Gorman Thomas, Fuzzy Thurston, Mark Johnson and Tommy Bartlett went into the state Athletic Hall of Fame Thursday night as the first class of inductees selected by the fans.

Some who consider themselves sports experts might have argued that there were more deserving candidates. The list of 2003 nominees did include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bud Grant, Rollie Fingers, Reggie White and many other big names.

But, the class of 2003 brings a lot of heart, and true love for the sports fans of Wisconsin to the Hall. Thurston, the former Packers' guard who has survived throat cancer, stood at the podium and in his raspy voice emotionally declared, "I am proud to be the first to be selected by the fans. There are no better fans in the world."

Thomas, who epitomized the Bambi's Bombers and Harvey Wallbangers Brewers' teams, said, "Thank God for putting me in Milwaukee. I thank the fans of Milwaukee and Wisconsin for standing behind me."

Those who introduced Thurston and Thomas also cited their heart. "Fuzzy was the heart of the team," said Jerry Kramer, the other guard in Lombardi's Run to Daylight offense and a fellow state Hall of Famer. "When Fuzzy dies, they will have to take a stick and beat his heart to death. He has the biggest heart in the world."

Wendy Selig-Prieb, the chairman of the board for the Brewers, called Thomas a "true hometown hero" with "talent, loyalty and passion."

"No other player in Brewers' history has better represented the diehard fan," Selig-Prieb said of Thomas.

Both Thurston and Thomas played their respective games with passion. They have both made Wisconsin their homes for years, and remain close to the fans.

Johnson, the hockey great at UW, the 1980 Olympic team and the NHL, doesn't have the color of Fuzzy or Stormin' Gorman, but also has a quiet passion about his game and state. He now coaches the UW women's hockey team.

Johnson also follows his late father, UW hockey coach Bob Johnson, into the Hall. "To be inducted into the same Hall of Fame that your dad is in is very special," he told the audience at the Midwest Airlines Center.

Bartlett, who died in 1998, was called the George Halas, Curly Lambeau and Paul Brown of water skiing. His Wisconsin Dells ski show is one of the longest running in the country and has helped make Wisconsin the water ski capital of the world. Wisconsin teams have won the national water ski championship 23 of 28 times, and Bartlett is seen as a major reason.

The Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation and U.S. Bank sponsored the induction banquet. A complete list of biographies of the Hall members can be found at sportsinwisconsin.com.

Just when the Brewers looked to be making some progress, their pitching went south. After a four-game winning streak, the Crew gave up 38 runs in four losses Saturday through Wednesday this week.

Relief pitching -- a strong point the last few years -- has been shaky in recent games. Luis Vizcaino just can't regain his form from last season and had a 10.64 ERA at the time of this writing. Jayson Durocher's ERA was 11.57 since he returned from the disabled list. Even Mike De Jean, who has been solid, had a bad outing in last Saturday's 11-10 loss to the BoSox.

Leo Estrella and Curtis Leskanic have provided decent righthanded relief, but can't be counted on every game. Leskanic especially has to be paced because of previous arm problems. Valerio De Los Santos has been the main lefty out of the pen, but the Brewers also don't want to push him because of prior injuries.

In the starting rotation, Glendon Rusch probably should be removed until he can work things out. Ben Sheets continues to lead the league in homers allowed. Wayne Franklin, who had been very good in several games, gave up four runs in the first two innings Wednesday. Ruben Quevedo is inconsistent.

The Brewers also won't get any help from Todd Ritchie, who is scheduled to undergo rotator cuff surgery, which will shelve him for the rest of the season. Ritchie originally had been diagnosed as having shoulder fatigue.

Milwaukee did snap the losing streak with a 6-5 win Thursday over the Marlins, but if the Brewers are going to put together any kind of sustained success they can't have streaks where they give up an average of 9.5 runs per game.

The Packers' Darren Sharper has riled some fans, and perhaps a few teammates, by inviting the Bucs' Warren Sapp to play in his charity golf tournament Friday. Sapp ended Chad Clifton's season last year with what many Packers' fans still consider a cheap shot ... Wave United's Dino Delevski was named the A-League Player of the Week after a key assist in a 1-0 win over Minnesota and two goals in a 4-0 win over Portland last weekend ... Elm Grove's Tim Kent didn't say on land long. Only a few weeks after finishing the Around Alone sailing competition, he was back on board the Everest Horizontal this week in the Bermuda 1-2 race ... Outfielder Dave Krynzel, who hit .347 at Huntsville (AA) and pitcher Dan Kolb, who had a 1.47 ERA in 11 appearaces for Indianapolis (AAA), were named the Brewers Minor League Players of the month for May ... Brewers Charities have started the Allan H. (Bud) Selig Scholars Program. Up to 10 Wisconsin high school students will get the scholarships.

Several prep athletes from Beyond Milwaukee set records at the state track meet at UW-La Crosse. Cody Mussehl of Belleville/New Glarus set a new Division 2 mark in the 300 with 38.45. Antoine Roberts of Weyerhauser set a Division 3 triple jump record at 46 feet, 6 inches. Freshman Joanna Schultz of Holmen broke a 400-meter record that had stood for 15 years with 55.81. Kari Sweet of Riverdale set a Division 3 girls discus record at 148-9. Amber Curtis of Brodhead became the first girl in state history to win four straight shot put titles, and Anna Monsen of Stoughton became the first girl to win four straight Division 1 titles in the 100 meters ... Champions of the WIAA baseball tournament include Middleton in Division 1, Monroe in Division 2 and Stevens Point Pacelli in Division 3.

Wave United will host the Rochester Raging Rhinos at 4:05 p.m. this Sunday at Uihlein Field.

The Milwaukee Bombers Australian rules football team will host the Chicago Sharks at noon Saturday at Kletzsch Park.

The Brewers will return home from a trip to Baltimore Monday to host the St. Louis Cardinals. Next Wednesday, the Crew will host the National Pro Fastpitch All Star Tour at Helfaer Field before the game against the Cards. A team of All Stars, led by pro pitcher Amy Kyler, will face the Stratford Brakettes at 2 p.m. at Helfaer and then meet fans at Miller Park before the Brewers' game.

The U.S. Gymnastics Championships, featuring the Hamm brothers from Waukesha, will come to the U.S. Cellular Arena next week. See more in next week's State Sports Buzz.