NEW BLOG 12/14 "Packers and other stuff"

I'm back, finally. Sorry for the blog delay. I've been pretty burned out by that whole being the whole sports department for two months thing, and then the whole training new people thing. But we're almost at full staff in sports, and the new guys are catching on (as fast as newbies can), so let's talk some sports.

Let's talk about the Packers future. I say future because I'm not talking about this season like they still have a chance for the playoffs. I know that they could win out and get to 8-8, and there's an outside chance an 8-8 team could make the playoffs in the NFC, but for now, there are just too many teams in front of the Packers to seriously talk playoffs. So let's talk about the future. If you read the article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, you know that the Packers have a lot of salary cap room heading into next season, and not a lot of their own free agents to sign. So could a couple well targeted free agents help the Packers take the next step to be a playoff caliber team? Honestly, I'm not really sure. There are a lot of questions. How much longer will Brett Favre play, and when he leaves, is Aaron Rodgers the answer? That brings up another point. The Packers three best players on offense (Brett Favre, Ahman Green, & Donald Driver) are all old (in football years). The young offensive line could develop, but the Packers have to find some young skill position player to build their offense around. Greg Jennings is a good start, but they need a lot more. On defense, there appears to be the groundwork for at least a decent unit. But under Bob Sanders, they've really struggled. The future of the secondary is up in the air. Marquand Manuel's been a bust, and Al Harris always talks about how he wants out of Green Bay.

As for the guys not on the field, I do actually have faith in Mike McCarthy as a head coach. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling he's going to be a good coach. I'm still holding out judgment on Ted Thompson. Most of his moves have been pretty good, but he hasn't done anything great, yet.

So, I'm not calling for the Super Bowl anytime soon, but maybe with a couple smart moves and Brett Favre back, they could make a run at the playoffs next year. But without Favre (and that day's coming soon) the future looks a lot cloudier. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the direction the Packers are heading.

There's also lots of other stuff going on. The Badger football team in a big time bowl, the Badger basketball team maybe looking like a final four contender, the Brewers not really able to compete in the high priced free agency market, and anything local high school or college you'd like to discuss.

Matt

Respond to Matt's blog here.

Judging by the last time Matt updated his blog, he's already gone and moved on.
lol


Rumor on the street is your leaving. Can you confirm or deny this?


No Sports Highlights from Jan 26 like the Matt's Stars (Jan. 15) edition on the web?


Hey Matt,

It is Elizabeth Anderson, not Elizabeth Arneson. She is the twin sister of Erin, who both were covered by you guys when Rib Lake went to State in Volleyball. How can someonenot read the names correctly on the Sports Roster?


I am very disappointed with Channel 7 not showing the Badger basketball games. Here we in Wisconsin are their biggest fans, and we can't see them on a regular t.v. That (stinks). Guess I will have to go to radio. Whoever decided this should be fired.

Marie from Pittsville


M.Z.Well thanks Art it'll be CBS's 18th time broadcasting a Superbowl game and by the way didnt we hear Bret Farve say on New Years Eve @ Soldier Field in Chicago that he'll have a decision in "2 weeks?" ,I believe thats already expired by now?!?! 1/18/2007


Matt, about the last Badgers basketball game (vs. Northwestern): How, how in the world (!) is it that WSAW broadcast HALF the game, and then switched coverage to the North Carolina - Virginia Tech game??? What is going on?? Who would make that decision?? It's not as if the game announcers only covered half the game and then packed up and left. Wisconsin is a top 5 ranked team, and THIS IS WISCONSIN. Wausau is a Wisconsin market! We follow WISCONSIN, not North Carolina. I am incredulous that WSAW would switch coverage in the middle of the game. And I don't buy the guff that someone "higher up" (at CBS) would make that call. I'll say it again -- Wausau is a WISCONSIN market, not a North Carolina market. It seems again that unless you actually win a national championship, you get no respect. Bottom line -- is WSAW going to do it again? I'd like to watch the UW-Purdue game IN IT'S ENTIRETY. Sorry for shouting but this is just unbelievable to me.

Jerry R.
Antigo

I'm sorry that you're so incredulous, but it wasn't my decision or even really our station's decision to cut out of the game at halftime. We were required to go to CBS's NFL pregame show at 2:30. In retrospect, it probably would have been a good idea for us not to even play the first half on Channel 7, but that's not my decision. As far as I know this won't happen again. The future games we have will either be entirely on NewsChannel 7 or entirely on our digital station MyTV.
MZ

Here's the network coverage over the years of Super Bowl games. NBC-17, CBS-17, ABC-7 and FOX-6. Interesting fact is that both CBS and NBC carried the first game, which was called the NFL/AFL World Championship Game. Art VanDaLay

Thanks for the help Art.
MZ

do you think Favre will return and how long do we think it will take this year for him to decide? he said few weeks. Its been that!

I don't think even Favre's family knows when or what his decision will be, so anything I say will be a completely uneducated guess. In related news, I think he'll definitely be back and he'll make the decision in February.
MZ

M.Z. Knowing that Super Bowl 41 is going to be on CBS - TV & Newschannel 7 as well on February 4th, 2007 go its 40 year history can you find out from the 4 networks CBS,ABC,NBC,FOX in order which ones broadcasted the most Superbowl games? 01/11/07

See Art's response above.
MZ

Hey Matt, I see you guys travel pretty far to cover local sports. I was wondering, do you have a favorite "mode of transportation"? -Razor Scooter

I prefer the helicopter... by the way this is one of those funny inside jokes if you're reading this and are completely confused.
MZ

omg

am I sick with fever? matthew updated his blog?

I hope you feel better.
MZ

M.Z.Matt speaking of the Packers I learned that the NOON game has now been rescheduled to a 7 pm start as a Packer fan that is a BAD move because I believe it will lessen the chances of the Packers getting into the playoffs if in fact any other teams in the NFC have to win or lose before the Packers play the Bears at this new time for Sunday because what ever scenorio would be to help the Packers before they play doesn't work at that point it would be deemed meaningless for the Packers to have to beat the Bears before they play,what do you think Matt!?!?! 12/26/2006

I think the NFL moved the game because of the Brett Favre factor mostly, and as it turned out they got some really good stuff after the game.
MZ

The key to offensive production is the offensive line, which is now painfully obvious.

Jim Maas

Yeah, but I think like the future looks at least fairly bright for the Packers young offensive line.
MZ

Now for some interesting thoughts from Art VanDaLay. First, Brett Favre will be back next year. The Packers will finish this season 7-9. During the off season the Pack will pick up some needed help at wide receiver and will pick a veteran back-up quarterback. The Badger football team will win their bowl game on New Years Day 24-20. The Badger hoops team will make it to the final four. Laconia boys basketball team will make it to the State tourney in March (your HS alma mater). The Brewers will win the division and Ben Sheets will win 23 games. I guess if you are going to dream, dream big. Thats my thoughts, we'll see how they come out.

Great thoughts Art, but I think Ben Sheets has to actually start 23 games to get 23 wins.
MZ

Matt,

Good to see you back. Hope you enjoyed the wedding reception in November. Thanks for the appearance, it was cool to have a celebrity at my wedding!

Thanks for leaving your name so I know who this is from.
MZ

will the Packer NFLN game with Minnesota be available to view Thurs nite in Cental and Northcentral Wisconsin?( on reg TV or basic cable channels?)

It will be on NFL Network which I believe is only available on DirectTV and Dish Network around here. Also, the game will be broadcast on WFRV, and some people can pick that up on basic cable in the Wausau area.
MZ

Hey Sports Guy\, Art VandaLay here. Nice to see that your back. When I get some more time\, like this weekend\, I'll put my spin (pretty corporate word huh) on your thoughts. For now\, have a great weekend in the North Woods of Wisconsin.

Thanks for checking in Art, look forward to hearing more from you.
MZ

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NEW BLOG 10/2 "Brewer Retrospective"

It was a weird Brewer season, wasn't it? Most of us came into the year with maybe the highest expectations we had ever had in our lifetimes (at least the highest expectations in the last 10 years). The starting rotation looked solid. The bullpen looked a little questionable, but hey Derrick Turnbow was there at the end. And the offense looked young but full of talent. All of that led me to be cautiously optimistic before the season. Here's my actual prediction from the 4th of April:

(From 4/4 blog) My guess is they're still a year away. Here's the good: 1. They don't really have any glaring weaknesses. Think about it. Is there any position you look at and say "Wow they've got to get somebody better than that guy." (except for maybe all you Geoff Jenkins haters) 2. They have very good starting pitching, probably the deepest rotation in the N.L. Central. And I think their bullpen is better than most people think, as long as the starters can get the game to Wise and Turnbow. 3. They have a great mix of veterans and youth. Just take a look at opening day. Veteran Jeff Cirillo comes up with the biggest hit of the game. Youngsters J.J. Hardy and Derrick Turnbow came up big as well.
As for the negatives, I mentioned before I don't see any glaring weaknesses, but the young defense scares me as does the fact that the offense will rely on so many young guys as well. If you've ever watched sports you know youth usually means inconsistency. Also Ben Sheets starts the season on the disabled list, and they absolutely need him to be healthy all year and have a big season. And finally, the main reason I don't think they're quite ready for the playoffs is that I don't see them beating out the Cards for the division, and that leaves them fighting with a lot of teams for one wild card spot. And I see them falling just a little bit short of that, maybe losing out to the Mets, Braves, Phillies, or any other team that really jumps up. So here's my official Brewer prediction: 85 - 77, probably good for third, maybe second in the N.L. Central. Hopefully I'm wrong the good way and they do make the playoffs. That would be unbelievable! (again, this was from my prediction blog on 4/4)

Yes a playoff berth would be and still is unbelievable. Unfortunately, the one thing that I said the Brewers needed, didn't happen. They didn't have a healthy Ben Sheets. But that wasn't it. Tomo Ohka was also out for a long period of time. Then the offense got decimated by injuries too, Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Corey Koskie. It also wasn't just injuries that derailed the season. Derrick Turnbow simply did not have it anymore. Even in the beginning of the season, he looked shaky while still getting the job done. Then, it all fell apart around the all-star break. And by the time Ned Yost got around to finally removing Turnbow from the closer's job. It was too late, and the team had blown too many close games that this team simply couldn't afford to lose.

That leads me into Ned Yost talk. I've heard grumblings from some Brewer fans that Yost should be on the hot seat. He isn't. He shouldn't be yet. He won't be... unless the Brewers go through another losing season next year. I think Yost has to get a pass on this season because of the stuff I was just talking about before. They had a lot of injuries and one of their better players (Turnbow) went completely haywire. To be honest with you, I think Yost did a good job this year. He kept this team fighting all the way to the finish despite a 10 game losing streak in late August. Just look at the way they battled in the last couple weeks. They went 7-4 in their last 11 games, and it would have been 9-2 if Francisco Cordero hadn't blown his first two saves as a Brewer.

In the end, they did fall short of my prediction of 85 wins. And you know what hurts the most? St. Louis won the division with 83 wins. Ouch. But it's best not to think about that. I'm angry as a Brewer fan they didn't win more games, but I can't say I'm very disappointed. They just seemed to have too much go against them this year, and in the end the injuries caught up with them.

So what does the future hold? Well, it looks like most of the team will be back next year. Owner Mark Attanasio says he will increase the payroll about $6 million. That should be enough to bring back their own free agents, but not really enough to add much. I think they'll be better. Their injured guys will hopefully be healthy, and their young guys will be more experienced. I'm guessing they'll win around 85 games.

Matt

Matt: The announcers in Sunday's Packer game were going over Wild Card possibilities and indicated that an 8 & 8 record might make the playoffs. The Packers won to go 5-8 on the season. They SHOULD beat the Lions. They COULD beat the Vikings. That would put them at 7-8 going into the Bear game. The Bears have the Division sewed up and may be resting some guys as many teams do just before the playoffs. If the Packers won that game they'd be 8 & 8! Also\, very importantly\, they'd be 5 & 1 in the Division. That could well put them in the playoffs!
And NO! I've not been smoking anything!
James D. Backus

Pretty good points, but the only problem is that 8-8 probably still won't be good enough to get the Packers in the playoffs. There are just too many teams in front of them, and let's face it, they'll probably find a way to lose one of these final three games.
MZ

M.Z.Matt now that the 2006 BCS Bowl schedule is out in your own sports opinion what do you think about why the people that came out with the BCS schedule DID NOT put Michigan in a BCS bowl game even when they finished in the Top 5 and the conterversy of that decision Matt!?!? *12/9/2006*

Just to clear it up, Michigan is actually playing in a BCS bowl game. They're just not playing in the BCS championship game. As for Michigan not playing in that title game, they probably are the second best team in the country, but they did already get their shot at Ohio State. It's all pretty dumb anyways. Until they have a playoff, I can't take college football too seriously.
MZ

are you single yet?

Amazingly, my girlfriend has not gotten sick of me yet. . . at least not enough to break up with me.
MZ

hi mz were did mike jocs go to

Madison, for a job at NBC-15 (amazingly somebody else hired him . . . just messing with you Jocko)
MZ

hey matt\,
I noticed that since ive moved here back in august. That all i ever hear on the sports is high school and U.W and mostly the packers. What is up with that. Like tonight was the biggest football game of the season\, louisville vs West Virginia. You didnt say a single word about the hame or even the score of it. If you like sports like I do\, something needs to be done here. Better and complete details of other national games and such\, and that goes for other sports as well. I moved here from kentucky and let me tell you. I miss my sports coverage down there. Plus another thing\, try to put some excitement into doing the sports. I notice that channel 7 isnt the only one that does this\, the same goes for 9 as well.
Well just to let you know that on a scale of 1 to 10\, and 10 being the best\, i rate you as a 4. Sports isnt only wisconsin you know\, and they arent playing for a spot in the BCS championship game. So show more of others as well.

Thank you\,
Louisville maniac

Well maniac, I would like to thank you for taking the time to rate me as four. I mean if that was my grade point average, four would be awesome. If I was a movie, four stars would probably get me an oscar nomination. Also, I just found this out today, four is the supreme number of the universe according to the Time Cube. Go ahead, look it up, it's on Wikipedia so it must be true.
As for your complaints, I don't really want to respond to them because you'll probably just get more mad and email or blog back again and then I'd have to respond to you again and then you'd probably have even more complaints and we might get caught in a neverending loop, and nobody wants that. So I'll just say covering local and to a lesser extent regional sports is what we do, and it's what we'll continue to do.
MZ

M.Z.When you get a chance one of the commentators that did the Dolphins/Packers game on FOX-TV had said that one of the Packers on the team is originally from North Pole\,Alaska Matt could you try to find out which Packer they were talking about that they said that was from there and post it on here Matt\,Thanks!*Friday October 27th\,2006*

That player is actually second round draft pick Daryn Colledge, and here's something interesting, he actually grew up on S. Santa Claus Lane.
MZ

Matty\,

-Your Biggest Fan in Pennsylvania

By the tone of this email, it almost sounds like someone who may have previously worked in the NewsChannel 7 Sports Department. I would guess Greg Whitmer, but he moved to some station out east in Johnstown, wherever that is.
MZ

Matt...when are you going to update your blog? I'm getting bored with reading the same entry over and over again! A concerned Green Bay viewer

Sorry about that. The blogger below gets to the reason for that. It's been a little hectic around here the past couple months. I promise new blogs coming soon, probably about the Brewers season or maybe some sort of Packer preview.
MZ

Matt\,
Seems like your station doesn't have a lot of people working in sports. Are they ever going to replace Jill with anyone?

Concerned viewer.

Yeah, not a lot lately, but we've finally fixed that in a big way. Matt Blanchette is our new weekend sports anchor. He is orginally from Rhode Island and likes the Patriots (frontrunner), but he spent the last year working just north of us in Marquette, MI. You will also see another new face in the sports department, on air from time to time, but also doing a lot of the behind the scenes work like shooting games. John Allee is from Stevens Point and has actually worked with us for a while in our production department and as a part-time sports shooter. He will now also be doing on air work for us. This is all good for the viewers and good for me too because I can actually take some days off... as soon as stupid November Sweeps is over.
MZ

Hi Matt. Just want to tell you how much I enjoy your sports reports. I am a huge Brewer fan and like you\, I was disapointed in the season\, but am excited about what the future may hold.
I also want to tell you that the spot on TV about the Highlite Zone is one of the best I have ever seen! Using the Christmas music was really cute. Keep up the good work. Lori/wausau

Sorry for the delay in my responses. It's been pretty busy around here and as other bloggers have noticed, we've been fairly shorthanded in the sports department.
As for the hilight zone promo, I have to give props to Kristi Schreiber and the promotions department for that one. Again, thanks for the compliment, and we will do our best to keep up the good work.
MZ

M.Z.Well Matt with a blog like that on the Brewers this season you would be just as good as the guy that sits next to William Schroeder that does the TV on air analysis for FSN when they air Brewer games on TV\,but overall you forgot to mention 'Rock'n Robin Yount' even though he wasn't on the field but he was part of the Milwaukee Brewers organization this year and I thought his presense in the doughout would of helped the Brewers this year because to me I thought it was really classic to even see him in pinstripes on retro Sundays on the home games that they played but during the season they have beaten some of the better and top teams in the league but not goood enough to finish even to make a wildcard spot in the playoffs\,did you even think that the Chicago Cubs would finish last before the season where they ended up that costed thier manager at the end Matt!?!?! Tuesday October 10th\,2006.

As long as the Cubs build their team around two injured pitchers (Mark Prior & Kerry Wood), then they're gonna end up in last place a lot. As far as being in the booth next to Bill Schroeder, unfortunately my dad isn't a former major league pitcher... wow, bitter much?
MZ

Well\, I along with you did not predict the number of wins correctly\, but I sure am optomistic about the future for the Brew Crew. They have some talented young ball players and with one year under their belts should know what it takes to win on a consistent basis. One player I will be following is Vinnie Rottino. As you know Vinnie is from Racine\, WI and just a great story on how he made it to the bigs. Next year\, Brew Crew will win 93+ games. Book it. Art VanDaLay

Let's wait to see what they do this offseason before we get to crazy with the predictions. And on a slightly separate rant, I don't know if I can take another losing season now that I've had my expectations raised. I could handle it when I knew they were going to lose, but now it's just almost too much. Anbody else with me on that?
MZ

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BLOG 9/9 "Packer Predictions"

It's that time again, packer prediction time. By now you've probably heard or read all the national pundits hammering the Packers. Most of the predictions I've seen have them winning 3 maybe 4 games this season. Well, I'm here to say those people are wrong. This team is better than they think. The Packers will definitely win at least 5 games this year. Seriously folks, the Packers just aren't very good. If you follow with me through the three phases of the team, I think you'll agree.

OFFENSE:

Brett Favre is back, but is it going to do any good? Remember this is the guy who tossed 29 interceptions last year. I don't see him throwing nearly that many this year, but I also don't see him get anywhere near his MVP form of a few years ago. It's not so much that he's lost a lot, it's that there's just not much around him.

Let's start with the offensive line. I'm sure you've heard by now that two rookies will be starting at guard, but let's not forget that Scott Wells isn't exactly a seasoned veteran at center (he's started only 12 games as a pro). A lot of people, including me, believe that the offensive line is one of the most important parts of a football team. You can have great skill position players, but without a good line your running backs don't have any holes to run through, and your quarterback doesn't have time to find his receivers.

That leads to the rest of the offense. The Packers really don't have much at the skill positions. Donald Driver is good and rookie Greg Jennings has looked good, but outside of that, the Packers don't really have much for receiving options. (How is Robert Ferguson still in the NFL and still on the Packers?) Then at running back I think the Packers are banking a little to much on Ahman Green being healthy all year and returning to his form of a couple years ago. He's 29, (getting old by running backs standards) and he's coming off a serious leg injury. Last year's sensation Samkon Gado hasn't really fit in with the new offensive scheme, and in fact he's actually listed behind Noah Herron on the depth chart.

So I guess this all leads to my lack of confidence in the Packers this season. I just don't see how they're going to be able to score points.

DEFENSE:

I guess if you had to pick a strength of the team this would be it... but only by default. The Packers do have some talented players on defense (Al Harris, Nick Barnett, hopefully A.J. Hawk), but they also don't have hardly any depth. That's especially clear in the secondary where after starters Al Harris, Charles Woodson (let's hope he tackles better in the regular season than the preseason), Marquand Manuel and Nick Collins, the Packers have only one player who's not a rookie, and that player is Ahmad Carroll, yikes! Their defensive line does actually have some depth, but I'm not convinced anybody can produce a consistent pass rush. At linebacker, they should be alright, especially if A.J. Hawk can produce right away. However, there's again very little experience after the starters.

On the bright side, they will be running the same scheme that Jim Bates ran pretty successfully last year. But I just don't see this defense being nearly good enough to carry the Packers, and that's exactly what they would have to do for this team to have success.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

They've got Dave Rayner at kicker and Jon Ryan at punter, plus nobody to really return kicks and a coverage unit that looked terrible in the preseason. Enough said.

OVERALL:

I gotta be honest with you. I didn't really realize how bad I thought the Packers are until I read the poll question at Packers.com. The question is "What's the Packers' greatest strength heading into the season opener? Running game, Passing game, Run defense, Pass defense, Special teams." If you're like me, you're wondering why none of the above isn't an option.

I promised a Packer prediction, so I guess that means I've got to give you an exact win loss total. I'm going to optimistically go with 6 - 10. Their schedule is really easy, and maybe by the end of the year this young group can come together and get a few wins. As for Sunday's opener against the Bears, for some reason I do have a feeling that the Packers might win it. So, what the heck, we'll say this is one of their 6 wins. I'll go Packers 20 - Bears 17.

These are just my fairly uneducated guesses about the Packers season. Most of you could probably make predictions as good or better than me. That's why I invite you now to make your packer predictions here. Feel free to continue making them even after Sunday's opener.

Matt

Greetings Matt\,
Did you see the great TIMBERLINE program this Sunday morning?
Wonderful show! Did you happen to notice the Tree Stands the hunters were using?
They looked like some awesome Tree Stands. Very roomy and they also looked very safe.
The nice sized platform would provide a sturdy base under any hunter's feet while he waits for that Big One to pass. How about doing a Segment on Tree Stands and Tree stand Safety as long as the White Tail Season is upon us here in Wisconsin. Specific program information like Tree Stand Safety would be a fine reminder for those who take to the woods during the next several months. Just an idea. Those stands looked awesome though!
Did you get a chance to check it out?

I think our news department usually handles the hunting safety story stuff, but I'll definitely pass this along to them.
MZ

M.Z.Hey Matt can you also do predictions on the Wisconsin Badgers football season knowing they have a guy named 'Bret' coaching the team and I also like to add that for anyone who doesn't have cable or has but wont be able to catch the Badgers football games on TV live when it is aired it also can be seen in its entirety every Saturday nites on PBS on WHRM-TV @ 10:30PM so all the central Wisconsin Badger fans are in good luck TV wise Matt!.*Friday September 15th\,2006*

Thanks for giving everyone the heads up about the re-broadcast. I'm not much of a watch sports on a tape delay guy, but at least you can watch the highlights. As for Badger predictions, I don't think they're gonna win this week.
MZ

Alright Matt\, what do you think? This weeks prediction. Packers get burnt again on play action pass\, Farve playing from behind and frustrated forces ball into triple coverage\, and Saints come out on top 20-14. jjg

Sorry I didn't get a chance to respond before Sunday's game, but my you pick 'em picks are proof I didn't see the Packers winning this game. I'm not really sure who I would pick them to win against. That's why I came up with the poll question. I'm interested to see how many people think they'll get a win even before week 8.
MZ

We really do miss seeing Jill Wunrow doing sports!!! You could tell she loved her job informing us on what was going on in sports not just local but national. She was always very enthused (we loved Jill's Thrills) and made the news worthwhile watching. Good Luck to your new position in GB!! GO WUNROW!!

We wish her well in Green Bay too.
MZ

y not matt
Greg

Huh?
MZ

Hey\, 15-1 isn't bad. Go Pack! Art VanDaLay

Hopefully you think 4-12 isn't that bad either.
MZ

Ah\, 6-10\, just what I would've predicted for Green Bay. I also predict that your fantasy team will end at 6-10. Ha! - Tim aka Godless Killing Machines

Nothing people who don't play fantasy football like more than hearing us fantasy football dorks talk about it. And by the way, our fantasy regular season is only 13 games, so I'll be shooting for 3-10.
MZ

I will agree with you Matt 6-10. Green Bays defense is their strength but I don't think their offense will give them any rest on the sidelines. In the second half opponents offenses will wear them down. This week Bears 27 Packers 10.

Your Bears/Packers pick was slightly better than mine, although you obviously gave the Packers offense too much credit. And can anyone explain why I bad mouthed the Packers through my entire blog and then for some reason picked them to beat one of the NFL's better teams?
MZ

Here's a different issue for you: Don't you think it is "nasty" for a coach to run up a score in a football game when he knows the other team has nothing to work with? I know kids like to keep setting records\, etc. but really. Consider the other team\, too. Granny

That can be a touchy issue. On the one hand, nothing is gained from a coach leaving in his starters just to run up the score. But if the back-ups come in and get their chance, you can't expect them not to try to score more points.
MZ

I notice Jill Wunrow is no longer part of the sports team. Where did she go?

Green Bay, too cool for us apparently.
MZ

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NEW BLOG 8/21 "Halfway through the Preseason"

Sorry I'm a couple days late from my promised new blog. I decided I'd wait until after the Packers 2nd preseason game to write about them. I'm glad I did because my opinion has changed... a little bit.

To quote a sports cliche, things are never as bad as they look, and likewise things are never as good as they look. What I'm saying is the Packers aren't quite as bad as they looked in the first preseason game, but they're also not nearly 28 points better than the Atlanta Falcons either. Obviously, they're somewhere in between. If you wanna be optimistic, maybe they'll be as close to game 2 form as they are to game 1 form. I still think they've got a ways to go.

Here's why. Number one: special teams. Unless the Colts release Adam Vinatieri, the Packers are not going to have a very good kicker, and their punter probably won't be anything special. Right now, they have a couple unknowns as their starters, Dave Rayner at kicker and Jon Ryan at punter. These are young guys who the Packers say have strong legs. But with those strong legs, they both have virtually no NFL experience. And these aren't exactly the guys you wanna be relying on for important kicks late in games (not that the Packers will have many important kicks). But if you are of the belief that the Packers will at least be competitive this year, then that means they will probably have to win some close games. And what usually is the difference is close games, the kicking game. So, to be relying on two completely inexperienced guys in those big situations is scary.

Number two: the offensive line. This is one where my opinion has changed a bit. I was ready to completely right off the offensive line as the reason the Packers had no chance to even be competitive this year. When people would ask me before the season what I thought of the Packers chances, I would say I just don't see them doing much with all the youth on their offensive line because it's such a key to success in the N.F.L. After watching their performance in the preseason opener, I thought my worst fears were correct. However, they did look at least adequate in game number two against Atlanta. For the most part they held up, and the newcomer to the starting lineup Tony Moll looked surprisingly good. But still, they will almost surely be starting two rookies at guard and a second year guy at center. Also, don't forget that starting tackle Chad Clifton is battling a knee injury, and who knows if he'll be 100% all season. That brings up another point about the line. They have almost no quality depth, so any injury especially to the tackles, would be devastating. Best case scenario this offensive line will be good enough to block for a healthy Ahman Green. That leads into another question mark. But I'll wait to talk about Green until he plays in a preseason game. That will hopefully be Monday against Cincinnati.

Despite those two big questions, there are some reasons for optimism. Brett Favre looked as sharp as he has in a long time Saturday night. Anybody who saw him squeeze in that throw to Donald Driver knows what I'm talking about. Also, rookie wide receiver Greg Jennings has been a pleasant surprise and looks like he could actually contribute already this year.

Still the Packers have a lot of questions, and they'll be starting a lot of really young guys. So while things don't look quite as dire as they did after the first preseason, I still wouldn't be making plans for Miami in early February. With that, I'd love to hear what you guys think about how the Packers look so far. I'll be back with an official prediction for the season once we know exactly who'll be on the Packers roster for the season opener.

Matt

Matt, don't you miss having a woman in the sports office?

This is certainly a loaded question. So let's go with sometimes as my answer.
MZ

hey matt do u think the packers have a chance theis year Greg

No.
MZ

Matt - Will Channel 7 be broadcasting the Badger football games this year or stick to the CBS games? I think that a lot of Badgers fans would appreciate it.

It looks like we'll be sticking to the CBS programming for the most part. Sorry.
MZ

If/when the Packers win 9 games... can I get a dinner too?
Your softball pal and morning weather dude...

Yeah, sure.
MZ

Well we're only two games into the preseason and I think that the Packer's have two concerns - offensive line and running backs. They are putting a relatively young offensive line on the field, but with time I believe this group will do well. I am more concerned with the running backs - most of them are damaged goods and only time will tell how they fare. For now I remain optimistic and still feel they will finish with a record of 9-7. Art VanDaLay

That's a good point about the running backs. Most people aren't talking too much about the backs. But if Ahman Green can't come back to nearly the form he was, they could be in some trouble, especially running behind the offensive line that you mentioned.
By the way, if the Packers win 9 games, I'll buy you dinner.
MZ

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MATT'S NEW BLOG 7/28 "Adios, El Caballo"

Let me take you through my morning today. Wake up at 10:45 (yeah, I had to get up way earlier than normal because of the NewsChannel 7 / K-tech Golf Championship). Like I usually do I turned on ESPN Radio, and that's when I heard the news that I had been pretty much been expecting but had hoped I wouldn't hear. The Brewers had traded Carlos Lee. Even though I knew the Brewers would probably trade him, it still hurt, it hurt bad. We Brewer fans have gone through so much over the years, but it seemed liked things had changed. A new stadium and owner have allowed the team to increase the payroll. A new general manager has helped greatly improve the minor league system. And a new luxury tax in baseball has somewhat leveled the playing field. But today's trade is a harsh reality check for all us Brewer fans. It shows us that no matter how far the Brewers and baseball in general has come, the simple fact is that the Brewers are still a small market team. They still have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. And they still can't afford to keep their great players. At least they're closer now than they were a few years ago. They reportedly offered Lee a 4 year deal worth about $50 million, but he's looking for a 5 year deal somewhere in the $70 million range. I'm guessing you're not taking much solice in the fact that the Brewers are now closer to being able to keep their best players. Neither am I.

There had been lots of talk lately about the Brewers possibly trading Lee, and I had been telling people that I thought the Brewers would probably trade him. But what I had also been telling people is that the Brewers had a Lee-like guy waiting down in the minors. That guy is Nelson Cruz with his 20 homers this season at Triple-A Nashville. That guy also got traded today. That's probably the part of this trade that bothers me the most. Cruz isn't exactly a young minor leaguer at 26, but experts have compared him to Cincy's slugger Adam Dunn. So if the Brewers gave up one of the best power hitters in the game, and one of the future great power hitters for Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, and two other guys, I can't be too happy.

Here's more on those players that the Brewers got in today's Carlos Lee trade.

Kevin Mench is 28 and has played all five of his major league seasons with Texas. He's hitting .284 this year with 12 homers and 50 RBI's. He's a career .274 hitter.

Franciso Cordero is a former closer and for a while a dominant one. He was an All-Star in 2004 when he recorded 49 saves while posting an E.R.A. just over 2. Unfortunately, he hasn't pitched nearly that well recently. This year he has a decet 7-4 record but his earned run average is pushing 5.

Laynce Nix has spent most of the season at Texas's triple-a affiliate in Oklahoma. He does have major league experience and is said to have great range in center field.

Julian Cordero is a class-a minor league pitcher in his second year of professional baseball.

That's the lowdown on the new guys. I'm guessing you're still way more concerned about the fact that El Caballo is no longer a Brewer. If you're not happy, or if you are, I would love to here. Vent or show your Brewer love right here.

isn't it time to update your blog.

Yep.
MZ

M.Z.I live on Lincoln County and last week Friday the 11th as you know about the case where a Tomahauk student pled guilty to his charges in court for the physical abuse he did to his sister and got 18 months probation but now his parents are sueing the school on weather they had the right to let the incedent affect getting his title being stripped from him so Matt my questions for you is do you think schools that have students that participate in sports should be allowed to punish them for acts that the commit off campus especially if Lampe's case took place at thier home!?!? *Saturday August 12th,2006*

This is a tough one, but I think the schools have the right to punish kids for off campus actions. They kick kids off of teams all the time for stuff that happens off school property, things like underage drinking for example. It's a tough call as to what would warrant taking someone's state title away, and frankly I don't know enough about what went on behind the scenes in this case to comment specifically about this incident.
MZ

I strongly recommend that you keep old things going and don't put them to rest, tradition and history are much more important than putting something to rest.
Dad

I agree.
MZ

Glass vase Ben Sheets hurt again. Pec muscle this time. Where is the sticker "fragile handle with care".

Yeah, I take back my nice stuff about Sheets before. It's beginning to look like he's one of those pitchers that's never going to stay healthy. Sometimes it just happens because pitching is such an unnatural motion for the arm.
MZ

Matt - About your comment that baseball should have a salary cap like football. If that was the case the big salaried stars would still leave for the best deal and the teams would have to cut or release five or ten players each year to meet the salary cap, like the Packers and the other NFL teams do every year. I don't see how that makes the situation any better. The difference is that in baseball a player signs a five year contract, like Carlos Lee wanted and will probably get, and gets paid for five years. In football a player signs a five year deal but it is really a series of five one year contract and he can be released after each year. a Salary cap like football would have to be accompanied with revenue sharing like the NFL uses.

I was just making the point that in football (and even in basketball because of the Larry Bird rule that allows you to sign your own players more easily) basically all teams are on the same plane. There's no Yankees with a payroll four times bigger than most other teams.
MZ

M.Z.I'm with you on the Carlos Lee trade because I thought only BAD players get traded down and NOT GOOD players because thats why the Brewers were able to keep players like Robin Yount around at the time as a player and now an assistant to the manager Ned Yost but WHY Matt DO they got to trade players in the middle of the season,can't they wait until after the season or before to do these trades because during the season it can be risky business and can effect how a team does the remainder of the season. 7/31/2006

They have to trade a guy like Carlos Lee during the season because he becomes a free agent after the season. And since Lee turned down the Brewers contract offer, Doug Melvin didn't really have much of a choice. It makes you wish baseball had a salary cap like football.
MZ

My guess would be that you don't enjoy the Channel 7 golf tournament because you have as much chance to qualify as you do the rest of the national tournaments...Why do people blog on to take cheap shots like that?

Thanks for the support.

Oh I like golf! But not amatuer golf from a local television station. Time to put the old ideas to rest and let them die in peace. I'd rather hear more about Packers training camp, the Brewers trade, or the U.S. Bank Championship, but not Jim from Amherst who has a 5 handicap.

We actually did have stuff on Packers camp, the Brewers trade, and the U.S. Bank Championship. We just also had coverage of our golf tournament, which by the way is one of the premier amateur golf tournaments in the state. And just because something has been around an extremely, unbelievably long time doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Are you saying we should put my dad to rest? ... And one more thing, Jim from Amherst wasn't in the tournament, so we didn't have any coverage of him.
MZ

I knew something was going to happen because Carlos just looked different the last few weeks. He just didn't have that look in his eyes. But if you really think about it he didn't do that great of job in left. If the ball wasn't hit right to him, he usually let it just go by. I think that if we just remember too that it isn't for the love of the game anymore it is for the cash. He had no deep feelings for his team, or the organization or he would have stayed. I felt worse when Chad Moeller got demoted, at least he said in his interview that Milwaukee is where he wants to play. We'll just have to see.
From the Pitts

Chad Moeller does really seem like a good guy. It's too bad he had to get sent down to the minors, but the Brewers really had no choice the way he was hitting.
As for Carlos, personally I don't blame him for trying to get the best possible deal. It's not his fault the Brewers simply can't offer the same kind of money that other teams can.
MZ

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NEW BLOG 6/23

Well we're finally through the busy playoff season of high school sports. I wanna give congrats to all the local teams and kids who made it to state. You made it a lot of work for us, but we're okay with that. And a special thanks to Jill for working long hours. Now that we're through that, I can hopefully put a little more focus on my blog.

I was thinking about writing this blog about the Packers since we haven't talked too much about them lately. But frankly I'm not too excited about the Packers right now. We'll talk more about them as training camp nears and then gets going.

So let's talk some Brewers. With the season nearing the halfway point, the Brewers are hanging around but not quite meeting some people's lofty expectations. Personally, I think it's pretty amazing that they're within 3 games of a playoff spot considering the injuries to the pitching staff (and J.J. Hardy too). That's a tribute to how good this young offense has been. When I originally wrote my Brewer preview, I talked about how I thought this team would be marred by inconsistency because they have so many young players. They have been inconsistent (see the 8 game losing streak), but what has helped is the fact that they have so many different players who can step up on offense. However, the offense probably isn't as good as most of us think it's been (they're only 8th in the N.L. in runs scored), but they can pound out the home run almost as well as anybody (3rd in the N.L. in homers).

Obviously, the thing that has held this team back and lately held this team together a little bit is the pitching staff. The team has already used 24 pitchers this season. To put that in context, the most the team has ever used in an entire season is 25. The injuries to Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka have been killer, but what had been hurting the most was that nobody, and I mean nobody, could do anything filling in for those guys. At one point, they were just 1-11 in games started by Sheets and Ohka replacements. There appears to be some light at the end of that tunnel now. Young Zach Jackson has looked good in his handful of starts, and even though Rick Helling got shelled in his first start, he should at least be able to eat up innings and save the bullpen. That being said, this team is not going to challenge for a playoff spot without Ben Sheets. The latest on Sheets is that he threw an 82 pitch bullpen session on Wednesday and may be close to being ready to throw to live hitters. It's still too early to tell when he may return to the starting rotation. Tomo Ohka is also expected back sometime in the second half.

So what does it all mean? Well, it means I'm sticking with my preseason prediction of 85 wins. If Sheets comes back sooner than later, I honestly think they could win a few more. But he probably won't, so 85 looks like a good prediction. It's too bad Sheets and Ohka haven't been healthy all year, it'd be interesting to see how well this team would be doing. I've actually seen a couple major sports websites say this team could be competing for the division lead if everybody was healthy. That might be a little much, but a Brewer fan can dream can't he. That's usually all we've got. Hopefully, some of those dreams become reality sometime soon.

Matt

Reading the last blog, sounds like someone doens't like golf, well the world is a better place because of that. Anyway, all you baseball pundants, time to chime in and express your opinions on the big trade the Brewers and Rangers engaged in today. I think it was a good move. Art VanDaLay

As you'll see from my blog above, I'm a bitter Brewer/baseball fan who's sick of seeing his favorite team have to get rid of their best players. Yes, they did get some pretty good players in the trade, but they also gave up one great player and one potentially really good player.
MZ

When will you guys realize that nobody cares about your meaningless golf tournament except for the people that play in it?

Plenty of people care or we wouldn't do a 2-hour broadcast (which by the way runs from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday for those of you do care)

MZ

Ben missed the end of last season after tearing a muscle in his side to go along with his ear problems. jjg

I know. I just feel like too many people are jumping on Ben Sheets lately. He's no Kerry Wood yet.
MZ

I can hardly wait for Sheets to come back from the DL to see how long before he is back on it! I say he finishes the season on it. I know the Brewers have a lot invested in him, but he sure is fragile. It also seems like Turnbow is starting to stink it up. I think the Brewers should have looked at picking up Wickman. He would have helped in the bullpen. Oh well too late now.
jjg

The Brewers did try to get Wickman but apparently the Braves offered a better deal. As for Big Ben, yes he gets injured a lot, but I don't know if I would call him fragile. Last year's troubles were kind of a freak thing due to inner ear problems and dizziness. Lots of pitchers get arm problems. Lets hope Ben can put his injury problems behind him.
MZ

This is the ultimate fan, Art VanDaLay, VanDaLay Industries wondering your thoughts on the upcoming Pro Football Season. Here's my Packer prediction and I'm sticking to it. If everything falls into place they will finish with a 9-7 record and qualify for a Wild Card Sport. What's you expert opinion? Also, will Channel 7 be covering any of the training camp in Green Bay? Art V.

We'll be at camp at least once a week. There's a lot to cover this year with so many new faces. As far as your Packer prediction, does "everything" falling into place refer to all other teams in the NFC experiencing about 25 key injuries each? Not to be a negative nelly, but I'd be pretty surprised if the Packers could get up to 9 wins. Although the way the NFL is, a 5 game jump is not that big a deal. I'll have much more on the Packers season coming up in a blog closer to the start of the NFL regular season.
MZ

10pm newscast just ended. A note that the Madison Muskies were the name of the baseball team in the late 70's early 80's. This was when they were first introduced to the area. I was living in Madison and attended the games. They were just about as much fun as the Woodchucks games sound.
Thanks
Tina in WR

Thanks for the info. The Woodchucks games would be more fun if they actually won sometimes.
MZ

matt just a question when will jill get her own blog i know myself and others would like to send her stuff also matt its not always about you just because you are a guy!!jk i really like her she seems really cool i am sure all you guys like them beautiful women that you work with had a blog for yourselves just kidding just a question oh ya how do i get a woodchuck schedule and all the fun nights that they have going on?Bobbie jo in wausau

Just the main anchors do the blogs for now, but maybe sometime soon I'll let her do a guest blog on mine. I'll of course have all editorial control making sure she says nice things about me.
MZ

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NEW BLOG 5/26

Hello again everybody. What a busy, but mostly fun time of year for us in the sports department. I'm writing this blog as Jill drives from Appleton to Green Bay to feed back early highlights from the Pointers opening round D-3 College World Series baseball game. Congratulations to the Pointers on making it, and thanks a lot for making our lives more difficult here in the NewsChannel 7 Sports department. Seriously, we don't mind it. These times of year are always fun to cover sports. For example, Jill got to see an amazing soccer game Thursday night in Stevens Point. SPASH and Wisconsin Rapids played through regulation and two overtimes scoreless before the Red Raiders finally won it in a shootout. It's too bad somebody had to lose. It's also too bad those two teams had to meet in the first round. Wisconsin Rapids finished a close second to SPASH in the Valley, yet the Red Raiders only get a seven seed because they get shipped over to the Appleton sectional. That's too bad, but I guess you can't put all the Valley teams in the same sectional.

Enough talk about the spring sports season wrapping up, how about we talk some racing. Yeah, I know I'm not the biggest racing fan in the world but even the casual fan will probably check out some of the action this weekend. You've got Indy's biggest race, the Indianapolis 500, and one of Nascar's biggest races, the Coca-Cola 600. There are actually some good storylines to follow in the Indy 500 this year. Can Danica Patrick win her first race? How will a couple of the old veterans (Al Unser Jr. & Michael Andretti) do? Should be a good race. And the Coca-Cola 600 is unique if for no other reason than it starts in the day and finishes in the night. Apparently, that makes the drivers adjust on the fly (I know you Nascar guys know that, just clearing it up a little for everyone else). And while we're talking racing, I gotta give a shout out to our racing guru Bill Holland. He works extremely hard to bring you the best local highlights in the area. If you didn't know, Bill actually lives in the Appleton area. Yeah, that's quite a haul for him to come over here and cover racing in Antigo, Wausau, Marshfield and all the other area tracks. But he does it week in and week out, taking his own camera, editing all his own stuff, and driving around in his own car. I just want to give him a big thank you for all the effort. I especially like to thank him for filling a minute and a half of my show on Tuesday nights in the summer (This just in: not a lot of sports going on in the summer). That's it for me again. I promise to update this more often as soon as the high school playoffs wind down in the middle of June. As always feel free to blog about anything. Until next time, we'll work on getting Allison's picture up here.

Matt

It's June 23rd... time for your new blog!

It's Here!
MZ

I have to comment on the BB game Heat vrs Dallas. I stayed up then it goes to OT and of course gotta watch OT. Has there been anything mentioned of Dallas' coach calling a time out and basically losing the game? I havent seen but I sure thought he ruined any chances of them winning by calling the time out w/ a second left?

It looked like Dallas Head Coach Avery Johnson wanted the timeout after the free throws so his team could inbound the ball at half court. The refs said that Josh Howard was asking for the timeout right away. Either way, it's a tough way to end it for the Mavs.
MZ

\I agree with the person that wrote in about Jill and am a fan of hers as well. It cracks me up that people on everyone's blogs continue to criticize the anchors at WSAW. If you don't like them, turn the channel. But don't think for a minute that you could actually do a better job. It's not as easy as you seem to think it is. Plus, you don't live in New York, LA, or even Milwaukee for that matter. It's small market television, get used to it.
A Big Fan of WSAW-TV

Thank you very much. Yeah, and people just need to get used to our small market talent. I'm kidding, I know you meant it as a compliment.
MZ

Why would anybody rip on Jill Wunrow. I think she's awesome and I'm sure a lot of other people do, too!

Thanks for the blog Mrs. Wunrow.
MZ

Sorry to come back so soon with another BLOG but thought this would be of interest to you and your viewers. A little history of the Gus Macker. It started in 1974 in a driveway in Lowell, Michigan by a young man named Scott McNeal (alias Gus Macker). 18 friends played for $18.00 and the rest, as they, is history. Art VanDaLay

Nice research Art.
MZ

Matt, will you be golfing in the Channel 7 golf outing this year?

I'm afraid that's not allowed. Plus, it would be very difficult to golf it while I'm broadcasting the event.
MZ

Congratulations to the Channel & Gus Macker Media Championship team. It was great to be in Wausau to see you guy's play and to take in the excitement of the Macker tournament. I guess what impressed me the most was the number of people in the tournament. It was great fun. Art VanDalay

Thanks for coming up and watching, and yeah, the Macker is a fun event.
MZ

Hi Matt, Congrats on the Macker....I hate you!!! PS Love channel 9

Thanks for the congratulations, but not so much thanks for hating me.
MZ

Please provide an update on the Channel 7 golf golf outing. Is there one this year?

Yes, it takes place at Greenwood Hills this year on the last weekend in July.
MZ

Matt, what was the score for the D3 High School Baseball Tournament?

I'm not sure which game you're asking about.
MZ

Re the focus on local sports / local ties etc. - that's what puts most of us to sleep at night. Who needs a sleeping pill when you can watch local sports news. Pretty boring for most people.

Fine, don't watch.
MZ

Have I missed it or do you have absolutely no coverage of the World Cup soccer matches whatsoever?. The rest of the world is going bonkers over this and I don't hear a mention on the local media even though there are plenty of us around here who want to hear some news. Hey, it is actually a contest of world teams unlike the "world' series of baseball and when the superbowl winners are called the 'world' champions - only the U.S. is playing in all that. Wake up to what is going on in the rest of the world. By the way, there is a U.S. team playing in the World Cup - I suppose that might get a mention when they play.

You have missed some of it. We showed highlights of the U.S.A./Czech Republic game and also the standings for their group. As far as the other games, we simply don't have the time to show them. If you've noticed, I have included the scores on our sports ticker. However, with the limited time we have for sports, we keep the focus on local sports or sports with some local ties.
MZ

Can you get a better sports announcer than Jill Wunrow? Her attitude is annoying.

Jill does a great job.
MZ

Will hairy toed Matt scream like a girl this year at the Macker? Does 7 even have a team? Let me guess... all behind the scenes people or people that don't really work there.

If I severely sprain my ankle again, I will likely again scream a girl. It hurts!
As for our 7 team, I hope your not making some ringer reference. Just because we use behind the scenes employees, or relatives who played high school basketball, or hire that 6'9" guy to edit tapes, doesn't mean we're using ringers.
MZ

I go and watch the Gus Macker Media Teams.. will you guys win this year? Who's on the team? Does 12 show up? How about 9?

Thanks for being one of the many, many fans of the Media division. As for the players on our team. I'll be on the team and the only other on air person is Chad Franzen. The only other guys on air here are Jeff Thelen and Mike Bruenling. Obviously we want to keep it fair to the other teams, so we don't let them play. Channel 12 will not be there, and I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with that other station. (kidding, they'll be playing of course) As for your first question about us winning, I'm not sure there really is a winner in the media division. How about I predict we'll be the least loserish.
MZ

Hey, Matt. I can't wait for High School Baseball on Wednesday. I'll be sporting Purple & Gold (GO PITTSVILLE!) Tonight (6/12/06), you showed a clip of the boys. My mom yelled at me to turn the TV on, but when I did, I was too late. Is there a way to see what I missed?

Thanks much,
Jessica, Pittsville

You're in luck Jessica. The clip was actually just a small part of the highlights we showed last Tuesday. You can see that video in our streaming video section at wsaw.com/sports. Just click on "Big day of baseball sectionals." And by the way, you should always be paying complete attention to our sportscasts.
MZ

C'mon Matt! Get with the program and update! ~Alison

Sorry, lots of state tournament stuff going on. I promise more stuff once state softball and baseball are over.
MZ

Hi Matt
Long time vewer of TV7 ,Iwould like to see more stores on the WNBA, wish you could get it on your network ,i dont think alot of people know how hard these young women work for very little pay. Thanks for your time.

Yeah, I can't do anything about airing WNBA games on our station. We'll definitely try to at least get some highlights on if former local star Janelle McCarville's playing.
MZ

Matt,

Thanks for the update on Bill Holland. He was always very professional when he was at Channel 7. Without getting too personal or divulging any confidential information, is he still in the broadcast business in the Appleton area? Thanks. An Antigo viewer

He's still doing the in the groove stuff for us obviously. I believe he also does work for a station in Green Bay as well. I'll ask him for sure next time I talk to him (next Tuesday).
MZ

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NEW BLOG 5/9

I've been trying to think of something to write a new blog about, but it seems like I'm out of ideas. So I decided to do what television shows do when they're out of ideas. . . . do a "best of" special. So here are the top ten best blog responses from my first 9 months of blogging:

#10
Matt Zahn, I just wanted to say that you are REALLY cool and I look up to you, you're one of my idols. Keep up the good work on the News, I tape it every night!

A friendly viewer,
Mary Anne Hollindaise (Sauce)

#9
I think it is interesting to hear you say that about Favre playing for another team. With all the complaining people did about him this year my husband and I were saying the same thing. When someone was going on and on about "he's past him prime...he should retire" etc. we would always say "maybe you'd prefer if he played for someone else?" It always was met with a blank stare. I think it is just taken for granted that if he plays it'll be for the Packers. I personally hope he doesn't retire...he is the heart of that team.

#8
Matt,
Why do you always wear that football tie every week on the Hilight Zone? It's kind of dorky. Did your mom buy it for you and you have to wear it? Just wondering.

J.R.

#7
Maybe you could have Matt ride a donkey. It would be like a donkey riding a donkey.
Greg Whiter rules!

#6
Wow! It happens every year for Brewer fans. They beat the Pirates twice and the whole state starts talking about how this could be the year! Zahnny, don't tell me you buy it! There is no way the Cards and Astros won't compete for the title and if the Brewers even come close to 500 it will be a success. I'm a Cubs fan and can even admit we won't win it, and to think the Brewers have a chance is like thinking the Packers will be back in the playoffs this decade! Let's get real and wait for a salary cap in baseball to get the Brewers back in contention if they don't move to Las Vegas before then.- MJ-Weston

#5
Not having Jocko here anymore is just like the Soviet Union at the '84 Olympics. WHO MISSED 'EM?!

Jeff

#4
oooh could you talk about something incredibly bizzare in your next blog? like...umm...CHICKENS FROM MARS!! That would so totaly rock!!! or Bob Dylan. either one.

Emily

#3
Matt; I apologize on behalf of all the people who give you crap for not keeping up with your blog and for other things. I guess they think you don't do much. Keep up the spectacular work. Tammy


Matt, I think Tammy's got it wrong. With your smugness, you deserve all the crap you get, especially for not keeping up with your blog.
Bob, Mosinee

#2
Matt -
Awesome job again on the News Channel 7 All-Stars! As a follower of local sports, I know many people in the area look forward to seeing so many deserving student-athletes receive this award. In many ways, it's more important to the kids than receiving an all-state award because the title of being a News Channel 7 All-Star follows them locally throughout their careers, whether it be small college sports or someone who makes it to the pros (like a Jerry Wunsch). I'm sure you, Greg and Jill put in quite a few extra hours on this, so give yourselves a hand!

#1
you're a babe...are you single? Alison

What? Well, you didn't think Bob from Mosinee was going to win it calling me smug. Seriously though, I just want to say thank you to everybody who's taken the time to read and respond to my blogs. I really enjoy reading them (most of them). Since this really wasn't a new blog, I'll be back with one soon. Until then, feel free to complain that one of your blogs should have been in the top ten, or go out and write one that will be good enough to make the list the next time I have one.
Before I go, I did actually have one thing I wanted to blog about this time, Javon Walker. It's too bad the Packers didn't trade him last offseason, coming off a great year and before he had the big injury. Imagine what they could have got for him then, probably a lot more than one second round pick.

Matt

Agreed about the chat room. ~Alison

Alison-We would love to see you!

We'll work on that, although this blog is starting to get a creepy chat room feel.
MZ

How do you post a picture up on here...and i bet it was matt! haha! ~Alison

I swear it wasn't me, and I'll have to talk to Jeff and Sue about the picture thing. They've always got dogs and babies up on theirs.
MZ

Thanks for answering all of my questions, you are not stupid. You are smart and sometimes witty.
Danny N.

No problem, and thanks.
MZ

I think we need to see a picture of Alison.
Thanks,
Dirty Old Man

That's funny, and I swear that isn't me blogging in disguise.
MZ

What DID happen to Greg? We miss him.

We miss him too. His contract was up, and station management decided to replace his position with a morning show producer. So now I have another excuse not to update my blog since it's just Jill and me now in the sports department.
MZ

For the record, I'm not blind. Nor stupid, like yourself. ~Alison

Let's try to keep it civil among bloggers.
MZ

Your new blog posting is very weak! Can you share us your views on Chad Franzen? Is Allison blind? What happened to Greg? Will you be covering the Pointers in the D3 World Series?

What is the square root of 196? Who was the 27th president of the United States? . . . Seriously though, let's take it one question at a time. #1: I know this past blog was weak. It was sort of a joke that way, albeit not a very funny one. But see the Greg leaving excuse for the reason why my blog updating has slipped (even more) recently. #2: I used to work with Chad and he is a great guy. I think he's very good on the air. It's just a good thing you don't have to smell him at home, just kidding Chad. #3: Obviously Allison isn't blind because she sees me on TV. #4: I answered the Greg question above. #5: We'll do our best to cover the Pointer baseball team in the World Series. Their game time Friday night will make it difficult to do much, since we have no way of getting the highlights back from Appleton besides driving them back.
I hope I've cleared things up for you. If you have any more questions, say 6 or 7 of them at once, feel free to ask.
MZ

Ugh! Why can't you be single! ~Ali

I ask myself that many times a day. . . kidding.
MZ

Wow! I made the number 1...sweet! Well, it's true. You're a babe and I would like to talk to you more. Where can I e-mail you at?
~Alison

Let that be a lesson to all other bloggers that I'm a sucker for flattery (great, another tv anchor who needs his ego stroked). And this is a notice for all bloggers, my email address is available on my bio page. It's mzahn@wsaw.com.
MZ

Will you be home for Mother's Day? Your favorite Dad.

Favorite dad and apparently dorkiest dad too. Way to use my blog for something that clearly couldn't be asked over the phone or through email.
MZ

In response to your blog about Brett Favre.... I totally agree with you!!! I think he lost some support when he kept us hanging for weeks and weeks about what he was going to do. And now that he's decided, he seems kind of arrogant in his interviews. Anyway, he's coming back to new coaches and teammates and all new plays to learn. What is he thinking??? I truely believe the era of Brett Favre is OVER and all he's going to do is either go out on a losing note (again) or get injured. I love the Packers, but Brett's time was up a year ago. If the majority of the team is new and learning the ways of a new coach, wouldn't it make sense to have your quarterback in that boat as well. Oh well, I guess we'll see what's in store for us..... but I've got my crying towel ready just in case!

Debbie

Yeah, let's hope we're both wrong. Again I think Favre can do whatever he wants. I just don't see any good coming out of this.
MZ

If you are really searching for some item of interest, sports related, how about discussing the Packer logo. You see other teams (San Francisco for one) that use both the S & F in their logo. But Green Bay uses only the G. The 'G' has become a standard for the Packers but why wasn't it GB? I've wondered about that for a long time---anyone else think it's odd that they didn't have both letters?

CL in Rome

I did a little research and here's what I found out. Packers equipment manager Dad Braisher actually created the "G" logo in 1961 and it's the only logo that has ever appeared on a Packers helmet. From 1959-1975, the team did in fact use a GB logo on hats, shirts, and jackets worn by coaches equipment managers and trainers. MZ

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NEW BLOG 4/27

He's back, finally. I'm not talking about me with a new blog. I'm talking about Brett Favre, of course, announcing he's back for another year. It's great this offseason saga is finally over. Now to ask the question most Packer fans (including myself) probably don't really wanna ask. Is this a good thing for the Packers? Settle down, I don't think the team would do better with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. Just hear me out. I know Brett didn't have much to work with last year, but he still did throw 29 interceptions. And frankly, how much more will he have to work with this year?
The Packers have made some improvements, but they're all on defense. The offensive line still looks like a work in progress at best, and if they can't get Javon Walker to play for them, I don't see the offense really being much better than last year.
So are the Packers really better off with Favre back at the helm again? Probably, but eventually you have to look to the future, and since this team isn't a serious Super Bowl contender this year, what good does it really do anyone to have Favre back for one more year?
I'm a big fan of Favre's, but I don't wanna see the Favre of last year for another year.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to tell Brett Favre he should've retired. Who am I to tell him that? I'm just saying I don't think it does him or the Packers a whole lot of good to play another year with this team in its current state.
Hopefully I'm wrong. Hopefully the offensive line comes together with another year under their belts. Hopefully the new additions on defense along with a good draft can solidify that unit. Hopefully the new coaching staff can get everybody on the same page quickly. Hopefully the injury bug doesn't strike again. Hopefully Javon Walker comes to his senses and just plays for the Packers. And hopefully, Brett Favre becomes the Brett Favre of old again. Seems like a lot of hopefullies to me. (yeah I know hopefullies isn't a word, but I needed it for effect)

Matt

Actually, no this isnt your gf setting a trap on you, but i can completely understand that. Just wanted you to know that you have to be the hottest sportscaster in central wisconsin. ~Alison

Oh, and it doesnt count haha! ~Alison

Thank you much and I hope to hear more blogs from you in the future.
MZ

I know I mentioned Matt's basketball team that he abandoned a week ago, just to give a heads up...Team Foot lost by about 30 points(scoring by 1's so it is actually by 60) in the post Zahn era, the worst defeat for Da'foot this season. Thanks again Matt for abandoning us. Jack, Wausau (not a disgruntled teamate who is upset about the worst loss in history)

Thanks for the update Jack. I know our rec. league basketball team's performance is of the utmost importance to my blog readers. Sorry again that I "abandoned" you guys to do my job.

P.S. - Did you ever hear of a guy microwaving his cell phone?
MZ

My son desperatly needs a Big Brother for the Big Brothers/Sisters Program. He has been waiting for 5 YEARS!! He loves sports and sports statistics and sports news. Would you be his Big Brother? Sharon

If you send me your email address, maybe we can communicate a little more and if it's not me being the Big Brother, hopefully we can at least find out why it's taken so long to get your son one. My email address is mzahn@wsaw.com.
MZ

where is the blog i just sent:

I don't know.
MZ

this is my first time at a blog. Brett Farve has been an awesome player for years. I don't watch much football but it takes a whole team to suck, not one guy. What's up with the rest of the pack, including coaches and owners, that they all can't get THEIR act together. SOMEONE has to be down the field that can CATCH AND RUN WITH THE BALL! Favre isn't ready to retire, the substandard performances of coaches, managers,owners, and players should be retired. p.s. I do not think that Favre is still a hottie.

Favre is getting older, but he's still a hottie.... what? As for your football assessment, yes, the whole team was bad last year, not just Favre. I just want someone to tell me why it's going to be any different this year, especially on offense.
MZ

I sure hate to come back so soon with a blog, but since the Draft is over I would like your take on it. From the outside it certainly appears that the Packers drafted to fill holes and to add a lot of depth to their team. Some of the ESPN pundents have already said the Packer's did not have a draft that could immediately impact the team, to which I disagree, but then only time will tell. My gut feeling, they did very well, for now and for the future. Art VanDaLay

I think the with the roster in the condition it's in right now, these picks will have to have an immediate impact by default. I really like the A.J. Hawk pick. But to be honest, I don't know enough about the other guys to judge yet. It sounds like that receiver Jennings could be a good pick.
MZ

Your Pinbusters coverage was really bad this year, compared to years past.
A concerned bowler

I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't know exactly what your complaint is, but we did show our individual and team winners on our sportscast Saturday night. We also showed all the individual and team trophy winners on our website's streaming video. We also listed all the money winners on our website. As a blogger, you obviously see the value of the internet.
MZ

Jolly Day Zahn! Good post and good points about the future of the Packers. I agree with you on all of your questions.
With that, I would also like to insert my 2 cents right now: I do feel that Brett Favre is just a tad bit too well-respected these days. While most players would not get an offseason to decide their return (cough cough* steve mcnair) favre was given favoritism to do so from our GM. Ted seems attached to favre, maybe because he knows the Packer nation would riot if he spoke out against Favre. This was especially apparent last year when Favre publicly ripped his best receiver Javon Walker, and Ted never settled this issue. I'm pretty ticked off at the fact that Favre said "if he doesn't show up, someone else will step up" (favre thought he was unstoppable) what resulted? a 29 pick season where he blamed others for not picking up the slack. people said he didn't have anything to work with, but I beg to differ. Samkon Gado, Donald Lee, and Donald Driver were constants. Overall, like you said, Favre coming back doesn't really settle anything long term for the Pack. Personally I would opt for Aaron Rodgers at QB and Walker at receiver of the 2006 Packers.

-Tom Fennig-

Yeah, I'm sorta torn on the whole having Rodgers in there right away. On the one hand, in the long run it might be best for the future of the team. But on the other hand, that would make for a really, really ugly year. (as opposed to what might just be an ugly year)
MZ

Oh No Zahn you're at it again! Just like you and the rest of the Brew Bums think this could be the year in Milwaukee after a couple of wins, now you think Brett Favre is serious when he says he doesn't care about records?!! I guess we Wisconsinites will believe anything that we really want to. I will say this though, I think the main reason Favre is coming back is because he doesn't have anything better to do. Like he has said "Once you leave, you can't come back and I'd be crazy to leave." But if he's worried about the team's record, then he'd better be pretty worried! We're back to the 80's era now in Green Bay and wins won't be coming easy for a few years so Favre certainly isn't going to see any playoff action. The only thing motivating Favre to come back is to hang around for a few years to get the records before he has to retire with nothing to do. MJ- Weston

you're a babe...are you single? Alison

I do have a girlfriend, but she doesn't live in Wausau so it doesn't really count, right?. (P.S. - if this is actually my girlfriend blogging to set a trap, I'm totally just kidding)

Sports Guy: Do you intend to do your golf tips again this year? Sure could have used a few before Monday. A group of us played Whistling Straits and the course swallowed up 7 of my golf balls. Hey, keep up the good work. Art VanDaLay

I don't know on those golf tips again. It would probably have to be somebody else doing them this year because my game is so awesome now I have no need for tips. Kidding, obviously about my game but seriously unsure about the tips returning.
MZ

matt- what do you think brett will do now that he has decided to stay do you think he will bring the pack all the way and than retire or will he stay for two years to get the td,passes and other things to make a real name for himself not that he has not already but what do you think will happen? question do you bleach your teeth they are so white?(haha) Bobbie Jo in wausau

I don't bleach my teeth, just my underpants (too much information... and I'm kidding). As for the Favre stuff, you can check out my new blog for my thoughts on that. About the records, I don't think Favre really cares much about those. The only record he cares about is the team's.
MZ

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Matt's New Blog 4/4

What a weekend it's been for me. As a pretty big sports fan, it doesn't get much better than this: Saturday night Bucks game (in Milwaukee), Sunday night Sox opener (in Chicago), Monday afternoon Brewers opener (back in Milwaukee). I highly recommend every sports fans do one of these big sports weekends every once in a while. It's especially good when you see three good wins. First, the Bucks looked great in a big win over the Pacers Saturday night. Our seats were upper deck, but hey anytime you can get a beer for 6 bucks, it's a good time (sarcasm). Next up was the White Sox opener Sunday night. I'm not a Sox fan, although I do share a dislike of the Cubs with most of them (sorry Cubs fans, can't help it). My girlfriend's parents are from the south side of Chicago so it was a big day for them. The Sox had a big pregame ceremony honoring the World Series champs and it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the biggest rainstorm I think ever, rolled through in the fourth inning, and we didn't wait out the 3 hour rain delay, but at least the White Sox ended up winning and it didn't rain during tailgating. Speaking of tailgating, is there anything better than doing that on opening day at a Brewers game? Well, it would be nice if it wasn't freezing cold for once, but hey at least the game's indoors now.

And that brings me to the actual purpose of this blog, the Brewers. How good can they be this season? That's the big question as this baseball season gets underway. Most Brewer fans have the highest hopes they've had probably since the early 80s. But are they too high? I think maybe just a little bit. Don't get me wrong, Monday's opener has lifted my hopes even a little higher, but I'm not quite ready to call this a playoff team yet. My guess is they're still a year away. Here's the good: 1. They don't really have any glaring weaknesses. Think about it. Is there any position you look at and say "Wow they've got to get somebody better than that guy." (except for maybe all you Geoff Jenkins haters) 2. They have very good starting pitching, probably the deepest rotation in the N.L. Central. And I think their bullpen is better than most people think, as long as the starters can get the game to Wise and Turnbow. 3. They have a great mix of veterans and youth. Just take a look at opening day. Veteran Jeff Cirillo comes up with the biggest hit of the game. Youngsters J.J. Hardy and Derrick Turnbow came up big as well.
As for the negatives, I mentioned before I don't see any glaring weaknesses, but the young defense scares me as does the fact that the offense will rely on so many young guys as well. If you've ever watched sports you know youth usually means inconsistency. Also Ben Sheets starts the season on the disabled list, and they absolutely need him to be healthy all year and have a big season. And finally, the main reason I don't think they're quite ready for the playoffs is that I don't see them beating out the Cards for the division, and that leaves them fighting with a lot of teams for one wild card spot. And I see them falling just a little bit short of that, maybe losing out to the Mets, Braves, Phillies, or any other team that really jumps up. So here's my official Brewer prediction: 85 - 77, probably good for third, maybe second in the N.L. Central. Hopefully I'm wrong the good way and they do make the playoffs. That would be unbelievable!

So that's it for me again. I look forward to hearing from all of you about what you think the Brewers will do this season and what you think of my slightly educated guesses. Also since I was talking about my big sports weekends, I'd love to hear any similar stories you have or some great tailgating experiences. Also, feel free to vote in our new Brewer related sports poll. Go Brewers!

Matt

Yeah Matt It does sound like you may be a bar fly--but what do I know? How's hoops going on Monday nights? I heard you abandoned Team Foot for the rest of the year---something about having to do the news. Be a Team Player and don't skip basketball!! Jack, Wausau (not a disgruntled teamate)

I'm sure Jack that you can more than fill in for me. Poor Team Foot, weird name for a team though. And for you to know I'm a barfly, you must be out there all the time too. Hah, take that Jack!
MZ

Well, do you still think the Brewers are going to be a winning team???!!!! Looks like the game today could be won by any of the local high school baseball teams. They certainly don't look like winners to me. Granny

Well, Granny, I wouldn't be too down on them early. But I never had ridiculous expectations. I picked them to win about 85 games, and I still think that's probably about where they end up, maybe even a little better if the young kids can develop some consistency.
MZ

matt i read all of your blogs it sdounds to me like your a bar fly do you go into bars and talk about sports with your friends or do they know that you almost every thing and they just dont go there???(smart guys) matt your doing a great job and jill too i like her she smeams really onice keep upi the good work Bobbie Jo in wausau

Bar fly might be a stretch. I don't go out nearly as much as I did when I first got here to Wausau. And yes JIll is nice... most of the time.
MZ

hey matt i was going to ask do you think farv is ging to stay with us

You know what, I still think he is going to play for the Packers next season, but I'm not as confident about that as I was a few weeks ago.
MZ

Okay, we're a couple of weeks into the baseball season and already the home runs are flying out of the parks. At least we know that these dinger's are steroid free. If you were a guessing man, how many parks do you think the following guy's will hit this tear? Pujols, Carlos Lee, Derek Lee, and finally Prince Fielder. I'm still going to stand firm on my earlier prediction that the Crew will card 90 wins this year. My other far reaching prognostication is that the Green Bay Packer's will TRADE, yes TRADE Brett Favre for some draft picks and a high qualilty wide receiver, and I also think that they will get Javon Walker back. Call me nuts, most people just call me Art. Art VanDaLay

You are nuts. I'm just kidding kind of. I really don't see the Packers trading Favre, although that would probably actually be the best thing for him. At least then maybe he'd have a chance to win something in his final year or years.
MZ

looking for Karen Kostko - I'm a former professor of hers from Kent - Barb Hipsman...can you help me out? thanks. bhipsman@kent.edu

Deja vu anyone? Last year the Brewers started the same way (winning three games in a row) and then went on a skid on the road. It's great to see them win, but right now inexperience may be the dagger in team success this season. And it's not just the young infield, as we have seen the "experience" in the outfield has produced two errors on basic catches. Fielder went 0-11 with nine strikeouts before finally geting a lopping base hit to left field to win the game on Wednesday. Hardy has been the bright spot, with two home runs and some nice glovework in the diamond. Turnbow has been strong, but on Wednesday showed signs of losing his control over a series of games, continually throwing high and constantly receiving talks from Miller behind the plate. The starting pitching has yet to be impressive, with only one win in three games. Maybe it is because the season is early, but if they continue to play against other teams the way they played Pittsburgh this last series (who is in a similar situation to Milwaukee) it could be a long season. They need to perform at a higher level to compete with the bigger teams.
No matter what though, I'm a Brewers backer, and love going out to the park everyday. There is an enthusiasm there that isn't present with a lot of other teams, and as contagious as that enthusiasm is, it bides as a good omen for the future direction of the team.
-Rachel, MKE

First of all, thanks for blogging all the way from Milwaukee. Secondly, I pretty much agree with what you're saying, but I would say the starting pitching has been very good. Doug Davis and Chris Capuano only gave up 2 earned runs, and Tomo Ohka only gave up one earned. And all three looked very sharp for their first starts of the season.
As for all us fans getting a little overoptimistic, I think next week's series at St. Louis will be a good early barometer to see just how good this young Brewer team is.
MZ

Wow! It happens every year for Brewer fans. They beat the Pirates twice and the whole state starts talking about how this could be the year! Zahnny, don't tell me you buy it! There is no way the Cards and Astros won't compete for the title and if the Brewers even come close to 500 it will be a success. I'm a Cubs fan and can even admit we won't win it, and to think the Brewers have a chance is like thinking the Packers will be back in the playoffs this decade! Let's get real and wait for a salary cap in baseball to get the Brewers back in contention if they don't move to Las Vegas before then.- MJ-Weston

Obviously, it's too early to get too excited, but to say just getting close to a .500 season would be a success is a little much. The Brewers were a .500 team last year, so I think Brewer fans have earned the right to finally have some high expectations. It's been a long time coming. I'm not saying the Brewers will necessarily meet those expectations, but it's nice to at least have them.
MZ

What a weekend you just had. Reminds me of a couple of years ago when we had a group attend the State Boy's tournament on Thursday, the NCAA's Regionals in Milwaukee on Friday (Wisconsin was in this Regional), back to the Boy's in Madison on Saturday and then back to Milwaukee on Sunday only to see the Badgers lose to Pittsburgh on a final missed shot by Devon Harris. Other great moments were spend with my family at Brewer games when we stayed in Milwaukee overnight and attended two games, however most of the time I attended the games alone as my children felt it would be more fun spending time in the pool. I hate to admit it but I would agree with your Brewer predictions. A lot of things need to go right, especially when you have all the young player's on the roster that they do. I'm predicting a 90 season. Lets hope for the best. Art VanDaLay

Keep the blogs coming Art, and let's hope you're right about that 90 win prediction. Also, I was at those Badger basketball games in Milwaukee and that was about as cool an experience I've had since I've started working in sports.
MZ

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New Blog 3/22, that's right 3/22

Hello again everybody. These past two weeks have really flown by and what a busy couple weeks it's been for us here in the sports department. From following all our local teams down at state, to handing out coach of the year awards pretty much all over the state (Neillsville, Marshfield, and Weyauwega) it's been hectic, but it's also been a lot of fun (except when Greg and I had to get up at 5:30 to get down to Weyauwega by 8:00). Seriously though, it is one of the great parts of our jobs when we get to go out and surprise these coaches with the coach of the year awards. It's also nice to get the chance to talk to them outside of the gym. And I honestly don't think we could've found four nicer people to receive the awards this year than Neillsville's John Gaier, Marshfield's Heidi Michaelis, Weyauwega-Fremont's Mike Flanagan, and Wausau East's Jason Teske. So again congrats to them on great seasons. And I just wanna say special props to coach Brad Podevels and the Abbotsford Falcons on their first trip to state in 71 years. I'm sure some of you Abby fans aren't too happy that coach Podevels didn't receive the boys bb small schools award. But I can tell you that this award was voted on in the regular season (before Abby's run to state) by an advisory board of over 40 area coaches. And you can't argue that coach Flanagan is a deserving winner leading his team to the 2nd most wins in school history.

From high school basketball stuff, to the college game, I can't wait for the sweet 16 to get going. Despite reports from Jeff Thelen to the contrary, I haven't torn up my brackets yet. I did have a pretty disastrous first round, but I still have all my final four alive and almost my entire elite 8. (not that any of you really care) Speaking of that, have you noticed how much most people (mainly guys) like to talk about their own brackets and expect you to care? Not that I don't do the same thing, but really nobody cares or believes you that you knew George Mason and Bradley would be in the sweet 16. It's much more likely you had Kansas playing North Carolina for the title or maybe even Monmouth. I can't argue though that this is a really exciting time of year for sports fans and there is nothing better than getting together with buddies to watch the tournament games, but let's just admit that we're all pretty terrible at picking games (this coming from a guy who's ranked 1,022nd out of about 1300 people in the WSAW-TV portion of U pick 'em). Before I go, I gotta say what the heck happened to Wisconsin in the tourney? That looked like a team out of gas. Hopefully they'll be pretty strong next year, losing only Ray Nixon, and getting back Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma. Watch out for Ohio State in the Big Ten. But way to go UW-Milwaukee again. Too bad they're all done now. Anyways, that's it for me. Now that things have slowed down, I'll be able to update this blog a litte more often like Sue and Mike, but of course I'll never be able to keep up with the greatness of Jeff. Next time, we'll talk some Brewers.

Matt

Matt; I apologize on behalf of all the people who give you crap for not keeping up with your blog and for other things. I guess they think you don't do much. Keep up the spectacular work. Tammy

Thank you very much Tammy. Blogs like this one are very much appreciated unlike some other blog responses. And yes, we in the sports office sometimes do have more work to do here than others especially in our busy time of year like we just went through. It's nice to know that some people understand that.
MZ

Matt, I think Tammy's got it wrong. With your smugness, you deserve all the crap you get, especially for not keeping up with your blog.
Bob, Mosinee

I was going to blog back an angry response because I'm a big sensitive baby, but then I showed your blog to my girlfriend, and she said you summed me up pretty well. After we broke up, I decided that you've got it all wrong, but thanks for reading my blog. And now that we're in a little slower time of year, I'll try to update more often.
MZ

now wait one minute--I thought I saw you on one with the morning show crew. Was I dreaming that?

Yeah weird, huh. Actually we shot that one a while ago and I didn't realize we were just saving it up for the big final four push. That's some tremendous acting at the end of it, isn't it?
MZ

Hello Sports Guy (that's you Matt). Anyway, thought you'd be interested in hearing this little tidbit that came across the radio this morning. Over 3 million people entered the ESPN NCAA pick the winners, out of that group 4 people have the final four picked correctly - pretty amazing that 4 people picked the final four. Also, cannot wait to hear your Brewer and MLB predictions. Art VanDaLay

Yeah, that ESPN thing is pretty amazing. In our Channel 7 pool (for entertainment purposes only), not a single person has a potential champion left. In fact, only three brackets even have a team still alive to make the championship game (UCLA). Nearly everybody has either Duke or Connecticut to win it all. That didn't work out so well. By the way, on my main bracket, I only picked UCLA to make the final four and I picked UConn over Texas in the championship. At least they made the elite 8.
MZ

Mike's foam finger, Sue and Jeff's facepainting...I didn't see you???!!!?
Doesn't the sports department put the 'mad' in March madness?
Funny spots, by the way, if you were responsible!!

C'mon, you know those are way to clever for me to be responsible. But it wasn't my choice to not do one. I guess I'm just the U'pick 'em guy.
MZ

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Matt's New Blog 3/8

Gotta start this one off by giving big time props to girls high school basketball in NorthCentral Wisconsin. How about 5 teams heading to the state tournament in Madison! That's pretty impressive. From state veterans like Newman, Mosinee, Marshfield, and Amherst to a newcomer in Neillsville, it really is a great story.

There's nothing quite like the excitement of state tournaments. I'm actually writing this blog from down in Madison where I was covering girls basketball practice at the Alliant Energy Center the day before the State Girls Basketball Tourney gets underway. To see the excitement in all these girls is just a great thing. I know it's not going to be easy for any of these teams because there's so many other great teams at state, but to see any of them take home a gold ball would be awesome.

Members of the NewsChannel 7 crew including me (what a hard working sports director) ... (get over yourself Matt) will be down here all weekend long covering all the games. We'll of course be in Madison next weekend for the boys state tourney too. You can catch all the highlights and postgame reaction on our Newscasts, but if you miss anything, we'll have it all on wsaw.com, including some stuff that you can't see during our newscasts like the complete postgame press conferences. So be sure to check it out in our special high school hoops section.

That's it for me for now. I'll be back with more extensive and more oftenly updated blogs once the high school winter postseason wraps up after the boys tourney. Before I go, just wanted to give congrats to all our local teams and individuals who made it to state in all the other winter sports. Obviously there's much more to the winter sports season than just basketball.

Matt

You are the worst at keeping up with your blogs. Mike and Jeff write a new one just about everyday, while Sue is very close behind. You promissed a new one today 3/22 and of course it isn't there. Get with the program.

See above.
MZ

Why doesn't your station tell the viewers what place Scott Wimmer comes in after a Nextell Cup race? Sunday nights we watch but nothing is said. They cover Matt Kenseth of Wisconsin but not Scott who is a Wausau native. Eileen

Jill has had Wimmer's finish whenever I've seen so I'm not exactly sure what you're complaint is. But we do always cover Wimmer as much as possible. In fact, we were the only station to report Wimmer's signing with his new team the day it happened.
MZ

Hello. What's your assessment thus far of the NCAA tournament and how poorly the Big-10 faired? Also, nice job covering the Abbotsford boy's. Art VanDaLay

Wow, what a crazy tournament it's been so far. I'm pretty sure nobody predicted we'd see George Mason and Wichita St. in the sweet 16. In related news, if you check out the U pick 'em standings, you'll see that I really didn't correctly predict very much of anything. Although, in my defense, on my completed brackets I still have all my final four left, so that's something.
Oh, and thanks for the compliment about the Abbotsford coverage. It was my pleasure to cover them. All the people from Abbotsford I spoke with were great including the players and coaches and of course Leonard Colby, the member of the 1935 state team that I talked to. That story is in our streaming video section. Thanks for helping me make a great story Leonard.
MZ

Why didn't you have video from Abbotsford down at state like Channel 9 did?

We did.
MZ

I have seen Matt in the Bar too....always drinking a glass of milk with a cookie, what an all-american good boy. PS--the Macker scream was awesome, and I think there is video out there, Matt has very hairy toes!! Jack, Wausau

How dare you reveal the secret of my hairy toes! Maybe we'll just pretend you were being sarcastic about the toes thing, like the rest of your message.
MZ

So Matt,when you are at home watching television, do you pretty much only watch sports?

I was going to respond to this blog message by saying I obviously watch more than just sports. However, I'm sending this response Sunday night after I literally did nothing but watch college basketball from 11:00 am to 6:30 pm.
MZ

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Matt's New Blog 2/22

Hello again everybody! Man is this a busy time of year for us and for all parents and fans of high school athletes as well. Teams going all over the area and all over the state. In fact, this Saturday I'll be making the trek all the way over to Onalaska (basically in Minnesota) for the Wisconsin Rapids sectional final hockey game. I'm not whining. Greg and Jill will both be down in Madison for state wrestling. And before I stop talking about high school sports, I just wanna wish all our area teams and individuals good luck the rest of the way. And I wanna mention quick that one of the reasons I haven't been updating the blog too much lately is, besides covering all the sports, we've been putting together the NewsChannel 7 All-Stars. In case you don't know, it's something we've been doing here for many, many years. It honors 10 girls and 10 boys from North Central Wisconsin, and one of the reasons it's such a big honor is that the players are selected by a large panel of area coaches. So I just wanna give you all a quick reminder that we'll be airing our all star teams next week. We'll announce the girls Monday at 6 and then replay it at 10, and we'll announce the boys Tuesday at 6 with a replay at 10. We also hand out coach of the year awards and those will come out at a later date.

Well then, I was actually going to blog about the Badger men's basketball team this time, but I kinda got caught up in the high school thing. I just wanted to say they I think Bo Ryan is doing a phenomenal job this season. This was supposed to be a down year (they have only 1 senior), but he has them in the thick of the Big Ten title chase with just four games remaining. I think he's done a terrific job of keeping this team together after it looked like they were going in a tailspin. I mean who didn't think this team was going in the tank after they lost Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma and then lost a few games in a row. But Bo Ryan has rallied the troops and now they amazingly still have a chance to win the conference title. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen because their home stretch of games only features one home game, and it's been nearly impossible to win on the road in the Big Ten this year. But just to have this team still in the hunt, Bo Ryan has probably done his best coaching job. We'll have to wait and see how far they can go in the NCAA tournament. Speaking of that, it looks like we could have three Wisconsin schools in the big dance again (Marquette's a lock but UW-Milwaukee probably has to win their conference tournament). The NCAA tourney is always exciting, and it's even more fun when we have those state teams to cheer for. By the way, my alma mater is the only D-1 state school who doesn't really have a chance to make the tournament. (C'mon Horizon League tournament title!) So that's it for me, I'll be back soon with more on the NCAA tourney, Brewers stuff, and Packers draft thoughts in upcoming blogs. For now, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the Badgers, high school tournament time, or as always any random thoughts you may have especially if you're saying something good about me.

Matt

Love you on sports broadcasts. Very clear and precise!!!! Have a question. Can you tell me what channel the Brewers pre-season games are on? Realize it must be on cable. Little old lady sports fan. Thanx

Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately, the Brewer spring training games aren't on anywhere. We get the highlights through a special Major League Baseball satellite feed. Sometimes WGN and ESPN pick up a few spring games, but I'm not sure if the Brewers are scheduled to be on at all (highly doubt it).
MZ

Hey Matt,
Keep up the good work and don't hurt your ankle in the Gus Macker this year! Chad from Rockford, IL

If this is the Chad I think it is, thanks for not getting that injury on video. I'm glad there's not evidence of my girlish scream and crying. (In case you didn't know, I sprained my ankle badly in the Gus Macker basketball tournament a couple years ago, and let's just say I didn't really handle it like the toughest guy in the history of the world).
MZ

Well, it appears quite a few girls teams from your area have made it on to the State. Girls basketball in Northern Wisconsin must be prettu good. Congratulations to those teams that made it. Mr. Zahn, if you were going to make a prediction how would you pick the final season standings in all Major League Divisions and then what team would you pick to go all the way through the playoffs and win the World Series and then would it be a safe to place a bet on that team in Las Vegas? Look forward to your prognostications. Art VanDaLay

We sure do have a lot of teams at state. As you can see I talk about them in my latest blog. As for my baseball picks, those will be coming in an upcoming blog. Early guess though, Brewers go about 160-2.

p.s. - I wouldn't put a whole lot of money on that 160 win bet.
MZ

Matt, I've seen you at the bar and you seem as smooth as silk.

We'll be asking all future bloggers to please post a picture with their blog comments.
MZ

While you talk about the Badgers having a great season when they weren't expected to perform what about that university 90 miles to the east, Marquette? Picked to finish at the bottom of the Big East along with UCF after the move from C-USA, they have outperformed expectations. Now they are the best team from C-USA to make the jump, and are bound for the big dance. They have also beat three ranked opponents at the Bradley Center, and Steve Novak has broken numerous Big East, personal and Marquette records along the way. Just in case you forgot there is another team in the state beyond the Badgers :)

Sorry about not talking about Marquette in my last blog, but it wasn't to disrespect them. The theme of the blog was just the Badgers. But yeah, Marquette is really exceding expectations, especially mine. We would definitely show more highlights of theirs, but many times there are no television highlights of their game available to us. We'll definitely have them covered in the Big East tournament and especially the NCAA tourney. It's on our station so go state teams!
MZ

Matt -
Awesome job again on the News Channel 7 All-Stars! As a follower of local sports, I know many people in the area look forward to seeing so many deserving student-athletes receive this award. In many ways, it's more important to the kids than receiving an all-state award because the title of being a News Channel 7 All-Star follows them locally throughout their careers, whether it be small college sports or someone who makes it to the pros (like a Jerry Wunsch). I'm sure you, Greg and Jill put in quite a few extra hours on this, so give yourselves a hand!

Thank you very much for the compliment. Sometimes we get the impression that our hard work isn't appreciated, but to hear you say that makes us realize why we do put in all the effort. From Jill, Greg, and production assistant John Allee going all over the area to get video of the athletes, to our Graphics person Bill Mercer creating all the photo stills, to me emailing all the coaches to get their nominations and their votes, and then basically everyone working together to add them up, it's a long process. But it really is worth it to recognize these kids for all their hard work. I would also again like to thank all the coaches who take the time out of their very busy schedules to help us out. Without all their help nominating and voting for the all-stars, this series would be nothing.
MZ

Matt - I love your sportscasts. You're smooth as silk and I can tell you really know what you're talking about. Apparently you'll never make everyone happy. Keep up the great work!

Thanks a lot. Judging by that smooth as silk comment, you've never seen me out at the bars. I'm just kidding. Thanks a lot, and I learned a long time ago that you can't make everyone happy.
MZ

Matt,

You need to check WWW.trackwrestling.com. Your state individual wrestling results on Thursday night are pitiful, very inaccurate. Get with it Dude!!

I think I needed to wait for the back-up from the blogger above before I responded. I'm not sure what inaccuracies you were referring too. So I am going to guess you were talking about this. I know I may have said a couple kids were headed to finals, but I realized pretty soon that my shot sheet was wrong and then corrected it to semifinals. I never like to make excuses (except for in college when my alarm clock broke about 355 times) but on a night like last Thursday, there's no time to double check anything. Jill sent the highlights up from Madison and we were literally recording it onto tape as my sportcast started. She faxed up a shot sheet just moments earlier, so the first time I saw it was when we hit the air. Jill was in just as much a rush as I was down in Madison trying to get video of as many local kids as possible. So, she did accidentally type in finals on the shot sheet (that I read on the air) and being rushed myself, I just didn't realize right away. However, I think that's a pretty small mistake considering just how huge and clustered an event the state wrestling meet is. And we did have all the information correct on our website that night. Anyways, thanks for watching. I hope this little mixup won't turn you off from watching our station in the future.
MZ

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Matt's New Blog 2/7

Sorry for the delay again, but I figured since I waited this long to write my blog, I might as well wait until after the super bowl so I could talk about that too. So, I'll start with that. Was I the only one who kind of thought the only reason I really wanted to watch the game is because I had to since it's The Super Bowl? Going into the game, there really wasn't a lot to draw my interest, but the super bowl has become such a huge event that you have to watch it whether you care about the game or not. NIcely done, NFL. As for the game, it was really a pretty blah game, a couple big plays by Pittsburgh, a couple bad calls by the refs, and more than a few drops by the Seahawks receivers. But surrounding that stuff was a lot of pretty boring action. I know this has been said by other people already, but the Colts and Patriots had to be sitting at home thinking they could beat both of those teams. The Packers could have won that game.... okay I mean they could have kept it close and then found a way to blow it in the end. So, what's great about the NFL (every team has a chance almost every year) is also what can sometimes be bad (you end up with not great teams playing in the super bowl).

Enough Super Bowl talk, how about a little bit about some of the talk leading up to the big game, the Brett Favre retirement talk. What most people have taken out of Favre's interview with ESPN is that he's leaning heavily towards retirement. I, however, still think there's a good chance he's coming back and maybe, just maybe, not with the Packers. I say that because of his comment that if he thought the team would be good, his decision to come back would be a lot easier. I personally do think the Packers roster will look significantly better next year, so maybe it'll be enough to bring Favre back. I really think he wants to play. He just doesn't want to go through the strain of another terrible season. So if he thinks the Packers are heading down that road again, maybe he'll consider playing for somebody else (terrible thought), even though he's said he doesn't want to do it. My gut feeling right now, is that Favre is back as the Packers quarterback next year, but I could be dead wrong. I have been before. (Sorry Greg Whitmer about telling you to bet all your money that the Diet Pepsi super bowl commericals would be funny)

So that's it for now. I'd love to hear what you all think about the Favre situation or anything else that's on your mind.

Matt

Respond to Matt's blog here.

Well, it's time to start thinking baseball. Being way up in the far north it must be a little hard for you to cover the Milwaukee Brewer's as well as you would like, however, based on your insight and knowledge of baseball how do you foresee this Brewer season?
Art V.

Yeah, I definitely wish I could get to more Brewer games, especially this year. I'll get into more specific predictions in a blog closer to opening day, but right now I would say I'm cautiously optimistic. My biggest concern is the youth in the line-up (Fielder, Weeks, Hardy). While I think they're all great talents, I could foresee a lot of inconsistency. And inconsistecny was one of the biggest problems with the Brewer offense last year. Like I said, I'll be back with more in depth predictions in a later blog.
MZ

the reason bret threw so many interceptions he had no one to throw the ball to and no running game what the hell are you supposed to do you have to take chances

Taking chances is one thing, but on many of his interceptions there was really no chance of a Packer receiver catching it. I just think he kind of got burned out last season and wasn't making good decisions.
MZ

How do you think the Packers are going to do in the 2006 season?

Wow is this a tough question. It's so hard to say before the draft and before we know what Favre's gonna do. For now, let's say I'm pretty confident they'll be significantly better, but I gotta wait and see how this offseason plays out.
MZ

I think it is interesting to hear you say that about Favre playing for another team. With all the complaining people did about him this year my husband and I were saying the same thing. When someone was going on and on about "he's past him prime...he should retire" etc. we would always say "maybe you'd prefer if he played for someone else?" It always was met with a blank stare. I think it is just taken for granted that if he plays it'll be for the Packers. I personally hope he doesn't retire...he is the heart of that team.

Hopefully we're getting closer to knowing what Favre's gonna do. He said he planned on making a decision sometime after Feb. 15th. Well, it's sometime after Feb. 15th. Personally, I just wanna know one way or another at this point. But don't get me wrong, I respect him taking the time to make this gigantic decision.
MZ

Matt, Brett Favre play for another team next year? Don't even think that! My heart stopped beating for a second when I read that! I think he will come back for one more season and most likely will tell everyone that this will be his last season and will give it his all! -cw-

I think pretty much everyone hopes he comes back for at least one more year, but I don't know if he wants to because the new coaching staff is so unbelievably terrible... just kidding.
MZ

It's interesting hearing all the sports media spin on the Packer's Head Coach and the Staff that he has assembled. Viewpoints are expressed without based on personal opinion which is truly not a professional way to place judgement on anything or anyone. Maybe the sports media shoud try to find out more about each person hired by talking to players they worked with, sports media personnel from the cities they worked in etc. That certainly would be refreshing, getting input from the people that had contact with the new Coach and staff. Just a thought.
Art V.

I'm not sure if you're referring to me personally, because I said I actually kind of like the McCarthy hire. And the only place I ever even mentioned anything about his staff was in a quick blog response. I've never said anything like that on the air, but isn't this blog a place that's all about opinion?
MZ

Matt, I agree with you the officals Made a lot of bad calls. It was plain to see. I think the officals Wanted Jerome bettis to get his super bowl ring Just like they did for John Elway the last time the Packers were in the super bowl.

I don't really think their was a big conspiracy in the super bowl, but they clearly made some bad calls, pretty much all of which favored the Steelers. As for that Packers thing, I don't talk about that game.
MZ

Matt,
What is your favorite football team? Where is your favorite place to watch your favorite football team?
Always,
your favorite Luau bartender!

My favorite football team is the Packers and I like to watch football anywhere they've got a big high definition TV. And obviously I know the answer to this, but just for the rest of my bloggers, who exactly is my favorite Luau bartender?
MZ

Am I the only one who feels that the Seahawks had no chance to win the superbowl. I think both teams played well (asside from the few dropped passes, and bad plays at the end of halves). It seemed that the biggest thing keeping the Seahawks from winning was the Refs. Need I explain....

The Refs helped, but I think the Seahawks did enough to lose the game. Mike Holmgren probably deserves some criticism too, although I think most of the clock management problems were caused by Matt Hasselbeck.
MZ

The superbowl wasn't that lame. You may think that because the Seahawks lost, but hey, it was a great way for Jerome Bettis to end his career. That fumble in the Colts game really could have lost the game for him, but anyways, it was a game worth watching for any Steeler fan.

No, it wasn't totally lame. I just thought that for the meeting of the NFL's two best teams, there were a lot mistakes that bad teams usually make. And yeah that is a cool way for Bettis to end his career. Also, anytime your favorite team wins the Super Bowl, it's a great game.
MZ

Matt, You have to give the Steelers some credit. They won eight games in a row, including the four playoff games away from home. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment. Of course the Colts and the Patriots thought they could have won the Super Bowl. So, probably, did the Broncos, Bears, Giants etc. But they couldn't have for the same reason the Packers could not have won the Super Bowl this year. They didn't win the playoff games they had to win to get there. Except for the Packers, they didn't even win enough games to get to the playoffs. The Super Bowl is often not a very good game for a variety of reasons. But you have to remember the path the two teams took to get there. This year the Steelers and the Seahawks were the best teams because they did what it took to get there. And nobody else did.

I didn't mean to not give the Steelers any credit. Their road run through the playoffs is maybe the most amazing accomplishment in NFL history. I would think it even more amazing if I didn't think the Steelers were probably one of the best #6 seeds ever. My point was mainly that neither team played their best game in the Super Bowl, and the way they both played in that game, the Colts or Patriots had to think they could have beat them. Certainly the Packers couldn't beat anyone. Also, the Seahawks deserve credit for making it to the Super Bowl for the first time in team history.
MZ

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Matt's New Blog 1/20

How about them Packers! They're nothing if not busy early in this offseason, but have these coaching moves made them any better? That's a good question and not just because I asked it. I'll be very interested to hear what you all think, but first here's what I think.

When I first heard about the Packers hiring Mike McCarthy as their new head coach, I was probably a lot like you. I was thinking who the heck is this guy, and why not Jim Bates? I'll get back to the Bates thing in a moment. But after I got over the initial shock of the McCarthy hire, I started to kind of like it. Here's why. First of all, I don't like the idea of just recycling an old coach who's been pretty good in the past but never great, like a Wade Phillips. I like the risk, reward of hiring a young up and coming coach. He may turn out to be a bum, but there's at least a chance he could turn into something great. Second, I do actually like his track record. Now I know the 49ers offense was terrible this past year, but more of that blame falls on the rookie quarterback. And a couple of the years he was in New Orleans they had a great offense. Granted they did have some pretty great skill position players, but McCarthy seemed to do a great job coaching up Aaron Brooks. Just look how bad he was this past year without him. Speaking of Brooks, that's my third reason for liking McCarthy, his good track record coaching quarterbacks. He's worked with guys like Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger, and even Joe Montana for a year. So, all of this stuff is great, but all of my praise for this hire was contingent on the return of defensive coordinator Jim Bates. Yeah, so much for that. Now that the McCarthy hire has forced Bates out the door, I like it a lot less, a lot less! Now, I'm beginning to question the whole thing. I really like Bates as a coordinator and I think it's really going to hurt the Packers having him leave. And here's something funny, don't be suprised if Bates and Mike Sherman end up working together again in Buffalo. If that's the case, you really have to think about the Packers coaching moves. I mean would you rather have Sherman and Bates or an unknown Mike McCarthy and a random new defensive coordinator. It's an interesting question, and I'd like to hear what you all think.

Matt

Hi Matt. I'm a huge fan, and I was just wondering... are you married? If not, are you single? Thanks!

Thanks for being a fan. No, I'm not married, but I do have a girlfriend until she breaks up with me.
MZ

Hi Matt. I just wanted to say you bring a refreshing air to News Channel 7. And that you are cute.

Thank you very much. This blog comment is a nice change of pace from that donkey on donkey one I got earlier. That person was a big meany!
MZ

Matt if you see this response today I strongly urge you to goto ESPN.com and check out the interview that Bret Favre gave them on Sunday night because he told them in so many words that he is in fact leaning towards retirement 'mentally speaking' but let us bloggers know what you have to think about that Matt.1-30-2006.

We definitely saw that interview. I'll have some thoughts on Brett coming up in my new blog (thursday or friday).
MZ

Hey Matt, have you ever met anybody who was on the Packers season ticket waiting list and actually got them? If so, how long were they on it?

That's a great question. My answer is no of course. Does anyone actually know anyone who's gotten off the list? Maybe it's just a big conspiracy.
MZ

I was sad because you didnt answer my comment last time. So I'll try to post it again.
Howdy. I'm just posting to see if I can get the first comment. And to see what you're opinion of Air Furniture (like Air Chairs and what-not) is. Because i think air furniture is an important issue. And I also want to know what the weirdest thing you ever ate was.

Emily :-(

Hey emily,

I'm not a real big fan of air furniture. We had a couple of those chairs in college and they broke pretty much the first time we sat on them. However, they are quite convenient if you ever want to rearrange your room.
As for the weirdest thing I've ever ate, I'll have to think about that one and get back to you.
MZ

Hey Matt! My comment to you is overdue. This has become apart of my Internet life.

Are you talking about a child of yours going through the teen years because I don't know how good my advice would be. All I know is my teen years were about as awkward as they come. I didn't have a growth spurt until about my senior year in high school. In fact, when I got my first drivers license at age 16 (just before my senior year), my height and weight were 5'3' 130 pounds. Now that's awkward. Actually, that's just ridiculously little.
MZ

Hey Matt,
I dont now about the hiring of Mike McCarthy. Brett Favre had his worst passer rating [besides this year:(]. I'm starting to worry already about that move. Thats all I have to say about that topic.

Yeah, and I'm starting to worry about this entire coaching staff. Let's hope it's not 1999 all over again (although at this point that would actually mean 4 more wins)

Is anyone in the news aware and willing to report that Wausau has a WPSA sanctioned snowmoble ice race at Man Made Lake this weekend? Wausau525.com It's the Flip Merwin Memorial race.

I'm not sure exactly when you sent this out, but as you saw by our coverage Friday - Sunday, we obviously were aware. It's too bad mother nature wasn't.
MZ

Hi Matt
I know this happened a few days ago but how about the Badgers loss to N.D State?

Yeah pretty unbelievable at the time, but now that we've watched them play a couple more games, it doesn't seem quite so unbelievable. The loss of Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma really seems to have hurt them. Not only do the Badgers miss their contributions off the bench, but I think their absence has really kinda disrupted the chemistry of this team. Hopefully they can turn things around. And don't forget, at the beginning of the year, we all looked at this as a rebuilding year for the Badgers. Maybe our expecatations got a little too high when they played so well early.
MZ

Maybe you could have Matt ride a donkey. It would be like a donkey riding a donkey.
Greg Whiter rules!

I meant Greg Whitmer rules. He's our favorite!

Greg Whitmer's long time pal Greg Whiter is very unhappy that you didn't actually intend to say that he rules. Also, as an avid donkey rider, Greg Whiter is again offended by your derogatory donkey comments.
MZ

Hey Matt,
I think you should cover the WWE on your sports every Tuesday. THAT WOULD MAKE ME HAPPY. BYE-BYE

How about we just have Jeff Thelen wear tights on Tuesdays?
MZ

Hi Matt,

Love all the coverage you give the local sports teams in the area. Have you ever wanted to try another take on covering sports? How about a Donkey Ball game? Just so happens to be one coming up in the Rib Lake area on February 3, I think the time is seven. Give it a try, it's always entertaining!
Thanks,
Dawn in Medford

Dawn,
The donkey ball game sounds like a great idea, but unfortunately a Friday night is a real hard time for us to do something like that. But if you ever hear of another one, let us know.
MZ

Sometimes I think that the best credential for getting a head coaching job in Green Bay is to have the first name of Mike!!!! If Jim Bates wouldn't stay, I think that the fellow who was hired as the defensive coordinator is a good choice. MP

Yeah, we'll have to wait and see, but at least new defensive coordinator Bob Sanders has worked under Bates. And yeah, we were all hoping Mike Bruenling would get the head coaching job.
MZ

I'm wondering if the new coaching staff is giving the impression to the public that they want Brett back, but really hope he leaves so they can rebuild and save his large salary to get new players

That's an interesting point, and I've actually thought about that. Of course, Ted Thompson says publicly that he wants Favre to come back, but then he brings in a new head coach known for developing young quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers. In all honesty, I have to believe that the Packer brass would like Favre to come back for at least one more year.
MZ

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Matt's New Blog 1/9

Hello all. Sorry for the delay on the new blog, but I've kind of been trying to wait for the dust to settle on all this Packers stuff before I write about it.

First let's talk about Coach Sherman. I always thought he was a pretty good guy that wasn't quite great as a head coach. For most of us, that divisional playoff game in Philly a couple years ago will stand out as one of the defining moments of Sherman's tenure. It's not completely fair to Sherman, but in a way it is. In his biggest game as Packers Head Coach, he made some questionable decisions that probably cost the Packers their best chance to go to the Super Bowl since they actually went. Sherman has of course also done a lot of good with the Packers. Just look at his record, and even this year his team never quit. And the standing ovation he received in the locker room after word came out he was fired, shows how much these players respected him. So in the end, Sherman may not have totally deserved to get fired, but in the end I think it's probably the best decision for the Packers.

That is of course depending on who they hire to replace him. If you would have asked me a week ago, I would have guessed Brad Childress would be their man, but the Vikings nabbed him right away. And that's part of the problem. The Packers picked a bad time to be looking for a new coach. It seems like half the league is without a head coach, meaning lots of competition for the top candidates. I only hope that Ted Thompson and the Packers get the guy they want. By the way, I have no idea now who they're going to go for. My guess is it is one of the young offensive coordinators, which of course means they'll now hire old defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. And Favre fans, don't hold your breath about Steve Mariucci. Even though Favre's agent said that Brett would be more likely to return if Mariucci was the new head coach. I don't see the Packers doing that, nor should they if Mariucci isn't their man.

And speaking of Favre, I don't know why I think this, but for some reason, my gut feeling tells me that he'll be back for one more season. Of course, I also didn't think Sherman would get fired. Maybe it's just because I think the Packers could actually have a pretty good team next year, and I don't think Favre would want to walk away from that. Look at it, Javon Walker back at wide receiver, maybe sign an offensive lineman, some mix of Samkon Gado, Najeh Davenport, and Ahman Green (if he re-signs) at running back, an improving defense in their second year under Jim Bates, and hopefully Favre. Throw in a top five pick (maybe Ohio St. linebacker A.J. Hawke) and a last place schedule and things could turn around in a hurry. Or without Favre they could completely go in the tank.

So lots of questions about the future of the Pack without a lot of answers right now. I'd love to hear what you all think about the Packers future and what you think about my opinions. I look forward to some passionate blog responses.

Matt

Hi Matt,
From your lips to Favre's ears about his return this coming season. I know half of my family is waiting for official word. Have you dug up an e-mail address for Brett yet? Still hoping to sway his decision...
Dawn in Medford

Sorry Dawn. I tried my Packers contact again, but she never got back to me. I'll see if I can find another route.
MZ

Well before I comment I just have one question for you? Do you have anything todo with 'Zahn's Budget Auto' in Wausau I've been hearing alot of commercial advertising for that on WIFC Radio!?! Well now as I respond to your blog as the firing of Mike Sherman is in the past I think this new coach Mike McCarthy will be ready to bring in some new ideas on both offense and defense respectivly but don't expect this year's squad in the 2006 season to be playoff contenders if the Packers can at least finish with a .500 8 - 8 record wich would be a great improvement from last years 4-12 record but just to reminense IF the Packers were to have won those 6 games during the 2005 season that they were 5 points or less from losing plus the 4 games then the situation with the now former coach Mike Sherman would have been a whole lot different now as for Brett Favre I think if he feels that he has the strength to play for another season no matter who is at the coaching helm now then there's now reason why he would come back because to retire would be premature because even the GM Ted Thomson has said that he wants Brett Farve to come back Matt.

I'm not related to the folks at Zahn's Budget Auto as far as I know. But maybe I can become a spokesman for them and get a good discount on a quality used car.
As for the Packers stuff, I'll address the new coaching stuff and more in my new blog. I'll get that out on Friday for sure.
MZ

Matt, I thought caljones was Italian food. Those pizza things all wrapped up. Do you have any of those? They are yummy. By the way, you guys always kill your "competition". For instance, high school sports and the McCarthy and Calhoun stories.

Thank you very much for the compliment. We really appreciate it. I know my guys... I mean guy and girl... Greg and Jill really work hard and it's nice to see people notice it.
By the way, I'm pretty sure you're thinking of calzones. Where's George Costanza when you need him?
MZ

Why don't you have some cajones and tell programming we want to see some Badger basketball games on!

I wasn't sure what cajones meant, so I looked it up. I actually do have plenty of drawers, but thanks for asking.
As for your Badger question, I actually just talked to our programming director about that today before I even read this blog. Apparently, under our parent company's new contract with CBS, we are no longer allowed to pre-empt any CBS programming to air Badger games or anything else. So sorry about that, but it's not our decision to not carry the games. I wish we could.
MZ

Howdy. I'm just posting to see if I can get the first comment. And to see what you're opinion of Air Furniture (like Air Chairs and what-not) is. Because i think air furniture is an important issue. And I also want to know what the weirdest thing you ever ate was.

Emily

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Matt's Blog 12/21

Merry Christmas Everybody! And what a Christmas treat for all of us Packer fans, a chance to watch the Packers on Christmas day. Yeah, doesn't seem that great anymore does it? And speaking of the Packers, they're my theme for this blog.

Is it just me, or does Favre really want running back Reggie Bush (the probable #1 pick next year) on his team? Think about it. Favre has suddenly become the worst quarterback in the NFL. I mean Kyle Boller outplayed him. Okay, I know Favre's still better than Boller, but you really got question his play lately. I know he doesn't have great receivers, much of a running game, or a good offensive line, but that doesn't excuse some of his just atrocious decisions. Honestly, if Favre would have managed the game a little better this season, I think the Packers could have gotten a few more wins. Now, don't get me wrong on all of this, I still love Favre as a player as I'm sure most of you do, but he just doesn't look like he's having fun out there anymore, and he's making some of the worst throws of his career.

So you probably think this is all leading up to me saying the Packers should start playing Aaron Rodgers right now. You know what, after watching him on Monday night, I'm not sure that would do a lot of good. I just don't think the rookie is ready to play yet and putting him out there against a team like the Bears just doesn't seem like a real great idea to me. What I'm saying is it could maybe do more harm than good.

So, in conclusion to this Packer rant, my guess and I guess my hope is that Favre starts and plays pretty much the whole last two games. And despite my dogging him a little earlier, I do hope he returns next year, and who knows, if things fall into place, he could get his "wish" and have Reggie Bush behind him in the backfield in 2006.

That's my Packer rant. Feel free to respond and call me a dumb idiot, or give a little rant of your own. I've got the feeling a lot of Packer fans out there could use a venue to do some venting.

Matt Zahn

I hate to tell you but Brett is not the worst quarterback in the league. He still breaking records and if he had a receiver that could catch the ball, he wouldn't have all of those interceptions. He was only trying to win games by himself, which is impossible. Why would anyone want to see Brett leave Green Bay? Rodgers, is just a rookie and he couldn't do anything. I get so upset with people talking about Brett's interceptions. He is the only player the packers have. There is no receivers, except for triple covered Driver, and has no running backs. What can this team do. All rookies. And why doesn't anyone criticize Thompson??? He's the one that let everyone go. I guess he didn't think much of Rivera and Wahle. Well, by letting them 2 guys go, Brett had no protection. Sharper had a good year in MN too, so that was another one of Thompson's mistakes.

I'm fairly sure that most people don't want to see Brett Favre leave. As bad as some of his decisions were, I don't think anyone thinks the team would be better with Aaron Rodgers. I personally think Favre still has something left talent wise.
I agree with you that Ted Thompson does deserve a little criticism, but I think we've got to give him some time to shape the team in his mold. If in a year or two, things aren't getting better, then I think we have every right to criticize Thomspon.
MZ

i think they need to get rid of brett farve he has the worst interception record of the year. the coach shouldnt of been the only one fired after such a redicioulous season

See response to blog above.
MZ

While the Packers horrible season comes to an end, leaving the fans with hopes for the next season, maybe now a focus should be on winning teams in the state. I know you don't hear much about the Milwaukee Wave and Milwaukee Admirals in the northern parts of Wisconsin, but maybe you should start giving them some love Matt!
The Wave (indoor soccer) are an astounding 7-0 and play New Year's Eve for a record-breaking 8-0 start to the season.
The Admirals (AHL hockey) are one of the hottest teams in the AHL, and continue to develop players to send to Nashville. Wisconsin's own Ryan Suter played with the Admirals before moving to Nashville with the NHL's rebirth.
If you need any more info on the teams or want to be on the post-game contacts, just mention something here and I'll be glad to add you (I work for both teams here in MKE).
Oh, and go Brewers...not much time 'till Spring Training!

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to send me more info. I'm not sure the interest level would be too high in this area for the Admirals and Wave, but if you ever got any players from Central Wisconsin that would certainly change things. And definitely go Brewers!
MZ

Hey Matt Zahn!
How did the holiday show go? I had a good Christmas--ate too much turkey and than blew $200 on an inflatable dishwasher. The label said NOT FLAMMABLE...

Mary!

What the heck is an inflatable dishwasher? ... As for my sports in high school I played some basketball (not very well), and played baseball all four years. Not that I'm huge now, but I was really tiny in high school, something like 5'3 - 110 pounds when I got my license.
MZ

Hey Matt. Is your name by chance Matthew? I dont know why, but I would like to know. Also, I'm really bored. Plus, we feed the seagulls milk at dawn. Ain't that peachy?

Emily

Yes my first name is actually Matthew. I think my mom's pretty much the only person who still calls me that. And I'm not so sure doing anything at dawn is peachy.
MZ

Hi Matt,

Dawn in Medford

I checked in on it but I haven't heard back from the Packers P.R. people. I'll try asking again.
MZ

hey matt ru going to show riblake high lights
Greg and Jake

We try to at least get some highlights from pretty much all our local schools. Places like Rib Lake can sometimes be tough because it's such a long drive that it's difficult to get the highlights back. But we do try to make an extra effort to cover schools like that when they're playing closer to Wausau.
MZ

Hi Matt,

Dawn in Medford

I emailed our public relations contact with the Packers. She said she would check with their internet guy to find out if there was a way fans could post support for Favre. As soon as I hear back from her, I'll let you and everyone else know.
MZ

Well Matt as a devoted Packer fan myself I couldn't agree with you more but I will give lots of credit for Farve breaking some of the NFL records this year such as Dan Morino of the Miami Dolphins now thats a feat that no other QB that I know of has any chance of catching this year other than that maybe Favre at his midage of 36 is starting to run out of steam that he once had and the comment was even made on Monday Night Football from a sideline reporter that even Bret and his wife keep getting the questions about if Bret is gonna return for another season but as far as Aaron Rodgers well the only pointer I can give him is when he went for it on 4th and 8 yards from a 1st down and when he snapped the ball he GOT THE FIRST DOWN Matt and that I have NEVER seen Bret Farve do ALL YEAR other than the 2 fumbles and 1 interception in the end zone just from watching Bret do also durring the season Matt.

It's going to be interesting to see how Aaron Rodgers turns out. A lot of experts have compared him to Kyle Boller. Until a couple weeks ago, he looked like a total bust. But in the last couple games he looked like a legit quarterback. So hopefully Rodgers turns out to be pretty good, otherwise it could be a long few years for Packer fans.
MZ

Hello Matt: I have no blog experience - so bear with me. I want you to know that in case Thurs. sports looks a little lean, there is something BIG going to happen in Rapids! We have a Community Meal/Soup Kitchen program. We serve in excess of 400 people both at our site and by carryouts. The really big show is that the members of that terriffic Wisconsin Rapids, Red Raiders football team are going to be our servers and helpers that night. You may want to do a little splice of kids helping others at this time of year. We, at the Neighborhood Table are so excited about this. All we did was ask and these kids came through for us! For more information you can contact me directly at 715-325-3545. My name is Ginny Steen and I am the founder and director of The Neighborhood Table. We have won the adult volunteer of the year group effort for two years in a row and we are here to help our community and make sure they have a good meal the last three Thursdays of each month.

Thanks for the heads up. I think Jill's story turned out great. And how about the beautiful singing voices of the football players.
MZ

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New Blog Time, Finally (12/2)

Hey everybody,

Finally a new blog. You know what the big problem is. I just don't think about that much stuff which in turn leads to me not having that much stuff to write about. But I racked my brain, took a long nap, and then racked my brain some more and came up with this brilliant, amazing idea . . . . . outdoor winter sports activities. Okay it's not that amazing but it is almost an idea.

Here's what I was thinking. All of you faithful bloggers out there could let me know what your favorite outdoor winter sports activity is and if there's something really good, I could get a member of my hard working sports team to come out and cover it. I'm obviously way to busy writing blogs to do it myself.

Obviously stuff like skiing and snowboarding are pretty obvious but if there's an interesting angle to it, we'd love to hear about it. By the way I've skiied (did I spell that right?) before, but never snowboarded. I don't really ski anymore because the way I do it, it hurts... a lot.

So I'm sure there's plenty of stuff you all find to do in the winter, and we're not looking for my favorite things like playing video games and drinking... juice and milk of course. That's why I said outdoor. So get to work everybody, we are anxious to hear what you folks like to do, you know when it's not 50 below outside.

Matt Zahn

Hey Matt. Well, i've been having fun lately working on History Day and what-not for school. So, i totaly think that you should have a special holiday show on channel 7 where you showcase the best blog-comments of this year. oooh or a New Years one! like the top 10!!!! oohhh!! haha

Emily

Hey Em, I'm anchoring on Christmas Eve so that might be a good night to show the best of the blog. So if you've still got another good one saved up, be sure to do it soon.

Merry Christmas

Hey Matt Zahn! I'm definitely thinking that you should update this blogger, pal. It's time to get into the Christmas spirit! Also, I wanted to know--how do you feel about Bob Dylan? He's my idol, next to you of course. :)

p.s. do you like veef or pork?

I'm guessing you mean beef, and while I do like pork, I'm a beef man all the way. I could eat a cheeseburger pretty much every day. In fact, I basically do.
As for Bob Dylan, I'm not a huge fan, but I do think Bob Saget is funny. Just kidding, nobody thinks Bob Saget is funny.

Merry Christmas (how about that for some X-mas spirit?)

We play tackle kickball. It combines kickball, football and a little bit of rugby all into one. Especially fun when warm cocktails are served at the event.

Sounds crazy. Blog back with when and where you do this and we'll definitely considering doing a story on it. You can also email me at mzahn@wsaw.com
MZ

I googled my name, and come to find out, we have the same name, which means you must be pretty bad ass... if your middle name is scott I will def be weirded out...

Sorry about the middle name, it's actually James. But I'm sure you know that anybody with the name Matt Zahn must be pretty awesomely cool.
MZ

Matt,
How come you're not wearing a jacket like Jeff and Mike are at the top of the website? Just curious.

That's back in the day when I was a lowly reporter so I couldn't afford a jacket. Just kidding, sort of. I just happened to not wear one. Maybe I'll get myself a new photo sometime soon.
MZ

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Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Matt's Blog 11/17
(Special Guest Writer)

Hello North Central Wisconsin!

It's Jocko...you know Mike Jacques...remember, I used to work at the Big Saw! Matt Zahn is down here in Madison and is actually staying at my house while covering the WIAA State Football Championships! I just wanted to say how much I miss all of the great people I got to know in my 2 years in the Wausau area. While living in Madison has been great, I really enjoyed my time in North Central Wisconsin and there will always be a special place in my heart for all of the people I got to meet and and the athletes I got to cover, and of course the people I worked with...expect Jeff Thelen...I'm just kidding! I also check www.wsaw.com to make sure all of the local teams are doing well. I've heard Matt Zahn has done a wonderful job as sports director and Greg Whitmer is still my boy, and Jill Wunrow has been great...just as I expected. On a personal note, my wife Carol and daughter Elizabeth (now 14 months) are adjusting well and doing just fine. I'm sure Elizabeth will always be proud that she was born at Aspirus Hospital in Wausau and that her grandpa is from Thorp. It's been great blogging with all of you and from my family to yours...I know it's early...Happy Holidays!

--- Thanks Jocko, what a change of pace, you doing my work for me, instead of 2 years of always the exact opposite of that.

I'll be back soon with an actual blog of my own.

Matt

Thanks for the blog Jocko. You could always make us laugh! Good Luck and Best Wishes.

You guys are laughing with Jocko not at him right. Seriously, Jocko is very funny and often smelly and we miss him too in the sports department.
MZ

Where's the fish and game forcast?!! Not all sports revolve around football.

Sorry about the fish and game forecast. It was a management decision to get rid of it. By the way, we cover lots of sports besides football. It just happens that a lot of people like football.
MZ

C'mon Matt, post something already! If not you, I would like to hear what Greg and Jill have to say.

I finally did it! See above.
MZ

Hi Jocko! Don't worry, I keep up with the latest from Wausau from time to time, and was really happy to hear that things are great for you in Madison! I miss working with you and seeing you on the t.v. Tell Carol and Elizabeth I said hello! All is great in Chicago :)

Karen

Is that former NewsChannel 7 reporter Karen Kostko? Thanks for missing me! Anyways, I hope all's going well with your dad's grocery stores.
MZ

I just thought it was assumed how much I miss you Zahn! The family business is great, busy this time of year, but good :)

-Karen

Hi Matt, I'm sending you a note to let you know that Tomahawk also has a women's varsity hockey team. They will begin their season next Thursday evening at SARA Park here in Tomahawk at 7:00P.m.The team consists of 19 girls and their coach is Don Nelson. Our quest started back in March when our school board approved for us to have a team, but we had to come up with the funding. A group of parents came together and from April 1st to August1st and raised $27,500. We came up with every kind of fundraisers you could imagain. We even had the Badger Women's head coach Mark Johnson come for an evening. Now our story begins. This would be a great story to follow. Thanks Jackie N. 453-5659

We'll do our best to get out there Thursday night.
MZ

Who made the very poor decision of running the Channel 7 All-Stars on Thanksgiving? Most families are either on the road or spending time with family. Bad choice, who ever made it.

I apologize if this date choice was inconvenient. The decision was made above me, but it also seemed to work out okay because there's not a lot going on locally on that Thursday and Friday.
MZ

Hey Jocko and Matt! Wow, you guys are like, my IDOLS!! Have you ever considered writing a book of inspirational quotes and possibly some recipes for chicken liver? Just wondering.

Emily

Emily,
I'll have to ask Jocko about that chicken liver recipe. As for being your idol, thanks, and Jocko was wondering if you could possibly email his new bosses at WMTV in Madison about that whole being great thing.
MZ

um, yeah. i was kidding about the chicken liver. i dont even like chicken liver. what about...umm..pasta dishes. or...er.....eggnog recipes? or maybe....hmm....fruit...salad? who knows? but thanks for the consideration!

Emily

Oh Matt...
Can we skip any highlights of the Packer games for a while? Maybe until they win one? I'll admit that I'm a fair weather fan, when they lose I'm outta here. I was truly rooting for them to buckle down and get to work. I'm now about ready to throw in the towel.

I agree. I haven't seen my towel since about 5 weeks ago. (I threw it in, get it?... yeah not very funny) Anyways, most of you out there have probably noticed we've cut down considerably on our Packer coverage, especially during the week. I think we'll keep showing Packer highlights on gamedays just because we've got so many hardcore Packer fans in the area. Plus we've got to start the number one draft pick watch. Reggie Bush! Reggie Bush!
MZ

Hi Jocko!

Dawn in Medford

I'll make sure everyone here knows right away when the Jockos have a new baby. I'm thinking it might be a while. Jocko's got his hands full chasing around a now walking Elizabeth.
MZ

Not having Jocko here anymore is just like the Soviet Union at the '84 Olympics. WHO MISSED 'EM?!

Jeff

You are mean to him.
MZ

Oh it's just like the good old days - Jocko doing all of Matt's work! (ha just kidding)
Love,
Your friend and former co-worker, Sue
P.S. Remember when you lived in our basement for a month until you and Carol found a house in Wausau? That was fun.

I wonder who these Jeff and Sue characters could be? And by the way Sue, neither Jocko or I did any work, so there!
MZ

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Matt's Blog 11/1

Holy time flying, it's already November and the fall high school sports season is almost over. What a wild Saturday we had this past weekend with state cross country, sectional finals in girls volleyball and boys sectionals, and level 2 of the football playoffs. Congrats to all the local teams and athletes who are having great years. We've still got a bunch going this weekend at state volleyball and level 3 of the high school football playoffs. It's not quite as busy as last Saturday when I was over in Appleton and Neenah before stopping of in Bowler and Greg shot five different sporting events and Jill shot state cross country all morning before returning to anchor. I just wanna take a quick second to give my sports team props. I know we're not the only station in the world to work hard on a Saturday, but still it's nice to have two good workers and me too, working hard to get the job done. As for this Saturday, we'll have crews covering football playoffs, swimming sectionals, and if any of volleyball teams make it through volleyball Friday, we'll have that too. It's a tough time of year, but it's also a lot of fun especially when you get to see that moment when a team qualifies for state, like I got the chance to do last Saturday in Bowler when the Newman girls earned the first trip in school history.

I just mentioned how it's kind of a tough time of year for us. Don't get me wrong, we all still have pretty posh jobs here. So I don't wanna offend any of you out there who have much, much tougher jobs than me. I certainly shouldn't have too many complaints about a job that lets me sit in the press box for Packer games, although this year I'm not sure how great that is. Anyways back to the tough jobs thing, I know all about that, which is why even when things seem to be tough here, I know it's really not. I remember the summer after my freshman year in college when I lived back home in Rosendale over the summer. I found a job through one of those job search centers. At first they got me a cool job helping set up a new Sears store. Basically all we did was put together toy displays and other stuff like that. But then that job ran out and they found me work in a factory packaging plastics. It was like 110 degrees in there, it was the same monotonous thing all day long, my feet and arms would get tired, I would cut up my hands a bunch, and every second seemed like an hour. I only lasted like 3 weeks, so I have much appreciation for anyone out there who does anything like that to provide for their family. You're much tougher than me, but I'm sure you probably already knew that.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough for now. I know I missed my deadline I promised in my message last week, but if you knew me at all, you probably wouldn't be all that surprised. Seriously though, I'll blame it on being busy with other stuff. So that's it for this blog. If there's anything you would ever like me to talk about in future blogs, please let me know.

Matt

Matt Zahn. You rock the house and so much more. You should consider going bigger than Wausau, you have a major talent! How about Good Morning America? *wink wink*

p.s. by the way do you like cheesecake?? I was just wondering. Some of us want to know more about you because you're sorta becoming famous. You should let some of your greatest fans interview you. :)

Not a big fan off cheescake Mary, which is weird because I like cheese and cake. As for interviewing me, feel free to ask me any questions on the blog site (as long as it's okay for public viewing).

And as for going bigger, maybe someday, but I doubt Good Morning America unless they change the name of the show to Good Mid-to-late Afternoon America
MZ

what are your feelings on lemonaide?

Emily

Love lemonade in the summer.
MZ

Are the Green Bay Packers ever going to get any better? My oldest daughter every Sunday sits down to watch them play and always turns it [off] the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter. She says they really do stink. Do you think they will ever improve?

This year, probably not, but maybe someday. They've just got too many injuries to impact players. They keep it close, but they just don't have the players, especially on offense, to make the plays to win games.
I'm fairly confident the Packers will be okay next year. My gut feeling is Sherman and Favre will be back, and with what will probably be a last place schedule and having a top draft pick, things could turn around in a hurry. I see it sorta being like the Spurs in the NBA a few years ago, when they were really bad one year, and then drafted Duncan and were very good again, very quickly.
MZ

Do you announce football all-conference, all-region, and all-state picks on the air? If you do , do you announce all-conference and all-region picks right away or wait until all-state players are picked to air this ?

We'll announce all-state players on the air, but there are just too many conferences in the area to do every all-conference team.
MZ

oooh could you talk about something incredibly bizzare in your next blog? like...umm...CHICKENS FROM MARS!! That would so totaly rock!!! or Bob Dylan. either one.

Ummmm, what?
MZ

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Matt's Blog 10/21

Sorry blog fans. I know it's been a while since I updated this. I've been busy working on the NewsChannel 7 Football All-Stars. We have to put together all the nominations and then send it out to all the area coaches. It's kind of a big project, but it's worth it. It's been around for 4 decades and it's great for the area kids. My favorite thing about it is the fact that we give recognition to the guys that don't always get the pub, like offensive linemen, kickers, and punters. We don't get to see them a lot in the highlight zone.

As for all the unresponded to blogs, I responded to all of them below. I promise in the future I will try to respond quicker and also type in a new blog more often. In fact, I guarantee a new one by mid next week.

Chat at you all soon,
Matt

when will the channel 7 all stars be broadcast on tv?

Some time around Thanksgiving. We haven't set an exact date but probably between Nov. 22nd and Nov. 25th. We'll let you know the for sure date on the air sometime soon.
MZ

Why doesn't anyone have the state cross country championship results online? I have been searching since 3pm and nothing is online. In this info age, certainly someone could post results.
Rachel O., teacher looking for information

The Results were up on our website under local scores, but it only stays on our site for a day. We'll have to work on fixing that. Otherwise, you can go to the WIAA site for results, but most of the time we'll get our area stars up on our website.
MZ

Hi Matt, I'm a college student and would like to get into broadcasting. I was just wondering who your influences were (or are) and who has helped along the way.
Thanks

You know honestly there's no one famous TV personality who sticks out as a big influence on me. But I would have to say my dad probably is a big reason I chose this profession. He's a big sports fan for one, and he also used to do a lot of announcing at local softball tournaments and parades, and that's what first kinda got me into this.

As for who's helped me along way. I would say my best advice to you would be to get an internship at a TV station. Do it in sports if that's what you want to get into. I learned more valuable stuff in my few months interning than I did in 4 1/2 years of college. And the Sports Guys at Channel 2 in Green Bay were a big help in getting me my first job. So I would say get an internship. Work hard there and be cool with the people you work with. And that should help you get your foot in the door, which is sometimes the hardest part.

P.S. - Don't plan on making a ton of money right away.
MZ

who do you think is going to win viking or packers?

Sorry I'm late on the answer to this one, but for future reference insert any team name against the Packers and I pick that other team.
MZ

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Matt's Blog 10/4,

I almost let Greg do this one because that's what some of you wanted to see. Also, it would save me some work, and frankly it's tough for me to come up with interesting things to talk about. Where's my teleprompter?

Well, I'm not going to talk about the Packers anymore, at least until they win a game (maybe this week?). But hey, how about those Badgers! I still don't think they're finishing undefeated, but maybe a New Year's Day bowl game.

As for life here at Channel 7, it looks like our sports ticker is finally back and functioning. Again, sorry to all our viewers and coaches. As for the ticker, I was wondering if anyone had any problems with the look or any suggestions for improvements. Also, I've been debating whether or not to leave the NHL scores on it. It's tough to gauge how much interest there is in pro hockey in this area since there's no pro team around.

Finally, I was joking before about passing a blog off to Greg, but seriously I've enjoyed doing this and responding to all of you who've written in. Is it still called writing on a computer? Anyways, I look forward to more responses from all of you.

Mattt

Come on Matt! Update your blog once in a while and respond to people that have written in. You better do it soon or your little fan club may stop getting together.

Sorry fans, see the excuse above.
MZ

You don't need to do NHL reports as far as I'm concerned, or anybody I know around here. You should do more with Nascar, especially with Matt Kenseth in the title chase. People around here really like Nascar. Badgers are also pretty hot, although their defense isn't scaring anybody. At least they can usually score more points than the other guys.

I agree on the NHL front, altough we will show plenty of high school and college hockey. As for the racing, we try to show as much as we can without turning off the non-race fans. The In the Groove is basically the only coverage of local racing in the area. We could show the nascar minute like the competition but it rarely has any local tie. As for Matt Kenseth, we do our best to highlight him whenever we can, and Scott Wimmer too.
MZ

What happened to Colleen? WSAW mgmt. should've paid her top dollar to stay, especially being the hottest reporter/newscaster that this area has ever seen.

Thanks for the blog Mrs. McPartlin. Seriously though, she decided the TV biz just wasn't what she wanted to do right now, so she's going back to school.
P.S. - Mike Bruenling is mad about that hottest reporter comment.
MZ

MATT; Im from Merrill and now been an alumni for 15 years but our High School football team the Merrill Bluejays are 0 - 5 right now talk about our Packers going 0 - 4 but would you happen to have any advice for any of the players and new coach before they LOSE any more games!?!?

I guess the Merrill guys didn't need my advice. They finally pulled off a win. That's great for them. They've played hard in every game I've seen them and definitely deserve to have more than one win this season.
MZ

What ever happend to the packer with the head injury?

I don't know which player you're talking about.
MZ

Matt, on Friday nights right when you do the highschool football scores......there's a hard rock song playing.....do you know the name of the band and song....thanks!

Hey matt! Right now we are having an official Matt Zahn Fanclub meeting/party!!! It is SO MUCH FUN! we watch clips of your wonderful sports stories and discuss what we like best about you. You should really come sometime. you would be very VERY flattered.

I was kind of curious just how many people are in this fan club, and also I'm already pretty flattered by the fact that you have put my name in front of the word fanclub.
MZ

the fanclub consists of me and 4-8 of my buddies (depending on who all wants to come). Mostly we just enjoy a good party. hehehe.

Hey Matt, Didn't the Milwaukee Bucks start their season? If they did you should show highlights on the news. Thanks

The Bucks regular season doesn't start until the first week of November, but once it does, we'll definitely show highlights.
MZ

Matt-Glad to see you finally wore a tie to the Packers game on Sunday...I think that's why the Packers won!

Jeff Thelen finally wore pants while watching the game, so that could have also been the reason they won.
MZ

Blog time again,

It is not a good time to be a Packer fan. 0 - 2, not good. The worst part is this was supposed to be the easy part of their schedule. Things get real tough after this, and the Pack could be looking at a real bad (maybe 0-4) start. There is some reason for hope. The run defense has looked pretty good with Grady Jackson in the middle, and the NFC North is terrible (sorry Viking fan). I say watch out for the Bears. I probably would have picked them to win the division if Grossman hadn't gotten hurt. But with that defense, they'll be in most games and that's more than you can probably say about the rest of the division.

Enough negative Packer stuff. Let's talk about some good things. The Badgers are undefeated, for now. Michigan's looming this week and they haven't beaten the Wolverines since 1847. Okay, not quite that long but it has been over a decade (1994).

Other stuff, I'm sure most of you have noticed by now we have a new addition to our sports staff. Jill Wunrow comes to us from Peoria, but she's a Wisconsin girl. She's originally from Chilton. If you've seen her on the air already, you probably know she does a good job. You'll be seeing her much more on the weekends and also periodically during the week. You know, when I feel like delagating some authority and taking the day off. Sometimes it's good to be in charge. Anyways, with Jill joining us and Greg already on hand, I think we've got a pretty good team here and we look forward to bringing you lots of local sports coverage including maybe some stuff that doesn't get covered enough. Again, if any of you have any story ideas or things you think we should cover, let us know. We're always open to new ideas, plus thinking is hard sometimes so we can't always come up with stuff. Hopefully Jill will help with that. Well, that's it for now. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Matt

Hey Matt! I hardly watch football but the time I actually DID watch on Sunday, the packers WON!!!! Did you like the game or what? It was awesome.

You should totally read your comments on the air. That would be sweet.

Hey Matt. For some reason i feel like writing that sometimes i just get really bored and kinda stare at nothing, and then i get this really strong urge to raise my hand! just stick it up in the air. i mean, your arms must get bored sitting at your sides all day. dont ya think? my friends all think that maybe im trying to let people know that im still there. or maybe i think im drowning. MAYBE I DROWNED IN A PAST LIFE! wow. that was informative. yay!

Emily

MATT;If you get this response tonight in response to your 0-2 start about the Packers well just look @ the other teams now and even Jill has mentioned this that IF the Packers pull off a WIN tonight that all of the sudden they could be TIED with DETROIT even if they have a BYE this week Matt!

Matt, you need to have your web designer put in a line or something after your posts so we know where your blog ends and where comments start.

I'll see about putting in a line, but aren't the comments usually in a different color, or are you talking about something else?
MZ

Hey Matty! Oh my gosh, I totaly agree with whoever suggested the Christmas Album!! Sounds like a great idea. I also think that sometimes you should read the especially amusing segments of your blog on air! Also, i think you're the hottest thing to hit WSAW since i can remember! Keep it real!

Emily

That's not a bad idea about putting some blog stuff on the air. And I just wanted to let you know that Greg's feelings have been hurt by that hottest thing on WSAW comment. He's sensitive.
MZ

Matt,
Why do you always wear that football tie every week on the Hilight Zone? It's kind of dorky. Did your mom buy it for you and you have to wear it? Just wondering.

J.R.

Dear J.R.,

No my mom didn't buy that tie for me. She hardly ever dresses me anymore. I just wear it because it's our friday night Football show. I'm still hoping we get that Saturday night show about flowers and purple balloons so I can wear my other favorite tie.

Thanks for watching.
MZ

The Packers stink, that's all I can say. Their run defense is the what I look forward to every weekend. - Truely

Steve Denver CO

Yeah Steve, the Packers do stink, especially if you go in that locker room after the games, gross. At least there's still a little bit of hope since they play in the awful NFC North.
MZ

Matt, I think it would be really neat if you got behind the scences of a high school sports team. In example, locker room talk, bus trip to the competition, ect. I think it would show the people what high school athletes have to go through everyday, not just the final scores. I also think this would be a good way to expose different sports as well. Thanks for the coverage! I love the theme song for the highlight zone. What is it called?

Thanks for the suggestion. That's a good idea. We'll try to do something with that sometime soon. Maybe I'll give a quick blog update when we decide to do it.

As for the highlight zone theme song. I'm not sure what the name of the song is but I'm pretty sure it's a Jane's addiction song.
MZ

The Highlight Zone Song is "True Nature" by Jane's Addiction. It's on their Strays album.

Hey Matt! Glad to see you're updating more! I was joking about the pictures in my room btw, it probably sounded creepy haha. But good times. Keep up the good work. I gree with one of the comments down there, you really should sing. Any chance you'll release a CD by Christmas? :D

~Mary Anne (sauce)

I'm still working on a recording deal so I don't know if the CD will be out in time for Christmas, but we've got our fingers crossed.

Also a quick note to all my bloggers, I'm not very hip to the email lingo like btw. I thought it meant burly toe washers until Greg informed me it means by the way.

MZ, sfsg .... (sorta funny sports guy)

Hi Matt,
Could you please include the date at the beginning of your blog? It makes it easier for those of us who only have a couple minutes to read them and should probably be doing something else...Thank you...you are doing a great job!

No problem.
MZ

It's about time for a girl to lend her style to the sports desk. Maybe give you guys a run for the money. I look forward to seeing what she can do. Don't be too hard on her..yet. Look forward also to a bit more coverage of Athens and Rib Lake sporting events. Used to live in Athens, and now my kids attend Rib Lake schools. Like to keep up with the competition.

I would just like to note that Jill has already tried to add some female style to the sports office, but Greg and I are doing are best to prevent that. But she has already made sure we've cleaned things up.

Also, we do our best to cover a little from all our area schools. Unfortunately, Rib Lake & Prentice too are a couple of the tough ones because they're so far away. We also like to get a couple schools at a time and it's tough to do that with Rib Lake. But we'll do our best.
MZ

If you're looking for a new title to use for weekly sports activities, try 'Zahn's Zingers,' Matt. There's 'Jill's Thrills and Zahn's Zingers.' Or you could use, 'Zahn's Zany Zingers,' for funny plays of the week!

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to stick with Matt's Good Plays for now. For me, trying not to be clever usually works better than being clever.
MZ

Hello again,

Thanks to all of you who responded to my blog. I really appreciated all the comments.

Here's some quick responses to you: Jocko went to Madison / I don't know about being an idol, but thanks / Better than ESPN?, please send comments like those to my boss / Being from a small town, I kind of like this type of city better than the real big cities, and I won't be going anywhere at least for a little while / I sure hope Favre makes it through, but I've got a bad feeling about this season / Thanks for the congrats, I don't think you have to worry about me going too easy on the Vikes / Mom, go easy on Dad, he means well / And I probably won't be singing too much, unless it's at a random karaoke bar.

From now on, I'll try to respond quicker. I'm still getting used to how this whole blog thing works.

As for what's going on here, we're all pumped about football season (but we won't forget about all the other sports). Let's hope the Packers have a pretty good year. The Badgers should be okay if they can get that secondary shored up. And we've already had some great high school games on Friday nights. Should be another good one this week in Marshfield.

That's it for now. Thanks again to everyone for all the compliments.

Matt

I like the Highlight zone theme, u even look a little like Rod Serling. Great job so far.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing to look like Rod Serling? Anyways, thank you.
MZ

Hey Matt! Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I think you would have an AWESOME singing voice if you sang. If its anything compared to you, it should be amazing. ;-D GO PACKERS!!

Thanks D, and we really do need those Packers to get it going.
MZ

Hey Matt! Mary Anne (Sauce) here again! Just wanted to say good job again, you are pretty awesome. I put some pictures of you up in my room, they look pretty dang sweet. I'm getting together a fan club of you! Yay!! Now I have a purpose in life!

That's funny, I also have pictures of me up in my room. Just kidding, but thanks for being a fan.
MZ

hello! i was searching the web and came upon your website. i thought it might interest you to know that my name is matt zahn as well. i think matt zahn is just about the greatest name that ever was and you are eternally cool in my book. have a nice day!

You are correct that Matt Zahn is a cool name, and I'm sure you too have been and will continue to be eternally cool.
MZ

Matt, any chance of getting that sports ticker fixed soon?

Sports Ticker. Two not so great words around here right now. I assure you many people are working on it and we are very hopeful that it will be back up and running soon. If we get any exact day when it will be working, I'll let you.
And a quick note to all the area coaches. Please keep calling in your scores. We'll keep putting them up on the website, and hopefully the ticker will be working very soon.
MZ

Hi Matt-
How about sharing the blog with Greg? You can each take turns jotting down your thoughts. That would probably make for interesting conversation.

I'll talk to Greg about it. I'm not sure how interesting our conversations would be. But maybe we'll give it a go sometime in the upcoming weeks.
MZ

we have watched channel 7 high school highlights for over 20 years, but we will being going to channel 9 because they at least they give the scores on thier readable score ticker for the teams outside the Wausau area.

Jeff Provoast Wittenberg

Jeff, please see the message above about the ticker. And I hope you give us a second chance.
MZ

Matt, I'm really excited about the Bucks this season. Will you be showing highlights of all their games?

I would think a lot of people will be pumped up about the Bucks this year. It looks like they've made some drastic improvements. So plan on seeing lots of Bucks highlights here on Channel 7 this year.
MZ

Hi Matt

Go ahead and sing, I'd love to hear it, just make sure it's on a Wednesday, six o'clock newscast. I'm usually home that night.
Thanks,
Dawn in Medford

Maybe I'll give the singing a go some Wednesday, but I'll have to give out some kind of warning to pet owners. My singing seems to have somewhat of a dog whistle effect.
MZ

"If you don't like 'BLOG,' just call it Matt Zahn's Web Log. That's where 'BLOG' came from. They took the 'B' from 'Web' and put it in front of 'Log.' Keep up the good work!"

Larry

Thanks for the good work compliment Larry. And yeah, I know where the word comes from, but to me it's kind of like a Moland Springs thing (Seinfeld).
MZ

Hello everybody,

Thanks to those of you who already blogged responses before I figured this thing out. By the way, what's with the word blog? It sounds gross and weird.

Anyways, here's a little intro to me. I'm very happy to be taking over as Sports Director here at WSAW, and not just because now I get most of my weekends off, although that is awesome. I've been working in Wausau for a while, and it's nice to be in charge now and anchoring Monday through Friday. I'm not exactly from this area but I'm from Rosendale, Wisconsin which is basically like Edgar, Marathon, Iola, Rosholt, Wabeno, etc. You get the point.

As for my sportscasts, I try to have fun and give you the viewer as much info as a I can about the stuff I think you care about most. Remember, we don't get a lot of time to do it. As for the Viking fan who already responded, I'll try to be nice to the Vikings but not too nice. I'm from Wisconsin and went to college in Green Bay, so obviously I'm a pretty big Packer fan. I was even dancing on Lombardi Ave. after the Packers won Super Bowl 31. Back to my shows, I plan to do things pretty much the same we did when Jocko was here, except for much better obviously. Just kidding Jocko. Seriously though, if anyone has any suggestions on how we can do things better, I would be more than happy to listen to them. Also, compliments are great too.

So, I think that's enough for blog #1. And if anyone has a better word than blog that we can use to describe these things, send those suggestions to someone too.

Matt

My name is Tarrah and I am from Medford. I was just wondering where did Jocko go? I missed that news story. I think your cute too but I was shocked not to see him on the news anymore. Well from what I can see your doing a great job even if you are getting ran down by football players(try to watch them)keep up the good work and I hope to hear from you.

Matt Zahn, I just wanted to say that you are REALLY cool and I look up to you, you're one of my idols. Keep up the good work on the News, I tape it every night!

A friendly viewer,
Mary Anne Hollindaise (Sauce)

Hey Matt. I LOVE YOU!! You are my favorite sports guy in the world (including ESPN). You have a pretty smile!!

Emily Peterson, 13

How y'doin'? (To quote your taped pieces!) I just wanted to say that the upshot to Jocko's departure is that I'm equally satisfied with your presence and delivery on screen. We lose altogether too much talent to larger markets and while I can appreciate the ambitions of our local talent, it is great when good people call this "home" and stick around awhile. I sure hope you do! Check Thelen's blog for a little more comment on that matter.

Hey Matt, do you think Brett can make it through the season with the line he has in front of him?

Congrats on the promotion! Please don't go easy on the Vikings...;-)Lisa

Matthew:
By now you know I'm in trouble because I did not include Mom's name in my blog to you. We're all very proud of you.
Mom & Dad

Mr. Zahn,
All I can say is that apparently I taught you very well!
Your favorite Dad

hey matt u and Greg are doing good
Greg

Hi Matt, and good luck. I am the viking fan who wrote to you before. As long as you are not to hard on them we can be friends. You are doing a good job.. do you sing like Jocko? No one can sing that bad

Matt,I like your direct approach to all areas of sports,(and of course to
the Packers and Badgers.) Thanks for a comprehensive, but local feel you add to the sports broadcast.

Hi Matt! Welcome aboard and congrats on the promotion. Can't wait to see what your nightly sportscasts will hold once you get the feel for the "new" job. We'll keep watching in Medford.
Thank, Dawn

Hi Matt, I hope you are not down on the Vikings as much as Jocko was. With Randy gone they are not so bad.

Hey Matt I know you haven't gotten anything posted yet but Im just curious if with just you and Greg if your gonna need ALOT of extra help when the Fall 2005 high school sports start Matt!?!