just a few days ago, i mentioned that deep down, i hadnt completely written off the brewers chances of making the playoffs.  well, tonight i am.  i'll never learn that their are only 2 ways in which something i say will come true.

1. if its bad in some way.  an example would be me saying "the brewers have no chance of beating the astros when roger clemens pitches." 

2. if i secretly bet $5 on the opposite happening.  an example of this would be me saying "the brewers will lose this game."  since i could have actually gained something by the opposite of what i said happening, thats when what i say out loud ends up happening.

maybe if i had kept my mouth shut....or not typed what i was secretly hoping for, they wouldnt have just lost 3 in a row, and fallen back to the bottom of the pack of teams with a remotely realistic chance at the wild card.

chris capuano pitched extremely well....except for 2 pitches.  both were hit out of the park to start the 7th inning, and were the last pitches he threw.  i can almost hear brewer fans saying "they shouldnt have even put him out there in the 7th, this was bound to happen."  the way i see it, if you're shutting a team out, and allowed only 2 hits, send him back out there.  and for the record, miguel cabrera hadnt done anything against capuano up to that point.

the other thing is, if they had taken him out before the 7th inning, and jose capellan gave up the 2 runs to tie it, the statement heard would have been "why did they take capuano out? he was pitching so well." 

either way, most of the blame would go to ned yost, who many dont seem to care for much....actually, i dont think there is a single coach on his staff that they care for much.  maybe robin yount, but 1 fan has already stated that he'd stop being a fan if yount became manager.

anyway, dan kolb gave up the go-ahead run, making it 3-2 going into the top of the 9th.  david bell hit his first home run as a brewer to tie it again at 3-3.  in the bottom of the 9th, brian shouse gave up the winning run, ballooning his ERA back up to 2.08.  before today's game, it was 1.86.

i cant fault the bullpen much for this.  i mean, they did give up 2 runs, including the game winner, but the group has pitched very well over the past month or so.  other than derrick turnbow, it has been one of the best units in baseball. 

the brewers still have trouble scoring runs consistently, especially against pitchers they havent faced at all, or those who they have not faced yet this season.  now that they have finally faced every team, maybe they can change that over the final 5 weeks.  the schedule also includes 16 out of 26 games at home....where they have a much better record.

unfortunately, the last 6 games of the season are on the road, with 2 against the cubs and 4 in st. louis.  more than likely, by then it wont matter if they win or lose any of those 6 contests.

notes: i caught a few minutes of the cubs/cardinals game on espn radio tonight.  they were talking about the cubs, and which players will likely be on the roster next year.  one interesting thought was that matt murton may not be a part of the cubs future in left field.  the name that came up as a possible replacement?  why carlos lee of course.  it was reported a couple months ago already (by myself and a few "experts") that the cubs could be a good fit for carlos.  having played in chicago for the white sox, he's familiar with the city, still has a house there, and the cubs would have the finances necessary to sign the slugger. 

with lee and lee back-to-back in the lineup, and a half-way decent pitching staff, the cubs could be a good team next year.  then again, good isnt good enough.  plus, if any of the non-caucasion players dont have their best season next year, they will undoubtedly receive hate mail with racist comments and death threats...unless that is saved for dusty baker only.

(based on information as of 11 p.m., saturday, august 26)

the colts will finish the regular season either 5-11 or 6-10.  at least peyton manning wont have to worry about winning a game in january.

reggie bush will ride a roller coaster of inconsistency.  exciting and game changing one week, below average and basically a non-factor the next.

the texans will go undefeated.  so far, they're 2-0.  look out '72 dolphins, it's really gonna happen this year.

the buffalo bills wont win a single game, giving them the #1 overall pick next april, which they can use on brady quinn.  its not like they currently have 3 quarterbacks who were all supposed to compete for the starting job, which was all but handed to j. p. losman after a week of training camp.

the redskins wont win a game either, and about every 4 weeks or so, clinton portis will injure his shoulder, and ask the question..."why do we even play the regular season?  its all about the playoffs man."  every time he gets hurt, the 'skins will trade for a RB to fill in for him.  ron dayne is a possibility to be the next acquisition.

other off-the-wall predictions...

the cowboys will place terrell owens on injured reserve, and go undefeated, making the super bowl an all-texas game against the texans.  the game will end in a tie because...

roger goodell will resign as commissioner by week 8, after bryant gumbel accuses him of being his wife's lap dog....and bud selig will assume the position.  mid-way through the 3rd quarter, selig will rule the game a tie because both placekickers have been used to kick off to begin a half, and neither can be used again if overtime is necessary.

matt hasselback will convince the seahawks to sign owens, since he has defended t.o. recently.  after his first game in a seahawks uniform, catching only 2 passes for 17 yards, owens will throw him under the bus claiming..."you aint no brett favre, and i dont want no balding gay qb throwing me the ball."  later, after being shown the video replay of his comments, owens will claim he was misquoted.

after being released by the seahawks, owens will spend the rest of the season writing a new book, titled "all the things i've been misquoted about."  it will be an autobiography written by none other than stephan king, who might be able to explain just what the heck is really going on in owens' mind....or compound the mystery even more.

jerry jones will have plastic surgery....yeah, like thats going out on a limb.

in the final game of the season, donovan mcnabb will fake a hamstring injury, put on a #81 eagles jersey, and ride a stationary bike on the sideline during the 2nd half.

chad johnson will mouth off one too many times, and a cornerback will knock him the f#%k out before the ball is snapped.

**before all the cowboy and TO fans start ripping me for this, i'm ONLY KIDDING!***

i was first notified of this news by edclinch recently, and finally found confirmation.  it looks like brady popp!nga will be starting at linebacker in the season opener.

according to the story in the milwaukee journal/sentinal, he has made a quick recovery from the injury that cut short his 2005 season.  aside from that, it states that free agent acquisition ben taylor has not had a very good camp.  he was considered the favorite for the strong side LB spot, with nick barnett in the middle, and a. j. hawk on the weak side.

other information i've gained through various sources say that abdul hodge is having a better camp than hawk.  the bad news for hodge is that his pass coverage skills are minimal, meaning he likely wont see alot of time in obvious passing situations.

it has been rumored that, for the long term, the packers would prefer nick barnett play the strong side position, to make room for hodge in the middle.  barnett isnt totally against the idea, but would like a contract extension before making the move, as his numbers will significantly decrease by making that move.  this situation makes me uncomfortable, and i invision yet another power struggle between ted thompson and a player/agent tandem, probably becoming a major issue next offseason.

the logic here is pretty simple.  hodge, barnett, and hawk are the 3 best players at the linebacker position, and having all three on the field could make them 1 of the better units in the league within the next 2-3 years.  having popp!nga as a passing down specialist isnt a bad idea either, as he did some of that in college (at BYU, from what i've been told).

watch monday night's preseason game closely if you are a chad johnson fan (or you hope to see him eat his latest words).  johnson has said that he'll be schooling both al harris and charles woodson, saying that 21 (woodson's jersey number) and 31 (harris' number) equal 85.  those are some confident words coming from a man who was practically shut out by harris in last year's regular season meeting.  while i dont expect harris and woodson to keep johnson from catching a single pass, it wouldnt surprise me to see both of them being extremely physical with the blonde-mohawked receiver.

coach mike mccarthy has decided on his starting offensive line.  2 rookies will man the guard spots, with jason spitz and tony moll book-ending center scott wells.  wells is also a new addition to the starting 5, replacing mike flanigan, who left via free agency for the houston texans.

the running back position is still a mess.  adding more mystery to the situation is FB william henderson's knee injury, which required arthroscopic surgery.  henderson hopes to be ready for the season opener, but could miss the first 2 games if the injury doesnt heal quickly.  in his place, the packers have tried to fill in with samkon gado and most recently, using a rotation of their tight ends to be the lead blocker.  vonta leach was the backup at the position, but he has had trouble catching passes out of the backfield, something the packers do quite a bit of.  ahman green could make his first appearance this monday night since injuring his right quadraceps muscle in the middle of last season.  besides coming off a major injury, he'll be running behind an unproven, and inconsistent line.  he's also getting old for a running back, as he is now 29 years old.  add to that he has carried the ball 1,542 times since the 2000 season, his body could be starting to wear down.  on the positive side, missing 11 games last season could be a blessing, as it gave his body time to recover from carrying so much of the packers rushing load since his arrival.

the quarterback situation...well, i think we all know that one.  favre will start, and play every down unless the game is completely out of reach, or he is taken off the field in a funeral procession.  my only hope is that, if the packers start poorly, aaron rodgers will be given the reigns by week 10, to prepare himself for being the unquestioned starter next year.

looking at the wide receivers, donald driver will get plenty of balls thrown his way, provided favre has enough time to deliver them.  the question is, whether any of the other WR's on the team can provide a reason for defenses not to roll double and triple coverages toward driver.  greg jennings and corey rodgers are said to be doing well, but i dont see either of them putting up more than 50 catches or 700 yards.  robert fergesun has just been disappointing, and was rumored to be on the bubble throughout camp.  i believe he'll make the roster, just because favre feels somewhat comfortable with him.  Marc Boerigter was expected to bring a veteran presence to the team, but he has already ben cut.  rod gardner has the size that teams look for, but has seemed uninterested in putting forth his best effort.  i think i now know why he was let go in the middle of last season, allowing the packers to pick him up for the final 2 games of the season.

bubba franks is the main (probably the only) threat at tight end.  after a couple seasons battling injuries, i dont expect franks to have a big year.  he'll be a favorite target of favre, simply because of the lack of time the offensive line can provide him to find receivers further downfield.  donald lee and david martin are barely worth mentioning, as both have yet to live up to their potential.

in summary, it will be a miracle if the packers finish with a winning record, and even an 8-8 season doesnt look realistic.  1 more terrible season would actually help the packers, giving them another high 1st round pick next april, which could be used on a running back or defensive lineman.  i'll do my usual ranting when they lose, but all in all, 5 or 6 wins isnt the end of the world.

p.s. the only way the packers win the division is if the bears, lions and vikings decide to leave the nfl, and join the league north of the border....the CFL.