As Brewers GM Doug Melvin sorted through his scouting reports and figured out what the team’s offseason needs were, he spotted one particular player that caught his eye both as a solid contact catcher and a player that could fill a position of need. That player was Diamondbacks catcher Johnny Estrada. The deal sent Brewers pitcher Doug Davis to Arizona, along with minor league prospects Dana Eveland and Dave Krynzel. The Brewers also acquired starting pitcher Claudio Vargas, who figures to replace Davis’s spot in the rotation, as well as hard throwing reliever Greg Aquino. Although the throw-ins were included as part the deal, the centerpieces were Davis and Estrada. Davis was always considered to be an on and off kind of pitcher for the Brewers, and always seemed to pitch well while receiving little to no run support. Estrada is a 30 year-old switch hitting catcher who is approaching his prime, and what particularly opened Melvin’s ears were whispers that Estrada was unhappy with Arizona and wanted to be traded. Catcher was a large need for the Brewers, as Damian Miller is thirty-eight and can no longer take the load of an everyday catcher on his shoulders. With the acquisition of Estrada, Miller will most likely move into a backup role. Claudio Vargas is a guy who doesn’t dazzle you at anything, but is just an all around good pitcher. He throws mostly fastballs with an occasional slider or changup to throw off hitters. As for Aquino, he is said to be a flamethrower and should help the Brewers pen out alot this season. Prospects Dave Krynzel and Eveland had more than enough chances to show their stuff in Milwaukee, but in the end didn’t pan out and became expendable in the circumstance of the right deal. Although there are no guarantees as of yet, at this moment it looks like the the Brewers got the better of the D-Backs once again . Doug Melvin please keep up on your excellent snake charming abilities.

Old with the old, in with the new. That slogan turned out to be put into place at the end of the night. Michael Redd has said that he doesn’t want to carry the load every night for the Bucks. Well, last night he took matters into his own hands. With Milwaukee down as much as 24, the second-round pick from Ohio State put the team on his back and almost single-handedly beat the now 6-1 Utah Jazz. Redd had 25 points in the final period to pull the Bucks to an even tie. Redd, who scored 25 in the final frame, light up the Jazz’s Deron Williams all night, going 18 of 32 from the field (56%) including 6 of 12 on 3-pointers. With 6.9 seconds left and the Bucks down three, they called Redd’s numbers for the tying basket. While the Bradley Center erupted with pandemonium, the Jazz kept their cool, raced down the court, and point guard Deron Williams found replacement Matt Harpring cutting to the basket for the 2-point lead. Harpring replaced All-Star shooting forward Andrei Kirilenko, who left the contest with a sprained ankle, chipped in with 17 points. With a mere 1.8 seconds left, the Bucks went to their man one more time for the game winner. Unfortuantely the shot fell short and the Bucks and Michael Redd were left heartbroken. Although he didn’t win the game, history was made as Michael Redd set a francise record with 57 points, overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record of 55 set in 1971.

Bret Bielema and the Badgers stepped up. After no “experts” gave them a chance to challenge for the Big Ten title, the Badgers proved the world wrong. The 16th ranked Badgers ran over the Iowa at Kinnick Stadium Saturday and proved themselves that they are “the best of the rest” and deserve to be in the BCS conversation. And if it weren’t for #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan’s stellar seasons, the Badgers would have been in the race for the Big Ten championship. The win was particularly sweet for coach Bret Bielema, who had large shoes to fill after Barry Alvarez stepped down as the head man in Madison. At 10-1, Bielema has set the best record for a 1st year coach in Big Ten history. The Badgers were lead by junior quarterback Tyler Donovan, who made his 1st career start after John Stocco couldn’t go with a shoulder injury. The Badgers opened up the scoring and eventually took the early 10-0 lead, but the Hawkeyes hung tough and made a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to tack on their 7th win on senior day. The 24-21 win for the Badgers leaves just 1 game left this regular season, as the Badgers host Buffalo next week. Barring a massive upset, the Badgers will up their record to 11-1 and should get the Badgers into the Capital One Bowl, previously called the Florida Citrus Bowl. Although the Badgers wouldn’t be a “BCS” bowl game, they should be proud of their 2006 efforts.

When the Bucks traded for Charlie Villanueva they certainly didn’t expect this much from the big man. After the Bucks first 6 games of the 2006-2007 NBA campaign, Villanueva has been a hard cover for teams, as CV has averaged almost a double-double per game at 17 and 9. Villanueva has also shown the ability to knock down the outside jumper, which he had done last year at Toronto. But perhaps the biggest surprise to this point has been the chemistry between Villanueva and 2004 #1 overall pick Andrew Bogut. Bogut and Villanueva have combined for 30 and 15 per contest. They have both provided an immediate spark for the already laboring offense of the Bucks due to the injury of Bobby Simmons. Bucks star Michael Redd said that he doesn’t want to always be that guy that has to carry the load every night, and he’s certainly embraced the emergence of the two big men thusfar. If this trend continues, look for the Bucks to show consistent results against top-tier teams in the Eastern Conference and challenge for an even stronger playoff spot than last year.

Hot Topic: Pistons All-Star Guard Chauncey Billups is reportedley interested in the Bucks. He liked what he saw from the young players in the opening game of the season against Milwaukee and is a free agent after this season. What makes this development even more intriguing for Bucks fans is that Milwaukee will have the most money to spend next summer at almost $14, and are in need of a point guard. If the Bucks could in fact intice Billups to sign, the Bucks could be set up for a title run in 2007-2008.