During the dark days of the year when the Green Bay Packers and Mason Crosby are not playing, I turn my attention to that “other” sport, you know the one that the Milwaukee Brewers and John Axford play with that funny round ball and a stick.

Granted it is not football but it helps to ease my withdrawal. So after watching the Brewers struggle to a 2-6 start with the biggest reason being the complete and utter failure of Axford, I found myself asking, who is worse – Crosby or Axford?

Since the NFL season is only 16 games long, and the Brewers have only played six, I decided the only fair thing to do would be to take the current statistics of Axford and project them over 16 games and then try to make a comparison to Crosby.

So using my math skills and and all my fingers and toes, over a 16 game stretch based on the current projections, John Axford will have not converted one save and will drop his record to 0-3.  His ERA will skyrocket to 38.88 and he will give up 14 earned runs and just over six home runs during that stretch.

This all equates to one simple statistic, his winning percentage is zero percent and he will cost the Brewers at least eight projected losses. Now take Mason Crosby, the much-maligned kicker for the Green and Gold.  This season he converted 63.6 percent of his field goals and 100 percent of his point-after attempts.  From 20-29 yards out he was perfect.  From 30-39 yards away he missed two shots and from 40-49 yards out he missed three times.  From 50-59 yards is where it got ugly as he converted just two of nine attempts.  The only redeeming factor in all of this is that Crosby did not cost the Packers any victories.

So in comparing apples to oranges and going with my gut check, I would say that of the two players, John Axford wins the contest for who bites the most.  At least with Crosby you know he will make his point-afters and the majority of his close range kicks.  With Axford you know that no lead is safe, at least one home run will be given up and that beard or no beard, he will cost the Brewers the opportunity to win a game.

I do however, give a small round of applause to Brewers Coach Ron Roenicke for realizing just how awful Axford is and pulling him now.  I would have given him a higher grade if he had not put Axford in against the Cubs the other night with the game tied because in the end, Axford blew it and the Brewers lost.

Maybe, just maybe if Crosby starts shanking kicks again next season, Mike McCarthy will follow in Roenicke’s footsteps and yank Crosby before he costs us a game, but then again we have that Italian kid who could take over from Crosby and that could make Axford look like a pretty good choice to be our next kicker.

All I need to know is how much longer before the season starts because either way, my heart can’t take this kind of futility and torment.

Go Pack Go!!!

Ugh!

I had to post this tonight after watching the Milwaukee Brewers implode for the second straight night in Philadelphia – these most recent failures coming off a sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds.

I didn’t think things could get any worse for you guys. When you lost that game at home against the Cardinals last week and then went on to win the next two against St. Louis

If only this guy could play football and baseball.

- taking Axford out of the closer’s role – I thought things could be turned around. Lots of baseball to play, you know?

The series of ads that Rodgers has produced for the Brewers is unprecedented for an MVP promoting not only another MVP, but a team in another sport.

Regardless, all of these ads have been rib ticklers, including this one …

Enjoy …

With help from his teammates, Aaron Rodgers could play for many more years in the NFL. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay Packers. Lifetime contract.

Those three should be and will be a reality if the Packers’ quarterback, Super Bowl champion and league Most Valuable Player has his way.

In a Q&A published this morning by the Green Bay Press Gazette, Rodgers doesn’t beat around the bush. He comes right out and says that there’s no other place he would rather be than in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In fact, he want s to be there for the remainder of his career.

Is there any question the Packers bean counters aren’t locked in a room at 1265 Lombardi Avenue trying to figure out a way they can make that happen?

Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Braun are best friends and Rodgers would certainly love to have a lifetime contract much like was given to Braun by the Brewers.

Like his good friend Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, Rodgers wants a long-term contract that will essentially keep him in a Green Bay Packers uniform for the remainder of his playing days. And you can’t blame him. I’m sure Braun and Rodgers have talked about the fact that Braun has been thought of enough by the Milwaukee franchise to sign him to a contract that will keep him in a Brewers uniform for nearly the next decade.

Rodgers wants something like that.

Here’s some other highlights from Rodgers’ interview:

On his disappointment with the Pro Bowl:

“After the Pro Bowl experience, the things that happened at the hotel, during the week and then in the game, I just thought was so disappointing. Not only myself, the coaching staff that we brought, but to the fans. I mean, I’m sitting there, I bought six tickets as well so I have six people in the stands watching me in the game and I felt I was embarrassed for them so I just felt like it was the right time to say something like that.”

On the trappings of stardom:

“I think you can kind of prepare for some of it but there’s so many things that, opportunities and also temptations and then people trying to take advantage of you that you maybe didn’t see.”

On his achievements and if he still has the drive to succeed:

“I’d say it’s stronger now and I don’t say that to be cliché-ish. It’s just that when you win a Super Bowl, and I talked to other guys who feel the same way, when you win a Super Bowl, the next year you’re on such a high … Then last year losing in the first round of the playoffs, there’s just that empty feeling of regret that you’re not going to experience that same kind of high the Super Bowl was so I’d say personally that’s what I want.”

Aaron Rodgers stepped out from the shadows of Brett Favre and has brought a new enthusiasm to the Packers and the entire league. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

On his feelings toward those who didn’t believe in him when he took over for Brett Favre:

“Yeah, there were a bunch of people, whether they said it or not. That was a difficult time for the organization, our fans. I think the sentiment is that the Packers are doing pretty good now with that decision … But I don’t have any ill will towards other Packer fans or anything that happened that summer. It was such a character growing opportunity I think. It’s easier to say now than back then.”

On future contract talks:

“I think they’re an organization who is going to do what’s best for the organization. Obviously my representation, just like any representation, is trying to get the most money possible at times. I don’t see it being an issue. I want to be a Packer for life and I don’t see myself going anywhere else.”

On the potential for 2012:

“I think you’ve got to be, the kind of guys we’re going to add to the mix. The free agent guys. The rookie guys. Bringing a guy like Alex Green back into the mix. There’s a lot of young guys fighting for spots. I think Mike (McCarthy) has said it before about the talent level that we have. I’ll take this angle: This will be the most difficult cuts that we’ve had in eight years of me being here … The thing I look at is when I think of the schedule, I look at when we’re playing in Chicago, it’s a late game, so that will be a tough one late in the season. So it’s going to be a tough run. What we learned last year was you’ve got to be playing the right way at the end of the season, like we were in 2010 and the Giants were last year.”

And finally, one of the more interesting answers came when asked about the most difficult part of his job. His answer is very interesting. You would think it would be something like learning a new offense or studying a defensive scheme or getting his footwork down. No, it was none of that.

Here’s what he had to say about that:

“Turning it off. Finding ways to escape from being on all the time. Having to be in the mindset of that preparation and that focus when I’m at the facility, being able to turn that off. That doesn’t mean just when I get home at 4:30 or whatever. That’s being able to turn it off at midnight when I’m trying to fall asleep and I can’t. That’s probably the hardest part.”

It’s always good to hear from Aaron Rodgers and as we inch closer to the start of the NFL Training Camp, it’s even better to hear from him, especially when he provides such insight into his persona.

The hope of all Packers fans is that Aaron Rodgers will be winding up to throw bombs for years to come. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

There’s a reason Aaron Rodgers is a champion and the MVP of the league. Our hope is that he is around for many more seasons to come and that he stays injury-free. Packers fans, of course want Aaron Rodgers to walk away from the game a whole person without the problems so many others have experienced over the years.

And if you think Aaron Rodgers is ready for 2012, below are some highlights from 2011 that will surely get the juices flowing. No, the Packers didn’t repeat as Super Bowl champions last year, but the team went 15-2 on the season. There were plenty of highlights … enjoy …

Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Braun chum around during spring training. Rodgers has produced commercials to promote the Brewers.

If you haven’t seen this video, take 30 seconds out of your life and take a peek – Aaron Rodgers is looking good.

It will bring a big smile to your face to see this guy giving it.

Enjoy …

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Chad Moriyama is  a blogger who writes mostly about the Los Angeles Dodgers, but admittedly strays toward other subjects when the need strikes him.

Such was the case when he posted a recent blog about the situation with Ryan Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers’ and Major League Baseball’s MVP.

Why talk about baseball here on a football site? It’s because Braun’s situation goes well beyond baseball and impacts all of sport, most importantly that of football.

Moriyama’s blog, “Ryan Braun: What you don’t know about his case is important,” strikes at the heart of the emotion surrounding the decision to rule his suspension null and void – a decision many said was because of a technicality. While on the surface that explanation may hold some water, when one looks deeper into the case it’s clear that there are plenty of holes and plant of leaking water.

Whether Braun is guilty of using banned substances or not is a moot point now. MLB and Bud Selig can cry in all the beers they want – it won’t change the decision. What baseball brass and NFL officials need to take away from this is the importance of getting it right. And even more important is that the media has to learn not to jump for the jugular without first studying an issue. There are too many people who form judgments based on skimpy information … those judgments blow up on the Twitter and Facebook platforms and leave a trail of destruction behind. That doesn’t do anybody any good.

With the NFL attempting to institute HGH testing for players, they better take a close look at the Ryan Braun case and they also need to read this particular blog. They may learn a lesson or two.

I suggest you slide on over and read Moriyama’s blog and take a step back to reflect. That’s something we all need to do.

Clipped from: www.chadmoriyama.com (share this clip)

Jim Irwin (right) is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. He is pictured here with his partner of many years Max McGee. Irwin died today of cancer.

When Jim Irwin made the call as the clock wound down to zero at the end of Super Bowl XXXI, Packers fans were ecstatic.

“World champions, Green. Bay. Packers.” That was Irwin’s call – one he had waited decades to make and one that was well deserved.

That’s what came to mind today when I heard that Irwin had died from cancer.

How many times did we listen to Irwin through the years – probably more than we realized. If we listened to the Badgers, Packers, Bucks and even sometimes the Brewers, you heard his golden voice calling the plays, describing the game like none other.

More after the jump.

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Raymond T. Rivard photograph

What a year it’s been for football fans and sports fans of all stripes in the state of Wisconsin.

The Packers win a Super Bowl and then continue on a 19-game winning streak; Beast mode continues well into October for the Milwaukee Brewers; and the Wisconsin Badgers ride the wave all the way to Pasadena, Calif., and the Rose Bowl.

Count your blessings, folks. Count them every day. Enjoy this time, document it, remember it and savor it. How many other states can boast such accomplishment? Not many … maybe Massachusetts and the Patriots and Red Sox.

Here’s to hoping our new year continues as the past year has. Gotta love every minute of it and look forward to even better times in the future.

And with that, we here at Lombardiave.com send out our new year greetings to all our readers and friends. Have a great year and let’s celebrate together!

The Packers have given Wisconsin residents and so many across the country and the world something to cheer about.

It’s been a tough year in Wisconsin.

From the sky-highs of February’s Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl championship to the center of the political fight between unions and the conservative political wonks who took cost-cutting steps to balance budgets to the roller coaster rides of the Milwaukee Brewers and UW-Madison Badgers, and the continuing recall cycles that have thrown both electors and the system out of whack.

Throw in the loss of jobs, low consumer confidence and an uncertain economy and one could say that these ties are tough at best, disastrous at worst.

The only constant and the one entity that continues to pull Wisconsin residents to a positive pole is the Green Bay Packers. Their unbeaten streak is not only exciting for us all, but a phenomenon that is catching on across the country and the world.

That’s why we love this team.

Consider that Reuters took the time to write about the good the Packers are bringing to Wisconsin – a story that describes the political divisions, but counters it with statistical surveys that overwhelmingly show Aaron Rodgers and the Packers as the only unifying force emanating across and throughout the state and beyond.

I’ll let the story speak for itself. Give it a read.

You might start to feel better …

Clipped from: mobile.reuters.com (share this clip)

Aaron Rodgers threw for more than 400 yards, four touchdowns, while running for two touchdowns Sunday against the Broncos ... the first time that's been done in team history. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Oh, to be a Packers, Brewers, and Wisconsin Badgers fan this past weekend!

Can things get any better?

We all know they could get worse, but for the time being we won’t dwell on that point.

Let’s recap: The Badgers dominate another top 10 college football team in the Nebraska Cornhuskers … maybe dominate is too kind. It was more like obliteration; The Brewers continue their roll off of their last 165 games and continue to pound the baseball into oblivion in the first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks; and of course the Packers pummel the Denver Broncos into submission yesterday by putting up a near 50-burger, embarrassing the Mile High City’s NFL team and the entire AFC West in one fell swoop.

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I can’t remember any October when the world’s sports fans have turned their collective eyes to the Badger State quite like they have this particular weekend.
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We can only say Touché, Mr. Couch. We couldn’t have said it any better.

And so, without further ado, I present to you the column so brilliantly crafted by Mr. Couch.

If you’re a Packers or Brewers fan, relish in the moment; if you’re a Bears or Cubs fan … well, too bad.

Clipped from: msn.foxsports.com (share this clip)

Prince Fielder has led the Brewers so far to a season to remember ... our hope is that the fun continues well into October and beyond here in Wisconsin. Tom Lynn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photograph.

What an awesome year it’s been for sports fans in the state of Wisconsin.
With the disappointing Milwaukee Bucks as the exception, this has been a year of tremendous successes …
With the Brewers taking over first place in the National League’s Central Division this week, Wisconsin fans could put aside the disappointment that the lack of an NFL collective bargaining agreement has brought.  (more…)