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.

Memories Of The Overtime & The Russian Eagles

Saw a note from Big Bach on facebook that a long-time friend, and one of my favorite coaches, had passed away.

Big Bach is Chris Fahrbach, a standout high school basketball player at Menasha St. Mary's Central High School who went on to star for the University of North Dakota, then took his talents overseas to coach and play in Norway for several seasons. Hope to share more on that story down the road!

Chris shared the news that Clem Massey, 86, had died. While working in the Neenah-Menasha bureau of the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern for several years, I got to know Clem, then the coach of the Menasha Bluejays boys' basketball team, pretty well. He was a good friend, a great guy, a great interview and always available. I often stopped around his office just to shoot the bull.

A member of the 1953 state championship basketball team (and a standout in football and baseball as well), Massey earned a scholarship to Marquette University and, after his successful run as MHS coach, was selected to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall Of Fame.

Clem and his long-time friend, Jack Wippich, also owned The Overtime Supper Club in Menasha. Wippich was a successful coach in his own right at Kimberly High School, and to have the two conference rivals in business together was rare.

The OT was just off Menasha's main drag, located on a street that ran along the riverfront that fed into Lake Winnebago. Trust me, it was THE place to go. You never knew which coaches, athletic directors, game officials you would run into there. And food was damn good as well.

The Russian Eagles lost a teammate recently as well. Classmate, Joel Jarvis, passed away. The Russian Eagles ("five times as powerful as the American bird!") was our intramural basketball team, one that took the court 50 years ago (good lord, can it really be that long?) and featured Rocky, Charlie, Boom-Boom (Joel), Gregger, Bobby Nature, Billy VA, Huggy Dougie, Sagebrush and me.

What followed seemed like something from a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movie ("Hey kids, let's put on a show!"), as Charlie designed a logo and printed tee shirts while my Mom sewed shorts for the team.

The intramural season came together when I approached WHS principal Mable Bauman on the subject. She said if there was A) interest and B) I could find a faculty member who would chaperone, she'd okay the court time.

At an early school day meeting, nearly 90 guys (this in a school of just over 500) turned out. I talked David Vignali, our Spanish teacher, into being the faculty chaperone. And somehow conned two friends from the varsity basketball team (Brian Schultz and Mark Norem) into being referees. A six-team, five week season was figured out with two games going on at the same time on the two smaller WHS courts each week.

Good memories, for sure. And good thoughts of Joel and the rest of the Eagles. Hell, there was even a game in which Joel just stayed at our offensive end, fielded long outlet passes and hit lay-ups, finishing with nearly 30 points in the win!

Thanks For The Memories, Josh Hader

 Now that the dust has settled following a flurry of trades, let's bid adieu to ace (sometimes) reliever Josh Hader and thank him for his service to the Milwaukee Brewers.

It was a big, BIG trade, sending Hader to the San Diego Padres for four players -- including LHP pitcher Taylor Rodgers, who was second in the NL in saves behind Hader and who, like Hader, had stumbled recently. Perhaps the change of scenery will do both good. Let's not forget that this gives Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell even more flexibility, since RHP Devin Williams will surely see more action as the closer.

But more reasons for making this trade. Simple economics.

Hader was making $11 million this season as one of the best closers in baseball. Eligible for arbitration, he would probably have gotten in the $16 million range. Plus Milwaukee only had him under contract until the end of the 2023 season. Odds of him staying with a small market like Milwaukee? Not all that good.

So it makes sense to pull the trigger on a trade now and get something for him.

The Padres would seem to be pushing all their chips to the middle of the table this season, having also acquired young superstar Juan Soto (along with Josh Bell) from the Washington Nationals. Plus don't forget San Diego has Fernando Tatis coming back from an injury.

Talk about loaded!

They may not catch the Los Angeles Dodgers for the regular season, but will definitely be a factor for the post-season.

And speaking of those Los Angeles Dodgers, RIP announcer Vin Scully, who passed at age 94. Scully was an icon, calling Dodger games for generations -- all the way back to the team's days as the Brooklyn Dodgers!

His death comes on the heels of another sports icon, Bill Russell. Though not a Boston Celtics fan, I can still appreciate Russell's NBA career and 11 championships.

More than his success in sports, you have to admire his efforts regarding social justice, taking a stand for equality when most fans just wanted athletes to shut up and play ball. The iconic photo of him with Jim Brown, Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at that time know as Lew Alcindor) still amazes.

Brewers In Good Spot At Mid-Point

 Major League Baseball's All-Star Game is scheduled for next week.

Most folks see the four-day break as the mid-point of the 162-game season, but it usually comes a bit past half-way.

The Milwaukee Brewers wrapped up the first half of their season on Sunday July 3rd, finishing their 81st  game with a 2-0 win to give them a 46-35 record, a .568 winning percentage and a slight lead over the hated St. Louis Cardinals. For a pitching-rich, struggling offensive team this is quite the accomplishment. Especially since it seems like the only one who is NOT/HASN'T been injured is manager Craig Counsell.

(By comparison, the New York Yankees hit the mid-point an amazing 58-23 -- a .716 winning percentage -- and a 13-game lead. For years I thought the club was named the gawd-damned Yankees because that's how my Uncle Doc referred to them!)

Milwaukee has looked more like a M*A*S*H unit this first half, as the injury bug has bitten the club hard. But lately, the pieces are coming back, getting healthy and the bats are starting to heat up for guys like Andrew McCutcheon, Rowdy Tellez and Jace Peterson. The move to the lead-off spot for Christian Yelich has been a positive one, both in getting his bat confidence back and in setting the table for others.

Yelli drew a crucial bases-loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth the other day against those darn Chicago Cubs, bringing in the tying run in a game that Victor Caratini won with a walk-off three-run homer in the 10th (also of the two-out variety!)

Getting Hunter Renfroe's bat back into the lineup will help as well, since he was just starting to heat up when injured. Don't expect pitcher Freddie Peralta back by the end of the season, but do expect GM David Stearns to make a move or two -- an additional bat and a pitcher or two won't surprise me.

Was over to Am-Fam Field for a Father's Day outing with my two lads a couple weeks back. Took advantage of the 50% discount for Senior Citizen tickets (sometimes being old pays off). We even did the Senior Stroll after the game, when the Brewers allow seniors and their friends out onto the warning track to walk the field.

Started at the first base side and walked around to the third base side. You get a whole different perspective from the outfield warning track. Have been on enough baseball diamonds, major and minor league, to know that, by and large, their dimensions are similar. Still, was pretty neat to walk it.

Thanks For Your Service, Lorenzo Cain

 One of our favorite Milwaukee Brewers, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, was recently given Designated For Assignment status.

That means he's being sent to the minors and essentially released. He can accept that move, become a free agent and hope for the best or retire.

Despite the fact that going into Saturday, Cain was only hitting .179 with a single home run and nine Runs Batted In, the Brewers had held onto him. Making the move Saturday was significant for one reason: It let Cain reach the Ten Years of MLB Service, thus giving him a full pension.

Class move by Milwaukee. Age catches up to all of us, and Cain was a favorite of mine when he came up in 2010, hitting .306 and showing potential. Considering he didn't start playing organized ball until he was a sophomore in high school, even making it to the majors, let alone lasting 10 years, is amazing.

He was traded to Kansas City in December 2010, part of the package for pitcher Zack Greinke, among others. I was crushed, but in his seven years in KC, Cain played in the World Series twice and won a ring. He came back to play in Milwaukee the last five years, though he sat out the 2020 Covid-19 season.

A great influence in the clubhouse and exceptional defensive presence, one moment will always stand out. An Opening Day a few seasons ago against the hated St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee clinging to a one-run lead in the late innings. Two outs, runner aboard and Cain goes OVER the outfield wall to take away a two-run homer.

The crowd in Miller Park (before AmFam Field) just exploded. What an amazing play, and amazing career.

Thanks, Lo Cain, for your example and play in Milwaukee. To be honest, it won't surprise me in the least if the Brewers find a home in the front office or on a coaching staff for Lorenzo.

Hail To The Champions!

 The hometown Oregon High School girls soccer team capped off a magical season with the Division 2 state championship yesterday.

Beating Whitefish Bay 1-0 brought the OHS record to an amazing 23-0-1. They outscored their opponents 148-3 in posting an amazing 22 shutouts. 

What's even more incredible is the team is the number 1-ranked squad IN THE NATION. Pretty impressive.

And by the way, the OHS boys took home the state title last fall, so little ol' Oregon can claim to be Wisconsin's Soccer Titletown.

Hats off to Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, now the winningest manager in franchise history with 565 and counting. Counsell passed Phil "Scrapiron" Garner this past week.

Keep in mind that, while Garner won 563 games with Milwaukee in his eight seasons as skipper, he only posted ONE winning season and finished with a .477 winning percentage. 

In comparison, Counsell as only had three losing seasons in his eight years (and I hesitate to count the 29-31 mark in the 2020 Covid-19 season.) This should be the fifth straight post-season for Milwaukee.

Not bad for a small market manager who has yet to win Manager Of The Year!

Packer fans will enjoy a book I recently cam across. Green Bay's Greatest: Profiles of the Packers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame by Michael Jacquart is a delight. That, along with Cliff Chrystl's The Greatest Story In Sports: Green Bay Packers 1919-2019 are educational reads for those of us who love the Green & Gold. Recently finished Volume I of the four-volume set. Just fascinating.

By the way, Happy Father's Day!

Home Opener The Best Day Of The Year

Made it over to Milwaukee on Thursday for the BEST day of the year, the home opener for the Milwaukee Brewers.

By my count, this was Opening Day No. 30 -- and thanks to a 5-1 thumping of the hated St. Louis Cardinals, my record stands at 18-12. The Crew is 28-26 since coming over from Seattle in 1970.

Witnessed this one with Stevie Wonder (no, not that Stevie Wonder!), a long-time friend who has been meeting us for these games since the early 1990's. Also in tow my bride of nearly 38 years, who hadn't been to one of these events for many, many seasons. Oldest kid had to pass (under the weather) but has still been to 26 of these.

Gotta say, thank the baseball gods for that roof over AmFam Field! While the winds were howling near 40 MPH outside and producing wind-chills in the low 20s, inside the sell-out crowd of 42,794 made it toasty. Not that all the seats had fannies in them, mind you. From our vantage point, could see a lot of empty upper deck spots. Guess people looked out at the weather and said "I'll pass..." Or they never made it in from tailgating.

When the Brewers were playing at old County Stadium, we endured a lot of bad weather Opening Days. Cold. Rain. Snow. Seems like all that was missing were a plague of frogs or locusts.

Odd things gleaned from checking out Opening Day stats:

• The Brewers are 2-0 at American Family Field
• The team was 10-10 at Miller Park -- first game played in 2001
• Against National League teams, Milwaukee is 14-11 (includes 2-1 at County Stadium)
• Milwaukee was 16-16 in games at County Stadium, 14-15 against the American League

And please keep in mind, people, that a 162-game baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint. There will be winning streaks and losing streaks. The team left standing at the end of it, that's the goal.

Came across the name Terrell Buckley the other day. Seems he's one of the head coaches in the XFL, the spring pro football league that will debut in 2023.

Green Bay Packer fans of a certain age will remember the erstwhile cornerback, the fifth pick overall in the 1992 draft who spent two rather unspectacular seasons as a Packer before being traded. He is probably most remembered for blowing coverage late in a game against the Minnesota Vikings that led to a loss.