That Didn't Take Long

Michael Redd hurt his knee Saturday night, and he'll now be out at least two weeks with an injury to the same knee that keep him out last year. Redd has been a great player for the Bucks, but he really needs to be more healthy to be a help to this team. His leadership, and experience from playing with Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson, and Ray Allen helps this team a lot. He is really a hard guy to just get rid of, but if he can not play full seasons we are really over paying him.

What to do with him is a huge decision this team needs to make by the trade deadline this year. If he can not perform as a 30 minutes a game guy level he is not going to help this team. They are in a rebuilding stage, and can't afford to pay big bucks to a guy that is going to sit on the bench to play half the season. Mr. Redd you have been the main attraction to this team from the day the big three left town. You are a huge reason why this team has not been moved, because of how hard you play the game. I don't really want to say this, but it might be time we go our separate ways.

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The Bucky Five: I Have Nothing Left to Say

1. Done With Favre, Forever - I'll never get how people still like this guy and consider themselves Packers fans, but to each his own. Personally, I don't even care anymore. Everytime Favre comes on the screen, I'm filled with an enormous amount of hatred that I just can't even describe, not matter how many times I've tried to right about it. Favre loved the fact that he was booed today, with that little shit wink of his that he gave when he walked on the field. I think one of the worst things about this whole thing is that Favre has said nothing or done nothing to thank the Packers fans for all their support for the time he was here. Say something in your post-game interview, take out an ad in the paper, mention it once during a press conference, just say something. I still just don't understand how some people still love this guy so blindly after he's done nothing to acknowledge them in the last two years.

The biggest surprise to me of this game was actually something that Troy Aikman said, when he mentioned that maybe Favre didn't want to be a Packer anymore, and how that's something that's never really explored when talking about the whole saga. The Favre we see this year is nothing like the Favre that we had down the stretch. You listen to the announcers, all of a sudden this is a Favre that's mentoring the young guys and being a fantastic teammate? Where was that in Green Bay, when Greg Jennings said on PTI on Thursday that he had no off-field relationship with Favre? And don't even get me started on the shit he was trying to pull by making sure Jennings was okay there on the sideline late in the game. I guess I'll never understand this guy, but especially I'll never understand the people that still love him, when he gives you nothing back in return. I can't even handle this anymore, Favre got his two victories, so whatever. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm done.

2. Stupid Mistakes - The final score was 38-26, but it could have been a lot worse than that. The Vikings raced off to a 24-3 lead at halftime, and I thought for sure this was going to be a blowout. The Packers could have kept that in check earlier, but there were some stupid mistakes in that first half. Rodgers played like a moron until the second half, the line missed assignments, the defense made Percy Harvin into a star, and Johnny Jolly probably committed the worst penalty of the season which helped give the Vikings their first touchdown. Just dumb stuff right away.

3. Speaking of That First Half... - If this game would have been a blowout, I might have for the first time come out and publicly questioned Mike McCarthy as a coach. I'm still a McCarthy guy, but he's got to do a better job of getting the team ready for games like this. It's a playoff-type atmosphere, and you can't be coming out flat like they did. I'm not sure what he said at halftime, but that seemed to work. Jacking up your team thirty minutes earlier though might have put another notch in the win column instead of giving us our third loss of the season.

4. Spencer Havner - Here's a question for you. Is this guy worth a fantasy pickup? That's all. Discuss. Oh, and another random thing, how weird is it to see Ahman Green returning kicks?

5. Where Do We Go From Here - So the Vikings are a better team than us, they've proven that. And the NFC North is theirs to lose. So now we have to switch gears and focus on one of the two wild card spots on the line. We're going to have to be in contention with Chicago, Atlanta, Carolina, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, and the Giants. Two spots for all these teams, which isn't going to be easy. I'm still confident we have the squad that can pull it off, but things are not going to be easy. This was a big game, and losing it sets us back further than any other game would have this season. Favre or no Favre, this was a game we needed to win at home. As the tears streaming down my face would suggest, things didn't work out that way.

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Bucks Split Weekend Series

This might be a long season, ladies and gentleman. On Friday night, the Bucks played well in the first half, but laid a huge egg in the second. The 76ers started the game hitting two early three's, before Sir Brandon Jennings got the bucks on the board with a 3 of his own. Jennings might be something special to watch folks. He gives me the only reason to watch 81 more games of this so called NBA team. The Bucks fell to the 76ers 99-86.

The Bucks were with out Delfino, who does give them an outside scorer other than Redd. Andrew Bogut needs to get in the weight room. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute needs to take 200 jumpers a day. Hakim Warrick just needs to slow down, and make sure he finishes easy shots. The team as a whole needs to limit the fouls, and keep other teams from getting to the line.

Brandon Jennings, I know it was only one game, but just keep doing what you did. After watching the whole game, this is a team that should be able to come around and win some games. As much as I want to treat Jennings as a second coming, he did have some rookie mistakes. When the Bucks got down late he seemed to force a few shots. He has to remember that this team is going to take awhile to be good and win games. Lets look at some highlights from the game Friday night.

* Brandon Jennings had 17 Pts, 9 Rebs, 9 Dimes. For sure he will get the Bucks POTG. He should have had a double double, but Dan Grab-n-Reach missed an easy dunk on a pass from Jennings. So Oscar Robertson still is the only player to get a Triple-Double in his first NBA game.

* The Bucks scored 29 points in the second quarter. They will need more quarters like this, because they will have a lot of upper teen quarters. So when you see these quarters remember them because their might be only a few of them.

* Twenty turnovers. This team is not good enough on the Offensive side of the ball to have 20 turnovers. Eight of those 20 turnovers came in the third quarter. This has to stop ASAP.

* Look for Skiles to get Jennings and Ersan on the court at the same time. They seemed to play well together in the fourth quarter. They are two young guys trying to make an impact on this team. Having them play together might take some pressure off of them.

* All five starters for the 76ers scored in double figures, must be nice. Andre Iguodala earned the Hunter of the Night award for the 76ers. This is new at The Bucky Channel, it's something I will give out to a player that owns the Bucks. Iguodala had 19 Pts, 9 Rebs, and 7 Asts.

* Free Throws were not so free for the Bucks. They made just 11-19 for a nice 57.9% showing. They need to score points when they are handed them so we need to start shooting better from the line.

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Now on Saturday, the Bucks did get the first win of the year under their belt. I guess I was wrong in a few of my points. But talking up Jennings is looking like at least I knew what I was talking about with that. Jennings went off in the second half scoring 21 of his 24 points. At half the Bucks were down and Scott Skiles went with a new power forward in Hakim Warrick. That was a great move by Skiles, because Warrick finished the game with 21 points. After the game all the players talked about how Skiles put his foot down at halftime, and fired up the troops. This was a good win for the Bucks to get at home. Lets take a look at some highlights from this 96-85 Bucks victory over the Pistons.

* Brandon Jennings, get used to him being the first highlight every night. He finished the game with 24 Pts, 2 Rebs, 3 Asts, and 3 steals. This will get him his second Bucks POTG award of the season.

* Hello preseason Hakim Warrick. He came off the bench to score 21 pts. He got to the free throw line 15 times making 10 of them. This what we need him to do all season, because other than him no one gets to the line.

* The Bucks out rebounded the Pistons 45-37. If we can beat teams on the boards this team will be in the game till the end.

* Still waiting for Bogut to get it going. He should be a double double guy every night. He still needs to hit the weight room a few more times a week.

* Michael Redd left the game in the 3rd quarter with a knee injury. He didn't return to the game. They don't know if he will be out long or day-to-day. We really need him to be out on the court just to be a leader of this team.

* Ben Gordon was the only bright spot for the Pistons Saturday night. He earned the Hunter of The Night. He finished the game with 26 pts, and got to the line 9 times and made all 9.

The Bucks travel to Chicago Tuesday to face the Bulls. This will be a tough game for the Bucks. Jennings will be challenged in this game going head to head with Derrick Rose. It will also be hard in the paint against Noah and Thomas. This game should be the game that shows us what this team is going to do this year.

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And I Ask Myself, Well, How Did We Get Here?

Yes, that's a Talking Heads reference as the title of this post, you're welcome. Were now officially one day away from what people are calling Favre-ageddon II, a name that I just haven't got behind really. Still, Favre is coming back to Lambeau, and I came across this video that does a pretty good job summing up what things have been like the past two years around here. Here's a video done by Wisconsin native Patrick Ryan, and even though the guy has two first names, he does a pretty good job. Bring it, Favre.

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Happy Halloween!

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I've Made The Big Time, I'm on Yahoo! Answers

It's a Friday night, so naturally I'm doing my two favorite Friday night activities: watching WWE Smackdown, and searching for myself on Google. I did find something that is not a big deal at all, but I thought it was funny. Check out this question on Yahoo! Answers. I'm (kind of) the answer!

I know, I know. It's time to get a life. But trust me, that would have happened a long time ago if it was supposed to happen. But Smackdown is back from commercial, so I gotta get going.

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Sneak Peak: 24 Season 8

It's never too early to start looking forward to Jack Bauer and 24, and a small sneak peak has finally been posted online. It's only about a minute, but I think you'll see that it's got the usual amount of 24 emotion vs. action that you've come to expect. Take a minute and enjoy the sneak peak of 24 Season 8, thanks to our good friends at Zap2it.

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My Eyes Hath Seen Thy Glory

Often I preach about how you guys should really be getting behind the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team, but rarely does anyone listen. Well, half to spite you and half to seriously inform you about this, the MLS playoffs are getting underway tonight. Eight teams have made the playoffs, and they will face each their opponent in a home-and-home series with the winners heading to the Conference Championships, and then the MLS Cup. At this point, I'm pretty sure I've lost most of you.

But for those of you still with me, you can check out game one tonight between the Houston Dynamo and the Seattle Sounders tonight at 9:00 Central on ESPN2. A majority of the games will either be on The Deuce or Fox Soccer Channel, the rest you're going to have to hunt for. A complete schedule and guide to their postseason can be found on the league's homepage.

The fact that very little you care about this - I'm sure someone will be anonymously posting "yawn" again to this article - shows me that the MLS wasn't able to capture the excitement they thought they would when they debuted the league after the 1994 World Cup. But the fact that I'm still able to write about the league some thirteen years after it started is enough for me. I thought for sure this league would have flamed out by now, and I'm a soccer guy. So the fact that teams are establishing strong fan bases and turning a profit is very pleasing to me.

As for my team, they actually folded back in 1998, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Since then, I've juggled between the New York MetroStars (now the Red Bulls), D.C. United, Chicago Fire, New England Revolution, and the Seattle Sounders. I guess I'd like to see Beckham and Donovan win the title together with the Galaxy this season, but overall I'm more a fan of the league than I am of any particular team.

Anyways, it's on tonight if you wanted to watch. Otherwise FX is debuting some show about fantasy football called "The League" tonight at 9:30, which I'll check out but have no hopes for at all. That, or WWE Superstars is on tonight for you. Enjoy your night of television viewing.

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Winks Thinks: The Cleveland Show Edition

It's probably my favorite weekend of the entire year, the weekend we take an annual trip to a road Packers game. After rocking St. Louis, then Nashville, this year it was time to head to The Cleve. Between strippers, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, police escorts, an empty Browns Stadium, lobsters, and Frank Winters, it was one hell of a time. Some things in this post might be a little "TMI", as my mom likes to say, but you can read the recap of my trip to Cleveland right here in Winks Thinks: The Cleveland Show Edition.

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NFL Coverage Maps: Week Eight

There's no Sunday night game this weekend, but that doesn't mean America won't be able to watch a game in unison on Sunday. The Packers/Vikings game has moved been to 3:15, and a majority of the country will be able to tune in (minus Arizona, the Nashville market, and most of the Carolinas). Other than that, expect the same amount of hype that we got earlier in the year for their Monday nighter. Here's the rest of what Wisconsin will be watching this weekend, courtesy of the506.com.

CBS Single Game Coverage Map - Cleveland Browns @ Chicago Bears (noon)

Fox Early Game Coverage Map - New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles (Green Bay, Madison, Rhinelander markets); San Francisco 49ers @ Indianapolis Colts (Milwaukee, La Crosse / Eau Claire, Wausau markets). This is unusual, so expect changes.

Fox Late Game Coverage Map - Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers

Remember it's daylight saving time this weekend too, so don't get up too early for the big Browns/Bears matchup.

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Why I'm Rooting For the Yankees

There are many reasons why I could root for the Yankees this World Series (my hatred of the Red Sox, the fact that I dont like the Phillies too much, Sabathia, my love for Derek Jeter, their history, their aura, etc...), but there are also many reasons why I couldn't (Evil Empire, Steinbrenners, their payroll). But it's all going to come down to one deciding factor for me, and that is that Johnny Damon's at-bat music is the theme song for WWE's Batista.

I'm glad people like Damon are finally starting to come out of the closest so to speak and admit that they like wrestling. More people watch this stuff than you think, and you might even be one of them. Sure, wrestling isn't as popular in the mainstream as it was say in the 80's, but there are a lot of people who can pull off the names of four to five (if not more) wrestlers off the top of their head.

The only conflicting thing for me with this decision is that Fat Stairs usually comes out to Stone Cold Steve Austin's music, but he rarely ever plays and I've already decided to never root for Fat Stairs again in my life.

Prediction: Yankees in 6.

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