{image1}Brett Favre and a couple other Packers might add the biggest names to the U.S. Bank Championship when they play in the Pro-Ams before the tourney at Brown Deer next week.
Favre will be joined by Packers' place kicker Ryan Longwell and former Packers' quarterback Don Majkowski in the Monday Pro-Am and in a Celebrity Shootout on Tuesday.
Madison pro Jerry Kelly will team with Favre in the Shootout. Skip Kendall, a Milwaukee native, will join Majkowski and J.P. Hayes, who hails from the Fox Valley, will play with Longwell.
Winners of a contest will serve as caddies for the three Packers in the Pro-Am and Shootouts. Additional winners will serve as honorary captains.
Tournament director Dan Croak said, "The U.S. Bank Championship has featured sports heroes from Wisconsin as part of its early week festivities many times in the past but having Brett participate in our Monday and Tuesday events presents a special opportunity for our fans and sponsors.
"Having one of the NFL's all-time greats with us during the start of tournament week should be a truly memorable experience for everyone."
Once the actual tourney starts on Thursday, the names might not be as big as Favre's, but there are plenty of excellent golfers in the tourney. Defending champ Carlos Franco will head the field.
With his second victory last year, Franco became the seventh player with multiple victories in Milwaukee. The others are Dave Stockton (1968 and 1973), Dave Eichelberger (1971 and 1977), Calvin Peete (1979 and 1982), Scott Hoch (1995 and 1997), Loren Roberts (1996 and 2000) and Jeff Sluman (1998 and 2002).
En route to victory last year, Franco posted four rounds in the '60s ('68-'63-'69-'67). He also carded four rounds in the '60s in his winning effort in 1999. Franco has earned $1,098,339.64 with six made cuts in six starts at the U.S. Bank Championship.
"I like the golf course in Milwaukee," Franco said after winning the tournament. "It reminds me of the course I learned to play on in Paraguay."
Five of the top 15 golfers in line for the U.S. Presidents Cup team will be in the field. Former tourney champ Kenny Perry ranks highest among those five, in fifth place. Perry is sixth on the PGA money list this year.
J.P. Hayes, Jerry Kelly, Skip Kendall, Steve Stricker, Mario Tiziani and Mark Wilson, all of whom have Wisconsin ties, have committed to play at this year's tourney. The tournament continues to look for its first victory from a Wisconsin native.
As for the shape of the course, Brown Deer had significant winter damage prompting some anxious weeks waiting for the warmer weather to arrive. But, groundskeepers say the course has recovered and few of the scars from the damage will be noticeable.
Brewers' Player of the Week
Carlos Lee has to get the distinction after representing the team in Tuesday's All Star Game. Before the break, Lee also set a team record for RBI in the first half by driving in his 76th run.
Lee hit 11 homers in the first round of the Home Run Derby Monday to make it to the second round. He went 0-3 in Tuesday's game, but did have a RBI.
Geoff Jenkins, who has been mired in a season-long slump, also picked it up in the last week before the break. The Brewers could use Jenkins' bat to heat up in the second half.
Hot Tix
The Brewers return from the All Star break to host the Washington Nationals at Miller Park. The series starts with a 1 p.m. game Thursday. Game times then are 7:05 p.m. Friday, 6:05 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. A Rollie Fingers bobblehead is being given away on Saturday.
The International Cycling Championship Superweek continues. The schedule for the next week includes:
July 14 Hammer Gel Humboldt Park Criterium New Course!, Milwaukee
July 14 Tim Hart DDS/Rainbow Jersey Shorewood Criterium New Course!, Shorewood
July 15 Wheel & Sprocket Brewers Hill Criterium, Milwaukee
July 15 Schlitz Park Endeavour Cycling Challenge, Milwaukee
July 16 Carl Zach Cycling Classic, Waukesha
July 17 Bensenville Criterium, Bensenville, IL
July 18 Ciao Café Tour of Holy Hill, Hartford
July 19 Cingular of Whitefish Bay Lake Front Road Race
July 20 Bellin Health De Pere Cycling Classic, De Pere
July 21 PCW Cycling Heritage Square Criterium, Sheboygan
Wave United hosts the Minnesota Thunder at 7 p.m. Saturday at Uihlein Soccer Park. It's Harry Potter Night.
The Milwaukee Marauders will play a North American Football League game against the McHenry County (Ill.) Gladiators at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hart Park. The other area NAFL team, the Racine Raiders, will play at the Midwest (Minn.) Pioneers on Saturday.
If Aussie Rules football is of more interest to you, the Bombers host St. Louis in A Mid-American Australian Football League game on Saturday. Go to milwaukeebombers.com for more details.
Looking ahead one week, athletes representing more than 20 states and a dozen countries, including a trio of Olympians Conrad Stoltz (RSA), Olivier Marceau (SUI), and Brent McMahon (CAN), are headed to Milwaukee, July 23-24, for the Nissan Xterra Midwest Championship.
It's the first time the off-road triathlon series, with 90 races in 14 countries, stops in Milwaukee. Athletes will swim 1.5-kilometers (.93 mile) in Lake Michigan at McKinley Beach, mountain bike a 30k (18.64 miles) course that follows the Milwaukee River, and run a 10k (6.2 miles) route that twists through Veterans Park and along the beach.
