Brewers can turn corner on this roadtrip

About the time the Brewers started the season 0-4 many of the naysayers or "nonbelievers" out there figured they could cash out on the season after just five days.
Well, the Reds did win the NL Central last season and are a damn good team, so those of us that know baseball and know you can't get too up or down hung around for a full week of baseball and now have a 5-5 team on our hands with things looking to get better on this nine-game road trip to the East coast.
The Brewers showed what they were made of coming back to Miller Park and going 5-2 against the Braves and Cubs. Now it's time for the Pirates and Nationals before heading to Philly to trade body blows with the Phillies.
What the Brewers showed during the homestand was what most people that know the team figured they'd show. Yovanni Gallardo was great in getting the first win of the season and so-so Sunday as Casey McGehee belted a home run in the eighth to down the Cubs. Shaun Marcum showed improvement and should keep getting better when the rain ends and he takes the hill Wednesday in Pittsburgh. And let's not forget Chris Narveson who could show he belongs with the Zack Greinke's, Gallardo's and Marcum's with his not allowing a run in 13 innings thus far without allowing a run. And that's just the starting pitching.
Prince finally hit a homer, Ryan Braun is hitting the long ball and in bunches and for the first time I can remember both seem to be absolutely hot at the plate right now. With both of them grooving together, the Brewers are almost untouchable. Yes, they need guys on in front of them and with Rickie Weeks off to the start he is off to and either Nyjer Morgan or Carlos Gomez doing just enough in the No. 2 slot, runners were finally on when they went yard over the weekend against the Cubs and it paid off.
During the homestand, the Brewers played the type of baseball most of us expected them to play. Well, everyone but Randy Wolf, but let's not get too greedy here, people. And to think they will be getting Jonathan Lucroy back tomorrow night and Manny Parra and LaTroy Hawkins should be joining the team in the coming days in the bullpen. Then, attention can turn to the "Big Two" on the DL in Corey Hart and Zack Greinke who are both at least two weeks away from returning to the big league club.
Until then, getting to maybe a couple games above .500 would be where to expect this team to be and put themselves in a spot to rattle off some wins and make the move they have to in order to challenge the Reds for the division. At least, that's what I see them being capable of.
For those that had written them off after four games, fans like that aren't really fans at all. They look for a reason and an excuse to jump ship and just seem way too negative. Will the Brewers lose four games in a row again this season? Probably. But they'll also win four games in a row a couple times, too, so you're not supposed to get too high or low.
This team now is pretty good and when the pieces all return, will be one of the top teams in the NL both offensively and with pitching.


I didn't have a chance to catch Monday Night Raw last night, but Twitter caught fire last night when Adam "Edge" Copeland announced his retirement due to the pain he's been struggling with in his neck. He leaves as the World Heavyweight Champion and the WWE Superstar who has held the most titles in the history of the company.
Those are the on-paper accolades, but the man was more than just titles. As he mentions in the video, he was part of some great moments. If you know me, you know I am pretty partial to John Cena, but real recognizes real and it was great to watch John and Edge go at it week after week a few years back. The two played great off one another and brought out the best in each other in the ring and on the mic. It was so fun to watch.
The defining moment for Edge, though, is his ability in the ladder match. No one man redefined one match in the last 10 years. He was just so creative in how to use the ladder.
It is sad to see him leave the sport (yes sport), but it's good to know his name lives on and legacy will be felt for a long time.

Now to the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. If you haven't seen the trailer for the new Fast and Furious movie, "Fast Five", you're missing out. It is the first movie I'm looking forward to this spring and summer and looks to be great. Of course it's great to see the boys kick ass and drive great cars, but Jordana Brewster steals the show. She will be on the cover of the May issue of Maxim, which should be great. Be sure to check out the full gallery, here. Below is a sample. You're welcome!

Boom Shaq-a locka!

Yeah, I know what you're thinking right now, "What the hell is Shaq doing? And who is that over grown behmouth trading choke grabs with him?"
Well, if you didn't know the Diesel was the special guest host of WWE Monday Night Raw last night and things looked pretty good for Shaq. He is actually a huge fan of WWE and every time they show up in a town he is in (He has changed addresses a lot over the last few years) he shows up at the events and hangs with the boys in the back.
He was the special enforcer for a tag team match at the end of the show (I know the details, but not sure you want to be impressed by my geekness) and ended up getting involved. That led to the what you see here:




Seeing this got me thinking about the athletes that have made the jump into the ring. Lawrence Taylor, who headlined Wrestlemania IX, probably tops the list as one of the biggest names to appear in WWE. There's a big list of football players.
There are also some other sports stars. Dennis Rodman headlined a pay-per-view by teaming with Hulk Hogan in WCW.
He even has his own action figure (cause that's what boys call it!). There is one on eBay if you're interested in buying one, too. Haha.



Last night also meant a new T.O. Show on VH1. If you read yesterday's post, you saw how excited I was for it and I was once again impressed. This week we saw him arrive in Buffalo. You know, the more I see of him, the more I like him. Some have said it's the worst reality show ever, but I think it helps make him personable which is something he needs.
Here's one of the bonus scenes. It opens with his best friends and publicists talking about the episode. After this, you've gotta check out the entire episode.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

That was the good side of Monday night. The bad was the Brewers game that saw Jeff Suppan give up 10 runs and Josh Willingham put himself into the history books.



Willingham hit not one grand slam (which deserves a pat on the back), but rather, two. Not sure if you're a massacist or not, but you can watch them here. Yeah I know! If it wasn't against the Brewers I'd be impressed. Instead, I'm ready to pack up the memorabilia and get ready for the Bears to open training camp Friday in Bourbonnais. The fact Suppan had to stay in the game because manager Ken Macha doesn't feel better about any of the other pitchers in the bullpen to come into the game says something about where the team is at right now. The talk about the team trading for a top tier pitcher like they did last year to get CC Sabathia, is now long gone because people are realizing it wouldn't help a whole lot. Like one of the guys I follow on Twitter wrote today, it really can't get much worse.

Enough of that, time to get something that can pick us all up. As just a regular guy trying to make it big I like to see some guys that have everything go through some tough times. Well, that's the news today as Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian have apparently parted ways. That, my friends earns her a spot on today's Nussie Hunter. As I'm not really a fan of her booty, here's her front side (which isn't bad if you ask me!)



Another programming note: Tomorrow I'm covering the WIAA Summer baseball state tournament for Preps On The Net in Stevens Point, but I'm going to try to make a post. It might be a bit later than normal, but we'll see what we can do.