College Football Finally Gets It Right

 This might have slipped under the ol' radar for many, but in early September college football FINALLY got around to fixing the College Football Playoff system.

Soon, the days of four teams qualifying (and, it seems, Alabama having a permanent spot along with another rotating SEC club) the playoffs will expand to 12 teams. At this point, the talk is for this playoff to begin in 2026. Hell, let's just move it forward and get this party started.

This new system seems to be a better and more fair determination of a national champion. It calls for the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large picks -- as determined by a selection committee -- to make the playoffs. There will still be schools on the outside looking in, but all in all a bit of common sense seems to have come into play. And a 12-team, 11-game postseason could mean as much as $2 billion in media revenue. We all know money talks when it comes to college sports.

The top four seeds would be conference champions and receive byes into the second round. That leaves four first-round games that would be played on college campuses and at bowl sites.

Not to beat my own drum (okay, I DO mean to do it), back on Dec. 16, 2017 in this very space, I proposed an eight-team playoff with the first four games hosted (at on-campus sites) by the higher seed. This allowed the bowl system to continue (tho, seriously, do we really need over 30 bowl games and sub-.500 teams playing?)

A 12-team, 11-game postseason could mean as much as $2 billion in media revenue.

Brewers Sprint To Finish Line

 Those Milwaukee Brewers, the team we love AND hate at the same time, are sprinting to the regular season finish line just a couple of games out of a wild card playoff spot.

Entering today (9/22/22) with a four game series at Cincinnati, the Brew Crew has 13 games remaining, with nine of those in the friendly confines of AmFam Field.

Hey, we did our part yesterday to end a three-game skid, a 6-0 beat-down of the New York Mets, thanks to a grand slam homer in the seventh inning by pinch hitter Mike Brosseau (on a no ball-two strike count, no less!). This was the first timely hit in some time for Milwaukee. By my count, there are 17 games since the All-Star break in July in which the club either blew a lead or had a shot at winning. Split those into wins and losses, and the Brewers are a playoff lock.

Am taking credit for the win because we were in attendance, and am 3-0 on in-person games this season. Keep expecting a call from owner Mark Attanasio or GM David Stearns begging me to attend more games (a helicopter service to and from our home here in Oregon would sweeten the deal!).

Don't feel sorry for former Nebraska Cornhusker head coach Scott Frost, fired just a couple games into the season. Poor Scottie is forced to walk away from the job with $7 million in a buy-out deal.

That's right, $7 million! And had the school waited a few weeks, that would have dropped considerably.

Watching the Green Bay Packers' win over those dreaded Chicago Bears on Sunday, my wife and I couldn't help but notice one thing.

"Doesn't he look angry? Like he's mad they haven't put any players around him," Sally remarked when the cameras showed a glowing quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the sideline.

Have to agree he looked pissed. And maybe it's time to put that emotion to the side and work to help those young players. Body language is everything.

That was the 205th between the Packers and Bears, the longest running rivalry in the NFL. Too bad the Chicago team hasn't been more competitive in that stretch. After all, Rodgers is 24-5 in that stretch while Brett Favre was 23-13.

Speaking of Favre, looks like the fraud issue in Mississippi (good ol' Brett getting millions in state money, then giving it to his alma mater, Southern Mississippi, for a volleyball facility -- his daughter just happens to play for them) has come to light yet again. This time putting the former governor in hot water thanks to a text Favre sent him asking whether "the media could find out where this money came from."

Oops!

Baseball Changes As The Brewers Hit The Stretch Run

 Major League baseball announced several changes coming for the 2023 season. One can only think it's about damn time and move on.

*Seems that first a foremost, the end of the dreaded defensive shift. I get that it's been around for ever, implemented against the likes of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams back in the day, but that doesn't mean it's past it's usefulness.

Let's just say that loading the field to either side, playing an infielder like you would a rover/outfielder in softball, doesn't help the game. So starting next season, baseball infields must maintain the two on the left of second base/two on the right set. And those infielders must have BOTH feet on the infield dirt.

*Pitchers will be limited during a plate appearance to just TWO pickoff throws. This will put a stop to the endless attempts to keep a runner close. If a third attempt is made, and is unsuccessful in producing an out, then a balk is called and the runner advances.

*Bases are increased in size, from 15 inches to 18, to promote safety and boost stolen bases. And a pitch clock will be used to help speed the game.

These all sound like pretty good moves to me.

The Milwaukee Brewers, in spite of themselves, are still in the hunt for a wild card spot. As I write this on Sept. 10th, the Brewers have 17 of 23 their remaining games as the friendly confines of American Family Field. They are a couple of games behind both San Diego and Philadelphia for the two wild card spots.

I keep track of games they could have/should have won and, since the All-Star Break, that's nearly a dozen. Win half of those and the standings look quite a bit different.

Speaking of AmFam Field, when Milwaukee faced San Francisco this week in a double-header, it marked the first two-for-one nine inning DH in the field's history.

During the Brewers' recent road trip to Colorado, two interesting things took place. First, Manager Craig Counsell picked up his 600th career victory. And along with that, struggling Christian Yelich hit a towering 499-foot home run.

Saw that Aaron Judge of the hated New York Yankees is chasing the American League (and Yankee) record for homers in a season. Bet his hair isn't falling out in clumps like it did when Roger Maris slugged 61 and fought the pressure of passing Babe Ruth.

Love For The Ol' Hometown

 There's a local sports talk radio show I catch on a regular basis, one that's carried state-wide. It's "Nine To Noon With John Kuhn".

Kuhn is the former Green Bay Packer fullback; his co-host is former Wisconsin Badgerbasketball player Brian Butch, who hails from Appleton. The pair are informative and entertaining, complete with weekly features they trot out.

One of these  features is their Dive Bar Review.  The hosts take turns finding, then spending time at and reviewing, Wisconsin "dive bars". Was doing a park walk with Homer The Malamute this week when I caught their latest review. Imagine my surprise to hear it was a tavern called Billy B's in my hometown of Wautoma.

Have a couple of connections to Billy B's. The late owner, Billy Burmeister (he passed away in 2011) was a long-time classmate of mine. Billy bought an existing tavern, and it became a stable in Wautoma. The other connection stems from my niece, Julie, who has worked at the place for 30+ years.

Butch did the review this week, noting that he owns a place on Silver Lake, as do his family and his in-laws. Let's just say that Billy B's met all of the dive bar criteria (and more!) in scoring a favorable review.