Someone needs to step up and fill the 5-hole. I’ve always been a Jim Edmonds fan (except when he was beating the Brewers), but his best years are behind him.  Someone needs to step up early in the season to give Prince Fielder some protection in the lineup.  If no one does by the All-Star Break, fielder will never see a pitch to hit when the game is close. Corey Hart and Casey McGehee, I’m looking at you.

Both the Brewers and Twins will benefit from the Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy trade. Gomez had an incredible first game with the Brewers, going 4-5, with a solo home run and 2 runs.  Minnesota doesn’t play until later tonight, but I think the change of scenery will benefit former Brewer Hardy as well.

Defense – it’s good, the Brewers should try it. The Brewers had 2 errors and looked and looked slightly pitiful at times while on the field.  That might be acceptable if rookies were starting in key positions, but alas this is a veteran group.  Most were by two players – Greg Zaun and Casey McGehee.  Step it up guys.

At least the middle is secure (in front of the plate). There was much made about changes to the center of the defense in the offseason.  Would Rickie Weeks be healthy?  Could Alcides Escobar handle the majors?  What about Gomez in center field?  Defensively the Brewers looked spectacular up the middle.  Escobar and Weeks might be the best 2B and SS combo since Robin Yount and Jim Gantner.  Gomez has a rocket arm and great speed in center.

Bring back Damian Miller! Behind the plate in game 1 was another story.  New catcher Greg Zaun is another veteran past his prime.  His roll will be limited due to rookie catcher George Kottaras.  Still, Zaun had multiple errors behind the plate today.  The Brewers were looking for someone cheap who could give them about 90 games – why not Miller?  He’s a fan favorite, from Wisconsin, and will only play for the Brewers.  Also he would have gotten at least one hit (a guy can dream).

Gallardo can be rattled. In the second inning, Zaun let a pitch get away from him, allowing a run to score from second.  Gallardo was visually a bit rattled, and threw the next pitch over the plate.  Ian Stewart belted it out of the park to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.  He’s no Carlos Zambrano, but I hope he can get it in check.

Uecker makes baseball awesome. During the game, Brewers announcer Bob Uecker told the story of how Colorado second baseman Clint Barmes fell down the stairs while carrying a deer into his apartment.

“They never did tell us if the deer was alive,” quipped Uecker.

There are still a lot of question on the season to answer – including the big one, pitching – but hey, that’s what those other 161 games are for.

What are your thoughts/concerns about the Brewers in 2010?

It’s now time for the fun stuff – filling out your brackets.

Like other years, I have created mine on ESPN.com.  Consider this your official invite to join me and likely beat me in their tournament challenge.  Once you create a bracket, add it to group “Badger Badger Badger” – the password for the group is “GoDuke”

So come, create a bracket or two and laugh mercilessly at me when you beat me. I know I will do the same if I beat you.

Maybe it is because it is about roller derby and coincides with a recent resurgence in the sport.

Maybe…

Around the state, derby girls are hosting premier parties for the film. Three of the cities I have called home – Beloit, Madison and Milwaukee – have derby girls at local theaters supporting the flick. Want to check it out with some real live derby girls? Well, here are the details.

I accepted an invitation from the Mad Rollin’ Dolls to cover their premier party for Dane101.com Friday night. The Dolls will be at Eastgate Cinemas tomorrow from 7 – 10 p.m. with an after party at Pooley’s. On Saturday the Dolls head to Sundance Cinema for the 4:30 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. showing of the film. The after party moves upstairs to the Bar Bistro starting at 9 p.m. Check Dane101 for a complete review.

Beloit’s Stateline Divas will be at Wildwood Movies 10 Theater in Janesville for the 6:30 p.m. showing. More info available in via BDN blogs.

Finally the Brew City Bruisers will host shindigs at Ridge Cinema in New Berlin. They will be there for the 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. showing of the film. More details via their facebook invite.

If you decide to attend any of these, post pictures in the comments below.

I was nervous as I waited for Bauer to come off the ice after practice.  Before my prep I did not know a whole lot about women’s hockey other than we won our first championship the year before. All my research made me the huge fan that I still am today.

While I waited, I chatted with another reporter from the college newspaper. He was there to interview multiple players, and they shuffled over to him as they came off the ice. I struck up a casual conversation with one player as we both waited for our interviews. She was the back-up sophomore goalie that started sharing time with the incumbent this season.

Who would know that I would talk to two Kazmaier winners that day.

Jessie Vetter would go on to be one of the most successful goalies to play college hockey. The Badgers beat Mercyhurst 5-0 yesterday to win their third championship in four year.

The Badgers have dominated woman’s hockey for half a decade. The have played in the championship game the past four seasons – an NCAA record. They have three national titles, second only to Minnesota-Duluth. Coach Mark Johnson was named coach of the 2010 Olympic team.

I have been a fan of the sport and the team since that interview two years ago – making at least one game per season. Unlike men’s hockey, few people attend the woman’s games. It is easy to get a seat in the first row at center ice, although I usually prefer the student section.

My favorite moment came this season in a game against St. Cloud State. Midway through the game, Phil Dzick joined us in the student section. The Badgers quickly scored a couple goals, and before long I was holding up Phil’s ’5′ sign as the crowd chanted we want more.

The Badgers could struggle next year. Johnson will be focused on coaching the Olympic team, and Vetter will graduate. Still, there is one thought that persists in my mind…

1….2….3….We want more!

The top seeds in the tournament are Louisville, Pittsburg, North Carolina and Connecticut.  Really can’t argue with the top teams.  No one apart from Louisville played like they wanted to be a top seed down the stretch.  A little surprised there are three Big East teams as one seeds, but it’s really hard to argue for anyone else.

Midwest

Ohio State playing in Dayton could make things interesting.
Arizona should NOT be in the tournament.  This is a team that is living off its past reputation and nothing it did this year.  This is exactly what happened to Kentucky last year, and I complained about them as well.  Look for them to leave early.
Wake Forest is a tough #4 seed.
Michigan State as the #2 seed.  Should easily be a Sweet 16.
Kansas as a three – this is a tough bracket.
Dayton – West Virginia is a first round game I want to watch.

West Region.

Uconn has a fairly easy trip to the sweet 16.
Purdue a #5 seed, likely plays Washington if they win.  However, the Washington vs. Mississippi St. game looks like a fun one.
Memphis is the #2.
Maryland is another team that was close and could make a case that should not have been in.  I’ll debate that case once I see who is left out.
Marquette is a #6 Seed.  If they beat Utah State in the first round, they get Missouri in the second.  They could pull the upset and be a Sweet 16.
This is a weaker bracket than the last.

East

Pittsburg could have a dogfight with Oklahoma State, providing they can get by Tennessee.
Badgers get a 12 seed.  They are another team that in my mind should NOT have been in the tournament (yea, that’s right).  They get a rematch against Florida State, who they beat in the ACC Big Ten tournament earlier this year.  Also a rematch of the Champs Sports Bowl in football.
Duke is the #2 seed in this bracket.  A streaky team that could leave early or go to the finals.
Minnesota against Texas is another game I really want to watch.
Villanova gets to play in Philly.  Should help them make it to the Sweet 16.
This is a light bracket, and the top two seeds could make it to the Great 8.

South

North Carolina gets a dogfight in their second round with either Butler or LSU – another must-watch game for me.
Western Kentucky will keep the run of 12 seeds winning at least one game alive.
Oklahoma is a tough #2 seed, and would give North Carolina a good match if both make it that far.
Michigan makes it in after a tough road schedule.  They deserve to be here, although they draw a tough Clemson team in the first round.
Arizona State versus Syracuse as a possible second round matchup excites me a great deal.
This is another tough conference.  Should be fun to watch.

Without spoiling my brackets his, I only have one #1 seed making it to my final four.

St Mary’s SHOULD be in this tournament. Patty Mills is back from injury, and the committee should have taken that into account.  There is NO WAY Arizona should be in this tournament while St Mary’s is relegated to the NIT.  Creighton should also be in the tournament and I wouldn’t mind seeing Penn State in as well. Apart from switching St. Mary’s and Arizona, my only other change would be taking out either Wisconsin Or Maryland and adding Creighton.

But since I can’t do anything more than enjoy and watch, let the good times begin.

—————-

I remember the exact day I stopped caring about the NBA.

It was 2002. I was living in Milwaukee, and out in Walker’s Point with a friend. We stopped at a local pub to watch game 6 of the Lakers-Kings playoff series. After watching a second half where the Kings got screwed, I sat back in my chair and took a large sip of beer.

“The NBA is rigged,” I proclaimed to my friend. “The Kings got hosed because the league wants the Lakers in the finals.” Neither her or anyone in the bar disagreed with me.

I don’t think I’ve watched an NBA game in its entirety since that day. There was no point watching game 7, because I, like the league, already knew the outcome. To this day, I feel more honest watching professional wrestling then popping on an NBA game. At least wresting admits it is rigged.

Six years later as the Lakers are again in the NBA Finals, ex-referee Tim Donaghy alleges that the two of the three referees involved in the 2002 game “company men” whose job was to extend a playoff series in 2002 to a seventh game.

Well duh!

If Donaghy wanted to pick a game to save his own skin, this would be the one to pick. No one will argue with him on that point – it’s like saying babies are cute, or George Burns liked cigars.

Still, I know this game turned me off to the NBA for good. I know it did the same for other fans. In a poll on FoxSports.com, 82% of those that responded believed the game was fixed. Combine that with the fact that many people believe the NBA Draft is fixed (myself included), and why would anyone want to watch this sport?

Donaghy is not the problem. One corrupt person in an entire corrupt league is not to blame. Until the entire league is fixed, there is no point in watching any part of it, including the finals.

I’d rather go back to watching wrestling.

This year’s draft is like a funeral for a long-lost great aunt I haven’t seen in a decade and almost forgot was alive to start with. The passing requires my attention, but in the end I really don’t care that much. Maybe it’s because of the problems the NBA has had over the last year (which I will talk about in more detail later). Maybe it’s because very few of my favorite players from favorite will probably be drafted. Maybe the fact the draft is so pathetically weak except for the top two players.

Whatever the case may be, I’m about as excited about this as a fried liver sandwich. I guess I’ll just close my eyes and eat it. Here comes the first bite.

1st pick. – Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls. The NBA is very much a follow-the-leader type of league. With the success of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, scoring guards are a hot commodity. Although Michael Beasley is the best player in the NBA draft, Rose is a good fit for Chicago. The Bulls have drafted power forwards the past two years. A guard with leadership ability might be just what this teams needs.

2nd pick. Michael Beasley, Miami Heat. The best player in the draft goes to a team that desperately needs a good big man. With Dwane Wade and Shawn Marion back and healthy, the addition of Beasley will make the Heat a contender again this year in the Eastern Division.

3rd pick. O.J. Mayo, Minnesota Timberwolves. I’m not completely sold on Mayo. At USC he had a chance to be “The Man.” However, he was good, not great. A good defensive player, decent scorer and athlete, he’ll be that kind of guy who will have an average career except in contract years, which will make him overpaid over the course of his career.

I hate that they talk to the players live. The number of clichés they spit out makes me ready to vomit.

A friend just texted me about the Bucks trade. I quickly flipped over to SI.com to see the details. After processing it for about ten minutes now, I’m not sure what I think. Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to the Nets for Richard Jefferson. I’ve said all year that there is only one untouchable player on the Bucks, and that is Andrew Bogut. Still, I don’t think the Bucks got enough in this trade, although it’s probably better then anything that former GM Lenny Harris would have pulled off.

I like Jefferson and think he is one of the best small forwards in basketball. The Bucks were able to dump one of their overpriced contracts signed by Harris. The got rid of a player that did not want to be on the team, and probably would not have resigned once his rookie contract expires. Personally I think they could have got more based on Yi’s potential. I’m not asking for a lot more, maybe a draft pick from New Jersey to help build the team further. However, I now wonder what the Bucks will do with their pick, as Alexander was considered the top prospect for the Bucks. Hum, look where we are in the draft…

8th pick. Joe Alexander, Milwaukee Bucks. Like every player at the top of this draft, I’m not sold on Alexander. However, I do think that new general manager John Hammond drafted the best player available in the draft regardless of position. Alexander is crazy athletic and an exciting player. He played for Bob Huggins, so he’ll have some toughness coming into the NBA. I think there will be more deals in this draft by the Bucks, and that the strength of this draft lies in the later part of the first round. Maybe the Bucks position themselves to take advantage of that.

The best part for me is Alexander is not a soft power forward.

——————

Really not too into the draft this year for the previously mentioned reasons, so here are some notes as they come up.

My all-draft team for this year:
C – Brook Lopez, New Jersey
PF – Michael Beasley – Miami
SF – Joe Alexander – Milwaukee
SG – Brandon Rush – Portland
PG – Derrick Rose – Chicago

I thought about making a second team, but there was no point guard worthy of inclusion.

Players I like that were drafted later or not yet drafted:

Donte’ Green – needs one more year of college, but has a chance to be great
Roy Hibbert – you still can’t go wrong with a Georgetown center
D.J White – was a leader on Indiana this year and a monster inside
Mario Chalmers – probably the second best point guard in the draft
Chris Douglas-Roberts – reminds me of Michael Redd
Joey Dorsey – OWNED Kevin Love in the plalyoffs. A man among boys.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – Possibly the best defensive player in the draft
Michael Flowers – Possibly the best defensive player in the draft, offense getting better

There are two Badgers that will get tryouts in the NBA if not drafted – Flowers and Brian Butch. Butch likely won’t make a team, but Flowers stands a good chance of landing somewhere.

More to come.
—————-

The new NBA deputy commissioner is being booed by the crowd at Madison Square Garden.  Nothing surprising there.

I shouldn’t have made the “best players” list, as  White, Chalmers and Dorsey just flew off the board.  The Trailblazers are on the clock, followed by the Bucks.  Personally I’m hoping for Douglas-Roberts.

37th pick. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Milwaukee Bucks.  While I would love a backup guard like Douglas-Roberts, I love a good defensive player, as does Scott Skiles.  Mind you, The Bucks now have an abundance of small forwards.  Maybe Mbah a Moute will play a little power forward.

40th pick. Chris Douglas-Roberts, New Jersey Nets.  Every year, one team impresses me more then others with their moves.  This year that team is the Nets.  They started the move to a younger team when they traded Jason Kidd for Devon Harris midway through the season.  Picking up Yi and Simmons from the Bucks was a big move. Brook Lopez and Douglas-Roberts were both the best players available when the Nets picked, and they didn’t hesitate to take them.  Now, if they had taken Donte’ Green instead of Ryan Anderson, it would have been the perfect draft.  Still, they become one of my favorite teams to watch.

Interest in the draft is still minimal. My normal Sunday morning tradition inivolves sitting down with my multiple newspapers and trudging trhough them while listening to the classic country music station on cable. However, I decided to flip to the draft during and noticed the Packers were within three picks of their next selection.

The Packers address one of their needs, taking tight end Jermichael Finley from Texas. Finley is a pass-catching tight end that needs work on his blocking.

Back to the newspaper. More updates to come.

……..
THOMPSON TRADES UP!

Breaking news! For the first time as the Packer’s GM, Ted Thompson has traded up in the 4th round. Thompson snagged Wake Forest DE Jeremy Thompson. Thompson is the younger brother of Packers guard Orrin Thompson. Described by Wake coaches as “Julius Peppers-type player,” Thompson’s workout numbers are: 4.75 in the 40, 32-inch vertical, 9-9 broad jump, did 225 pounds 25 times, scored 24 on the Wonderlic.

20 minutes until the Brewers game starts.

……..

I misread the start time of the Brewers game. It’s not until 1 p.m. D’oh1

Playing around the Internet, I came across SI’s analysis of the Brohm pick yesterday:

The Packers land the top-rated quarterback prospect heading into the season in the second round. Brian Brohm, who has been the victim of incessant nitpicking by scouts, will push Aaron Rodgers for the starting job if the veteran struggles under center this season. To pick up such a talented quarterback prospect without using a first-round pick is a major coup for the Packers.

I was waiting for the Packers to make their second 4th round pick, but it appears they traded it to the Rams.

JSOnline reports that the Packers acquired a 5 and 7th round pick for their fourth rounder.

I love the fact that Thompson takes a “Madden Fantasy Mode” approach to the draft. Let me explain. When I play the Madden football games, I try to acquire as many draft picks as possible. I bring in young talent and see if they develop into the next stars. If they are average, I trade them for more draft picks and try again.

Thompson has a similar approach to the game. Trade a player that will demand a huge sum of money for draft picks. Know exactly who you want in the draft and where you can get them. Then, trade down to acquire more picks if the person you want is still available and might be for a while longer. While I usually swear a lot at his picks initially, Thompson does know what he is doing, and does it well.

……..

The New York Times has an awesome article about a reporter jailed in Zimbabwe for doing his job. The quote of the article:

I was being charged with the crime of “committing journalism.” One of my captors, Detective Inspector Dani Rangwani, described the offense to me as something despicable, almost hissing the words: “You’ve been gathering, processing and disseminating the news.”

Read the article here (login required)

Anyway, lots of football. The first Badger was drafted in the 4th round by the Eagles. Jack Ikegwuono probably would have been drafted earlier if he had not been injured at the end of the season. Ikegwuono presents possible character issues for the Eagles, as he was charged with stealing an Xbox while at Wisconsin. Still, it will be interesting to see how he performs.

The Packers drafted a lineman they probably could have drafted in the 6th round. In Ted we trust?

The Vikings finally had a chance to make their second pick – a pick that once belonged to the Packers. With it, they took John David Booty – QB from USC. This could be one of the pieces that helps make the Vikings into a playoff team – damnit! Us Packer fans prefer the Bears and Vikings stay bad until we get our own quarterback situation figured out.

……..

Overload!

The Brewers, Penguins, AND draft are all on now. I think draft coverage will suffer the most.

Packers draft another offensive lineman. Breno Giacomini is an offensive tackle from Louisville. Tall (6-7, 304lbs). Needs some work, but could start in a year or two.

Meanwhile the Brewers have the bases loaded with 1 out. Haven’t checked the Penguins game yet.

Brewers are on the board (1-0) with a sacrifice fly by Corey Hart. Woo!

……..
Sidney Crosby just got dumped, giving the Penguins a power play (4 on 3). I think this is the first game I’ve watched Jager play against Pittsburgh since he was traded.

The Rangers made it through the power play without letting up a score. However, things are getting physical, and New York now has a man advantage.

The draft is currently at pick 160. The Packer’s next pick is 209. Think I can successfully avoid ESPN for a while and switch between baseball and hockey.

Brewers lead 1-0 in the top of the third.

……..

J-E-T-S take quarterback Erik Ainge out of Tennessee. A tall (6’5”) quarterback that is used to pressure and can get it done. I thought he would have went in the 3rd round, and had the Packers possibly taking him if Brohm would have not been available.

Since the hockey game is at the end of the period, I figured I would check to see how my Jets have done so far overall. The Jets need A LOT, and drafted the best TE and a good pass rusher in the first round.

The Jets have glaring needs at the playmaker positions. Thomas Jones is a good running back, but they could use more. Laveranues Coles is their only decent wide receiver. The have a desperate need for a cornerback or two. Who knows who will start at quarterback.

Thus far they have done an acceptable job addressing some needs. Although he seems like a jag, drafting Darren McFadden would have brought the best playmaker in the draft to New York.

Jets just picked again, taking Marcus Henry from Kansas. Henry is a possession receiver with limited speed that drops a fair number of balls.

Brewers keep missing opportunities to score. Why do I feel that will hurt them once the relievers come in?

……..

Well, I have a meeting shorty, so I will have to leave my sports heaven.  Currently the Penguins are  up 1-0 with about 5 minutes left in the game, while the Brewers are about to blow it, with the bases loaded and already down 2-1.  The Packers have not made another pick.

Over the last two years, my interest has faded significantly. When a friend asked if I planned to watch the draft this year, I told him no.

Then something happened. I was out running errands when the draft was about to start. The normal pompous ESPN crew was spieling crap about who would be the best player. Still no interest. Then I noticed another television. The Detroit / Colorado hockey game was about to start.

I knew it was time to race home.

Over the past two years, I have become more of a hockey fan. While I’m not a Detroit or Colorado fan per se, I’ve grown to dislike the Red Wings enough that the game is of interest.

But the ultimate question still lingered, which would I watch more of – the draft or the NHL?

I arrive home at the worst possible time. Detroit is leading 1-0 right before the end of the period, and the draft is on commercial – right after my Jets have picked.

I jump to Si.com to check what I have missed, while the Red Wings take it into the zone.

Shit, Matt Ryan went #3 to Atlanta. Double shit, Darren McFadden went #4 to the Raiders.

Triple shit, the Jets got stuck with the most overrated player in the draft, Vernon Gholston. Gholston had two good games this year, and is a prototypical “combine pick” – the kind of player that gets a buzz around the NFL combine, performs well there, but does very little in the NFL. I hope I’m wrong and he’s an NFL stud.

End of the first period – time to catch up a bit and order a pizza.

Pick 7 – N.E. Patriots – fuck the Patriots!

<Rant1>Cheating is cheating. There is no difference between taking steroids, paying a referee or taping practices to gain an advantage. The Patriots got off lucky by only losing one draft pick for their actions. I’m glad that the commish said there was a possibility for more penalties against the Patriots, and personally I think their best draft pick should have been forfeited. </Rant1>

Damnit! Red Wings score on the power play to make it 2-0. The power play was BS to start with. Detroit has been dominating so far this game on offense.

I can’t even finish writing my rant above, and Detroit scores again. 3-0. This is ridiculous, it’s not even funny. Good time to flip over to the draft.

1.5 hours into the draft, and we’re at pick #12. The Packers pick 30th overall. Will they make their pick before the hockey game is over?

So, Hockey. Since Wisconsin does not have a professional hockey team, we I am forced to look elsewhere for a team. At an early age (before they won any Stanley Cup Championships), I became a Pittsburg Penguins fan. I really only have two teams I dislike – the Northstars (for moving to Dallas), and the Red Wings. I have a bunch of friends in town from Detroit, and know one person who cheers for them for no real reason (you know, similar to my Pittsburg rational), so GO COLORADO.

In the time I took to write those two paragraphs, Detroit scored again. Seriously, who the hell did Colorado beat to get here?

Finally Colorado is showing some life. Mind you it’s in a fight. Hey guys, put that much effort into scoring goals, and you might be winning, or at least in this damn game.

I realize I haven’t checked the draft in quite a while. The much-hated Bears are on the clock.

Pick 14 – Chris Williams, offensive tackle. With a lethargic offense, anything on that side of the ball makes sense.

Poor Detroit fans now have the choice between their hockey team and their first round pick. A commercial in the hockey game comes at the exact right moment. Which wide receiver will they take this year?

PIZZA’S HERE!!!

………

Trades trades trades. It seems as though every pick in the middle of the first is being traded. Also, the run on offensive linemen has begun.

Hey look, Hockey! Colorado FINALLY got on the board and only trail by 3 with 13 minutes left. They should be able to get back into this, right? Oh, and for those that are curious, Colorado beat Minnesota in the first round.

And Detroit scores a short-handed goal. Yippie.

The draft is at pick 21. Man is this BORRRRRING!

Since the hockey game is basically over, and the draft sucks, I think it’s time to do a little work. More to come later on the draft picks I miss.

……..

WHAT?!?!

Chris Bermann is an idiot. As ESPN discusses the Redskins, The do a brief tribute to Sean Taylor, the safety that was murdered last year and wore the number 21 for his career.

Berman’s comment after the segment – “Taylor wore #21, the Redskins are picking #2. Maybe more than an accident”

Yea, it’s called they finished with a record where they were able to pick 21st in the draft, dumbass. Also, what kind of “deep meaning” is it that the Redskins traded the pick to the Falcons?

……..

So it’s about 7 p.m. and I really didn’t miss anything. The Packers (predictably) traded down into the second round where they took Jordy Nelson, a wide receiver from Kansas State. From what I’ve read, Nelson can best be described as a possession WR, as he doesn’t have great speed but is tall and can make tough catches. A bit of a surprise pick, since the Packers have a lot of talented young wideouts on the current roster.

The Packers have two more picks in the second round, and I am debating if I will watch them or flip channels for the Brewers game.

……..

More on Nelson from the Journal Sentinel.

• 6-2.5, 217 pounds; Had a 40-yard time of 4.5 seconds.

• Former walk on who was originally a strong safety after being a QB in high school

• Finished second nationally last season in receptions (122) and yards (1,606)

I’m a bit excited as Chad Henne is still on the board, and there are only two teams before the Packers pick, both with solid starting quarterbacks. In my mind, he is the best quarterback in the draft with the most professional potential. Normally I would expect the Packers to NOT pick who I hope they take, but since there were rumors of them taking Henne in the first round, this might be their new backup quarterback.

……..

Philadelphia is currently leading Montreal 2-1. This game appears to be a lot better then the earlier “game.”

Packers are on the clock, and ESPN is on commercial. Another reason I hate the draft is ESPN continues to talk about the 1st round today and the first two rounds tomorrow; giving no love to the later round picks at all.

Like normal, the Packers surprise me, taking the position I think they need, just picking a different candidate. Brian Brohm was my preseason pick for the Heisman, so I love the Packers taking him.

• 6’2″, 230, 4.83
• 12 interceptions in his first three years.
• Drafted by the Colorado Rockies as a baseball player
• One of my top 2 quarterbacks in the draft. Should have been a 1st round pick

Chad Henne is drafted the next pick by the Dolphins. Both quarterbacks will have great careers, better the quarterbacks drafted in the first round.

……..

Philly is up 3-1 in the hockey game.  Man, all the teams I want to win are losing today.

Packers are up again.  I admit, Thompson is good at acquiring picks

Patrick Lee, a 6’ cornerback from Auburn fills a need for the Packers.  Their secondary is talented, but ageing.  Good speed and size, should fit in well with the Pack’s secondary.

Think that is all for today.  I’ll blog the later rounds tomorrow while watching my Penguins play.

Most importantly, the Madness begins!

I am a college basketball addict, and plan to spend the next four days watching basketball.  It’s a mini vacation for me in my otherwise busy life.  There have been some great articles this year about college hoops, and here are links to a couple of them.

ESPN on former UWM coach Bruce Pearl

SI’s Mad about March

Some guy on Dane101 babbling about the Badgers

Enjoy the madness!