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Super Bowl 50 came and went and mostly will go down as a lackluster game--a defensive slugfest with Denver topping Carolina 24-10. Much more has been made in the aftermath about the way Panthers QB Cam Newton handled himself during and after the loss. And also about whether we watched Peyton Manning's last game. Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry chime in on both during this week's episode of Xtra Points. It's also time to start breaking down some of the area WIAA postseason. The road to state wrestling and swimming begins Saturday, and the local hockey teams' brackets are all set, as well. Finally, we talk about what the Milwaukee Bucks should try to do with the trade deadline looming and their playoff hopes vanishing. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Podcast listeners: We just switched our podcast URL. If you are having trouble getting the show to play in your podcast app, click the "Subscribe via RSS" link below and paste it into your app. Or send producer Andrew Reuter an email at areuter@gazettextra.com if you need more help. Listen via iTunes |

Former Janesville Parker girls basketball coach Tom Klawitter was in the news again last week as Parker and the Janesville School District sort out the naming of the school's gym. The Gazette ran a series of articles over the weekend about that, as well as Klawitter's legacy and how his nonrehiring was handled over the summer. Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry rehash what they learned through the process of gathering information to write those articles in this week's episode. It's also Super Bowl week, and the guys break down the big game. And the Wisconsin men's basketball team takes a four-game winning streak into Thursday's matchup with Ohio State. Are they working themselves back into NCAA Tournament consideration? Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher |

The guys reflect on WCLO broadcaster Al Fagerli's retirement as well as the Packers' season, Badgers basketball and Thursday's crosstown boys basketball matchup between Janesville Craig and Parker. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Watch on YouTube | Subscribe via RSS

Optimism wasn't high as the Green Bay Packers began their playoff push last week, yet here we are a week later and they're still alive after dispatching the Washington Redskins on Sunday night. After a stagnant first quarter, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers came alive. But now, against an Arizona team with quite a few offensive weapons and a stout defense, can Green Bay keep the momentum rolling on Saturday? Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry break down the Packers' chances. We also take a look at the prospects of our area high school basketball teams as we're at or near the midway point of the conference schedules. Who has the best chance to make a run to state, and who has some work to do down the stretch. We've got all that covered in this week's episode. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Watch on YouTube |

It hadn't been a great couple weeks for Wisconsin sports fans, but that all seems to have shifted with the start of December. The Wisconsin men's basketball team picked up a pair of big victories, UW-Whitewater is now one more road win away from another Stagg Bowl appearance and the Packers pulled off their Thursday-night miracle last week. Even baseball has given us something to talk about despite being in the middle of winter, as general managers meet for their offseason meetings. Big signings and trades have become routine, but what's it meant for the Brewers and their new GM. Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry tackle all of that in this week's episode of Xtra Points. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Watch on YouTube | Subscribe via RSS

Out with the old (November), and in with the new (December). It was a tough month to be a Wisconsin sports fan. The Green Bay Packers have lost four of their last five games, the Wisconsin basketball team--fresh off back-to-back Final Four appearances--is going through some growing pains, and the Badgers finished 9-3 on the football field. What's next for these teams now that we've flipped over the calendar? Can they put their struggles behind them, or should we expect more of the same? On the happier side of things, the Janesville Jets have built a six-game winning streak, and early results in area high school basketball point to what should be a fine year. Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry tackle the good, the bad and the ugly in this week's episode of Xtra Points. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Watch on YouTube |

Yeesh, that was a tough week for Wisconsin sports. On Friday, the Wisconsin men's basketball team raised its Final Four banner at the Kohl Center. Then it promptly lowered everyone's spirits with a loss to Western Illinois. The Badgers have since rebounded, but it's going to take a while to forget a loss to the Leathernecks. Then, on Sunday, the Packers were double-digit favorites to beating visiting Detroit at Lambeau Field. But an ugly game finished as ugly as possible with the Lions winning in Green Bay for the first time since 1991. Luckily, we've got the winter season of high school sports to turn our attention away from the head-scratching situations. So on top of discussing those strange scenarios, we break down the start of the high school girls basketball season, which officially began Tuesday night. All of that and more with Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry in this week's episode of Xtra Points. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitche

Another week, and another stunning Packers loss. OK, maybe it wasn't a surprise that they lost, but the way they went about it surely garnered headlines. With the upcoming slate featuring all NFC North opponents over the next month, are Gazette sports writer John Barry or editor Eric Schmoldt ready to hit the panic button on the Pack? On the basketball front, Wisconsin's attempt to make a third consecutive Final Four appearance starts Friday with a nonconference game against Western Illinois. Nobody is expecting the Badgers to make a run to the national championship game again, but how far can they go? And will this be Bo Ryan's last year? We've got some predictions. We also tackle the remnants of the local high school sports scene before we start looking ahead to basketball next week. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Subscribe via RSS

Sunday night was supposed to bring us a showdown of two of the NFL's best teams when Green Bay went out to Denver. Instead, we got a real dud, as the Broncos won 29-10 in a game that was never really even competitive. What do Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry make of the lackluster effort for the Pack coming off the bye? And will Green Bay pick up the pieces when it travels to unbeaten Carolina this week? Meanwhile, on the high school scene, Lake Geneva Badger is the only Gazette-area football team still alive in the WIAA postseason. The Badgers play at Waunakee in a Division 2 quarterfinal Friday night. Milton's boys soccer team knocked off Oregon 2-1 Saturday night in Verona to earn a spot at the WIAA state tournament this week in Milwaukee. Bare and Eric break down the Red Hawks, who take on Whitefish Bay in a state semifinal. And with a week of NBA action under out belt, the Milwaukee Bucks are off to a slow start, but there's a lot of season left. That's all a part of this week's episode of Xtra Points. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes |

The home stretch of the high school postseason is here. There are three Gazette-area teams still alive in the high school playoffs--Lake Geneva, Big Foot and Evansville/Albany. Badger seems to have the best shot to move on to the state quarterfinals in Division 2. In sectional action Thursday, Milton fans will be busy. The Red Hawks volleyball team plays Burlington in Elkhorn in a 5 p.m. sectional semifinal. The boys soccer team hosts Fort Atkinson at 7 p.m. in a sectional semi. ... Elsewhere, Delavan-Darien, on a mission for a second straight state title, hosts Whitnall. The World Series got underway Tuesday night with Kansas City winning in a 14-inning thriller. The guys shot the video before that game began and gave their takes on what to expect. And the biggest game on folks' minds around here this week is the unbeaten showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos on Sunday night. The oddsmakers are expecting a defensive slugfest, but playing in primetime coming off a bye, might it be an offensive shootout? All that on this week's episode of Xtra Points. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show.

Janesville Parker and Delavan-Darien snuck into the WIAA high school football playoffs at the 11th hour with victories Friday night. The first round of the playoffs are here, and Gazette sports reporter John Barry and editor Eric Schmoldt are here to break down their matchups and those of all the area's high school teams. Which team has the best chance to make a run? Evansville/Albany? Milton? Badger? They've got some thoughts of their own, but leave your predictions in the comments below. Bare and Eric also talk playoffs in volleyball and soccer. On the football field, since the last show, Wisconsin has picked up two un-exciting victories, while UW-Whitewater shockingly lost a game. The Green Bay Packers head to their bye week with a 6-0 record. What advice do we have for those who seem concerned despite the perfect record? And, with their World Series predictions sufficiently destroyed about a week after they made them, what are the new sure-to-be wrong picks to win the whole thing? Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes |

The streak that Aaron Rodgers has put together at Lambeau Field are simply silly. He's gone nearly 500 passing attempts there without throwing an interception, and the Packers this year are off to a 3-0 start. How long can Green Bay and its star quarterback keep this going? In college football, Wisconsin is 3-1 and entered the year the favorite to win the Big Ten West. Is that still the case now that the league season is set to begin Saturday? What about UW-Whitewater? The Warhawks are still ranked No. 1, but they got a test at Morningside College last week and face the next highest-ranked opponent in the WIAC, UW-Platteville, to open league play Saturday at Perkins Stadium. Meanwhile, on Friday night several area high school teams need victories to improve their chances of making the WIAA playoffs. It's a football frenzy this week on Xtra Points! Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher |

We're through five weeks of the nine-week regular season in high school football. That seems like an appropriate time to hand out some mid-term grades. Gazette sports editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry go through all the area teams to assess how things have gone thus far and to talk some of the key Week 6 matchups coming up Friday night. On Thursday, Division III No. 1 UW-Whitewater takes on NAIA No. 1 Morningside College. It's the most intriguing test for either team thus far this season. You can watch it on ESPN3/Watch ESPN. On Saturday, it's all about the Midwest Invitational cross country meet down at Blackhawk Golf Course. The Badgers host Hawaii in a night game. And the Jets will be wrapping up the NAHL Showcase tournament in Minnesota. It's a busy time of year. Stay up to date with Xtra Points! Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Watch on YouTube

It's hard to believe, but when we reach halftime of this Friday's high school football games, we'll already be at halftime of the regular season. In this week's Xtra Points podcast, sports writer John Barry and Editor Eric Schmoldt break down some of the season's storylines to this point, what we expect moving forward and the big Week 5 matchups in the area. We'll also delve deeper into what was Week 1 of the NFL season and preview Sunday night's big game between the Packers and Seahawks at Lambeau Field. And don't forget: The North American Hockey League's Janesville Jets open their season this Friday against Kenai River at the Janesville Ice Arena. Have a Packers prediction? Think you know who will make the WIAA playoffs? Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher | Watch on YouTube | Subscribe via RSS | Downlo

Despite losing wide receiver Jordy Nelson to a season-ending injury, the Green Bay Packers remain one of the odds-on favorites to make it to the Super Bowl. The NFL season kicks off Thursday with New England hosting Pittsburgh, and the Packers open up with a road game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Packers coach Mike McCarthy got caught using some colorful language about the rivalry game recently, which could add another layer of intensity. Gazette Sports Editor Eric Schmoldt and writer John Barry give their takes on how the Packers will do this season, along with some other NFL predictions. We also wrap our minds around Wisconsin's dud to start its college football season against Alabama and where the Badgers go from here. And we wrap things up with a look at the local high school football slate on tap of Week 4 this Friday. Our theme music is "Rock Hybrid" by Kevin MacLeod. Find more of his work at his website. Thoughts on the show? Have some swag you want to share? Don't forget to let us know. Leave a comment below, send us an email at sports@gazettextra.com, or reach out to us on Twitter. Eric is @ericschmoldt. John is @barezachow1. If you like the show, we could use your support. You can subscribe to GazetteXtra on YouTube or get the podcast delivered directly to your favorite app, including iTunes and Stitcher. Leave us a review, whether it's good or bad, and we'll feature it on the show. Listen via iTunes | Listen via Stitcher |