Bemowski dies at 72
Mark Bemowski, one of the top amateur golfers in Wisconsin history, died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72.
Bemowski, who lived in Mukwonago, won the 2004 U.S. Senior Amateur and six State Amateur titles over a 30-year span. He won the State Amateur and State Senior Amateur titles in 2005, the only time in state history that has happened. He made the 36-hole cut at the State Amateur for 40 consecutive years.
His cancer diagnosis in December 2016 didn’t slow him down. Despite chemotherapy, Bemowski competed in the 2017 State Senior Best-ball.
“Other than my family, the thing that means the most to me is getting new golf clubs, trying this, trying that,” he told the Journal Sentinel in 2017. “The eternal quest. That’s what golf is.”
BOXING
Anthony Joshua retained his WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles with a seventh-round stoppage of Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium in London.
Joshua, who fought with a suspected broken nose from the second round, sent the Russian to the canvas with a big right midway through the seventh and was unloading a flurry of punches before the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Joshua’s record moved to 22-0, with 21 wins coming inside the distance. This was another big test passed by the Briton in front of an estimated 80,000 fans at Wembley – just like 17 months ago when he recovered from getting knocked down against Wladimir Klitschko to win an epic fight.
Joshua, whose phenomenal pulling power sees him pack out stadiums, is booked to return to Wembley on April 13 for his next bout, and the plan is for the opponent to be either WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder or former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. They confirmed earlier Saturday they will be fighting on Dec. 1, likely in Las Vegas.
Selling the Povetkin fight was harder than usual for Joshua and his promoters, with the Russian boxer aged 39 and conceding around 11 kilograms on the champion. Joshua was 1-10 to win with some British bookmakers.
On a rainy night that forced spectators at ground level to wear plastic ponchos as protection from the wet conditions, Joshua struggled in the early rounds and was rocked by a three-punch combination from Povetkin in the first.
BASKETBALL
U.S. coach Dawn Staley knows her team is a work in progress.
With a lack of training time as a group, each game is an opportunity to improve chemistry on the court. The opener against Senegal didn’t start out well, with the Americans trailing Senegal by eight points before wearing the African nation down in an 87-67 victory in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Tenerife, Spain.
“We’ve had more actual games then we’ve had practices,” Staley said. “That’s what you saw on the floor. Sometimes didn’t look as clean as we’d like it to be.”
Elena Delle Donne scored 19 points and Nneka Ogwumike added 16 to lead the U.S.
Butler to skip media day: Jimmy Butler will not be at the Minnesota Timberwolves’ media day Monday and won’t be participating at the start of training camp Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported.
The former Marquette star has asked to be traded, and the organization is trying to decide what the next step should be. He becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
VOLLEYBALL
Allie Barber had 16 kills as Marquette opened its Big East season by sweeping host Providence, 2521, 25-14, 25-21.
Lauren Speckman dished out 22 assists for the Golden Eagles (10-3, 1-0).
Northern Kentucky 3, UW-Milwaukee 0: Kylie Wilks had 14 digs and 12 kills but the Panthers (2-13, 1-1 Horizon League) were swept by the Norse (10-3, 2-0) in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
From Journal Sentinel wire reports