I'm old enough to be crotchety and to get irritated by things, both big and little. So without further ado, here are some things that I can clearly live without:

I could really do without the people who make up the schedules for professional sports. It won't be long when we reach that magic time span when four major professional sports -- football, baseball, basketball and hockey -- all will be playing at the same time.

There is nothing in the world that proves more how much money rules the world of pro sports and how unique the world of sports really is. In any other business you can think of, the people who run the show will go to great lengths to avoid competition. They tremble in fear at the competition coming from other businesses fighting for the same piece of the pie. Not in pro sports. With television and money calling the tune, sports is above all that. I would absolutely love to see one of the big four say "enough is enough" and shorten the season to a reasonable length. I mean, we could still be playing baseball in November this year. Lord Almighty.

I could really do without ever having to watch Mike McCarthy on television again. There is absolutely nothing interesting, surprising or revealing watching McCarthy talk to the press. I know a lot of people think, "so what?" when it comes to talking with the press. But it's an important part of the job for a coach. For one, the people who pay his salary get their information from the press. For another, the way a coach behaves has an impact on his team. If McCarthy's act with the press (rigid, humorless, grim, stuffy) is an indication of how he is with his players, it makes you suspect his relationship with his team. This coach looks so uptight that you've got to wonder when this bomb is going to detonate. I can't imagine a bunch of 20-somethings listening to McCarthy and actually getting fired up to perform. I can easily imagine them being turned off to their coach and that attitude being reflected on the field.

I could really do without the FedEx cup in golf. Another shining example of money driving the truck. The PGA Tour wants all of us to think that the battle for the $10 million and the FedEx cup is a thrilling fight that will keep us all on the edge of our seats. It just goes to show that you can't buy status in this world. You can earn it, but you can't buy it, no matter how much money you have. This is a gimmick event. Golf has some famous big-time events: the four majors, the Ryder Cup, maybe the Presidents Cup. But try as they might, I don't think anyone is talking about Fed Ex points when they gather around the water cooler. In commercials for the thing, one of the pros actually says, "When your career is over, people will ask 'How many Fed Ex cups did you win?'" I think not. Not even close.

I could really do without Andrew Bogut talking to reporters about how he's going to take it kind of easy on his back as he gets into the swing of the season. I don't want Bogut to take it easy. I want him to play with verve and abandon. If he can't, he can't. But I don't want to see somebody tip-toeing through the job of being a center in the NBA.

I could really do without the big mouths in Ultimate Fighting Championships trying to win our affection with blood and bluster. Dana White, the cretin who runs UFC, was boisterous and unrelenting in his prediction that his UFC 103 would vastly outdraw the "dying sport" of boxing and the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez. The real fight outdrew the fake wrestlers by more than two to one. Thank God.

I could really do without the red shirt/black pants thing for Tiger Woods on the last day of a golf tournament. Many people think Tiger is some kind of machine. I think changing his clothes would make him seem a little more human, and that's never a bad thing.

I could really do without the continual drama at the State Fair Park race track. Let's either do it right by paying off that horrible debt and hire somebody who knows what they are doing, or shut the doors and turn it into a roller skating rink.

I could really do without PETA, even though I'm not a Michael Vick fan. Even if there was no Michael Vick, I could still really do without PETA.

I could really do without "The Star Spangled Banner." With all the useless stuff Congress does, why can't somebody change our national anthem to "America the Beautiful." It is much easier for crowds at sporting events to sing. In addition, Ray Charles has a version that gives you chills.

I could do without my memory. Because with it, I can't help but remember what it was like around here last year as the soap opera of the Brewers' playoff chase held our fierce attention. Nobody is holding their breath this year. Holding our noses? Maybe so.