Housekeeping

A few things to clear up as I sit here in my office and wait for more underqualified people to come in and tell me their sob story about why they should get a job.

First, a big hello and thanks for reading to the creator of one of the fabulous blogs we are linked to, Lindsay (cheers and hoorays all around). Apparently you are our only female reader, so we appreciate the loyalty. Also now that we have confirmation that you read our blog, I am proud to say that Our Turn Next is now being read acros the country! Well, by that I mean, L.A., Chicago, Wisconsin, and Winston Salem. It's good to be in four states. If you read the blog and are in one of the states not mentioned, please let us know as we are trying to see just how many states we are represented in. I did want to say thank you to Lindsay and anyone else who is associated with Wake Forest basketball. As a Duke fan, you made this year kind of tough on us, but after saying goodbye to Chris Paul AND Eric Williams, you have helped make next year easier for us. 2006 will mark the return of dominance in the ACC for the Blue Devils! Thanks again for reading.

I also need to say that after looking in the archives, I noticed that we have had a female post on our site before. So, Melissa Anderson if you're still reading, I apologize for not recognizing you as well, and shoot us a comment, let us know how we're doing. If you're not still reading, nevermind.


Gaddis, everyone knows the idea to call Mille Park, The Keg was yours and yours alone. When I was refering to wanting to take all of the credit for "this little idea" I was refering to the idea upcomming in my statement, not the previous idea of calling it The Keg, but of the specialized tee shirts. I would never want to take credit for something you came up with. I was merely wanting to take credit (and by credit I mean the money) for the specialized tee shirts I was talking about. That is all.
******ATTENTION READERS: GADDIS CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO CALL MILLER PARK "THE KEG". IT WAS MATT GADDIS' IDEA*******

Hopefully that will straighten things out a bit. Not only did Gaddis come up with this idea, he liked the Cubs before I did, is the reason I am so good at Madden on PS2 (I played his system and game all the time at school), introduced me to one of the greatest ravioli dishes I have ever had which I like to call, Earlbitzens (don't ask why), paid for almost all of the barrels we ever got at our apartment, I still owe him $60.00, knows more about sports than I ever will, is really the reason I ever started writing because it was his idea we start doing our first column together back at UW-L, and finally, regardless of what Al Gore says, is the real inventor of the internet.

I can't believe we complain about our own site so much. Pretty soon it's going to be as if AndDro was a regular writter for us.

-Until next time...

Hump Day

Wow, it's Wednesday again already, and for most of you reading this now, Thursday. Just a few thoughts as I sit here and drink my Gatorade (free plug right there, seriously, we should get advertising money) after another night of 0-3 volleyball. We have now won just 3 games (yeah, games not matches, games) in our last two seasons, why do I keep playing? I'll tell you why, and remind myself. Men aren't the only people playing on this night, so at least the scenery isn't all bad.

Anyway, onto my few thoughts.

First of all, I'm sorry I wasn't at the draft party. In my defense, two things: The only thing I heard about the draft party was on Thursday of last week when Gaddis said, "Yeah, I'm going to Justin's for the draft", and second is the fact my brother was in town for the weekend and I actually wanted to spend time with him. Gaddis pulls this crap all the time, going to Madison to hang out with his family, and all he gets are some harmless phone calls that harrass him a bit. I get pummeled on the blog.


Who is your horse in this year's Derby?


I am going to be completely honest here guys (and when I say guys, I say it because I don't think any women read this. If there are any who read the blog, I would love to see a comment from you, just so I know we actually have female readers, and so I keep from offending anyone in the future), the Cubs may not lose from now until when I see them on Tuesday at The Keg. Granted, they only have 4 games until then, but the way they won today, coming back, bullpen doing okay, Patterson walk-off, team going crazy at home, they are about to go on a streak. Not just a quick 5-6 game streak, I'm talking like 8 in a row, 17-20 type streak.


The NBA season should go from March 1 to April 15 and then the playoffs should start. These games have been excellent and are starting to remind me why the NBA was my favorite thing to watch as a kid, and I don't even think things like, "Man I wish Jordan was still playing" nearly as much anymore.


I completely agree with JG's take on the Ahman Green situation, for further elaboration, click here.


Since we are trying to get people to call Miller Park, The Keg from now on, I wanted to pass this idea along. Well, first let me say this. Some people are confused by our belief system and think we want the name of the stadium to be changed from Miller Park to The Keg. While that may be our long-term goal, for right now we just want the nickname for the park to be The Keg, kind of like the friendly confines is for Wrigley. Eventually maybe even, The Keg at Miller Park, or something like that. We just think The Keg is a great thing to call the park. That being said, if anyone knows anyone in the marketing department for the Brewers, pass them this little idea (if it gets picked up, I of course want full credit). If people start refering to Miller Park as The Keg, think of the sales for an opening day tee shirt which reads, "I Tapped The Keg: April 6, 2006", or whatever day opening day happens to be, or "Tapping The Keg: April 6, 2006", or "Come Tap the Keg: April 6, 2006", something like that, with graphics and the matchup for the game. What high-school or college-aged kid who is trying to be cool wouldn't kill to have that shirt? Plus, people always want something which distinguishes them from other people, something saying, I was there and you weren't, a status symbol. This is exactly that. Much like the Bucket-Head Brigade tee shirts, except we could sell 20,000+ of these things. Am I the only one who thinks this is a GREAT idea? Please give me feedback.


-Until next time...

Pack Chat

Well Ahman Green has been picked up for beating his wife. Isn't this like the fourth or fifth time this guy has had a domestic violence incident in the past few years? The scariest part is that they havent all been with the same female, which is a definite sign that Ahman has a problem that needs to be dealt with. And one last thing on this, Green was released on $150. $150? A drunk driver gets released on $400, and you can get out of jail for $150 after "allegedly" beating your wife?

Thank god for Super Agent Drew Rosenhaus! Rosenhaus, or "The Re-negotiator" is back at it again this offseason, most notably with Eagle wide out Terrell Owens, Packer Javon Walker, and Redskin saftey Shawn Taylor. I'm all for getting as much money as you can, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere. Rosenhaus is also the guy who convinced Mike McKenzie he was underpaid, and eventually got him out of Green Bay. Javon Walker may have a gripe and his case is the most legitimate of the other two because his deal is up soon. T.O. should shut up and play. He signed the deal even when the players union begged him not to, and now he brings in "The Re-negotiator" to fix his mess. Shawn Taylor? Shawn Taylor is threatening to hold out? He is a freaking second year player who just signed that contract last May!!! I don't say this about many people, but I hate, HATE Drew Rosenhaus.

Crew and Cubs

First let me thank the other members of the site for not starting the anti-Filzen blogs (at least not yet).

One week from tonight, I will be in The Keg when the Cubs visit the Brewers, and I couldn't be more excited. In honor of this, here are some insights on both teams, the Brewers first, mainly because I have less to say about them.

Last time I talked baseball, the Crew was in first place with a 5-3 record. It is now 12 days later and the team has compiled just a 7-11 record. This is what happens when you lose 8 games in a row. The Brewers rebounded over the weekend and took 2 of 3 from the San Francisco Giants to end the streak. The main difference in the win was the ability to produce runs, and getting production from the middle of the line-up. If Geoff Jenkins breaks out of his early season slump for an extended period of time, Carlos Lee starts hitting like we all thought he would, and Sheets doesn't stay on the shelf too long, the Brewers will be fine.

The team always plays hard, and rarely gives up, which is evidenced by the almost comeback victory last Thursday in Houston. Even though Ned Yost sometimes makes bone-head decisions, I still think he is the best coach the Brewers could have right now. The play St. Louis the next three days and look to return the favor of being swept, which is what the Cardinals did to them two weekends ago. A series victory over the Cardinals puts the Brewers right back in the thick of the race and closer to .500.



The Cubs went 4-3 in the seven games I previewed, as predicted, but probably should've gone 6-1. I swear, if they don't get this bullpen thing figured out, and I mean right now, there won't be a post season. Chicago was 4-5 back on the 14th, and are now 10-9. Since then, Nomar has gotten hurt, Wood has looked...well...not good, and Neifi Perez has been outstanding. If there was a 10th man award in MLB, he would win it for this month for sure.

Derrick Lee has continued his hot start and the rest of the offense is coming around. If it wasn't for the likes of Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano, I would start to get the feelings of doubt for this season, but with both of those pitchers being outstanding, this team is far from in trouble.

I won't elaborate on who the team is playing in upcoming games, but will have a full recap of my next trip to The Keg and the game I saw there-in.

-Until next time...

Diary of a Draft: 2005

Coming to you live from my parents basement in Waukesha, I am joined by fellow Brew City Beater Todd, who we will refer to as Fabos, Our Turn Next’s Gaddis, our buddy Kyle and our friend Todd Platta.

Pick 1: No brainer here, everyone feels it’s Alex Smith

Pick 3: The Browns select Braylon Edwards. Fabos is the first to point out that is a sharp looking dude. Holy crap, how many kids does Braylon have? Someone should send Shawn Kemp to give him “the speech.”

Pick 4: The Bears pick Cedric Benson. The Bears pick Cedric Benson? Why? I’ll defer to our resident Bear fan Gaddis here and ask why? Gaddis’ answer: I don’t get it either, didn’t you just sign Thomas Jones last year? Kyle says it looks like Benson just woke up from a rough night. Actually it looks like he just woke up from a rough eight years, jeez that guy means business. Oh and by the way none of us had Benson as the first to cry, we all had Dick Vermiel.

Pick 6: Titans take Dave Chappelle dressed up as Lil’ John, oh wait that’s Pac-Man Jones. Gaddis also posses the first real legitimate question of the day, “If the Commissioner trips while walking to the podium, what do you do and does it still count as getting your pick in on time?”

Pick 7: First of all this sucks because the draft is going as expected so far, and secondly why do you take Troy Williamson over Mike Williams? Thank god the Vikings are dumb. You take Williamson just because he is fast? I mean this is just like 98 when the Titans took Kevin Dyson over Moss. How’d that one work out?

Pick 10: Seriously will something different hap………oh my god, the Lions did what? Great. Just as I say thank god we don’t have to face Mike Williams twice a year, we apparently have to face Mike Williams, Roy Williams, Charles Rogers, Kevin Jones, Marcus Pollard and Jeff Garcia twice a year. Since when does Matt Millen know what he’s doing.

Pick 12: As the Chargers take Merriman, Fabos is the first to point out Rodgers may be there at 24. Kyle also questions if the NFL is racist. “Seriously, how many white guys have been taken?” To which I respond “Just one, you should contact Jermaine O’Neal and the two of you can do something about these two racist leagues.”

Pick 13: The Saints move up to take Aaron Rodgers or Thomas Davis or Derrick Johnson, right. JAMAAL BROWN? OK, there’s Bears dumb, there’s Vikings dumb, and then way off in a totally different galaxy there’s the Saints. You had the worst defense in the league last year, Mike McKenzie is threatening to pull a McKenzie and hold out, and you trade up to take a tackle that would have been there at 16 anyway? I wish we played the Saints twice a year.

Pick 14: Does Rodgers go here to Carolina?

Pick 15: Does Rodgers go here to KC?

Pick 17: Gaddis, Fabos and I contemplate spawning a third blog. filzenisgay.blogspot.com, or ihatefilzen.blogspot.com.

Pick 18: Minnesota takes Erasmus James, and Fabos is livid. “Dammit, I really wanted to root for Erasmus, not anymore!”

Pick 21: The Lions going with Williams was a surprise, but the Jaguars just took Matt Jones, Matt freaking Jones at #21. Why? If you want him trade down to get him, and what is he going to play? If you’re playing him at wide out, why not take Mark Clayton, and if he’s a tight end you do realize that Heath Miller is on the board, don’t you?

Pick 23: Okay Rodgers is going to be there, do you take him…….oh what’s this, the Raiders move up? Ok Rodgers is gone. What?! Fabian Washington.

Pick 24: Aaron Rodgers is a Packer, and I officially begin to backtrack. I started this process saying Smith Is clearly better and Rodgers will be the next Harrington, now I love the guy. “This is the steal of the draft!” I am going to start the Aaron Rodgers fan club, just don’t give him number 7. Fabos is juiced up. “This could be one of the best draft’s I’ve seen them have!”

Pick 25: I am not even going to repeat what is being discussed about 10 year olds at this point.
Still Pick 25: Platta is the first to question Torry Holt’s sexuality. “His tie looks like wrapping paper and a bow.” “I bet he’s the fist guy to pat his teammates on the ass when they score.”

Pick 26: First of all I still can’t believe the Pack got Aaron Rodgers, but seriously what the hell are the Seahawks doing. Man do they miss Teddy Thompson.

Pick 27: It’s already going on 5:00, what have I done all day? Platta takes off.

Pick 28: When did Luis Castillo stop playing second base for the Marlins? And everyone says converting Matt Jones is going to be tough.

Pick 29: A minor grill mishap nearly sets the lawn on fire, and Gaddis just sits there and watches. Thanks for the help.

Pick 30: Heath Miller to the Steelers. The Jets were so hard up for a tight end that they traded their first pick to the Raiders for Doug Jolley, when if they would have kept the pick they could have taken the best tight end and one of the best players in the draft. Doug Jolley sucks. The Packers should have seen if they could have gotten a second rounder from the Jets for David Martin.

Second Round

Pick 39: “I think this could be Mark Bradley.” “No way.” Gaddis says. “With the 39th pick, the Chicago Bears
select…Mark Bradley, Wide Receiver Oklahoma.” Man I’m good at this.

Pick 45: Lofa Tatupu? Two picks, both reaches for the Seahawks.

Pick 46: Gaddis and Kyle take off.

Pick 47: Mike Nugent. I think he’ll pan out into a great kicker, but as a packer fan we remember all too well what happened to the last Ohio State specialist taken a bit high, who won awards at his respective position and was rated as the best at his position. Cough..BJ Sander..cough.

Pick 49: Dan Cody, Justin Miller, Bryant McFadden, Channing Crowder, OJ Atogwe, Justin Tuck and Darryl Blackstock. I love all of these guys and they’re all still on the board. Man this could be a great draft.

Pick 51: Nick Collins? Excuse me? Who? No, no, no.

Pick 53: Great there goes Cody. Well at least those other guys are left.

Pick 57: And Justin Miller, hey some of those guys are still left.

Pick 58: This is some sick joke right? Terrence Murphy? Why the hell are we taking a receiver in the second round. This has officially become a Mike Sherman draft. I can’t believe this. I want to go home now, and I’m already home.

Pick 62: McFadden’s gone.


Third Round

Pick 66: There goes Atogwe.

Pick 67: Cleveland takes Charlie Frye. Great pick. They have their receiver, they already took Brodney Pool and now they have their quarterback.

Pick 70: OK now I’m pissed! Channing Crowder just went to the Dolphins. If we couldn’t have gotten him, I at least wanted to see him go to the Raiders.

Pick 87: Wow Scott Starks goes in the third round.

Pick 88: We’re up next and I’m really nervous. Wait, did I miss Anttaj Hawthorne going? Oh my god he’s still on the board? Please be Anttaj at 89.

Pick 89: The Packers trade the pick to Carolina for two fourth rounders. Well at least I won’t be disappointed again when they take another guy I haven’t heard of.

Pick 95: Great, there goes Blackstock to the Cardinals.

Pick 100: Seriously, why hasn’t Anttaj gone yet? Is it just because of the pot? I mean I know you have to be pretty close to retarded if you test positive at the combine, when they tell you ahead of time that you WILL be tested, buy you’re going to tell me Hawthorne is dropping just for that and Luis Castillo goes in the first round after taking roids? Fabos suggests we forever reefer, excuse me, refer to him as Anntaj “Hooka” Hawthorne.

Pick 101: Well, what d’ya know, Maurice Clarett goes to the Broncos with the last pick of the first day. I personally love this pick. He has no excuse for not succeeding in this system, and as Bill Parcells put it, he’s cornered. If he doesn’t pan out in the NFL he won’t get another shot, he’ll have to enter the working world. And besides, lets not forget that if this OSU fiasco doesn’t go down Clarett is easily a first or second rounder today. That’s assuming he played to the level he did in his freshman year this past year.

Well that will do it for day one. Fabos and I, and I’m sure Gaddis, Kyle and Platta all feel like crap from eating brats, peanuts, chips, salsa, and downing beer all day. Hey, anyone wanna do this again tomorrow for rounds 4-7?

Oh my god, its after 10:00. What have I done all day?

Monday, Monday

I guess you are all expecting a big blowout draft recap spectacular, but you're not getting that. I only have a few things to say about the entire affair, so here they are:

-Does any care that much that Maurice Clarret was drafted by the Broncos in the third round? Do we really need to have this broken down?

-Has Mel Kiper Jr. already started working on next year's draft, and where is Mel Kiper Sr.?

-Chris Berman does nothing but decrease production value now.

-I LOVED the Packers pick of Aaron Rodgers. There was not a defensive player on the board which would have made immediate impact for the team, and none whose value is as high as Rodgers'. I was disappointed that the Packers passed on Shaun Cody in the second round, however, but oh well.

-Can anyone explain to me why the Lions have selected a wide receiver with their first pick the past three seasons?

-There is one thing I don't love about Aaron Rodgers, his quarterback coach in college is the same guy who coached, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, David Carr, and Kyle Boller. All top draft picks, but not stellar stats to this point.

-After watching part of it, I can't wait for my next draft in Madden.

-Finally, Gaddis and Justin were going to watch the draft together, so I want to know where the diary is.



Notes on the Crew and the Cubs will most likely be coming tomorrow, but I liked the way both teams played this weekend, some encouraging signs for both teams.

If I see one more commercial for the CBS Sunday movie, Riding the Bus with my Sister, I may throw my tv out the window. This movie looks absolutely terrible, and Rosie O'Donnell is prominently involved as a mentally challenged adult. First of all, I hate Rosie O'Donnell, and I mean HATE, cannot stand the woman. Secondly, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen (although it isn't supposed to be funny) is The Other Sister. Riding... looks like it will be nowhere near as unintentionally funny as The Other Sister.

Finally, can we stop lambasting people who forget the words to the National Anthem? I mean, it is a very difficult song to sing in the first place. The range of notes in this song is ridiculous. Not to mention the length, the difficult words, and the fact the only time anyone sings it, they are ON NATIONAL TV AND IN FRONT OF 20,000 PEOPLE LIVE! Cut these people some slack, please.

-Until next time...