Hello friends,

Well this afternoon the Milwaukee Brewers will do something they haven't done in 26 years and that is play a postseason game against the Philadelphia Phillies. I watched the game Sunday when the Brewers and CC Sabathia clinched the wildcard against the Chicago Cubs 3-1 and beat out the New York Mets who lost 4-2 to the Florida Marlins so the Brewers won the wildcard playoff spot by one game on the last day of the season.

It reminded me of the 1982 season when the Brewers and that season's late season pitching acquisition (like Sabathia this year), Don Sutton beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-2 in a game that was a 5-2 game in the bottom of the eighth inning when Brewers leftfielder Ben Oglivie made a sliding catch to help preserve the Brewers lead that day.

The Brewers won the American League East  that day by one game over the Orioles. Remember younger fans, the Brewers played in the American League from 1970-1997 and there was no wildcard position in those days.

The September of 1982 and 2008 were eerily similar in that the Brewers entered September with a fairly comfortable 5 or 6 game lead and then started losing ground and had to fight, scratch, claw and avoid a major collapse which they did both years when they sent their newly acquired pitching sensations Sutton in 1982 and CC Sabathia this year to the mound in the final game to save the season and get into the playoffs.

In that 1982 final regular season game Don Sutton beat fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and the Orioles who had won the previous three games of the four game series that weekend in Baltimore to tie the Brewers on the final day of the regular season. It looked like a major collapse for the Brewers until Sutton and the offense finally secured the game in the 9th inning with five runs to put the game away.

A couple other sidenotes and similarities about the two playoff runs are interesting. Earlier that final week of the 1982 season the Brewers were in Boston and needed a win that became very important in the end. A backup catcher named Ned Yost, yes the very same man who was fired as the Brewers manager this year hit one of the most important and somewhat forgotten home runs in Brewers history. Yost hit a three run homer to beat the Red Sox. The reason the homer turned out to be so important was if he hadn't hit it the Brewers would have likely had to win two games in Baltimore that final weekend and the Orioles and their frenzied fans were charging hard after the Brewers before the Brewers finally pulled it out in the final game to win the division.

Another similarity between the two years was that the Brewers fired their manager to begin the season both years. In 1982 the popular Harvey Kuehn sp? took over for Bob "Buck" Rodgers in May of that year when the Brewers had a losing record. This year of course Ned Yost was fired fairly or unfairly your opinion after putting the Brewers in a great position and interim manager Dale Sveum sp? helped to finish the job and finally get the Brewers back into the postseason.

To sum this up it is a wonderful surprise to see the small market Brewers back in the playoffs. No offense to the high salaried New York Mets and their fans who the media seemed to cover more in losing than they did the Brewers in winning. But  that's the way it is with a small market team like the Brewers sometimes and that is why this postseason apperance is so special to me for a team I have been following and attended several games over the last 31 years as a fan.

I think the Phillies will beat the Brewers in the five game series. I hope I'm wrong. CC Sabathia pitches Game 2 and a possible Game 5. The Brewers need the rest of the starting rotation to pitch well along with the bullpen. They also need some timely hitting and and some small ball manufactured runs to go along with Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and thetr power hitters and less strikeouts and leaving men on base as well.

If they do they will have a chance to repeat their 1982 playoff success when they beat the Angels 3-2 in the ALCS. After falling behind two game to none the Brewers won the last three at home to clinch their only pennant led by Cecil Cooper's big 7th inning hit in that game to put the Brewers ahead to stay. In the World Series they played hard but lost to the St Louis Cardinals in 7 games.The Cardinals Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter striking out Gorman Thomas to end the series has stuck in my mind for 26 years. Today FINALLY we will get to see another BREWERS PLAYOFF GAME. Well friends I hope your teams do well if they are in the playoffs. I have three favorites myself in the Brewers, Red Sox and Cubs which could be interesting to watch as the playoffs progress for me but I'm excited and ready to get them all playing today. What a great tripleheader for me today as all thuse teams play and then the other small market surprise the Tampa Bay Rays play the Chicago White Sox starting tommorow.

Best wishes and talk soon friends. Have a great October. It's a wonderful month for sports with the baseball playoffs, football heating up, hockey starting and basketball going back to training camp. There all four sports plus others like NASCAR and soccer to keep most sports fans interested. Well have a great and productive day friends and take care friends. fenfan  

Hello friends,

This is a blog about Wisconsin teams and what happened this past weekend with the Badgers, Packers and Brewers. And hello to my friend and mentor the fishrmn. I hope this satisfies your craving for Wisconsin sports and a nice win for the Packers Sunday against the Lions.

Aaron Rodgers is playing well and passed for over 200 yards, but the Packers defense blew a 21 point lead before Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense rescued them again and came up big in a 48-25 win over the poor Detroit Lions football team Sunday. It will be much tougher this week as the Packers face the high powered Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football. We'll see how good both of those teams are in a big early season matchup. As for that other great Packers ex quarterback Brett Favre he and the New York Jets didn't do as well losing to the New England Patriots 16-10 even without injured Tom Brady

Saturday night the Wisconsin Badgers went out to Fresno, California and beat Fresno State 13-10 in a game that non BCS school Fresno State was calling the biggest game in school history. Meanwhile a few hours away in Los Angeles the number one ranked USC Trojans pummeled another Big Ten school Ohio State 35-3. Going into the game Ohio State was ranked fifth in the country and Wisconsin was ranked 10th. After Wisconsin's win they climbed to 8th and Ohio State fell to 13th in the national rankings making Wisconsin the only Big Ten school currently in the top ten in the country.

Now I'm not an expert who knows all my X and O's about football but I have a few reasons why I like Wisconsin as a football team and would like to see them take on a few of the bigger boys in college football while Ohio State still a very good football team in the Big Ten an country is a little overrated as a national power. They proved that Saturday night  against USC and getting blown out in the last two national championship games. I'm also not talking about Ohio State being a power in the Big Ten. Yes they can beat Michigan and Wisconsin and others, but how did they get to the national championship game last year after losing in conference to Illinois. There is a flaw in the BCS system there without a playoff..

Now call me crazy but these are a few of the resons I like Wisconsin and think they would have given USC a better game even if they didn't beat them which they could if they had excellent execution and USC made a few mistakes or turnovers like they did when they lost to Stanford in the LA Colliseum last year.

The Wisconsin Badgers are a team that starting with former coach and now athletic director Barry Alvarez and current head coach Bret Bilema sp? have been a ball control running offense with short passes and a bend but dont break defense which tries to minimize a lot of yardage especially as a tem gets closer to the goal line in the red zone which is the 20 yard line to the goal line.

Now I know the Badgers don't have as much speed or talent as USC so they have to try to shorten the field and control the clock. Teams like Ohio State and Michigan have tried to play with USC in a high firepower offense and have gotten burned by teams with more explosive talent like USC. I think that is one of the reasons the slower and more methodical Big Ten teams have had trouble winning out of conference especially against national powers.

But a program like Wisconsin has found a way to make that slower game work to their advantage by contolling the clock with mostly the run and short passes and not turning the ballover a lot. The bend but don't break defense has kept them in a lot of games as well. Instead of playing and trying to match USC as a high powered football team which I think Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois  last year in the Rose Bowl and others have, I think Wisconsin by playing to their strengths while still outmatched in someways could have a better chance with a strength and finesse game to better comete with the USC's and other national powers.

There have been different players obviously but look at Wisconsin's postseason success the last 15 years or so under the Barry Alvarez program. Three Rose Bowls all wins, three victories over UCLA including twie in the Rose Bowl game which is UCLA's home stadium. Also victories over SEC teams Auburn and Arkansas and a victory over BIG 12 team Colorado among others. Plus Wisconsin and their fans travel very well with their support. They basically took over the Rose Bowl stadium at what was UCLA's home field. In the Rose Bowl the last 30 years or so, the rest of the Big Ten has a few victories by Michigan and Ohio State. one by Penn State and Michigan State and losses by Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Northwestern. Minnesota and Indiana haven't been to the Rose Bowl for decades.

Now I'm not saying Wisconsin is going to win the national championship necessarily. But I do think they have a program that has shown that they can compete on a national level regularly. They are also currently the only Big Ten team ranked in the Top 10 after Ohio State's loss. I would just like to see them play a more difficult nonconference schedule with at leat one top power caliber opponent from the Pac10, SEC or Big 12 which no offense to the Eastern schools in the Big East and ACC which have some pretty good teams too, are probably the best BCS conferences along with the Big Ten. That way I think we can determine a litlle better where Wisconsin stands nationally along with what they have accomplished. so far. At least we could say they've played someone big nffense with respect to the great victory over Fresno State this year.

Anyway those are my thoughts as someone who has watched Wisconsin football and other college football as well. Although there is so much college football to digest that anyone with more experience could tell me otherwise. That is just my opinion from my little corner of the world watching a lot of Badgers and Big Ten Footballalthough I watch nationally as well to an extent and of course I want my opinions to be broader so let me know what you think ok friends.

Finally the Milwaukee Brewers have struggled lately in losing 11 of 14 games in September and are now currently tied with the Philadelphia Phillies having blown their lead in the wildcard temporarily. They have also fired their manager Ned Yost who led them this far to an 83-67 record to shake things up for this still young and inexperienced team who is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982. We'll see what happens but ultimately the players play the game and new interim manager and former Brewers player Dale Sweum sp? will take some of the blame as the manager along with Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Good luck to the Brewers.

Take care and talk soon friends. Have a great and productive day and best wishes always. fenfan

.

Hello friends,

Just a short comment to say I think it would be wrong for the official scorer or major league baseball to change  Milwaukee Brewers pitcher CC Sabathia's controversial one hitter to a no hitter after the fact even if tape showed it looked like an error. Nobody knows what would have happened if it had been called an error. The next batter might have hit a home run. Things can change in an instant in a baseball game even if the facts later show the no hitter would have been accomplished if the call were different. Secondly by awarding someone a no hitter there would be no joy and celebration of jumping around after the accomplishment.
I  remember something like this happened at the Indianapolis 500  in 1981 where Bobby Unser won the race, had it taken away from him the next day for a controversial pass by Mario Andretti and then several weeks later the victory was rehanded back to Bobby Unser after a court ruling. I hope that  doesn't happen here with major league baseball.

I'm personally a Milwaukee Brewers fan and I've waited over 20 years to see another no hitter since Juan Nieves pitched the Brewers only no hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in 1987. Whenever it happens again I want  to see it  done the right way on the field with the celebration after and not days or weeks later in a judgement ruling.

CC Sabathia was the only one not  really upset on the Brewers team and management who filed a protest with major league baseball to change the call. The official scorer has a tough enough job and everyone should respect his decision, because changing it won't bring back the spontaneous joy of the moment.

That's my opinion friends. Let me know what you think and we'll talk soon again. Best wishes and have a great and productive day. fenfan

Hello friends,

Well were almost at the end of August and before football season starts and the kids head back to school I wanted to talk about the wildcard race in baseball and one of my favorite teams the  Milwaukee Brewers and also I wanted to say a few of my own closing thoughts on the just completed Olympic games.

First the Brewers who are trying to make the playoffs for the first time in 26 seasons since 1982 and who are currently leading the St Louis Cardinals by 3 1/2 games in the wildcard race while trailing the Chicago Cubs by 5 games in the National League Central Race. Now while I wish the Brewers were playing as well as the league leading best record in baseball Cubs I'm also kind of glad the Brewers are in the position they are in now as the wildcard leader.

First off the Brewers haven't made the playoffs in 26 years so any playoff position would be great for the franchise and fans especially since Milwaukee is a small market and these opportunities don't come along that often in baseball without a salary cap. Second with the way baseball is set up now a team doesn't always need to win the division and has the wildcard to fall back on if their record is good enough. If baseball went by the best records in the league it would be Chicago, Milwaukee, St Louis and the New York Mets and the National League West Leader the Arizona Diamonbacks would be left out of the playoffs.

But at least we have a wildcard and a lot of times they are the hotter team playing better heading into the playoffs and several times such as the Florida Marlins twice, the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and the Angels in 2002 went on to win the World Series. And last year the Colorado Rockies won 21 of 22 to get to the World Series and this year they have a losing record.

So the moment is fleeting and a small market team like the Brewers especially has to strike while the iron is hot and they currently have star pitchers CC Sabathia acquired in a midseason trade and Ben Sheets who they wil both probably lose at the end of the season in free agency.

So the Brewers should go for it now and they are. The next couple nights they play their final two games with St Louis their  nearest wildcard challenger and could start to put them further back if they sweep them. The Brewers also have six games left in September to try to catch the Cubs, but they don't need to as long as they hold off the Cardinals and the rest of the wildcard contenders.

A division title and the best record like the Cubs currently have is nice, but it won't  mean a thing other than home field advantage in the National League playoffs. History shows you can see the Atlanta Braves won 15 division titles and went to 4 World Series in the 1990s and 2000s but won only one World Series in 1995 while their division competitor the Florida Marlins have had two playoff appearances via the wildcard, no division titles and two world championships in 1997 and 2003. And just ask the Cubs how the Marlins beat them  in Chicago in Game 6 and 7 to get to the 2003 World Series.

So as you can see division titles and home field advantage aren't always the most important thing. Just getting to the playoffs and being the hotter team is even nicer. That division title t shirt and cap looks nice for a week or so but without the pennant or World Series victory it means less.

I'm personally pulling for both the Brewers and Cubs as I grew up in Milwaukee and have always liked the Cubs before the Brewers went to the National League in 1998 and made the rivals with the Cubs. So we'll see what happens as we head into the final month of the pennant race in Septemner.

Finally a few closing thoughts about the just completed Olympics games in Bejing, China  which for the most part went remarkably well as far as the action and presentation of the games. Yes there was a terrible tragedy with the shooting death of the in laws of the USA mens volleyball coach and China has some human rights issues but we'll leave that to political talk.

But as far as presentation of the games which was excellent and the action from Michael Phelps 8 gold medals, Usain Bolt's 3 gold medals in track and the USA men's and women's basketball golds among many others. It was a succesful Olympic Games and one of the better ones in history. We'll look forward to future Olympics but China was definiely a unique and memorable games. I wish baseball and softball weren't being cut from the games and hope they return in the future. I'd also like to see golf and bowling added. If you can think of any other sports you'd like to see let me know. The Olympics has it's stars for sure but it's also about the common athlete in sports like archery, badmitton and water polo among others. The Olympics is their time to shine like when I watched a German weightlifter lift a world record of pounds over his head. Truly amazing. Anyway it's fun to watch these Olympic games every two to four years as they split the Winter and Summer Games every two years now.

Take care and best wishes friends and have a great and productive day always. fenfan

Hi friends,

I'm getting into the baseball races and my favorite teams, the Brewers, Red Sox and Cubs as they're all in contention and all have the chance to make the playoffs in the same year for the first time. We'll see and I'll discuss my favorite and most memorable moments.

But first a short paragraph to say I'm officially sick of Brett Favre and the Packers saga to see who can outdo each other and blink first. Go away or get back together. But other than giving the media and us bloggers something to talk about.  But What  exactly are we talikng about? Exactly until a decision is made it is all talk and rumors and sports talk radio. I've lost some respect for Brett Favre and the Packers, whatever happens. Let Aaron Rodgers have his time and don't make me laugh with talk of Brett Favre as a backup in Green Bay. Seriously how long would that last. At this rate just as long as these  rumors. Here today Yesterdays news tommorow. Let history go on Brett and save your legacy. You'll never be a Purple People Eater. Vikings or anyone else. The Packers would be foolish to release you because of his legacy with the team but at the same time they have to make the right decisions for the team. Good luck Packers.

Now onto my favorite baseball teams and memories. It's July and for the first time in a long time all three of  my favorite baseball teams are in contention and the thought of them making the postseason brings back some good and not so good memories for me. Maybe it's because it's the week of the ESPY's awards, moments and lists so here goes

First the top 5 great memories with honorable mention for me for my favorite teams the Brewers, Red Sox and Cubs.

1} Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years in 2004 and a 0-3  hole and comeback against the Yankees to win the AL Pennant. What could beat that!

2} The Brewers win the ALCS in 1982 coming from 0-2 down against the Angels. Has it really been 26 years since the Brewers last postseason appearance?  Hopefully that changes soon.

3} The Cubs win the NL East dvision title and first postseason appearance in 39 years in 1984 and the summer of the famous Ryne Sandberg two home run game against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

4} The Carlton Fisk game winning home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. It didn't win the World Series for the Red Sox, but other than the Red Sox actually finally winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007 has there been a bigger or more memorable winning moment in Red Sox history?  It felt like they won for a night and all time as a great moment even if they didn't end up winning the World Series.that year or for 29 more years.

5] The David Henderson home run off Donnie Moore in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS to put them ahead and start their comeback to win the series against the Angels that year. Finally the Brewers 13 game winning streak and famous Easter Day Sunday comeback against the Rangers in April 1987. Paul Molitor also hit in 39 straight games that summer only behind Pete Rose at 44 games and Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak in 1941. Will that hitting streak ever be broken along with Ted Williams of the Red Sox .406 batting average that year.

Sorry Cubs fans you weren't included more in the good moments. Maybe this will be the year to change that after 100 years since their last World Series championship.

 As for the moments I'll unfortunately never forget.

1) Bill Buckner. It wasn't really your fault, Pitchers Cavin Schiraldi, Bob Stanley and manager John MacNamara take greater blame but his error and the Red Sox one strike from ultimate victory will never be forgotten from Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets.

2)  Bruce Sutter and the Cardinals striking out Gorman Thomas of the Brewers to win Game 7 of the 1982 World Series. I've wanted the Brewers to win that Game 7 ever since and 26 years later Brewers fans are still waiting.

3) The Steve Bartman moment and the Cubs 5 outs from going to the World Series against the Marlins in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Stop blaming Bartman, give him public forgiveness and let the baseball reasons and Cubs futility to win when it counts take over rational thoughts Cubs fans and stop blowing up helpless baseballs to end curses. Billy goat and black cat curses as well for that matter.

4) Two Yankee Home runs that will live in Red Sox infamy. Bucky Dent in the 1978 AL East playoff game and Aaron Boone in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS . Two tough losses but a comeback after an 0-3 start in the 2004 put away the Curse of the Bambino/ Babe Ruth forever.

5} The Cubs 9 game lead and collapse against the Mets in 1969 and the Brewers 8 1/2  game lead and collapse in the division race against the Cubs last year. As a fan of both teams why did the Brewers have to join the National League and same division as the Cubs but in another way it's made their rivalry more fun to watch.

In conclusion if you've stayed reading with me this long  thank you and  I'm sorry for being long winded  friends... If not I'm sorry for your boredom  and I'm just nostalgic about sports memories. My apologies. Anyways as I said earlier I hope this Brett Favre situation blows over so we can get on with life and on to some great football with or without Brett Favre. Believe it or not Green Bay you still have a good team without Mr Favre. Take care, best wishes and talk soon friends. Have a great and productive day. fenfan 

Hello friends,

Well a big trade has been made in major league baseball and we'll see if it can help one of the smaller market teams in the league, the Milwaukee Brewers to win and finally make the playoffs for the first time in 26 years since 1982.

The Brewers traded four minor leaguers and top prospects to the Cleveland Indians for  2007 Cy Young winner CC Sabathia. The Indians who came within one game of the World Series are struggling in last place this year while the young small market and somewhat financially stapped Brewers are trying to strike while the iron's hot for success in major league baseball without a salary cap especially for small market teams like the Brewers.

Teams like the Brewers have to build within the farm system and a few small trades. When they pick up a big star like CC Sabathia who they very well might lose to free agency along with the other Brewers pitching star Ben Sheets.

So they're going to try to go for postseason success now. Coming off their first winning season (83-79) last year, the Brewers are trying to see if they can take their young hitting talent All Star Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Bill Hall, Corey hart and JJ Hardy and good, young and veteran pitching to see if they can make their first postseason trip since the 1982 World Series.

The Brewers have the longest  postseason drought for a team that has won a playoff spot in a 162 game season.The only team with a longer postseason drought is the former Montreal Expos/now Washington Nationals who made their only postseason appearence in the strike shortened 1981 season which doesn't count as much to me in that regard of acheiving success in a full season.

Anyway you know I also like the Red Sox and Cubs who have had their own championship droughts over the years. The Red Sox finally won 2 World Series this decade after 86 years and they'll never have enough to catch the Yankees who have 26 World Series titles. The Cubs are trying to conquer their own demons of 100 years without a World Series title. But one of the differences between those teams and the Brewers and other smaller market teams like the Brewers, Pirates, Royals and another success story this year the Rays is money.

Without a salary cap things are not even financially and the Brewers 26 year playoff drought is almost similar to the Cubs !00 year drought in that regard I think. Milwaukee is a great and underrated major league baseball town. Before the Brewers arrived Milwaukee had the Braves who now of course are in Atlanta. But from 1953-1965 the Braves had the heart of Milwaukee and went to two World Series led by hitter Henry Aaron and Eddie Matthews and pitchers Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette.

The Braves beat  the New York Yankees in seven games in 1957 for Milwaukee's only World Series Championship and lost in seven games also to the Yankees in 1958. Then in 1982 the Brewers then in the American League lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. But since St Louis reliever and now Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter struck out Brewers slugger Gorman Thomas to end that series and give the Cardinals the championship, the Brewers haven't been back in the postseason. Now the Brewers can blame the small market imbalance as some teams like the Pirates or Royals have. Or they can embrace and deal with the system and go for postseason success as other small market  teams like the Twins and A's have and the small market Colorado Rockies went all the way to the World Series last year and the Florida Marlins once won the World Series with approximately a 60 million dollar patroll in 2003.

So in conclusion postseason success is possible for a small market team like the Brewers. For long term success the  Brewers team management has to be a little craftier and kep retooling the minor league system and talent crop of players. And then every once in a while they can bring in a star pitcher like CC Sabathia even it's only for the short term and they might lose him after the season to free agency. But at least they're trying while the iron is hot and see where it goes from there. So Good Luck Brewers and we'll be following your progress and success and I hope the can win along with teams like the Rays for smaller market teams in baseball.

The Brewers aren't guaranteed success with getting CC Sabathia and I think the bullpen is still shaky. Blowing a 5-0 lead in the ninth inning last week at Arizona didn't help confidence, but if they keep working at it maybe they'll find their way and their first postseason appaerance since 1982 whether it be the wildcard which they're currently tied with the Cardinals or the NL Central where they're 4 back of the Cubs at this point.

Take care friends and have a great and productive day. Best wishes and talk soon. fenfan

Hello friends,

Well the final four is set in basketball and hockey and the first full day of baseball is Monday. Yeah!! For the first time in NCAA Men's Basketball History amazingly four number one seeds made the Final Four. North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas which survived a close scare from 10th seeded Davidson in the final regional final winning 59-57.

I got half of my Final Four right picking traditional powers North Carolina who I have as my national champion and UCLA. My other two Final Four picks were favorite teams of mine and good teams but they just didn't have enough as Wisconsin got upset by Davidson in the round of 16 and then Texas lost in the regional final to Memphis who finally shot some good free throws believe it. Also Sunday night the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team lost in their regional final at home in overtime 3-2 to North Dakota so there will be no Frozen Four for them this year.

Anyway I'm looking forward to the first full day of regular season in Baseball on Monday March 31 as early and cold as it is. My teams the Boston Red Sox are trying to repeat and dominate baseball the next 86 years as much as the Yankees dominated the previous 86 years to 2004. No matter how much the Red Sox win it wont be enough to overcome the 86 years without a championship. And how about the Chicago Cubs who are staring at least their 100th season without a championship. Will this be the year?! Cubs fans can only hope and will keep hoping and waiting until it happens. Boy what a party that will be when they win. I hope we all live to see it! As for my third favorite team, my hometown growing up, the Milwaukee Brewers they finally had a winning season at 83-79 for the first time in 15 years. Now can their young team win the division or wildcard and make their first playoff apperance since the 1982 World Series. With their young hitters led by 50 plus home run hitter Prince Fielder and hopefully some improved pitching, defense and lessons from their mistakes last year and the Brewers have some chance for success this year. Only the team now called the Washington Nationals formerly known Montreal Expos have a longer postseason drought by one year since 1981 and that was a strike interrupted season meaning that franchise has never gone to the playoffs in a 162 game season. By the way did you see the National's home opener against the Atlanta Braves at their new park Nationals Park where Ryan Zimmerman hit a game winning home run in the ninth inning in the first game at their new park. Exciting and hopefully the first of many great moments this baseball season. I wish your teams well except against mine of course. It's great to be a sports fan especially at championship time and Opening Day and that's where we are today with the Final Four and start of the new baseball season. Enjoy it while you can. If your team isn't good they could be out of it in a matter of weeks. And then we'll look forward to the NBA/NHL playoffs, the NFL Draft and NFL News constantly and all the other summer sports ahead before football season. So take care friends, crack open a cold beverage and good food and enjoy your sports action the next several weeks and months. Best wishes and talk soon. Have a great and productive day always. fenfan

Hello friends,

We'll we have a week or so to go in the baseball regular season and the race is getting tight for my two or three favorite teams. The Brewers are one game behind the Cubs as I write today and the Red Sox lead is down to a game and a half over the Yankees. First the Brewers. No matter what happens the rest of the season as they try to win the NL Central it's been an exciting and breakout season for the team and they'll finally having a winning record at the very least and I think there is hope for the future at last even though they are one of the smallest markets they have very good ownership management and a nucleus of young players led by Prince Fielder who could win MVP in the National League and has set the Brewers new nome run record already with at least 47 homers so far. And Ryan Braun for Rookie of the Year would be great as well. The one thing I am concerned about is the pitching both starting and relief. WE need more consistency and less reliablity on just Ben Sheets. Youvanni Galardo is an excitng young pitcher. As for the home runs and the nicknames I recently realized they need a nickname as they approach the all time single season record of the team 216 homers set by the 1982 pennant winners led by then manager Harvey Kuenn and his team of sluggers nicknamed HARVEYS WALL####ERS. Before that the team was led by manager George Bamberger and were nicknamed BAMBIS BOMBERS with much of the same bunch of players. So what should we call this team led by current  Brewers manager Ned Yost who also played on those 82 Brewers as a catcher and hit a big home run in the last week of the season at Boston. As for the current nickname how about Yost's YardSwingers or Yos't YardSticks. Or you could have Ned's Knockers or Bernie's Broomsticks after Bernie Brewer who slides down after every Brewer home run. Anyway this team needs a nickname and I'm asking you along with some friends I have in Milwaukee as well. I'ts just a fun thing to think about for an exciting young team. As for my big market Red Sox who once had a 14 1/2 game lead AGAIN over the Yankees only to see it almost go away. I want to see them win the division really bad even though there's a wild card because even with all the great success and long awaited World Series championship in 2004,  winning the division is still the one thing they haven't done in the highly successful era of the Yankees under manager Joe Torre which started in 1996. The Red Sox last division winner was in 1995 which was a strike shortened season as well. Two years ago the Red Sox led the division for most of the season before losing it in the final weekend to the Yankees and while they still had the wildcard they were then swept by the then to be World Series champion White Sox and that was defintely a let down . That's why I don't want to go in as the wildcard. Yes it worked for them in the past such as 2004 when the Red Sox won the World Series and beat the Yankees coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. But I still wan't to win the division over the Yankees who have tortured and beaten the Red Sox so many times and that would make me happy no matter what. Anyway let me know what you think friends and we'll talk soon again. Best wishes and have a great and productive day. fenfan

Hello Friends,

Today I want to talk about my old hometown team the Milwaukee Brewers and their quest for an NL Central Division title and why you should root for them if you want to that is.

Milwaukee has a rich baseball tradition going back to the old Milwaukee Braves which won the World Series beating the Yankees in 1957 and they had minor league baseball before that with the old Brewers who were first an original American League team in 1903 and then became a minor league team after that until the Braves came to Milwaukee from Boston in 1953.

After the Braves left Milwaukee for Atlanta after 1965 Milwaukee looked for a new baseball team and finally found one in March 1970 when the Seattle Pilots went bankrupt and Bud Selig yes the same one who is commisioner today bought the team and brought them to Milwaukee. Twelve years later in 1982 after a playoff appearnce in strike shotened 1981 the Brewers finally won the American League pennant beating the California Angels in five games before losing to the St Louis Cardinals in a tough seven game series led by manager Harvey Kuenn and his team nicknamed Harvey's Wall####ers.

After that tough World Series loss it's been 25 years since the Brewers made the playoffs, 15 years since they've had a winning season and other than 1987 when they won 13 in a row to start the season and Paul Molitor had a 39 game hitting streak the Brewer fans haven't had much to cheer about other than Robin Yount's 3000th hit in the last winning year for the Brewers 92-70 in 1992. Also in 1998 the Brewers moved to the National League becoming the first modern team to switch leagues and bring back the city's National League heritage  which started with the Milwaukee Braves

Since then it's been a lot of losing seasons except for a .500 season two years ago. Milwaukee is a small market baseball team in a sport without a salary cap and they are often forgotten or dismissed because of that. They also play in a football crazy state where the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers dominate the headines.

So until the Brewers started winning again this year with an owner from Los Angeles Mark Attafonso sp? who was willing to spend some money, good management led by general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost. They and the farm system have put together a great bunch of young players like Prince Fielder, JJ Hardy, RicKie Weeks, Corey Hart, Bill Hall and Ryan Braun who could be the NL Rookie of the Year. He hit a big home run in the ninth inning in Houston last week to help the Brewers come back and win a game there and stay in the lead in the NL Central.

The Brewers have struggled lately after being 14 games over .500 twice this season and having an 8 1/2 game lead at one point. Now it is only a 1 1/2 game lead and the team is struggling which is to be expected with a young and inexperienced team. But they are also very talented and have had heart to hang in there when things have gotten tough and they have started losing. Fortunately they also play in a weaker division as well. Still with all due respect to the great Cubs and Cardinals fans it would be especially nice if the small market Brewers could perservere and pull together to win this NL Central title 25 years after their only World Series appearance and 50 years after the Braves only World Series title in 1957. Perhaps a Brewers playoff appearance could spark a slogan Every 25 years in Milwaukee they have a winner in baseball. It's been a long time coming friends and they don't have the advantages that the Yankees, Red Sox who you know I also like and even the Cubs with their almost 100 years without a title at least they have more money. So Go Brewers and we'll talk soon friends. If you're a fan of a small market team like the Royals or Pirates you know what I mean. Have a great and productive day friends. Best wishes always. fenfan

Hello Friends,

In this post I wanted to talk about the Milwaukee Brewers who are one of my favorite teams and have started off the season as one of the pleasant young and surprising teams in baseball.

At this writing on Saturday morning May 5 the Brewers have a five game lead in the NL Central which is a bigger division lead than every other division in baseball except my other favorite team the Boston Red Sox who have a 6.5 game lead in their division the AL East but they also have a much bigger payroll and are expected to win every year.

The Milwaukee Brewers on the other hand play in one of the smallest markets in baseball and it's hard to win consistently when there's no salary cap in baseball. So how are the Brewers leading the division by five games with a 20-10 record at this point. They have good young players such as Bill Hall, Prince Fielder, Tony Gwynn Jr, JJ Hardy and Rickie Weeks. They have a few solid veterans like Geoff Jenkins, Johnny Estrada and Kevin Mench among others. The starting pitching is solid with Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan who they signed as a free agent from last years World Champion St Louis Cardinals and their bullpen is good with closers Derrick Turnbow and Fransisco "Coco" Cordero. These are the names of some young lesser known players to remember in Milwaukee.

The Brewers are led in the dugout by manager Ned Yost who played for the Brewers at one time and was on the Atlanta Braves coaching staff previously that won 15 division championships before last year. Add that to a stronger front office and management that is able to spend a little more money and spend it wisely which is key in a small market enviorrnment. Add that all up and you have the key to a successful team even in the small market. Now they won't always be able to sign and keep players like big market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, but if they spend their money wisely, keep their core players and keep developing the farm system then there is a chance for success in Milwaukee and small markets.

This is a special year for the Brewers and the city of Miwaukee because it's been 25 years in 1982 since the Brewers went to their only World Series and last playoff apperance losing to the Cardinals in seven games in the World Series. Also 50 years ago their baseball predecessor in Milwaukee the then Milwaukee Braves won Milwaukee's only baseball world championship defeating the New York Yankees in seven games in 1957. So with that back drop in history could this be the year Milwaukee has it's first winning record since 1992 and makes the playoffs for the first time since 1982. The Detroit Tigers came from the bottom a few years earlier to make the World Series last year. Could a team like the Brewers have some postseason success this year? We'll see but it's a nice start and we'll see where it goes from here. Go Brewers and have a great and productive day friends.

Hello Sports friends,

Well I had a few thoughts this moning about feelings of a few things that have been in the sports headlines in the last few weeks and since it is a fairly slow period after the Super Bowl and my mind wanders from thought to thought sometimes I'm going to go in a few different directions with this blog so bear with me.

First the Boston Celtics ended their 18 game losing streak and I wasn't  surprised at all about the team they did it against the Milwaukee Bucks. I grew up in Milwaukee which is one of the smaller market areas in sports and they've always battled against the image that they have to fight against the bigger boy teams in New York LA Chicago 90 miles to the south of Milwaukee and other cities. So when the Bucks, Brewers or Braves before them when they played in Milwaukee have always had to fight an uphill image against the bigger market teams. In fact in 1957 when the Braves beat the powerful New York Yankees the headlines were Bushville Wins meaning that the town was smaller or minor league so it was a big upset. Now Milwaukee has had it's great sports moments and I leave out the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers because they own the whole state sports wise. Anyways in Milwaukee only they had the Braves win the World Series in 1957 as I mentioned, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Oscar Robertson led the Bucks to their only NBA title in 1971,  the then named Marquette Warriors won an NCAA basketball title in 1977 and the Milwaukee Brewers won the pennant when they played in the American League in 1982 and lost to the St Louis Cardinals in 7 games. Since then there has been nothing for the Milwaukee area sports teams going to the finals or winning a championship. Yes Dwayne Wade did lead Marquette to the Final Four in 2003 but then they got blown out by Kansas in the national semifinals. That's as close as it's gotten for a Milwaukee area team sportswise as far as a championship the last 25 years. They've had a lot of tough losses in the regular season and playoffs just like last night when the little guy underacheiving Milwaukee Bucks were the team that lost to the Boston Celtics. Sorry if I insulted anyone living in Milwaukee and I grew up there watching and rooting for those teams, but that is my opinion of what being a Milwaukee sports fan has been like. I'm sure you've had similar experiences in your sports hometown.

Anyways there are a few other subjects I wanted to briefly comment on. First John Amechi a former NBA player recently came out that he was #### and of course a few comments came out one from a current player Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Lebron James who said that players who didn't admit they were #### were violating a trust issue in the locker room. Also former NBA player Tim Hardaway said he hated and didn't like playing with #### people. Now it is my opinion while both players had the right to speak their mind and it is a controversial touchy subject they should also have feeling for the man John Amechi and his choice. I think he has the right to be whoever he is and say whoever he is and as long as he performs on the playing field and doesn't pass his preferences around the locker room then it should be ok for him to play and speak without retributtion from his teammates. Now there will always be discussion about topics like this and I'm not going to get into my preferences on the subject but I feel the man in this case John Amechi should be able to play and express his feelings as long as he doesn't pass his preferences around the locker room and we should all respect that because that is a tough and courageous admission to come out with. Good luck John Amechi and to all those who are around or speak about you. We've all had a little more education.

Finally this bizarre situation where Dan Hawkins the Colorado head football coach had an outburst to a letter from one of his players parents who said their son was being worked to hard and they didn't have enough vacation time and Hawkins said if they didn't have the commitment then they should play intramurals. Now his team was 2-10 last year and he was trying to fire up his players and all the program, (boosters and parents etc). who follow it. It  just shows the passion of sports and all the feelings and comments that come out of it and I've discussed some of that in this blog today. I hope it has been interesting and sparked interest in discussion taking about sports with you and I know sometimes its better than others but I always give you my honest opinion and feelings about things but you can see that I am passionate about sports and I let that out for better or worse here in the blogs. Anyways in the coming weeks I'll talk about the baseball preview and NCAA basketball tournament or whatever else comes up interesting in sports. Thanks for reading friends, best wishes and always have a great and productive day.

Hello Sports Friends,

I thought I'd try a blog on here today where I talk about the state of my favorite teams. I saw another blogger on here do this. I think he was from the Boston area. Anyways in this past month we've had the State of the Union, the NFL has the State of the NFL with the commisioner at the Super Bowl this week so this is the state of my teams, we'll do it with the pro leagues in this post and see where it goes.

Anyways my number one favorite pro team in sports is the Pittsburgh Steelers who are defending champions for a few more days. They had a rough season being Super Bowl champs, Ben Roethisberger's on and off field injuries, Bill Cowher leaving as coach and now hiring only their third coach in the last 38 years Mike Tomlin. Still as tough a year as it was they rebounded from a 2-6 start to finish 8-8 and I'm proud of them for that.

Number two would be the Boston Red Sox. After winning the World Seies championship in 2004 they have had some injuries and roster changes and of course always have to deal with the Yankees in the AL East. Still they have David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek and Curt Schilling from that team along with a core of good or young players and if they can find a way to get a closer or Jonathon Papelbon, then I think they'll be ok and contend in the AL East again. Matsusaka is also an X factor that we have to find out about.

Number three is the San Antonio Spurs. I'm not the biggest basketball  fan anymore but I like this team and their rivalry with the Dallas Mavericks. With Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and the rest of the team they have won three NBA championships and still have a good veteran core that can contend although it's a lot tougher in the West with teams like Dallas, Phoenix and the two LA teams the Lakers and Clippers to deal with. Still if they stay healthy and play well in the playoffs they have as good a chance as any so we'll see.

Number four I'll pick the Dallas Stars, my local area team and the team in my second favorite sport after football,  hockey. I got to go to a Stars game a few years ago, I like following them as the local team and they have had a good contending team, changing every year of course but still in the mix every year since winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. Mike Modano is still there and they have a good mix of veterans and youngsters when their healthy. The only problem has been their lack of recent playoff success, but if goalie Marty Turco could turn it around and the team could stay healthy and play well then they could go a long way. We'll see wehat happens down the stretch and in the playoffs.

To round out my top five of teams I'll pick a team I like unconditionally the Milwaukee Brewers. I realize it is tough for them being a small market team in baseball withough any kind of salary cap which the players refuse so I root for them whether they're good or bad because they're my original hometown team from childhood, they play hard and I have memories of the 1982 World Series which they could have won if  relief pitcher Rollie Fingers among othyer things   had not been injured and I just like going out to the ballpark in the summer soI'll include them..

Anyways that's my top five teams in pro sports. Shortly my second five include the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Maple Leafs, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Vikings who all can never seem to win the big one in a long team. Other teams I like are NFC North rivals the Chicago Bears who I'm rooting for in the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers who are my original home state team and who I take a lot of good natured grief from family and friends who want them to be my favorite team, sorry , but I still like and respect their team especially when they win. Other teams I like are the Canadian hockey teams because that is where the core of hockey fans is and finally the Texas Trio of the Rangers, Astros and Mavericks who have a good chance to win an NBA championship this year. We'll see. Well I hope you have enjoyed looking at my sports teams this week. We'll watch the Super Bowl and see what happens and we'll talk soon. I'm also excited to see how Wisconsin men's basketball does as they push for a possible #1 ranking and the NCAA tournament in March.Anyways have a great and productive day friends and we'll talk soon. Best wishes always. Fenfan67