Brewer Roster Moves

The Brewers have finalized some off-season acquisitions. Starting pitcher Randy Wolf passed a physical today to complete his contract with the Crew. Because Wolf was rated a Type A free agent, in order to sign him the Brewers would have had to give up a draft pick. Since the Dodgers declined to extend him arbitration, the Brewers will not have to surrender a compensatory draft pick (it would have been a second-rounder) to sign Wolf. Wolf is 101-85 with a 4.13 ERA over his 11 seasons in the Majors. His new contract with the Brewers is valued at a guaranteed $29.75 million, one of the richest contracts in Brewer history. Wolf should help to steady the rocky starting pitching from last year's team.

The Brewers also locked down infielder Craig Counsell for another year. The 39 year-old handyman played in 130 games last year for the Crew. It will be nice to have Counsell to add expereince to an extremely young infield consisting of players such as Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel, Casey McGehee, and Rickie Weeks.

The Brewers have also signed experienced reliever LaTroy Hawkins, pending a physical.

Big Ten Tops ACC

The Big Ten won the Big Ten - ACC Challenge for the first time since its induction 11 years ago. The tournament was full of upsets and excellent match-ups, including a surprise Illinois victory over 19th ranked Clemson and an Ohio State victory over Florida State. The most exciting game in the tournament, in my opinion, took place at the Kohl Center in Madison.

#5 Duke came to Madison and was expected to easily handle the unranked Wisconsin Badgers. However, the Badgers came out strong and never trailed the entire game. Trevon Hughes led the way for the Badgers with a career high 26 points. John Leuer added 17 more, with Jason Bohannon scoring 10. The Badgers struggled to guard Duke star Kyle Singler, who scored his own career high of 28 points, but the overall effort of the Badgers was too much for Duke to overcome. "Their offense just beat our defense," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. Wisconsin also only turned the ball over five times the entire game, compared to Duke's eleven turnovers, which head coach Bo Ryan said was a huge key to the win. "That's five opportunities you didn't get a shot at the basket," Ryan said. "They had eleven opportunities that they didn't have to score. That might have been the difference in the game."

This game marks the first time Duke has lost in the Big Ten - ACC Challenge, and also ended the twelve game winning streak Duke had against unranked opponents. This was Wisconsin's fourth straight win against an ACC opponent.

Braun Wins Consecutive Silver Slugger Awards

Ryan Braun became the first Brewer since Paul Molitor to win consecutive Silver Slugger awards. The Silver Slugger is given to the best offensive player at each position in each division, as voted by the managers and coaches. Braun batted .320 this year with 32 home runs and 114 RBI's. He led the league with 203 hits, the third Brewer in history to acomplish this feat. Braun also became the eighth player in Major League history with at least 100 runs, 100 RBIs, 200 hits, 30 homers, 20 stolen bases and a .300 average in the same season.

Green Sets Pack's All-Time Rushing Record

The lone bright spot in this weekend's upest loss to Tampa Bay was Ahman Green's record setting day. Green became the all-time leading Packer rusher, passing Jim Taylor's career total of 8,207 yards. Green carried the ball 6 times for 45 yards on Sunday, providing a small spark in the second half, however, it wasn't enough, as numerous other problems for the Packers led to a loss. Said Green, "This is kind of a bittersweet thing, you know. It would have been better if we had won, but it happened the way it happened."

The Packers have a lot of work to do in practice this week if they want to avoid their 3rd loss in a row. The Cowboys will most likely be a tougher opponent than the Bucs, and will look to exploit many of the same weaknesses that were shown this past weekend.

Brewers Deal Hardy for Gomez

The Brewers traded away shortstop J.J. Hardy for the Minnesota Twins' centerfielder Carlos Gomez. This comes after Hardy's season-long struggle at the plate and in the field. Hardy's lack of production last season led the Brewers to call up Alcides Escobar, one of the team's top prospects. Escobar played well through the second half of the season, and gave the Brewers a spark in the middle of a slump. With Gomez now on the team, the Brewers will likely not resign centerfielder Mike Cameron. Gomez is a leadoff batter, so Felipe Lopez may also not be resigned, as Rickie Weeks will hopefully be able to resume his spot at 2nd base. Weeks, who had previously batted leadoff will likely be moved to 2nd or 5th in the order. He showed an increase in power early in the season, and if that continues the Brewers could have a scary 1-2-3 punch with Braun, Fielder, and Weeks. The Brewers already locked in Trevor Hoffman for next season. If they can find more consistency in starting pitching they may be in for a big season.

                                        

Packers Rout Browns

The Packers powered past the Browns today earning an easy 31-3 victory. After going down 3-0 in the first quarter, the Packers scored 31 unanswered points to cap off the win. Aaron Rodgers went 15 of 20 for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns, one each to Donald Driver, Spencer Havner, and James Jones. Ryan Grant carried the ball 27 times, and averaged over 5 yards per carry on his way to 148 total rushing yards. He added a rushing touchdown as well. The offensive line showed up today and didn't allow a sack. On defense the Packers shut down everyone. The defense gave up 81 pass yards and only 48 rushing yards. Charles Woodson had his fourth interception of the season and also forced a fumble. The defense also took Josh Cribbs completely out of the game; he fumbled the ball after his only reception.

Jermicheal Finley went down with an injury in the first half and did not return to the game. Ahman Green did not suit up, neither did Mark Tauscher. The Packers take on Minnesota at home next week.

Packers - Browns Preview

Tomorrow the Packers and the Browns square off in Cleveland, the Packers coming off a shut-out of the Lions, and the Browns coming off a loss to the defending Super Bowl champs, the Steelers. The Packers need to again shore up the offensive line. With Chad Clifton probably out due to injury, T.J. Lang will likely make his first career start at left tackle. He played well last week when Clifton went down, hopefully he continues to do keep Rodgers on his feet. The Pack also re-signed Ahman Green after DeShawn Wynn was placed on the injured reserve list with a season-ending injury. Green is now an 11 year veteran, but feels he still has something to offer. It is unsure whether he will play this weekend, but with back-up Brandon Jackson still recovering from injury, there is a chance Green might see the field. Mark Tauscher, who the Packers also re-signed a few weeks ago, should be in game shape by next week, so it is unlikely he will play tomorrow.

The Packers defense has one goal this weekend: stop Joshua Cribbs. Cribbs has not only become one of the best return specialists in the league, but also contributes heavily to the Browns offense. He is coming into his own as a wide receiver, and is often used as a "wildcat" formation quarterback. He also gets many offensive touches through end-arounds and reverses. The Browns will give him the ball many times in different ways, the Packers need to expect anything and everything from Cribbs.

In last week's win against Detroit Donald Driver became the Packers' all-time leader in receptions, passing Sterling Sharpe. Said Driver, "It's an honor. I'm happy about it, I'm enjoying it. I'm on top of the record books of some of the greatest Packer players to ever play this game. It couldn't come in a better place - at home in front of the fans I've played in front of for so many years." Even in his 11th season Driver to continues to produce every weekend. He leads the Packers in receiving yards this season, and every yard has been hard-earned. Whether its a quick slant into the teeth of the defense or a deep ball caught one-handed, Driver continues to tear up the field, always with a giant grin. His successes this season should draw more defenders, which will open up Jennings for the deep ball and Jermichael Finley underneath.

Clay Matthews, who had 2 sacks against the Lions, played well enough to earn the honor of "Pepsi Rookie of the Week" in last week's game. His name will be recognized in Cleveland this week, as his father, Clay Matthews, Sr., spent 16 seasons with the Browns. Matthews Sr. holds the Browns' record for most games played.

The Packers should be able to control the Browns this weekend. Cleveland has struggled thus far, and I don't see them pulling out of it any time soon. They have too many problems with their offense. The Packers defense will be able to force many turnovers with the problems the Browns have been having with their quarterbacks. The Packers will hopefully not stall in the second half like they did in Detroit. If Rodgers has time to throw he will be able to pick apart a sub-par Browns secondary. Packers 35, Browns 13.