Tom King's Blog

The Big Ten Conference announced their football realignment plan last night. There will be two six-team divisions and even though they are in a division with Ohio State, it seems that Wisconsin got a pretty good draw. The Badgers and Buckeyes are joined by Illinois, Purdue, Indiana and Penn State. Each team will get a protected crossover game every year so the paul Bunyan Ax game with Minnesota was protected. Also Michigan and Ohio State will play every year. The Bdgers did lose the yearly game with Iowa and Nebraska is also in the other division. Bret Bielema had talked about starting a yearly rivalry with the Cornhuskers but that apprantly will not happen. This will start in 2011 when Nebraska joins the conference and a lucrative league chmapionship game will be added. Iowa and Minnesota are in the same division and will continue to play for Floyd of Rosedale, a brass pig...and Michigan and Minnesota will play for the Little Brown Jug every year.

The US beat Iran at the World Basketball Championships yesterday  88-51. The players downplayed the political aspect of the game. Kevin Durant sais"we're here to play basketball...the political situation is something we can't control. There were some fans sitting near midcourt holding American and Iranian flags and a sign that said PEACE. The only on court jousting was a playful bump between Rudy gay of the US and Hamed Hammaddi who are teammates on the Memphis Grizzlies. The dancers who performed during the game did cover themselves in deference to the Iranian fans. Islam prohibits women from exposing skin in public. Team USA will now play winless Tunisia today and have three days off before returning to action on Monday.

Songs of the Day   (from my I-pod)

Girls School-Wings (1977) the flip side of Mull of Kintyre which did better in the US. I remember playing both sides of the 45 on WIFC back in the day.

Gitarzan-Ray Stevens (1969) Remember when novelty songs were a big part of what you heard on the radio. Not so much anymore but Stevens was a master

The Brewers lost to the Reds again last night. Any chance of Milwaukee getting back in the race has evaporated at the Great American Ballpark this week. But two things stood out as I watched the game last night. Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has fixed his mechanical problems in the minor leagues and is ready for prime-time. He pitched a scoreless inning in his major league debut hitting 102 on the radar gun. Now we know that pitchers are just one throw away from major surgery (just ask Stephen Strasburg) but Chapman (who is still slated to be a starter at some point) should really help the Reds bullpen down the stretch. The other thing that jumped out was all the empty seats. The Reds are in first place and pulling away and after years of futility it would seem that Reds fans would be ready to fill the ballpark. Maybe it's the recession...maybe a weeknight game during school will always be half full...but I would be very concerned if a first place team has trouble drawing fans during a pennant race.

Al Harris and Atari Bigby start the season on the PUP list. They will miss at least the first six weeks of the season. The young DBS will need to bring it every week...they will be tested.

Jim Sorgi will start the season on the PUP list for the Giants and Mosinee native Kole Heckendorf was waived by Seattle.

Songs of The Day   (from My I-pod)

Girls Talk-Dave Edmunds (1979) his collaboration with Nick Lowe turned out some of the most interesting pop music to come out of Britain during the punk years. This is an Elvis Costello tune.

Girls Talk-Linda Ronstadt (1980) Linda's version of the same song from her power pop new wave LP "Mad Love"

The Wisconsin Badgers begin the season Saturday night at UNLV. Bret Bielema released his first depth chart yesterday and Zach Brown is listed as the 4th tailback. He's been battling some knee problems and Bielema wants to redshirt the senior so he could play next year. Brown will make the trip to UNLV. It's a tough situation for a senior but with the emergence of Montee Ball and James White to back up John Clay, carries could be very few for Brown this year. Also Bielema says he will decide on his strating cornerbacks during practice this week. that was a trouble spot for the Badgers last year.

The trip to Vegas will not be the same for Bucky this time around. The band was unable to raise enough funds to make the trip. I went the last time Wisconsin played in Vegas and it seemed like the band was eveywhere. they played on the strip in front Treasure Island. They played at special receptions and tailgate parties for Badger fans. It won't be the same experience without them.

Jason Chery had to beg the coaches on the sidelines to let him return a punt last week against the Colts. He promptly brought it back for a touchdown. Now Chery will get a chance to return all punts and kicks this week for the Packers in their search for some stability in the return game. Wil Blackmon's knee hasnt responded as well as they had hoped. The speedster from Louisiana-Lafayette has a chance along with other youngsters like Frank Zombo and Sam Shields to make the team this week.

Happy Birthday to Frank Robinson...the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues. He's 75.

Just got done reading "Pirate Latitudes" from Michael Crichton. I know, it's from 2009 but I'm running behind on my reading list. Next up is Loren Estleman's latest "Roy & Lillie".

Songs of The Day  (from my I-pod)

Girl U Want-Devo (1980) from the "Freedom of Choice" LP...the same one that included "Whip It"...came this catchy synth-pop number. Mark Mothersbaugh spends his time now writing TV and movie muisc. You think he looks at the flowerpot hats and grimaces?

Girls Just Want To Have Fun-Cyndi Lauper (1983) A classic 80's tune with a video that hit at exactly the right time. MTV was hot and Lauper was able to use the latest in video editing equipment courtesy of Lorne Michaels. That's her real mother in video and of course Captain Lou Albano is her father which led to the Rock & Wrestling promotion and Lauper's appearnce at Wrestlemania. Also catch a young Steve Forbert in the video playing her boyfriend with the flowers.

I love discovering new singer-songwriters. Sometimes it takes me awhile to "discover" artists that others have known about for years but I still love hearing live acoustic music and this was one of those weekends. I was supposed to see one of my favorites on Saturday night as Nanci Griffith was scheduled to play the Big Top Chatuaqua in Bayfield. For those not familiar...the Big Top is a big tent at the base of the Mt Ashwabay Ski Hill just south of Bayfield where every summer for the past 25 years a group of volunteers as brought in a series of shows every weekend featuring both national acts like Johnny Cash, Joan Baez & John Prine...and regional and local acts as well. They have a house band called the Blue Canvas Orchestra which is a collection of talented musicians who call the area home. Griffith was supposed to be the final act of a week of singer-songwriters competing in workshops and a song writing contest. Unfortunatley she had to cancel at the last minute because of throat problems. This left the Big Top people in a quandry...finding a national replacement at the last minute was really not an option so they came to the decision to cancel the show and go dark. That's when the musicians of the Blue Canvas Orchestra and a singer-songwriter named John Smith who was in town to help with the contest decided to donate their time and talents and put on an impromtu show for 10 bucks. It was great! I had never heard of Smith who hails from the La Crosse area but he was fabulous...witty, entertaining and a bunch of excellent songs.

I had never seen or heard the BCO but they were also remarkable. Whether it was doing original stuff or top notch covers of everything from CSN to Paul Simon to the Eagles.

They were joined on stage by the two top finishers in the songwriting contest...two young ladies who played a couple of songs each and were very good. Earlier in the day while walking around Bayfield we stopped at a watering hole and heard another aspiring singer-songwriter named Sascha Mercedes. She is from Minneapolis and was so good I had to quote Billy Joel and say "what are you doing here". Picked up a couple of her cd's too. She has been descibed as a cross between Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin....big voice...big songs...but just her and her guitar. I had never spent much time in that area but  Lake Superior was beautiful and it was a great couple of days.

The schizoid Milwaukee Brewers continue their act of sweeping or being swept. After dropping three to LA they sweep the Pirates. I missed Saturday nights game but it sounds like it was a thriller. 

Manny being Manny again. Ramirez was ejected from the game yesterday while arguing a strike 1 call while pinch-hitting in the 6th inning with the bases loaded. Classic.

The high school football season is underway. It sounds like DC Everest played well in their loss to Homestead. Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids both looked good. I saw Wausau East on Friday night and although they lost...they played better than last year and might have found a couple of young players that are ready to step up. Soph QB Cole Nelson had an excellent second half.

Songs of the Day- (from my I-Pod)

The Girl That I Knew Somewhere-Monkees (1967) A Mike Nesmith song recorded with Mickey singing lead because the producers thought Nesmith sounded too country. Here is a video with Mickey, Davy & Peter (no Mike) during their reunion tour.

A Girl Like You-Young Rascals (1967) blue-eyed soul from the streets of New York. Felix Cavileri and the Rascals were all over the radio in the mid-late 60's

The Green Bay Packers rolled over the Colts last night in outstanding display of football at Lambeau Field. Is it unrealistic to say this team will be playing in late January? Jermichael Finley says the goal is to play in Arlington at the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers looks like the best QB in the league and the first string O-line hasnt allowed a sack in the pre-season so far. I know it's only pre-season and these games don't mean a thing but how far have the Packers come since early last season when the team was in disarray and it looked like Mike McCarthy wouldnt survive.

High School football got underway last night and the East Lumberjacks came up short 21-7 but the game was closer than the score indicated. It was 14-7 early in the 4th quarter and East was on the 5 yard line looking to tie the game when a fumble gave the ball back to Kingsford and they marched it down the field against a tiring defense and punched it in for the final score. East did possibly find a QB. Sophomore backup Cole Nelson was pressed into service when starter Zach Comfort went out with tendinitis in his throwing arm and moved the team down the field on two drives including a beautiful touchdown pass to Logan Taylor. On a side note is was also good to see East assisntant Rich Luedtke back coaching the Jacks. Luedtke was stricken last season with a life-threatening case of pancreaititis which laid him up for months.

A bunch of teams get their season's started tonight. You can hear DC Everest vs Homestead on Foxsports 1390WRIG. Wausau West hosts Antigo at Thom Field. Wausau Newman is at Gilman, Superior at SPASH, Hudson at Rapids, Menominee at Marshfield, Merrill at Lakeland, Mauston at Mosinee, Edgar at Spencer/Columbus, Chequamegon at Marathon, Tomahawk at Ladysmith, Medford at Rice Lake, Sturgeon Bay at Witt/Birn, Auburndale at Stratford.

Heading north to see singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith tomorrow night at Big Top Chatauqua in Bayfield. If youre not familiar with Griffith's music it's been described as "folkabilly" ...here's a sample..

Other songs of the day  (from my-Ipod)

Girls From the North Country-Bob Dylan (1963 & 1969) originally recorded for the "Free Wheelin LP , Dylan re-recorded it in 1969 as a duet with Johnny Cash for "Nashville Skyline". Cash was an early supporter of Dylan's music.

Girls Goodbye-Toto (1978) from the stellar debut Lp from this group of LA studio cats fronted by Bobby Kimball. David Paich, Steve Lukather and the Porcaro brothers could rock or play soft and had a bunch of big hits.

When a young athlete is killed you immediatly think of what might have been. How far could their talent and drive carried them. I thought about that this week again after hearing the news of the death of Mitch Caster. Caster was a 21 year old baseball player from Wichita State. He had just completed his summer season in the Northwoods League pitching for the Rochester Honkers in the Championship game at Eau Claire. He was driving home when his SUV went out of control, crossed the centerline and struck a semi. A teammate of Caster's was driving a car in front of him and witnessed the accident. He thinks a tire blew on Caster's car causing the vehicle to go out of control. Regardless of the cause, another promising future  is gone and leaves family & friends grieving. There is no gaurauntee in this life and this is especially true in athletics. Normally it's an injury that will derail a "Can't miss" prospect but sometimes real life intrudes to our games and we are left to ponder the random chances that leave even the most carefully laid plans in tatters. His family & friends will gather for a memorial service today at Eck Stadium in Wichita. A memorial fund has been established at Home Federal Bank in Rochester and also at Wichita State University.

The Packers take on the Colts tonight. Ryan Pickett says don't worry about the defense. Despite the injures and struggles so far, he believes they will be fine. I asked Mike McCarthy this week about the brouhaha between Tom Brady and Rex Ryan of the Jets. Do players and teams feel the same animosity that seemed to exist years ago? Do players and coaches 'hate' other teams? He said it does exist and that "there are organizations that don't respect other organizations". He didnt mention any names but you have to wonder who he was talking about.

High School football gets under way tonight. I'll have Wausau East hosting Kingsford Michigan at Thom Field. You can hear the game on Foxsports1390WRIG at 645. We will also make our high school broadcasts available as podcasts this year. We will be posting them quarter by quarter on Foxsports1390.com and wsau.com. By the way, the nickname of the Kingsford team is the Flivvers...ask your grandpa what a flivver is.

Songs of the Day  (from my I-pod)

The Girls Can't Help It-Journey (1986) Steve Perry is taking more control of the band at this point as they slide into more power ballads and fewer rockers.

Girls From Ohio-Outlaws (1976) one of the more melodic of the southern rock bands...this Florida outfit combined the triple guitar  attack and three & four part harmonies. A good example of 70's "country-rock"

The World Basketball Championship will be held August 28th-September 12th in Turkey. Team USA plays Croatia in it's first game and you won't be able to tell the players without a scorecard. No Lebron...no Kobe...no Pierce, Garnett or Allen. That doesnt mean the team won't be good. Veterans Chauncy Billups and Lamar Odom are surrounded by a plethora of young stars. Kevin Durant should be the go-to guy but Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Andre Igadoula and Stephen Curry should score as well. They are joined by Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Tyson Chandler. Rajon Rondo pulled out to take care of some family matters before the NBA season begins. You wonder though if the NBA teams of these players appreciate the fact that their stars will be playing a rigourous series of games and risking injury right before NBA traing camps will begin.

A big cermony was held yesterday in Milwaukee to unveil a statue to Bud Selig at Miller Park. Dozens of former Brewers and Braves were there. I havent always agreed with Selig's work as commissioner but there is no question that he deserves the recognition in Milwaukee. Without the efforts of Selig there is no way that major league baseball would have returned to Milwaukee as quickly as it did after the Braves left.

Music News

Eric Clapton has a new album coming out...his first solo record in 5 years. It's called "Clapton" and will feature guset spots from Steve Winwood, Sheryl Crow, Wynton Marsalis, Allen Toussaint & JJ Cale.

Bob Dylan is releasing another Bootleg LP. He will debut the 9th volume in his Bootleg series in October. the 48-track double album will feature the "Witmark Demos" which were recorded in the early 60's. The songs feature vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica and piano. Early incarnations of "The Times They Are A Changin" and "Blowin In The Wind" are included.

Songs of The Day   (from My I-pod)

Girl-Beatles (1965) a classic harmony tune from the Rubber Soul LP

The Girls Can't Help It-Little Richard (1956) The title track from a soundtrack of a movie...this tune was written by Bobby Troup (he wrote Route 66 and also acted on the tv show Emergency) When Little Richard wailed you can understand why parents of the day thought it was the end of the world.

In the fall of 2004 Johnny Damon was the toast of Boston. He had just led the so-called "band of idiots" to their first World Series title since 1918. He could have been a hero in Boston for the rest of his life. But the real world intruded and the Red Sox and Damon could not agree on a contract after the 2005 season and Damon signed with the Yankees. The fans in Boston will forgive some things...but leaving the team to go to New York? As you might expect, Damon became a pariah. He signed with Detroit before this season and now the Red Sox have put in a waivers claim on the outfielder and would like him to return to beantown and help the Red Sox make a playoff push. Damon has a no-trade clause in his contract and the Red Sox are not one of the 8 teams that he can be traded to. He has to approve and from what I'm hearing it doesnt look like that will happen. He knows alot of bridges were burned back in 2005 and despite former teammates like David Ortiz and Jason Varitek lobbying him to return it appears that Damon in a Red Sox uniform will have to stay a memory...albeit a good one...for Sox fans.

The Woodchucks have retained Guido Aspeitia as field manager for 2011. The popular skipper led the Chucks to a 42-28 season and a playoff spot in the Northwoods League this season. Despite disagreeing with some of his strategic moves from the radio booth this year...I believe this is a no-brainer move for the Woodchucks. He's a high energy guy who is popular with the players and fans and has a successful track record. He also comes from California and gives the Chucks a leg-up on recruiting in that college baseball hot-bed.

The Fed-Ex Cup Golf Tournaments begin this week and Madison's Steve Stricker is poised to make a run at the title and the 10 million dollar prize that goes with it. The first of 4 tournaments begins in New Jersey and Stricker is second in Fed-Ex Cup points heading into the tournament. Tiger Woods will also play to try and improve his game enought to be named to the Ryder Cup team. Tiger's divorce was final yesterday.

Songs of The Day   (from my I-pod)

Gimme Gimme Good Lovin-Crazy Elephant (1969) a slice of studio bubble-gum from producers Jeryy Kastenatz and Jeff Katz. The band didnt actually exist. Someone took the song and put it together with the famous dance scene from "Dirty Dancing"on You Tube.

Gimme Some Lovin-Spencer Davis Group (1966) a teenage Steve Winwood nails this rocker and gives a glimpse of his enormous talent. One of the great rock & roll songs of all time.

The Milwaukee Brewers'  starting pitching has not been good. It's beena struggle for most of the season. Outside of Gallardo (most of the time) and Randy Wolf (some of the time) Ken Macha has had to go to his bullpen earlier and earlier with predictable results. Milwaukee won 2-3 this weekend over San Diego despite the starters struggling again. They won the first two games with some clutch late game hitting and some good relief work. Gallardo lasted only 3 and a third on Friday and Narveson made it three innings on Saturday. Manny Parra went six on Sunday but when it fell apart, it fell apart quickly. Parra called his fastball command "consistently terrible". He gave up seven runs on eight hits with 4 walks. This has been the pattern with Parra...one or two bad innings sabotaging decent starts. Now Macha and GM Doug Melvin are talking about replacing Parra when the Brewers expand their roster on September 1st. They have options. Mark Rogers, Cody Scarpetta, Josh Butler and Amaury Rivas are all on the 40 man roster. The job of Melvin (if he's around) this winter is simple...starting pitching...and if that means trading Prince Fielder to aquire something decent, most Brewer fans will live with that.

I hated Lou Piniella when he was with the Yankees. Of course in those days I hated all Yankees. But Piniella was one of those guys that you would love if he was on your team but absolutely despise when he was on the other team. He played balls to the wall all the time and hated losing. He carried that over to his managing and of course got carried away as some of his recorded meltdowns on the field will show. This season had to be very depressing for him...an expensive underachieving team circling the drain for the last two months....but what he brought to the Chicago Cubs organization is something that should stay with them. That is the expectation of winning. It seems that the Cubs organization for years knew they would draw fans whether they won or lost....so building a winning team wasnt the priority it might be in other places. Piniella wouldnt accept that...now, spending money is no guarantee of a winner(this season is a perfect example)but the culture of losing that had been ingrained at the corner of Sheffield and Addison for decades needed to go. Cub fans are no longer content to sit in the bleachers at Wrigley and just enjoy the experience while the team flounders on the field. Ryne Sandberg is expected to be the next Cub's manager and it is he who will be expected to carry on what Piniella built and also take the next step...

The packer starting offense looks ready to go...the defense, not so much. Aaron Rodgers looks great but unless you want a season of high scoring shootouts, the defense has to get healthy and start stopping someone. No rest Thursday night as Peyton Manning and the Colts come to town.

The high school football season gets underway this week. All games will be on Foxsports 1390 WRIG. The Wausau East Lumberjacks start the season Thursday night at Thom Field against Kingsford, Michigan...I'll be on the air at 6:45.

Songs of the Day  (from my I-pod)

Gimme Back My Bullets-Lynyrd Skynrd (1976) this is the Lp where they went to two guitars instead of three before Steve Gaines joined the band...the sound was different but still smoked. Ronnie Van Zant was an icon of the 70's.

Gimme Three Steps-Lynyrd Skynrd (1973) a classic from the first Lp...Everybody remembers Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama but this band had tons of good tunes...when you think southern rock it was the Allmans, CDB, Marshall Tucker Band and the boys from Jacksonville...and none of them rocked harder than Skynyrd.

Back when my fandom for the Boston Red Sox was much more intense than it is now, I would travel to Minneapolis and Chicago every chance I had to see the Sox. I would frequent the Wausau Mine Company on a regular basis...they were one of the first watering holes in town to have a satallite dish and picked up NESN which carried the Sox. I saw Roger Clemens pitch many times both in person and on TV. Clemens was awesome...dispatching hitters with a combination of power and control. When he left the Sox he was a shadow of his former self and yet magically became even a better pitcher winning a bunch of Cy Young Awards after it appeared he was done. Well we now know it wasnt magic...unless you believe that advanced chemistry is somehow magical. Clemens was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for making dalse staements to Congress about using performance enhancing drugs. He could go to prison. I suppose since Bud Selig and the rest of baseball including the working press ignored the steroid issue at the time he felt immune to any punishment. And of course, there were dozens of players just like him including some of the biggest names in the game. We seem to have gotten past the issue but expect it to be back in the news in the coming months as some of the trials, including Barry Bonds return to the headlines. Just be aware that in your fandom, your heroes will probably not be who you think they are. If you realize that going in it makes any sordid revelation that much easier to swallow.

The Woodchucks season came to an end last night in Eau Claire. The Chucks lost 6-2 and finish the season 43-30. We were fortunate to have a winning team to cover in our first year of bringing you Woodchucks baseball on the radio. It was fun to watch the development of players  like Kevin Pillar, Rob Lind and Travis Whitmore. They didnt win the championship but ceratinly it was a successful season and we look forward to covering the Chucks again next year.

Don't look now but the high school football season is upon us. A number of teams will have scrimmages this weekend as they prepare for their season openers next week. I'll begin coverage of the Wausau East Lumberjacks next Thursday night as they host Kingsford Michigan in a non-conference game. Pat will once again have DC Everest football and they open with Homestead next Friday. You can hear all of the action on Foxsports 1390 WRIG with doubleheaders on most Friday nights.

The high school boys soccer and girls tennis seasons are already underway. Is there something wrong about playing so much of those seasons before school even starts?

Songs of The Day  (from my I-pod)

Ghosts-Dan Fogelberg (1981) Another great song from his magnum opus "The Innocent Age". He used the cream of LA musicians on this Lp and it shows. Polished to a high sheen.

Ghosts of a Saturday Night-Tom Waits (1974) The early Waits stuff is fabulous. He captures the underbelly of a big city as well as anyone. You can almost smell the spilled whiskey, cigarette smoke and despair in every groove.

The Woodchucks have labored all summer to get to this point. One game to keep their season alive and to have a chance at the Northwoods League championship for the first time since 2003. They came up short last night 4-1 to Eau Claire at Athletic Park. The old cliche is that baseball "is a game of inches" and it proved to be true last night. The Express score a couple of runs after a line drive that would have ended an inning went off the glove of first baseman Robbie De La Cruz. The chucks also had a runner thrown out at home and nearly turned a double play that would have ended another inning but allowed a run to score. It comes down to one game tonight in Eau Claire. The winner advances to face Rochester in the championsip series this weekend. You can hear tonight's game on Foxsports 1390 WRIG at 6:15.

The Brewers seem to have found a keeper in Lorenzo Cain. He has been playing well since getting the call-up and was most of the offense yesterday in a win over the Cardinals. It looks more & more like the Brewers will trade Prince Fielder for pitching and look to Braun, Hart, Weeks and players like Cain to carry the offense.

I had a traffic accident yesterday in downtown Wausau that messed my car up pretty good. A sore back is my only physical problem but anyone who has a car accident knows the hassles of getting it fixed, insurance rates going up etc. Took my son's car to work this morning and of course the battery died when I stopped for coffee. As that great philosopher Roseanne Roseannadanna put it..."it's always something".

Songs of the day   (from my I-pod)

Ghost Riders in the Sky-Outlaws (1979) this song has been recorded by 5o different artists. Everyone from Bing Crosby to Johnny Cash. Burl Ives did it first in 1948. Vaughn Monroe has the biggest hit in 1949. The Outlaws rocked it up with this version that went top 20.

The Ghost Of Tom Joad-Bruce Springsteen (1995) The title track from the spare acoustic CD that showed the Boss taking a break from the rockin uptempo tunes for awhile. He has said he was inspired by John Ford's movie version of the Steinbeck novel "The Grapes Of Wrath".

Bobby Thomson passed away this week. Younger baseball fans may not know Thomson but for those of a certain age the journeyman outfielder was part of one of the most magical moments in baseball history. The year was 1951...Thomson's New York Giants(before they moved to San Francisco) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (before they moved to LA) were tied at the top of the National League standings at the end of the season. The Dodgers had lead for most of the last month but the Giants had got hot and forced a best of three playoff for the national league crown. This was before wildcards and divisons had watered down the playoffs. You either won the entire league or your season was over. With the series tied at 1-1 on October 3rd the Dodgers held a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Ralph Branca pitching and Thomson hit a three run homer to win the game and send the Giants to the World Series. It was immortalized by Russ Hodges famous call and became known as "The Shot Heard Round The World".

Thomson died at his home in Georgia Monday night. He was 86.

The Woodchucks played small ball last night in beating Eau Claire 3-2 and taking Game 1 of the Southern Division playoffs in the Northwoods League. Brian Sharpe knocked in the winning run in the 8th inning. Nick Capito, Jared Eickhoff and Jason Martyn combined to pitch the win and set up a clinching game tonight at Athletic Park. Game time is 6:35. You can hear the game on Foxsports 1390 WRIG beginning at 6:15 I'll be in the booth with Adam Seidel.

Former Badger hockey star Adam Burish will be in Madison today with the Stanley Cup. He won it this year with the Chicago Blackhawks and will be at the Kohl Center for pictures from 10-noon.

The Wausau Legion baseball team had their year-end banquet last night. Mike Parman won the MVP  and Top Hitter awards. John Roberts was named Top Pitcher and Jason Kyle won the most improved award.

Songs of the day  (from My I-pod)

Ghost-Indigo Girls (1992) from the "Rites of Passage" CD comes this hauting tale of love lost. Emily Saliers wrote it.

Ghost in This House-Alison Krauss & Union Station (1999) With a voice as pure as the mountain sky in January Krauss scores again with another tale of love gone bad.