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.

************

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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Previewing the Bucks

Bucks lost their final preseason game to the Pistons Friday night. The game was close all night. The Bucks had the lead going into the 4th quarter but just couldn't hold on. Scott Skiles put a lineup of, guards Roko Ukic and Ridnour, forwards Ilyasova and Charlie Bell, and center Kurt Thomas. They really didn't get anything done when they were on the court. Ben Gordon owned the Bucks with the B team on the court. They tired to make a late run but came up just short, they fell 95-93. Lets check out some highlights from the game.

* Mr. Redd showed up Friday night.He had 23 Pts, 2 Rebs, and 2 Asts. That will give him the Bucks POTG.

* Ersan had a good game off the bench. He scored 16 Pts, and 5 Rebs.

* I guess people don't think the Bucks will be very good this year. I heard that the over/under at Vegas for Wins is 28.5. I hope that we can get to at least 30 wins this year. (Winks' note: Bill Simmons had us down for 19 wins. Nineteen! Not too mention, SI picked the Bucks last in the division as well. Not a lot of hope for this Bucks squad.)

* Detroit got to the line 35 times. They only made 24, but we need to keep that under control this year.

So now we are on to the regular season. Lets look at the projected starting five.

PG- Brandon Jennings
SG- Michael Redd
SF- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute/ Hakim Warrick
PF- Kurt Thomas
C- Andrew Bogut

Lets take a look at what the keys will be this year for the Bucks to win.

* Rebound!!!!!!!!!!! This team needs to go for loose balls, and fight for rebounds. The Bucks do not have a strong enough offense to offset getting killed on the boards every night. I think this is why Kurt Thomas is going to start for this team. He will not score a lot, but he needs to hustle for rebounds.

* Injuries. They need to stay healthy. This team has no depth what so ever. If one of the starters goes down the under for 28.5 wins looks real good. This has killed the Bucks for years. It is getting old guys, grow a set and play 75 plus games.

* Turnovers. Jennings in his first year is going to have turnovers. This team being new, and not used to playing together will turn the ball over a lot. AGAIN, THE BUCKS NEED TO CREATE TURNOVERS. The Bucks have the guys to get steals, and put pressure on other teams.

* Play Together. The Bucks do not have a go to guy. They must play as a team, and work together.

* Luck?

The Bucks open Friday at Philadelphia 6:00 Central time. Delfino will be out the first game due to a suspension. Lets hope they can get off to a good start.

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Packers Receivers Are Hurting a Bit

It's not as bad as the one time several years ago when the Packers had to start Terry Mickens as their number one receiver, but the Packers receiving corps is still hurting pretty bad. With Jordy Nelson already still out a couple of more weeks, the Packers were forced to but Brett Swain on the injured reserve on Tuesday. These two injuries are in addition to the injury Jermichael Finely suffered against the Browns, one which makes him a "long shot" for the game against Minnesota this weekend.

I'd really like for the Packers to have all their weapons on Sunday, but I don't imagine Finley playing at all. This article says it might be likely, but I have him in fantasy so that all but eliminates him from playing. Expect Donald Lee to play a big part in the offense, and we'll also probably see a bit of newly signed practice squad perennial Jake Allen.

Packers take on the Vikings this Sunday at 3:15pm, if you haven't heard.

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Cleveland, You Cold-Hearted Bitch

I'm exhausted, have no voice, and I'm not really sure what day of the week this is. That being said, I'm alive, and after this last weekend in Cleveland that's really all I care about right now. Now, just as the WWE saves their best matches for their pay-per-view, I'm going to save the majority of the Cleveland stories for my Winks Thinks this week. Stories that may or may not include strip clubs, Frank Winters, cops, and reenacting a certain Tracy Byrd song.

All in all, Cleveland was without a doubt one of the most insane weekends of my life, if not number one. That's something I did not expect from a blue-collar town like Cleveland, Ohio. So once I get my thoughts collected and my brain is able to function right again, I'll hammer out that Winks Thinks. One thing I wanted to say right away was that Browns fans were quite disappointing in how un-loyal and actually cold-hearted they were. Sure, their team sucks, but they did not represent their town very well. Again, more on that this Thursday.

But in the meantime, does anyone want to talk about how pumped they are for the new Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton feud on Monday Night Raw?!?

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The Bucky Channel is Headed to The Cleve

Fun times in Cleveland again, yeah Cleveland! Heading down to Cleveland town everyone... As I've referred to it about every post I've written in the post week, we're headed to Cleveland to watch the Packers take on the Browns as part of our annual road trip. That means that you're likely going to see this abandoned car on a rundown piece of Cleveland property as the top post for most of the weekend. I'm bringing my laptop on the trip (of course), so I'll try to pop in with updates, but most likely we'll be shut down until Monday night. Big week though next week, we'll have the review of the game, the Bucks start their regular season, and a complete trip recap will be provided in next week's Winks Thinks. Yeah, Cleveland!

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Bucks Smoke T-Wolves, Get Smoked by Bobcats

The picture on the left shows that Sunday was a good day for the Bucks. The picture on the right shows that Tuesday night was a rough one. Player wise, there were not many good pictures to pick from in Tuesday's game. Sunday the Bucks started off hot against Minnesota, after leading 37-28 at the end of the 1st quarter. Referencing a previous post, Kevin Love will miss about 6-8 weeks with a broken hand. So maybe I cursed him when I said he will be solid this year. Lets look at some of the key highlights from Sunday's 101-87 win.

* The five starters all played 20+ minutes, and each player had only one turnover. That will be a big key this year, keeping the turnovers down.

* Brandon Jennings got the start, and took full advantage of it. He put up 16 Pts, 2 Rebs, and 7 dimes to lead the team. He also will earn the Bucks POTG.

* Bogut and Redd got good minutes. They each scored in double figures. Redd had 15 Pts, while Bogut had 10. Skiles is going to get these two some more minutes in the final games.

* Hakim Warrick continues to shine off the bench. Another solid game with 15 Pts, 3 Rebs and 3 Asts. Lets hope he can keep this up all season for us.

* On the Wolves side, Jonny Flynn had a nice game. He had 19 Pts, 2 Rebs, and 5 Asts. Looks like they made the right move grabbing two point guards.

Tuesday was a little different story for the Bucks. They kept it close for the 1st Quarter then things went downhill from there. The Bobcats got out to a nice lead at half, then the Bucks made a little run in the 3rd Quarter but couldn't finish it off. The Bucks had 20 turnovers, too many to overcome. Lets take a look at highlights from the 94-87 defeat.

* Bogut put up some solid numbers for the first time this preseason. He had 14 Pts, 10 Rebs. This will give him the Bucks POTG.

* Brandon Jennings started for the second straight game. Looks like he may get the call when the season starts with the way he is playing. He had a rough first half, but came back in the second to score 14 Pts, and have 8 Asts.

* Raja Bell might miss 4 months with a left wrist injury, so D.J. Augustin will get some more playing time. He looked good Tuesday night with 15 Pts, 2 Rebs, and 3 Asts.

* Not sure why but Warrick only played 5 minutes. Hope nothing happened to him, I didn't hear anything, but if we do we will get back to you.

The Bucks have one more preseason game Friday night against Detroit. I will be with Winkler this weekend in Cleveland so we will not have an update of that game. I will however be back for the regular season opener, like anyone cares, October 30, when the Bucks travel to Philly.

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Ahman Green is Back After All

Constant rumors and speculation on Tuesday lead to the actual signing of Ahman Green on Wednesday, as the former Packer will soon be in the backfield for the Green and Gold once again. The signing of Green was something I wouldn't have even though of a week ago, but I do kind of like this whole resigning of old veterans thing the Packers have been doing lately.

It turns out that trying out Ahman Green wasn't just something done as a favor to him, but because the Packers actually needed another running back after DeShawn Wynn was placed on the injured reserve due to knee surgery. Green is actually just 46 yards away from becoming the Packers all-time leading rusher, which was actually a bit surprising to me. He'll wear number 34, which will be weird to see.

Don't expect Green to be in action this Sunday, although I would love nothing more than to see him in uniform as we head down to The Cleve this weekend. I wouldn't be surprised though to see him against the Vikings come next Sunday.

Welcome back, Batman.

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NFL Coverage Maps: Week Seven

As I've said before, I'm looking forward to our annual Packers trip this weekend, and judging by the television lineup of games for Sunday I couldn't have picked a better weekend to attend a game in person. I guess one of the games is decent, but for some reason Wisconsin is being broadcast a Raiders game this weekend. Now that I think about it, there have been some very weak selection of games this season for the fans that don't have either DirecTV or the Red Zone Channel. Here's the lineup for this week:

Fox Early Game Coverage Map - Green Bay Packers @ Cleveland Browns

Fox Late Game Coverage Map - Chicago Bears @ Cincinnati Bengals

CBS Single Game Coverage Map - New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders (3:15pm)

Thanks, as always, to the506.com.

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Ahman Green Sighting in Green Bay

Hey, look who it is strolling down Lombardi Avenue, it's Ahman Green! That's right, Green was spotted back in Green Bay, and it wasn't just for some retired legend appearance. Green was actually back home to work out for the Packers, hoping to possibly wear the one jersey in which he actually performed well in.

Just because Green worked out for the Packers doesn't mean we should expect him in a uniform anytime soon. I mean, the Packers also worked out Dominic Rhodes on Monday, so take that as you will. More than likely, the Packers just brought in a couple of guys for a quick look just in case Jackson or Wynn go down for an extended period of time, something NFL teams do all the time. Still, it's cool to imagine Green coming back and visiting with some of his former teammates. We'll see what happens from here.

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Steve Nash Dishes Up Some Comedy

I'm not sure what Steve Nash is going to do after he's done playing basketball, but he could definitely have a career in comedy once all is said and done. This commercial here for Vitamin Water doesn't hit on all cylinders, but it's pretty damn funny nonetheless. Kudos here to Steve Nash, this almost makes up for him being Canadian.

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The Bucky Five: Good, Not Great

1. Seven Minutes of Heaven - It was a foregone conclusion that the Packers were going to beat the Lions on Sunday, and they did successfully by shutting them out 26-0. How they were going to beat them was the question, and things looked very, very promising after the first seven or so minutes when the Packers stormed out to a 14-0 lead. In that span, Rodgers hooked up with James Jones and John Kuhn for touchdowns, while Cullen Jenkins had an interception as well. After that though, things stalled a little bit. The defense held up their end of the bargain even though the offense didn't score another touchdown the rest of the game. Mason Crosby was the beneficiary of that, knocking in four field goals throughout the course of the game. The offense just stalled way too often in the red zone, and Rodgers turned over the ball a couple of times as well. It wasn't the best offensive performance, but it was good enough to beat the Lions. Hell, it will probably be good enough to beat the Browns next week, but it won't be good enough to be the Vikings in two weeks. So we should probably work on that.

2. Donald Driver Makes History - Driver Meal had a huge game on Sunday in a variety of aspects, but the most memorable being his 596th catch with the Green Bay Packers, which tied Sterling Sharpe for the Packers franchise record. The catch itself wasn't that remarkable, but being at the game on Sunday, I have to say the image of Driver saluting the crowd after his standing ovation is one I'll never forget. Driver finished with seven catches for 107 yards, and now has 602 career receptions, which is pretty impressive for a guy who wasn't even supposed to be drafted.

3. Um, The Offensive Line Still Isn't Very Good - The Detroit Lions aren't very good, but even the Detroit Lions managed to get five sacks on the Packers, bringing the total to 25 sacks against for the season. This is the one area that I can't really defend when I'm forced to defend the Packers against all these pseudo-Vikings fans that run around Lambeau nowadays. Clifton messed up his ankle again, so who knows how long he'll be out for (actually, we'll find out Monday). T.J. Lang did alright in relief, but overall that line is strugglesworth right now.

4. Clay Matthews > A.J. Hawk - This statement may be true, it may not be, but fact of the matter is we haven't seen Hawk have a game as good as Clay Matthews turned in against Detroit. Couple that with his touchdown strip against the Vikings two weeks ago, and it's easy to see that this guy is having one hell of a rookie campaign. He's making the impact that we thought Hawk would have made when he was first drafted. Not saying that Hawk isn't good, because I think he is, but Matthews is quickly becoming the star of that linebacking core right now. And that includes Barnett.

5. Random Fan Observations - Like I said, I went to the Lions game as kind of a precursor to our annual away Packers road trip, as we're headed to The Cleve next week. As fun as away games are, it's always nice to be at home and hang out with the Lambeau faithful. That being said, there were still way too many people wearing Favre jerseys there. Now, wearing a Packers Favre jersey is acceptable if it's the only Packers jersey you own and you are a chick. But everyone else, time to get some new apparel. ESPECIALLY if you're coming to a Packers/Lions game sporting a Vikings, Jets, or New York Titans Favre jersey (although I do give props to the guy who made a Lions Favre jersey out of markers and a plain white t-shirt, only to put "Favre in 2010?" on the back as well. Classic.)

I've come to the point in this whole Favre thing that if you still like the guy, then whatever for you. That's fine. But why wear his jersey to a Packers game? Is that some kind of protest? You're still coming to the game, paying for parking, buying a ticket, paying for food, beer, and whatever else you pick up that day. Plus, people throw shit at you and constantly berate you. Is that really worth it?

No one gets worse accolades though than this one guy I know, a guy who grew up a Packers fan. After Favre left, he bought any jersey available, first the Jets jersey and then the Vikings. In fact, when he went to the game at the Metrodome two Mondays ago he wore a non-Favre Packers jersey but wore a Vikings hat, even though that made no sense. Then, this weekend, he went out and bought a Calvin Johnson jersey so he could wear it to the Packers game. Just who exactly are you rooting for guy? What kind of statement are you trying to make? This is why I don't like Favre fans, they are all just a bunch of mysterious third prongs.

Anyways, it was a fun game, even though the outcome could have been a lot better. Other highlights included massive booing when Favre Vikings highlights came through on Tundra Vision, as well as the longest Lambeau Field fan created wave ever. Not a bad weekend, but definitely looking forward to The Cleve.

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About the Time of the Year I Lose Interest

Normally, this is about the time I lose interest in the Wisconsin Badgers football season, I'm not going to lie. Their season is far from being an undefeated one, they have no hope at a BCS Bowl berth, and their Big Ten hopes are all but gone as well. In the past, this would have been about the time when I stopped trying to get up on Saturday mornings to watch Bucky and instead just wait for the bowl game.

This year, however, I feel a little more invested in the Badgers, despite their losing the last two games. As I've said in the past, I'm a little bandwagon-ish when it comes to their football team, really only caring about them when they are succeeding. It's a sports trait of mine that I'm looking to change, and I think this year's team may be helping me do so.

They started off 5-0, but have now lost their last two games against ranked opponents Ohio State and Iowa. They didn't even play that bad against the Buckeyes, in my opinion, and they hugn with the Hawkeyes for most of the game before losing 20-10. The Badgers are right in the middle between the good teams and the bad teams, but this year's team should have no problem finishing with a decent record and not needing to beat a team like Cal-Poly just to get a bowl bid.

Still, Saturday afternoon was a bit rough for the arm of quarterback Scott Tolzien, as he's come back down to earth a little bit throwing three interceptions. The stats weren't really flashy for the rest of the offense, either, but the Badgers still did enough to stay competitive until the very end. It wasn't their best performance, but they hung around with a top team in college football, which is a level they weren't even close to a year ago. It's an effort that has me wanting to root for this team no matter what their record may be.

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I'm All For This Happening

Ned Yost is looking very nice these days, isn't he? I think he would look even nicer with that Houston Astros backdrop behind him during after every post-game interview (assuming it's not of him being edgy to reporters behind his desk in a cramped office). Yost came out of hiding to interview for the Houston Astros managerial position on Thursday, and he is one of ten guys in line for the position.

Along with Yost, the Astros are interviewing guys like such Bob Melvin, Manny Acta, and Phil Garner, and I'm really pulling for Yost to get the job. I've always said that Yost was the perfect manager to help the Brewers young stars ease their way into the major leagues, but that he wasn't the right guy to transition them into a postseason run. Too often, I felt, Yost kind of out-thought himself and then didn't react very well to media criticism. Still, I'm all for him getting a second chance in the bigs, and I'm all for a reunion with seeing him in the visitors dugout at Miller Park.

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Winks Thinks: The Baby Eli Edition

Something happened to my buddy Zar this weekend, and it's something that I couldn't even fathom having happen to me right now, which was the birth of his first child. Insane. I pay homage to my old friend and well as look into the future to see what his son will be in store for as a sports fan. Also, the hastily made Cleveland tourism videos are back, and I debut another girl to add to the list of Bluff Climbers. All that and more, in this week's Winks Thinks.

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NFL Coverage Maps: Week Six

Time now for some more NFL coverage maps, although I guess I forgot to throw these up last weekend. That's probably okay, since every site in America links to them anyway. Nevertheless, here's what's available if you're a) living in Wisconsin and b) not lucky enough to have the RedZone channel.

Fox Single Game - Detroit @ Green Bay (noon)

CBS Early Game - Baltimore @ Minnesota (game blacked out in Green Bay market)

CBS Late Game - Tennessee @ New England

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Bucks Beat Rockets, but Get Bullied

The Bucks played back-to-back nights this week, facing off on Monday and Tuesday. Monday the Bucks took down the Rockets with a 96-92 victory. They continued to use the new starting five against the Rockets, and it worked as the Bucks won the rebounding battle 43-41. That is going to be a stat to keep your eye on all season if this team is to have any chance. The Bucks had 7 blocked shots too, actually showing a little defense. Lets check out some highlights from the Rockets game.

* Carlos Delfino knocked in 4-10 from downtown. He finished the game with 16 Pts, 8 Rebs, and 2 Assists.

* Hakim Warrick had a nice game again with 12 Pts, 9 Rebs. He did however foul out though.

* Redd scored a team high 18 Pts. (Lets give him the Bucks POTG)

* The Bucks held the Rockets to 37 % shooting for the game.

Tuesday night the Bucks faced the Bulls in a tight one. They tied the game late on a Jodie Meeks three pointer, but Dan "Grab and Reach" couldn't make a tip in or a jumper in the final seconds as the Bucks would fall to the Bulls 87-86. It was unfortunate, as the Bucks came out firing with 30 points in the first quarter. After that they went cold shooting 36% for the game. One positive is that Redd is starting to get more minutes, looking better after his knee surgery in March. Lets check out a few highlights from the game.

* Hakim Warrick, please don't fail us in the regular season. He just continued to play good with 25 Pts, 6 Rebs. (Bucks POTG)

* Brandon Jennings, congrats on your first double-double. He he put up 10 Pts, 12 assists. The only negative part was his shooting percentage, 2-13 from the field.

* Bogut didn't play and Joakim Noah took advantage of that. Noah had a huge game with 20 Pts, 16 Rebs, and 3 Blocks.

Looking forward to the regular season, it looks like Carlos Delfino will be suspended for the first game. He got into it with Austin Daye from the Pistons, and while they will both miss the first game, I am guessing Austin Daye will miss more games, due to the fact I have never heard of this guy.

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Packers/Vikings Sequel Moved to 3:15pm

Someone asked me recently if I had any plans to go to the Packers/Vikings game at Lambeau Field on November 1st, and I said that even if I had a ticket, I'm not sure I would go. The level of douchebags at Lambeau that day is going to be at an all-time high, and even if the Packers were to win, I'm just not sure being there would be worth it.

However, I will be able to get a few extra hours of sleep that day, because the game between the two has been moved from noon to 3:15pm. Not a big surprise, since ratings for this one are probably going to be as big as their Monday Night contest, what with the return factor of the enemy and all. Oh and bonus, that day is also daylight savings time, so sleep away my friends!

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Charlie Davies Injured in Car Accident

They've already clinched a spot in the World Cup, but the United States still has one more qualifying game to play which will be their matchup against Costa Rica, Wednesday Night at 6:30pm on ESPN2. One man they will be without is forward Charlie Davies, who was involved in a terrible one-car accident late Monday night.

Davies wasn't driving the car, but he and Ashley Roberta were passengers in an accident that "split the car in half". The worst news out of all this is that the accident actually claimed the life of Roberta, while Davies and the driver were in stable condition hours after the accident. Details aren't clear yet how the accident occurred, but the fact that it happened at 3:15 in the morning has me very concerned.

As for Davies, the tibia and femur in his right leg were broken, while he also sustained facial fractures and a fracture in his left elbow. Injuries such as these usually take about six to twelve months of serious rehab to come back from, so it's highly unlikely that Davies won't be able to play in the World Cup.

Not a good situation for any parties involved, to say the least.

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Sabres Knock Off Red Wings

Wait a minute, is this about to be a Buffalo Sabres game recap? What is this, the Buckey Channel? Wisconsin TV? (inside joke, sorry). But yeah, I guess this is a quick blurb about the Sabres game on Tuesday night, which hopefully many of you watched after I reminded you to.

I, however, was not one of those people. This would have been the first night I could watch my newly beloved Sabres in action, as they were on Versus for the first of about eight times this season. Instead, I watched baby bro in his high school soccer playoff game, and good news, they won. I actually had plans to watch the Sabres last weekend, but apparently we don't get NHL Center Ice on my cable provider, which doesn't really make sense, but whatever.

I've been trying to follow hockey the best I can after I declared that I was going to follow it this season, but it is always hard trying to immerse yourself in a new sport (but hey, if I can do it for wrestling, then I can do it for hockey). I'm in a fantasy hockey league, but I've been half-assing it so far mainly because I've been short on time, but for real mainly because I have a hard time getting into fantasy leagues that aren't for money.

I'll have to get into it more though, because there are few better ways to get into a sport than to follow it in fantasy. I mean, no way in hell I know who a guy like Fabricio Oberto was two years ago if I didn't play fantasy basketball. Still, I think the best way to league this league as quickly as possible would be to buy NHL 10 for our PlayStation3, which I have every intention of doing this weekend.

Until I get more immersed in the league, I'll just follow box scores and maybe pop on a Sabres blog here and there as I try to get to know my team. About the only guy who I really did know, Thomas Vanek, scored two big goals in the Sabres 6-2 win over Detroit on Tuesday, but he suffered an upper body injury and is going to miss a few weeks.

Don't worry, you won't see Sabres posts after every game, but I do plan to check in once a week to let you know how my following hockey endeavor is progressing. Just one of the many things I'll try to do in an effort to continually make this site better. Could one of those things be weekly reviews about WWE's Monday Night Raw coming in the near future? (Don't worry, I'm only kidding. Or am I?)

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Sabres On Versus Tonight

Their logo takes up space on the top of my blog, but I've yet to talk about the Buffalo Sabres since I declared them my favorite NHL team. I'll have an update on how well I've been trying to follow them later in the week, but until then, you can always join the bandwagon with me and check out the Sabres as they take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight on Versus, 6pm Wisconsin start time.

And no, I still have no idea who that guy in the picture is.

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Another Reason to Hate Deanna Favre

Okay, so you're a bitch. Seriously, if you ever needed proof that Deanna Favre was the one that orchestrated the whole Favre saga, here it is. Deanna has been an attention-wielding whore the moment she got famous for having breast cancer. I'm not trying to be offensive here, breast cancer is a terrible thing, but what I'm saying is that ever since Deanna got a taste of the spotlight when we cared for her personal struggles, she has recovered and then taken off striving for that similar attention at every moment. No question she was the one that planted, "C'mon Brett, Ted doesn't love you like you should be love" seeds in Favre's mind after that NFC Championship loss, and she's suddenly become the most annoying sports wife since Brenda Warner.

I find it a little ironic that Deanna is willing to stand next to this guy wearing a "Thanks, Ted" personalized jersey. What this picture is saying is that if she feels that someone wrongs her or her husband, she will not taking lying down. Meanwhile, Brett used to pop pain pills, destroy their marriage, and cheated on her all the time. Why would she stand by him? Ohhhh... that's right, the attention that being married to an NFL quarterback brings! I just really, really, do not like this woman.

Thanks to Deadspin for the link.

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Ah-One, Ah-Two, Ah-You Know What To Do

When me and my friends go out for the night, odds are we take a shot or two. The title of this post is a little slogan we say before taking shots. It is like a heads up to say, "Hey, this is for real." Well, that saying can be applied to the three guys above, because they are for real. If you don't know who these three guys are let me introduce them to you. From left to right we have: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and last but not least Steve Stricker.


These three are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked golfers for 2009, and they all took part in the Presidents Cup this weekend. Most people might think that this means nothing and that the Ryder Cup means much more. Well, this is even greater because the Presidents Cup takes the best golfers from all over the world and puts them against the best the U.S.A. has to offer.

The event stared Thursday as Tiger Woods would team with Steve Stricker. This team hit it off right away with some type of magic. They just played perfect together, which gave Fred Couples no reason to not team them up for the rest of the weekend. Phil Mickelson would team with a new partner everyday, but that wouldn't slow him down one bit. These are the only events that you have a teammate in golf. This is what makes these so special because it is just like other sports, because it takes a team effort to win the match.


They play two different type of team formats. The first is Foursomes, this is where you go alternate shot with your partner. This is a harder way to get birdies because you only get one shot, but Stricker and Woods made them count. Phil on the other hand made some very huge shots because his partner Anthony Kim looked a little nervous. The second team format is Four-Ball, this is where each person plays his own ball. The guy with the lowest score earns a point for his team. This can be dominated individually, but there is strategy to the match. If you have a long driver than he should tee off second, so the first guy can put one down the middle and then you let the big driver grip and rip. So there is more thinking to this then one might think.

Thursday was Foursome format:

Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker got hot right away and never looked back. Tiger Woods had a nice 18 foot birdie putt on hole 2. This gave them a one up lead, and they would never look back. Tiger was sticking irons, while Stricker was knocking down putts. This lead them to a 6&4 win. That means they were up 6 with 4 holes to play.

Phil Mickelson's match was not as easy. It took him a few holes to get things going, but they tied the match on hole 12. This would lead them to winning holes 14-16 to get the 3&2 victory.

Friday Four-Ball scores:

Stricker and Woods started hot again. Stricker chipped in on number 1 to get a 1up lead. He would also knock a wedge to 2 feet on five to give them the lead for good. It was another day that this pairing would not have to play the 16th hole. Stricker and Woods would go on to win 5&3.

Phil Mickelson's team did the same thing as the day before. They went back and forth for most of the match, until the 13th hole. His team would win holes 13, 14, and 16. Phil's team would win the Match 3&2 again.

Saturday Foursome and Four-ball results:

In Foursome play, Stricker and Woods came out and won the first hole again. After that they felt the real first test of the week. The two fell behind on hole 7, and was still down one going into hole 17. This is were the magic began again for Woods and Stricker. Woods made a 25 foot birdie putt on 17 to make the match all square. Then on 18 Woods put the teams second shot 8 feet from the pin for eagle. The Internationals would concede the hole, so Woods and Stricker would stay undefeated for the week.

Phil got paired with Sean O'Hair, which would be a good team also. The team started off slow, but after they won the 5th hole they never looked back. After that they pulled a Woods and Stricker. Phil and Sean went off to win the match 5&3 to get the full point.

In Four-Ball, Tiger and Steve got lucky in the morning match. So they just went out in the afternoon and went straight to work. They played like they had all week by just sticking it to the Internationals. They were up 6 after the 12 hole, only to slip a little bit. After getting beat on holes 13-15 they closed the match out on 16. This improved their record together for the week to an impressive 4-0 for the weekend. They had great chemistry together, and they also just liked being around each other with knuckle bump after knuckle bump. They just worked well together, and picked each other up if they were not doing well. Steve Stricker had just a sick week putting. He also at one point in time birdied 5 in a row, and 6 of 7 holes.

Phil played again with Sean O'Hair in the afternoon Four-Ball. They were down the whole match going into the 12th hole. Phil birdied 12 to move the match to all squared. They would play the final 6 holes at even golf, to give U.S.A. a half of point. It was an exciting match with both teams just making huge putts. On 18 Phil was last up with a birdie try to win it, but he just missed it on the left side of the cup.

Sunday Single Matches:

Going into Sunday U.S.A. had a 12 1/2 to 9 1/2 point lead. They just needed to win a few matches to really put this thing away. That is exactly what they did. They got a few early wins, before Tiger Woods would just go off on Y.E. Yang. This was a rematch of the big from the final pairing of the PGA Championship. For the first time all week, Tiger Woods lost the first hole. After that Y.E. Yang was wishing he would have just slept in on Sunday. Tiger would just take over the match, and make a birdie putt on 13 to win his match. He also gave the United States team the victory with that putt. This was the perfect way for the U.S.A. to win having Tiger make the final putt. If it would have been Stricker or Mickelson that would have been fitting too. Tiger would finish the week with a 5-0 recorded, his best at a Presidents Cup ever.

Steve Stricker would have a rough day in his singles match. He just never really looked like he was getting things going. He would be defeated, but this would not take away anything he did this week. Stricker had just an outstanding week of golf. The guy has been on fire the last couple of years finding his putting stroke, also building confidence with the rest of his game. He would finish with a 4-1 record for the weekend to be a key in the success of the United States victory.


Phil got the job done Sunday in his singles match. Phil never trailed in the match, as he played well the whole day. He won the match 2&1. Phil was the most consistent player for the week, finishing the week with a 4-0-1 record. He really came back towards the end of the year, and will be a threat again next year. The big three in the picture above ended this year with a bang. Look for these guys to come out firing next year, as they fight for the FedEx Cup.

The United States closed out the Internationals 19 1/2- 14 1/2.

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America Clinches World Cup Birth

Playing well in Central America hasn't really been what the United States Men's Soccer team has been known for, but they delivered in the clutch Saturday with a big 3-2 victory in Honduras. From what I've read, this appeared to be a pretty fast paced game, but I can't confirm that because the game wasn't on television. These qualifying games have been fun to watch, but it seems like it's been difficult to try to get the away games on TV. That won't be the case on Wednesday night, as they'll have one more game against Costa Rica, Wednesday night on ESPN2.

Now, talk about me burying the lead on this one, because with the victory the United States have clinched a birth for the World Cup in South Africa next year. Along with Mexico, America one of the powerhouses in their qualifying region, so this birth shouldn't come as a surprise. But still, you can never take anything for granted and it's good to know that the U.S. will be in action next summer.

How they'll do remains to be seen, but U.S. soccer has been on the up and up lately so I'm expecting some decent things next summer. I've been thinking about going to the World Cup, part because of my love of soccer and part because of my desire to travel, but then I realized that plane tickets out there would be like three thousand bucks. So, scrap that idea.

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Finally the Bucks Have Come Back to Green Bay!

The Bucks took a year off from Green Bay but they were back in action last night, beating the Bulls 98-86. Now thats more like it, check out Winks' boy Kurt Thomas wearing a Bucks jersey. The new starting five is doing some things, and thankfully they didn't give up 100 points Saturday night. However, this was a game where no one really had a huge game. Bogut played a little more tonight getting 18 minutes. Even though they played well, Derrick Rose didn't play for Chicago so don't think that everything is solved. Lets look at some highlights of the game.

* Carlos Delfino had a huge plus/minus tonight with a plus 21. (Bucks POTG tonight)

* Andrew Bogut looked good again with 12 pts, 5 rebs, 2 dimes.

* Hakim Warrick also with another good game. This guy really wants to start for this team. He had a solid 13 Pts, 8 Rebs.

* Last but not least Kurt Thomas had a plus 9 tonight. He also had 6 Pts, 5 Rebs.

The Bucks go to 1-2 for the preseason. Next they face the Rockets Monday night at 7:30, Wisconsin time. If you want to read some quotes from the game check out this link to the Journal.

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Badgers Lose, Respectfully

Please correct me if I'm wrong, because you likely watched more of the game than I did, but I don't think the Badgers looked that bad in their loss to Ohio State today. I was working all day, per usual, but I was able to catch parts of the game here and there. From what I saw, this game was more or less a better team beating a decent team, than it was an embarrassing loss for Wisconsin. Sure, with only one touchdown (a fake FG attempt), they certainly didn't play great, but you can't be upset about losing to Ohio State at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes run a top college football program, that was to be expected. And while Wisconsin has quite a ways to go before they are considered on the Buckeyes level, I still feel they held their own today, at least for a little while. I mean, this Wisconsin program started 5-0 and got little to no respect from the college football polls, as they were barely even ranked with an undefeated record. I think a win against Ohio State would have put them at like #17 or something, maybe even Top 15, but instead they'll fall back into obscurity in the minds of the college football voters after losing to the Buckeyes 31-13.

This was a game ultimately decided by big plays by the Buckeyes, from the 32 yard touchdown catch by DeVier Posey, to the kick return by Ray Small, to the interception return by Jermale Hines. For the Badgers, John Clay and Scott Tolzien didn't really have good days, at all, but the Badger defense at least helped make this game competitive as they only gave up 184 total yards. Thanks to them, what could have been an embarrassing loss what instead a tough loss, but still a loss that the Badgers can be proud of. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it kind of does. Right? Maybe? Question mark?

Next up for Bucky is another huge opponent when the Iowa Hawkeyes come to Madison next Saturday for Homecoming. A win there, and we're back in the Top 25, a loss, and it's time to start thinking Liberty Bowl.

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How About You Don't Continue Reading?

So what if he hasn't written a post here on The Bucky Channel in like seven months, because Bear still found a way to come up huge today. In what will far and away be the most productive thing he'll do all weekend, Bear was able to find the HTML code to delete the pointless "continue reading" verbage that was at the bottom of every post for the last two weeks. Maybe you noticed it, maybe you didn't, but I couldn't stand how sloppy it looked, especially when the link didn't even work. A huge thanks to Bear for taking the time to fix that for us. Hopefully this will inspire him to write more, especially as the Real World / Road Rules Challenge is back in full swing. Thanks, buddy.

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Kurtain Call?

Is Kurt Thomas the new PF in Milwaukee? Well for the time being yes, Skiles has made a few changes to the starting five. He has also inserted Carlos Delfino in at the SF spot. This is more of a move for defense and rebounding, than it is scoring. Our friends over at Sports Bubbler have a nice little article about these changes. They also talk about what other changes might be made by the season opener. Take a look for yourself.

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Winks Thinks: The Mysterious Third Prong Edition

It's been a few days now, so I guess I am finally ready to write about what happened between Favre and the Packers the other night without swearing. In a semi-homage to Bill Simmons, I kept somewhat of a running diary during the game on Monday night. Three days later, I'm really doing a lot better than I thought I was, but I think that's because I've made to sure to shelter myself from ESPN, Facebook, or anything else that has become a feeding ground for Favre lovers. But for those of you that hate Favre like me, you're always welcome here, a sanctuary for us true Packer fans. So let's relive all my Favre hating, and what might have been the worst loss in Packers history, in this week's edition of Winks Thinks.

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Bucks Basketball Anybody?

(Editors Note: Last week, Gweeds wrote a Brewers article for us at The Bucky Channel. Hopefully he'll be helping me with the Bucks this season, and he's joined the staff as an official writer. This is his first official posting.)

The Bucks are back, ladies and gentlemen, for what it seems might be a long year. This team has a lot of pieces, but I think it may take some time to put the puzzle together. We are coming off of a great draft where we picked up a good PG in Brandon Jennings. We also got what could be the next Redd in Jodie Meeks. Well, maybe not but lets hope so. Ersan Ilyasova is back and people are seeing huge upside to his game. After all this positive talk I am sorry to report that we are 0-2 in the preseason this year.

The Bucks started the preseason Sunday in another battle with Minnesota. This game had really no meaning behind it other than to get back in basketball mode. The Bucks lost 117-103 in a game dominated by the T'Wolves from the start. Lets look at some highlights of the game.

* Brandon Jennings led the team in shots. He finished with 14 points, 5 dimes and 2 turnovers.

*Hakim Warrick led the team with 24 points. This was also a great pick up I forgot to talk about before. Look for him to get to the hoop and hopefully get to the line a lot. (I'll also give him Bucks POTG)

* Bucks got smoked on the boards, but this shouldn't be a surprise because Bogut only played 9 minutes. That could be what hurts this team all year, not being able to dominate the glass.

* For the Wolves, Kevin Love and Ryan Gomes both put up double doubles. Kevin Love could be for real and with Al Jefferson on his side, he could have a big year.

* Skiles after the game said himself that as a team, "We have a lot of work to do."

Wednesday night the Bucks took on Detroit and looked a little bit better. They started off hot which is a good sign because Bogut only played the first quarter. They had a 30-24 lead going into the second quarter. That's when they went flat till the 4th. They just have to get used to all playing together. They started 4 different guys from 4 different continents- Ilyasova (Europe), Bogut (Australia), Mbah a Moute (Africa), Redd/Ridnour (North America). That right there should be enough to show that these guys need preseason to get in a flow together. The Pistons won 113-104 and lets take a look at some highlights.

* Brandon Jennings looked good with 18 points, 4 Rebs, and 6 Dimes, 6 Stls. The only dark spot was his 5 TO's. This earns him the BOTG.

* As I said above Bogut played the whole first quarter, in those 12 minutes he had 9 Pts and 4 Rebs.

* Meeks felt like he needed to just shoot at will. He fired up a team high 12 shots, 2 of which were from downtown. A 4-12 shooting performance will not earn him many minutes, but give him time, he will come around.

* Ben Gordon had 24 Pts off the bench. That might have been a very nice pick up for Detroit. He's maybe a person that can get them back into a title run.

* Charlie V didn't play due to injury.

* Carlos Delfino, Welcome to the bucks. He was ejected with 34 seconds left by the replacement refs. These guys look like they are not going to put up with shit.

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Rebuttal From a Twins Fan

(Editors Note: Every so often an email comes across my desk that makes me either laugh, makes me wish to commend someone, or makes me want to reconsider something I've written. The email I got yesterday from a reader named Erik encompassed all these of those things. Erik is one of those sports hybrids, as he is a Packers fan and a Twins fan. He also hates the Vikings, so that's good.

He shared his perspective with me on the nature of Vikings fans and Twins fans in response to an article I wrote where I was upset at all the good fortune Minnesota fans were falling into. It's a great rebuttal, and I'm more than happy to share it with you now.)

Hey there Winks,

I've enjoyed reading your blog for the last several months because I appreciate the "Joe Fan" perspective you bring as it regards to Wisconsin sports, specifically the Packers. I actually find myself agreeing with you quite a bit when it comes to the green and gold. I'm 31 years old and I live in Minnesota but I was raised a Packers fan thanks in part to my dad who is originally from Wisconsin.

But then I read your post from earlier where you were hating on the Minnesota Twins. I admit, I am an avid Twins fan (but the Packers are by far and away my first love). You might be asking how a person can be split like that. Well, the way I see it, in order to call myself a fan of any team I have to be able to attend the games on a fairly regular basis. It's easy for me to go to virtually every Packers home game since there is only 8 of them over the course of four months. But I feel you need to get to at least 10-15 baseball games before you can begin to call yourself a good fan (provided you live in close proximity of the stadium). I'm not gonna travel to Milwaukee multiple times over the course of the summer when the Metrodome is right down the road. If I ever moved to the eastern part of your great state I could easily see myself going to Miller Park and supporting the Brewers by taking in several games.

Here is what I'm getting at: I know it's easy to associate Twins fans with Vikings fans but they are night and day. First of all, the Vikings, as a fan base and as an organization, have very little pride and are extremely insecure. You're absolutely right...I don't know how you call yourself a true Vikings fan and still embrace Favre. It's a level of fraudulence that I've never seen before. Additionally, Vikings fans live to see the Packers lose more so than seeing their own team win and it's all a function of jealousy. Without the Packers the Vikings would have vanished into obscurity a long time ago. Hell, you can't buy a single game ticket to see the Packers play in the Metrodome unless you buy a pre-season game to accompany it. I don't even think the Bears stoop to that level. And the Vikings just have no real tradition to speak of. They are the annoying kid brother begging for attention in a conference that includes two teams, GB and Chicago, that played a significant part in making the NFL what it is today.

Now lets examine the Twins for a moment. They have been around since the early 60's and have actually won a couple of World Series titles. Now granted it was several years ago in an era where being a small market team wasn't as a decided disadvantage to the extent that it is now, but still, they were no fluke and you can't take away what those teams accomplished. And they did have some star power along the way also. Kirby Puckett is to Minnesota what Brett Favre was to Wisconsin before BF became a category 5 deuchebag.

Bear in mind that virtually my whole life the Twins have had to play in that god forsaken Metrodome (a.k.a Metrodump). You think it's bad for football? Magnify it by a factor of 10 and thats what the misery factor is for baseball. But when the day is done, Twins fans have supported their team. And the Twins as an organization do really deserve some credit. They have now won their 5th division title in 8 years. And make no mistake about it, they have done so without signing players to the huge contract. We've had to let go of the likes of Torii Hunter and Johan Santana because we're essentially a AAAA team that has to take advantage of whatever young talent we have before they are gobbled up by the larger market teams on the east and west coast. Twins fans are a frustrated bunch. Who knows, our own hometown boy, Joe Mauer, could very well be in a Yankees or Red Sox uniform because our ownership may be too stingy to pick up the tab and thats WITH a bucket load of new revenue coming by means of the new stadium.

You also have to factor in that Twins fans travel well. They really do. I'm sure you see that first hand when they come to Milwaukee. No, it's probably nothing like those obnoxious pricks from Chicago, but we still come in very solid numbers. We're starving for outdoor baseball and we know a great atmosphere when we see it which is why I go to Milwaukee and Kansas city year after year. It's a quality that I appreciate because it's exactly what I see with the Packers. No, Twins fans will never run the opposition out of their own stadium like Packers fans have been known to do, but given the nature of baseball, the longevity of the season, and the relative unimportance of every game when compared to football, the Twins fans are a well represented bunch.

I doubt I have changed your mind but I just wanted to present a few arguments and give you some perspective from someone who knows what a great fan base and organization is -- the Packers. To be honest, I think the Twins and their fans really do share far more qualities with the Packers and their fans than they do with the Vikings. Don't judge Minnesotans on their pumped in crowd noise, blind faith in a washed up QBs, stupid Viking horn noises, collapsing freeway bridges or voters who turned a pro wrestler into a governor. Rather, embrace the fact that there are loyal, rational Minnesota fans out there who appreciate and support a good baseball product and have done so in an environment that is not so friendly to small market teams. Don't get me wrong, if given a choice I would rather go to Lambeau to watch a bad Packers team than attend a World Series game featuring the Twins. But I'm excited to watch them take on the Yankees. Yeah, they have little to no chance of taking them in a 5 game series but stranger things have happened. Let's not forget that the Twins are the same team that were on the brink of contraction just a few years ago because the richest owner in pro sports at the time was an absolute mouth-breather. Like it or not, the Twins kind of embody that "Little engine that could" mantra.

So give it some thought and see if maybe you might come around a little on your opinion of the Twins and their fans. In the meantime let us hope the Packers get focused during their bye week and come out looking for blood against the Lions and Browns as a tune-up for the re-match with the pathetic Vikings.

Regards,

Erik from Minneapolis

(Editor's Note: Again, thank you Erik for your point of view, really good stuff. I'm always more than happy to post rebuttals you guys might have, so don't be afraid to follow Erik's lead.)

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Time to Switch Things Up a Bit

I started a solo Madden franchise with the Kansas Chiefs this year, and started the season 2-2. After four weeks, I traded Matt Cassel to start Tyler Thigpen, I traded for Steve Slaton, I signed Marvin Harrison off the scrap heap, and I changed my punter's number from #2 to #97. I saw that my franchise was in trouble, so I made the appropriate changes. What I'm saying, expect the Packers to do the same.

Now, it's highly unlikely Thompson is going to make changes as drastic as the ones I made (they worked, by the way), but changes are-a-comin'. Mark Tauscher worked out for the Packers on Tuesday, and there's almost no way they don't sign him. Apparently it was the Packers plan all along to work him out when he recovered from his injury, but I don't care what they are saying. The O-Line sucks, we need reinforcements. Sign his ass already.

Also it looks like Jordy Nelson is going to take over the kick and punt return duties full time, as Will Blackmon is out with an ACL tear. Kind of a crappy situation, as Blackmon was actually one of the more quality return men we've had in awhile. It remains to be seen whether that Packers fill Blackmon's spot with another defensive back, or use it to sign Tauscher.

As for the Packers, I know I haven't said too much about their loss besides a certain four letter swear word, but I think they'll straighten things out this week during the bye. The offensive line needs to get their shit together, the defense needs to follow Charles Woodson's advice and get more aggressive, and overall the team needs to start playing with the energy they played with this preseason, the kind of energy which had people thinking Super Bowl. I think with the bye week and then two straight weeks versus the Lions and Browns, that we are going to see a different Packers team by the time Favre makes his return to Lambeau.

Here's to hoping they get things figured out by then. And here's to hoping I figure out how to get "continue reading" to stop showing up after each post by then, too.

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I'm About to Throw a Hissy Fit

Nothing special with this post, but this picture sums up how I feel right now. All the angst I had towards the Vikings for beating the Packers this week was transferred to the Minnesota Twins. I became a pretty big Detroit Tigers fan today, only to have my heartbroken once again as the Twins knocked them off to win the AL Central and make the playoffs. Lame (although they're just going to get steamrolled by the Yankees, but still, I don't like when Minnesota fans feel joy.)

Just what has been going on in the Metrodome these last two days? How did that place become a little magic box where the best moments in the world happen day after day for Minnesota fans? Thank God the Gophers got a new stadium so the Badgers didn't have to fall curse inside that blimp. Two straight days, two awesome moments if you live in that state. I'm so irritated by this, because that fan base just doesn't deserve it.

Packers fans have been going through hell following this Favre drama. We deserved the victory. Detroit fans have watched the city around them all but collapse. They deserved the NL Central. Instead, hipster yuppie douchebag Twins and Vikings fans are revealing in our agony this week, and it just makes me want to cry. I'd rather see Cubs fans celebrate ten World Series titles than see the last two days happen again, I really would.

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The Day After

Surprisingly enough, I didn't go through on my pledge to end my life if the Packers lost to Brett Favre. While that is a good thing, life still feels different today, and not for the better. There are literally black clouds hanging over the entire state of Wisconsin today, on what has to be one of the dreariest days of the year. This is like the day after you found out Santa wasn't real, a day where it actually hurts to smile (and if you are just finding out about Santa, then I just double fucked you. My bad).

I just don't get it. I mean if Brett Favre still can play, then why the hell did he retire two years ago crying, saying he has nothing left to give. What was that about? I understand that he'll fall apart as he's done for the last ten years down the stretch, but he did look good last night, and that sucks. Still, I need another day or two until I'm able to really talk about this one, I just wanted to check in and say that I haven't killed myself, because that would be dumb.

However, if they lose again on November 1st...

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The Bucky Five: Fuck

1. F

2. U

3. C

4. K

5. Fuck - Can't talk about it right now. Just can't do it. I'll have a running diary type post on Winks Thinks Thursday. Until then, fuck everyone who still likes that bastard and fuck you if you think otherwise. Whatever.

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