Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, the column that lobbied (unsuccessfully) to place Randy Breuer, Paul Mokeski, Pete Vuckovich, Sam Cassell and Jeff Bronkey to be placed on the "100 Hottest Milwaukeeans" list.

For this week's transmission, we are visiting the Larry King Lounge.

See ya, CC: Diehard Brewers fans can uncross their fingers and step away from the rabbit's feet and four-leaf clovers. Chances of the Brewers retaining CC Sabathia evaporated when the Yankees reportedly offered the ace lefty a six-year, $140 million contract. Milwaukee fans will be left with the wonderful memories of Sabathia's 18 games, 134 1/3 innings, 537 batters faced and 1,979 pitches.

Fool's Gold: Sabathia already has earned more than $30 million during a big-league career that began when Cleveland selected him with the 20th pick in the first round of the 1998 amateur draft. The Brewers held the 13th pick that season and used it on J.M. Gold. You know how that worked out.

Which other first-round pitchers did the Brewers bypass that year? Jeff Weaver (14th pick, Detroit), Kip Wells (16, Chicago White Sox), Brad Lidge (17th, Houston) and Seth Etherton (18th, Anaheim) all had bigger impacts than Gold, who was plagued by injuries and didn't advance past Class A High Desert.

Spending spree: According to the New York papers, the Yankees are going to follow the Sabathia offer by tendering contracts to pitchers A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe. Once he's done with that, Hank Steinbrenner will get to work on bailing out the U.S. auto industry.

Willing and able: Two words for any Packers fans wondering whether Bears quarterback Kyle Orton will play Sunday at Lambeau Field: Jared Allen.

Passing fancy: Advice for Packers fans who want to see Mike McCarthy establish the running game against Chicago: forget it. The Bears absolutely stink against the pass and their last three opponents have averaged 42 attempts apiece. If Grant runs more than 15 times, it'll be an upset.

Bright spots: Two encouraging early signs for the Bucks: Ramon Sessions is making big shots and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has been ridiculously good (19 points and 17 rebounds in an overtime victory Friday night in Memphis).

Empty feeling: One really bad early sign for the Bucks? Lots of empty seats at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee isn't alone in that regard. Check out the highlights on "SportsCenter" and you'll see that many teams are scuffling.

Econ 101: With attendance and sponsorship revenue shrinking, the economy will be a major sports story in the coming months. After Sabathia and a few other big-name free agents sign, patient clubs may find a "buyer's market" in free agency.

Like Mike? Speaking of the Bucks ... are they better off with or without Michael Redd? Discuss.

Prediction: The Badgers are going to crush Minnesota this afternoon and will earn a trip to the Insight Bowl on New Year's Eve in Tempe. It's not what they had in mind when camp started, but it'd be a pretty good "save" for the season.

Foundation work: Marquette coach Buzz Williams had a big week. In between his first exhibition and regular-season victories, he locked down a very solid recruiting class. He's going to need lots of help from freshman next season, when Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews, Jr., head out the door.

Finish line: Congratulations to the folks who run NASCAR. This year's Chase for the Championship was every bit as exciting as the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup.

OK, that was a cheap shot. But the NASCAR season is way too long.

Just wondering? What happened to the Badger hockey program?

Good show: As long as I don't encounter a long line during my once-a-year visit to the retail story, I will say that I am pleased with the service I receive from Time Warner Cable. I really like the commercials that TWC does with Packers like Donald Driver and Nick Barnett.

Paper Lions: If you like Big Ten football, you have to be glad that Penn State lost to Iowa. That will save the Nittany Lions the embarrassment of being stomped in the National Championship Game.

On the air: Which announcer would you rather hear call a big college football game -- Brent Musberger or Verne Lundquist?

Will he or won't he? Jets quarterback Brett Favre is playing well enough to improve the Packers' draft compensation and ruin the spring of all writers covering the Jets.

Huh? The Arizona Cardinals are planning to print playoff tickets. The last time the franchise hosted a playoff game was 1947. That was also the only home playoff game in franchise history. The Cardinals' last playoff victory was 10 years ago at Dallas.

Sorry, Charlie: Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is on the hot, hot, hot seat. Chicago Tribune columnist Teddy Greenstein pointed out this week that Weis has a 27-19 record. Gerry Faust, regarded as a major bust, was 25-20-1 against tougher opponents.

Kid Rob: Did you happen to see Kid Rock wearing a Rob Bironas jersey during the Country Music Awards? I don't imagine the line at the store was very long.

Sign here: Packers players Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Ruvell Martin, James Jones, Brandon Jackson and Donald Lee will be signing autographs at a Habitat for Humanity benefit Monday at the Mayfair Mall Food Court. Admission to the event, which runs from 5-7 p.m., will cost $150 with all proceeds going to the Greg & Nicole Jennings Habitat Home in Milwaukee. Tickets are available at Jeff's Sports at Mayfair, Menomonee Falls and Brookfield.