Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Weekend That Was

July 26, 2022 – 8:35 am
Lambeau Field, Green Bay WI 07/23/2022

On Saturday, along with several family members, I attended the soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It was an historic evening as this was the first soccer game ever played at Lambeau Field. The weather was very dicey, as play was suspended twice for lightning in the area when a wave of some pretty severe thunderstorms swept over the stadium. This in turn led to the match being shortened by 5 minutes in each half. Man City scored the only goal (there were several that were disallowed due to offsides), and the capacity crowd was treated to some outstanding Premier League play.

My daughter’s boyfriend was with us, and he was particularly excited. He was ranked the number 2 soccer player in the state of Wisconsin his senior year of high school. This led to him getting a full ride to Davidson College, where he was named to the All-Rookie team in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Milwaukee Air & Water Show 07/24/2022

On Sunday, I was at lakefront with my son-in-law and two grandsons for the Milwaukee Air & Water Show. This was the first time that I had been there for the actual show (I work downtown, and have always enjoyed going outside on my lunch breaks to watch the Blue Angels practice over the city), and will definitely try to make it a regular trip going forward!

By andylwellman | Tagged | Comments (0)

I’ll have the Special with Soup

December 15, 2015 – 9:49 pm

Finally after 13 weeks of watching the Packer’s offense go from average to struggling to sputtering to dead, Mike McCarthy took back the play calling and came to Sunday’s game with his over-sized  laminated menu of plays ready to order up a hot bowl of whoopass for the Dallas Cowboys’ defense. I don’t want to come off as over-reacting, but there were several obvious (at least obvious to me) differences in the way the offense looked, performed and executed. I’d like to share them with you.

Let me first make the disclaimer that I was one of those on the get McCarthy OFF the play calling duties last year. A person might be tempted to call me a hypocrite, but I don’t think that would be accurate. I believe it took McCarthy to watch and have to endure the poor play calling of someone else for him to realize some of the same poor play calling of his own.

The first two things that jumped out for me go hand in hand. I saw more run plays called with Rodgers under center and Lacy running between the tackles. Not a whole lot of shotgun pitches to the edge. That’s just not the best way to use Lacy. Starks has a little more shimmy and shake to him, so he should be the one they test the outside defense with and that’s what McCarthy did for the most part.

Halfback screen plays and slants. Call the FBI and take their faces off the milk cartons. The Packers have found their two long lost staples of the offense. The screen on the Starks scoring pass was perfection. More quick hitters over the middle + less bubble screens lead to fewer momentum killing negative plays and kept drives in manageable down and distances.

Only one time out used to prevent a delay of game, which I think was Aaron trying to get the defense to jump more so than running out of time. It also looked like the plays called were more in sync with what was going on the field. It appeared that Aaron need to check out of plays or alter calls far less this game.

Let’s face it, the offense looked better and performed better. Is it because McCarthy was calling the plays or were they just motivated to execute better? Time will tell, but until then, if it was broke and you did something that looks like it fixed it, do it again!

 

 

By sjohnwellman | Comments (0)

Impossibly Improbable – Bucks Beware

April 8, 2015 – 4:44 am

While the concept of “improbable but not impossible” is what makes watching sports so rewarding, the past year in Wisconsin has been nothing short of “impossibly improbable”.

How ridiculous has it been?

To call the events I’m about to detail Shakespearian in nature is an understatement.

Let’s start with the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball team…

What an absolute high to watch this 2014-2015 Badger team.  Their tournament run was absolutely amazing.  It’s the second half and the Badgers are up 9 points on Duke.  In foul trouble, two of Duke’s best players are riding the pine.  Coach K is forced to rely on freshman and bench players.  As a fan you can see the dream coming true…. An actual NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is within our grasp!

All this veteran team needs to do is play the same smart, tough basketball that defines this program for less than 9 minutes and the Wisconsin Badgers will make history.

Somehow Wisconsin, a team so well disciplined on defense that they committed the fewest fouls out of any team in the nation and so efficient offensively that they set an NCAA Division I record this year…suddenly can’t hit a shot or make a stop to save their lives?  Out of nowhere and with everything on the line the team is tagged for more fouls in a half than they averaged after 39 games played in the season.  Offensively they can’t hit a shot.  It all slips away….  They couldn’t even catch a break with the clock stopped as a seemingly obvious instant replay showing a Duke player touching the ball last as it goes out of bounds turns into the official’s call of Duke ball.

In an instant the dream was gone.  Don’t get me wrong, Duke earned it.  I’m not writing to disparage what they did rather I’m pointing out how improbable it was. Badger fans could taste it.

By itself a loss of this magnitude would be enough to crush any fan’s spirit but come on now… you’re in Wisconsin! We don’t stop after one brutal and heartbreaking loss! After the past year I’m starting to believe that when Russel Ziskey said in Stripes that he once got his #SS kicked in Wisconsin that he was actually remembering rooting for our sports teams.

Enter the 2014 Green Bay Packers and their epic Championship game collapse against the Seattle Seahawks in January 2015. I still can barely talk about this game. What happened isn’t rational. Who the hell scores a 30 yard two-point conversion? You can pick any number of plays where if just ONE play happens different the Pack faces off against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. It was improbable but not impossible for Seattle to pull that game out. Nobody had EVER come back from that deficit with such little time left yet Seattle did just that in an ending that made even Brett Favre wince and look away.

Speaking of looking away… how about them 2014 Brewers! The talk of MLB as they sprinted out of the gate and grabbed firm control of the NL Central, the Brewers were in first place for almost the entire season until a full-out collapse over the final weeks of the season left them not only out of the playoffs but barely able to finish .500.

Then there’s the Milwaukee Bucks… The once proud franchise turned league doormat during the 2013-2014 season gets a serious shot in the arm when Herb Kohl finally sells the franchise to a couple of guys from New York who are hungry to make their mark. They quickly overhaul the roster and draft promising rookie Jabari Parker only to watch him fall to the court in agony, clutching his knee after tearing his ACL.

Why stop here? Let’s go full circle back to the Wisconsin Badgers where, on the verge of a big New Years Day Bowl Game, Gary Andersen bails on the Wisconsin program two years after Barry Alvarez plucked him from a smaller college. Adding insult to injury, Andersen leaves Wisconsin to take a job at a lesser football program in Oregon State. Worse yet, in the wake of Andersen’s leaving town are rumors about the academic standards and pay structure for assistants which calls into question the ability of the Wisconsin program to compete long-term. Only a Barry Alvarez come-from-behind win on New Years Day takes the sting out of this situation, stopping the bleeding until the new Head Coach, Paul Chryst can be announced.

Several recruits are lost but one has his scholarship pulled as one of the State’s top High School football players, Mukwonago’s Dominic Cizauskas sexually assaults a college student during a campus visit. Instead of lining up in Badger Red to start a promising career Cizauskas dons prison orange as he is sentenced in June 2014 to one year in jail.

Back to the Bucks… Jabari Parker is out for the season yet the young Bucks somehow continue to win, going as many as 8 games over .500 at one point. An potential All-Star, PG Brandon Knight is quickly becoming the team leader and a fan favorite. Knight is selected to participate in the NBA All-Star games skills challenge where he finishes second overall. The Bucks are not only looking like a cinch to make the playoffs but they seemingly are building a case to compete for a home court advantage in round one by finishing in the top four of their conference. It would be improbable for them to lose it all and not make the playoffs, the writers say. Well, days later Knight would be traded in a three team trade that brings Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee. The team struggles to find chemistry on offense and goes on an long losing streak, falling 2 games under .500. With five games left in the season the Bucks are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. They have a 3 and 1/2 game lead over the Miami Heat for the final playoff spot. Their magic number to clinch is 1 game.

Sounds improbable that they could get knocked out of the playoffs, doesn’t it?

Just remember that improbable doesn’t mean impossible.

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I’ll Take It!

December 2, 2014 – 2:17 am

If yesterdays game at Lambeau Field truly was a Superbowl preview, as many in the media claimed it would be, I would be more than happy with that. Even if the score were reversed, there’s no denying that it was an excellent example of NFL football at it’s highest level. Two great quarterbacks with two outstanding head coaches, provided a chess match to behold. In the end the home team prevailed, but the game was actually closer than the final score would indicate, and when all was said and done, one of the MVP caliber QB’s was just a little bit better than the other.

Aaron Rodgers started out the game a little bit shaky. He was not his usual hyper accurate self, missing his targets relatively badly, and probably costing the Packers one, if not more, touchdowns. But he eventually settled down and started making those spectacular, in-stride-between-the-defenders-hands passes that we had become so accustomed to. While the red zone efficiency left a lot to be desired, it did result in a rather large time of possession advantage for Green Bay. Sometimes the best defense against Tom Brady is to keep him off the field.

And speaking of defense, the Packers aren’t getting nearly enough credit on that side of the ball. They held a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback and his offense, one that had shredded the likes of Denver and Indianapolis, to only 21 points. If anyone had said that New England would only score three touchdowns on Sunday, I would have said that’s a win. Because when all is said and done, you simply can not discount the home field advantage that is Lambeau Field.

Of course, the Superbowl is played at a neutral site, and that might lead to a totally different result. Here’s to hoping that we’ll be able to see it that’s the case come February.

By andylwellman | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Wisconsin Sports SOTU

January 30, 2014 – 12:24 am

In honor of last night’s State Of The Union address, how about a SOTU regarding sports in Wisconsin? I’ll break it down into two categories, the pros and division I collegiate programs. The current state of sports in Wisconsin, while fairly healthy, are not quite what they once were. From what was probably a peak in 2011, things have been on the decline since. In that year, the Packers won the Superbowl, then turned around and reeled off a near perfect 15-1 regular season. The Badgers football team saw the addition of Russell Wilson at quarterback, and some real talk of a possible national championship. Both the Badgers and Golden Eagles made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and the Brewers won their division and were two games away from a World Series berth. So, from that hey day to know, where do we stand?

Today we’ll look at the pro franchises
The Green Bay Packers
Easily the strongest of the three professional franchises in the state, they clearly are not where they once were. Whether it’s because of injuries, the failure to add quality talent to the roster, or a combination of both, while they are still considered perennial contenders, they are no longer an “elite” team in the NFL, much less their own conference. But these things can be easily corrected, and they are still the state team that has the best chance at winning a title.

The Milwaukee Brewers
While not as consistent as the Packers, you can’t accuse ownership/management of not trying to get better. With some of the recent transactions, as well as the new playoff format, there is already some talk of not sleeping on the Brewers this season.

The Milwaukee Bucks
Bringing up the rear, and firmly entrenched in the basement of the NBA, I’m not sure what the state of the Buck’s is. Some say they are tanking in order to have a shot at the first pick in the draft, but between an owner trying to sell the team and them playing in the oldest facility in the league (read: an impending arena tax showdown), they have bigger fish to fry right now.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the Division I Collegiate programs in the state.

By andylwellman | Comments (0)

It could be worse…

November 20, 2012 – 3:12 pm

…we could be Bears fans. After Sunday’s less than spectacular win over the Detroit Lions, some Packer fans are still not satisfied by their level of play. The fact is that there are always going to be some fans that will always view the glass as half empty. On the other hand, you have Bear’s fans.

While I normally like to listen to the various Packers post game radio shows, win or lose, one of my guilty pleasures is to listen to Chicago sports talk radio after a Bears loss. Last week, after a home loss to the Houston Texans, the wailing and gnashing of teeth south of the border wasn’t that bad. Afterall, it was a close, low scoring game and Jay Cutler went out during the middle of the contest. But after last night, the hounds have been unleashed. Suddenly, a defense that was at times being compared to the imcomparable ’85 squad, is now exposed as relying TOO much on generating turnovers. Brandon Marshall is an all-pro wide receiver when Jay Cutler is throwing to him, pedestrian at best with any other signal caller. And that offensive line is really offensive.

The Bears and Packers have identical win-loss records atop the NFC North Division, but Green Bay is in first place by virtue of their head-to-head record. Apparently, Chicago needs to finish the season 5-1 to have any chance at the Lombardi Trophy, because 3-3 will put them on the road in the first round of the playoffs, where they don’t stand a chance. This is the analysis from our friends to the South, and it makes for some darn good listening pleasure.

By andylwellman | Comments (0)

This one’s for you Buddy

October 19, 2012 – 3:33 am

The Raider’s dream season came to an end this rainy evening on Field 1 at the Pleasant Prairie  RecPlex. After starting out 0-3, they went the rest of way 5-0-1 to finish second in the 5th-6th grade division. Last Tuesday they won their first round playoff game, and met the 6-2-1 Cardinals in tonight’s championship game.

The same Cardinals that they tied in the season finale exactly one week ago. The same Cardinals that handed them two of their three loses. The same Cardinals they beat back on October 2nd. You could say that this had developed into quite the rivalry. And it showed tonight.

Penalties for tackling and flag guarding were being handed out left and right in a see-saw battle that ended with a Raiders game tying drive coming up just short as time expired. At least one Raider’s player chalked up the disappointing result on the weather. “We would have beat them if it wasn’t raining”, said star center and defensive lineman Jake Wellman. “The Cardinals were like fish, and we are more like squirrels. They do good in the water where we would have done better if it were dry out”.

And with that we say goodbye to the 2012 season. Great job Raiders!

By andylwellman | Also posted in Andy Wellman | Comments (0)

Plan B

October 9, 2012 – 2:53 am

Five weeks into the 2012 season, and this year’s Packer squad still remains an enigma. A prime example was yesterday’s game; a first half domination on both sides of the ball followed by a near historic collapse in the second. After last year’s 15-1 regular season, many fans expected a repeat performance this year, with a hopefully better defense. The only change in the formula would be to not rest too much heading into the playoffs, to keep the momentum rolling through a glorious, home field advantage run to a another Superbowl title. However, it has become quite apparent that this will not be the case this year. While the defense has at times played much better than in 2011, the offense isn’t anywhere near what it was a year ago. So onto plan B.

Much has been made about the teams of the last two championship runs; the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants. The fact that they headed into the post season as wild card teams, and rolled to the Lombardi trophy. Speculation has been that it is no longer necessary to be a dominate team during the regular season, as long as you can get hot towards the end and carry the momentum through the playoffs. And so far this season, it seems that this will be the formula that the Pack will have to use if they are to fulfill the promise so many of us felt heading into this year.

By andylwellman | Comments (0)

Don’t Look Now…

September 13, 2012 – 7:46 pm

…but here come your surging Milwaukee Brewers! After being as much as 19 games under .500 at one point, they have climbed above the Mendoza line and joined the Wild Card race discussion. And with the prospect of an 0-2 start by the Packers, they have created a nice little positive diversion for Badger State Sports Fans.

Of course, the Phillies have decided to throw their hat into the ring as well, which makes the prospect of post season baseball in Brew Town an even longer shot. Never the less, it has created a nice little diversion from a very disappointing week of football in Wisconsin.

By andylwellman | Comments (0)

The Best To Have Never Won

March 8, 2012 – 3:04 pm

The always fun and interesting sports talk question, “The best player to have never won a championship”, presented itself once again last week. Of course, all of the usual suspects were brought up; Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, Ted Williams, and that started me thinking about the best players from Wisconsin’s pro teams that never “won the big one”. I was going to post a blog on that very subject, when I decided to take it a step further. Over the next couple of posts, I will be putting together the best starting line-ups of ringless players for the Packers, Bucks and Brewers/Braves.

The list of Packers players that have excelled on the field of play is long, and many of them did win championships. But there were some players between Lombardi and Wolf that were all pros on some pretty mediocre to bad teams. As for the Bucks, you could simply pick any number of Don Nelson’s teams for your starting line-up of all stars that fell short of the championship win. And with the Brewers, and to a lesser extent the Braves, it could be the most challenging of the three.

So, I invite you to join me on memory lane and give me some of your own suggestions for these stellar starting line-ups, and let the debate begin!

By andylwellman | Comments (3)