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Trying to figure out which would be toughest to take: 1) T.J. Watt being taken before GB drafts; 2) Watt being on the board at 29, and GB trades down; or 3) Watt being on the board at 29, GB drafts someone else.

viewtopic.php?p=1012363#p1012363 I'm not about to hide from my post. Thames is certainly overachieving my expectations...but he's also 30 on a rebuilding team, meaning by the time our farm nucleus is ready to challenge for a playoff spot, Thames will be on the wrong side of 30. (I also wrote: "Even if they do catch lightning in a bottle here, he can't be part of the long-term plans.") I hope he plays well for the next 15 months, and gets traded at the deadline for players who will be a part of the nucleus going forward. I'm rooting for the guy, so long as he's wearing a Brewers uniform. I also can't help but notice that 70% of his HRs have come at the expense of the Reds...who gave up more HR (258) than any other team in 2016.

Thames in the #2 spot seems like quite the vote of confidence for someone re-learning MLB pitching. I have to think going lefty (Thames) - righty (Braun) - lefty (Shaw) is intended to put pressure on other managers: since Braun kills lefties, you can't use the same guy in the pen to pitch to both Thames and Shaw...without giving Braun a favorable matchup (or a free pass). Will be interesting to see how that plays out in late inning scenarios...assuming we have runners on base. Go Brewers! Even if they are 1/2 game back before throwing a pitch, it's nice to have baseball back.

Agreed. When he was talking about the flex offense, and how other NBA / college teams run variations on it....I really wanted C-Web to have more time to explain the concepts and the play. As someone whose basketball IQ is highly correlated to broadcast TV, most color guys don't even try explaining things the way he tried to. Get that man a telestrator!

Happ (and Hayes) staying out of foul trouble is important for the Badgers on Friday; it becomes much harder to limit 3-point attempts when forced to double-team the post.

Credit to VA Tech; the Badgers were just never able to pull ahead by enough to make watching that game comfortable. Great outside shooting tonight; Hayes and Koenig stepped up big time...as did KI.

Duke over Nova Arizona over ND Kansas over Louisville UCLA over UNC Duke over Arizona UCLA over Kansas...and over Duke.

Save some of that for the regular season! (Saw the box score online, and I knew someone would be talking about it here.)

Where has this team been for the past month?

Just when you think the Packers' secondary can't get any worse, Micah Hyde is a Buffalo Bill. (I don't like the Perry deal, because I have my doubts he'll be healthy and on the field for the next 5 seasons.)

Hidden Figures and Arrival were my favorite of the 9 best picture nominees (now that I've seen them all).

I have to wonder if the move from SS to 2b is at least a partial factor in the hesitance to buyout FA year(s) on Villar's part. We know he can play shortstop...and shortstop pays a good deal more on the open market, for the same offensive production.

Man...how's he going to explain that to Chris Carpenter's grandkids?

Brewers Record: 74-88 Playoffs: No Brewers MVP: Braun Brewers CY Young: Guerra Brewers ROY: Woodruff (out of the bullpen) First player traded: (throws dart at bullpen) Blazek Surprise player: Arcia Disappointing player: Thames World Series: Red Sox over Cubs

Packers news: Starks and Shields were both released earlier this week. http://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2017/02/08/shields-announces-departure-packers/97638250/

Like the past 2 years, I haven't seen any of the Oscar picks yet...because I'm going for the Marcus Theaters film festival / crash course on the best picture nominees. (Why does it have to be 9 films...do they realize how hard that is to cram into a couple Saturdays?!?) Honestly, "La La Land" is the only one of the nine I would have dropped $5 for a Tuesday evening viewing...if I hadn't been virtually certain it was going to be nominated. "Whiplash" wasn't my favorite film while watching the nominees 2 years ago, but it's certainly the one which stuck with me, so I'm curious to see Chazelle's next project. (...and having Emma Stone in it doesn't exactly hurt, either.)

The "one more year" rumor for TT seems tied to Chiefs GM John Dorsey (formerly part of the Packers organization from 1991-2012, less one year in Seattle), who is under contract with KC through the 2018 draft. Possibly more interesting than Wolf signing a contract extension with the Packers was the news last week that Brian Gutekunst (Director of College Scouting; interviewed for 49ers GM job like Wolf did) also signed a new contract. Whenever TT steps aside, there will be no shortage of qualified candidates for the position...which leaves me optimistic the organization will be in good hands. --- As to the televised atrocity that was yesterday's game...it's hard to get a pass rush when the ball is consistently coming out in 2-3 seconds, which is what Matt Ryan was willing and able to do to our defense. If you can't cover for that short span of time, no amount of pressure / disguised blitzing is going to be effective. (As the J-S news coverage pointed out, on one play the Packers dropped 9 men into coverage....and Atlanta still completed the pass.) The difference between the Packers defense (27-for-38, 392 yards, 4 TDs) and Seattle the week before (26-for-37, 338 yards, 3 TD) is basically the long run-after-catch TD to Julio Jones. Rollins and Randall's "regression" this year seemed largely the result of playing through injuries. Randall particularly, struggled with tackling since injuring his shoulder during the first half of the year, and has been playing through an injured groin. Over the past 2 seasons, the Packers secondary lost Davon House (Jacksonville, 2015 FA), Casey Hayward (San Diego, 2016 FA), on top of the Shields injury. http://insider.espn.com/nfl/draft/history/_/year/-1/round/-1/team/9 Since 2010, the Packers have only drafted 9 DBs (Burnett in 2010, House in 2011, Hayward and Jerron McMillan in 2012, Hyde in 2013, HaHa and Demetri Goodson in 2014, and Randall / Rollins in 2015). 4 safeties, 5 corners...give or take your classification of Micah Hyde, in 6 years....on a team known for acquiring extra draft picks, that rarely signs free agents. That's how you end up with a 2nd year UDFA without top-end speed being asked to cover one of (if not the) best WR in the league....because given the injuries, he was the best option.

I'm on the side of people who don't fault Capers for trying to avoid the big play, given the lack of healthy, available and talented DBs. Let's look at the roster: Sam Shields (UDFA - though certainly one that panned out) Damarious Randall (1st round, 2015) Quinten Rollins (2nd, 2015) LaDarious Gunter (UDFA) Josh Hawkins (Rookie, UDFA) Demetri Goodson (6th, 2014) Mackington Dorleant (Rookie, UDFA) HaHa Clinton-Dix (1st, 2014) Morgan Burnett (3rd, 2010) Micah Hyde (5th, 2013) Kentrell Brice (Rookie, UDFA) Marwin Evans (Rookie, UDFA) ...with Shields out all year, Rollins in the Concussion Protocol, and Burnett out most of the game, the Packers only had 4 drafted players eligible in the secondary....where they frequently fielded 5 DBs. Gunter has overachieved, largely because he needs safety help over the top against speed receivers....and Hyde has bandaged a lot of the secondary issues because he's a CB / Safety hybrid. In some fairness to TT (...and that's coming from me!), most of the players he's drafted at DB have hit spectacularly. I'll also point out that Joe Thomas (another UDFA) has made some great plays in pass coverage during this run. For a league that's increasingly dependent on the pass, however....he just doesn't draft enough DBs, meaning the fall-off in depth after the top few guys get hurt is pretty significant. I give Capers credit for what he's been able to do, in light of the injuries and the depth situation in the secondary.

He's ...backbackbackback... Gone?!?

Overwatch is definitely worth the money. I stopped playing a few months ago, but would like to jump back in at some point. Rocket League is another game I hate to admit the amount of time I've spent playing. Playing through Dishonored: Definitive Edition, since I was intrigued by the ads and previews for the sequel. Game feels like Assassin's Creed with superpowers, in a Bioshock Infinite -esque dystopia...not a bad combo. That said, the back half of the game is getting tedious, since I've tried to play stealth. There was a sweet spot in the middle missions when I knew enough to use cover to avoid detection, but the later levels pump up the number of hostiles looking for you, and took away a good deal of your ability to hide in the level design. I have a little over a level remaining in the game, and I'm increasingly interested in being done with it. Anti-climactic as it's been, I've definitely got my $10 out of it. FFXV is one of the games I was holding off on playing until I bought my new TV (this past weekend). More than a little nervous it's not going to live up to the FF brand of my childhood, but I'm just hoping it's better than XIII (and 13-2...which I gave up on halfway through. Never went back for the 3rd game). Invisible, Inc. is a turn-based, stealth/strategy game that I'm looking forward to trying out. It's one of this month's free games for PS+ subscribers.

Can't say that I love signing a guy whose already 30, and hasn't played in the majors in 4 seasons (because he only hit .250 / .296 / .431 during his limited time in the bigs) to a 3-year deal. Even if they do catch lightning in a bottle here, he can't be part of the long-term plans...so it's tough to see where they can get value out of trading him (fingers crossed on moving Carter after the DFA). While I certainly hope he does well, it's hard to see him as much more than a stopgap.

We can rest easy, our Packers National Nightmare at Cornerback is over. Makington Dorleant is coming off IR. (I mean, sure, that means we can't get Shields or Lacy back in 2016...but why worry about impact players when a guy I didn't even know was on IR will be back in uniform, maybe even by Monday Night.)

Anyone else notice how lackluster the Packers have been in the 3rd quarter of games? @Jac 3 points @Min 0 Det 3 NYG 0 Dal 0 Chi 7 @Atl 0 Ind 3 8 games, 16 points. Making matters worse: MM prefers deferring until the second half, meaning they've had the ball first in the 3Q more often than not. I hate that the Packers offense fall asleep at halftime, whether it's non-motivation or failing to make adjustments...then plays with urgency in the 4th quarter (whether behind or losing their lead). I hate that Rodgers holds the ball for low-percentage hero throws on 3rd and manageable, rather than moving the sticks. Say what you will about the defense, but the Packers won the turnover battle...and lost the game when the offense went 4-for-12 on 3rd downs.

A game seven, top of the 9th rally ends when the batter is called out after his corked bat explodes, Sammy Sosa-style, with super balls bouncing around on the infield.

...yet. That "strategic partnership" has value, presumably either a sponsorship deal (IIRC, Culvers used to sponsor either the kids club or the Major League Moment) or leverage on the contract terms. If they don't have an announcement before the 2017 season, it's because they couldn't get the value they anticipate out of it.