The start of spring training, the Bucks' dumping of the last vestige of their old way of playing, and winter sports around the state are creating some buzz.
Let's look at spring training first, as pitchers and catchers report in Arizona Saturday. It should be a training camp of fitting the pieces together for the Brewers.
Geoff Jenkins in left field, Scott Podsednik in center and Wes Helms at third base look set at their positions. But, right field is a question mark. Ben Grieve, once considered one of the top prospects in baseball, will be given a shot there, with others to follow if he doesn't earn the position. Brady Clark, who played well once he got the regular time last season, could end up in right again.
Milwaukee area native Craig Counsell, acquired in the deal for Richie Sexson, will likely end up at shortstop for many games, but Bill Hall also should see playing time. At second base, Junior Spivey and Keith Ginter will compete for playing time. Ginter also might see time in the outfield.
The Brewers hope they picked up an every day catcher in Chad Moeller, another player acquired in the Sexson deal.
Ben Sheets will lead a starting rotation that could include Wayne Franklin, Doug Davis, veteran Dave Burba, Matt Kinney, Wes Obermueller or newcomers Travis Phelps and Adrian Hernandez.
Dan Kolb should provide the Brewers with a solid closer if he remains healthy all season. Setup men could include some of the pitchers who don't make the rotation, newcomer Brian Bowles or holdover Leo Estrella and others.
Indications during the winter tour were that fans are willing to overlook the debacle with former CEO Ulice Payne, the fact the team is up for sale and one of the lowest payrolls in the big leagues if the Brewers compete.
Maybe the Brewers will follow the lead of the Bucks, and turn into a team of relative no-names that surprise a lot of people. If so, it will have to start in spring training.
Bucks Deal
The Bucks sent one of the last vestiges of how they used to play packing when they dealt Tim Thomas over the weekend. Thomas still forced too many shots, relied too much on the 3-point jumper and played sporadic defense -- too much like the most of the high-priced players on George Karl's team played the last couple seasons.
Joe Przybilla, who was included in the deal, was another holdover. He too was the same player he often was under Karl -- injured.
Keith Van Horn, who comes to the Bucks in the deal, will fit more into the team concept that coach Terry Porter has created this season. The main question mark with Van Horn is always his health.
The Bucks have wanted to dump Thomas for a while, but his big salary made it difficult. Van Horn also carries a high price, but could give the Bucks a better bang for their buck.
The Name Game
Greg Howes scored a hat trick to lead the Wave to a 6-5 win over Dallas in a thrilling double overtime game ... The Admirals lead the American Hockey League with 3.25 goals per game. Tony Hrkac leads the team with 39 points overall. Timofei Shishkanov leads AHL rookies with 19 goals ... Andrew Rock of UW-La Crosse ran the third fastest 400-meter in the country with 45.81 at the Cyclone Classic in Ames, Iowa. The time is the fastest among NCAA Division III athletes and the fourth fastest in the world this season.
Beyond Milwaukee Sports
Christian Nagiller of Austria won the Saturday competition and Jernej Damjan of Slovenia took the Sunday title at the 81st annual Snowflake International Ski Jump in Westby ... La Crosse Central won the girls title and Southern Conference North, a team made up of schools from northern Wisconsin, took the boys' title in the WIAA ski championships at Mt. La Crosse. Hennessy Wadell of Central and Alex Acosta of Ashland won the individual championships ... Rich Melzer scored 36 points to lead UW-River Falls to a 72-70 win over Whitewater that moved the Falcons into a tie with Whitewater and Stevens Point for first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ... Lawrence beat Carroll, 76-63, to clinch at least a share of the title in the Midwest Conference.
Hot Tix
The Bucks host the L.A. Clippers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bradley Center. Van Horn will make his Milwaukee debut in the game.
The Admirals host San Antonio at the BC at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wave spends the weekend on the road.
In college hoops, Marquette hosts Tulane at noon at the Bradley Center, while UWM faces Manhattan at 1 p.m. across the street at the U.S. Cellular Arena in a Bracket Buster game. Channel 41 will carry the MU game. ESPN2 will carry the UWM game.
Wisconsin is on the road for the weekend.
The Birkebeiner, featured in this column earlier this month, will be held Saturday.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The State Sports Buzz on Thursdays for OMC.
