Rare Off-Year For Badger Basketball

Spoiled.

That pretty much sums up Wisconsin Badger basketball fans. Spoiled. By success, by tournament appearances, by year-after-year of quality play under Bo Ryan.

That success continued last season when Greg Gard took over the reins in mid-season when Ryan just up and stepped down. Bucky has been in the NCAA tournament 19 straight years.

Alas, the cupboard was pretty bare after the four graduating seniors left. Ethan Happ was the only returning starter back from a team that is young. With Wisconsin basketball, young equals players who will stay and develop in the program. Frank Kaminsky, the only national player of the year to ever play for the Badgers, comes to mind.

In other programs, Kentucky, for one, young means "just killing time pretending to be a student before I head off to the NBA..." I probably shouldn't just pick on Kentucky for this -- the "one & done"  situation has spread to many, many storied programs. Even Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has succumbed. It's still an area that the NCAA is struggling to correct."

Let's face it, the "one & done" is not the way things are done in Wisconsin. When Diamond Stone spurned the Badgers for Maryland, then coach Bo Ryan came under criticism for letting the top prep player in Wisconsin get away. Word was, Stone couldn't cut it academically at Wisconsin -- and it turned out he was a Maryland "student" for, technically, a year before leaving. Where's he now? The G League, with the Chicago Bulls entry.

Bucky finished the Big Ten season going 4-2 down the stretch, falling in close games to Michigan (ranked 20th nationally) and Michigan State (ranked 2nd). Wisconsin ends the regular season 7-11 in conference, 14-17 overall.

All this with a lineup held together with will and duct tape.

• Junior Ethan Happ, still a bit more shaky at the free throw line than I would like, had a LOT on his plate this season. The offense had to run through him.
• Freshman Brad Davison, who had 30 points in the finale with Michigan State, had to pop his injured shoulder back into place during the course of the game. He played through pain all season because he had to. 
• Freshman Nathan Reuvers played a lot of minutes, and probably has hit a wall. And in a different season, he and Davison would have been brought along slowly, not thrown to the fire.
• Sophomore Brevin Pritzl is typical of a young player on a roller coaster -- up, down, up, down.
• Junior Khalil Iverson was one of the few guys on the roster who saw significant minutes last season, but still was inconsistent.
• Sophomore D'Mitrik Trice was looked to for a big, big season -- and then lost the season to a knee injury.

So, Wisconsin fans, we're in strange territory. This young team has played hard down the stretch, and could carry that momentum into the Big Ten Conference Tournament. But short of winning that tourney, they won't make the Big Dance this year.

But it's not time to panic, Cheeseheads. Gard is the right guy in charge of the program. He'll get the program back into contention.

Olympic Gold...And Green

The Winter Olympics draw to a close this weekend. There has been a bit of angst nationally that the USA team is not piling up medals, being out-paced Norway (the Vikings long have a history of coming in, pillaging and taking away precious metals!), Germany and Canada.

I'm not caught up in that. Sure, I like to see the USA represented on the podium. But it doesn't leave me in a dark mood when we're not. Although, to be honest, I was thrilled that Team USA knocked off their Maple Leaf-adorned nemesis in women's hockey. 

Our athletes do get a little cash back on the investment of years and years of training. Gold medal winners get $37,000; Silver winners get $22,500; Bronze medalists $15,000. I'll bet other countries have similar setups. And for some of the smaller nations who end up on the podium, it might just make that athlete a star for life.

The USA's cash rewards might not seem like much compared to the endorsement dollars that, say, Chloe Kim, Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn will get. (I would have included snowboarder Shaun White, but he's medal lost a bit of shine with his legal woes.)

But for our other athletes, it's lagniappe (that's Louisiana Cajun for "a little extra"). Curling has gotten a big boost in the media. The USA is going for the gold for the first time EVER, but I doubt if McFarland's Matt Hamilton will be getting many calls for national endorsements. So the additional cash is nice.

It's my understanding that it's a flat cash amount for the medals -- so the women's hockey team has to split that gold, what, 25 ways? Doesn't seem quite right. But those ladies made us all proud. It's great to know that there were 9 former Wisconsin Badgers skating in the gold medal match, five wit the USA & four with Canada.

Cubs Over-paid For Darvish

The Chicago Cubs made the big splash last weekend with the signing of free agent pitcher Yu Darvish to a six year, $126 million contract.

Better them than us, Milwaukee Brewer fans.

That's too long a contract, and maybe too much money, for a 31-year-old pitcher. Granted, he eats innings. But in the long run, the last three or four years of that contract will be a financial albatross for the Cubs. The names Kyle Lohse, Randy Wolf and Matt Garza come to mind in Milwaukee: long-term contracts for older pitchers that, while they may have worked for a season or so, eventually caught up to the club. Or, going farther back, Teddy Higuera. He signed a long-term deal and promptly had a career-ending injury, with Milwaukee on the hook.

After  moves acquiring Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, I don't think the Brewers are done. Yes, pitchers and catchers report this week -- the BEST week of the year, I might add -- but there are still some moves to make.

The Brewers are still looking to find another starting pitcher. No need to over-pay. The three that come to mind are Jake Arrieta (30), Lance Lynn (31) and Alex Cobb (30). All have had health issues, with Lynn and Cobb coming off Tommy John surgery. (By the way, doesn't Tommy John belong in the Hall of Fame for his game-breaking surgery? Just sayin')

If they sign one of the three, the Brewers would be wise to make it a short-term, incentive-laden deal.

Milwaukee may also be looking to shore up second base, but switch-hitting Neal Walker is a free agent and may sign at a reasonable cost. I have nearly given up on Jonathan Villar. He had a solid, break-out season in 2016 and fell back last year. Villar is a boneheaded liability on the base paths who doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes OR from Manager Craig Counsell.

Getting Down With The Herd

Professional basketball has returned to Oshkosh, Wisconsin -- and the Wisconsin Herd seems to be in excellent shape.

Professional basketball in little ol' Oshkosh!!?? Oh my, yes, there is a history here. Back in the late 1930s and 1940s, the Oshkosh All-Stars were members of the National Basketball League. During their NBL stint, they reached the playoffs 11 of 12 years and won league titles in 1941 and 1942. The NBL, in 1949, merged remaining teams with the more successful Basketball Association of America to become the National Basketball Association.

Pro basketball returned to Oshkosh from 1982-1987, as businessman Killian "Killer" Spanbauer brought in the Continental Basketball Association. Unfortunately, the CBA club never really caught on, in part due to the fact that the team played primarily in high school venues.

But the NBA is back in Oshkosh. What was the NBA Development League (D-League) is now the NBA G League, part of an multiyear expanded partnership with Gatorade. The 26 G League teams are basically the NBA's equivalent of baseball's minor leagues. It's preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers and front-office staff for the NBA while acting as the league's research and development territory.

The big difference between the two minor leagues? While those players in a baseball organization can only be moved up to their parent organization, G League players can be signed by ANY of the NBA's 30 teams. There are also "Two-Way" contract players, those who are signed by a team like Milwaukee and can spend a limited number of days with the big club.

Not only do the Bucks own their team, but they have built an top-notch facility (the Menominee Nation Arena) that seats 3,600 on the main floor and offers party decks available for groups of 40 to 100. Perfect for basketball, it's also attracting additional acts, from Larry The Cable Guy (opening act was FogHat!), to Gladys Knight (sorry, no Pips) as well as Jeff Foxworthy.

The arena alone gives the team a more professional feel. Large video boards at either end of the court for replays, constant interaction and contests for fans. All in a very family- and cost-friendly environment. Fans get an excellent view of the action and are treated to a pretty good product. It's certainly a plus for Oshkosh and the Fox Valley. The shot in the economic arm in the blocks around the arena has encouraged micro-breweries and restaurants.

On the night we attended, the Herd (with first-round pick D.J. Wilson) faced the Grand Rapids Drive featuring, among others, former Wisconsin Badger standout Bronson Koenig. Several other players on the court -- for example, Marshall Plumlee (whose Mom, Leslie Schultz, was a standout basketball player at nearby Neenah High School), Michael Dunigan, James Blackmon, Jr., Kay Felder, K.J. McDaniels -- all seemed to be just THIS close to getting onto an NBA roster.

The place was sold out, and despite the fact that the Drive was blowing out the home team midway through the fourth quarter, few people headed to the exits. A good sign for a fledgling pro club on a Friday night in Oshkosh.

Indians End Use of Chief Wahoo Logo

The end of an era is finally upon us. And it's time.

​The Cleveland Indians have been in hot water the past few seasons over the continued use of their infamous "Chief Wahoo" logo, which many deemed as insensitive to the Native American people it was modeled after. I tend to agree.

The team took it off their primary hats in 2013; and now, five years later, MLB claims the team will phase it out entirely by 2019. Chief Wahoo has been in use for over 65 years now, and will officially end his run on the Indians uniforms at 68 years old. Jim Thome, recently elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, would rather not have Chief Wahoo on his hat at the hall, but prefers the "C".

Now, how about the elephant in the team nickname room? While not Native American, I get how certain names or logos can be offensive. In the case of Cleveland, the name isn't, but the logo is. The opposite can be said for the NFL's Washington Redskins. The logo was a good one back in the '70s, the new one not so much AND let's face it, the name is offensive. That will probably change in the next few years as well. But probably not while Dan Snyder is the team owner.

A large number of Wisconsin high schools changed nicknames and mascots in an effort to be more understanding. And let's not forget Marquette dumped the Warriors a few years back in favor of the Golden Eagles.

What I don't understand, tho, is the reaction universities have when a nickname has the blessing of Native Americans. North Dakota was pressured into dropping "Fighting Sioux" as it's nickname, even though the Sioux nearby said all was fine. The Florida State Seminoles have stuck with their name because of the blessing of many Seminoles.

Doesn't seem like we can reach middle ground on the issue.

ssioner, Indians will stop using Chief Wahoo insignia in 2019. By @DavidWaldstein:

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