Wisconsin Sports Blog - The Daily Drink

Afternoon Delight 11.3

2009-11-03T20:20:45Z

Join us tonight for Packers Transplants at 8pm CT Guest will be beat writer Rob Demovsky.

KSK destroys all your weak a$$ signs from Lambeau on Sunday.

Why the Packers shouldn't fire Ted Thompson.

More love for Brandon Jennings.

Take Back Our Bucks looks at Brandon Jennings and tonight's game against the Bulls.

If you're interested, Mark Cuban will be talking to fans prior to the Bucks home game on the 15th.

A tale of two NCAA football conferences.

Jim Nantz is down 2 houses and a cool Million a year thanks to his divorce.

How much does The Hangover really cost? $4,825 (h/t klwillis45)

The ref from the Rocky movies died.

With the premiere of V tonight, the best Alien invasion-type movies.

Congrats Hollywood, you're about to destroy another childhood memory.

Rob Halford has released a Christmas, go ahead and listen to We Three Kings.

Random Music Video: Afghan Whigs

11.3 Caption Contest

2009-11-03T18:47:37Z

Because I got nothing else

Leave your clever caption in the comments.....

Statis-Stix: Pick Up The Pieces

2009-11-03T15:56:31Z

So it came and it went.

I don't think any Packers fan will ever forget this past Sunday. For better or for worse (and it really was for worse), Nov. 1, 2009, will go down as one of the most memorable, bizarre days in the long and storied history of the Green Bay Packers. I don't think any of us has seen anything like it, even those who vividly remember the Lombardi years, the return to glory in the 1990s and everything in between.

Whether you like it or not, Brett Favre is doing just fine with his former team, and there's not a darn thing any of us can do about it right now. The Packers got two shots at Favre. Favre got two shots at the Packers. And, resoundingly, Favre came out on top (with a better supporting cast helping him, to be fair). Of course, there's plenty of season left and anything can happen yet, but I think we're all feeling a little emotionally drained right now. I'm willing to bet Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and Favre are, too.

So what's left? Well, for starters, it's time to pick up the pieces.

In a strange way, Sunday's game felt a little cathartic. We booed Favre (most of us did), we wished for his comeuppance and his demise, and he returned suit by ripping our hearts out and showing them to us. You gotta hand it to the old guy, even though his fake, self-serving, woe-is-me postgame interview was more nauseating than taking a big whiff of vodka on New Year's morning.

But you know what? It's over now. It's time to move on.

Look, so many people have compared what's happened between Favre and the Packers (and, by extension, their fans) to a bad break-up or a messy divorce. And I can say right now that that comparison is as truthful as any you could think of.

I assume that most of us have experienced either a painful break-up or a divorce in our lives. For those who haven't, well, you're not missing anything. But for those who have, the emotions we felt over the Favre situation were almost exactly what we felt over a break-up or divorce and its subsequent events.

The first step is anger and raw emotion. How could the Packers trade Favre to the Jets? How could he actually willingly leave Green Bay? Then comes the blame game, which lasts for quite some time, with all the drama and the he-said-she-said. Though this eventually begins to die down a little and everyone seems to start healing (like when Favre retired quietly from the Jets), there's one moment that you dread facing and hope desperately won't happen.

Eventually, your ex is going to seek out a new partner. Fortunately, I've never gotten to this stage of a break-up (we went our separate ways and never really talked again), but now I know how bad it must feel.

And if it's someone you know (and we all know and hate the Vikings), you realize that you never quite got over your ex. The vitriol and raw emotion come pouring out more than ever before, and all you can think of is revenge. You hope your ex fails with his or her new flame. You hope everything in their relationship goes horribly wrong to the point where your ex is remembering his or her relationship with you with unabashed fondness. More than anything, you wait for that day when you run into your ex and find out that he or she is struggling.

Well, for Packers fans, that day was Sunday.

And what did we find out? Brett Favre is doing just peachy with his new relationship. He seems as happy as he's ever been, maybe happier. We can't stand to see it, and it breaks our hearts. And if Favre wins the Super Bowl, well, it will be extremely tough to swallow. But seeing him succeed, just like seeing an ex succeed, finally makes you realize the only thing that can allow you to move on.

It's over. Your ex is gone. He or she is not yours anymore, and there's nothing you can do to change it. It's the same with Favre. He's gone now. He's happy. We never wish this would've happened, and we can still root against him, but it's happened, he's come back and rubbed our noses in it, and it's finally time to move on.

The first thing you do at this stage of a break-up is stop worrying about your ex and start worrying about yourself. Maybe you've been drinking a little too much lately. Perhaps it's time to start working out again. That career you've been slogging through, well, maybe it's time to get it back on track. Similarly, Packers fans need to stop worrying about Favre and start worrying about the Packers' own problems. It's time to shift our focus to a struggling offensive line, a puzzling defense, a new quarterback who has tons and tons of potential but just needs some fine-tuning and a penalty problem that better get corrected. It's time to stop worrying about whether Thompson and McCarthy made the right decision with Favre and start worrying about whether they're doing the right things with their current roster.

Sunday's emotional roller-coaster came and went, and now our ex in Minnesota has his own relationship to build on. It's time for us to start worrying about ourselves for the first time since the summer of 2008. We needed last Sunday to express our emotions, to let it all out, and we did.

Admittedly, we'll take it slowly at first. I know I will. In Sunday's game thread, I proclaimed that I was done with the Packers for the season, done caring about them. It was just too scarring for me to watch what I watched last Sunday. In a way, this is exactly like saying you're giving up on relationships. You're really not. You just need some time to heal. So will I watch Sunday's game in Tampa? Yes, probably. Will I be rooting for the Packers to rally and make the playoffs? I'm sure I will. But after all the emotion I've spent over the Favre situation, after wanting the Packers to win so badly on Sunday that my eyes started to tear up (and I'm not kidding, nor am I afraid to admit this) when the Packers were launching what seemed to be an inspired comeback, I need to take a step back. I need to take it slow. I'm going to watch and hope for the Packers to recover, but I'm not going to stake all my emotions on it, at least not just yet. I need some healing time.

And, hey, you never know. Sometimes you just might find your next romance where you least expect it. So if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go catch dinner and a movie with Brandon Jennings.

11.3 Morning Coffee: Irish Accent Edition

2009-11-03T14:02:00Z

A Rachel Perry type of day.
A new Statis-Stix column comes your way at 10am.

Tomorrow, I'll also be posting the Frosty Mug over at Brew Crew Ball. So you'll get a Morning Coffee here at around 8am and then a baseball centric Frosty Mug at about 9am. I still haven't figure out how I'm going to write both.

Man arrested for DUI, wearing a breathalyzer costume.

Rejected Mortal Kombat Fatalities (via Buzz Feed)

Our own SportsBlonde now has a photo gallery.

Best Hollywood Halloween Costume?

Least Shocking News: PETA has scolded Manu for killing the bat.

Hockey goalie dances to Thriller.

The Germans love Hasslehoff, but hate 30 Rock.

Thanks to Safford & Son for sending over the link of the day: Someone covered up the "P" on the Brett Favre Pass street sign in Green Bay.

The Vikings has also out performed the Packers on the field, because of moves they made in the offseason: From Tom Silverstein's article. The team that beat up the Packers both home and away arguably has also been outperforming the Packers during the past couple of off-seasons. The Vikings have added at least one big-time player each of the last four years and are to the point now where they may have as many as 11 players selected to the Pro Bowl this year. Here's a year-by-year comparison:

2006: The Vikings - Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell.
         The Packers - Charles Woodson, Ryan Pickett, Greg Jennings.
2007: The Vikings - Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice and Visanthe Shiancoe.
         The Packers - Justin Harrell and Ryan Grant.
2008: The Vikings - Jared Allen and Bernard Berrian.
         The Packers - Brandon Chillar and Jermichael Finley.
2009: The Vikings - Brett Favre, Percy Harvin and Phil Loadholt.
         The Packers - Duke Preston, B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews.

Basically since 2007 the Vikings have out-drafted Ted Thompson and made bolder moves in the offseason. The drafting is a bit surprising considering that is supposed to be Ted's line of expertise. But it's not surprising on the free agent side of things. The Vikings owner Zygi Wolf wants a new stadium and the only way he stands a chance is if he wins, and wins right now. So he went out and bought the best talent available and Adrian Peterson fell into their lap. So, the main difference between the Vikings and Packers is a go-for-broke GM vs. slow-but-surely GM. Which would you rather have?

Cliff Saunders, Brett got what he deserved.

Nobody cares about a live press conference.

Answer: Who is Duje Dukan Question: Who is Bo Ryan trying to land to replace Vander Blue?

Ben Eaves has unexpectedly left the Admirals.

Chase Utley's two home runs kept the Phillies alive.

Allen Iverson is already whining in Memphis.

Still amazed that Brandon Spikes is only suspended for a half. More amazed that a newspaper columnist doesn't have a problem with it.

Oakland Raiders - Bizarre-O-World.

Is 2009 the worst NFL season of all-time?

Answer: Who is Doug Barron. Question: Name the first PGA player to be suspended for a failed drug test.

24, the TV show where you can always be only mostly dead.

Chalk one up for the Irish.

With Pamela Anderson, is that really possible?

Random Music Video: The Replacements

Afternoon Delight 11.2

2009-11-02T20:30:00Z

I woefully under covered the NBA in the morning coffee, so here's a little NBA love.

Brandon Jennings had the steal of the night on Saturday

D-Wade 2, All 5 Bulls defenders 0

Manu killed a bat over the weekend.

Barstool Sports still hates Brett Favre.

Where the hell was Aaron Kampman?

So a Florida player tried to gouge someones eye out on the football field and he only gets suspended half a game? Florida, you're better than that.

I forgot to mention how much I hated the Avatar baseball trailer.

Badger Centric gives his thoughts on the Big Ten.

Usain Bolt adopted a cheetah.

Best costumes at the NYC marathon.

DirectTV, Why stop at Chris Farley?

Did Keyser Söze get someone fired?

Random Music Video: We Are Scientists