It's time for Make the Call, a weekly discussion on the top Wisconsin sports stories of the week.
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Now, it's time for Make the Call, a Civic Media sports production.
Welcome to Make the Call on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Thank you for joining us this morning.
Jimmy Kuska, he's out today.
I'm very sorry.
You get me instead hosting Parker Olsen down here at HQ in Madison, joined by the excellent Gray Gunderson.
How you doing,
buddy?
Good morning.
Good morning, Parker.
Glad to be here.
We'll be back with Jimmy next week, but hey, it's not just us today.
We found a little bit of a... I can't call him a substitute because he knows I'm trying to insult him when I do, but we've got a third here this week.
I'm excited.
Yes, we've got Joel, Karnak, Joel.
Tell us about yourself.
I've never met you until today.
How are you doing, man?
Doing good.
I've been in radio for over 40 years.
I'm kind of an older person of Jimmy Kuska I heard him talking last week about all the different sporting events that he's covered and I've covered everything from wrestling to to tick races to every everything else in between including the Vikings and the twins so I got a lot of Sports always been a passion in my life.
I've got a track record of covering anything and everything So I'm like an old Jim Jimmy Kuska here today.
Did you say tick races?
Yeah, tick races, the oxbowl.
Great knows about those.
They're exactly what you think.
Parker Joel has basically just made me realize that I've failed to explain some of the most important things about our area up here.
Literal tick races.
You get them in tracks made out of PVC pipes cut in half and then you tap on the backside of that and you encourage them to go the other direction.
They do it with minnows too.
We do minnow races around here sometimes.
Well, that makes sense.
I can envision like trapping a minnow, but...
Well, I mean,
the tick traps itself for you, so it's even easier.
Is this one of those things where you can just like write on a piece of paper with the pen and the ink like scares it so it stays going in the line?
You've got the right general idea.
I think it's more about kind of making a noise that urges them.
So it's kind of you end up helping your opponents just as much as they help you and it ends up a little bit cleaner because it's dirty in a different way.
So it's a yeah, I don't think there's a wrong way to do a tick race.
If you're trying, you're probably succeeding.
And there's Lyme's testing too, by the way.
Oh, good.
Okay.
We're totally safe event.
All right.
Good.
I was afraid for a second.
Performance enhancing disease testing.
I was afraid for a moment that we were going to need to throw out our top eight, but I think I've got the idea of tick racing now, which means that we can move on to our top eight at eight.
The top eight sports stories or not so sports stories is what Jimmy says.
I think there's still sports adjacent.
That's fine with me.
Number eight in our top eight stories today, guys, I don't know if you guys have been paying a lot of attention to the baseball world.
I mean, this has always been the case.
Every ballpark has got its own dimensions, but especially this has come to mind kind of as the Brewers visiting the A's in Las Vegas, they're actually going over to one of the minor league ballparks over there, give them just a little hint of what their future holds in Las Vegas.
I don't know if it was the field dimensions or if it was just the altitude plus the winds and the heat, but the ball was flying.
We'll talk about that a little more later, but just got me thinking about stadium dimensions, field dimensions rather.
What do you guys think of the fact that baseball stadiums have got such different dimensions and they can play into affecting the game so much?
Gray, I'll start with you.
What do you think about that?
Well actually I'm fascinated by this because as the outside looking in guy you know I'm I'm more football than anything baseball I'm trying and as I try to get my hooks into baseball I see this and I think how is this allowed at
All I mean I picture the equivalent in football for example you know imagine Denver had a 98 yard field or maybe the corner was clipped off on the northeast end so that end zone wasn't quite a rectangle and you know I even recently watched a YouTube video where there are some college or minor league stadiums that put nets up so that you can't homer in a specific area because it's so close.
to the infield and it's like what then why'd you put a baseball diamond there so for me what's it's it's first of all weird that this is allowed and second of all weird that so many people just accept it so it's like obviously baseballs existed like this in very healthy stead for a long time but that just makes it weirder to me it's like how how is this allowed and changing it would be
would be a monumental task.
But still, it's general confusion from Gray about this particular thing.
Yeah, I agree.
I mean, if you translate what baseball does to other sports, it is ridiculous.
If you think of, hey, welcome to a Pfizer forum where tonight, the baskets are only eight and a half feet high, you know, or hockey used to have this hockey used to have smaller arenas.
But now that they become a little better off financially, they
able to build new arenas that have been more standard.
But I remember it wasn't at the old Boston Garden, I think, was they always said, oh, it's a tight arena.
The space behind the net isn't as big as it normally is.
So it's something that did exist in some other sports.
But I don't think people talk enough about
like home run numbers, like Aaron Judge and being able to play at Yankee Stadium on a short porch in right field.
I mean, that's huge.
I mean, those numbers are definitely affected by where you play half of your home games.
Absolutely.
And we'll talk about that more in a little bit, actually, those home run numbers.
But, Gray, you brought up a point, and this brings us to number seven at seven.
Putting up...
a net to make sure that you can't hit a home run in a particular direction because it's so short.
We have seen that a lot with banana ball as banana ball goes to even football stadiums.
I think they were at Kyle Field down at Texas A&M recently.
I'm pretty sure that they've been at Clemson or Auburn pretty recently as well.
Guys, banana ball.
I know somebody who works here at Civic Media.
I'm not going to call him out by name Frank Gargano.
He hates banana ball.
And I, I think it's cool.
It's another quick, it's a fun version of the Harlem Globetrotters, but baseball, do you think that it's going to hang around for a long time?
Joel, start with you.
Um, well, I think like a lot of things, the, the novelty of it will wear off, but I think it'll stick around.
It's just the popularity of it is crazy.
They sold out in fan field.
They sold out and they're sold out for months and months.
I think the whole season, in fact, so.
That level of popularity will obviously come down just a little bit.
I just love the entertainment value of it.
And I like it that baseball stops taking themselves so seriously.
You know, the old rules of you don't steal second when you're up by more than five runs and just those little, you know, tuxedo, straight laced rules that baseball has always followed.
Let's loosen up a little bit here, people.
Let's let somebody catch a foul ball and then the batter's out.
You know, I'm not saying that should be a part of baseball.
But I think it's fun.
I love the message behind it It seems like the guy who runs and owns the whole thing is he seems to be the real deal and that he is he is creating an atmosphere for people and families that is Affordable and is just an absolute hoot.
So I'm I'm all in on banana ball entertainment value alone
I'm with you.
I'm with you right there 100% for the entertainment value.
For me is that outside looking in guy.
This is, you know, I find myself watching more banana ball clips than baseball clips, but they're a gateway to each other.
You know, if you like baseball, you might like banana ball and vice versa.
It was actually a banana ball game I was talking about earlier when I was bringing up that net in the, in the outfield.
It was YouTube's algorithm has been infected on my account with banana ball recently, but I've been loving it because they're so fan experienced based, you know,
I know Christian Yelich wants the fans to have a good time, but I know Coach Rack might climb around the top of the dugout to get into the stands and share some nachos with somebody.
As far as whether it's here to stay though, I think it is because I've watched a couple of those videos and they're trying to put other teams in other places.
They've kind of got their, I know the Harlem Globetrotters have a punching bag team that travels with them.
I don't remember what they're called, but
Banana Ball doesn't
do that.
What is it?
Washington Generals.
It is the Generals.
I was thinking of the Wizards and I was like, wrong Washington team, but I think I'm halfway there.
The generals are going to lose.
The tailgaters might beat the bananas.
The Savannah bananas don't win every game.
And so there's a legitimacy there that, not to knock the Globetrotters, they kind of lack.
You know, if the last time the generals won, it was by accident.
I think it was in the 80s.
That's something that you can look up and find.
And I think he got in trouble when he won that game.
Oops.
Parker, what are your thoughts on it, though?
Are you a banana ball guy?
Yay or nay?
I like banana ball.
I think it's got its place in the sports entertainment world.
I think that it needs to be careful with how big it gets.
If it gets too big, I think that there's going to be almost.
Uh, too much of an abundance of it.
And it's just, I think it's got to stay as a nice small little thing with, I don't know how many things are at now.
I think it's about five or six.
If they stay at this size and do keep doing these tours, I think it'll thrive as it is.
By the way, at American Family Field there, two sellouts, first time that banana ball has had sellouts at an MLB stadium without the actual bananas being there.
We're gonna move in now to another little story that has a lot of fan experience written all over it.
Fans around the continent are going over to the World Cup.
Guys, have you been watching the World Cup?
I'm pretty sure that we can't afford our tickets, but we're trying to watch on TV.
Are you guys watching, Gray?
I have not so far I think I spoke to this on a morning show here recently that I kind of treat it like the Olympics but slightly less so and we actually spent a lot of time discussing on a morning show whether soccer might or whether it ever could jump into the country's you know arsenal of sports and I I generally don't think it will Part of that is that I'm not a big soccer guy, but you know Messi's down there in Miami There's a lot of money being thrown at it.
So if it were successful soon, I wouldn't be surprised but no I have
I haven't watched the World Cup yet, and I'd like that to change.
I want to want to.
That's about where I'm at.
Joel, have you partaken yet?
To me, the World Cup is like the Olympics.
If I turn on the TV and I see the USA flag in the score area, then I'll pause.
I'll pause and I'll watch.
if it's emirate versus whatever.
I'm like, I got to go bowl the lawn here.
I got to do something else.
We only have so much time for sports.
And Gray and I have talked about this on our show up here many times is that we only have so many hours in the day for sports.
And I enjoy the whole concept of the World Cup.
You know, it's the soccer version of the Olympics is pretty cool to see athletes from all around the world get together, compete,
Hug each other after games that that brings me joy to see that but unless the USA is on I'm I'm probably gonna pull out the weed whipper and probably get some work dinner
There's always better uses of our time All right boys, we're gonna move in real quick here to number five.
I don't know if you would saw
how many home runs got hit in the series in Las Vegas as the brewers were taken on the A's.
In game one alone there were 11 home runs.
In the whole three game series there were 22 home runs.
Absolutely ridiculous numbers there.
Guys, baseball is one of those, obviously every sport is like this, but baseball especially, you can get a pitcher's duel or you can get an absolute home run fest, a home run derby there.
Which kind of game do you prefer Joel?
We'll start with you.
I'm just gonna jump right in the middle of that.
See, I mean, I wanna see, if I go to a game...
I want to see an eight to seven, seven to six game.
I want to see a little bit of offense, but at me being a pitcher when I was younger, I want to see that pitcher have a maybe two or threeening stretch where I can go get my nachos and not miss anything and stand in line for the bathroom and all that stuff.
So I guess I want a combination of both because if you have a 22 home run series or you have a 14 to one game, that probably means there's somebody on the mound that's probably just taken one for the team and just let's just throw strikes.
Don't hurt your arm.
then the game kind of becomes reduced in value.
So I'll go right in the middle of that.
Obviously to go to a game and see a one-nothing game where your team loses, you feel like you got cheated out.
But I feel like an eight to seven game, you get a little bit of both worlds.
I'm good with that.
You do.
I like a little bit of both worlds too.
We've only got a little less than a minute here.
So I think that we might just keep, hang on.
Our number three story in the top eight of eight is a little bit about NFL injuries this time of year.
They're kind of hard to get a read on you're not really sure how seriously you should take them We're gonna talk about that later here on the civic media network as we are talking make the call here on the network We're gonna be talking about the brewers.
We're gonna be talking about the Packers and don't worry later on in the show We're gonna have a little bit of Mike Clemens But coming up next we'll have that question about those injuries and then we'll get into some brewers and then later on We're gonna be talking some rivalries really excited to get doing that as we move on
in the show here, it's make the call.
Part of the Civic Media Network will be right back after this.
Welcome
back
to
Make the Call
on Civic Media.
Welcome back to Make the Call here on the Civic Media Network.
We've got Gray Gunderson and our special guest Joel Karnak here joining us from the Park Falls area.
Boys, I hope it's nice up there.
It's nice down here.
We're trying to get some baseball in.
I'm working for the Mallards later today.
It should be fun, but we're gonna get back into our top eight at eight here.
Gray,
We're saving this one for you.
How concerned are you about NFL injuries?
We just saw the other day.
I believe it was that.
Luke Musgrave, he's picked up an unknown injury.
That's essentially all the information that we have from the Packers in OTAs.
Great.
How much are you thinking about that?
How concerned are you as we move into, I mean, NFL season?
It gets closer and closer by
day, right?
Well, in this case, Parker, it's actually a case by case basis.
I'm looking at this one.
You know, if you told me that, you know, an offensive lineman, maybe somebody, you know, a warm body down at the bottom of the depth chart has an injury.
I'm still thinking about that.
Of course, it's a little bit amplified when it's a potential starter.
But right now that tight end position is a bigger, bigger thing in general than I think a lot of fans might necessarily realize the amount of 13 personnel.
in the NFL last year skyrocketed.
And 13 personnel just means one three.
13 comes from one running back, three tight ends.
So don't worry about that number.
The thing is three tight ends.
More teams are using three tight ends more often than ever before.
And I'm talking like two thirds of teams had three tight ends for half of their offensive plays.
It's a ridiculous number because of the matchup issues that tight ends create and their opportunities to block.
So if Luke Musgraves can't go,
Word is Tucker Kraft is going to be ready week one, at least according to him earlier this week.
Even if that's not true, week two or three is pretty reasonable.
But if the guy behind him isn't Luke Musgrave, I get a little bit concerned because you've got Josh Wiley as our third tight end.
And then you hear some crickets.
You've got guys like Messiah Swinson, who's been on and off the practice squad.
There's a couple of different names out there.
But one thing I can guarantee you, the Packers require tight ends who are six foot four or taller.
And so if you don't have guys like that, I don't expect them to make the depth chart.
And if you look right now, behind Kraft and Musgrave is not enough.
So I'm generally a little bit concerned there.
As far as general concern for training camp injuries, they're the worst.
They're absolutely the worst when you see those torn Achilles and such.
Thankfully, the bullets have been dodged in Green Bay so far.
Joel, I'll turn it to you with a little bit of a spin on this.
Do you think that there are any possibility of teams who have got this kind of an injury prime, like we're talking about with...
Top two tight ends with the Packers.
Do you think that there's any possibility of teams maybe turning it to either trade or sign somebody brand new?
Is that something that might be on the option as you you're kind of juggling?
I might have my top one of my top tight ends and I'm not sure about the other one as we get into
the start of the
year
and the mystery injury part is pretty funny coming from teams because they like to hide injuries, but I always think of I'm gonna go with the old the only HHR vehicles.
So let's use that
because there's three types of injuries that worry me over the years that I've seen and covered the NFL.
And that number one is the head.
If it's a concussion, then we got problems.
We got two issues going on.
And then we're talking about hamstring because hamstring is something that you just can't, you can't hide a hamstring.
You can't wrap it.
I mean, it takes time to heal.
And the third one is the ribs.
So there's your HHR, the ribs.
Ribs is something too.
If you got a cracked rib or something,
You just you can't hide it.
You you can't play with it So what type of injury is it is is the big is the big thing for me?
If it's a foot injury, you know if it's a shoulder, you know They can find ways to wrap that up and shoot up or whatever they need to do and usually by week seven or eight They can be back out there, but you know injuries early early
In the season and this time of the year don't concern me a whole lot because it was that last Super Bowl team of the Packers that had a lot of injuries early in there in their season And a lot of young guys went out there played pretty well And then by the time you hit week 10 or 12 a lot of the guys who were supposed to be in there came back from the injuries And then they were a pretty darn good team So sometimes those injuries can actually be good news because it allows some players to maybe not step on the field till week six or seven Then when the playoffs come around
they might be healthier than those who played the whole season.
That could be.
Something to keep an eye on if you're a Packer fan.
Right there, there you go.
Alright, we're gonna go move.
We got two more right here in this segment that we're gonna hit.
We only got about two and a half minutes to hit these ones, so we might even combine them a little.
Number three in our top eight at eight.
The Brewers, they're tied for the third most wins in baseball as we talk right now today.
They play in the toughest division in baseball, though.
Guys, there is so much to be said about how good the NL Central is.
How tough do you think it is going to be for the Brewers to get into the playoffs here?
We'll go real quick here,
Joel.
Well, it's going to be hard because they've had a lot of injuries lately.
Obviously their pitching staff has been decimated.
It's going to be hard for them to get into the playoffs and sustain this.
But what I will say is that this reminds me, me being a Minnesota Twins fan my whole life, this reminds me of the Twins organization where they have a great farm system and they just keep bringing guys in that you scratch your head and you're just saying, well, I wasn't this guy playing before.
He's pretty good and they're able to at least spell long enough when the guys are out to help him out.
So Murph, he's obviously a really good coach and he finds a way to get something out of these players for short spurts and then the other guys come back.
So I mean, I like the Brewers to win the division, but I think, you know, they're going to have to get close to 100 probably because
There's probably another team that'll be pressing them in that 90-95 win range.
There you go.
The Brewers had a major league leading 97 wins last year.
I believe that was a franchise record as well by a couple of games.
Number two in our top eight at eight here, Tarek Skubal.
Ace for the Detroit Tigers.
He's somebody that has been getting his name thrown around as a potential trade option as he's only got a couple of months left in his contract.
He's done after the end of this season.
The Brewer.
are one of the teams that are being talked about getting into this, and Joel, you mentioned the farm systems.
It's very possible that the brewers make a quick trade, try to get Tarik Skubal, but Luis Lara, a guy who was being talked about being traded away, he just got a big extension.
We've only got a couple 30 seconds or so here.
Joel.
Over under, though, let's go 65%.
Over under 65%, the brewers end up making a move to try to get Terrix Google.
I'm going to go over on that because I think when you've got a great farm system, Parker, that gives you flexibility to trade guys.
You can only play, you know, nine, 10 guys at a time on the field.
So there's guys sitting down there in the miners who are pretty good that are expendable, that are tradable.
So you've got guys to offer.
So I'm going to put it at a decent chance that they've got some good prospects to give up for, for,
for a player like Scoobl.
Yeah.
There you go.
All right.
That was the first seven of our top eight today.
We're going to be right back on the Civic Media Network here with Make the Call for our number one.
We're going to be talking rivalries.
NFC North Edition will be right back.
Welcome back to Make the Call on Civic Media.
Welcome back to Make the Call here on the Civic Media Network.
Hope you're enjoying your day so far.
Awesome weekend of sports here.
And you know, we're in the swing of baseball season, but, Gray, you know this.
You can never go along without talking about football.
Come on now.
And we've got Joel Karnak here with us as well.
And that means because he's a Vikings fan.
Yeah, sorry guys.
I know a lot of our audience is Packers.
It's
okay.
Hold on.
We're all friends.
It's fine.
We want to talk a little bit about rivalries here.
Guys, let's kind of just go over within the NFC North.
What is your favorite like historic rivalry between those guys?
Gray, I'll start with you.
I mean you gotta you have to lead with the Packers Bears rivalry that there's no real comparison to it there are some storied and historic ones in the NFL and I would accept arguments from other teams that theirs is the number one rivalry but for us here it's that Chicago Bears rivalry especially because they've been heating up over last season at least if not super recently so if the Bears build another good season on top of the last one they are going to be enemy number one but
I would argue that both the Vikings and the Lions are positioned to really make themselves a problem.
Maybe the Lions more so because they've had more recent success.
My perspective, Joel, I'd like to put this in front of you.
For me, about 15 years ago, the Vikings were kind of in this little brother mode.
You know, they're just off the back of having Christian Ponder is the quarterback, but Adrian Peterson was there.
So they'd steal a sneaky victory now and again.
But then there were the kind of these doldrums of Mike Zimmer not actually getting anything done with his tenure.
And so during that time, the Vikings kind of, or excuse me, the Lions kind of came on strong with Dan Campbell.
And it kind of felt to me like it was the Packers and the Lions at the top.
And I know the league records would agree with that, but.
Joel, would you agree that we're kind of heating back up when it comes to the Vikings?
It feels like they're poised to step back into their position as a primary rivalry, which it doesn't.
I, as a Packers fan, haven't felt the heat from the Vikings these last couple of years, though you have gotten one over on us occasionally.
Would you say that's accurate to your Vikings fan understanding?
Well, first of all, cross the lines off the list.
They just stunk.
They stunk for too long and they're not a rivalry to anybody in the division.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the old NFC North Division probably is as much of a rival as the Lions are.
But I think it depends on what part of the state you're in.
Southern part of the state, it's obviously Packers-Bears.
But me growing up in the northern part of the state, the Bears were never a rival for the Vikings.
And I think the Viking Packer rivalry, when you get
probably Stevens Point, Wausau North, the Viking Packer rivalry is probably number one within that division, just because of the proximity of all the Viking and Packer fans that all live together in northern Wisconsin, much like the Bears Packer fans in the southern part.
So I think it's regional, depending on where you are, because to me, growing up a Viking fan, I never considered the Bears a rivalry.
It was always
the Packers.
It was always no matter what.
If you won two games a year and they were both against the Packers or vice versa, that wasn't a bad year.
If that was the only two wins you had.
So this raises a question for me.
Do you think that the Packers are the primary rival of all three of the other teams in the NFC North?
And if so, is it because they're geographically in the middle?
Because, you know, think about it, you've got the Packers in the middle, the Vikings to the west, the Bears to the south, and the Lions to the east, technically the north too, if you want to count the upper peninsula.
But it's this scenario where, hey, you surround us, but you're actually locked in here with me.
We're going to whoop on you guys, at least for the recent past.
What if it were the Packers at the Browns level of failure?
And it's like, oh yeah, at that point, it's three bullies, like three older brothers kicking the baby or something like that.
You know, the little brother getting told.
Do you think that geography has much to do with the nature of these rivalries?
I think it does and now that I guess I've never thought about it that way.
But yeah, I mean geographically that does make a lot of sense.
You know, the Packers went about a 25 year stretch from the, you know, mid seventies to early nineties of just being horrible, but the rivalries still existed.
Whereas the lions were horrible all the time.
And, uh, and, and those rivalries never stirred up.
I like what the lion, lion Viking rivalry, the lion's bears rivalry is kind of there.
And, you know, I guess it's who he is.
Who is the Lions number one rival?
I guess it's probably the Packers, right?
I would I would guess
I think so I think so given that there's been locker room audio from all three of the other NFC North teams recently where you hear things like you beat the Packers and that's your Super Bowl like even Ben Johnson admitted that the Packers were the biggest game of the year and it felt like a playoff game and
If Ben Johnson is going to come in, do everything right, and then admit something like that, it's like, wow, there really is a focus on beating the big brother.
And that's exactly how I would characterize it.
I was in college in 2012, I'm thinking, you know, Adrian Peterson sneaks one out for the Vikings.
And it felt like the little brother beat the big brother.
It's like, man, that shouldn't have happened.
And everybody knows it.
And that's why it stings on this side of the river.
And that's why everybody over on that side of the river was so darn happy.
Parker, does that line up with?
Your...
timeline, because we're pretty close in age, relatively speaking, but you're a few years younger than me, so things are different for you.
Yeah, I'm 23.
So actually, in my world, I am incredibly, incredibly spoiled when it comes to sports, pretty much at every level.
I even grew up watching UW Whitewater football more than I grew up watching Badger football to be perfectly asked with you.
And they were winning national titles when I was a kid.
So I've been very spoiled.
I've been very lucky with that, and connected back to this.
the Packers have been good.
At worst, they've been decent in my entire life, right?
So I think that the way I see it is that the Packers have always been the one that everyone looks up to beating, right?
The King of the North for a long, long time was the Packers.
The Bears, the Lions, the Vikings, I'm sorry, but all of you...
He just wanted to beat the Packers.
They were on top of the pedestal, and now we're seeing some guys coming in and having a chance at knocking them down, the Lions.
They are having their best couple of years ever in my life.
This is the best couple of years that they've ever had in my life.
I think that it's really interesting that you bring up that geography standpoint, though, Gray.
I've never thought
of it that way.
Until Joel brought it up.
Joel, Joel did this.
Oh yeah, Joel, sorry.
Yeah,
you're right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And by the way, a good run for the Lions.
Give them over under five wins this year for the Lions, all right?
Wow, there's a take.
Okay, I like it.
I like it.
I'm just wondering how the rivalries are going to change when the Bears move to Indiana, but that might be another discussion.
The
Hammond Bears.
Are they still going to call them the Chicago Bears, even if they're in Indiana?
I think so, but I won't.
See, that's that's worth asking though, because there are a lot of teams who don't play in their namesake cities.
I mean, even the Packers don't play in Green Bay.
I think it's technically a Schwabbanon.
I believe technically, I'm not
sure.
I think I looked up the Lambeau Field address the other day, because I was thinking the same thing.
It is a Green Bay address, but there might be
an
exception for that field for that building.
I don't know.
Gotcha, I immediately think of the two New York teams who both play in New Jersey though is probably the prototypical example there so that I mean and actually what I was about to say was I don't think any of them cross state lines, but they do they absolutely do that's the New York New Jersey thing and then you've got the New England argument which just clouds all of the water but yeah for me it's a I think right now the primary rivalry is going to be with the Bears unless the Lions can rally I feel I see I see the Lions as kind of on a steady decline so my pick
for this year is bears packers with a sleeper Vikings.
If Kyler Murray stops doing what he's already doing and gets his head in the game and accepts that he doesn't deserve more reps in camp Kyler Murray.
Joel, I'll spin it to you as a Vikings guy.
What are the odds that we do see the Vikings snag a couple of wins against some of these NFC North rivals?
Well, I mean the Vikings were a quarterback away last year.
They still won nine games.
Their defense was really good at the end of the year, their last six, seven games.
So here's what will happen though with Minnesota this year.
This is the doomsday opinion of a Minnesota Viking fan, all right?
The quarterback position will be good.
Kyler Murray, JJ McCarthy will come out.
Between the two of them will be a top 10 to 15 quarterback.
We'll get everything we should have had last year.
and then the defense is going to be porous.
It's just going to fall apart.
That's what Viking fans will say that will happen this year because the defense only gave up like one passing touchdown the last seven games of last year.
It was a great defense.
If that defense sticks around and they get a little bit of quarterbacking, the rest of the teams in the NFC North for a year anyway might be in trouble.
It'll be very interesting to be following that.
And, Gray, we've talked earlier on in this show, not today, previously, probably about a month or so ago, and the NFL schedule finally came out.
We were talking about how spread out those divisional games are.
And off the top of my head, I can't think of it right now.
Once we get a second here, I'll start looking into that.
But, Gray, we're going to see a pretty good mix of teams.
I think that the Lions...
They've kind of got a target on their back no matter how good they are They're gonna have a target on their back the Vikings are a team that could come up like we've been talking about and the Bears
They seem to... wow, I can't believe I'm about to say this.
I think the Bears are almost the team to beat right now.
When you look throughout the schedule of the NFL season, which of those games do you think might be the most hyped up game that we get?
Because earlier on in the season, you get those like, yes, it's exciting, we're playing a divisional rival, but when you get to the end of the season and you're playing a divisional rival, you're like...
Gloves are off.
We're throwing down.
This matters so much for playoffs.
Is there a game that you're circling in division in particular, Gray?
There are two I'm gonna do that thing where you ask for one and I give you two because I think it's worth mentioning first of all week 10 Yeah week 10 It's the Packers at at home against the Vikings and the reason I've got this one pegged is because we're just about dead center of the season and it's the week before the Packers have a by week in week 11 So what injuries might have taken place before this recovery comes on for either team?
We'll know what the quarterback situation is at least tentatively from Minnesota by then a lot of current questions will be answered and new questions
will develop by that time.
So I feel that Week 10's Vikings match up at Lambeau, gonna be a good one.
Then we get the buy in Week 11, and the next one is Week 16 at Chicago.
There's every chance that that will have...
Well, it's week 18 against the Lions, so there's another divisional game after that.
But I have a hunch that week 16 at Chicago will really be the biggest determiner who sits in the top two positions of the division.
Whether or not it's even the two teams playing that game, imagine the Lions winning the division and the Vikings being in second place, it's scarily possible.
And I'm sure Joel would love to support the idea that the Vikings might get something like that done.
Well, I think that bears packer game, that rivalry this year is number one because of Caleb Williams versus Jordan Love.
Both of those quarterbacks are trying to figure out what their legacy is going to be.
Caleb Williams, obviously, a great year last year.
Jordan Love, Mr. Consistency, not flashy.
So their legacy depends on those head to head.
And I think that Caleb Williams versus Jordan Love, quarterback, both games in Chicago and in Green Bay, that's must
watch TV right there.
That's two guys that are set to maybe escalate to a Super Bowl championship here real quick.
So that rivalry I think is number one this coming season.
And if I may, we'll just kind of very briefly look at the state of the teams, you know, I think it's fair to say that the Vikings, you know, they get their, they've got Brian Flores, they kept their DC.
So it's possible the defense is decent.
The Vikings are basically a quarterback away at that point.
The Lions and the Packers are kind of in the same boat where they've got all their pieces.
So if everything goes to plan, those are the two most dangerous teams.
As far as the Bears go, if you ask me, they need to figure out what's going on with their corners because everybody just left and hopefully the new guys are going to get the job done, but they drafted well.
And if Caleb Williams eliminated,
in completions.
His completion percentage was abysmal, but he avoided sacks like it was his job.
He looked like Fran Tarkington out there.
So every team poised to be the number one in the division with just a couple small changes.
Sir Francis, to you.
The Bears closing out the season with all three divisional opponents.
They go Packers, Lyons, Vikings.
Fortunately for them, though, they will be indoors when they play at Minnesota.
And what is that?
Week 18?
I can't keep track anymore.
There's too many games.
I don't know how many weeks there are.
But I do know that we've got one segment left.
And that means that we're going to get final thoughts coming up pretty quick here from us.
We're also going to be hearing from Mike Clemens as we close out the show.
This is Make the Call on the Civic Media Network.
Welcome back to Make the Call on Civic Media.
Welcome back one last time here on Make the Call on the Civic Media Network.
Mike Clemens is going to be giving us plenty of sports news in just a moment here, but it is our final segment here with Joel and Gray, which means it's time for final thoughts.
Fellows, we've talked about a lot of football, we've talked about a lot of baseball, we've talked about a lot of soccer and whatever the heck, field dimensions.
Did we miss anything?
Is there anything that's on your mind as we move into this weekend here?
Joel, I'll start with you.
What do you got on your mind here in Final Thoughts?
Well, it's June 13th, and I think it's officially crunch time for the start of the NFL season.
I think it's been, I mean, we can still be excited about the Brewers and everything that's going on there, that they're a fun team to watch.
And if you're a FIFA World Cup soccer person, good for you.
But hey, I heard Mike Clemens have a sports report this week say, in the week one game versus
Minnesota, he just said that line and instantly my blood pressure just went up just a little bit.
So the NFL is on the way.
I'm going to go play a little cornhole this weekend.
I'm going to have a little brewers on the radio and just looking forward to enjoying a summer here in the Northwoods before the stress of another purple anxiety filled season begins for a for a minute for a Minnesota biking
fan.
Oh, the stress that comes with the colors you wear during the football season.
Yes.
I'm all too familiar.
Gray, what colors are you going to be wearing
and what are they going
to be stressing you out.
It's going to be red, white and blue.
And I don't think they're going to stress me out because what I'm going to be doing is trying to get myself in a soccer watching mood.
I'm not necessarily optimistic, but that's one of my goals for the weekend.
We're going to take garbage out.
We're going to do laundry.
And I'm going to try to watch a whole soccer game and pay attention to it.
I'm not going to let myself get distracted.
We're going to we're going to try exposure therapy when it comes to the old association football.
So that's where I'm going to be if you're wondering what's great doing right now, staring at a screen but doesn't have soccer on it.
Well,
We'll have to talk about that next week.
Yep.
I mean, hey, there's plenty of soccer to watch.
They're going to be getting into the full swing of things here with the group stages.
My final thought this week, guys, I am a camera operator for a Northwoods League team, and I am just hoping that it doesn't rain.
This has been Make the Call on the Civic Media Network.
Mike Clemens is next.
Joel, thank you so much for joining us.
We really appreciate your time, and I hope you have a good weekend.
Great to be here.
Thank you.
Great.
Have a good weekend.
and we will see you listeners later.
See you next
week.
It's the Brewers and the Phillies.
Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with Sports from American Family Field in Milwaukee, where it's the Brewers and the Phillies for a three game weekend series.
The crew has Monday night off before beginning a three game series Tuesday night here in Milwaukee against the Cleveland Guardians.
Friday night at the ballpark was one for the record books.
The Brewers with a six to nothing win over Philadelphia thanks to an incredible complete nine inning game pitched by Milwaukee's Jacob Mizorowski.
He struck out 15 batters, allowing only one hit.
Man,
how do you describe this feeling?
Amazing.
I mean, it's everything I've worked for, you know, all the support from my family up there.
It's been, it's been the world.
So it's been awesome.
The 24 year old's mother and a friend decided to drive up from Kansas City that day and attended the game.
The Miz was asked how much did catcher William Contreras contribute to that epic performance?
Yeah, I mean, all the help from back there, he was getting calls that I needed and you know, we were calling off speed in the right spots and making him trust the heater.
So it was awesome.
Mizorowski had one pitch clocked at 104 miles per hour.
The fastest for a starter since they started keeping those records teammate Christian Yelich.
I mean it's obviously really impressive and you know this year he's he's filled the zone up a lot and really limited the walks and when you can prove that you're in the zone with that and then you get guys in swing mode and it becomes a really tough at bat obviously he's done 103.
The Brewers manager Pat Murphy on the Mrs. Performance.
I mean for me personally that was as good as it gets you know like I can't 46 years I only remember about three of them so I can't tell you for sure
But it seems like in the major leagues to pitch a game like that against an offense like that that's that capable with all those all stars over there and the great players they have incredible, incredible performance.
Murphy says the Miz works every day to improve.
He learned something tonight.
He'll continue to learn.
He's that type of kid.
He wants to be great.
He wants to keep becoming what he can become.
You know, I think this is just a pure, pure kid, really is beautiful kid.
NFL, the Packers held their mandatory minicamp this week in Green Bay.
Several players still recovering from season ending injuries last year, unable to practice this week.
Like defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt, right?
Tackle Zach Tong, who had knee surgery and even some new
like free agent return man Sky Moore.
But Packers tight end Tucker Kraft says he'll be ready by September week one when the Packers play the Vikings in Minnesota.
My anticipation is, you know, they don't really want us talking about our injuries and stuff.
But with how I feel, I would say I'm going to get all the conditioning I need in camp to start week one on no pitch count.
Kraft suffered a torn ACL.
Early November, in that loss to the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field, I asked him if he realized how big of a void it was in the Packers' locker room when he was done for the year.
There's certain things that I think I can bring to the table for this team and at first for me it was leading with my ability and then I had to grow into the role of being a vocal leader and as long as that's taken over, you can't be a vocal leader if you don't practice what you preach.
The Packers have been talking all week about how to finish football games.
What's Tucker Kraft's observation?
I'm not saying it's a culmination of players' failures, but we're not winning.
So we just have to, you know, each man.
has to nut up or shut up.
Do your job one play at a time.
I hear you're playing the huddle.
I look at my assignment, my alignment, my technique.
I think one to two things that might change that play in a snap shot.
Here comes a snap and you never get a single play back in the NFL.
So I think you just have to have the right attitude.
Now next week is the final OTA practice sessions in Green Bay as they wrap up the offseason program.
What's the best way to spend June and July before starting training camp?
And the long football season, Packers receivers Christian Watson and Bo Melton have their lockers next to each other.
Starting with Watson, I asked him, what's their plans this summer before training camp begins?
I'm strong, I don't got much for you.
I just take it a tiny getaway for a little bit.
I'm training the whole time, but just relaxing for the most part.
I'm gonna
be, I'm being jerky.
So I'm doing that beat for show.
You got to be on that beat.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's it, though.
I don't know where I'm going for the trip yet,
though.
I saw
a thing about a boardwalk.
Let's say they make some serious subs there.
Oh, yeah.
You can have your sub, too.
Yeah, and especially in the boardwalk, sub, pizza, and glizzies.
You gotta have one.
What's a glizzie?
Oh, a hot dog.
Oh, really?
Yeah, we call that a glizz.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Now I'm east coast of glizzies.
Oh, you load it up with?
Oh, yeah, you load it up.
No, you put some brothers, horse riders on, put some muscles.
Yeah.
Yeah,
Chris.
Put the Chicago dog to shame.
We put them Chicago dogs right the same.
We do that hot doggy dog.
That's Packers wide receiver, Bull Melton.
With sports, I'm Mike Clemens.
