Lopez-Ortiz

The ridiculous UD win by Teofima López against Jamaine López is yet another blight on the sport of boxing.

I scored the fight 115 to 113 for Ortiz, as did some sites I just checked. He outsmarted and frustrated López the whole fight. Two judges saw it 115-113 for López, and ESPN scored it a draw, so yes, it could have gone either way.  

But it's impossible to explain a 117-111 score from the third judge.  He was either asleep, a fool, or on the take, and none of those options do anything to restore faith in the sport.

Corbin Burnes has been Traded, and the Brewers Executives Suck

I think this trade is horses**t. 

First of all, it isn't a "blockbuster" trade unless you're sitting in Maryland.  In exchange for sending away a 3x All-Star and Cy Young winner, we receive infield prospect Joey Oritz, LH reliever DL Hall, and a throwaway compensation draft pick. 

Whoo-hooo.

Now, I do hope that in the years to come I look back on this and say "I was wrong, man those guys worked out for us!" Hall could potentially move into the rotation, Oritz is ranked the 63rd best prospect in the minors, and of course maybe we draft Babe Ruth with that pick. 

Could be. 

It would still be horses**t. 

Milwaukee and its myopic, ever-hopeful, ever-masochistic fans have already chimed in, repeating the script they've read every year:  "By golly, we will miss this player. But ya gotta think long-term. He was gonna leave as a free agent next year and this way we got some VALUE out of him. That's just the way a small market team has to operate dontcha know?"

Again, horses**t. 

That's the same malarkey you heard when the Brewers traded Josh Hader in the midst of a playoff run a couple years back, a move that sucked the life out of the team and left them .watching the playoffs from the couch. 

The ONLY value a player has for a team is the contribution they make towards winning. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a player's trade value as a flesh and blood stock certificate because they are an integral part of you getting a championship and the here and now, not next year, matters. 

It would be swell if Brewers executives understood that concept, because it's been "next year" for all 49 years of my life. 

Wow

Nick Saban has retired from Alabama. 

Pete Carroll was "moved upstairs" in Seattle. 

Bill Belichick "amicably" parted ways with the Patriots. 

In two very short days, the face of football has radically changed. 

My thanks to all of them. Well done. Enjoy your retirements/new jobs. 

30 Years Ago

30 years ago today, on New Year's Day 1994, I watched my Wisconsin Badgers defeat the UCLA Bruins 21-16 in the Rose Bowl. 

I watched the game from the living room in my friend Tre's family home. By my recollection we followed it up with a two VHS Metallica concert that was part of a box set Tre bought. 

That Rose Bowl was the culmination of Madison's resurgence under Barry Alvarez. All my life the Badgers had been a joke, relegated to having their pre-taped games broadcast on public TV later on Saturday nights. As of that day though, they were a team to reckon with in the Big Ten. 

Their rise coincided roughly with the Packers returning to contention too, and both franchises suspended 30 years in the spotlight, with only a rebuilding year every now and then. Quite the change from my youth. 

Counsell Turns Traitor

Not really. 

Baseball is a business, and the man was offered $40 over 5 years to work for a vile, cursed   well funded, marquee organization. He'd have been a fool not to accept. 

Does it fly in the face of his constant harping on how he's a local boy in his "dream job?" 

Sure. 

But again, $40 million boo. $40 million. That's twice the sum of his career earnings as a player. 

Plus, the Brewers weren't exactly knocking down the door with offers enticing him to stay. Was that proof the organization is cheap, or did they suspect his leadership value was inflated? Hard to say, and I don't think Chicago is guaranteed to provide the answer to the latter either; deep pockets have the potential to solve many problems. 

(I think he was overvalued, but who am I? I'm just a schmuck with a blog.)

So congrats to Counsell -  although given his new job I can't exactly wish him success. 

update: Oops. I guess this "player's manager" forgot to actually inform his players of his move until AFTER the news was public. Smooth sir. smooth. 

Bobby Knight

Bobby Knight, the temperamental, controversial - and successful -  basketball coach at Indiana for much of my youth, has died at 83.

RIP

Frank Howard

Frank Howard, the 6'7" outfielder known as "Hondo," died on October 30th at age 87.

While he never reached the level of fame as some of his contemporaries, Howard hit 382 home runs and knocked in 1,119 RBI over a 16 year career. He led the league in home runs twice, once hit 48 in a summer, and notched 40 or more dingers in three consecutive seasons. 

In the mid-80's he would serve as a coach in Milwaukee, but what I remember him for isn't that, or his playing record: I know him from his mentions as a test subject  in The Science of Hitting, the epic hitting manual written by Howard's one time manager, Ted Williams. 

RIP Hondo.

Congratulations on doing what you do Best.

Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers for finishing with a 90-72 record, a National League Central title . . . 

and then getting swept by an 84 win team in the first round of the playoffs. 

#$@$%%

49 years. 

FORTY NINE YEARS this team has disappointed me and left me bitter and angry and incapable of EVER trusting that they'll win a Championship. They would have to be up by six in the ninth inning of game seven of the World Series before I could feel certain of victory. 

You think I'm kidding? 

In the example above, I originally wrote "up by 5 in the 9th inning." Why did I change it? 

Because, hand to heart, I immediately pictured a scenario where they allow a couple runs and some baserunners, fall apart as the momentum swings, and surrender a grand slam to lose the Series. Right here, at my desk, I could see it clear as day, and my heart dropped. 

No mas. No mas. 

Clinched!

The first 43 years of my life the Brewers made it to the postseason all of four times.

Tonight, they made it five times in the last six years 

It's a nice change. 

Now let's do some damage in the playoffs, shall we?

Brewers v Rockies, August 8th

My employer gave me two tickets for section 119 - the best seats I've ever had to be honest- for Tuesday's game against the Rockies, and I went with my friend Tre. 

It was Wade Miley's 300th career start, and the Brewers wasted a six inning, 2 hit, 1 run performance courtesy of a some awful relief work.

 We tied it, but then in the tenth Chafin and Uribe walked in three runs and surrendered another. A pathetic end to an otherwise fun evening on a warm and muggy night. 

Kestdaddy

So Keston Hiura wasn't claimed on waivers (idiots abound) and was outrighted to Nashville March 28th. Here's what he's done since then: 

.333/10/26 with an OPS of .394 and an OPS of 1.118 - oh, and he's been Player of the Week three out of the last four weeks. 

Now the argument goes that his performance wouldn't necessarily carry over to the bigs, and I agree, at least as far as Milwaukee goes. The Brewers have s*it him up so bad that I doubt success is attainable for him here. But in a different system, if he can shake off the Brewers handling of him . . . well, I think he'd thrive. 

I hope he gets the chance. 

A Horrible Event on Monday Night Football

I returned from my night with YaYa in time to watch some Monday Night Football. To my horror, this is the sight that graced the television: Bills safety Damar Hamlin's heart stopped on the field. When I tuned in, he was still on the field but being readied to be transferred to a hospital. 

What an awful thing to happen in a sporting event. 

He was definitely in our prayers. 

 

On Online Packers "fans"

Packers fans - the online version - are embarrassingly naive in general and ignorant of the game and the business behind it. Not to mention they write like they were held back 3x in second grade. You are, in part, representing me when you speak, so, ummmm - DON'T.

A Brewers Anniversary

On this day in 1989, Genn Braggs went 3-4 with two homers and 5 RBI in a 10-4 Brewers win over the Twins.

MVP

 Congrats!

 

Tom Brady has left the Patriots

40 years ago today - The Miracle on Ice

40 years ago today, on the small black and white TV my Grandparent's kept on their kitchen counter, I witnessed one of the greatest moments in sports history.

That stunning hockey game was tape delayed for the network broadcast that night,  and so, oddly, already history by the time Americans cheered on their underdogs. A move like that would never work now, not with the speed of information being what is is, but in 1980 how were you going to know the result before it aired? Heck, more than ten years later I remember having to call the sports desk at the local paper to get a late boxing result. 

A month shy of six years old, I was nowhere near aware of the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, the Iran hostage crisis, the post-Vietnam fugue, Carter's stagflation, or any of the other geo-political events that made that match so much more than just an athletic contest.

But I knew I loved my country and I knew this was important. I could feel the electricity in the crowd right through the TV, a buzz shared by the announcers and my family.

It was a great day to be an American, whether you were six or sixty. 

A Miracle on Ice indeed.

2020 Baseball Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Derek Jeter and Larry Walker on their election to Cooperstown today! It's a few hours late, but here's what my ballot looked like this morning

Jason Kidd has been Fired

Yowsers

Brewers - Diamondbacks with my Pop

And on the 10th anniversary of Ryan Braun's MLB debut, too!