Bubba on the Bubble???

Not long ago, Bubba Franks was viewed as the Packers franchise tight end. Now, Franks is fighting not only for playing time, but a roster spot.There are no assurances that Franks, the Packers' first-round pick in 2000, will make Green Bay's final 53-man roster.

In recent seasons, the Packers have sought to upgrade the position and, in the team's most recent minicamp, Green Bay had Donald Lee and Tory Humphrey working with the first-team offense.The Packers also tried to work in this year's seventh-round pick, former Rutgers tight end Clark Harris, but he dropped a couple of passes.Franks is coming off a season in which he dropped enough passes to jeopardize his standing this season.

He was not as reliable as a team would like its tight end to be. It is the reason that, even before training camp begins, Franks is on the bubble. He needs to do a better job holding on to the football and to fend off the competition that the Packers are going to throw at him this summer.

article by Adam Schefter NFL.com & courtesy of Packerchatters.com

Brewers drop another one. Streak at 6

The Brewers dropped another one yesterday in front of a sold-out crowd. Over 41,000 filed in to see the home debut of Ryan Braun, who was unspectaular going 0-4 with 3K's. The Brewers continued struggling at the plate getting a great performance from Chris Capuano only giving up 2 runs off 7 hits. He got loss, his 4th straight. Although the Crew dropped its sixth straight, they still maintain a 5 game lead over the Cubs.

Read more here from Rick Braun of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal here:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=611414

Braun brought up to help the slumping Brew Crew

While they might still have a 5 game lead in the NL Central, the Brewers have lost their last 4 series. Thirdbase has been a trouble spot offensively for the Crew with Counsel & Graffanino platooning and putting up terrible numbers. The Brewers knew what they were getting in those two players, which are considered back-up infielders. Today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the story by Tom Haudricourt.

With third base turning into a black hole offensively in a lineup struggling to score runs, the Milwaukee Brewers could wait no longer to call up Ryan Braun.

The Brewers announced late Thursday night that Braun, 23, their top everyday prospect in the minor leagues, was being summoned from Class AAA Nashville. Club officials waited until after Braun played in the Sounds' game against Memphis in Nashville because they wanted him to get additional at-bats after spending time recently on the disabled list.

To make room on their roster for Braun, the Brewers placed reliever Elmer Dessens on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder, retroactive to Saturday. Braun is expected to be in the lineup tonight for the game against San Diego.

Contacted at Nashville's Greer Stadium after getting the news, Braun said his manager, Frank Kremblas, called him into his office and merely gave him the flight itinerary to San Diego.

"He didn't say anything," Braun said. "It took me a second to figure it out. I couldn't believe it. It's absolutely incredible. It's great to get the opportunity and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

The decision to summon Braun was made because the third-base platoon of veteran infielders Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino has generated virtually no offense. The Brewers rank 28th among the 30 major-league clubs at that position in slugging percentage (.273), 27th in batting average (.214), tied for 26th in home runs (one) and runs scored (16) and 25th in runs batted in (14).

Braun, on the other hand, took a .726 slugging percentage and 1.152 OPS (on-base plus slugging) into Nashville's game against Memphis, both figures tops in the Pacific Coast League. Twenty-two of his 39 hits were for extra bases, and he led the Sounds with 10 home runs. After going 0 for 4 with a walk in Nashville's 9-5 victory, Braun was batting .342 with 22 RBI in 34 games.

The Brewers are looking to add some punch to an attack that has slipped badly during a 4-9 stretch that began with the previous trip to New York and Philadelphia. Over that 13-game slide, they scored three or fewer runs eight times.

Read more here:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=610456

Harris insists team will draft top player available at #6

In a night of upsets at the National Basketball Association's college draft lottery Tuesday night in Secaucus, N.J., Lady Luck smiled on the Portland Trail Blazers and scorned the Milwaukee Bucks, the Boston Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Trail Blazers jumped up five positions to finish with the No. 1 overall pick in the June 28 college draft while the Bucks tumbled down to the No. 6 spot. That was the worst possible outcome for Milwaukee, which went into the lottery holding the No. 3 position.

The Seattle SuperSonics improved three spots and will draft second, and the Atlanta Hawks moved up one position and will draft third. The Hawks would have surrendered their pick to Phoenix as part of the Joe Johnson-Boris Diaw trade if it had not fallen in the top three.

Like the Bucks, the Grizzlies and Celtics also fell three positions and will draft fourth and fifth, respectively.

Bucks general manager Larry Harris admitted to being shocked afterward.
"Not just shocked that we would fall three spots but also to see Memphis and Boston fall also," Harris said. "But we always felt that the draft is good, even if we were at three or four, and we still feel the draft is good and that we will still get a good player."

Read more here from Tom Enlund's article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal here:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=609398

Bucks would take Oden with top pick

Larry Harris is hoping to pull off some magic. The Milwaukee Bucks currently sit #3 for odds to win the draft lottery with just over a 15% chance of getting the top pick. Tonight at 7:00 the Bucks fate will be determined.

A story on SI.com today talks about Milwaukee wanting Oden if it lands the top pick:

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Larry Harris is shamelessly superstitious when it comes to the NBA draft lottery. But Harris doesn't think he's jinxing his chances in Tuesday night's drawing by hinting that he'd take Ohio State center Greg Oden with the top pick.

While Harris lauds Texas forward Kevin Durant as a player who can score "20 in his sleep," he says Oden's combination of defense and rebounding would be an ideal upgrade for a team that was awful at both last season.

"One player solves a lot of problems for us defensively," Harris said. "I mean, we were 29th in defense, 30th in rebounding, 30th in shot blocking -- one guy solves a lot of those issues, and defense wins game."

Milwaukee finished last season with the third-worst record in the NBA, giving them the third-best chance of landing the top pick in the lottery drawing Tuesday night. The Bucks are assured a top-six pick.

Harris, of course, would be thrilled to land Durant as well. He just thinks Oden might be a better fit for the Bucks.

Read more here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/05/21/bucks.lottery.ap/index.html

Something's Brewin'

The top story on Si.com from Tom Verducci asks the question........Is Milwaukee For Real? I sure would like to think so, but read about it here.

There's a little parlor game sweeping baseball, particularly now that Milwaukee, now playing the varsity portion of its schedule, has dropped three of its past four games after a 24-10 start. The game is to guess, Are the Brewers for real? Most teams that play .700 baseball for the first 34 games, as Milwaukee did, would be exempt from such talk, but we're talking about a franchise that clinched its last winning season with Robin Yount and Paul Molitor in the lineup, which hasn't played a playoff game in a quarter of a century, which hasn't put together back-to-back winning months in six years, features barley in its logo and a pack of running sausages that may be the most nationally recognizable players on the team.

In other words, it's been hard to take the Brewers seriously -- until now. Let the parlor game end. Milwaukee is for real. It may be the fourth best team in the National League, but it's good enough to win the 85 games it might take to win the Central. At the very least, Milwaukee will be showing a whole generation of young fans what a pennant race looks like. How can I be sure? A handful of reasons:

Read about them here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/05/15/brewers.forreal/index.html

Favre: I never really wanted to be traded

So now after hearing over the weekend he wants out, Favre speaks out about "wanting to be traded". This is worse than the will he or won't he retire talk. I guess since he cleared up that early on this offseason we had to have something else to talk about. I'm glad the Favre spoke out about being frustrated......all us fans are with Ted Thompson. I'm thrilled to hear Favre publicly talk negatively about Thompson. So Favre wanted to leave, the point is he's not leaving this year, and most likely will not be playing next year. A HOF QB who's frustrated with the way the team is going, is not coming back for his 18th season, in my book. Here's the AP story on Favre saying he never wanted to be traded.

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Brett Favre acknowledged his anger over the team's unwillingness to pull off a trade for wide receiver Randy Moss, but denied Monday he ever really wanted the Green Bay Packers to trade him.

"I was frustrated a couple weeks back when Randy Moss was traded to New England," Favre said on the Packers' Web site. "I never wanted to be traded and I don't want to be traded. I want to be in Green Bay. I want to finish my career as a Packer."

After Favre spent Saturday venting about the Packers' front office in a handful of media interviews at his annual charity golf tournament, FOXSports.com reported Sunday that Favre's agent called Packers general manager Ted Thompson shortly after last month's NFL draft to request a trade.

That request was denied, according to the report, and Packers coach Mike McCarthy eventually calmed Favre down and got him to admit that he never really wanted to play elsewhere.

"Sometimes when I get frustrated, I let my emotions get the better of me," Favre said in the statement.

Favre, who told the team in February that he was returning for his 17th NFL season, reiterated his commitment to the Packers.

The Packers have a three-day mandatory minicamp beginning Friday, and it remains unclear whether Favre, who had surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle in late February, will attend.

"As I said in February when I announced that I was coming back, I am excited about the young talent on our team and the improvements we're going to see from one year to the next," Favre said. "I really enjoy the young guys I'm playing with.

"I'm working hard down in Mississippi right now, rehabbing, and I plan to be in the best shape of my life. I look forward to playing with this team and seeing what we can do. I think we can be pretty good."

Packers: Favre demanded a trade after draft

Brett Favre was so upset with the Green Bay Packers in the aftermath of the club's failure to acquire wide receiver Randy Moss the quarterback demanded a trade.

Citing Packers and NFL sources, FoxSports.com's Jay Glazer reported shortly after the April 28-29 NFL draft, Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, called Packers general manager Ted Thompson and told him Favre was fed up with the organization and wanted out.

Two NFL sources confirmed to the State Journal Sunday Favre indeed had Cook ask for a trade, although both sources said they believed Favre was simply reacting emotionally to the team not getting Moss, whom Favre had recruited himself during the offseason. Favre also had lobbied the team to add Moss.

But because Thompson was only willing to give up a fifth-round pick for Moss - according to an NFL source with direct knowledge of the trade talks - the Oakland Raiders instead sent the controversial receiver to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round selection April 29.

Thompson did not make himself available for interviews Sunday, but he did not deny Favre demanded a trade in a story posted on the club's Web site Sunday afternoon.

Attempts to reach Favre were unsuccessful Sunday. The Packers will hold their full-squad, mandatory minicamp this weekend, and while Favre was expected to attend, it's possible he might skip the three-day session because he is still recovering from Feb. 26 surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle and will be unable to take part in the on-field workouts. If he does attend, it's unclear whether he'll speak with reporters.

According to Glazer's report, when Cook called and made the demand, Thompson told Cook no such trade would happen, then relayed Favre's trade request to coach Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy, in turn, immediately called Favre, only to have his calls ignored for a week. Finally, midway through last week, Favre and McCarthy spoke. Glazer appeared on Madison-area radio station WTLX (100.5 FM) Sunday and said Favre has since backed off his trade request.

"He had asked to be traded, but before Packers fans panic and go nuts here, I think he has come off of that (stance) since," Glazer said during the show "Vick & Wood" with Ken LaVicka and Aaron Goldhammer.

"He was clearly upset. ... When (McCarthy and Favre) finally spoke this past week, Brett told Mike that yes, he had asked for a trade, but then within the conversation, (Favre) said, 'Look, I don't want to go anywhere. You know I don't want to go anywhere. But I'm just fed up with what's going on.'

"I don't know how intent (Favre) is (on a trade) now, but two weeks ago, he asked to be traded."

Read More from Jason Wilde (WI Sports writer of the year) from his article in the Wisconsin State Journal here:

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=134033&ntpid=1

Keyshawn not interested in Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers are somewhat interested in free agent receiver Keyshawn Johnson, but the veteran doesn’t appear at all interested in Green Bay.

According to a Sports Illustrated report, Johnson has narrowed his choices to the Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, or retirement, which also means a career in television. Johnson served as an analyst with ESPN during its coverage of the April 28-29 NFL draft.

The report also says Johnson, who was released by Carolina last week, is reluctant to play in Green Bay. If is unable to land the kind of contract he is seeking, he says he will walk away from the game.

Johnson, 34, has averaged 70 catches in each of the last three seasons. He feels he can play two or three more seasons, but apparently not in Green Bay.

Courtesy of scout.com

Position Switch Can Succeed With Players Like Hall

For a player to change positions from college to professional football, he has to possess certain qualities. He must have a natural feel for the game of football, an understanding of X's and O's that goes beyond that of a specific position, and a love for the game that makes him desire to be on the field, no matter where he lines up.

In short, he has to call himself a football player first, rather than a running back or cornerback or tackle. The Green Bay Packers believe that's what Korey Hall is and those are the attributes he has, so they're going to see if they can convert the Boise State linebacker to fullback. But the above description often applies to special teams standouts as well, so Hall will be given every opportunity to make his mark that way too.

"It's clearly a projection," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said of the role forecast for Hall, a sixth-round draft choice. "A lot of it has to do with his mental makeup."

Read More from Mike Spofford's article from Packernews.com here:

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2007/05/09/2/

No Packers offer for Stocco

Former University of Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco won't be attending the Green Bay Packers' minicamp next week.Stocco's three-day tryout last weekend during the team's rookie orientation camp did not lead to a contract offer and Stocco is now on his way to New York for a similar tryout with the Giants, agent John Drana said.

"He was disappointed," Drana said. "I think so many times you go in with high expectations. Only so many are selected and hundreds are around. He was disappointed but he was realistic about it, too. Now he'll have to take the long road. He'll keep grinding and stay in the mix and try to get with the right team and the right situation at the right time."

Drana said Packers college scouting director John Dorsey told him that Stocco did an excellent job running the team and learning the system and that if the Packers had a need down the road, Stocco would be someone they would consider.

Read More here from Tom Silverstein's article in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=603060

Brewers win sixth straight

Geoff Jenkins wouldn't mind facing the Washington Nationals pitching staff every day of the week.

Jenkins singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, and another run scored on a wild pitch as the Milwaukee Brewers topped the Nationals, 3-1, Wednesday before 24,658 at Miller Park.

Jenkins' hit broke a 1-1 tie as it followed one-out singles by Prince Fielder and Bill Hall. After Gabe Gross popped out, Washington reliever Jesus Colome uncorked a wild pitch to bring in Hall with an insurance run.

Francisco Cordero (pictured) pitched the ninth inning for his fifth save in five days and 15th on the season in 15 opportunities. Cordero pitched for the sixth consecutive day but only had thrown 42 pitches in the previous five days.

The Brewers won their sixth straight game and finished a 10-game home stand with a 9-1 record. It matched a 9-1 homestand in 1992.

Jenkins also homered with two out in the fourth - his second homer of the series - gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead. It was the Brewers' first hit since Fielder's single with two out in the first.

Starter Claudio Vargas pitched six innings and allowed one run on Felipe Lopez's homer leading off the sixth.Brian Shouse pitched the seventh for the Brewers and Derrick Turnbow picked up the victory by pitching a perfect eighth inning.

Courtesy of Rick Braun of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Let's see how good Brewers really are

The Brewers, who haven't made the postseason since 1982, are enduring the longest playoff drought of any team in any of the four major professional sports. So the fact that they now have the best record in baseball must be especially refreshing for their beleaguered fans. Yes, the Brew Crew is back.

They're doing it with quality starting pitching, shutdown relief work in the late innings and power. Speaking of power, J.J. Hardy is supplying loads of it. It's still too early in the season to put much emphasis on statistical paces, but it's worth noting that Hardy is on target for 44 spanks this season. If he pulled that off, it would be the most ever by an NL shortstop not named Ernie Banks. Oh, and Hardy's also on pace for 56 doubles.

So the Brewers are off to a great start. However, they rank only 24th in the majors when it comes to strength of schedule, so when they head to Queens for the three-game set that begins Friday, they'll get to test their mettle against one of the NL's best.

The Mets are in the midst of an NL East dogfight with the Braves, and they've succeeded by dint of a powerhouse offense and the senior circuit's best pitching staff to date. Imagine how they'll fare once Carlos Delgado and David Wright finally start hitting for power.

The pitching probables haven't yet been named, but here's a best guess based on how the rotations are lined up earlier in the week:

Friday: Jeff Suppan vs. Mike Pelfrey

Saturday: Ben Sheets vs. Oliver Perez

Sunday: Chris Capuano vs. Tom Glavine

The Brewers figure to start their top three hurlers, so that gives them a modest edge on that front. The challenge for Milwaukee will be keeping Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran in check, and for the Mets it will be scoring runs off the front of the Brewer rotation and keeping the ball in the park.

Overall, it should be a compelling matchup of two teams with serious designs on the pennant.

Courtesy of Dayn Perry of Foxsports.com

BREWERS = NO RESPECT

Top stories in baseball: Bonds hits 743, Piazza is injured, and the Yanks fire their trainer!!!! A trainer being fired is a bigger story than the Brewers the best in the majors. They just completed a sweep of the Cards, the defending World Series Champs, and the story is the 15 story on Sportscenter.

Meanwhile, the Brewers are playing amazing baseball. Yost is using his bench to its fullest extent, Hall is starting slow, Sheets is struggling and yet they keep winning. So why no respect??? The Brewers are even 5th in the power rankings, up from 8th and they hold the best record in the Majors. NO RESPECT PERIOD!!!!!

Well, we here in WI love 'em and come September / October everyone will have to start pay attention. Keep up the great work, keep flying under the radar. Everyone will start talking soon and we've known since opening day that this team was special this year. Can you feel the excitement.

BREWERS BEST TEAM IN THE MAJORS

The Milwaukee Brewers would appreciate it if you don't tell anyone else that they have the best record in the major leagues.

"Maybe we can stay under the radar a little longer and people will take us lightly and we'll pick up some more wins," shortstop J.J. Hardy said.

That's not too likely now that the Brewers and their 17-9 record is the best in the majors after their 12-2 whipping of the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night at Miller Park before an audience of 20,446. This night's bandwagon riders included Marquette basketball coach Tom Crean and Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who were in the Brewers clubhouse to soak in some of the postgame glow.

What was most promising about this victory was not just that Hardy tied a career high with four hits to continue his offensive tear of late, or that Geoff Jenkins contributed to the 17-hit onslaught with four of his own, including a solo home run that capped the season high in runs.
Instead, it was the fact that for all the success the Brewers have had in the early going this season, two players who have been noticeably absent from much of it - pitcher Ben Sheets and center fielder Bill Hall - played key roles in their third straight victory.

"Everybody is playing very very well right now," manager Ned Yost said.

Sheets (2-2) picked up his first victory since opening day with a six-inning outing and Hall delivered a key two-run double for his first RBIs in eight games. It was the hit that ignited a four-run fifth inning that carried over to a seven-run sixth that made Cardinals starter Braden Looper (3-2) the victim.

Read More from Vic Feuerherd's article in today's Wisonsin State Journal here:

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=131949&ntpid=1

Stocco gets a tryout with the PACK

University of Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco's long wait to enter the National Football League is over. Well, sort of.

On Tuesday, Stocco accepted an offer from the Green Bay Packers to attend their rookie orientation camp this weekend for a 72-hour tryout. It's better than nothing but still doesn't mean he will be offered a free-agent contract. That decision will be made by the Packers next week.

"It's definitely been real stressful," Stocco said Tuesday night. "But I'm just excited and looking forward to it."
Also in for weekend auditions will be tight end Joe Werner, a standout basketball player at UW-La Crosse who hasn't played football in eight years, and Corey White, a fullback from Alabama-Birmingham.

Stocco, 6 feet 1 inch and 203 pounds, was a three-year starter with a 29-7 record. He saved his finest season for 2006, when his passer rating of 97.0 improved his four-year mark to 88.9.

"I thought I'd be drafted and, if that didn't happen, I thought for sure soon after somebody would sign me," Stocco said. "On Sunday, I thought either Arizona or St. Louis would sign me. Then my agent got a call today from the Packers saying they wanted me to try out.

"It's been really stressful, but at the same time all I want is a shot. Guys like Chris Leak and (Tyler) Palko didn't get drafted, either. I think it's a good situation and I'm going to try to make the most of it."

Read more from Bob McGinn's article in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=600076

Brewers Lean on Heavy-Hearted Suppan

Blocking out the pall cast over the game by the death of St. Louis reliever Josh Hancock, Suppan pitched his first complete game in nearly four years to lead the Brewers to a 7-1 victory at Miller Park. In winning his fourth consecutive start, Suppan (4-2) scattered eight hits and walked only one, and that came when the home plate umpire lost count of the pitches.

"I'm not going to say it was easy," said Suppan, who pitched the past three seasons for the Cardinals. "I just go out and try to do my best. When (his mind wandered), I was able to get my focus back.

"I don't really know how to describe it because I'm not on that team anymore."
Suppan did not complete any of the 95 starts he made for St. Louis and had gone 110 games without finishing since shutting out the Cardinals, 3-0, on July 28, 2003, for Pittsburgh. Manager Ned Yost monitored Suppan's pitch count closely in the ninth, allowing him to throw 117 overall with the aid of an extra day of rest.

Read More from TOM HAUDRICOURT's article in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentiel here:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=598731