Bye Bye, Bielema

I was almost giddy when I heard that Bret Bielema took the Arkansas job.  If he lost a third Rose Bowl in a row, you know the boosters would have pressured Barry Alvarez to fire him, and the cash-strapped UW would have had to spend millions to buy out his contract, like 14 other schools that have collectively spent $31 million this year to fire their football coaches.

Instead, Arkansas will pay $1 million to Wisconsin.  Well played, Barry.  Well played.  If you manage to coach the team to a victory over Stanford, no one will feel that you're ridiculously overpaid.

Even the Real Refs Hate the Packers

In other news, the Packers defense still sucks, and Graham Harrell still isn't ready for prime time.  We would have been better off putting an eye patch on Rodgers and keeping him in the game.

Behold, the Power of Twitter

Twitter has been credited by some for helping to boost the 2009 protests in Iran and the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, particularly in Egypt.  Now, it may have hastened the return of the NFL referees.  I doubt that the league offices would have received 70,000 voicemails if the phone number hadn't been tweeted (by Wisconsin State Senator and occasional Daily Show guest Jon Erpenbach, among others).

In the past few days, Packers offensive lineman T.J. Lang has surpassed Justin Bieber as the all-time re-tweet champion.  Of course, if Lang and the rest of the O-line had done a better job protecting Aaron Rodgers in the first half of the game, the debacle at the end would never have happened.  So, I guess he does deserve a lot of credit for ending the lockout.

Return to Oz

I was shown up by a rookie
'Cause our O-line played some hooky
And left me in a bind.
We'd have beat up on Seattle;
I'd have won the Monday battle,
If I only had a line.

The Seahawks fans are noisy;
You can hear them clear in Boise,
And I thought I'd lose my mind.
I'd have had more of their silence
And less of Irvin's violence,
If I only had a line.

I hope those scab officials
Are choking on their whistles;
They've gone too far this time.
But if our offense hadn't tarried,
There'd have been no Hail Mary,
If I only had a line.

An Undeserved Win

The Badgers' offense looked terrible again yesterday.  I can't remember seeing them look so bad as they did in the first half, and I'm old enough to remember the Don Morton era and the winless Jim Hilles season.

Putting Joel Stave in at quarterback was an improvement, but the Badgers only managed to move the ball when Stave was occasionally allowed to throw it.  Giving it to Montee Ball every time to run out the clock with a few minutes left was stupid.  Bielema has pissed away leads this way before, but he never seems to learn that his Woody Hayes crap does not work in the 21st century.  And last year's debacles against Michigan State and Ohio State apparently did not teach him how stupid it is to gift your opponent with a timeout when they are marching back to score with the clock running down.

I thought Utah State would make that field goal in the final seconds and pull out the win.  And they totally would have deserved it.

It also seemed to me that Montee Ball was having trouble with his balance.  He couldn't seem to keep his feet under him once contact was made, making it easy for Utah State to trip him up.  I can't help suspecting that he isn't fully recovered from that concussion he suffered when he was mugged over the summer.

Bielema and Matt Canada need to admit that Danny O'Brien has no business starting.  They should have realized that two weeks ago.  Also, Montee Ball is not going to be a Heisman contender this year, nor is he going to break Barry Sanders' single-season touchdown record.  Stop trying to pad his career by giving him the ball most of the time.  It isn't working, and getting dropped for a loss will not help his stats.

I have a feeling that the hapless O-Line coach will not be the only one to lose his job this season.

The Bears Should Develop Their Own Celebration Moves

...instead of mocking those belonging to Packers' players.  How many more times was Jay Cutler sacked by Clay Matthews after a Bears player mocked his beast move?  Matthews didn't need to do the move again; his attitude was summed up when he nonchalantly examined his fingernails after sacking Cutler yet again.

The Lambeau crowd could be clearly heard chanting "The Bears Still Suck" (although the NFL Network broadcast team ignored it, and they quickly went to a commercial).

A couple years ago, in the run-up to the Superbowl, a Bear mocked Aaron Rodgers' championship belt move after sacking him.  Not long after, B.J. Raji got a pick-six and added his own flourish to the same move.

Taunting is a sign of weakness.  A confident team has no need to publicly disrespect their opponents.  I hope Jay Cutler remembers that the next time he's tempted to spout off and diss the defensive backs that he is about to face.  How'd that work out for you, Jay?

Oh, Canada (sigh)

The Badgers need a new Offensive Coordinator.  Matt Canada clearly isn't up to the task.

Friday Morning Quarterbacking

I am now less concerned about Graham Harrell's ability as a back-up quarterback than I am about our lack of depth on the offensive line.

Then again, maybe the difference wasn't so much playing with Green Bay's starters as it was playing against the Kansas City Chiefs.  Height-challenged rookie Russell Wilson looked like a Pro Bowl contender against the Chiefs last weekend, prompting Seattle's coach to name him as the Seahawks' starter for the season opener (and leaving poor Matt Flynn to remain as a back-up quarterback, albeit at a much higher salary than he enjoyed in Green Bay).

Maybe the Chiefs aren't that bad.  Maybe Russell Wilson really is a superstar NFL quarterback in the making, and Graham Harrell is a reliable back-up for Aaron Rodgers.

Hope springs eternal in the pre-season.

I want to pitch a reality show.

It's called Real Quarterbacks of New York.  Should I call Bravo or ESPN?  Or maybe CBS.

More Questions About Those New Orleans Saints Bounty Payments

This Sports Illustrated article points out "The bounties violated the league's $120.3 million salary cap as extra off-the-books compensation."

Was that compensation taxable income?  If so, did the players report it to the IRS?  If not, will the IRS levy penalties more severe than the NFL?

This Is Appalling

The New Orleans Saints paid bounties to defensive players who sent opponents off the field with injuries.

I was happy for the Saints when they won the Superbowl. I was glad that New Orleans had something to celebrate after the years of disaster, tragedy and economic contraction. I rooted for the Saints in their playoff games this year (not only because I was rooting against the Lions and the 49ers).

No more. They have sunk to the level of the Patriots in my esteem, even lower than the Cowboys (whom I actually began to pity this past season).

I am not alone in that opinion:

The Saints will now rank alongside the Spygate Patriots and cocky Cowboys among the most despised teams in the NFL. This story will follow the Saints for years. It's not going to go away after the league hands down its punishment...Their punishment will be harsh. It will be extensive. And it will be just.

Political Ads During the Superbowl

Generally speaking, political ads do not air during the Superbowl.  However, Chrysler snuck one past the network.  It's halftime for the Obama administration, and Clint Eastwood reminds everyone to have hope, because Detroit (and by extension, America) is coming back. The ad has been pulled off many websites, "due to a copyright claim by NFL properties LLC" but you can still see it here.

There is even some (altered) footage of the Capitol protests in Madison last winter (you can see the difference between the original signs and Chrysler's genericized versions here).

If you watched the post-game presentation of awards, you may have seen another political ad here in Wisconsin. Apparently, someone named Hari Trivedi is running for Wisconsin governor as an independent (which will allow him to skip the primaries and get on the ballot in the general recall election). Although he will need to gather signatures to get on the ballot, he clearly has some money to put into his campaign. He appears to be a pro-business, social libertarian. He may be hoping to attract Republican voters who are fed up with Scott Walker but won't vote for a Democrat.

Congratulations, Matt Flynn

...on being named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week.

What a difference a year (and better blocking) can do.

Congratulations to the NFC North Division Champions

Aaron Rodgers has led the Packers to clinch the NFC North Division.  I always knew he had it in him.

Ugliest First Down Ever

The Packers' coaching staff needs to work on teaching Tim Masthay to hold onto the ball for more than a few steps.

Tiptoe Down the Sidelines

That was some very graceful footwork by Nick Toon on Saturday.  He should be nicknamed Il Ballerino.

It's About Time

The Packers cut Brandon Underwood.  We no longer have to worry about his annual off-season embarrassing arrests.

About that Mascot Controversy

Many citizens of Berlin (the one in Wisconsin, but not to be confused with New Berlin) are upset that they are being forced to give up their traditional Indians team name. They are convinced that there is nothing offensive about a bunch of white kids pretending to be Native Americans; indeed, it is a tribute, to their way of thinking.

I wonder if they (or Rep. Steve Nass) thought the Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau Redmen were a tribute to Wisconsin's first residents.  Or that 19th century minstrel shows were a tribute to African American music and dance traditions.

For the record, I believe that the name Fighting Irish is also deeply offensive, and the NCAA should force Notre Dame to get rid of it just as they forced schools to drop other race-based team names.  I also think think the NFL should follow suit and retire the names Redskins and Chiefs.

On the other hand, Vikings are not an ethnic group but rather an occupation, like Pirates (or Buccaneers).

A Surfeit of Thursday Night Football

Football is usually played over the weekend -- Friday night for high school, Saturday for college and Sunday for the NFL.  The NFL also has Monday night games and, occasionally, Thursday night games.

However, like a blockbuster movie, college football's opening weekend starts on Thursday night.  Tonight, the Badgers will take on UNLV in ESPN's premiere game of the season.  The inherent drama in this game will be the question of will the Badgers cover the spread? 


By an unfortunate coincidence, the Packers' final pre-season game will be played at the same time.  Really, NFL?  You had to schedule the Packers opposite the Badgers?  I noticed that the Packers also play on New Year's Day.  Fortunately, the major college bowl games will be held on Monday, January 2 instead.

Next Thursday night, the Packers will open the NFL season against the Saints.  The Badgers will be back to their usual Saturday slot.  Clearly, John Boehner is not a football fan.

This feeling is familiar...

Today I feel much the way I did last December, after watching the Packers lose to the Detroit Lions.  At the time, I thought there was no way they would make the playoffs.