…otherwise known as a State of the State, of sports…in Wisconsin.

With the Brewers going through a much-needed rebuild, the Bucks hopefully doing the same, the Packers had a draft – all meaning there’s not much to get amped about (aside from the Brewers rebuild but only the true nerds, like myself, get pumped about that).

Brewers – as of today, June 4^th, the Brewers are 25-30.  On pace for 74 wins, which is exactly where I had them heading into the season.  There are 2 major bright spots:

• Ryan Braun is hitting and hitting well (his batting avg. is .341)! After last season I would’ve been happy to find another team to take him and we’d be left with ½ his salary.  Now???  He’s arguably the hottest commodity on the trade market.
• Jonathan Lucroy is also having a great season, hitting .304 and just hit 9HRs all in the month of May. He was the hottest trade piece heading into the season and still is considered by some.

Bucks – we’ve since found out Milwaukee will have the 10^th selection in the draft coming up on June 23^rd.  I believe, per usual, that the Bucks are best suited to pick the best player available (stop me if you’ve heard this before Packer fans).  That is usually the best method into building a good team and sustaining it, in any sport.  The Bucks are in need of a point guard there’s no secret there, however if there’s a trade partner for Milwaukee to either A.) move back or B.) add another 1^st round pick in next year’s draft then I’d be all for it.  Especially after the awful trade for Greivis Vasquez (ugh.)

Packers – the draft has come and gone, all the “experts” have given their analysis, and Vegas has updated their odds of each team to hoist the Lombardi trophy (Packers are 11 to 1, with the third highest odds behind Seattle and New England).  Let’s take a quick look at the draft picks and where the team stands now.

Draft – Kenny Clark (1^st round, 27^th overall) may not have been the obvious choice but his position was, so no one should be upset with the pick.  The one I’m most excited about, but likely won’t see returns for 2+ years is Jason Spriggs (2^nd round, 48^th overall).  Based on how he moves, he’s as athletic as a wide receiver with an ideal left tackle’s body.  I’m a big believer in building through the trenches on both sides of the ball and if both of these kids turn out, that should be a major boost to keep the Packers in contention for years to come.

Status – Green Bay returns Jordy Nelson, arguably a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL, but with only another year or two tops of high-level production left AND adding Jared Cook (free agent TE from the Rams) the Packers’ passing game shouldn’t have any problems… that is unless Eddie Lacy can’t put down the fork.  It does no good to harp on him, plus it’s been covered to nauseam, but the Packers need their MVP quarterback to play like it this season (and in the postseason), their receivers to catch the ball (Jordy in the postseason), their defense to actually play well all season while improving, and most importantly: STAY HEALTHY.

So to recap:
Brewers – If you’re against the rebuild look at it this way, when they tried to win they couldn’t even get to .500 while messing up the future.  There’s no pressure to win now.  I know you may think I’m contradicting myself with me saying winning is all that matters, yes, but in order for the Brewers to win a World Series this is needed.

Bucks – essentially read the Brewer recap.  Keep building around Giannis and Jabari with hopes you’re able to build a good team and those two keep progressing towards their extremely high ceilings.

Packers – When Aaron Rodgers first started (as in became the starting quarterback) in 2008, his potential was far ahead of where I thought he’d be and I thought he should’ve been the 1^st overall pick in 2005 without a doubt.  With that said, I figured he’d win 3 Super Bowls for the Packers and while he still has time and talent (and it’s not all on him and I love having discussions about QB ranks, etc.) the Packers have no excuse to continuously fall short in the playoffs.  Some may use the word choke, I have, but it seems that towards the end of the game I have the feeling creep in my head of How the hell are they gonna blow this game? as opposed to This is going to be fun watching them come through in the clutch.

Thanks for reading, any comments, feedback, or arguments are greatly accepted!