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| By Dave Begel Special to OnMilwaukee.com E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Dave Begel |
| Published March 3, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. |
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Sports fans know all about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Those emotions come with the territory. So do frustration and confusion. In that spirit, here is Volume XXVIMCXVIIXCI of "Stuff that Bugs Me."
1. So Tom Brady has married Gisele Bundchen. Mr. All-American. Mr. Clean Cut. Mr. "I Want My Daughter Top Meet A Guy Like This." Except that he started dating Ms. Bundchen when his old girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan, who's nothing to sneeze at, was three months pregnant with their child. The baby's name is John. Brady is Mr. Scuzzball. Welcome sports version of the Brad and Angelina show.
2. Back when I worked at a newspaper (anyone remember newspapers?), we used to joke about the "Milwaukee Complex." It's kind of an inferiority complex mixed with some jealousy. The complex manifested itself in the way we would stake a claim to notable people with even a passing connection to the city. The example we used was "Babe Ruth, who once flew over Milwaukee, hit 60 home runs last season." Apparently, we still have that complex. I love Gary D'Amato of the Journal Sentinel. But his story Saturday about figure skater Allissa Czisny was just like the old days. The headline said Cizisny has "utilized Pettit ice." The cutline of the photo says "Czisny, of Bowling Green, Ohio, has come to Milwaukee on many occasions to visit relatives." The story barely mentions her visits to Milwaukee, except to say that she's got relatives here and that she visits about once a year. There are baseball players who visit Milwaukee a lot more than Czisny. About the only thing "Milwaukee" about her is the weird spelling of her last name.
3. I can't believe how expensive it is to park around the Bradley Center. Last week, I went to an Admirals game and took my grandson to the Auto Show. Total parking was $30. My admission for the two of us to the Auto Show was $5. The parking was $15. Ever get the feeling that you're being ripped off? And speaking of parking and ripping, does anyone else want to take those new meters with the numbers on them and the central pay station downtown and rip them out by their roots and throw them in the junk pile reserved for old refrigerators?
4. I think covering spring training can be about the toughest thing in the world for a sportswriter. Everybody's happy. I'm sure Drew Olson could talk about this forever. But I wish some sportswriters would work a little harder. When I see a story from spring training with the headline, "Hitters Work to Avoid Deep Slumps" I've got to wonder: is this news? I think it would be news if the hitters were working to welcome deep slumps.
5. Friday is a big day. It's the one-year anniversary of Brett Favre's retirement speech. That would be the perfect day, THE PERFECT DAY, to announce the retirement of Favre's jersey. The Packers are bigger than any feud. This is one of the most hallowed franchises in sports history. It's time to act like it.
6. I'm really bummed by Dominic James' injury. I remember the past two off-seasons when there was this debate about him turning pro. I could make a good argument that James is only the third-best guard on the Golden Eagles' roster. But he's an articulate guy with a great game for a player his size. With him, the Golden Eagles stood a chance of doing some damage in the tournament. Without him, not so much. Marquette's a good team. But it's not really in league with the big boys.
7. Did anybody else love seeing Barack Obama at the Bulls-Wizards game the other night? He dressed casually and sat next to a little kid, Obama knew enough to throw a fist pump when Kurt Hinrich hit a three-pointer. Somehow, our past president -- who was a major league baseball owner -- didn't seem like much of a sports fan. This president does.
8. I shake my head in wonder at the mess that is the racetrack at State Fair Park. I don't know why I should be shocked -- government is involved. In this case, state government. What needs to happen is that the state should get out of the way. The Milwaukee Mile is a special place, despite the best efforts of politicians and political appointees to wreck it. We better do something now before they ruin it forever.
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5 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Posted by Captool73 on March 5, 2009 at 5:18 p.m. (report)
Was that last speil an infomercial or spam disguised as a comment?
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Posted by mikerealmenguides on March 4, 2009 at 5:21 p.m. (report)
Attention football fans... I hope you can forgive me for breaking in, but I figured all Packer fans would be interested in knowing this. Brett Favre will un-retire and play one last time. Its virtually a lock. In fact, I can even tell you what team he will play for. And answer all the questions regarding his fallout with the Packers and the so-called Right Mindset. As a matter of fact, I have even been in contact with Bretts agent, Bus Cook with the details. Its going to take some time, but I can almost assure you that not only will Brett play again, but when the time is right, which team he will be playing for. I suppose many of you will ask me how I know this, and the answer is that this is what I do for a living. I help companies and organization attract and retain their most valuable employees. It is very similar to being a sports agent. If you remember the movie, Jerry Maguire, that is very similar to what I do. Unfortunately, that is why I could predict that the Jets would not be a good fit for Favre even before the 2008 season started, and that Green Bay would play uninspired football without him. Naturally everyone just wanted to hope for the best at that point, but sadly those two predictions came true. However, its also why I can predict that Brett Favre will want to make a Roger Clemens-like return (in other words, no training camp), and also tell you which team he will land with. It will be a step-by-step process, but the first step is already a lock to happen. I have already confirmed with a source with one of the major publications covering the team I predict will ask Brett out of retirement one more time. And yes, I am even willing to show the email I sent to Favres agent. If you are interested, I will be providing updates to help everyone see just how the process will unfold at http://realmenguides.blogspot.com/. I have also made the guideline that I sent to Bretts agent, Bus Cook, available to anyone who would like to read it. It details how Brett could play for one more season, and which team it will be that will most likely ask him to come out of retirement one more time. In fact, Pittsburghs success in Super Bowl XLIII virtually guarantees it. And as far as the Right Mindset, I am providing all those answers for free in the blog. Because truthfully, helping companies and their employees achieve the Right Mindset for Success is what I do every day. And no matter how you feel about Brett Favre, we can all benefit from the Right Mindset. Michael Davis www.realmenguides.com
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Posted by HometownSC on March 3, 2009 at 1:17 p.m. (report)
The "Milwaukee Complex" is just so infuriating at times. There is no reason that the media has to go stretching to find wonderful stories of people with very legitimate connections to our fair city. The number of famous people who have called or do call Milwaukee home could fill a book, but unfortunately they do not traipse in the hallowed air of pop rock or the big-money professional sports. This must change, as does helping people from the city to realize those types of aspirations.
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Posted by Enough with Favre on March 3, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. (report)
Dave, he's just not that into you. Get over him and move on.
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Posted by buck on March 2, 2009 at 9:18 p.m. (report)
begel, you're past articles used to infuriate me because i pretty much always disagreed with your viewpoint and i felt your articles were transparent in their effort to "stir the pot," but now i actually long for those days, as your writing has now devolved into a series of bizarre rants from a seemingly senile man that are not worth reading in the least, and larry king has already cornered that market.
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