The Brewers lose the division to the Cubs. The Badgers lose the nation’s longest winning streak at Illinois. Not even the suddenly mighty Packers can beat the suddenly sallow Bears.
What in the wide world of Wisconsin is going on when it comes to playing teams from Illinois? Cliff Clavin had better luck with women.
This is no small matter, people. Chicagoans already take great joy in calling Milwaukee a mere suburb. They invade our sporting arenas with regularity, filling the Bradley Center with Bulls jerseys and turning Miller Park into Wrigley Field North.
Someone must step up, and they must do so soon. One more setback and we might start thinking James Belushi is funny. The state’s very honor could be at stake.
Fortunately, brave stalwarts stand ready to defend us. Ladies and gentlemen, the UW-Milwaukee volleyball team.
Sure, you know more about Yi Jianlian’s translator than coach Susie Johnson’s squad, but the Panthers are just plain good. They’re 16-2 this year, putting them in line for a second straight Horizon League title and a seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament.
But more importantly, they’ll spend the weekend getting Wisconsin’s revenge against our sisters to the south. Loyola-Chicago and Illinois-Chicago come to town on Friday and Saturday, and our advice for those infidels is simple: Fear the Felsings.
Play well, ladies. The virtue of Wisconsin rests in your hands.
99 Seasons of Ball on the Wall
Watching the Cubs treat the postseason like Lindsay Lohan’s treating her reputation brought to mind the great Mike Royko’s wily wisdom. “An optimist looks at a glass of water and sees it as half full,” the late Chicago Tribune columnist once wrote. “A pessimist looks at the same glass and sees it as half empty. A Cubs fan looks at it and says, ‘When’s it gonna spill?’ ”
Anyone else looking forward to seeing next year’s 100th anniversary patch?
By the way…
Has anybody heard what Frank Caliendo is up to these days?
Few people have a broader knowledge of baseball matters than ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. That alone makes his roundup of the 2007 regular season worth reading, but Brewers fans should be particularly interested. Stark picks Ryan Braun as his NL Rookie of the Year – no longer a slam-dunk with the attention Troy Tulowitzki has generated during Colorado’s magical late-season run – and gives Prince Fielder prominent mention as a runner-up for NL MVP.
But perhaps the most telling point Stark makes comes via an omission. In his Manager of the Year discussion, he mentions 10 men worthy of consideration for the honor. Ned Yost is not among them. It’s a notable exclusion for the leader of a team that spent most of the season in first place and posted its first winning season in 15 years. Perhaps it’s Stark’s subtle way of saying that Milwaukee – and, by extension, Yost – should’ve done better.
Yost wasn’t entirely omitted from the article, however. Stark recognized him for breaking his collarbone in a freak jogging accident in Chicago, awarding him fourth place in the Top Five Injuries of the Year category. Ouch.
Badge of Honor
OK, so maybe the Badgers aren’t as good as we thought. After Illinois, the football pollsters treated Wisconsin like part of the Ron Paul campaign, dropping the Badgers from fifth to 15th (USA Today) and 19th (AP).
But Wisconsin still holds strong in one critical poll. When it comes to tailgating, Madison’s a top-10 fixture.
And Finally
Watching Green Bay’s Sunday night setback against the Bears wasn’t a total loss. Sharp-eyed viewers were rewarded with this gem.
Coming back from commercial, NBC’s cameras caught one Packers fan holding up a poster that said “My girlfriend has a major flaw.” Then the camera slowly zoomed in on the young lady next to him, finally getting close enough to reveal the Bears logo on her shirt.
It was strangely reassuring. If Bears and Packers fans can coexist, maybe there is hope for the Middle East.
