The Packers lived and died with quarterback Brett Favre all season. Favre had a bad game Sunday, and the Packers' playoff hopes died in St. Louis.

You can't put all the blame on Favre, but too often in recent years Wisconsin sports reporters have been hesitant to put any blame on the three-time MVP. The fact is when Favre turned the ball over throughout the season, the Packers lost.

Favre's six interceptions and inability to get the ball down field to receivers certainly were big factors in Sunday's loss to the Rams. For the Packers to win, he had to play a nearly perfect game.

Some of the blame for Favre's difficulties might be put on his receivers for breaking off routes and not holding onto catchable balls. Some might be put on his linemen, who didn't give him adequate time.

{INSERT_RELATED}

But, some has to be put directly on Favre, who at 32 no longer can thread the needle into the kind of swarming, quick coverage the Rams played Sunday. Some of his passes were tipped because they were thrown wide or high of receivers who only could get one hand on the ball, or into coverage, where a defender could get his hand on it.

You have to ask if we should expect him to be as accurate or consistent. You also have to ask if the Packers have relied on him, practically alone, for too long.

When Favre had his best years, he had a great supporting cast. The 1996 Super Bowl Packers had a better offensive line and receivers than his current crew.

That Super Bowl team also primarily was built for the outdoors, real grass and Lambeau Field, but they added Andre Rison and Desmond Howard for speed.

The current Packers obviously did not have the speed of the Rams, who are built for the indoors of their artificial turf dome.

Ahman Green had a nice season, and broke a long one Sunday, but he obviously is no Marshall Faulk. The defense, depleted somewhat by injuries, was not as quick as the Rams' defense.

Favre probably has two or three more years left. He likely will continue to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but the Packers have to give him a better supporting cast for those remaining years and start to build for the days when he no longer is around.

They can't continue to live and die on Favre's ability alone. If they do, they will do more of the latter.

Big Dog Ready?

The Bucks are playing so well that coach George Karl hasn't even been able to find anything to complain about for two or three games. The Bucks will bring a seven-game winning streak into Monday's Martin Luther King Day game at Detroit.

Karl hoped Glenn Robinson could return this week from a bruised left thigh that has caused him to miss a dozen games.

"When Glenn gets back, we'll start him with limited minutes off the bench," Karl said. "We'll gradually work him back into his usual minutes."

Karl wants to go slow to give Robinson time to get back into shape, and so the chemistry of the Bucks is not disrupted. The Bucks have settled into a good rotation in Big Dog's absence. Tim Thomas has played very well as the starter at small forward.

"It will be interesting to piece everything back together," Karl said. "We've played well, but it will be good to get Glenn back."

Hoopfest Hoops

The banquets and education seminars were held over the weekend. Now it's time for the basketball part of Hoopfest, sponsored by Karl's Friends of Hoop.

The Hoopfest line-up Monday pits Milwaukee Pius vs. Kettle Moraine (girls) at 4 p.m., Waukesha West vs. Milwaukee Bay View (boys) at 6 p.m., and Milwaukee Rufus King vs Whitefish Bay Dominican (boys) at 8 p.m.  Karl and a Bucks player are scheduled to address the crowd prior to the 8 p.m. contest.

Wave deserves more

The Wave won two more games over the weekend to keep itself in first place in the Major Indoor Soccer League. With the exception of true soccer fans in town, the team remains a relative secret because it just doesn't get that much coverage by local media.

With the Packers' season over, the media that think every move made in Green Bay is a major story should start to look at a team that actually has been the state's most consistent winner in recent year.

Women's Basketball

Speaking of undercovered sports, women's sports in general are not covered enough by media, including in this column. Two notable women's basketball stories happened over the weekend.

The UWM women scored 102 points in a win over Detroit, the second biggest total in school history. The 1991 team scored 104 points in a win over Northeastern Illinois.

In Madison, the Wisconsin women's team had its winning streak snapped at 15 games, with a 92-85 loss to Minnesota. But, the game was played before the largest crowd in Big Ten women's basketball history on Pack The Kohl Center day. UW coach Jane Albright made a charitable donation for each fan at the game.

Both these stories deserved mention in this column. In fact, we will try to work more women's sports into this forum.

Gregg Hoffmann writes The Milwaukee Sports Buzz on Mondays and The Brew Crew Review on Thursdays on OMC.