On Hiatus

Hey everyone,

So I know it's been a while since the blog has been updated, there is a reason for that. I've been busy with things in my life and sadly my sports writing has taken a hit. But don't fear, The Sports Voice will return as soon as I am able to dedicate the amount of time that it deserves. So please check back regularly and i promise that one day soon, new articles will return.

Forget "Good-Bye", in Wisconsin it's "Go Saints"

I've noticed something interesting while walking around this past week. I live in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and that means I live in the land of the Packers, and Packer fans worshiped God and Brett Favre, and not necessarily in that order.

Then came the summer of 2007 and the first retirement, and in turn the first return from retirement. Cheeseheads were split, but many sided with Favre. They blamed the Packers brass for not welcoming back the hero that they'd followed for 16 years. Eventually Favre was traded to the Jets, and after a lack luster year in New York retired again.

That's when things started to turn for Packer fans, the rumblings got louder and louder, thier hero was angling to play for the rival Vikings. And when it was official, most Packer fans disowned Favre. Throughout the past season they've not only cheered for the Packers to win, but every week they've cheered for the worst possible situations to befall the once loved Favre.

This brings me to what I heard around Milwaukee this past week. Nearly everyone i came in contact with ended the conversation the same way. in place of "later", "Talk to you soon", and "i'll call you" everyone said "go Saints".

That's how much Packer fans don't want Favre to succeed tonight, that's how much they want to see Favre crumble, they've actually changed their vernacular to suit their hatred of the old man.

"I just don't want to see him win in that purple jersey...i didn't like it when he was in New York, but now that he's a Viking he's dead to me", that was what an employee at a local grocery store told me when i was shopping this morning and she's wasn't the first to tell me that. Oh and of course when i was walking away she said, "have a good day and go Saints!"

I can't believe how the mighty have fallen in Wisconsin. What fans don't realize is that rivalries in the current sports landscape, aside from maybe Yankees v. Redsox, are fan made. Players don't buy into them as much as fans do. I don't fault Favre, he wanted to play for a winner and when he looked around the Packers locker room, he didn't think they were gong to be able to compete (Aaron Rodgers has shown that he was wrong) and the same thing happened with the Jets. It's amazing to see how quickly Packer fans have turned on him, how quickly they've gone from loving his "good old boy" act to despising it, and believe me it's always been an act.

So if the Vikings win today and the Old Gun Slinger leads them to the Super Bowl, I imagine that everyone in the state of wisconsin will be replacing Good-bye with "Go Colts" or "Go Jets"

Fantasy Football Draft Preview

It's that time of the year again; the time that average Joe's get to live out their dreams of becoming the next Wellington Mara or Al Davis (before Davis became the Archie Bunker of the NFL). Obviously Fantasy Football is not a part of our culture, you'd be hard press to find an office in the country that doesn't have some sort of fantasy football league every fall.

I'm no different, I love the last weeks of the preseason because it normally means my drafts are coming up. that being said here are some important points, trends, and players to look at going into your drafts.

• Beware of Michael Turner...seriously - You've heard it all off-season, beware the curse of 370. I don't know what it is about the 370 carry mark but it does something to backs. Looking at the 27 backs in NFL history who have reached the mark of 370, only two ('03 Ladainian Tomlinson and '85 Walter Payton) matched or exceeded their Touchdown mark of the previous year. I'm not saying Turner is going to have a down year, I'm just saying I've got 4 other running backs ahead of him.

• Just because Brett Favre is a Viking, don't expect the production of other Vikings to significantly increase - Look, obviously the receivers are going to get a bit better looking now that a decent QB is in town, but if Favre has another horrible stretch run those receivers are going to fail you right when you need them most. Maybe look at them a few picks higher, a round higher at most. And Adrian Peterson can't be ranked higher than 1.

• DeAngelo Williams should be mentioned with the top fantasy backs - Jonathan Stewart is still bothered by the Achilles injury that shortened his '08 season. Williams is a great back to start with, but if Stewart is bugged by injury throughout the year, look for Williams' numbers to only improve from last years bust out season.

• This is the year of the Wide Receiver - Forget the tried and true method of drafting Running Backs with your first two picks, this year you have to get a receiver early, because the drop off after the first two tiers (Moss, Fitzgerald, Wayne, A. Johnson, C. Johnson, Wayne, Colston) is drastic.

Happy Drafting everyone!

It Has Begun!

You know a lot of people were making the joke that it wouldn't really be football season without a Brett Favre story. Well a few weeks ago everyone got their punchline, but it seemed like that was it. Well now there's a whole years worth of jokes and punchlines to be made, but who's going to be laughing?

In case you've been living in a shanty in a remote village in China, you've heard that Brett Favre signed with the Minnesota Vikings earlier today, a contract worth somewhere between $10-$12 Million.

People had to know this was coming, they had to know that Favre was going to find a way to get on to the field this year, that he was going to find a way to play against the Packers this year.

Favre joining the Vikings makes the NFC North the most insteresting quarterback division in football. Every team has a story behind center this year.

• Vikings - No explanation needed.

• Bears - The rebirth of Jay Cutler or The decline of Jay Cutler

• Lions - Can Stafford return the Lions to the top of the divison? or at least get them a win?

• Packers - Was last year an fluke or is Aaron Rodgers the real deal?
  

The Sports Voice Podcast - Episode #2!

In the second episode of The Sports Voice podcast, we look at the NBA Playoffs vs. The NHL Playoffs. We also talk about a possible trade brinign Shaq to the Cleveland Cavs, and I backtrack a bit from the statement that Lebron might be ready to take a seat next to “his airness”.

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The Sports Voice - Episode #1 Online Now!

The first episode of The Sports Voice Podcast is live and on the air! Check it out and let us know what you think!

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Download this episode (right click and save)

When was the last time we had a playoff that was this good?

No matter who wins the game 7's tomorrow, one thing is for sure, This has been the best NBA playoffs season in recent memory. Honestly, think back to last year, what do you remember most about it? You remember the Celtics and Lakers in the finals...That's it. Maybe, if you're a big NBA fan, you'll remember the Lakers v. Jazz series or maybe the game 7 duel between Paul Pierce and Lebron James. But, on a whole just through 2 rounds, this years playoffs has been more entertaining then any in a long while.

- When was the last time you saw the defending champions taken to game 7 in the first round, while watching a budding rivalry between two of the best and youngest point guards in the league?

- When was the last time you saw such a dominating performance by one man, seemingly carrying his entire team through the playoffs mowing down anyone in their path?

- When was the last time you saw a Team put it all together at the exact right time, show that they could be a true championship contender when everyone viewed them as an afterthought?

- When was the last time you saw one of the best players in the league going off nearly every game in a series and still have his team pushed to a game 7 against an injury riddled team that no one thought had a chance?

And we're not even to the conference finals yet. In a league that has had some rather underwhelming playoff seasons as of late, this is just what the doctor ordered. I'll be watching both game 7s (flipping to check in with the NHL Conference finals as well) as I imagine everyone else who calls themselves a sports fan will be.

NBA's new idea...a flop?

Alright, how exactly is the NBA going to enforce their new rule?

Basically the NBA is going to start fining players for flopping. All this comes on the wake of about 23 hours and 57 minutes of constant discussion on ESPN about whether Brent Barry should have jumped into Derek Fisher to get a foul call (the other 3 minutes of coverage were divided between the cracked foot of Big Brown and a profile of former spelling bee "icon" Samir Patel)

Flopping has been a problem in the NBA for a while, and we all know it, ever since the great Vlade Divac started the tradition when he suited up for the kings. No other NBA issue, besides the referees, is talked about more on fan blogs and sports talk radio more than the flop and its non-place in the game of basketball. So in theory this new "rule" should be great, a player blatantly flops and he'll get fined...great!

Here's the problem with this new "Rule". The flop is used to draw a foul call, normally either a charge or a hack, sometimes the ref calls it sometimes they don't...it's a judgment call. the only thing that this new "rule" is going to do is shift the judgment to someone else. The NBA will tell its refs to crack down on floppers in the off-season, but otherwise the new "rule" won't change the way the game is officiated, so it really doesn't change a thing.

The fines will more then likely be small enough that the players that use the flop as part of their game (I'm looking at you Tony Parker) won't change their game, the only thing that will do that is if after a certain amount of fines there are suspensions. But even then how do you determine what is a, and I'm quoting the story, "serial flopper" is flopping or actually fouled. I think it's idiotic to substitute one person's judgment for anothers and call it a solution.

And otherwise, how can the NBA be able to put "in-arena observers" at every game to search out floppers, when MLB can't put one more person at games to watch replays to get the calls right?

Did Obama Just Get the Tar Heels in Trouble?

Ok,for those who don't know, Yesterday Presidential candidate Barack Obama played a pick-up game with the University of North Carolina Tar Heel basketball team. If you haven't seen it, check the YouTube video right here...gotta admit he looks like he could hold his own a little bit.



But here's the "problem", it's possible that this game violated two NCAA regulations. First UNC Coach Roy Williams was at the game, and coaches are not allowed to view pick-up games in the off season. Second, the game was apparently mandatory for the team, and NCAA regulations state that their can be no mandatory athletic events during the period of finals (which started Monday at UNC).

The NCAA has already said they'll wave the violations because it was such a "special opportunity" for the team. Now, I'm not saying that the NCAA was right or wrong, but it makes you wonder. What do you think?

Why Weaver?

Here in Wisconsin, the Brewers have very quickly become a sexy team. What I mean by that is that they have become very popular...very quickly, because they have gotten very good...very quickly. So the hot button issue right now with the Brew Crew is that they've signed former post-season hot shot Jeff Weaver to a minor league deal.

My question is why? I haven't really understood the moves the Brewers have made with their pitching staff this year. There are major concerns for me in this pitching staff.

• I get that Ben Sheets looks really good, but I wonder if he's going to stay healthy?
• Chris Capuano is gone for the year, getting the second Tommy John surgery of his career. After the season he had last year that might be a good thing.
• Jeff Suppan is your #2, I Like Suppan but I don't think that he's a #2 on a world series contender (am I wrong?)
• After Sheets and Suppan, the rest of the rotation is either unproven (Yovani Gallardo, Manny Para and Carlos Villanueva) or incredibly streaky (Dave Bush a.k.a. "The Human Light Switch")
• Move to the Bullpen and you get more stability. Pitchers like Guillermo Mota and Seth McClung have been a great addition to the staff...
• ..But move to the closer role and again their are concerns. With the departure of Coco Cordero to Cincinnati, the position has become a weakness. How long will Eric Gagne hold up in the closer role (he hasn't been the same since he got hurt with the Dodgers...a brief appearance of the old Gagne in Texas last year was erased by a horrendous stint with in Boston)? and if he falters who's set to take over the closer role? Derrick Turnbow who was dubbed Derrick "Turnblow" by many in Milwaukee (Turnbow just hasn't been the same since his bobble head day at Miller Park).
  

The NL Central is still going to be decided between the Cubs and Brewers, and the cubs have their own problems too, but the Brewers' pitching staff concerns me...a lot.

...and Out Come the "Sue" Birds

Former Seattle Supersonics' (yeah I called them supersonics!) owner Howard Schultz isn't very happy with new owner Clay Bennett's plans to move the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

If you're a sports fan you've no doubt heard this story already. But, this morning it was discovered that Schultz isn't going to take the move lieing down. There are reports that Schultz is planning to sue Clay Bennett for breach of contract. Schultz is arguing that when he sold the team to Bennett, Bennett agreed to make a "good-faith effort" to keep the Sonics in Seattle.

I found this local news report from Seattle's NBC King 5 (I swear to god, that's their tag line) from this morning.

Calling all Knuckleballers!

It's not a secret that baseball is my favorite American sport. It's also not a secret that the Knuckleball is my favorite pitch in the history of baseball. Because of that, this ESPN.com Feature caught my eye. If you have a 5 or so minutes check out this video. Makes you think about how game changing a good knuckleballer can be.

So it's finally happend...the ground feels so cold

Alright so it's finally happened. Brett Favre has retired. (Yeah I called that one a little early I guess)

While it's still not 100% that he won't change his mind in 2 weeks. He may come back after he's seen all the talking heads yapping about how he still has 3-4 good years left, and how he's got a great young team that's just starting to come together. But for some reason this just seems to fit.

Doesn't it though? I mean everyone when they first heard it was shocked, I know I was, but after thinking about it you start to realize it fits. If you believe the reports, he doesn't have any close friends left on the team, FB William Henderson was the last of those (Henderson was released last March). He's been toying with the retirement idea for over 5 years, He's wanted Randy Moss for 2 years and hasn't gotten him, and i'm sure he doesn't want to go through yet another training camp.

Granted he could have pulled a Strahan and just kept the packers guessing through half of training camp so he wouldn't have to go through it, But that probably doesn't go over well with a QB as opposed to a DE.

Either way I think this is legit, he deserves to walk away after the great year he and his team had. even if he did end his Career with an interception. That really conveys his career, he was a gambler. He'll throw more then his share of INTs, but with that you get a lot of TDs.

Even as a childhood Bears fan, I'll miss Brett Favre, and I'm sure all football fans will as well.

The East is "Lost" and the West finds "Other" means

(I actually took about 5 minutes thinking of that title...I found it to be quite clever)

The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching, a little over 60 hours and counting, and we've already had one of the most interesting trade seasons in recent NBA memory. When was the last time you heard names like Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal going to new teams all in one season?

But there seems to be a slant to this trading barrage, it seems that the Western Conference has simply been raiding the Eastern cookie jar, and the East hasn't been able to do the same. If the league approves the deal, Kidd will go from the Nets (east) to the Mavs (west) and Shaq went from the Heat (east) to the Suns (west).

The East hasn't made any moves in that have helped its top teams. While the Celtics get a free pass becasue of the trading the made in the off season, the Magic, Cavs, Pistons, Raptors...none of these teams have made any moves to try and prepare themselves for the late season push. why not?

Does the East honestly think they can compete with the top teams in the West as they are right now? The West's 78% winning percentage in the NBA finals since 1999 tells a different story.

Bottom line, the West is going to win the NBA Championship again, more then likely (personally I think the Celetics could give a few Western teams a run). But the East is going to need Lebron to become the next MJ to shift the power again.

only 30 minutes left

Johan Santana and the Mets are still negotiating the contract extention that is needed to complete the 5 player trade.

According to multiple reports the two sided are deadlocked on a guarnteed 6th year, the mets don't want it...Santana does.

Dhani Jones Becomes a Two Sport Athlete

Rugby has long been my favorite sport in the world. The combination of footballs aggressive and physical play with soccers athleticism and field position battles is really a sight to see if you've never seen it.

Well, Bengels LB Dhani Jones is going to try out Rugby Union first hand.

Really Minnesota...Really?

If you haven't seen, the Minnesota Twins have agreed in principle to trade former Cy Young winner Johan Santana to the New York Mets. In Return the Mets agreed to send CF Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra.

The deal does hinge on the Mets and Santana being able to work out a long term contract extension, but something tells me that Omar Minaya can get that done

Now, I know that the Twins wanted to get rid of arguably the best pitcher in baseball, but for that package...really?

According to this ESPN story, some MLB talent evaluators pinned this package as the fourth best offer that the Twins since they put Santana on the trade block.

Guess they held onto Santana for a little too long. I know the Twins didn't want to part ways with Santana, I know they've had problems agreeing to a long term deal, but letting Santana go for four magic beans that the twins hope will grow? Really Minnesota...really?

Guts...Just Pure Guts...

Watching the Giants vs. Packers game was quite possibly one of the more enjoyable times i've had watching an NFL game in a long time.

The entire game can be summed up in one word...Guts.

IF nothing else it took guts for Tom Caughlign to send Lawerence Tynes out there to try a 47 yard field goal with the game on the line, after missing his last two.

Wow...

Championship Sunday - Weather Report

28 Teams are sitting at home in their heated houses watching the games today, all of them wishing they were on the frozen fields that the Chargers, Patriots, Packers, and Giants are playing on today.

Both games are going to be cold...the type of cold that your grandfather told you he walked to school in (uphill! both ways!). So in honor of that fact, here are the game time weather reports for both Conference Championship games.

San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots - 2:00 PM CST
Temperature - 23ºF
Feels Like - 11ºF
Wind Speed - 13 mph NW

New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers - 5:30 PM CST
Temperature - 3ºF
Feels Like - -11ºF
Wind Speed - 11 mph W

Peterson Wins No Brainer Award

Was anyone surprised that rookie RB Adrian Peterson (a.k.a. Purple Jesus), won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award?

Peterson racked up 1,341 yards and 12 TDs...only LT had more yards and touchdowns, and Peterson only played in 14 games due to injury.

The rest of the NFC North is going to have trouble with Purple Jesus for many years to come.