Brian's Sports Report

Let's imagine you are on a game show, heck lets even imagine that I'm your host (no i won't kiss your cheek). You've won your choice of a grand prize because you correctly guessed how many more bad movies Eddie Murphy will make before he retires from acting. 5 doors roll out from behind a curtin and there is smoke everywhere. Out from the door walk five athletes: Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Reggie Bush, Mario Williams and A.J Hawk. You get to pick one of them to play for the Green Bay Packers, who's it gonna be? Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, 4 people get to pick before you....

With the NFL draft coming up, there has been much speculation on who will get chosen for what time. Up till this afternoon, I honestly had no clue, but my guess would have been:
1. Bush
2. Leinart
3. Young
4. Mario Willams
5. (Packers) = A.J Hawk

But that all changed today when two significant off season free agent deals went down. Daunte Cullpepper accepted a deal with the Miami Dolphins and more importantly, Drew Brees accepted a deal with the New Orelans Saints. The Saints are now set with their QB which now makes for an interesting draft. Now the Packers have a choice to make. Granted there is still time for New Orleans to trade their 2nd pick if the want, the draft now looks like this:
1. Bush
2. (No QB needed)
3. Leinart, Young, Cutler
4. No QB needed)
5. OB needed?

If the draft order stays the same that it is now, the frees up a QB for the Packers if they want one. Nobody is quite sure on Aaron Rogers, is he the guy that is going to lead us after Favre leaves us? I'd have to assume that Matt Leinart will get picked before Vince Young or Jay Cutler. That potentially means the Packers could get their choice of Young or Cutler.

The tough problem with football, unlike baseball, is that the draft actually means something. These picks are very important. Picking Barry Sanders or Peyton Manning can drasticly affect a teams future for the next ten years along with picking bad picks (Ryan Leaf you little baby you).

So what do the Packers do if they do get a choice of Young or Cutler at QB? My answer is honestly I don't know. It's too bad we couldn't have seen Aaron Rogers play a bit more this year. I don't know if he can be THE GUY. Vince Young put on a grade A performance at the Rose Bowl this year and complied amazing stats at Texas, but is he NFL ready?

If i had to guess, the Packers will most likely take Mario Williams (if available) or A.J Hawk. I haven't even brought up the fact yet that the decision might have alot to do if Brett Favre comes back or not. (One side note, my next article will be on Javon "piece of crap" Walker.)

This article is all over the place, kind of like Green Day this past year (if i hear that song one more time...) and it really doesn't make sense and it shouldn't. I can't make up my mind untill I know what Brett Favre will do and if New Orleans trades their pick. We shall see what happens. Wake me up when April ends.

I made up a game, yes thats right I made up a game (Trust me it's more fun that Monopoly, just ask Dane Cook). It's a fun one but it's almost impossible to win. It's called " Try to go a whole week without hearing or seeing the word 'Barry Bonds' ". I had a streak of 2 days going and then today I lost. And you thought Chutes and Ladders was hard!

Two writters from the San Francisco Bay area are making news today after they announced they will be publishing a book on the "supposed" use of steroids by Giants slugger and 7 time MVP Barry Bonds. The writters researched him for two years using jury grand testimony (from the BALCO trial), interviews and over 200 sources.

This book is great in my mind because it finally puts the nail in the coffin for Bonds. Yes everyone knows he put on 1,000 pounds of muscle in 5 years, but that still doesn't prove he actually used steroids. Yes he never hit anywhere close to 70 home runs in his career untill he got to his 40's, but again you can't just assume. Roger Clemmens, arguably the best right handed pitcher ever, is in his 40's and posted the best ERA in baseball last year and he has been tested many times. Thats what makes this book good. Barry is sort of like O.J Simpson, he's innocent untill proven guilty, but we all know the answer ("If the glove doesn't fit, you cannot aquit!" RIP Johnny).

Though I haven't read the whole book yet, I have read many transcripts from it in which they go into lots of detail of the cycle of drugs that Bonds was on, how it affected his life and why he did it. A group of reporters interviewed Bonds today outside his locker (complete with a big screen tv) and asked him his thoughts on the book. He stated that he wouldn't comment on it and he walked away. COME ON BARRY! Tell us you are sorry. Look what happend to Mark McGwire, everyone loved Mark and now he's an enemy to baseball fans. Whats scary is we all actually liked Mark untill he plead the 5th infront of congress on his steroid use. Just think what will happen to you in the years if you don't just admit it, I mean we already hate your guts with a passion and think you are a jerk.

Bonds has admitted that he did take steroids but he "didin't know" they were steroids. Rick Rieley, in a Sports Illustrated article last year said " Sure I believe Barry didin't know he was taking steroids. I mean the guy won't eat popcorn unless he knows the exact saturated fat content of it, so I'm sure he had no idea." I read the article and agreed with Rick, maybe he thought he was taking Flinstone vitamins and injecting candy into his butt?

Should Bonds be in the hall of fame? Thats another story and thats another article to be written. But for now we must put up with stories of our favorite athlete of Major Leauge Baseball, Barry Bonds. Alright I say you join me in round two of my game. Let's start now, you have to go one week without hearing or seeing his name, if you lose...then you have to dress up like Paula Abdul.

Few things symbolize the great state of Wisconsin. We don't have the best weather, we don't have the most amazing vacation spots, we don't have any real big cities to visit and David Copperfield the magician still refuses to come back to perform at the Riverside Theatre (it's been 5 years come back!). One thing we are known for though is football, most notably the Green Bay Packers.

With the Packers, is a player that was a former 3rd string starter, to replacment player, to starter, to a MVP and then on to a Lambeau Legend. He's one of the t0p 10 quarterbacks in the history of football (if he's not on your list then you made a mistake) and he's on the verge of possibly calling it quits. What's going on with Brett Favre and will will the eventual outcome be?

After a disapointing 4-12 season (not Brett's fault), Brett Favre told many news outlets that it might have been his last season. There have been many reports on what people think Brett will end up doing. I have a prediction, but I'll save that for later on. I try as much as I can not to listen to an anylyst make their thoughts as much as I try to really look atevery interview Brett has done this offseason. There are lots of key things he has said.

Brett says over and over again that he can still play. He says his arm feels better now then ever before and he still has a shot gun attached to his shoulder. So for anyone that tries to say he's getting old and should call it quits, thats a weak argument. The one thing Brett did say that really shocked me was:

" I don't know if I want to be the guy anymore. If there are two minutes left in the game, I don't know if I want to be the guy with the ball.. I never throught I'd give up mentally before I did physically." Was that Brett Favre talking?? The iron man of football who's endured so much mental and physical pain has finally cracked?

There are really in my mind 3 scenario's that can happen: 1. Brett Favre returns to the Packers for 1-3 mroe years. 2. Brett Favre retires. 3. Brett Favre plays for another team. Yes I said it.

Though I think it's unlikely, it does make sense that Favre might want to play for another team instead of Mr. Personality Ted Thompson. Favre still has years left but just wants a team that is a contender. Just think how he'd do on a team like the Dolphins, who are a few pieces away from making some magic happen. He's running out of time and I'm sure he'd like the chance to win one more Super Bowl.

Favre has said he wants to wait to see how the draft goes and how Ted Thompson handles free agency this off season. Edgerrin James is a free agent and could sign with the Packers since we are still very far from our salary cap max. Also we have an opportunity to pick up some stars in the draft, A.J Hawk or Mario Williams to add some defensive help.

I don't believe Brett will return unless the Packers make some serious moves to prove that they can make a title run in the next 2 years. Brett has nothing left to prove. He's a 3 time MVP, Super Bowl champion, he's in the top 5 for almost every quarterback record and he's a first balot Hall of Famer. If the Packers do truly want Brett Favre back, they need to make some moves. If it is his last year, we can all be happy that we were lucky enough to grow up with him and watch him play every Sunday.

It's a dream come true to any baseball fan in the world. Finally for the first time ever, the world will see it's first "World Baseball Classic". The absolute best players in the world will come together to represent their countries to see who is the best baseball country on the planet. Though the idea seems great, there are many problems that are already forumlating. Scared baseball owners, player fear of injury, unwillingness to play in a "made up event", low American baseball and country pride and most of all the fact that the classic will take place before the MLB starts it's season. Those are the main problems.Let's take a look at the them more in depth.
The WBC is a great idea minus the fact that the timing is horrible. Now a strong counter argument would be the fact that there really is no other good time to have this event other than a month before the Major Leauge Baseball season begins. The timing of this event means players are not in top physical form to compete. Pitchers will be limited to strict pithing counts and games will even end in a tie to reduce the risk of pitching injuries after 14 innings. This in my mind takes away from a full out fight to the bone tournament atmoshre that would be cool to see.

Owners are also very upset that their star players, some playing for millions of dollars, might get hurt. If A Rod brakes his leg, his 100 million dollar contract still goes to him and he retires at the expense of George Steinbrenner. That also goes for everyother player. We must remember this isn't the olympics, it's a un tested tournament that players are risking their careers on. Is it worth playing in this tournament? A recent scare was with Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets and his desire to play in the games. Sheets, an olympic hero from the Olympics in 2000, wanted to be there. The Brewers filed a complaint to MLB asking that the star not be able to participate. Sheets is owed 11 million this season, the largest in Brewers history and they didin't want the teams future and his future risked.

Also it seems America wont care as much for the upcoming tournament as other countries with alot more pride (venesuala, panama, dominican republic). Every day that passes by, another star pulls out. Though lots of the players are recovering from injuries, some do not want to participate to not risk their bodies. Barry Bonds, Manny Rameirez and Ben Sheets are some big names that felt it was best to stay with their teams.

I love the idea of the tournament and look forward to watching every game that I can. I do however feel that one injured baseball star will give the classic lots of bad publicity. I hope America wins and hopefully as each classic comes and goes, they can learn something different to keep making it better each time to help eliminate some of these problems. GO USA!

Did anyone realize that the winter olympics not only took place but are finished? The winter olympics came and went faster than the macarena (don't act like you never danced the dance!). The winter olympics have in my mind taken a huge plunge over the years and are starting to incresingly lose the interest of the American public. Why is this and what can be done to make it better?

The Winter Olympics (unlike the Summer games) are very un interesting. The Summer games are full of games that we actually know how to play and can do ourselves (volleyball, basketball, swimming, running) and not things we have no clue let alone care about (skeleton, bobsled, cross country shooting on ski's and of course curling). Some might even include hockey in that mix. Not only can we not relate to the games being played but we are confused by the ones we are actually interested in.

It's pretty clear that the most famous and well liked winter games competition is women's figure skaking (if you are like me then you like it for more than one reason "sasha coehen cough cough"). But who the heck actually knows how to score these events at home? Do you know what the difference between a 9.3 and a 9.4 performance is? No you don't and neither do I. Some might even argue that these types of competition should be eliminated from the games, just look at what happend in Salt Lake City with the corrupt French Judge.

I'm not anti national pride so don't go there girlfriend, but I am against the corporte monster that the olympics has become. It seems to much interest is in ratings, merchandise and money than on how our athletes do. A combonation of games we don't understand and games we don't know how to score makes it hard to watch.

I still remember the winter games of 1994. You had first class athletes and stories that made everyone interested. Dan Jansen, Bonnie Blair. In 1998 you had Tara Lapinski and Apollo Anton Ohno. We cared and were interested in these athletes, but had nothing like that this year. I'm all for the olympics, but corporate America needs to find a way to get America interested in the winter games. It seems like CSI and American Idol know what they are doing.

The sun is still barley shining here in my hometown of Muskego, WI, but in Arizona at Merryville Park, it's pretty hot. Not just because of the blairing sun but more so because of a baseball team on the rise.

For the first time in years, there is a sense of hope and excitment going into this Brewers season then in the past. For once the team has a stable owner, GM, manager and a steady set of players. Most sports publications are picking the Brewers to finsish 2nd or 3rd in the NL central behind the still strong (but declining) St. Louis Cardinals. Let's take a look at examine how the team will look as we enter the 2006 season.

Pitching wins baseball games and the Brewers have a fair reason to be ready for a good pitching year. Ben Sheets is still one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, though his record over years hasen't actually shown it. I predict this is going to finally be his break out year to solidify himself as a star. A steady staff of Doug Davis, Chris Capuano, Tomo Ohka will also be key. We also have new comer Dave Bush (aquired in the Overbay trade) and Dana Eveland fighting for the 5th spot. Our set up guys are quality guys. Matt Wise had a great year last year but the real question mark will be if Danny Kohlb (aquired back from the Braves) will be able to return to All Star form this season. Derrick Turnbow (also a future star) tied a team record last year in saves and can only get better. Also must mention that he diidn't even have the whole season to do it.
Pitching = B

Our offense will be a question mark this year but does have high expectations. It's fair to say that our starting line up will most likely be:
1. Brady Clark
2. Ricky Weeks
3. Prince Fielder
4. Carlos Lee
5.Geoff Jenkins
6. Corey Koskie
7. Damian Miller
8. J.J Hardy
9. Pitcher

It might not be in that exact order, but that is our starting line up. It would be fair to say that the only proven consistant hitters from last season are Brady Clark, Damian Miller and Carlos Lee. The other players all had down parts of the season last year but they all show promise. Assuming all players can play to their potential, this could be a dangerous offense.
Offense: B

Brewers fans it's almost that time when we will be waking up, getting our grills ready, packing up the buns and dogs and heading to the ball park. Fan interest is at a high that it hasen't been in years and this team has a chance to do some great things, like playing into October for the first time in a long time.