Pritzl stars in exhibition
The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team opened its five-game exhibition tour Down Under with an 85-75 victory over the New Zealand Breakers on Tuesday night in Auckland, New Zealand.
Brevin Pritzl, who will be a redshirt sophomore this year, hit 7 of 9 three-pointers and finished with 28 points to lead four Badgers in double-figure scoring. Ethan Happ added a double-double for the Badgers with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Brad Davison had a solid debut for UW with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Khalil Iverson rounded up the double-digit scorers for UW with 10 points.
SOCCER
The committee that is hoping to bring the 2026 World Cup to the United States, Mexico and Canada is seeking bids from 44 cities that may be interested in hosting matches.
The United Bid Committee is considering 49 stadiums in those regions for inclusion in the official bid that will be sent to soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, in March. Green Bay’s Lambeau Field is one of the possible sites being considered.
The committee announced Tuesday that it will review interest and select a short list of possible host cities in September. The bid ultimately sent to FIFA is expected to include up to 25 venues.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first with a 48team field.
BASEBALL
Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler has voiced harsh criticism of Angel Hernandez, saying the veteran umpire should find another job.
A day after being ejected from a game for questioning Hernandez’s calls on balls and strikes, Kinsler told reporters covering the Tigers on Tuesday that Hernandez is a bad umpire who is “messing” with games “blatantly.”
Kinsler’s comments were reported online by multiple media outlets just before Detroit played the Texas Rangers and early in the game. Hernandez was the third base umpire Tuesday. A normal rotation for the umpires put Hernandez at second base Wednesday night.
TENNIS
Maria Sharapova was granted a wild-card invitation for the U.S. Open’s main draw on Tuesday and will take part in a Grand Slam event for the first time in more than 1½ years.
Sharapova is among eight women given entry into the 128-player field by the U.S. Tennis Association.
The former No. 1-ranked player and owner of five major titles, including the 2006 U.S. Open, has not entered a major tournament since the Australian Open in January 2016, when she tested positive for the newly banned drug meldonium.
That led to a 15-month doping ban, which expired in April. She returned to the tour, but her ranking — currently 148th — was too low to allow entry into major tournaments, and the French Open denied her a wild card.