Six Big Things This Thanksgiving in Wisconsin Sports
It’s Me, Hi!
I don’t think there’s a better day to revive the newsletter than Thanksgiving. The original version of this newsletter started roughly 13 months ago. Since then, I have been privileged with opportunities I could not have imagined: covering my alma mater as a credentialed member of “the media,” making friends from new vast corners of the internet, and finding the confidence to put thoughts to words.
None of this has been possible without the OGs who subscribed to this here newsletter. Thank you.
So, it’s time to bring it back.
If you’re familiar with my work over at BadgerNotes or Wisconsin Sports Heroics, that’s not going away. The ‘Sconnie Six Pack podcast isn’t going away either. This is definitively a both/and situation.
The newsletter will serve as a free-flowing place to put my thoughts for every day in Wisconsin sports. The podcast will be a deep dive on a topic or two for the day. Written work in other places will continue to be for further reporting, analysis, and news.
Plus, there’s more to come for those who are subscribed here. Stay tuned.
For now, read, enjoy, give thanks, eat, and Go Pack Go.
The Green Bay Packers Could Have Surprisingly High Playoff Chances
According to the New York Times’ NFL Playoff Odds simulator, Green Bay currently has approximately a 22% chance of making the playoffs. You may be rolling your eyes, but don’t give up on me yet. The Packers are currently the eighth seed in the NFC - just one spot out of the last Wild Card.
Put aside the debate over whether going to the playoffs is a good thing for this team for a minute. I think it is a worthwhile debate, but I do not know how I feel about it. Sorry, I save my hot takes for the Badgers.
Today’s game against Detroit is among the most consequential for Green Bay’s shot at the postseason. A win would nearly double the Packers’ chances of making the playoffs and even give them a slim chance at winning the division. Down the road, Green Bay has pivotal games against Minnesota and Tampa Bay as both of those squads also vie for the third NFC Wild Card.
As Told by the Cosmos: The Packers Will Defeat the Lions Today
Shout out to Jay Cuda for discovering this nugget. Since the AFL-NFL merger, the Detroit Lions are 0-12 on Thanksgiving when the moon is in a waxing gibbous phase. You would not believe it if I told you what phase the moon is in tomorrow evening.
This is some next-level Sicko Mode stuff. It is also a dumb sports superstition that I am very vulnerable to believing for no reason.
Wisconsin Football’s Bowl Eligibility, Thankfully, Does Not Rest in the Hands of PJ Fleck
I believe long-term in Luke Fickell as the head coach of Wisconsin. Right now, things are gross.
Four hours northwest of Madison, a quiet discontent is growing in the Minnesota Gophers football offices. PJ Fleck is in his seventh season in Minneapolis and needs a win on Saturday to get his team bowl eligible. It is undoubtedly a drop-off from notching nine or more wins in three of the past four seasons (the lone exception being the 2020 COVID season).
Regardless of Minnesota’s struggles this season, Fleck can turn it around with a win on Saturday. If that win were also to end Wisconsin’s 21-year bowl streak, Badgers fans would be furious. That quiet discontent in Minneapolis would turn to early outrage in Madison.
With all the schematic changes Fickell brought to UW, he needs time. We need time to assess his time as Wisconsin’s head coach properly. Missing a bowl for the first time in 22 years would have burned much of the patience fans would otherwise be willing to give him. Fortunately, the win over Nebraska avoided this nightmare scenario.
Luke Fickell: “Is This Still College Football?”
In a time where things like paying players and the transfer portal are “ruining college sports,” the love of the game should unite us all, right?
Apparently not.
Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell was asked about Chez Mellusi opting-out of senior day festivities in UW’s final home game this season. The running back has one year of eligibility remaining after suffering a broken leg just four games into this season. If he returns, it would be Mellusi’s sixth year in college football.
Instead of simply answering the question, Fickell turned it into a diatribe to ask “is this still college football?” He bemoaned the amount of eligibility players now have. He bemoaned Utah quarterback Cam Rising announcing his return in 2024 for a seventh season.
Seven years sounds like a lot, but it did not require jumping through hoops to get here. Rising redshirted in 2018 and the 2020 COVID season did not count as a year of eligibility for anyone. He received a medical redshirt from sitting out the entire 2023 season with a brutal leg injury he suffered in the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2022 season. The specifics, however, should not matter.
Fickell’s job is to sell “the best years of your life” or whatever to 17-year olds. Then, what? Shame those same young adults for taking advantage of it? Keep in mind, this question was asked in context of trying to bring back one of the top running backs on his roster for a sixth season. Plus, for his first season in Madison he brought in a 24-year-old quarterback for a sixth season out of the transfer portal.
Wisconsin Basketball Defeats SMU, Wins Fort Myers Tip-Off
I saw a lot of doom and gloom on these here internets at halftime as Wisconsin trailed SMU 32-24 at the half. The Badgers had one free throw attempt and only one made three-pointer. The Mustangs, meanwhile, made seven of nine attempts from beyond the arc. It was a weird first half.
Things did not immediately improve after the break either. When UW head coach Greg Gard took a time out with 13:07 remaining in the second half, Wisconsin trailed by ten. Then, everything changed.
Wisconsin seemingly came to life to win 69-61. After chipping away at SMU, UW took its first lead of the game with an emphatic dunk by AJ Storr with only 2:21 remaining - and never looked back.
It was an all-around team win. Max Klesmit, Tyler Wahl, AJ Storr, Chucky Hepburn, and John Blackwell all scored in double digits. Steven Crowl and Connor Essegian added five points of their own. I’m reserving judgment on what this team is until after back-to-back-to-back games against Marquette, Michigan State, and Arizona, but the Badgers flashed some serious upside in this one.
What Are the Milwaukee Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks lost in their first meeting with Jrue Holiday and the Boston Celtics this season. The 119-116 defeat was a perfect example of how Milwaukee is still figuring itself out under first-year head coach Adrian Griffin.
Milwaukee trailed by as many as 21 points, but ended up making a real game of it. The Bucks never led after surrendering an early 10-0 lead to the Celtics.
More notably to national media and non-Milwaukee NBA fans, Griffin and Giannis got into a spat as Griffin wanted to get his superstar some rest. Giannis did not want to come out of the game. I think most Bucks fans are mostly unconcerned with this spat. Giannis is the ultimate competitor and never wants to exit a game.
Griffin needs some time to figure out how to manage that, though. He needs some time to figure out how to manage Milwaukee’s roster. His team’s defense improved after finally returning Brook Lopez to a rim-protecting drop defender, so Griffin has shown an ability to adapt and improve quickly. Will it be enough?
Milwaukee is in win-now mode. There is an aging core. Giannis surely cannot continue to compete at this level forever. The Bucks hired a first-time head coach anyway. Hopefully, he continues his penchant to learn quickly.
The Bucks currently sit in a four-way tie for the second-seed in the Eastern Conference and trail first-place Boston by two games.
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