Memorial Day: NBA & NHL Playoffs, Baseball and Indianapolis 500.

Well we’ve reached Memorial Day and first and foremost we honor those great veterans who have served our country and the freedom that we enjoy in this country. Thank you so much. In the sports world in late May the NBA and NHL playoffs are in the conference finals and getting ready for the Finals series in those sports. Baseball is heating up and we’re taking a look at the standings after the first two months of the season. And at the Indianapolis 500 Helio Casternoves also of Dancing of the Stars fame won his third Indy 500 race and in his signature Spiderman moment climbed the fences after. Popular women’s driver Danica Patrick finished a respectable third in the race.

In the NBA Playoffs the Orlando Magic lead the Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1 and would be leading 3-0 in the Eastern Conference series if Lebron James of Cleveland hadn’t hit a last second jumper from the top of the key in Game 2. If Orlando wins again they will be in good control of the series with a 3-1 lead. The same can be said about the Los Angeles Lakers who lead the Denver Nuggets 2-1 in the Western Conference series. Most of the media would like a Kobe Bryant/Lakers vs Lebron James Cavaliers final. But Dwight Howard and his Orlando teammates and Carmelo Anthony and his Denver teammates have exciting teams and players so lets not say that those would be bad storylines for the finals either.

In the NHL playoffs it’s looking like it will be another Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup finals. The Penguins currently lead the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 in the East Finals and the Red Wings lead the upstart Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 in the West Finals. I think this would be another great finals for the NHL with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh vs the defending champion Detroit and their Hockeytown octopus throwing fans.

Baseball is entering the summer months and we’ll see which teams can hold on, come back and get better as the season goes along. Some of the teams I like the Brewers, Red Sox and Rangers are in first place and others like the Cubs have lost seven in a row. But it’s a long season and the Yankees and A-Rod are starting to get better and win so we’ll see what happens with them and other teams as well as the season goes along.

Finally once again enjoy your sports, barbecues and summer times but never forget the men and women whom have served and died for this country making it the great and free place it is no matter what hard times we have with a recession and so forth. Most Americans would agree this is a better country to live in than most places so be thankful for that. Take care, talk soon and best wishes. badgerbratwurst

Baseball’s Hot Teams in May. Will they last? NBA and NHL Conference finals set to start and a filly beats the Kentucky Derby winner in the Preakness.

It was another exciting weekend in sports as a lot of under the radar teams are off to hot starts in baseball and you wonder how long they’ll last. Also the NBA and NHL conference finals are set and starting and there was another exciting Triple Crown Horse Race at the Preakness as the filly Rachel Alexandra beat the Kentucky Derby winner Mine the Bird by a length on the shorter Preakness track and setting up a great Belmont race in a few weeks on a mile and a half track.  It will be interesting to see who can hold off who in the longer race.

As for baseball it’s May the second month of the season and there are several teams that weren’t expected to contend that are off to hot starts. They include the Brewers, Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals, Marlins among others who are either leading their division or near the top. This happens every year and a lot of these under the radar teams will fade after the All Star break and be forgotten, but it’s fun to see them contend and hope some of them will succeed in a sport without a salary cap. Who will be this years Rays who surprised most people and went to the World Series as a small market team before losing to the Phillies?  To all those fans who hate the huge market Yankees we can only hope.

Meanwhile in the NBA and the NHL we have reached the conference finals, the final four teams in each sport if you will. The NBA has the Orlando Magic who beat the defending champion Boston Celtics in seven games going to Cleveland to start their series against the Cavaliers and MVP Lebron James in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference it will be the Los Angeles Lakers with homecourt advantage against the Denver Nuggets. Denver and Orlando will challenge but in the end I think it will be the Lakers and Cavaliers in a NBA Finals most people want to see.

In the NHL the Detroit Red Wings continued their Stanley Cup defense with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the West Finals beginning in Detroit Sunday. In the East Finals Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby will have home ice against the Carolina Hurricanes in that series.  For my prediction I’d like to see the Blackhawks beat the Wings but I think the Wings who have won four Cups since 1998 including last year will win and get to the Finals again in 6 games. In the Eastern Conference I like the Penguins in seven games over the Hurricanes although  Carolina beat the number 1 seed Boston in a seventh game at Boston in overtime to reach this round. The Red Wings vs the Penguins would be a rematch of last years finals which the Red Wings won in 6 games.

As always the sports action is exciting and we’ll see what happens next. Best wishes and talk soon. badgerbratwurst

Milwaukee Brewers playing well in NL Central and Brett Favre might play for Vikings if his shoulder is healthy.

The big stories in Wisconsin sports this week include that the Milwaukee Brewers are playing surprisingly well in the NL Central race and the latest Brett Favre reports is that he might play for the Vikings if his shoulder is healthy.

The Brewers after a 2-6 start this year are 16-8 since then and have a 18-14 record on Monday May 11 on a day off after taking 2 of 3 games at home vs their division rival the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers trail the St Louis Cardinals who have a 20-12 record by two games in the NL Central and lead the Cubs and Cincinatti Reds, their nearest pursuers in the division who are a half game back of the Brewers and 2 1/2 games behind the Cardinals with a record of 17-14 each.

In a year that the Brewers were expected to take a step back after the pitching departures of CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, Yovanni Gallardo and Dave Bush have stepped up as quality starters and the Brewers potent offense led by sluggers Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and several others has continued to be productive especially with the long ball and the Brewers never seem to be out of the game, often leaving the game up to the pitching which has been better in recent weeks especially Gallardo who can hit home runs as well. The Brewers also got newly signed 41 year old reliever Trevor Hoffman back from injury and when he’s healthy, the all time saves leader who came over from San Diego in the off season, is usually lights out for the opposition. It’s early and we’ll see where the Brewers go from here but it’s nice to see them overcoming last years departures and playing well at this point of the season.

As for Brett Favre briefly, the report is that he and his people sent his X-Rays to the Minnesota Vikings and if major surgery is not needed on his shoulder, he will call of his retirement again to come back and play for the Vikings. As always with Favre we’ll just have to watch and wait and see what he does next. It will be interesting and we’ll keep in touch. Thanks for reading and best wishes. badgerbratwurst.

I like the Idea of Brett Favre coming back with the Minnesota Vikings. Sorry Packers Fans. I think it makes it interesting.

Sorry Packers Fans. I know this will be a sore subject for you and a somewhat tiring story NFL wise, but I like the Idea of Brett Favre coming back possibly to the NFL to play quarterback for one of the Packers archrival division teams, the Minnesota Vikings.

I know we’re all tired of Brett Favre retiring and coming back but this is different I think. It’s the Packers big rival , the Vikings the Team Brett Favre wanted to play for last year after the Packers released him. And now after the Jets released Favre, he is free to sign with any team which gives him the loophole to comeback and play with the Vikings, something the Packers desperately don’t want if Favre is healthy and they can’t stop him signing there.

Besides the rivarly with the Packers, the Vikings have a pretty good team if Favre is healthy and with Pro Bowl running back Adrian Petersen, a strong defense and good receivers including first round draft choice Percy Harvin of Florida, the Vikings have a chance to make another run for a Super Bowl which is something Brett Favre very much wants again before leaving the game for good whenever that is.

The rivalry with his former team the Packers where he had so much success over a 16 year period also makes it interesting and the way the Packers released him as well before last season. The cheers and boos will be a interesting mixture if Favre plays against the Packers in Green Bay with the Minnesota Vikings on November 1st. The first matchup between the Packers and Vikings in Minnesota is on ESPN Monday Night Football on October 5th.

First of all we have to see if Favre comes back injury free from his arm injury which could require surgery before the season. He will also be 40 years old on October 10th in what will be his 19th NFL season and Favre’s durability and consecuctive game streak is legendary. So we’ll see what happens and where it goes from here, but Brett Favre always makes it interesting and that’s what I like about it. Sorry Packers Fans.  I sympathize with you as well , but this is a great NFL story and could be a great closing act for a future Hall of Famer, Brett Favre. Good luck to him, best wishes and talk soon. badgerbratwurst

It could be an interesting year for quarterbacks in the NFC North and could there be a surprise quarterback coming back to play in the division?

It could be an interesting year for quarterbacks in the NFC North. There is a new starting quarterback Jay Cutler in Chicago for the Bears that is causing excitement at his potential since his trade from Denver. The Detroit Lions drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford with the number one pick, but after going 0-16 last year there’s a lot of work to be done before success is achieved in Detroit. In Green Bay Aaron Rodgers starts his second year as the Packers starter with promise for improvement and the team is bringing in a 3-4 defense so we’ll see how that works out there. Finally in Minnesota the current starter is Tavaris Jackson but many are unsure if he’s the franchise quarterback for their future.

That brings up an interesting point and possibility as Brett Favre, yes the 39 year old and recently retired again legendary quarterback got released by the New York Jets and is free to sign with any team if he chooses. In other words if he is healthy which is a big if with his shoulder and elbow problems, he would finally be able to go through that loophole and sign with the Minnesota Vikings, who are arguably the Green Bay Packers biggest rival along with the Chicago Bears.

Favre wanted to play with the Vikings last year after being released by the Packers who Favre legendarily won a Super Bowl in 1996 and played with for 16 years with from 1992-2007. He wanted to play with a Packers rival but the Packers made a trade with the Jets of the AFC making sure he played outside of the NFC and NFC North.

But wouldn’t it be something if Brett Favre came back for at least one more year if healthy and on November 1st the Packers play the Vikings at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field. Imagine Brett Favre stepping on the field as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback. How strange would that be?! There would be a lot of cheers for the memory of Brett Favre’s career in Green Bay and boos for him playing with the Packers archrival in the Vikings. Remember also the Packers are still trying to find a time to retire his number in Green Bay whenever he does retire.

But Brett Favre would have the spotlight again in Green Bay one more time and that’s what he loves most besides playing which he can’t seem to get enough of if he’s healthy. It has been reported that he is working out with a personal trainer, but who knows if that’s just to keep in shape or get in football shape which is still 3-4 months away in Brett Favre’s timetable.

In conclusion, Brett Favre’s injuries and age may have finally caught up with him, but like many great athletes the competitive spirit takes a long time to leave and it’s very hard to retire. So we’ll see what happens. What do you think Brett Favre who will turn 40 in October will do? Please let me know your opinions and talk to you soon. Best wishes. badgerbratwurst