It was a tough, tough week for sports in Milwaukee.

We may have witnessed the end of two sports entities in the city, the Wave indoor soccer team and auto racing at the Milwaukee Mile. And the ills that bedevil the two are as different as Michael Jackson and Stonewall Jackson.

Let's take the case of the Wave first.

For 25 years, the Wave has been the model of a team with barely any public support. Thanks to good management, Keith Tozer and a small but rabid base of fans, it survived. Hardly anybody ever really cared about the Wave. The problem, of course, was that the Wave is a soccer team.

Despite what the hardcore aficionados keep shouting, soccer just isn't very important in this country. Sure, it has its moments. When the American team beat Spain and got to the final against Brazil a week or so ago, I watched. And it was mildly interesting. Captivating, it was not. And that's the problem. Here was one of the biggest things to ever hit the world of soccer in this country and it was just OK.

I have a friend who reminded me of the claim that "Soccer is going to be the sport of the ‘70s." Unfortunately, it is almost 2010 and soccer isn't any closer to being THE sport than it was in the ‘70s. In this country, there are moments when we pay attention, but soccer is nothing more than a niche sport.

Having said that, it's a shame that we might lose the Wave, but there is no ownership group that seems ready to step forward. The league the Wave played in folded its doors. There were only four teams in it, anyhow.

The Wave provided affordable, family-friendly sports entertainment in this town. And there's not enough of that around. The team held a press conference Monday afternoon to announce a "Save the Wave" campaign. I don't know what's going to happen to the Wave, but I know what ought to happen.

Frank Gimbel, the deeply-committed lawyer who is the chairman of the Wisconsin Center District which runs the Arena where the Wave plays, needs to do what he does better than just about anybody else in this area. He needs to use his influence and put together some kind of group to keep this team afloat. Gimbel is a public resource in this community that few people recognize. He works behind the scenes and is just about as effective a mover and shaker as we've ever seen here.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gimbel finds a way to keep the team going and continuing the entertainment that the Wave provides.

The problems at the Milwaukee Mile are just about 180 degrees from the Wave. The Wave has been well-managed and economical in its approach to development. The Mile has been horribly managed and profligate in its hopes and dreams and approach.

The Mile and auto racing have plenty of fans in this area. Milwaukee has always been a good racing town and there's plenty of history here.

The issue of what to do at the Mile has been made ever more complex by the meddling fingers of state government and the State Fair Board.

Here's who makes up this board. The Secretary of the Department of Tourism; the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; five representatives of business, including three with general business experience, one with agricultural experience, and one with technology experience; one resident of the City of West Allis; one Wisconsin resident from anywhere in the state; and four legislators: two from the Assembly and two from the Senate.

It would be hard to collect a group less likely to run a major race track than this one. This is like getting a bunch of people who only speak Farsi to judge a contest for the greatest speech in the English language.

Nothing is guaranteed to screw up a quasi-private enterprise more quickly than government regulation and control. Imagine what would happen, for example, if government appointed a board to run Wisconsin Dells. The evaporation of Lake Delton would seem like a minor inconvenience in comparison to the chaos that would erupt.

Having admitted that I don't care for government intervention, there is a primary role for government to play in maintaining the racing program at the Milwaukee mile. First of all, the state should use some of those millions of dollars of stimulus funds that the feds are throwing around to retire the debt of the Milwaukee Mile and State Fair Park. That includes the debts to racing organizations. I would also use stimulus money to finish the grandstand and create a professional environment for fans and the media.

Then, I would hire an experienced and successful race promoter and get out of his or her way. The last thing a promoter needs is to have the State of Wisconsin looking over his shoulder. I would take that white elephant of an exposition center and convert it into a world class garage and maintenance facility.

Of course, none of this is going to happen. What will happen is that the state will have one dying gasp of an attempt by hiring a promoter, not giving him any tools and telling him to go ahead and run the track into the black.

And that's going to be too bad, because this track, and big-time racing in Wisconsin, is on life support. It's miracle time, but I'm saddened to believe that we are out of Milwaukee Mile miracles.