It's time to call it quits

I've been blogging for over 2.5 years and as you probably have noticed, I really haven't done much in the last 2-3 months. It's about time that I give this up as the drive just isn't there anymore. I covered the last 2 Packer seasons, drafts, etc and I watched all the games thinking in my head "How can I best blog this?". It has become tiring. Now I am simply going to enjoy the games and still critique them, but I think I would be better served for a while just commenting on other Packer sites and blogs, as that is what we all crave, someone to comment on what we do.

This blog was originally started as a writing experiment and turned into a primarily WI sports (mostly Packer) site with some snippets of my life thrown in. I've met a lot of great people while doing this and found sites I never would have.

So, where should you go for great Packer info?

Brats and Beer has always been a favorite, he's a good writer and not afraid to call BS when he sees it.

Mr. Carriveau does a fantastic job over at the Railbird Central. He's made leaps and bounds in his blog over the last 1.5 years. Proud to say I was there in the beginning for him.

The gang over at The Frozen Tundra has carried the torch very well that I started 2 yrs ago there (where I had some of my best writings).

Check out SBNations Acme Packing Company. It's a new guy who's just started about 2-3 months ago but he's doing a nice job.

Someday, I hope to write again when the muse strikes and hopefully one of these fine sites would allow me to join their team as my days of flying solo are at an end.

It's been a great run of over 450 posts and 75,000 visitors. I thank all of you for making this site so much fun for so long. Take care and God bless.

First preseason game in the books

The Packers played the Steelers on Saturday night. The final score really doesn't matter (we won 13-9) and all that does are injuries and several positional battles. So, here's what we learned:

• Brandon Jackson is a rookie. He had several moments where he stood out, but this was his first "game" as a pro and had the understandable rookie moments.
• Jones is a stud WR. He's quickly moving from being labeled a draft "reach" to a "steal".
• Aaron Rodgers is nowhere near the bust the critics like to label him as. He looked fantastic and if he keeps this up, he's looking to be a fine successor to Favre.
• The starting defense was awesome, especially Jenkins. He and Kampman are going to be a fantastic DE combo this year.
• The starting offense was understandably rusty. A bit disappointing, but again, just the first pre-season game and they'll get better as they get more playing time in the preseason.
• Blackmon is making a huge play for the nickelback spot and contributed quite well on special teams. He has really stepped up his game this year.

Most importantly, nobody got hurt in the game. Justin Harrell was exhausted at the end of the game, but he needs to get into football shape after such a long injury layoff. Plus, the Packers are thin right now with DT and he needed to play some extended time.

47 games to go

What is with the Brewers on the road?

They are the 5th worst road team in the MLB. They have a winning percentage of 38% on the road, that's pathetic. They have lost 9 of their last 11 on the road, add in that they have lost 5 of their last 9 at home, that's 6-14 in the last 20 games and it's a sad state of affairs in Milwaukee. The worst part is, they have more road than home games to finish the season.

This has gone way beyond the Brewers not catching breaks or catching a hot team at the wrong time. This is flat out a crappy ballclub right now and has been for some time.

Sure, some may say I'm just mad after we get swept by Colorado. True, but the Crew was not even competitive in that series, not even close. They were outscored 36-10. 36-10!!!

The vaunted starting pitching staff we were supposed to have has failed us for over the past two months. Suppan (ERA 4.84/ WHIP 1.52) has been a complete bust, Bush (5.03/1.36) hasn't repeated last year's performance which likely was a fluke, Vargas (4.97/1.50) only wins because he happens to get run support, otherwise he's not much better than Bush. Cappy (4.96/1.49) has hit bottom, and our best pitcher Sheets (3.39/1.16) is on the DL for a while yet. Don't even get me started on how completely unreliable our bullpen is.

I'm making the call right now:

This team is not winning the division, nor are they making the playoffs.

There is no pitching here and at this point in the season, that's what separates the contenders from the pretenders. There is absolutely zero confidence in the Brewers dugout right now. They are hoping they can win the division, hope is not a strategy. They have to go out there and take the division. However, this team is not ready yet to do that, they don't know how.

It's another disappointing season in Milwaukee, I'm just choosing to believe it a month and a half early. I hope the Brewers prove me wrong, but I just don't see it happening.

Photo of the Day

Training camp is looking great right now, but it's camp and I won't get too worked up about it. So to pass the time, I figured some nice picures will pass the time this week until we get to the first preseason game.

KG gone from MN

Got a comment from my NYC atty buddy Russ wondering about the KG trade. Since I live in the Twin Cities I get a front row seat for it.

The T-Wolves are a complete disaster right now and have been for several seasons. They gave stupid contracts to poor players who had some success. Those players than went on to suck horribly. However, the worst contract that was given was to the Big Ticket himself. His deal he got in 1997 for 6 yrs $126 million was worse for basketball than A-Rod's deal was for baseball. KG's deal handcuffed the Wolves for years as they simply could not sign players. Then his contract extention in 2003 which gave him over $20M/yr continued the lunacy. Sure they made trades, but eventually, those players left for more money.

The T'Wolves are rebuilding, yet again and KG simply couldn't and wouldn't go through that. He wants to win a title and Boston offers him a better chance of getting there in the weak Eastern Conference. If he, Pierce and Allen can stay healthy, Boston should run away with the Atlantic Division and be a 1 or 2 seed come playoff time. Happy days are back in Boston.

Minnesota sports fans love the big name player and essentially need it to really root for and follow a sports team. Right now, the T-Wolves don't have that and I would be surprised if they avg in the top half of attendance this coming season. This is a 20-25 win team in Minneapolis right now.

Around the NFC North Camps

Well, now that some training camps have started I thought it would be interesting to look around to see how some of our division rivals are doing:

Detroit Lions
Kitna became the laughing stock of the league by saying the Lions were going to win 10 games this season. Yes, they did draft Calvin Johnson, but he still isn't signed and per the web, he's not even close. He stays out too long and he won't get a chance to get to know a complex Mike Martz offense and will be fairly useless his rookie year. The OL still hasn't gotten any better from last season and thus no running game and poor pass protection. Poor poor Lions.

Minnesota Vikings
Well, Tarvaris Jackson is looking absolutely brutal so far. He apparently is allergic to completing passes to his own teammates. It is looking more and more like Brooks Bollinger is going to be the starting QB come opening day. If Brooks is your starter, your offense is screwed, well, same can be said of Tarvaris. RB Chester Taylor got hurt and rookie RB Adrian Peterson isn't dazzling anyone so far. The Vikes D apparently looks good, but look at what they are going up against for an offense.

Chicago Bears
The Bears get Lance Briggs back, after his proclomation that he will never play for them again. Real good chemistry there. They lose thug DT Tank Johnson for his gun charges and that leaves a big hole in the DL. They are counting on the ancient Adam Archuleta as their answer at safety. Plus, they still think Rex Grossman is their answer at QB.

Meanwhile, the Packers draft picks are playing fantastically, the OL is blocking very well and the LB and secondary have made marked improvements. So far, things are looking great.

Time to talk Packers (finally)!

It's been a real boring summer for football news, and as well it should be. The Packers moved along with mini-camps and coaches and the GM talking up players and such. We are finally within 2 days of training camp so there is something to actually discuss.

The biggest news is that RB Brandon Jackson has finally signed and will be reporting to camp on time. This is a huge win for the Packers, and Jackson. RB's who hold out from camp come in behind the curve and just never seem to catch up, so it's almost a wasted season. Jackson can come in from the start and learn the system. We still have to get DT Justin Harrell and WR James Jones signed, but I think they will both be finished up fairly soon. The Steelers signed their pick (#15 overall) to a deal already, so the market is set for Harrell, it's just details at this point. Jones is admitedly a project, so I wasn't expecting much from him this year anyways.

Let's take a look at the roster to see what we should be looking for in camp:

Offense
With Favre returning, we are set at QB. I've heard all the negative talk about how he's fading and blah blah blah. But he's still the best QB in the division, so suck on that you fans of the rest of the NFC North.

The running game is going to be the biggest key this year. The OL all returns with Clifton reportedly in the best shape he's been in since Sapp cheap-shotted him several years ago. With a year of the zone blocking system under their belts and Colledge, Spitz, Wells and Moll all taking part in the offseason lifting program in Green Bay this offseason, look for the blocking to improve quite a bit. Last year we saw some flashes of what they can do, just need those to increase and be more consistent this season. The running back duo of Morency and Jackson should provide a surprising 1-2 punch. While both have questions around them that neither can be a featured back, but there is no expectations of that. It's a RB-by-committee approach, so they should see equal time with McCarthy going with whomever is hot that day.

The offensive line needs to improve it's pass blocking from last season, and they should. Last year there were games with 3 rookie OL in and the Packers had to use a max protect package far too often. It limited the passing game as only 2-3 receivers could go out at any given time. Easy defense for most teams (except the Vikes, they sucked at pass coverage). Again, given the former rookies now have that year under their belts and a solid offseason, they need to step it up.

The wide receivers are an uninspiring bunch after superstud Donald Driver and surprise 2nd yr man Greg Jennings. Jennings needs to build on his spectactular first half of his rookie season and be more consistant. As for the rest of the WR corps, it's a crapshoot. Jones, as I mentioned earlier, is a project and not really counted on for big things. Ferguson is a waste of a uniform, and the rest of the group hasn't really shown anything. Need to have someone step up their game and show they belong.

Defense
With the drafting of DT Justin Harrell, the Packers have one of the better DL in the NFC. After Kris Jenkins was moved to DE, the line overall excelled in stopping the run, being one of the best units in this category over the last 4 games last year. Harrell will add even more interior run-stopping ability and give us unprecidented quality depth at that position. Uber-DE Aaron Kampman should see a similar season this year as his 15.5 sack season last year. Definately the strength of the team is the front 4 (or 8 in our case)

The linebackers are an interesting group. MLB Nick Barnett is underappreciated in Packer circles with many gleefully pointing out his faults. He's been in 4 different schemes in 4 seasons, and he has thrived. Now he gets the same scheme for the first time in consecutive seasons so he should only be better and start turning into the playmaker we need him to be. AJ Hawk. He lived up to the billing last year and should be even better this year. Brady Poppinga is the interesting case study here. He's fast and has that "never ending motor", he certainly has the physical ability to play at a high level, but injuries have kept him from getting there. The constant theme with all of these guys is their less than stellar pass coverage. This is a definate area that needs to be addressed in camp.

Speaking of pass coverage, how about that elite duo of CBs Al Harris and Charles Woodson? These guys define shutdown and the team looks for them to help lead the defense. The nickle back position is a bit sketchy, but the Packers have several promising young CBs in Walker and Blackmon who look to fill this spot. The safties, *sigh*, are another story. After a brilliant rookie season, Nick Collins regressed last year. One argument for that was he had to make up for the absolute piss-poor play of Marquand Manuel. To say Manuel sucked is an insult to hookers everywhere. Many Packer fans hope that Marviel Underwood, who was outstanding last camp and preseason before being lost to injury, steps up as the starter. I am simply hoping that Manuel goes from terrible to average. That would be a big improvement. The safety position absolutely needs to improve this season or we'll be seeing a lot of the big pass plays being given up again.

Special teams
The punt and kick return units were dreadful last year and need to improve big-time this year. We were one of (if not the) worst kick return units last year. The young WRs need to step up in camp and show they have some return ability. The draft this year was geared towards getting players who were special teams standouts so let's see if that translates to better kick returns and coverages.

I fully believe that P John Ryan and K Dave Rayner will still be our starters. Both are young guys who will only get better and both have loads of potential.

There's my pre-camp thoughts on the team. We have a lot of question marks, but certainly we have some solid bases to build around. Let's hope for no major injuries and that Harrell and Jones sign soon. Go Pack!

Back from vacation

Hi all,

Haven't posted in a while as I've been on vacation in South Dakota with the wife and kids. While the drive out there really isn't all that interesting (I mean it is really, really boring), once you get to the Badlands and Black Hills, it is completely worth it.

The Badlands was awesome. I haven't been out here since I was 2, so it truly was like seeing it for the first time. Just breathtaking scenery and awe-inspiring. You feel like you are on a different planet. My kids really loved climbing around the rocks and getting "lost". We also saw a rattlesnake there, which was cool.

Definately the cutest thing we saw all trip were the prairie dogs. The kids absolutely loved them and wanted us to stop and pull over everytime we passed by one of the prairie dog towns. These towns were huge! Some of them were the size of about 10-12 football fields big. To think that these tunnels are all interconnected and that the prairie dogs know them all is amazing.


Next up was the infamous Wall Drug. You've seen the signs on the road "1365 miles to Wall Drug" out in the middle of Arizona, Texas, WV or wherever. I know I've seen bumper stickers for it on cars in Nashville. Well, it certainly was an interesting stop. We got the free ice water and the insanely good donuts. We didn't stay too long as, well, it's a store and restaurant when you get down to it. A really big and fairly interesting one.

We then spent a couple of days tenting in Custer State Park. That place is outstanding. The kids got to pan for gold, go swimming in really clear lakes (we're talking almost Boundry Waters clear), and we all went to what was my favorite part of the trip: Mount Rushmore.

I've always been impressed with this monument and the story behind it. The sculptor who started it, Gutzon Borglum had 9 different versions of the monument in mind and constantly changed his vision as the work unfolded depending on how the rock in the mountain was. He never saw it finished as he died just prior to the completion.

I took this picture moments before a hail storm hitting us here. Yep, we get there and 10 minutes later a hail storm hits with hail coming down about 1/2 inch in diameter. It was really cool and the kids absolutely loved it. They kept running out in it (along with several other kids there) to get the larger hailstones. Needless to say, we had to buy some souvenier t-shirts for them to wear.

The park is full of animals, while we were there the park had approximately 950 elk, 950 big horned sheep, 1000 prongers and 1000 buffalo. The buffalo were what the kids were most looking forward to on the trip. One evening we drove on the Wildlife Trail Loop and encountered a herd of about 150 buffalo next to and in the road, they were majestic. Buffalo of all different ages were about and the one in the picture was one of the biggest ones. He came right next to our van and I could have reached out and petted him he was so close. But, given that I don't believe in possibly provoking a 1 1/2 ton animal, I kept the window closed as he came by.

One night we drove up to a fire watch outpost on a 6000 foot hill (or would that make it a mountain?). The gravel road going up was just wide enough for 2 cars to pass by each other, and the top had just breathtaking views. It seemed as though you could see for over 100 miles. We got there just prior to sunset and the views just got better.

Later on in the trip, Adam got to dig at the Mammoth site in Hot Springs which was a very cool place. The building for the site surrounds the entire dig, so there's no slaving under the hot sun. Sweet!

We also visited the Mitchell Corn Palace which frankly was disappointing. The inside is just a meeting hall and a gym. Pfft, a bit overrated if you ask me.

Overall it was a fantastic trip and one that we likely will do again with the kids someday.

With the #6 pick in the NBA draft, the Bucks select...

Confrontation.

In one of the more surprising moves in the Bucks and NBA history, the Bucks took Chinese PF/C Yi Jianlian (pronounced EE TEE-an-LEE-an).

Now, it has come out that Yi's agent (Dan Fegan) came right out and told the Bucks prior to the draft that Yi would not play in Milwaukee. They were so serious about this that they barred the Bucks from coming to any workouts Yi had in the states and would not allow him to have an individual workout with them.

Bucks GM Lenny Harris saw 2 things:

1 - Yi is a big time talent that could really help the Bucks.
2 - The Bucks would have an "in" into China's marketing base, population 1.5 billion. Can you say "Cha-Ching"?

Harris decided that the team needed him and the Bucks could not pass up this opportunity. Now the rumor is that Fegan is going to formally request that the Bucks trade Yi. To this I agree with how Ty over at Bucks Diary feels:

If I were Larry Harris I would absolutely and categorically refuse such a request on the spot. Harris was right to defy their original efforts to avoid a selection by the Bucks, and having done that, it is imperative now that he sticks to his guns. Giving in to the ridiculous demand at this point would do nothing but harm the Bucks and set a dangerous precedent that, once established, would damage the future interests of small market teams like Milwaukee.

Harris' message to Yi's representatives should be direct and simple: If Yi wants to play in the NBA, he must do so in Milwaukee. End of discussion. The sooner he gets that through his skull, the better for him. A protracted holdout, or a return to China, would be a seriously foolish move, as it would only serve to hurt his pocketbook and his marketability. It would cost him NBA paychecks he can never recover, and it would damage his public reputation and squander away the precious goodwill his representatives hope to cash in on through their various endorsement schemes. He has no rational choice but to play for the Bucks.

Sorry Yi, you enter the draft and take your chances on where you are picked. That's the nature of all sports in the US and you have to live with it. Now, after you're done with your Chinese team duties in Vegas and such, get your ass to Milwaukee and see for yourself how it is. You may want to stop by Summerfest. That will change your trade demands real quick.

A moment of silence

In case you have not heard, the founder of Johnsonville Brats, Ralph Stayer, has passed on. From the AP article:

Stayer's butcher shop was struggling in 1945, when he went to a picnic and saw garbage cans filled with partially eaten brats. He and his wife drew upon their Austrian and Slovenian heritage to make better-tasting bratwurst based on an old family recipe, his son said.

Stayer once said he knew the company was doing something right when a customer who had previously ordered 5 pounds of bratwurst and 30 pounds of hamburger returned six months later and ordered 30 pounds of bratwurst and 5 pounds of hamburger.

For centuries, mankind has yearned for that perfect food, that ambrosia to make their life worthwhile. Ancient Sumerians went on discovery treks for months on end to locate it, Rome tried to conquer the known world in search of it, Columbus dared sail to the edge of the world to find it. Ralph Stayer discovered it, and the world would never be the same.

Now the masses had the perfect food and world peace was that much closer to reality. Summertime picnics have become that much more enjoyable as friends and family come together knowing that with Johnsonville brats, the outing will be a joyous one. Professional sports attendence has gone up by over 100,000% since Johnsonville brats came out as tailgating has become the national pastime.

What a debt we owe to Mr. Stayer, and to show how much we appreciate his creation and to honor his legacy, we should all grill some of his delicious creations. So raise your Johnsonville brats in a toast to Ralph Stayer all you cheeseheads and say thanks to our hero.

Swwwweeeeep!

The Brewers sweep the Giants and have now gone 7-1 in their last 8 games. They have a 7.5 game lead over the Cardinals and are 10 games over .500. Attendance is nearing the level it was when the stadium first opened (currently at about a 2.7M pace Whoo Hoo!). The hitters have gained their confidence back and the pitching staff is doing a fine job as well.

Things are real good right now. Let's keep it up Crew!

The phenom has arrived

What a fun weekend. I got to go to both Friday and Saturday night's games of the Brewers and the Twins at the Metrodome. Nothing better than being around the opposing teams place, surrounded by their taunting fans and having your team just crush them.

Best part, there was a large group of Brewers fans who kept starting "Let's go Brewers!" over and over. The local hicks kept trying to boo them out, but they failed. The chants only got louder and louder as the game went on, but the boos had less and less heart behind them. For two days, the Brewer fans took over the Metrodome.

For a breaking news story: Joe Mauer is back on the 15 day DL. Apparently he was doing a complex Word Find and has a brain strain. What a wuss.

I also had a fine personal weekend as well. In addition to the aforementioned games, I went to a big family picnic (wife's side) at Minnehaha Falls. Great day outside with loads of fun people. Even my buddy Murph showed up as he and the family were up doing some other family business. Father's Day itself was a good day. Found out that my gift was a black leather recliner. OOOOOOOOOO! Top it off with a steak dinner and life is good.

But enough about that, the time has come. Tonight features the debut of a pitcher that has not had as much hype and expectation since Ben Sheets arrived. The man has posted legendary minor league stats: This year he has a 2.90 ERA and has struck out 110 batters in 77 2/3 innings. His name is ¡Gallardo! There are several individuals who are larger than life and can pull off the single name: Zorro, Godzilla, Prince. ¡Gallardo! is such an individual.

So cower in fear San Francisco Giants. You shall be the first to witness the destructive power of ¡Gallardo!

Rules for dating my daughter

1. You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes off my daughter’s body, I will remove them from your head.

2. I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Do not take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear hanging out and your pants ten sizes too big and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes, do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your hips, buttocks and legs.

3. Convention dictates that in order to us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back in my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early”.

4. I have no doubt that you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This if fine with me as long as it is OK with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry- I will make you cry.

5. If you stand here in my front hallway waiting for my daughter to appear and more than an hour goes by, do not sit and fidget. If you want to be on time for a movie- you should not be dating. Instead of just standing there, why don’t you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

6. The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: places where there are no parents, policemen or clergy within eyesight: places where there is darkness; places where there is dancing, holding hands or happiness; places where the ambient temperature is warm enough that it is not necessary for my daughters clothing to cover every inch of her body from her chin down. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual them are to be avoided- no exceptions. Movies with a “G” rating are okay, hockey games are okay (that “covered from the chin down thing”). Visiting old folk’s homes or attending the church skating party are better.

7. Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a middle aged dimwitted has-been, but on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless ruler of your world. If I ask where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel and five wooded acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

8. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I will have my weapon cleaned, locked and loaded as I wait in the darkness for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Shout the perimeter password, announce in a clear and loud voice that you have brought my daughter home safely- and early- and then return to your car. There is no reason for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine… and the little red dot on your forehead will go away as soon as you do.

What to make of John Jones

Well, everyone is all worked up about John Jones being rejected to run the Packers like a layup against Dikembe Mutumbo. Jones had been groomed for years as the successor to Bob Harlan, but now is deemed "unworthy" by those in charge, namely Harlan.

So what happened?

For years Jones and Harlan were a great tag team, they seemed to be on the same page with every decision. Then Jones had his big heart surgery in June of last year and we were told not to worry.

According to the reports that have come out, it was several months ago that the complaints started coming in. He was too abrasive, his management style wasn't easy, he bascially didn't play well with others.

People don't complain about their bosses very much and certainly not right away when they feel he/she is doing something wrong. They wait it out to see if it's just a passing phase, and give someone who has been their boss the benefit of the doubt, especially if they just came out of major surgery as nobody wants to look like an uncaring ass. Plus, nobody likes to put their job on the line like that. Challenging your boss is serious business.

Given this, likely it has been 4 maybe 5 months of issues with Jones that the members of the organization had prior to bringing it up to Harlan. Combined with the reports that they had come in for several months after that time that would mean about 8 or 9 months had gone by. This would make it shortly after his heart surgery. Coincidence? I think not.

It seems that Jones came out of his surgery a changed man, this certainly is not uncommon when someone has a major health issue like this. However in Jones' case if appears he did not change for the better when it came to his work relationships as the complaints indicate.

Given that nothing was brought up about the man who had been groomed for years until after the surgery lends weight to this argument.

Just my opinion mind you, but it seems to make sense. Any comments out there?

Panic! at Miller Park

Back on May 9th, the Crew was 24-10 and the darlings of baseball. They were about to enter a stretch of 19 games where they were going to play good teams and division leaders. This was to determine if the Brewers were for real or not. They are now 4-13 during this stretch of games and they have shown that they are not ready for prime time yet.

Were the Brewers simply playing over their heads or was it just the level of competition early on in the season? I'd argue both. They started off strong thanks to a weak schedule and the confidence level was soaring and they won several games that they should not have. Then the Philly series came and it all changed.

In the first game, the Brewers were cruising to a victory and it all fell apart in a 6-run 8th inning by Philly and the Brewers have yet to recover from that it seems. The confidence was shattered in that game as they had just lost the series against the Mets including a big beat-down in the last game and then this game was blown. The next night they Brewers lose another heartbreaker (thanks to Turnblow) and it was all over at that point.

The most pathetic stat of this whole thing? Even with the fall the Brewers are in, they still have a 5 game lead in the division. That's how bad the NL Central has been this year, it's the worst division in baseball and it's not even close. One of the teams behind them, likely the Cubs, will start playing to potential and make a run and catch them. Unless the Brewers right the ship and do so in a hurry they will fall back even closer to the pack and the hot start will have meant absolutely nothing.

Wisconsin is simply superior

Not that it's all that much of a surprise, but the Badgers once again win the Border Battle against MN. They even made it sporty and kept the score close, just so that the Goophs' spirits could be crushed on the final weekend. Brilliant strategy.

Grab a Miller beer, get a basket of deep fried cheese curds, a brat and celebrate fellow Cheeseheads!

Rockstar Weekend

Well, even though the Brewers lost the series to the Twins, I had a great time in Milwaukee with Shane and Dean (Freealonzo).

The drive down was early (like 6am early) on Saturday morning and we had a good time listening to some new music and chit chatting the whole way down. Time for the drive down: 5 hrs 34 minutes which included a 10 minute breakfast stop and a gas stop. Traffic was sweet.

Saturday we ate at Sobelman's, which is a fantastic corner bar and grill with some good outdoor seating. Eating cheese curds and a loaded burger on a sunny day outside... great way to start the weekend.

We then went to the Miller Brewery for a tour, but there was an hour and a half wait so Gabe gave us a driving tour of the scenic parts of Milwaukee (there's not that many, so it was quick) but fun nevertheless. We actually went past the lakefront park where my wife and I watched fireworks together on the night we met (Awwwwww) so that was a nice trip down memory lane. The Brewery tour was fun and the free samples were good, then it was off the the ballpark!

We had killer seats for Saturday's game. Section 214, Row 1. Just a wonderful view of the action from just inside first base. Saturday night's game was fun... for the first inning. Hardy continued his year of being the top offensive SS in the game (and continued huge boom for my fantasy team) but the Brewers simply could not get any breaks and Bush was awful. Scott Baker had his stuff working for the Twins, but really was not as dominant as the stat line indicated. The Brewers hit plenty of hard balls, but they were right at the Twins defenders. A couple of those go over a few feet and it's a completely different game, but the Twins won and that's the bottom line. The place was packed and a fair estimate of 20k Twins fans were loud. Great atmosphere and fun for all. The roof had to be closed part way through the game as rain was coming in. Funny, there was no loud grinding sounds and it was a pretty quick process unlike what myths the naysayers proclaim about it.

Sunday's game was unbelievable:
We had tickets in section 120, row 6. We were 6 rows behind the Twins on-deck circle. We were so close I could see Morneau's steroid zits. I did some minor heckling, but overall was real polite.

Without a doubt, they were the best seats I've had for a game. I always wondered what the game would look like from down there and I wasn't disappointed. You could really see that the ump, Bruce Froemming was all over with his strike zone. The look on Punto's face when he struck out looking in the 9th was priceless. The ovation Jenkins got for his 200th HR was loud, real loud.

For you Bucks fans out there, new HC Larry Krystowiak was sitting 2 rows in front of me with his 3 boys. I let him be as there's no need to bug a guy who's out for a nice father/sons outing. As he left, I did wish him the best with the Bucks this year. He was kind, said thanks and had to attend to the kids.

I also got a high five from the Polish Sausage before the game. They were out taking photos with kids. The Polish won the race as well, and yes, that was all because of me.

Just a real good time overall. Hopefully the 4 of us can do this next year as well.

The Brewers are in a bit of a slump with a 3-7 record in their last 10. They seem to have lost some of that confidence that their cup was overflowing with a few weeks ago. Gotta finish the month strong at SD and Atl.

Off to the Motherland!

It's that great time of the year when I get to go to Milwaukee for the Brewers/Twins series. I've made it a 2 game weekend the last 3 years and this year my buddy Shane is once again joining me. We are joined this year by Freealonzo, who promises to buy polish sausages for all of us.

My best buddy Gabe as always is joining me and is kindly letting us crash at his place in Milwaukee, plus he procured some awesome seats for us as well. He always comes through.

Shane is wanting to see some of the history of Milwaukee, so a tour of one of the Miller Brewery is in order. Beer was such a major part of Milwaukee's history (and current status as well) that this is a must. Plus, free samples is always a good thing. We'll be taking him to some other "must" eateries as well.

I love Miller Park. It's a great place to watch a game and it's always a fun time. Great food, comfortable seats that actually face the action (right Shane?), state of the art scoreboards, sitting close enough to the concorse so that one can hear Bob Uecker call the radio action, the always fun sausage races. Ahhh... just doesn't get any better. Plus, the place is usually packed as several thousand Twins fans make the 6 hour trek down to watch the games as well. To me, that says a lot about Miller Park.

Here's to a great weekend and a Brewers series victory. They need one after that last 2-5 road trip.

Is Favre turning into a lockerroom cancer?

Well, the 8 people who read this site may jump on me for this, but frankly this is a legit question. I know it's heresy to say anything negative about Brett Favre in Packerland but hear me out.

Brett has done several big red flag items that one associates with players who are considered "cancers". From selfish comments and actions to outright disagreements with management, it's all there.

First there was the usual waffling on if he was going to retire. After 3 seasons of this, it can offically be classified as severely selfish and distracting behavior. It casts a huge shadow over the team and Brett is putting himself before the Packers with this need for a media circus. Brett knows this and it's obvious that he loves the attention, even if it's not as blatant as how other players show it.

Second there was the story of Favre essentially asking for a trade after TT failed to land Moss from Oakland. When a teams most famous (and arguably best) player and leader starts questioning managments direction of the team it does several things: One it causes the other players to start wondering if the right moves are being made themselves and they may lose faith in the system that put in place. They say confidence is contagious, but so is lack of confidence. And two, what message is the trade demand saying about the guys on the team? You know, the guys Brett has to work with every day? It says "these guys aren't good enough to win". This is a huge slap in the face to the rest of the team. McKenzie and Walker wanted out for more money and they were spat on by fans as they left, what Favre is saying and doing is far worse.

Third, now we are hearing that he wants to miss a manditory mini-camp. He states that he is hurt and won't practice anyway plus there are family things he wants to do. The camp is to get the vets to meet the rookies, get them familiar with each other and build up some team chemistry. It's friggin' MANDITORY! Yes, everyone else would rather spend more time with their families than go to work, but that's not how it goes with a job, deal with it. But Brett's already said through his actions that this team is not worthy of him anyway. This is simply another slap in the face of the coaches and teammates.

How can Brett effectively lead this team when his actions are saying that he doesn't believe in them?

If one would put virtually any other name instead of Favre in the above scenarios, many of the Packer fans would agree that this person could very well be considered a "cancer". We need to take off the green and gold glasses and set down the Kool-Aid for a minute and look at this objectively. When a player puts himself up as more important than any of the other players and the management and coaches and starts vocalizing it, especially if that player is in a position of great influence like Favre is, that bears serious consideration of being a "cancer".

These are thoughts for discussion. Feel free to comment.

Yes, it did hurt

This past Thursday night I was dominating, as usual, in the football league I'm in. We were up 12-0 and on defense and a pass was thrown to the guy I was guarding. He tipped the ball and it came at me. I had nothing but green in front of me and it was an INT for a TD for me.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the end zone. The ball was going end over end and my right pinky had an issue with this and the ball hit it and I got a compound dislocation. Basically, the lowest bone of my pinky was sticking out of the skin just under the knuckle on the palm side of the hand. It wasn't broken, just dislocated. Needless to say, I didn't catch the ball and immediately went to the ER as bones sticking out of your skin is not usually a good thing.

After a while and with the help of wonderful localized pain killers, the bone was popped back into place and back inside my body. I was held overnight for surgery, but since I had feeling in the finger and decent motion, surgery was not needed. Turns out there was no tendon or nerve damage. God sure was watching out for me on this one.

So I have a wrapped up right hand and typing is fun to say the least. I'm learning how to type with my left hand and just the thumb of my right hand. It's better than just hunting and pecking with just the left hand.

I know about the Favre tading fiasco and I'm waiting for a few days to let it settle down. Franky, it seems like his agent is being a dink and trying to make himself look good to Brett by giving him bad advice. More on this in a few days.

Simply En Fuego

The Brewers beat the Nationals 6-4 last night to claim yet another series win and keep themselves in a rather commanding position atop the NL Central with a 6.5 game lead over the Cubs at this point.

This series win gives the Brewers a 9-1-2 record in series so far this year. Keep winning the series and don't worry about the bad games and you end up having the best record in baseball.

But how long can this .700 winning percentage last? Seriously, is anybody else a bit worried at this point? Here is what my concern is.

The Brewers may very well be expending loads of energy to win games now. Not that there is anything wrong with this mind you. When your last winning season was before Noah got on the ark, being 13 games over .500 is a very good thing. But this was something that was brought to light with the Pistons over in that NBA last year. They raced so hard to win every game in the regular season that they had nothing left when the post-season came around and they were bounced out.

I don't want this happening with the Brewers. I'd rather they save something for October as it's a long 162 game season. Going balls out for 120 games and getting a great record would mean nothing if they fall apart for the last month and a half and either not make the playoffs or barely get in and get swept which would negate one of the best seasons in memory.

Don't mean to be a downer here, and certainly feel free to jump on the bandwagon. Just be aware that this is uncharted territory here and if the Brewers hit a slump, don't be shocked. This is baseball, streaks one way or the other happen and do so with a fair amount of regularity.

Over the rest of the month, the Brewers will be put to the test. We will face the Mets, Phillies, Twins, Dodgers, Braves and Padres over 19 games with only 1 day of rest in it. These teams combined have a .553 winning percentage. No slouches here.

We're about to see how good the Brewers really are.

I love my daughter

So, we're sitting at the dinner table and my wonderful 4 year old daughter, Leah, has been asking for a pet lately. Here is how the conversation went:

Leah: "Can we get a kitty?"

Mrs. Cheesehead: "Well, if you can make your daddy not be allergic to them we can."

Leah: "How about a doggie?"

Mrs. Cheesehead: "Well, if you can make mommy not like dogs then you can. But you have a better chance at making daddy not allergic to cats."

Leah: "Well, if I had a different daddy then I could get a kitty."

Mrs. Cheesehead (laughing): "What would we do with this daddy then?"

Leah: "He would get a poodle."

There you have it. My kids get a new dad, my wife gets a new husband and they all get the cat that they want. My parting gift: a poodle. Yep, I'm bringing this up when she wants a car.

Look, more sports stuff!

Packers
There's a bunch of garbage out there about draft grades and how teams did. These are all done by sportswriters who apparently have nothing else to do. These same guys will come out and say that a true test of the draft is after 3 years, that's when you can see how your draft class really did. But they want to only grade on the immediacy of the help that the picks will get. This is hypocritical of the media and frankly I could care less on how some writer thinks the Packers did. Hell, they all hated the Bills draft last year and it turned out to be one of the best. They all do their mocks and when they get less than 30% right (wow, such great experts) they get all pissy at the teams that showed how little they know.

I get a kick out of the fans who think they know more than TT or any of the scouting department and decry the draft as garbage as their expertise is by watching about 10 minutes of the picks on YouTube or what they saw from a couple of plays from ABC back last October. They all have jobs as well (not related to football) but do their "scouting" and somehow grade these players, say how they will/won't make it in the NFL. After all, they played high school or DIII football and thus know what it takes to be in the NFL.

I touched on some of my initial feelings in the last post about the draft and I made my predictions for fun. But then again, I'm just a fan. I work in mortgage. I'm not making my living by watching hours and hours of film on players and going to games and interviewing them and going to the combine. I haven't made it my life to judge NFL talent. It's akin to these fan-draft "gurus", since they have mortgages that they know more than I do, even though I've been doing this for over a decade. It's silly. I have to trust that TT and the gang know what they are doing and see what happens. If the product on the field stinks, then we have a basis to complain.

Now fans certainly are entitled to their opinions, I've got no problem with that. If they don't like a pick they certainly can yell about it until their eyes bug out their head. But don't try and tell me this draft is a bust without these guys playing a single down. It's like declaring who will be the SB Champ w/o playing a single game. I for one will simply wait and see how they do before judging on the quality of the players the Pack got.

Brewers
Look who is tied with the 2nd best record in baseball! The Crew is certainly showing what they can do when healthy and Suppan has shown he was worth the big contract so far. Cappy is showing that he is one the best #2s out there. The young kids are hitting and the vets are contributing big time as well (nice starts Jenkins and Estrada). The bullpen is solid with Turnbow and Cordero finishing games with authority. Just a lot to be praised on this team now.

We're almost 15% of the way through the season and so there's plenty more ball to go. Just remember, don't get too wrapped up in any single game loss and keep your eye on the big picture. The Brewers are winning series after series and that's how you do things.

Plus, it helps to have voodoo dolls that represent the other teams in the Central to make sure they remain in mediocrity.

That was one hell of a puzzling draft

Well, I come home from my sister-in-law's wedding up in Bemidji (4.5 hrs north) and I had very, very little access to the draft (no internet and only ESPN in a restaurant where I could not hear anything). Needless to say, I just about refused to finish my prime rib when I saw who the first 2 picks were in the draft for the Packers.

Justin Harrell? Seriously? I know that with Jenkins move to DE there leaves something of a hole in the middle, but that was what Corey Williams is for. OK, I get that he's a very good player and all, and that in workouts he was outstanding. But he missed virtually all last year with an injury and there really is no hard game-day evidence on him. Do you really want to take a guy like this in the first round? Let alone with the #16 pick? Wow. Just stunned.

The second round pick is also a bit, how you say, interesting. I get that we got screwed by MN when they traded up for Rice. I have to begrudingly give them props. But again, the Packers picked another guy with very little production to go off of in RB Brandon Jackson. I think this is clearly a pick to do a RB-by-committee by TT. He is not expected to carry the load but to simply be a part time back. Odd to say the least for a 2nd rd pick, but at least they traded down to get him.

The rest of the picks look good though. I particularly like the Crosby pick in the 7th. Actually a bargain there. With Rouse, TT is trying to recreate the Michael Boulware pick and position switch he did in Seattle.

As initially underwhelming and yes, dissappointing as this draft is, everyone always says that it takes 3 years to truly judge a draft class. It seems that we are going to need that full 3 years for this one. Here's hoping that this class will surprise early.

What? The draft is back?

Well, unless you've been living under a rock or just your average Viking fan, you know that the NFL draft is coming up this weekend. Finally, after months of speculation and endless, meaningless debate over picks and mock drafts we get the real deal.

Last year I blogged about the Packers draft while it was going on, but this year I won't be able to as we have to drive 4 hours north to my sister-in-law's wedding on Saturday and I'll essentially miss the whole thing. I may get updates via radio or the newspaper so you'll have to wait until Sunday night/Monday morning for any of my thoughts.

Until then, here is what I'm thinking the Packers are going to do:

Round 1 - Robert Meachem, WR TN. 6-4 210 lbs and is pretty fast. Would stretch the field and is a great red-zone threat.

Round 2 - Zach Miller, TE ASU. Excellent receiving tight end. Could start right away.

Round 3 - Kenny Irons, RB Auburn. May not be there when they pick, but if he is he's a steal.

I think it will be an offense minded draft for day 1. The defense is fairly well set and unless TT trades down to acquire more picks (about a 70% chance of that) there really are not many players that would be good value picks where the Packers draft. The only defensive player I can see the Pack taking on day 1 would be S Eric Weddle in the 2nd round.

Enjoy the weekend and the draft all.

Draft rememberance

With the draft coming up, draft picks from days gone by come up. The one that comes up the quickest in most fellow Packer fans minds is that of Tony Mandarich. I know, many fans quickly spit at the sound of his name, as he's been labeled as one of the biggest busts in draft history. However, I would like to present him in a different light than he is commonly viewed in.

At the time he was drafted in 1989, Mandarich was THE dominant LT in the college game. He was hyped up by the media as a HOF lineman before he was even drafted. It was a no-brainer for the Packers to take him. There are always star QB, RB and DL but a LT who played how Mandarich did in college was a rarity. In this draft was also, Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Derrick Thomas and other players who became superstars.

Mandarich eventually busted out and many have wondered what would have happened if we had Barry Sanders to go with Brett Favre. Well, had we drafted Barry, it's not a guarantee we ever would have gotten Brett. Let me explain.

The GM at the time was Tom Bratz and although he did many good things for the Packers, was terrible at player eval and had the misfortune of hiring Lindy Infante, who was an awful coach. Both of these guys were not all that great in putting a quality product on the field. Therefore, a poor to mediocre team was inevitable.

Had we drafted Barry Sanders, the Packers likely would have been a mediocre team flirting with being in the playoffs each year, much like the Lions were who drafted Barry. This would have led to both Tom and Lindy being in charge longer than they should have.

When Mandarich busted, they were both exposed as the poor talent evaluators that they were and thus were fired. Bratz's replacement was Ron Wolf who was the grand architect of some of the best draft picks and free agent signings in the team's history. Ron Wolf's first actions were hiring Mike Holmgren and trading for Brett Favre. Holmgren was the perfect fit to hone Brett's talent and thus give us the QB that we all know and love. It was Ron Wolf who was also able to bring in Reggie White, which was one of the best FA signings ever and a major coup at the time. The rest is history.

So you see, Tony Mandarich did more for the Packers as a draft bust than he ever could have done as a draft success. With him busting, he ushered in the era of Ron Wolf who brought in Holmgren, Favre and White. I daresay that him being a bust and the laughter that came to the Packers because of this was well worth it, don't you think?

New Apple product

Apple Computer announced today that it has developed a computer chip that can store and play high fidelity music in women's breast implants. The iTit will cost $499 or $599 depending on speaker size.

This is considered to be a major breakthrough because women have always complained about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

Sophmoric and childish? Yes.

Reason for a gratuitous cleavage shot? Yes.

Will I ever apologize for doing it? Nope.

It's finally over

The train wreck that is the Milwaukee Bucks seasn is finally over. I don't know if I've ever been more disappointed with a team than I was with the Bucks this year. Granted, when your only legit scorer in Michael Redd goes down for over a month, you're pretty much screwed. Add in that Williams went down at the same time and 60% of your offense is gone. But even when they came back, the team just wasn't the same. Hope had disappeared from the team and resignation that they could not (and should not) compete for a playoff spot had set in.

Then, when they realized they could set themselves up to possibly get Durant or Oden, they started tanking it big time and "injuries" started setting in on the stars. Problem was, they didn't tank it good enough and only ended up with the 3rd worst record in the league. And with only 2 superstars in the draft, you get the picture.

Now it's up to a bunch of ping-pong balls (boy, isn't that NBA draft high-tech and straightforward *eyes rolling*) to determine where they end up in the draft. Gee, my excitement is just building and building (more eye rolling).

The schedule is out

The NFL released the schedules for all the teams so all the fans are out in force trying to predict what their teams are going to do. Forget that the draft hasn't happened, training camp or preseason, just predict how the team is going to do. Don't forget to drink the Kool-Aid first though. Well, what kind of idiot blogger would I be if I didn't partake in this as well.

PHIL - L
@ NYG - W
SD - L
@ MN - W
CHI - W (Sunday night)
WASH - W
Bye week
@ Den - L (Monday night)
@ KC - W
MN - W
CAR - W
@ Det - W (Thanksgiving game)
@ Dallas - L
OAK - W
@ StL - L
@ Chi - L
DET - W

There, I'm going with 10-6 at this point. The first 4 games are a brutal stretch given that the Packers start out slow each year, but I'm picking them to go 2-2 there, winning both road games and losing both home games. They might surprise Philly, but no way to they beat SD. We should sweep MN and Det again and split with Chicago this year. I'm not so sure about the KC game, that just gives me a bad feeling for some reason, but I'm sticking with the win. Denver has a very tough D and a game there is not all that promising. We never win at St. Louis so that's a definate loss there. I just don't like our chances at Dallas, gut feeling.

So 6-2 at home and 4-4 on the road. Not a bad season. Like I said, this is all with me drinking the Green and Gold Kool-Aid, but that's what this time of year is for.

Barnett's Big Bucks Below Bank Breaking

Nick Barnett gets a re-worked deal which amounts to 6 yrs and $35 million. Barnett was definately worth the money. He has been criticized for not being an elite MLB, but he's a very solid one and we all saw what happens when he's not in the game in Seattle: we got steamrolled on the ground due to poor on-field adjustments by Hodge.

Barnett is a leader on the defense and has thrived even with being under a new defensive system every season. I think he's going to really explode in the defense this year, given that the scheme won't change for the first time. He would have been far more expensive next year to re-sign and it would have been extremely damaging to lose him outright to FA. He kept a real low profile about the renegotiations, came to the offseason team workouts and showed he wanted to be here. Just a fantastic way to go about business. Now, he's got to step it up on the field and be more of a playmaker. That's what is expected for this kind of money.

TT's plan has been keeping the core together and promoting from within. Reportedly, Corey Williams is next in line to get a re-worked deal extention. That's fine with me as well. Keep the band toghether TT!

So far no major moves by TT that have worth reporting. No big FA signings (like I said) and no big trades (see previous parenthetical statement). This is pretty much modis operandi for TT and so far it seems to be working. Draft day(s) are at the end of this month and I'll post more about the draft closer to the date along with my own predictions.

The most manly movie ever

"That's a bold statement, Craig. What movie are you referring to?"

It is a bold statement, and to back it up I have one number for you:

300.

Holy crap was this a fantastic movie. It had it all: action, blood, beautiful women (naked too, whoo hoo!), larger than life monsters and more testosterone than all the NFL combined. One simply has to see the spectacle of the movie to appreciate the manliness. A manly movie of this caliber cannot be described in words, it must be viewed, nay experienced on the big screen in all it's gloriousness. I gained 2 pounds of manliness while watching this movie (or it could have been the Chipotle burrito I ate prior to viewing it).

Let's compare this movie to other "manly" movies from the past and why 300 surpasses them all:

Fight Club - Bunch of sissys who fight in their mom's basement because they cannot handle the stress of the world. Then they cowardly blow up buildings. Pfft. The Spartans fight because that is what they are born to do. They wouldn't sneak around in basements or blow up buildings. They would kill you in broad daylight and from the sheer force of their manly battle cry level the buildings.

Unforgiven - A pig farmer kills a bunch of hicks with a gun. Please. Spartans didn't need guns, they used spears and swords and killed you up close and personal while while their superior manliness made you crap your pants in fear.

Rocky - A street thug turns into a heavyweight contender and fights with some padded gloves on. WTF? PADDED GLOVES? Give me a break. Spartans would never waste their time with silly games like this. They would rather go out in the wild and fight a giant wolf with and kill it with their bare hands.

Mortal Kombat - Any movie that has Christopher Lambert as a god is inherently weak. The Spartans would kill anyone in that movie simply by walking too closely to them.

Top Gun - A bunch of pretty boys fly around the sky. Spartans have 3 words for these guys: Athenian boy-lovers

A new standard has been set for manly movies. Tremble in fear you sissy boys who think you are action stars. You are nothing compared to what is the sheer embodiment of all that is manly and testosterone laden as the Spartans from 300.

Winning the series - that's what it's all about

With all due respect to the Hokey Pokey, it is about winning the series for the Brewers. Great start to the season and a lot to be happy about. Charlie V having just a horrible inning on the mound was the downfall but the kids almost pulled off the big comeback and the sweep. But I'll take 2 out of 3 every series thankyouverymuch.

Things we learned this weekend:
- The starting 3 in the rotation are going to be good, real good this year.
- So far so good with Turnbow. If he can keep this up, there's not many teams that have a better 1-2 punch at the end of the game with him and Cordero.
- Weeks and Hardy have their bats going, especially Hardy. Wow. I think he's surprising even the biggest Blue and Gold Kool-Aid drinkers. He's been great for my fantasy team too. :)

It's real early in the season, but it beats being 0-3, right St. Louis and Houston (snicker snicker)?

Next up, we host the Cubbies this weekend. Should draw over 100k to Miller Park as they normally do. We should win this series as well, after all, they are the Cubs.

The start of a winning streak!

The Brewers beat the snot out of the Dodgers 7-1 yesterday with Ben Sheets dominating with throwing a 2-hitter. It was great to see this after 2 years of injuries. The guy was still hitting 95mph on the radar gun in the ninth. Holy crap!

The kids did a great job giving Big Ben all the run support he would need. The team got a .394 OBP and big hits were provided by Geoff Jenkins (2 run double) and Billy Hall (solo HR). All this in front of a 45,000+ sellout crowd in a game that took just over 2 hours. Wooo Whoo!

It's always great to get the Opening Day win and get the season off right. Only 90 more wins to go for my prediction to be correct. Tonight, Cappy looks to keep the team going strong.

Thanks for showing up OSU

OSU got totally owned in the NCAA Championship last night by FL. Hell, the Badgers could have lost that bad to FL. FL played the game of letting Oden do what he wanted inside and shutting down the guards and perimeter game of OSU. Oden played a ton of minutes and was worn out midway through the 2nd half. Great strategy. Congrats to FL for pulling off the repeat and they are unquestionably the top school in the big time college sports.

Boys of Summer are back (even if it's April)

Today is Opening Day for baseball and hopefully the start of a fantastic Brewers season. I'm very much looking forward to this season as hopes have never been higher. The Brewers have put together a fantastic pitching staff that if it remains healthy for the season, could be one of the best in the majors. The offense has a lot of potential and this could be the year that the kids start to fully realize their potential.

Being in MN, it's difficult to get to watch Brewers games, but I will still make my obligatory journey to Miller Park this year (Brewers/Twins series). Here's hoping I can somehow get a laptop and wireless internet for MLB.TV.

My prediction for the year:
91-71
The Brewers will be in the wildcard race if not the division race. I'm drinking the Blue and Gold Kool-Aid, and it's wonderful.

Love the love

ESPN came out with the Ultimate Standings of fan satisfaction from their SportsNation page. This is the complete compelation of all 122 of the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL teams.

The categories:
Bang for the Buck: Revenues directly from fans divided by wins in the past three years
Fan Relations: Ease of access to players, coaches & management
Ownership: Honesty; loyalty to players and city
Affordability: Price of tickets, parking and concessions
Stadium Experience: Friendliness of environment; quality of game-day promotions
Players: Effort on the field; likability off it
Coach/Manager: Strong on-field leadership
Title Track: Titles already won or expected -- soon

How did the NFC North do? Let's look.

Packers 23 overall, #4 in NFL
Bears 50 overall, #11 in NFL
Vikings 119 overal, #30 in NFL (4th worst franchise overall)
Lions 122 overall, #32 in NFL (worst franchise overall)

So, as you can see, the Packers are still the class of not only the NFC North, but amongst the elite in the NFL. What did the other teams in? For Chicago, it was that the players want nothing to do with the fans and it costs a lot of money to go to a game at the spaceship stadium; and those trailer-park-living Bears fans need their beer money and money to buy collectables of the '85 Bears team. Minnesota... well their stadium sucks, their team sucks, the fans hate the team, their coach and their owner. As for Detroit, well, it's friggin' Detroit; 'nuff said there. Boy are the Lions and Vikings pathetic.

How about the Brewers? Well, glad you asked. The Brewers were #16 overall (that's right, they are above the Packers). Miller Park is the big reason why. The games are affordable, people have fun there and Miller Park was ranked as the 12th best stadium in all of sports. Not to mention they were tops in their division and #5 overall in MLB. Whoo Hoo!

The Bucks? They didn't do so good and deservedly so. They were #94 and they ranked with the 3rd worst coach in all of sports, who is now gone. This team has a long way to go.

Anyone else bored?

WI sports right now aren't all that exciting.

The Badgers got bounced in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney, but I've already gone over that.

How many times can I post that the Bucks suck and doing their best to try and get Oden or Durant in the draft.

The Packers have signed a whopping 1 free agent (no surprise) and have not made any trades, although they have been linked to several players out there in this category. But I don't like really speculating on the trade rumor of the day. I like to wait until a move is done, then analyse it, otherwise it's a waste of time. Moss was the exception given the history.

Unless I happen to be in AZ watching the Brewers, it's hard for me to get all that into spring training. I want to see them actually win in the regular season and be healthy for once.

That's one way to get closer to the #1 pick

The Bucks have put Bogut and Villanueva on the injury list for the rest of the season, which is only 15 games at this point. This tremendously helps the Bucks chances of getting the #1 overall pick in the coming draft. When Larry K was put in as the interim coach after Stotts was fired, the Bucks responded with more effort than we've seen in any 3 previous games combined. Suddenly, the prospect that the Bucks would move up in the overall standings and ruin their chances at a shot at Oden or Durant (my personal choice) was growing more and more likely. But with these latest injuries to these two guys, we can rest easier at night. Now instead of potentially posting a 10-5 record over the last 15 games (look at their schedule, it's easy) they are more likely to go 6-9 or worse, thus keeping the dream of another #1 overall pick. The Bucks have been extremely disappointing this year. How much you wanna bet Redd wishes he signed with Cleveland now?

What a weekend

Had a absolute blast with my friends in Milwaukee this weekend. Ate loads of good food: steaks from the 5 O'Clock Supper Club (best steakhouse in Milwaukee), Oakland Gyros, Omega, Sali's (REAL butter burgers, not that Culvers junk), etc. The best part as always was the conversations with the gang. Here are the best lines from the weekend:

"Duke can't shoot in high def!" my quote as our coverage kept going in and out of HD and every time we were in HD, the Dukkies would miss a shot in the final 3 minutes. Poor Duke. Best. game. ever.

"This is Steve, can you bring over a pound of bacon."

"How are we supposed to have a conversation about midgets with you gaying it up over there?"

"You know why the Badgers won? Jack and Coke!" We started drinking these at halftime of the Badgers/Texas A&M CC game. Badgers scored 57 in the second half and won. I rest my case.

The Badgers got outsted by UNLV on Sunday in a game they were doomed to lose early on. Once again they had a slow start and at this level, you cannot do that and continue on. Kudos to UNLV for their good play and clutch 3 pt shooting. Disappointed in the Badgers performance, but completely forseeable even with the CC game. Boy the Badgers missed Butch. With him out, Chappell had to play more minutes and he is painful to watch on the offensive end. The Badgers play 4 on 5 on offense when he is on the floor. With Butch, he's a threat to score both inside and outside. We desperately needed him yesterday, but Ryan would not take a chance on injuring Butch's elbow any further.

I hope you now all join with me in rooting against FL and OSU. OSU was handed the game by the officials. Not calling an intentional foul on Oden at the 12 second mark when he flat out shoved the player about 6 feet out of bounds was ridiculous. He made no attempt at the ball and simply became a thug, and was rewarded for it. I just have a thing against rent-a-player championships. That's what Oden is for OSU. As for FL, I just don't like Noah. Plus, I don't want them to repeat as that will just make the SEC losers just that much more annoying with their bragging.

On The Road Again

Just can't wait to get on the road again...

I'm off for my yearly get-together with my buddies Gabe and Murph for the opening weekend of March Madness. We're on year 14 of this and I've only missed one weekend with the birth of my wonderful daughter. Needless to say, there will be lots of junk food and Coke all weekend. We do go out for a real nice dinner on Saturday night at the 5 O'Clock Supper Club (best steaks in WI), and there's a guy who always brings over rib tips and coleslaw. It's some fine eatin'.

The Badgers have their best seeding ever with a #2 seed in the tourney and it's well deserved. They struggled some at the end of the season, but I'm not too worried as they are a legit Elite 8 team even without Butch. It's all on Tucker and Taylor to come through with some big games for the Badgers to advance, especially Tucker. If he's not scoring 20+/game, Bucky is in trouble.

The Road to the Final Four begins this weekend. Let's hope our Badgers have enough gas to make it.

Is MLB and DirecTV all that bad?

The godfather of Brewers baseball, Rambling Al, posts his thoughts on this issue. Like always, he makes the most complicated things seem, well, simple. Once again he takes the Selig detractors behind the woodshed.

Check it out here

So long Ahman

I know I'm way late with this, but I've been a bit busy lately (yeah yeah boo hoo and all that). However, I figured that it was time I chimed in on the Ahman Green signing with Texas for 4 yrs and $23 million.

First off, I am sad to see him go. I was hoping he could retire as a Packer as I really like the guy, but that is not to be.

However, there is no need to panic Packer friends. None.

To rationalize this, one must look at some of the facts.

Green is over 30 years old and statistically, RB's start getting worse once they hit this age. It's been proven. Put this together with a RB with a good amount of milage on him already and still recovering from a major injury and one should not break the bank for the guy.

Houston's offer was quite good given this scenario. TT did the right thing by not trying to outbid for his services. No need to gamble that much money on a question mark of a player.

Under the zone blocking system, one does not need a superstar back. Denver has proven this year after year. You find the backs that already have good vision and make the one difinitive cut to make the yardage happen. In other words, this system can make a mediocre back look very good (big cap savings here). Plenty of these backs in the draft as well.

The Packers already have a good back for this system in Vernand Morency. He showed last season that he has the abilities to run in this type of offense. Morency had to learn this on the fly last year and with a year under his belt and a likely improved OL, he'll succeed just fine and I don't see a reason why he cannot have a 1000 yd+ season next year. There's no need to reinvent the RB wheel here by getting a big name FA and then drafting a RB as many are advocating.

I'm not saying we should pass on a RB like Marshawn Lynch should he be available to us in the draft, but I'd rather TT uses his money to get us a pass-catching TE and a safety that doesn't forget he's supposed to STOP receivers from catching the ball. Those positions need far more help than RB does right now.

Ho-Hum

I've never been as unimpressed with the NFL's FA class as I have with this year's one. There's nobody worth spending a bunch of money on and the pickings are pretty slim. Don't expect a big $ FA signing from TT, we're much closer to the cap minimum this year than last year.

My predictions:

We'll likely sign a pass-catching TE given that Franks is so crappy.

A safety signing is all but assured with Manuel sucking like a cheap _____, you get the picture.

Curious, if Manuel covered Franks what would happen? Like two like magnets, they couldn't physically get too close to each other and simply just fall down.

I see us signing a nickel CB as there is no depth at this position.

Don't be surprised if we pick up a mid-range DL, likely DT for some added depth.

We could trade for Moss (I personally hope happens for the right price, but doubtful) or Darrell Jackson (doubtful, too expensive) to help bolster the WR corps. Likely TT signs a released vet, which will be an underwhelming player.

Moral of this post: TT isn't going to be a big spender and don't expect a huge splash either trade or signing. It's just not his nature.

Heartbreaker

The Badgers lose at OSU 49-48 in a great 1 vs 2 matchup. Even though the Badgers didn't win, this was a very enjoyable game. But I will look at some positives and some negatives from the game:

Negatives
- Teams have been able to cut down on the Badgers' inside game lately. The Badgers have made a living at the FT line and lately they haven't been doing that. Bo needs to drill it into their players heads to get back to this style. They are settling for ill-advised jump shots from 17 feet or farther.

- Brian Butch out for the season with a sick elbow injury. I grabbed my elbow when I saw the replay. His prescence will be sorely missed.

- The guards have been very poor in defending against the fast break. Taylor and Flowers seem to be caught watching the game too much lately.

Positives
- Jason Bohannon is starting to shine. The Badgers desperately need him to continue to have the hot hand from outside as that opens things up for Tucker.

- Chappell had an outstanding defensive game. He man'd up on Odom and did a fantastic job on the future #1 NBA draft choice. His defense was as good as his offense was bad (and boy was it ever)

As a comment: Greg Oden is not ready for the NBA. There I said it. This guy is a freak, that is for sure, but his game is not ready. His footwork is terrible and he gets by on his athletic ability, plus he is not in physical shape for the extended minutes in the NBA. He hasn't even played a full season yet of college. There are some slightly above average players in the NBA that will eat him up right now. I mentioned to the guys I was watching the game my views with and they looked at me like I was on drugs. I'm not saying he's not going to be a good NBA player, I just believe that a year more in college will do wonders for his game overall that he could not get in the pros as he lacks some fundamental skills. Problem is, the money is way too hard to turn down.

Overall the Badgers played a very tough game and had a very good chance to win it. Tough break that Taylor couldn't hit the FT to put more pressure on OSU. I still have big hopes for this team come tourney time. They have the players and the coaching to win, let's see what March brings.

Big thanks to Dean for hosting the game. He and Shane were good guys to watch the game even if they were more rooting against OSU than for WI, it was still good to have some guys cheering for Bucky.

Nice while it lasted

All one day of the Badgers being the #1 team in the country. Like I said before, it's nice to have the ranking, but what matters is March Madness. I'd rather be #1 after all is said and done than #1 when the regular season ends.

The Badgers did not look past MSU to the big matchup vs OSU on Sunday. MSU played a hell of a game and deserve all the credit for the win. Neitzel torched the Badgers D as nobody has all season long. Combine that with the Tom Izzo staple - awesome rebounding, and that will carry MSU a long way. I thought the Badgers offensive execution was rather poor in the last 6 minutes of the game as they settled for far too many 17 - 23 foot shots rather than try and go inside and get the fouls and FT they win so many games on. They went away from their strengths and I believe Bo will hammer that deviation home this coming week of practice.

I figured the Badgers would lose 3 conference games or so this year, and so far they have lost 2 with 2 to play. Would love to have the Badgers beat OSU and essentially clinch the #1 seed for the Midwest regional.