I'm willing to bet that most of you reading this fall into one of two categories: a) You're loafing on the couch, immersed in football and fighting the oncoming leftover food coma or b) you're trying to stay awake after an early morning fighting the cold and crowds in the hopes of landing a $3 mini food chopper.
Either way, let's get right to the notes...
Forget the comparisons: In the last few weeks, many have tried to compare the current Wisconsin football team to the Big Ten Conference/Rose Bowl Championship teams of 1993, '98 and '99.
Sure, on the surface, there may be similarities -- the '94 and current teams both had superb offensive lines, the '98 squad overcame a tough loss in the conference opener to win the title and the '99 squad, led by Ron Dayne, was paced by a dominant running game.
But look a little deeper, and the differences are pretty obvious.
The '93 squad was one of Barry Alvarez's first recruiting classes. Selling Wisconsin to high school players was a much, much, much different job then than it is now. That team, though having posted back-to-back 5-6 seasons in the two years prior, basically came out of nowhere to win the championship.
In '98, a favorable schedule (the Badgers missed No. 2 Ohio State, the Big Ten co-champion, but lost to Michigan) helped Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl.
A year later, the Dayne team was expected to be at that level and what the Badgers did was special. It was almost to the point that Barry Alvarez handed opponents his playbook before the game and dared them to stop Wisconsin. Brooks Bollinger's move to starting quarterback helped inject some energy during a lackluster non-conference season.
This team, though, is arguably one of the best in program history. Never before had Wisconsin beaten Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan in the same season. The team was missing its No. 1 tailback (John Clay) for portions of the season.
Should Bucky win Saturday and clinch another league title and Rose Bowl berth, this Badgers squad will get mentioned in the same breath as the three most recent champs, but their merits should stand on their own.
Seats available: It's hard to believe, but a limited number of seats still remain for the 2:30 p.m. game tomorrow against Northwestern. Call the Wisconsin Athletic ticket office at (800) 462-2343 or log on to uwbadgers.com to get yours.
Student tickets have been especially easy to come by on the secondary market as the University is on Thanksgiving break. Badgers students aren't exactly punctual when school is in session, so one's got to wonder what the northeast corner of Camp Randall will look like tomorrow.
Moving on: After finishing off a season sweep of the Vikings with a 31-3 rout at the Metrodome last Sunday, some in the media wondered if the Packers -- namely, head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers -- took special pleasure in knocking Brett Favre around in the probable final meeting between Favre and his former team.
"I'm rid of it," McCarthy said of the drama surrounding the Favre-Packers divorce. "You need to get rid of it."
That's about as straight-forward as McCarthy has been on the subject.
Rodgers has handled himself perfectly throughout the three-year saga, not to mention his three years waiting in Favre's shadow. While teammates have said that the pressure, at times, weighed heavily on Rodgers, he's been nothing but professional when asked about the situation.
Naturally, when asked if he felt that McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson should feel vindicated for making the right decision, Rodgers again took the high road.
"That's not my decision to make," Rodgers said. "I don't really have an opinion about that. I'm just thankful that they stood behind me on that and believed in me and gave me an opportunity. The other stuff, that's not something I worry too much about."
Even though he won't say it, the facts are obvious: with the long-term interests of the franchise in mind, Thompson and McCarthy made a very difficult decision, but ultimately it was the right one.
Home sweet home: Former Brewers reliever Trevor Hoffman could end up back in San Diego, where he spent the bulk of his Hall of Fame career.
Hoffman, 42, parted ways with the Brewers after two seasons and despite his struggles this season, would like to get one more shot at being a regular closer. That opportunity could come with the Padres. The team's current closer (and Hoffman's replacement there), Heath Bell, is a free agent after the 2011 season and San Diego, looking to keep costs in control, could move Bell at the deadline.
Should Hoffman return, it would be a nice way to end a storied career.
Larry King Lounge: UWM hosts Marquette Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena. Here's to hoping it's actually a "home" game for the Panthers ... The Brewers' annual Clubhouse Sale takes place next week at Miller Park ... Rose Bowl officials might want to adjust the budget to account for a larger beer order ... If I had a vote, I'd probably put Auburn QB Cam Newton on my Heisman ballot, despite the growing rumors. You're innocent until proven guilty but where's there's smoke, there's usually fire ... Good to hear that Carlos Delfino is about two weeks away from returning after suffering a neck sprain earlier this season ... Neither Wisconsin or Marquette is blowing people away so far this year but is there any doubt that either team will be a player down the stretch and land an NCAA Tournament invitation? ... Badgers forward Mike Bruesewitz reminds me an awful lot of "Head" from "So I Married an Axe Murderer" ... Only Nevada (44) has more rushing touchdowns than Wisconsin (41) this season ... The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers announced this week that Donald Driver's celebrity softball game will return to Fox Cities Stadium on June 5, 2011 ... The Admirals kick off a three-games-in-three-days schedule tonight in Texas, wrapping up a franchise record 10-game road trip.
