Since you asked

Because Shane did have the stones to state what rule changes he would make to the NBA the other day, I will do the same that way he'll stop whining like a some Viking fan.

• Changing the quarter length from 12 minutes to 10 minutes. This speeds up the games and makes possessions that much more important to get a better shot. Could also encourage teams to utilize a running game more, which is typically more exciting to watch.
• In response to the shortened time of the game, foul limits would then be reduced to 5. This would also encourage teams to build deeper teams as 9 man rotations would be more common as coaches have to be more aware of foul issues. Players also would be forced to play more soundly on defense.
• Timeouts for the game would be changed to 1 full timeout and 3 20 second timeouts per half. Current rules have 4 full timeouts and 3 20 second timeouts over the course of the game, I believe, and coaches tend to save most of them for the final 2 minutes. There are plenty of TV timeouts during the game for teams to take advanage of.
• Change the 3 point line from 23' 9" to 22' 1", which is still farther out than the international line. Time to bring the 3 point shot back as a strategic element to the game. This would help offset the scoring lost with the shortened quarters.
• All teams play 4 games/week, with the week around the All-Star game off. This increased schedule shortens the entire length of the season by about a month and a half and again, requires teams to be deeper as players would need some additional rest.
• Playoffs in the first 2 rounds are best of 5. It's playoff time and teams need to bring it right from the start. If you can't, you didn't deserve to be there. Also, only 6 teams from each conference are in the playoffs, with the top 2 teams getting the first round bye. This rewards good play in the regular season, thereby making those games more meaningful.
• Phil Jackson would be banned from the NBA, I hate that smug bastard.
• All other rules remain the same.

There you go. I will not go into the economics of the league or anything like that. I am in full agreement with Shane on the camera angles, I hate when they switch the views. It's like some damn moron is proving he can be the next great director.

I go and say the Bucks will beat the Lakers yesterday and then they go and put forth one of their worst efforts of the season in a 108-91 loss, at home. The Lakers converted 18 turnovers into 27 points and outrebounded the Bucks as well. Lamar Odom decides that last night was a good time to show up this season with 24 pts, 9 rebs and 8 assists. Smush Parker adds in 20 points and more importantly 7 steals, and of course Kobe dropped 33.

I stated that Bogut and Gadz would get more playing time with Smith and Simmons being out and they did do well while out there. Bogut had 8 pts and 8 rebs in 21 minutes and Gadz had 12 pts and 8 rebs in 19 minutes. Bogut frankly needs to do better as a starter as he's kinda disappeared in the last 3 games and has not been breaking double digit points. Yes, he's a rookie, but he's the #1 overall pick and should be putting up better numbers. Simmons was able to play some last night and the Bucks definately need his defensive effort as it was sorely missing last night.

Given my complete ineptitude in predicting games lately, I'm going to hold off on any predictions for tonight's game against the 76ers.

Today is fun day!

In the days of old, when Genghis Kahn's men were running over Asia, they set their sights on further shores. Rather than 'huns', these warriors were known as Kahn's men, or simply, Kahns.

When they had conquered all the way to the water's edge, they built boats, gathered their loot, and bravely went to sea. By a sad twist of fate, they encountered an island of lepers, which resulted in most of the crew being infected.

Hastily leaving that island, they set sail again, but by the time they reached Ireland, there wasn't much left of them. Disembarking on stubby limbs, they set forth, but were soon set upon by the natives for the riches they carried.Rotted away, but still clever, they hid on the island and awaited rescue, and the locals never did get their hands on the treasure.

And that's how the story of the little people got started in Ireland - the leper Kahn's and their pots of gold.

Thanks and tip your waitresses everyone!


For some further fun, see how I toy with my neighbor Shane over at The Greet Machine in regards to his discussions on the NBA and college hoops. I know I should feel sorry for him and not subject him to my brilliance, but I cannot help myself sometimes.

Bucks
My buddy SBG's favorite basketball player, Colorado Kobe, and his teammates the Lakers come to the Bradley Center to take on the Bucks tonight. The Bucks should continue their league leading ability to dominate the glass, even without Joe Smith and Bobby Simmons. Smith is out for 2-3 months with knee surgery, but that just means more time for Bogut and Gadz. Gadz is a rebounding machine and has done very well when called upon this season from the bench. I have a feeling that these 2 players will have good games tonight in another Bucks win.

Not a bad weekend overall

This past weekend saw a lot happen with WI sports, and I'll get to that in a moment. First, the highlight of my weekend was going shopping with my wife. I know that many of you are reading this and thinking I am just pandering to my wife, but I'm not. I have been in a deperate need for a new work wardrobe for a long time. My wife took me clothes shopping as her birthday present to me and it was great as I have absolutely no sense of style. I'm 6'3" and thus have to get big/tall clothing items and our first stop to JCPenny was disheartening to say the least with their poor selection. However, the feeling I got at Eddie Bauer was akin to how the Isrealites of old must have felt upon seeing the Ark of the Covenant for the first time. The heavens parted and a light shown all about the store while angels sang and handed me shirts that fit and looked good and the sales going on there, which resulted in us getting over 50% off 5 real nice dress shirts made me drop to my knees and weep as it was so beautiful. It was great to restock the closet and throw out old crap I don't even wear anymore.

Buckin' good times
The Bucks win games at Washington and home against Orlando. I said time and time again last season that Mo Williams was a good player. Oh and now ESPN on their Power Rankings (Bucks are 8th) state: "Folks have been excited about Bucks' depth ever since the Magloire trade. That was before anyone had even mentioned Mo Williams and before he started tossing in game-winners." I said it first Marc Stein, take that!

We know what's in the Badgers wallet!
That would be the Capitol One Bowl on January 2nd on ABC against Auburn. What a fantastic way to end the season for Barry. I'm not going to lie, this is an extremely tough game and the Badgers should be double digit underdogs. Nevertheless, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this moment and the game itself.

Badger Hockey
This great quote from USCHO.com describes the weekend sweep the #1 Badgers had over the Goophs : "Friday, the Wisconsin Badgers got a monkey off their backs at Mariucci Arena. On Saturday, the Badgers drop-kicked the monkey into the next county." This quote just makes me smile and giggle. Oh and in case anyone is wondering, that would put the Border Battle at 140-100 Advantage: WISCONSIN!

Packers
I'll have a comment on their running for the Reggie Bush sweepstakes tomorrow over at The Frozen Tundra.

Bear week

It's Bear week and frankly, I hate the Bears. I hate just about everything about them, their stupid stadium, their smelly fans, don't even get me started about the whole "Super Bowl Shuffle" thing. Even though I live in MN around Viking fans (speaking of smelly), I still hate the Bears far more than the Vikings. Having been born and raised in SE WI, I got more than my fair share of exposure to these vile creatures. They have no respect of what is good in this world. For proof of this, just look at how they treated Payton during their SB win. I want the Packers to not just beat the Bears, but to obliterate them. So there you have my rant about the Bears, and yes, I have issues on this subject. For more Bear/Packer stuff, head on over to The Frozen Tundra for the latest preview with a blogger from the Bears.

In an article over at the Journal Sentinel, it is noted that the Packers have a hard time covering tight ends. Not that this is a big surprise as the LB are not very good in pass coverage and Roman is terrible as well. As much as I would like the Packers to land Reggie Bush in the draft, AJ Hawk is looking like a better and better choice for this team.

Not quite up to the challenge

The Badgers B-Ball team fell to #22 Wake Forest last night 88-91 as they could not find an answer for Justin Gray (37 pts). Tucker (27 pts) and Butch (19 pts/ 10 rbs) played outstanding for the Badgers. The fact that the Badgers hung with a good program on the road is very encouraging. I did not think the Badgers would win the game, but they responded very well to two 10 pt defecits during the game and almost won it. The Big 10 is currently tied 3-3 with 5 games to go in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge which the ACC has owned for the last 5 years. Iowa and MI State should win their games, Indiana is going to be crushed by Duke (I f*cking HATE them!), MN will get spanked by Maryland and NW will probably lose to Virginia even though it will be the closest game of the 5. ACC will most likely win this series (again) 6-5.

Get that shit outta here!


The Bucks pulled off a glorious victory last night over the now 10-4 Dallas Mavericks at the Bradley Center 113-111 in OT. The Bucks were without Redd and Smith for the game and the rest of the crew came through big time. The game was sealed when Andrew "ROY" Bogut (19 pts 14 rbs) blocked Jason Terry's last second shot (see above photo from the JS). Comeback Player of the Year TJ Ford also was huge with 24 pts and 7 assists. An equally big contributor was Bobby "don't call me Russell" Simmons with 26 pts and 7 rbs. Unsung bench player Mo Williams dropped 16 pts to aid in the offensive onslaught. I talked about the depth the Bucks had at the beginning of the season and it showed in this game with 2 starters out. The Bucks are 7-6 and once again outrebounded their opponents. Like I said on Monday, they keep doing that and the wins will keep coming.

Hodgepodge

Thanksgiving at my parent's new place this year was a rather big affair. It was the first time in quite a while that all six kids were together with all of their kids as both myself and my oldest sister live out of state (she's in TX). So it was one quite full house, but a lot of fun was had by all.

We ended up staying at my sister Amy's house as her and her husband have a huge home, so there was plenty of room for all. They have a very nice dog that my kids just loved being around, and an evil cat that unsucessfully tried several times to kill us all in our sleep, but the dog took care of him each time.

Amy's husband Tom works for a construction company for his dad. Tom's pretty much in charge of the business and is the heir to the throne. So he used his power to take my son off to where the construction equipment is kept and had him sit in the cab with him of a huge excavator. Now, my 5 year old loves construction so he just about burst with excitement. Tom showed him how everything worked and even let Adam manuever the excavator around and dig a hole. It was awesome! No pictures unfortunately right now as my camera was at home and my sister had not sent me the pictures from her camera yet. Adam had a great time and was grinning ear to ear. Not too many 5 year olds can say they have worked some serious construction equipment. He even was saying that he wanted to stay and live with Tom and Amy so that he could work on the equipment all the time.

One of the highlights of the weekend though, was playing Texas Hold 'Em with Tom's friends. There were 10 of us total at the table and yours truly who has not played poker in about 1.5 years, walked away the winner and $100 richer. Once you find out who bluffs and how they play, your odds of walking away the winner go up tremendously. Winning the final hand with pocket kings (my first pocket pair of the night) certainly helped things out.

I had my 35th birthday on Sunday and it was good. I was given my gifts in bed by my wife and kids in the morning. My son had a huge smile on his face with the card and gift he got me, which was the game of Battleship. After we went to church, we came home, set the game up and played. After a long game, I ended up winning 5-4. Hey, I can beat my son at a game on my birthday so don't go crying about that I should have gone easy on him. You try intentionally throwing a game to a 5 year old and see how easy it is. Oh and Shane, I think we have our final event for the Backyard Border Battle to go with chess and bowling.

Packers
I totally disagree with Bob McGinn about his article on why the Packers lost the game. He states that the defense is at fault for not being able to stop a team at the end of a game. They should not be in that spot to begin with as I point out at The Frozen Tundra.

Badgers
With their win in Hawaii, they finish the regular season with a 9-3 record and the Capital One Bowl in their sights. The officials from the bowl have said that unless Ohio State gets screwed by the BCS bowls, that the Badgers get the nod. A January 2 bowl is a great way for Barry to go out.

Brewers
A great article by Tom Haudricourt over at the Journal Sentinel about Bud Selig, and what a great commissioner he has been. I could not agree more. He has his critics and has made some mistakes. But his successes have been outstanding and frankly the game is much better than it ever has been.

Bucks
After the great start, they have cooled off a bit. I am not too worried as they have played a rather tough schedule and are still looking good. They are outrebounding teams and eventually that will result into more and more wins.

One heck of a trip

The wifey and I were in attendance at the latest Packer debacle this past Monday night. It was a great time despite how the game ended.

My mother-in-law arrived on Sunday afternoon and Rachel and I were off to Sheboygan to spend the night with her cousin. They had bought a home there and we had not been able to see it as of yet (given it is 5.5 hours away, you can see why). They have a beautiful home on a 31 acre plot of land. It is heaven on earth for her cousin's nature-loving husband.

One quick note on the drive to Sheboygan. We were on Hwy 29 and there was a trooper on top of a bridge that went over the highway. I noticed him too late and thought I was busted. After passing under the bridge, I looked back and saw him start to go towards the ramp. I was doing about 73 mph (65 mph zone) and started getting my wallet ready for the officer and I even began apologizing to Rachel. We saw the officer turn on his lights, but as luck would have it, he was getting the guy who was 2 cars behind me! Whoooo!

On Monday we drove up to Green Bay and went to Lambeau Field to visit the Packer Hall Of Fame and have lunch at the stadium. Rachel was dressed to kill and looked gorgeous. There were at least a dozen guys while we were there who gave her long looks and checked her out as she walked by. It's so cool having a hot wife! The HOF is just a wonderful place to visit as I still get chills with some of the radio and TV highlights from days gone by. The food at Curly's Pub is a bit pricey, but it is fantastic. We split a fish fry plate for an extra $2 (which was still a lot of food) so that we could dive into the tailgate later on.

After both of us made our contributions to the local Native American tribe (aka losing money at the Oneida Casino) it was off the hotel to quickly change into gametime attire and off to the tailgate as part of our package from Fuzzy's bar.

It was a festive atmosphere at the tailgate, even though it was inside the Reusch Center which is a block from Lambeau Field. Brats, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, potato salad, baked beans, chips and cheese and cookies galore awaited us. They had a DJ playing and he was doing a contest as to who had come the farthest to the game, there were fans from NY, CA, FL and Alaska. But the winner was a soldier who had just come back from Iraq. He got a nice round of applause.

After a while we left our tailgate party to check out how the tailgating was in the parking lot at the stadium. It was incredible! The smell of steaks and brats was like ambrosia to the senses. There were Viking and Packer fans intermingling and having fun, it was great to see. There was a 5 piece band going around playing polkas and other songs for the tailgaters. One of the funniest things was that a guy was tailgating and had a deer he had killed earlier in the day on top of his car. What the hell?

Upon arriving at our seats in the stadium, my wife was simply in awe. Even being 42 rows up, you did not need binoculars to see the action. The views in the stadium are just outstanding. Needless to say, Rachel was duly impressed. The fans around us were fun and there were no problems between the Viking fans and the Packer fans during the game. The game did not end as I would have liked it to, but it was a great experience nonetheless, even though we could not feel our toes in the 4th quarter. A pleasant drive home ended a great 3 day trip with my wife.

I'll update the site next week as we are now off to my parents for Thanksgiving. Have a good one everybody.

Update: I completely forgot to plug my latest entry at The Frozen Tundra: A Tale of Two Cities.

Are you ready for some football?

This Sunday I'm off to the motherland to pay homage to America's Team at the Mecca of sporting facilities. That's right I'm off to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI to see the Packers on Monday Night Football to do what I like to call: kick the holy hell out of the Vikings. It should be a fun trip with my wife as it will be her first professional football game that she has attended. We'll be staying with her cousin in Sheboygan on Sunday night, then having a nice leisurely drive to Green Bay on Monday and even go to the casino there and play what I like to call: a little blackjack. I'll give you all a recap of the trip on Wednesday next week.

Fun Links (and I don't mean the sausage racers)
Fun video about the Vikes from Packer Palace. These guys have way too much time on their hands.

Nasty NFL hits throughout the years. Some completely memorable hits like Earl Campbell running over defenders, Atwater's hit on Okoye and yes, Joe Theisman's injury is on there at the very end, so if you have a weak stomach just stop watching at that point.

My blog's worth over $9k, how much is yours worth? (Poor Shane gets the goose egg)

Michael Redd is a very classy person. He essentially built a church for his father's congregation. Cost him millions apparently. Many "experts" questioned the wisdom of the Bucks giving him such a big contract in the offseason. Something tells me they did the right thing as he may just be the best man in the NBA.

The Fab Five

It's back! My segment where I surf the Net (or actually just the blogspot blogs via the 'next blog' button in the upper right corner) so you don't have to. I'll also give summaries of the sites for your amusement. So, without further ado, let's see what's out there...

Voronha
A wonderful site from Uruguay (in Spanish mind you) where we see the life of a pimp partying with his women. Lots of pictures of him and his stable of lovely ladies partying in a bar. You can actually see money exchanging hands between the ladies and the Johans (that's Johns in Spanish). Next family trip, Uraguay!

Your Ants Resources
Quite possibly the oddest blog I have ever run across (and this includes the Greek ones). It's a blog about ant news, ant jokes and other ant-related items. The author is obsessed with killing and destroying them. He has even made an ant prison for them, but they keep burrowing out under the walls or just climbing over them and escape. This prompted a change in tactics and he just started napalming the little bastards.

Pouco Sozinho
A Ukranian site by a lady who lists all of the things you can buy her and places you have to take her to have her be your mail order bride. As an added incentive, she has a picture of her feet to titilate you into ponying up the goods. Ooo la la!

Life in a Tiny Pond
A teenager's blog in Malaysia. She offers her latest dream where things are wierd and she seems confused all the time. But, it's better than her real life when she wakes up, so she goes back to bed.

Stick and Ball Guy
Hmmmm, this blog looks familiar somehow. Anyway, it's this sports writer wannabe who writes about how he loves trains, sticks and balls (Freud is having a field day with all this by the way). He has this obsession with Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter and Kevin Garnett that is beyond healthy (again, Freud is salivating over this).

I like big Bucks and I cannot lie

The Bucks do it again. For the 3rd time in 4 wins they come back in the 4th quarter and pull out the win, this time Mo Williams with the cold-blooded 3 pointer at the buzzer to win 103-102 over the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks are proving all the pre-season doubters wrong so far with their incredible never-say-die play. They have a tough test coming up with a 4 game road trip and 3 of those games coming over 4 days. Should be a good barometer for the season as to how they do on this trip.

Badgers
They could not send off Barry with a W in his last home game, which was disappointing. The Badgers got outplayed from the 2nd Q on by the Hawkeyes. A win against Hawaii in 2 weeks along with some help from some other teams could still land the Badgers in a January Bowl game, which would be a great way to end the season.

Packers
My latest Packer musings are over at The Frozen Tundra, I call it: You Gado be kidding me.

She's leaving me (but coming back)

My wife is going to a Hearts At Home conference in Rochester tonight and tomorrow. It's a great time for stay-at-home moms to get together and have some Christian fellowship. My wife has always come home from this in a great mood and speaks very highly of the experience. She is looking forward to the 1.5 days away and she absolutely deserves it (and more). She's been working quite a bit lately and is needing this.

So this afternoon and tomorrow I get the kids all to myself. Not sure what we're going to do yet, but we'll have fun somehow, because after all, I'm a fun guy, just go ahead and ask me.

Bucky Badger
Barry's last home game as coach is this Saturday against the average Hawkeyes. It's going to be an emotional day not only for him, but for the fans as well. Even though the Badgers defense has been battered, I expect an inspirational game tomorrow, culminating with a big win over the Iowegians.

My "Ying and Yang theory" was destroyed last weekend when both the Badgers and the Packers lost. So this weekend they should both win then to help balance things out.

Good Old Shane
Well it seems that me calling him out and mocking him has paid off as Shane has decided that he does want to continue the Backyard Border Battle. We will be going bowling sometime in the near future so stay tuned to hear how I whip him in this event, thus solidifying what I like to call: the superiority of the WI side of the backyard.

Called out

I have heard from many a loyal reader of the Oracle the following question:

"What's happened to the Backyard Border Battle with Shane?" (Ok, they don't use a hyperlink when they ask, but you get the picture)

What has happened to it indeed. I have to answer these die-hard fans of the site that I really don't know what the status of this illustrious (and now famous) competition is. However, the fact is that I do know and today I must say something about it.

It's all Shane's fault.

Ever since I started winning events, including the last 3 of croquet, Stratego and mini-golf (oh, I'm up 4-2 by the way) Shane has been more and more reluctant to engage me in any sort of competition. He won't even rake leaves at the same time I do for fear he will be put to shame by my superior raking ability.

Today however, I'm calling you out Shane. I will no longer accept the lame excuses that you give for ducking me. Such infamous excuses such as:

• "I've got to be a den mother for my son's scouting troop tonight, I'm teaching them how to make pretty dresses."
• "I'm in the middle of this really great book on how they made potpourri in the year 1656."
• "I have Bible study tonight, and I cannot miss how the book of Numbers ends!"
• "I have to go wash my mom's hair tonight, then after that I need to hold the yarn while she knits."
• "I had a rather rough encounter with a daddy-longlegs spider earlier this morning and I still have not recovered from that brush with death."

It's not going to work anymore Shane, you have to face me. Time for you stand up and be a man.

Packer Mid Season Review

I have a Mid Season Review over at the Tundra with 3 special guests giving their input. It's a bit lengthy but, overall a good read as we each tackle 6 different topics.

Broken Record

The title will take you to The Frozen Tundra for my latest Packer babblings, they are just depressing this year. It was bound to happen and long overdue.

The Badgers lost to Penn State and thus are out of the running for the Big Ten title. It wasn't surprising that they lost as the defense just cannot handle good offenses. A ranking of 19 is fair for this team and a 10 win season is definately achievable.

The Bucks are the best team in the NBA with 3 4th Q comebacks this season already. I have an official man-crush on TJ Ford.

Not much today, I got a lot to do.

Days of our Packers

The continuing stoooooorrrrry of Pack who's gone to the dogs.

Today over at The Frozen Tundra I have a Packers/Steelers preview with Mike Boyko who blogs for the Steelers.

Other Packer items of note:

• Joey Thomas gets cut from the Packers. Given he was their nickel back this was surprising. His attitude was his downfall as he simply would not recognize his flaws and refused to be coached did him in. I have no problem with a move like this and maybe this then lights a fire under Carroll that this could happen to him and thus forces him to improve his game.
• Brett Favre states that should Sherman go, that he would retire. His reasoning is that it's too far along in his career to learn a new offense. Frankly I agree with him, after 14 years there's no reason to start over. As I said at the start of the season, enjoy this year as I believe it will be Favre's last one, and now with him tying his fate to that of Sherman, who is likely gone at the end of the season, it seems an even more likely scenario.
• Al Harris should be a Pro-Bowler this year, he has been absolutely dominant in coverage

Bucky Badger

The Badgers have a game that is essentially for the Big Ten title this weekend at Happy Valley against Penn State. Penn State wins, they just have to win their last game at MI State for the title. WI wins, they just have to beat Iowa at Madison for at worst a co-Big Ten title with Ohio State. This game matches up one of the best offenses in the country (Badgers) versus one of the best defenses (Penn State). Should be an outstanding game. Badgers will win though, no doubt about it.

You can't stop the Bucks

You can only hope to contain them!

The Bucks started out the NBA season last night with a huge road win over Allen "I have to take 30 shots a game" Iverson and Chris "Not if I do first" Weber 117-108 in OT.

This season's Comeback Player of the Year, TJ Ford pushed aside all concerns about his health with a blistering line of 16 pts, 14 assists and 9 rbs; yes you read that right, kid misses a season and a half and comes back to nearly post a triple double in his first game.

Michael Redd was his usual All-Star self with 30 points, including a 3 pointer to send the game to OT with 1.6 seconds left. Newly acquired Bobby Simmons was spectacular with a double-double of 22 pts, 12 rbs.

The big men were certainly not silent. Jamaal Magloire provided a solid 9 rebound night and Rookie of the Year Bogut put in a line of 13 pts and 9 rbs.

There were some concerns about the Bucks rebounding coming into the season, so the Bucks made the big move of trading Mason for Magloire. This move seems to have paid off as the Bucks dominated, and I mean dominated the boards with a 53-39 advantage.

I am really stoked about this year's Bucks squad. Getting back The Little Engine That Could, TJ Ford is huge for this team as he is the key to their success. When he is on the court, this team plays at an extremely high level. This team is poised to not only make the playoffs, but to contend for home-court advantage in the first round, I kid you not. The Bucks have tremendous starters and a solid, deep bench. The only problem is that they are in arguably the toughest division in basketball this year.

The Bucks are no longer all about Michael Redd. He's still "The Man", but this year he's got friends to help him out, and they got game, big time.

This season's prediction: 49-33, 3rd in the Central, #5 seed for playoffs.

The worst 8-1 team in the country

Who are the Wisconsin Badgers? You are correct.

There is nothing wrong with the offense of the Badgers, that's for sure. Calhoun is the best RB in the Big Ten this year (yes, this includes Maroney) with 1200+ yds rushing and 19 TDs. He is also an outstanding receiver out of the backfield, similar to a Warrick Dunn or Tiki Barber. Stocco is having an outstanding year in completing over 60% of his passes and putting a lot of pressure on opposing defenses with his play.

The defense however is another story. Granted, they lost 8 starters from last year and have massive injury problems this season. They are playing the classic bend-but-don't-break defense and have the "W"s to show that it's working. I think the world of Bielema and the job he has done this year, but the 400+ yard games against his defense are going to bite him big time someday, and that day might be at Penn State this weekend. Let's hope he can make some fixes in time for what is going to be the game for the Big Ten title.

And to further continue the "Ying and Yang" trend that I posted last week, the Badgers won and the Packers lost on the same weekend. This is now 7 straight weeks of the fate of the Packers being determined by the Badgers.

Buck, Buck, Buuuuck

Before I get into Bucks news, I have to say Happy Birthday to my beloved wife Rachel! Yes, we are going out for dinner tonight at a restaurant of her choosing. The sitter is all set and we are looking forward to a fun night.

The Bucks came to a very interesting trade yesterday with Desmond Mason being traded for Jamaal Magloire. Now, I am a big Mason fan so my first reaction was that this was about as useful as another folk singer back in the 70's. However in looking at the trade a bit more closely, I do like it. There was a logjam at the #3 with Simmons and Mason with Welsch coming off the bench. Simmons is an excellent defender and can score as much as Mason does. I'm not too thrilled with giving up a 1st rd pick next year, but if Magloire gets them to the playoffs, I can live with it.

Magloire is a solid center with an All-Star history and is just entering his prime. The Bucks beefed up a rather weak frontcourt with a bonafide center. Magloire is a solid scorer and rebounder and is going to be able to body up to the big boys around the NBA, thus enabling Bogut to play some at the PF slot with Smith and giving him more time to get acclimated to the NBA. Plus with Magloire inside, teams cannot just focus on the Bucks perimeter players on the defensive end.

Starting lineup of Ford, Redd, Simmons, Magloire and Smith with Bogut, Mo Williams, Gadzuric and Bell off the bench is a solid 9 man rotation. Not too many teams out there can lay claim to that good of a rotation.

UPDATE: I've got a new entry over at The Frozen Tunda (link to the right) with a Bengals blog writer on the upcoming Packer/Bengal game. It's in the same style as the one for the Viking/Packer game I did with Mr. Cheer or Die. Take a gander and comment if you like.

Pie Poll

Fall is here and a men all over the country start turning their thoughts to one thing and no, I'm not talking about football or the SI Swimsuit issue.

It's pie.

Yes indeed, fall is the official season for pie. Why is that you may ask? Well for starters, women (namely our wives) now look for ways to use the oven now that the temperatures have dropped as a nice way to warm up the house. This leads to a natural increase in pie production. Men cannot resist a warm piece of pie when it's 50 degrees or colder outside. Women know this and thus use pie as part of their diabolical plan to make their husbands do extra work.

Being used for evil plans aside, pie is wonderful. So I've decided to see what are some favorite pies out there. We are leaving individual places to get pie out of the discussion as people (as ill-informed as they may be) have their preferences of who makes the best pie. We'll just focus on the pie itself.

My favorite has to be banana cream pie. It's rich, creamy smoothness is simply divine and is a veritable Mardi Gras of enjoyment for the taste buds. I am not alone in my enjoyment of this dessert, here are what some other notable people have said about banana cream pie:

"I cannot tell a lie, Banana Cream pie is the best there is" -- George Washington, 1780

"Banana Cream pie is so good, it makes me want to scream! Oh OOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" -- Sam Kinnison, 1985

"This pie is so good it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" -- Neil Armstrong, 1969

"Banana Cream pie essential to achieve enlightenment" -- Bhudda, long time ago

There you have it. Do you have your own favorite?

How Suite it is

Last night upon my arrival home from work, my wife informed me that my long lost friend Keith had just called wanting to know if I could go to the Wild game as he had an extra ticket. Given it was free, I jumped on the chance to finally go to the XCEL Center and see a Wild game. Upon my arrival, I was handed the ticket by Keith and looked at it to see where we were sitting. Immediately the word "SUITE" stuck out at me. I looked bewilderly at Keith and he just grinned as he informed me that one of his buddies won the tickets.

The suite (#32 to be precise) was located directly behind the goal that the Wild were shooting at for the 1st and 3rd periods. I met the reps that were there for Taylor Corporation that owned the suite and thanked them for the tickets and let them know this was my first time at the X. They laughed and said that I get to sit in the front row of the suite and let me know that we all could dig into the free nachos, fajitas and soda.

I was in heaven. I have admittedly given up on following hockey years ago, but being at the game in such great seats brought back a lot of great memories of watching and following hockey as Keith and I reminisced about when we grew up watching hockey on SportsChannel.

Even though the Wild lost 3-1, it was a great night.

This is the end

This song by the Doors just keeps going through my head when I think of the Packers. Go ahead and click the link over to The Frozen Tundra for sh*ts and giggles.

Ying and Yang

Sometimes one notices that a "power" couple that when together do well, but then when apart their individual fortunes change or vice versa. For example: Sonny and Cher, the easiest comparison. Together they had one of the more popular variety hours with Sonny's self-depreciating humor and Cher's tough-girl persona. They were on top back in the day. Then they split up and Cher has gone on to be an international superstar. She commands an incredible amount of respect in the music and entertainment industry, not to mention David Letterman's fury. Sonny on the other hand, in comparison was a total flop. Yes, he was by all accounts a fine public official, but compared to what Cher turned herself into and accomplished, he fell quite a bit short (yes, that is also a dig on his height).

Another example is Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields. Pre-Brooke, Agassi was "the man" of tennis. Winning Wimbletons and other grand slam events, getting huge promos thanks to his "rebel" image of Daisy Duke cutoff shorts fashion statements and was overall the face of tennis. Then he marries Brooke and his career takes a complete nosedive. He's injured, he is getting beat by nobodys in early rounds and tumbles embarassingly quickly on the tennis rankings. Meanwhile Brooke's career takes off with "Suddenly Susan" and comes back into the limelight. They divorce and Andre's career once again takes off and Brooke's crashes back to where it was pre-Agassi.

I bring this up as this season has shown that the Badgers and the Packers cannot win on the same weekend. Apparently their fates are intertwined this season and it's time for WI sports fans to recognize this. Look at their records and games this year, the lone Packer win came on the weekend of the lone Badger loss. It's an interesting phonemenon that doesn't happen often in life, let alone major sports.

It leads a fan to look at what is happening and decide which way he wants this trend to end up. Does one root for the Badgers at the expense of condemning the Packers in possibly Brett Favre's final season to an embarrassing end, or does one sacrifice the man who single-handedly resurrected the Badger football (and athletics) program in his final season as coach?

To me, it is truly a difficult dilemma, as I love both programs deeply. At this point the Packers season is beyond saving and let's have Barry go out with a bang. In the words of the renowned philosopher and huge Badger fan Rene Decartes: "F*ck 'em Bucky!"

In Favre We Trust

The Packers are going to kick the Vikings ass this Sunday! Go Pack Go!

It's Vikings Week!

Go ahead and click the title of today's post to see myself and Mr. COD talk about the Packer/Viking game over at The Frozen Tundra. You know you want to click on it, go ahead, treat yourself. Go on, click it... CLICK IT!!!!

THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!!! (part II)

Today I shall talk about my adventures with Dave, Gabe and Tony after the Badgers glorious victory on Saturday.

So, I'm in this gay bar minding my own business... What? You want to know how I got to this point you say? Very well then...

After THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!, many of the 30,000 Badger fans that were in attendance stayed for the UW marching band to go through a Camp Randall tradition of the 5th Quarter of playing songs and just having a good time for about 25 minutes or so out on the field. We danced in the stands and had a jolly old time.

We then walked over to 1st Avenue where all of the bars were taken over by Badger fans laughing, drinking and having a jolly old time. BTW, the Loon Cafe has incredible burgers and fries and I highly recommend them if you get the chance.

After being there for about 2 hours and several rounds, the 4 of us in my group decided to head out to a different bar. Dave, the outspoken one, wanted to find a dive bar to just hang out in where we didn't have to yell to be heard by one another. We were walking along and he decides that he wants to go into The Brass Rail. He doesn't consult anyone, just goes in.

Well, we have to follow him so we all go in. It's a pretty small place with about 12 or so people in it and after about 5-10 minutes he notices there are poles near the back. I goad him into giving a mock pole dance, to which he accomodates us. We are dying laughing at his performance, and he comes back and says "You know, nobody else was laughing, they were just watching. I think this is a gay bar." We all told him that yes it was indeed a gay bar.

Now, Dave is what you would call a fairly conservative Bible-Thumping Conservative Christian. This fact only heightend the enjoyment that Gabe, Tony and I had at the whole situation. I have to give Dave credit, he stayed there for about another hour and a half, and even accepted a round of drinks that some older, gay Badger fans bought us.

Thus brings me to the beginning of my post. So I'm in this gay bar minding my own business watching the end of the Notre Dame-USC game. USC just converted a 4th and 6 with a 50 yard pass. I yell out "Oh my goodness!"

Now, let me explain, I have 2 young kids and I really have to watch my language around them. I have trained myself not swear in just about all situations. It is just habit at this point. 5 years ago, I sounded like a truck driver and had no problems with that.

A gentleman at the end of the bar says "Who said 'Oh my goodness' down there? Butch it up!"

Needless to say, this caused another round of laughter from Gabe and myself as yes, he did say that phrase how the stereotypical way you would expect it to sound.

After Matt Leinert fumbles out of bounds which essentially wins the game for USC, I once again out of habit say "Oh my goodness."

The retort from the same man at the bar said "Oh my god, it was you who said 'Oh my goodness'. Butch it up sweetheart."

I then replied "Holy crap! I cannot believe that fucking happened!"

"That's much better, stick to the craps and the fucks" he replied.

We then left after that game was over and headed over to Kieren's Irish Pub for some scotch and Guiness. And there, Gabe flung not one, but 2 pieces of spicy pepper cheese at an Asian woman on the other side of the bar. And that my friends is how my story ends, one of the funnest days and nights out I have ever had.

THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!!! (part I)

In what the the most stunning and memorable finishes of all time in this border battle rivalry, THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT! The Badgers (as I so correctly predicted) kept Paul Bunyan's Axe in a 38-34 victory. It was the best game I have ever been to. Several items also stood out in the Badgers favor other than the final score. THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!

1. While we were waiting for the rest of our group to arrive outside of the Metrodump, my friend Gabe pointed out to me that the women who were in WI garb were clearly better looking than the Goopher women. I have to say, I agree.

2. THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!

3. The UW marching band came out at halftime and put on a very high quality show. The rows of the band members were straight, the motions were crisp and clean. The music selection was quite good. Overall, they put on a show one would expect from one of the best marching bands in the country. The MN band was... how you say? Ah yes, bad. They played Georgia On My Mind and America by Ray Charles, both incredibly slow songs. It was like musack was suddenly turned on. The place went to sleep when they performed. Also, their lines were crooked, they didn't even make an attempt to step to the music and looked like they didn't even practice.

4. When MN scores, they spell out Minnesota, say it 3x, then say yeah Goophers. With the announcer then going RAH!. Sorry, this is insanely lame. I actually felt bad for their fans having to do this. With this in mind, when the Goophers come out, they have 4 guys with flags run ahead of them spelling S-O-T-A. Did they forget how to spell their team's name? After all, they spell the damn name before and during the game. Again, quite sad. They really need to attend some games at Camp Randall to see how cheering is done. Hell, the wave was started by the WI fans in attendance, and the student section did not even participate.

5. THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!

6. They take the lead in the Border Battle Cup.

So there you have it, the Badgers not only have a better team, they have better looking fans, a better band, and better cheers (and student section), plus...

THEY BLOCKED THE PUNT!

You can't have the Axe Goophs!

This weekend, the Badgers and Goophers will be playing for Paul Bunyan's Axe at the Metrodump. This is the oldest rivalry in NCAA Division I-A. The teams have met every year since 1907. Before Paul Bunyan's Axe, the teams played for the "Slab of Bacon", a piece of wood with the word "BACON" and a figure that would represent an "M" or a "W" depending on the point of reference. The idea was that the winning team "brought home the bacon". It was lost in the early 1940's, but resurfaced in 1994. The tradition of Paul Bunyan's Axe started in 1948.

The teams are probably thier most evenly matched in a long time with both teams at 5-1, MN is ranked #22 and WI is #23 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. Both teams have outstanding rushing offenses with 2 of the best RB in the nation in Maroney (MN) and Calhoun (WI).

It's going to come down to defensive effort and special teams. Both of which I would give the edge to the Badgers. Before last week's aberration, the Badgers had not been scored on in the 3rd Q and gave up 24 points total in the previous 5 games in the 2nd half. They will turn it back around from last week. Brandon Williams already has 2 punt returns for touchdowns this season and seems to be in the zone currently, so expect something big from him tomorrow. Prediction: MN will come out quickly as will the Badgers, but the Badgers will shut MN down in the 2nd half. Final score: UW 34 MN 24. You Can't Have The Axe Goophs!

Life's Lessons

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just assholes.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I've learned you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you better have a big willy or huge boobs.

I've learned that you cannot compare yourself to others, they are more screwed up than you think.

I've learned you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished.

I've learned we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrites.

I've learned that 99% of the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your kids did it.

I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away.

You gotta be kidding me

52-3? The Packers kicked the holy hell out of Saints in the most impressive overall team showing in many years. I don't think the Packers have ever had 3 passing TDs, 2 rushing and 2 defensive TD in the same game ever. BTW, I believe that regardless of the fantasy football league you are in, the Packers were the best unit to have. Not too often that phrase gets uttered, but it's nice to see every now and then. I'll have some more on the Packers over at The Tundra later on, but DAMN!!!

Bucky
Well, didn't really think they would go undefeated this season. The defense, which has been unbeatable in the 2nd half this year, got steamrolled for 4 straight TDs in the 3rd Q alone. This performance, combined with the big Gopher win against MI certainly makes this Saturday's game between UW and MN that much more intriguing. Also, I would like to say that Michael Hunt at the JS in Milwaukee is the biggest bandwagoner I have seen outside of the Twin Cities. This one performance and he is now questioning if Alvarez did the right thing by naming Bielema his successor. What a choad Hunt is.

Memories...

Camp Randall is an incredible place to watch a college football game. I have a lot of great memories such as the derisive chants between the student sections (O SUCKS!), cup wars and of course, "Jump Around". Even though the student section numbers about 14,000 out of the 80,231 capacity, they own the stadium and are the undisputed leaders in cheering and various forms of The Wave. The marching band is not something that people put up with at halftime. The UW marching band is one of the best in the country and is an integral part of the whole gameday experience as they put on an awesome show, along with the tuba players that travel among the crowd during the 3rd and 4th quarters. With the outdoor stadium and the sun shining on your face and the brisk autumn air, it represents what is right about college football. It's one of the best venues to watch a game at in the country, and it's not just a proud alum saying it. CNNSI in 2004 rated it as the #9 place for a college football game in the country and #1 in the Big Ten. With the recent renovations, the experience is only better. Without a doubt, the experiences this place provides is one of the crown jewel of the University.

My neighbor Shane recently asked me about how Camp Randall got its name. Camp Randall was a training ground for Civil War recruits. Approximately 70,000 recruits were trained here during the war. The camp was named after the governor of WI at the time, Alexander Randall. Eventually the University acquired the land, but kept the name of the camp for the area thus preserving and honoring the historical importance of what happened there.

The Badgers are on the road this week at Northwestern. This is the start of their schedule where they play4 of 5 games on the road. Northwestern has typically given them fits on the road, but not this year. Badgers should win this game by 14 points 34-20.

Links of the day

In a blatant steal from Shane at the Greet Machine (see link to his site on the right), I have decided to do a Links of the Day.

Here's one from Mark Attasasio thanking the fans for a great season. This guy is simply a class act and it's easy to see great success in the very near future for this club with him at the helm.

You gotta check out the Sausage Racers page. Just fantastic reading.

Did you know that the Packers nickname is the oldest in the NFL? It's true.

The Border Battle between WI and MN is back for it's 2nd season. There has been 7 new events added, and MN has a 40-20 lead currently. However, much like last year, the Goophs will choke and the Badgers will once again claim the title.

The Bucks are currently ranked #15 in ESPN's initial Power Rankings, playoffs for them this year are a sure bet.

News of the Wierd. You just gotta read it.

And finally, you knew this was going to be here.

Breaking News!

AP - On the heels of President Bush nominating his former personal attorney for the Supreme Court, the President has announced several other moves. His personal chef at his Texas ranch, Stacy Miller, will now be running the Department of Health and Human Services. His personal chiropractor, James Buhrat, will be the new head of the Department of Labor. The Department of Energy will now be run by his barber, Nathan Sledge and his former high school algebra teacher Nancy Cartwright, will be appointed the governor of Idaho. On the last appointment, the President said "I have very fond memories of Ms. Cartwright, even though I haven't spoken to her since high school, she'll do fine. Plus, Idaho's not all that important of a state anyway, so she's free to mess up."

On other news, I have my latest article atThe Frozen Tundra

My Wife Kicks Ass!

Rachel ran the 10 mile portion of the Twin Cities Marathon yesterday, and did awesome! I am incredibly proud of her as just 5 months ago, she was not even running. Just over a week ago, she hurt her ankle and she was unsure if she would be able to run. God certainly answered our prayers and helped her along the entire race. Her ankle did not hurt. God also put her best friend Molly right along side her and when Rachel thought she could not make it with a mile to go, Molly was there encouraging her to do it. Needless to say, her running this race was inspirational. I am incredibly proud of you Rachel!

Brewers
Well, the Brew Crew finished the season at .500. They did not beat the Twins so my prediction did not come true, but I'm still proud as hell of this team finishing 14 games higher than last season. They put this kind of improvement next season, that's 95 wins and contention for the division and certainly the playoffs. Good times are here for the Crew my friends. Looking forward to some more offseason moves by the best GM in the business, Doug Melvin, to get this team over the hump.

Badgers
Can Bielema make halftime adjustments or what? The Badgers have not been scored on in the 3rd Q and have given up 24 points in the 2nd half over 5 games this year. Wow. This team at times looked sloppy against Indiana, as I think they played down to the level of their opponent. The young, inexperienced defense made some glaring mental errors on the 2 TD passes by Indiana. That was to be expected, but they still won and that's the important thing. Only 8 more wins to a Rose Bowl championship.

Packers
Tonight is a big game for the Pack, one that I feel they must win. They have steadily improved their performance each week and hopefully this will culminate in a win tonight. Given that the division leader is still at 1 win, the Packers are far from out of the race with Detroit still being Detroit and the Vikings looking like the worst team in the division right now.

It's gonna be a good weekend

Sure, the Badgers are going to kick the snot out of Indiana tomorrow to go 5-0 on the season; the Brewers are going to take 2 of 3 from Pittsburgh and finish the season over .500, and I get to go apple picking with my kids tomorrow. The highlight of my weekend is that I get to attend the Twin Cities Marathon. The last point needs some explanation. My wife is running in the 10 mile portion for the first time. She has started running as part of her exercise routine and has lost a bunch of weight this summer, which was her main goal. She will admit herself that she never thought she could be a runner and has surprised herself how well she has done. I could not be more proud of her. I'll be there with my kids along the race course cheering her on and at the finish line. The rest of the sports world can be put on hold. I get to watch my wife complete the biggest personal accomplishment since we've been together for the last 10 years. That's what's going to be the best part of my weekend.

Mr. Crankbutt: 2 for 1 special

Mr. Crankbutt has decided to grace us with his presence after a long hiatus. Some issues have come up and he's had enough and must enlighten us with his wisdom.

Iowa Hawkeye Stadium
What the hell is this all about? So the visitors locker room is painted pink, what the hell is the friggin' big deal? This Jill Gaulding is simply looking for personal fame and notoriety, plain and simple. She says this is demeaning to women, pray tell how is that exactly? Are there pictures of naked women all around the locker room? Are there pornos being played on TV's throughout the locker room? Are the visiting team's women trainers required to dress in thong bikinis? Have there been any issues with the players treating women poorly as a direct or indirect result of being exposed to a pink room that they spend at most 5 hours in? There is nothing offensive about this. Is she now going after all the children's clothing makers for making the majority of little girls clothes pink? How about the nursery sets that are made, they must be offensive under this logic. What about Pepto Bismol? That's pink, it must be offensive to women. With all the things going on in life, her biggest issue is a damn pink room for football players.

Motorcycle convoys
Why is it that when a bunch of idiots on motorcycles get together, the rules of the road are no longer applicable? I'm going through my hometown, it's a small town of about 10,000. There is a small motorcycle rally going on. Upon reaching a 4 way stop intersection. I have to wait as the 36 motorcycles all ignore the stop sign and just go through the intersection. The worst part? The cops do nothing to stop this. Nothing! A convoy of classic cars do not have these same "rights" to ignore traffic laws. Cops would bust them in a heartbeat if 30 cars ran a stop sign. I keep seeing the stupid bumper stickers and billboards about how motorcycles have the same rights as cars. But if you get a couple of motorcyclists together, they have a license to ignore the traffic laws, with the full blessing of law enforcement. Now this is mostly to the non-crotch rocket variety of motorcycle that this applies to, mind you. Why this double standard is out there is beyond me. You get this many crotch rockets doing this and they are considered dangerous, but Harley riders are something to be admired? The cops want to let them do this, treat them like a funeral procession and have the cops escort them through town. This whole tolerance of their blatant disregard for the law is a joke.

Finally...

The Brewers get over .500 by winning 5 of their last 6. They get 2 more at home against the Reds, then finish the year on the road with a 3 game series at Pittsburgh, which has not been the kindest place for them over the years. I'm still confident they can go 3-2 over these games, giving them an 82-80 season. I know there are some fans that really don't care if they finish over .500 or not and that they want a team that can compete for the wild card or division title. I want this as well, but you gotta take the steps to get there. Mentally, this does a world of good for the team to accomplish this. Celebrate the accomplishments they acheive, just like one does with their kids. I know, I'm counting my chickens before they hatch, but dammit, I'm excited.

This morning it was dark and rainy here in the Twin Cities. To me, there is nothing better than waking up at 6:30am, hearing the rain, then going back to sleep for a little longer. I had one of my better drives in to work this morning. Rainy, cloudy days just do it for me as I'm going to be in a good mood for today. Unless some dumb-ass comes along at work here and ruins it...

All Tied Up

I said it 2 months ago that the Brewers would finish above .500 and with a better record than the Twins. Today, both teams are at .500 with 6 games to go. That's right, the "lowly" Brewers are dead even with the 3-time defending AL Central Champion "mighty" Twins. I know, the seasons not over yet, but I'm feeling pretty good about this. Brewer fans gotta love the Capellan-Turnbow combo for next season to close out games.

EDIT: I have my Packer report card over at The Frozen Tundra, feel free to comment there or here on it.

2 Out Of 3 Ain't Bad

Bucky
What a hell of a comeback against the Wolverines! There are just so many superlatives that can be said about Brian Calhoun. There is much said in the media that the Badgers are relying on him too much and he will wear down as the season goes on. Calhoun's response is that since he sat out last year, he should have plenty of energy this year. Love it. The defense once again comes through. This team is looking real good right now and should kick the crap out of Indiana this coming weekend. Only 9 more wins for a Rose Bowl victory!

Brewers
A nice series win against the Cardinals. They are guaranteed a 10 game increase in wins from last season already, with the probability of making it 15 by the end of the season. That would be huge for this organization that has nothing but upside right now.

Packers
A tough loss to a tough opponent. They had their chances to win, but for the first time in a very long time, Longwell did not come through. He is not completely to blame *cough* Favre's 3 picks *cough* though, there's enough of that to go around. I'll put some more thoughts down tomorrow at the Tundra.

Go Badgers!

Kick the Wolverines @$$!

Final Westwood Recap: Van Halen Edition

Tuesday night was our final game of the season against the Slackjawed Yokels and the anti-Westwoodie rules were in full effect to stave off our dominance. There was a white line drawn in the outfield that was about 40 feet from the infield and we could not Jump past that line into the deeper part of the outfield until the pitch was thrown. When informed of this, we asked "Where's the love?" The umpire simply replied "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love. Now get out there." Well, this new tactic was successful in the first inning as 2 balls were hit over CC's head in RF. The beloved Westwoodies came back in the bottom of the first when the offense became Unchained. The Westwoodies had hits all over the place and were free to Runaround the bases. There was Dancing in the Street over this 11 run outburst. The Yokels were Black And Blue from diving after the sharply hit balls. It was a close contest the rest of the way as the score was tied going into the bottom of the 7th. The umpire then yelled "Right Now, per Panama rules, all 14 Yokels can play in the field!" The crowd was livid as were the Westwoodies. Needless to say, the game ended in a tie as the time limit expired. The Yokels shouted "Finish What Ya Started!" But even the umpire could not continue the game as another game had to start. Just then, the Ice Cream Man came by and the crowd cheered. A large line formed as Everybody Wants Some. Our captain asked me if I was going to have any. I stated that I'll Wait as I have some Poundcake at home.

So our last game ended in a tie, but we still won the fall league season with a 5-0-1 record. Overall our team went 16-8-1 including the summer league and tournaments. Your very own CC batting stats were a .597 avg and an slugging percentage of .708 with 23 RBI. I gotta work on my power hitting for next year. Maybe a hitting instructor would be good, maybe Team USA's women softball phenom Jenny Finch could help? Definately Hot For Teacher then. Oh man, my wife's gonna kill me for this one...

Grog Blog

With the strike finally over, Grog is back to bringing his road report for the Brewers. This is Grog's next to last report as the Brewers will be ending the season with only 1 more road trip to Pitts as the next 9 games are all at home. As I stated a few days ago, Grog apparently knows something about the latest meltdown in Houston. Let's see what he has to say.

Arizona
Why stupid Cheesehead send Grog to middle of Arizona in summer? Grog too hot there. Grog watching game and beer evaporate from mug it so hot. It so hot Grog even have camel ask him for drink. It so hot Grog even see car melt in parking lot. It so hot Grog get brats raw at stand, by time get to seat they cooked. It so hot... All right Grog, that's enough!

Houston
Grog was so happy to get out of Arizona and with Brewer 14-2 win, Grog go out drinking before first game in Houston. Grog walking to ballpark when see pretty black cat. Grog lure cat to him with leftover chicken wing, catch cat and have good snack. Old lady scream at Grog that it her cat. Lady see Brewer jersey on Grog and curse Brewers that will not win any games in Houston. Grog not know that cat belong to voodoo lady from Bayou. She there because of hurricane. Sorry guys, my fault Brewers do so bad.

Silver Linings

Once again I have my Packer musings over at The Frozen Tundra for your viewing pleasure. You can click the title of this post to be beamed over there, or the link in the previous sentence.

Bad link of the day
Whatever you do, don't click on this link. I mean it! It's simply too much! I cannot believe that I am even putting this on my site!

Billy Idol Rocks!

If you are wondering about today's blog title and confused, I will happily explain. On Friday, I was informed by Jack FM that I had won 2 Billy Idol tickets for his show at 8pm at the Myth nightclub. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to go, but after getting my friend Owen to go with me, I was glad I did. Idol played for about 1.5 hours and the show was awesome. The man can still bring it at 50 years old and the crowd was into the show the entire time. Obviously, the 80's hits were the most cheered for, but his new stuff was pretty good also. The place exploded when he yelled "Are you ready for your Rebel Yell!!!" He turned this into an 8 minute version of the song. I thought that the show had reached it's climax at that point. Then Owen reminded me that "Mony Mony" had not been played yet. Billy saved this 12-15 minute jam session for the last song. It started out with a great drum solo with a fantastic guitar duel in the middle. Hey, I know he's not The Boss, but dammit, it was a kick-ass show.

Edit: I forgot to add that this outstanding night was capped off by a run to White Castle.

Brew Crew
They sure picked a crappy time for the offense to go away. That was one ugly hitting series against Houston. Rumor is Grog knows something about it. We'll have to wait and see.

Bucky F'n Badger
A very tough win on Saturday against North Carolina. The Tar Heels have a darn impressive defense and had several opportunites to win this game. The Badger defense was up to the task and held the Heels to 3 points on offense. They beat the living daylights out of their QB and sent a message to their opponents that this defense is for real. There was a lot of speculation in the offseason that the Badger defense was not going to be very good this year given they lost 8 starters including all 4 of thier DL (all NFL draftees). Bielma's done a hell of a job with this unit and it makes me so happy that he will be succeeding Alvarez after this season. This Saturday's game against MI is going to be outstanding.

Tomorrow you can check out my thoughts on the Packer game over at The Frozen Tundra.

The Fab Five

It's back! The fun part of this blog where I get to see what other blogs in Bloggerdom are out there (so you don't have to) and as always, make fun of them. I'm currently on some good allergy meds so I'm feeling gooooooood.

You're My Everything
Deep thoughts from a highschooler. You know like "what if we're just an atom on some giant's fingernail". Also, who knew song lyrics were so deep and meaningful, espcially from bands nobody has heard of... Wow man... Oh, and the music that plays is like something from an 80's Commodore 64 game.

Suicide No Diet
This guy claims that he has a lot in common with Winston Churchill, but also has just finished watching all 9 seasons of the X-Files and is proud of it. Let's see: one one hand one of the great world leaders and diplomats of all time and on the other, a guy who cannot wait for an anal probe so that he can meet Scully. I can see the connection.

Bad Beats Happen
A poker blog. A very detailed minute-by-minute blog about this guy's last game. I thought golf on TV was boring. Reading about someone playing poker, no analysis, just card-by-card just about ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Acushnet Junior High School Class Reunion
Yep, a site about a Junior High class reunion. I mean come on! I can understand high school reunions and even college ones, but junior high? Who seriously gives a flip about someone from back in 7th grade? If you gotta go back that far for glory days, you need help.

Passez Dans Ma Tete
A French blog zat iz zo vundervel. Zere iz this how you say, man, who lives in ze Quebec, Canada. He haz theez pic-chair of Brad Pitt from ze Fight Club and when he cannot sleep, he theenks of him. Whuh unh unh..

Packers
I got my new article over on the The Frozen Tundra, it's not much, just the Packers/Browns preview and prediction, so enjoy.

Brew Crew
The Brewers laid some wood on the Diamondbacks to get back to .500 with a 14-2 whipping. You can just feel that they are going to finish with a winning record for the year.

F 'em Bucky!
The Badgers travel to North Carolina this weekend to face the Tar Heels. The game will not be the blowout last week was, but they should still handily win and continue their march to a Big 10 championship and the Rose Bowl.

Top 10 list of the day

10 things to say when caught sleeping at your desk.

10. "They told me at the Blood Bank this might happen."
9. This is just a 15 minute power nap they raved about in the time management course you sent me to."
8. "Whew! Guess I left the top off the Whiteout. You probably got here just in time."
7. "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new business strategy."
6. "I was testing my keyboard for drool resistance."
5. "I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are you discriminatory toward people who practice Yoga?"
4. "Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out how to handle that big accounting problem."
3. "Did you ever notice sound coming out of these keyboards when you put your ear down real close?"
2. "Who put decaf in the wrong pot?!?"
1. Raise your head slowly and say, "...in Jesus name, Amen."

Brew Crew
Tough loss last night in 12 innings for the Brewers as they failed again to get over the .500 mark. Taking today's game will get them with the series win and back to .500. Just win the series the rest of the way out, and I'll be happy.

.500!

It's been a while, but the Brewers are back at .500. I know that there are some out there in MN who do not think this is much of an accomplishment. For the Brewers, it is. With 18 games left, they have a great shot at finishing above .500 for the first time since Bush Sr. was president, Rubix cubes were cool and Brett Favre was on the Falcons. In fact, I don't think the Brewers have been over .500 since Brett's been a Packer. That's amazing.

Flag Football

Go ahead and click on the title of this post and that will magically take you to the land of The Frozen Tundra where you can read my lastest Packer musings.

Too much stuff

Just a whole lot went on this past 4-5 days. I went to Ashland for the funeral of one of my best friend's dad on Thursday and Friday. Then I was back in Burlington, WI this weekend to help my parents move (and see my dad, just had to after the previous 2 days). So I watched the Packer game there then came home at 1am after a 6hr drive and had to unload the snowblower he gave me and do a bunch of stuff and I ended up getting in bed at 2am. So I'm a bit overwhelmed and just tired here, but I'll do my best.

Badgers
Holy crap what an asswhipping! Biggest blowout of the modern era for the Badgers. Granted, Temple is just plain awful, but it's good to see the defense get a lot of confidence out of that game. Plus, the backups on both O and D got a lot of action and they all looked good. Next victim is North Carolina. This should be a great test to see how good the Badgers are. I expect the Badgers to win though. Only 11 more wins to a Rose Bowl championship!

Packers
Just a horribly bad game by the offense. The defense looked good for most of the game, but simply could not stop the Lions at the very end. I'll have more at the Frozen Tundra tomorrow.

Brewers
Only 2.5 games back from the Twinkies and 1 below .500! Nervous yet SBG?

The New Alert System

New Word Day

NEW WORDS FOR 2005: Essential additions to the workplace vocabulary.

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles
PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a Cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
SITCOMS: (Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage). What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.
STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.
SWIPEOUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because the magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.
XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.
IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The J-Lo and Ben wedding (or not) was a prime example.
PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested document could not be located.
GENERICA: Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.
OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake.
WOOFS: Well-Off Older Folks.
CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously farting while passing through a Cube Farm.

Whole lotta info going on

Several items on the plate today so let's dig into the buffet that awaits us.

Happy Anniversary Rachel! Today is my 8th Anniversary to my wonderful wife. She has been an answer to all my prayers and has made me a better man. She is a fantastic mother to my children and I am looking forward to all the adventures that we still have to go in this life together. She has been an inspriation to me and to this day I still have no idea how in the hell I conned her into marrying me. Love you sweetheart!

As you can see, I changed the look of the site a bit, mostly just the colors to Packer colors and moved the pictures around, plus I added the Badgers schedule and I'll have links to all the stats from the games as they happen. I think it looks better, hope you agree.

Backyard Border Battle
Slackjawed Shane and I took a drive down to Bloomington for event #6: Minigolf! We decided that The Links at Dred Scott was a fine place to wage this latest battle. Yes, that is the name of the place and no, I have no idea why they named it that. The squeaky-voiced 16 year old at the booth was no help.

This was another close battle between the 2 of us. Shane streaked to an early 4 stroke lead after 3 holes by using his watch to reflect the sun into my eyes. I came back to lead by 1 after 6 holes with my sweet swing and polarized sunglasses. Coming out of the front 9, I had a 2 stroke lead and Shane was on his wife's cell phone with the pro at the Minneapolis County Club to see what he could do to help him. Shane was able to tie the score up after 13 holes and took the lead by one on 15 when Shane yelled "Is that Daisy Fuentes over there?" right as I was about to putt. Dirty, but good strategy on his part. However, Shane was no match for me come crunch time. With pinpoint putting I tied the score on 16 then took the lead on 17 by one stroke. Shane started sending smoke signals in the vain hope that help would arrive, but alas, he was mistaken. We tied on 18 and a 4-2 lead in this best of 9 series was granted to myself. A 3 event run has vaulted me into the lead with Chess, Irish Horshoes and Bowling left to play. The sure money is on the Cheesehead, folks as one more win by me and the BBB Cup is mine!

Packers
First off, my latest offering is over at The Frozen Tundra and to give you the summary, I pick the Packers to go 9-7 with an outside shot at 10-6, but just as likely 8-8. If you think this team will do better state your case there or here.

Secondly, if I can get all James Lipton here, I was introduced to the greatest website in the history of the universe this weekend. It is simply Cheesehead University, the definative source of Cheeseheadness. I encourage everyone who wants to improve the quality of their life, to read this site. I have been asked to be a visiting professor at the CU, so look for my addition to the site shortly in the future.

Badgers
Dear heavens that was one wild game. I don't expect the Badgers to run that well all season long, but it's good to know that they can whip out the lumber and simply run over people. Granted, the Badgers defense was horrible, but hey, what do you expect with 8 new starters on D? Especially against that offense, I'm surprised the Badgers didn't do worse. Bielema will get that turned around. Only 12 more wins and the Rose Bowl will be Bucky's again!

Brewers
I said back on July 28 that the Brewers would end up with a better record than the Twins. At that time, the Brewers were 5 games back from the Twins and I got some flak from Twins fans. Right now, they have widdled the lead to 4.5 games. With 24 games to go, it's getting interesting.

Sad Heart

I just found out that one of my best friend's, Murph, dad died today. He lives by Biloxi, MS and died in an accident while cleaning up after the hurricane. Murph and I have been friends since our 2nd year of college and I was best man at his wedding. I've met his dad on many occassions and always thought of him as, well, a really cool dad. That's the best way I can describe him as I feel that is the best complement I can give. My heart goes out to you buddy...

Backyard Border Battle: 80's One Hit Wonder Edition

Believe It Or Not, last night Shane and I had the rematch of event #5, Stratego, you know the game that states It Takes Two to play. Given how Hot, Hot, Hot I was in the first game, I just knew that I had to Relax and I would win. Shane was talking trash so I told him "Bring your weak-ass game and I'll Whip It!" When setting up my pieces I could feel that Somebody's Watching Me. I turned and looked and it was my son who started reaching for pieces and I told him "Keep Your Hands To Yourself!" The game was a see-saw affair that suddenly turned to my favor as Shane exclaimed "Major Tom, we have a problem" when he saw he was going to lose. Shane actually conceded when he realized he was not going to win, thus giving him Shattered Dreams of winning the Border Battle, even though winning was just a Fantasy anyway. I told Shane, Don't Worry Be Happy and I proceeded to Bust A Move with the Curly Shuffle. Don't worry, I followed the Politics Of Dancing. After the game, Shane admitted that I had actually won the first game by eliminating all of his movable pieces, thus proving that I can beat Shane Nite And Day. I am now up 3-2 in the Battle with mini-golf the next event. A 4-2 lead is all but assured for me and a runaway romp in the Battle.

Brew Crew
How sweet was it that the future of the Brewers infield for many years came through with 3 2 run HRs yesterday in a 6-5 win! Weeks, Hardy and Fielder all came through big for the Crew. Fielder's was a monstrous 400 ft + shot to right center for the win. I could get used to games like this.