The dust has settled. No more knee-jerk reactions about fire Dom Capers or let Jermaichael Finley go. Here are some key off-season moves the Packers will contemplate:
1. Pass rusher. It doesn’t take a football Einstein to figure this one out. There was no inside rush and the outside linebacker spot opposite Clay Matthews was an abomination. No doubt GM Ted Thompson will go heavy on defense in the draft. But I think this is the year he dabbles in the free-agent waters for the first time since he signed Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett. Problem is you likely have to overpay to get what you want. That may mean the Packers don’t end up signing one of their own free-agents.

2. Keep Wells and Finley. Both are free-agents. Wells is easy. He’s their best offensive lineman and had a Pro Bowl year. Everyone’s banging on Finley after the drops Sunday and inconsistent play this season. Franchise tag him and give him a chance to redeem himself. He’s too good a talent and practically unguardable inside the 20 yard line. “But Scott, they won a Super Bowl without him last year.”
They had a good offense without him last year. They had a record-setting offense with him this year.

3. Who’s gone? Clifton, Flynn and yes, Donald Driver. Hurts me to see Double D go. What a pro. What a person. It will be another one of those difficult decisions for Thompson. But with three practice squad receivers with high potential it’s a hit the Packers can take and still be great on offense, not ot mention say a few bucks and sign a free-agent DE or OLB.
Clifton has been a warriors and is great when healthy but you have Newhouse and Sherrod waiting. If there’s a way to get something in return got Flynn, great. Otherwise, sometimes you may just have to let him become a free-agent.

4. Final grade…..F. “F” as in failure. When your the defending Super Bowl champs and are coming back loaded with talent there is only one goal….to win it all. But I will also add and “F” as in “fun.” C’mon, that was a fun season. 15-1 regular season, chasing perfection, record-setting offense and defense (on the bad side), Aaron Rodgers MVP. It was fun to watch. Remember, I grew up watching the ’70′s and ’80′s Packers and all that misery. Plus, you know they’re going to be contenders next season. Can’t wait.

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I have to admit I was dreading the trip to Green Bay Sunday a little for the Packers-Lions regular season finale. I know what your saying, “Scott, you’re crazy! You were paid to go to cover the Packers.” True, but knowing the Packers were going to sit Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson along with other key players it had all the makings of a glorified preseason game. What I saw Sunday reminded me of why I got into this business in the first place. You never know when you might see something truly amazing.

Consider this, in the Packers 90-year history who holds the team record for most yards passing in one game and most touchdowns? Not Brett Favre. Not Aaron Rodgers. Not Bart Starr. Not Tobin Rote. It’s a back-up quarterback who started just his second game and will likely never start another game again for the Packers. Matt Flynn, a soon-to-be-free-agent holds these historical marks. His 6 touchdown, 480 yards passing performance likely earned him millions of dollars in free-agency. Consider this, only three other quarterbacks have thrown for at least 475 yards and six touchdowns in one game. They are Y.A Tittle, Joe Namath, Joe Montana and now…Matt Flynn. It’s crazy to know he’s now mentioned with those players.

That brings me to my headline. It’s why we love sports so much. It’s why we watch. Sports is unscripted. We think we might know what will happen in each game we watch. But every so often we see something historic and something completely unexpected.

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In the world of professional sports, or even amateur sports, you are presumed guilty first when associated with performance enhancing drugs. Such is the case with Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun. The reigning NL MVP’s case seems unusual. There are more questions than answers at the time I write this.
One thing I know is that I can’t imagine Braun being so careless with something like this. During the baseball season we do a weekly feature with Braun aired on Monday’s at 6pm. Each week our affiliate in Milwaukee, WISN, does a lengthy 1-on-1 with Braun to talk about a variety of topics. Braun doesn’t just talk baseball. He’ll also talk about other things such as his clothing business and his restaurants. Listening to these interviews each week I came to the conclusion that Braun is much more than just a terrific baseball player. He’s a deep-thinking person who’s very conscious of his image. Which is why the news about testing positive for PED’s, or a “prohibitive substance” which I have also heard, seems so shocking. Braun has insisted “this is all BS” and “I am innocent” as he texted to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. His representative has suggested “highly unusual” circumstances surrounding the positive test. Let’s hope so because Braun has become one of the faces of baseball, not just the Brewers. He seems like the last person who would jeopardize his career and his image.
Braun will have his appeal heard in January. No baseball player has won an appeal like this. In today’s sports world the fact that he knowingly did not take PED’s doesn’t fly anymore. It didn’t work for Rafael Palmiero, Barry Bonds or Manny Ramirez. It didn’t work for Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Pat and Kevin Williams either. Their two-game suspensions stood even though the NFL acknowledged they didn’t take steroids.
Braun’s evidence will have to be clear-cut, scientific evidence. Not just that he “knowingly” did not take PED’s. And even that might not be enough to avoid the 50-game suspension.
The talking heads nationally on TV and radio have already presumed guilt. Based on Braun’s image consciousness and emphatic denials I will wait to hear his side.

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The prep boys basketball season is just underway. In my 20 year covering local sports we’ve never had this many great individual players or teams. The Coulee Region is stacked with good boys teams, much like it was with great girls teams in the early and mid 90′s.

Onalaska—Div. 1 recruits Nick Arenz (UW-Green Bay) and Matt Thomas (undecided) lead the Hilltoppers who opened the season ranked #1 in division 2 according to wissports.net. They’ve made it to the Sectional finals in each of the last three years, only to lose. Injuries derailed them last year. This year they get to Madison.

Aquinas–Ranked as high as 2 in division 3. UW recruit Bronson Koenig is worth the price of admission alone. It will be interesting to see who develops into a second go-to guy for the Blugolds this season.

G-E-T– Ranked 10th in division three. Is this the year they break through and beat Aquinas in the playoffs. We’ll have to wait until March to find out. But they’ve already beaten Logan, a solid division two program, in a blowout. Keep on eye on sensational guards Tim Wagner and Winona St. recruit Riley Bambenek. Best three point shooting team in the area.

Blair-Taylor– Sure, they lost a ton of seniors from a team that lost at state last year. But Blair-Taylor is an excellent athletic community. Randy Storlie will have that team ready again. Reggie Kujak getting lots of college looks I’m told.

Sleepers– Central. Already off to a great start. Sawyer Smith terrific on both ends of the floor and lots of support.

Westby–Coach Bob Constalie told me G-E-T is the obvious favorite. Somehow I think his Norsmen will be in the conversation in the Coulee at the end too…for at least second place. One of the most consistently solid programs in the area.

Enjoy the season and I’ll see you (and perhaps a couple of local teams) at the state tournament in Madison in March.

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The Big Ten Championship game should be the crowning achievement for the Badgers this Saturday. It’ll be the first time a Big Ten team can seek revenge on another during the same season. The hail mary loss to Michigan State is still fresh in the Badgers minds. When looking back on that one consider this: Michigan State needed a safety, a blocked punt (that was returned for a TD), a blocked field goal and a hail mary pass at the end just to beat the Badgers. All four of those plays are uncommon occurrences in a football game. Just to have one of them happen in your favor is a big deal. MSU needed 4 of them to barely squeek by. Credit Bret Bielema, his coaches and the players for keeping their focus and for realizing their season goals were still achievable. This Saturday they will clean up the mess they left in East Lansing and leave Indianapolis smelling like a rose. My prediction: Wisconsin 34, MSU 20. See you in Pasadena.

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I’ve attended 5 of the last 6 Packers-Vikings games in person, including Monday night’s behind-the-woodshed spanking by the Packers. It’s amazing to see the path these two teams and organizations are following since the first Brett Favre vs. his old team game at the Metrodome in 2009. Favre was brilliant that night. So was Vikings defense, who pressured Aaron Rodgers relentlessly without left tackle Chad Clifton. The Vikings were on track for the Super Bowl that year. A couple weeks after that game the Packers lost at winless Tampa Bay, which started a firestorm of “Fire Ted Thompson” and “Fire Mike McCarthy” blogs and posts from various sources. Fortunately, they rescued that season and made the playoffs. Two calender years later and these two organizations are on opposite planets. The Vikings are a desperate looking 2-7 with some aging vets and bad contracts. I expect they’ll blow up the roster this off season and build around Christian Ponder, Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin. To top it off, the Vikings Stadium situation is a mess. Ownership is not getting the help it needs from the state legislature which is leading to talk that the Vikings could eventually re-locate. Even the hardest of hardcore Packers fans would hate to see that happen. The rivalry is too good.
In Green Bay, the talk is can they go undefeated and win back to back Super Bowls. Rodgers has made Favre an after-thought in Wisconsin. In fact, some are wondering if when Rodgers is done will he end up as the best quarterback in Packers history? Their organizational structure is as solid as anyone in the NFL with Mark Murphy, Ted Thompson and Mike Mc Carthy. And, 8 years after their stadium renovation, Lambeau Field is a printing press for money, helping the team in the league’s smallest market thrive. Point is, things can change in a hurry in the NFL and when the going is good it should never be taken for granted.

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Now that the WIAA and the Messmer/Shorewood co-op litigation has concluded, it’s time to take a look at the 2011 WIAA playoffs and see how Coulee Region teams stack up. Here are a few wandering thoughts from the News 19 sports desk:

-MVC redemption: The MVC placed 5 schools in the playoffs…all in division 2. This is a conference that went 8-13 in non-conference games. So it’s no wonder only Tomah received a seed and a home game for the first round. The four others will hit the road for round one. If the MVC wants to earn some statewide respect an upset or two would be nice.

-Teams to keep on eye on: There are some programs that, no matter how well they did during the regular season, always seem to make deep runs in the playoffs. West Salem is one (2 trips to state title games in the past decade). De Soto, which just so happens to be a #1 seed this year. Also , watch closely teams that have made deep playoff runs in recent years. Bangor is back after coming up a win short of the state finals last year. Blair-Taylor lost of ton of senior talent from a team that almost made it to state last year too. Yet, here they are undefeated and a #1 seed. Success seems to rub off on the underclassmen, even when teams lose talented players.

-My sleepers: Tomah. How can a team that’s a #1 seed be a sleeper? See my view of the MVC above. Not many people outside the Coulee Region give the MVC respect based on their non-conference performance. But Tomah is loaded with offensive talent and can score on anyone. Whitehall. I saw in person how much Jake Pientok almost single-handidly eliminated Bangor last year before the Norse lost in OT. Holmen. Somehow head coach Steve King made it through the MVC 5-1 with injuries to his starting quarterback and a couple of running backs. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them get a win or two this post season.

Round one this weekend. Can’t wait.

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If you are a fan Wisconsin sports teams this is heaven. The Brewers, Badgers and Packers went 4 for 4 this past weekend, a weekend like non other that this 40-something sportscaster can recall. Sure the Packers and Badgers have won big games on the same weekend before. But when you throw in the Brewers playoff success, it is unmatched. It wasn’t just that the teams won, it’s how the won. UW blew out a top ten opponent at home. The Packers put up 49 points against Denver in a blow out (you get the feeling the Packers offense could score 30 falling out of bed in the morning). The Brewers answered with a 3-run win and a blowout win Sunday over Arizona.

So how did you spend this weekend watching sports? Did your remote get a workout Sunday like mine? Is there another dream scenario that would make the perfect sports weekend for you? Let me know.

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…it was breathtaking. Wilson was amazing how he picked a part the Nebraska defense Saturday. Usually, the Badgers use the run to set up the pass. But Nebraska held the Badgers rushing attack in check early on. No problem. Wilson picked a part the Huskers defense for over 200 yards passing in the first half. That set the stage for Monte Ball and the ground game to take over in the second half. That’s what championship teams do.

Wilson is like no other quarterback in UW football history. Brooks Bollinger had great mobility and was a decent passer. But Wilson is a better passer, especially on the deep ball. Jim Sorgi had a great arm but no where near the mobility of Wilson. Bollinger was a career back-up in the NFL. Sorgi is too. Which makes me wonder how Wilson will do at the next level. One media member in the post game news conference asked Wilson if he was Michael Vick-like. Interesting. I don’t remember Vick as a college player at Virginia Tech. But compared to Vick as a pro I see some similarities. I think Vick has more foot speed and perhaps a stronger arm. I think Wilson is more accurate. Both are a bit on the short side for what the NFL likes (5’11″). But the intangibles will get Wilson drafted. It remains to be seen if it will be in the first round like Vick. For now Badgers fans, enjoy the ride. We’re watching the best QB in UW history.

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It was alarming to see the scores come in from around the area in week one of the prep football season. Area teams are still sifting through the carnage. The MVC went 1-6 during non-conference play. The Coulee Conference didn’t fare much better going 2-5. What made it alarming was the scores. local powers Logan, Black River Falls, West Salem and G-E-T lost by two touchdowns or more. Turnovers played a huge role in losses for Central, Holmen and BRF to name a few. On a positive note, Onalaska looks like it’s going to be a player again in the MVC title chase after whipping Mauston 42-0. The Hilltoppers have a massive offensive line and nice skill players. Bangor had another one of it’s patent performances, rushing for 289 yards in a blowouot win over Melrose-Mindoro. Otherwise, week 2 will have to be a bounce-back week for most teams in the Coulee Region.

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