Oh, there were dark clouds above Packer Nation...

Call it the Final Five: the hours it took for Wisconsin's agonizing one-point loss to Syracuse, followed by Marquette's cold-shooting exit against Florida. A sudden ending just two steps short of the Final Four always stirs the...

Two weeks ago the Packers were in trouble with several major injuries, two straight overtime losses and the prospect of three tough games before their bye week. Three weeks ago the Badgers were in a dicey spot with an early Big Ten loss and their two toughest games coming up.

Sportsmanship took a shot in the face this month when a college football player slugged an opponent for taunting him after a game. It was an extreme, but hardly isolated, example of the frenzy that can grip players and fans far out of proportion to the importance of what we call “games."

Surely it was the least surprising news since Capt. Renault was shocked— shocked!—to find gambling at Rick’s cafe in Casablanca. Three weeks after saying he would stay retired, Brett Favre was back in uniform. This time it was the color he had wanted ever since the Packers “moved on” after his original...

I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, oh yeah, such no time for me to whip out an essay for you’s about why Green Bay Packer fans ought to show up at Lambeau Field on Sunday, Nov. 1, with unconcealed bazookas strapped to their fat-ass Cheesehead Dairyland hip.

The most indecisive man in football is at it again. A Minneapolis TV station is reporting that Brett Favre is likely to sign with the Minnesota Vikings today. According to WCCO-TV:   Favre is on currently on his way to Minneapolis and is expected to sign with the team this afternoon, the source said. WCCO-TV spoke with an official at the Hattiesburg, Miss., airport, w...

More divided duty for the Observers last week, with Frank back in New York and Artie manning the home office. They confabbed by phone on a day when baseball held a celebration under a cloud. Frank: Hall of Fame induction day should have focused completely on Rickey Henderson...

Last year the Brewers made the playoffs for the first time in a generation, but it required a bold mid-season move that added CC Sabathia to the starting rotation. This year Sabathia is gone and the Brewers still can’t count on pitching help from the minor leagues. Will they need an ’09...

The Brewers passed the season’s 50-game milestone Sunday with a 5-2 victory that completed a sweep of Cincinnati. The Observers were on hand, and marking a milestone of their own. Artie: Three hours and three minutes for that game. Nowhere near my ideal of 2:24, or the 2:36...