Have you ever read a quote that makes you think, "Did I read that right?"

So you read it again and confirm, that, yes, you read it right the first time. Then you scratch your head and ask yourself, "What were they thinking?"

Ang Lee saying "I think my movie, 'Brokeback Mountain,' will really appeal to fundamentalist Christians." Hillary Clinton saying, "I haven't given a moment's thought to being the first woman president." George Bush saying, "I truly believe we are just moments away from announcing full and complete victory in Iraq."

Well, two recent quotes, one about the Packers and the other about the Bucks got me head scratching so much that I'll need an extra dose of Head and Shoulders to get rid of the dandruff.

The first quote comes from new Packers coach Mike McCarthy.

"The Packers won't get into a bidding war with anybody," he said the day free agency opened in the National Football League.

I'm sure McCarthy thought what he was saying was honorable and proved the Packers were somewhere above the greedy, player-stealing rest of the league.

The question for McCarthy, and by extension general manager Ted Thompson is even simpler than McCarthy's statement.

"Why Not?"

Not getting into a bidding war means one of two things. Either you aren't interested in signing quality free agents and improving your team next year, or the free agents you are trying to sign are has-beens, never-was's or never-will-be's.

Neither condition is acceptable.

If it's the first, then we are sad because it is also a message to the greatest Packer of them all, Brett Favre. The message is we aren't going to be better next year so you might as well retire. Thompson and McCarthy can deny it, but actions speak louder than words. And the actions, so far, are consistent with writing off next season.

The same holds true for the second alternative. If you only try to sign unproven players nobody else is trying to sign, then you are going to cause more head scratching as we all mumble, "Who are these guys?"

You can't tell me, for example, that the Packers could not have signed running back Edgerrin James if they wanted to sign him. They could have beaten the successful offer by the Arizona Cardinals and they are a more attractive team than the Cardinals, but not by much. Or how about a cornerback to replace Ahmad Carroll -- any cornerback, Even Terrell Buckley who is available.

There is a problem with being in Green Bay, and I've seen it over three decades. The people there think it's the land of milk and honey of pro football. And maybe it used to be. But they still believe it. They get bigger crowds today for Bart Starr and Willie Davis than they do for any other Packer, except Favre. Everyone in Green Bay, fans, team personnel and the media think there is something so special about playing there that players will be falling all over themselves to join the Packers.

Not true anymore.

The next quote is from Bucks coach Terry Stotts.

"You don't want to over-react when you've lost close games," Stotts said this week after another loss.

Again, the question becomes, "Why Not?"

Here you have a team that started out like gangbusters, but has struggled mightily since the all-star break.

Watch the Bucks play. T.J. Ford, who was lightning in the early part of the season, now moves like a meandering stream on a hot summer day. Andrew Bogut is finding out that the NBA season, compared to the college, is a grueling, hard-pounding, long one. Bobby Simmons, who hit jump shots from everywhere can't seem to buy anything outside six feet now.

This team looks tired and dispirited

How bad is it? Well, the owner of the team, Herb Kohl, who likes talking to reporters about as much as passing a kidney stone, actually called his team out in public.

"We want a good seed," Kohl told one daily newspaper. "We're not content being the eighth seed. We want to be sixth seed or the fifth seed. So we have to win a host of games over the next 23. We're being challenged and I hope and I expect that we will respond."

For the taciturn Kohl, that's like a put up or shut up statement.

And Stotts says he doesn't want to over-react.

Here's what fans want. From the Packers and Bucks. Go ahead, get into a bidding war! Sign some big names! Get some proven good players! Over-react! Shake things up! Show us you care as much as we do.

And stop pretending that you are calm and not bothered by losing. Stop pretending that you have some secret plan to make things better.

I'm pretty sure we don't believe you.