"Tag You're It" Says Ted!

Feb. 24, Ted Thompson places the Franchise Tag on Green Bay Packers nose tackle Ryan Pickett. Pickett has been an impact player for the Packers since they signed him as a free agent from the St. Louis Rams. He has been excellent against the run and solid against the pass. Pickett also had a solid first year in the Packers transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense.
During the switch it was questioned whether or not Pickett could make the switch from a defensive tackle to a nose tackle. Picket did an excellent job in his first year. With this in mind the Packers will owe Pickett more than $7 million for the tag, but the way Thompson has used the tag in the past Pickett could be saying good bye to Green Bay, or saying hello to another contract.
Thompson has been known to use his franchise tags to keep the rights of players to trade them away as he did with defensive tackle Corey Williams a few years ago when he was sent to the Cleveland Browns. With Pickett turning 31 in a couple of months this is a likely option for the team to do. Also the fact that the Packers spent their ninth overall pick in last years draft on BJ Raji, it is likely that this could be happening.
The most intriguing part of this story is what affect will this have with outside linebacker Aaron Kampman's contract situation. Kampman is coming off a major knee injury and is not getting any younger. He also struggled in the switch from defensive end to outside linebacker in his first year. He was a liability in coverage and was not able to rush the passer enough to put up solid numbers.
The thing is that many speculated that Kampman would be the one to possibly receive the franchise tag this offseason and potentially be traded somewhere where he could go back to playing defensive end. With Pickett receiving the tag instead many wonder what will happen with Kampman. He is a fan favorite and is loved, but Packers' fans are still unsure if he fits in with the new defense. Will the Packers be able to sign him to a short term deal that is reasonable? Or will Kampman find a new home?

Noah Hanstedt

Brewers Warming Up in Spring

Feb. 22, the Milwaukee Brewers opened spring training at Maryvale Baseball Park in the teams’ 40th Anniversary season. The Brewers pitchers were the first to report, with the position players to report on Friday.
The Brewers come into the 2010 season with many new faces that hope to improve on their 2009 pitching woes. Randy Wolf and Doug Davis are the two guys expected to join Yovani Gallardo to improve the front of the rotation.
Many people I have talked to aren’t happy with the signing of Wolf because they think he may turn out to be another Jeff Suppan. When the Brewers signed Suppan he came off a down year and was overpaid in a four-year contract. In Wolf’s case he is a year younger than Suppan, came off a good 2009 campaign with the LA Dodgers, and though he may have been overpaid he only signed a three-year deal and was one of the best starters available in free agency.
The other thing being talked about with the Brewers are having six starting pitchers for five sports in the rotation. The top three in the order are set with Gallardo, Wolf and Davis most likely in that order. The following three spots are going to have to be fought out for in spring training between Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra.
Parra is likely a lock for the rotation because he is out of minor league options, which leaves him too valuable for the Brewers to lose, which means the last spot is between Bush and Suppan.
With the way Bush’s contract is structured the Brewers can cut Bush before the season starts and only have to pay a fraction of his contract, which is a likely possibility if Bush pitches like he did after he took the line drive off his arm against the Florida Marlins. Plain and simple though, ever since Suppan has been and Milwaukee he has done very little to help the Brewers succeed. He’s had a few bright spots but it never last more than a month.
To me the last spot will go to Bush with Suppan going to the bullpen as a long reliever. The move gives the Brewers a decent reliever because Suppan won’t have to pitch more than three innings and also gives them an option if anyone goes down or struggles throughout the year.
As we know anything can happen and things can change throughout the spring, but best case scenario everyone pitches well or Suppan and his $12 million contract gets cut or traded.

Adam Billmann

Packers Offseason Priorities

Now that the Super Bowl is over and we have a new champion, the off-season officially begins. The Packers had a very good year but much can be improved. I have the top 3 story lines for the Packers this coming off-season.

1a. Sign Nick Collins - Nick Collins completed his fifth year as Packer this past season. And the previous two his play earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl. He is now a free agent and deserves his money. Last offseason there was talk that he deserved a new contract but many Packers' executives wanted to make sure Collins was not a one year wonder. Collins proved otherwise this past season. He played in all 16 games for the Packers and recorded 53 tackles along with six interceptions. His work on the field earned him another trip to the Pro Bowl. Collins deserves a new contract and the Packers should be more than happy to sign him to a long-term deal. The core of the defense is fairly young and locking up a 26-year-old player who is currently in the prime of his career would do nothing but good to an already solid defensive unit.

1b. Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton - A tie for first with the Collins situation, bringing both of these experienced tackles back would be huge. Aaron Rodgers took a beating early in the year because Clifton was hurt and Tauscher was still recovering from surgery in the past offseason. If Ted Thompson can sign both of them to a one- or two-year contract, that would allow him to pick a tackle or two in the draft and get them ready for when the tackle tandem does retire. TJ Lang is thought high of by many Packers' coaches but they are not sure if he is ready for a 16 game schedule. So if Thompson can bring both of them back for at least one more year, that would allow the team to groom their replacements in plenty of time.

3. Get younger in both backfields - When you look at the elite teams in the NFL, most have a stable of good running backs, which usually compliment each other well. Ryan Grant is no doubt the number one back in Green Bay, but adding a CJ Spiller or Javhed Best via the draft would give Aaron Rodgers even more options. Also the Packers need to find some answers in the defensive backfield. Like the tackle position. Also Charles Woodson and Al Harris are not getting any younger, so adding a playmaker in the draft like a Kyle Wilson from Boise State or a Donovan Warren from Michigan would only help. Woodson and Harris both have miles left on their tires, but when they do finally retire, their back-ups better be ready to go. Whether that be Tramon Williams, Will Blackmon, Jarrett Bush or a cornerback from this year's draft.

The Packers are in great shape moving forward. There is young talent up and down the roster. But to be elite, they will need to solidify some positions before they can take the next step.

Rich Robbins

Tiger Woods... He Got Game in all The Wrong Places

Tiger Woods gave his first press conference Feb. 19, which is his first time appearing on television since his "transgressions"...and by transgressions, I mean cheating on his wife, Elin Woods, with upwards of 11 different women.

To start things off, I would give Tiger Woods an honorable nod of approval for defending himself and his wife regarding allegations that Elin attacked Woods. He nipped the violence/assult accusations right in the bud, calling these media stories fabricated. Woods had this to say on the topic:

"Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage. Ever."

As honorable as Woods seemed by doing this, however, I couldn't help but think through the entire press conference how dry and cold-hearted the speech felt. Here's a man who just cheated on his wife with nearly a dozen girls. He just recently had a baby girl with his wife. Woods was a man who had nearly everything one could ask for...unless what you ask for is a flawed image of what a marriage should actually be(I'll give you a hint, good marriages don't consist of one person having an affair with half the neighboorhood).

With as high-powered a team of PR people that Tiger Woods has, you would think that he would come up with a speech more awe-inspiring than something you would find in a Dr. Seuss book. During his 13-minute speech, Woods came up with every imaginable way to say "I'm sorry", without ever actually showing any emotion that he truly was sorry.

The truth is, why would he be sorry? The guy owes absolutly nothing to MOST of us. He's apologizing for letting down his fans, and hopes that someday he will gain the fanbase back that he lost. During his speech, he mentions that because of his fame, he thought that he could play by "different rules" than normal society, which he admitted was wrong. Well no kidding its wrong Tiger, thanks for alerting the press on that breaking story.

Inevitably, Tiger Woods will make his grand return to golf (whether Ernie Els likes it or not), fix his marital problems in one way or another, and take a seat back at that No. 1 spot again. Personally, I think he will come back sooner than later. Possibly the AT&T National from July 1-4. Tiger Woods winning his first golf championship back on the fourth of July? It doesn't get much more patriotic than that.

Paul Mee

Flying Tomato

Feb. 17 the world once again watched in awe as snowboarder Shaun White tore up the men's halfpipe at the Vancouver Olympics. He left his competition in the wake of his long red locks as he dominated the event for the second straight Olympics. White unveiled one of his highly anticipated new tricks the Double McTwist 1260 in his final run after he had already won the gold medal with his first run, which he scored a 46.8 out of 50.

White literally could have done nothing or just snowboarded right down the middle of the halfpipe and received his medal, but no, the Flying Tomato put on a show.
In true American fashion White decided he would show the world he is just that much better than everyone else and himself by doing his final run and busting out a 48.4 score to beat his own score and give himself a greater margin of victory.

Not only did he not need to do the final run, but he didn't need to bust out his secret trick, which he had been practicing at his private halfpipe in Colorado. Yet, White decided to do so. Whites laid back attitude and red hair make him the face of snowboarding. A true American. White is now the first ever repeat winner in men's halfpipe and the only person to ever win a gold medal in that event.

White has been extremely dominate in a sport that is just becoming popular world wide. As White's competition gets better because of him, he finds that his competition is pushing him to get better as well. White makes us wonder what else he could come up with. He is only 23 years old and will clearly be around for years to come.

Has White peaked or can we expect to see more from this young red-haired phenom? Only time will tell.

Noah Hanstedt