It's a new year ... can we have an ‘08 like no other year, EVER?

I'll keep this short ... As someone who has a bad heart and is going through a lot in my personal life, I really hope that 2008 brings me personal and professional joy like no other. I say it at the end of my show every night, "Love the wife, even if you are divorcing her ass, love the kids, love the dog, love the cat, love your relatives, love your friends and even find a place in your heart to love your enemies, because no one is promised tomorrow." With that being said, the premise here is what I hope for in 2008.

The Packers are in a position to do something unexpected and truly remarkable that would make them legends forever in these parts. The kicker with this is it has come totally out of the ether; that is what makes it so exciting. Can they get to Super Bowl in Arizona? Can they win it? We will find out soon enough.

Contrary to what most people think I feel about the talent on the team and the NFL this year, nothing would bring me more joy than to go down to Water Street or Jefferson Street, or wherever the people congregate, and celebrate a world championship in football ... even if deep down I still think this team is only a seven-win team.

The Bucks have had points this season where they have been an embarrassment to the franchise, community and themselves. That being said, it is a new year and they can right their ship and get things together if they figure out who they are as a team! They find different ways to lose games and don't have an identity.

The good teams in the NBA do the same things well every night, the same way every time, bad teams like the Bucks right now do not do that. They have talent and the coach is fiery, passionate and the players have his back. Now my wish in ‘08 is that it starts to come together quickly or they'll have to blow it up again and start over. If that happens, I don't think the Bucks will be in Milwaukee long enough for us to see them get good in a couple years.

If I have a legitimate hope of anything happening in 2008, it is the Brewers winning the pennant. Can you imagine this town if they won it all? There is no reason to think they can't. You have if not the best, one of the best infields in all of baseball. You also have two potential 20 to 30-homer guys in the outfield, and, as I blog today, seven starters in the pitching ranks with at least five capable of winning 10 games.

All the ingredients are in place if you throw in the disappointment of losing a lead late in the division as motivation. When you look at the other teams in baseball, the Brewers take a back seat to no one in the National League. It sets up for something very special in ‘08 at Miller Park. I believe it can happen.

Marquette, Wisconsin and other sporting news (UW-Whitewater, preps and Olympics) bring in a buzz that can't be ignored.

My hope in 2008 as an orator of what happens in sports is that my colleagues and competitors allow the performances of the sporting events to speak for themselves and not always let their bias, prejudice and agendas dictate their points of view. I always say it every chance I get, "It's not who you are, it's what you do."

Enjoy the highs and lows of 2008 and, God willing, I'll be here to "holla at ya!"