Sports - Sept. 17, 2008
Pro football only looks simple on the surface
Checkers is simple. Football is not. To quote an irate Jim Mora, responding to a reporter trying to get some hard answers to certain things after a particularly hard loss: "You don't know ... and you'll never know!" He's right. The NFL is an unknowable beast that drains gamblers of their money like a sump pump year after year.
Tagged with: football, playbook, nfl, gamebook

Sports - Sept. 11, 2008
Betting on Rodgers pays off for Packers' brass
The Packers were right. Aaron Rodgers can play. To have this front office in Green Bay right now, without the overbearing presence of a single, mega-millionaire owner, is a blessing most Packers fans don't appreciate.
Tagged with: czaban, favre, rodgers, packers, ted thompson, mike mccarthy

Sports - Sept. 3, 2008
Are you ready for some football?
After an eventful off-season full of juicy stories like Chad Johnson, er, Chad Ocho Cinco, the NFL is ready to spring into action this week. National sports columnist Steve Czaban could not be happier.
Tagged with: steve czaban, chad ocho cinco, chad johnson, brett favre, ricky williams, bill parcells

Sports - Aug. 27, 2008
A basketball reality check for the "Redeem Team"
The gold medal is nice. The final game in Beijing was thrilling. Coach K did a solid job and he and his players deserve credit. But, shouldn't we expect greatness from NBA superstars on the international stage?
Tagged with: us basketball, olympics, redeem team, kobe, coach k, dick vitale, pau gasol, gold medal

Sports - Aug. 20, 2008
Don't forget the 'Shames' of the 29th Olympiad
The action has been captivating and the TV ratings are outstanding, but OnMilwaukee.com national sports columnist Steve Czaban thinks the Beijing Olympics have been a disaster on several fronts.
Tagged with: international olympic committee, beijing, olympics

Sports - Aug. 6, 2008
After rocky trip, Favre is where he wanted to be
It's not me, it's you. That's the unmistakable message Brett Favre has sent to the Packers. The time to deny it is over. At some point after last year's painful loss in the NFC Championship game, Favre decided in his own mind that he was simply done being a Packer.
Tagged with: packers, favre, thompson, Mike McCarthy

Sports - July 30, 2008
Youth, talent should not exempt Wie from criticism
Professional golf is a game of grace, dignity and class. Michelle Wie's specialties are petulance, entitlement and delusion. That makes it hard to root for her, unless you are rooting for her to fail.
Tagged with: michelle wie, annika sorenstam

Sports - July 23, 2008
For Packers, it's the calm before the storm
With training camp and exhibition games around the corner, the Packers have to figure out an "end game" in Brett Favre's jackknifed and overturned "non-retirement" scenario.
Tagged with: packers, favre, nfl network, espn

Sports - July 16, 2008
Classic match spotlights tennis' biggest fault
Nadal-Federer III was a scintillating match. But, was it the best of all-time? Was tennis' so-called "golden age" all that we thought it was, or a figment of our sports-starved imagination?
Tagged with: tennis, wimbledon, nadal, federer, mcenroe, borg, donnay

Sports - July 9, 2008
Wisconsin suddenly a sports talk hotbed
During what is traditionally a dead time of the year for sports talk, CC Sabathia and the Brewers and Brett Favre and the Packers have turned up the heat.
Tagged with: czaban, brett favre, packers, brewers, cc sabathia, bogut, jefferson, bucks

Sports - June 25, 2008
An NBA observer asks, "Where is the outrage?"
Shaq aired his dirty laundry about Kobe in vulgar fashion in a public forum. Just kidding. Carmelo Anthony is added to the Olympic team. It's just another week in the NBA, where standards drop daily.
Tagged with: shaquille o'neal, rap, kobe bryant, david stern, carmelo anthony, olympic tam

Sports - June 18, 2008
Randolph firing shouldn't give fans the Willies
Firing someone is never easy. It smarts. It stings. It's the ultimate rejection. "We no longer want you." There is no massaging that hard truth and nothing could have softened the blow.
Tagged with: willie randolph, mets, fired, czaban, wes unseld, jim lynam, bernie bickerstaff, glen hanlon, george mcphee

Sports - June 11, 2008
Big Brown's Belmont bumble is a cautionary tale
Big Brown's unexpected collapse was a 3-in-1 combo platter of humiliation in sports. While humans play the "blame game," Big Brown provides a cautionary tale about unmet expectations and overconfidence.
Tagged with: big brown, da tara, rick dutrow, kent desormeaux

Sports - May 28, 2008
Manager scrutiny can cause a case of the Willies
Mets manager Willie Randolph, who is on the hot seat after a collapse last season and a slow start in '08, wondered aloud if race is a factor in his situation. Steve Czaban says yes, but not in a detrimental way.
Tagged with: willie randolph, mets, cito gaston, mlb, minority managers

Sports - May 21, 2008
Is it a reach to say the Ewing lottery was fixed?
National sports columnist Steve Czaban likes to visit the grassy knolls of sports on occasion. Especially on the anniversary of a controversial draft lottery.
Tagged with: nba draft lottery, david stern, patrick ewing, conspiracy, tim donaghy

Sports - May 7, 2008
How did the Celtics get stretched to the limit?
According to eight of 10 of ESPN NBA "experts," the Atlanta had no chance to beat Boston in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Celtics needed seven games to win. How did everyone miss the boat?
Tagged with: czaban, celtics, espn, nba playoffs

Sports - April 30, 2008
Spurs aren't afraid to "hack a Shaq"
At first blush, San Antonio's decision to foul Shaquille O'Neal early and often in their first-round playoff series with the Suns seems "bush league." But, it's working.
Tagged with: shaquille o'neal, hack a shaq, suns, spurs, steve czaban

Sports - April 23, 2008
Wizards' trash talking leaves a foul stench
Gilbert Arenas' blog and Deshawn Stevenson's comments are stoking the fires of the Cavs-Wizards series -- and not in a good way for Washington. Lebron James (right) is using it as motivation.
Tagged with: wizards, cavaliers, arenas, stevenson, lebron james, jose canseco

Sports - April 16, 2008
NFL "Spygate" saga is begging for a final chapter
Patriots coach Bill Belichick (pictured) and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would like the story to go away, but former New England video aide Matt Walsh holds the cards.
Tagged with: belichick, spygate, matt walsh, nfl, roger goodell

Sports - April 9, 2008
Memo to Marquette fans: Get over it, already
What, did you really believe that 10-year contract nonsense? Were you buying that Crean had found a "home for life" at the gritty, gutsy, urban basketball program where Al McGuire once famously coached the Warriors to glory? Please.
Tagged with: marquette, tom crean, buzz williams, al mcguire, billy donovan, mike krzyzewski, john thompson III