By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Nov 07, 2009 at 11:10 PM

Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, a gathering spot for young fans as well as those old enough to remember when Notre Dame used to crush Navy and Michigan almost never lost a Big Ten game.

On to the notes...

Green and growing: When talking about the Bucks, you may as well start with the disclaimers. It's early. Five game isn't a true indication. A lot can happen -- and usually does -- over the course of an NBA season.

But, what took place Saturday night was impressive.

After a road victory over Minnesota on Friday night, the Bucks returned to the Bradley Center and pounded a horrendous Knicks team, 102-87. Andrew Bogut led the charge with 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting, but he shared the spotlight with two rookies.

Jodie Meeks drained 7 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, and point guard Brandon Jennings chipped in 17 points in a performance that had Knicks fans asking "What the hell was my team thinking when it drafted Jordan Hill instead of Jennings?"

Ersan Ilyasova pulled down 13 rebounds for the Bucks (3-2), who kicked off a six-game homestand in style before an announced crowd of 15,486. Meeks, who began to find his stroke Friday in Minneapolis, said, ""I got in a rhythm. I'm a shooter, so when you hit that first one, you have the confidence to knock down everything else. When I hit that first one, it kind of got me going."

Meeks won praise from coach Scott Skiles.

"Unfortunately for Jodie, he's been having trouble knocking down shots," Skiles said. "As a staff, we are constantly talking about it and we know it's going to happen at some point. The four (three-pointers) he made in the first half didn't eve come close to hitting the rim; they were dead in the middle.

"I was happy for him. He's worked very hard and he's trying to pay attention to everything we do and learning all the time. We certainly need that type of shooting."

Jennings' night featured some highlight-film shots and defensive stops, but he also turned the ball over five times. Jennings' best sequence came midway through the first quarter, when he scored a driving layup against Knicks center David Lee, then -- following an Ilyasova dunk -- picked up a loose ball, stroked a free-throw line jumper and was fouled.

The Knicks, who look worse than their 1-7 record indicates, were left to do some soul-searching.

"I think we're all stunned," coach Mike D'Antoni said. ""We're just in the midst of questioning everything in our mind and we're a step slow on everything.... I'm concerned about a lot of things. I won't go through the whole list of stuff, but we need to sit down and talk about it and try to find some keys that will work with this team."

Battle of the Bays: The Packers will go from playing in one of the top-rated games of the season to a game that will be witnessed in Florida and Wisconsin and that's about it. Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan will be on the call Sunday when Green Bay takes on Tampa Bay. The Packers, coming off another deflating loss to you-know-who and the Vikings, are 9 1/2-point favorites. The Buccaneers, winless under new coach Raheem Morris, will be wearing throwback uniforms (think "Dreamsicle" and "Bruce the Buccaneer.")

Just when the Packers were getting ready to welcome Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher back to the huddle, they placed offensive lineman Jason Spitz on injured reserve and activated wide receiver Biren Ealy from the practice squad. Maybe that means the Packers are worried about Donald Driver, who was banged up against Minnesota.

If the Packers take care of their business, protect Aaron Rodgers and shore up special teams units that have been putrid, they should win easily. The Buccaneers are starting rookie quarterback Josh Freeman, their third signal-caller of the season.

One interesting sub-plot -- Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator, Jim Bates, worked for the Packers and was a finalist for the head coaching that went to Mike McCarthy.

Sigh of relief: The Badgers overpowered Indiana Saturday in Bloomington, but the 31-28 victory was more difficult than it needed to be. John Clay ran for 134 yards and Wisconsin (7-2) finished with 294 yards rush, yet still had to withstand a late rally in order to win. The Badgers again made too many mistakes, both in the defensive backfield and on special teams (return man David Gilreath lost two balls in the sun).

Go west, young man: Some Brewers fans are a little miffed that the J.J. Hardy trade brought a centerfielder with plate-discipline (Minnesota's Carlos Gomez) issues rather than a No. 2 or 3 starter.

Hardy's value was a bit depressed by his performance last season and the emergence of Alcides Escobar. If the Brewers can get Gomez to cut down his strikeouts and utilize his speed, he'll give their offense a dimension it lacked after Rickie Weeks' injury last season.

Disgruntled Brewers fans should ask themselves how many times they watched Michael Bourne of Houston or Nyjer Morgan of Washington and wondered "Why don't we have a guy like that?"

Movin' on: Marquette, Menomonee Falls and Arrowhead all posted victories Saturday in the WIAA state football playoffs. Falls, which ousted defending champ Homestead last week, beat Sun Prairie, 34-17. Arrowhead defeated Verona, 36-21. Marquette outlasted Kenosha Tremper, 35-28, and will face Arrowhead for the right to play in in the title game. Falls will face Appleton North, a 14-0 victor over Stevens Point.

In Division 3, Waukesha Catholic Memorial defeated Union Grove, 31-7.

Broadway bound? According to the New York Times, the of Vince Lombardi will become a Broadway play by late next year. The newspaper reported that the play will be adapted from "When Pride Still Mattered," the 1999 Lombardi biography by Madison native and Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss. Milwaukee native Eric Simonson is working on the screenplay.

Larry King Lounge: Why would LeBron James even think about playing for the Knicks?.... Forget the scores. It's cool that Marquette played MSOE and UWM played Cardinal Stritch (which almost won) and UW-Parkside. Speaking of cool, the Panthers' home court at U.S. Cellular Arena looks tremendous.... Knicks rookie Marcus Landry, who grew up in Milwaukee played in college at Wisconsin, played a total of 2 minutes in his team's first six games. He got a nice ovation when he entered in the third quarter Saturday and scored his first NBA hoop on a nifty drive past Jodie Meeks.... The Breeders Cup is like the "fourth major" in horse racing. It gets pretty good play, but isn't it more exciting than your average Belmont Stakes?... If the Badgers beat up on Michigan next weekend at Camp Randall, the drums will beat even louder for Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez. Plenty of fans at the Big House are hoping Les Miles will take the job this time around.... Least surprising sports story of the week? Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum busted for possession of marijuana.... A lot of casual baseball fans are bemoaning the fact that the Yankees "bought" the World Series title. Hell-o.... The Yankees spend enough to buy a title every year. difference between this and the past eight years is that the guys New York spent money on (A-Rod, Sabathia, Teixeira) actually performed. The Yankees didn't win when Jason Giambi, Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano and many others were bumbling in the Bronx.... Packers cornerback Al Harris is hosting the "Wishing on Stars" fundraiser Monday night at Mo's -- A Place For Steaks, 720 N. Plankinton. Harris will be joined by former NFL player Marcellus Wiley, several Packers and actor/comedian Alex Thomas. Tickets are $250, with proceeds benefiting the Harris Family Foundation, which raises funds for children with Crohn's disease and also supports youth programs in Broward County, Fla., where Harris was raised. Bell Ambulance's Jim "America's Guest" Lombardo will be the emcee. The Web site is wishingonstars.web.com.

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.