2.28.2011

T'was The Night Before March

T'was the night before March, when throughout the household,
The ice was a creaking, from the bitter February cold;
The wet socks were thrown near the fireplace with haste,
With hopes that warm weather, we'd soon get to taste;
The Children were nestled, shivering in their beds,
For the heating bills have added to the family's large debts;
The wife in her Snuggie, and I also in mine,
turned the channel to the news, to see we soon might be fine;
Because on the TV, we heard a familiar noise,
It was a crack of the bat, from the summer time boys;
The remote I then grabbed, & turned the volume up high,
Spring Training had started, and that meant spring time was nigh;
I walked to the window, just to peer out,
but was angered by the snow, and wanted to shout;
But then I remembered through all of that sadness,
With March comes a tournament, coined as March Madness;
The Wisconsin Badgers I did pay attention to and cheer,
Will once again, be playing in the tournament this year;
Most are unknown, and will achieve very little fame,
but I'll still cheer them on, and holler each one by name;
GO! Keaton GO! Evans GO! Jarmusz and Taylor,
Go! Bruesewitz GO! Gasser GO! Wilson and Leuer

To the Sweet 16, to the Final Four,
Shoot all you can, and run up the score;
But as basketball wanes, and baseball now waxes,
March offers more fun, before we pay our taxes;
The airports are all busy, from vacations families take,
Most heading south, while the kids are on break;
There is also a holiday, which we adults all hold dear,
Where the bars fill with patrons all wanting green beer;
A day in which we are all Irish, even if we're not,
And we'll shout "Erin Go Bragh", over a Jameson shot;
So I step back from the window, a smile now stretches wide,
"Another winter defeated" To my wife I said with pride;
She set down her book, she smiled at me and did chime,
"Tomorrow is March? It's about fucking time"

2.22.2011

A Brewing Twitter Poll

Wisconsin Sports Tap has launched it's twitter poll!  This is a poll to find the best, or most popular tweeter in the following categories:

Media Member:  Two years ago, I would have qualified in this category.  Now, not so much.  The media member category should contain beat writers, local writers or if you can find a national writer that talks Brewers then feel free to take that route.  Radio personalities and tv folks also fall into this category.  Pretty simple really.

Blogger:  What qualifies a tweeter as a blogger? Well, a blog for starters.  This is the category I (@MillerParkNorth) would qualify under.  There is a pretty strong contingent of bloggers for the Brew Crew and most of them are avid tweeters.  Here's your chance to find which is the best.

Fan:  This one is as simple as can be.  Who is your favorite Brewer fan to follow on twitter?  Send a vote for them and a winner will be found.

The Rules:  A.  All votes should be @ replies towards my twitter account or tagged with the hashtag #brewpoll.  Prefferably both, but I will try to keep an eye on both.

B.  Only vote once.  Come on, don't be a dick.

C.  You can't vote for yourself.  See section two of rule B.

D.  There are some ineligibles in the fan category, if you vote for one of them I will let you know so you can vote again.

This poll is going to be running for a while and we could use all the help we can to keep it running.  So retweet, link to, whatever it takes let's get it done.  Send in your votes!

2.21.2011

Monday Morning Reverie: The I'm Sure Something Happened Edition

1.  Due to a disappointing and frustrating occurrence in my seemingly unending career search (which you can see in this series of tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4) there was no Monday Morning Reverie.  And due to similar events it's become increasingly difficult to cast my eye toward the sports world.  Fact is there are more important things happening in my hometown than the player workouts at Maryvale.  I won't use this blog as expression for my political voice (that's what my twitter account is for) but the bigger issues might put my writing on the back burner for the next few weeks.

Some things are more important than baseball.

2.  So what better than to launch some forced involvement?  Starting today, Wisconsin Sports Tap will be launching a good old fashioned twitter poll.  This is a poll to find the best, or most popular tweeter in the following categories:

Media Member:  Two years ago, I would have qualified in this category.  Now, not so much.  The media member category should contain beat writers, local writers or if you can find a national writer that talks Brewers then feel free to take that route.  Radio personalities and tv folks also fall into this category.  Pretty simple really.

Blogger:  What qualifies a tweeter as a blogger? Well, a blog for starters.  This is the category I (@MillerParkNorth) would qualify under.  There is a pretty strong contingent of bloggers for the Brew Crew and most of them are avid tweeters.  Here's your chance to find which is the best.

Fan:  This one is as simple as can be.  Who is your favorite Brewer fan to follow on twitter?  Send a vote for them and a winner will be found.

The Rules:  A.  All votes should be @ replies towards my twitter account or tagged with the hashtag #brewpoll.  Prefferably both, but I will try to keep an eye on both.

B.  Only vote once.  Come on, don't be a dick.

C.  You can't vote for yourself.  See section two of rule B.

D.  Keep in mind I will be counting the votes, so when it comes to the fan category there might be one or two ineligible candidates.

This poll is going to be running for a while and we could use all the help we can to keep it running.  So retweet, link to, whatever it takes let's get it done.  Send in your votes!

3.  Nice bounce-back win for the Badger Men's basketball team on Sunday.  After losing to Purdue earlier in the week Bucky took on Penn State at the Kohl.  Penn State had knocked off the Badgers earlier this year in Happy Valley but the story would be different the second time around.

Keaton Nankivil and John Leuer each went for 22 as the Badgers knocked off the Nittany Lions 76-66.  Taylor Battle got hot late in the game but it was too little too late.  Wisconsin led by 13 points at halftime and shot over %50 from downtown (Nankivil was five for five from deep).

With just four games left before the Big Ten Tournament Wisconsin sits in third place in the standings, behind Purdue and Ohio State.  Bucky plays at Michigan next on Wednesday before finishing out the year at home against Northwestern and on the road at Indiana and Ohio State.

That's all for this week, let's get this poll rolling!

2.11.2011

Tough decisions await Ted Thompson


Wasn't that fun?

Of course, as with all good things, the celebration is coming to a close. And as that buzzing feeling of post-Super Bowl elation wears down, you'll start to feel a bit empty. The question of "Where do I go from here?" will come up, or more specifically, "What will I do without Green Bay Packers football?"

The easy answers are Badgers and Bucks, but if you're like me, football doesn't go away that easily. And so, as you shift around on your futon while trying to pay attention to the Bucks game, you begin to wonder: what happens next year?

Obviously the CBD situation (Collective Bargaining Disagreement) muddles things a bit, but for the moment let's just throw a tablecloth on that elephant in the room. There are a number of difficult decisions Ted Thompson will face this off-season, and they're all interesting to ponder.

Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn are both slated to become free agents, and while both were valuable role players in 2010, the FA market will determine just how much they're actually worth. Safety Charlie Peprah is another contributor who may or may not be back depending on how Thompson feels about Morgan Burnett. Daryn "False Start" Colledge is also a FA to be, and with TJ Lang fighting for roster time, it might be easier to let him walk than he thinks. But these decisions pale in the face of the following three conundrums.

James Jones

When Jones was drafted by Green Bay he drew comparisons to Sterling Sharpe. Needless to say he hasn't lived up to those expectations, nor was it really fair to do to a 3rd round draft pick, but he has certainly shown flashes. He has made some amazing acrobatic catches in his four years as a Packer, and at 6'1" and over 200 lbs he would compliment the smaller, speedier Greg Jennings well as Donald Driver's age pushes him further down the depth chart.

But then there are the lapses in concentration for which he has become infamous, and they usually strike when he beats his man and has nothing but daylight ahead of him. He had a big drop in the Giants game, the embarrassing fumble vs. the Bears in week 3, and the whole nation saw his drop in the Super Bowl. His drop against the Eagles during the playoffs was so infuriating that Aaron Rodgers wasn't able to compose himself enough to get the next play off in time.

Still, he has that unrealized potential that lights up coaches eyes and drives fans crazy, and the hole he would leave behind can't be ignored. The Packers just do so much with their wide receivers that it would be a huge loss if he left. You can't count on a rookie to step in and contribute, and Brett Swain is definitely not an NFL wide receiver. There's always the chance of Ted Thompson bringing in a FA WR, but it would seem unlikely when he has Jones who already knows the system.

The Guess: He's back. His drops are frustrating, but he's just such a high character guy that I think he'll take a little less money to stick with a winning team. Also, the league tends to evolve with the Super Bowl teams, and with the Steelers and Packers both fielding largely homegrown squads this year, free agency may be in for a bit of a down year. This would hurt Jones's market value, thus making it easier for the Packers to sign him.

Cullen Jenkins

I think Jenkins' situation will give Thompson the most trouble. There's no denying the impact Jenkins makes on the field. He's such a disruptive force in the pass rush, and he's a solid run stopper. Complete defensive ends are a rarity in this league, and it would seem bringing him back is a no-brainer. But he has three things working against him: age, injuries, and personnel.

Jenkins is 30 years old and coming off a season in which he was both productive and unreliable. He played half of the season with a club for a hand, and missed significant time with a calf injury. Ted has made it clear through his actions that his purse strings get just a bit tighter when it comes to free agents aged 30+ years, which also works against him.

Then there's the personnel issue. Mike Neal and Johnny Jolly both return next year, while CJ Wilson and Jarius Wynn are steadily improving. This will be a group crowded with youth, and Ted Thompson loves his young players. Jenkins' saving grace could have been his status as veteran leader on the line, but Ryan Pickett serves in a similar role.

The Guess: Unfortunately, I think he's gone. Think about the Aaron Kampman scenario. Kampman was not only a fan favorite, but one of the team's best players. Then Green Bay opted to switch to the 3-4, which rendered him obsolete, and let him walk a year later as a free agent. Although the scheme didn't switch for Jenkins, his injury troubles and age have similarly rendered him obsolete in Thompson's eyes. Honestly, if Thompson wanted him back he probably would have already resigned him.

AJ Hawk/Nick Barnett

Nick Barnett may have made this decision a bit easier in the down time leading up to the Super Bowl, and if you haven't heard about the team picture fiasco I envy you.

Although he's an emotional leader, Barnett has always had a bit of a me-streak in him. His refusal to consider a move to outside linebacker when AJ Hawk arrived, a move he felt would hurt his stats, was a very clear indicator of what kind of a person Barnett is. Such selfishness is often dismissed as immaturity in younger players, but Barnett turns 30 in May, and he continues to behave like a kid.

With a team like the Packers, where youth rules, you need your veterans to be strong role models for the up and comers (see Charles Woodson, Donald Driver). So when your elder statesman in the linebacking corps is whining on Twitter about not being included in the Super Bowl picture rather than dealing with the issue professionally (ie-internally), you might lean in the other direction.

In this case, the other direction is AJ Hawk, who also poses a problem for Ted Thompson in that there's no way he's worth the $10 million he's owed in 2011. The Packers have an opt-out clause, and it will be exercised.

The plus side is that it's unlikely that any other team feels he is worth that much, meaning Hawk faces a reality of a significantly lower contract no matter where he goes. Because he knows the system and players in Green Bay, the Packers likely have an edge on other teams. But if Hawk gets the itch to go back to Ohio, I'm sure Mike Holmgren wouldn't mind putting him in a Browns uniform.

And let us not forget the third party: Brandon Chillar, who just signed a 4 year deal last season. He could help shape this.

The Guess: This will get ugly. I think Hawk restructures and returns as a starter, but Barnett will find himself sharing time with Desmond Bishop. Barnett won't be able to complain his way back into the starting line-up this time around--the chemistry between Bishop and Hawk was too good to ignore.

The easy solution would be to cut Barnett, but Thompson doesn't just let players who are under contract go when they put up a stink. You may be thinking Brett Favre here, but Javon Walker may be a better example of how this will go. Barnett will begrudgingly play after an uncomfortable holdout filled with vague, passive-aggressive tweets, and with any luck be traded before the deadline.

2.07.2011

Monday Morning Revelry: See What I did There Edition

They Win
1.  a. Ted Thompson just won the Super Bowl.  The way that game played out, is there any better explanation?  This team is Thompson's team, win or lose.  The players assembled are TT type of guys, for worse or in this case for better.  As much as you want to credit the players the fact is: Nobody can be given more credit for this championship than Ted Thompson.

Would many General Managers give the reigns of one of the NFL's flagships franchise organizations to an unproven rookie with a future Hall of Famer asking for his job back?  Would many GMs stock his defensive secondary with project picks and low draft picks?  Would any GMs rely on a - beyond - unproven running to handle the running game through the postseason?

Ted Thompson built the Green Bay Packers as we saw them on Sunday.  He assembled the cobble-job defense that won the Super Bowl.  He put James Starks in the backfield and James Jones and Jordy Nelson in the wide recievers corps.  He found Frank Zombo and Sam Shields.

The fact is, without Thompson's unwaivering scouting and confidence in the team he assembled, the Packers don't win this game.  The Green Bay Packers may get the trophy and the rings, but Ted Thompson carried them there.

b.  If there is a complaint to be made about this game it's Mike McCarthy's playcalling.  Give the man credit - he won the game the way he has coached these last few season, throwing the ball.  It was maddening more than a few times, his complete unwillingness to run the ball.

You can credit him for winning all you want but his complete abandonment of the running game in the second half made absolutely no sense.  James Starks was getting his yards, he was running effectively and getting first downs.  It's easy to be happy with the win but if the Packers lost that game then play-calling would be the first place to point a finger.

2.  Even so, Aaron Rodgers deserves a ton of credit.  The epic story can conclude itself in s sense now.  Aaron Rodgers, meet Brett Favre, because you have done as much for the Green Bay Packers as he has.  Oh you can argue MVP's and yards and records, but even looking back the best quarterback to ever play in Titletown is Bart Starr.  Why?  Because he won two Super Bowls.  Twice he carried the Packers to the title of World Champions.

Favre?  He accomplished that feat just one time.  Sure Brent has his MVP's and records but as far as this Packer fan is concerned he finds himself third in the pantheon of Packers quarterback (in large part due to his selfish and ugly exit from the team).

Mid third quarter Aaron Rodgers threw the ball to Jordy Nelson for an open pass and first down - Nelson dropped it.  The very next play Rodgers went right back to Nelson for a first down and big gain.  Put Bernie Favor in that same situation and he will not go back to the player who made the mistake.  Farfe never displayed the same type of confidence in his wideouts that Rodgers has in his years as a starter.

One of the best stories I read leading up to the Super Bowl was how Aaron Rodgers reached out to Steve Young about how to follow up a legend as the face and leader of a team.  Seeing how Rodgers has faced the adversity of his situation has not only given me the utmost respect for Aaron Rodgers but even more for Young.  Whatever advice he offered Rodgers was exactly what he needed to hear.

Welcome to history Aaron, you now own as much of a Packers legacy as Brett Favre ever did.

3.  Perfect? Far from it.  Jarrett Bush displayed everything he can be and everything he isn't yet in Sunday's win.  Keyword being "win" otherwise Bush would be one of the leading candidates for the Goat.  A few weeks ago I said that at the current development pace Bush would be a starting corner within the next two seasons. I stand by that, especially after watching Sunday's game.

Completely unplanned Bush was a storyline, he was great and he was awful at the same time.  He was Tramon Williams two seasons ago.  His jump on that pass in the second quarter was a testament to film study and instincts.

Knowing when  to take that chance and make a play isn't something you just know coming out of college, it's something you learn by playing and practicing and having a coach show confidence in your ability to get better.  But his awful coverage of Hines Ward on the Steelers only first half touchdown was also a demonstration in his current skill level.  Bush isn't great yet, but like most Thompson signings he could be - and soon.

With a stable of Bush, Woodson, Shields and Williams next year the Packers don't just feature a good group in the secondary - they feature the NFL's best.

4.  a.  Ever heard the word microcosm? Because that was the Super Bowl for Green Bay.  Microcosm is defined as a miniature representation of something, which Sunday's game certainly was.  Take a look at the 2010/11 Green Bay Packers and you would be hard-pressed to find a more unlikely group of champions.  When the season started fans were hopeful - and rightfully so.  You had a team with leaders at every level and a stud quarterback.  Green Bay had everything lined up the way a winning team needed it to happen.

And then the season happened.  Team leaders and stars like Nick Barnett, Ryan Grant and Mark Tauscher went down with injuries.  Starters like Atari Bigby and Brad Jones and replacements like Morgan Burnett would have little impact on the team.  It wasn't plan B, it was plan F.  Yet here they were, playing through it all and making there way to the biggest game any NFLer can play.

I believe that when any team in any sport plays for the championship they will face every problem and complication they faced in the regular season and have to overcome that to win.  Green Bay did that, Pittsburgh did not.

At the end of the first half all-world corner Charles Woodson would leave with an injury.  Rookie sensation Sam Shields left with an injury.  The Packers were forced to overcome injuries to two of their best defenders, like they were repeatedly able to do over the course of the season.

Green Bay had to overcome an ineffective offense, a defense that couldn't stop the run and injuries that bordered on the ridiculous.  And they did.  With a guy named Pat Lee playing a significant role they won.  These game was a small version of what they faced over the year and they overcame every single bit of it.

b.  There is one name that this season can't forget - Charlie Peprah.  Longtime special teamer and backup defensive back, Peprah was everything the Packers needed from a compliment to playmaker Nick Collins.  He was quiet.

What does that mean?  It means Peprah didn't make mistakes.  All he did was make the play that needed to be made.  When a tackle had to be made Peprah made it.  When a pass had to be defended Peprah defended it.  He didn't pick six or turn the game in the Packers favor but he never made mistakes.  When we look back at this Super Bowl run we would be remiss to exclude Charlie Peprah's impact on this defense.

Solid.  That's what he was and that's why he should be the starter whenever the Packers do play football next.

5.  So Now it's Officially Basketball season, and this just in - the Badgers are pretty good.  Remember when Tom Izzo was the gold standard of Big Ten coaches?  Not this year.  Coming off a loss to Iowa (Iowa?  Really?)  the Spartans had to visit the very unfriendly grounds of the Kohl Center.

Not only did they visit, but they got their butt's kicked out of town.  Bucky walked away with a 26-point win over the Spartans and held on to a second place tie with Purdue in the Big Ten.  If I wasn't running out of gas I would go into detail about Jordan Taylor's 30 point game and the Badger's utter domination but it's been a long day.

Suffice to say, these guys ain't bad.