I saw this at work today (link goes to the JSO Brewers blog), and let out a pretty audible "wow." Of all the things I thought would happen during the plunge into the middle of the division standings, I did not think they would pop a cap into Ned Yost, the now-fired Milwaukee Brewers manager. I mean, something had to be done as the Brewers were throwing their season away, but this? Hey, it's a ballsy move. I just don't know that it's going to help with only 12 games left.
I was thinking about a post expressing my disgust with the lack of hitting, horrific bullpen pitching, and inadequate starting pitching (save CC Sabathia). Changing managers won't change these things. If the Brewers are going to get their mojo back, maybe making Dale Sveum the manager will do it. But, the bottom line is the Brewers' players have to play. It's now or never. After 26 years of no playoffs, we Brewers fans deserve an October run. Like I said, firing Yost may not help. But, the Brewers braintrust has to keep throwing crap on the wall and hope something sticks.
UPDATE: I am listening to WTMJ radio in Milwaukee online, and there is a collective bemused "what?!" in the air in SE Wisconsin. This was definitely an odd move, so I understand.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Played down the middle...but not really
Read this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, and then tell me if the tone of the article isn't, "Why isn't our guy winning?!! We should be kicking their butts, but we aren't? Why?!! Why?!! Oh, it's because Americans are stupid and vote on cosmetics instead of 'the issues.'"
Monday, September 8, 2008
Packers 24, Vikings 19
Green Bay escaped with a 24-19 win that should not have been as close as it was. Aaron Rodgers had a nice debut, completing 18 of 22 passes, with 1 TD pass and 1 rushing TD. He had a solid game against a Vikings defense designed to rattle QBs. Here are other impressions:
Chad Clifton kept Jared Allen at bay all night, but the interior line was terrible. Not because they didn't block decently (that actually went well), but because they committed stupid penalties, including one that negated an outstanding Rodgers-to-Driver touchdown. They really have to work that out, or else it could cost the Packers a game or two down the line.
The defense was pretty good. I am still not sure how much of a fan I am of the scheme in the secondary. If I am gameplanning against the Packers, I go deep and expect to get some first downs on penalties. Adrian Peterson got 103 yards, but got a lot of those on one run. Lesser running backs will have a tough time against the Packers.
The communication between Rodgers and his WRs is improving. In the preseason, there were a lot of dropped passes. But, with Rodgers going 18 for 22 tells me things here will be OK going forward.
Ryan Grant got 92 yards, which is good against the top run defense in the league. He got one great run off to get a lot of those yards, but you know the Vikings defense is not happy about that.
Overall, a win is a win. A win over a division rival is always a good thing. For my sanity, a win over the Viqueens is always great. But, a lot of things need to get better if the Packers are going to go anywhere this year. They need to play cleaner football, as there were way too many penalties.
Chad Clifton kept Jared Allen at bay all night, but the interior line was terrible. Not because they didn't block decently (that actually went well), but because they committed stupid penalties, including one that negated an outstanding Rodgers-to-Driver touchdown. They really have to work that out, or else it could cost the Packers a game or two down the line.
The defense was pretty good. I am still not sure how much of a fan I am of the scheme in the secondary. If I am gameplanning against the Packers, I go deep and expect to get some first downs on penalties. Adrian Peterson got 103 yards, but got a lot of those on one run. Lesser running backs will have a tough time against the Packers.
The communication between Rodgers and his WRs is improving. In the preseason, there were a lot of dropped passes. But, with Rodgers going 18 for 22 tells me things here will be OK going forward.
Ryan Grant got 92 yards, which is good against the top run defense in the league. He got one great run off to get a lot of those yards, but you know the Vikings defense is not happy about that.
Overall, a win is a win. A win over a division rival is always a good thing. For my sanity, a win over the Viqueens is always great. But, a lot of things need to get better if the Packers are going to go anywhere this year. They need to play cleaner football, as there were way too many penalties.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Game - 1
Tomorrow night is the first game of the season. It's on ESPN because they thought Brett Favre's number was going to be retired, but there is some compelling drama anyway. This article in the Wisconsin State Journal is a good synopsis of why the ante has been upped in the Packers-Vikings rivalry.
Personally, I think the Vikings were less than clean in the whole Favre saga. Did they tamper with Favre? Probably not...but, they had to know it would distract the Packers. I believe that Darrell Bevell and Favre definitely had a circle jerk over the phone over the possibility of being reunited under the Jiffy Pop Dome. Also, Ziggy Piggy (as Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is known around here) was very upset about the supposed bounty placed on Adrian Peterson's head by the Packers secondary. All this leads to tomorrow night's opener at Lambeau Field.
So, how will the game go? I don't know for sure. The Vikings unfortunately are better than last year, but it's not as though the Packers are suddenly bad. I think it will probably be a low-scoring game, being that these are two of the better defenses in the game. I think the Packers have an advantage in that they are less one-dimensional than the Vikings are on offense (at least until Tavaris Jackson proves otherwise). So, with a friendly crowd, I think the Packers win 20-17.
Personally, I think the Vikings were less than clean in the whole Favre saga. Did they tamper with Favre? Probably not...but, they had to know it would distract the Packers. I believe that Darrell Bevell and Favre definitely had a circle jerk over the phone over the possibility of being reunited under the Jiffy Pop Dome. Also, Ziggy Piggy (as Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is known around here) was very upset about the supposed bounty placed on Adrian Peterson's head by the Packers secondary. All this leads to tomorrow night's opener at Lambeau Field.
So, how will the game go? I don't know for sure. The Vikings unfortunately are better than last year, but it's not as though the Packers are suddenly bad. I think it will probably be a low-scoring game, being that these are two of the better defenses in the game. I think the Packers have an advantage in that they are less one-dimensional than the Vikings are on offense (at least until Tavaris Jackson proves otherwise). So, with a friendly crowd, I think the Packers win 20-17.
Don Haskins
Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins passed away today at age 78. He dared to start 5 black players in the 1966 NCAA basketball title game against Kentucky, who was notorious for not having black players, especially under Adolph Rupp. Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) won the championship, which really opened the door for more black players to play college basketball.
Haskins was a trailblazer, and is a credit to the game of basketball. Rest in peace, Don.
Haskins was a trailblazer, and is a credit to the game of basketball. Rest in peace, Don.
Recreating "Americana"
One of the more interesting things in recent years of suburban development is the tendency of suburbs to create city centers to create a "small-town" feel. If you live in a suburb, you know of what I speak. This St. Paul Pioneer Press article is a fairly solid assessment of the attempts to do this in the suburban Twin Cities.
I think that these attempts to gain some sort of authenticity in the suburbs is pretty laughable. I understand the impulse, though. Suburban life has been under assault for years by new urbanists and others (myself included) who ridicule the lifestyle of cookie-cutter houses, long commutes, shopping malls that are the same in one suburb as the next, strip malls, and chain restaurants. Suburban life has been derided as soul-draining, with some effect. You see empty-nesters and others moving back into cities in search of something "real." So suburbs, trying to reinvent themselves have been trying to build city centers featuring pedestrian-friendly streets and sidewalks, small businesses, and the other trappings of small town life (or at least someone's vision of small-town life).
The problem is, people vote with their feet, and in most cases, continue their patterns of going to the mall (or lifestyle center) to do their shopping. These contrived city centers aren't really working by and large. One example cited of a place where it did work was Lakeville. The difference is, Lakeville was a small town at the beginning of its existence. That seems to be the key. Suburbs that once were small towns seem to do a better job of developing city centers, because once upon a time they were city centers. The experience of cities like Stillwater, Hudson, Lakeville, Hastings and others like that are based on that reality. You can't create the authentic small-town feel unless you have a good base with which to start.
It's funny, I sometimes wonder if anyone likes where they are. People in big cities want small-town life, and people in small towns want big-city life.
I think that these attempts to gain some sort of authenticity in the suburbs is pretty laughable. I understand the impulse, though. Suburban life has been under assault for years by new urbanists and others (myself included) who ridicule the lifestyle of cookie-cutter houses, long commutes, shopping malls that are the same in one suburb as the next, strip malls, and chain restaurants. Suburban life has been derided as soul-draining, with some effect. You see empty-nesters and others moving back into cities in search of something "real." So suburbs, trying to reinvent themselves have been trying to build city centers featuring pedestrian-friendly streets and sidewalks, small businesses, and the other trappings of small town life (or at least someone's vision of small-town life).
The problem is, people vote with their feet, and in most cases, continue their patterns of going to the mall (or lifestyle center) to do their shopping. These contrived city centers aren't really working by and large. One example cited of a place where it did work was Lakeville. The difference is, Lakeville was a small town at the beginning of its existence. That seems to be the key. Suburbs that once were small towns seem to do a better job of developing city centers, because once upon a time they were city centers. The experience of cities like Stillwater, Hudson, Lakeville, Hastings and others like that are based on that reality. You can't create the authentic small-town feel unless you have a good base with which to start.
It's funny, I sometimes wonder if anyone likes where they are. People in big cities want small-town life, and people in small towns want big-city life.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Hate Week
One of my favorite books of all time is George Orwell's 1984. One of the aspects of the society Orwell constructed in this book is the use of propaganda to stir up strong feelings of hatred, the apex of which was Hate Week. Well, with the RNC in town, many in the population of the Twin Cities, as well as other protesters trucked in from elsewhere, can now have their own Hate Week. For example, 50,000 people are expected to march today in St. Paul to protest the war in Iraq, the continued insistence by George W Bush of breathing oxygen, and whatever other grievances they have. This has been a long time coming. Years of animosity could come out this week. Too bad for them that Bush and Dick Cheney aren't coming here.
UPDATE: 50,000 was a slight overestimation, much like Ricky Vaughn was juuuust a bit outside in Major League...the protester count was more like 2,000. (note: as of 6:45 pm CDT, the article said 10,000 showed up, still far less than what they were hoping for). Here's the money quote:
"There's far too few people here," said Lennie Major, a teacher from Mounds View. "We should have 10 times this many. This will only be a blip."
Antiwar protests just ain't what they used to be.
UPDATE: 50,000 was a slight overestimation, much like Ricky Vaughn was juuuust a bit outside in Major League...the protester count was more like 2,000. (note: as of 6:45 pm CDT, the article said 10,000 showed up, still far less than what they were hoping for). Here's the money quote:
"There's far too few people here," said Lennie Major, a teacher from Mounds View. "We should have 10 times this many. This will only be a blip."
Antiwar protests just ain't what they used to be.
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