By Jim Owczarski Sports Editor Published Aug 14, 2014 at 1:01 PM

The Milwaukee Brewers will begin play this afternoon down in Chicago in first place in the National League Central – something everyone in Milwaukee should be used to by now. After all, today marks the 142nd day the team has sat atop the division.

Last week, when the team set a franchise record for consecutive days in first place (surpassing the 118 straight set by the 2007 club), manager Ron Roenicke was asked if it’s difficult to play with – or protect – such a lead all year, as opposed to chasing.

"Good question," he said. "Probably protect a lead. Depending on your team. If we were still pulling away like we were earlier, I’d probably wouldn’t feel that way, but when you’re kind of hanging on and not playing that well and you’re seeing teams playing well behind you, then it starts to make a difference."

He felt playing in first all year hasn’t worn down his club, and acknowledged that "I think the team probably makes a difference too; what kind of team you have."

So what kind of team does Roenicke have? One that likes to have fun – and has gained national attention for doing so. Perhaps its why they’ve been able to stay loose all year, even when things haven't gone so well.

Here are our top five favorite Brewers videos of the year – are yours on the list? If not, let us know the ones you liked the best in our talkback section, on Facebook or @OnMilwaukee on Twitter.

1. #WCWW goes worldwide

Before hitting the disabled list, rookie reliever Wei-Chung Wang captured the hearts and minds of his teammates – well, kind of. His bullpen ‘mates started Wei-Chung Wang Wednesdays, or #WCWW on Twitter, and produced a series of videos taking off the name (and the hit "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"), of the 1980s English new wave group Wang Chung.

The videos were bemusing, but you had to love Wang Chung member Nick Feldman getting in on the act with his son over in Europe – and even customizing some Brewers gear for the spot:

2. K-Rod caught looking

Now, I normally wouldn’t do back-to-back Wei-Chung Wang selections, but two things about this one make it great. One, you have Bernie Brewer doing "The Bernie" – and then veteran closer Francisco Rodriguez’s cameo at the end. Well done.

3. Men in Blue

You knew, eventually, this was going to happen. Will Smith has to deal with this stuff all the time, so it was great to see him (and his bullpen teammates) get in on this Major League Baseball-produced spin on the other Will Smith’s hit, "Men In Black."

4. All-Star commercial for Carlos Gomez

Jonathan Lucroy’s All-Star commercial was far more … "controversial" because Cardinals nation is crazy, but Gomez’s was really clever. It proved especially fun considering that he was the incumbent Gold Glove winner in center, while reigning National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutcheon also plays the position.

5. The Ice Bucket Challenge

It’s really hard to put something in here that started on a crappy reality television show, but the Brewers not only did it right, but blew it up around the state.
It began with MVP Ryan Braun dumping himself with a bucket of ice water – to raise awareness of, and help find a cure for, ALS.

That started a chain event that ran from Milwaukee to Green Bay:

You can participate or follow along at #ALSIceBucketChallenge and #StrikeOutALS

Honorable mentions: Jonathan Lucroy’s All-Star Game commercial, Carlos Gomez as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (and the introduction of Matt Garza’s Count von Count T-shirt on Mark Reynolds), Kyle Lohse’s competition with golfer Jason Dufner.

Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.

A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.

To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.

Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.

In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.

Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.