Saw that they are still doing clean-up in Green Bay following last week's NFL draft. Thought the Packers came out strong with taking wide receiver Matthew Golden with their first pick.
Seems like Green Bay -- and the Fox Valley as well as the state -- was golden thanks to the spending of the 600,000 fans who attended the three-day event. Mild Bill, from his perch in Sonoma, CA, wondered if there were enough hotel rooms in Green Bay to accommodate the masses. I pointed out that the whole Fox Valley was booked. Hotel rooms within a 60 mile radius were probably filled, and I saw that there were shuttle busses running from Wausau, Minoqua and Appleton...
The opening day crowd of 205,000 exceeded all expectations. Hell, the TOTAL for the three days was expected to be 250,000. Weather helped snap that easily.
Had no desire to head to Lambeau Field myself, mind you. A friend (and neighbor) and his son, big on the draft, drove up for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"It was amazing," noted Chad. "But they severely underestimated the number of porta potties they needed. It was like an hour-long wait no matter where you went.
"Parking was at a premium. We paid $60 to park at a school a mile away and walked over, but I heard people say they paid $100 to $150 to park in people's driveways and on lawns. We got up there about 11 in the morning (the first round started at 7 p.m.) and by the time we left, my legs were killing me from standing that long on concrete.
"But I wouldn't trade it. Cael and I had a great time being part of something we'll probably never experience again. People were great, everyone was having a good time and enjoying it. Presented Green Bay and the Packers in a great light."
Speaking of the draft, Green Bay broke with "tradition" in taking a wide receiver with the first pick, the first since 2002. And taking two in the first three rounds? Unreal, but necessary. Yes, the Packers have some talent in the wide receiver room, but keep in mind that Christian Watson is coming off knee surgery and may or may not get back this season, while Romeo Dobbs has had concussion issues that might shorten his career.
Can't have too many weapons over there for quarterback Jordan Love to play with.
The Milwaukee Bucks are done for this season, suffering a heart-breaking overtime loss to Indiana and getting bounced out of the playoffs in the first round yet again.
Losing guard Damian Lillard to a torn achilles' in game three didn't help. Injuries just seem to cripple (no pun intended) this team come playoff time. Last year it was Giannis, the year before Khris Middleton. Lillard could well be out until March of 2026, IF he comes back at all. A 34-year-old athlete bouncing back from this severe injury won't be easy. His surgery was deemed successful, so not it's a matter of time.
The big question, from pundits to fans, is whether the Bucks should trade Giannis and get lots of players & draft picks for him, or keep him for the next three years of his contract even though the team can't afford to put much talent around him.
Think you keep one of the best players on the planet, a guy who WANTS to be in Milwaukee, for as long as you can.
So Wisconsin high schools have voted to support NIL (Name-Image-Likeness) money for Wisconsin athletes. Of the 513 WIAA members, nearly 70% voted in favor the move, according to executive director Stephanie Hauser. Caught her being interviewed on a local sports talk show recently.
Seems like WIAA members are trying to get out front of the NIL issue and have some say and control in the measure -- unlike the NCAA at the college level.
The issue will likely be more challenging for rural high school athletes. We'll have to wait and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment