http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/articles.sec-237-1-sports.html Now that it's gone, let's be candid: The NFL salary cap baffled all us fans. A player's salary and his "cap number" never seemed to be the same; trades became rare...]]> For a longtime sports fan, a special joy occurs when a game stirs memories of past fun and a sport's timeless beauty. Then there are events that show how much things can change, when the old-timer feels like Dorothy after the tornado: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." One of the Observers...]]> World dominance is ours! Or so said much of last week’s coverage of the Winter Olympics. Team USA led in medals entering the final days, but with no Dreaded Red Empire to vanquish, so what?]]> Winter, schminter. For fans of the Milwaukee Brewers, spring has sprung. The magic words: "Pitchers and catchers report Saturday" to training camp in Arizona...]]> Last January the Green Bay Packers were looking back on a 6-10 season, a seven-win dropoff from 2007. Brett Favre had left, but the offense didn’t falter in Aaron Rodgers’ hands. The big problem was defense, so general manager Ted Thompson...]]> Besides the Super Bowl, February brings three super-mega-hyper sports spectacles aimed at stirring fans' passions and gluing their eyeballs to TV screens—the Winter Olympics, Daytona 500 and NBA All-Star Weekend. Being fairly...]]> Jan. 20, 2008, Lambeau Field: Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers have the ball in overtime against the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game...]]> Twelve years ago a thrilling summer lifted Major League Baseball out of the slump created by 1994's labor strife and canceled World Series. The revival was fueled by the "Mac and Sammy" home-run derby, with Mark McGwire smashing the single-season record and Sammy Sosa right on his heels...]]> For baseball fans, December is a time to look ahead as trades and free-agent signings create a new competitive landscape. For the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), it's also a time to ponder the past in the annual...]]> Is it really just four weeks since Tiger Woods went from Ace of Perfection to Bogey Man of Betrayal? His Nov. 27 car crash and admission of infidelity have shattered one of the most profitable images in a culture where great athletes make more money as salesmen than sportsmen. The PGA Tour wonders...]]> Three years ago the Milwaukee Brewers staked a lot of money on a free-agent starting pitcher, giving right-hander Jeff Suppan a four-year, $42 million contract. The results have not been good; Suppan, who will make $12.5 million in 2010, is 29-34as a Brewer...]]> The college basketball season has a long way to go, but for many in this state it will peak Saturday when Marquette and Wisconsin have their annual showdown. The game in Madison will match teams that received little national attention in preseason predictions but have knocked off Top 25 opponents already. The Observers were on hand when MU hosted...]]> Feasting on the Lions for Thanksgiving kept the Green Bay Packers in strong contention for the NFL playoffs. The NFC North title will go to Minnesota and that familiar guy wearing No. 4, but if the season ended now the 7-4 Packers would own one of the conference's two wild-card berths. The Eagles kept pace...]]> The Observers confabbed by phone last week with Frank visiting family in New York. Considering the outcome of the World Series, that made baseball the topic. Frank: New York, New York, it's a wonderful town. The Yanks are up and the Mets are way down! Artie: It's good for baseball to have the Yankees on top again. It stirs the passion for all fans, a few of them happy but most of them outraged...]]> Funny how things can look so different from one week to the next. After a ghastly loss to Tampa Bay, the Packers were 4-4 and sinking fast. Now a 17-7 victory over Dallas at Lambeau Field has the Pack back in the thick of the race for a wild-card playoff spot. Who better to explain the turnaround than the Observers?]]> The Observers weren't around when baseball was invented; their old-school grumbling just sounds that way. Still, they've combined for more than a century's worth of devotion to the game, and that entitles them to pontificate on the lessons from the just-completed World Series...]]> It was a weekend of screen-watching for the Observers. They saw the latest rebuilt squad of Milwaukee Bucks go 1-1 to open the NBA season. There was the World Series, with Frank's Yanks taking charge in Philadelphia. And of course there was the second version of the football game...]]> The Milwaukee Brewers began the 2009 season confidently. Six months earlier they had reached the playoffs for the first time in a generation, thanks to a powerful offense led by young stars Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun as well as a July trade that brought pitching ace CC Sabathia in to join All-Star Ben Sheets...]]> Another NBA season, another rebuilding project for the Milwaukee Bucks. The team is 88-158 over the last three seasons and hasn't won a playoff series since 2001. Last year the Bucks followed a dismal 26-win season by hiring...]]> The Observers got together by phone last week, with Frank in the East visiting family and Artie maintaining the home office. The main football topic was unbeaten Wisconsin taking on Ohio State in Columbus—although Frank had another big game on his agenda...]]>