{image1} Here are the Sports Buzz top 10 stories of 2004:
- Brewers sold -- Los Angeles investor Mark Attanasio headed a group that bought the Brewers from the Selig family ownership group, thus ending the longest tenured ownership in baseball. Although paperwork has delayed MLB owners' final approval of the deal, Attanasio already has demonstrated he is willing to spend money, with the signing of catcher Damian Miller and trade for outfielder Carlos Lee. Brewers' fans have reasons to be optimistic.
- PGA at Whistling Straits -- The greatest golfers in the world came to Wisconsin and found the Straits a challenging course. The tournament brought in an estimated $76 million to the state. More great golf will be coming to the Kohler area courses and state in general.
- Paul Hamm and state Olympians -- Waukesha area native Paul Hamm won the all-around gold medal in gymnastics in Athens and became part of an international controversy over judging. Hamm led a contingent of state medal winners.
- College hoops -- Marquette, Wisconsin and UWM all had fine seasons, making post-season tournaments. All also have gotten off to a good start this season and could be playing in March 2005.
- Packers to playoffs -- The Packers made the playoffs again, only to be beaten in a heartbreaker at Philadelphia. The Pack is headed to the post-season again. Could it be the last for Brett Favre?
- Admirals win AHL -- The Admirals won the American Hockey League championship, but now wait to see if they will still exist after this season. Operators of the Jane Pettit trust fund have said they no longer want to be in the hockey business and have the team up for sale.
- Badgers win nine straight -- The UW football team won its first nine games this fall and were close to challenging for the national title, but two losses at the end of the season brought them back down to earth. They're headed for the Outback Bowl.
- ESPN Outdoors Games -- The event came to Madison and drew record crowds. Several Wisconsin competitors showed the state still has those north woods skills.
- Molly into Cooperstown -- Paul Molitor played for a couple teams after the Brewers, but he went into the Hall of Fame as a member of the True Blue Brew Crew.
- Bucks to playoffs -- Experts had dire predictions for the Bucks, but under first-time coach Terry Porter they made the playoffs. Unfortunately, it looks like they will be hard-pressed to repeat the feat this season.
Look next week for five stories to watch for in 2005.
Outback Bowl
The UW Badgers play Georgia in the Outback Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 1, at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked seventh in one poll and eighth in another. Wisconsin dropped to 17th after its two losses to end the regular season.
Both teams have tough defenses. Georgia defensive end David Pollack won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player in the country. He nosed out UW defensive end Erasmus James. Several other defensive standouts can be found on both teams.
On offense, the Bulldogs' quarterback David Greene is the all-time winningest QB in NCAA 1A history. The Badgers will counter with the running of Anthony Davis and throwing of quarterback John Stocco.
Georgia looks to have the defense to bottle up the Badgers, and Greene has the talent to figure out the UW defense. But, if Stocco has a big day, the Badgers could pull out a victory and wipe away the disappointment of the collapse at the end of the regular season.
Hot Tix
Football fans will have a feast on this weekend, with the Badgers on Saturday and the Packers in Chicago to face the Bears on Sunday. The Pack already is assured of the playoffs, but would like to get some revenge for an earlier loss to the Interstate-94 rivals at Lambeau Field.
The Bucks are on the road until Jan. 5 when they return home to host the Nets. The Admirals host the Hamilton Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bradley Center. The Wave plays the Chicago Storm at 1:05 p.m. on Friday at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
In college basketball, Marquette hosts IPFW, which stands for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, at 6 p.m. Sunday at the BC. UWM plays at Manhattan on Thursday and comes back to the U.S. Cellular Arena to play Detroit on Jan. 3. The UW Badgers are off until Jan. 5 when they start Big Ten play at Purdue.
