Notes from the weekend that was:
Did Darren Sharper learn nothing going up against Brett Favre all those years during practice? There was Darren isolated on the Fox TV replay, starring down Favre, then desperately trying to catch up to Donald Driver when he raced past Sharper and the rest of the Vikings secondary on a key touchdown hookup before the first half gun. Yeah, we sure do miss that veteran savvy and instinct in Lambeau Field.
The John Thompson Basketball Foundation Classic hosted by UW-Milwaukee was like a father and son outing. Washington State is coached by former UW-Green Bay standout Tony Bennett, whose father, Dick, ran the Cougars show before handing the keys to Tony. Dick was in the stands all weekend. Kyle Weaver is a starter on the squad. The former Beloit Memorial standout is the son of LaMont Weaver, he of the infamous 55-ft. shot during the title game in 1969. UAB is now coached by Indiana leftover Mike Davis, whose son, Mike Jr., is on the Blazers roster.
In a halftime promotion at Sunday’s UWM-UAB game, a game of basketball musical chairs ended with the winner racing to the basket when the music stopped, and dunking!
Sports and rock music collided Friday night at the Miller Time Pub of all places. The chosen post-game watering hole of Panthers fans found band members from Alice in Chains taking up two tables and enjoying the atmosphere in Downtown Milwaukee.
The Badgers, who will knock off Buffalo and finish 11-1, are now a top 10 football team, but will not be invited to a BCS Bowl, which awards 10 slots for its teams. Dumb reason why? Because of the two-teams from the same conference “rule.” It’s time to change that rule, and quit penalizing the Big Ten for churning out quality football. And it’s not like the BCS hasn’t already tinkered with its flawed system … this is a crime leaving a good football team on the outside looking in.
Bucky fans should embrace Bret Bielema for his tremendous rookie season, and the way he carries himself. The guy keeps Tyler Donovan under wraps all week, knowing that no one has film on his backup QB. He doesn’t talk about himself and his Iowa connections all week, because the focus should be on the current players. And he didn’t do his now famous offsides kickoff to end the half. Time and place for everything, and neither was in play on Saturday.
The Wisconsin men’s hockey team is having a rough skate of things in defense of the National Championship. The Badgers were swept at the Kohl Center by Denver over the weekend. But, when you lose 80 percent of your scoring punch to graduation and NHL defections, this is the end result: shutouts, overtime losses and near-misses. Brian Elliott is still one of the nation’s best goaltenders, but the Hobey Baker finalist can’t do a solo act every weekend.
Michael Redd scores 57 points, and it’s not enough to beat the Jazz on Saturday night? Is this an omen for the Bucks? And yet Redd always says the right things. You truly wish he could have celebrated his record-breaking performance more, but his team lost, and Redd had to extinguish his enthusiasm. The classy Bucks captain was humbled to surpass Kareem’s 55-point output in one game, but had it all in perspective because of the hollow end result.
Bob currently does play-by-play at Time Warner Cable Sports 32, calling Wisconsin Timber Rattlers games in Appleton as well as the area high school football and basketball scene. During an earlier association with FS Wisconsin, his list of teams and duties have included the Packers, Bucks, Brewers and the WIAA State Championships.
During his life before cable, Bob spent seven seasons as a reporter and producer of "Preps Plus: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel High School Sports Show."
And the joke is, Bob has a golf shirt from all four Milwaukee television stations. Sad, but true: Bob has had sports and news anchor/reporter/producer stints at WTMJ, WISN, WDJT and WITI.
His first duty out of college (UW-Oshkosh) was radio and TV work in Eau Claire. Bob spent nearly a decade at WEAU-TV as a sports director and reporter.
You may have heard Bob's pipes around town as well. He has done play-by-play for the Milwaukee Mustangs, Milwaukee Iron, and UW-Milwaukee men's and women's basketball. Bob was the public address announcer for five seasons for both the Marquette men and women's basketball squads. This season, you can catch the starting lineups of the UW-Milwaukee Panther men's games with Bob behind the mic.
A Brookfield Central graduate, Bob's love and passion for sports began at an early age, when paper football leagues, and Wiffle Ball All Star Games were all the rage in the neighborhood.
