The Madness in Review

Sorry for the month in between posts. This graduation thing is really putting a damper on my blogging plans and a trip out to Las Vegas last week - and this goes without saying - kept me away from the computer for a few days. What have I missed? March, and all that March offers is, well...madness. The last time I swung by BBB, I got my feelings out about Ryan Braun and although myself and the state of Wisconsin are likely the only ones who share those views, I couldn't really give a damn. It's time to move on from the miserable stretch that was Braun's appeal, but before moving on from March Madness, let's look back at the stretch that pumped false hope into millions of Badger fans and Warrior fans.

Both Wisconsin and Marquette were knocked out of their conference tourneys and this normally isn't really cause for concern - except this time, specifically for MU. The last team to reach the Final Four that got knocked out in the first round of their conference tournament was...hmmm...turns out no one has ever done it. There's a first time for everything, but it just wasn't meant to be for the Warriors to be the first to do this. The seeds handed out to Marquette (3) and Wisconsin (4) were to be expected unless each had made better runs in their respective conference tournaments.

To my great chagrin, I was forced to miss the ending of BOTH first round matchups involving my two favorite college basketball teams, neither of which I favor above the other for the record. Instead, I had the privilege of taking one of the more difficult exams my young mind as ever been challenged with...an exam that I pulled a B out of my ass for. Don't ask how that happened. Thankfully, UW and MU had my back and easily took care of business in round one (don't give me this "actually it's round two" crap). As the first round of the NCAA tournament was winding down, so were my hopes of winning any money as my Final Four "lock" of Missouri lost to Norfolk State (and thank goodness, because their second round game against Florida was THRILLING). Believe it or not, I'm still doing quite well in the two pools I'm entered in that involve money, but there is little chance I win anything.

Round two rolled around, and now Wisconsin and Marquette had to bear down. Both did just enough, with Bucky barely holding off Vandy in a thriller...a team I picked to roll into the elite 8 and final four in one bracket (whoops again)...and Marquette pulling out an ugly one against one-loss Murray State. The Badgers looked a heck of a lot better than the Warriors did and this should have been a sign of things to come in the round of the Sweet 16. Even though it had appeared that Marquette was done a favor by WHAT THE NorFOLK State, the Florida Gators were a team on a mission. The Badgers would square off against Syracuse in what is perhaps one of the top three games of the tournament thus far.

I did in fact make a couple bets on March Madness during my time in Vegas, but neither involved the hometown squads (I picked Kentucky to cover and NC State +8 against Kansas - winner, winner, chicken dinner). We walked over a couple of delicious pitchers of Miller Lite and sat down in the sportsbook viewing room to watch the first game - Syracuse v. Wisconsin, a game being played just miles away from Cuse in Boston. While I said earlier in the year that it was the relying on the three point shot that would do in the Badgers eventually, it was the 3-ball that kept Wisconsin in the game. They made 14 threes! Unheard of. They went on stretches draining three after three, a shooting clinic. That was nice and all, but as Jordan Taylor would say at halftime (and what I was screaming at the television about) was that the Badgers needed to get the ball in the middle to collapse the defense and then kick it back out right away. The baseline was also an open area on the floor against the Orange zone, but the athleticism of Syracuse was overpowering and any attempt to score down low resulted in turnovers and blocked shots. Getting the ball to Jared Berggren in the high post led to more open looks and was the driving force behind the Badgers getting back into the game. Wisconsin would finally grab a lead on a Ben Brust trey to go up 3 with about eight minutes left. From there, several nails were worn down and the Badgers only scored 2 points in the last four minutes. However, after the Syracuse missed a one-and-one, Wisconsin had 15 seconds to bring the ball up and win the game. There was just one problem: Berggren, who was 6 of 7 shooting on the game, NEVER CHECKED INTO THE GAME! Well that's okay, the Badgers had a timeout left so they'll just use that and...oh crap...they aren't using it. They never used it. Rob Wilson had an open look, could have even driven down the lane, but the SENIOR got wet feet, passed it off to Taylor, who heaved a prayer, and that was it.

Syracuse 64, Wisconsin 63. Why in God's name Bo Ryan didn't get Berggren in the game will forever puzzle me.

But at least there was still hope, for Marquette was up next, the favorite in a game against the Florida Gators. Who would have ever thought that the Badgers would be more entertaining to watch in this tournament than the Warriors? I mean, seriously? This Florida-Marquette game was flat out brutal to watch. All that really needs to be said is that MU couldn't shoot the damn ball, and that's why they lost 68-58 to a team that very well should have reached the Final Four should they not have had an epic collapse at the hands of Louisville two days later. It was disappointing because it could have easily been the Warriors in the Final Four - heck, it could have very well been Wisconsin in the Final Four. There was a legitimate chance of each happening. The Badgers did all they could to get there. Marquette...did not.

Next season may look bleak for the college basketball landscape in Wisconsin. Taylor, Jae Crowder and DJO are all moving on, but there is reason to keep your hopes high. The Badgers will lose Taylor but bring in highly touted freshman Sam Dekker, who did this a few weeks ago and is still the reigning top play on SportsCenter. He's a top 20 recruit at 6'8" and should contribute immediately for Wisconsin. For Marquette, they will actually return some legitimate size down low with Davante Gardner and Chris Otule coming off of his ACL injury. Jamil Wilson, who can jump out of the building, will also be back and the Warriors are bringing in three recruits with grades higher than 80 according to ESPN.

It's sad to see March Madness go, but it will lead us right into baseball season and my beloved Milwaukee Brewers. Their preview is up next, so stay tuned.

With no more football, enter basketball

I don't know how any of you felt about it, but that Super Bowl we just witnessed was awful in just about every aspect until it entered the final three minutes. Terrible commercials. Terrible halftime show (I'm still waiting for LMFAO to perform). A National Anthem performed correctly. And of course the actual game which lacked exciting, meaningful plays. In fact, there was only one play that got me off my seat (well, not really) and it's pretty apparent which play I'm talking about. Anyway, the Giants beat the Patriots...again...and anyone who places bets on sports (I'm getting there) would have been stupid to take New England in this one. Nevertheless, the moment after the Packers managed to hold off the Giants in week 13 38-35, I knew the one team I didn't want to face in the playoffs: the Giants. It happened, and there's no doubt in my mind that it should have been the Packers on that podium with confetti falling down on them on Sunday.

So football is over and if you haven't already done so, it's time to either turn your attention to basketball or hockey because it's not quite time to start tailgating in the Miller Park parking lots (however, here's a link to get you thinking about the upcoming baseball season). Since there isn't a professional hockey franchise in the state of Wisconsin, I'm not going to talk about hockey. And since there still hasn't been a decision made on the Ryan Braun situation, I can't discuss that, either. That only leaves one point of interest, and that's basketball. Soon it will be time to preview the Brewers and think about what the heck the Packers need to do with that putrid defense, but for now, the state of Wisconsin has two nationally ranked division I college basketball teams and a professional basketball team sitting in the eight seed in the Eastern Conference. That's right - the Wisconsin Badgers, Marquette Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks would all make the postseason as of right now. I can guarantee you this much...two of those teams will certainly extend their seasons in 2012. Still too early to tell with the Deer.

Before you get excited over this prospect, let me dampen your spirits a bit. Not one of these teams is going to win a championship this year. Call me a negative Nancy, but all three of the major basketball teams that we follow in this state have notable flaws that championship teams simply don't possess. You can even look at the Packers...that defense was simply not good enough to win a Super Bowl and the prolific offense led by Aaron Rodgers helped cover that fact up for 18 weeks. Finishing near the top of their respective conferences may look good in the eyes of fans and the selection committee for Marquette and Wisconsin, and they might even get through a round or two of March Madness. But here is a major flaw(s) for each team that will prevent further success.

Marquette (20-5, 9-3): Slow starts, No inside presence

Coming into the season, for once their was promise down low with Chris Otule rapidly improving as a big man and Javante Gardner ready to back him up after dropping 20 pounds. Otule went down with an ACL injury and now Gardner has a nagging ankle injury that has kept him out of the last three games, leaving Jamil Wilson, who is 6'7", as the tallest Marquette player. We saw it years ago when the Warriors played Stanford and the Lopez twins, and it looks like we're heading down the same path - Marquette's athleticism fails to overcome the extreme height differentials it has with other tournament teams. Couple this problem with Marquette's tendency to always fall behind early in games and it's going to be difficult for this team to make it past the sweet 16 even though they are second in the always tough (but this year down) Big East.

Wisconsin (18-6, 7-4): Too reliant on the three

Aside from Jordan Taylor, there really isn't anyone that can carry the Badgers this season. Guys will occasionally step up, and thank goodness they have, because Taylor hasn't had the privilege of having Jon Leuer to lean on and hasn't been as good as expected. Speaking of not having Leuer, there is almost no inside presence with the Badgers either, which is probably why Marquette was able to beat them back on Dec. 3. This leads the Badgers to rely too much on the three point shot, which is something I did and look where I am now. This isn't to say Wisconsin can't get hot and string together some wins in the tourney, but it's just not something we're used to seeing and the Badgers just don't seem to be built for March Madness.

Milwaukee (10-13, 8th in East): Defending the paint, consistency

When Andrew Bogut (shockingly) went down with an injury earlier this season, all hope appeared to be lost for the Bucks. But Brandon Jennings has emerged as a legitimate All-Star candidate and Drew Gooden has been surprisingly effective filling in for Bogues. Other than that, there isn't much going for the Deer. It's a team mainly composed of role players and Gooden, who really isn't a true center, is being counted on to replace Bogut's rebounding numbers. This isn't realistic, and while guys like Ersan Ilyasova have helped fill that void, teams are out-rebounding the Bucks. Meanwhile, some nights Milwaukee has been able to defend well and other nights, like tonight against the Suns for instance, it's been God awful. Inconsistency has never resulted in overall success and unless the Bucks go out and find a legit big man (maybe in a trade for Stephen Jackson) and become more consistent on both ends of the floor, this team will likely find themselves out of the playoffs.

2012...where Win-sconsin goes to die?

On New Year's Day when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions to finish the regular season at 15-1, it was almost beginning to seem too good to be true. Say what you will, but not too many Packer fans expected a team almost completely composed of backups to knock off a team that was playing for the five seed and a chance not to play the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the playoffs. Early on, it appeared this wasn't going to happen, mostly due to the incompetency of Pat Lee to return a kickoff, and it was 9-0 Detroit. From there on, we all know what happened, and on an afternoon where a state filled with thousands of hungover Packer fans laid down on their couches to watch a meaningless, stress-free football game, Matt Flynn did the impossible. A franchise record in touchdowns (six) and passing yardage (480) was still barely enough to send the Lions home with the six seed in a thrilling 45-41 victory. And what a game it was...but have you noticed how the other Wisconsin sports teams have performed since we brought in the New Year?

Let's begin with the two major Division I college basketball programs, the Marquette Warriors and the Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams, as usual, have fairly hefty expectations and at the very least are expected to reach the NCAA Tournament held at the end of each college basketball season. Well, at this point, it's looking more likely these teams make a trip to the NIT rather than March Madness. Not really...I think. The two teams have a combined two conference wins. They've played a combined seven conference games. The Badgers stand at 12-5. The Warriors stand at 12-4. There are distinguishable reasons as to why each team has hit a proverbial brick wall here in early January just as conference play has picked up. First of all, the Badgers. A team that was at one point ranked in the top six before falling at Chapel Hill to the Tar Heels. Since then, Wisconsin has fallen AT HOME to Marquette, Michigan State, and most embarrassing of all, Iowa. Back in 2009, the Badgers had a pretty rough stretch such as this one when they dropped six games in a row, and they still managed to make the tournament (only to get blown out of the water by Arizona). In Wisconsin's defense, the schedule this season in Big Ten conference play is lethal, likely only second in difficulty to the Big East...and even between those two it's close. There are four schools in the Big Ten ranked in the top 13, which is ridiculous. The Big East? Only two.

Along with the difficult schedule, the Badgers have been struggling from the field, and I mean struggling. For some reason, this team, specifically Jordan Taylor, decides to wait until the final five minutes of the game to show up and make shots. We've all seen this before, but this season it hasn't been enough. Against Michigan State last Tuesday, the Badgers rallied to force overtime and then once again rallied to nearly force another overtime, only to have a banked-in three as time expired from Ryan Evans waved off. I'll get to Wisconsin's athletic teams inability to get plays off in time in a moment. What it comes down to is this: Jordan Taylor hasn't been who he was expected to be this season, this team consists of a bunch of role players and the schedule has been difficult. Will they still make the tournament? I would assume so. Does the schedule start to get a little easier? It would appear that way. But Taylor simply needs to play better because as far as star-power is concerned, he's all the Badgers have got.

The struggles for Marquette are much more understandable, in my opinion. I'll start with the Chris Otule injury. Otule is now confirmed to be out for the season after suffering an ACL injury during non-conference play against Washington. It might be drastic to say this, but this might be the dagger in Marquette's season as far as a potential Big East championship and deep run in the NCAA Tournament is concerned. Now the biggest man on the Warriors' roster is Davante Gardner, who is 6'8" but a load of a man. Otule gave this team the man down low it needed, and he had worked so hard to get where he was in his college career. It just piles on to the depressing news as of late. Moving past Otule, this team still has some depth, plenty of athleticism, and a lot of heart. However, there is still plenty of growing up to do. Aside from seniors Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom, the Warriors are young. They also got thrown right into the Big East gauntlet with games on the road against Georgetown and Syracuse. Marquette had a huge second half collapse against the Hoyas and made a comeback of their own against the Orange, but MU came up just short in each contest. Despite the tough losses, there is plenty to be optimistic about...unlike the Badgers. Besides a game at home against a struggling Louisville team, Marquette doesn't face a ranked opponent until Feb. 18. Barring any sort of letdown, MU should string together some wins here to get back on track.

Getting back to the clock issues. Have you ever seen anything like what happened considering the circumstances at the end of the Rose Bowl and the Michigan State game at the Kohl Center? It's almost comical. Almost. I really have no desire to relive the final "play" of the Rose Bowl game against Oregon, but I kind of lost my cool after what happened and entered a bit of a Twitter debate about whether or not it was the right move to try and spike the football as time expired. First things first, it was terrible execution by Russell Wilson and Peter Konz, who apparently couldn't get the football snapped in two seconds. Whether or not you want to argue that the clock operator was a little too quick on the trigger with starting the clock or if it is solely on Wilson and Konz for not getting the football snapped (I'm still not sure on this one), the Badgers were facing an uphill battle, still 30 yards away from the end zone and down by seven. The game ended 45-38 in favor of Oregon in a game that played out much like many expected. But here's why it was the right decision to try and spike the ball with :02 seconds remaining.

Let's go back to the previous play. I have nothing wrong with the route Nick Toon ran and how he was tackled in-bounds. In college, you can afford to run routes that won't get you out-of-bounds because of how the clock stops on first downs. Toon made the catch and was brought down instantly with two seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Now on the play, Toon was in obvious pain from the hit he took, but another receiver (Abbrederis I believe) helped him onto his feet because, I believe, he was just as confused as me when it came to injured players under two minutes. In the NFL, if a team doesn't have a timeout and time has to be stopped due to an injury with less than two minutes left in the game while the clock is still running, there is a 10-second run-off. There is no such penalty in college football, so Toon technically could have stayed down on the field, and officials would have had to stop play. This would have given the Badgers some time to draw up a play, although the clock would have been started on the referee's whistle just like it was last Monday night. I know what you're screaming at your computer screens right now...then why didn't Toon stay on the ground? Well, Abbrederis pulled him up, probably a natural reaction considering the intense hurry-up mode the Badgers were in, so there's that. Also, since Toon was obviously able to stand (he was up when Wilson was trying to get the ball snapped in time), he wasn't THAT hurt. If he stays down on purpose in order to get the clock stopped, consider these two aspects: first, by rule, he is unable to return for the following play. Who knows...maybe if the Badgers get that spike off, he is able to shake it off and stay in for the next play. There's no denying Toon is not only Wisconsin's finest receiver, but also an NFL-caliber wide-out. Second, can you imagine the outrage from people (especially Oregon fans) if Toon stays down? Toon is not the guy who's going to pull something like that. It challenges the integrity of the game. Sure, if Toon is hurt badly enough to not get up (which wasn't true), then he stays down, but even then there is going to be controversy considering the situation. To close out this extremely lengthy paragraph, consider this...can't there be an easier way to signal to the quarterback the start of play? The head referee is standing BEHIND Wilson, and even though he blows his whistle, it's incredibly loud and the motion he's making with his arm to signal the start of the game clock isn't in Wilson's line of sight. But man do those two seconds go by fast. I'll bet you Wilson thought he had more time to hike that ball. Would it kill football to use a decimal point in their clock when it goes under a minute? This moment brings up so much debate. Kray.

I know that it never should have come down to this had Bret Bielema not burned that stupid second timeout early in the second half because he wanted a challenge on something that didn't need to be challenged, and I know Bielema for some reason can't win the big game, but that's not what I'm arguing here and I think I make a pretty strong case for the Badgers spiking the ball in that situation. Of course, Wisconsin still faced a virtual Hail Mary to even TIE that game, but it would have made for a much more exciting ending and not left such a bitter taste in my mouth. Speaking of bitter tastes, how about that Badger defense? Maybe they should take lessons from the basketball team. Speaking of which, the very next night, the Badgers had to host red-hot Michigan State at the Kohl Center, making a furious comeback in overtime. The Spartans clanged two free throws while up 63-60 with little time remaining, so Taylor rushed the ball up the court, missing the game-tying three. With still a few seconds to go, Ryan Evans grabbed the rebound, stepped outside the three point line, and heaved a prayerrrrrrr...it banked in! Double overtime! Hold up. As is normal protocol with made shots at the buzzer, the referees reviewed the play to see of the shot was released in time. Go figure this was happening 24 hours after another controversial issue involving the Badgers and clocks. Now get this: the stadium clock showed .01 seconds remaining when the ball left Evans' hands, but the clock on the basket showed time had expired, and the red light on the backboard had lit up before Evans released his shot. The made basket was overturned, and on consecutive nights, the Wisconsin Badgers had lost in heartbreaking fashion. Bru. Tal.

To cap off what was a horrid week aside from the Packers in Wisconsin sports (a combined 2-10 record from Jan. 1 - Jan. 8 between GB, WISC, MARQ, MIL), the Bucks lost five games in a west coast road trip. Shocker. Then again, Andrew Bogut missed four of those games dealing with personal issues, so that hurt, but all in all, it's been a rough year thus far for Wisconsin sports. Let's hope the Pack can turn it around this Sunday against the New York Giants, a game I'll try and preview sometime this week. Until then, let's hope Win-sconsin is just taking a short vacation, because 2011 was way too fun.

On a serious note, please keep Joe Philbin and his family in your prayers for the unfortunate event that transpired this weekend in Oshkosh. The news of his son Michael's death is not only saddening, but untimely considering the Packers' preparation for the Giants game, but Joe and his family needs to take the necessary time to grieve their loss and if this means no Philbin on the sidelines this upcoming weekend, so be it. It's hopefully something where the Packer players can rally together for Philbin and play inspired, but first and foremost, let's keep him in our thoughts.

On WIN-sconsin.

OFFICIAL 2011-2012 BASKETBALL Preview

That's right. Not just the Milwaukee Bucks are getting previewed in this installment of the Balls, Brats and Beer blog; so are the two major college basketball teams in the state of Wisconsin from Madison and Milwaukee. Why? Because let's face it. I don't care what NBA franchise you are: you don't deserve your own blog post for a season preview, especially when your league couldn't figure out how to play a full season. In all reality, this works out nicely for my seasonal basketball preview. With the strike-shortened season beginning on Dec. 26 for the Buckaroos and conference play starting up for the Badgers the very next day (Marquette starts up Big East play on New Year's Day), now is the perfect time to dissect the big three if you will. To any of you clamoring about me ignoring the great institutions of UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, consider this: I didn't even preview my own UW Oshkosh Titans' basketball season...or their football team, for that matter. So there. I think I've justified that decision.

2010-2011 Milwaukee Bucks: 35-47, 3rd in Central Division, 9th in Eastern Conference (missed playoffs)

That's right. The Bucks weren't even eliminated from playoff contention until the last week of the regular season, and only missed out of the playoffs by one spot! Gotta love the NBA. Two years ago, the Deer managed to go 46-36 to earn a six seed in, as always, a very weak Eastern Conference. However, times have changed because teams like the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks have loaded up, not to mention the on-the-rise Indiana Pacers and the New Jersey Nets, who will soon not only be moving to Brooklyn, but also likely acquiring Dwight Howard. That's just speculation, but I think it's inevitable. Anyway, back to the Bucks. Last season's result was certainly not a surprise for a few reasons. We obtained a career-loser in Corey Maggette, a move I hated from day one. We resigned John Salmons, who everyone knows only plays well immediately after getting traded to a new team. Andrew Bogut was playing with one arm. Too much was expected of Brandon Jennings, who went through his sophomore slump. Too many teams got better while the Bucks took a step backward. And finally, whenever something big is expected from the Bucks, they don't do something big. So what's changed for the 66-game 2011-2012 season in Milwaukee?

Key losses: G/F Corey Maggettee (traded to CHA), SG John Salmons (traded to SAC), G/F Chris Douglas-Roberts (tear), SG Michael Redd, PG Keyon Dooling, PG Earl Boykins

Key additions: SG Stephen Jackson, G Shaun Livingston, PG Beno Udrih, F Tobias Harris (rookie), F Jon Leuer (rookie), F Mike Dunleavy

Returnees: C Andrew Bogut, PF/C Drew Gooden, PF Larry Sanders, F Jon Brockman, F Ersan Ilyasova, F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, G/F Carlos Delfino, SG Darington Hobson, PG Brandon Jennings

So the Bucks lost six and gained six and got rid of A LOT of extra baggage with Redd's contract and Salmon's corpse. In fact, according to HoopsHype.com, they are under the salary cap, leaving them in good shape in the coming years. I believe that General Manager John Hammond pulled all the right strings during the offseason, getting rid of cancers and potential cancers and replacing them with guys that will contribute and avoid clashing with each other. Last season was a complete disaster chemistry wise due to having a ball-hog like Maggette and the team struggling with injuries, including...well...just about everybody. Now, with an extremely compressed 66-game schedule and even a few back-to-back-to-back stretches, depth is more important to have than ever. Here's a look at how I think the Bucks 12-man roster will shape up on Dec. 26:

PG: Jennings - Udrih (Livingston: Inactive)
SG: Jackson - Delfino (Hobson: Inactive)
SF: Dunleavy - Harris - Leuer
PF: Mbah a Moute - Ilyasova - Sanders (Brockman: Inactive)
C: Bogut - Gooden

I could very well be wrong on this estimate for a few reasons. First of all, head coach Scott Skiles hasn't been at all thrilled with the play of Ilysova and Sanders, who simply make too many mistakes and aren't decisive enough, but their defensive ability will be enough in my opinion to make the 12-man roster. There could also be a debate whether or not both Dunleavy and Mbah a Moute start over Delfino and Gooden, but Mbah a Moute is the team's best defender (Skiles' specialty) and Dunleavy brings a scoring presence along with Captain Jack. There are also some of you who are going to question me putting Leuer on the active roster, but how can you argue with his preseason numbers? Livingston has always been a guy I feel the Bucks eventually part ways with, Hobson needs to do more to earn a roster spot after being a D-leaguer last season and Brockman brings energy, but just doesn't do a whole lot out there. These are not only the 12 guys I want to see on a nightly basis, but they are also the 12 guys I truly think will be on the roster opening night at Charlotte, where we get to see our old friend Corey Maggettee. Again, look at the DEPTH on this team...not bad, right?

Alright. Prediction time. Last season, I thought the Bucks would earn a five seed in the Eastern Conference and make a run at 50 wins...(face palm). Okay, that was stupid. In hindsight, I should have factored in the problems I mentioned before involving injuries, Jennings' slump and Maggette-spaghetti. This season, there are three teams I KNOW will finish better than the Bucks: Miami, Chicago and New York. Who will probably finish better than the Bucks? Indiana, Atlanta, Boston and Orlando. That leaves one more playoff slot in the East, and yes, I believe the Bucks can snag it. They could actually earn as high as a five seed because of the following reasons: Boston is old, making it harder to play a compressed schedule, Atlanta lost Jamal Crawford, a key contributor, and who knows how the Dwight Howard saga will end. With Jennings expected to bounce back (and be healthy), Bogey's right arm back to somewhat-full strength, and new additions I really, really like...

Regular Season Record: 36-30
Playoffs: Six seed, lose in 1st round

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Now for real basketball, the kind that takes place at the college level. The state of Wisconsin has four Division I teams, but there are only two that I consistently follow/give a crap about. The Green Bay Phoenix haven't had much of a program for as long as I can remember while UW-Milwaukee has had it's moments, most recently winning the Horizon League and then losing in the Conference Tournament final to eventual runner-up Butler. That leaves the Marquette Warriors and Wisconsin Badgers. One team plays up-tempo, the other plays slow. One team plays in Madison, the other plays in Milwaukee. One team is mostly white, the other mostly black. BUT, there is one similarity between these two - they both reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, riding the winning wave the Green Bay Packers began in February. Currently, the Warriors stand at 11-1, ranked 10th in the country while the Badgers are 10-2, standing at 14th in the polls.

2010-2011 Marquette Warriors (Golden Eagles): 20-14 (9-9), T-9th in Big East, Sweet 16 in NCAA

After barely sneaking in the tournament last season as an 11 seed, Marquette went on to upset Xavier and fellow Big East member Syracuse to reach the Regional Semifinal against North Carolina, who slaughtered the Warriors by 18. Now led by seniors Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder, the Warriors only defeat so far this season came at the hands of LSU down in Baton Rouge earlier this week. I really didn't think it was fair for the Tigers to march their football team out there, but hey, whatever it takes to win. In college basketball, letdown games come about just as often as someone imitating Aaron Rodgers' belt celebration, so I didn't really get too hellbent over this loss. I think the biggest storyline for Marquette heading into their conference opener against Syracuse on Jan. 1 is the health of Chris Otule, the opening day starter at center. Coming into this season, MU finally had some size with Otule and backup Davante Gardner, but Otule suffered an ACL injury a few weeks back against Washington and the decision to bring him back this season or not is still being mulled over by head coach Buzz Williams. To not have Otule there toward the end of the season puts a lot of pressure on Gardner to pick up the slack and stay out of foul trouble and also brings us back to the typical small lineup Marquette always finds themselves using. Fortunately, their is a ton of talent in that small lineup. Freshman newcomer Todd Mayo (yes, O.J. Mayo's little bro) can flat out score the basketball and sophomore Vander Blue will combine with Mayo to help take the pressure of DJO and Crowder in terms of scoring while transfer and hometown guy Jamil Wilson brings some athleticism and length.

This team has the ability to light up the scoreboard, but can also play the half-court game, which I believe is a valuable asset. Many experts are picking the Warriors to finish toward the top of the Big East among teams like Syracuse, Louisville and Connecticut, and I feel compelled to agree. Of course, a lot of this depends on the senior leadership of DJO and Crowder helping some of the younger guys along as well as the potential return of the 6'11" Otule, but I think this team has what it takes to win 24 or 25 games and earn a 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. With a fairly favorable conference schedule, my official prediction falls at:

Regular Season Record: 24-8 (13-5), T-3rd in Big East
NCAA Tournament Seed: Four
NCAA Tournament Result: Sweet 16

2010-2011 Wisconsin Badgers: 25-9 (13-5), 3rd in Big Ten, Sweet 16 in NCAA

Every year, the Badgers aren't expected to make much noise in the Big Ten, and every year, they do, because that's just how Bo Ryan rolls. Unfortunately, Ryan's teams never seem to be built for the style of play that wins games in the tournament. You know, teams that shoot the ball before the shot clock reaches .000001 seconds left. Watching the Badgers play basketball is an acquired taste to say the least. Last season, Jon Leuer helped lead Sconnie past Belmont and Kansas State before Leuer completely fell apart against Butler in the Regional Semifinal. With Leuer now in the NBA, Jordan Taylor assumes the leadership role for the Badgers, which we are still waiting to see translate over to the court. He's only averaging 11.8 points per game, but he still has that assist/turnover ratio at an impressive 3.2. I get the feeling that Wisconsin and Taylor are just starting to figure things out, which is good because they kick off Big Ten play at Nebraska two days after Christmas. This team lost two close games to North Carolina and Marquette so far and has also struggled through victories at UWM and vs UNLV as they gear up for what is a daunting Big Ten schedule. There's no question that it's now officially the second toughest conference in the nation. So other than Taylor, who will need to step up this season? The current leading scorer is Jared Berggren at 12.3 PPG, but I suspect JT will soon overtake that category. Ryan Evans is becoming more of a force on the boards and now has a starting role along with forward Mike Brusewitz and guard Josh Gasser, who has improved his jump shot since last season. Speaking of jump shots, sophomore Ben Brust has come out of nowhere to light it up from three on a couple different occasions, so we'll see how often Bo turns to him when the Badger offense needs a spark. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot to talk about regarding what may have been...believe it or not...a slightly overrated team coming into the season.

Sure, Wisconsin may still be able to run the table when it comes to home conference games and still have a successful regular season overall with their slow it down, shot clock draining style of basketball, but it just never seems to bring success in March, which is when a lot of people flip on the NCAA Tournament and actually care about college basketball. Teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois and Indiana are all going to give Wisconsin trouble in what is one of the strongest Big Ten fields in quite awhile. With that being said, here is my prediction:

Regular Season Record: 22-8 (11-6), 4th in Big Ten
NCAA Tournament Seed: Five
NCAA Tournament Result: Round of 32

There you have it. No surprise, but I'm predicting each of the three major basketball teams in Wisconsin reach the postseason. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see UWM sneak in there with Butler having a down year. Feel free to chime in with your feelings regarding my predictions and how you feel these teams will fare as we move into 2012, the year humanity will cease to exist.

May everybody have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Stay safe!

My take on Braun, the Pack and Roses

My goodness. It's been far too long, my friends. A busier-than-anticipated fall semester has finally drawn to a close and this blog has missed the Badgers thrilling Big Ten Championship Game victory and a baseball off-season I'd rather forget. But one thing this blog hasn't missed is a Packers' loss, which is why I'm almost afraid to post here for the first time in nearly two months. Since nobody was exactly clammering for me to get back on this thing, I'm guessing everyone was able to go on with their everyday lives, but I thought I'd still enlighten you on what has been going on recently in the Wisconsin sports scene.

We'll go from least important to most important, in my mind at least, and start with the Wisconsin Badgers' trip to the Rose Bowl for the second straight year. Yeah. This is the least important of the three. Two weeks ago to the day, the Badgers pulled out one of the most thrilling victories I've seen in college football for quite a while. Well, other than that one game in East Lansing a few months ago. It was a game that featured little defense, a couple of bonehead mistakes from Michigan State and the emergence of a future star at wide receiver. That receiver I speak of is sophomore Jeff Duckworth, who made a couple of crucial plays that the Badgers needed in order to win the Big Ten Championship. His most notable play was hauling in a 36-yard prayer from the game's MVP Russell Wilson on fourth down to essentially keep the Badgers alive. The real crime is that Wilson won the inaugural BTC MVP because I can think of a few players who deserved it more.

The most obvious candidate is soon-to-be most touchdowns in a single season record holder Montee Ball. Not only did Ball have four rushing TDs to bring his season total to 38, but he also completed a beautiful 32-yard pass to Wilson. Heck, if the Badgers don't end up finding an efficient replacement for RusselMania next season, they could just turn to Ball to play quarterback and running back at the same time. That is, if Ball decides to return for his senior year, which I have a feeling he will. I hope. Ball needs just two touchdowns to break the all-time record of 39 TDs in a season held by Barry Sanders. To be fair, Sanders recorded this feat in only 11 games, and the bowl game didn't count toward his total. How many scores did Barry get in the bowl game that season? Five. Oh well. Times have changed and Montee is going to take full advantage of that.

So who's the second MVP candidate? I think you know where I'm going with this one: Badgers' punter Brad Nortman. Nortman showed what the Milwaukee Greater Metro Conference is all about and went down after a Michigan State player who won't be named (I don't want him getting any death threats) plowed into Nortman after punting the ball away late in the fourth quarter with Wisconsin up 42-39. I think it's fair to say that the hit wasn't hard enough to make an 8-year-old girl crumble over, but everyone knows that if Nortman doesn't go with the flow and fall down on that play, the referee doesn't throw his flag. The rule is that if you run into the punter, it's a penalty. That's exactly what the Spartans' player did, and that's why the Badgers were able to seal a trip to the Rose Bowl to play Oregon on Jan. 2. Sucks to suck, Michigan State. Take that hail mary and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Oregon, who is ranked fifth in the country, should very well be playing in the National Championship. Instead, their kicker had other ideas and missed a chip-shot field goal to beat USC last month, leading to them pummeling UCLA in order to get into the Rose Bowl. It's a classic matchup of speed vs. power. On offense, the Badgers arguably hold the edge at both quarterback and running back, but Oregon has faster players at each position, which could pose some trouble for a Badger defense that I continue to lose faith in week after week. Basically, it's going to come down to whether or not the Badgers can outscore the Ducks because with their speed, they'll be able to rack up tons of points on the slow defensive line and the extremely porous secondary of Wisconsin. This is the game where Russell has to prove to Badger fans that he was the right choice. This may sound ridiculous, but Wilson shrunk a little bit in the team's losses to Michigan State and Ohio State earlier in the year. Granted, he put up pretty decent numbers in each game, but it took the Badger offense way too long to get going in each of those games, and in the end it bit them in the rear end because it came down to the defense trying* to get the job done. A slow start isn't going to cut it against Oregon - I can guarantee you that. I predicted the Badgers would get to the Rose Bowl again this year and only lose one game (they lost two), and I'll predict that they come up a bit short for the second year in a row. Sorry. Just going with my gut.

Okay. Spent a little bit more time on Wisconsin than I planned, but now it's time to move on to the second most important on-going story in the state. This was tough for me, especially since I'm a bigger baseball fan than anything, but the Ryan Braun scandal still takes a back seat to the undefeated run of the Green Bay Packers simply because of the timing. As everyone knows by now, Braun tested positive for having synthetic testosterone in his system and the news was leaked a week ago even though Major League Baseball has yet to complete the appeal process. Thanks, ESPN. I was alerted of this news while at the library studying diligently for my brutal finals week and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach. Suffice it to say, but I was no longer in the mood to study and my night at the library was cut short.

Of course, I went on to read anything and everything I could related to this devastating news and began to build hope that the decision to suspend Braun for 50 games next season as the result of using performance enhancing drugs could be reversed, or at least reduced. Braun took a second drug test immediately after hearing of his positive test and tested negative. From what I've heard, between the time he took the two tests, there is no way that amount of testosterone could have left his body, which could mean the first test was a farce and was somehow messed up. That's the most hopeful solution Brewer fans can hope for. I've also heard that Braun's suspension could be reduced from 50 games to 25 games because the substance he tested positive for wasn't a performance enhancing drug. Of course, missing Braun for any sort of extended period would be a killer for this Brewer team, who has gotten better at third base (Aramis Ramirez) and shortshop (Alex Gonzalez) and remained strong at the tail end of the bullpen (K-Rod), but has a huge question mark at first base (Prince Fielder leaving, Mat Gamel arriving).

Here's the final and most preposterous (although not out of the question) rumor I heard regarding Braun. He has herpies. Some dude commented on ign.com that he has a friend who is a trainer on the Brewers' staff. This trainer relayed him the information that Braun has herpies and the medication that he was given by his doctor to treat the condition is what triggered the spike in testosterone. Let me tell you something. If this were somehow true and I was Braun, not only have I been getting a lot of tail, but I'm almost willing to take that suspension rather than face such humiliation. Since the medication was prescribed from a doctor though, this would mean the suspension would go bye-bye and Braun would be able to play without sitting out any time.

So many different scenarios! Of course, what people keep complaining about is the following:

- No one has ever successfully overturned a positive drug test in the MLB (Wrong: yes they have. Normally, the appeals process goes through BEFORE THE POSITIVE TEST BECOMES PUBLIC, so we never know if someone has won an appeal that tested positive before.)

- Players are guilty before proven innocent (Sure, that's fair. But who cares? If Braun gets through this without being suspended, then I don't get what the big deal is. If you have the viewpoint that his reputation is tarnished no matter what, then that's your problem. Let the process play out.)

- Braun should have to hand over his MVP to Matt Kemp (Shut up. SHUT up. SHUT UP. All of a sudden, Dodger fans are coming out of the muck that is their organization and bantering for Braun to give up his MVP because he's a "cheater." Dear lord. The MVP award almost NEVER goes to a player on a team that didn't make the postseason unless it's a transcending player like Albert Pujols. Also, the positive test was in October, AFTER the regular season and AFTER all the baseball writers had voted for the award. Therefore, Braun didn't cheat during the regular season, or in any previous season for that matter, because he has been tested multiple times and it's random. Besides, his numbers this season were just like any other season, maybe slightly better, but since he was on a 96-win ball club, he was rewarded with an MVP. So once again, SHUT UP.)

Unfortunately, the appeals process won't be over until January, so I'm stuck here waiting anxiously for redemption. I've almost never felt more depressed than when I read the text message announcing Braun's positive test and potential suspension. He's one of my few heroes and someone I look up to as a role model, and for this positive test to be upheld would certainly be devastating. That's the only word I can use to describe it. Even if it comes down to Braun accidentally taking something he didn't know had an illegal stimulant in it, there's no excuse. You have to know what you put in your body. Here's hoping this all just goes away.

Let's sandwich this bad news with another bit of good news. Great news, as a matter of fact. Do you remember the last time the Green Bay Packers lost a game? Well, it was literally one year ago. 19 games in a row the Packers have won. How ridiculous is that? What's funny is that coming into the season, people were forgetting about the defending Super Bowl champs. It was all about the Eagles and the Cowboys and the Saints and the Falcons...who would end up going to Super Bowl 46 from the NFC? Well, here's a thought: maybe the team that would be returning 16 players from injured reserve? Okay, so not all 16 players were returning, but the Pack would be getting guys like Jermichael Finley, Ryan Grant and Morgan Burnett back on the field in 2011. Low and behold, here we stand: 13-0 with three very winnable games remaining to become the second team ever to complete a 16-0 regular season. I hope the '72 Dolphins are shaking in their old, torn up boots.

Of course, along the way Green Bay has lost Nick Collins for the season and had guys like James Starks, Desmond Bishop, A.J. Hawk, Frank Zombo, Chad Clifton, Josh Sitton, Andrew Quarless and now Greg Jennings miss extended time due to injury. The defense has had its issues, especially in games against the Saints, Chargers and Giants, but this season has been all about Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense. Rodgers is having perhaps the best single season a quarterback has ever put together, or at least one of the better ones we've ever seen. There hasn't been much of a run game, and Finley hasn't contributed nearly as much as people expected coming in, but the beautiful thing about it is that Rodgers always makes sure everyone is involved, forcing the defense to be even more on its toes. Jennings and my boy Jordy Nelson have had career years (Jennings was just cut short), James Jones' hands have been sure, and Donald Driver continues to get it done at 107 years of age. Helping out with field position is rookie Randall Cobb, who already has two returns for touchdowns...look out, Devin Hester. More will be expected of Cobb, fifth in catches among receivers, with Jennings out, but with Jennings expected back for the Divisional Round of the playoffs, his injury shouldn't be a long-term problem.

On defense, the numbers tell that it's been a struggle, but things are going to come around with this bunch. One number that shouldn't be overlooked is the number of takeaways this unit has, something that Dom Capers takes a lot of pride in. This defense has players like Chuck Woodson, Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji and Tramon Williams, who are going to step their game up now that it's getting colder out and the Green Bay offense simply won't be quite as effective as a result, especially going up against a higher level quality of opponents. The most important part about being 13-0 isn't the chance to become the second team in NFL history to not lose a single game throughout the regular season and the playoffs; it's about having that home field advantage, something the Packers apparently didn't need last season. Unlike last season, having basically nothing to play for at this point of the season could be a little concerning, but I haven't seen a team as mentally strong as this group of guys, and having a week off to start the playoffs while being a one seed is something I think this team would prefer over last year's scenario.

Getting back to people forgetting about the Packers...heard of that Tebow guy lately? Thank God for him. I'll go on the record and say that I love every second of it. Seriously. I love Tim Tebow. Talk about him all you want, ESPN. Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith going at it each morning on First Take is surprisingly one of the most entertaining things on television, although I can't stand it when Skip talks about Rodgers. Sorry he hasn't had any come from behind fourth quarter victories this year like your beloved Tom Brady. He hasn't been in the position to. And the one time he did have to have a late drive to win the game when the Packers were tied with the Giants with 56 second left, he waltzed down the field to set up a walk-off field goal. Anyway, back to Tebow. He's 7-1 as a starter, isn't necessarily good at what he does, and has the whole nation mesmerized, helping to take a huge chunk of attention off the Pack...just as they'd prefer it.

So let's just say January is another huge month for our beloved sports teams. It'll start off with the Rose Bowl game, then the NFL playoffs will get going and eventually the final verdict will come forth on Ryan Braun. Enjoy your break if you just got done with finals like me, good luck if you are yet to take them and have a merry Christmas if I'm not back on here before then. Once the new year arrives, it'll be time to avert your attention back to the greatness that is Wisconsin sports.

And Here. We. Go.

Consider this the "mega-blog post" of all blog posts because there's A LOT to get to. I've finally come to the realization that this will be my last post ever. No, I'm not willingly quitting the blog. I'm accepting its fate. Just take a look at what I have on my plate this weekend.

Saturday:
12:00 AM - My 22nd birthday
1:07 PM - Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers, Game 1 NLDS
7:00 PM - #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers @ #7 Wisconsin Badgers

Sunday:
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Recover, get picked up by from Oshkosh by Mommy
12:00 PM - Round up the troops for Game 2 of the NLDS
1:30 PM - 3:00ish PM - Tailgate the s*** out of the Miller Park parking lot
3:15 PM - Denver Broncos @ Green Bay Packers
3:37 PM - Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers, Game 2 NLDS

Uh huh. Yeah. This one's gonna be a doozy. Before I look ahead to what's about to completely rock my world and probably change the course of my life forever, I'd like to recap what happened in the past even though it's impossible to change. I'll start with the Wisconsin Badgers' final pre-conference tuneup against poor old South Dakota. The Coyotes (pronounced "kai-otes") I'm sure were paid a whole lot of green to march into the vice grip of Camp Randall Stadium and to be perfectly honest, I don't recall exactly what the final score was. What I do remember is Russell Wilson and Nick Toon hooking up over and over and over and me beginning to think that Toon has the makeup of a pro wide receiver. I know it was against South Dakota, but there's no question Wilson has found his favorite target with Jared Abbrederis being a solid number two option and tight end Jacob Pedersen eating up the redzone. This is probably the most I've ever talked about the air attack of the Badgers. Don't worry. Montee Ball is still there. James White is still there. The run game is still the bread and butter for this offense.

The Badgers now face their first test of the season, and oh, what a test it is. Nebraska makes its Big Ten conference play debut and no way was the Big Ten going to allow the Cornhuskers to play the Indiana Hoosiers back in Lincoln to help them get acclimated with their new conference. Hell no. You guys get to play a night game...in Madison...against a top ten team...with College Gameday in town. Have fun with that. In all seriousness, though, this game is going to take a four quarter effort from the Badgers offense and most importantly, their defense, in order to escape with a victory. The number one unit for Wisconsin hasn't given up much this season as far as points are concerned and kind of have that bend-but-don't-break mentality...that phrase is really starting to become cliche, but I'm too lazy to think of a better descriptor. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how the D handles Nebraska's Taylor Martinez, a sophomore dual-threat quarterback. There's no denying that the Huskers can put points on the board, but their defense has been unimpressive and with the second most efficient passer in the nation and one of the best running back duos there is, Wisconsin should be able to exploit this weakness. Sure, it's hard to gauge just how impressive the Badgers are from top to bottom because they haven't played anyone yet, but what about Nebraska? Their most difficult opponent to date has been a home date with middle of the Pac-10 team Washington (see what I did there?) and they gave up 38 points to the Huskies. The most Wisky gave up thus far is 17 to UNLV with most of those points coming in garbage time. I think the Badgers have the edge on offense, on defense and in location. Looking forward to watching the game on my couch enjoying a few cold ones, although I do envy those who will be in the house at the game that has produced the most coveted ticket in Wisconsin's history. Go Bucky.

In case you forgot (which I'm sure you didn't...just needed a transition), the Chicago Bears foolishly believed that they would be able to knock off the Packers in Soldier Field for the second straight year in week 3, but the Packers would have nothing of it. They took care of Da Bears 27-17 in a game that was never really all that close. Green Bay never relinquished their lead after Aaron Rodgers found Greg Jennings what seemed like 15 times on the first drive, leading to a touchdown catch by Jermichael Finley. I'm not going to give a play-by-play because I know everyone saw this one, but I would like to point out a couple of performances that shouldn't go unnoticed. First of all, I understand that Finley's performance didn't exactly fly under the radar, but did you notice how he was getting his scores? The Bears' secondary was so afraid of Rodgers throwing up the fade in the corner of the endzone to Sirmichael that they forget he can just cut inside on a slant and find himself wide open. Man, talk about a dilemma for future opposing defenses. Are they really going to have to focus two guys on our tight end to avoid him beating us? Probably, and I don't know why more teams do it. After all, Finley is the Packers' only real threat through the air and...wait a minute...you're telling me Green Bay has five wide receivers that are good enough to start for any other team in the National Football League? Oooooo. That sucks, rest of league. Good luck with that one. And if that's not enough, Ryan Grant is kind of starting to rekindle that old flame inside as he rushed 17 times for a convincing 92 yards, although he did suffer a bruised kidney and could be held out of the Broncos game as a precautionary measure. That's fine by me, because James Starks can then take over and maybe we would even get to see a little of the rookie, Alex Green. I mean, c'mon, let's be real...it's the Denver Broncos coming into town. I think we'll survive. The only downer about the weekend I'm about to experience is that I'll miss the Packers' game in its entirety because of the scheduled time of Game 2 that I HAVE to attend. But I think I'll get over it. I mean, c'mon, let's be real...it's the Denver Broncos coming into town. Quick shout-outs to Morgan Burnett (2 picks against the Bears, you the man Morgan), and injured Packers offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga (glad the knee injury isn't anything serious, get well soon), defensive end Mike Neal (take it slow, buddy) and linebacker Frank Zombo (apparently 100 percent now). Go Pack.

Get this, everybody. It'll be October 1st on Saturday, and the Brewers will still be the talk of the state; at least in my mind. Why's that? Well, the Milwaukee Brewers have stolen the hearts of Wisconsin because of their potent 1-2 punch in the middle of the lineup, an outspoken and fiery competitor who gives the best interview in sports...other than the mustache aficionado John Axford, a team that set the franchise record in wins with a 96-66 record and obtained home field advantage in the first round. But most importantly, we're here today because of a competent starting rotation and a bullpen with defined roles. I remember 2008 quite vividly, and I'm in the same boat as many when I say that I was just happy that the Brewers reached the playoffs. Whatever happened after that was gravy. I'm embarrassed to an extent to admit that, but...it was the Brewers in the POSTSEASON. It hadn't happened before in my lifetime...by a long shot. What I will always remember most about the Brewers' first playoff appearance in 26 years is Ryan Braun's game clinching go-ahead 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th against the rival-Chicago Cubs, then watching the New York Mets fall to the Florida Marlins to give the Brewers the NL Wild Card position. The champagne started to flow, hilarity ensued and tears flowed from my eyes. Seriously. Don't judge. Three years later, albeit about a week earlier than in '08, Braun once again stepped to the plate in a 1-1 ball game with a chance to clinch a playoff berth and what happened? Of course. Braun bashed one out to deep center for a 3-run homer and the Brewers were NL Central Divison champs. All that was left to do was root for the Braves to hold onto the Wild Card position (they didn't...that honor belongs to the hated Fightin' LaRussas) and cling onto the number two seed so that the Crew had home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the best efforts of the baseball gods, Milwaukee earned the two seed and will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Divisional Series beginning on Saturday.

I'm not sure if anyone wanted that two seed worse than I did. In case you weren't aware, I was randomly selected out of over 190,000 entries to have the OPPORTUNITY to purchase postseason tickets to a Brewers' home playoff game. When I opened my email last Saturday and saw the "NLDS Ticket Opportunity: Congratulations" subject heading, I went completely bonkers, immediately texted longtime friend/fellow sports enthusiast/friend of the blog Kyle and we held about a 15 minute conversation screaming "Oh my GOD" back and forth to each other. There was nearly an identical conversation that took place last Friday night (good song) after the Beer Makers clinched a playoff spot. The email told me to follow a link and enter a code on Tuesday, beginning as early as 9 AM. I got in the waiting room. I was selected instantly. I nabbed those left field bleacher seats. The only aspect that poked at me was that I bought tickets for the 2nd home game rather than the first. Why? Because two of the people I would be bringing with me to the game go to Madison and the first home game was potentially going to fall on October 1st (enough said). So what was the problem? Well, what if the Brewers hadn't gotten the two seed? They would be on the road the first two games, then return to Miller Park for game three. It would've been unlikely to happen, but what if the Brewers got swept in three? I'd be stuck with tickets for game four. No playoffs for me. Someone would surely die. Thank goodness for the will of the Crew and the managerial skills of Ron Roenicke to help lead Milwaukee to that coveted two seed and restore comfort to my insides.

So it'll be 17-game winner Yovani Gallardo, the Brewers unprecedented ace no matter what you tell me, against 21-game winner Ian Kennedy, a former Yankees reject who appears to have rejuvenated his career. Arizona is just as hot if not hotter than the Brewers and won the season series over Milwaukee, 4-3. It's all out the window now. Playoff baseball is a totally different monster. Now we wait for the Crew to announce their playoff roster on Saturday morning as well as the game 2 starter, who we can only hope is Zack Greinke. If you don't hope it's Greinke, here's why you should: the Zack Attack is 11-0 at Miller Park this season and the Brewers are 15-0 when he starts at home. 15-0! Holy, man. I know it would be his second start on three days rest, but he didn't go as deep into the game on Wednesday as he could have and my feeling is that he will be able to talk his way into a start on Sunday. Grienke at home >>>>>>>>>>>>> Greinke on the road. 'Nough said. Go Crew.

On a lighter note, I went to see the movie "Moneyball" a few hours ago and it basically rocked my socks off. For a baseball nerd like me and a stats nerd like me, I was hooked from the very beginning and the emotional roller coaster that Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill lead me on helped me forget that it was over two hours long. Every single minute of that movie was worth it. I hate to hype up a film and cause anyone who plans on seeing it to have high expectations going in, but it's that good. Then again, that's just me talking. I HIGHLY recommend it, baseball fan or not. It goes beyond baseball and that's what helps make this film so special.

Well, guys...it's been nice knowing ya. I hope the state of Wisconsin has braced itself for what's about to take place this weekend, because I have. That's for damn sure.

Duhhhh...WINNING

What a week for Wisconsin sports. I can't remember a more exciting time to be a sports fan in Wisconsin. Well, maybe that whole Super Bowl thing last February, but now we have multiple teams that are legitimate in their respective sports. I challenged the Brewers a week ago to step it up and trim that magic number down to about four and whaddaya know; it's four. The Philadelphia Phillies did the Crew a favor by beating the Cardinals once this weekend, but the Beermakers took care of their own business and won four of five games during the week, including a sweep in Cincinnati, to basically wrap things up in the Central. Along with the Brewers recent success, the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers won games that they should win, albeit the Pack didn't do it in the most convincing fashion. At least we haven't seen either team drop a game this fall. Let's hope it stays that way.

I'll begin with Wisky, who brought a bunch of cheeseheads with them down to Chicago and Soldier Field to play a "neutral" field game against potential dangerous mid-major Northern Illinois. You might think that my sarcastic use of the word "neutral" meant that I felt NIU would have an unfair advantage as far as fan support because they were playing in their own backyard. You'd be mistaken. Badger fans were in the majority Saturday afternoon and Wisconsin took care of business by defeating the Huskies 49-7. Northern Illinois didn't stand much of a chance after Wisconsin pulled away for good from a 7-7 tie midway through the first half. I'm guessing the Badgers looked good - apparently the MAC had television rights for this game and therefore it wasn't televised in my neck of the woods. Sure, I could have walked down the street and watched on ESPN3.com, which is free on college campuses, but I decided it wouldn't be worth my time. That, and I'm a lazy piece. What I got out of watching gamecast on ESPN is that Russell Wilson and Montee Ball are still viable Heisman candidates, especially Wilson, and that the Badgers' defense is doing a good job of keeping teams out of the endzone. So now Wisconsin stands at 3-0 in preseason college football and faces one more joke of an opponent before we reach the big test: Nebraska coming into Camp Randall for arguably one of the biggest games in school history. Oh yeah, and it's on my birthday. We'll see whether or not my birthday combined with either a depressing loss or an inspiring win powers my binge drinking Saturday night. Just kidding, mom!

Fortunately on Sunday, I actually got to WATCH football rather than follow it on the internet when the Packers took the field at Carolina. If this one didn't scream "trap game" going in, I don't know what did. Low and behold, the Pack started off about as bad as you can by letting Cam Newton walk down the field (with some pretty impressive throws, mind you) and jump ahead 7-zip. If that wasn't bad enough, upstart rook Randall Cobb ran into the back of his own teammate returning the ensuing kickoff and coughed up the football. 10-0. Then it was a three-and-out for the offense and the Panthers' offense had the ball back once the first quarter came to a close. That's right. Green Bay's offense was on the field for three plays in the first quarter. THREE. PLAYS. Ouch. But after the Packers' D was able to limit the Panthers to a field goal again, the O kicked things into high gear.

After Aaron Rodgers hooked up with Jermichael Finley what seemed like 15 times, John KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHN punched it in after dropping a touchdown and it was a ball game. The offense absolutely exploded in the third quarter, racking up four scoring drives. Unfortunately, only one of those drives resulted in a touchdown...the first one, which took under three minutes and ended with a wide open Greg Jennings hauling in a 49-yard touchdown. Even though the Packers were unable to bring the hammer down on their next three drives, the Panthers started turning the ball over...a lot. For as awful as the Packers' defense looked early in the game, particularly Chuck Woodson covering Steve Smith, they made up for it and then some. Charles "In Chuck We Trust" Woodson picked off Cam-not-really-the-man-especially-in-the-red-zone on the first second half Panther possession and then recovered a Smith fumble on their next possession to make up for his lackluster start. After it was 20-13 Packers, Newton carelessly threw another pick, this time to safety Morgan Burnett. 23-13. Game's over, right?

Not so fast, my friend (Lee Corso voice). All of a sudden, the Panthers were knocking on the door inside the GB 5-yard line down by just a touchdown. But it was fourth down and Clay Matthews smelled blood, bringing down a scrambling Newton...all he does is make huge plays..before the goal line to get the ball back in A-Rodg's hands. Rodgers hits Jordy Nelson on a slant route for a rather exhilarating 84-yard score...Jordy's only catch of the game, by the way...and that was your dagger. Sure, Newton racked up a bunch of meaningless garbage time yards through the air, but he looked like a rookie in many ways. Also, there was no Tramon Williams, no Frank Zombo and no Nick Collins after a scary play in which Collins' neck got jammed, leaving him to be carried off on a stretcher. Thankfully, the news is promising regarding Collins, and the Packers beat those pesky Panthers 30-23 to improve to 2-0. Never a dull moment in Titletown. Week 3 presents a matchup with Da Bears in Soldier Field. If they can do half as well as Bucky did yesterday and get either/both Collins and Tramon-man Williams back, the Pack should be in good shape. Then again, losing against the Bears last season in week 3 didn't exactly turn out to be the end of the world...hmmm...

Saving the best for last (in my opinion), the Brewers eliminated any doubt in the minds of their fanbase...which honestly shouldn't have been lingering around in the first place...and trimmed their magic number down to 4. I'm sorry. There actually IS still some doubt. ESPN currently has their "% chance of making the playoffs" at 99.9. Don't breathe easy just yet! To make you feel better, it's now a 6.5 game lead over the Cardinals for the division crown, and if the Crew really needs to look somewhere for motivation, I've got a couple places. First, that two seed would be nice to obtain. They have a two game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for that number two seed and if they were to relinquish that spot, they would have to face the Phillies - again - in the first round of the playoffs with no home field advantage. Should they hold on, they would get to play the slumping Braves - with home field advantage. I think I know which option I'd prefer. Second, have you seen the Brewers' road record lately? 38-40. If they sweep the Cubbies at Wrigley, they will have broken .500 away from Miller Park, which would be completely insane. And then their last six games are at home. Milwaukee holds a half-game lead on the Phils for the best home record in baseball and I'd like to think that's an honor the Brewers would like to hold. So there you have it. The Brewers are 90-63, would have to completely tank to not surpass my prediction of a 91-71 record (a prediction I'm sure all of you found ignorant), and are set to claim their first title in 29 years. Cool. Pretty much all that's left is to figure out who will be on that postseason roster. Taylor Green over Josh Wilson? I think so.

Coming up...

Milwaukee (90-63): @ Cubs (MON-WED), vs Marlins (FRI-SUN)
Green Bay (2-0): @ Bears (1-1) SUN, 3:15
Wisconsin (3-0): vs South Dakota State

Let the good times roll.

Winning Over Here, Losing Over There

Good evening, everyone. I'd like to mention a few things before we get started. First of all, I hope all you guys took the time to remember what happened 10 years ago yesterday. There were many touching shows dedicated to the 9/11 attacks and I thought the sports world did a great job honoring the ones we lost on that fateful day - I especially thought what they did at every NFL game where the players from both sides stepped out to hold the enormous American flag was an awesome tribute. Second, I know I'm going to be pretty late with my game reviews of the Packers and Badgers, but like I said before, working two jobs and starting up school again is gonna be a doozy and I'll try my best to keep this thing active. Which brings me to my next point...if anyone would be interested in writing a guest post here and there so that I don't leave so much time in between posts, they would be more than welcome. Whether anyone ACTUALLY wants to do that is another question because writing is pretty boring, but the offer is on the table.

So let's start with what took place Thursday night at the hallowed grounds of Lambeau Field. No, I'm not talking about the Kid Rock concert...the Green Bay Packers kicked off their season by welcoming the New Orleans Saints to town and these two teams seem to be similar in several different ways. The most obvious comparison comes at quarterback and if Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers aren't currently top four quarterbacks in the NFL, then I've lost all faith in humanity. Both Brees and A-Rodg tore apart the opposing secondaries and once the first quarter was all said and done, it was apparent that whoever bet the over on the over/under points number was going to be raking in some cash. It was about as good of a start as Packer fans could've hoped for...the Packers won the toss and elected to receive...a no brainer and possibly the biggest reason Green Bay prevailed, Rodgers hit Jennings for six after a five minute drive, an ensuing fumble by the Saints was recovered by Tramon "Man" Williams (miraculously the only turnover of the game - was that the difference?) and then another quick score on a pass to my boy Jordy Nelson. After the first quarter, the Pack had jumped out to a 21-7 lead thanks to a no-huddle offense being run to near perfection by Rodgers. I felt that even though there were a few false start penalties, the guys up front really dominated and gave A-Rodg enough time to do what he wanted - the no-huddle was without question hindering the Saints defense, who couldn't put pressure on Rodgers.

There's no denying that the Packers' offense was slowed down for the remainder of the game and I think there were a few reasons behind this: the Saints defensive coordinator figured out a new scheme to keep Green Bay's offense at bay, sure, but I also thought Mike McCarthy lifted his foot off the gas pedal for some reason. It just seemed odd that the offense could go from completely unstoppable to being held in check for the last three quarters. Whatever the reason for this, Brees took advantage and used his ridiculous accuracy to get the Saints back in the game faster than I would've preferred. Special teams for both squads were about as up-and-down as they could possibly be, with Darren Sproles taking a punt to the house for the Saints and rookie sensation Randall Cobb returning a kickoff from Appleton all the way to the end zone - 108 yards in all - to inject new life into the Packers and jump ahead by 15. Funny thing about Cobb...he ran the wrong route on his touchdown reception in the first quarter and then by no means should have taken that kick out of his own end zone, but I think coach McCarthy will begrudgingly accept the results.

Then there was the frantic finale to the NFL's opening game. With the Packers up 42-27 and Green Bay unable to convert a third down with just under six minutes left, they were forced to punt and watch Brees lead a hurry-up offense down the field in just over three minutes to make it an eight point game. During this drive, Williams took a helmet to the shoulder from his own teammate and it appeared as though he may have separated his shoulder (we now know it was just a shoulder bruise). Even though the Saints failed to recover the onside kick, they still had a timeout and the two-minute warning on their side. Fast forward to a punt after some questionable play calling, a crazy-fast drive down the field and a questionable (bull s***) pass interference call on A.J. Hawk, and the Saints had it at the GB one-yard line with barely any time left on the clock. At this point, I was wondering how the Packers would manage to stop the two-point conversion, but then the Saints made their second questionable play call of the game when faced with a yard to go and got stuffed on a run up the middle. Ball game...whew...and a classic one at that.

So I liked what I saw in the passing game and the run game was actually somewhat respectable thanks to the success Green Bay had through the air. Obviously, the performance of the defense left something to be desired and it was especially concerning that whenever the Saints scored, they did it very quickly. Like I mentioned before, I didn't like how it seemed that the offense slowed things down and didn't keep up with the no-huddle offense after how successful it was early on. The biggest play call I had a gripe with was when McCarthy predictably called a run on second down of the Packers' final possession and then risked stopping the clock on the third down with a dump off (for a loss) to John Kuhn. I'm certain that for as long as I live, I'll question what in God's name some coaches are thinking when they call a certain play. Those are my biggest concern moving forward into week two's match-up with the Carolina Panthers, but for now I'll relish in the 42-34 victory for the Super Bowl Champs.

The Wisconsin Badgers continued their sheer dominance of college football by shutting out an Oregon State team that arguably might not win a game this season. Once again, Russell Wilson and Montee Ball had enormous performances while Nick Toon looked as sharp as ever and tight end Jacob Pedersen scored twice in a 35-0 route of the Beavers. The Badgers are now up to seventh and eighth in the two major polls, Wilson and Ball should both be legitimately considered for the Heisman trophy up to this point...for whatever that's worth...and Wisky still hasn't played anybody that'll reach a bowl game this season. That'll change next week when they go up against former defensive coordinator Dave Doeren and a dangerous Northern Illinois team down in Soldier Field. Could prove to be a bit of a test for the Badgers, but if they can keep playing the way they have been playing, Wisconsin should come back to Madison with a 3-0 record. That's all from me about preseason college football.

In case you forgot, the Milwaukee Brewers still have a season going on and are somehow managing to cling onto a division lead. The reason I say "somehow" is because they have literally been doing everything in their power to blow a lead that was at one point 11.5 games. That lead is now down to six, but the magic number has also gone down...which is a good thing. It's now at 10 and the Crew has for the most part cleared the difficult part of their September schedule, so my hope is that it'll be smooth sailing from here. Since I last posted, the Brewers lost five games in a row to two of the more elite National League teams (Cardinals and Phillies), including the game I attended Friday night in order to get a Tony Plush rally towel. Not only did Nyjer not respond very well to 30,000 towels being waved (went 0-4), but the Brewers played the most uninspired game I've personally attended this season. Not much of a surprise, really...it's September. The last four times the Brewers have been in playoff contention, including this season, they appear to have lost all will to live. Not sure what it is, but things are getting a little dicey and even though I remain confident that the Brewers will be playing in October, their play against top teams recently, and this season in general, should be cause for concern. If only everyone had the swagger and attributes that Taylor Green brings to the table...

Coming up...

Milwaukee (86-62): vs Rockies (TUE-WED), @ Reds (FRI-SUN)
Green Bay (1-0): SUN @ Carolina (0-1)
Wisconsin (2-0): SAT vs Northern Illinois (Soldier Field)

The Cardinals still have to travel to Philly for a 4-game series and are currently in Pittsburgh for a three-gamer. I would be pleased to see the Brewers' magic number down to that 4-5 range by the end of the week so I don't have to rely on the Packers to calm my worries. Besides, I can't remember the last time watching a Packer game was a calming experience.

Taking a stab at the NFL

I'll admit that this might not be fun for you to read, but I'm about to unleash my NFL predictions like I said I probably would at the end of my last post. But don't worry...this is basically replacing the boredom I put everyone through week after week during the last NFL season where I guessed the lines with Kyle, got dominated and barely broke .500 on the season (a moral victory to say the least). And before I get to picking the over/unders and eventually settling on a final record for each and every team in the NFL, I'll update the world on a few newsworthy items regarding Wisconsin sports. By the way, there aren't many. With the Brewers cruising along and the entire state in a calm before the storm mode before the Packers take the field on Thursday, I'm scrambling, which makes it a good time to do the over/under thing. So here we go:

The Brewers magic number is currently 11. This number goes down every time the Cardinals lose or the Brewers win, so that's why tonight's loss is unfortunate. Only one more game to go this season against the Cards.

Today it was announced that on the rise linebacker Vic So'oto hurt his back in the weight room and will miss Thursday's game against the Saints. This is extremely disappointing because of how fun So'oto was to watch in the preseason, so now it looks like it will be the Erik Walden and Brad Jones show opposite of the Claymaker.

The Badgers look to continue their strong start to the season on Saturday at Camp Randall against Oregon State. For what it's worth, the Beavers lost to Sacramento State last week. I know what that's worth...Oregon State sucks something fierce. Should be an easy task for Bucky. Phillip Welch will be out for the second straight week after having a minor surgery, so it's be Kyle French holding the kicking duties again.

Alright. That's all I've got for now. I'll have more to blab about after Thursday night for obvious reasons. For now, let's get to the over/unders!

NFC NORTH:
Green Bay: 11.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 11-5
Chicago: 8.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 9-7
Detroit: 7.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 9-7
Minnesota: 6.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 6-10

NFC EAST:
Philadelphia: 10.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 12-4
Dallas: 9.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 9-7
NY Giants: 9.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 9-7
Washington: 6.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 5-11

NFC SOUTH:
Atlanta: 10.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 11-5
New Orleans: 10 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 11-5
Tampa Bay: 8 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 9-7
Carolina: 4.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 4-12

NFC WEST:
St. Louis: 7.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 8-8
Arizona: 6.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 6-10
San Francisco: 7.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 6-10
Seattle: 6.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 4-12

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AFC NORTH:
Pittsburgh: 10.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 11-5
Baltimore: 10.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 11-5
Cleveland: 6.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 8-8
Cincinnati: 5.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 4-12

AFC EAST:
New England: 11.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 12-4
NY Jets: 9.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 10-6
Buffalo: 5.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 7-9
Miami: 7.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 5-11

AFC SOUTH:
Houston: 8.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 10-6
Indianapolis: 9.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 9-7
Tennessee: 6.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 6-10
Jacksonville: 6.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 4-12

AFC WEST:
San Diego: 9.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 10-6
Kansas City: 7.5 - [UNDER] - PREDICTION: 7-9
Oakland: 6.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 7-9
Denver: 5.5 - [OVER] - PREDICTION: 6-10

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Playoffs:

NFC: 1. PHI, 2. ATL, 3. GB, 4. STL, 5. NO, 6. DAL
AFC: 1. NE, 2. PIT, 3. SD, 4. HOU, 5. BAL, 6. NYJ

NFC Champ: Philadelphia
AFC Champ: New York Jets

Super Bowl Winner: New York Jets

Whatever. Everyone knows this is a bunch of crap, but just by looking at the schedules of each team and going with my gut feeling, I think other teams have managed to do just a bit more than the Packers in an NFC Conference that I feel might be better than the AFC this season. The Jets have been knocking on the door to get in the Super Bowl the past two seasons and I think this is the year they break through. As for the Eagles, they give me the same kind of feeling the Miami Heat gave me and therefore, I have them losing in the biggest sporting event in the World. I'm sure I'll look back at this in February and regret I'd ever set myself up for such failure.

Don't Panic, Don't Overreact

Over the past three days, some of us Brewer fans might have suffered from a mini panic attack. Milwaukee was swept by the one team I'd rather not see sweep the Brewers...the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a series in the which the Brewers could've essentially seized the Central Division and put the Cards in their rear view mirror, but instead St. Louis is now seven back in the loss column and the Brewers' magic number remained at 18 for three consecutive days. But there's no need to fret. Get this: if the Brewers play .500 baseball the rest of the way, the Cardinals would have to go 20-5 just to tie Milwaukee. And if that doesn't make you feel any better, the Brewers have a chance to get back on the right track this weekend before heading to St. Louis next week by playing a 3-gamer against the lowly Astros. In my mind, the Brewers need to take this series, or else they could be staring at a suddenly minuscule lead with plenty of baseball yet to be played. The Brewers combined poor defense with poor starting pitching and poor clutch hitting in the 3-game series against the Cardinals, things we weren't accustomed to seeing over the past month or so. For now, the Brewers still hold a 7.5 game lead and all of the winning the Crew did over the month of August paid off so that such a large margin could still be in hand. Now it's time to take down the 'Stros and get our swagger back.

I'll update as I go since I'm currently watching the series opener of the Astros/Brewers' series, but if things stay as they are right this very moment, the magic number for the Crew will drop to 16 and Milwaukee will extend their lead to 8.5 games. For the first six innings of this game, the Brewers' offense once again failed to adjust to facing a pitcher they had never seen before and Zack Greinke had somehow managed to only give up two runs despite clearly not having his best stuff. With the Brewers down 2-0 in the top of the seventh and two men down, guess who stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter...Mr. Taylor Green himself. Green, who got a hit in his first career major league at-bat earlier in the week, did an amazing piece of hitting and poked one out to left to keep the inning alive. Three hitters later, Ryan Braun was driving in two runs (and getting in another rundown...this one not as depressing as Wednesday's) and the Beermakers all of a sudden found themselves up 3-2. The man who pinch ran for Green, Logan Schaefer, is a player who I thought would get the call-up in September and he did a great job running the bases to eventually score on a wild pitch. Schaefer isn't someone I've talked as much about because of how loaded the Brewers are in the outfield, but he is definitely someone to keep an eye on to get some pinch hit opportunities and perhaps even make the big league club next season depending on what happens during the offseason. Sit back and relax as we watch the legend of Taylor Green grow right before our very eyes. Meanwhile, the Brewers have held on to win after a clinching 2-run blast and a four hit game from King and the Reds managed to knock off the Cards. Magic number = 16, and that's all that matters.

Speaking of the growth of a legend, anybody catch that Badger game Thursday night? Russell Wilson and Montee Ball completely dismantled the UNLV defense and when all the dust had settled, the Badgers had won 51-17 without scoring any points in the final quarter. I'm pretty sure most of us knew coming in that this game wouldn't be much of a contest and that Wisconsin would come out on top, but this game wasn't in doubt after the first quarter. Wilson gave Badger fans a taste of something they have never seen before out a Mad-town quarterback when he scampered 45 yards into the endzone in what was the exclamation point Thursday night in Madison. It became not so exciting to watch after halftime with the starters being pulled and the Badgers failing to move the football anymore and I found myself watching the end of the Packers' final preseason game instead. Therefore, this dominating performance by Wisconsin was nice and might get people really jacked up about Wilson and the two-headed monster in the backfield, but there is still plenty of room for improvement for the Badgers...especially on the defensive side of the ball, which simply made up for any miscues they made by using their superior size and speed. Feel free to add Wilson and Ball to your Heisman watch lists, but what I'm really waiting for is the October 1st (my Birthday!) matchup at Camp Randall against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. For the time being, I'm treating these non-conference games like the NFL pre-season and therefore will halt my Badgers' recap.

Speaking of the pre-season, the Green Bay Packers wrapped up their pre-season with a game Thursday night, a week away from the season opener against the New Orleans Saints, against the Kansas City Chiefs. I didn't catch too much of it because of the Badger game, but if there's anything I took out of the happenings at Lambeau last night, it's that our backups can hang with several NFL teams, including a team like the Chiefs who just happened to make the playoffs last season. With the Chiefs keeping several of their first team players in for the duration of the game and compiling about 400 more total yards than Green Bay, the Packers still managed to win by one in a fairly entertaining final quarter thanks to doing what the defense does best...force turnovers. Five in all. One guy that got me all kinds of excited was undrafted rookie and outside linebacker Vic So'oto. Not only is this dude's name legit, so is his play on the field. A former defensive end for BYU, So'oto was making plays all over the place in the final two games of the pre-season and looks poised to earn a spot on the 53 man roster. The final cut is on Saturday and several guys are on the bubble, including players like wide receiver/return man Chastin West, tight end Ryan Wilson and fullback Quinn Johnson. We'll see if there are any surprises once it's all said and done, but now that the exhibition season is wrapped up and I've gotten a taste of real football with the Badger game yesterday, my mouth is watering for what will take place next Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

In my next post, I'm thinking I might have some fun and do my over/under guesses on how many wins each NFL team will post this season along with an actual record prediction. I'm debating on whether or not I'll post my picks against the spread each week like I did with Kyle last season, but if the people speak, I'll continue with the tradition. And just like last year, I'll periodically give an update on how fantasy football is going. Speaking of fantasy, I'm currently in the semi-finals in both of my fantasy baseball leagues, so should I reach the finals and even perhaps win, you'll be sure to hear about that because nothing is more fun than tooting your own horn. With school about to begin once again here at UW-Oshkosh, the blogging will probably become a little less prevalent than what it was this summer, but I'll do my best to get on here as often as possible to spit sports knowledge on everyone, especially with the excitement buzzing around the three teams currently in session.

Get psyched for football, but keep the Brewers at the forefront of your hearts. I know I will.

OFFICIAL 2011 Badgers' Football Preview

Badgers in a bit, but first let's get to the toast of the town.

I'm starting to wonder if DJ Khalid plays for the Milwaukee Brewers. After every game the Crew wins at Miller Park, "All I Do Is Win" blares through the speakers. Hold on...let me rephrase that. After every game the Crew plays at Miller Park, "All I Do Is Win" blares through the speakers. I mean, c'mon, folks. This is getting flat out ridiculous. I understand that the Brewers have hit a rather smooth portion of the schedule, with the only team in the past three weeks or so giving the Beermakers any sort of trouble being the Cardinals. I'm also aware that you could argue the road woes aren't gone for good (although I think those days are behind us). And of course, 15 of the last 21 games have been at home against rather easy opponents, a stretch where the Brewers have gone an astounding 19-2. But hey...do I look like I care? Milwaukee is 73-51 (wow), seven games ahead of St. Louis in the Central (wow) and Zack Greinke has been making me say "wow" a lot over his last eight starts, basically all the starts he's made post-All-Star break. Just how much (and how quickly) has the man who has now earned back the nickname "Zack Attack" turned his performance around?

July 3: 7-3, 5.66 ERA
August 17: 12-4, 3.92 ERA

Holy Toledo. What changed for Greinke? You could look into various statistics to find out...or you could just use your own two eyes. Greinke just flat out isn't messing around anymore. He's keeping hitters off-balance a lot better than he did earlier in the season while nailing his spots. When he wants to make batters chase with two strikes, he buries his nasty curveball in the dirt. When he needs an out pitch, he doesn't just rifle a gopherball right down the kitchen sink...he still pinpoints it, and it isn't necessary always a fastball. Notice how Greinke has been giving up more walks lately? Early on, he had a ridiculous K/BB ratio, but he was too predictable...guys knew that he was always going to throw strikes, and even though Greinke has such great stuff, hitters were able to zero in every once in awhile and hit it out of the park. Now, he's willing to accept giving up bases on balls so that he doesn't have to watch as many balls fly over the wall. That, combined with his improved command, is why Greinke is in the state he is...just took a little longer than we would've preferred.

Aside from that, the offensive production seems to be down in part to not having Rickie Weeks in the lineup and facing some good pitching as of late, but when your pitching is this good, it don't matter. Everyone is getting it done...even Marco Estrada, even without a lefty in the 'pen. It's an incredible luxury to be able to burn either LaTroy Hawkins or Takashi Saito in the sixth and seventh inning. Lately, the Brewers haven't even had to do that because of how stellar the starting five has been. Even when the games are close in the later innings, you just have that feeling, especially at Miller Park, that someone will come up with a big hit. When the pitching can always be counted on to keep it close, it takes so much pressure off the offense. And that's about all I have to say about the stifling hot Milwaukee Brewers, but damn has it been fun.

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2010 Wisconsin Badgers: 11-2, Lost in Rose Bowl vs. TCU

We weren't left with a very good taste in our mouths the night of January 1, 2011, also known as the day that the Badgers fell to Texas Christian University in the Rose Bowl. To be fair, the Badgers lost to a quarterback who will be starting in the National Football League this season and a tank disguised as a football player went completely off (Tank Carder for those of you keeping track at home). In my opinion, the respect that the Badgers' defense gave Dalton and diverting from the run game cost the Badgers a Rose Bowl trophy. But that was seven and a half months ago and it's time to turn a new page.

The 2011 Wiscon - holy crap, a bat! That startled me a bit. That thing flew in here like a bat out of hell (sorry) - sin Badgers have lost a few key pieces from last season, but they've gained a few as well.

Key losses: DE J.J. Watt, RB John Clay, TE Lance Kendricks, QB Scott Tolzien, OT Gabe Carimi, OG John Moffitt, SS Jay Valai, LB Culmer St. Jean, WR/KR David Gilreath, Defensive Coordinator Dave Doeren.

Key gains: QB Russell Wilson, LB Chris Borland (injury)

It might not look good on paper as the Badgers lost a ton of talent from a year ago. In fact, they only return 11 starters total, although a few others have starting experience. Still, there are several players ready to step up this season and there simply isn't another team in the Big Ten that's in as good of shape as Wisconsin. Of course, the move that everyone has been talking about is the arrival of North Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson, a man who would've set numerous ACC passing records had he not tried to chase his dream to play baseball. Since Wilson realized baseball wasn't going to work...at least for now...he turned his attention to football and made the move to Madtown, much to the delight of the Grateful Red. So we know who will replace Scotty T, who is now in the San Diego Chargers' camp, but what about at the other positions that took a hit? On the offensive line, there is always another massive body ready to step in, and surprisingly enough, the Badgers return players with lots of experience - even at tackle and guard. Ricky Wagner will take over at left tackle for Gabe Carimi and even though Wagner can't be expected to have the same impact as Carimi, he had a helluva 2010 season in place of Josh Oglesby, who will try to hold on at right tackle yet again this year. Travis Fredrick will fill in for Moffitt, a 6'4" 330 lb sophomore who has seen some time and should fit in nicely between Wagner and center Peter Konz.

The O-line continuing their success shouldn't come as a surprise, and neither should it at tailback. John Clay's loss doesn't even hurt the Badger offense. In fact, it might even help it. It will give junior Montee Ball and sophomore James White a lot more carries and even allow highly touted freshman Jeffrey Lewis to see the field a bit. I'm normally excited each and every season to see what the Badgers' backfield can do, but this season has me more excited than I can ever remember. And with the addition of Wilson at quarterback, teams will have to respect the pass, and Wilson's dual-threat ability, giving the backs even more of an advantage to go along with the beastly offensive line. But wait...there's more. The Badgers' receiving situation is in good hands with the return of a hopefully healthy Nick Toon and breakout freshman turned sophomore Jared Abberderis. Behind these two, there aren't any proven commodities, but once again, this is where Wilson should prove to be so valuable. Finally, the loss of Kendricks will be impossible to replace, but with tight end Jake Bryne as more of a blocking specialist, look for sophomore Jacob Pedersen to step up and make his mark - he could have some impressive numbers at year's end with only two proven targets at wide out.

That's the offense...now for the D. The Badgers' borderline prolific offense overshadowed what was a pretty good defensive unit...a unit that is hugely responsible for the Badgers' Rose Bowl appearance. For Wisconsin to once again to return to Pasadena (at least), they will need to find a way to continue rushing the passer without current Houston Texan J.J. Watt and scheme for opponents without Doeren, who left to coach Northern Illinois. Sure, the Badgers defense also lost guys like Blake Sorenson and Niles Brinkley, but these losses can be overcome...Watt simply cannot. Nor can Culmer St. Jean. But who's gonna try? Former track star Louis Nzegwu is certainly the guy most will look at, and there is also the man who will line up at the other end spot in place of Watt, David Gilbert. There will be a lot of pressure on these guys to live up to Watt's legacy and only time will tell if they are up to the task. Moving back the linebackers, Mike Taylor and a returning Borland should be absolute beasts for Wisconsin...it's just a matter of health. According to depth charts, the vacant spot left by St. Jean will be filled by senior Kevin Claxton, who at least has tenure on his side. In the secondary, I expect to see safety Aaron Henry have a big year and I'm intrigued to see who wins out in the battle for the strong safety position - Dezmen Southward or Shelton Johnson. Apparently, Johnson has the edge but I'm holding out hope that Southward gets the job...he has a sweet name. Devin Smith and Antonio Fenelus will hold down the cornerback slots and both have experience - Smith can be shaky at times, but I like what he brings to the table. I think for the Badger defense, it all comes down to what they can do upfront and where the pressure will come from. It could make-or-break Wisconsin's 2011 campaign (hey...I think I said the same exact thing last year. Defense wins championships, right?)

Special teams? Brad Nortman will punt yet again, and in no way is that depressing. There has been speculation that kicker Phillip Welch would lose his starting job to red-shirt freshman Kyle French, but I think a lot of that had to do with Welch's leg injury, so I expect to see Welch remain the starter and continue his successful career as a Badger. Losing return-man David Gilreath is definitely tough - everyone remember how that Ohio State game started out? - but I think Abbrederis and White, who saw time at kickoff and punt returning, can step into that full-time position and perform well, especially White. Head coach Bret Beilema coaches the special teams unit, so hopefully he knows what he's doing.

Prediction time!

Chalk it up in the win column games:
vs UNLV, vs Northern Illinois (Soldier Field), vs South Dakota, vs Indiana, vs Purdue, @ Minnesota

Last year, I had seven games in this category - now we're down to six. This is probably more of a product of me becoming more realistic than a product of the Badgers not being as good as last year. It's always hard to put road games in this category, but Minnesota was a no-brainer. They are without question in rebuilding mode with a new coach and even though it's a rivalry game, Bucky should take care of business.

Should be a win but could present a problem games:
vs Oregon State, @ Ohio State, @ Illinois, vs Penn State

I recall placing a game versus a different Pac 10 (now 12) team in the chalk it up category last season, and the Badgers narrowly escaped with a victory. Thus, Oregon State is here (wink). Ohio State as a should be win? Well, they are in quite a bit of turmoil with all the NCAA infractions and the loss of star quarterback Terrell Pryor, so yes, I think Wisconsin should win. Illinois is a threat because they have a solid QB themselves and Penn State coming in on senior night should be a W, but you never know with JoePa at the helm.

This could be a tough one games:
vs Nebraska, @ Michigan State

The big showdown with Nebraska is marked on everyone's calendar. They are in this category for a few reasons. 1. The Cornhuskers are an unfamiliar opponent, not to mention dangerous. 2. This is the first true test of the season for the Badgers, a spot they faltered in last year (Michigan State). Speaking of Sparty, Michigan State handed Wisconsin their first loss last year, and this year they could do it again. It's the Badgers' first true road game - although they will have already been tested by Nebraska at this point in the schedule. If you're wondering why we have to travel to East Lansing two years in a row, it's because Nebraska messed everything up. Gee, thanks a lot.

Legends Division Winner: Nebraska
Leaders Division Winner: Wisconsin
Big 10 Conference Champion: Wisconsin
Regular Season Record: 11-1
Bowl: Rose

I want to say National Title so bad...I really do. But I can't. A little voice in my head won't let me do it. There are still plenty of questions in Madison, especially at quarterback (can Wilson succeed like he did at NC State?) and in the front seven (replacing Watt, rushing the passer). This is why I fluctuated between nine wins and even twelve, but I think with the level of talent in the Big 10 right now and the determination and drive these players have after coming so close to a Rose Bowl trophy last season, they will get back to Pasadena...and then some. Feel free to blame the 8-4 season on this blog post.


Phew...longest post in history? Very possible. With the Crew playing so well, forcing me to talk about them...a lot...combined with a much better Badgers' preview compared to last year (my second blog post ever), this is what you get. And now I get some sleep.