Troy Polamalu wins by a hair!

Clay Matthews lost out by two votes to Troy Polamalu for the 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. I did not see this one coming. I thought Clay would win almost every vote, Troy did miss two games but hey, the real prize will be won on Sunday. Human nature tells us that Troy might lose his edge just a little while Clay apparently has more to prove. Not that they needed any more motivation but Matthews and his teammates just got some.

Troy received 17 votes, Clay 15, James Harrison (also a Steeler) 8, Julius Peppers (Bears) 6, his teammate Brian Urlacher 2, and the Ravens Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata both received 1 vote. Interesting to see how both of this years Superbowl teams have such dominating Defensive players. Pittsburgh has Troy and James while Green Bay has Clay and last years' Defensive Player of the Year, Charles Woodson. These four stars will be trying to stop two of the most elusive quarterbacks in the game in the biggest battle of all on Superbowl Sunday!

Now is the time for Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews to take their competition to a new level in Dallas Cowboys stadium. They already are considered marketing adversaries, with Polamalu's jersey the top seller in the league, and both representing hair products.

Who will win superiority on Sunday?

Troy Polamalu has had a good run, known as one of the best players in the game now for several years.

Is it time for Clay Matthews to take over?

I think so!

Aaron Rodgers is right but it is time to quiet down!

This is the time of year when the media is just begging for a story to take and run with for Superbowl week. Surely the Packer and Steeler players have been warned about how everything will be blown out of proportion during Super Bowl week. When it comes to "off the field" stuff, you DON'T want to be the team being talked about. So what looks to be the story as Superbowl week begins? It might be the back and forth between Aaron Rodgers (leader of the Pack) and Nick Barnett (injured linebacker). I think if they keep talking, there will be a perceived feud between them.

Nick and the other 15 Packers on injured reserve wanted to be part of the team photo. The team leaders Charles Woodson and Aaron Rodgers talked to the coach and GM on their behalf to make sure this would happen. The issue was resolved and this could have ended the story. However, some reporter was able to get Aaron Rodgers to say more. What Rodgers said basically is that if you want to be in the team picture you should stick with the team. It seems that some players including Barnett and Jermichael Finley did not stick around to support the team after being placed on IR. They chose to rehab elsewhere. I feel like they should stay around and be as much a part of the team as possible but I wish Aaron Rodgers would just become quiet on this issue. Now Barnett and Finley are tweeting about this again. Their tweets are how this whole thing started first started.

My guess is that this will get portrayed all week as some feud between players. Perception is reality so the questions to these players will include this story, no doubt. I am sure they will say there is no feud but the Packers have made the first blunder of this Superbowl week and the Steelers would love to just fly under the radar. Seriously, you don't want to be the team that gets the most coverage, just the team that scores the most points. Aaron Rodgers made a little blunder here but hopefully will more than make up for it on Superbowl Sunday.

Twitter having an effect on the NFL

Who is that guy on the left and why have I posted this picture from his facebook photos? Does he play in the NFL? What does he have to do with this story? Read on and find out!

All the tweets during and after the NFC Championship game on Sunday have caused quite a stir. I don't think people in general think while tweeting, or doing a status update on facebook, about the fact that everyone in the world could find out what they were thinking at the time. The Jay Cutler situation was the first incident that became a huge story but this has been going on for a while now. With social networking we are truly living in a whole new world.

Two of the 16 Packers on I.R. were tweeting back and forth the other day about how they would not be included in the team picture at the Superbowl because it would be taken on Tuesday and the the injured players don't fly in until Friday. Word quickly got out to the media and it became a controversy that the Packer organization quickly rectified. The team picture will now be taken on Friday. This was an easy fix that possibly would not have happened if there was no twitter.

Gone are the days of having to read about the game after the game is over. You can get play-by-play stats and opinions. Everything is immediate and sometimes conclusions drawn too quickly. To people over 40, like me, this is crazy. I am glad that I am using the Internet for so many different things these days. Some post 40 people don't use computers very often, or even own one, and are really missing out.

I have found through use of facebook that my friends and I are much more brutally honest with each other in facebook comments that we would be in reality, face to face. This can cause some unnecessary disagreements that would be less likely to exist without facebook. As a matter of fact, Paul Eggers (one of our great sportswriters on this blog, pictured above) seems to have two different personalities. In person I think he is an okay guy with only the one big fault (being a Viking fan) but on line...well, I will leave it at that.

Anyway, this new world has some great advantages including things like this blog. No newspaper ever wanted my writings but I can blog all I want. The facebook stuff can be fun and keep friendships alive with miles between us BUT it can also be a huge time waster and one of my New Year's resolutions is to be on facebook less. I am not doing so well so far because I love commenting about the Packers. A week or so after the Superbowl is over I think I will be able to cut down my facebook time. I have a twitter account as well but almost never use it because facebook has already used up my free time. Anyway...I am just kind of curious about what you all think about this new world with the social networking.

How often do you facebook and twitter?

Do you agree about the effects it has on professional sports?

Superbowl XLV (Packers/Steelers)

Congratulations first to both the Bears and the Jets for coming back from way down to make these games entertaining. Both the Bears and Jets looked over matched today but kept on fighting, never gave up, and had a chance in the end. These teams have been underrated all season by many people, including me, let me say now that they both earned the right to be part of football's final 4.

Green Bay 21 Chicago 14

Pittsburgh 24 New York 19

Congratulations to the Packers and Steelers. They now head to Dallas for what should be an epic Superbowl. The Packers are an early two point favorite. It is like Vegas now sees the Packers as the #1 seed they should have been. In fact if the Packers would have been able to win at Chicago and Atlanta in the regular season they would have won the North, finished in a 12-4 tie with the Falcons and therefore would have been the #1 seed in the playoffs. The road less traveled has been difficult for the Packers but possibly even more rewarding.

As a Packer fan I can honestly tell you that I thought they would make it to Superbowl XLV from the very beginning. When injuries threatened to kill the season I said hey, it is still early enough in the season to fight through and still make it. When some wrote off the Packers at 8-6 when the Bears won the North, I told everyone the path the Packers would take to make it to Dallas. It all played out as I expected, except for one thing. I expected the championship game to be at New Orleans. I thought it would be sweet to knock out the champs. After the Seahawks took care of the Saints, the collision course was set. The Packers took out the rival Bears to get to the big one but I must say two things about the Bears. "They are better than I thought they were" if they had a better option at quarterback than Jay Cutler they could be a championship team. They might have found that better option in the forth quarter today in Caleb Hanie, a guy I know nothing about. He gave his team a chance today, that is all I know. So, Chicago faces another off-season unsettled at the most important position, cool!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are consistently a great team. The Green Bay Packers have been through a lot and become a great team. BOTH TEAMS ARE FAR FROM PERFECT, this has a chance to go down as the greatest Superbowl because more now than ever in the NFL, anything can happen!

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY IS FINALLY HERE

Today brings us the biggest ever game in the Packers/Bears rivalry as they battle for the NFC Championship belt.

It also brings us an AFC title tilt. This Steelers/ Jets contest should come right down to the wire and might even bring us our first NFL playoffs overtime under the new overtime rules.

The result of it all might be Packers/Steelers in Superbowl XLV. These are the leagues two largest fan bases, how cool would that be?

This would set up what might turn out to be the most watched television event ever.

No matter what, today's championship action is going to be great.

My best guesses are:

Packers 23 Bears 7 in a game that might be a defensive struggle early and a Packer blowout late!

Steelers 23 Jets 17 in a game that will go on for a while and be an absolute classic.

Performance Enhancers: Are they good or bad for sports and where do you draw the line?

The latest internet buzz surrounding the topic of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) involves a spray derived from a substance found on deer antlers. Similar to Human Growth Hormone (HGH) when it was first used as a PED in the late 1990's, it is very difficult to test for naturally occurring IGF-1, the active ingredient in this new PED. In order to test positive, a blood test must be conducted at the right time because the substance does not stay in a human body for extended periods of time like other PEDs. Currently, neither the NFL or MLB use blood tests to test for PEDs.

Although this PED is new, the discussion about the use of PEDs in sports is not. Athletes have always looked for competitive advantages and the lines are becoming increasingly blurred. How do you differentiate between what should be a legal performance enhancing substance (such as a protein shake) and an illegal one (steroids)? More importantly, is it possible for leagues to eliminate the use of PEDs since as soon as effective tests are developed for one PED a new PED takes its place? The biggest questions about PEDs though are: are they good or bad for sports, and what message are we sending to our children by embracing their use in professional sports?

After the baseball strike of 1995, attendance of MLB games plummeted by over 20%. By 1998 in the midst of a home run chase fueled by the use of PEDs, MLB attendance hit a record of 70.6 million fans, up 12% from 1997. With its popularity on the rise, MLB and Commissioner Bud Selig did not address the steroid issue until 2003 and MLB did not impose stiff penalties for PED users until after Congress became involved in 2005. Despite the fact that several top tier players (e.g. Alex Rodriguez, and Manny Ramirez) have tested positive for steroids, attendance at MLB games has remained well above post-strike attendance marks notwithstanding the economic recession the country finds itself in.

This begs the question, have leagues and fans accepted the fact that athletes will use PEDs? Are we willing to allow athletes to use PEDs so they can perform at their best and we can be more entertained? Most importantly, what message does this send to our children? Should we tell our children that PEDs are not for them but that professional athletes play by a different set of rules? Is that message really different than the reality that professional athletes are afforded certain privileges by society that the rest of us are not (Brett Favre, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger)?

It's an interesting discussion but if the purpose of sports is to entertain us and PEDs provide a way for them entertain us more, maybe it is time for us to embrace their use in professional sports. Since the use of PEDs seems to be widespread, allowing their use in professional sports is possibly the only way to truly level the playing field. There will always be athletes who figure out ways around PED testing. Is it fair to punish the athletes who play by the rules since they are at a disadvantage against the ones who find ways to take PEDs?

If it isn't then professional sports need to do one of two things. Either legalize PEDs or impose even stiffer penalties on those caught using them. I'm not talking about a 50 game suspension, I'm talking about a lifetime ban. If we as fans believe that PEDs are detrimental to sports then let's make the punishment so severe that it actually deters athletes from using them. For those of you who feel this is too harsh, it really isn't any different than what would happen to most people if they were caught one time for felony use of a recreational drug. Most people would be terminated from their current job and have a difficult time finding new employment. Why should a professional athlete be treated differently?

Football's Final Four

Since the other writers on this blog have put my face and name out there I no longer see any reason to try to be objective when I write about the Green Bay Packers. I will tell you exactly what I think and you are free to give your opinions in the comments. If fact, we strongly encourage you to make comments and become a follower.

I go by mjtrescher but my name is Mike Trescher and I have been right about the Packers since we started this blog so you have no reason to doubt me.

Here goes, my take on the teams that are still alive in the NFL playoffs:

Packers at Bears: The fact that the road team (#6 seed Green Bay) is a 3 point favorite in Vegas over the home team (#2 seed Chicago) should tell you all you need to know. The Packers have already passed the toughest hurdles of these NFC playoffs with wins at Philadelphia and Atlanta. Chicago is just a quick stop on the way to Dallas for Superbowl XLV.
Anything can happen, this is the NFL after all, but the Packers are playing there best ball at the right time and should beat the Bears by plenty. If you believe in jinxes notice the that the Bears are on the cover of Sports Illustrated right now. My guess is Packers 23 Bears 7 but we might put up as much as 45 again, even with the poor field conditions.

Jets at Steelers: I think the Jets have a real good shot in this one especially with a banged up Offensive Line in Pittsburgh but I am going with the best quarterback in this one.
My guess is Steelers 23 Jets 17 in Overtime!

Tom Brady's last stand?

While Roger Goodell is still trying to figure out how to punish Mike Trescher for his Bears windbreaker scandal, another story broke out.  Tom Brady's invincibility spell finally wore off.  Three playoff losses in a row and in all of them Brady struggled.  What is it about the playoffs for Tom Brady?  He used to be "money" in big games, now you have to wonder if he'll ever get back to a point where he can win a big game.  Watching Tom Brady struggle in the cold, wearing what looks to be a wet suit makes you wonder if he has gone soft.  The young Tom Brady didn't need a full face mask type winter hat, he just went out in the snow and won.  Has Tom Brady turned into a "pretty boy"? With model wife and oddly Justin Bieberish hair, it makes you wonder if he cares as much as he once did?  The Jets got pressure on Brady and really took him out of his game.  Rex Ryan did a great job of getting in Brady's head.  Brady wasn't very accurate and the jacked up Jets defense really made him look like a guy who didn't win 3 Super Bowl rings.  Its not all his fault.  Not every team has their best receiver traded early in the year.  For the Patriots to get back to winning a Super Bowl the team might need to give Brady some offensive line and receiver help.  They'll keep meeting the rough and tough teams like the Jets, Ravens and Steelers so they'll need to adapt to that style.  If not, Brady might never get another ring to go with his Bieberish haircut.

Sunday's Shocker

Green Bay, WI - Tonight, the NFL news stories should involve the Jets shocking the football world by eliminating New England and the Packers and Bears renewing their playoff rivalry for the first time in 60 years. Instead, at the center of the controversy is a fan.

In a twist as bizarre as the Steve Bartman incident of 2003, old photos have surfaced of the world's biggest Packer fan Mike Trescher wearing Bears apparell. Trescher was not available for comment but a source close to Trescher was quoted as saying "It was only a matter of time before (Trescher) was exposed as a Bears fan. This is the football fan equivolent of a nude photograph."

Now, I'm not saying that the ideas of Mike Trescher and nude photographs should ever be associated with each other, but the timing could not be worse for the Packers. They played the game of their lives at Atlanta and now their biggest fan has been exposed. The last thing NFL teams want at this time of the year is a distraction. Mike Trescher brilliantly waited until the Packers' biggest game of the year to come out of the closet as a Bears fan.

I can't say there haven't been some hints along the way though. Trescher advocated for a Matt Flynn start for an entire week after Rodger's second concussion when a loss at New England would make it nearly impossible for the Packers to win the NFC north over his Bears. Will Green Bay be able to bounce back despite the fact that their vocal leader has now come out as a Bears fan? As if you needed a reason, tune in Sunday to find out!

Packers take out the the top seeded Falcons!

The Green Bay Packers overcame some early mistakes and totally dominated the Atlanta Falcons to the tune of 48-21.

442-194 in total yards, 346-149 passing, 96-45 rushing, 38min-22min in Time of Possession, and the turnover battle 4-1.

Aaron Rodgers was 31/36 for 366 and 3 TD's and also rushed for a touchdown.

Tramon Williams had two interceptions, the first one in the endzone (pictured on the right) and the other one was a pick 6.

These are two players that were snubbed from the Pro Bowl but no matter, they are now just one step away from a much better bowl. They will be voted all-pro when it is all over!

There is not a lot more to say about this game. It was awesome to watch as a Packer fan but I felt that my preview was unbiased when I predicted a simple 24-20 victory. I was thinking of much bigger things but who could have predicted it would go this well? I can't hold back my excitement for this team. I felt all season like the Packers would be in the Superbowl and now it looks like a near certainty. In the AFC I was wrong with the Chargers pick from the start and wrong with the Ravens pick I made when the playoffs started but I do know my NFC. The cream has finally risen to the top.

Years like this don't happen often so you can bet I am going to enjoy it. I also love the way the Packer fans took over the Georgia Dome tonight. To all Packer fans out there, saver this!

These are the good days!

Packers at Falcons playoff preview

Back on November 28, 2010 the Packers traveled to Atlanta for a game that figured to decide who would go on to earn the top spot in the NFC. With this would come home field throughout the playoffs and a first round bye. QB Aaron Rodgers fumbled at the goal line and the Falcons recovered in the end zone and then responded with an 80 yard touchdown drive. Trailing 17-10 in the final quarter, Rodgers, who had a huge day (26-35, 344 yards and a TD both passing and rushing) led a 16 play 90 yard drive to tie the game with 56 seconds left. He converted two fourth downs on the drive, including the touchdown to Jordy Nelson. The Falcons, behind Matt Ryan, who had a good day of his own (24-28, 198 yards, 1 TD) drove down the field after a 40 yard kickoff return by Eric Weems and Matt Bryant kicked the game winning FG to give the Atlanta the victory.

This Atlanta Falcon team is good, damn good. They move the ball with unrelenting efficiency, perfectly content to take what a team gives them. The Defense keeps teams out of the end zone. They don't do anything flashy but they do everything well. They are methodical, disciplined, and resourceful. They don't get the acclaim they deserve. They earned the home field, the bye, and will be rested and ready.

Coach Mike Smith has led the Falcons to a 13-3 record. How and why are they so good? They're fundamentally sound, all across the board and you have to beat them: they won't beat themselves. It is tough to beat a team like that. They have balance on Offense, no offensive line starter has missed a game this season, Michael Turner rushed for 1371 yards and 12 touchdowns and Roddy White caught 115 passes for 1389 yards and 10 touchdowns. They have a sound structure and scheme on defense and don't give up the big play. The have a special team's ace in Weems and an accurate kicker in Matt Bryant. It's a winning formula. The reason Atlanta beat Green Bay was because they made fewer mistakes. With Matt Ryan at quarterback, Atlanta is 20-2 at the Georgia dome. They could certainly do it again.

The key for the Green Bay Packers to beat this team is to match them in playing fundamentally sound and contain that running game. Keep Michael Turner under 100 yards and put the Falcons in passing situations and don't let Roddy White beat you. Veteran Tight End Tony Gonzalez will get a lot of balls thrown his way but it is easier to catch him than White if they get into the open field. The Falcons are not unbeatable. They lost three games, including one to the same Philadelphia team that the Packers just beat. Green Bay will be looking for a bit of revenge but mostly just to take the next step towards the NFC Championship. The Packers are hot at the right time!!! It is not the teams that play the best overall that win championships in the NFL recently, it is the teams that play their best football in January. They have a real confidence these days and match up well against Atlanta.

While not having the balance that Atlanta does the Packers have found some with the emergence of RB James Starks. He will give the play-action pass a real chance to work so look for Aaron Rodgers to use that on the opening drive and try to hit Greg Jennings or Donald Driver for a quick score. Getting ahead early is the key as Atlanta could be a little rusty after the well deserved bye week.

If the Falcons win this game they are almost sure to beat the Seahawks or Bears in the NFC Championship in the Georgia Dome. If the Packers win it they go on the road for the title game. That would be nothing new for them so in either case I would expect the winner of Packers at Falcons to wind up in Superbowl XLV.

Defense is what gives the Packers the edge in this game. Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson, BJ Raji, and Tramon Williams lead a squad that gave up the second fewest points in the league this season. I think Aaron Rodgers wins this game late after a hard fought contest with lead changes and a whole lot of great action. Enjoy it everyone! My prediction is no turnovers by the Packers this time allowing them to have success. Green Bay 24 Atlanta 20.

Steelers Ravens Preview

I don't remember the last time we have had a weekend of playoff matchups like the ones we will see this weekend. Each game is a regular season rematch and two of the games feature division rivals. If that doesn't get you excited you're not a sports fan.

For my money, the most intriguing game this weekend is Baltimore at Pittsburgh. These teams split their regular season games with each team winning on the other's home field. These teams are mirror images of each other. They both feature dynamic, hard hitting defenses, solid quarterbacks who can make plays on the run and outside the pocket, and excellent coaching.

I like Pittsburgh in this game. Although the Ravens did win at Pittsburgh it was in week 4. The final week of Roethlisberger's suspension. With Big Ben back at the helm I believe Pittsburgh's experience on offense will triumph in the end. I look for Troy Polamalu to come up with another big fourth quarter play to salt the game away.

Who is the biggest villain in sports?

In most movies there is always one character who rocks the boat.  One character who is out to hurt the hero of the movie.  It can be as simple as Biff in Back to the Future or Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
In sports there are also villains!  Guys who make our hero's(sports team) look bad and rile up a whole fan base in the process.  So who are the biggest villains in sports?  Here are my top 5 and I'd love to hear yours!!

1. LeBron James-Why is James number 1?  Well he only announced he was leaving his home town team on an over hyped interview on ESPN called "The Decision"  He quit on his team in the Conference Finals and he rips on them whenever he gets the chance.  Check out his Twitter account!  He has gone from a guy who was the savior of a small market team to a guy who sold his basketball soul to join the all star stacked team.  He is now looked at as a guy who "sold out" to win a championship.  He might go down as the Barry Bonds of basketball, the guy who is only really like by his own fan base.

2. Alex Rodriguez-Is paid more than $5 million dollars more per year than any other player in the game.  He left a Mariners team that won over 100 games to go to a losing Rangers team.  He later joined the Yankees, because no one besides the Yankees could afford his salary.  He has shown at numerous times how dirty of a player he is.  Hitting the ball out of the hands of Bronson Arroyos hand while running by him.  He gets busted for steroids and then says he just did them the year he got busted.  Whats crazy about A-Rod is unlike Barry Bonds, he isn't even that liked in his own town.  People will never think he is a "Real Yankee" whatever the hell that means...

3. Bill Belichick- I think Spygate says it all. People don't like cheaters.

4. Rex Ryan- Rex Ryan loves Rex Ryan and he loves to tell everyone how much better his team is than yours.  He is a cocky and conceited coach who probably doesn't have a long life span in the NFL as a head coach.   Eventually his players will probably get tired of him.  Most fan bases already feel that way.

5. Ben Roethlisberger- He is just an ass.  He has been in trouble multiple times for being accused of sexually assaulting drunk girls.   He only got a 4 game suspension and he was able to just slip back into the line up like nothing happened.  He is also a winner of two super bowls and probably not nearly as talented as other QBs who have won multiple rings.  He is not that liked by his piers either.  Look at what Richard Seymour did to him.


So what do you guys think?  Who are the most hated sports players today?

Rivalries

It is impossible to live in Wisconsin and not be inundated with Packer talk this week. Green Bay is coming off their first playoff win in three years and the expectations are high. Many Packer fans expect their team to defeat Atlanta and face their arch rival the Chicago Bears (provided that the Bears defeat the Seahawks) for a chance to go to the Super bowl. This got me thinking, where does the Packers and Bears rivalry rank in terms of NFL rivalries?

Certainly the Packers and Bears rivalry is one of the oldest and most storied regular season rivalries in NFL history. However, these teams have met just once in the playoffs (1941). Does this lessen the importance of the rivalry? How does it compare to rivalries like the Steelers/Ravens who seem to always manage to collide three times each season (twice in the regular season and once in the playoffs)? Or the Colts/Patriots who seem to always be playing for the inside track for the AFC's number 1 seed in the regular season and a trip to the Super bowl in the playoffs? Even the Jets/Patriots rivalry has intensified lately and those two teams will be facing off for a third time this weekend.

After the Vikings called Brett Favre out of retirement a season ago and Packer fans watched their former idol lead Minnesota to the NFC Championship game last season, the Vikings seem to be Green Bay's number one nemesis and the Bears seem to be little more than an afterthought in the minds of many Packer fans. In the age of 3 second Sportscenter highlight clips and 4 second audio sound bytes, have our attention spans shortened to the point where we, as fans, just don't remember how bitter the Packers/Bears rivalry has always been? Or does it take more than just regular season match-ups to create a rivalry in 2011?

Is the clock ticking on Mike McCarthy?

It was Janurary 4th, 2006 and the Green Bay Packers had just finished the season with a 4-12 record. Ted Thompson sat in his office with former Packer GM Ron Wolf and they started the discussion about who the likely candidates were to replace the recently fired Mike Sherman. A few names were brought up, but the #1 guy on the list was a guy from San Francisco. His name was Mike McCarthy and he was the offensive coordinator at the time for the San Francisco 49ers. Nobody had ever heard of this guy and every Packer fan in Wisconsin wanted to know why Ted Thompson was so interested in him! Well, 4 days later, Ted Thompson sat down with Mike McCarthy to interview him and immediently fell in love with him. It was a match made in heaven! While introducing Mike McCarthy as the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers,he stood at the podiem and announced that he had a 5 year plan and he promised to bring Packer fans another Super Bowl win.

Well, here it is five years later and Coach McCarthy has a worse resume than Mike Sherman did as a Packer Head Coach. Mike Sherman won 3 NFC North Titles in a row from 2002-2004 and had an overall record of 57-39. Coach McCarthy's 5 year record, as the Packer coach, is 48-32 and that only includes 'ONE' NFC North division title! So, one may ask themselves, "why isn't Mike McCarthy on the hot seat?" Shouldn't McCarthy be held to the same standard as Mike Sherman? Well I'm here today to make it clear that I absolutely think McCarthy should be held to the same standard! Thompson had a 5 year plan and if the Packers don't win the Super Bowl this year, those 5 years are up and he can't bring McCarthy back! The fans expect and deserve more out of thier head coach and if Thompson is too stubborn to fire his own coach, then HE needs to go as well! I believe the Packers will lose this week in Atlanta and Packer fans should expect McCarthy to be cleaning out his desk, first thing Monday morning!

These Badgers might not be part of the madness!

Michigan State 64 Wisconsin 61 in Overtime at the Breslin Center in East Lansing tonight. Normally losing to the Spartains on the road is not a big concern but this was not Badger basketball in the last 2:47 of regulation and in the overtime. What happened?

UW led by nine but fell apart down the stretch and suffered a terrible loss. Michigan State (11-5)had been slumping badly but just pulled out the kind of comeback that can turn a season around. Wisconsin (12-4) falls to 2-2 in the Big Ten and hopefully they can quickly get past this and start playing Badger basketball once again.

This Badger team seemed to have no plays to go to when it mattered most. It just did not look like a Bo Ryan coached team tonight. Disappointed is not a strong enough word. I thought that Jordan Taylor (21 points tonight) and Jon Leuer (only 10) would be the go-to guys this season but they just don't seem to have what it takes. I don't know much about Rob Wilson yet but it is clear that this team might not have enough talent. Bo Ryan is such a good coach that he can usually get the best out of his players even without a lot of talent but not tonight!

It is early yet but March Madness without Bucky would not be the same. Right now I am worried. I am going to enjoy the opening round while in Vegas this year so obviously I need the Badgers to be part of it. I need them to be worth betting on.

Baseball Offseason Surprise Team

Going into the MLB offseason the only thing we knew was that Cliff Lee would choose between the Yankees and Rangers and that Carl Crawford was destined for the Yankees or Angels.   While the Yankees were busy with Lee, the Red Sox went and signed Carl Crawford and then the Phillies swooped in and stole Cliff Lee.  Whats crazy is neither of these moves really changed the dynamic of either team.  The Phillies were already a World Series favorite with Lee and the Red Sox went out and "finally" landed their guy Adrian Gonzalez to go with a team devastated by injuries.

What was the best move of the offseason that completely changed the fortune of a MLB team?

 Zack Greinke traded to the Brewers from the Royals for A. Escobar, L. Cain, J. Jeffress and Odorizzi (Is there a team that had their fortune change as much from one trade?  They went from already adding a solid pitcher in Shawn Marcum and then added one of the best pitchers in the game!)  They went from possibly trading Prince Fielder to a Win Now mentality.  Rarely does one move make a difference quite like this one.  Zack Greinke gives the Brewers a true ace.  It gives Yovani Gallardo a chance to take the pressure off of him and it makes the trade for Shawn Marcum look like a solid secondary move(although this move happened first)  When I first heard of the trade I was shocked.  I kept hearing how the Brewers didn't have enough on the farm.  Well lucky for them the Royals loved Lorenzo Cain.  That paved the way for this deal.   Greinke turned down another offer from the Nationals because he wanted to win.  Whats funny is he accepted the Brewers offer and became the final piece to make them a contender.  Greinke doesn't seem to like the lime light very much so Milwaukee might be a place he can hang it hat on for a long time.  It'll be a lot easier for him to make that decision if he and the Brewers make their move in 2011!

Mike Mott
michaelsmott@gmail.com

Auburn outlasts Oregon to claim 2nd ever National Championship

The Tigers completed thier perfect season as they defeat the Oregon Ducks, 22-19. It's the Tigers 2nd National Championship and thier first one since 1957! Everyone thought this game was going to be a shootout, including myself, but instead we got a good, crisp defensive effort from both teams! Nick Fairley was unstoppable tonight! He finished the game with 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and he had a huge stop on a 4th and goal that denied Oregon a tying touchdown in the 4th quarter. Cam Newton was nothing short of spectacular tonight. He showed the world why he won the Hiesman Trophy after passing for 265 yards, throwing for 2 touchdowns, and rushing for another 65 yards! Auburn RB Michael Dyer had a season best 143 yards and he delivered the dagger in the 4th quarter after breaking off a 37 yard run to set up the winning FG.

Oregon's Darron Thomas finished the game with 363 yards passing and threw for 2 touchdowns. The Heisman runner up, LeMicael James, had 13 carries for 49 yards. The Oregon Ducks lost this game because they were ineffective on the ground. As a team, they carreied the ball 33 times for only 81 yards! This was a team who averaged 303.8 yards a game in the regular season!!

Eventhough TCU finished the season with a Rose Bowl victory over the Wisconsin Badgers to complete thier undefeated season, I think the Auburn Tigers showed me enough tonight to convince me that they are the best team in college football. Thank you Auburn and Oregon for giving all of us a great National Champioship game!

Oregon and Auburn clash in Title game tonight!

It's been 36 days since the Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers last stepped onto a football field and both teams say they are ready to prove to the world that they are the best team in college football! The Ducks have never won a national championship and they come into Mondays tilt with the Tigers with an impressive resume. They are a perfect 12-0, with wins over powerhouses such as, USC, Stanford, Tennessee and Arizona. LaMichael James, a heisman runner up, has had a spectacular year. He has rushed for 1,682 yards and 22 total scores and it would seem to me that he is going to play a crucial role Monday night if the Ducks plan on getting crowned national champs. Despite James, Quarterback Darron Thomas might be the most valuable player on the Ducks team! He has 3,000 total yards and 33 touchdowns. They run a no huddle offense 90% of the time so Auburn's endurance will be tested! On defense, Oregon has been very underrated. They are ranked 12th overall in the FBS for points against with 18.4 per game.

Auburn, the #1 ranked team in America, hasn't won a national championship since 1957 and they are lead by a heisman award winning quarterback Cam Newton. He has been under a lot of fire this year after it was found out that his dad had accepted improper benefits from boosters. But, as of right now, Newton is eligable to play monday night. During the regular season, Auburn had wins over Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina to get into the Championship game. They are strong against the run but struggled against the pass. They allowed a 54th best, 24.5 points a game.

Come Monday night, I expect the offenses to start out slow and the defenses will dominate for a quarter, quarter and a half and then all hell will break loose. Look for the offenses to score a combined 38 points in the second half and this could be one of the most entertaining games of the bowl season! When it's its all said and done, I predict that College Football with crown the Oregon Ducks national champions after a 38-27 victory.

Ravens Defense forces young Chiefs into 5 turnovers

After a good first half where Kansas City held a 7-3 lead for a long time before trailing 10-7 at the half, Baltimore took over in the second half. Forcing a total of 5 turnovers this Ravens Defense proved that sometimes experience can still beat talented youth.

The Ravens won the game 30-7 even though it felt closer, then again when you take a look at the numbers, it really was a blowout. The Ravens had double the time of possession and won in yardage 390-161. Still there were times in the first half where one more broken tackle or better pass and the Chiefs might have had more points and not been forced to abandon the run in the third quarter. The Chiefs were unable to pass on the Ravens so no comeback was possible.

So now the Ravens go to Pittsburgh and play what will be the third meeting this season with the division rival Steelers. The Jets are traveling to New England to have a third meeting with division rival Patriots. These should be two dandy's. It looks to me like the Ravens are the hottest AFC team and today was just the first stop on the way to Superbowl XLV.

Packers get contributions from everyone in victory at Philadelphia

Tom Crabtree found the end zone early and the Packers finally turned the running game over to James Starks (23 carries for 123 yards) but it was the Defense that held on to this victory for Green Bay. Cornerback Tramon Williams picked off Michael Vick in the end zone to crush a late charge by the Eagles. The Packers escaped the Michael Vick experience with a 21-16 victory.

Aaron Rodgers (18-27-180 3TD's) had just an average game but it was enough today as he gets his first ever playoff win. The Packers did fumble the ball four times and lost two of them. Also each Wide Receiver had a drop with the James Jones drop late in the first half being the reason Green Bay did not blow Philadelphia out.

Two missed field goals by the normally reliable David Akers are a huge reason that the season is over for the Eagles. The injury to DeSean Jackson and a hobbled Michael Vick were a big reason the Eagles could not hit the big plays we have become so accustomed to seeing them win with. Packers Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers really had the Eagles confused by not blitzing as often as expected. On a different day this could have been a step along the Eagles road to the Superbowl but as it is, the Packers move on and Atlanta is the next step along the road to Super Bowl XLV.

It is amazing how Green Bay keeps coming up with players who can step in and get the job done. With 15 players on Injured reserve and three more who could not go today, is there any team with greater depth than the Green Bay Packers?

The Offensive Line played much better today, very few penalties, and great run blocking and blocking on screens on a windy day where a running game is even more important that normal. The Packers know it will take a better performance in the passing game to pull out a win over the Falcons. Expect another nail bitter on Saturday night in the Georgia Dome!

The surprising Seattle Seahawks will now travel to Chicago in the other NFC Divisional round match up. It would appear that the winner of Green Bay at Atlanta would figure to represent the NFC in February at Dallas stadium BUT this is the NFL where anything can happen!

Jets go on the road and pull off the upset!

This game started out very slowly as the defenses were determined to flex thier muscles. However, the scoreless tie was broke when Peyton Manning found Pierre Garcon in the second quarter for a 57 yard touchdown pass. The Colts went to the half with a 7-0 lead. At this point, Sanchez looked terrible and I wasn't sure he had what it took to bring his team back.

The Jets came out in the 2nd half on a mission! They were determined to run it down the Colts throat and score 2 rushing touchdowns on thier first two possessions, courtsey of Ladainian Tomlison . Mark Sanchez struggled all day and only threw for 189 yards, no touchdowns and one interception! Thank god, Ladainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene showed up today as they combined the run the ball 35 times for a robust 152 yards. Late in the 4th quarter, the Colts took over the ball with 2:43 remaining and I remember thinking that Peyton is going to do what he does best and take his team down the field for a winning score and thats exactly what he did. The problem was, he left too much time on the clock, 53 seconds to be exact! Very uncharacteristic for Peyton. After struggling all day, I was shocked to see Sanchez march his team down and put his team in position for a 32 yard FG. Nick Folk nailed it and the Jets move on.

The Jets sealed thier fate and now they get rewarded with a trip to Foxboro! Yikes, that sounds like a suicide mission to me. But, this is the National Football League and you never know, they could pull a Seattle and shock the world! I hope Sunday's games are as thrilling as todays games!

Seattle Pulls the UNTHINKABLE!

How did this happen? According to all the experts, they were telling sports fans that the Seattle Seahawks shouldn't even get off the bus! They had no chance of winning this game so why even show up? Well, maybe thats what all the experts were thinking but not this guy! In a recent blog that I did, I predicted that Matt Hasselbeck, Mike Williams and Marshawn Lynch would have big days but I didn't have the balls to pick Seattle. I should have went with my gut feeling and picked them.

So, how did this really happen? Well, Matt Hasselbeck was nearly flawless, completing 22 of 35 passes for 272 yards, throwing for 4 touchdowns and only 1 interception. It was really remarkable to watch this guy go to work today. He put on a clinic and the Saints really had no answers! When the score was 34-30 in the forth quarter and the outcome still in doubt, Marshawn Lynch sealed the game with a 67 yard touchdown run. The touchdown run, quite simply, was the best run that I have ever seen. He ended up breaking EIGHT tackles en route to the end zone! The Seattle defense did its part too. They made the Saints one dimension after allowing them only 77 yards on 22 carries.

The Seahawks move onto the divisional playoffs next week and thier opponent will be determined after the GB/Phi game on Sunday. Hell, does it even matter who they play?? Because if they play the way they did tonight, then you can pretty much book thier ticket to the NFC Championship game. Great job Seattle on a great win and good luck next week!

Predicting the Unpredictable

When considering how to predict which teams will make it to SuperBowl XLV... I first looked at who has the best route to Dallas but then considered matchups that might happen along the way. Most important is how good I really think each team is and how well they will play in the playoffs. I am not taking New England or Atlanta because they are the favorites. Not often do both #1's get there so I leave them both out.

I freely admit that I was considering the Saints so the fact that they just got knocked out gives me a better opportunity to be right. So starting with the NFC this is how I see it. I don't think Michael Vick is healthy enough to work his magic against a stout Defense like Green Bay so the Eagles are out leaving only the Bears, Seahawks, and Packers. Seattle goes to Chicago in a game they could win but neither the Seahawks or Bears would go into Atlanta and win the NFC Championship. This leaves the Packers as the only team that fits and considering it was just a three point win for the Falcons when they met in Atlanta in Week 12 and the Packers have improved so much since that day, I am going to guess that Green Bay advances to the Super Bowl. This is a guessing game anyway and every game is a toss up. The Packers have a shot!

In the AFC I have been trying to decide between the Ravens and Steelers. Even though Joe Flacco and Ray Rice have not been as good as anticipated this season, that Defense is so good, so experienced, and not as banged up as the Steelers. I am worried that they might get knocked out in Kansas City but if they survive the Chiefs I really think they will win at Pittsburgh and and at New England. There you go, Baltimore is my guess!

I just put two Wild Card teams in the Super Bowl, this sure is fun!

Yes, the way I see it (even with my green and gold glasses off) is PACKERS over RAVENS in the SuperBowl, because it is not about who played the best all season, it is about guesssing who is going to play the best NOW!!!

And the Winner Is...

With the NFL playoffs officially underway, it is time to start thinking ahead to the Superbowl. If the regular season has shown us anything it is that the NFL is extremely competitive and any team can beat any other team on any given Sunday with very few exceptions. It's seasons like this that make me glad I don't make a living betting on sports!

The NFC is wide open this year. With the exception of Seattle, I feel that any of the NFC teams could ultimately represent that conference in the Superbowl. Since I have to pick one I'm going to pick the Falcons out of the NFC for three reasons. First, they are a well coached team that does not beat themselves. Second, they play very well at home and since they earned the number one seed they will not have to play a road game until the Superbowl if they make it that far. Third, I believe, as their record indicates, that they are the best team in the NFC this season. Like every team they have weaknesses but I think they overcome those weaknesses and get the job done.

The AFC will come down to two teams. Pittsburgh, and, of course, New England. I'm going to pick Pittsburgh to come out of the AFC. Although New England will be at home and favored, Troy Polamalu is a game changer on defense. What makes New England so tough to beat is that they don't beat themselves. They don't give the ball away, but with a player like Polamalu I look for Pittsbugh to win the turnover battle and ultimately the game.

So it comes down to Pittsburgh and Atlanta. Everything I have seen so far this season indicatess that the AFC is a much stronger conference. If Atlanta is going to win that game they will need to create breaks for themselves similar to what New Orleans did by recovering an onside kick to start the second half last season. I predict that Matt Ryan will have the chance to win the game with a late fourth quarter drive but Pittsburgh's defense will turn the Falcons away. Pittsburgh wins the game 30-24.

Did Andrew Luck Make the Right Decision

Immediately after watching Andrew Luck and Stanford dominate Virginia Tech in the second half of the Orange Bowl en route to a 40-12 victory I was convinced, like many of you, that Luck had played his final game in a Stanford uniform. Or maybe not.

Yesterday, Luck officially announced that he would return to Stanford for a final season, and today there's this http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/07/peyton-manning-andrew-luck_n_805956.html. It looks like Peyton Manning, among others, encouraged Luck to return for one more year.

In 1997, Peyton Manning found himself in Andrew Luck's position. Manning had completed his degree in 3 years and was projected to be the number one overall pick in the NFL draft. Instead of entering the draft, he returned to Tennessee for his senior season.

I hope that Andrew Luck returns and has the fairy tale ending to his college career that he is hoping for. He seems like a genuinely nice young man with a bright future whose talents have not gone to his head. Unlike Peyton Manning, Luck's dad was not an NFL quarterback. Passing up a projected $60 million payday could backfire if Luck gets injured or is unable to recapture his 2010 form in 2011. With coach Jim Harbough's future very much up in the air, these are both very real scenarios.

I have a lot of respect for Luck's willingness to put his team ahead of money. If more athletes were willing to do this, the scandals that seem to occur daily in college sports (Cam Newton, Ohio State) would not be a part of NCAA athletics. Luck is an example of a student athlete who chose to leave a huge sum of money on the table to return for a senior season. I just hope the decision doesn't backfire on him. Only time will tell.

Scott Boras=Bad For Baseball

Baseball is definitely an unforgiving game.  In a league with no salary cap and no salary structure, teams can do what they want.  I guess one thing about Baseball is its consistent.  The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Cubs spend tons of money and the Pirates, Rays, Marlins, Padres and Royals trade off expensive talent.  And then in the middle of those teams is the rest of the league.  Seems unfair doesn’t it.  It makes you wonder how the league can have so many have’s and have not’s.  Baseball is not the NFL where in 16 games you can surprise people and make the playoffs when the talent is not quite there.  With 162 games in Baseball only the strong and usually rich survive! 

Where did all this start, how does Baseball fix this?  Do they want to fix this?  Its hard to watch Baseball and see teams like the Marlins and Rays go out and make the World Series on young talent and only to see that talent go to their competitors.  The Rays this offseason have lost Carl Crawford, Rafeal Soriano, Carlos Pena and most of their bullpen.  That’s hard to recover from, especially playing in the AL East with the Yankees and Red Sox. 

You would think the players would want some kind of salary structure because more teams could bid on their services and up the price.  Having only 4 or 5 big market clubs doesn’t give the super stars a lot of choices and it doesn’t give the small and mid market teams a chance at retaining their players.  It forces the small and mid markets to sign their guys to long term deals when they are making no money.  Look at Evan Longoria and Ryan Brauns contracts.  A lot of other players are jumping at the chance to sign long term when they are young.  It’s a win-win for the player and the team.  The player gets security at a young age and the team gets to buy out a few of the free agent years.  Most of the time this works and works well for teams……unless the players agent is Scott Boras.

Scott Boras doesn’t like to give the team any kind of security with his players.  He gets his players believing that they’ll “cash in” in free agency.  No delaying free agency with Boras.  He also gets the players believing they should be the top paid in the game.  He sets an unbelievable price tag for his players and doesn’t budge.  What crazy is the owners actually meet his demands.  It makes no sense, why do the owners cave in with Scott?  Look at some of the deals he was able to pull off

Alex Rodriguez 10 years 275 Million

Carlos Beltran 7 years 119 Million

Mark Teixeira 8 years 180 Million

Derek Lowe 4 years 60 Million

Matt Holliday 7 years 120 Million

Jayson Werth 7 years 126 Million

Adrian Beltre 6 years 96 Million

Prince Fielder ???????????????

Whats crazy about these deals is teams are still paying these types of dollars for non superstars like Jayson Werth and Adrian Beltre.  Jayson Werth was probably the sixth best player on his own team.  Boras was able to talk the Washington Nationals into a seven year deal for a 31 year old player!  There is no way he will ever be able to live up to that contract.  Adrian Beltre is a contract year player.  If it’s his contract year he’ll bust out crazy numbers like he did in LA, Seattle and Boston.  If you get him on any other year, you get a very average player who is good at defense.  Also don’t touch his head, he’ll punch you in the face.(seriously, look it up!) To give Beltre a six year deal is insane!  These kind of deals kill baseball even more.  Now average players will want to cash in like these guys. 

The Milwaukee Brewers inquired about re signing Prince Fielder the last few years and Boras wouldn’t even give them a chance.  He knows if these kind of guys are getting these deals, what’s a guy with 192 career home runs at age 27 going to cost you?  Look for the Cubs to sign Prince for a 10 year $250 million dollar contract.  Not because Prince is worth that money, but because Scott Boras says he is.  Then look for the Brewers to have Matt Gamel making $400k playing first base.  The cycle continues………rich get richer, poorer get poorer......

Vince Young has worn out his welcome in Tennessee

As a huge Tennessee Titans fan for the last 15 years, I've seen great players, such as Eddie George, Steve McNair, Derrick Mason, Frank Wycheck and Bruce Matthews, come and go with this franchise. Vince Young was drafted to someday be mentioned in the same breathe with those all-time greats. He was suppose to be our savior after Steve McNair left and went to Baltimore. He seemed to have all the tools needed to be successful in the National Football League. But somewhere, somehow it went all wrong. I truely believe Vince Youngs fate was sealed on the night of January 4th, 2006. On that night, he stood on the sidelines looking at the scoreboard and it said USC 38 Texas 26, with 6 minutes and 42 seconds left in the 4th quarter. USC had just scored a touchdown to take the biggest lead of the night in the Rose Bowl. But, Vince Young took over and brought Texas back to win that game, almost single handlely. After that moment in time, he thought he was invinceable. He thought he was the best thing since sliced bread! Everything from there on out would go to his head and that would prove to be his undoing. When faced with controversary, he blamed everyone else because he thought he could do no wrong. Jeff Fisher is considered a players coach and he gave Vince Young every opportunity in the world and Vince through every chance away!

So Bud Adams, owner of the Titans, sat down with Fisher this week to discuss the future. Fischer has one year left on his contract but rumors were swirling that Fischer was on the 'hot seat'! I believe Fischer told Adams that he had lost faith in Young and he wanted to release him. So, Adams had a choice to make. Keep a guy who time after time demonstrates he is mentally unstable or release him and keep a Hall of Fame coach. I think the decision was a no brainer for Adams and Vince Youngs carrer in Tennessee was over and his fall from grace was complete. The question now remains, "will Vince Young be able to revive his career elesewhere?" I wish him the best but I also say 'good luck' to the team who gives him a second chance because until he gets right mentally, he will continue to be problematic.

Now, Tennessee must address the quarterback situation and I believe it should be through the draft. Personally, I will have a close eye on the National Championship game on Monday night to see if Cam Newton can prove to me that he deserves to be a Tennessee Titan. I will be blogging about that game so look for it late sunday night.

College Football

With the championship game coming up on Monday night something has occured to me. It is nothing more than an afterthought. Sure when it happens it could be a great game between two powerhouse teams but it could be so much more exciting if we would have spent the past month watching a tournament where the others went out with a fighting chance.

The biggest problem I have with the BCS system is how it seems to render all the other bowl games nearly meaningless. We will hardly remember who won and lost the Orange and Fiesta Bowl's and some people forget to watch them because they are not played on New Years Day.

Even the "granddaddy of them all", The Rose Bowl, which is still played on New years day, has lost some meaning. As a "Wisconsin Guy" I will remember we lost and it was sad but the season comes to an end either way and there was no national title hopes so in a way it does not matter. When I heard today that J.J. Watt has declared himself eligiable for the NFL draft I thought great for him but bad for us as fans. All college football fans were already cheated out of seeing him play more. This is not because he left school early but because he was shut down by TCU in the Rose Bowl and that was the only post-season game he played in. If there was a tournament and the Badgers played in just two games before losing he would be more well known around the country.

The world is changing around us quicker than most people realize. We have to roll with the changes or get left behind. College football does do replay and overtime better than the NFL does in my opinion but overall the NFL looks for opportunities to grow while the college game is being left behind. The system in place before the BCS came about was actually better than what they have now. If they don't embrace change soon, in a lot of areas, players and fans will be less and less likely to be held back by these close minded University presidents.

New Overtime Rules

The NFL is going to go to this new version of sudden death overtime for the playoffs which is not totally sudden death. Both teams are to get a chance with the football. We won't totally understand how it is going to work until we see it being used. I hope we are lucky enough to get an overtime game this weekend so we can "let the controversy begin".

In my opinion the overtime system used in college football is the way to go. Would you agree? What would you like to see if the NFL is looking to improve on the sudden death overtime we have all become accustom to?

The NFL (Making the Best Even Better)

The National Football League is the best and most popular sport going these days. The collective bargaining agreement currently being worked on is an opportunity to bring forth more positive change. Many changes have happened already under the current commissioner Roger Goodell. I am not saying they are all good changes but he is certainly a man of action.

The commissioner wants to implement an 18 game regular season citing the fans distaste for pre-season games as the main reason. We all know it is really all about the money but I am here to tell you that the result of all of this could be great.

The main disagreement between players and owners comes down to money. The players want a bigger piece of the pie. The owners need a bigger piece of the pie to keep each franchise profitable. The obvious solution is to "expand the pie" and it looks like the 18 game regular season is the best way to do this. it appears that it is going to happen. My thought here is that this presents an opportunity to eliminate a situation where a losing team like Seattle makes the playoffs.

I would like to see four divisions of eight teams replace the current format of eight divisions of four teams. Under this new format a team who wins a large division gets a first round bye automatically. If it stays as six teams from each conference in the playoffs they should all be seeded according to won-lost record. This format would be better and fairer and eliminate all losing teams from making the playoffs. There would be many details to be worked out but I am asking you to vote on the basic idea of larger divisions. Do you like it?

Remembering that geographically it never has made sense to have Dallas in the East, I am not too concerned with that part right now. I am keeping it simple for the sake of discussion. One idea I came up with is to have an AFC East of NE, NYJ, MI, BF, PT, BT, CL, and CN with KC, SD, OK, DN, ID, JK, TN, and HU in the AFC West. The NFC East could consist of AT, NO, TB, CR, PH, NYG, WA, and DL and in the NFC West would be CH, GB, DT, MN, SE, SL, SF, and AZ.
Under this format here is how the playoff seeding would look (1-6) compared to what they are now if all the teams had their current records:

NE, PT, ID, KC, BT, NYJ
becomes
NE*, PT, BT, NYJ, KC*, ID

AT, CH, PH, SE, NO, GB
becomes
AT*, NO, CH*, GB, PH, NYG

In the AFC the same six teams get in but we would have ID at PT and NYJ at BT. As division winners NE and KC get the first round byes.
In the NFC the Giants (10-6) sneak in while the Seahawks (7-9) are left out. The Wild card round would be NYG at NO and PH at GB while division winners AT and CH rest. The teams with the better records should be, and now are, playing at home.

The entire schedule would be different so often times the division winners would also wind up seeded 1 and 2 which will make it even better. I would like to see a new 18 game schedule include 14 games within each teams division. Teams would play every other member of their large divisions twice. I suggest that the other four games would match up each division winner from the previous season with the other three division winners. The second place teams would all meet and on down the line. There are many things that could be done with that one remaining game. I would love to see a situation where the first week of the season is all NFC vs. AFC and the season opens with some heavyweight match ups. This conference showdown would be a great way to see which conference appears stronger.

Maybe the bye weeks for the entire AFC could be weeks 5 and 15 and the entire NFC would be off in weeks 6 and 16 or something like that. This would give us only 8 games during four of the NFL weekends but a full 16 games on the other sixteen weekends. It is a win/win: better for the fans and fairer for the players and the competitive balance between the teams. Roger Goodell always says that it is important to help the players stay as healthy as possible.

I would also think the game day rosters should be expanded from 45 to over 50 players and the overall roster expanded to 60. This would also employ more players and teams would not find themselves short handed at a particular position as often even though more games are played and more injuries occur. Again, these are all details to be negotiated. Right now just give me your thoughts on my basic idea of larger divisions to keep losing teams out. Do you like it?

Expectations are high for 2011 Brewers

From time to time, I have flashbacks from 1992! I was 13 years old and and I remember babysitting my nephew and watching Robin Yount make diving catches in centerfield and Chris Bosio on the mound as the Brewers ace. That team also had Gantner, Molitor and Greg Vaughn. That Brewers team ended up winning 92 games and I remember thinking winning 92 games is easy and I should expect this from the Brewers every year. Well, its 18 years later and I'm still waiting for the Brewers to win 92 games again. The reason I bring the '92 season up is because that year, the Milwaukee Brewers made me fall in love with them for the first time. Ever since that time, they have broken my heart more times than all of my ex-girlfriends put together! Fastforward to 2011 and my expectations have never been higher. We have the best starting rotation since 1992 and we have an offense to go along with that starting pitching!! On paper, this team should reach the 92 wins that I have been waiting for 18 years.

One of the best stories I have read in a long time!

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/amplifier/51933/golden-voiced-homeless-man-captivates-internet/

I was reading a few sports sites and I happen to come upon a store that really hit home.  I know most people reading this knows me pretty well.  I'm hoping someday that someone who doesn't know me reads this.  After high school I really wanted to go into sports radio.  It was a passion of mine and something I really enjoyed.  I'd listen to different shows and kind of got a feel for what I wanted to do.  I wanted a show where it was a fun look at sports.  I wanted to do goofy contests and have fake interviews with sports icons and I didn't want to be a fraud. I wanted to be a voice of reason to Brewers fan and actually be educated on the team unlike guys like Bill Michaels "the big unit."
I ended up going to the Madison Media Institute for radio broadcasting and tv production.  I learned a lot about the radio business, good and bad.  Most people there were learning to be disc jockeys and that just wasn't what I wanted to do.  I probably picked the wrong place to go.  I met one of my best friends at MMI, Eric Schmitz.  Eric went there for pretty much the same reason I went there.  We both loved sports and wanted to share our love of sports with the world.  While others in the class played songs and did commerical loops, Eric and I had our own sports talk show.  The Trey Roberts Show with Trey Roberts and Kickin' Karl.  It was an hour of just having fun talking sports and doing things our own way.  We had fake guests come on to our show quite a bit.  We had Jeromy Burnitz, Ben Sheets, Davey Lopes and others.  We had fake contests where people could call in and try to stump Kickin' Karl (Eric) on Brewers trivia.  We would also have classmates call and ask sports questions.
After school I tried to sell the show to different radio stations across WI and even Colorado.  We didn't have any luck.  I tried working part time at Cub Radio in Two Rivers, WI and did Nascar races and random stuff.  It just didn't work out like I planned.  There was no real money in being a disc jockey and the real world came calling.  I found a job in management and Eric ended up moving to AZ.
Looking back at what we had, I know we could have been successful. It didn't work out, but just the fact that we did things our way and had fun doing it in the process made me realize that I was happy I went to Madison and I tried.  I had a CD of the best of the Trey Roberts show that I make Eric listen to every time we are together.  Its just fun to look back and see what we did and how far we have come since.

Now back to this story I found on yahoo.  There is a guy who had a passion for the radio industry.  Just a smooth sounding radio voice.  One of the best I have heard.  He started having the passion when he was 14 and went to school for it.  Unfortunately drugs and alcohol became a problem and eventually left him homeless.  Now instead of just begging for money for more drugs or alcohol, the homeless man(Ted Williams) shares his God given talent for people to earn money.  He'll talk in his radio voice for money, and do a great job in the process.  His goal is to get noticed by someone in the business that will hopefully give him a job talking on TV or radio.  He is two years sober and he is trying to get himself in a position to change his life.
After watching the video clip I went to ESPN.com and found this article http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5991313 The Cleveland Cavaliers have offered this man a job at their arena!  NFL films is also after the guy.  I am so happy for this man to get a second chance and to maybe get the job and life he was always wanted.  He obviously has been through Hell and back which will only probably make him work harder once he is there!  Congratulations Ted Williams!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011WIld Card Weekend-Analysis and Predictions for Sundays games

I'm going to talk about both games on Sunday. I have a friend that is a huge Chiefs fan(Mike Mott) and another good friend(Mike Trescher)that is a Packer fan. I know both of them have been eagerly awaiting my opinion on these games so here it goes:

Ravens @ Chiefs
The first game of the day is a good one. Before the season started, the Ravens were a trendy pick to get to the Super Bowl and here they are playing on the road, on wild card weekend. Not exactly what all the experts had predicted before the season started. Afterall, they added the final piece to the puzzle in Anquan Boldin to go along with another year of experience for Joe Flacco and Ray Rice. Although finishing the season with a 12-4 record, Pittsburgh won the AFC Central and the Ravens had to settle for a wild card. Ray Rice did not exceed my expectations this year after his YPC went down from 5.3 to 4.0. That had a lot to do with opposing defenses game planning to stop the versatile back. I expected more out of Joe Flacco this year, afterall, they did add a top 10 WR in Boldin but Flaccos stats were very similiar to last years. Theres no reason why the Ravens shouldn't have finished in the top 10 in passing yards, but as it turned out, they finished 20th! On the defensive side of the ball, the Ravens gave up some yards this season, primarily against the pass. They gave up a whopping 225 yards a game, which was ranked 21st in the NFL.

The Chiefs came into the season on nobodys radar! They had only one playoff appearance in the last 6 years. Todd Haley hired Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator in the offseason and that was a great move. They ranked 1st in rushing yards per game and Matt Cassel finally came into his own as the year went along. Many Chief fans had given up on this guy but I didn't. I knew the 11-5 record he posted in New England was no fluke. He just needed to be in the right system and needed to be surrounded with a good running game. Speaking of the running game, Jammal Charles was the engine to the car this year. He set carrer highs in almost every category, including a robust 6.4 yards per carry! Dwayne Bowe finally had his coming out party after being one of the most disappointing WR's in the NFL the past 4 years. He averaged 73 yards a game and had a career best 15 touchdowns! The Chiefs defense had a huge turnaround this year. They added a ton of talent in the draft the last 3 years. Eric Berry was a beast in college and he's a beast in the NFL. Good pick KC!

It's time for my bold prediction. When I look at the Chiefs schedule and look at who they have beaten, its not impressive at all! They have beaten the likes of Cleveland, San Francisco, Buffalo, Seattle, Arizona, St Louis and Denver. Not exactly great wins. So, Im not sure how good the Chiefs are yet. A win against the Ravens would prove a lot to me. The Ravens are ranked 5th in the NFL against the run and thats the Chiefs strength so thats a great matchup to watch. I don't think Ray Rice will be a difference maker in this game and I think there will be opportunites for Matt Cassel in the passing game and I think the Chiefs get it done at home, 21-16.

Packers @ Eagles
The Packers come limping into this game after finishing the season 3-3 in thier last 6 games. The have had a ton of injuries this season. Im amazed that they are even in the playoffs after losing so many key contributors. And the credit has to go to the players that have stepped in for the injured players and Dom Capers. I wasn't aware of how good Dom Capers was as a defensive coordinator but he has proven to me that he can come up with a gameplan to stop what the other team does best. He should be on Coach Bellichicks staff because thats what New England has been about for years. I have my doubts about Mike McCarthy as a head coach in the NFL. He is too pass heavy and he makes the most bone-headed decisions. If the Packers plan on winning any games on the road in the playoffs, they have to get some production out of the running game. I believe the defense will be fine with Clay Matthews, Woodson and company doing thier thing.

I view the Eagles as the most dangerous team in the playoffs. They have so much talent on offense and its almost impossible to take away everyone. You take away Jackson and Maclin then they will beat you with Vicks legs and McCoy rushing the ball. And don't forget about Brent Celek because he's capable of having a 100 yard game as well. The Eagles are ranked 5th in rushing and 9th in passing, respectively. If the Eagles have a weakness, its on defense. They are ranked 15th in both pass defense and rush defense. I remember when Javid Best rolled up 230 total yards in a week 2 loss against the Eagles. So, they definitly can be run on.

When I look at this game, I look at the matchups and who has the most advantages. I think the Packers defense will hold pretty well against this Eagles offense. Vick will get his yards but the packers have to stop McCoy from running wild. If they don't, it could be a long day for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers will have some opportunities in this game with the deep ball. His WR's will have to help him out and make some plays. In the end, I think the Packers defense will the difference in this game and they go on the road, in a hostile environment and pull out a close game...Packers 27-Eagles 23