Champions! or maybe not

The World Cup and the potential for a strong USA run got me thinking about the likelihood that teams I support win a championship. I've chronicled in my Wisconsin Sports Woes entry about the torture that we often endure being a Wisconsin sports fan. In my life time, we've had a grand total of one true championship. I'm not counting division or conference or bowl wins here, I'm talking about a bonafide World or National Championship.
My thinking got me a bit sad, as the likelihood of an oncoming plethora of championships looks pretty bleak. Anyways, I've decided to take a closer look at my teams prospects of winning a championship.

1. Packers - The Packers are obviously number one, the far frontrunner of most likely to win a championship in my lifetime. They could win next year. They could win 3 times in the next five years. They have a great QB, an awesome receiving corps, and a strong young (for the most part) defense. But, even with greats like Favre and White, the Pack only won 1 Superbowl. The playoffs are tough, and the best team does not always end up champion.
Last Championship: 1997
Odds of winning a Championship in my lifetime: 97%

2. Bucks - I don't want you thinking I am on the Bucks bandwagon here. I don't think they have a team that can really compete with the best right now. It's just that basketball in many ways is a fickle game. Things change greatly from year to year. You only have 5 players on the court at a time. A few strong draft picks can totally change your fortunes. Look at the Spurs. They are a similar market to Bucks. They don't have tons of money, but a few draft picks, a strong coach, and a couple great foreigners have totally turned their franchise around.
What might be going against the Bucks, though, is that in the NBA, you truly have to be the best team. No "hot now" or "peaking at the right time" team will win 4-straight 7-game series.
Last Championship: 1971
Odds of Winning a Championship in my lifetime: 8%

3. Wisconsin Football - This one might surprise people. Winning a college football National Championship is hard, but I think the Badgers have all the right ingredients, and in the perfect storm, they could win it all. What are these ingredients you ask? A relatively strong program, killer home field advantage, play in a strong BCS conference, play an increasingly unique brand of football. Call me crazy, but I think they can do it. If the Badgers, as a Big 10 team go undefeated, there is no way the BCS can keep them out of the national championship game. They could do this if they build a strong team and play the right teams at Camp Randall. Get to the National Championship game, and they play a brand of football that the likes of Florida and Texas and teams like that are not used to playing. Just look at the Miami game last year. Again, maybe I am dreaming, but in the right circumstances, I like it.
Last Championship: Never
Odds of Winning a Championship in my lifetime: 3%

4. US Soccer - Team USA is what got my thinking about this list. Most agree the US is getting better at soccer, with the great draw and a potential for a break out tournament, you start dreaming. The problem is, the World Cup is only every 4 years. If it was every year, the US would be ahead of the Badgers and the Bucks, but the World Cup is tough. Spain, who were the favorites going in had to beat Chile, Paraguay, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands. Tough stuff. The USA will continue to improve, but will that be enough to be genuine contenders?
Last Championship: Never
Odds of Winning a Championship in my Lifetime: 2%

5. Wisconsin Basketball - The Badgers are a great program, but I don't think they are good enough to win it all. Bo Ryan is a great regular season coach, developing players, getting the most out of his team, but they are just not good enough in the post-season. Their flaws show clearly. With their style of play, they will always be good or very good, but never great. In college basketball, you need freak athletes. You need blue-chippers. Wisconsin just does not get them.
Last Championship: 1941
Odds of Winning a Championship in my lifetime: 1%

6. Everton - For Everton, I only consider the Premier League Title or Champions League title a true championship. The League Cup or FA Cup, though greatly desired, does not really count in these terms. Everton are a good team, but everything in football is currently going against them. There is more money, more foreign investment, more foreign players and Everton cannot compete. The can field a strong side, but the best players will leave to get more money and more opportunities. Since 1995, only 3 teams have won the Premier League. That is a pretty wild stat. To compete Everton need a new stadium and new investors, but even that, does not guarantee success.
Last Championship: 1987
Odds of Winning in my lifetime: Less that 1%

7. Brewers - Baseball. It's unfair. A few teams prey on the rest. Remember when we waited 26 years to make the playoffs and then lost in the first round? We were so thrilled just to make it there. Yes, then did nothing the next two years, and much of the success the playoff year was due to a free agent here half the year. Do you think the Rays won't begin shipping off players after this year? If you don't, you are incorrect. Plus Milwaukee is no Tampa. Maybe I've just been jaded by years of disappointment, but I don't think the Brewers stand a chance.
Last Championship: Never
Odds of winning in my lifetime: much less than 1%


Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, but even these 2 or 3 championships in my lifetime will be much more fulfilling than being a Lakers or Yankees fan.

2010 Brewers

Many people have jumped on the Bucks bandwagon, myself included, but I will not forget about the Brewers, and it is unlikely that I will ever blog about the Bucks, so let's take a look at the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers.
As of now, the Brewers stand at 9-13. That is pretty poor. I'm a huge Brewers fan and an optimist, but I really don't see the Brewers doing much better than .500 this season, but you never know. I'll stick with them

Positives: Ryan Braun - sick
Prince Fielder - fat, needs to get his stroke back
Randy Wolf - looking to be a pretty nice signing
Todd Coffey - fat, sprints to the mound every appearance
Sausage Race- still getting the fans to stand up
promos - I think the Brewers have the best marketing team in sports, tons of half off days early in the season, bobble-heads, and this 40 year anniversary should provide some fun too
small ball - Brewers got speed this year and are using it, even Brauny.

Negatives: There is a lot to be worried about.
Bullpen - I thought the Bullpen was going to be the strength of this team. Boy was I wrong. Four blown saves for Hoffman already this year. That is his total for last season. I believe he has already given up 6 homers this year after only giving up 2 last year and he has never in his career given up homers in two straight games, until Tuesday and Wednesday that is. Hawkins had some rough outings too, and I never really have faith in Vargas. The Brewers when leading going into the 8th inning have given up the lead 6 times already this season! That is dreadful. But, at the same time, think if we would have won half of those games (we did win one), we would be 11-11 and people would be a lot less down on the Crew.
Doug Davis - not a good signing. Did anyone really think he would be any better than a 10-12 pitcher or so? And now, even that is a stretch.
Gallardo's pitch count- This kid has great stuff, and gets W's and K's, but can't pitch more than 5 or 6 innings for some reason.
Corey Hart

Keys to the season
We know Fielder and Braun will be beasts, but there are a few key spots that will tell the tale of the Brewers' 2010 season
Carlos Gomez - batting # 2 this guy needs to get on base. He has the speed and seems to be alright with the bat, but with Ricky in front and Braun and Fielder behind, Gomez must take advantage of what he's given
Casey McGehee - if he can stay hot, the Crew will score a lot of runs
Escobar - most important stats for this guy will be errors and OB%
LaTroy Hawkins - I feel he has the stuff to be an awesome set up man, maybe even a closer, hopefully he can lock down the 8th
Dave Bush - is there a more inconsistent player in the league? I feel this guy can pitch a 3 hit shutout and then the next start give up 8 runs in two innings. I just don't get it. Small margin of error I guess.

Hopefully those 5 guys will play to their potential and the Brewers will compete. If not, it will be a long season, and that may mean "See you later Prince."
But, I am not a bandwagon Brewer's fan, so I will be there for it all.

Congratulations CC

Congratulations CC Sabathia.....
For Helping the Brewers Reach the Playoffs for the first time in 26 years!

















And For Winning the World Series with the Yankees

Wrigley

Making my second trip to Wrigley Field tonight for the game today and tomorrow. Two meaningless games for both teams. Remember last year how fun the Brewers were. So exciting. Now, nothing. I think about half my posts in Sept and October last year were on the Brewers. Man. 2009, not so hot. Bring back CC! I will have my CC shirt on tonight just for good measure.
Don't worry my friends and I will still rep hard for Milwaukee. Should be a fun time. I have to admit I do like Wrigleyville.


UPDATE -
So, turns out I went to the right games of the series. Lots of runs. A Jody Gerut grand slam. Wow! Wins by Looper and Bush. The stadium wasn't too hype due to both teams doing poorly. Last time I was there it was a tight race and I was in the bleachers, so the atmosphere was much more dope.
Cubs fans LOVE cheering for fly balls. Do they think they will be home runs?
Lots of Brewer fans around. That is cool. The "Miller Park South" shirts were nice.
Best part was my group of friends singing Roll Out the Barrel after Take me out to the ball game. A few other Brewer fans joined in, but it was mostly just us. We got lots and lots of boos. Pretty nice. We went to their place and did our thing. Brewers!

Sports Doldrums

Even the most hardcore sports fan would recognize a few down times for sports, where there is seemingly nothing to get excited about. One of these times is about to begin.

Post Superbowl - March Madness and Post NBA finals to NFL opening day.
I would argue to extend both of these, especially this year, because I really don't care about a Steelers/Cardinals Superbowl and the NBA playoffs just take an eternity. So for me it is A.) When the Packers are finished through the start of March Madness and B.) the end of Wimbledon to NFL Kickoff. I'll take a quick look at the pros and cons of these periods.

A.) There is an obvious let down when the Packers are finished, but I will usually watch the NFL playoffs regardless. February is the worst month. It is saved by college basketball conference play and European football (soccer). January and February are actually the busiest months in England. But unfortunately, Sportcenter is full of NBA and NHL?? highlights. NCAA b-ball is great, but who can really get excited about a Michigan State-Northwestern or Georgetown-Depaul matchup. It's too inconsitant to follow.
And I understand most Americans don't enjoy soccer, but it is great - See future post for more on this.
Feburary is tough, though, because you know what is coming next. March Madness and Baseball opening day. Probably the best time for sports.

B.) July, nothing but baseball and golf. Man, good thing the days are long and the weather is nice. If you are really hurting, the NFL preseaon starts in August, but that may even be more boring to watch on TV than baseball.
The good thing about the summer, though, is that your team could possibly play 29-30 games a month, so there is never really a day where there is nothing to watch. But in a 162 season, no single game really matters. And once every four years is the glory of the World Cup to save the summer.

So, taking everything into account- active sports, TV watching, live watching, fantasy sports, Shaq, your teams- let me know which period you think is worse as a sports fan. Or possibly, you love them all.

Donuts for CC

Check out the poll on the right hand side. This is an important decision. Show CC Sabathia we are serious about keeping him in Milwaukee. Each vote will go to the purchase of one dozen donutes donated for CC.

Oneonta, NY (Not Albany)

So, the bus broke down on the way to Albany. We were in a town called Otego and were towed to a place named Oneonta, NY. Upstate New York is much different than down state New York. Lots of farms, lots of hills, not too many people. Yes, so the bus was towed finally on Tuesday morning. We were at a truck repair shop on the edge of town. It was cold and rainy, but sometimes you gotta find your own excitement.
So that's what I did. I ventured out. The prospects were bleak. Lots of car repair places and dealerships and light industry. I saw a Lowe's in the distance and went inside just to look around. Yes, this was how desperate I was. I even forced myself to go to the bathroom just for something to do. I looked at paint and Christmas decorations. Fun. Then I trekked on, oh and I forgot to mention I'm on a state highway without a sidewalk and it's pretty cold, and see an Amish Barn Company, an ice cream shop which is closed for the season, a skating rink, and sing that says Fatman, but is not for a restaurant, then finally a gas station. And next to the gas station - a bowling alley! Yes, and for some reason it opens at 1:00 on Tuesdays. I check my watch and it's 12:45. Nice. I go to the gas station and get some food and as soon as I sit down Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" starts playing. Wow, what a great turn of events!
So I get to the bowling alley. It's just me and a bunch of old people and a couple retarded people. I love it! I'm bowling average. It's fun. Before I know it I've played 5 games. Then I am about to pay and realize you can bowl two hours for only $16.00, so I get in two more games and top out at 170. I realize I am sweating at the end of it. Good stuff.
Then at night Jon and I go an another trek, more like a quest. Think Lord of the Rings, a long epic journey. And it was cold, very cold. But no hobbits or orcs or wizards and there were only two of us, and we were looking for a McDonald's. But it was long and tough, probably a three mile walk on dark back roads through upstate New York. And in the end, there was no McDonald's, but Burger King, even better. Rodeo Burgers!
And, the bus was not even in the garage yet. Man.

So yesterday the bus gets fixed in like two hours, just a leaky hose, but that is a big deal on a 22-ton bus. So we finally leave Oneonta. And then about 5 miles away we see a sign for the Baseball Hall of Fame, so we decide to head to Cooperstown. Pretty crazy. It was cool. Something pretty impromptu, so that made it even better. I was definitely the only one interested in the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, haha, but I tried my best to see everything. It was cool, something I'm glad I went to but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

But the bus breaking down turned into so good fun. I'm glad I got out and explored.

It's over

It's been fun. At least we won one game. Thanks for the fun season.



But the good thing about sports, it's never too early to look forward to next year.
We got all our hitters coming back. We have Bush, Gallardo, and Parra on the mound. The bullpen is a problem, potentially losing Torres, Mota, and Gagne. K-Rod anyone?

What Needs to Happen Redux

Ok, so my plans did not go as I saw them going. Man. Shane Victtorino? Really?
It's ok CC. I plan on seeing you pitch in a Brewers uniform at least once more.
Ok, so what needs to happen?

1. Brewers score some runs! Really, c'mon boys, bust out, maybe even 4 runs? Please.
2. Get Hype Milwaukee! Two games at home lets take 'em. We've been waiting 26 years for this. Our boys need some picking up. Let's do it fans! Yes!!! Exclamation Marks!!!
3. Bush - has it.
4. Suppan - hmm? October magic like I said. Or, thanks to CC being off his game and McClung coming in, the Suppan/Parra/Villaneuva/Gagne/Stetter/Mota/Shouse/Torres platoon. Dale Sveum will do whatever it takes.
5. Now we need a game 5. Redeem yourself CC!

What Needs to Happen. What will happen.

Ok we lost the first game. No big deal. I am not surprised. I didn't mind it too much. The way the pitching went down, it does not put us in a bad position for the rest of the series. Hamels is pretty freaking good, but here is the way I see the rest of the series going.

Game Two: CC dominates. Brewers win. We need this one. I don't think we could make it out of a 0-2 hole and I got faith in CC

Game Three: Dave Bush at home. Moyer is too old. I see that as a Brewers win. We're at home. We're up 2-1. Milwaukee drinks a lot.

Game Four: At home. Suppan regains his October magic OR we go with the McClung/Suppan platoon OR Suppan digs a hole too deep and we go to six. I like the first option.


Game Five: I'm hoping we take the next three, but just in case:
Sabbathia vs Hamels for a spot in the NL championship. Wow. Intense.


I'm still confident. Today wasn't bad. We didn't have to pitch McClung or Bush, so we are ok. We can steal one at home.

A few worries that could put a damper in my plans:
Torres - actually that is my biggest worry. If we blow a save, we are obviously done.
We can do it!

YES!

We did! The Brewers made the playoffs! I don't believe it. The first time in my life. Seriously, all I need now to die a happy man is to get married. Really.
26 years!

It's been a great 24 hours, especially after Saturday was so rough for Wisconsin sports. But we did it.
I still can't believe it. I really, really wish I was in Milwaukee yesterday. It looked pretty awesome from what I saw. Seriously, some of my earliest memories come from the bleachers of county Stadium drinking Kool-Aid from a big jug, eating peanuts, hearing my father yell with Bbob Uecker on the radio, even mustering up 55 cents to buy a pack of tops baseball cards looking to get Rob Deer or Glenn Braggs.
Seeing Ryan Braun jump for joy and high 5 everyone in site, CC gettting hype for the final out, and all the fans going crazy will stick with me for some time. The video below is simple, but great.
THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!

Omen?

My CC Sabathia t-shirt jersey shrunk in the wash the weekend to an almost unwearable level.
Do you think that is a good sign or a bad sign?

1 game back with 1 week left

One game back with we week left. We still got a strong chance. We can do it. And for the record, as my previous Brewers posts show, I have never given up hope. BIG WEEK!

And just for the record again. The Brewers have not made the playoffs in 26 years, since before I was born. Damn. This is the longest current streak in sports, unless you count the Expos/Nationals, but really, what hardcore Montreal Fans now root for the Nationals? They know not our pain. And I'm sick of hearing all this Cubs fans about their 100 year curse and Red Sox fans up to a few years ago. At least they made the playoffs. I'm not asking for a championship. And to put it in further perspective. The longest playoff drought for football is the Cardinals at 10 years, the longest hockey drought is 7 for the Florida Panthers, and the longest in basketball I believe is 3. Yes, baseball is different, but 26 years! Jesus.

Ok, so this is the week. All you people in Milwaukee, get out to Miller Park. Make the city crazy. I know I would if I could.
Brew Crew!

Is it over?

I was going to label this post F---!!! (Dear Lord, that's the loudest profanity I've ever heard)
But I decided we are not yet at that point. I'm talking about the Brewers of course.
4 games ahead of the Phillies. 4 against the Phillies. 4 losses to the Phillies. Great. If we would have won just ONE of those games we'd still be 2 games up. Man. So now it's tied. The Brewers are playing bad. The Phillies good.


But I refuse to give up hope. The Brewers have not made the playoffs since I've been alive. This is their year. Things aren't looking good. 3 against the Cubs. Looking worse.
But last time the Brewers were down I wrote a post saying what the Brewers needed to turn things around, and they did. Check it out.
So here it goes this time. This is a bit more optimistic, though. Here is what will happen in the ideal Brewers world.


1. Prince and Braun get hot at the same time- This is pretty much all the Brewers need. Braun has been hot most of the year. Prince has had a bad year and been hot only for a few random weeks. Just imagine, though, if they were both hot at the same time. Seriously, that's all we need to make the playoffs.

2. Sheets, Sups, Bushy - These guys need wins. Sheets started the all-star game this year! He needs to bring that form at least 4 out of 5 starts, not 1 of 3. Suppan needs to be on his usualy late season game. I really have no complaints for Bush. He just needs some bullpen.

3. Bullpen - Speaking of the Bullpen.... shoot, what happened? Ok, the bullpen has really been trouble all year. Torres has great, but I'm no longer convinced. And who is our set up man? CC Sabathia? OK, my fix - Yovani Gallardo. Couldn't hurt. This one worries me.



4. Veterans - someone please step up. Cameron? Durham? Suppan? We need a veteran to light the fire, get things started, get people fired up, make them believe. The Brewers are obviously streaky. All it will take is a couple games and then we are back on track for the rest of the year. Do it!


Ok, so I'm being optimistic. But this is our year. I am convinced. Try to keep any faith you still might have.




UPDATE - Ned Yost Fired.
Wow. Maybe Doug Melvin is reading my blog.

Ouch

"Ouch"
This is the gchat I sent my Cubs fan friend about an hour ago. He knew exactly what I was talking about - The Brewers getting killed and swept. Man. What a horrible series. The most important series in 25 years and we really blew it. I'm glad I'm not in Milwaukee. What a let down!
So, two months left in the season. Where do we go from here?
Playoffs? Playoffs?
I still believe it. We need to get our heads out of our ass, but it was just one series.
I see Cubs/Brewers in the NLCS. Maybe

CC

Alright time for another who is better poll. This time the subject is CC.


CC Sabathia - New Brewers pitcher, keeps the brim straight, kind of fat, but dominating

vs.

C&C Music Factory- "Everybody Dance Now", on the 90's power hour, kind of gay, but you know you like to dance to it.

We'll see how tonight's game goes before we make an judgment.
Go Brewers!

Wisconsin Sports Despair

I can across a Sports Illustrated Article the other day about the disappointment of sports fans in Philadelphia. Apparently they have gone 100 seasons (professional sports only) without a championship. Check it out - Philly Futility
Their last championship was 1983. But that got me thinking about Milwaukee sports heartbreaks. The Brewers haven't made the playoffs since I've been alive. The last professional championship was 1971, but of course, we do not have 4 teams like Philly. I then expanded my sports heartbreaks the whole State of Wisconsin and started to get pretty depressed. I am one of those people who remembers the loses much more vividly than the wins. So I've put together my own list of Wisconsin Sports Heartbreaks. I'll concentrate mostly on the last dozen years, you know the things I actually remember. Enjoy.


21. Just Short- This is definitely a Milwaukee special here. George Webb is a popular area 24-hour diner. They have had an on-going promotion where they predict the Brewers will win 12 straight. Nobody knew what would happen until the Brewers won 13 straight in 1987 and everyone got free burgers! Wow. So in 2003, in the midst of another horrible season, the Brewers put together 10 straight wins. The city was abuzz anticipating free burgers. But, the streak was ended by the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Damn.
Heart broken. Stomach Empty.


20. Ray Allen Trade- Ray Allen, Milwaukee fan favorite gets traded for Gary Payton in 2003. This was the last ditch effort to take advantage of a good team. Gary Payton ended up playing about 20 games and led the Bucks to a first round playoff lose. The team has never recovered from the lose of Ray.


19. Robert "Tractor" Traylor- This one is mostly hindsight, but even at the time, you had to know Tractor Traylor wasn't going to be a great NBA player. I mean, he's fat. But who knew Dirk Nowitski was going to be so great? Just imagine the team with Dirk, Big Dawg, Sam Cassell, and Ray. Wow. Big Four.


18. 1981 Brewers - This is one I mostly heard about from my Mom. It has to do with the strike split season in 1981. Apparently the Brewers had by far the best record in the second half of the season and the better overall record, but had to play the Yankees in a playoff because the won the first half of the season. The Brewers lost of course and didn't make the playoffs until the next year. Sounds about right.

17. The Last Piece of the Puzzle- The year is 2001. The Bucks are coming off a heartbreaking conference Championship loss to the Sixers, but also a super promising year. Their solution to overcome the hump - Anthony Mason. I admit it, I was pretty stoked at the time, thought he would be the inside presence we needed. Boy, was I wrong. He came in fat, and stayed fat, slow, and lazy all season. He totally disrupted the flow of our game.
So how did Mason help out the Bucks? 2002, didn't even make the playoffs.


16. Packers home playoff loss- I've always hated the Vikings more than any team. They have been the Packers' biggest rival since I've been a fan, mostly due to the even match-ups between the two. But I guess I wasn't really into the Packer's this season. It was a tough loss, but I barely remember the game. Mostly I remember the Randy Moss Moon. Man. 15. Best Team Never to Make it to a Final? - Apparently, the Milwaukee Bucks were a force to be reckoned with in the 80's. They went to the playoffs every year of the 1980's winning 7 straight division titles, but never made it to the finals. They lost to Seattle in 7 games in '80, Philly in 7 games in '81, Philly in 6 in '82, Philly in 5 in the '83 conference finals, Boston in the '84 conference finals, Philly again in 85, Boston again in the '86 conference finals, and then Boston in 7 games in 87.
Man, always the brides maid, but I would definitely take Conference final Appearance for the Bucks in the next few years.

14. The Lambeau Mystique? - The Green Bay Packers had NEVER lost a home playoff game. 8-0 at home on the year. Brett Favre had never lost under 30 degrees. It was January and snowing against the dome-team Atlanta Falcons. Things were looking good. But looks were far from the truth. At nights end, the Packer's streaks were done. A 27-7 loss. Wow, there goes the Lambeau mystique. And Green Bay has never really captured it back.
But Atlanta's amazing quarterback is currently sitting in jail after running dog-fighting rings, so I guess I'll take the loss.


13. Brewers Management - Let's face it, the 1990's were a rough decade for the Brewers, and that may be an understatement. Much if it was due to horrible personal moves. Bud Selig baby. Wow, he was bad. I'm sure every team can look back on the bad moves they made, but for the Brewers, it just seems astonishing. Here's just a few of them.
Break out years after leaving the Brewers - John Jaha, Dante Bichette, B.J. Surhoff, Paul Moliter, Gary Sheffield, even Troy O'Leary.
Horrible pick-ups - Jeffery Hammonds, Chuckie Carr, Marquis Grissom, Glendon Rusch, Henry Blanco, Gerald Williams.
And I am sure many, many more.

12. Pacers Series Losses - 1999 and 2000. This was a fun time for the Bucks. There was really the sense of improvement and the feeling that something big would soon happen. I remember George Karl getting standing ovations. Unfortunately, both of these years we ran into the top seeded Indiana Pacers. Both series were good fights, especially the second one, with Indiana winning the deciding game 5 with a late 3 pointer from Travis Best. Man, Travis Best. But the play of the Bucks even made Reggie Miller cordial, saying "The better team lost the series."

11. Badgers Start 9-0. - This was a big one for me, but might not be remembered as well by most people. It was my junior of college, my first year living off campus. We lived right on Dayton Street. Lots of great pre-game parties (beer bongs, quarters, Beirut, a great pre-game CD). Look at our support below. (That's a nice looking B) Just an awesome time/place. Plus, the Badgers, who weren't supposed to be great that year, started out an incredible 9-0. They were ranked 4th in the country. There was talk about a national championship. We squeaked out a win at Arizona. Beat Ohio State convincingly at the Horse Shoe and Scott Starks amazing sack/fumble recovery TD over Kyle Orton and Purdue. But it all came viciously crashing down in the 10th game. At Michigan State we got crushed 49-14. A particular Michigan St, goal stance at the end of the first half sticks out in my brain. And a week later, we still had a chance to get to the Rose Bowl, but again were crushed, this time 30-7 against Iowa. The great season ended with an Outback Bowl loss to Georgia.
What could have been.

10. TO catch- I can still see TO's crying ass face after his last second TD catch from Steve Young in the Packer's 1998 wild-card loss to the 49ers. He wasn't well known back then, but I've hated him ever since. Many have joined the hate-wagon since. Jerry Rice's fumble helped bring back instant reply. Mike Holgren's last game. All and all a tough day.

9. Losses to the Cowboys - Green Bay Packer losses to the Dallas Cowboys were just a given part of my childhood. 3 times in the playoffs including one Conference Championship. Three regular season loses including the damn Jason Garrett Thanksgiving game. I hate the Cowboys still.

8. Brewers losing seasons- Another given in my childhood/high school years - the Brewers would suck. Yes, no doubt about it. Losing season 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004. Wow, that's a lot. I went to countless games at County Stadium and then Miller Park and listened to Bob Uecker pretty much every night. Many loses. Many, many loses. Trivia, what Brewer is pictured below?



7. '07 Collapse - That being said, I also remember that pretty much every year since 2002 was going to be "the year" for the Brewers. '06 was a bust, but '07 had to be it. I even made it to opening day. The excitement in Brew City was palpable, 24-10 best record in the league. But this is still fresh in the memory of you all I'm sure. Ben Sheets injury, horrible streak by Capuano, JJ Hardy drop in production, pretty much a bad 2nd half of the season. Taken over by the dreaded Chicago Cubs. So close, yet....


6. Badger Basketball -
I'm confident in saying the The Wisconsin Badger Basketball program is among the elite in the country. There is no doubt about it. Look at this decade. Awesome. But they are just not good enough to compete in March. This makes me very sad and angry. Just look at the last two years. Ever since my senior year 2006 I was talking up 2007 as the Year for the Badgers- Tucker, Taylor, Butch - pretty much telling everyone I know about them. I was feeling a Championship. We even got the #1 ranking. But a falter down the stretch we ended with a 2 seed and lost to UNLV in the second round. Such a disappointment. Then this past year was the opposite, no expectations. But a great season including a Big Ten outright championship and a Big Ten Tournament Championship, got hopes high again. I was feeling Final Four. It was looking good after dominating Beasley and Kansas St., but again we were brought up only to be let down hard, getting killed by Davidson. This one still hurts. Also, it made me realize that Bo Ryan and Wisconsin will never win a Championship or even go to the Final Four. We just don't have the athletes.
I still bleed Wisconsin Red, though!

5. Braves Leave Milwaukee - This should probably be number one, but it was so long ago. My parents still talk about it to this day. The Braves left Milwaukee in 1965 and the city did not have a professional sports team for a while. Yes, a big lose for the city. Hank Aaron breaks the record in an "A" hat instead of an "M". I can't image a team living. Sorry Seattle.


4. Big Dog Miss- 2001 conference finals, it's all knotted up 2 games apiece. Game 5 in Philadelphia is a back and forth affair. Eric Snow played with a fractured ankle. Bucks were down 1 Derrick Mckie misses two free throw. Glenn Robinson has a 12-foot jumper from the baseline with a second left. It's his shot.... looks good... Buck will control the series...rims out...damn.
Yes, this was the chance for the Bucks to go to the Championship. Will it happen again in my life time?

3. 2008 NFC Championship - This one still upsets me. At home against the Giants. We play pretty badly, still have a chance to win, blow it all. You know the story. I drank a lot that night, good thing I didn't have to work the next day.

2. 4th and 26- This one really makes me want to use the Lords name in vain. I'm serious. Look at that picture.
I can't talk about it. 4th and 26 has it's own wikipedia entry check that
Fuck.


1. Superbowl XXXII Loss - Man this one still hurts ten years later. Good thing I couldn't drink at the time. Haha. It's still a punch in the stomach. Man. I hate seeing Elway's horse-ass-face and his "incredible" first down run. It was so unbelievable at the time. Even when Holmgren let them score, even when it was fourth down, even after the pass to Chumura hit the ground, I still thought the Pack was going to win. Man. I still can't believe it.






There you go sports fans. It's great to be a Wisconsin sports fan, I'm not gonna lie. We talk about Super Bowl XXXI, 1982, 1977, Ron Dayne in the Rose Bowl, 1971, even 1957. I love it. It's a hard love to have, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. All these tragedies make the triumphs even sweeter. It's not just sports. It's life.

Brewers

Well, it's time for me to say a thing or two about the Brewers. Of course, I've been saying for a long time that with was going to be our season. I even left work early on Opening Say just to watch the game on TV. I mean look at the line-up Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Fielder, Hart, Hall- so many young hitters, plus the arrival of Cameron for veteran leadership. And the pitching looked better than decent with lots of youth plus fragile Ben Sheets and a slew of quality relievers. Things were looking great indeed. 2008 is the year of the Brewers.

And look at us on May 9th - 16-18, 4th in the Division, 6 game losing streak including sweeps by the Astros and Marlins. Man. The Brewers look like a bad team. Let's quickly dissect what is going wrong.

1. Offense- The Brewers simply are not scoring runs. That's pretty easy to see. It is not just one person, but everyone. Batting the pitcher 8th actually seems to be helping. Some say as Prince goes, so goes the Brewers. I disagree with that. I mean it would help loads if he was hitting like last year, but look at Hardy, look at Hart, look at Hall all are playing vastly below their levels.
Way to fix it? Not sure of changing the line-up will help at all. I'm hoping that getting hot will be contagious. I'll calling out J.J. Hardy to get his shit together and start the dominoes.

2. Gagne/Turnbow - I'm pinning this one more on Gagne than Turn-blow. 5 blown saves? Wow. The league record is 14. Just think, if we win one of those that we lost (I think we lost 3 0f the 5) we are .500, if we win two, we are two games above 500. Big difference.
I like Torres, Mota, and Riske, but I don't think any of them are long-term closers. So again, do we just ride the wave?

3. Jeff Suppan - 1-2 with a 5.22 ERA, not horrible numbers, but not what you want from your number two man, which he was at the start of the season without Gallardo and now is again. This one I am worried about.

4. I'm in Montana - yep, is it karma, or is it because I am not there to cheer our boys on?
I'm thinking this will actually be the reason for the Brewers upcoming turnaround. The Brewers are bound to go to the playoffs.


So how do we change these things? I don't really know. I am confident, though, that the Brewers are a good team, possibly a great team. They will turn themselves around. I feel they do need a catalyst, something to fire them up. Maybe a fight or a walk of homer or something like the Prince/Capps thing from last year.
I do not know, but I'm calling the turnaround starting tonight (or maybe tomorrow because I'm not sure if the Brewers will get a chance to read this by gametime) . You heard it here.
We love the Crew!