Oracle Of Cheese

It's time to call it quits

2007-08-20T23:11:00.000-05:00

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

2007-08-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

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

2007-08-09T07:19:00.000-05:00

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

2007-08-06T09:31:00.001-05:00

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

2007-08-01T08:03:00.000-05:00

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

2007-07-31T13:28:00.000-05:00

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)!

2007-07-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

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

2007-07-22T15:04:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-06-29T07:54:00.000-05:00

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

2007-06-28T07:31:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-06-21T07:30:00.000-05:00

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

2007-06-18T07:56:00.000-05:00

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

2007-06-13T08:42:00.001-05:00

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

2007-05-31T10:23:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-29T07:32:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-25T08:06:00.001-05:00

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

2007-05-21T08:34:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-05-18T08:31:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-05-16T08:21:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-14T10:28:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-09T10:48:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-07T09:11:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-05-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-04-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-20T21:25:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-17T09:51:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-12T10:16:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-10T15:43:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

"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

2007-04-05T11:51:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-04-03T09:06:00.001-05:00

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)

2007-04-02T08:42:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-03-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-19T08:57:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-03-08T15:12:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-06T16:00:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-26T08:36:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-21T14:46:00.000-06:00

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.

About time!

2007-02-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

The Badgers men's hoops have reached the top spot in the AP poll this week. First time ever in school history. Now they just have to be at this spot 7 weeks from now, which is ultimately more important, but it's nice to celebrate this.

Good always wins over evil

2007-02-15T11:20:00.000-06:00

The Badgers proved this addage quite convincingly last night with a trouncing of Minnesota 75-62. Player of the year Alando Tucker dropped 29 points against the sad Goophs. The Badgers even did all this at Minnesota, and laughed about it as you can see from Kam Taylor.

How much of a mismatch is WI vs MN? The Border Battle between these two schools is heavily in favor of WI 265-95 and after the Badgers' wrestling team destroys the ring-worm laden MN squad, the spread will be even greater.

It's a great time for Badger sports. There are nationally high-ranked programs on both the men's and women's side. We could very well be in the golden age of the university athletics.

I was right the first time

2007-02-13T09:59:00.000-06:00

The Bucks season is over. I had hopes that if they could be somewhat respectable while Redd was out, they could have a chance in the sorry Eastern Conference. Originally, I thought the team was doomed, then I tried being optimistic after the Boykins trade. I made the classic blunder, no not trying to fight a land war in Asia, but assuming the Bucks could compete without Redd or Williams (well, actually just Redd). This team is 3-17 in it's last 20 games and Redd won't be back for a bit yet. Boykins suddenly shut his game down after Williams comes back and Bogut fell of the face of the earth. Outside of Patterson and Williams, it seems nobody else gives a damn. That is on Stotts. His job is to get this team ready to play and compete. He has absolutely failed in this regard. He needs to go after this season if not immediately. It's completely clear that the team has given up on him.

Funny, when the Bucks were winning, the pro-Stotts crowd was saying how foolish the anti-Stotts people were. They've been amazingly quiet this past month.

To Randy, or not to Randy?

2007-02-09T09:11:00.000-06:00

That is the question.

Rumors are flying about like flies on a Bear fan about the Packers trading for Randy Moss. That's right folks, the Packer killer may be coming here. Yes, it does seem wierd to talk about this. Now, understandably many Packer fans have some strong feelings about this ranging from "Yes, time to have him destroy teams for us!" to "You want that lazy, goodfornothing, cancer on our team?"

Well, let's take a look at this situation shall we? Oops, wrong one (or is it, hmmmm?)

Does Randy still have it?
He was a force of nature for 8 seasons until last year. Randy did not had a very good 2006 in Oakland with only 42 catches and 553 yds and 3 TDs. Why was that? The detractors will tell you that he's lost a step and without that speed he's nothing. Well, the Oakland offense had THE worst OL in the NFL last year thus giving the QB no protection or time to throw. With this OL, the running game was pathetic (29th in the NFL). Teams could just load up on defending the pass. The OAK QB's were Andrew Walter and Aaron Brooks, who combined for about a 57 QB rating with only 7 TD passes, that's right, 7 total. Worst QBs in the NFL hands down. They were even worse than Brad "Noodle Arm" Johnson in MN and that's bad. In short, he was stuck on a bad team that couldn't and didn't use him. So using last season as a guide for Moss is not an accurate one. His previous 8 seasons are far more indicitive of how good a player he is.

Many questioned his commitment to making the offense succeed and the phrase of "I'll play when I want to play" continues to haunt him. This was an overblown comment at the time and still is. There are plenty of WR out there that do the same thing when they know the play is not coming their way. WR's are required to run so fast so often that this is expected and not surprising in the least. If you don't think Driver does this to, you're mistaken.

He has all the skills to dominate, he just needs a better supporting cast and I daresay that Driver, Jennings, Favre and Green are light years better than anything Oakland has to offer. Moss and Favre both admire each other's abilities and would be happy to work together. Favre would be happy as Moss is perfect for the jump balls Favre loves to throw and Moss would be quite happy in GB playing with Favre and Driver in a very good offense; and a happy Moss is a devastating Moss.

We got this guy in FA from Oakland... Woodson was his name. Most said he lost a step and that the Packers got a lemon. I recall he had a hell of a good year and was a borderline All-Pro CB. All he needed was a change of scenery. Same with Moss.

Is Randy a cancer?
No. I don't know a simpler way to put it. Does he speak his mind? Yes. So does Favre, but we call it leadership when it's him. "But great Oracle, what about his off the field issues? Didn't he once run over a cop and said he smokes pot?" As far as I know, Ahman Green has been arrested for beating up his wife and has had several restraining orders against him, but he still gets welcomed for the Lambeau Leap. Many fans even want him back next year. If Green can get a free pass, so can Moss. Let's face it, so long as the players perform on the field and we win, we love them and find a way to explain the off-field behavior.

What would it take to get Moss here?
The latest rumor is a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick and TE Bubba "fingers" Franks. Given that Franks is an absolute waste at TE, trading him and a 3rd for Moss is a no-brainer, I don't know if I would give up a 2nd and a player though. The Packers have over 29M in cap space and can easily accomidate his 9M in salary due next season. Rumor also is that Moss is willing to redo his contract to make it more palatable if needed.

What about the fans, will they accept him?
We had Jim McMahon on our team once as a backup QB to Brett. One of the cockiest opponents that Packer fans loved to hate. So don't give me that junk Moss won't be welcome. The minute Moss catches his first TD or even first down from Brett, the crowd will welcome him with open arms. Get over the "mooning" episode Packer fans. It's known that the residents of Green Bay moon the opposing team's bus after a game. Turnabout is fair play.

So should the Packers do the deal?
Absolutely. With Driver opposite him, who do you double team? There are going to be plays were either Moss or Driver are going to be wide open. Add in Jennings with a 3 WR package and you've got one of the best WR corps in the NFC. With teams having to worry about both Driver and Moss, the running game becomes that much better as teams cannot put 8 in the box. Also acquiring Moss gives the Packers a legit red-zone threat that they haven't had since the days of Chmura. The offense will open up far more than it has in about 8-9 years. Favre has made a career out of making poor WR good and good WR great. Imagine what he could do with a elite one.

There's nothing to do but speculate and debate the point until March 2nd, when FA begins and this can all become reality, one way or the other. I am for this move though as the positives far outweigh the any negatives. Packer fans, you need to get over your hatred of the man and see what he can do for the franchise.

He's Back! Hell Yeah!

2007-02-02T13:32:00.000-06:00

Photo from JSOnline

I'm going to go home and have a drink or 6 to celebrate this. Playoffs, here we come!

Root for the Bears and you're a Commie!

2007-02-02T10:20:00.000-06:00

The Super Bowl is this Sunday, in case you've missed the insane amount of TV hype and webspace dedicated to it.

As a diehard Packer fan, I hate all of my division foes. I don't care how "good" they may be, I refuse to root for them under any circumstance (unless it directly helps the Packers). Therefore, I will be rooting for the Colts, completely and with every fiber of my being. Manning and Dungy deserve a SB ring, Grossman and Chicago do not.

It was brought up by a fellow Packer fan of mine, that Packer fans rooting for the Bears because they are from the same division is blasphemy. He brought up the history of the rivalry. The game where the Fridge made his FB debut and got his first TD. The SB Shuffle arrogance. The Majic replay. The special hatred between Bears and Packers fans. When Lovie Smith was hired, he said that priority #1 was to beat GB. Not win a SB, but beat GB. He made rooting for Chicago akin to the Red Sox rooting for the Yankess in the World Series, or vice versa. It's an unforgivable sin. He finished his rant with the following sentence:

Decide if you want to be a Bear fan on the final game of the season. And if you do choose to wish a championship for the Packer’s most hated rival, don’t do it halfway. Paint your house in Bear loving colors and put on a Rex Grossman jersey. Then look at yourself in the mirror again, and consider what you are doing.

I love that sentence, and if that doesn't wake you up to what you are doing, then just keep the Bears jersey on for next season too.

I hear on the radio and TV that the Bears are going to win as they are sick of hearing how they can't and how the Colts are so superior. The analysts equate this to how FL was prior to their game vs Ohio State. In a word: bullshit. Some said prior to the game that FL should not have been there and now that is said about the Bears. "See how that worked for FL!" the sports guys say, like the 2 situations are similar. My counter: well, the Pats were nowhere near good enough back in '86 and look how that worked out. How about the Buffalo in '93, SD in '94, ATL in '99 or the NYG in '01? Very often in the NFL, the team that is the decided underdog in the SB gets spanked. Don't start comparing the college game with the pros. They don't compare and you know that the analysts are reaching for someway to make Chicago look like they have a chance if they have to look to college ball for some hope for the Bears.

I hope Indy wins and wins big. And I'll enjoy every minute of it.

Streak is over

2007-02-01T09:20:00.000-06:00

The Badgers 17 game win streak came to a halt with a loss to the #25 Indiana Hoosiers 71-66. I did say that the Big Ten schedule was going to be tougher than people were expecting it to be, and this was one of the games that was going to be a problem. Indiana is a good squad and are 13-0 at home this year (remind you of anyone?). The Hoosiers are a very good offensive squad and last night, they were on their game. I think this is the first game that the Badgers allowed over 50% FG shooting all year. Butch needs to step up his game against opponents like this, 3 pts and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes? Also, Chappell put up a nice line himself: 4 fouls in 5 minutes. Thanks for showing up Jason!

I figured that the Badgers would lose about 3 conference games at the start of the Big Ten season, and this was one that I thought would be a tough one. Fortunately, thier next 5 games are fairly easy ones. They get Northwestern, MN, Iowa and Penn St. twice. The Badgers are 21-2 and one of the best teams in the nation, let's not lose sight of that with this last loss.

Miss me? Didn't think so

2007-01-27T12:04:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm finally back from my fabulous cruise. I'll do another post later on when I get pictures and such sorted out. Needless to say, I'm rested, relaxed and not quite as tan as I would have liked to be. The wifey insisted that I put on SPF 900 so I actually got whiter the longer I was out in the sun. It was like being covered with White-Out. Anyway, let's see what went on with the Bucks (I'll get to the Badgers another day).

The Bucks were on a tear in December and got over .500 they were the darlings of the NBA for a while. Teams got destroyed by overplaying Redd and Williams as Bogut and Patterson were playing at an otherworldly level. Some even suggested that Stotts was to be credited for this, he shouldn't be. It was the team chemistry that was getting into full swing, players were getting comfortable in their roles. This is a young team and they needed time to gel. Then their #1 and #2 threats went down.

Now the Bucks are predictably atrocious. I wrote back on the 9th of this month that after Redd's injury, this season was over. The Bucks losing 9 of their last 10 since then and neither Redd or Mo due back for another couple of weeks. But, I believe that I spoke too soon and was too pessimistic. "He got too much sun on his trip" you may say, but that's not it. Why the turnaround you may ask? I'll give you 5 reasons:

1 - Earl Boykins. This little fireball is a nightmare for opposing teams. Who the hell can guard him? Nobody. He's too fast. He's also a scoring machine since the trade. He's dropping almost 20/game since the trade. 20! Holy crap did we get a steal on this from Denver. What are teams going to do when Redd, Mo and Earl are on the floor? You cannot guard that much offense, especially when Earl and Mo attack the hoop as they do. Plus, he can come in for Williams and the Bucks lose nothing on offense.

2 - Charlie Bell. He's been put into more minutes with Redd gone and he's been hot and cold. He seems to be forcing his shot too much, but I believe that when his role is reduced, he'll slip into more of a comfort zone as he won't feel as much pressure. He's learning the limits of his game now and that is going to help him immensely. He's still a solid sub and good defender.

3 - Charlie Villanueva. He drops a double double in his first game back from injury in 30 minutes of action. With Skinner getting so much time while Charlie was out, they form a very solid #4 duo. Charlie has more ability to get that tough inside prescence to aid Bogut.

4 - These 3 players help make a much deeper quality bench for the Bucks. The Bucks can now go 3-4 players deep on the bench and still have a good unit out there at all times.

5 - The Bucks are still in the East. At a sad 17-26 record and losing 10 of their last 12, they are only 3 games out of the #8 playoff spot. If they can hold on and win a few until Redd and Mo come back, this team could explode through the Conference. Nobody will have as much offensive firepower as they will. The Bucks have only scored over 100 1 time in the last 9 games since the dynamic duo went down. The Bucks will assuredly score over 100 on an almost nightly basis when they come back. Their record when they score over 100 pts? 14-8, that's a 63.6 winning percentage. With Boykins and Bell coming off the bench, I would say that we could raise this % up to 67% over the final 30 games that Redd and Mo likely will be back for, the Bucks could very well get into the playoffs and be peaking at the right time.

I needed this

2007-01-19T09:41:00.000-06:00

The first picture is how I'm getting to the second picture. Mrs. Cheesehead and myself (along with my parents and sister and her husband) are going on a cruise from Saturday until next Thursday. My parents retired recently and this is their way of celebrating. First time for all of us to be on a cruise, so it should be interesting and I'm quite looking forward to it. Given there's about 4 inches of snow on the ground and with temps in the teens here, I think it's the right time to leave. Big thanks to my mother-in-law for watching our kids and getting them to school while we're gone.

Oh, and it will be upper 70's to low 80's while we are there. And sun, lots and lots of warm sun. Yes, I may be rubbing this in, but so would any of you reading this if you were going.

We're #2, or is it #3?

2007-01-17T09:28:00.000-06:00

The Badgers B-Ball team is at it's highest ranking, well, ever. The latest polls have them at #2 in the AP and #3 in the coaches poll. Either way, it's a view Bucky rarely looks from.

Tonight, the Badgers get a home win... err game against the Purdue Boilermakers. The Badgers are 40-2 in Big Ten regular season play at home. Somehow I think that Purdue is not going to be the team to add that 3rd loss.

Can't Purdue update their name? I mean it's so 19th century and they need to get with the times. I've got a great one for them. The Purdue Opossums. They share all the same qualities: roll over and play dead when danger comes, they stink and generally get run over a lot. See, it's perfect.

It's great to be a Badger fan.

2007-01-10T09:08:00.000-06:00

The Badgers B-Ball team beat the Buckeyes 72-69 last night to make it 2 big losses in a row for the vaunted OSU sports programs. While this loss was not as embarassing as the major egg the football team laid playing for the national championship, it wasn't as good of a performance as the score suggests either. The Buckeyes were down by double digits in the 2nd half and had a big rally helped by some poor FT shooting from the Badgers near the end to make the score look closer than it really should have been.

This win undoubtedly cements the Badgers as one of the teams to beat come March/April as this is their 3rd win over a top 15 team. Barring a major tanking or an inexplicable early exit from the Big 10 tourney, they will be a #1 seed in the Midwest Region.

Even though this is THE best Badgers team I have ever seen, or anyone else has for that matter, the Big Ten schedule is not going to be all that easy. Currently there is only 1 team with a losing record (Minnesota, who the Badgers manhandled already this year) while the rest of the Big Ten has a winning % of .725. Wow! Even if the schools are playing cupcakes, that is still a very impressive stat. The rest of the Big Ten is not getting a lot of love given how dominant WI and OSU have been, but this conference could have four 20 game winners easily (WI, OSU, MI and Purdue) and possibly 5 (Indiana). So it's not going to be easy and likely the Badgers will lose 2-3 conference games (on the road, as they simply don't lose at home). It's going to be a fun ride and the Badger faithful should have plenty to be happy about.

It was fun while it lasted

2007-01-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

Last night it was determined that the Bucks will be without Michael Redd for 4-6 weeks. The Bucks had started to get things together and were playing quite well after a poor start. This injury totally ruins it. Yes, Redd is this valuable to the team and no, I'm not making too much of this.

As proof, the team knew Redd would be out when playing Denver and they lost by 12. To Denver. Losers of their last 5. Crud.

If it weren't for the fact that the Bucks are in the pathetic Eastern Conference, the season would officially be over. The Bucks are at the #8 playoff spot right now and will in most certainty fall out of that. Redd is going to miss 16-24 games due to this injury and likely will need another week to get his groove back. That's about 1/2 of the remaining games. This was the season that they could have made some serious damage in the playoffs, I was confident of that. Now, it's just another disappointing season.

The Bet is paid - An Analysis

2007-01-07T21:33:00.000-06:00

Ahh, there is nothing better in the whole world than starting off a New Year right, isn't there? I know I certainly did. How you may ask? Well my good reader I shall tell you. One may recall several weeks ago, my neighbor Shane made an ill-advised bet with me. To recap, the wager was for the loser to buy the winner a Triple Cheeseburger, fries and a Coke from Fuddruckers and to shovel the winner's driveway. Well, wouldn't you know it, but Shane lost yet again to me as the Packers easily dispatched of the frauds that are the MN Vikings. For those of you keeping track at home, that would be Craig 5, Shane 0 in the bet department.

Ever since the bet was made, there have been literally hundreds of requests to see the pictures from the payout. Well, I am happy to provide these for you.

The first picture would be that of Shane buying me the 1/2 lb, triplecheese cheeseburger, fries and Coke. The second picture would be that myself eating said cheeseburger. MMM MMM good!

Fairly self explanitory here, this would be Shane shovelling my driveway. True, it is not much snow, but I didn't want to put too much stress on the guy, he's kinda fragile.

I got to thinking, why is it that Shane keeps losing bets to me? Simple bad luck? My obvious superior intellect and skill? While the latter is clearly evident, I believe there is more to it. So I did some research and found the following:

The NAACP has come out with a study that WI drivers are actually better than MN drivers.

The National Endowment of the Arts reported that WI men are better lovers than MN men. Well, that's definately true.

The Rotary Club has found that WI is actually safer from terrorist attacks. Good to see that my parents and siblings are safe.

The Humane Society has definatively proven that WI sports are far superior and better attended than MN sports. They also found that MN fans are severely lacking in overall knowledge in regards to their teams and sports in general.

Consumer Reports reported that WI men are heartier, healthier and better suited against the elements than their MN counterparts.

Finally, Greenpeace has stated that people from WI are on average 78% smarter than their MN neighbors.

Simply fascinating. Good to see what has been known for decades to come to light by independent organizations that Cheeseheads are simply superior to the lutefisk-eating Minnesotans. Now, Shane may say that he was born in WI (which he was) and therefore has all of these positive attributes. Sorry Shane, but you renounced your Cheesehead lineage when you decided to foolishly praise all sports that is MN; and therefore all rights, powers and privileges associated with the gloriousness that is reserved for the children of WI.

New Year, Same Results

2007-01-02T14:18:00.000-06:00

Once again, the Badgers go to the Capitol One Bowl and beat the overhyped-overrated-"superior" SEC Conference by taking out the high-powered Arkansas Razorbacks 17-14.

Last year, the critics thought that Auburn was going to rout the Badgers, instead, it was the other way around. This year, the Badgers were underdogs and again, they won. Time and time again, the Badgers are discounted as a poor team, beneficiaries of playing a soft schedule. Come on, it's not like they're playing the Minnesota Vikings every week. Good teams make bad teams look bad, that's a fact.

Other than 2 big, lucky runs by Arkansas, their offense was bad. Those 2 runs accounted for 1/3 of their total offense for the day. The Badger defense did a great job overall of shutting down the gimmicky offense they run. That junk may have worked in the SEC, but against a disciplined, smart, physical unit like the Badgers, it was as doomed as your average brother/sister wedding that is commonplace in Arkansas.

So, anyone still thinking that Bielema was a bad choice by Alvarez?

See you here next year when the Badgers are once again underdogs in a January Bowl game and once again prove everyone wrong.

Goodbye?

2007-01-02T08:52:00.000-06:00

Is Sunday night's 26-7 ass-whipping of the Bears the last time we'll see Brett on the football field? I don't know.

What I do know is that this team is better than the media and others give them credit for. They went from 4-12 and left for dead last season to 8-8 with young players producing and a bright future ahead, regardless if Favre retires.

With a projected cap space of about 28M and a decent draft position, the Packers could very well get another 3-4 impact players this offseason and improve on this season's finish, especially in the weak NFC North. The Bears are not as good as their record indicates, everyone knows that. The Vikings have a horrible coach who is alienating his players left and right and is an offensive moron. The Lions, well, they're the Lions. It's not like there is a whole lot to be worried about here.

Favre says that he will make a decision soon, and when he does, I'll comment on it then. I will however leave you with this post-game interview he gave on Sunday night and let you make your own conclusions.

The Bucks are coming! The Bucks are coming!

2006-12-27T09:28:00.000-06:00

Soon this phrase will be shouted along the streets of cities where the Bucks are visiting. Much how this phrase struck fear into the colonial Americans when Paul Revere made his famous ride, so too will this one. Last night the Bucks beat San Antonio 114-107. That's right, they not only beat the Spurs, at San Antonio, but they dropped 114 against one of the best defensive teams in the league. I was going to write more, but I am going to let the best Bucks writer out there do the talking today. Sky Hook has his blog: Bucks Diary, that has such a great writeup that I simply cannot top it.

The game turned suddenly at the 8:32 mark of the fourth quarter. With the Bucks trailing by five, and the Spurs calmly looking to close out another victim, Milwaukee's Michael Redd blew down the lane like an Ohio tornado. Tim Duncan stepped to meet him. Undeterred, Redd wrapped a finger roll around the big man's head and raindropped it into the net. The furious Bucks rally was on. From that point to the buzzer, the Bucks tore their teeth into the wounded and lumbering Spurs like a pack of starving hyenas, scoring 25 of the final 38 points. I still don't think the Spurs know what the hell happened.

I'll tell them. The Bucks opened the wagon and unleashed what looked like a Green Strike Team. That fourth quarter stretch that began with the Redd layup and ended with a huge Bucks win was one of the sweetest displays of coldblooded basket attacking I have seen from this team since the days of Marques Johnson. It was surreal. It was dreamlike. It took my breath away. During one stretch within that stretch, the Bucks scored 10 straight points on lay-ups. At crunch time. Against the seasoned Spurs. It was beautiful. Am I getting across to you how excited I was? The Bucks OWNED the lane in the fourth quarter against an elite team on the road. Reread that sentence a couple of times.

The Bucks are a steamroller baby, gonna roll all over you

The win streak is at 5, the run is at 8 of 11. And it includes a spectacular win on the road against the San Antonio Spurs. I think notice has been served. The Bucks want to be taken seriously again.This win will ring out because of the way it was produced. Unstoppable offense, TERRIFIC DEFENSE, energetic rebounding, and a 'my hairs on fire' fourth quarter rally. I don't want to hear about the "ailing Spurs" either. They had a healthy Tim Duncan, didn't they? And still the Bucks dominated all major phases of the game last night. Let that ring out. The Spurs were fortunate to have even been in the game at all. Three pointers and an obnoxious hometown disparity in free throws attempted (28 to 14) is all that kept that them from being completely wiped out.

But can the good times last in BucksNation? Believe it or not, I think they can. The Bucks may genuinely be a team reborn.

Hey, they won the bet for me

2006-12-22T09:43:00.000-06:00

That was, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst NFL game I have ever witnessed last night. The Packers stumbled and bumbled their way to a win over the Raiders 9-7. Wait, you're saying that was against the Vikings? You sure, because 108 yds of offense, 3 first downs gained and 0 points by the offense along with 10 team penalties sure as hell sounds like the Raiders.

But I won the bet!

Seriously, the Vikings have turned into the NFC equivalent to the Raiders. A horribly coached team with absoultely no discipline on the field. The Packers defense completely dominated the Vikings last night. This is due to equal parts of the Packers DL manhandling the Vikings severly overpaid OL and complete offensive ineptitude of Brad Childress.

But I won the bet!

The Packers did do many things right this game, but screwed the pooch at key moments though. The defense played outstanding, although the 2 deep throws from Jackson could have been disastrous, they nevertheless made the worst offense in football look like the worst offense in football. Too often the Packers D makes opposing teams look good, not so last night. The DL harassed Jackson all night long, did a great job in stopping the run and KGB even looked good. Harris and Woodson were absolutely in shut down mode last night and the LB played a hell of a game.

But I won the bet!

Favre made several outstanding plays and some completely boneheaded ones. The 2 INTs were totally on him. The first was a pick even if Jennings stops his route, the second one, Jennings was wide open in the hole in the zone and Favre decides that his buddy Sharper needs a highlight for his season. As bad as those were, his pump fake late in the game where he had rushers all around him then completed a pass back to Franks was a glimpse of the HOF QB that he is.

But I won the bet!

That brings us to Bubba Franks. Poor, poor Bubba. He had the absolute worst game a player could have last night. Two drops, two fumbles, one of which just prior to crossing the goal line on the aforementioned play by Favre that would have likely won the game. He commits a stupid holding call on a big 30 yard completion to Green that would have given the Packers a 1st and goal from the 5 and either a TD or a chip shot FG to win. His game has completely disintegrated over the last 2 years to where he went from a legit threat to a well below average TE.

Let's look at this though, the Pack are 7-9, 3 wins better than last year and have loads of upside. They could beat Chicago next week and come out of this year with an 8-8 record, which after last season, everyone would welcome. But most importantly...

But I won the bet! (if you don't know what I am talking about, please read the comments between me and my neighbor from the previous post, it's quite enjoyable)

Poe was a Packer Fan

2006-12-20T08:31:00.000-06:00

If Edgar Allen Poe was alive today, he would most assuredly be a Packer fan. So, here is what his poem "The Raven" would likely look like had he written it this week. Enjoy!

Once upon a Thursday evening, while I sat with the fish I was cleaning
That I had caught on the ice not more than three hours before
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
As of some NFL team rapping, rapping at my stadium door
“Tis some dumb-ass Viking fan” I muttered –
“only this and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December
And as the Vikings fell on their ass then as they have always before
Eagerly I wished the kickoff; - As these “fans” began to piss off
Piss me off even more – So much I hoped we would run up the score
It is time for the man who has beaten them time and time before –
Time to bring out number Four.

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Look dumbass, your team and offense is a bore.”
“Your receivers are all lacking, and your losses are all stacking
Your team unity is simply cracking – your offense cannot even score.”
“Your coach is a moron” this I stated many times before –
“only this and nothing more”

And the purple painted loser, wobbling like some drunken boozer
Thrilled me filling him with fantastic terrors never felt before;
For he cannot help agreeing that no living Viking being
Could survive without fleeing – Fleeing from the number Four
Sharper, Williams, Childress, Johnson or even Mewelde Moore;
Not even their mascot, Pauly Shore.

The scrawny Vikes fan stood shaking, in his stupid Helga hat quaking
Teared up eyes begging that the truth he hear no more
But the thought of cold Lambeau, either with or without snow
A place where no Viking really wanted to go – A place of hallowed lore
With quivering lip full of fear, nay dread of the final score –
He peed himself upon the floor.

We're #4! We're #4!

2006-12-19T09:20:00.000-06:00

The Badgers men's B-Ball team is now ranked #4 in the AP poll after demolishing the previously undefeated #2 Pittsburgh 89-75.

Without a doubt, this is the best team the Badgers have had, well, ever. Tucker is playing like a man among boys, Taylor is a very solid PG, and if Butch can keep playing like he did against Pitt with that agressiveness inside, this is going to be a very tough team to beat come March (and hopefully April). Many pundits were willing to give the Big Ten title to OSU before the season even started, now the Badgers are proving that thinking flawed.

Tune in tomorrow for a very special Packer/Viking poem.

Could Jenkins have been the key?

2006-12-18T09:36:00.000-06:00

In an undoubtedly better season than last year, the Packers finally reached that magical 6 win mark for the year with a sloppy 17-9 win over the Motor City Kitties.

The running 1-2 punch of Green and Morency clicked for the 2nd straight week of getting over 130 yds rushing. Morency punched in 2 TDs as well (both very nice runs). I have to admit, I was not a big fan of the RB-by-committee approach that some teams use, which apparently the Packers subscribe to now. However, the results have been good this year so while I won't gush over the practice, I'm sure as heck not going to complain about Green not getting enough touches.

As good as the RB were, Favre was about as poor with 3 INT, 2 of which were unforgivable being in the red zone. He is getting ever so much closer to that all-time INT record, which is just as far away as the TD record, and Favre having an equal shot at hitting either one first. Given Favre turned the ball over so frequently, how did America's Team win this one? Defense.

Yes, that's right, the much-maligned Packer defense came through big yesterday: 6 sacks, 2 INTs, multiple QB pressures and a fumble recovery. Normally the Packers D makes pedestrian QBs look good and helps them keep their jobs a bit longer. Not so yesterday. Kitna had a horrific day with only a QB rating of 42.9 and only 135 yds passing.

The running defense was even more impressive with limiting Detroit to 58 yds rushing on 20 carries (2.9 yds/carry avg). Granted, Kevin Jones being out was likely a big part of that, but another move that happened a week ago perhaps had a big part of it as well. That being Cullen Jenkins being moved from DT to DE replacing KGB.

Jenkins has flourished since moving to DE and showed it as such with 3 sacks yesterday. Jenkins is a playmaker and the more of them you get on the field, the better your team is. His move to DE has had 4 big impacts with this defense so far. Granted, I am fully riding the big game he had yesterday, but the changes are noticable.

1 - Teams can no longer game plan to run at that side of the line where KGB was. Jenkins is far more stout against the run and does not take himself out of plays as KGB did and has proven this in the last 2 games. Plus, he's got about 40 more lbs for OL to move and is stronger than KGB.

2 - He's got good pass rushing skills to go along with his run stopping ability. He's deceptively quick and has good power and can go with a speed rush as well as a bull rush and be equally as effective vs the on-trick pony that is KGB. His ability to rush the passer will take some pressure off of Kampman as teams will need to account for him. This has already beared some fruit with Kampman getting 2 sacks himself yesterday to end his latest dry spell.

3 - He is able to occupy OL on running plays better than KGB and thus gives the LB that much more room to flow to the play and frees them up to make a play. With our LB, this is an absolute must.

4 - This also allows one of my favorite players to get some more playing time, Corey Williams. Williams has been a project for several years and has shown some flashes of the player he can be. With Jenkins moving to DE, Williams gets more playing time and has now been given the opportunity to display that talent. He's big (313 lbs) and like Jenkins is surprisingly quick for a DT as his sack yesterday attributed to. He is a playmaker, and I will say this again, you get more playmakers on the field, the better your team is.

This DL (Jenkins, Pickett, Williams and Kampman) has the potential to be a very good one. They all are very good against the run and they have proven to be good pass rushers. With a better pass rush from the front 4, the rest of the D can only be better in pass coverage.

Since Jenkins has been moved to DE, the Packers have given up just over 100 yds in rushing over 2 games (SF had under 50 after the move was made) combined and the Packers have given up only 21 total points. Granted, it was against SF and Detroit, but that's what they are supposed to do against them. Plus, add in that in the 2 games (and one possession) prior to that, they gave up 76 points, it's too coincidental.

There is a very good running team in the Vikings coming to town on Thursday and Jenkins is going to lined up against their $500 million left side of the OL. The true test is coming then, but I'm feeling pretty good about it.

$1 billion? You gotta be kidding me

2006-12-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

That's right, the Cowboys are building a new stadium that will cost $1 billion. All I have to say is "Holy crap" (ode to Peter Boyle there).

The stadium is going to seat 80k, 100k if they sell tickets to the standing room only area in the endzones (who the hell wants to stand for 3+ hours at a football game anyway?).
They are putting a scoreboard that is 60 yards long and 50 feet high hanging over the field. Dear heavens. Just wait until that falls someday. You know, I may just have to rethink my dead pool to include some Cowboy players.
At the unveiling party, several things disturbed me. One, Bob Costas was there to be the master of ceremonies and called it "the most extraordinary athletic facility ever conceived". I used to hold Bob in such high regard due to his thoughts on and passion for baseball. But to schill out on this monstrosity like this is beneath you Bob. Two, they played videos of the Pyramids and the Colosseum as if this stadium is on the same level as those structures. That's ridiculous. This is nowhere near as great as those. You never saw Nero clamoring for better luxury suites, more wine and women perhaps. Plus, this stadium will be considered "out of date" in about 30-35 years anyway and be torn down.

Clearly Jerry Jones has a big case of stadium envy. Think he's trying to compensate for something? Hmmmmm? No matter how hard you try Jerry, you'll never be able to top the masterpiece that is Lambeau Field.

To me, this is being built because it can, which is never a good reason to do something. You want a legacy Jerry, donate a bunch of money to a university to help research a disease (not like ED which you cleary have).

One thing that has been discovered about the new stadium that is going to be a problem:

There's not enough room in it for Jones' ego.

The alarm didn't go off

2006-12-10T20:42:00.000-06:00

I have to admit something, I didn't watch the game today. My children had their annual Christmas program this afternoon and I gladly missed the game to see them sing and store away some great memories, as my kids were simply fantastic and exceeded all hopes I had in their performance. Afterwards, we went out to eat and I had completely forgotten about the Packer game.

Got home from a great dinner with my family and we started to decorate the Christmas tree. It was fairly late (7pm) when we started. After about 30 minutes of decorating with some incredibly great Christian music softly playing in the background, my wife asks "So, how did the Packers do?"

I didn't know. The evening had been so much fun that I had blanked out about the game. So, I quickly ran downstairs to the computer and pulled up the Yahoo! Sports page (it loads way quicker than anybody else), bracing myself for the impact of another bad Packer loss. Then I saw it: Packers win 30-17. A smile came across my face as I quickly went to the boxscore.

Favre: 22-34 293 yds 2 TD 0 INT. I quickly figure a QB rating of 111.52 (I am the Oracle after all).

Green & Morency combine for over 140 yds rushing and a TD

Driver: 160 yds receiving and a TD

Packers D got 3 turnovers and were actually good for a game.

I simply couldn't believe it. I thought I was dreaming, I was waiting for the alarm to go off and wake me out of this dreamland. After all, my kids who seem to be terminally shy come performance time were outstanding just a few short hours ago and the Packers won a game convincingly on the road.

The alarm never came.

So I went back upstairs and walked into the living room watching my wife and kids smiling and laughing while decorating the tree. The music was joyously perfect and there I was, realizing that sometimes, dreamland does exist outside of sleep.

Woodson's not a stiff

2006-12-08T10:53:00.000-06:00

Remember back when the Packers were trying to decide if they should get Lavarr Arrington or Charles Woodson? Both were available and both played positions that the Packers desperately needed to upgrade. Many thought that at the time when Arrington chose the Skins that the Packers got the wrong guy in "settling" for Woodson.

You heard the critics:

Woodson has lost too much to injury
He's a loner
Doesn't play well with others on his team
Not a playmaker any longer

Well, Woodson has more than proved them all wrong. He leads the team with 5 INTs, which also happens to be near the top of the NFL. He has 15 passes defensed, again, near the top of the NFL. Add in that he has 3 forced fumbles (that makes 8 total turnovers forced) an has solid run support what you have here is a resume for an elite CB.

What was that? He's not an elite CB? Well, let's compare this to the stats of a well-known CB who is labeled as the best there is currently. This CB currently has:

5 INT, 17 passes defensed and no forced fumbles.

Who is this CB? Champ Bailey of the Broncos.

So it's perfectly clear that Woodson has come back to his pre-injury form. He's not as fast as he used to be, but that's just fine as he's still got the goods and is producing.

I've heard far too much from Packer fans that Woodson is average and is replacable. The above shows that this line of thinking is crap and completely unfounded.

Oh, and for that other guy the Packers missed out in getting? He's currently injured, has done nothing all season (only 16 tackles over 6 games) and is one of the biggest busts this year. We not only signed the right guy, but one of the best FA signings all season.

My interview with Mike McCarthy

2006-12-04T10:11:00.000-06:00

Below is my "mock" interview with Packers HC Mike, McCarthy (and some, ok a lot, of help from Monty Python).

CC: 'Ello. I wish to register a complaint.
(The coach has his back to the register and does not respond.)
CC : 'Ello, Miss?
Mr. McCarthy : (turning around, very angry) What do you mean, "miss"?
CC : I'm sorry, I have a cold.
(The coach nods, understanding.)
CC : I wish to make a complaint!
Mr. McCarthy: (hurriedly) Sorry, we're closin' for lunch...!
CC : Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this defense, what I have been watching not more than the beginning of my life.
Mr. McCarthy: Oh yes, the, ah, the Green Bay Packers defense... What's, ah... W-what's wrong with them?
CC: I'll tell you what's wrong with them, my lad. They’re terrible, that's what's wrong with them.
Mr. McCarthy: No, no, they’re ah... they’re resting for the playoffs.
CC: Look, matey, I know a terrible defense when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
Mr. McCarthy: No no, they’re not terrible, they’re, they’re restin'!
CC: Restin'?
Mr. McCarthy: Y-yeah, restin.' Remarkable team, the Green Bay Packers, aren’t they, eh? Beautiful stadium!
CC: The stadium don't enter into it. They’re terrible!
Mr. McCarthy: Nononono, no, no! They’re resting!
CC: All right then, if they're resting, I'll wake them up!
(shouting at the locker room)
'Ello, Sanders! Mister Bob Sanders! I've got a lovely fresh Lombardi Trophy for you if you wake up, Mr. Sanders...
(coach hits DC, Bob Sanders)
Mr. McCarthy: There, he moved!
CC: No, he didn't, that was you pushing him!
Mr. McCarthy: I never!!
CC: Yes, you did!
Mr. McCarthy: I never, never....
(CC pulls Bob Sanders off the bench and screams into his ear.)
CC: 'ELLO Bobby! Bob-EE! Bobby Sanders! WAKE UP!
(He bangs Bob’s head against the locker, horribly hard.)
TESTIIIING! TESTIIIING! THIS IS YOUR NINE-O' CLOCK ALARM CALL!
(He does it again, harder.)
BOB-EEEEEEE!
(He shows footage of the past several games where receivers are running free and running backs meet no resistance)
Now that is what I call a bad coordinator.
Mr. McCarthy: No, no.... No, he's stunned.
CC: STUNNED?
Mr. McCarthy: Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Bob Sanders stuns easily, major.
CC: Look my lad, I've had just about enough of this. That coordinator is definitely terrible, and when I bought into his hiring not 4 months ago, you assured me that his total lack of movement was due to him being tired and shagged out after a long speech.
Mr. McCarthy: Well, he's... he's, ah... probably pining for Jim Bates.
(CC looks angrily back and forth, stuttering.)
CC: PININ' for JIM BATES? What kind of talk is that? Look, why did he fall flat on his ass the moment he got on the field?
Mr. McCarthy: Bob Sanders prefers fallin’ on his ass! Remarkable team, aren’t they, guv, eh? Beautiful stadium!
CC: (coldly) Look, I took the liberty of examining that coordinator when I got it home, and I discovered that he is extraordinarily terrible.
(pause)
Mr. McCarthy: He’s not terrible! If he had been terrible, I wouldn’t have hired him, you just wait, his scheme will work and the defense will go VOOM!
CC: "VOOM?" Look matey, this defense wouldn't "voom" if you put four thousand volts through it! He's bleedin' terrible!
Mr. McCarthy: He's not! He's pining!
CC: He's not pinin,' he should be passed on! This coordinator should be no more! It has ceased to be anything resembling a defensive coordinator! His time is expired and should be gone! He's a stiff! Bereft of talent, he should be unemployed! If you hadn't hired him to be the coordinator he would be filing books in the local library! His cerebral processes are history! This should be.... an EX-Coordinator!

At this point I was attacked by security but was able to elude them as they could not get near me or tackle me as Bob Sanders is apparently in charge of them as well.

Hodge Podge

2006-12-01T09:27:00.000-06:00

Time to just on some topics that have crossed my mind.

Packers
What a mess this defense is. Sanders has not progressed in his prepwork, playcalling or adjustments this season. Here's hoping Bates is around in the offseason and willing to come back to fix this mess. I do not like this matchup against the J-E-T-S jetsjetsjets, no sir I don't. Remember, the J-E-T-S jetsjetsjets beat the same NE team that kicked the holy hell out of us.

Bucks
Kinda hard to win games when your starting #4 and #3 are out for over a month. Redd has been fantastic and is apparently immune to Stotts' horrendous coaching. Anyone else think Stotts looks like a guy you just would just want to give a wedgie to? No leadership comes forth from this man.

Badgers
The B-Ball team is looking very good. Some fans got all riled up after the Missouri State game and claiming it was unfathomable for Bucky to lose to them. Get over it, it's college hoops and most teams will lose at least 6-7 games/year and it's not like State was a 1-6 team or something like that. The Badgers are an elite team in the country and will likely be around for the Sweet 16 this spring, barring injuries or the academic issues from last year.

The football team is still awaiting it's opponent for the Capitol One Bowl. My belief is that it will not be Auburn as the COB folks say they do not really want a rematch. On this note, Arkansas is looking like the choice. Although, should ND be shut out of the BCS, the Capitol One folks would love to get them as between thier fans and the Badger fans, the game would be sold out in about 30 minutes after the matchup was announced. As much as I don't care for ND, they have great fans.

Jack Ikegwuonu is a moron! Here is a guy who has loads of talent, is starting on one of the better defenses in the country , reportedly is from a family that is rather well off and he and his twin brother are out stealing a friggin' XBox! Likely he is gone for the Bowl game as Barry will have none of this crap. Plus, it's a XBox! Doesn't he know that the PS3 is a much better system? Sheesh.

Just to continue on the college football kick. I am completely against an OSU/MI rematch for the national title. The game was not as close as the final score indicated. MI scored with 2 minutes left to bring it under 10 points. They were manhandled and had to play a perfect game while OSU played sloppy and being down by double digits for most of the game was their reward. Obviously if USC loses to UCLA, then MI likely will get the nod and that's that. MI would still lose the rematch anyway. OSU is clearly the best team in the country.

I just started a 6v6 football league on Wednesday. It's 2 hand touch above the waist on a 40 yard field with only a half width field. It's not co-ed though, my wife threatened me with severe bodily harm if I joined that one. Too bad, Hooters sponsors a team in that league... mmmmm Hoooooterrrrsss... Anyway, it's the first football I've played since high school and it's amazing how some abilities just never go away. I have no problem catching the ball and playing defense. The route timing and running needs some work, but that will come with more games. We lost our first game 18-26 to our opponents who had just won the fall league 3 weeks ago. It was a good showing and yours truly had 3 catches, one for a TD.

Oprah Winfrey - Packer Fan

2006-11-28T10:37:00.000-06:00

After yet another horrible loss by the Packers last night,24-34 to the Seahawks. I needed to chat with yet another loyal, famous Packer fan: Oprah Winfrey. So we got together at my place after the game to discuss how the team did and what to do about them:

CC: Thanks for coming by Oprah, I assume your International Foods Coffee is ok.

Oprah: Absolutely Craig. By the way, your place is gorgeous.

CC: Thanks Oprah. So, that was yet another sad loss by the Pack tonight.

Oprah: Oh dear heavens it was. I wrecked at least 5 of my TV's in my 48,000 square foot home.

CC: It sure was frustrating. So, where do the Packers go from here?

Oprah: Well, first off, I need to be put in charge.

CC: Really? You want to run the Packers? What would you do with the team?

Oprah: Yes I do. First off, I fire all the men on the coaching staff and replace them with women of all shapes, sizes and colors. No part of womanhood would be left unrepresented.

CC: Well, that's an interesting first step. Please, go on.

Oprah: Then, I would buy not only the staff, but all the players a new car!

CC: That's... something.

Oprah: I would have the players read books from my book club to help them become better players and people. For the pathetic secondary, I would have them read I Feel Bad About My Neck to help them with their problems of watching the opposing WR run past them.

The front seven would read How Stuff Works so that they see how teams running plays work so that they can stop them from having a RB who has been out most of the year from running over 200 yards against them.

The special teams definately need to read The Best Way to Play. They have been horrific this season and appear to not even be coached. They look like a bunch of Pop Warner kids out there.

For my dear, dear Brett Favre, he would have to read A Fine Balance, that way he can see the difference between forcing a throw to make a big play and just making the play to move the chains.

CC: You would have the team read books from your book club huh? That seemed to work out well with A Million Little Pieces by James Frey didn't it?

Oprah: Real funny Craig.

CC: What about having to deal with all the contracts and agents and stuff?

Oprah: If we win the division, I'd give all the players a new car!

CC: You really like that new car thing don't you?

Oprah: That's what I do. Besides, any agent or player that messed with me with all this holdout and contract nonsense I would flay him on my show and get all of America against him. After all, I AM OPRAH!

CC: Thanks for stopping by Oprah, you're truly an inspriation.

Oprah: Cars for everyone! Wheee!

Things to be thankful for

2006-11-22T08:54:00.000-06:00

This Thanksgiving, there is a great amount of things to be thankful for for Cheeseheads.

I'm thankful that I'm not a fan of the other NFC North teams.
Detroit is one of the biggest laughingstocks in the league and are doomed to have crappy teams for the rest of their existence in the league. Along with season tickets, the team sends out brown paper bags for the fans to cover themselves in. The Vikings have no leadership or direction and the fans always puff their chests out each year about how great their team is, only to jump off the bandwagon, usually by midseason when their team puts forth their crappy performance year after year. To be a Bears fan, you have to live in a trailer by the railroad tracks and think that Keystone really is good beer *shudder*.

I'm thankful that the Badgers are an elite football and basketball program.
The football squad is ranked in the Top 10 yet again and are going to yet another New Years Day Bowl game, likely the Capitol One Bowl. The poor saps the Badgers have to play from the SEC will not know what hit them. The basketball team is also ranked in the Top 10 and is a preseason favorite to make the Final Four.

I'm thankful that there is great optimism for the Brewers.
They did finish under .500 last year, but that was with a patchwork PS. Sheets and Ohka stay healthy and with the young kids having another year of experience, the future is bright at Miller Park.

Plus, we have outstanding stadiums to watch all our teams in. Miller Park, Kohl Center, Camp Randall and of course, Lambeau Field; nobody can hold a candle to WI stadiums.

Have a great Thanksgiving all!

Tom Cruise : Packer Fan

2006-11-19T19:06:00.000-06:00

After this latest embarrassment by the Packers in their 35-0 drubbing by the Pats, I decided that it was time to ask a famous Packer fan about his thoughts on the game. So I dialed up Tom Cruise at his Italian hotel where he is spending his honeymoon with his new bride, Katie Holmes. Here is our conversation:

CC: Hey Tom, thanks for talking with me today.

Tom: No problem Craig, that was one hell of a loss wasn't it? I had to watch it with my Eyes Wide Shut.

CC: No kidding. How do you deal with it when the Packers play this badly?

Tom: Well, I don't make any noise during or after the Packer game for 1 hour. It's just like the birthing event for my daughter. I watch in complete silence as do all others around me. In fact, I mute the TV as well.

CC: Seriously? That's got to be tough. I mean, I'm yelling and trying not to curse around my kids.

Tom: I know that I am in the Minority Report in regards to that, but I do have a Cocktail or two during the game and that helps.

CC: I see. So what are your thoughts on the Packers this year?

Tom: Well, Brett Favre is obviously still a Top Gun at the QB position, he's a Legend. The Young Guns on the OL and the defense are improving. In fact, I think that Pack are just A Few Good Men away from being a SB contender again. Some may think that dream is a Mission: Impossible, but not me.

CC: You seem really sold on the Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy plan.

Tom: This is Far and Away the best management we have had since Holmgren was here. It was a Risky Business hiring both Thompson and McCarthy, but so far they have made All The Right Moves.

CC: Your optimism is a great inspiration for me, Tom. Thanks.

Tom: You're welcome Craig, anytime. I have to get going on my honeymoon now. Katie is calling and unless I want the Days of Thunder to come and end up having the War of the Worlds, I gotta go.

CC: Say hi to Katie for me and next time you're in Minneapolis, stop on by.

Tom: Absolutely buddy!

Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Cruise - Packer Fan. Tune in next week when we'll hear from another famous Packer fan.

Six Pack is Back

2006-11-17T08:22:00.000-06:00

With the big game coming up this weekend, and no, not the Badgers/Buffalo massacre, I figured I would bring back the 6 things to watch for for the Packers/Patriots game.

1 - Favre cannot turn the ball over. It's pretty clear that if Favre throws INTs, the Pack loses. Cannot be on the wrong side of the turnover battle in this one.

2 - Pass rush has to get to Brady. These are not the Pats from their SB days, the WR corps is not a good unit and if you can hurry Brady, he may start to force the issue and the Pack have to capitalize with getting the picks.

3 - McCarthy needs to get better at red-zone play calling. Coming away with FG instead of TD is a sure way to lose a game against the Pats.

4 - The running game needs to get back on track. Have to win the time of possession and this is the way to do it. With or without Tauscher at RT.

5 - Pass protection has to continue it's great streak. Last week the Pack put on a pass protection clinic and if they can continue to give Favre time like that, he'll pick NE apart.

6 - Cannot give up the 40 yd-oops-I-messed-up-my-coverage-TD that they have over the last 2 weeks. Brady will absolutely eat them up if they do that. He can see this far more quickly than Johnson did last week and Brady can eat the Packers DB's up if they play a good game, let alone leave WR uncovered.

I have a feeling that this could be a high-scoring game. Would not be surprised to see a team get 30 points in this one.

The sweetest win of the year

2006-11-12T22:22:00.000-06:00

The Packers come out of the Big Inflatable Toilet with a very solid 23-17 win over the Queens and with it, they have already reached their win total from last year, Yeee-Haw!

There are several reasons for the win today and let's look at all of them in their cheesy glory!

1 - The OL was a stone wall on the Vikings pass rush. They gave Favre all day to throw and simply destroy the Vikings secondary. The numbers don't lie: 347 yards, 2 TD, virtually no pressure and nothing close to an INT.

2 - The Packers pass rush was relentless. It seemed as if everyone was able to get in a shot on Johnson today. They created turnovers and just demolished the vaunted OL of the Vikes. Big games by the LB corps today.

3 - Driver was in that rare zone with Favre where both knew where the holes in the D were and they exploited them to their fullest.

4 - Mike McCarthy outcoached Childress of the Vikes. MM had a great gameplan, stuck with the run even though it wasn't very productive, but in keeping the Vikes D honest Favre was able to throw easier. Remember all the hubbub about when Childress went to MN and the Packer fans were mad that we were "stuck" with MM? (I was not one of them) How many people out there now are still questioning the MM hiring? Not me, we clearly have the better coach and it's not even close.

5 - The Oracle said that they would win, and they did.

Rejoice all ye Packer fans! This team is improving every week, it's clear they are. We are on an upswing as an organization, which I cannot say about the team with the silly purple jerseys we whopped today.

Lee Corso can suck on my cheese balls

2006-11-11T23:46:00.000-06:00

All season long, Lee Corso (photo on the right, preparing to suck up to one of his favorite teams) at ABC has railed against the Badgers. He has said that the Badgers do not deserve a high ranking as they did not play Ohio State this year and doesn't care about anything else that the Badgers are doing. Great logic, USC hasn't played them either, but you're willing to sing their praises all day long. Prior to today's game, he was asked who he thought would win, he just said "I really like Iowa in this game". Gave no other reason than that to support his view. Just a loud-mouthed know-nothing who gets national media attention just because he's "entertaining". He's a joke who just hams it up for the home crowd they are at each week and says outrageous things for the sake of doing it. I'm glad UW has stuck it to him time and time again this year.

The Badgers pulled out a close 24-21 win over the evil Hawkeyes. The Badgers D gave up some uncharacteristic big plays, but they nevertheless frustrated Drew Tate(r Tots) for a 10-31 day. No doubt Iowa played with passion today, as a win would have saved their dismal season. But given they loaded up against the run, Tyler Donovan, in his first start for the injured John Stocco shredded the Hawkeyes D and with 228 yds and 2 TD on 17-24 passing to go along with his 61 yards rushing. How good are Badgers that they can beat a team with a winning record with their backup QB?

Great job by Bielema to rest Stocco if he didn't need to play. In fact, I wouldn't be too surprised if Stocco was saved until the Capitol One Bowl game in January as the Badgers get the lowly Buffalo, err Buffalos next week at Camp Randall.

Judging by all the losses in the top 11, with 5 teams losing, the Badgers could very well jump to possibly #11 themselves in the newest polls. This Badger team could go down as one of the best ones ever when all is said and done. They are now 10-1 and have a shot at 11 regular season wins for the first time.

This is it

2006-11-10T10:55:00.000-06:00

The Badgers head off to Iowa and face the Hawkeyes (6-4) in their final Big Ten game of the season. This is a huge game as the Badgers are 0-4 in their last 4 meetings against them and a win tomorrow would make the Capitol One Bowl a stone cold lock.

The Hawkeyes have an average defense that has the ability to completely break down at any given time. Many Hawkeye fans realize that their Def Coord is behind the times and don't care for him. Thier offense is nothing special either and the Badgers D should have some good success in holding the Hawkeyes in check.

The big question mark is at QB for the Badgers though. John Stocco is apparently a game-time decision and this is going to make things interesting. With a healthy Stocco, this offense can explode at any time. With Tyler Donovan at QB, the WI offense has to be more run oriented and a bit more predictable. Tyler can run better than Stocco, but he's no Troy Smith Juice Williams or anything like that.

I would expect that Stocco will start if he is able to, but that the run will be heavily emphasized. Look for PJ Hill to get a lot of carries and for the Badgers to go for a ball-control heavy offense. I say the Badgers win by 13 in a low scoring game.

Top 10 Reasons for a Packer win against MN

2006-11-09T21:03:00.000-06:00

Even though the Bills loss stings me like... a stingy thing does, I am still not giving up on the Pack. Not when the opponents are the Minnesota Vikings this week. Rivalry games are always great and this week is a desparate week for both teams. So today I am doing a complete 180 from yesterday's post. Let's review why the Packers will win this game.

10 - The Vikings offense is horrible and couldn't even come close to scoring more than 3 points against the woeful San Fran D.

9 - The Vikes new unis are silly looking, and silly looking teams don't win football games.

8 - The Packers new running attack will continue it's success and wear down the Viking defenders.

7 - The toughest guy the Vikes have is their mascot, Ragnar. He was seen crying while watching the Oxygen network this week.

6 - It bears repeating, the Vikings offense is horrible.

5 - The Packers DB's will eat up the Vikes so-called WR corps.

4 - Ryan Longwell will realize he loves the Pack too much and will intentionally miss the game winning FG.

3 - God hates the Vikings and loves the Packers.

2 - Even though the Packers have lacked that killer instinct, the Vikes don't have it either.

1 - Come on, it's the frickin' Vikings.

No winning instinct

2006-11-08T13:50:00.000-06:00

I haven't written about the Packers' embarrassment from Sunday against the Bills as whenever I tried, I got too pissed off and stopped. Whether it was Brett having a ball snapped off his face, or 2 completely ill-advised throws to a covered Donald Driver on a quick slant, or the defense just giving up after that 2nd INT, it just all did me in.

It's the 3rd game this year where the Packers should have won and didn't. The Packers lack that something that winning teams have. Some may say it's experience or talent. I say it's this: killer instinct. For example:

End of the 2nd Q, Packers driving and have a first and goal from the 5 with 10 seconds left. Wells snaps the ball to Favre who is simply looking to the right. He's not calling a play or shouting instructions, and the ball goes right off his face mask because he's not paying attention. The rest of the offense moved at the snap except for Favre.

Start of the 3rd Q, the Pack have busted off some huge runs, but then decide to quit running the ball, and 3 incompletions later, waste an opportunity inside Buffalo territory.

4th Q, the Packers D has owned the Bills offense all day. They have forced a 2nd and 20. Inexplicably, the secondary (Al Harris and the safety) do not cover Lee Evans, Buffalo's best WR and thus, a TD is scored.

4th Q, the Packers had been running the ball at will against the Bills in the 3rd and 4th Q. They had a first and goal at the one. The killer instinct would have been to give the ball to Green, step on the Bills throats and score the TD to tie the game. Instead, they step off of the Bills and call a foolish pass play that turned out to be the finishing blow against the Pack.

Time and time again, the team had prime opportunities to score points, and failed. The defense, while very good all day, failed miserably in the 4th Q, when the team needed them most. Some of it is play calling, other times it's miserable execution. But you don't see good teams meltdown like this as often as the Packers do. It's not as easy as just blaming the overall youth of the Packers, as the young kids did well enough. Simply put, the Packers don't know how to win right now, and it's showing.

Lion Tamers

2006-11-04T18:26:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I'm sure this title will be used by a lot of other posts about the Badgers 13-3 win over Penn State, but I like it anyway.

This Badger defense is incredibly good. Say what you will about the level of competition, but they are dominating that competition. The PSU offense did nothing all day.

The offense did a fine job moving the ball and keeping the Badger D rested. PJ Hill had another solid day and showed why he is going to be a Heisman candidate next season. The injury to Stocco is very concerning though. I think there was no reason to call for that pass play that knocked him out of the game. The Badgers just needed to run the ball and take time off the clock. Why throw on 1st down? Bielema is going to be kicking himself for that move and will likely get an earfull from Barry during their Monday walks that they have. Hopefully Stocco is not seriously hurt, but I have a feeling this is not good.

Next week is the final Big Ten game against Iowa. Even if Stocco is unable to play, I expect the Badgers to roll over the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes D is terrible and the team is unravelling this year. A win next week solidifies the Capitol One Bowl for the Badgers.

Bucks start strong

2006-11-02T09:23:00.000-06:00

The Bucks manhandled the Detroit Pistons in their opener last night 105-97. Did I mention this was at Detroit? Against the team marked to possibly contend for the Eastern Conference and NBA title? Bogut was brilliant and is showing why he was the #1 pick last season now that he is in his proper position. Mo Williams played his usual turnover-free game. Villanueva gets 16 pts and 12 rebounds which is exactly why the Bucks traded Ford for him, a solid inside presence to compliment Bogut. Then there is Michael Redd, the scoring machine. The man drops 37 on a defensive-minded team on 63% shooting, that's all that needs to be said. Just a great showing all around.

The Bucks are being picked to be in the cellar of the division and I have seen 1 writer out of about 20 pick them to be the #8 seed in the playoffs. This is hogwash. These Bucks are going to surprise a lot of writers this year and be the #6 seed at least. I don't think a 46-36 record is out of the question for this year. This team is arguably better at every position than they were last year. It's all about staying healthy this season and living up to their potential. Last night was simply a great start.

Tony Romo is a Demon

2006-11-01T10:25:00.000-06:00

Some may wonder why I am plugging a Dallas Cowboy QB of all people on the Oracle of Cheese. They say "Hey, he's a stinking Cowboy! He's one step short of a Bear, Viking or pondscum!" or "He's a one game wonder. He'll never make it as a legit starter in the NFL."

I put him on as I want to point out his bio on the Cowboys website (you'll have to actually click on his name for a pop-up window). Go ahead and open it and read it and come back here, I'll wait.

Ok, are you done reading it now? (and checking out the cheerleading squad) If so, you would have seen that he is from Burlington High School in Burlington, WI (the Demons). Coincidentally, this is my hometown and high school. Not too often does a kid from a town of 10,000 people make it in the NFL, let alone become a starting QB for a high-profile team. Damn proud of this. The Oracle is officially cheering for Tony to make it big in the NFL. He certainly seems to have the tools to be successful. And no, I don't know him as I graduated many years prior to him.

You may now return to the Cowboys site and view the swimsuit calendar, and you're welcome for the link.

And now, we dance

2006-10-29T22:55:00.000-06:00

The Packers looked like a professional football team for the 2nd straight week with a 31-14 win over the Cardinals. They had a running attack, a pass offense and even some defense today. The special teams, well, not so special.

The Packers did one of those rare feats where they have 2 100 yard rushers in the same game (Green 106 yds and Morency 101 yds). That OL sure looked good out there. The holes were huge and both the backs took full advantage of them. This zone blocking thing really is starting to work ain't it? Favre had a good day and didn't throw anything close to an INT that I saw. I must say that the only thing uglier than Favre running is the "Lambeau Leap" Favre. Now we know why he's never done it before. Favre has been the biggest benefactor of the recently improved running game. Favre no longer feels he has to force the issue to make a big play. He justs stay within the offense, and it is working out.

The defense was good today. Kampman had a very good 2 sack day, Hawk was solid against the run. Heck, even Barnett had a solid outing. Anyone notice that Woodson had nothing completed on him? He had a shut down day and came up with a INT even. He is certainly having a season of redemption so far this year. He's been everything the Packers could have hoped for when signing him. Plus, his punt returns have been very good, you just get that feeling that he is going to bust one all the way sometime this year.

Some may scoff at 2 wins in a row, but I shall not! Besides, this gives me a chance to put Carmen Miranda up on the Oracle. A winning streak is worth dancing about. Let the dancing begin!

Close one for the Badgers

2006-10-29T15:28:00.000-06:00

Bucky dodged a bullet on Saturday with a 30-24 win over Illinois. The first half was just atrocious as Dave Heller at the Journal Sentinal pointed out during the game: "One press box member responded that the Badgers are playing more like the No. 17 team in the Big Ten". That was a fairly accurate description. Then the second half happened.

The Badgers dominated the second half by scoring 20 points getting almost 200 yards of offense, getting 2 turnover (on on downs), having over a 5 minute TOP advantage and limiting Illinois to just over 80 yards of offense. Illinois was only in the game due to an INT for a TD and a fumble inside the Badger 30. They didn't earn much of their scoring by any real offensive prowess. Great comeback by the Badgers.

The Badgers were almost caught looking past a much lesser team, but they survived and got the W. Now, onto hosting Penn State (6-3) in a huge game. Bucky cannot come out with the effort they had in the first half against Illinois in the game against PSU. Look for a much sharper, more focused team this coming Saturday.

Well I'll be

2006-10-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

I just noticed that on ESPN they released the pre-season college basketball rankings and the Badgers are ranked #9! Hell, the Badgers are ranked higher than Duke. Let me say that again, THEY ARE RANKED HIGHER THAN DUKE! To accomplish this task over the most evil college basketball program ever is quite the day-brightener.

That's what happens when you keep over 90% of your scoring and rebounding and you get your #6 & 7 players back from suspension. I haven't been this excited about Badger basketball in quite some time. They went over to Italy and played a 5 game exhibition schedule against some pro and semi-pro teams and went undefeated. This was well noticed by the writers and I'm looking forward to yet another great Big Ten season and March tourney.

Just a break from the football season with this news.

Ok, break over. The Badgers should stomp the living hell out of the damn FIBs and the Packers should do the same to Arizona. Badgers by at least 24 and the Packers by 10.

Mailbag... MAAAAILBAAAG!!!

2006-10-26T09:57:00.000-05:00

Today the Oracle shall answer a question from a loyal reader:

"O Great Oracle: Let me begin this humble request for information by noting that it was my pleasure to see Mrs. Oracle for a brief time when I was visiting the home of your esteemed neighbor last week. Unfortunately, you were not at home. Let me also apologize for defeating you in Fantasy Football, although please note that I really needed a win!

My question regards Brett Favre and the near-constant speculation regarding his future. I note that he needs only 16 touchdowns to pass Dan Marino on the all-time list. Do you think this record means anything to him? If so, do you think he would come back next year to break the record, assuming that he does not do so this year? Perhaps you feel that the record has no impact on his decision whether or not to play after this year. I would be most interested in hearing of your views in regards to these questions.

Thanks much and take care.

Curt in Grand Forks"

Well Curt in Grand Forks, you do raise some interesting points.

First, let me say that my wife was pleased to see you as well. I am saddened to have missed being in your prescence, but it could not be avoided as the great Seer of Bratwurst was in need of assistance.

Second, you are welcome with the fantasy football win. I saw that that would be a good time for you to enjoy some modicum of football success and granted it to you.

Third, on to Brett Farve. This year there is definately a different Brett Favre than we have seen in years past. For the last 4-5 years, he has been a far more stoic Brett, content to keep what he feels on the inside. He was simply existing on the football field and going through the motions of playing it seemed. This year, he is noticably more excited and frankly looks as if he's having fun. I know this is a cliche in regards to him however, hear me out. He is showing far more on-field leadership and encouragement to his teammates than he has in years past as well. His running up to Driver and carrying him around last week was testiment to that. He has particularly been very encouraging to the rookie OL in front of him during games. He knows how far his encouragement can take a player and has dished it out quite effectively this season as the OL has responded with better and better play as the season has gone along.

Perhaps he feels that this is his final goodbye and is wanting to do the most with it, or maybe he has rediscovered an old fire. I believe it is the first part, and he wants to go out fighting. He has always said that the TD record is not what he is going for, but I think he really wants it, but is giving it this year as his last chance. I did say after last season that he would not come back and I was wrong. However, not even the great Oracle can see into the havoc that Phil Simms can bring, as nobody can understand his logic.

So gentle Curt, regardless if Favre breaks the TD record or not, I do not see him returning. I appreciate your inquiry and may you have safe journeys in life.

The jinx is broken!

2006-10-23T09:42:00.000-05:00

Finally the Packers and Badgers win on the same weekend. Sorry for the delay in my postings as my folks were visiting for the weekend, so blogging had to wait.

The Badgers started off with yet another extremely good defensive effort in demolishing Purdon't 24-3. The defense held the #11 offense in the country to under 300 total yards and 3 measly points. PJ Hill had yet another awesome game of over 160 yds and likely will be a Heisman frontrunner next season.

The Badgers are getting some great national love as they are now #17 in the AP Poll, #18 in the coaches and #18 in the BCS. As I said at the beginning of the season, it looks to be another Capitol One Bowl for the Badgers this year.

The Packers showed some great signs of life in their 34-24 beatdown of the Dolphins. Green's hamstrings proved durable when he broke off a 70 yd TD run early in the 4th. The pass defense was still spotty at best, even with the 3 INTs they got. WR were still running free and Harris was clearly beaten for a TD had Harrington not been the QB for Miami. Given that Miami had to throw over 60 times in the game the pass numbers are a bit inflated so I shouldn't be too hard on the unit.

Was there any better sight in sports than Favre picking up Driver and carrying him around after his spectacular TD catch? It's moments like that which can spark the morale of a team for the rest of the season. Yeah, I'm drinking the Green and Gold Kool-Aid big time today, and I don't care how it looks.

B-Bye Koren!

2006-10-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

Koren Robinson has been suspended for 1 yr by the NFL effective immediately stemming back to his "incident" in MN while speeding drunk from the po-lice. His time here went by fast, faster than a speeding cop car (almost). So, what does this mean for the Packers? Several things:

1 - We now need yet another #3 WR and KO returner
2 - No hit at all on the salary cap
3 - Guess no Super Bowl trip this year

Don't forget the Bucks!

2006-10-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

I have been so wrapped up in the Packers and Badgers that I forgot about our Milwaukee Bucks. Shame on me. The Bucks have had some injuries already, but this is a deep team and luckily the injuries happened early enough in the pre-season that Bogut and Simmons won't miss much playing time.

The injury to Bogut is unfortunate, but given that just means that Gadz gets more time, it's not so bad. Gadz is one of the fan favorites and deservedly so as he simply hustles his tail off. Which is a good thing as a tail could be a detriment on the floor. Certainly I'd rather have Bogut on the floor, but Gadz is not a bad fallback position as the team can function just fine while giving Bogut plenty of time to heal.

Anywho, for the naysayers who jeered when Patterson was brought in, the injury to Simmons shows why he was signed. Not only will Patterson fill in nicely while Simmons is out, but he could push Simmons for the starting spot. We saw last year how Simmons seemed to be mailing it in and just didn't live up to the hype and contract. Patterson should help Simmons realize that he needs to step his game up.

Looks to be a great season brewing up for the Bucks. Playoffs seem a certainty as does a winning record. I'm going with a 46-36 record for them this year.

That was an Axe whipping!

2006-10-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

In front of 82,010 fans, the Badgers absolutely bitch-slapped the Goophs 48-12 to keep Paul Bunyan's Axe and win Homecoming. Redshirt Freshman phenom PJ Hill gets 164 yds and 2 TD, while getting the 4th Q off. John Stocco has yet another fantastic game going 12-19 193 yds and 4 TDs.

The Goophs (they are still a D-I team right?) were pathetic in every aspect of this game, even the radio announcers were terrible. I live in MN, and had to listen to the game on the radio here. The announcers actually said just after the Badgers scored to make it 35-3, "The Gophers need to do something before this game gets out of hand." What? I started laughing my ass off at this comment. The game was already out of hand at that time, hell, it was out of hand for the Goophs when they arrived at the stadium.

I stated 3 weeks ago that this stretch of games against Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota were easy wins for the Badgers and they were as they outscored their opponents 141-38. Next game is at Purdue, which is going to be a tough one as they can score. I originally had that as one that could go either way, but man the Badgers have been impressive.

Very impressive win today as the Badgers flat out dominated yet again. I'm going to play my WI marching band CD tonight and have a couple in celebration.

I could just watch this all day long

2006-10-12T09:34:00.000-05:00

To continue our YouTube Badger week, I give you the greatest finish to a game ever. This is better than the "Hail Mary" by BC over Miami, which was simply total luck. The Cal punt return? Please, play never should have counted as there were band members on the field. Nope, the 2005 Badger/Goopher game at the Metrodump is unequivicably the greatest finish ever. If you look closely, you can actually see the Goophs punter sh!t his pants when the Badgers come at him. So sit back and enjoy!
Oh and...

THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!!!

Jump Around

2006-10-11T08:16:00.000-05:00

"I came to get down, I came to get down
So get out your seats and jump around
Jump around
Jump around
Jump around
Jump up Jump up and get down.
Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump
Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump Jump"

It's Homecoming Week! This week's victim will be the Minnesota Goophs. Those poor Goophs, they simply just aren't ready for the insanity that awaits them. I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards... almost.

Tune in tomorrow when we will have a WI/MN special video.

When you say Wisconsin...

2006-10-10T11:44:00.000-05:00

You've said it all!
This week I've decided to put some some great You Tube videos of the Badgers in honor of it being Homecoming week. And yes, I do have THE video which will be up in a couple of days, just be patient. For now, just enjoy the greatest college band in the USA, the UW band!

Where's the Pass Rush?

2006-10-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

The Packers lose a heartbreaker to the Rams 23-20 falling just short on the comeback attempt. This would be game #2 that the Packers had a legit chance of winning this year, but just didn't do enough to get the job done.

Some may point here or there for the reasons: not enough experience on the team (but the rookie OG sure did a nice job opening gaping holes for Noah Herron didn't they?) or that Favre got cold in the 2nd half (he did have the big TD to the Rookie Of the Year Greg Jennings and had a great 4th Q). True, the fumble killed them, but how about some pass blocking there? Still others will comment on the 3 dropped INT's by the D (how could you drop that one in your chest Al Harris?). But for me, I'm going with the non-existant pass rush.

Sure, point out that they had 2 sacks, but other than those, there was virtually no pass rush. On many of Bulger's pass attempts there was nobody in his face or even making him move around. Our secondary and overall pass defense is poor enough without the opposing QB getting so much time to choose that he can play some Jacks, a game of Euchre and then throw the ball.

Can we bring back Ezra Johnson and Sean Jones please?

Bring forth the sacrificial cat!

2006-10-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow the Badgers get game #2 of their 3 game streach of games they should win, this week's victims are the Northwestern Wildcats. This season the Wildcats are anything but fierce, in fact they are a bunch of pussies, pussy cats I mean. They have lost to the powerhouses that are New Hampshire and Nevada and they barely beat Eastern MI. Last week they were trounced by Penn St 33-7.

NW is poor against the run and gee, that would be the Badgers modus operandi. Look for PJ Hill to once again have a huge game. I would expect about 150 yards and 3 TD from him. The NW team is young and they are starting a freshman QB for the first time this week. The Badgers D, while not playing consistently themselves, should be able to eat him up.

This won't be as bad as the Badgers whipped Indiana last week, but a 3 TD win is certainly not out of the question and frankly quite likely. Look for Hill and Stocco to once again get the 4th Q off.

Free at last... Free at last...

2006-10-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

In a move that was a long time coming, the Packers finally released Ahmad Carroll after another hugely disappointing game. He's been nothing but consistently bad for the last 3 years and as much as I have defended him last season, I'm glad he's gone. Some other team will pick him up and he may have a good career there, but he's worn out his tired act here. He has talent, but his resistence to coaching and poor mechanics were his downfall.

Now if Thompson will have the balls to throw DB coach Shitenheimer to the curb, our secondary will have a chance to get better. Let's see: In 2004, the secondary was horrible and he was fired. In 2005, the secondary was remarkably improved with the same players. In 2006, he's brought back in and now they suck again. How in the world can Thompson or McCarthy not see this man is a horrible DB coach? Everywhere he has gone, players perform poorly and they say that he simply seems as though he doesn't care, he's too laid back, too hands off. When the DB's have to wear wristbands to simplify the defense so that they are in the right coverage, then that's a sign of a poor coach who's too f'ing lazy to teach. The guy essentially has a famous brother who is a darn good coach and has been living off his accomplishments and name.

When the fans and other players can see how bad he is, the biggest question is, why can't the Packers?

Half and Half

2006-10-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

Last night was a tale of 2 halfs, the first half was full of optimism and hope. The second half was, well the opposite of that. Due to how the Packers played, there are some out there trying to be optimists by pointing to the first half (the glass is half full), while others point to the second half (the glass is half empty) as the more correct gauge of the team. Let's hear the arguments:

Glass is half full: The Pack were leading at half 9-7 over the highly favored Eagles and had all the momentum going their way

Glass is half empty: The only reason the Pack were in this game was for 2 blunders by Philly fumbling inside the 5 yard line when they were going to score a TD. This game should have been 21-9 at the half.

Glass is half full: The Packers defense caused one of those fumbles and they did a good job harassing McNabb and sacked him 4 times and caused several hurries.

Glass is half empty: Oh please! Ahmad Carroll got absolutely torched repeatedly and Al "I want more money" Harris played pitifully. The secondary is awful and McNabb ate them up in the second half.

Glass is half full:Morency ran for almost 100 yards in place of Green and the run blocking looked very good.

Glass is half empty: Big deal, his inability to catch a ball caused a huge momentum changing INT and his fumble gave the Eagles another TD. He was responsible for giving Philly 14 pts.

Glass is half full: Greg Jennings is becoming a star. The WR were getting open.

Glass is half empty: Driver dropped a sure TD pass, wasn't aware of the back of the end zone on the other one, dropped a huge 3rd down pass that would have kept an early 3rd Q drive going. Franks dropped yet another big pass.

Glass is half full: Ryan and Raynor were fantastic on special teams.

Glass is half empty: If you gotta go with your punter and kicker being good, you are indeed reaching for positives.

Here's my take, after that game, just finish your damn beer and get another one and stop arguing if it's half full or half empty before it gets warm, it's going to be a long season.

Packers Magic 8 Ball

2006-10-02T10:04:00.000-05:00

There was a comment posted by the one known as Murph (who apparently had his birthday this weekend) that bears repeating:

"Oh great and mighty Oracle, what do you see in your tea leaves for the Pack breaking free of their inverse relationship with the Badgers.

e.g. Badgers win - Pack loses - and vice versa.

Will this be the week? "

I had commented about this odd relationship last year as it happened for 8 straight weeks I believe. This year, it is back in effect as the lone Badger loss occured the same weekend as the lone Packer win. This Murph brings up a valid concern, however I do not use something as crude as tea leaves to decipher the future. I am the great Oracle and have far greater powers than that.

Let's see, where's that Magic 8 Ball? (rustle rustle) ...Hustler magazine... complete collection of 1985 NFL season cards... dress shirt I never wear... Aha! found it.

Oh great Magic 8 Ball... Tell us if this curse between the Badgers and Packers shall be broken tonight... (shake shake shake)
Not a chance. You do realize the Pack are playing the Eagles @ Philly right? Come on, Westbrook and McNabb are going to destroy them.

Will Brett Favre have a good game? (shake shake shake)
Outlook hazy. Given the Packers cannot run the ball with any consisitency, and the Packers D is about as stout as a wet paper bag, Favre is going to have to throw a lot. Expect about 40-45 attempts tonight. He'll put up yardage, but there is a good chance he could force the issue and revert to the 4 INT night.

Will Cheesehead Craig have a better time at his friend's house where he will see the game on a 52" HDTV with beer and tons of snacks with 8 other Packers fans than anyone else reading this blog? (shake shake shake)
Oh hell yes!

In case you are wondering, my Magic 8 Ball gives me much more complete answers than the cheap ones you get at the store. I am after all, the great Oracle! Oh, and Happy Birthday Murph!

On Wisconsin...

2006-09-30T16:44:00.000-05:00

What an emphatic win what was for Bucky today. I mean they took Indiana out behind the woodshed, gave them a whipping, restocked the woodshed, then whipped them some more.

How odd is it when a team wins 52-17 and the game was not even as close as the score indicated? Just total domination by the Badgers. Let's look at some numbers:

Stocco 15-17 304 yards 3 TD. That's a QB rating of 158.33, in other words: the highest rating possible.

PJ Hill 23 carries 129 yards 3 TD. He was pulled after 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter.

The Badgers had 539 total yards to Indiana's 264.

The Badgers punted on their first drive. They then scored on 8 of their next 9 possessions and only punted again with 6 minutes left in the game.

At halftime, about half the crowd had left the stadium, embarrassed by their team. I told you the Badgers were going to win this easily. That is why I am the great Oracle.

Bucky to get back on track

2006-09-29T08:51:00.000-05:00

The loss to MI was not unexpected by any Bucky supporter last weekend. It was actually encouraging that they hung with MI for 2.5 quarters on the road.

This weekend the Badgers go to Indiana to take on the pathetic Hoosiers. Last line was that Bucky was favored by 27.5 pts. Last week Indiana was outrushed by UConn 257-0, at home. I kid you not, here is the box score to prove it. PJ Hill is going to go off for about 175 yards and 3-4 TD this game for the Badgers prior to being pulled out after 3 quarters as the score this weekend should be laughable.

This game begins a streak of 3 games where the Badgers should go 3-0 as their schedule has some weak teams on it with Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota. The Badgers should beat all of these teams. Honestly, I expect a win by 3 TD this week.

That's much better

2006-09-25T09:15:00.000-05:00

Your Green Bay Packers win their first game of the season against the De-toilet Lions 31-24. Brett Favre had his best game ever against the Lions going for 340 yards (for the 2nd straight week) and 3 TDs for a 127.1 QB rating. While the running game was rather poor, the passing game more than made up for it and the pass blocking was as exceptional as my mother-in-laws country-style ribs (oh, they're gooooood).

One of the blocking schemes I saw and loved was with going with a 3 WR set, 1 RB and TE. Franks then comes in motion and sets up as a quasi-FB. He, along with the RB stay in to block if there is a blitz, otherwise they go out on delayed, short pass routes. This worked perfectly all game. Favre had lots of time to throw, even when the blitz came. This formation puts a lot of pressure on the defense and gives Favre a bailout option. It really looked like the WC offense of old.

Once again the Packers pass defense was atrocious with multiple blown coverages. DB coach Kurt Schottenheimer is an absolutely horrific coach and proved that the last time he was in town. Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, well, SHAME ON YOU!

Another issue with the defense is the ineptitude of the blitzing. It only worked a couple of times and the Packers were burned repeatedly when the attempted it.

However, the D came through big when they needed to in the 4th quarter so let's give them credit there. Hawk was great all game long and is showing on a weekly basis the reason he was picked #5 overall. He is well on his way to being the defensive Rookie of the Year.

It was a great win for all of Packerland, we should celebrate it. It may have been against the Lions, but a win is a win.