The Wave and coach Keith Tozer reportedly are close to signing a five-year contract extension. You could rank Tozer as one of the best coaches in state sports history.

Under Tozer, the Wave has won championships in three of the last five years and came within 37 seconds of possibly winning one this year.

Tozer -- who has a lifetime 503 wins, more than any other indoor soccer coach in the indoor game -- has brought the team from the days of a glorified club sport to perhaps the best-run indoor soccer organization in the country. He is a four-time coach of the year in whatever league the Wave has been playing in.

Certainly, when you start thinking about top Wisconsin pro coaches since World War II, the Packers' Vince Lombardi has to top the list. Mike Holmgren also would be very high for his role in building the Packers of the 1990s into a Super Bowl team.

Don Nelson won division title after division title while head coach of the Bucks, and would also have to rank in the top five. Larry Costello, who led the Bucks to their only NBA championship, also probably would be in that top five.

Baseball in Milwaukee had Fred Haney win two pennants and a World Series with the Braves and Harvey Kuenn win a pennant with the Brewers. But, it would be a stretch to put either one of these managers in the top five because they really weren't around for that long.

So, if you had to name a top five, Tozer would be a definite candidate. Sure, some will argue that the Major Indoor Soccer League can't be ranked with the NFL, NBA or MLB, but in the indoor soccer world it is a topnotch league.

In fact, the Wave's accomplishment under Tozer ranks even more remarkable when you consider the team plays in a market with three major league sports franchises.

Tozer might be inking his contract as I write this column. It's good for Milwaukee sports if he stays around here for a long time.

Most of us who follow the Bucks would prefer if they weren't in the NBA lottery at all, but they are and drew the 13th pick in the ping-pong ball lottery Sunday.

That very likely means the Bucks will deal their draft pick, either to move up in the draft or in conjunction with a player to get another player or two. A rumor about a deal involving Tim Thomas and Rasheed Wallace sped around the baseball press box last week, but nobody could get a confirmation.

It's doubtful the Bucks could get Wallace for Thomas alone, but maybe the 13th pick thrown in would make the deal work.

The Rampage will play its second exhibition game in a little over a week against a German powerhouse when it host F.C. Nurnberg Monday night. TSV 1860 of Munich beat the Rampage, 7-0, two weekends ago.

In a tuneup for the international competition, the Rampage beat the Calgary Storm, 1-0, Saturday on John Wolyniec's goal.

The Rampage also is scheduled to play the Chicago Fire's reserves this Thursday in an exhibition game.

After the Indianapolis 500 this coming Memorial Day weekend, the race world will turn to the Milwaukee Mile and the Miller 250.

The race, set for June 2, will be run with the Toyota Atlantic Series race. Practice runs start on May 31, with the Miller race at 11:45 a.m. on June 2 and the Toyota Series race at 2:30 p.m.