I'm back and so is The Pack

I haven't really gone anywhere all this time between posts, but as I said in several of my sporadic posts before I went into hibernation my professional goals and responsibilities dictated that I drop any extracirricular activities and focus. So that cut down a lot on the time I had to just sit around and surf the net for stuff to comment on. But no matter what I had to take time to sit down and watch the NFL draft today. For the Packers this may be one of the most important drafts in the last 20 years. It's year 2 after the departure of The Great One so the rebuilding process is in full effect, we're moving to a new defensive format under a new coordinator, how much longer TT's tenure in GB lasts probably hinges on the results of this draft; all must see tv reasons. But I wasn't really expecting anything particulary exciting. After all our GM is the guy who drafts studs like Justin Harrell.

But it turns out TT had something for me today. As the first picks of the draft played out and the ESPN analysts and Packer fans in the studio crowd realized that there were a couple of excellent players that were going to be available for the Pack's pick, TT said I see you. 'You think I'll fuck this up don't you? Peep this' and proceeded to make the most sensible pick (besides AR I guess) of the last 5/6 years. "The Packers select B.J. Raji, nose tackle out of Boston College", most beautiful words I've heard in a while in reference to the Pack.

Look I'm probably overreacting. Raji's off-field issues have been well documented and these days no player is ever a guarantee to turn out to be great. But as I listned to Raji being compared to Gilbert Brown something just felt different about this draft pick. Something you can't necessarily articulate or put a finger on, just a feeling. And it felt like a turning point.

THE Wisconsin Sports Wank

No where to run, no where to hide from The Wank.

Marquette University men's basketball, A-.
Why not talk about the most successful sports team right now in the state of Wisconsin first? Marquette is on top of the Big East standings at 17-2, 6-0 in conference play with wins over teams like Wisconsin, Villanova, West Virginia, and Providence (ranked teams when they played them). Expectations about this year's team were up in the air over the summer with Tom Crean leaving for Indiana and the introduction of former assistant Buzz Williams as head coach. Not too mention losing a good portion of their already soft frontcourt with Ousmane Barro, Lawrence Blackledge and Dan Fitzgerald graduating and Trevor Mbakwe deciding to transfer. But Jereal McNeal decided not to enter the draft after a strong showing late last season, particularly in the tournament, so the Big Three of McNeal, Dominic James and Wes Matthews are back to doing their thing. For a really good breakdown of how the (sigh) Golden Eagles are doing it this season you should reference the seminal blog Cracked Sidewalks, but in a nutshell they are refusing to let their weaknesses (i.e. inside game, rebounding) beat them and are using their strengths, quickness and defense, to strangle other teams. And Marquette has a pretty favorable Big East schedule playing UConn and Georgetown only once. I would venture to say that the opinion of a lot of sports fans in Wisconsin regarding Marquette could be classified as mildly indifferent but if you still want to be rooting for a home team come March Madness time these guys are probably our best bet. Could a Big East regular season championship be in the future?

Milwaukee Bucks, C+.
Bucks are hanging in there Eastern Conference style at 21-24, 5-5 in their last ten games as of this writing. Good for 3rd in the Central. Wednesday night the put the mash on Dallas (a team that seems a shadow of it's former self in just what 3 years removed from the Finals?). That record is also considered pretty good news for the Bucks (who were expected to basically be doormats this year) because the rough part of their season is over. They've had a pretty tough schedule so far with a significant majority of their games played on the road, and don't forget they played the preseason games over in China. But there is playoff talk in the air in Milwaukee. Charlie Villanueva has been of fire the last few games. Michael Redd is showing he's still got some heat from the outside and even making defensive plays (though he's down again with a knee injury after Saturday's win over the Kings). Luke Ridnour is surprising the hell out of me with his game from the way he's running the offense to the last second game winning shots. Bogut has been in and out of the lineup this season, lately out with back spasms but is supposedly getting better, but the Bucks seemingly are ok without him for now (not saying they won't need him eventually, especially if they are talking playoffs). Ramon Sessions looks markedly more confidant this season with several games of offensive explosions. The Bucks have definitely clamped down their defense and turned up the effort compared to last season but have reverted to some lethargy in the last couple of weeks, needless to say Skiles is all over that (although Lionel Hollins will not be in on the effort). Of course there is 'the good draft pick' Prince Luc and heck even draft pick Joe Alexander is starting to show signs that he can at least be a solid contributor on an NBA team. We should all drink a round at Major Goolsby's.

University of Wisconsin men's basketball, C-.
And that grade is falling fast. Wisconsin is 8th in the Big 10 at 12-7, 3-4 in conference with 4 straight losses after starting off 3-0. So at this point I think we can safely say the nails are in the coffin for this year's team when it comes to tournament hopes. They have lost to every ranked team they played so far this year except for an over ranked Michigan squad (and I don't think Virginia Tech was ranked when the Badgers beat them). The signs were in the loss to Marquette earlier this season in their yearly matchup. Usually the Badgers beat MU in this game with a combination of being able to match their quickness with stronger inside play, but this year UW's general lack of athleticism in their lineup was exposed. And their inside play is a little weaker than in past years. Jon Leuer (6'-10")has shown some welcome improvement this season but his game is more mid-range based, not in the post. Starting guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon are high caliber players, but they are at a disadvantage against quicker guards. In past seasons UW's guards have been instrumental in facilitating the Badgers ability to control games with their offense. Lots of props have been given to the Badgers for their defensive acumen but that methodical approach also carried over to the offense where proper execution was emphasized. Opponents have regulary been able to stifle the Badgers' offense this season, forcing them into an uncharachteristically high number of turnovers. And we don't have a top shelf go to guy who can take over games like Alondo Tucker or Mike Wilkinson used to (if Wilkinson were on this year's squad they would be in the top 10 easy). Coming into the season I was doubtful about Marcus Landry's ability to be that guy even though you can tell he's worked hard on his game, there have been too many games this season where he has been a non factor. Badger's defense is nothing special this year either. The loss of guard Michael Flowers marked the end of a string of Badger teams that always seemed to have at least one lockdown guy on defense who they could sic on the other teams hottest player going back to Mike Kelley. Sadly I think UW has passed the point of being able to become tournament worthy this season. With 11 games left they'll get a shot at some more ranked opponents at Michigan State and the Illini and Minnesota again, but can they raise their level of play? A shakeup in the lineup by Bo might help, but barring a late run into the Big 10 tournament I just don't see it.

In other UW news P.J. Hill is entering the draft, some people think it's a good move some don't. This probably is the best move for P.J. though right now. His stock is not going any higher and he would probably have lost a lot of touches to John Clay next season. On the other hand he'll probably be a late second day pick and struggle to stick on a NFL roster as an injury prone RB with no breakaway speed (but he has that quickness in tight spaces). And AD Barry Alvarez has pretty much told Bielema haters where they can go by extending the coach's contract.

Milwaukee Brewers.
So the big signing that everyone was waiting for finally arrived, Trevor Hoffman. 5 years ago that would have been just as big as the CC signing. Now? Ehhh. Hoffman is like 41 but is still potent, though some would dispute that, and I guess his signing answers the 'who's the closer' question. The bullpen is still in need of a true ace or barring that at least some more good starting talent. But with next season's projected payroll already hovering around 85 million don't expect any major signings anytime soon. Brewers have reached agreements with JJ Hardy and Prince Fielder, two players who were in arbitration which leaves 5 still unsigned I believe. Among them Rickie Weeks who was ballsy enough to ask for a raise. One player that most fans thought was gone for good has returned, the Crew came to terms with Craig Counsell the other day. Seems this came about because both parties remained open to the possibility, good news as any locker room can always use players of Craig's caliber and while his numbers will not wow you he is a solid contributor. As the pool of free agents dwindles I've heard rumors of Ben Sheets and the Rangers so that probably lessens the little chance there was that he would come back.

Green Bay Packers.
Everyone was waiting to see who the choice would be as the new defensive coordinator and we have our answer in Dom Capers. Capers is generally regarded as one of the better defensive coaches out there and I always thought he never got enough props in his tenure as the Panthers first head coach taking them to the NFC championship with a young Kerry Collins at QB. I think he'll be alright here and I'm happy with the indications that he is going to take a sensible approach to the defensive philosophy he want to pursue initially, being that he's known for his work with the 3-4 but has also worked with the 4-3 base and believes that you need to play a scheme that fits your personnel. So I don't know if this opens the flood gates for trade scenarios in TT's mind but we can always hope. By the way the hot rumor about a Julius Peppers free agent signing is tempting to get enthusiastic about (and maybe compare to the Reggie White signing), but no one close to the situation seems to believe that Peppers will really leave Carolina especially given that the Packers have just hired the defensive coach he was supposedly so unhappy with. Mike Trgovac, the aforementioned coach, is reprising the role he played in Green Bay before on Ray Rhodes staff where he was defensive line coach. The line as I recall was pretty good that year, we still had Gilbert and Santana Dotson and Vaughn Booker as well (although in the tail end of their careers). Not as much talent to work with now so we'll see if Trgovac can work any wonders.

Some more random thoughts:

- Ted Thompson's tenure has been noted for a lack of blockbuster trades, but with the combination of implementing a new defensive scheme that is an ill fit for the current roster and the perceived pressure of needing to produce some results on the field now isn't this pratically pushing TT's hand into the trade market?

- Haven't heard much about assistant coach Winston Moss's status lately, just wondering.

- I hear DT Colin Cole had the nerve to turn down a contract extension earlier in the season. Big head in for big disappointment in free agency.

- When you are rebuilding a defense from scratch Aaron Kampman is the kind of player you keep, not trade . . . unless you have an opportunity to get a guaranteed game changing high impact player in return.

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THE Wisconsin Sports Wank . . .

Is back. Yes, yes please save your applause and do not gesticulate wildly in front of your computer or you may frighten your loved ones.

It's been over a month since I've done a proper Wank so let me just clear some things up for anybody who might happen to visit this site for any reason other than the link to a picture of Tamia that happens to be in my article archives.

1. I didn't stop posting because the Packers stopped winning. The Packers losing ways this season while concerning haven't caused me to spiral into sports fan despair. I grew up in the '80's as a Packer fan, 'nuff said.

2. The state of Wisconsin sports is sucking just a tad bit right now.

3. I have a lot of respect for the many blogs that cover Wisconsin sports teams and manage to post on a consistently regular basis, I'm not worthy.

You know what it is, let's get down to it.

Packers, D+.
Could the Pack deserve any other grade for a season as dismal as this one turned out to be (well I know it could be lower but we're not the Lions)? Even after what was probably one if not the most controversial offseason in the franchise's history expectations for the Pack was still pretty high. We thought we knew that if AR held up the Packers should at least make the playoffs with a stingy D as our strong suit (yeeeeaaah that didn't work out so well). Well AR turned out to be the real deal. I don't think you could throw any 1st year starting QB into a situation like the Packer's and expect a better result (switch places with him and Offensive ROTY Atlanta QB Matt Ryan and I think we end up with the same record). But the defense came off like a horrible impersonation of last year's unit. Without DT Corey Williams taking up a lot of room LB's Barnett and Hawk got exposed big time like most middle line backers do when their defensive line couldn't stop the push of a lightly gusting wind. The secondary, which had been heavily maligned by fans and the media in the offseason for giving up big plays last year, wound up being our strength this season and even sent two members to the Pro Bowl. But key injuries to starters Al Harris and Atari Bigby seemed to harm the continuity of the unit and their performance slipped considerably down the stretch. In fact the only thing the Packers managed to do on a fairly consistent basis this season is lose in the same way. This season it didn't matter what had happened in the game prior to the last minutes. If the other team had the ball last needing a score to win they were going to get it. It was frustrating to the point of laughing to keep from crying watching our defense generate these interceptions and turnovers but not being able to come up with one stop to save a game. And while overall AR was solid in his first full season as starter, the offense has to share some of the blame for late game collapses for not being able to sustain drives when they need to. In several of those losses the Pack had the ball late with the lead needing only to get a couple of first downs to run out the clock but were unable to avoid a 3 and out.

I believe the root cause (and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out) for the sub par performance of the offensive and defensive units respectively comes back to talent. Despite a lot of homers out there still saying The Great One would have had this team back in the SB this year, there are a lot of stats out here in the cyberverse that suggest that AR was one of the best players on the team this year. I say his play gets even better when he has time to develop a rhythm behind consistent blocking. Good blocking from good linemen, the kind TT needs to go out and find cuz this group ain't cutting it. Same on D. If we could find some linemen that actually needed to be blocked maybe Hawk and Barnett could revert to their former selves.

I hate to say it but looking back now last year was an aberration, a charmed season. The team was (is) talented but also got a lot of good fortune: Grant comes out of nowhere to save the running game, Greg Jennings exploded on the scene, we had a relatively injury free year, some players had career years; those things all factor in when chasing a championship. Sometimes things just fall a certain way to enable something good to happen, we didn't get that this year. But with some tweaks and upgrades (and a show of favor from the football gods) we could be right in the mix again next season.

Before this turns into one long rant on the Packers some other quick thoughts:

I too am troubled by AR's ability (inability?) to make things happen offensively at the end of close games a'la The Great One. I don't think AR needs to be a gunslinger, but I do agree with (gulp) Lovie Smith's observations about how QB's are ultimately evaluated in this league; how do they perform at the end of games in crunch time.

Chillar gets the nod over Poppinga next season right? Brady may be smart but his body cannot keep up with NFL caliber athletes anymore.

I never understood why Jon Ryan was cut in the first place and by the way I still think Craig Heintrich is a traitor.

Packers will have the 9th pick in the draft this summer. That should be high enough to get a ready-to-start impact DE, but are there any like that coming out this year? Should TT trade it for a talent upgrade?

I saw a poll in local Milwaukee paper Shepperd Express last week that asked readers if they would welcome back Mike Holmgren as coach of the Packers and 62% responded yes. WTF?!

Bucks, C+.
I can't give them lower than that after they just beat the Spurs the other night (although these are not the same Spurs as say 2 years ago). Bucks are in 3rd place in the Central at 15-17, 6-4 in their last 10. Like many fans in southeastern Wisconsin this time of year I've been a little too busy angsting about the Pack to pay close attention to the Bucks. But they do bear some observation this season. They have a new coach, new GM, couple of new players so it's been, ahhh, interesting watching their progress when I've had the chance so far this year.

The results have been mixed so far. Something seems to have happened to Bogut since the Olympics as he's not being very aggressive offensively this year. But his rebounding is up, so maybe my hunch that the ankle injury from the Games was worse than Bogut let on and it has been affecting his play is way off. He certainly showed his ass against Duncan with 29 and 10. And with him being the leading percentage shooter on the team (but only taking the 5th most shots on the team) we need more of that kind of play on a consistent basis. And enough about the 'development' of his game already. If the Bucks are going to make any kind of run at the playoffs Bogut has to 'bring it all together' this year.

Redd started of the year kinda hot, but was quickly sidelined by an injury and ended up sitting out almost a month. If you look closely you can see the beginning of the end for Redd in his game. Never the most athletic guy you can see age starting to mess with the form of his pretty jumper and robbing him of what little explosion to the hoop he used to have. He's almost like Chuck Person now without the gimpy knees. So of course rumors are strong now that the Bucks are actively shopping him, looking to get as close to equal value as they can while they can (at the beginning of the season Bucks blog Bob Boozer Jinx proposed a hypothetical trade with the Suns Redd for Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw, too bad Charlotte beat us to it).

A couple of the draftees are coming along nicely. Ramon Sessions, who was last year's pick and did real well in the D-Leauge, has taken his opportunity at increased playing time and ran with it literally. He's had several games where he finished with double figures in points and assists while coming off the bench. I think we can at least say he and Ridnour are providing what we lost in Moe Williams: scoring (and a little more efficiency). And the Prince Mbah Moute has been a welcome surprise. With the ability to defend at the NBA level from day one (and better than you think offense) Luc has been a fixture in the starting lineup since a couple of games into the season. He's going to be fine but if he keeps playing like this and improving we may have to pay to keep him when his rookie contract expires. This year's pick F Joe Alexander's troubles were well documented during the summer and they pretty much have carried over to the season. Still learning, still developing, still looks lost at times when he does touch the floor (which isn't often).

As I recall one of the knocks against Skiles in Chicago is that he didn't seem to have any consistency or reason to his lineups and substitution patterns. That doesn't seem to be a problem here so far. Right now he seems to just be concentrating on getting everyone on the same page offensively and defensively getting them to play the style he wants, smart and tough. The Bucks were roundly picked to be the worst team in the league this season but so far they're not rolling over for anyone.

Brewers.
Well since we lost out on CC things are pretty quiet on the offseason front for the crew. There were a few moves made like signing Julio Jorge, 3B Mike Lamb, former Red Sox Trot Nixon and a few more players to minor league contracts but nothing major. Trading Mike Cameron to the Yankees has been dead since Melvin was turned off by getting the brush off from Yankees GM Brian Cashman while he was wrapping up the CC and A.J. Burnett signings. The latest semi-big name pitcher linked to the Brewers in rumors is Braden Looper, who I last remember as being an effective closer for the Mets. In my last Wank I mused that Ben Sheets might end up staying a Brewer after all as I hadn't really heard much talk about other teams interested in him. I still haven't heard anything much but it would seem to me that the Brewers would be the very last resort at this point for Sheets because that would basically amount to him accepting whatever the Crew can offer because he won't get anything better anywhere else. Sorta sucks for Ben because with his age and injury history his career window for that big payday contract is closing pretty fast (if it's not shut already).

Brewer's owner Mark Attanasio was still feeling the pain from losing out on CC last week and said some stuff. And I agree because without revenue sharing teams like Milwaukee will never be able to compete on a consistent basis. I mean didn't baseball kind of used to be like this before free agency? Back then teams kept a stranglehold on players' contracts to build dynasties, nowadays they keep a stranglehold on the players thru their greed in seeking the most money.

University of Wisconsin football, D.
The season on the whole was a big disappointment. The Badgers were supposed to challenge for the Big 10 championship this year but instead ended up mired in inconsistency. It came to an end mercifully last weekend with our shellacking at the hands of Florida State in the Champs Bowl. Going into it I was confident we had a good shot at winning this game but the defense quickly showed they were not up to the task of stopping the Seminoles offense and we made some key mistakes that we weren't good enough to recover from against a team of that caliber. Next year will be even more of a question mark after losing a lot of senior leadership that was supposed to be the strength of the team this season. Bielema and his coaching staff need to prove that they can do a better job of developing talent as there were several guys who were expected to make big contributions this year but seemed to digress a little. One of the hallmarks of the Alvarez era was the coach's ability to take mid level recruits and turn them into above average college players and that is one of the biggest necesseties required to coach here because we will always lose out to the Michigans and Ohio States in terms of high level recruits.

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Personal Jewels

I've learned some things over the course of my absence about blogging that I thought would be constructive to share (ha!) and also I figured it could serve and kind of posting 'filler' until I get back on track with the Wanks and whatnot (so much that I've missed out on from DD's daddy to Plaxico to this).

One is that it's true that blogging is addictive. It's amazing to me now that I've been forced into a semi-hiatus how strong the urge to blog is. The weird need to put your thoughts out there for everyone to take a look, so certain that the world needs to hear what you're saying and is waiting for you to say it (even if Google Analytics and SiteMeter suggest otherwise). That feeling of determination has to be at the base of what drives an obscure blog to the heights of a Deadspin or Huffington Post.

Two, writer's block is a bitch. Recently there have been a couple of days where I could have squeezed a post in between work and the kids if I had just been efficient with my time. But when I logged in and generated a blank for the new post . . . nothing. Nothing that grabbed I should say. I mean our Wisconsin sports teams aren't being too helpful either, the Packers have lost the last 5 games the same way how many different ways can you break that down. And I hate being like everyone else with the same 'ol analysis, break down the details spiel. That stuff is good but I always have sought to carve out my own unique style, something that would bring visitors to the site on that merit alone whether they were Wisconsin sport fans or not. That requires creativity which has been a little stifled lately.

Third, I learned I'm not going anywhere. I like blogging, makes me feel like I'm making an effort to do my part in making this mess a better place. Until the next wank . . .

Ummm . . .

Has anybody else seen this besides me? I know I'm not the only one who thinks that this is fucked up. One of my initial thoughts after seeing this was is it just my imagination or have incidents like this been on the rise since November 4? Or maybe they are just being reported more since then. Comments?

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Random Awsomeness

I saw this recently over on Afronerd and it was so cool I thought I would post it here to fill the void on my little site while I continue to sift thru the responsibilities of life. Doing a proper Wank require time that I just cannot spare right now while I bone up for the CCNA.

Bruce Lee as a martial arts super star was larger than life and I've heard about many myths and rumors about his martial arts prowess. But when you see an example of it like this, well . . . it kind of makes you think they were all true. No camera tricks here.

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Hi

Hey anybody who reads this site on a regular basis (:)). I felt like posting but I don't have anything in particular to write about that I'm not saving for the next Wank. The Bucks are . . . being the Bucks. They're 7-9, 4-6 in their last ten still bottom of the Central. After starting off the season kind of solid they've faltered a little bit lately but I still subscribe to the Gradual Rise Theory. The Packer just got shellacked by the Saints on Monday Night after giving a beat down to the Bears in Lambeau, secondary got torched, Al Harris's dreds was on fire (Bigby's too). The Badger managed to eek by tough FCS foe Cal Poly because their place kicker missed 3 PAT's. Chris Pressley has gone on the record saying he would prefer not to play in Detroit but he better be happy if the Badgers get invited to go anywhere. Speaking of U Dub the basketball team got ran out of there own gym by Hasheem Thabeet and UConn last night. Marquette is going to have their hands full that game. Still no word on CC and you get the feeling this is kind of holding up any other potential deals Melvin has cooking. I thought he was going to ask CC's people for an answer last week but I guess not, huh?

That's all I was thinking, anymore and it will turn into a full blown post which I do not have the inclination or time to do right now. Sleep beckons . . . oh, don't think I forgot to mention DD's father, more to come . . .

THE Wisconsin Sports Wank

Here it is again on a semi-consistent basis, what I was thinking as I eavesdropped on The Great One's phone call to Mike McCarthy. . .

Packers, D
Packers are 4-5 with only lowly Detroit separating us from the bottom of the North. This is why I often blog while drinking, but seriously the Pack did enough last Sunday to win the game against the Vikings and then again they didn't. They were able to put points on the board mostly thru special teams and defense, but once again in the end the run defense couldn't hold up against Adrian Peterson and a game winning drive. I like this breakdown of the game best. The offensive line continues to play inconsistently. Chad Clifton was like an open door for Jared Allen but no one else on the line played particularly well either. This translated into another so so day for AR, who has been getting pummeled by opposing linemen more and more often in recent games. The shoulder injury from earlier this season still has not fully healed (partly because he continues to play and take big hits) and limits him in practice which does nothing to help maintain his rythm, mechanics, and timing with recievers. And no I'm not an Aaron Rodgers apologist, I'm just saying these are legitimate factors.

I'm afraid I feel like the author of the post linked to above regarding the defensive line. The main problem with the D line is personnel and that can't be fixed this season. And now there is word that DT Justin Harrell is injured. . . again, so we're even more shorthanded (although it's not like he was making a big difference for two games). But of course even with the dearth of talent there are things a good defensive coordinator can do with his scheme to compensate for that. So we'll see what Bob Sanders can do.

LB Nick Barnett is out for the year with a torn ACL. Earlier in the year I had predicted a breakout into star linebacker status for Nick and he promptly preceded to prove me wrong with his less than mediocre play this season. Does he still have his club? Maybe he needs a hobby or a woman or something, anything to improve his attitude and effort on the field. I hope him and A.J. Hawk aren't about to start fizzling out already. Speaking of Hawk with Barnett out for the year it seems like he is the main candidate to fill the middle linbacker spot. This makes good sense to me. Some have suggested Desmond Bishop and I agree that his instincts might be best suited for that position, but he is just too slow. Let Bishop stick to special teams and keep Chillar on the field. He's an average run defender but he's by far the best coverage backer and the Pack has been getting burned underneath lately especially by running backs releasing in the middle of the field and the flat.

There were a couple of blown calls in the Vikings game that even the head of officials agrees were wrong. One on the game winning drive when AP took his helmet off after he scored and then the second safety where AR was called for an illegal forward pass. My feeling is that the calls were effed up and I'm glad that that's being acknowledged but it wasn't those two plays that lost the Pack the game.

Next up are the despised Bears and this one is going to be a battle. Hopefully 'ol Rex will toss us some ducks, although I hear Kyle Orton will definitely be available and might possibly start. Whoever, just throw like a girl and stay nice and still in the pocket until one of our linemen reaches you.

Bucks, C+.
The Bucks are an even 5-5 good for next to last in the Central right above Chicago (??) but they were 2-1 this week losing to the division leading Cavs but managing to best the hobbled Spurs and win in Memphis Friday. Rookie Luc Mbah a Moute continues to impress getting two starts in a row and producing. I don't know who Hollinger's top rookies are at the moment but Moute has to be one of them. In Memphis he had 19 pts and 17 boards. The Bucks haven't seen consistent productivity like this since maybe Vin Baker's first seasons. But let's remember Mr. Wolf's advice it's only ten games into the season, let's see how the rook is doing in say February.

An interesting trade scenario with the Suns was brought up the other day on the excellent Bob Boozer Jinx blog, Boris Diaw and Barbosa for Redd. According to ESPN's Trade Machine the salaries match up so it would be a go from that standpoint. Realisticly though my gut says it sounds to good for it to actually happen.

Redd is still sitting out games with the ankle injury which is sparking a little discussion. Which is actually nothing new. It's clear that the Bucks are a different team without Redd on the floor, more defensive minded moving the ball more on offense. But on the other hand having a scorer like Redd is the difference between hanging in and having a chance against teams like the Cavs and getting blown out. Redd's not getting any younger and is probably at the career height of his trade value so now would be the ideal time to ship him in a trade if Hammond is so inclined. But if he isn't perhaps Skiles can find some way to make those 20 points a game contribute to more wins.

Brewers.
Once again this week a considerable amount of news coming from Miller Park (I guess this is how it is when your baseball team actually starts to be successful). The Brewers have named their new scouting director, promoting from within as was thought they would. No one seems to know much about Bruce Seid but he was hired by Jack Z. so lets hope his talent evaluation skills are of the same quality.

Reliever Salomon Torres has retired. I never realized how long a career Torres has had or about the 5 year gap when he was out of the majors but he sure did contribute to the Brewers making the playoffs this year. Fittingly enough he picked up the save in the only win the Crew could manage against the Phillies. And he stepped up to save the day when it became clear that Gagne would never again be the lights out closer he once was. Here's to wishing for many happy days chilling for Salomon and his family, the fans sure do appreciate your hard work. Wow the bullpen is going to look a lot different next season with Torres, Sabaithia, Sheets, Gagne, and Mota all potentially gone. We're going to quickly see just how good a coach Bill Castro is.

Last week I questioned if Sheets leaving in free agency was the forgone conclusion it seemed to be after the ALDS simply because I haven't heard much buzz from other teams about him and it seems like Melvin is thinking the same way. But if Sheets does end up leaving Kerry Wood is available to replace him in his role as the staff ace who can never pitch more than 200 innings a season.

Ryan Braun has won the NL Silver Slugger award for his position this year. To be honest with you I have barely even heard of this award but hey we'll take it. I was a little surprised though to see all the other Brewers players who have won the award in the past like Molitor, Yount, Cecil Cooper, Ben Ogilvie (who lived next door to me when I was a kid), and Prince Fielder who won it last year. Nice to see some of our players getting some individual accolades for a change, even though CC got ROBBED for the Cy Young (just kidding I know Lincecum deserved it).

Brewers have a new bullpen coach, Stan Kyles, called up from their minor league affiliate Nashville Sounds where he was the pitching coach. He's had good success as a coach in the minors and hopefully that success will follow him up here.

Still no response from CC on the Brewer's offer with word out the the Yankeess have offered him the richest contract for a pitcher ever. Doug Melvin isn't going to wait around on him forever, look to hear something within the next week.

This would not be The Rogue Hour if I did not mention that the Negro League Baseball Museum recently named Doug Melvin their Executive of the Year award named after Andrew 'Rube' Foster a dynamic figure in baseball's history.

University of Wisconsin football, B-.
Well looky here. While everyone has been busy ranting the Badgers have managed to win 3 out of their last 4 games, become bowl eligible, and are a couple of Illini and Minnesota losses away from going to a 2nd tier bowl game. Not a horrible recovery for a season that has fallen way down from expectations.

UW managed to squeak one out against Minnesota Saturday afternoon and retain possession of Paul Bunyan's axe in one of the oldest and hotly contested rivalry games in the country (if you don't believe that check this out). The way the Badgers won this game seemed eerilly similar to the way the Vikings beat the Packers last Sunday with the two safties. Sherer had a little more luck today and was able to complete some critical passes especially in the fourth quarter when everyone was expecting UW to stick heavily to the running game. Once again they had to overcome numerous mistakes early but showed their ability to recover and fight back like in the Illinois game. Badgers lost an important part of the offense though with WR Kyle Jefferson going down in the first half. Hopefully his injury is not serious.

Last game of the season is against Cal Poly which may be a smaller school but are no pushovers. If the Badgers don't keep their heads in the game a boneheaded mistake could result in a loss and make bowl officials looks elsewhere for participants.

On the UW basketball front the new class has come in and most of them look ready to contribute right away to varying degrees. Guards Diamond Taylor and Rob Wilson are probably the most game ready right now, while swingman Ryan Evans has already decided he will be redshirting this year. The media feeling about this team right now seems to be that it's a typical Bo Ryan team. No one player jumps out at you as being dangerous, but we were the Big10 champs last season and there are no obvious reasons why we shouldn't be able to do that again. Hell Joe Lunardi already has UW as a 2 seed in his Bracketology.

Marquette University men's basketball.
Haven't said much about MU since last season but basically the same team is back ready to go (with the new coach of course). James, Matthews, and McNeal still stock the backcourt so we can still run and play defense but there are some guys who should be able to create an inside prescence for the Warriors this season, something that hurt them down the stretch last year. And check out this year's signing class headed by nationally recognized recruit Jeronne Maymon. So far Buzz is delivering on his strong points. More to come when the games start counting.

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