With March here, usually I am talking college basketball. And I will be soon. Our annual March Madness basketball tournament is right around the corner. But this week, this column has a special March guest, the Milwaukee Bucks.
The past three seasons have seen the Bucks well out of playoff contention when the calendar turned to March. Usually by this point, Michael Redd is out for the season, there are a bunch of young players leading the green machine out against teams with superior talent and their highlights usually don’t even make SportsCenter.
So what has changed this season? Well, come to think of it nothing. Redd is out for the year. There are a bunch of young guys that we don’t know much about playing big minutes and ESPN still thinks Bucks refers to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But somehow, this team is winning. Today the Bucks won their season-high sixth in a row to improve to 30-28 and pull a game and a half ahead of Miami and Charlotte who are currently tied for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. They are only a game behind Chicago for 6th in the East. And even though the competition stiffens in March, 10 of their 15 games are at home. Not that they would mind playing on the road. The Bucks have won six in a row away from the Bradley Center.
Probably the biggest reasons this team is contending for its first playoff appearance since 2006 include: Andrew Bogut is finally emerging as a star in this league. Taken #1 overall in the 2005 draft, Bogut has struggled with injuries and a weak supporting cast as well as underachieving. This year, he has turned things around and is considered to be one of the top three centers in the Eastern Conference. Another reason is the acquisition of John Salmons from Chicago. He is not exactly a superstar in this league but is a consistent scorer who is picking up the slack lost when Redd went out for the year. Then you add in the level of play form the young guys starting with sensation Brandon Jennings. Jennings is still trying to figure out how he can present the biggest impact in the NBA but he has high potential and doesn’t play like a rookie.
Let’s not forget coach Scott Skiles. He has found a way to move parts around and keep this team in games nearly every night. And lately, the Bucks aren’t just winning, but they are showing flashes of offensive explosiveness and defensive brilliance.
Many would say this team would be better suited missing the playoffs again and playing the lottery again to get another piece in the puzzle. But a playoff appearance would be wonderful for this young group. And quite honestly, this team needs to go out and get an older impact player with their cap room instead of drafting another promising rookie. Maybe Dwayne Wade was watching this team from the bench the other day thinking that he would love to return to Milwaukee where he enjoyed college success and help take this young Bucks team to the next level.
That may be a pipe dream, but one can only hope that this is the beginning of something good.
For more from Eric Songer, visit www.songerstudio.com
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
NFL Season In Review (from an NFC North slant of course)
This is always a sad time for me when it comes to my sports watching addiction. It’s the end of football season which is by far my favorite sport to watch. Luckily, my second favorite is college basketball which is entering it’s most exciting part of the season. (The most sad time is when college basketball ends and baseball starts.)
With that said, this NFL season was probably the most exciting and fun season for me as a fan since two years ago when the Packers made the NFC Championship Game. And before that it was probably the most exciting since the Packers’ two Super Bowl runs in that late 1990’s. And I say this even though the Packers lost twice to Brett Favre and Vikings and were bounced in a most horrible way out of the playoffs.
What made this season so fun was the drama that built throughout. It of course all started with Brett Favre signing with the Vikings. Throw in the signing of Jay Cutler by the Bears and a lot of us fans of the NFC North were convinced that this was going to be a great three-team race. Many “experts” were picking the Bears, Vikings and Packers to all have good seasons.
So we sat back and watched the preseason. Cutler, Favre and Rodgers all impressed us. When the real season started, the Packers pulled out a close one against the Bears. Brett Favre had that spectacular game winning throw against San Francisco. Then of course there were the two Packer losses to the Vikings which of course were not easy to take but the drama surrounding those two games were very entertaining. Meanwhile, Jay Cutler’s fast start was quickly fading as the interceptions began to mount.
It appeared that the Vikings were going to run away with the division after the Packers and Bears scuffled through the first half of the season. But the second half of the season had it’s own set of story lines. After Aaron Rodgers endured a terrible first eight games in the department of being sacked at a near record pace, he began getting more protection and started unloading the ball in a more timely fashion and racked up numbers that put him in the MVP race. The Packers also put together a winning streak that included great wins over Dallas and Baltimore and solidified a place in the playoffs. The defense was ranked number one in the league thanks to great play by Clay Matthews and a revival from the eventual defensive player of the year Charles Woodson.
Meanwhile, the Vikings stumbled in losses to Arizona and Carolina. And Brett Favre and Brad Childress had a major run in when it came to play calling and audibles at the line. The division could have been on the line had it not been for a game-ending touchdown by Pittsburgh over the Packers in December in one of the best 4th quarters I have ever watched. The Vikings then engaged in a very entertaining Monday night game against the Bears who had slid completely off the table during the middle of the season. The Bears won in overtime after a furious Viking comeback in the second half jeopardizing the Vikings shot at a first round bye.
When all was said and done, the Vikings won the division and earned a bye after throttling New York the final week of the season. And the Packers easily took the first wildcard slot after convincing wins over Seattle and Arizona.
The ending of the story did not disappoint from a drama standpoint although fans of both teams were left in complete disappointment in the final games. The Packers spotted Arizona leads of 17-0 and 31-10 before mounting a comeback to tie the game at 45 at the end of regulation. Aaron Rodgers who would eventually start the ProBowl for the NFC missed a wide open Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime that would have won the game. Two plays later he lost the ball and the Cardinals won the game 51-45. Heartbreak.
The Vikings matched that disappointment and then some after a convincing defeat of Dallas in the Divisional round, they overcame a turnover infested performance against New Orleans to put them in position to win the game. But a 12-players in a huddle mistake by Childress and then an interception by Brett Favre cost them that opportunity. And New Orleans went on to win an overtime. The irony of Favre not only repeating history by making a bone headed play in a playoff game is amazing. But throw in how his last throw as a Viking could have the same disastrous result as his last throw as a Packer could not have even been written in Hollywood.
So here we are at the end of the season awaiting the 2010 NFL season much like a movie that begs for a sequel. And fortunately, that is what we are going to get.
Eric Songer
With that said, this NFL season was probably the most exciting and fun season for me as a fan since two years ago when the Packers made the NFC Championship Game. And before that it was probably the most exciting since the Packers’ two Super Bowl runs in that late 1990’s. And I say this even though the Packers lost twice to Brett Favre and Vikings and were bounced in a most horrible way out of the playoffs.
What made this season so fun was the drama that built throughout. It of course all started with Brett Favre signing with the Vikings. Throw in the signing of Jay Cutler by the Bears and a lot of us fans of the NFC North were convinced that this was going to be a great three-team race. Many “experts” were picking the Bears, Vikings and Packers to all have good seasons.
So we sat back and watched the preseason. Cutler, Favre and Rodgers all impressed us. When the real season started, the Packers pulled out a close one against the Bears. Brett Favre had that spectacular game winning throw against San Francisco. Then of course there were the two Packer losses to the Vikings which of course were not easy to take but the drama surrounding those two games were very entertaining. Meanwhile, Jay Cutler’s fast start was quickly fading as the interceptions began to mount.
It appeared that the Vikings were going to run away with the division after the Packers and Bears scuffled through the first half of the season. But the second half of the season had it’s own set of story lines. After Aaron Rodgers endured a terrible first eight games in the department of being sacked at a near record pace, he began getting more protection and started unloading the ball in a more timely fashion and racked up numbers that put him in the MVP race. The Packers also put together a winning streak that included great wins over Dallas and Baltimore and solidified a place in the playoffs. The defense was ranked number one in the league thanks to great play by Clay Matthews and a revival from the eventual defensive player of the year Charles Woodson.
Meanwhile, the Vikings stumbled in losses to Arizona and Carolina. And Brett Favre and Brad Childress had a major run in when it came to play calling and audibles at the line. The division could have been on the line had it not been for a game-ending touchdown by Pittsburgh over the Packers in December in one of the best 4th quarters I have ever watched. The Vikings then engaged in a very entertaining Monday night game against the Bears who had slid completely off the table during the middle of the season. The Bears won in overtime after a furious Viking comeback in the second half jeopardizing the Vikings shot at a first round bye.
When all was said and done, the Vikings won the division and earned a bye after throttling New York the final week of the season. And the Packers easily took the first wildcard slot after convincing wins over Seattle and Arizona.
The ending of the story did not disappoint from a drama standpoint although fans of both teams were left in complete disappointment in the final games. The Packers spotted Arizona leads of 17-0 and 31-10 before mounting a comeback to tie the game at 45 at the end of regulation. Aaron Rodgers who would eventually start the ProBowl for the NFC missed a wide open Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime that would have won the game. Two plays later he lost the ball and the Cardinals won the game 51-45. Heartbreak.
The Vikings matched that disappointment and then some after a convincing defeat of Dallas in the Divisional round, they overcame a turnover infested performance against New Orleans to put them in position to win the game. But a 12-players in a huddle mistake by Childress and then an interception by Brett Favre cost them that opportunity. And New Orleans went on to win an overtime. The irony of Favre not only repeating history by making a bone headed play in a playoff game is amazing. But throw in how his last throw as a Viking could have the same disastrous result as his last throw as a Packer could not have even been written in Hollywood.
So here we are at the end of the season awaiting the 2010 NFL season much like a movie that begs for a sequel. And fortunately, that is what we are going to get.
Eric Songer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
