Packers get another chance

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 24, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

GREEN BAY — Second chances don’t happen too often.

The Green Bay Packers have one.

Just hours after losing a hard-fought game to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 38-31, on Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Philadelphia Eagles gift-wrapped a dominating performance over the Chicago Bears, 54-11, for the Packers. It sets up a winner- take-all battle for the NFC North Division title between the Bears and Packers, while the loser goes home for the offseason.

“We thought the season was over,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday, talking about the emotions after Sunday’s game. “We’re excited about this opportunity.

“We’re playing for the championship. We looked at yesterday’s game as a semifinal game. We were blessed to get help and now we’re playing in the finals.”

Had the Bears beaten the Eagles, they would’ve clinched the division and eliminated the Packers from the playoffs.

Now the Packers have new life. However, the Packers almost didn’t have to hold their breath.

Trailing 38-31 with 1:25 left in regulation, Micah Hyde returned a kickoff 71 yards to give the Packers hope, starting on the Steelers’ 31-yard line.

“We knew if we got (the ball) on the 20, we were going to be hard pressed, with no timeouts, to get a touchdown,” Packers quarterback Matt Flynn said after Sunday’s game. “That return did spark us. ... We knew we had a better probability of getting it in the end zone.”

In two plays, the Packers had first and goal at the 5.

On second and goal at the 1, the Packers’ Don Barclay was called for a false start, moving the ball back to the 6. This after an offsides on a field goal attempt by the Steelers helped set up the eventual game-winning touchdown.

“Pre-snap penalties are unacceptable,” McCarthy said.

With less than 10 seconds remaining, the Packers were able to get a last chance at a potential tying score. Flynn’s pass into the end zone glanced off the fingertips of Jarrett Boykin and landed incomplete.

“They refuse to lose,” McCarthy said. “They have a lot of fight in them. We needed one more play tonight.”

The look of heartbreak and disappointment was on every Packers player and coach’s face as they walked down the tunnel to the locker room.

Going into Sunday’s game, the Packers had to win their final two games of the season to win the division or hope for a Bears loss if they lost, which is what happened. However, the loss may have come at the expense of two star players for the Packers.

For the winner-take-all showdown, which will be at 3:25 p.m. Sunday in Chicago, the Packers may be without linebacker Clay Matthews, who re-injured his thumb Sunday against the Steelers, the same thumb he injured against Detroit on Oct. 6. The initial evaluation didn’t look good, McCarthy said.

“His injury evaluation is still going on as far as gathering all the information,” McCarthy said. “Training staff didn’t feel very good about the injury. We’re still working through the process.”

Also injured Sunday was running back Eddie Lacy.

The Rookie of the Year candidate left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and didn’t return.

Lacy rushed into the Packers’ record book. He finished with 84 yards rushing on 15 carries and had two touchdowns. Lacy has 1,112 rushing yards this season, breaking John Brockington’s franchise rookie record for rushing yards in a single season (1,105), set in 1971.

Flynn finished the game 21 of 39 passing for 232 yards, a touchdown and an interception. In the first half, Flynn was 14 of 19 for 137 yards and a touchdown.

“I thought Matt did a lot of good things,” McCarthy said. “We had some good moments there in the first half.”

The talk of the most important collarbone in the NFL quickly ramped up Monday. It’s another week of will Aaron Rodgers miss another game or will Flynn get the start? One thing is for certain regarding the former MVP.

“Hopefully we can get the question answered sooner than later,” McCarthy said.

“After seeing Aaron practice for two weeks, this is something (Packers general manager) Ted Thompson and I need to sit down and we need to assess all the information and decide if it’s time for Aaron to play. ... This is a decision for Ted Thompson and I representing the organization.”

However, wide receiver Randall Cobb may get back just in time. Cobb has been sidelined since being placed on short-term injured reserve with a fractured right fibula in Week 7.

“Randall’s going to practice more,” McCarthy said. “We will up his practice reps on Thursday.”

COLUMN: Time to decide what’s best

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 21, 2013

One West Bend West parent during Monday night’s open forum for West Bend East and West parents of student- athletes said opponents of East and West laugh at the two schools and automatically circle victories on their schedule.

Unfortunately, there is some merit behind that. The good news is it can be fixed. How? Patience, patience and patience. It is a problem that can be fixed, but duct tape is not going to do it. Being supportive of and committed to the process will be factors as well.

The million-dollar question here for the community of West Bend is to decide this: What do you want your kids to get out of their athletic experience in the school district? Do you want more wins? Or do you want something else and likely sacrifice some wins?

If you take the latter, then you can’t get upset if a coach can’t produce the victories and try to run that coach out of the job.

If the community can agree on an answer then that will determine the future of the athletic programs in West Bend at all levels, high school and youth.

While I was unable to sit in on both meetings as they were happening in two rooms at the same time, there was a lot of contradiction the West meeting. The parents talked about trying to separate the two schools and getting away from the idea that East and West shouldn’t help each other when looking at trying to improve the state of athletics in West Bend. Then some of the same parents said the two schools should be out promoting each other’s games and cheering on teams at games, such as East students should be cheering on West in its games and vice versa.

It has to be one or the other. Doing both will not work and it hasn’t worked.

Then the topic of the inconsistencies in coaching came up.

Parents believed coaches hold it against student-athletes who compete in a sport other than their own, leaving one parent to say student-athletes are forced to be multi-season athletes, not multi-sport. Coaches, in a lot of cases, are forced to do this in order to try and keep up with the competition. Productivity is one of six factors coaches are evaluated on after each season, West Athletic Director Scott Stier said. So if a coach isn’t winning games, they are let go or resign, sometimes because of the pressures from themselves or those associated with their programs.

Being a multi-sport athlete is not a sin and it shouldn’t be.

Yes, a student-athlete may not be completing the off-season workouts set out by a coach, but if an athlete is involved in a sport during the times of those workouts, there is training taking place, even though it may not be sport specific.

There can’t be continuous pressure on a coach to win games when there is little support. Don’t question the reasoning for a play call in a football game or the substitution pattern or who makes what team in the program, freshman, junior varsity and/or varsity. Accept it and figure out how to best support the situation.

Creating that environment, a positive one where coaches believe they have a strong support group in their corner, no matter the result, will make coaches want to come to West Bend. Right now, a coaching job in West Bend is not appealing to outsiders.

Coaches talk to each other. They spill the beans on what programs and communities are great fits for them and their families and which ones aren’t.

If a community can create that positive vibe for a coach and a program, regardless of the wins and losses, the program will turn around and eventually produce whatever results you want.

- Nicholas Dettmann

McCarthy on Rodgers: ‘He looks like he’s ready to play’

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 20, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

GREEN BAY — Regarding the most important collarbone in the NFL, here’s what we do know about Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

He still isn’t medically cleared to return to game action Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s getting close, though.

“I felt pretty good out there,” he said. “It’s feeling good.”

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers looked sharp in practice Thursday and Rodgers said he completed every pass.

“He definitely looks better this week,” McCarthy said. “He looks like he’s ready to play.”

It’s still a waiting game. Rodgers will be evaluated today to see if he will play, be a game-time decision or miss his seventh straight game since being injured Nov. 4 against the Chicago Bears. Pressured by reporters to see if he’d break and reveal his status, Rodgers said, “It’s an organization and a medical decision at this point.”

However, he admitted, “I have a pretty good sense of what’s going to happen.”

When asked if he had any more scans scheduled he declined to discuss it.

Matt Flynn took the majority of the first-team snaps Thursday and it is expected, at least at this point, Flynn will start Sunday’s game. Rodgers was a limited participant in practice.

“I thought he looked very good,” McCarthy said.

The frustration for Rodgers is not as bad as it was in the first couple weeks after the injury. It’s still there, however, as the former NFL MVP waits for the go-ahead to return to game action.

“I’m practicing so the frustration level definitely goes down there,” Rodgers said. “It’s tough to be so close last week and not be able to play. But we’re right in this thing and Matt’s playing well.

“At this point I have to focus on the things that I can control,” he added. “That’s practicing well, taking care of my business in the weight room and being a good teammate.”

Whether Rodgers plays, the Packers feel good about their position, in regards to the NFC playoff picture. The Packers have to beat the Steelers on Sunday and the Bears next week to win the division and clinch a playoff spot.

Given the injuries and speed bumps along the way, the Packers are excited about Sunday’s task.

“It’s not a relief, it’s an expectation,” McCarthy said. “It’s where we expected to be. It’s been a bumpy road, no doubt about it. That’s why you really got to stay focused on exactly what’s in front of us and that’s the Pittsburgh Steelers here at home and it doesn’t go any further than that.

“This is the time of the year where you really got to lock in. It’s a playoff football mentality. We’ve been in that mentality for the last two weeks. It’ll be no different next week.”

Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between the Packers and Steelers since Super Bowl XLV, which the Packers won. The stage won’t be as bright, but the level of importance could be similar.

Green Bay is in control of its potential playoff future, while a loss will eliminate the Steelers from the postseason.

“It’s obviously great to be in this position,” Packers receiver Jordy Nelson said. “We’ve had to go through a lot. We’ve been fortunate, though. Other teams have lost as well to put us in this situation.”

One of the big surprises in the last month of the season has been the slump by the Detroit Lions, who have lost four of their last five games since beating the Packers by 30 points on Thanksgiving Day.

“The last two weeks we’ve taken care of business,” Nelson said. “Hopefully we can finish this out.”

In the last two weeks, the Packers have rallied from halftime deficits to escape with one-point victory over Atlanta and Dallas.

“This football team is a team that definitely believes,” McCarthy said. “That’s been apparent throughout the whole season. We’ve had an abundant of challenges and we have more in front of us. They really don’t blink.”

The Packers got a big help from the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, beating the Lions, 18-16, which helped put them into a favorable position with two games to go in the regular season.

“We’ve got to go out and battle,” Packers defensive back Tramon Williams said. “This team has shown a lot of resilience so far. I know we’re not going to lay down now.”

Gov. Walker signs revision to concussion law

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 19, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

According to one area athletic trainer, society still believes a head injury is just “getting their bell rung” and everything is OK.

“I think we’re making progress,” Kewaskum athletic trainer Emily Mueller said about the treatment of head injuries.

“It’s just there is that stigma out there that it’s just getting their bell rung and everyb ody’s fine,” she added. “It’s like they’re putting blinders on. “I think the law is great because it gives us a law. It gives us backing, but there is more education that needs to be done.”

On Friday, Gov. Scott Walker signed Bill SB 258, which requires parents and student-athletes to review and sign concussion education forms only once each school year. It’s a modification from a bill he signed into law in 2012.

The major modification to the law is student-athletes and parents had to sign those forms before each sport season for which they participate.

“They should be doing it for every sport,” Mueller said, adding the education should be reinforced as often as possible.

“They need to get it out of their head that it’s not just getting their bell rung.”

The law requires all youth athletic organizations to educate coaches, athletes and parents on the risks of concussions and head injuries and prohibits participation in a youth activity until the athlete and parent or guardian has returned a signed agreement sheet indicating they have reviewed the concussion and head injury informational materials.

In addition, the law also requires immediate removal of an individual from a youth athletic activity if symptoms indicate a possible head injury. A person who has been removed from an athletic activity because of a determined or suspected concussion or head injury may not participate again until he or she is evaluated by an approved health care provider and receives written clearance from the health care provider to return to the activity.

West Bend East and West Bend West athletic trainer Kyle Butters didn’t have an issue with reducing the frequency of signatures with the education form.

“It does take some of the pressure off of the sports and the athletic program itself,” Butters said. “Even at West Bend, that’s a lot of paperwork for them to do every single season.”

Butters believes the message is still getting through to coaches, parents and student-athletes as there is more people willing to report the injury, instead of having that tough guy mentality.

“I do think it’s important that they’re getting the information out, don’t get me wrong there,” Butters said. “But I think annually is probably plenty.”

“I think it’s the right move,” he added.

The form goes over the signs and symptoms of a concussion and explains how a student-athlete returns to play following the injury.

While strides have been made, there is still too much that is unknown, Butters said.

“I get questions on a daily basis,” he said. “Concussions are manageable, as long as they’re reported.

“When it gets really dangerous is when they don’t report the injury and they go back to the sport.”

What Butters would like to see is more support from teachers of the student-athletes who suffer a head injury.

“(At the high school level) their brains are still developing,” he said. “Make sure the teachers are educated and the administrators are educated,” he added. “This studentathlete has a head injury and not only is he out of sport, he also needs to be progressed slowly into the classroom.

“Hopefully they can make it a slow transition where they’re not loading the student with homework. They have to know there’s not only physical rest, but mental rest is important as well.”

The awareness of the dangers surrounding an untreated head injury have escalated in the last decade, even more so this summer. The NFL and former NFL players, more than 4,000, reached a $765 million settlement after former players sued the league over the lack of education regarding the long-term effects of head injuries.

Last month, the NHL was sued by former players for the same reason.

“That’s another forum as far as getting the information out, letting the public how important resting concussions is,” Butters said.

“Looking at these professional sports, look at the long-term ramifications for these athletes,” he added. “Hope it’s a role model for them. You only have one brain.”

Tall task lies ahead

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 19, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

Speaking for West Bend East, Athletic Director Jeff Rondorf warned the potential applicant for the vacant varsity football position about what challenges lie ahead for a program that has lost 18 straight games.

A lot of the same sentiment can be said regarding the West Bend West vacancy as well, with the Spartans having missed the playoffs for three straight seasons.

“The new guy coming in is going to have to realize the patience level is very low based on what’s happened the last couple of years,” Rondorf said. “It’s going to be a tall task for anyone who’s coming in because there’s not a lot of patience left.”

Rondorf and Stier addressed the football coaching vacancies at their respective schools after Monday night’s open forum with the parents of fall sports student-athletes.

“It’s going to take three to five years to establish a program,” Stier said. “It’s after that time when you get things rolling and start sustaining success. It’s only going to help our program.”

The vacancies came about when Scott Mindel resigned from East shortly after a second straight winless season for the Suns in his only two seasons as the head coach. Not long after Mindel’s resignation, Aaron Paulin stepped down after five seasons as the Spartans’ coach.

Paulin led West to back-to-back playoff appearances in his first two seasons, but were 6-20 in the following three seasons.

Mindel spent more than 20 years with the East program in a variety of roles.

“I really think we have to establish consistency and longevity,” Stier said. “When you turn over coaches, when coaches decide not to coach, things like that, you start over in a lot of senses. You need to have those coaches who are invested for a lengthy period of time and establish their program.”

However, the question hovering over the East and West football programs is how soon will this turn around?

Football is an important part of a high school because it is often the big revenue sport and typically the one with the most participants.

“A lot of people feel football sets the tone for the school year,” Rondorf said. “That way the other programs will benefit from having a successful football program.”

East and West parents expressed passion in getting things going for not only football, but for all sports in West Bend. However, the road block appeared to be the unwillingness to make the commitment.

“It’s going to take a lot of support,” Rondorf said. “The parents are going to have to be supportive of the individual.”

Stier said he wished school spirit was better, but losing makes it tough to be celebratory.

Stier praised Paulin’s efforts to try and better the West program, such as taking on a big role with the youth program and assisting the studentathletes with their grades, when needed, with study hall sessions.

“Aaron Paulin did a heck of a job in a lot of areas, but he decided for right now he’s going to step away,” Stier said. “He invested countless hours at West to better the program and he did in a lot of areas. In my mind that’s a success.”

But Paulin’s gone and that left at least one parent wondering: Why?

Stier promised the parents that with the football position and any other coaching position in the school’s athletic program, the best applicant is hired.

There is belief from parents that’s not always true, especially if the most qualified candidate is a teacher from another district. With so many areas in education looking for ways to cut down costs, creating positions, which mean more money spent, just to add a football coach makes that possibility a challenge.

With that, a parent questioned whether the right applicant is truly hired.

In Washington County, there have been four winless football seasons since 2009. East has three of them and West has the other. East and West also have the two worst records among the eight programs in the county.

“For every question in every group brought up the fact that you need a dynamic leader in place,” Rondorf said. “You need someone that’s going to lead the program. When you get that person in place, that strong leadership, they felt the kids would be very responsive to that to working hard and having quality workouts and not so much quantity workouts, to be able to get the most out of his kids in the short time he has.”

“It’s going to be a tough job for the person that’s coming in,” he added.

Rondorf said the likely candidate will probably come from out of the district, one who can change the culture at East.

The same goes for West.

“The (hiring) committee is aware of the need to bring somebody that can get this thing turned around in a relatively short period of time,” Rondorf said. “It’s going to be a tough job for the person that’s coming in.”

East, West look to fix future of programs

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 18, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

More than 70 parents gathered in the West Bend East and West Bend West cafeterias looking for ways to enhance the athletic experience for their son and/or daughters and change the culture of West Bend athletics.

“We’re always looking to improve our programs,” West Athletic Director Scott Stier told a group of Spartans parents Monday night.

The discussion was lively, passionate and respectful, lasting well beyond the 60 minutes originally slated. The West meeting didn’t end until close to 9:30 p.m.

“There is a lot of passion for West Bend West athletics,” Stier said. “There are some simple things that I think we can do to tweak to make it even better at West.”

It was the first time East or West hosted an open forum such as Monday’s to discuss the future of athletics at the high schools.

“I learned that our parents have a lot of great ideas and it was a very good meeting,” East Athletic Director Jeff Rondorf said. “I enjoyed it. I enjoyed listening to them and their thoughts. I thought their ideas were excellent. For the first time doing it, I was very happy.”

“We thought this was one more way where we could get qualitative feedback from your stakeholders,” Stier said. “People who are going to show up on cold, snowy Monday night are passionate.”

So, what was discussed?

East and West parents were given a questionnaire with seven questions:

■ What can we do to improve participation?

■ How can we improve communication?

■ What are ways to improve the reputation and perception of athletics in West Bend?

■ What do we need to know that (the athletic administration) may not know regarding East or West athletics?

■ What do you and your athlete need for support during the offseason?

■ What are some suggestions on ways to improve team culture?

■ What are some suggestions on how to improve your child’s experience in athletics and the quality of the programs?

A common theme was school pride and spirit. In addition, the desire to be competitive was made known.

On the other side, parents believed many coaches aren’t advocates of multi-sport athletes, instead of “multiseason athletes” as one parent called it, which, in turn, puts the athletes in a tough spot.

The parents also believe even though offseason workouts aren’t mandatory, the student-athletes are looked down on if they don’t participate in them, especially if the studentathlete is involved in a sport at the time of those workouts. And the unique situation of West Bend having two high schools in one building was also questioned.

One parent challenged the parents and community members to stop accepting mediocrity.

“Our competitors laugh at us,” one parent said.

Rondorf and Stier believed the meeting was a success as they continue to try to enhance the athletics opportunities in West Bend.

“We just want what’s best for our kids and how we can improve our programs,” Rondorf said. “School spirit is a big issue; there weren’t many answers,” Stier said. “But the necessity to get the community engaged and get people to our events, which is something has been a focus of mine since stepping into this role. We haven’t been nearly as successful as I would like. I’m always looking for ways to accomplish that goal.”