The Milwaukee Sports Buzz won't appear again until 2003, so here are columnist Gregg Hoffmann's Top 10 local sports stories of 2002.

1. Packers win NFC North Division title -- The Packers wrapped up the new North Division title in record time and went into the last week of the year still fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs. The Pack should make January of 2003 very interesting. Keep up on it in On The Pack.
2. Brewers shake it up at top -- After recording a franchise record 106 losses, the Brewers shook it up at the top, moving CEO Wendy Selig-Prieb upstairs to chairman of the board and firing GM Dean Taylor and manager Jerry Royster. Their replacements, CEO Ulice Payne, GM Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost have major jobs ahead of them.
3. Ups and downs of ASG -- The Major League All Star Game focused the eyes of the baseball world on Milwaukee for five days. The city responded well, but then the game ended in a controversial tie.
4. UW wins share of Big Ten basketball title -- The Badgers, under coach Bo Ryan, finished tied with Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State with 11-5 records. UW got beat in the conference tourney and NCAA, but still had a fine season.
5. MU cracks Top 15 -- The Marquette Golden Eagles have cracked the Top 15 in the NCAA ratings and could be headed even higher in 2003.
6. Bucks trade Big Dog -- After years of rumors, the Bucks finally traded Glenn Robinson, the second leading scorer in franchise history. To date this season, the deal hasn't made the team any better.
7. Badgers go to Alamo Bowl -- The 2002 season actually was a disappointing one for UW, both on and off the field. But, there was a time when any bowl trip would have been a big story. Now, Badger fans consider the Alamo Bowl a demotion.
8. Wave loses in playoffs -- The Wave continued its record-winning streak at the Bradley Center until it met the Philadelphia Kixx in the league championship game. Then, it lost for the first time in 31 home games.
9. $12 across the board -- The Admirals shook up the local pro sports scene a bit by announcing all tickets this season will cost $12. It hasn't led to sellouts, but the move did establish the Admirals as the local team that cares about its fans' pocketbooks.
10. Sluman wins GMO -- Veteran PGA pro Jeff Sluman won the annual Greater Milwaukee Open with a sizzling 261 at Brown Deer Golf Course.

This writer is convinced, more than ever, that the Bucks will never make real progress toward becoming what had been hoped with Sam Cassell at point guard. Cassell puts up impressive stats, but when you need a floor leader the most will disappear or make a bonehead play.

He did it again Tuesday night in the closing seconds of a loss to Toronto, and then, in typical Sam fashion, blamed it all on the refs.

Cassell could still help the team as an offensive catalyst off the bench, but as its main floor leader forget it. The Bucks should look elsewhere.

Tim Kent of Elm Grove is back at sea, on the third leg of the Around Alone sailing competition. This leg will take him to New Zealand.

He encountered choppy seas and strong winds on his first day out of Cape Town, South Africa. Here's part of his e-mail report:

"The motion of the boat can only be described as violent, exacerbated by the fact that it is not balanced by the main. I'm wearing my cute Petzel climbing helmet to avoid whacks in the head -- I need access to all of the few brain cells I have left. Fortunately there is no one to see me, so the helmet stays on."

Look for more updates from Tim in 2003.

The Bucks host the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday. Marquette hosts Elon at 1 p.m. the same day. Both games are at the Bradley Center.

UWM hosts Loyola of Chicago on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.

The Admirals don't play at home again until Thursday, Dec. 26, when they host the Chicago Wolves at 7:12 p.m. at the Bradley Center. The Wave plays at home again on Tuesday, Dec. 31, against the Dallas Sidekicks in a 1:05 p.m. game at the BC.