The NBA is back, the Green Bay Packers continue their domination and some jerk weighs in on the Aaron Rodgers-Brett Favre made up debate.
Ah, the world of sports.
Let's start with the NBA where after a delay worthy of Republicans in Congress, we are finally going to get back down to business.
The question, of course, is what kind of business. Nobody on the outside really cares all that much about the split between players and owners of the dreaded BRI (basketball related income).
What we do care about is that our team (in this case the Milwaukee Bucks) actually might have a chance some time to play for an NBA title. We aren't asking for an every year thing. But once in awhile would be nice.
That's one of the selling points of this agreement. They still don't have the kind of revenue sharing they need, but they have made the luxury tax (you get hit with this when your payroll exceeds some limit) much more severe, thereby ostensibly keeping the wealthy and crazy (read Mark Cuban) from buying an NBA title.
What this means, they tell us, is that judgment of players, acquisition of players, coaching of players will be much more important than the buying of players.
It's a great concept, if it works. But, like they say, the devil's in the details, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Meantime, John Hammond...you're up.
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And now our Packers and trying to find the answer to the question, "Just how good are they?"
Of course you can use the numbers. The Packers have a helmet-full of numbers and more numbers and even more numbers. After awhile you become numb to the numbers.
There's the offense that seems to be able to score however many points are needed to win a game. There's the defense that gives up lots of yards but seems to be able to make big plays when needed.
Those kind of things make a good team, even a championship team. But great?
Like the Lombardi Packers or the Chuck Noll/Terry Bradshaw Steelers or the Don Shula Dolphins. Those were great team, with or without statistics on their side.
These Packers, maybe, just maybe. They already seem to have risen above the rank of really, really good powerhouse teams. Now it's time to see if they can climb into the ranks of greatness.
I would not bet against them.
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And finally ESPN's Rick Reilly and his created battle between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
I know Rick Reilly. He used to be a good sportswriter. Now he's a sad entertainer, like Pee Wee Herman or Richard Simmons.
It must have been a tough week because he just wrote a column saying that fans had to pick whether they loved Favre or Rodgers.
He wrote, "You're either a Brett Favre man or an Aaron Rodgers man. Can't be both, same way you can't be a Sara Lee man and a Slim-Fast man. Not physically possible. Gotta choose. Which are you?"
This fool obviously doesn't know anything about Green Bay Packer fans. We love one quarterback who thrilled us for 16 years. We love another quarterback who has thrilled us for four. They are both great.
We Packer fans love Jim Taylor and John Brockington. We love Ray Nitzchske and Clay Matthews. We love Greg Koch and Brian Bulaga.
One thing about us Packer fans: We got lots of love for our guys. Reilly says we have to choose. Go take a jump, Reilly.
We don't have to choose. So there.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
