Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. Before we begin, please say hello to Ashley and Liz, two of the infamous Packers bikini girls pictured above. You'll hear from the UW-Milwaukee students in a little while, but we want to make it absolutely clear that we didn't use their picture to try to titillate or trick you into clicking this column.

Our purpose was twofold:

First, it's to say a symbolic farewell to football season in Wisconsin. The Packers gacked against the Giants, adding two weeks to what has already been a brutal winter and denying fans a chance to see the bikini girls -- and the Packers -- unite for one more game in Glendale, Ariz.

The second reason we used the photo was more selfish. The longer our male readers linger over it, the shorter the lines will be at the car wash this weekend.

On to the notes...

One last look: If you can stomach it, take a look at the second picture in the photo montage above. It shows the view from behind Brett Favre on the fateful interception on Sunday afternoon. Discuss.

Tough times: With the Packers on hiatus, sports fans in the area may start paying more attention to the Bucks.

That might not be a good thing for the franchise.

A dismal 106-75 loss Friday night in Toronto dropped the Bucks' record to 17-27. Given the talent on the team, and the lofty preseason expectations, that mark should be a cause for anger. Unfortunately, many in the market have already written off the local hoopsters.

With attendance, ratings and fan interest sinking quickly, the Bucks are doing what they can to stop the skid. A few weekends ago, a young man walked through my neighborhood peddling discounted Bucks tickets door-to-door. On Wednesday, the Bucks put out a press release designating their Thursday night game against the Pacers "'80s Night."

This team has good and bad nights on the court. While the lack of consistency is a problem, the bigger issue is the fact that there seems to be a stale vibe around the entire team.

Bango and the Energee! dancers and the jugglers, tumblers and acrobats they bring out at halftime are doing everything they can do. But, there seldom seems to be a "buzz" at the Bradley Center.

Yi Jianlian looks like he's going to be a nice player, but you don't see a huge groundswell of interest in him or the team.

Larry Krystkowiak is a tremendous person and a promising coach. He's not to blame for the malaise and it's becoming clear that neither Terry Stotts nor Terry Porter was culpable, either.

Coaching is the least of the Bucks' problems. The team needs an injection of life from somewhere and they need it soon. Fans are growing apathetic, and that's the worst thing that can happen to a pro sports franchise.

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3 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by gatecrasher on Jan. 29, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. (report)

It's a shame about the Bucks but all those empty seats can be blamed on shoddy personnel moves. The Bucks ignored promising young college talent that folks were interested in watching after exposure during the NCAAs, McDonald's All America Team or read about in SI or ESPN. Instead Harris tried to stock the team with players who are either semi-obscure foreigners or fringe support players. That's not a way to fill the empy seats, generate enthusiasm from the locals or win games. I don't know what the attraction is but players like Markota (playing in Russia), Ilyasova (Playing in Barcelona), Pachula (playing in Atlanta), and Jianlian (who will be out of Milwaukee as quickly as he can) don't make it as guys I wanted to go see.

Posted by rniam on Jan. 26, 2008 at 11:14 p.m. (report)

Ummmm, I was pretty bummed about the Packers loss till I saw the "titillating" photo accompanying this story. Suddenly the prospect of seeing bikinis adorning fine corinthian leather seems less appealing than, say, watching my neighbor trying to move his broke ass pickup truck off the snowbank where he drunkenly left it the night before. . .

Posted by sandstorm on Jan. 26, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. (report)

larry kriskowhatever is a cheap mofo. back in his playing days i waited on him at a downtown diner. the bill was $11.45. he paid for it with 3 $5 gift certificates. the boy making a cool 1 mil a year, picked up 2 of the 3 dollars AND the change after his meal. trust me. the service was fine. anyway, i hope he saved his pennies for when he gets bounced out of town again, because he is waaaaaaaaaaaay over his head here.