Since I'm headed off for surgery and a week-long stay in the hospital, I need to get a bunch of little stuff out of my mind so that the anesthesiologist will have an easy time making the gas work.
I'm starting with a guy who really has my deepest sympathy: Mark Attanasio.
A few years ago, Attanasio was a multi-multi-multi-millionaire California guy who hung out with movie and television stars and other bigwigs. He admits he went through a learning curve to master the art and science of managing money for other people, which allowed him then to make a fortune for himself.
Once he got that act down pat, he headed for another learning curve; this time for Major League Baseball. He went and bought a team and had to learn all about the game and the league. His chief instructor and faculty advisor was none other than Doug Melvin, the Milwaukee Brewers' experienced general manager.
The reason I feel sorry for Attanasio is that he is now in the position of getting close to having to fire the guy who taught him everything he knows about baseball. This is not a unique situation in Milwaukee.
Wendy Selig-Prieb learned her baseball from her dad, Bud. She didn't fire him but she did buy him out and took over the team herself. We all know how well that turned out.
Well, these Brewers are in the middle of an almost two-year free fall and while the past looks ugly, the future seems somewhere between dim and midnight black. Changes are in store and if you listen to the chattering classes, there is an almost limitless number of candidates to walk the plank.
If they fire the manager, Melvin will be the guy who does that. But if they fire Melvin, then it's Attanasio who has to call his teacher onto the carpet. Think about it for a minute. This is kind of like a guy finally losing his virginity and then telling that girl she doesn't cut it anymore and he's moving on to some other lady. Not an easy thing to do. But this kind of decision is one more step in the indoctrination of Mark Attanasio as a full-fledged member of the baseball owners club.
It's going to be interesting watching him wrestle with this one.
Moving on, I can't resist a couple of words now that World Cup is finally over.
I watched the final game between the Netherlands (or Holland or Denmark) and Spain. The game lasted about 327 minutes. There were hardly any shots. There was one goal that came on a mistake by the defense. This was a championship game.
Hardly anybody in this country is going to have much added interest in a game that is this suffocatingly boring. If they really want America to grow to love soccer they'd double the width and height of the goal, they'd force teams to play man-to-man defense, they'd have strict penalties against a zone, they'd do away with the offside penalty, players who flop without any opposing contact would be ejected from a game and they'd outlaw vuvuzelas. And that's just a start.
Another thing bouncing around in my mind is Brett Favre.
I'm sure he's going to play and I'm very happy about it. I love watching him play. I will never grow tired of that. But I am tired of this off season dance of will he/won't he. C'mon Brett. Make your announcement. Go to camp. Get the ball to Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin. Win a Super Bowl. And as some dummy once said ... "Mission Accomplished."
And finally, several unanswered questions.
Whose fall from grace was most severe, Tiger Woods or John Daly?
Which team will have a better season, the Packers or the Vikings?
Why do so many radio talk show hosts (sports and otherwise) shout? Don't they know the engineering science behind the invention of the microphone?
Will Lance Armstrong finally just go away?
That's about it for now. Get me to surgery, STAT!
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
