Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. We were going to use today's forum to address whether the Brewers' loss to the Cubs Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field was the most depressing regular-season defeat in franchise history and the most deflating since Game 7 of the 1982 World Series.

But, why go there? Brewers fans already have endured a season's worth of depression in the past three weeks.

Instead, we'll draw inspiration from the various "truth squads" who are vetting presidential campaign promises and use today's discussion to debunk a few common Wisconsin sports myths. Take a look, use the Talkback feature to add your own and get out and enjoy what's left of summer.

Myth: The Brewers still have a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

Reality: No, they don't. They're 2 games behind Philadelphia in the wild-card race with eight games left.

Myth: Hot dogs and bratwurst taste better at the ballpark.

Reality: I can make them better on my own grill. Peanuts, however, always taste better at the stadium.

Myth: Jeff Suppan is a "big-game" pitcher.

Reality: Tense is everything in that sentence Suppan posted a 3-3 record and 3.00 earned run average in nine post-season starts with St. Louis. He was the MVP of the National League Championship Series in 2006, which prompted the Brewers to offer him $42 million to pitch big games for them over four seasons.

In his biggest starts with the team, he got creamed Sunday in Philadelphia and allowed five runs in 15 pitches Friday night in Cincinnati.

The games were big; Suppan's performance was small; so small, in fact, that you wonder or the Brewers are hiding an injury.

Myth: Ben Sheets is "soft."

Reality: He may be prone to injury. He's definitely unlucky. But, anybody who insinuates that Sheets left the mound Wednesday night in Chicago because he was "afraid" of pitching in a big game is a little off base.

During recent broadcasts, FSN Wisconsin analysts Bill Schroeder and Jeff Cirillo both pointed out Sheets' dwindling velocity and lack of snap on his curveball (Cirillo said it was breaking "from 11 to 4 instead of 12 to 6").

After exiting before the third inning Wednesday, Sheets admitted that he had been feeling pain for weeks and had undergone a cortisone injection, which usually prompts pitchers to miss a start.

People who think Sheets is "soft" may hate this question, but what if the guy actually was being "heroic" by pitching through pain? Whatever his health, you'd be pressed to prove that he was intimidated by the enormity of the situation.

Consider the track record: Sheets pitched the U.S. team to victory in the gold medal game at the Sydney Olympics; He's turned in big performances as the Brewers' most prolific opening day starter; and, he pitched pretty well as the National League starter in the All-Star Game this summer at Yankee Stadium.

Consider the circumstance. Sheets is heading into free agency this winter. He's trying to earn big bucks. How smart was it for him to let potential employers know that he is facing a potentially frightening elbow problem that necessitated a cortisone shot?

Myth: Ned Yost is an idiot.

Reality: You may disagree with his lineups, strategy and utilization of the bullpen. But, Yost builds computers from scratch and you can't deny the fact that he had the Brewers 24 games over .500 for the first time since 1992. The same "idiot" who presided over the beginning of this team's ugly downward spiral was in charge during a 20-7 run in August.

Yost's record with the Brewers was 457-502, a winning percentage of .477. Atlanta's Bobby Cox, Yost's mentor and an almost certain Hall of Famer, was 464-495 (.483) in his first 959 games as a manager.

Myth: The Brewers blew a big lead in September for the second year in a row.

Reality: This year, they entered the final month with a 5 ½-game lead and puked it away. Last year, they beat the rush and blew the biggest part of the lead early. They were 8 ½ games in front of the division on June 22, when they were 42-31. They went 41-48 the rest of the way. They were ahead by a game on Sept. 11 and tied on Sept. 12. They ended up going 9-8 down the stretch and lost the division by two games.

This year, a 9-8 finish would have led to champagne showers.

Myth: It was general manager Doug Melvin's idea to fire Ned Yost.

Reality: That one had to come from upstairs. Melvin is too deliberate to make a shocking, panic-driven move like firing the manager with 12 games left and your team tied for the wild-card lead.

The move was bold and shocking, but it doesn't paint Attanasio as an impulsive, impetuous owner. If he follows it up by firing Melvin this winter, we can have that discussion.

Attanasio, who probably lost about $50 million in the market the morning before firing his manager, has been patient and deliberate to date. In analyzing the situation, he probably realized the absurdity of deciding Yost's fate based on 12 games.

Think about it: Conventional wisdom dictated that if the Brewers made the playoffs, Yost would receive a contract extension. If they were eliminated, he'd be fired. A smart businessman would be reluctant to give a promotion / raise to an employee who barely met the minimum standard in a performance review.

Attanasio's had two options: extend Yost's deal and proclaim faith in his manager; or, fire the guy. The fact that many fans had it in for Yost probably made the decision easier. But, the truth is that Attanasio probably had an itch to fire Yost a few times during the past few years and was convinced by Melvin not to do it.

And in other sports ...

Myth: Brett Favre wanted out of Green Bay and manufactured the entire summer soap opera to facilitate his exit. (He just failed to land in his desired location, Minnesota).

Reality: When you watch Favre now, you get the feeling that he'd give anything for a time machine that would allow him to tell the Packers he was coming back. He just doesn't seem happy with the Jets.

Myth: Coaching is important in the Ryder Cup.

Reality: Golf is an individual sport. The role of the captain is grossly overrated. The captain may pick the teams, but even that's not really important. On the PGA Tour, guys are paired with players they like and dislike and it doesn't affect their performance.

Myth: Packers general manager Ted Thompson has a massive ego and personnel moves to show how "smart" he is.

Reality: Everyone in sports has an ego. Thompson doesn't flaunt his. His sole goal is to make the Packers a winner and a majority of NFL owners would like to have him managing their rosters.

Myth: Paying for a ticket to a game gives you the right to scream, boo and harass players with personal insults.

Reality: You can boo anybody you want, but if you use profanity and invective that goes beyond the pale, you're a bigger loser than the player you are booing.

Myth: All of Burlington is cheering for the Cowboys to beat the Packers because of favorite son Tony Romo.

Reality: I talked to a bunch of people in that fair city this week. For most, the perfect result would be for Romo to have a great individual game in a losing effort.

Myth: Sports columnists are infallible experts on all matters whose opinions are reasoned, rigid and rock solid.

Reality: Most opinions aren't worth the cyber paper they're typed on, and they can change in about 10 minutes.