So Long, Johnny Davis

 It really wasn't much of a surprise this week, the announcement coming from Johnny Davis that he would pass up his final two seasons of basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers and take his talents to the NBA.

This was considered by many a done deal all season long, though some of us (like me) were holding out hope that Johnny would return to the Cardinal & White for another season. I'm still not convinced that his body-type is ready for the NBA. Or that some of his skills couldn't use the polish that would come from an additional college season. Heck, overall maturity could be added on as well.

Technically, he still could come back -- as long as he doesn't retain an agent. And who knows, if he doesn't like where he's going to fall in the draft, he might.

But the odds are long that we've seen the last of him on the Kohl Center floor.

Can't blame this young man from La Crosse for taking his shot at the money. After all, athletes are just one serious injury away from losing that.

Thanks for a memorable season, Johnny. And best of luck with that pro career.

Talked about this in my last blog, but it bears repeating. The biography by Brett Christopherson, Over And Back: Mickey Crowe: The Strange And Troubled Life Of A Wisconsin High School Basketball Legend is worth-while reading.

It should be a cautionary tale for parents who push their talented children waaaaay too hard. Mickey's father and coach, Marty Crowe, did his uber-talented son no favors with his heavy-handed style of coaching. And trying to piggy-back a deal to the college level? Odds are, that just added to the son's turn to mental health problems along with his addictions to alcohol and drugs.

I give Mickey Crowe a lot of credit for essentially coming out of hiding and opening up, honestly detailing his issues.

The transfer portal for college athletes gets a lot of attention, especially when members of Wisconsin Badger athletic teams take advantage and leave.

I think the portal is a good thing, up to a point. Coaches, after all, have been free to leave for years. And if a coach is the main reason someone has chosen a program, the athlete should have the ability to pack the bags WITHOUT having to sit out a season.

The portal has been used to an extreme down in Baton Rouge, though. The program's coach was bounced late in the season due to infractions, and as of today 11 players have entered the transfer portal. That means there's not a single scholarship player left on the roster from this past season.

Makes the one or two players we've lost at Wisconsin seem pretty insignificant!

Tournament Time Brings Back Memories Of Mickey

Step about the Wayback Machine, folks. We're taking a trip back to a time when basketball at all levels was a bit different.

OK, a lot different.

Remember basketball in the late 1960s and early '70s? No three-point line. No shot clock. Hand-checks and physical defense was allowed. College freshmen weren't eligible for varsity play.

With the high school champions crowned and the Final Four set, my mind drifted back to a name that, I hope, has survived the years. A kid named Mickey Crowe, a 6-5ish guard in a time when those were rare. Rarer still was a Wisconsin kid (playing for his dad Marty at St. Nazianz JFK Prep from 1971-1975) who averaged over 40 points a game and brought in national media attention.

He torched Cedar Grove for 72 and hit 56 against both Two Rivers and Sevastopol. When JFK Prep rolled into town, it a visit from the circus. As a sophomore he averaged 36 points a game and put up back-to-back games of 60-plus. Crowe upped that to 39 as a junior and then 41.7 as a senior, scoring 1,001 points. 

It's a shame that, with all that talent, his own demons brought him down. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic in 1984, he now keeps his psychological issues in check with daily doses of medication. Mickey Crowe lives in Eau Claire these days. His story is well-told in Over And Back: Mickey Crowe: The Strange And Troubled Life Of A Wisconsin High School Basketball Legend by Brett Christopherson.

Crowe scored 2,724 points in his career, which now ranks second among state preps. In the 1974-75 season he scored 1,001 points in 24 games, averaging 41.71 points per game. I had the chance to see him play four times in his career -- two regular season games against Oshkosh Lourdes Academy and two WISAA tournament games at Kolf Sports Center on the UW-Oshkosh campus.

When Mickey Crowe crossed the half-court line, he was in range, folks. Gotta wonder how many points he would have averaged, and scored, had he benefited from a three-point line. He was Wisconsin's answer to "Pistol" Pete Maravich, who starred at LSU for his father, Peter "Press" Maravich.

Maravich couldn't play as a freshman due to NCAA rules, but in 81 varsity games he averaged 44.2 points a game. From the 1967-68 season to 1969-70, the Pistol averaged 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 respectively. He's first all-time on the NCAA D-1 men's career scoring with 3,667 points; he's first, fourth and fifth on the list for points in a season (1,381; 1,148; 1,138) and first, second and third for scoring average by season.

Again, keep in mind this is well BEFORE the three-point line. The Pistol was a show, and a big influence on Mickey Crowe -- down to the floppy socks and long hair.

The Lourdes Academy Knights of Oshkosh had Mickey Crowe's number, tho. In a handful of games in his career, he was held to less than 30 points in a game. Lourdes did it twice. In the first, his junior year, JFK Prep won 70-68 in overtime as Crowe had 27 points on 12 of 27 field goals.

Jim Baerwald of Lourdes put up 28 points, and was one of the reasons for Crowe's struggles

"(Crowe) was a crazy guy," recalls Ken Korsch, at that time a 6-3 senior forward on the Lourdes team who went on to earn All-Winnebagoland honors from the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. "He (Crowe) guarded me, but we had (6-5 forward) Jim Baerwald guard him.

"Jim could time his dribbling so he would be right up on Crowe, which he didn’t adapt to very well," remembers Korsch, who owns Lake Rest Resort on Spider Lake in Arbor Vitae, WI. "I got a letter from Marty Crowe after that game telling me how well we played them."

The Oshkosh Lourdes starting five included forwards Korsch and Baerwald, center Jim Angle, off-guard Mike Muza and point guard Pat McKenzie, currently the team physician for the Green Bay Packers. 

The second meeting for Lourdes and JFK saw Crowe finish with 21 points on 9 of 32 field goals and 3 of 14 free throws in a 78-67 win.

In the tournament games at Kolf, Crowe and JFK beat Marinette Catholic Central 52-50 on Crowe's 15-foot jumper. He had 31 points that game on 15 of 37 shots. The next night, De Pere Abbot Pennings through a stiff defense that frustrated Crowe, as he only got 14 of his 26 shots in the second half, finishing with 27 points in a 49-44 Pennings win.

The next season, as a senior, Crowe got JFK Prep to Milwaukee and the WISAA state tournament championship game, only to come up short against Racine Lutheran

The Crystal Ball Was Cloudy

The Green Bay Packers traded wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders this week, getting first- and second-round picks in this year's NFL draft.

Didn't see that one coming. Thought for sure that the two would get a contract done that would keep Adams in Green Bay as the highest paid wide receiver in the league. And that's what he is after Da Ray-Dahs ponied up over $142 million, reuniting Adams with his Fresno State quarterback, Derek Carr.

Guess that franchise tag business was a little too much for the pride (and ego) of Adams to handle. Am hearing that GB offered to match the six-year deal Las Vegas offered, but Adams had enough and his mind was made up. Well, more power to him. The Packers now have four of the first 60 picks in the draft, enough capital to perhaps swing a trade and move up for a stud rookie wide out. Or ink a more reasonable free agent, and there are some good ones out there.

And this might be for the best, as our own gazillionaire quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, may not be so tightly focused on one player.

Johnny Davis of the Wisconsin Badgers is a consensus All-American basketball player, the first for the Badgers since Frank "The Tank" Kaminsky.

Well deserved for Davis, the sophomore guard who leads the Badgers in scoring (19.7 points per game),  rebounds (8.2) and free throws while second in assists.

If he's been able to get healthy since that horrific spill against Nebraska in the regular season finale, the Badgers and Coach Greg Guard should make it out of this opening weekend of the NCAA tournament and into the Sweet Sixteen.

Aaron Rodgers, Philanthropist?

So, Aaron Rodgers. You inked a deal worth a cool $150 million, and half of it is guaranteed. That extends your stay in Green Bay as the quarterback of the Packers by another three years while easing the salary cap hit for now.

Quick question, Aaron: IF your playoff performances don't pick up and you don't get the Packers to another Super Bowl, will you give back some of that cash?

Just asking for a friend...

Green Bay's front office had to make a lot of tough decisions to get down under the NFL's salary cap, and appears to still be making them.

Putting the franchise tag on All -World wide receiver Davante Adams was the practical route to go, and it's no surprise that Adams is peeved. He said he would be if the Packers did it, and he's been a man of his word, stating that he won't play under the franchise tag.

Not to worry, Packer Nation. Contract issues will be taken care of before the season gets rolling. I felt all along that Rodgers would stay in Green Bay beyond 2022, and I feel the same way about the Adams situation. He wants to be the highest-paid WR in the NFL, rightfully so, and it will take some time to hammer out details to the satisfaction of both sides.

My question is, will there be enough money left after paying our quarterback and wide receiver so handsomely to put a team on the field?

This was just a matter of time. The NFL long ago committed to have every team play in London at least once in a season. Hell, the Jacksonville Jaguars head across the pond a couple of times a season, in part because team owner Shadid Khan has a lot of business interests there and has hinted he would like to move the franchise to Jolly Old England.

So, in 2022 the Green Bay Packers will finally play in London. The team fought this for years due to the economic impact on Green Bay and the Fox Valley that follows with losing a home game. And since Packer fans travel so well, road teams were reluctant to lose cash from the Green & Gold as well.

But now that the NFL has gone to a 17-game season, guess the NFL and the Packers feel a little more comfortable with that "home game" moving across the pond.

Will have to see how the league sets up the rest of the schedule, but I believe Green Bay will still eight home games even with the trip to London factored in. Though the NFL has not announced which of the nine home games will the London trip.

Some Salient Points To Ponder In Baseball's New Order

 Now that the millionaires & billionaires have settled their squabble and Major League Baseball is back, just what comes out of the CBA that will improve the game?

First off, the National League has adopted the designated hitter. The experiment worked so well in the 2020 Covid-impacted year that the DH is now universal in baseball. I'll admit, being an NL guy, I did like the strategy involved with pitching changes and the like. Not a big fan of pitchers who couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a two-by-four, though.

On paper, at least, this should speed up the game. And seriously, baseball could use it. Granted, here's a sport without a clock, but come on! Get in the damn batter's box already. The constant adjustment of this and that is painful to watch. Three hour games should not be the norm.

Limiting catcher conferences and mound visits was a step in the right direction. Now enforce the pitch clock. And umpires, would it kill you to call the strike zone the way it is defined in the rule book? I'm all for the human element, but consistency is lacking -- oft times severely.

The playoffs expanded by two teams, from 10 to 12.  The best thing about this? No more one-and-done wild card games. Now it's a best-of-three with Team 3 meeting Team 6 and Team 4 playing Team 5. The top two teams in each league get the first round bye.

Baseball is going to have to figure out a way to wrap up the season before November, though. MLB was trying to start as early as possible this year (March 31st, pushed back by the lock-out), but there's only so much calendar to work with. Weather becomes a factor in the spring as well as the fall.

How about shaving the regular season to 150 games from the 162? Both owners and players will have to seriously look at this one, as it means less paid games for the players and a few less revenue shots for owners.

Players can only be optioned to the minor leagues five times per season. This will stop the conveyor belt that has moved pitchers back and forth. Can't tell you the number of times I flipped on a game and wondered  "who the hell is THAT" pitching now? The addition of the DH helps pitching staffs, and this move means owners can't mess with a guy's "clock" -- the amount of major league time that keeps a player under contract to his team. This is why those top prospects, the no-miss guys, never get to a major league game until mid-May or later.

Any further rule changes, such as Robo-Umps or a limit on the defensive shift will now come from a committee, one consisting of four active players, six members appointed by MLB and an umpire.

They're probably not done tinkering with baseball yet. Things will continue to evolve. Hopefully for the better.

Gambling In (And On) The NFL

The Shield, as the National Football League is sometimes referred to, made an example of Atlanta Falcons' wide receiver Calvin Ridley this week.

While on injured list and not with the team, Ridley played 10 or so bets on NFL games. He has been suspended infinitely by the NFL -- at least through the end of the 2022 season.

 Yes, players should not be gambling and it is spelled out quite plainly in the league rules. Same goes for all professional sports. How about baseball's lifetime ban of Pete Rose for betting on games while the manager of the Cincinnati Reds?

But isn't the NFL being a bit of a hypocrite on this, based on the advertising bed they are in with on-line gambling sites?

This brings to mind the 1963 season, when then-commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended All-Pros Paul Hornung  Alex Karras. Hornung was a standout halfback on the Green Bay Packers while Karras anchored Detroit Lions at defensive tackle. The two sat out the 1963 season for betting on NFL games and associating with "known hoodlums" (the NFL's quotes, not mine).

Losing Hornung probably cost the Packers another championship, which would have been a sixth in seven seasons.

Both players took their punishment and moved on to 1964, though Karras had a better sense of humor about it. At mid-field for a pre-game coin toss, the referee asked Karras to make the call. The future Hall of Famer, who went on to a very successful career in television and moves, replied "I'm sorry, sir, I'm not allowed to gamble..."

Tornows Keep Baseball A Family Business

 There's a baseball family that bears some mention here, the Tornow family. The father of the crew, Ted, is a guy I've known since his high school days.

Ted was a three-sport high school athlete (remember those?) at Menasha. We got to be friends, played some rec softball together (Teddy, do you recall the home plate collision I was in? But I digress...) He's  starting his 39th year in organized baseball, entering his 24th season with the Clinton LumberKings as GM. Previous baseball stops include Green Bay, Memphis (Tennessee), Huntsville (Alabama), Jackson (Mississippi, where he crossed paths with Bo Jackson, then on his way to the major leagues) and Butte (Montana).

Ted's sons have followed him into baseball careers, in different ways. Brett, the oldest -- and like his dad, a UW-Oshkosh grad -- is heading into another season as Group Sales Manager with the Birmingham Barons, a AA squad in the Chicago White Sox organization.

The younger son, Luke, is doing a summer intern program as part of the grounds crew for the Milwaukee Brewers. He should be starting his training now, as am sure workers at that level get drafted into being part of The Sausage Race during home games!

Speaking of Milwaukee, got my Opening Day tickets this week, ready to cheer the Brewers on to another strong run.

Judging by the news coming out of Florida, where MLB owners and the players union are trying to hammer out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, they just might be able to meet the Monday deadline and keep the regular season on track.

After all the reduced crowds due to Covid issues the last two years, I really think the last thing either side wants is a delayed/shortened season.

We're a week removed from the Juwan Howard melt-down. That was a pretty expensive head-slap by a former Fab Five member -- 40 grand and a five-game suspension.

Don't know what was said and, frankly, don't need to. Both Howard and Wisconsin Coach Greg Gard share blame: Howard for letting things get out of hand, Gard for not having better sense to let the moment pass and deal with it later.

Gard has a young, YOUNG team sitting atop the Big Ten Standings when, in the pre-season, the Badgers were picked to finish 10th. Howard, meanwhile, has a middle of the pack Michigan team. Frustrating, I'm sure, as they were picked to win the league by some.

Wrapping Up Loose Ends

 Now that the dust has settled on the NFL season, perhaps we can take a moment to appreciate the post-season.

Of the 13 games, the final seven (including Super Bowl LVI) were just a pleasure. Two settled by overtime, six by three-points and another by six (overtime). 

Can't recall a post-season that had that much balance. No wonder over 100 million tuned into the Super Bowl game on regular television, while another 12 million streamed the game.

It's not been a stretch. Baseball's spring training should have begun a week ago with pitchers and catchers reporting to Arizona and Florida. But the Boys of Summer are squabbling with management over a myriad of issues. The owners and the MLBPA can't seem to reach an understanding.

Of course, it takes more than a 15-minute sit-down (like the sides had on Thursday) to hash out differences. Players aren't all that thrilled with the length of spring training, anyway. But come on, fellas!

At this rate, Opening Day for the Milwaukee Brewers, scheduled for March 31st, is in danger.

So Canada takes the gold in women's hockey, USA the silver. Some things just don't change. This is a GREAT rivalry, fueled by great competition (and a lot of former University of Wisconsin Badgers on both sides).

Badger basketball fans had best be prepared for the departure of sophomore Johnny Davis, a potential College Player Of The Year. Averaging a double-double, the guard could well take his talents to the NBA after this season.

Much depends on how well he fares once tournament play comes about, though. If he has a stellar post-season, expect Davis to take the money and run. Personally, I think another year of college could help his body become more NBA-ready.

Sizing Up Super Bowl LVI And Other Thoughts

 Would rather have had a dog in the fight in this Super Bowl (curse you, Green Bay special teams & under-productive offense!), but it should still be an entertaining game,

The Los Angeles Rams went out on a limb, threw a lot of money at the issue and are four-point favorites to keep the Lombardi Trophy with the NFC. The Cincinnati Bengals?

Well, I've always had a soft spot for the kitties from Cincy. When they came into the league (well, into the AFL first), I could listen to games at night via an AM radio station (remember those?) out of Cincinnati. Same for the Big Red Machine, those juggernaut Reds' baseball teams.

Rams have the advantage in the trenches, as I just don't see Cincy's O-Line being able to give quarterback Joe Burrow enough time. Not unless they scheme in a lot of screens, quick-hitters, draws and mis-direction. LA's qb, Matt Stafford, spend all of his career in the NFL's version of quarterback hell (Detroit) and has shown that he does have talent. Especially when throwing to a high-caliber group of receivers.

Still, Stafford does enough Stafford-like things to keep things interesting. Hell, the Rams would have gone home had the 49er defensive back held onto the punt-like interception.

In an entertaining game, Rams 34, Bengals 24.

Came across a couple of interesting life stories from the library that I'd recommend. An autobiography called Trejo by Danny Trejo with Donal Logue. Trejo was a career criminal/prisoner with addiction issues before turning his life around and ending up an actor. Fascinating read.

The other is a biography about a guy most Milwaukee Bucks fans are familiar with; Giannis: The Improbable Rise Of An NBA MVP by Mirin Fader. She takes a good, in-depth look at this two-time MVP's early life and struggles. How he has turned himself into one of the best players in the world is amazing.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, only two members of the Lombardi championship teams are still with us -- guard Jerry Kramer and linebacker Dave Robinson. Luckily, our heroes live on in our memories.

Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, turned 88 in late January.  Sounds like he is coming back for yet another partial season of announcing Milwaukee Brewer baseball, and we're the better for it. When Uek retires, it will leave a big, big hole in the broadcast booth.

Here's hoping the owners and players can work out their differences soon.

Was pleased to see Dana Rettke of the national champion Wisconsin Badgers' women's volleyball team featured in the Faces In The Crowd feature in the February issue of Sports Illustrated. Granted a fifth season of college eligibility, Rettke became the first (and I'm sure, the only) five-time All-American.

Washington Commanders. Really? That's what months and months of study came up with (and no truth to the rumor that team owner Daniel Snyder wanted to go with "Injuns")

Still, I can just hear the crowds chanting "Let's Go, Commies!"

How To Make The Aaron Rodgers Situation Work

 Seems like every talking head has an opinion on the Will-Aaron-Rodgers-Stay/Leave euestion.

Am happy to throw my hat into the ever-growing ring.

Rodgers isn't going anywhere, folks. Even with Green Bay nearly $45 million OVER the salary cap, and with a boatload of players to make decisions on, Aaron's going to stay put.

This will take a lot of fancy tap-dancing with the books. And I mean a lot. When players like Davante' Adams, De'Vondre Campbell, Rasul Douglas, Robert Tonyan and Kenny Clark, to name a few, need to be paid...well, there's just so many dollars to go around.

Follow me here. Aaron stays because he knows this organization has the best chance of winning. While the grass is always greener on the other side of the football field, any team that is winning now is already set at quarterback.

So here's what needs to be be done. The management team in Green Bay (head coach Matt LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst and president Mark Murphy) need to sit down with Rodgers. Soothe his ego, commit to him for, say, four years and push the money into the future. Hell, trade backup Jordan Love if need be BUT tell Rodgers up front that there will be a quarterback drafted in the near future.

You want to be more involved, Aaron? Sit in the room and help make the tough decisions that are needed for the health and future of the franchise. Give up some money, or push it into the future, to keep the band together.

Let guys like Kevin King and Za'Darius Smith walk, among others. Slap the franchise tag on Adams. He won't be happy with it, but remind him that his success comes from the connection with No. 12 (and, really, where else will he find a competitive team that will have that? Anybody remember Greg Jennings after he left Brett Favre's throws and bolted to Minnesota? Didn't think so.)