Sunday, November 28, 2010

Still smelling like a rose

How about it, ladies and gentlemen? The stars have aligned and the Wisconsin Badgers are more than likely on their way to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl. Even yours truly didn't envision this when I had my Badgers preview way back before the season began (wow, I've actually been doing this for awhile). However, I did predict that the Badgers would wind up playing in a BCS bowl game and was only one game away from projecting their record correctly, so give me a little credit. Either way, it has been pretty amazing to watch Wisconsin's offensive unit pulverize their opponent week in and week out...I'll have more on Big Ten champs later as well as some of the situations that had to and could still play out. Seeing as I'm watching the Packer game as I type this entry, I should probably give you my picks so you don't think I'm too much of a cheater (then again, have you seen my record? Clearly I'm not cheating).

Week 12: (DAVE) (KYLE)

NEW ENGLAND @ Detroit (+6.5)
NEW ORLEANS @ Dallas (+3.5)
Cincinnati @ NY JETS (-9.5)
GREEN BAY @ ATLANTA (-2.5)
PITTSBURGH @ BUFFALO (+6.5)
Carolina @ CLEVELAND (-10.5)
JACKSONVILLE @ NY Giants (-7.5)
MINNESOTA @ Washington (-2.5)
Tennessee @ HOUSTON (-6.5)
Kansas City @ SEATTLE (+1.5)
Miami @ OAKLAND (-3.5)
PHILADELPHIA @ CHICAGO (+3.5)
Tampa Bay @ BALTIMORE (-7.5)
ST LOUIS @ DENVER (-3.5)
SAN DIEGO @ Indianapolis (-3.5)
SAN FRANSISCO @ Arizona (+1.5)

If you're questioning my loyalty to the Green Bay Packers after those picks, I completely understand.

Last week/Overall:
Kyle: 10-6/86-74 (7-2-2)
Dave: 12-4/79-81 (2-7-2)

Sorry for that delay. I had to make the drive from Sussex back to Oshkosh. How about that Packer game?

Let's get back to the events that transpired in Mad Town just over a day ago as the Badgers defeated my roommates Will's beloved Northwestern Wildcats by the score of 70-23. This is not a misprint. To Will's and Northwestern's defense, no Dan Persa=no chance of victory. By the way, all 70 points that Wisconsin scored took place in the first three quarters. Looks like Bret Bielema eased his foot off the gas pedal...otherwise, this could've gotten even uglier for the Northwestern faithful. Most would say that a +7 in the turnover department for the season is a pretty solid differential. Try a +7 differential for the game. Un-freaking-believable. It was most notably a special moment for senior Aaron Henry (who I gave a nice pat on the shoulder walking by him on the field after the Ohio State game) when he took a pick back for a touchdown in the closing moments of the third quarter. Oh and by the way, the two headed monster of Montee Ball and James White ran for 130+ apiece and set the tone for the direction this contest was inevitably heading (so weird how John Clay isn't even mentioned right here). Of course, this game would not have had any significance if not for the events that transpired just prior to kickoff. In order for the Badgers to still have a chance to go to the Rose Bowl, they could not end up in a tie with only Michigan State (we went over all the scenarios last time). Anyway, with the Spartans and Buckeyes both coming away victorious before the Badgers' game, all that was left to do was trample the lowly Northwestern Wildcats...and trample they did. Just recently, the new BCS standings came out and all I needed to see was that big W ahead of that evil Ohio State logo. See it I did as Wisconsin came out #5 and Ohio State #6. Michigan State was ranked 8th but it sucks to suck because they're going to get screwed out a BCS bowl just like the Badgers in 2007. Here's why:

“No more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections, unless two non-champions from the same conference are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the final BCS Standings.”

Bummmeeerrrrrrrrr.

Sorry for another delay there...had to watch Blood Diamond. Moving on.

With one week remaining in the regular season of college football, the Badgers have basically sealed a spot in the Rose Bowl. I say basically because computers sucks and this article elaborates on this fact. But hey, even if by some God forsaken reason Ohio State leap frogs us in the standings, we are still going to end up in a BCS bowl game with an at-large birth, but it would still be B(C)S. Assuming we end up in Rose Bowl, who would we play, you ask? This question brings on an answer that is out of my control, but speculation is always a fun game to play so why not...

Now here's the dealio: The usual scenario regarding the Rose Bowl includes the Big Ten Champion squaring off against the Pac 10 champion. Those of you who can put 2 and 2 together may see an issue with this. The probable Pac 10 champ happens to be ranked numero dos in the nation, which would place them in the National Championship game. So if the winner of the Pac 10 ends up in the title game, what exactly happens with the Rose Bowl? After doing some light reading to figure this question out, I was still a little confused, but this is what I got out of it...if a bowl (example: Rose Bowl) loses a host team to the National Title game, then it gets its choice of a non-automatic BCS qualifier (a team out of the power six conferences (Big 10, Big 12, SEC, Pac 10, ACC, Big East)). Since the Rose Bowl is the only BCS bowl game that annually pins the same two conferences against each other, it apparently receives first choice as to which team it wants as a replacement should this situation occur. My guess is that the Rose Bowl would want the highest ranked team that's available...as of now, this is #3 TCU, who happens to be undefeated (I apologize for boring you all to death). Now with all due respect to the Horned Frogs, I really really really want to see the Badgers square off against Stanford. Not to say that I wouldn't wanna see the Badgers phenomenal rushing attack facing off against a stingy TCU run defense (#1 in the nation, in fact), but a Stanford/Wisconsin matchup would just be...more fun to watch! Stanford is top 10 in scoring and has a future NFL stud in quarterback Andrew Luck. Whoops...hold on sec...you say TCU is tied with the Badgers for 4th in scoring in the nation with 43.3 points scored a game? Wow, that's uncanny...good grief, I might of just talked myself into wanting a TCU/Wisconsin matchup now. Alright, well either way I'll be happy then! Stay tuned. Both #1 Auburn and #2 Oregon still have to play next week. There could still be a major mix-up atop the college football world just like we saw this week with LSU and Boise State both going down in incredible fashion. Gee golly wiz this stuff is just so gosh darn exciting! Check out the Badger blog on jsonline tomorrow to get even more insight if you can possibly stand it.

Now that I got all hyped up about the Badgers future endeavors, it's time to bring me back down to Earth and discuss the Green Bay Packers horrific three point defeat to the Atlanta Falcons...you know what? Eff that. I don't really wanna ruin the mood of the blog so let's just enjoy the success the Badgers and save the Deer and the Pack for another time. Sound good? Before I leave I'll make a promise to myself and most importantly to my readers that I'll come back with another blog entry sometime this week regarding the state of the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Bucks (sorry...not Marquette and UW b-ball quite yet...it's non-conference and nobody cares enough about college basketball at this point). More than likely, this annoying Novembeard will be all gone and I'll finally be able to think straight. I'll leave you with some inspirational music from a solid movie that I just saw for the first time last night. It was pretty kick-ass. Dueces!

Fear the Deer, Go Pack and ON WISCONSIN BABY!!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Smelling like a rose

In case you missed it, Saturday was a day filled with a lot of good college football and a lot of good call of duty black ops playing on xbox live. Since video games don't really pertain to Wisconsin sports, I'll save you the details there even though we both know you want to hear about it. Seriously though, it was an emotional roller coaster for the fans of Big Ten football, and it started at 11 AM central time...unfortunate for me since I was up until 3 in the morning the previous night. Being the trooper that I am (and because of the fact that I contribute to this blog every week), I dragged my lazy ass out of bed and watched the Badgers put a good ole fashioned whoopin' on the Michigan Wolverines (save for a rather nerve-racking third quarter). While this was going on, there was another game of interest in progress between Michigan State and Purdue. Purdue at one point in the fourth quarter had a 15 point lead and a Spartans loss would basically end any worries for the Badgers as far as a tiebreaker scenario is concerned....more on this situation later. For now, let's take a look at the NFL picks for week 11. I considered quitting after last week's performance, but decided that since sports involve a lot of ups and downs, I had to stick with it. No analysis this week since I clearly don't know what I'm doing, but here are the picks and the official standings on the year:

(DAVE) (KYLE)

CHICAGO @ MIAMI (-1.5)
BUFFALO @ Cincinnati (-5.5)
Detroit @ DALLAS (-6.5)
BALTIMORE @ Carolina (+10.5)
Cleveland @ JACKSONVILLE (-1.5)
Oakland @ PITTSBURGH (-7.5)
Washington @ TENNESSEE (-7.5)
Arizona @ KANSAS CITY (-7.5)
GREEN BAY @ Minnesota (+3.5)
Houston @ NY JETS (-6.5)
ATLANTA @ St. Louis (+3.5)
TAMPA BAY @ SAN FRANCISCO (-3.5)
Seattle @ NEW ORLEANS (-11.5)
Indianapolis @ NEW ENGLAND (-3.5)
NY GIANTS @ PHILADELPHIA (-3.5)
DENVER @ SAN DIEGO (-9.5)

Last week/Overall (Excluding the Chicago/Miami game from Thursday night):
Kyle: 5-9/76-68 (7-1-2)
Dave: 2-12/67-77 (1-7-2) ... ouch

Before I get to the whole Big Ten standings fiasco, I'd like to touch on perhaps the most satisfying Sunday afternoon I've experienced in quite awhile. I'm talking, of course, about the thumping the Green Bay Packers put on old man Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. What a beautiful sight it was. The Packers may have shown a little rust early on when they went down 3-0 and showed no signs of having the ability to move the football. However, three points would be all the Vikqueens could muster against a stellar Green Bay defense and Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings lit up the Minnesota defense all over the field to chalk up a 35-3 victory in the Humpty Dump. The only unfortunate bit of news I have to share with you about this game is that I sat Aaron Rodgers in favor of Mike Vick in my auction fantasy league, so I kind of feel stupid about that one. Fortunately, I'm still projected to win by over 60 points, I'm 8-2 in the league and I'm in first place ahead of Kyle. Come to think of it, I'm ahead of Kyle in both of the fantasy leagues that we're participating in...this is a cheap shot that I will pay for in some way, shape or form in the near future, I'm sure. Getting back to the game and away from my poor fantasy football decisions that really don't affect any of you, the Packers look damn good right now. Dom Capers 3-4 defense is so stellar, even without some key players, and it's only getting better as the season moves on. Green Bay is peaking at the right time...let's just hope they can stay on top of that peak for another 10 weeks or so. Just have to love how the offense has put up a combined 76 points in the past two weeks while the D has only allowed a measly 10 in the same time frame. That sounds like a recipe for success. One more thing: let's take a look at Benedict's stat line for a moment - 17/38, 202 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT, 51.2 PASSER RATING. Before the season, I was afraid if old number 4 returned to the Vikings because of his career year in 2009...consider that fear to be dead and buried.

Okay. Big Ten football. Right. So where were we again? Oh yeah, Purdue had a 15 point lead in the 4th over Michigan State, the only team standing in the way of the Badgers because of the head-to-head tiebreaker (in case you forgot, tying Ohio State at the end of the year doesn't matter because of a certain game that took place on October 16th), and the Badgers are literally running wild all over Michigan as all this is happening. Well low and behold, the Boilermakers didn't exactly Boiler Up and found a way to blow their lead all over the place (one letter away in that phrase from a rated R blog). This meant that Michigan State and Wisconsin would remain tied and Ohio State would have to defeat Iowa later in the day. Why is that you ask? If the Badgers, Spartans and Buckeyes end up with the same conference record at the end of the year, the Badgers would win the tiebreaker as long as they maintained the highest BCS ranking out of the three teams. And as you'll see below:

#7 Wisconsin, #9 Ohio State, #12 Michigan State (going into this week)

Barring some sort of idiot computer ranking Ohio State over Wisconsin, which logically wouldn't make any sense, Wisconsin should remain above the others assuming each team wins out. Therefore...THE IOWA AND OHIO STATE GAME WAS UNBELIEVABLY HUGE! In what turned out to be a heck of a game, Terrelle Pryor led the Buckeyes down the field for a game winning drive in the 4th quarter to take a 20-17 victory out of Iowa City and hand Iowa yet another depressing loss. Here is what the standings currently look like (the conference record in parentheses and without the updated BCS standings):

#7 Wisconsin: 10-1 (6-1)
#9 Ohio State: 10-1 (6-1)
#12 Michigan State: 10-1 (6-1)

Since #8 Nebraska went down to the Mike Sherman-led Texas A&M Aggies (for the record, I always liked Sherman and don't think he deserved to lose his job in Green Bay), Ohio State should move up to the 8th spot and Wisconsin will more than likely stay put at 7th since no one lost in front of the Badgers this weekend. This sets up a wild and crazy Saturday where three teams in the Big Ten will have to win and pray for help...I cannot wait.

The Bucks failed to win a game this week...they're 5-8 now...don't really wanna ruin the mood of the blog so let's just enjoy the success of our two football squads and save the Deer for another time. Sound good?

Also, a quick shout out to the UW-Oshkosh men's soccer team for their victory last night in the sectional final against Calvin, 1-0. Oshkosh will now head down to San Antonio, Texas for the Division III final four! I wish I could attend seeing how it's beginning to get rather cold in the great state of Wisconsin, but I'll be there in spirit.

Go Pack, On Wisconsin and Fear the Deer! (smiley face)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

A little bit of everything

Hey, folks. Sorry for being away this past week. I had a rough stretch of school work to deal with and decided that it would be better to not flunk out of college and destroy my future rather than write a blog three people read that earns me zero profit. But who knows...maybe someday it will. Anyway, there's a lot to get to in this post. The Badgers basketball team put up 83 points yesterday in the Indiana Hoosiers (wait a minute...you're telling me that was our football team? Good one). I followed up my 11 win week in the NFL picks with a solid 5-8 showing to put me back where I started at the beginning of the year. The Bucks are turning things around after winning their third straight game last night. College basketball is just getting underway, but I won't really get into that until conference play rolls around seeing as Marquette and Wisconsin don't play too many significant games until then. And finally, the Packers have a bye this week which gives me the pleasure of watching the Bears/Vikings game...I can't believe I'm saying this, but go Bears! Let me explain. The way I see it, the Vikings are the better team. Since Green Bay has to travel to Minnesota next week, I would prefer that they weren't only two games behind us because I fear that it would be difficult to go in the humpty dump and pull out a win. I know what you're going to say...then the Bears will be tied with us if they win today. I still stand by what I say: The Bears are the more vulnerable team and I would also like to see Chicago and Green Bay tied in the standings for their Week 17 showdown that I'm attending to create the most intense atmosphere possible. Call me crazy, but a guy can dream, can't he?

On to the Week 10 picks!
(DAVE) (KYLE)

BALTIMORE @ ATLANTA (-1.5) What was my thinking in picking against Matty Ice when he's playing in the Georgia Dome? Stupid, stupid, stupid...
Detroit @ BUFFALO (-2.5)
MINNESOTA @ Chicago (+1.5) This spread doesn't make any sense to me. The Bears are 2 games ahead of the Vikings AND playing at home. Still for some unknown reason took Minny though.
NY JETS @ CLEVELAND (+3.5)
Cincinnati @ INDIANAPOLIS (-7.5)
TENNESSEE @ Miami (+0.5)
Carolina @ TAMPA BAY (-7.5)
HOUSTON @ Jacksonville (-1.5)
KANSAS CITY @ Denver (+0.5)
DALLAS @ NY GIANTS (-13.5) This spread also doesn't make any sense to me. It should be like 30...I'll pay the price later today for jinxing that pick.
Seattle @ ARIZONA (-3.5)
St. Louis @ SAN FRANCISCO (-5.5)
New England @ PITTSBURGH (-4.5)
PHILADELPHIA @ Washington (+3.5)

I just wanted to throw Kyle a quick shout out for completely dismantling my fantasy football team this week. My record is 7-2 and he is 5-4, but as of 2 PM, Kyle has a 105-16 lead on me. My team is falling apart at the worst possible time and now I have to worry about just trying to make the playoffs. I want that 80 bucks dammit!

Last week/Overall (Not including the Baltimore/Atlanta game from Thursday):
Kyle: 8-5/71-59 (6-1-2)
Dave: 5-8/65-65 (1-6-2)

I'll tell you what, the Radcliffe family chose a couple of record breaking games to attend this year when it came to Wisconsin Badger football. Granted, mine was way more awesome because we beat the number one team in the nation and got to storm the field, but my brother Steve watched the Badgers put up the most points any team has scored in a Big Ten Conference game since 1950. I was almost getting to the point of feeling sorry for the Hoosiers until I remembered that winning a conference game by a thousand points probably looks better on paper than throwing in the towel and making the score look closer than it really is. Perhaps Bret Bielema is aware of this because once the Badgers were up 67-20 and still threw up a deep ball for Jared Abbrederis, I kind of cringed and thought about the Minnesota game (2 point conversion...yeah). It was still pretty cool to see Bucky put up 83 on poor old Indiana, especially once the 'Hoosier daddy' chant started up. I'll have more on this game in the weekly Badgers Roundtable on jsonline, so check it out!

Just wanted to give a short statement on the Packers' release of cornerback Al Harris. I think I'm with about 99% of Packer fans when saying that watching Harris go is very saddening. He had a great tenure in Green Bay (2003-2010) but I can understand where Green Bay management is coming from here. Harris isn't getting any younger (35) and his health is obviously an issue based on the decision to cut the former pro bowler. I'll leave you with this link which in my opinion is the play most people associate Al Harris with (will that clip ever get old? The answer is HELL NO). One more sad note...former Packer Aaron Kampman tore his ACL again as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, which could really be career threatening...tough news to hear about one of my favorite guys to watch in the league.

(Quick update: it's now 121-30 with Kyle continuing to obliterate my fantasy team)

Last but not least, the Milwaukee Bucks deserve a shout-out for the little run they are going on right now. After starting 2-5, the deer have bounced back to win three in a row and it's really beginning to show how balanced this squad is. Any given night, a different player will step up for this Bucks team and it's good to know that there isn't only one guy to rely on. Wins against the Knicks and Warriors are to be expected (wasn't it strange that the final score of the Golden State game was so low? I was really expecting another 55 point output from Jennings but I guess you can't always get what you want), but I found the win at Atlanta to be pretty impressive. The seven game playoff series against the Hawks last season was very closely contested and then Milwaukee marches into Atlanta and annihilates them. I understand that we are a long ways away from the playoffs so I'll stop getting so hyped up, but check out the Tuesday game upcoming against the Lakers...it should be a doozy and the Bucks are seeking revenge because of this garbage reffing from last season's match up (watching those highlights and seeing all the BS calls against the Bucks and the no-calls that went the Lakers way infuriates me beyond belief).

Looks like the Bears are gonna pull out a win here (Yay!). Be sure to check out the last play of the Jaguars/Texans game when you get a chance as well...insane.

Go Pack, On Wisconsin and Fear the Deer!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Blog tiiime!

As promised, I'm back again this week for some more jibberish. I'm writing this post on a Saturday morning while watching the Badger game with a headache, so give me a little credit for multi-tasking. In fact, I think I'm going to do a little live blogging while I'm at it since other than my NFL picks, there isn't really anything to talk about other than the underachieving Milwaukee Bucks (who had a nice come from behind win last night in Indiana). We'll start with this:

1st quarter, 5:55 to go: Phillip Welch misses a very makable 40 yard field goal and the game remains scoreless. Scott Tolzein has already tossed an INT and the Badgers are looking a tad rusty out of the gate.

This could be kind of difficult, so bear with me. By the way, it's a little upsetting that the Badgers haven't even put a dent into Purdue with the first quarter winding down...I told you that bye week wasn't going to do us any good. Anyway, here are the picks (I'll break in with any pressing issues in the Wisco game).

Week 9: (DAVE) (KYLE)

TAMPA BAY @ ATLANTA (-8.5)
Chicago @ BUFFALO (+2.5) [That's right...Buffalo is going to get their first win tommorrow at the expense of DA BEARS]
NEW ENGLAND @ CLEVELAND (+4.5) [Here's what's gonna happen: Cleveland is going to make enough mistakes in this game to allow the Pats to win, but they'll only win by 4 so that I get this pick right. Just watch.]

1st quarter, :25 to go: Purdue basically marched the ball down the field with little or no resistance and scored on a screen pass from 23 yards out. Not only have the Badgers not put a dent into Purdue, but the Boilers have actually somehow gotten a lead. Wonderful.

NY Jets @ DETROIT (+4.5)
ARIZONA @ MINNESOTA (-8.5)
NEW ORLEANS @ CAROLINA (+7.5)

At the end of the first quarter, I will acknowledge that the Badgers are moving the ball pretty well, but a turnover and a missed field goal have negated that fact. Sooooo we need to score some points pronto because I don't really like losing to a team that has been defeated by a combined 83 points over the past two weeks.

MIAMI @ BALTIMORE (-5.5)
San Diego @ HOUSTON (+1.5)
NY Giants @ SEATTLE (+5.5)

2nd quarter, 13:27 to go: PUUUUUUNT

Kansas City @ OAKLAND (-2.5)

2nd quarter, 10:07 to go: Purdue was driving yet again before a fumble at the Wisconsin 25 yard line...WISCONSIN RECOVERS!!! Antonio Fenelus returns it all the way to the Purdue 27 yard line...as the announcer just mentioned, this could be a game changing play. Ya think?

INDIANAPOLIS @ Philadelphia (-2.5)

2nd quarter, 8:08 to go: Never mind, it wasn't really that game changing...45 yard field goal by Welch. Fortunately, it could have been 14-0 Purdue because the refs missed a John Clay fumble and the Purdue player that returned it was definitely heading for pay dirt. I might have to stop doing this live blog thing at halftime because I am a very frustrated individual right now. (Purdue 7, Wisconsin 3)

Dallas @ GREEN BAY (-7.5) [Sorry. I'm finally picking the Packers after three weeks of not doing so. If they lose, I'll take 100% of the blame.]

PITTSBURGH @ Cincinnati (+4.5)

2nd quarter, 1:05 to go: Purdue marches down the field and kicks a 37 yard field goal. Yeah...I'm definitely not doing this in the second half because obviously it's bad luck to type this blog up during a sporting event that I'm invested in.

I wish I had more to talk about right now but I don't. The first half is almost over in the Badger game and they look like they're about to score...

End of 1st half: The Badgers had a nice little one minute drive and put some points on the board with a 38-yard field goal to pull within four. Since I made a promise to myself that if the Badgers were losing at halftime to the Purdue Boilermakers I would quit blogging forever, I'm going to have to stop immedia-

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

S-H-U-T out out out!

See what I did there? In what many would call one of the most boring football games to ever be played, the Green Bay Packers stunned the world and shut out the New York Jets 9-0. It was a nicely paced game to watch considering the lack of concentration I was able to put into it for reasons most should understand. Despite Halloween weekend proving to be a distraction (I promise to try and get back to my normal two posts per week routine...I've been a busy boy lately), I checked my picks after the Monday Night game last night and honestly could not believe what I saw...13 games were played this weekend in the NFL. 11 were guessed correctly by yours truly. This is not a typo. I REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A TYPO! Do you know what this means? Many things. It took eight weeks, but I finally bested Kyle. I'm finally above .500, so I now have the option of torturing all of you with my game-by-game analysis (tune in next time to find out). And last but not least, I have now completely figured out the NFL. Either that, or the teams that had byes this week were the reason that I was falling flat on my face through the first seven weeks. Let's hope that's not the case...otherwise next week will be a brutality crushing fall back to reality.

Week 8: (DAVE) (KYLE)

MIAMI @ Cincinnati (-2.5)
JACKSONVILLE @ Dallas (-6.5)
WASHINGTON @ DETROIT (-2.5)
BUFFALO @ KANSAS CITY (-7.5)
Carolina @ ST. LOUIS (-3.5)
GREEN BAY @ NY JETS (-6.5) - Counter-jinx baby!
Denver @ SAN FRANSISCO (-0.5)
TENNESSEE @ SAN DIEGO (-3.5)
TAMPA BAY @ Arizona (-3.5)
Minnesota @ NEW ENGLAND (-5.5)
Seattle @ OAKLAND (-2.5)
PITTSBURGH @ New Orleans (-0.5)
HOUSTON @ INDIANAPOLIS (-5.5)

This week/Overall:
Kyle: 8-5/63-54 (5-1-2)
Dave: 11-2/60-57 (1-5-2)

Since the Badgers had the week off just in time to lose all the momentum they gained over the past three weeks, the Packers were the main focus of the sports fans in Wisconsin. And since the game they participated in put about 80% of the state to sleep, a mention of the Milwaukee Bucks is in order. Don't worry...I'll talk more about the 1st place Green Bay Packers in a moment. Anyway, the Bucks finally got off the snide and earned their first victory of the season in their home debut. A few of the early season story lines include a slow start, a visit from the injury bug and Brandon Jennings' first career triple-double, which took place during Saturday night's victory over Charlotte. Role players like Jon Brockman and Chris Douglas-Roberts have both missed some time with minor setbacks, not to mention that the Bucks best player, Michael Redd being out until at least February. Aside from this, it's going to take this team some time to gel considering all of the new additions that I mentioned in my last post. In other words, we should disregard the early season losses to sub par opponents (New Orleans and Minnesota) and be patient. I can also guarantee that Carlos Delfino does not end up being the leading scorer of this team, although he looks really, really solid thus far. Support our Bucks!

Breaking news! The Milwaukee Brewers hired Ron Roenicke, 54, as their new manager...I'll give you the low down on Mr. Roenicke. He was previously the bench coach of the Los Angeles Angels and played pro ball for eight seasons. That's literally all I know, and that's thanks to the article on ESPN informing me of this news. Um...I have a few opinions on this. First of all, is Willie Randolph really that bad of a manager? He had to sit behind Macha for two years muttering obscenities under his breath and now he doesn't even get a shot at the managerial position? There is NO way this guy could possibly still want to remain in Milwaukee, and I can't blame him. Next...Dale Sveum anyone? Last time I checked, the man led us to our first playoff appearance in 26 years under dire circumstances (Yost firing). What happened after that? He wasn't even interviewed for the job in '09. Sounds fair. And last but not least, the Brewers turned down the bench coach from the Chicago White Sox, Joey Cora. Considering the fact that he coached under Ozzie Guillen, there is little doubt in my mind that he would have lit a fire under the collective behinds of the Crew, which they are in desperate need of after playing for a corpse the last two years. Whether Ron Roenicke will present more of a presence in the dugout than old man winter is yet to be seen. But that's enough about coaching...let's get to some football.

Like I mentioned before, the Jets/Packer game on Sunday was quite the snoozer. That's okay...we won. How did we win? It was a combination of Rex Ryan's stupidity, the inability of the Jets' receivers to catch a football and some clutch defensive plays by the Packers. It's possible the wind played a factor in the score, but it was just one of those weird games where neither team could get anything going. Thankfully, Ryan decided it was necessary to pull a fake punt on 4th & 18 in the 1st quarter, and Green Bay never looked back. I don't really know what else to say about this game...it was just a gutsy performance by an undermanned team. What's even better is that we play the Cowboys next week on Sunday night and then have two weeks to rest some of our key players suffering from injury. I feel a helluva lot better about this team then I did two weeks ago.

Fear the Deer. Go Pack. On Wisconsin.