The Top Ten of 2008

It's that time of year again. Christmas is just a couple of days away, and over the next week, the two things you'll see are a bunch of bad Bowl games and a look back at the year that was 2008 in sports. We figured we'd get a head start on everyone else.

So, here we go, with the Top Ten Local Stories of 2008. It was a year that had a little bit of everything. Celebration, controversy, and sadness. It was certainly not a dull year in Wisconsin sports. So, here we go going from Number Ten to Number One. Let the debate begin!

Honorable Mention: UW-Whitewater. In many other years, the Warhawks probably would have made the Top Ten. They lost a bunch of players to graduation, and all coach Lance Leipold did was reload. The Warhawks made their fourth straight Stagg Bowl, only to lose to Mount Union 31-26. Four years in a row. Sounds like a dynasty to me, and even though they don't make the Top Ten, they deserve some recognition. Here it is.

#10 - Ryan Braun Commits to Milwaukee: The news was not totally unexpected when word came down in mid-May that Ryan Braun had signed an extension with the Brewers. We all knew that the team was trying to sign their young cornerstones to long term deals. What was surprising was that Braun accepted in his first full year. Most thought if he had waited he would have gotten more than $45M. But Braun showed the kind of man he is, and committed to this city and franchise through 2015. He was, at the end of the day, the only one of the young players to sign a long term deal.

#9 - Wisconsin Football Falls on Hard Times: Before the 2008 season started, there was talk of a possible Rose Bowl for the Wisconsin Badgers. There were some who thought this team could go 11-1. Things didn't quite work out that way. After a 3-0 start, including a tough win on the road at Fresno State, the Badgers lost their next four, including a 48-7 loss at Camp Randall to Penn State.

Alan Evridge started the season as the quarterback, replacing Tyler Donovan, who had exhausted his eligibility. Evridge didn't make it past the Nittany Lions Game. Dustin Sherer took over, and the Badgers went 3-2 in his first five starts, becoming bowl eligible. The season might have, and maybe should have ended with a loss to Division I-AA Cal Poly, but their kicker missed three extra points, and the Badgers won in overtime. They will play Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on Saturday, ending their streak of New Year's Day Bowl at four.

#8 - Senator Kohl Cleans House: With the Bucks struggling for yet another season, Senator Herb Kohl relieved General Manager Larry Harris of his duties in mid-March. It didn't take long to find Harris' replacement, as John Hammond, Joe Dumars' right hand man with the Pistons, was hired before the 2007-2008 season ended.

And, when that season did end (with a 26-56 record) Hammond wasted little time in firing then coach Larry Krystkowiak, replacing him with former Bulls coach Scott Skiles.

A new regime took over, making their mark with the trade in late June that brought Richard Jefferson to the team.

The results have been mixed up to this point, but there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel. But, the Senator went outside the organization, got people with track records to run the organization, and though it will take time, the Bucks are not the sad outfit they were a year ago.

#7 - Tom Crean Leaves Marquette: The 2007-2008 season ended with the Marquette Golden Eagles just barely missing The Sweet Sixteen. Unlike past seasons, when Tom Crean's name came up almost every time a high profile coaching job opened, there wasn't a lot of buzz surrounding the coach that brought MU back from where they were under Mike Deane to where they are now.

But another school did come calling, and Crean not only listened, but jumped. To Indiana. Was it a surprise that he left? No, not really. The way he left was surprising. It turns out the players were not the first to find out that their coach was leaving. The media was, and when reporters tell players their coach has left them, it's not a good thing.

So, Crean left for the Hooisers, because, as he said "It's Indiana. It's Indiana." So, his successful run at MU ended, opening the door for Buzz Williams, who has the Golden Eagles playing well as of now.

#6 - Yost Was Toast: To say that former Brewers manager Ned Yost was unpopular would be a gigantic understatement. "Yost bashing" became the thing to do in Milwaukee. The Brewers struggled at the start of the 2008 season, and after a lost weekend in Boston, there were reports indicating the Brewers were going to fire the man that had been manager since the start of the 2003 season.

That report, though, turned out to be wrong. It also fired the Brewers up, as they went on a run in June, traded for a certain lefty in July (more on him in just a bit), and went 20-7 in August.

Things were looking good. The team looked like they were going to be in the playoffs for the first time since 1982. And then September hit. The Brewers went 3-11, saw their playoff hopes slipping away, and with just 12 games left to go, made the unconventional move to fire their manager.

So, Yost was gone. Dale Sveum was in. Fans either loved or hated the move. But, by the end of September, no one was complaining.

#5 - The Rise and Fall of the Packers: 2008 started off with the packers drilling Seattle in the NFC Divisional Playoffs and reaching the NFC Championship Game. It will end with a 2008 regular season that fell far short of expectations. It's not quite like the Packers went from the penthouse to the outhouse, but it was a wild swing for sure. There are some who believe the biggest reason for the fall is because of a major change the organization went through between March and August (we'll get to it), but most feel the reason the Packers fell so far so fast was because of injuries, a bad defense (Bob Sanders, please brush up your resume), a schedule that was a lot tougher this year than it was a year ago, and just plain luck. The 2007 Packers got nearly every break. The 2008 Packers couldn't buy one.

#4 - CC Comes to Town: It was the biggest trade in the history of the franchise. On Monday, July 7th, the Brewers officially acquired Carsten Charles Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians for a package centered around slugger Matt LaPorta. It was not the kind of move the Brewers were known for. In fact, they used to be the team that traded star players for prospects. But, a 16-10 June put the Brewers back in contention after their sluggish start, and GM Doug Melvin felt the time was right to make the move.

It was a move that was nothing more than a summer rental, but it was also a move that energized a city looking to fall in love with its baseball team. Sabathia gave the Brewers and their fans everything they could have hoped for during the four months he was here. It was a gamble the Brewers, in retrospect, needed to take. And it paid off in a big way.

#3 - Brett Retires: In late February, the Packers caused a little bit of controversy when their official website inadvertently published that Brett Favre was going to retire. It turns out that where there was smoke, there was fire.

Less than a week later FOX Sports' Jay Glazer was the first to officially report that Brett was indeed calling it quits after what may have been his finest season. On March 6th, the entire state, no, make that the entire nation, was watching when Brett, looking as emotionally spent as any human being could be, tearfully announced he was walking away.

At the time, most in Packer Nation thought Brett was making the decision at the right time (if not the right decision). No one thought in the 2007 Packers would go 13-3 and get within an overtime field goal of going to the Super Bowl. But that is exactly what they did, and considering there are no guarantees in the NFL, walking away after a magical season like that might have been as close to 'going out on top' as Brett might have come.

However, after a few months away, The Gunslinger had other ideas.

#2 - Brett Comes Back, Wearing a Different Color Green: The Summer of 2008 should have been known more for the Brewers and their run to the playoffs more than anything else. The operative words being should have been. During the spring, word kept leaking out that Favre was having second thoughts about retirement. Time went on, and those stories weren't going away. It turns out there was a reason for that.

As we now know, Brett decided in March he was going to return, but changed his mind at the last second. A couple of months later, he called the Packers and let them know he wanted to return. The Packers, tired of what they viewed as Brett's waffling, told him they were moving on with Aaron Rodgers.

What followed next was nothing short of a soap opera. A jilted Brett aired his grievances to the FOX News Channel of all places. The Vikings were accused of tampering. And by the time training camp started, nothing was resolved.

When training camp opened, the circus really came to town. Brett flew into Green Bay, and the media covered his arrival as if the President of the United States just came to town.

The next few days were nothing short of extraordinary. Brett met with Mike McCarthy, who re-iterated that the job was Aaron Rodgers. We all remember that news conference in which McCarthy proclaimed "the train is leaving the station." Less than a day later, Brett left Green Bay without getting his job back.

Within a day of Brett's departure from Green Bay (again, covered like it was the President leaving), the Packers struck a deal with the New York Jets. Favre was officially an ex-Packer, traded for a conditional draft pick.

The controversy has had a lasting effect on both organizations, and the fan base. Packer Nation remains a house divided, four months after the Favre trade was consummated. There are those who staunchly believe the Packers made the right move. And there are others, what could be considered a vocal minority, who believe just as strongly that the Packers never should have treated the legend as if he were a piece of meat.

It all made this past summer 'All Brett All The Time' in terms of media coverage. That was the summer, though. September gave us the biggest story of the season.

#1 Brewers Make The Playoffs: When the Brewers fired Ned Yost in mid-September, they were in the middle of a downward spiral that many thought would leave them on the outside looking in when the playoffs got underway in October. Dale Sveum took over with just twelve games left in the regular season. The Brewers went 2-4 in the first six games of Sveum's reign, and returning home for the final week of the regular season, the mood in the locker room, and in the city, was grim

But the final week of the season delivered more drama than anyone could have forseen. With hopes of winning the division dashed, the Brewers found themselves in a fight with the Mets for the wildcard spot. But, there was no guarantee that even if they took care of the Pirates, and then the archrival Cubs, that they would make the playoffs.

Never has a series with the Pirates meant so much. Prince Fielder's ninth inning homer gave the Brewers a 7-5 win in the opener that kept them alive. Sabathia started on three days rest and pitched the Brewers to a win in the second game of the series.

And in the finale, the Brewers welcomed back Yovani Gallardo, who hadn't pitched since tearing his ACL in April. Gallardo kept the Brewers in the game, and Ryan Braun hit a game winning Grand Slam in the 10th to complete the sweep.

The Brewers entered the final series of the regular season against the Cubs tied with the Mets for the wildcard lead. They would remain tied going into the final Sunday of the season.

And on that Sunday, the Mets did what they have been known to do when the calendar says September - and that is choke. The Brewers, meanwhile, got another spectacular start from Sabathia on three days rest, another dramatic home run from Braun, beat the Cubs, and made the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

The sellout crowd figuratively blew the roof off of Miller Park. Thousands showed up to the Summerfest grounds in October for a rally to send the Brewers off to Philadelphia and the NLDS.

And even though the playoff run lasted four games, even though CC is now a Yankee, the Brewers did something that hadn't been done in nearly three decades. They knocked the Packers off the front page in October.

For everything that team gave this city, all the highs and lows, all the drama. For the way an entire city united for one cause (as opposed to a fan base divided during the Favre Soap Opera), the run to the playoffs by the Milwaukee Brewers is the Number One Local Sports Story of 2008.

Let the debate begin. If you have any comments, thoughts, or arguments with the list, just drop me an email at saundersonsports@yahoo.com.