the video revealed that somehow home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz had lost track of the count and that Tellez had actually thrown four pitches before recording a strikeout, but then Tellez’s team Mate was keen to point this out.
Leon Lowry is committed to Wisconsin. Then uncommit. Then commit. 4 days later.
College football’s transfer portal has created several weeks of chaos each season, but this is next level. Syracuse defensive lineman Leon Lowry committed to Wisconsin, but withdrew less than 24 hours later. Four days later, Lowery returned.
The Athletic’s Jesse Temple chronicled what happened, with the name, image and likeness agent’s involvement likely playing a role in Lowry’s upset, but he ultimately recommitted and went on his way. fired those agents.
Jimmy Butler accuses Bucks of cheating
NBA fans were shocked when the Milwaukee Bucks traded for Lillard, but so were players, including members of Lillard’s reportedly preferred destination, the Miami Heat.
Jimmy Butler, the Marquette University graduate whose Heat ruthlessly eliminated the Bucks from the first round of the NBA playoffs a few months ago, called for an NBA investigation into the Bucks’ misconduct. Whitnall High School alumnus Tyler Herro, whose name was mentioned in trade rumors for the Blazers star, agreed with Butler, but later backtracked and said he would even like to own a Lillard Bucs jersey.
Nothing came of this accusation, but it certainly gave new context to Antetokounmpo’s selection of Lillard early in the All-Star Game “draft” earlier this year.
Simone Biles races with Christian Watson
The Packers gained a new celebrity fan by adding safety Jonathan Owens, who married internationally renowned gymnast Simone Biles in April. Biles has appeared in multiple Packers games. She was meeting her husband’s new teammates at AJ Dillon’s Memorial Day party in Door County, where she went head-to-head in a sprint with Packers receiver Christian Watson.
Watson won this round, but would I have been surprised if Biles had won?
Related articles: AJ Dillon plays with Door County goats and Biles receives a goat hat from another prominent Packers fan.
Wisconsin quarterback Cole LaClou sings Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2023 and showed off her megastardom when she visited a Packers game to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce play in Kansas City. impressed at Lambeau Field.
But even before that, University of Wisconsin backup quarterback Cole LaClou had the heart-throbbing rendition of “You Belong with Me” in the team-building exercise that ended up playing on the Camp Randall Stadium scoreboard. He guided Swift with his unique performance.
Flavor Flav sings the national anthem
Wearing Bucks gear and his trademark watch around his neck, legendary rapper Flavor Fluff was tasked with singing the national anthem before a Milwaukee Bucks game at Fiserv Forum in October. there was. The members of the iconic group Public Enemy definitely did their best.
Is Jimmy Hoffa buried outside Brewers Stadium?
A prominent cold case group has proposed an interesting new theory. The remains of long-lost Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa may be buried near Helfer Field, a Little League field outside American Family Field, where County Stadium was once located. There is. The evidence is a little dubious, but this is a group that has previously had some inroads into the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history.
Ellie de la Cruz sends one into orbit after vandalizing the scoreboard
After Brewers center fielder Joey Wiemer stole a home run from Cincinnati Reds standout Elie Delacruz in the first inning of a July game, the scoreboard team at American Family Field received a huge response. I almost hit a home run in the first inning,” he posted. …But I didn’t,” Dela Cruz’s second at-bat.
Dela Cruz’s reaction to it was even better. The first pitch, a 113.7 mph rocket from Brewers right-hander Colin Ray’s cutter, shot so deep that it instantly left the field and landed about 30 feet over the stadium’s glass panel in right-center field. Statcast measured the height of the explosion to be 456 feet, but it may have gone much further.
The game was won by the Brewers, and when Dela Cruz came to bat the next day, the scoreboard crew made a pleasant fuss, stating, “The scoreboard crew will have no further comment at this time.”
High school public address announcer tells fans to “shut up”
The public address announcer for the Germantown High School basketball team had seen enough of the Brookfield Central boys tournament game against Cedarburg.
“I would like to take this opportunity to remind the fans: We should have done it sooner. Just shut up,” an announcement came over the gymnasium’s speakers as the referees crowded around to make a critical decision in the final stages of the game. “The WIAA is always recruiting officials. They’re doing a great job from the stands, so get on the floor, put on your striped shirt and do yours, too.”
David Ross objects to Brewers’ roof
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross was unhappy that the Brewers closed the retractable roof at American Family Field at the end of a July 4 game between the two teams — a game in which the Cubs won.
“They’re closing the roof late to get rid of the shadows. There’s a lot of cows — and that continued today. It was really frustrating,” Ross said in part.
The Brewers’ field staff can’t control the roof, but Craig Counsell gave Ross another surprise after the season.
Minnesota typo has Wisconsin flavor
The Minnesota Department of Transportation made a misspelling on a highway sign, misspelling the name of tiny Ogilvie (population 388) as “Ogilvie.” Perhaps someone within the department was a fan of Brewers baseball in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Ben Ogilvy was a consistent part of the Brewers lineup?
“Well, that’s embarrassing!” the agency wrote on its Facebook page (yes, the misspelling here is intentional). “I’m sorry, but it’s hard to misspell it. Weir is working on substitutions as we speak, so I’ll make sure I get it right this time.”
Brett Favre sues Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe
Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre remains mired in controversy over his involvement in the Mississippi State cheating scandal, with more twists and turns in 2023. One of them was a lawsuit he filed against sports network talking heads Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe. He was saying bad things about Mr. Favre.
McAfee, who has become Aaron Rodgers’ chief advisor over the past few years, downplayed the issue, and Favre later dropped the case. The case against Mr. Favre’s first major recipient, Mr. Sharp, Mr. Sterling’s brother, was dismissed in October.