SPORTS LINE
Green Bay Packers get Brazilian Blow.
Who knew? Not only does this team, the youngest team in the NFL, have to travel thousands of miles to play in the fourth largest city in the world where almost nobody speaks English, but they also have to play in a stadium that has no real prepared field, have to deal with the downright idiotic new kickoff rules instituted by the NFL for the first time, and then have the game broadcast by Peacock, a streaming company that doesn’t normally cover NFL football games at all. The streaming was odd, the advertising constant, nearly endless, and the announcers not seeming to understand anything. Jordon Love, the NFL’s highest-paid player (oh, let’s not even go there) is injured on the second to last play of the game, reminding everyone of Aaron Rodger’s nosedive with the Jets last year, and now the Packers have no quarterback. Ignominious defeat sort of describes the final score, as the Packers tucked their tails in and dragged themselves home to whatever is going to happen as the season moved on…without Jordon Love, with new rules that make the whole league more resemble dodgeball or maybe even soccer, but with lots of scoring…and then there was that last holding penalty against the Packers, called not when the other player was held but when the other player fell! Referee game changer, right there. Days later, the league said Love would be out for three to five weeks to get a new knee. Nah, he’s gone for longer than that, using an Aaron Rodgers Season Pass. Wow! One game down there and this new hot and rowdy young team is toast. Can LaFleur pull a rabbit out of his hat and turn this around? Not likely. He’s a magician but…come on! Oh, one more thing. Can you imagine being the Packer’s backup quarterback and being sent in with three seconds left, on your first official game ever, and being told you have to throw one pass to save the game? Holy cow! Mallik Willis, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, was crushed on the play.
The Milwaukee Brewers.
Is this the World Series year for the Brewers? The Brewers boast one of the best offensive/defensive combos in franchise history, and they’ve held their own against tough opponents all season. Of the 56 teams in franchise history, the 2024 Brewers rank 11th in runs/game on offense, with 4.86 runs also marking the highest total for any Brewers team since 2007. This Brewers offense wasn’t expected to be all that great. The team has ranked right around the league average offensively in the last few years as they’ve been carried by the pitching staff. With 20 games left, they’re just five homers and 38 runs away from surpassing their 2023 totals. Out of the bullpen, the Brewers (as usual) have had a few “nobodies” emerge as stars. Bryan Hudson has a 1.73 ERA and 62 strikeouts across 62 1⁄3 innings this year; Jared Koenig has a 2.29 ERA and 57 strikeouts across 55 innings; Trevor Megill has a 3.05 ERA and 42 strikeouts across 38 1⁄3 innings (and he picked up 20 saves in the absence of Devin Williams); Joel Payamps has a 3.44 ERA and 48 strikeouts across 52 1⁄3 innings; and Elvis Peguero has a 3.12 ERA and 45 strikeouts across 49 innings. On paper, this Brewers team is one of, if not the best squad in franchise history.
