After falling behind early yet again to UNLV, the Badgers couldn’t overcome the deficit and were bounced out of the NCAA Tournament by the Runnin’ Rebels. The same disturbing trend was consistent for the Badgers since the beginning of the Big Ten tourney on. They got off to slow starts, and would have to dig themselves out of their own hole to come back. They managed to escape a 18-point deficit and beat 15-seed Texas A&M CC Friday, but today’s hole was just too deep. Seniors Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker carried the load, but UW couldn’t find that third scorer behind them with Brian Butch still out. Tucker unfortuantely will end his illustrious career at Madison, ranking as both the single-season and All-Time scoring leader. 2007 will hopefully be just as productive as 2006, with Marcus Landry, Joe Krabbenhoft, Brian Butch, Michael Flowers, Greg Stiemsma, and Trevon Hughes all returning. Tim Jarmusz, a very established guard from Oshkosh West, will also be coming to UW. Jarmusz lead West to back to back D-1 championships, as they beat Milwaukee Vincent last night.

If one word could describe the Milwaukee Bucks season thusfar it would be injury-plagued. Unfortuanately that word cost coach Terry Stotts his job. After going a dismal 5-15 over the past 20 games, GM Larry Harris thought “it was in the team’s best interest” to relieve Stotts of his position and look elsewhere for the remainder of the season. In his first year with the team, Stotts led the Bucks to the playoffs, where they lost to the Pistons in a short 5-game series. This season Stotts had to work around an extremely depleted squad, when at one point four starters (Bobby Simmons, Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva, and Mo Williams) were all out due to injury. In less than two full seasons with the team, Stotts compiled a record of 63-83. Larry Harris decided it was better to fire Stotts sooner than later and try to turn the team around for the rest of the season. Harris wasted no time in naming his replacment, Bucks assistant Larry Krystkowiak. Krystkowiak was a head coach at Montana before coming to the Bucks, where he was also a former player. He played nine seasons in Milwaukee, similar to former coach Terry Porter, who was fired before Stotts was brought in. Krystkowiak is expected to begin his head-coaching duties tomorrow when the Spurs come to town. The Bucks and Stotts clearly weren’t seeing eye to eye, as was evident during the season. The Bucks currently hold the 4th worst record in the NBA and may have a shot at Texas star Kevin Durant, if they got a high lottery selection. In addition, the Bucks will have the most free-agent money of any team this upcoming offseason, so Krystkowiak is walking into a pretty good situation.

Tuesday marked the first signing for the Packers since the start of free agency. Frank Walker, a 6th round draft choice out of Tuskegee, signed a 1 year deal with Green Bay, that is believed to be incentive laden. The Packers are looking for a 3rd corner behind Al Harris and Charles Woodson, and they are hopeful Walker will be that guy. Walker is still somewhat of a project, and at 25, still has plenty of time to improve. Coming out of college, Walker ran a 4.33 40, but slipped into the 6th round most likely because of his over-agressiveness. Packers’ fans can only hope that they didn’t sign the second-coming of Ahmad Carroll. Look for Walker to compete for a nickel back spot along with Patrick Dendy, Jarrett Bush, and Will Blackmon come Training Camp.

When the Milwaukee Brewers drafted third-baseman Ryan Braun with the 5th overall pick in the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft, they would have never guessed in a million years that just two years later he would be competing for a shot to start. The Miami-product has been tearing it up this spring, catching the eye of many Wisconsin-natives. Third base will be an interesting postion for the Brewers in 2007, with incumbent Corey Koskie still recovering from post-concussion syndrome that landed him on IR last season. If Koskie is unable to go Opening Day, don’t be surprised if Braun gets the start at the hot corner. Braun was highly touted for his bat coming out of college, and he is proving that he is indeed the future 3rd baseman the Brewers anticipated. Braun got off to a scorching start in Grapefruit League play, as he went 3-4 with 7 RBIs in his first game with the club, including a grand slam. Braun’s achilles-heal has been his inability to show consistency on defense, which could force Manager Ned Yost to look elsewhere Opening Day. Other options at 3rd are Tony Graffanino and the ageless Craig Counsell, who is back for his second stint with the Crew in 2007. Regardless of the current platoon that Yost is bound to implement, it’s evident that the Brewers will have a heck of an infield in the few years with Braun, shortstop J.J. Hardy, second-baseman Rickie Weeks, and first-baseman Prince Fielder.

With the free agent running back crop dwindling, there is one name out there that has a high price tag. His name is Michael Turner, and many might not be familar with him as he has been overshadowed by NFL superstar LaDainian Tomlinson the past few years. Before free agency started, the Chargers slapped Turner with a high tender, which allows teams to offer a contract to the player just like anyone else. But the catch is that the Chargers can choose whether or not to match any offer, but if they decide not to match, the new team would have to give up both a first and third round pick to get him. Turner, a Northern Illinois product, is a 237 lb. bruiser who has 4.45 40 speed and tremendous upside. Turner would also solve the Packers returner problems, as he averaged 26.5 yards per return last year for the 14-2 Chargers. So that begs the question, with Turner still at the 25, would it be wise for the Packers to make a run at Turner, as he is more seasoned and arguably better than any back available in the draft? I think so. With Tomlinson at 27, he still has a good 5-6 good seasons left in the tank. With the Chargers constantly trying to keep Mr. Tomlinson happy, they may not be able to do the same with Turner. You know Turner doesn’t want to be a #2 his whole career. So Ted, make a run. This is the unique back you have been looking for. Yes, we would lose a first and a third, but only you can turn 6 picks into 12. Turner will be a star shortly.

After falling to Ohio State over two weeks ago, the Badgers are back. Following consecutive victories against Michigan State, the Badgers wore out a tired Illinois team Saturday afternoon in the second Big Ten semifinal. Alando Tucker continued his dominance in Big Ten compeitition, scoring 21 points on 10-17 shooting. Senior Kammron Taylor also joined in the act, chipping in with 16. The Badgers will now face the #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in the grudge match Sunday with a possible #1 seed on the line. Barring any upsets, Kansas, North Carolina, and Florida will most likely be the other top seeds, as all should win their Conference Tournaments, leaving only one spot open. But the way it looks, the winner will be a #1 and the loser a #2. Without Brian Butch, look for the Badgers to devise a plan to limit freshman phenom Greg Oden by commitee, using Greg Stiemsma, Joe Krabbenhoft, Jason Chappell, and Marcus Landry.

GM Ted Thompson came to the Packers organization making it very clear that he would do the best he could to restore the Packers cap situation. He also said that he preferred building through the draft rather than spending big bucks in what he calls the “dangerous waters” of NFL free agency. Many people are confused as to why Thompson is so wary of upgrading the Packers, in order to give Brett Farve the best chance to win in what could be his last season. But the reason is simple: in free agency nowadays the market is so inflated (like baseball and basketball) that most teams beside the few exceptions (such as the Redskins and 49ers) let a few weeks go by before they start to investigate the “best of the rest.” The Packers, with close to $20 million to spend, are one of those teams. People have to start coming to the realization that Ted Thompson will not dish out 50 million dollar contracts for mediocrity. In the case of Charles Woodson last year, Thompson thought that he still had upside after a few disappointing years. And what do Woodson do? He had his best season. Trust me, Ted Thompson knows what he’s doing. So stop belly-aching just because he doesn’t want to overpay for average players. Thompson is saving this francise, rectifying what Sherman screwed up. He will build through the draft. Deal with it. Wait two more months.

Rumor Mill: The Packers are reportedly sincerely interested in former Falcon FB Justin Griffith as a prime candidate to replace William Henderson, who was cut Wednesday. Griffith fits the Packers offense, as the ZBS was used in Atlanta. According to KFFL, the two parties are talking contract, but they won’t rush a deal. Also Ex- Bengal corner Tory James visited the Packers yesterday. The Packers would like a third corner to team up with incumbents Al Harris and Charles Woodson.

After the Texans overpaying of running back Ahman Green, the Packers are left with a major hole in the running game. Plenty of backs are still left on the FA market, including names, like Dominic Rhodes, Jamal Lewis, and Michael Turner, but GM Ted Thompson philosophy is simple: build through the draft and don’t overpay. The exact reason why the Packers won’t try to match the Texans 4 year/23 million dollar deal billed out to Green. So the most likely scenario is for the Pack to look to the NFL Draft for their back in 2007. With the 16th overall pick, a few names jump out but their is one in particular that jumps out: Marshawn Lynch. Lynch is a Cal product that played with Packer Aaron Rodgers. Lynch has zone blocking scheme experience, as Cal’s system is just that. More importantly, Lynch had great success in that scheme, racking up over 3,000 yards on the ground in his 3-year career with 27 TDs. Even more intriguing is Lynch’s ability to catch out of the backfield, gaining 600 yards receiving with 6 TD’s at Cal. Lynch had a decent combine, participating in all drills and running a 4.46 seconds 40 yard dash. The only knock on Lynch is his character issues that he has seemingly gotten over. If Thompson can take a hard look at Lynch and be convinced that he is the right guy to take over the starting job, the running back situation could be sured up for the long haul.