Brewers Get Win...Keep Pace

Is it a shocker to anyone that the ever fragile Ben Sheets could only go into the 2nd inning before having to be lifted due to tightness in his arm?
The Brewers gave themselves a huge lift when Fielder hit a bases loaded double to clear them off and take a 3-0 lead before a single out was recorded. The brewers bullpen gave up only 1 run on a solo HR throughout the game til the 9th inning.
It appears that there might be life in the bats of the slumping Brewers. Putting up 6 runs and getting key hits by many of the slumping Brewers.

Hopefully it is not too little too late. The Brewers kept pace with the New York Mets in the Wild Card Race to stay within a 1/2 game of the leader. The Brewers send Bush to the mound this afternoon to finish off the 3 game series in the rubber match.

Brewers Lose Wild Card Lead

Prince Fielder hit two (2) Homers in the debut for Dale Sveun, but it wasn't enough as the Brewers Dropped game one of the 3 game set. Although it was a loss, I was impressed at how the team fought back to make a game of it. In the last two weeks that has been a rarity. I am actually optimistic that the team may still have a shot at the Wild Card.

Rodgers Packers Leader

Well, how times have changed. Just a few short weeks the Packers fans were ready to jump off the nearest bridge. The beloved Brett Favre had been sent to the Jets and Aaron Rodgers was the new starter of the Green Bay Packers.

"He is not proven." "Brett Favre gives them the best chance to win now!" Ted Thompson is an idiot, you name it, it was said. Amazing how the Packers have started off the season 2-0, and by the way that Rodgers kid has looked pretty damn good.

The wagon is starting to fill back up with all of those who jumped ship to watch Brett Favre take the Jets to the Superbowl.

I guess that happens when the kid is 2-0 and the old guy is 1-1.

Yost Fired!!! Finally!!!

"This was a very difficult move to make, and we appreciate all of the work that Ned has done to develop this team into a contender," general manager Doug Melvin said in a statement. "In the end, this was a collaborative decision made to put our club in the best position for the final two weeks of the season."

I always liked Ned Yost, When he got here the Brewers were horrible. I still like the man, but I couldn't figure him out as a Manager. He would stick with guys when everyone else knew, they just didn't have it.

He stuck with Turnbow to the demise of the team last year. Even kept him around for quite awhile this year. My guess is Melvin made the call to send him packing. Then this year Melvin brought in Ray Durham, yet Yost stuck with Ricky Weeks. Weeks had a dismal on base percentage of .34. Weeks has 14 errors compared to Durhams 3. Not to mention that Durham is hitting .287 compared to Weeks at .233.

Yost has a history of not holding players accountable for their on field actions. How many times can the squeeze be called and somebody miss the sign? Oh well, next time he will do better. A player go up to bunt and never get it down? Yost failed to put the best team on the field day in and day out.

The Players are in a slump right now!!! Yes it is the players that are in the slump, but from the way it looks Yost didn't have any idea of how to break out of it, the team looks lost.

I don't know what will happen from here, but I hope that the Brewers can put something together and make it an exciting last 12 games of the year.

Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers?

The Packers made a commitment to Rodgers, Favre did everything possible to get them to break that commitment. Why not, he has failed to make a commitment for the last few years. Now that the Packers traded Favre the fans are torn, Favre or Rodgers, who gives the Packers the best chance to win now? The Favre fans will tell you that without a doubt it is Favre, Rodgers is unproven. Exactly, how can you say without a doubt Favre? You don't know what Rodgers can or can not do? I understand, we are talking about a future Hall of Fame Quarterback, a 3-time MVP, but what has he done lately? He didn't win the MVP in 2007, close, but close doesn't make you the best, every year there is a second place MVP vote getter. He was 4th in Passing in the NFL last year, not first or second, but 4th, behind Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Tony Romo. Does that make him a winner? He finished one position ahead of Carson Palmer for the Bengals and by the way Kitna was 6th in Detroit. He had a 66.5% completion rating, Still only 4th in the League, guess what Chad Pennington of the Jets beat him there, and Houston's Matt Schaub was just behind him. If you look at the yards per game average, Favre averaged out to be tied for sixth with Brees and former backup Hasselbeck. Ben Roethisbeger, and Derek Anderson of Cleveland among the 5 better QB's. During a conversation with a dear family member over the weekend, he said look at the Ratings, so today I did, Favre had a very impressive rating of 95.7, good enough for 6th, behind most notably Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh and Garrard of Jacksonville.

Not being a Packer fan myself, I figured after looking at those stats, I had to be missing something. Packer Fans swear Favre can walk on water, he has a direct line to the Football Gods, what was I missing, and what was the Packers thinking letting him go?

2006 Stats - QB Rating Brett Favre was 25th at 72.7 only 7 QB's worse including Vince Young of my beloved Tennessee Titans. Completion Percent - 26th at 56%.

2005 Stats - QB Rating Brett Favre was 31st of 34 at 70.9. Completion Percent - 13th with 61.3%.

2004 Stats - QB Rating Brett Favre was 10th at 92.4. Completion Percent - 9th with 64.1%.

I still must be missing something, Brett Favre had great years with the Green Bay Packers. They are the years that hopefully everyone remembers because the last three aren't the types of years that would have gotten him into the Hall of Fame. For all you who think they are chew on this for a minute, in 2004 Daunte Culpepper was second in QB Rating at 110.9 with 69.2% completion rating and where is he now? Brian Griese also beat out Favre that year with a rating of 97.5 good enough for 6th and a 69.3% completion rating. 2005 Brad Johnson, Jake Delhomme, Mark Brunell, Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, Kerry Collins, Josh McCown, Gus Frerotte, and even Brooks Bollinger had better ratings than Brett Favre. List the teams and their playing status now if you can? 2006 the likes of Damon Huard, JP Losman, Chad Pennington, Steve McNair, Jon Kitna and even Rex Grossman had better ratings than Favre.

I wonder if it is not what I am missing, but what the fans are missing? Favre's time may have come and gone. That is not to take anything away from him, he was a great QB, will go down in history with all of his records, and yes he will be in the Hall of Fame. But the stats don't lie, the last several years have not been Hall of Fame years, and to average out his last 3-4 years, Brett Favre is at best an average QB.

All stats are courtesy of NFL.com

And so it ends, or does it?

In what both sides have said was the only answer, "Part Ways", the Green Bay Packers traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets. For some Packer Fans it is unbelievable, for others "it is about time. Thank God it is over!"
I think that both sides won on the issue, Brett got what he wanted. He gets to play football and as the starting Quarterback. No it is not with the Green Bay Packers, but it is the NFL. Everybody wants to blame the Packers, but it is ultimately Brett's decision. When it comes down to it, Brett held the cards. He didn't have to retire, even if the Packers were pushing him, Say NO!!! He didn't have to get in the war of words, come out in the media and say I have changed my mind, I want to play football, I have applied for reinstatement and will be in camp. Done. Now the Packers will have to figure it out. Who cares that Thompson didn't hire your coach, or sign your favorite players, you are a quarterback, show up and do what you are asked to do.

The Packers got what they wanted as well. A disgruntled employee that was causing a major distraction for your team out of the way, so you can move on.

Now it is up to Packer Nation. I have read all the stories, listen to the news reports, and watched as idiots that claim to be Packer Fans taking it all out on Aaron Rodgers. First of all, how is any of this his fault? You can blame the Packers, You can blame Favre, but there is absolutely no blame that can fall on Rodgers. Root for Favre from afar, but a true fan roots for their team no matter what.

What Now!!!!

The Brett Favre saga continues. Brett and the Green Bay Packers are pushing this right to the breaking point. Everyone has an opinion and the feelings run pretty deep on both sides. Brett Favre - The Icon of the Green Bay Packers, the man who stood up and told the other players that this is a team, the man who played in the most consecutive games, earned the respect of team mates, players, coaches, commentators, and fans. Now he has shown his true colors over the past few months. Team means nothing, THIS IS ABOUT BRETT FAVRE!!!!

Brett claims the Packers forced him into retirement. They kept asking me what my plan was. The Packers had to know, after the last few years of ego man holding the Packers hostage while he decided if he wanted to play anymore had to end at some point. Anyone who expected the Packer Organization to continue going through it indefinitely just isn't thinking rationally. The TEAM needs to be able to make plans, whether it is with Brett or without, so of course they wanted to know what his intentions where. Even if they did pressure him into retiring, on more than one occasion they were ready to bring him back when he got the itch, only for him to change his mind again. My question is, was it a ploy on Brett's part just to get some attention?

Brett went on Fox TV and said that he doesn't trust Ted Thompson. He states that his distrust comes from the GM saying he would sign this player or that player, or give an old friend an interview. Brett has been around long enough to know that he is a player, not the GM. Ted Thompson did not and should not have let Brett be involved in any of these conversations. It is not a players place to be. Not only did Brett talk about his distrust for Ted, but he has put his our trust in him to the test. Caught in multiple mis-truths. Claiming that he never thought about playing anywhere but the Packers in the Fox Interview, then telling the commissioner of the NFL he was interested in Minnesota and Chicago.

Through all of this Brett has shown his true colors. Portraying a man who believes he is bigger then the TEAM, quite possibly bigger than the League. Who is the real loser in all of this, the fans and the league. The fans who have stood behind the kid from Mississippi, only to find out he is not what he seemed. The league for backing a spoiled little brat who has tarnished the Packers and put the TEAM on the back burner.

Are the Brewers Ready?

The Milwaukee Brewers have had a fantastic first half of the season. Playing above .500 ball, and maintaining one of the best records in the NL. Are they ready to make a push for the Penant?

The front office diffenitely must think so. Going out and putting together the deal to bring CC Sebathia into town. That was huge, you put Ben and CC in the Rotation and you put all the pressure on the opposing teams. Then they brought a bat with Ray Durham. Is there more yet to be done? Some say that the Crew may be also bringing in a Bullpen guy.

Now it is up to the team to produce, and produce they have been doing. This is getting very exciting, every game is like the playoffs. I can't wait till the next game.

Hegerty Claim of Discrimination unfounded

Former Police Chief Nannette Hegerty's claim of gender discrimination against the City of Milwaukee is unfounded. The state's Equal Rights Division has reportedly found no probable cause that the city violated Fair Employment Law.

The former Chief claimed she was paid less than her replacement due to the fact that she was a woman. She was paid $135,000 when she retired and her replacement was brought in at $144,000.

I think that she was way over paid!!! Not because she was a woman, but her failure to perform. She did very little to curb crime, her department was filled with corruption, and she was ineffective as a leader.

Police Chief Ed Flynn has done more in fighting crime in the City in less than a year, than she did her entire four years as Police Chief. I think the City should be receiving money back from her!!!

Brett Favre Speaks

So tonight Brett Favre decided to speak with Greta from Fox News. Was it just me or did it sound like a kid blaming everybody else for what has happened. Give me a break, this is the guy who for years has came out talking about the team, nobody is bigger than the team. The Great Brett Favre. Well let me tell ya, after watching the part one of what he had to say, I can say I have lost tons of respect for the man. It wasn't enough the way he expected the Packer Organization to wait around for him to decide the last couple of years, now he is trying to destroy the same Organization that gave him the chance to be who he is today. Did he forget who he was when the Packers took the chance on him? Has he stopped to think where he might be today if it wasn't for the opportunities the afforded him? It sounded an awful like he feels the whole world owes Brett Favre. I think it is the other way around. Yes Brett Favre has given the Packers many many years of great football, but lest he forget that he was given a golden opportunity. It is quite honestly very sad to see the way things have gone. Brett has to know better than to think that it makes any since at all to release him. The Packers don't Brett a release any more than Brett owes the Packers another year of Football.