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!

Saturday will be a telling day in Roenicke era for Brewers

It might be hard to fathom, at first, but Saturday night's tilt with the Reds for Ron Roenicke and the Brewers will be very telling how how much the skipper, just one game into his tenure and his managerial career, has rubbed off on his team.
You would normally see the team take on some of its manager's qualities through the course of the season, but with the way Thursday's game unfolded, Saturday should have some signs all over it to show us how much the players are buying into Roenicke's formula as manager.
The game was going according to plan until the bottom of the ninth inning derailed everything and swung against the Brewers in Roenicke's debut. I know baseball players are programmed to forget what happened the day, but in the first game, with a new manager, with (maybe unfairly) high expectations surrounding the team, players have to know the skipper has their back.
As I wrote yesterday, Thursday was just one game of 162. From the players perspective, yes they had the spring to get used to their new manager, but at the same time still weren't in games that mattered. The off day today had to be spent at least having the conversation with Axford telling him he's still the guy. And telling Casey McGehee that he made the play he though was right.
For McGehee, Roenicke already showed him he had his back by coming out to argue the call. Something that makes him stick out even more after just one game as the manager. He was out arguing two calls Thursday. Something that maybe the previous manager of the team does not do. He showed he stood behind his players until the end.
Some will say he wasn't so stern after the game. Well, to that I say the game was over and in the game of baseball, it was already lost. Yes, it was a heartbreaker, but it was nothing to jump off a bridge over. As the guy leading the team, his demeanor, even at the Major League level, could be picked up by the players. If he's not too down by it all, they won't be down that much on the game and can move forward with the season.
The one thing about Roenicke that has stood out the most has been his transparency and honesty when asked about certain situations. He doesn't waste the media's time and was hardly putting on a sherade after the game Thursday after the loss. He truly was ready to move on. He will go back to Axford in the ninth inning. He did not dance around the fact that the baseline rule he went out to argue was too close to make a call. The umpire made a call and stuck with it. There was nothing more Roenicke could do.
The sun will come up Saturday morning, and the Brewers will play Saturday night. After being proven right with a couple moves that saw Carlos Gomez hitting second in the batting order and Wil Nieves catching on Opening Day, Roenicke can only hope to have that same magic for Game 2 of the season. This time, let's hope it lasts for nine full innings, not just 8 and a half.

It's late on a Friday night and the Nussie Hunter can only think about what the weekend holds. There are two great events going on, besides the Brewers games, in the Final Four and Wrestlemania. The WWE is known for having some of the hottest women in the world working for them. The Bella Twins are no exceptions. Just look at them. There's not only one, but two of them. Yes, I follow them on Twitter and they're funny, too. You can see more of them (and the rest of the amazing WWE Divas) on WWE.com, here.

Greinke injury adds salt on Brewers injury news

I was actually planning on writing something today on how injuries have been the only news coming out of Brewers Spring Training in Maryvale when I was in my car and heard Zack Greinke would miss 2-4 more weeks with a fractured rib.
That news, first broke by the Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt, adds a bit of insult to injury, literally. I know it's still early and the odds all five starters would make it through the entire season without a minor DL stint from any of them would not happen, but to start the season with all this drama, puts the team behind the eight ball so to speak.
Maybe it's the fact Greinke was hurt playing in a pickup basketball game and it has me a bit miffed about the whole ordeal. There's nothing wrong with a guy playing other sports and basketball is a good one to work on endurance. But how he described his games and someone telling him he was going to get hurt, is not a good sign.
As Jaymes Langrehr wrote over on his The Brewers Bar blog, this isn't something to get too worked up over. I see what he's saying. He's not missing the season or an extended period of time. That could be true if this doesn't linger around. The team and the training staff knew of the injury and let him play with it. His control in his two spring starts were far from Greinke's norm. We at least have that in hindsight. But he cannot rush back and has to heed the advice from the doctors at all turns to tread lightly. For the first time in his career he is playing on a team with extremely high expectations. He has made it clear he is a firey competitor and wants to be a part of things. But those expectations are nothing without him. At least, they're not as high without him. He is the Ace of Spades so to speak and will lead the staff when he gets healthy.
As I said, I was planning on writing an injury post today before this news came out and the biggest news after Greinke is Corey Hart. He can't even turn when fielding balls in the outfield, so it's time to keep him shut down for a while. I'm not worried about him so much as Greinke. Yes, he needs at bats, but he doesn't need extended time to build himself up to get his timing down at the plate. He can get 10 at-bats in a day on the Minor League side of the Spring Training complex in Maryvale and be fine. He is still on track to start Opening Day in Cincy.
With Mark Rogers, one of the likely candidates to make fill-in appearances in Greinke's absence at the start of the season also shut down with an injury, the pieces are already falling out of place for the Brewers. At this point they are nothing too serious and can be overcome before the season starts, it's just hard to build back up and get ready once the season starts. Games are every day and this team will be in a race throughout the season, unable to afford throwing a few games by the wayside while multiple stars are healing. That's how seasons get lost.
Am I worried yet? No. I am concerned. News other than that of injuries is welcome. There is some I'm seeing, but the biggest has been the injuries. Hopefully things will start to work themselves out over the next three and a half weeks.

Going to shift some gears here. Remember a couple weeks back when The Rock made his return to a WWE ring? Well, it was Stone Cold's turn this week. The Rattlesnake makes his entrance around 8:30 if you don't want to watch this whole thing.


Now onto our Nussie Hunter portion of tonight's broadcast. Aubrey O'Day premiered her new reality show on the WE Network Monday night. She wasn't the main attraction, however. That honor went to the Krupa sisters. I'm sure you've heard of Joanna. She was a Juggy dancer on the Man Show back in the day and has made a couple appearances in Playboy. Her sister is equally as exquisite. As you can see below, they stole the show. There's more where that came from, here.

Top 5 Brewers storylines to watch in Spring Training

Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the Brewers tomorrow (Woooooohoooooo!) in Maryvale Baseball Park. It promises to be an action-packed month and a half going into the start of the season on March 31 in Cinncy.
There are some things to watch develop or see if they do develop during the time in Maryvale that should set the tone for the regular season. (Counting down from 5 to 1 with 1 being most important.)
5. Who fills the few roster spots left? This is the first time in recent memory, to me anyway, only two spots on the bench and one or two spots in the bullpen are up for grabs. If position battles are you what you like to watch in spring training, the Brewers will not be your camp to keep an eye on. Every starting position is filled. From the starting five of Greinke, Marcum, Gallardo, Wolf and Narveson to the position players, everything has been answered over the winter on who will start. In the bullpen, one one or two spots remain, with a couple of the young arms likely being sent down to Triple-A Nashville to stay stretched out and possibly come up and make a spot start or two, if needed. That being Mark Rogers, of course. I worked things out on the roster a while back in an Examiner.com post last month after the signing of Takashi Saito that he would join John Axford, Zach Braddock, LaTroy Hawkins, Kameron Loe and Manny Parra as returnees. That would leave Mike McClendon, Mitch Stetter and Sean Green to fight it out for one, maybe two spots, depending on if the Brewers carry 12 or 13 pitchers.
For position players, all eight starting spots are set, leaving four our five spots left on the bench. Two of those spots are filled with Craig Counsell and Mark Kotsay, the latter of which was just signed, but should make the team as a pinch hitter. There are two question marks left to fill on the bench. The first is, who will be the backup catcher? George Kottaras is back in the mix, but so is Mike Rivera and Wil Nieves. To many, Nieves has the experience the Brewers want to help mentor Jonathan Lucroy. They will let those three duke it out in spring training. Mat Gamel is the other question. Would you rather he make the team and site on the bench and pinch hit or stay in Triple A and get regular time at the plate and in the field?
Even manager Ron Roenicke says it is pretty much set. His take on it is pretty good, though. "That means we have a pretty good team going into camp." Yep.
4. Will contracts (or lack thereof) be a distraction? Rickie Weeks is working on an extension leading into his arrival to Spring Training and Prince Fielder is likely in his last year with the Brewers. Roenicke feels that in the business of the game, those guys will not let those things bother them once they get on the field and play. To me, it will probably only be a distraction when it is brought up in the clubhouse by the media after the games. Mainly with Rickie, it will probably be a distraction in Spring Training if a deal is not done. that gives him a few weeks to move on from it and be ready for Opening Day on March 31. The good thing about it, too, is that for the rest of the guys this isn't a distraction. I don't worry about it distracting Prince, at all. He has had this talk circling him for a couple years now, so he'll continue to play his way through it at his high level. Rickie is the same way. There has always been talk surrounding him about his injuries, but last year he showed what he could do when healthy and should be fine now. I don't see it bother him, either.
3. Will Roenicke be true to his word and be more aggressive on basepaths? Spring Training will be the first chance we will get a chance to see if Roenicke will be true to his word and run more on the bases. As Tom Haudricourt points out in his post today in the Journal Sentinel, Dale Sveum hinted the players are excited for the move and with guys like Weeks, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Carlos Gomez it's clear why. There is plenty of speed on this team and getting out and putting pressure on the defense to stop them from running could be a key to this offense putting more runners in scoring position. Everyone within the coaching staff things running is a good thing for the team and is the one thing they have not done much of over the last couple of years. It will give the team that chance to manufacture more runs. How many times did Yovani Gallardo lose games when he gave up just one or two runs? Putting runners in motion will open things up to squeeze a handful more wins out of the season which could be a difference in the race the Brewers hope to find themselves in.
2. Will the starting pitching live up to expectations? This one won't be answered in Spring Training, but like that saying goes "You can't win a race at the start, but you can lose it" the Brewers just hope things build for the regular season. Part of me also thinks there are a lot of unrealistic expectations put on Greinke especially to be the savior of the franchise this season. Yes, he is and is going to be good, but there is a chance he will lose a handful of games through the season, if not more. And that doesn't even mean he'll pitch bad, that's just how it goes over a long season. Of course, Shaun Marcum and Gallardo have some expectations to live up to, as well. Both were Opening Day Starters last year, as well, and want to be considered 1a and 1b choices for this team. It's hard to get a real gauge on how guys will pitch in the regular season, though from the spring. Some guys work on pitches in the spring and are all over the place. Then, by the time the season gets here, everything is taken care of and they settle in. If they pitch well, they can't be anointed as heroes like that, either. This one will set itself up for the season and we'll have to wait for an answer. I'll revisit it later.
1. Willl the defense be able to help out the pitching that is now in place? Amidst the trades to acquire pitching, the Brewers dealt some solid fielding away. Alcides Escobar was not great, but pretty good in the field and Lorenzo Cain was great when he was in last year. In their places are Yunesky Betancourt at short and Carlos Gomez back in center. For Gomez, defense was never the thing that anyone questioned. He's pretty good in the field, but it's his bat that got him benched. Betancourt is somewhat similar, but has some questions with his glove. Of course, on the infield, there's a bit more pressure and detail to work on. Can he turn the double play with Rickie. There has to be a solid effort from both guys to put this together.
Outside from them Ryan Braun and Corey Hart had their own "D'Oh" moments last year that made you scratch your head with their play in the field. They kept their spots in the lineup because they were hitting the face off a baseball, but still have work to do. Casey McGehee at third was the same way, but is solid with the glove, as was Rickie at second base. And Prince, well, he's Prince. He led the league in walks last year. Finally, there's Jonathan Lucroy he played at Double-A, Triple-A and the Majors last season and will be the starter this season. I'd guess Roenecke will have him as almost as everyday as a catcher can be (thinking 4 of 5 games in most cases). He improved by leaps and bounds during the season last year. Give him an offseason to prepare and a full spring as the No. 1 guy and I expect him to be very solid behind the plate this season.

That's all I've got for now. Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments and I'll put something together during Spring Training.

Now on to some other pop culture news from yesterday. The first is a biggie. If you know me, you know I was once a huge WWE fan. I've since cooled off on it, checking in every now and then to see what they have going on. Last night was a big night though because of one ELECTRIFYING MAN!

Here's Part 2...


Before we get into the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast, here's a bit of a teaser. Ten of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models were on David Letterman for the reveal of the cover model and did the Top 10 list. Take a look. Not the best list, but you're not listening to what they're saying, except for the accents, anyhow.

Now to the cover model. Irina Shayk rocked the cover and looks great in the magazine, judging by what I saw on the new SI.com Swimsuit Website. Wow! Here's a preview!

I'll take a 1-0 start to the season anyday!

Well, let's get right into it. The Bears' 19-14 win over the Lions Sunday at Soldier Field was not without the play that will be felt and replayed over and over again throughout this NFL season.
My initial thought was, OK, this game is a loss. There are 24 seconds left, they have three timeouts, but that doesn't make things easier. But when I saw the play had been ruled an incomplete pass and I saw the replay, I had a gut feeling the play would not be overturned. Yes he caught the ball initially, but how he was holding it with one hand and just setting it down when his hand hit the ground, cost the Lions the score. It's simple really. That's why coaches teach high school kids to put the ball to their chest when they catch it. Had he down that and tossed the ball to a ref or even spiked the ball, the touchdown would have stood.
The best explanation of the thing is from former Director of Officials in Mike Pereira, who now works for Fox Sports. Here he is...

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=84f74ba3-944b-4246-8a5b-a50d8c618c1c&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="Online OT: Pereira's Week 1 Calls">Video: Online OT: Pereira's Week 1 Calls</a>


Alright, now time for a look at the rest of the game and the good and the bad from this team.
I'll say the best thing I saw in the day was the throw Jay Cutler made to Matt Forte to get the Bears the lead. It is clear if Mike Martz has things his way, Forte will play the role of Marshall Faulk in this offense. He is capable of doing so and the 151 receiving yards in the opener is the most for a running back on opening day in NFL history.
And I cannot go a game recap post without mentioning the man above wearing No. 6. No folks, Kevin Butler is long retired, but Jay Cutler had 371 yards with two touchdowns. He looked poised and ready to spread the ball over the field. That's the work in the Martz offense that I wanted to see in the preseason. It was apparently kept under wraps and was ceremoniously unveiled Sunday. There is also one Cutler stat that stands out to me and it is the one interception he threw. Yes, Aaron Rodgers, the guy many gave the MVP to, including myself has more interceptions that Cutler. So all the pundits can sit down (at least for now).
There were some things that upset me. Namely the turnovers that kept this game close.  It's not rocket science and a coach doesn't even had to mention it to the players. It's like a pitching coach telling a pitcher to throw strikes. He's going to respond with a "No kidding, thanks for the help." The Greg Olsen cough up in side the five was the biggest one to me. Last year the Bears were the worst inside the redzone and you can't expect them to be that bad again. this start to the season isn't exactly encouraging, though.
I am pretty sure it will get fixed and we will not be talking about this for long.
Week 2 is at Dallas and it should be another good one. Look for the preview on that one during the week!

Time now for the Nussie Hunter and we go no farther than the WWE to find our gorgeous guest for today. It's the one and only Maryse Oulett.  The fine folks at Guyism.com have more photos of her. Be sure to take a look! Here's a preview:

We're back. Just in time for the "Showcase of the Immortals"

First off, I'd just like to say yes I'm back. I hope you found something to do with your time and will find time again to squeeze my sarcasm and sports talk into your day. After the true madness of March, I'm back. There's baseball around the corner and last night, another great sporting event, Wrestelmania XXVI. Got that and a bunch of other goodies to take care of today! IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK!

If you know me, you know I grew up a huge WWE (or WWF) fan. But, like most I know, it's kind of grown stale to me of late. Well, except for the one night a year when I can still get a little geeked up over it and just let myself get into that. I'm not alone in thinking this way. I got an offer to chill with my man, Golberg in the Janes-Vegas for the event, and he wrote an all-day diary of his wrestling extravaganza. It's pretty good stuff. Check it out!
That night is Wrestlemania and last night was another epic edition of the "Showcase of the Immortals." And with all the things I say about it, it was damn good.
I'd have to say seeing Bret Hart in the ring again and hearing that music hit. brought back great memories of being 14 and yelling at the TV. The match, however, left a little to be desired. But hey, he beat the tar out of Vince. Must be his way of apologizing for the Screwjob.
I was a little apprehencious on how the John Cena v Batista match would come off. Let's be real, they're both big and slow. But for those that still chant to Cena "You can't wrestle," dude, he carried the match. He can out wrestle the vast majority of the guys in that company and in the business. Hell, the guy IS the business. That's why THE CHAMP IS HERE!
Finally, the match of the night, Shawn Michales versus the Undertaker. Yes they fought last year and the Dead Man moved to 17-0 at Wrestlemania. Well, this year it was "The Streak" against "The Career." Did you really think the streak was going to end? Well, to be real, a couple of times in that match, I thought it would. These guys brought down the house. Probably one of the greatest matches I've seen... EVER. And yes, I was yelling at the TV with Josh (JL to you!) laughing at me the whole time. But yes, the Undertaker won and it was a little emotional afterwards.
Here's Shawn in the back after the match. Great stuff and he's truly done. It's a great career. Love him with Bret Hart in the back and with his wife and all the boys.
Having seen the last few 'Mania's, this one ranked right up there even though I haven't watched the TV shows much. Funny how after 8 months way, not much has changed. Haha.


Another highlight of the weekend every year is the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. This year even moreso with Bob Uecker being inducted, among others. He was on his game as usual and has the crowd in stitches throughout. They don't have his full speech online, so we'll have to wait for the Wrestelmania DVD to get off the that goodness. I know there was more than the 2 minutes he gave on USA Network.
Also inducted was "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase. How awesome is this guy? Yeah, he rocks. Love the laugh. Love everything he is about. Truly one of the best heels of all time. 

Uecker being inducted brings me around to the time of year I always look forward to and the staple of this blog, Brewers season. Spring training is winding down and Friday "The boys of summer" will be in Milwaukee. Yours truly will be there to welcome them back. There's still some things being worked out by the braintrust of the Crew, but seeing Prince hit his first homer of the spring Saturday, showed the bats are ready. Now, they just need to work out the pitching staff. Word on that is supposed to come today. I'm looking forward to see how things shake down. I'm not sure they'll let Suppan go. The money is one thing and all the arms need to be kept around... Just in case.

Anyway, as it's nice out I have to get going so I can go get some round ball in. Oh, but before I do, I didn't forget about the Nussie Hunter. He's got some good stuff for you today. One of the most underrated WAGs out there. She is married to Adam Archuleta. Yes, Jennifer Walcott. She is nothing short of awesome. And well, that makes her Wilber's Way Worthy (I think I just found a new catchphrase!)!

Lovie Smith: "Trust me." Umm, my patience is running thin!

Bears CEO Ted Phillips


Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo


Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith

First off, Welcome to 2010. As this is the first post of the New Year, I promise to bring it and start the year off with a bang. Lots of goodness and a big announcement coming, too!

I couldn't pick just one of what the Chicago media is calling the "Three Stooges" who stood before that media and Bears fans at Halas Hall in Lake Forest yesterday and contradicted one another and themselves for an hour, so I picked all three.
They promised change, so they fired Ron Turner and six offensive assistants along with opening up the defensive coordinator position.
But sitting through it and reading some take on the press conference, two things were made clear. First, the defensive coordinator will be a "Butt puppet" and second, all the talk on the status quo not being acceptable means nothing if you keep the head coach.
I know the offensive coordinator will likely be allowed to do what he wants to do next season - He'll also be Jay Cutler's fourth offensive coordinator in as many years - the reason Lovie was not fired as coach was not cited during the wreck of a press conference.
The real reason is the looming possibility of a lockout in 2011 that would mean Lovie and likely Jerry Angelo and Ted Phillips, if let go, would collect a check for doing nothing and their successors would do the same. And the McKaskey's can't afford that.
On the football front, this team needs a bit of help on defense, mainly at defensive back, and the offensive line needs to be retooled, AGAIN. And that's after the Bears address the need of a No. 1 wide receiver. And all of this without a No. 1 or No. 2 draft pick this year unless they get creative and start making trades to get picks.
Yeah, they had better get to work because I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing.


Click here for Part 2.

I know I missed this yesterday, but I cannot pass up a chance to talk about one of my favorite things as a kid. Yes I was a big WWF follower and like the first words out of Bret Hart's mouth "Hell must have frozen over."
"The Hitman" was one of my favorites as a kid and even watching this I felt like it was 1997 again. The Shawn Michaels bit was pretty good, but I HATED with Vince McMahon finish to this segment. What does kicking Bret in the balls say about anything? It says Vince needed to have the last laugh and didn't want Bret to have the moment for himself which was pretty fucking (sorry!) lame.
I'm at least glad Bret finally got back to WWE TV and could pave the way for him to make some sort of Wrestlemania appearance and at least help present his father, Stu Hart.
On top of it all, it made pro wrestling relevant again for the first time time Stone Cold and The Rock quit wrestling about five or six years ago.



Back in July Chad Ochocinco hinted that he'd start his own line of condoms. Well, over the weekend he released the prototype box. I'm not sure what the NFL thinks of this idea, but it's pretty funny if you ask me!

I have a couple videos for you now before I get into what is a pretty big announcement.



I'm all about the military, but these guys aren't that bright!



Scoops Jackson is taking the Interweb by storm. This is one of his best. Look for him at a press conference near you! If you like this, be sure to check this one with Tom Brady... CLASSIC!

Alright, now for this big announcement I've been pushing you to read more and more for. You probably remember Vaughan, who wrote for me a couple months back. Well, he and I, among others, are joining forces to push his sports consulting firm, On The Line Sports, to the next level this year. He's partnering with me here at Wilber's Way to reach out to basketball coaches and players. Be sure to check out the link and head over to his blog. It should be going full strength shortly and we'll have some great content for those looking to get into coaching and play the game of basketball at the highest level.



We can't have the first blog post of the new year without the Nussie Hunter chiming in. He's been following the Howard Stern Show for a bit and over the weekend when it was revealed that Artie Lange was rushed to the hospital. Everyone thought we were going to get updates Monday morning when the show came back from vacation, but that was not the case as Howard was pretty quiet.
Speaking of the Stern Show one Lisa Michelle was name Miss Howard TV for the month of February. I'd say she's well deserving of the title. Take a look for yourself below. Here's more of those...

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.

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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.

Monday night is now T.O. Show Night!!!

Red Rover, Red Rover, we call T.O. over!! Well, it's another Mooooonday night and while there's not Monday Night Football, there is Terrell Owens on Monday night which, to me, is just as good.
I am a sports guy and heck, I've made my living covering the games I love for the past four years, so that might have a part in this, but I finally saw the first episode and loved the show. It gave a peak at him as a guy and it was pretty great.
The opening of the show humanized him and showed his soft side as he was on his couch and obviously had been crying. For those that laughed at him, just think about getting fired and what you would think.
The funniest part of the show that made him seem like just a regular guy was when he first arrived in L.A. and caught the eye of the real estate agent. I mean, he looked like a kid when he saw the Asian Jules and smiled like a little kid. Could you really blame him? I mean, c'mon.
That's why I'm so pumped for tonight's show which shows him arriving in Buffalo. Could be some awesomeness there!

Continuing on the football talk today, here's a countdown that will tell you when it is football season. In more pertinent news, NFL Commish Roger Goodell handed down a conditional re-instatement of Michael Vick today and he will be allowed back into the league but will have to serve a suspension that will last until Week 6 of the regular season. Peter King at SI.com has a story that's on point on the subject.
My take on the matter is this and it might not be what jives with what the "good guy" would normally say, but hell, just listen. He did his time. He knows he messed up. And he's got Tony Dungy at his side now to help make sure, as Peter King says, some of those "hangers on" aren't around anymore to pull his life down. So how can you deny the man a chance to make a living? I can understand the additional 4-6 game suspension so see if he has learned and can be a model citizen. He gets through these next two months, then let him show what he can do for a team and maybe show a lot of those naysayers he's still got it. Don't make him pay anymore for his crimes. I've read some "For what Michale Vick did to those dogs, he should suffer 10-fold." I mean, really? Yes, what he did was awful, but the point of the justice system is to rehabilitate a person. Don't, just because he is famous and a football player, try to make an example out of him. That's just as bad an idea as giving him a free pass b/c he's an NFL QB.

OK, enough time on my soapbox, let's bring some funny (Plus I need something to get my mind of the Brewers struggles).

I found this on SI.com's Hot Clics today and I must say, after last week's rain delay in Pittsburgh, some of the funniest baseball talk and events seem go down during them. This is St. Louis prospect Casey Mulligan dancing to "Thriller" during a rain delay. Takes a bit for the good stuff, but just wait for it.



This is another one from Hot Clicks, that shows some differences in the end of Back to the Future I and Back to the Future II. The one difference I like, Elisabeth Shue. Love her!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Time for the return of Nussie Hunter and this one is from WWE as last night I watched WWE Night of Champions with Susie and Nick. Decent show, but one thing people don't realize is the fact they have some of the hottest women you've seen on their shows. It's ridiculous. One of my faves, Mickie James, won the Divas Title last night and I couldn't be prouder.



Hope to have a recap of Shaq as the host of WWE Raw tomorrow for you guys. Have a good night!