By Dave Begel Contributing Writer Published Feb 19, 2008 at 5:21 AM

Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!

You know the saying, "Stupid is temporary, dumb is forever?"

Well, I can't believe the idiocy I heard last week. I was listening to sports talk radio in Milwaukee. I'm not going to say which station, because somebody somewhere will accuse me of playing favorites. But, this is too dumb to ignore.

The subject was the Bucks and their difficult season.

There were lots of calls and a good portion of them placed some of the blame, even most of the blame, at the feet of Sen. Herb Kohl, who has owned the team for a couple decades. That's fair, and I didn't have any objection.

Then came a comment that may be the dumbest I've ever heard.

"The problem is that the Senator only cares about money," said the caller, whose nickname I didn't get. "He doesn't care about winning. He just wants to turn a profit every year, and that's all he cares about."

This caller then made a comment that I'm not going to repeat here, but suffice it to say it was a sexual reference about a U.S. Senator and the owner of a basketball team.

Now, this caller was clearly dumb. What made it even worse, though, was that one of the hosts of this show proceeded to give some credibility to this idiot. The host said, "Yeah, that's right. Lots of people feel that way. I hear that a lot."

Now, anybody with a brain and a sense of understanding, would have called this idiot out and cut him off at the knees. Instead, the host compounded the idiocy.

I've known Kohl since before he bought the team and before he ran for the Senate. I know him well. And to say all he cares about is money is absolutely nuts. He's got money. He's got more money than he'll ever need.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, buys a professional sports team as an investment. It is not a moneymaker. Ask anyone who knows. You might make a little bit when you sell the team. When you own it, though, the cash flowing out almost always exceeds the cash flowing in.

If Kohl is guilty of anything, it's of being impatient thanks to his intense desire to win. He's broken the bank for coaches and players. The amount of money he's spent is crazy.

Last year, Kohl and I were in Ma Fischer's. We were talking about his team and he said, "If people knew how much I worried about my team compared to my Senate duties, I might have trouble getting re-elected."

Has he been a perfect owner? Of course not. Has he made mistakes? Of course he has. Does he know as much about basketball as he thinks he does? Probably not. Does he care about money? Certainly.

But the biggest thing about Herb Kohl is that he wants to win! Unquestionably. He may not always know how to go about it, but there is no doubt that he wants it.

The dunce who made that comment and the host who affirmed it should be banned from speaking in public. Forever.

Dave Begel Contributing Writer

With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.

He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.

This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.

Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.