By Bob Brainerd Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Aug 27, 2006 at 10:30 PM
Notes from the weekend in sports:
  • Everyone got all hot and bothered when the Brewers swept the Rockies at home, only to travel to Miami where the Fish snag the first three games of the four-game set. For every glimmer of hope, the Brewers counter by finding ways to douse the flame. Hasn’t everyone figured it out by now? This is the ebb and flow that earmarks the Milwaukee Brewers. And when it is all said and done, they’ll be .500 again. It’s like a scale tipping back and forth -- never too top-heavy on either side. Don’t get excited when they win three in a row at home … true goose bumps will be created when the Brewers rip off a legit winning streak like the Dodgers did to take over the top spot in the NL West. Longest Brewers streak? The five in a row to begin the season. When the team cobbles together a serious streak, then fans should get serious about the wild card.
  • The Packers are getting the same ride-the-fence treatment. The critics were howling, and rightfully so, following the listless effort in San Diego. But a better showing against Atlanta, and now the preseason predictions seem to be that this team could surprise people. Huh? Which is it? And if they stink up the joint Monday night in Cincinnati, the see-saw will tip back on the negative side. Just watch.
  • Took in the Racine Park-Oak Creek prep football game Friday night. Note to Bret Bielema: do what you must to get Park stud John Clay signed, sealed, and delivered to Madison. The senior running back is a bull with wheels, and he’s narrowed his choices to five top-notch college teams, and Bucky is one of them. Clay is the real deal, a great kid, and goes 6-3, 230 pounds. For comparisons sake, Ahman Green is 6-0, 218 right now! Reggie Bush? 6-0, 203.
  • When Tiger Woods used a nine-iron and knocked his ball over the green, onto a cart path, and up on the roof of the clubhouse, every guy in America said “That looks like one of my shots!” Every linkster loves to see Tiger humbled by shots like that because it gives the rest of us mortals a sense that he is like every other guy on a public course, hacking away with his buddies. But then, his next shot flies back over everything, and lands on the green. Tiger is once again, a golfing robot, and we are mere mortals.
  • The week-long accolades for Mike Gousha’s departure from WTMJ were entertaining and well-deserved. Gousha’s “Sunday Night” program often featured conversations with coaches and athletes, and Mike was as good as they get keeping those jocks humbled and in their place. You could tell that Gousha was a sports junkie at heart, but never fawned over superstars in any sport.
  • An organization called USA Football tabbed Brett Favre’s home of Mississippi as the top football state, surprising some by overlooking powerhouses like Texas, Florida and California. The criteria? Mississippi was tops after USA Football, a non-profit organization that promotes youth and amateur football, measured every state for high school football participation, fan interest in college and professional football and the percentage of NCAA Division I-A recruits and NFL players.
  • It’s barely sports related, but have any of you first-time parents priced these outdoor play sets lately? I did over the weekend, and if I want a simple wooden swing set and slide for my son, I’m plunking down anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000. I’m not a cheapskate when it comes to my kid, but this will wipe out his piggybank in a hurry! It’s a tough call … the college fund or the backyard fort.
 
Bob Brainerd Special to OnMilwaukee.com
Born and raised in Milwaukee, what better outlet for Bob to unleash his rambling bits of trivial information than right here with OnMilwaukee.com?

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.