The Best High School Cager In Wisconsin You MIGHT Have Heard Of

 As we head into a New Year with 2025 just down the road, here's a quick question.

Ever heard of Vaughn Karvala?

If the answer is negative, don't worry. You're probably not alone. I keep an eye on state high school athletes and this one is in my own backyard. Karvala is a 6-foot, 7-inch junior guard on the Oregon High School boys' basketball team. He recently poured in a school-record 44 points in a win, and for the season he's averaging 25.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and three assists.

Karvala has scholarship offers from Marquette and Wisconsin, among others. He's the kind of teammate you want to be around, the one who can shoot inside or out, rebound, find an open teammate. Marquette might have an inside track, since Coach Shaka Smart is an OHS alum!

He's not the top scorer in the state at the moment. That's Chris Davis of Sun Prairie East, averaging 39.1 points per game -- this after topping the state as a junior with 40.1.

Over on the football side of things, senior Christian Collins of Green Bay Notre Dame ran for 3,084 yards and 42 touchdowns in 12 regular season games. He tore things up in the playoffs, adding over 1,000 yards -- including 408 yards on 39 carries with TDs of 25, eight, 41, 65 and 72 yards, leading his team to a 49-28 win over Catholic Memorial in the D-3 title game.

Collins had to share Green Bay-area headlines with a West De Pere junior quarterback, as Patrick Greisen passed for 3,846 yards in a dozen games, with 49 TDs against just nine interceptions.

Milwaukee Brewer fans owe the late George Petak a debt of gratitude. The Racine senator, who recently passed away, was a first-term senator who cast the deciding vote for the 5-county sales tax, which effectively gave state funds to the Brewers for the construction of Miller Park, now known as American Family Field.

For his vote, Petak was the subject of a recall and lost his senate seat -- for will forever be in the hearts of Brewer fans. Petak effectively saved baseball in Wisconsin.

Speaking of baseball, we would be remiss if we didn't note the unexpected passing at age 65 of Rickey Henderson, probably the greatest lead-off hitter of all-time and Number One in stole bases.

Fond of speaking of himself in the third person ("Let Rickey Be Rickey!"), the Oakland native was a colorful character and Major League Baseball could use more than a few of them. Henderson once spotted the somewhat traditional JOHN 3:16 sign in the stands and remarked "What's so great about John hitting .316? Rickey be hittin' .330..."

May The Man Of Steal rest in peace.

The obscene money thrown at outfielder Juan Soto by the New York Mets (15 years, $765 million) is just another example of the need for baseball to bring in a salary cap.

The NFL, NBA and NHL all have them, which brings a bit of balance to the leagues and gives the "little guys" a more level playing field.

Baseball? Not so much. Look no further than teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Mets or Chicago Cubs -- clubs that can pour a lotta cash on the table to lure in free agents and, if the deal goes south, can more easily absorb the loss.

It would be in baseball's better interests to help smaller market teams. Unfortunately, that horse left the barn a long, long time ago and is unlikely to be saddled anytime soon.

Can't blame the players. After all, in the same position, we would all be happy to take the money and run as long as owners are willing to spend it.

A Happy, Healthy and Productive 2025 to all! Thanks for following these posts.