Join us starting May 10th for the relaunch of WiscoSportsTalk! Thanks for being patient with us as we redesign the site and add a bunch of new features that our fellow die-hard Wisconsin sports fans asked for.

We’re still getting there…..but when we do…..ahhhhhh shit son.

Until then, follow @WiscoSportsTalk on Twitter and support our Bucks #fearthedeer and our Crew #fearthebeer!

See ya soon!

Jerome

The NFL has officially changed its overtime rules… But only for the playoffs. The world is coming to a change, with health care reform and overtime reform in the same week. However, unlike health care reform, this new change should have few opponents for the following reasons.

1.)  The old rule was straight up unfair. Whichever team won the coin toss in overtime had the clear advantage of winning. All the team had to do was get inside field goal range. “Evens or Odds” or a game of “One. Two. Three. Horsengoggle!” made as much sense as the old rule.

2.)  The Packers and other teams will not have to frantically pray for a “Heads” or a “Tails”. One example I can think of is a Detroit Lions game a few years ago. In overtime, the Lions won the toss and for whatever reason not know to man, they decided to kick! The Lions of course being the losers that they are, lost the game.

Why does this rule only take effect in the playoffs you ask? Well the official explanation for that was player safety. The NFL fears that if they were to extend the game by one drive, players might get hurt. Kind of stupid I think, but better safe than sorry.

Profootballtalk.com is reporting that Packers TE/Swiss-Army knife Spencer Havner was arrested for a DUI early last Saturday in California following a motorcycle accident. Havner sustained a fractured scapula and lacerations to the back of his head and arm. He was not wearing a helmet.

According to TheUnion.com, Havner was driving a Kawasaki motorcycle around a cul-de-sac at 2:45 am. It was there that he lost control and suffered the injuries.

Definitely not the ideal way for Havner to start his offseason training. He scored four memorable touchdown’s for the Packers last year, and I figure that he could at least play an enhanced role on offense this season. These injuries and DUI charges definitely put that scenario in jeopardy.

After a signature win against 10th ranked Villanova, Marquette played a poor second half in a loss to the Georgetown Hoyas. The Golden Eagles’ Big East season is over, but they are now primed for a run in the big tournament.

After two hard fought wins in as many days against St. John’s and Nova, MU appeared a little exhausted in the second half on friday; they were outscored by 20 points in the final 20 minutes against a bigger Georgetown team. The Hoyas were able to expose Marquette’s weakness- their lack of a legit big man- as Greg Monroe had a monster game (23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks).

Beating G-Town and reaching the Big East finals would have been huge obviously, but the win over Nova on thursday will do wonders for the seeding of MU. Once considered a bubble team, the Golden Eagles look like they’ll likely be a 7 or 8 seed in the tournament. Thats pretty good considering they were a 5 seed in their own conference tournament, and were looked at as a 10 0r 11 seed in the big dance up until about 2 weeks ago.

Because of their ability to shoot the 3ball, MU will be a tough out no matter who they play. As a 7 or 8 seed, they will likely be matched up with a 1 or 2 seed in the second round. Marquette will obviously be the underdog in this game, but they still have a chance at beating anyone based on their outside shooting and experience they have because of the tough schedule they’ve had going through the Big East their last 20+ games. Any team without a dominant big man (a la Greg Monroe) will definitely not be happy to see Marquette next weekend.

For years now i have heard the Milwaukee Bucks coaches preach defense and effort.  Head Coaches like Larry Krystkowiak and Terry Stotts wanted to instill that winning mentality but, for some reason, it never stuck.  Since Scott Skiles was hired as Head coach before last season the team has played differently under him and it shows as the Bucks have surged to a 35-29 record, good for 5th in the East.

Skiles demands the most out of his players, this is why he GETS the most out of his players.  Skiles a former NBA PG who holds the record for most assists in a single game with 30.  If you never had the opportunity to see him play you can be assured that this Bucks team plays just as he did.  They get after it on defense, play team basketball and put maximum effort for four quarters of play.  Playing hard every game every night is something the other coaches couldn’t get out of the Bucks.  In seasons prior, the team would roll over if they fell behind 10-15, now the team wont quit even if they’re down 30.  There are no more losing games that we shouldn’t, for example losing to the Twolves, Nets.

But Skiles’ system sometimes runs its course on teams and they start not buying into defense and effort every night.  In Phoenix and Chicago he was fired during his 3rd and 4th year respectively in each coaching stint. It should be stated that he made the playoffs 5 out of 9 seasons as a coach and looks poised to make it 6 of 10.  For some reason i think he and John Hammond  (Bucks GM) will find guys to put around Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings that buy into Skiles system.  Guys like Tyrus Thomas in Chicago didnt buy in and ruined the chemistry and ultimately got Skiles fired.  This is  probably the reason Hakim Warrick was shipped out of town.

Last night the Bucks beat the Jazz 95-87 at the Bradley Center.  Utah has been the hottest team in the league and has the number one offense in terms of efficiency, shooting 49 percent from the field.  Skiles’ system and defense proved too much for the Jazz in the end.  Bogut led the way with 4 blocks, but the big play was when Ersan Ilyasova hit the offensive glass and got a put back to put the Bucks ahead 89-87.

As of right now, the guys are dialed into the offensive strategy of great ball movement on offense and pulverizing team defense.  Utah’s Head Coach Jerry Sloan stated that this Bucks team was the best interior defensive team he had faced all year.  How far it will carry the Bucks is ultimately up to them; rest assured, Skiles will be there every day pushing them harder.  He is a proven winner and so are his teams. The sky’s the limit for this team, or at least a tough fought 1st round series for Milwaukee fans.  Fear The Deer!!

A lot of Green Bay Packer Fans can rest easy now that two pivotal parts of the Packers Defense have been extended long term contracts. The news that DL Ryan Pickett and FS Nick Collins both will be extended today came from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s columnist, Greg A. Bedard.

It is reported that DL Ryan Pickett has received a four year extension worth a total of $28 million.  FS Nick Collins accepted a three year extension worth a total of 23 million dollars.

Quotes:

“I signed the papers today, We’ve been working on this off and on for a year.” I’m just happy to stay in Green Bay.” It meant the world to him to be here, his family likes it here; he loves to fish, he’s a small town guy, he loves being part of the Green Bay community.” – Ryan Pickett

“love this defense, I think I was built for it…I think the defense is going to grow leaps and bounds from last year.” – Ryan Pickett

“Our No. 1 goal is to get to the Super Bowl.”- Ryan Pickett’s response when asked if he and Collins made the decision together.

This Move will go a long way in helping the Packers return to the post season and compete for a Super Bowl championship.  Once again, the Ted Thompson haters have to eat a little bit of humble pie after this deal.  He’s done an excellent job of retaining quality talent on favorable deals.  Way to go Teddy. Go Pack!

Shortly after the Badgers completed an impressive road win over Illinois on Sunday, they likely watched and waited for the Michigan State/Michigan game to end.  After MSU won, Wisconsin earned themselves the four seed and packed up to return to Madison.

And that’s just how Bo Ryan and Badger fans like it; go about your business and keep playing hard.

The Badgers will face Illinois on Friday afternoon, a rubber match for two opponents who played well against each other this season.  However, UW clearly has the upper hand going into the Big Ten tournament, as they continue to ride the hot hands of Jason Bohannon and Jon Leuer, as well as the steady guard play of Trevon Hughes and Jordan Taylor.

If all goes accordingly, the Badgers will most likely face Ohio State in the semi-finals.  In my opinion, this would be the best game of the tournament, if not the whole month of March.  In their first meeting, Evan Turner was injured, and the Badgers rolled to an easy victory.  When Turner returned later in the season, OSU toppled Bucky.

So if there’s any pattern here, it’s that the Badgers have many scores to settle throughout the Big Ten tourney.

The gameplan against Illinois is pretty simple: out rebound them, let Jason Bohannon get the hot hand, and have Trevon Hughes pilot the whole operation.  Throw in a healthy dose of Jon Leuer, along with solid play off the bench, and the Badgers should have no problem advancing.

Assuming Ohio State advances through the winner of the Michigan/Iowa game (and they will), the Badgers would play in their second consecutive rubber match of the tournament.

It never comes easy in the Big Ten, but you’d never guess that’d be the case with the way Bo has his guys playing not just this March, but every March.

Peeps’  ”Article of the Week”

I came across this article today and the first thing I thought of was “NBA Live 94″ for Sega Genesis.  Remember the days where some players didn’t have their names used in popular video games? (I’m looking at you, MJ).  Well now, Ed O’Bannon is suing the NCAA for using player’s likenesses in everything from video games, DVD’s, apparel, and magazines.

You’ll have to read the article to get the jist of everything (Frank Deford is a great writer, so its worth it).  But it looks like the NCAA might actually be at fault in this regard, something that you don’t hear often.

Cheers and happy reading!

Packers Safety, Nick Collins has signed his tender offer ( 1 year – 3.3 mil) today according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This is great news for the Green Bay Packers and their fans, who expected Collins to take quite a while to sign the offer.  This breaking news is a good indication that Nick Collins will be back in the fold next season and that him and the Packers seem to be on the same page.  Nick will probably have a new contract by time we see him at OTA’s and Mini-camp this summer.  This deal is another indication that Ted Thompson is committed to keeping last years core in tact and establishing continuity going into next season.  Way to get this done Ted.

Quotes: Nick Collins’ agent, Alan Herman

“Nick really likes it in Green Bay and wants to stay there. Hopefully, this will help us finalize a deal as we move forward.”

“We hope to get things moving as free agency moves forward over the next week or so”

Lineup:

the Badgers are looking strong at the right time

• Chris Dennis
• Adam “Big A” Maritato
• Brian Peoplis
• Greg “Grego” Boulanger

Topics: (segment duration)

1. Big Ten and Big East basketball conference tournament preview (Beginning – 11:05)
2. Packers Free Agency:  has the Packer’s front office been smart or complacent (11:20 – 23:05)
3. Bucks basketball: Where can the Bucks end up come play-off time (23:20 – 33:40)
4. Convince Me! Brewers:  Do the Brewers have enough to reach the post season? Shout Outs! (34:00 – End)

Chad Clifton got the money he wanted and has agreed to stay with the Packers for another three years, most likely guaranteeing that he will retire as a Packer.

That’s definitely good news for the Packers, who saw their NFC North foes beef up their defensive lines yesterday. With Julius Peppers going to Chicago and Kyle Vanden Bosch signing with Detroit, the Packers are going to need all the help they can get on an already shaky offensive line.

It’s obviously tough to know if Ted Thompson plans on signing a free agent whatsoever (early indications are no), but the re-signing of Clifton is a great way to start the free agent period.