Arrowhead wrestling coach Jeremy Miller admits a little bit of bias favoring the heavier-weight wrestlers, himself a bigger guy who wrestled and played football at Lakeland High School.

"Ideally, I think if you have good support from your football program, it will prepare you well for wrestling," Miller said. "I'll go out and tell anybody if you have a good wrestler, they're going to be a good football player because they know how to battle."

Wrestling and football coaches likely became better friends this offseason, when the WIAA approved shifts to the weight classes as presented by the National Federation of High Schools. The end result was one more class on the heavier end, with one of the middle weights sacrificed.

It wasn't a move most coaches liked. It still isn't.

"The downside of it is I don't understand the reasoning for shifting everything up (in weight)," Miller said. "When you get to these lower weights, we have kids at 80 or 90 pounds walking through the halls. Some of these guys are even juniors and seniors. It's something that should be revisited in that lower spectrum."

Wrestling's lowest weight class shifted upward from 103 pounds to 106, with slight increases across the board additionally increased by a new weight allowance after the holidays that permits wrestlers two more pounds.

"Wrestling should favor the lower weights," said Kettle Moraine coach Frank Cuda. "In what other sport can smaller kids have the opportunity to be successful? It is pretty tough in football and basketball. I am not saying that smaller, lighter athletes can't be successful in those sports; wrestling just matches athletes up pound for pound, and I think that gives the smaller kids more opportunity.

"The addition of another upper weight class takes the opportunity to wrestle away from the smaller kids and middle weights where there seems to be more kids stacked at the same weight."

The NFHS added a 215-pound class in 2002, the last change to the lineup and an addition from the 13-class lineup that had been in place. The last overriding changes were made in 1988. The changes represented the NFHS attempt at encompassing roughly 7 percent of the wrestling population in each group.

The wrestling community ultimately embraced the 215-pound addition. But these changes, of course, are more sweeping.

"They are not changing, and we really need to make a focused effort to get football player athletes competing in the wrestling program with five of the 14 weight classes being 170 and higher," said Mukwonago coach Jon Wierzbicki. "It also has firmed up the competition in the 126 through 138 weight classes. At the Mid-States (in Whitewater), for example, multiple state placewinners were wrestling for third in Derek Gill of Burlington and Gabe Grahek of Marquette.

"I also believe 106 has become a more solid weight class with some athletes being able to make it down to 108 now post-Christmas with the allowance. Some of these guys may have been at 112 in prior years, but with the added thre pounds are able to make the cut."

The challenges at the bigger weights are more apparent at smaller schools, where bigger bodies are simply harder to come by. Coaches have also intimated that football players don't automatically possess the mentality to wrestle, instead preferring to lift weights in the offseason in preparation for the next football season.

With the added demand to recruit bigger kids who haven't experienced wrestling at lower levels, those kids also figure to experience growing pains in the new sport.

"We have a lot of big kids at Arrowhead; there's a football program that has been successful through the years," Miller said. "The weight (in the weight room) doesn't push back. You have to (wrestle) in front of people and put it on the line. You go to the center of the mat where you're the center of attention. It's not easy."

Pictured: Arrowhead's Blake Weber (foreground) and Brandon Schallock of Mukwonago battle at 106 pounds in a dual meet Jan. 27. The two are among those most affected by the new changes, wrestling at the sport's smallest weight class.

Owen Edward Radcliffe came into the world Jan. 17, 2012. He certainly didn't arrive smoothly, but he's a healthy and adorable little boy who my wife and I brought home late last week.

This would probably be an appropriate time for an outpouring of sentiment. This is our first child, and it's an amazing moment in our lives. But instead, I turn my attention to something far better for my Preps Alcove column:

Onesies.

It's no secret that I love sports, and Liz does too, and pretty much everyone in our family knows it. Trust me: there is no shortage of sports-related gear for babies, and Owen has an entire wardrobe dedicated to athletic endeavors. I highly doubt his likes and dislikes will be crafted in his first weeks of life, but if you could judge a kid by his wardrobe, you'd think this little guy was quite the sports fan.

And so, a summary of the greatest in sports attire (at least in our closet), as presented in the Baby Clothing Power Rankings:

1. "Daddy, is it game time yet?" In the first few weeks of Owen's life, it seems his primary hobby (when not eating, sleeping or going to the bathroom) is "looking around." This would make him an ideal partner with whom to watch sports. Hopefully he can handle my screaming when the Brewers hit into an inning-ending double play. This is my favorite outfit, and it's not really close.

2. Baseball bow tie. An all-white with a bow tie colored in by baseballs. There's nothing like balancing the sophistication of formal attire and sports. I plan to dress Owen for church in this styling, since Liz won't let me wear my jerseys Sunday mornings.

3. "Mommy's All-Star." Sports onesies are an amazing political battleground. To say "Mommy's MVP" or "Daddy's MVP" is basically dressing your child to choose a favorite parent. Very clever. This will allow Liz some measure of balance, since she's still bitter that my family whupped hers in the softball game held at our rehearsal cookout the day before our wedding. "Team Grandpa" and "Team Grandma" also seems appropriate when trying to convince one's parents to take the child for a day so mommy and daddy can nap. I also enjoy the footies that look like cleats on one of the "Team Mommy" selections.

4. "Rookie of the Year." I was hoping Owen would arrive before the first of the year to give us the appropriate tax break on our upcoming return. Alas. Not only that, his "rookie of the year 2011" jammies are suddenly outdated. He'll have to settle for "Baby MVP" in 2012.

5. Iron Bowl. I have family in the state of Alabama who sent us outfits representing both of the big rivals down south: Alabama and Auburn. Given that mom and dad are impartial, I suppose Alabama will have to get dibs, since that they are the reigning national champion and all. A much tougher decision will take place when we decide whether to dress Owen in Brewers or Tigers gear, given that we fall on opposite sides of the Prince Fielder Career Arc. You all know what my choice would be.

6. "Future Quarterback." Only because "future offensive lineman" was unavailable. But at 8 pounds, 11 ounces, I'm already saying he's going to make his living on the line or in the linebacking corps.

7. "Go Cubs!" Seriously, someone gave us this outfit, a hilarious attempt at being hilarious. They aren't invited to Owen's first birthday party.

Pictured: Here's to hoping Owen Radcliffe absorbs sports fandom through his attire ... or maybe through mine. The closer I hold him to Brewers gear, the better.

One of the first questions I have every year when we begin the winter season is, “Will we have any reason to go to Madison?”

I’m not going to lie, covering state basketball is a blast. We get plush courtside seats to observe the best competition in the state, playing in the beautiful Kohl Center (for now, at least) and serving as witnesses to the jubilation associated with state titles. But, as much as I love it, it’s a time commitment I can’t afford if one of the teams we cover isn’t making the trip.

It’s never too early to start looking at the field and wondering if one of the teams in our coverage zone has the ammunition to make the voyage to the Kohl Center. Here’s a look at what we’ve got:

(Rankings and records as of Jan. 16).

Boys

1. Arrowhead (Division 1, sectional 2) has been one of the top teams in Division 1 recently, but the Warhawks have a problem: the other Warhawks. Germantown is the No. 1 ranked team in the state, loaded with an immense amount of talent and already with a track record that shows it can beat the best squads Wisconsin has to offer. News last Friday that 6-10 center Luke Fischer will possibly miss the rest of the season with a broken finger will hurt their cause, but they’re still deep enough to be heavily favored to come out of that sectional.

The other regional: The opposite group of teams feeding into the sectional final features a road with several more landmines than the one facing AHS. DePere is also one of the state’s premier teams, with its only loss against Germantown in the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout. Bay Port is 11-2 with narrow losses to undefeated Pulaski and a strong Appleton West team to open the year. Sheboygan North is ranked in the same area as Bay Port with its own 11-2 record, losing to the aforementioned DePere and Bay Port by single digits.

Don’t forget about: Homestead. As good as Germantown has been, Homestead also remains undefeated in the North Shore Conference pending a big showdown looming with GHS. Menomonee Falls has one of the state’s best players in JP Tokoto, and Waukesha West had some big preseason expectations, but neither team appears to be a serious threat at this point. Sussex Hamilton might be a late-blooming sleeper.

2. Oconomowoc (Division 1, Sectional 3) will join Kettle Moraine out west with Madison-area teams in their half of the bracket, and they also have a major problem in that group of teams: Madison Memorial. The defending state champion is also undefeated and right now looks like the only team that can truly challenge Germantown for the state crown.

Memorial will have a huge Big 8 battle with another undefeated league foe, Middleton, on Jan. 24. The 9-2 Cardinals have losses to Appleton East (a team with a losing record) and a solid Madison Edgewood squad.

The other regional: This is an interesting assemblage of teams, without a true frontrunner. Young and charging Mukwonago might have as good a chance as anyone, with most squads owning a losing record. The Indians proved they belonged with a win over Arrowhead on Friday. Franklin might be the other best bet as one of the frontrunners in the Southeast Conference. Whoever comes out of the top half (with the Madison teams) will be favored to win that sectional final, but once you get that far, anything can happen.

Don’t forget about: Watertown has a strong record and seems to have gotten better as the year has progressed, despite a lopsided loss to Cooney earlier in the year and Friday’s big setback to Wisconsin Lutheran. Watertown and Oconomowoc could potentially meet again in the playoffs.

3. Pewaukee (Division 2, sectional 4) has to annually face one of the toughest playoff gauntlets in any division. The Pirates have been up and down this year, losing to sectional colleagues Whitnall and New Berlin West, with several other conference foes on the docket. Teams like New Berlin Eisenhower and perpetually strong Wisconsin Lutheran will be among the favorites, though Milwaukee Pius has defeated Ike this year and could be the best bet of them all. Whitnall, Pius and Ike are all in the state rankings.

The other regional: Wauwatosa East, with losses only to talented D1 schools Germantown and Brookfield Central, is likely the best of the lot, and Milwaukee Morse-Marshall/Juneau sits in the state rankings. Brown Deer has defeated Pewaukee already this year.

Don’t forget about: Whitefish Bay made a postseason run last year to the Division 2 state title despite middle-of-the-pack status in the North Shore, and a recent close call against Homestead shows the Blue Dukes can hang with anyone.

Girls

1. Arrowhead (D1, S2) faces the same roadblock it saw last year: Nicolet. The Knights have a Division 2 enrollment but have elected to remain in Division 1 after a run to the state championship last year, a road that included topping Arrowhead. Nicolet graduated a great deal of talent from that team but has proven it remains a major threat, with wins over several powerhouses on its way to the No. 2 ranking in Division 1.

That’s not all for Arrowhead. A still-young Sussex Hamilton has emerged as one of the division’s five best teams, and the Warhawks will get a look at the Chargers in a nonconference test later this year. If the playoffs began today, Nicolet and Hamilton would hold the two top seeds and would make for a wildly interesting sectional semifinal. Menomonee Falls, a team the Chargers just defeated, had one loss going into that battle and had ascended to the top of the state rankings.

The other regional: Bay Port (10-1) is ranked No. 4 in the state, with the lone loss to another state-ranked squad in Sheboygan North, another member of that bracket. North’s only loss came against a perennially powerful DePere team.

Don’t forget about: Waukesha West. The Wolverines always seem to find a way to give top-flight teams trouble, including Arrowhead in a narrow 40-38 Warhawks win earlier this month.

2. Oconomowoc (D1, S3) has constructed an impressive record thus far, earning a state ranking and looking like a team that can battle for a spot in the state tournament. Teams such as Middleton and Kettle Moraine have been traditionally tough but aren’t the powerhouses they have been this season, and it seems Verona (7-2) might be the toughest challenge in that segment of the bracket. Middleton remains dangerous, with all three losses coming to state-ranked teams, including Pius.

The other regional: State-ranked Janesville Parker and always-dangerous Southeast Conference entrants Franklin and Muskego could make a play for the sectional-final berth, with a young Mukwonago team has a possible sleeper. But as a Raccoons fan, you have to look at this layout as a winnable situation.

Don’t forget about: Madison LaFollette. Two of the Lancers’ four losses have come to a pair of teams with a combined one loss, and two losses have come by three points apiece.

3. Pewaukee (D2, S4) looked like a serious player for the state tourney before the season, and it still might be, but it’s going to have to earn it. New Berlin Eisenhower looks as powerful as ever, undefeated behind University of Wisconsin recruit Nicole Bauman and ranked second in the state. Cudahy already showed it can defeat the Pirates, and win handily, though a buzzer-beating loss to New Berlin West on Friday could hurt the Packers’ seed. Still, the Pirates could very well have to pass by both the Packers and Lions just to get to the sectional final.

The other regional: The major player on the other side is Whitefish Bay, another undefeated squad returning with state experience. The Blue Dukes will contend with Nicolet for the North Shore title.

Don’t forget about: New Berlin West gave the Pirates a scare twice already this season, and the Vikings could make for an uncomfortable opening-round opponent. If Pewaukee can get a higher seed than Cudahy, the Pirates would increase the chance of making West another team’s problem in the early phases of the tournament.

The instant it happened, I jumped from the couch, raised my hands in the air and yelled three times, "We're going to the Super Bowl!"

There was no delay in reaction time, no time to consider the authenticity of the statement (truly, the game wasn't over) and no time to filter the reaction (perhaps if I had thought about it, I would have avoided the cardinal sin of referring to my preferred football team with the pronoun "we"). BJ Raji had intercepted Caleb Hanie, and one of the biggest players on the Green Bay Packers lumbered into the end zone from 18 yards away to give Green Bay a 21-7 lead over the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter.

Surely you remember that moment from last year's playoff run. What's funny is that the Bears scored within 1:21, making it a one-score game quickly and compelling some white-knuckle moments for Packers fans. But it's easy to remember Raji's pick as the moment we all knew the Packers would be going to the Super Bowl.

We've been so blessed to cheer for a team that goes to the playoffs seemingly every year, and more than other sports, the NFL seems to give us moments like this that will linger forever. Sure, MLB might give us a big home run and the NBA might give us a buzzer beater, but those moments are fewer than what you find in the NFL playoffs. Pretty much every year, something amazing is going to happen. So who's going to author that moment this year? I guess we find out starting Sunday.

I'm not old enough to provide a comprehensive list of great Packers playoff moments, but I can at least give you my favorites from the past couple decades or so. Here's my list:

1. Raji intercepts and scores. The second it happened, I knew I would be buying a Raji jersey soon. It wasn't a pretty game, and it was one of many big moments from the 2011 postseason, but the NFC Championship game against the heated rival from Chicago seemed to have just as much buzz as the Super Bowl that followed. Also, the Raji dance is now legendary. Packers win, 21-14.

2. Collins goes the distance. In an effort to choose a key moment from the Super Bowl XLV title, I turn to the first quarter, when Nick Collins intercepted Ben Roethlisberger and brought the ball back 37 yards for a touchdown. The Packers had just scored on a Jordy Nelson touchdown to make it 7-0, and 14 seconds later, it was 14-0. It was probably then that I knew the Packers were going to be very tough to beat that day. They never trailed and won, 31-25.

3. Special team. There are several iconic images from Super Bowl XXXI: Reggie White hoisting his first Lombardi trophy, Brett Favre running around with his helmet held high after a long touchdown pass and the return from Desmond Howard, a 99-yard kickoff for touchdown that made it a two-score game in the third quarter and put the game in Green Bay's hands. Howard was named Super Bowl MVP, given the cover of Sports Illustrated (with the headline "Special Team") and earned a place in Packers history forever. He's a great example of a role player rising to permanent franchise fame for his efforts in that game and playoff season. Neither team scored in the fourth and the Packers beat the Patriots, 35-21.

4. Spoke too soon. Yes, the 2003 postseason is known for "4th and 26," but the week before provided a highlight also worth recalling. Facing the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round, the Packers battled to a 27-all tie at Lambeau Field. Precocious former Packers quarterback Matt Hasselbeck stood at midfield as the Seahawks won the overtime coin toss, and when asked by the ref if he wanted the ball, he uttered the memorable line, "We want the ball, and we're going to score." Well, it didn't happen that way. Al Harris intercepted Hasselbeck for the game winning touchdown 4:25 into the extra session, returning it 52 yards to give the Packers a 33-27 win. Green Bay would again go to overtime the following week in Philadelphia ... and we know how they got there and how it ended.

5. Tramon seals it. Playing on the road against Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles in last year's Wild Card game, Tramon Williams grabbed a game-clinching interception after the Eagles had reached the Packers 27-yard line with 44 seconds to play in a 21-16 game. It was the year for big picks -- Collins had the Super Bowl return, and Sam Shields ended the final Bears drive in the NFC Championship.

6. It's no good! The Wild Card game against Arizona one year before the Super Bowl run didn't end as hoped, but it certainly entertained. Arizona won the game in overtime, 51-45, when Karlos Dansby recovered a fumble in the end zone to end the game after Michael Adams sacked Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers set a franchise record with 422 passing yards and four touchdowns, matching the success of Cardinals QB Kurt Warner (379 yards, five touchdowns) in a game that lacked much defense at all. But what I remember is the inexplicable shanked field goal by Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers as time expired in regulation, a 34-yard try that seemed automatic for someone of Rackers' ability. The kick went wide left, temporarily giving the Packers hope.

7. Chmura and Newsome. This isn't a classic choice, but I think we all forget (I definitely did) that the Packers reached the NFC Championship game in 1995 for the first time since 1967, falling to the Dallas Cowboys once they got there. The two Super Bowl appearances that followed perhaps obscured the success of that season. The breakthrough win in the NFC semifinals came in San Francisco, when the Packers jumped out to a 21-0 lead and defeated the 49ers, 27-17. Chmura caught a 13-yard touchdown that gave the Packers the three-score lead, and Craig Newsome's fumble recovery return for a TD jumpstarted the scoring.

 There are plenty of dubious moments as well, of course, such as:

1. Elway's helicopter. Green Bay was wildly favored to repeat as Super Bowl champion in Super Bowl XXXII, but the Denver Broncos and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway came away with a 31-24 victory. THe iconic moment came when Elway scrambled for 8 yards and a first down, spinning through the air between two Packers defenders in a play now called "The Helicopter." Two plays later, Terrell Davis scored a touchdown to give the Broncos a 24-17 lead.

2. 4th and 26. A major defensive meltdown allowed Philadelphia to set up a game-tying field goal, and the Eagles ultimately won in overtime in the 2003 NFC divisional playoffs, 20-17.

3. The coldest night. When the New York Giants stunned top-seeded Dallas in the divisional round in 2007, the Packers suddenly had an NFC Championship game in their backyard. In a game played with wind chills at negative-23 degrees Fahreneheit, however, the Giants prevailed yet again with a 23-20 overtime win. Brett Favre's last pass as a Packer was an interception by Corey Webster deep in Packers territory. Lawrence Tynes hit a 47-yard field goal to disappoint Packers nation after a season in which virtually everything else went right.

4. Full moon. Randy Moss shared his love for Green Bay fans in the Wild Card round in 2004, scoring his second touchdown and pretending to pull down his pants as he faced the Packers' fans in a 31-17 Vikings rout at Lambeau. He got fined 10K, but his team got to play a week later.

5. The birth of TO. Coming off two Super Bowl appearances in the 1998 season, Green Bay was eliminated in the opening round by San Francisco with a crazy 30-27 outcome at 3Com Park. Terrell Owens made a spectacular catch from 25 yards out with 8 seconds left to account for the winning points, a play called "The Catch II" as a sequel to the famous connection between Joe Montana and Dwight Clark.

Pictured: Desmond Howard returns a kickoff for touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI. (File photo)

With 2011 in the rear view mirror, it gives me a chance to reflect on the stories I had the most fun composing over the past 52 weeks. Here's a look at them:

“A Richert Tradition: Family puts stamp on hoops program,” Feb. 3, Kettle Moraine Index.

With Tim Richert taking the reins of the St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy varsity basketball team from older brother Brian (who moved up to coach the school’s new post-graduate team), I thought it would be fun to chronicle the family’s influence on SJNMA athletics. Their father, Gary, has been the longtime football coach, and I spent a good hour in Brian’s office at the school as essentially a fly on the wall, listening to the three banter back and forth and reminisce about their times together at the school.

The best parts of the conversation were the sidebars, when one of them would burst out with a funny anecdote, usually related to the days when Brian played for his dad in college. I had to use these stories somehow, so I interspersed them within the larger story chronicling their connection to the academy. It was so much fun to write.

What I didn’t know then was that I had a small window of time to write the story – Tim was not asked to return as varsity coach after a successful first season and now coaches at Independence High School in western Wisconsin.

Pictured: I snapped a photo of the Richerts (from left, Tim, Gary and Brian) during the brief tenure when all three were head coaches at SJNMA.

“Dan Kelm: NBA Draft prospect. Seriously. Kind Of,” May 8, Preps Alcove

My favorite Preps Alcove column (available online and in the Living Lake Country Sunday) of the year stems from something I saw on Twitter. Somebody had mentioned sleepers for the upcoming NBA Draft, and one of them was Dan Kelm, a Kettle Moraine graduate who had a solid career in the Classic 8 Conference and was once named our area Player of the Year. But no offense to him: he wasn't exactly an NBA talent. At least I thought he wasn't.

I was baffled. I knew Kelm was playing hoops somewhere in college, but I knew it wasn’t a Division 1 program and I hadn’t recalled any updates at all on his career. Had we totally missed the boat and failed to provide updates a local athlete who had become good enough at Viterbo to actually play in the NBA?

When I saw his stats in college (with limited playing time), I was even more confused. Was someone playing a prank?

As it turns out, Kelm was the one engineering the operation, which wasn’t entirely serious but still came attached with some serious action. He did, in fact, fill out the paperwork to declare for the draft, taking advantage of a pretty simple process and forfeiting his amateur status. Kelm knew he was walking away from basketball to pursue career opportunities and figured he’d have some fun before he left.

I had a great conversation with the NBA “prospect,” and I posted his YouTube video essentially announcing his candidacy. You can keep up with Dan's musings by following him at @danker25 on Twitter.

He did not get drafted.

“Dream Big, Work Hard: Houston Texans take Watt with No. 11 pick in NFL Draft,” May 3, Lake Country Reporter

I didn’t write this story – that honor goes to Joe Trovato, who joined me at the NFL Draft viewing party in Pewaukee, where members of former PHS standout J.J. Watt’s extended family, friends and teachers gathered to see where the local boy would land. We obviously did a lot of coverage on Watt throughout his career at the University of Wisconsin, and it was a treat to see (and film) the moment when his Pewaukee network realized he was taken with the 11th overall pick in the draft, by the Houston Texans.

I did a lot of sidebars before and after the draft, talking to another former NFL player from Pewaukee, Chris McIntosh, and interviewing PHS head coach Clay Iverson after he was invited to see the draft in person in New York. What makes this story so fun is the humility with which Watt has handled his meteoric rise from Central Michigan recruit to UW walk-on to NFL prospect. He already had his own charitable foundation by the time he held up that Texans jersey on draft night, and he’s already making an impact at the highest level.

“Southern Comfort,” Oct. 27, Oconomowoc Focus

Foreign-exchange students play athletics all the time, but rarely do they play in football. The sport doesn’t enjoy widespread popularity in many countries outside the U.S., especially compared to other sports that are also available in the fall, such as tennis and soccer. But Mexico native Hugo Huerta not only fit right in with the Oconomowoc football team, he started and played every game at linebacker.

I thought he brought very interesting perspective to the table. Like many people, I imagine, I assumed the game was only moderately popular south of the border, but Huerta tells a different story and paints a picture of how the sport looks in his native country.

“Local boy becomes good luck charm,” Aug. 10, Sussex Sun

It was a feel-good story that tapped into the sports story of the summer – the Milwaukee Brewers surge toward the playoffs. Struggling third baseman Casey McGehee had a moment to remember when he belted three home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals in early August. Afterward, he told the media about meeting a young boy with a medical condition that met with McGehee before the game – and the third baseman said he wanted to find out who that kid was and take him on the upcoming road trip as his lucky charm.

I heard the story like everyone else, but I took another level of interest when my boss emailed me to say he knew the identify of the boy – Clayton Wollner of Sussex, a 7-year-old with a condition that prevented his skull from growing properly and required numerous surgeries.

We were one of the first media outlets to identify the kid, who became a temporary national feel-good story. Clayton didn’t go on the road trip but did re-connect with McGehee, and it wound up as a nice local angle to the Brewers' superb 2011.

“Rolling in the Deep,” Nov. 17, Mukwonago Chief

Swimming is one of the hardest sports to write about. There isn’t really much in terms of play-by-play – every athlete is following the same individualized path to achieve a time. Even cross country and golf have nuances and interaction with the elements and fellow competitors, while swimming is in a controlled environment. It’s an incredible skill and those who participate are tremendously gifted, but it just doesn’t often lend itself to good storytelling.

I relished a chance to actually tell a great story, when the Waukesha South/Mukwonago swimming and diving team won the final event of the day and took home their first ever state championship, edging perennial favorite Arrowhead. The Mukwonago swimmers had a huge impact on the day’s events, and it was a cool chance to talk to a few of them and really unpack the drama of those tense final moments.

The headline suggestion, a reference to the very popular song by Adele, was mine. My favorite paginator, Matt Colby (who does not care for Adele’s music) was not in favor of it. I overruled him.

Sometimes the best presents come from unexpected sources.

This Christmas, the biggest gift to Wisconsin sports fans was Aaron Rodgers, the gift that keeps on giving, as he tormented the Chicago Bears on national TV. This is the gift we asked for and kind of knew was going to be under the tree, so it doesn’t count as much of a surprise. As I prepare my holiday thank-you cards, I figured I should look at all the other presents that were left for Wisconsin sports fans this year – especially those we didn’t see coming.

The Detroit Lions are good this year, making the playoffs for the first time since 1999, but last December, the team was trying to correct history of an even more dubious sort. When the team went to Tampa Bay on Dec. 19, 2010, the Lions defeated the Buccaneers 23-20, with backup quarterback Drew Stanton leading the way and backup kicker Dave Rayner booting the game winner from 34 yards out. The win snapped a 26-game losing streak in road games...the longest string of road futility in NFL history.

Why does that win count as a present in 2011? Had the Lions -- fresh off costing the Packers dearly with an upset win in Detroit -- lost that game, the Buccaneers would have finished 11-5. That would have given them an edge over the 10-6 Packers for the final Wild Card spot. The Packers, which won some late-season games of their own just to get into the tournament, would have been held out and never would have made the Super Bowl run that culminated with the Lombardi Trophy celebration in February. Thanks, Detroit.

The Washington Nationals had become fed up with the antics of Nyjer Morgan, so in the final days of Spring Training last March, they traded him to the Brewers for minor leaguer Cutter Dykstra. Morgan became a fan favorite, played a solid center field all year and also had the game-winning hit in game 5 of the NLDS, a moment that has to be in the conversation for greatest Brewers highlight.

The Nationals weren't done helping their friends in Milwaukee out. The Brewers acquired Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Nats for minor leaguer Erik Komatsu just before the trading deadline in late July. Hairston, of course, became a starter in the postseason at third base and played a key role as the Brewers came within two games of the World Series.

While we're thanking other teams, the Kansas City Royals gave the Brewers a stunning pre-holiday surprise last year, also on Dec. 19, 2010 (what a day!). The Brewers acquired pitcher Zack Greinke and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress, and suddenly Milwaukee was a contender for the postseason.

It wasn't always smooth -- Greinke missed the first month of the season with a basketball injury and wasn't as dominant as some had hoped, and Betancourt became one of Milwaukee's least favorite players. But there was no question the bolstered rotation helped the Brewers reach the National League Championship Series, and even Betancourt got in on the act with a key hit in Game 5 of the NLDS win over Arizona. The trade could still work out for KC, but given what the Brewers accomplished relative to the immediate returns for KC, it looks like a winner for Milwaukee.

Lavonte David is a relatively obscure name for anyone not locked in to Big Ten college football, but the Nebraska defensive standout gave the Badgers and all of Wisconsin a nice gift Nov. 12. After Wisconsin had lost heartbreakers to both Michigan State and Ohio State in the regular season, Bucky needed a Penn State league loss in advance of the regular-season finale when Penn State traveled to face Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.

That came against Nebraska. With the score 17-14, Penn State had the ball at its own 37 and was moving fairly well in the fourth quarter, but David's tackle of Silas Redd on 4th and 1 stuffed the drive and put Nebraska in control. PSU got the ball back one more time and reached the same part of the field but had less time and fewer timeouts to work with, so David's tackle (one of nine on the day for him) was a relatively important footnote in the plight of Wisconsin football.

The Badgers, of course, beat Penn State in the finale, went to the Big Ten Championship game, beat Michigan State in a rematch and advanced to the Rose Bowl. Thanks, Lavonte David.

The referees may have helped Marquette out in an under-the-radar misstep in the NCAA basketball tournament last March.

Playing in the second round, the 11th-seeded Golden Eagles reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since Dwyane Wade's 2003 team went to the Final Four with a 66-62 win over Syracuse. North Carolina topped the Golden Eagles in the next round.

Marquette outscored Syracuse down the stretch, 10-3, and Darius Johnson-Odom hit a 3-pointer with 25.1 seconds left to give his team a 62-59 lead. With 51 seconds left in a tie game, Syracuse's Dion Waiters threw a sideline inbounds pass close to the midcourt line to Scoop Jardine, who tiptoed over the line to snag the ball and was hit with a backcourt violation.

The NCAA officiating coordinator said later that the call was incorrectly applied, and Syracuse would have had a possession to try and take the lead. Instead the ball went to Marquette, and DJO hit the big shot.

Pictured: Nyjer Morgan, celebrating one of the biggest hits in club history, was one of the biggest gifts to the Wisconsin sports scene in 2011 (Photo: Tom Lynn/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

An arising conflict at the University of Wisconsin in Madison has created trouble for the WIAA state basketball tournaments, and the organization will no longer be able to call the Kohl Center home in coming years.

With the dawn of the Big Ten Conference in men's hockey and the creation of a postseason tournament that would occupy the Kohl Center during the traditional basketball weekends, the arena may no longer be able to accommodate the WIAA on an annual basis. UW hockey games draw far better than the prep basketball tournament, and naturally the university gets dibs on its own arena, anyway.

It leaves perhaps the state's most popular prep postseason experience temporarily homeless by 2013, though WIAA executive director Dave Anderson said he hoped to have an announcement in March detailing the plan going forward.

I was disappointed to see the idea of using the U.S. Cellular Arena shot down pretty quickly, with tenants such as the UWM men's basketball team and Milwaukee Wave getting first crack at the traditional state-tournament weekends. It would be a treat to have the tourneys so close to home, even if it bucks the tradition of playing state games in Madison.

Normally I'm not one who falls in love with tradition where these matters are concerned. After all, the tourney has only been played at the Kohl Center since 1998, so it's not like the venue and the tourney have been inextricably linked since the dawn of prep athletics. But the tourney has been in Madison for a long time, missing just one year since 1920, and it does seem like an appropriate environment for the tourney given its geographic location and nature -- a fun, bustling city with the capitol dome nearby in the midst of the state's featured academic institution.

It's for that reason that I imagine the UW-Field House will be selected as the venue, as it once was before the construction of the Kohl Center. The building, attached to Camp Randall Stadium, opened in 1930 and certainly won't have the modern comfort of the Kohl, but it keeps the tourney in the same town. It's not my favorite venue at all -- from a comfort and enjoyment standpoint, I'd much rather see the tourney at the Resch Center in Green Bay, in the shadow of Lambeau Field and in a modern facility (built in 2002).

One problem there might be capacity. The Resch Center holds 9,877 fans for a basketball game, while the UW-Field House holds 11,500, and the Kohl Center 17,230. State basketball games rarely sell out, but cutting capacity dramatically could leave a few people out in the cold. It could also create an electric atmosphere, however, in more intimate surroundings.

One immediate criticism to the situation I heard was the threat of moving the games outside the state capital, where other states supposedly always hold their state tourneys. I wanted to take a look and see what venues were used by other Midwestern states and what sort of capacity they had to work with. It's true -- many basketball tourneys are hosted in state capitals. But perhaps more prevalent is the affiliation with one of the state's premier universities.

Illinois -- Carver Arena in Peoria, 11,442 capacity. The home of the Bradley Braves seems like a somewhat unglamorous home in a state that harbors so many major arenas and sports teams.

Indiana -- Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, 18,345. This is the home of the boys tourney, where the Indiana Pacers are among the tenants, and the girls once played there, too. However, the girls now play at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne (capacity: 13,000), home of the Fort Wayne Warhawks in the Continental Indoor Football League. I'm sure scheduling availability comes into play here, but it appears Indiana doesn't insist on equity in prestige when it comes to the boys and girls hoops tourney venues.

Interesting fact: Indiana only hosts the state championship games at the big venue, with the final stages before the last game played at sites around the state. It's not a "state tournament" the way we visualize it in Wisconsin.

Iowa -- Wells-Fargo Arena in Des Moines, 16,110. Pretty good sized building in the Iowa capital features the Iowa Barnstormers of Arena Football fame and the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League as primary tenants.

Interesting fact: Iowa actually possesses two organizing bodies in high school sports, one for boys athletics and one for many of the girls athletics. The basketball state tourneys are nonetheless played in the same venue.

Michigan -- Breslin Center in East Lansing, 14,797. The home of Michigan State basketball, once home to Magic Johnson among many other notable alums.

Minnesota -- Target Center in Minneapolis, 19,356. Not technically in the state capital, though St. Paul is pretty close by, and home to the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. It's easily the biggest venue on the list.

Interesting fact: It was here that Blake Hoffarber hit a shot that became a YouTube phenomenon in 2005. The future University of Minnesota guard fell to his back, caught a loose ball and heaved up an 18-footer from the ground that tied a state championship game at the buzzer and forced a second overtime, where his team ultimately won.

Missouri -- Mizzou Arena in Columbia, 15,061. Like the two arenas listed above, aligning with the location of a major university (the University of Missouri in this case) more so than a state capital (though Minnesota and Michigan are both mighty close to state capitals, as well). Columbia and Missouri state capital Jefferson City are 30 miles apart.

Interesting fact: Missouri, as well as both Dakotas, represent states that actually have "activities" associations instead of solely athletics administrations. The state's prep basketball and speech and debate are overseen under the same roof.

Nebraska -- Devaney Center in Lincoln, 13,595. Home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Ohio -- Value City Arena in Columbus, 18,809. Home to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Pennsylvania -- Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, 15,261. Home to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The idea of using a venue affiliated with a major university, which makes sense for both practical reasons (big arena) and creating a connection between the levels of student-athlete. If the WIAA looks at these states and tries to maintain a similar model, it seems highly likely that the Field House will be targeted as the future home of state hoops.

Pictured: The Kohl Center has been a magical venue for many teams winning state championships over the past 13 years. (Peter Zuzga/NOW Newspapers)

Ryan Braun will never be in the Hall of Fame.

It’s a statement that can’t be made just yet, but it lingers in my mind with a surprising gravity. I'm on Stage 4 of the grieving process -- depression, and not acceptance just yet -- of the recent events surrounding the Brewers mainstay.

I’ve never thought of myself as having a “favorite player,” with perhaps the closest thing being Jeromy Burnitz during the lean years for the Milwaukee Brewers franchise or C.C. Sabathia when he strapped on his Superman cape in 2008. But considering how Braun has been inextricably linked to the franchise’s recent surge of success, it makes sense that I unknowingly designated him as the face of what makes me happy about baseball.

He hit a home run in 2008 that served as the centerpiece for a day I have labeled better than my own wedding, capping a campaign that I constantly referred to as “The Year of No. 8 in ’08.” He hit another home run to clinch a playoff berth for the Brewers in 2011 and won the National League Most Valuable Player award mere weeks ago. The Milwaukee Brewers are one of the best teams in baseball, and he’s a big reason why.

Then came Saturday, and the awful, awful news. Braun has tested positive for something – I’m still not entirely clear what to call it, since different media outlets refer to it differently – and faces a 50-game suspension to start 2012 for having a banned substance in his system. The Braun camp disputes it and has challenged with an appeal, as many other players have done in the past. There are inconsistencies, leaving me with welcome tendrils of doubt as I plead silently for an oversight in the process that will exonerate Braun.

Braun hasn’t been around long enough to cultivate Hall of Fame status, but it feels like a glass ceiling has suddenly been put on his career, one that limits his greatness and authenticity. I never realized how great a feeling it was to see him develop from the ground up. I remember his draft day and Major League debut, saw him lead the team to the playoffs, saw him sign on for the bulk of his career in Milwaukee. I wanted to see him collect trophy after trophy and someday wear the Milwaukee logo in Cooperstown.

Maybe he still will, just as maybe Barry Bonds and others linked to performance enhancers will someday get a chance. But I feel like I just peeked ahead to the final chapter in the Story of Braun, and the ending wasn't remotely satisfying.

What I’m hoping for is akin to what I hoped for in 2008 when Sabathia became a free agent after the Brewers dipped a toe into the National League postseason. In my mind, I figured there was no chance Sabathia was coming back for 2009 and beyond, but I clung to every second-hand report or morsel of information that gave me hope of an alternate outcome. Maybe they’ll find the money to keep him! Maybe he really likes it here and would be willing to stay for less money! Maybe nobody will offer him the bank-breaking contract he’s seeking!

I knew how it would end, though. I don’t have that same level of certainty now, but perhaps that’s because the consequences are much worse, and my denial is stronger.

Maybe Braun is telling the truth. Maybe the test was handled incorrectly. Maybe there is evidence showing he’s been clean. Maybe the results are too out-of-whack to be accurate. He doesn’t fit the “profile” of a banned substances/performance-enhancing substances user, so maybe somebody got this wrong.

I kind of know how it’s going to end, though. Don’t you?

Naturally, I can’t wait to hear Braun’s side of the story, which won’t happen quickly as the legal process spins its wheels. I find myself appalled at national media reports so quick to condemn him without this side of the story, even as I acknowledge I found myself participating in the guilty-until-proven-innocent mind set when other players such as Rafael Palmeiro and Manny Ramirez were hit with similar charges. With every fiber of my being, I want there to be an explanation that I can live with and everyone can live with. But I have to accept that it may not come.

And if it doesn't, he's lost for 50 games in a year that could still be another playoff year. And he's an inauthentic hero. What’s worse than discovering your future isn’t as bright as you hoped? That the past wasn’t what it seemed, either.

I’m miserable. It’s a selfish feeling of course – surely, no one will suffer more from these accusations than Braun himself. If he was trying to get ahead by cutting corners, it wasn’t as a slight to the fans of Milwaukee or the franchise, but we are collateral damage to a degree.

I see the city of Milwaukee rising to its feet in support when Braun steps to the plate for his first 2012 at-bat, whether that be in April or June. Just as they did in San Francisco for Barry Bonds – he who never failed a drug test despite mounting evidence suggesting his guilt – the local fans will still be appreciative of the talent and “their guy." National fans will shake their heads and laugh at us.
 

Pictured: With the news that Ryan Braun might be suspended for 50 games, the way the left fielder is perceived will never be the same. Photo: AP

"Look at the goose!"

Someone in the Wisconsin Lutheran student cheering section brought a plastic goose to the boys basketball game between the Vikings and Arrowhead on Nov. 29, one that I suppose would serve as some kind of lawn ornament. Its presence, while odd, seemed more than welcome by the student's peers. After the initial proclamation, during an Arrowhead free throw attempt, several other students began chanting agreement by pointing to the plastic bird and shouting "The goose! The goose!"

On the second free throw, the students tried the same ploy, this time inviting the shooter to "look at the flag!" and pointing at the American flag on the wall behind the basket. Later in the game, the students also sang happy birthday ... to the goose.

I laughed pretty hard when I saw this. There was something delightfully random about it, and random is definitely in style when it comes to student cheering sections at prep games. I'm not sure if I've entirely embraced the humor of gender-bending outfits, something Wisco tried out that night and something Arrowhead student sections have utilized in the past, but I can look past it. I'm sure there's room for disagreement here -- some will argue that any method of distraction can be seen as unsportsmanlike. But while the line is not easily drawn, I'll take this as acceptable, and enjoyable.

The widespread use of the "I believe that we will win" cheer -- remarkably positive and good-natured even by a curmudgeon's standards -- is another example of the good sportsman's spirit in prep athletics. Surely, there are examples to the contrary. But in a controllable environment like a high school gym, where staff members are quick to discourage behavior that becomes too antagonistic, you're more likely to find the random than the rude.

And then comes college, where everything gets cranked up ten-fold.

Over the past few weeks, school officials in Madison have repeatedly asked University of Wisconsin students to discontinue vulgar chants, even offering trips to bowl games for randomly-drawn students if the chants cease. The offering didn't work. Whether it's because students feel it gives their team an advantage, whether they feel some stubborn vindication by exercising their first-amendment rights, whether they're just plain too drunk to care, the students continued to dish out coordinated, vulgarity-laced attacks at Camp Randall stadium during the football season.

Forget the fact that it's unsportsmanlike, that little kids attending the game have to hear it, that it gives Wisconsin a bad name around the country, etc. etc. I imagine some anti-establishment sentiment even contributes to the widespread popularity of the cheers. 

But it's not even clever.

I graduated from college fewer than 10 years ago, so I'm not saying this as someone who Just Doesn't Understand Kids These Days. I remember clearly what it's like to be caught in the moment at sporting events, to offer an antagonism toward the other team that just might give the home squad an edge. There's a proximity in prep and college athletics that you won't find at the professional level, both in physical distance from the players (particularly at basketball games) and in age -- these are your peers out there, probably people you know. You want to support them, and you want to make the other guys feel unwelcome. 

I don't remember participating in any vulgar chants to the degree of those in Madison this year, but I'm sure I swore or said something I wouldn't want to repeat to my mama as a college-aged fan. You can call it foolishness or simply a learning experience. I completely understand why it's hard to curtail student behavior. Students are living in a moment that everyone has told them will be the greatest years of their life, so they're not going to "tone it down." If you're in that place, you're going to take advantage of every morsel.

What I could not have known then was how quickly my perspective would change. My friends got married and had kids. They bought houses. I followed suit. It didn't take 20 years to start feeling apart from the person I was in college -- it took less than five. It's a transformation that is both amazing and bittersweet. The freedom and communal nature of college is replaced by workplace culture, bills and isolated living, but it's also a new lifestyle that presents amazing new discoveries about the self and others, as well as an even greater level of freedom.

But when you're hanging out with your college friends a decade later, you know what you're reminiscing about? The random moments. You're not still congratulating yourselves for that great time you made a player cry because you were launching barbs all game long. You're not high-fiving over the "ESFU" chant that has become the centerpiece of bad behavior at Badgers games. Those just don't seem as awesome anymore. You're talking about that one time, some guy brought a plastic goose to the game and encouraged free-throw shooters to "look at the goose."

It doesn't matter what administrators or other adults say; it certainly doesn't matter what I say. Kids will push the envelope and find boundaries to cross. But I'm amazed that I can still go watch a high-school basketball game and be entertained by a student section that has found a balance between wholesomeness, competitive spirit and all-around randomness. College kids swearing in unison? It seems like such a waste of creative energy, coming from a group of people who supposedly represent the young, idealstic minds of future America.

Is that all you've got, college kids of America? Then you're boring and uninspired. Nobody likes it now, and you're not going to like it later. Look at the goose.

Pictured: Badgers fans have come under fire for inappropriate behavior during games this year. (Photo by Rick Wood/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

So here’s my dilemma with Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, one week after he drove the head of Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith into the turf, then spiked him for good measure as he rose to his feet.

I still kind of like the guy.

I had the pleasure of attending the Thanksgiving Day game at beautiful (seriously, an incredible stadium) Ford Field, where I saw the Packers prove to Detroit fans that their team wasn’t quite ready for the Big Time. From our perch in section 323, my wife (an avid Lions fan) and I (adorned in my Josh Sitton jersey) weren’t quite sure what had happened when referee Terry McAulay gave the heave-ho to Suh in the third quarter of a game that had been circled on both teams’ calendars for quite some time.

“Did they really just eject Suh?” I asked her. “That’s him, heading to the sideline, right? No. 90?”

Confirmation that No. 90 was, in fact, Suh, was all around me. I would estimate among the sea of Honolulu Blue jerseys packed into the stadium that day, roughly 30 percent bore the name and number of the fiery second-year player from Nebraska. He has become a celebrity in D-Town for a team that quite honestly needs a person like Suh, and the fan base spent a great deal of energy last Thursday chanting his name.

Even Packers fans were contributing to the chorus of “Suuuuuuhhhhh” at halftime, during a performance by Canadian rock band Nickelback. I think that’s what they were saying.

I didn’t see Suh’s offense, captured plainly on film as a springboard for all to discuss Suh’s reputation as a dirty player, until after the game, but I figured it had to be fairly obvious for McAulay to take the crucial step of ejecting him. The personal foul gave the Packers new life near the goal line after the team had been stopped on third down, and a John Kuhn touchdown made it 14-0 where it could have been 10-0.

You know the rest. The Packers went on cruise control and a Lions team, missing their best player, spent the rest of the afternoon lifeless. The Packers improved to 11-0, the Lions fell to 7-4 and learned Tuesday they would be without a suspended Suh for two more games, putting their playoff destiny in jeopardy.

It felt like the soul was sucked out of Ford Field. These fans truly believed their team was about to hand Green Bay its first loss. In the first half, they were rocking, rising to their feet for standard 3rd-and-4 plays, cheering endlessly for a Lions team that finally has something to boast about after a decade of losing seasons.

Not only did the dirty play give the Packers new life and remove Detroit’s best player from the game, it also removed the most popular player from the game. The local hero was now in the locker room, banished for a misdeed that could legitimately be argued impaired the team’s chances to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

And yet, I find myself rooting slightly for Suh, even after his bush league action against a player on my favorite team, even after a postagme press conference when his lack of remorse may have contributed to his punishment, even after he made a stupid play that could throw his heroism in Detroit into question. It’s flabbergasting to me. Even with all the evidence to the contrary, part of me believes it was a simple miscalculation by a smart player and not a demonstration of barbarism.

With a family of in-laws living in Detroit, I have a sympathy toward the plight of the Lions, even if their goals frequently run counter to those of the Packers. Suh is a perfect heel, the way villains in the WWE played opposite the golden boys.

Detroit battles the image that it’s no longer a major player in the NFL and no longer a major player in the U.S. economy at large. The Lions need somebody to not only excel as a player but also radiate a vibe of defiance. Suh goes too far all the time, because that’s what it takes in a city that has to stand up for itself to let everyone know it’s still here.

He’s well-spoken and thoughtful in interviews, he has a compelling back story, he’s ruthless on the field and he’s supremely talented. He even has a fun name. He’s the Detroit version of Nyjer Morgan – the guy you love if he’s on your team and despise if he’s not – only with an MVP-like skill set.

But to acknowledge an enduring appreciation for Suh seems to align with condoning his actions. It seems less offensive as a Packers fan because Dietrich-Smith wasn’t hurt, and it helped Green Bay take control of the game. But what if it had been Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers was subsequently lost for the year as a result of Suh’s actions? What about the kids in Detroit who see Suh’s behavior and emulate it? What about the simple fact that his act was so stupid and couldn’t possibly be reasoned otherwise?

But I just spent a season loving most every minute of the Tony Plush experiment and antics of MVP Ryan Braun that were sometimes perceived as distasteful as the Brewers overcame their reputation as an also-ran to reach the National League Championship Series. I look at the Lions and see the same thing, a team longing for a swagger that will come with success at the highest levels.

I want to believe Suh simply played his part too perfectly, trying to exude that swagger and overlooking what was most important. Most find it easy to dismiss Suh as an idiot … I wish I knew why I can’t.
 

Pictured: Ndamukong Suh argues his case with referee Terry McAulay after getting ejected in the Thanksigiving Day against the Packers. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Special to Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

There’s a Thanksgiving tradition my family never really utilized when I was growing up – the act of going around the dinner table during that late November feast and asking everyone to itemize what they’re thankful for.

I think the practice is a fine one; it was just never expected in our family. So when I spent my first Thanksgiving with my wife’s family, I was a little caught off guard, and to this day I’ve never been able to feel comfortable when this part of the proceedings comes to pass.

My instinct, of course, is to be glib (“I’m thankful for cookies, of course. And high-speed internet.”), but every year I chicken out. Someone else in the family usually goes first and brings up very touching sentiments, and then I don’t feel quite so right praising my favorite desserts. I wind up saying something generic about my wife, my family, etc.

It’s true that I am thankful for all those things and have lived what I consider a very blessed life. It’s just … for someone who uses words for a living, I never really have the words. I guess I’m not good at sentiment. I’m a dude, after all.

Fortunately, I have the Preps Alcove for all those things I’m thankful for but never get to chance the say because they fall below the threshold of Things That Are Really Important In Life. Hopefully your Thanksgiving holiday is spent celebrating those more important things, but now you can join me in being thankful for everything else that we might otherwise take for granted.

I’m thankful for…

• Mark Attanasio and Doug Melvin. Man, how fun was it to be a Brewers fan this year? Had it not been for a diminutive investment banker taking over ownership of the team, there’s no way Milwaukee would have been in the National League Championship Series by the year 2011. To make matters better, he’s trusted the personnel moves to the capable hands of Melvin, a shrewd general manager who pulled off the shocking trade of last offseason and has struck gold far more than he’s misfired. I’m confident he will once again arrange next year’s roster favorably and put the Brewers in position to once again make the playoffs.
• The Wild Card. The genius contribution to Major League Baseball by Bud Selig continues to make baseball fun, and I’m all for its expansion (as will be the case starting soon). Milwaukee has jumped to the National League since its creation, but even though the Brewers were division winners this year, they probably would have still been in the National League East (in the two-division format), taken second to Philadelphia and missed the playoffs this year. That crazy last day of the baseball season (when so many outcomes played into the layout of the playoff field) doesn’t happen without the Wild Card.
• Aaron Rodgers. It seems like an embarrassment of riches for Green Bay Packers fans that they should get to enjoy one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history for so long. When that story ended badly, along came someone else who not only puts up unrealistic production and leads the team to additional heights but also handles the specter of his predecessor with an unfathomable amount of grace and cool for someone his age.
• SmartPhones and Twitter. There was a day when I actually didn’t know who won until I got home. The dark ages.
• Wissports.net. Thanks to tireless effort by its small staff, the web site has become an absolute treasure trove for fans of prep sports in Wisconsin, and it’s completely invaluable for journalists looking to get a little background. Many projects in our papers make use of the databases offered at Wissports.
• Athletic assistants. Behind every good athletics program, most of the time, is an athletics assistant, and they can be some of the most helpful people I work with. My personal work endeavors have received a great deal of support from Liz Arsnow of Arrowhead, Beth Loppnow of Oconomowoc and Sue Runnells of Mukwonago. Because athletics usually occur outside the bounds of the school day, I don’t know if students or staff inside the walls of the school realize how crucial those people are.
• Instant replay. Perhaps it slows the NFL game down ever so slightly, but I can’t exactly remember the last time I couldn’t wait for an NFL game to be over. I will always be in favor of the practice’s expansion into other sports, because nothing seems dumber to me than permitting third-party human error to affect an outcome when a means of correction is available.
• ESPN. Sometimes I can’t stand the network as I find its personalities overbearing, its content too opinion-driven and its ego too off-putting. But it’s hard to deny the way ESPN has helped usher sports into greater cultural relevance. Heck, if College GameDay comes to your town, it’s practically an all-day experience. The innovations and advances, particularly in its online presence, have pushed all sports coverage to new levels.
• Playoff baseball with my wife. There are few things that give me greater joy than going to Miller Park and watching meaningful baseball with my favorite fellow baseball fan.
• Wisconsin sports. I’m thankful that this has been such a tremendous year for Wisconsin sports, but Thanksgiving is a little bit about indulgence, too … so I don’t feel bad hoping for even more.

Pictured: I'll be giving thanks to Aaron Rodgers by watching him and the Packers in person at Ford Field on Thanksgiving. (Photo: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

I’ll get a raised eyebrow or two when a friend or colleague asks which sport is my favorite to cover. I’ve declared my love for baseball on numerous occasions in the past (primarily the Brewers), and I do enjoy the atmosphere of basketball at the prep level. I’ve also developed an interest in wrestling, particularly dual meets.

But the answer to the question is volleyball.

My love for the sport isn’t necessarily something shared by all my colleagues, but I always feel a tinge of disappointment when the boys season ends at the state tournament in Wauwatosa, as it did last weekend. With both the boys and girls seasons taking place at the same time, the end of the tourney means roughly 10 months will pass before volleyball comes back.

It’s too bad, because when volleyball is played at an elite level between two teams – boys or girls – there is no better sport to watch.

I consider the annual boys state tourney, moved to the Wisconsin Lutheran College field house a few years ago, a hidden gem on the prep landscape. With so few schools in the state sponsoring boys volleyball, the tight tourney schedule that wraps up in just more than 24 hours and the calendar offering Level 4 football games and state swimming concurrently, I think the boys volleyball tourney gets lost in the shuffle to a degree.

For me, the allure of volleyball results from a few factors. The elite level of choreography produces a beautiful product when played well, and the energy of the sport is unmatched. Where else can you see kids celebrate like they just scored a goal in soccer or a football touchdown every couple points? The ebb and flow of momentum is even greater than what you’d find in basketball.

The sport also happens to be spectator-friendly, and the venue selection at Wisconsin Lutheran plays into that perfectly. You have constant scoring, action that’s simple to follow and an indoor environment that takes away factors like a fall chill that might otherwise inhibit our enjoyment of other fall-season team sports.

Though there is no greater stage from a symbolic point of view than the Kohl Center or Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, you’re not going to see those venues filled to the brim for high-school state tournaments. It’s just not possible – the fan bases at each school can’t match the fan base of an entire state, for whom those venues are constructed.

The environment at state football and basketball can still be rowdy, but you’ll never get that capacity-crowd surge that comes with a game-winning score. Wisconsin Lutheran College doesn’t have the biggest gym in the state, and when the boys volleyball tournament is going on, it’s downright crowded. But not in an uncomfortable way – the gym is still plenty spacious to support the event.

With matches side-by-side (as you would find at the girls tournament at the cavernous Resch Center in Green Bay), student sections are locked in on every point, and the volume is seldom turned down in all four corners of the gym. Many teams are from the greater Milwaukee area, making the Wauwatosa location sensible and giving area fans a realistic chance to see the action.

The drama of the tourney even provides us with a villain in Milwaukee Marquette, the state’s most dominant program, which won its sixth state title since 2002 at the 2011 tourney. You’ll have no trouble identifying who the best hitters are on each team – players like Jeremy Dejno of New Berlin and Trevor Novotny of Catholic Memorial have awed crowds with their leaping ability and cannon-fired kills over the past several years. The tourney also has the habit of providing an upstart surprise – Germantown this year, Kettle Moraine in 2009, an Appleton North team that shocked Marquette in 2006.

It’s a rush. Even as someone impartially covering the action, it’s easy to get sucked into the drama of long rallies and matches that drift into fifth sets. It’s no different on the girls side, which may not have the violent hitting power of its counterpart but still has the remarkable hustle plays, fluid action and nail-biting situations.

Maybe the under-the-radar nature of the tournament makes it more appealing to attend for me, and maybe I just like that I can get from my seat to my front door in less than 20 minutes. But if you find yourself bored at this time next year, consider discovering what the boys state volleyball tournament provides.
 

PHOTO: Germantown battles Marquette at Wisconsin Lutheran College in the state semifinal Nov. 12. (PHOTO: Peter Zuzga)

I wrote a very similar column to this one in January of 2010 when I expressed disappointment over the Indianapolis Colts resting their starters down the stretch of the NFL season, essentially forfeiting a chance at an undefeated season. Two seasons later, the circumstances are a little closer to home.

Quickly: name the last five Super Bowl winners.

The most recent one is easy, of course, and you probably recall Sean Payton’s daring onside kick after halftime as he coached the New Orleans Saints past the Indianapolis Colts one year earlier.

Maybe you remember Pittsburgh winning the year before. You know the Giants, who beat the undefeated New England Patriots, are in 2007-08 because they beat the Packers in the NFC Championship that year.

Was the year before that the Colts over the Bears? Or was that New England? When did Pittsburgh beat the Seahawks again? They all sort of run together. I know the Rams got a few of them, and the Packers certainly won in 1997 and lost to the Broncos in 1998.

Now name the winner of the Super Bowl following the 1972 season. That’s easy. The Miami Dolphins.
It’s an answer the majority of sports fans should know, because the 1972 Dolphins remain the only NFL team to complete a perfect season.

Halfway through the current season, the Green Bay Packers are 8-0. I'm getting ahead of myself by assuming the wins will continue, but let's be honest -- we all expect them to keep rolling, "one game at a time" be darned. It's entirely possible that the Packers will at some point have to make a value judgment between going undefeated and getting proper rest for a Super Bowl run.

I, for one, want more than just another Super Bowl title. I want to see this team achieve real greatness. I want them to go undefeated.

You think I’m crazy, don’t you, using the phrase “another Super Bowl title” like it’s some meaningless benchmark along the way. Or, perhaps you think I’m an arrogant Packers fan caught up in the wave of temporary excellence. But hear me out.

After wins in 14 straight games, Indianapolis essentially laid down in its final two games of 2009, resting its starters as the New York Jets rallied for a victory Dec. 27, then allowing the Buffalo Bills to walk all over them in a 30-7 regular-season finale. It wasn’t the same team that rattled off 14 straight victories and put itself in a luxurious position where losing in the final two games carried no consequences in the postseason picture.

Onlookers probably said it was a good decision (the rested Colts churned out fairly convincing wins over Baltimore and the Jets to reach the Super Bowl), then changed their tune when Indy lost a heartbreaking Super Bowl to the Saints. So which was the better route? The rest-your-players approach or the Patriots approach, who went for full undefeated glory and didn’t get the gold at the end? You could argue neither worked. Or both worked.

For a number of reasons, most fans disagree on which approach is truly best for a football team. Most coaches err on the side of caution, particularly in a game that leads to such a huge accumulation of injuries, but the concern lingers that players are taken out of competitive mode for too long and lose their rhythm by the time the playoff games roll around.

I think everyone agrees: it doesn’t matter how you get there, winning the game at the end is all that matters. Yet, if you have a chance to get there by a historically intriguing means, how can you want to pass that up?

Looking at pro sports on a holistic level, I wonder about the ultimate aim of participants. Sure, it’s to win a championship – but doesn’t being remembered play into that? The 1972 Dolphins will be remembered by even passive football fans, because they’re the only ones to cash in on the rare opportunity that pro football affords – the actual possibility of finishing without a loss.

As sports fans, we gravitate toward greatness, and we want to bear witness to it as it unfolds. Every year, somebody wins the Super Bowl – but only once in history has a team gone undefeated. We like to think we’re watching one of the best quarterback performances in NFL history, and maybe we are. But Joe Montana (four Super Bowls) was great, too, as was Troy Aikman (three Super Bowls) and Steve Young (three Super Bowls). If championships are the best measure of greatness, then Aaron Rodgers has a ways to go.

There’s a way he can earn a VIP pass to the front of the line. I hope the Packers don’t pass on that chance.

There will be many who disagree with me, saying that teams have a responsibility to their fan bases to make a championship the one and only goal. They’ll say “greatness” can be perceived as a selfish, superfluous aim, especially after one team seemingly went for it and lost (never mind that the Patriots lost thanks to some ridiculous, fluky heroics by Eli Manning, David Tyree, Plaxico Burress and others).

As a fan of sports, that’s disappointing to me. I wasn’t there when I saw the Dolphins taste perfection, and I have a feeling I’ll never see it in my lifetime. It’s just not something teams in the NFL want. But it’s something I want.

Pictured: Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have a chance to become NFL legends this year, should they choose to accept it. (MJS photo by Mark Hoffman)

With the arrival of our firstborn son now just more than two months away, my wife and I have discussed a variety of possible names for the child, and we haven’t arrived at a consensus yet. My personal theory is that she who carries something around for nine months should get sole naming rights, but she wants me to have input, so I have taken my responsibility seriously by rejecting a number of names without offering any viable alternatives.

It’s been such a good year in Wisconsin sports that it seems like a missed opportunity if we don’t commemorate this time by bestowing a sports reference upon our son. I have trimmed the list to a few possibilities.

Aaron Brett Radcliffe. The advantage is that I can live out every Packers fan’s vindictive fantasy by establishing a permanent reminder that Aaron comes ahead of Brett. Two problems, though. One is that Aaron is likely to be an annoyingly popular name among Wisconsin babies for the next few football seasons, and two is that it loses some of its opinionated punch now that Aaron has as many Super Bowls as Brett.

Side note: my co-workers, many of whom are older than I am, think “Bart Aaron” is a better suggestion.

Ryan Braun Radcliffe. For a boy born shortly after Ryan Braun wins National League MVP (I hope), it would be the perfect reminder of the Brewers’ awesome season and one of the greatest players in franchise history. To make matters better, Braun has signed on to be a Brewer for a long time, meaning the name will have staying power. Could you imagine if he somehow became a Chicago Cub, and then my poor son is saddled with the name? Maybe I should make the first name Yovani to hedge my bets.

Tony Plush Radcliffe. Speaking of Brewers heroes, it can be argued that the year 2011 will be remembered as the Year of the Plush. One drawback: I still think this marriage between Milwaukee and Nyjer Morgan ends badly, and that he’ll be more of a villain should he fail to match his strong 2011 season offensively. Much like I wouldn’t want to name my kid Daniel – like the Daniel Radcliffe who portrays Harry Potter in the blockbuster films – I wouldn’t want to give him a name that gets associated with the uncertain future that comes next in the namesake’s career.

Russell Wilson Radcliffe. I know the University of Wisconsin quarterback isn’t in charge of the Badgers secondary that tends to take naps at crunch time of Big Ten road games, but this idea seemed a whole lot better a few weeks ago. I do love alliteration, though.

BJ Clay Radcliffe. First names are awesome when they are composed of initials, and that is an undeniable fact. Even better: this name not only acknowledges the defense that helped the Packers win a Super Bowl, it also commemorates one of the largest people on the team. If the kid follows in Dad’s footsteps, he may be on the huskier side, and then he’ll probably share a healthy appreciation for the big fellas on his football team of choice. I mean, everyone remembers where they were when BJ Raji intercepted that Chicago pass in the NFC Championship Game, right? I like this one.

Prince Revolution Radcliffe. A nod to the greatest baseball season in Milwaukee history and a clever 80s music reference all wrapped into one? Irresistible. The problem: Prince Fielder is leaving, and in my disappointment, I’m likely to forego my son’s first name and refer to him by his middle name. While “Revolution Radcliffe” is potentially awesome, it’s probably not awesome enough to overcome the social anxiety complexes he’ll develop.

Bo Ryan Radcliffe. The curator of high-level Wisconsin basketball has allowed me to enjoy the NCAA Tournament every year, and while many state athletes have become icons at far greater status than Ryan, few are as inextricably linked with the idea of Wisconsin sports. Each year, the Badgers’ roster of blue-collar, unflashy Midwestern kids routinely compete with rosters of teams blessed with future NBA talent. Plus, the name “Bo” is pretty rock and roll.

I have precious few weeks remaining before a decision has to be made. I wonder which idea my wife will like the best.

(Yes, this is intended to be tongue in cheek. Obviously, we’ll be naming our son JR, jr).

 

Compromise. It’s a concept that, at least in my experience, refers to something tolerable for everyone but overtly pleasing to no one.

Such is the case with the WIAA football postseason seeding process. Every year, the pairings are released to a chorus of unhappiness, with onlookers questioning seeding and the logic of the selections.

How can the No. 1 team in the state, defending state champion Waukesha West, get a No. 2 seed? How can a team like Arrowhead not be seeded at all, with just one loss to the aforementioned West? How can some teams have such a brutal road and others have it so easy?

Despite the WIAA’s attempt to educate the masses, it seems every year the same questions get raised, even by those closely affiliated with varsity football programs. When the executive committee of the state’s organizing body of high school athletics sits down with its list of 224 qualifiers, seeds are not handed out based on state ranking or any other subjective measure of ability. The tiebreakers sometimes split hairs – for example, Verona plays nine conference games and Waukesha West plays seven, and Verona’s 9-0 is technically given higher favor than West’s 7-0. But for the most part, teams are simply seeded based on where they finished in conference.

As Mark Stewart of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel points out in his column this week, the objectivity might make sense but lack common sense. I agree with that, but it’s a compromise. It’s the best system we’ve got.

For one thing, this system is not something developed by the WIAA alone. The coaches association had a role in arriving at these precepts, which root out any measure of subjective comparison and rank teams based on conference placement, regardless of perceived conference strength.

It’s true that someone can look at the City Conference and say the Classic 8 Conference is better. But what about in areas outside of Milwaukee? Can any person or “power rankings” system compare the Big Rivers (Eau Claire area), Wisconsin Valley South (Fox Valley and northern Wisconsin) and Fox River Classic (Green Bay area and Manitowoc)? Schools from all three are in one quadrant of the Division 1 bracket. What about the smaller divisions where the likelihood of common opponents in nonconference play drops precipitously?

This is why football can’t work like other sports. With only half the state’s teams making the field, coaches won’t know the other teams in their “regional” until less than a week before kickoff, when all the qualifiers are known. That doesn’t give enough time for the coaches to truly seed the group of eight themselves.

Even if you could find time for eight football coaches to somehow teleconference and hash out the seeds in a short window of time, those coaches would need time to research others in the group to make informed decisions. With so little data (9 games) to choose from, you’re going to get stalemates. You thought waiting for Messmer/Shorewood’s situation to get squared away was agonizing? Now you’re waiting for four different consensus resolutions in each division, and it’s easy to see how that could take a while. It would also ignore travel considerations, something the WIAA has committed to alleviating in its system of pairing unseeded teams with seeded teams.

My recommendation would be to adopt the “all-play” format that’s been proposed for implementation in 2013, creating pre-determined districts and setting up a subjective measure. But as with any change, the process has met some dissent, and it’s unclear at this point whether that format will be given the stamp of approval in January.

That would be a big change, but with a membership so large, even small changes to the rules require a great deal of discussion and consideration. It’s not as simple as saying, “These rules are illogical. Let’s change them.”

The current process has wiggle room, and the WIAA has taken some heat for it. The geographic pods of eight teams are open to interpretation, though the WIAA does say it attempts to equitably divide conference champions. The WIAA also takes some liberties with its vow to pair the top seeded team with the closest unseeded team mileage-wise. Those liberties are supposed to ensure a reasonable travel distance for all teams involved, though a late change this year has me wondering if that was truly the case.

Manitowoc Lincoln was assigned Milwaukee Madison in the first round after first drawing a closer Germantown team. The top-seeded Ships appealed for a different opponent, and the WIAA – presumably feeling the distance between Germantown and Milwaukee Madison was negligible – agreed to send Madison north and paired Germantown and Sussex Hamilton. It’s a small change, and it actually provided a “logical” bracket with the best unseeded team facing the lowest seeded team. But it went against the supposed objectivity of the process. If the organization is willing to make a concession there, why not in every circumstance where a top-seeded team wants to face an opponent with a lesser record at a farther distance?

Still, the venom spewed toward the WIAA frequently shows a lack of understanding of the process and assumes the WIAA is solely responsible for the illogical construction of the bracket. The process has been cultivated to give everyone a fair shake and take as much analysis out of the way as possible. It’s a compromise. Nobody loves it, but most everyone should be able to tolerate it.
 

The motto this season: “Experience the Wave.” Hartland businessman Jim Lindenberg hopes it’s a call to action.

Since he purchased the Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer franchise in 2009, the organization’s growth has been considerable, including a near-300 percent increase in season tickets and increases in average attendance, corporate sponsorships and merchandise sales.

“The positives have all been good, trending the right way on everything,” Lindenberg said. “There’s one thing that kind of surprises me. When I give speeches or Coach (Keith Tozer) gives speeches, when we talk to Milwaukee, even though we've been here 27 years and one of the most winning franchises, I’d say 70 percent of people will say they've never been to a Wave game.

“They’re good family entertainment, very reasonably priced, and they’ve been here 27 years. Our model this year is to 'get out and experience it.' Once people come, they actually enjoy it and want to come back.”

Lindenberg, who sold his company World Class Wire and Cable in advance of taking over the Wave, watched his team win its fifth Major Indoor Soccer League championship last year. The league will have seven teams this year, and Lindenberg also helped negotiate a merger with the United Soccer League, an entity that has a relationship with the Fox Sports Soccer Network and more than 650 teams, many of the outdoor soccer variety.

“They bring stability; we don’t have to worry about teams dropping out and whether or not the league is coming back,” Lindenberg said. “The TV contract with Fox Sports Soccer Network is huge. I think you’re going to see double the teams next year. (The USL) has 20 people working at their headquarters in Tampa; it’s a lot more professional. The upside is huge.”

But for those who have never seen the Wave in action, the style of play bears little resemblance to its outdoor cousin.

“Sometimes people picture a 1-0 game, but indoor soccer is combinational football-hockey-soccer, high scoring with lots of banging against the boards,” Lindenberg said. “In Milwaukee, you have a lot of choices. There is so much good entertainment. People will say, ‘I used to go to the game when I had kids,’ but you don’t have to bring a kid. We’re trying to change that, too where we get young people to come, young entrepreneurs, where you don’t just have to be a mom or dad.”

The Wave, who play at the U.S. Cellular Arena next to the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee, have spent a great deal of energy out outreach and non-profit endeavors. One such pursuit included the auctioning off of unique game-worn jerseys after every contest. Last year, the organization raised $40,000 in the auctions alone.

“We became the first professional sports team in the United States to do such a thing, auctioning off jerseys after the game,” Lindenberg said. “I think it’s going to grow this year, with a lot more sponsors stepping up.”

The Wave also welcomed Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for one contest last year, a game that drew a league-best crowd of 9,200 fans. The Wave also partners with NOW Newspapers (and Lake Country Publications this year) to produce a high-school All-Star Game in January, pitting some of the area’s top senior boys soccer players against each other on the arena floor after a Wave game.

The team opens play at home Nov. 5 against Cincinnati, and season tickets are already for sale. The ticket office can be reached at (414) 224-9283.

Pictured: The Milwaukee Wave enjoyed a record crowd as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers put in an apppearance for the MACC Fund on March 13. (Photo by Gary Porter/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

With the announcement that the WIAA football brackets would be delayed until Monday because of an eligibility dispute involving Messmer/Shorewood, it gives me one more chance to project the playoff field. I'm using the criteria established by the WIAA, and you can find more info about them on the WIAA web site or by checking in to my earlier attempts at amateur bracketing.

What's important to note is that the geographic circles are the biggest variable remaining. We know, for the most part, who is in the field. We know everyone's record and conference place finish. What we don't know is how those circles will be drawn on a map of Wisconsin to create four regions of eight teams in each division.

The process attempts to minimize travel issues and still divide conference champions equally in the four regions. Here's one possible way it would lay out. Should the WIAA decide to group regionals differently, it would obviously dramatically impact which seeds a team gets and which opponent.

Division 1
Northwest
1 Verona (6-3) vs. Watertown (6-3)
4 Middleton (8-1) vs. Hudson (6-3)
3 Eau Claire Memorial (8-1) vs. Sun Prairie (7-2)
2 Wisconsin Rapids (8-1) vs. D.C. Everest (5-4)
Northeast
1 Manitowoc Lincoln (9-0) vs. Germantown (7-2)
4 Kimberly (8-1) vs. Green Bay Preble (7-2)
3 Homestead (7-2) vs. Milwaukee Madison (4-5)
2 Appleton North (8-1) vs. Bay Port (4-5)
Southwest
1 Waukesha West (9-0) vs. Janesville Parker (6-3)
2 Brookfield Central (7-2) vs. Milwaukee Washington (3-5)
3 Sussex Hamilton (8-1) vs. Milwaukee Hamilton (4-5)
4 Arrowhead (7-1) vs. Muskego (8-1)
Southeast
1 Kenosha Bradford (9-0) vs. Pulaski (4-5)
4 Badger (7-2) vs. Franklin (7-2)
3 Marquette (7-2) vs. Rufus King (7-2)
2 Riverside (8-1) vs. Messmer/Shorewood (5-4)

The biggest difficulty in drawing these circles is determining where the teams in the state's northwest (Hudson, Eau Claire Memorial, Wisconsin Rapids, D.C. Everest) will match up. For a team like Hudson, it's actually faster to get to the Madison area than the Fox Valley, even if the Fox Valley is closer, as the crow flies. I'll speculate the Madison-area teams will get grouped with those Northwest teams. Travel times will be long in some cases, but I think they're unavoidable.

Milwaukee is jam-packed with squads, obviously, and driving distances could be deemed negligible in numerous cases, leading the WIAA to provide matchups that don't necessarily represent the shortest possible distance between a seeded and non-seeded school.

In the Southeast, you can see this scenario relies on Messmer/Shorewood getting allowed into the field. If it doesn't, Milwuakee South will get that spot as a Division 2 team, bumping Bradley Tech (6-3) into the D1 field. In that case, Riverside would meet Franklin, Marquette would face Tech and Badger would face King.

In the Northeast, it probably seems unfair to have top-seeded Manitowoc Lincoln facing a battle-tested Germantown instead of say, Milwaukee Madison, which isn't that many miles farther south. But moving Madison to Manty would make for a bigger mess. North would still take Bay Port, Homestead would draw Preble (can't play Germantown because they play in the same conference), and Kimberly would get Germantown. Now the latter two matchups are long drives, whereas in my scenario, only one is a long drive. The WIAA will occasionally look at the process holistically if distance can be minimized for "the good of the group," especially in this case where Germantown is the closest non-seeded opponent to Manty.

In the Southwest, Janesville Parker is the outlier of the group, and I speculate the WIAA will give Parker to its closest seeded possibility, Waukesha West, to limit travel constraints. Arrowhead gets a seed based on points allowed in the first half over Muskego. Both took second place in conference with one loss each. That matchup, should it come to pass, would of course be one of the biggies in round 1, and in my scenario, we could get a second-round dose of Waukesha West and Arrowhead, one of the top rivalries in the area right now.

Division 2
Northwest
1 Tomah (8-1) vs. Wausau East (4-5)
4 Antigo (6-3) vs. Holmen (5-4)
3 Marshfield (8-1) vs. Merrill (4-5)
2 Menomonie (8-1) vs. New Richmond (4-5)
Southwest
1 Waunakee (9-0) vs. Fort Atkinson (7-2)
4 Beaver Dam (7-2) vs. Onalaska (5-4)
3 DeForest (7-2) vs. LaCrosse Logan (4-5)
2 Monona Grove (9-0) vs. LaCrosse Central (4-5)
Northeast
1 Cedarburg (7-2) vs. DePere (4-5)
4 Menasha (5-4) vs. Ashwaubenon (5-4)
3 Green Bay Southwest (7-2) vs. West Bend East (4-5)
2 Pulaski (7-2) vs. Hortonville (5-4)
Southeast
1 Greendale (8-1) vs. Whitefish Bay (5-4)
4 Bradley Tech vs. Brookfield East (6-3)
3 Waterford (8-1) vs. South Milwaukee (6-3)
2 Wilmot (7-2) vs. Greenfield (5-4)

I know it seems unfair to have Waunakee and Monona Grove in the same pod, given that there is one pod (Northeast) that doesn't have an unbeaten conference champion. But from what I observed last year, I think the WIAA adheres more to the geographic drawing of the circles than the fair division of unbeaten teams. The LaCrosse area teams in the Northwest (Mississippi Valley Conference) need to be sent in two directions because there are five MVC teams in the same general area -- logically, that would create at least one intra-conference matchup in a pod of eight teams, and that can't happen. The ones that are sent to the southwest are going to get grouped with Madison teams as the only remotely convenient possibility. It's too valuable a geographic fit to send Madison teams elsewhere. A simple swap might make sense, say Monona Grove for West Bend East, but then the geographic circles are overlapping. I didn't witness any circles overlapping last year. The WIAA is very dedicated to the geography.

Then again, my scenario still creates monster travel times for three Mississippi Valley schools on their way to Madison. If the travel is going to be substantial regardless of how the circles are drawn, then why not do some manipulation to get an equal number of champs?

In the Northwest, I don't have all the data to make a call between Antigo and Holmen. The tiebreaker for the two second-place teams should be first-half points allowed. I'm guessing Antigo gets the final seed, and Holmen is unseeded.

In the Northeast, a glut of Fox River Classic teams means Cedarburg's opponent won't be the much closer West Bend East, but the closest of the FRC teams.

In the Southeast, this is once again the scenario in which Messmer/Shorewood makes it. If not, Bradley Tech is Division 1 and Milwaukee South is in the D2 Southeast pod. The No. 4 seed now gets awarded to Greenfield in that case. Greendale draws South (3-6), Wilmot gets South Milwaukee, Waterford tackles Brookfield East nad Greenfield gets Whitefish Bay.

Division 3
Northwest
1 Mosinee (9-0) vs. Northland Pines (6-3)
4 Rice Lake (6-3) vs. Medford (6-3)
3 West Salem (6-3) vs. Ellsworth (5-4)
2 Waupaca (7-2) vs. Seymour (6-3)
Southwest
1 Jefferson (9-0) vs. Madison Edgewood (7-2)
4 East Troy (7-2) vs. Mt. Horeb/Barneveld (6-3)
3 Lodi (7-2) vs. Edgerton (5-4)
2 Big Foot (9-0) vs. Delavan-Darien (6-3)
Northeast
1 West DePere (9-0) vs. Notre Dame Academy (5-4)
2 Xavier (8-1) vs. Marinette (5-3)
3 Luxemburg-Casco (8-1) vs. Sheboygan Falls (5-4)
4 Plymouth (7-2) vs. Fox Valley Lutheran (6-3)
Southeast
1 Wisconsin Lutheran (6-3) vs. Cudahy (4-5)
4 New Berlin Eisenhower (7-2) vs. Catholic Memorial (6-3)
3 Pewaukee (7-2) vs. Milwaukee Lutheran (6-3)
2 Kewaskum (9-0) vs. Brown Deer (5-4)

The Southeast is stacked, but then again so is Division 3 overall, with West DePere, Big Foot, Wisconsin Lutheran, Kewaskum and Waupaca all enjoying success in recent postseasons.

Once again, these brackets are NOT official, nor are they the product of inside information. Just a guess given the data provided. We'll know a lot more Monday.

With one week to go, most teams have a pretty good idea whether or not they're in the playoffs. But where are they headed?

In the second (and final) installment of Bracketeering, I update my data and take another stab at the playoff field. Check out last week's Bracketeering to get a feel for my process, including rules on how the WIAA lays out the playoff brackets. Once Friday's games are in the books, the executive committee will map out the path to Camp Randall for each of the 224 qualifying teams.

Once again, I should throw out a disclaimer -- I have no inside info and have to use a lot of guesswork to get this far. Arriving at the entire playoff field requires predicting outcomes across the state (so we know which teams are in and which are out), and that means taking a stab in games where I know next to nothing about the teams involved. A lot will change by this weekend, when the WIAA will post the brackets.

Records are current overall records.

Division 1
Northwest
1 Wisconsin Rapids (7-1) vs. Hudson (5-3)
4 Kimberly (7-1) vs. Green Bay Preble (6-2)
3 Appleton North (7-1) vs. Bay Port (4-4)
2 Eau Claire Memorial (8-0) vs. D.C. Everest (4-4)
Southwest
1 Verona (8-0) vs. Watertown (6-2)
4 Middleton (7-1) vs. Arrowhead (6-1)
3 Lake Geneva Badger (7-1) vs. Sun Prairie (6-2)
2 Waukesha West (8-0) vs. Janesville Parker (5-3)
Northeast
1 Manitowoc Lincoln (8-0) vs. Germantown (6-2)
4 Milwaukee Rufus King (6-2) vs. Messmer/Shorewood (3-4)
3 Sussex Hamilton (7-1) vs. Milwaukee Washington (3-5)
2 Homestead (7-1) vs. Milwaukee Madison (4-4)
Southeast
1 Kenosha Bradford (8-0) vs. Milwaukee Hamilton (4-4)
4 Brookfield Central (6-2) vs. Muskego (7-1)
3 Milwaukee Marquette (6-2) vs. Bradley Tech (5-3)
2 Milwaukee Riverside (7-1) vs. Franklin (6-2)

-- Drawing the geographic “circles” proved difficult in D1. The small scattering of teams in the far northwest might be closer to the Green Bay/Fox Valley area as the crow flies than to Madison, but the travel distance is actually slightly longer. The WIAA has been known to consider this reality, that “distance” is as much about the highways that take you there than the mileage in between.

-- So while I ultimately decided to group those four with a foursome from Green Bay/Appleton, that had more to do with keeping an equal number of undefeated teams in the northwest and southwest than what made most geographic sense. To group those four northwest schools with the Madison-area teams would mean undefeated squads Rapids, Eau Claire Memorial and Verona would all be in the same quadrant. My scenario puts Verona and Waukesha West together instead, but leaves significant travel for Hudson and D.C. Everest.

-- When you get into the Milwaukee area, you really have to split hairs to arrive at the geographic circles. Initially, I had Riverside with Hamilton’s group (encompassing schools on the city’s north side) but moved Riverside south to ensure two undefeated schools in both pods. The way it’s set up seems to be favorable for Sussex Hamilton and Homestead – only Germantown represents a dangerous opponent for a seeded team, with Messmer/Shorewood from a small-school conference and other schools from the City Conference, which traditionally does not match up well with suburban counterparts in the postseason.

-- Manitowoc, the top seed in the quadrant, is closest to Germantown, but Hamilton could easily draw the Warhawks if the distance between Germantown and one of the other schools is deemed negligible for top seed Manitowoc Lincoln. Germantown can’t face conference foe Homestead, the No. 2 seed, until the second round.

-- Another thing that could alter the landscape is Lake Geneva Badger in the southeast quadrant. They’re currently undefeated in the Southern Lakes, and I’m going out on a limb by predicting a Waterford win Friday. A Badger win would upgrade its status and turn it into an undefeated conference champion, which could lead to changes in the geographic circles as the committee attempts to equitably divide those teams. With no chance at getting two such teams in each quadrant, Riverside might be left in the northeast.

-- Last year, Arrowhead found itself in a pool of death, and the Warhawks could face something similar this year, with two huge Big Eight programs, followed by Waukesha West, set up as roadblocks in my scenario. I contended last year that the situation from 2010, which many felt unfairly brought too many powerhouses from the Big Eight and Classic 8 into the same quadrant, was likely to happen again.

Division 2
Northwest
1 Tomah (7-1) vs. Wausau East (3-5)
4 Holmen (5-3) vs. New Richmond (4-4)
3 Antigo (5-3) vs. Menomonie (7-1)
2 Marshfield (7-1) vs. Merrill (4-4)
Southwest
1 Waunakee (8-0) vs. La Crosse Central (3-5)
4 Fort Atkinson (7-1) vs. La Crosse Logan (4-4)
3 DeForest (7-1) vs. Onalaska (4-4)
2 Monona Grove (8-0) vs. Baraboo (2-6)
Northeast
1 Cedarburg (6-2) vs. West Bend East (3-5)
4 Green Bay Southwest (6-2) vs. Menasha (4-4)
3 Pulaski (6-2) vs. Hortonville (5-3)
2 Beaver Dam (6-2) vs. De Pere (4-4)
Southeast
1 Greendale (7-1) vs. Milwaukee Morse/Marshall (3-5)
4 Greenfield (4-4) Whitefish Bay (4-4)
3 Waterford (7-1) vs. Brookfield East (6-2)
2 Wilmot (7-1) vs. South Milwaukee (5-3)

-- Right from the get-go, it’s noticeable that there aren’t as many powerhouse teams in Division 2, with defending champion Waunakee the undisputed favorite to win the whole thing. Only four undefeated league champions are in the picture in my scenario, and the northeast quadrant doesn’t have any – I found it difficult to cultivate a scenario  where I could plug Greendale into the northeast as an undefeated conference champ and move either Monona Grove or Waunakee out of the southwest into the southeast.

-- One difficulty in making these circles is that no quadrant can have five teams from the same conference – logically that would mean at least one of the four matchups would feature two teams of the same conference, and that can’t happen. So my northwest, which would normally encompass all of the La Crosse area, puts a line through that area instead to break up the Fox River Classic teams. The consequence: some long drives for those teams to compete against Madison-area foes like Waunakee and Monona Grove. I’m not sure the WIAA would handle it the same way, but it’s one possible way of dealing with the problem presented by the Fox River Classic qualifiers.

-- That situation could easily work itself out. Three of those LaCrosse-area teams are among the five I projected in Division 2 to make the field with .500 records. Friday’s outcomes could shift the membership of this division pretty dramatically and make for more natural geographic pods.

-- Locally, my scenario doesn’t provide many intriguing first round matchups, with one definite exception in Waterford against Brookfield East. As I mentioned last week, East is teetering on the brink of Division 1 and might not even be in this division come bracket time.

Division 3
Northwest
1 Mosinee (8-0) vs. Seymour (5-3)
4 Rice Lake (5-3) vs. Ellsworth (5-3)
3 Xavier (7-1) vs. Medford (5-3)
2 Waupaca (6-2) vs. Fox Valley Lutheran (5-3)
Southwest
1 Jefferson (8-0) vs. Delavan-Darien (5-3)
4 West Salem (5-3) vs. Mt. Horeb/Barneveld (6-2)
3 Madison Edgewood (5-2) vs. Edgerton (4-4)
2 Lodi (6-2) vs. Monroe (2-6)
Northeast
1 West De Pere (8-0) vs. Notre Dame (5-3)
4 Plymouth (6-2) vs. Marinette (5-3)
3 Luxemburg-Casco (7-1) vs. Sheboygan Falls (5-3)
2 Kewaskum (8-0) vs. Oconto Falls (4-4)
Southeast
1 Wisconsin Lutheran (6-2) vs. Cudahy (4-4)
4 East Troy (6-2) vs. Brown Deer (5-3)
3 New Berlin Eisenhower (6-2) vs. Catholic Memorial (5-3)
2 Pewaukee (6-2) vs. Milwaukee Lutheran (6-2)

-- Somebody is going to get cursed with Catholic Memorial; will it be Pewaukee again? The Crusaders sort of hide from the objective bracket system by being a strong program in a conference of bigger schools, none of which are in Division 3. So when the seedings are handed out, CMH never gets one, even though they’re a nightmare matchup for a team that does. Last year, Pewaukee played an inspired opening-round game before falling to Memorial, 14-13. The Pirates could easily get the same treatment this year despite a conference title, with talented North Shore passing machine Milwaukee Lutheran as barely a lesser of two evils. Last year, CMH appeared in the state title game despite not earning a seed in its geographic pool.

-- I’m not sure where Kewaskum goes, but many teams will  wonder the same thing. The undefeated team could potentially slot with the Milwaukee-area programs – bad news for teams like Pewaukee, Memorial and Wisconsin Lutheran – or head to the northeast where it could run into a superb West De Pere team some point down the line. Again, it will be interesting to see how the WIAA groups the programs in the western reaches of the state – would West Salem wind up in the northwest with some Fox Valley teams or in the southwest with Madison squads?

Complicated enough for you? Be sure to stay tuned to LivingLakeCountry.com for more updates and features throughout the postseason.