Back four games into the current Major League Baseball season, the naysayers were out in force. The Milwaukee Brewers had been beaten, no CRUSHED, by the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, setting a record for pathetic pitching performances. After dropping the opener 4-2, the Crew lost games 20-9, 12-3 and 11-1.
Woe is us! The sky is falling! were the cries heard from many Brewers fans.
Cautioned all then that the season is a marathon and not a sprint. Just 132 games later, Milwaukee rebounded from that start to post a 85-52 record -- well, 85-47 if you drop that start. That's as of the last day in August, the BEST record in baseball!
This is a special bunch, as I have noted before. Young team with the right amount of veterans sprinkled in, a team having fun, enjoys playing together and is being led by a manager, Pat Murphy, who seems to be the perfect leader.
Milwaukee fans are responding in large numbers. Note the string of sellouts and near-sellouts, 8 of the last 9 games by my count. And that includes a recent Friday night game, followed by the Alumni Home Run Derby, that drew 43,469 fans.
People, AmFam Field seats 41,900! That's an awful lot of standing room tickets. Team is currently averaging just over 32,000 a game -- 13th in the MLB. If they keep at the current average, that would put them at about 2.6 million fans. No reason to think the sell-outs won't continue in many of the remaining 12 home games.
Still, there's a number of fatalistic fans not totally enjoying the ride. You know the ones. They talk about flaming out down the stretch or in the playoffs, etc.
Had drinks with a STAUNCH Chicago Cubs fan -- yes, there was gloating involved on the current standings. Mike noted that he just didn't understand that fatalistic approach to a successful season. Have to admit, neither do I. He said long-suffering Cubs fans have learned to enjoy the ride.
He also couldn't understand the animosity Milwaukee fans have for former manager, Craig Counsell. That's an easy one, Mike. He could have gone to any other team and things would have been fine. But, NOOOOO, he had to go to the hated Cubbies, our fierce rivals.
Enjoy the season, fans. Don't worry too much about the future.
Green Bay Packer fans are beside themselves, literally dancing in the streets, after the team pulled off the steal...er, trade...for All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, age 26. So unlike the Green & Gold to go after a deal like this involving draft picks.
The Pack sent first round picks in 2026 and '27, to the Dallas Cowboys along with defensive tackle Kenny Clark (age 29) to bring the Parsons to Title Town. A long drawn-out contract dispute between Parsons and owner/general manager Jerry Jones was at the bottom of this. Jerra didn't want to negotiate a deal with Parsons' agent, just with Parsons, and the rift began.
With Green Bay, Parsons inked a four-year contract extension worth $188 million with over $130 million in guaranteed money, making him the highest paid non-quarterback in the league. He is a defensive force and will make those around him better.
Putting out that kind of cheddar is unusual in Green Bay. The downside is we now have about 35% of our salary cap invested in two guys, Parsons and quarterback Jordan Love.
Better hope they both stay healthy.
By The Way, Parsons wore number 11 in Dallas, but that number belongs to wide receiver Jayden Reed. Instead, Green Bay with break with tradition and issue jersey #1. That's a number last worn by team founder Curley Lambeau in 1925-26. It was never official retired, just not issued. The same is true of #5 worn by Paul Hornung. That number is unofficially retired.
Hell, so many numbers from that dynasty could have been retired. But then, you start running out of jersey numbers!
Learned that Vaughn Karvala, the first-team all-state basketball player from Oregon, will NOT be returning for his senior year. Not an unexpected move. He's headed to an academy in Arizona to face higher caliber competition.
Highly sought after since his freshman year -- Wisconsin's Greg Gard and Marquette's Shaka Smart extended scholarship offers early -- it will be interesting to see if one of those state schools can reel in a big fish like Karvala.
No surprise that Aaron Rodgers, 41, returned for another NFL season. He is currently fifth in career touchdown passes at 503, just five behind Brett Favre. With his ego, Rodgers will want to pass Favre -- and still give Green Bay two of the top five in touchdown passes.
Colten Bartholomew is the beat reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, covering Wisconsin Badger football. He's insightful, gives a good look into the program. Always enjoy reading his stuff.
He recently talked about a freshman offensive lineman, a kid from my home town (gotta stay loyal to those Wautoma Hornets!) who grew up a farm near the one I grew up on...
Here's what Bartholomew wrote after an August practice open to the media:
"Michael Roeske, a Wautoma product, showed his potential to be a big factor on the line at some point. He showed good flexibility and low pads during his work with the third offense. He gives great effort in run blocking despite not possessing outstanding strength, and his feet constantly move. He’s somehow a lean-looking 322 pounds, so the way in which he works his body this offseason will be interesting."
The fact that someone 6-8, 322 pounds is not ready for Big Ten competition doesn't surprise me. Roeske is going to have to get stronger, no necessarily bigger, before he can be a factor. Am sure he will wear the "Red Shirt" this season, though he could appear in a couple of games and still keep his four-year eligibility.
Michael Roeske, a Wautoma product, showed his potential to be a big factor on the line at some point. He showed good flexibility and low pads during his work with the third offense. He gives great effort in run blocking despite not possessing outstanding strength, and his feet constantly move. He’s somehow a lean-looking 322 pounds, so the way in which he works his body this offseason will be interesting.
Michael Roeske, a Wautoma product, showed his potential to be a big factor on the line at some point. He sh
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