Closing Time: All For You - French Montana (Feat. Wiz Khalifa, Lana Del Rey, Snoop Dogg)

I really did not see French Montana leading off our music coverage for 2014. Like not at all. I usually stay away from his music because well except for 'Pop That', I really do not get down with French. Only reason I checked this out is he sampled a Lana Del Rey song for his first track off his new mixtape. I happened to like her music which is an unpopular take on music but I do not care whatsoever. I feel like Montana could have used another song from Rey and made this better. The soft tones of her song do not really fit with the rest of this song. Good stuff from Wiz Khalifa though. Best Wiz verse I have heard in awhile which is encouraging and possibly something to watch for in 2014.

Charlie.

Lambeau's Ticket Problem.

Death. Taxes. Lambeau Field Sellouts. That's how my life has been since I can remember. I still can hear my mom saying 'I always regret not getting Milwaukee tickets in the 80's with your uncle.' I believe she has probably utter that sentence at least once a year. It is usually pretty hard to get Packer tickets and until 2010, I had not been to a game since 2005. Opportunities do not come very often to make a trip to hallow grounds of Lambeau Field. Thankfully in the past couple of years, I have been to Lambeau Field five times in the last three years.

Very happy to be there. Seth angry at the camera
Still think this foiled Mitch's plan to kill me. 

For the last three Decembers, it has become an annual tradition to go see a game at Lambeau Field. We started it three years ago when a group of about 10 of us got tickets to the game and planned to spend a night in DePere creating havoc at St. Norbert's adult establishments. It is something that has become tradition among a group of friends. We had our recent trip in late December as Green Bay took on Pittsburgh. I hope this something we continue for years to come. The other two times I lucked into going last second with family and friends without having to pay which is something I am very thankful and do not take for granted for one second.

The reason I do not overlook that last point is it costs anywhere from 75 to 300 dollars for tickets to see Green Bay play football at Lambeau Field. Tickets are not cheap so when I heard Packers were having trouble selling out their stadium for seemingly the first time ever in my 25-year old life. I thought of a variety of reasons why, it is going to be arctic temperatures plus the home experience equals the worst combination ever, the exhaustion of the season, pessimism from fans and why this could become a badge of honor type game to be at like the Ice Bowl and 2008 NFC Championship Game. And for the final reason, you should go if you have the means and if you have not made it up/down this season to Lambeau.

NFL does have a going problem with HD televisions, prices of tickets, beer, food and parking as well as the experience with social media, fantasy football (Regular season) and gambling. There might need to be a discussion whether they should think about axing the blackout rule. Federal Communications Commission gave some thoughts about this, and honestly, it is not the end of the world if NFL stadiums do not have full stands. If the FCC and NFL come to a deal where 75 percent of tickets have to be sold to avoid blackouts, that's a fair compromise, or keep the blackout rule but create dynamic ticket pricing figuring in weather, opponent, etc. Would people be heading to Lambeau this weekend if the most expensive tickets were 120 dollars versus 300 apiece? I think so.

The temperatures obviously do not help things either. They are not getting any warmer as it went from being around eight degrees around kickoff at the start of the weak to a high of -5 with wind chills of -30 and if this holds, it would be the third coldest game in NFL history. People could chose their own beer, own couch and warm house/bar to watch the game versus being in the elements looking like Ralphie's brother in the Christmas Story.

The second and third one go hand-in-hand a bit. This season has not been for the weak of heart. Many games have came down to the wire. Green Bay has been blown out in more games than usual. I expressed some thoughts of exhaustion after watching them lose in person to Pittsburgh. Granted this was an overreaction, I said after the game to friends, 'Hell, I hope Chicago just wins tonight, put me out of my misery.' Obviously, this is an overreaction and something I am glad they did not do because we would not be having this conversation. But they are facing a team that has 12 wins on the year, a team Green Bay has not beat the last three times they have played in last two years, the defending NFC champions meaning many people in the state of Wisconsin do not think Green Bay will win this game.

Packers fans can be very pessimistic in nature. They are also a bit privileged in terms of seeing successful teams and not really seeing much losing at home. In the last decade, they have lost five of their seven home playoff games. Let me tell you after freezing your ass off, the last thing you want to see is a defeat. This is arguably the best playoff team to come to Lambeau in the last 10 years even if New York Giants teams won the Super Bowl. Without question, there are many people who believe Green Bay is losing this football game meaning they do not want to be there on Sunday for the game (I do not but we will talk about it tomorrow).

If I did not spend more than 100 dollars to see Green Bay play a couple weeks ago along with spending all sorts of money on a four-day venture with New Year's Day, I would be putting out feelers to go to the game. I had two friends offer me tickets to the game which is unheard of to me, but honestly, I cannot afford right now being a part-time worker whom had his biggest spending month of the year. So here's my suggestion: If you have not gone this year, go to the game and spend the money. If you have never gone, this is your perfect chance to see Green Bay play in a playoff game. Load up on layers and alcohol if you have a driver, but go see the home team play because it will become a badge of honor no matter what happens in the game.

People always get to talk about being at the Ice Bowl, and there are many people who lie about being at the Ice Bowl. The same would have happened if Green Bay wins the 2008 NFC Championship and Brett Favre goes on to win the Super Bowl. It would be the same sort of attitude with this generation. Who knows what will happen this year, and trust me if Green Bay wins in some dramatic fashion, many people will act like the were at Lambeau on Sunday. 3,000 tickets are needed to be sold before tomorrow's game. I would be stunned if the game is blacked out in the area, but it would be a mass media/fans freakout. Remember about how chances to go to games do not happen often and who knows when this door is open again.

Charlie.

Quick New Year's Day Bowl Thoughts

This has become an annual tradition where I forget to post my bowl picks for New Year's Day. I was too lazy on New Year's Eve not to post something ready for Wednesday morning. I watched most of three of the games and a little bit of the other ones. My bowl record will be what I had in the confidence picks for SnoTap and I will give a couple quick thoughts about the games because I know you want to know I care about these bowl games along with a prediction for tonight's game.

North Texas 36 UNLV 14
- The beginning of my usual New Year's Day collapse. I have no idea why I thought UNLV was the better  team in this one.

- North Texas defense looked really good in this one. Their offense did not have a very impressive game, but they shut down the Runnin' Rebels.

- Thank goodness for Utah State or the Mountain West would have been shutout of bowl wins including them getting their asses kicked in three of them.

LSU 21 Iowa 14
-NO DREW TATE MOMENT :(

- Pretty boring game, but Iowa definitely had a chance to tie this one up multiple times in the second half, they could not get put points on the board.

- Jeremy Hill is a beast going for over 200 yards including a 27 yard touchdown run with about two minutes left to go in the game.

Nebraska 24 Georgia 19
- Ameer Abdullah with another big game for the Cornhuskers and if he stays next year, there could be some rumblings for Heisman next year.

- 99 yard touchdowns are always cool and proved to be the difference in this one scoring a win for the Big Ten against the SEC.

- WE NEED A GRUDGE MATCH NEXT YEAR.

South Carolina 34 Wisconsin 24 
- I wrote about this here. 

Michigan State 24 Stanford 20 
- There are three games this season where my confidence pick was different than how I felt before the game started... Utah State, Ole Miss and Michigan State. I switched my pick after Max Bullough's suspension.

- I would put this right up there with the best games I watched all season. It had everything you wanted from a football game. Sparty really has something going here with their football team and think they can be a threat for years.

- I would love to see Michigan State against Auburn or Florida State. I think they would give both teams a game without question. Their offense has came together to help out their terrifying defense.

- Not a good look at all for David Shaw and his playcalling. He really needs to start thinking about an offensive coordinator.

UCF 52 Baylor 42 
- It really stunned me Baylor played like absolute shit. Their defense had improved from years past, and it seemed like they were over getting completely boat raced by competent offenses.

- People really disrespected Central Florida and Blake Bortles all season including me. UCF is the real deal, and George O'Leary has done a wonderful job building this program.

- I had no idea why Sean McDonough kept being up the resume scandal that was about 10 years stale. Build a bridge, get over it.

Sugar Bowl 
Oklahoma vs. Alabama 7:30 pm ESPN - The narrative has begun about Alabama not really wanting to be there tonight but let's be honest, does Oklahoma really deserve to be there?  Sooners finished strong, but given what we saw from the Big 12 last night, I think it is fair to say we could see a game over by halftime. A.J. McCarron already came out and denied a Senior Bowl request meaning he will want to have a big game plus I expect Nick Saban to showcase him as much as possible plus Saban's defense can force some turnovers on this Oklahoma offense. I would be shocked if the Crimson Tide do not win by more than double-digits. BAMA 38-17

Bowl Record: 18-11

Charlie.

Continued Bowl Bummer for Badgers

People will say all the time to not put much stock into how college football teams do in a bowl games. It is a short-sighted comment by people whom usually have struggling teams during the bowl season. They are not meaningless despite what some might think rather they can set a tone for the upcoming season, or put an exclamation mark on the season.  For Wisconsin, there is definitely a recurring people during bowl season as they have now lost five of their last six bowls including yesterday falling to South Carolina, 34-24 in a game where Wisconsin failed to take advantage of second half opportunities.  

Wisconsin is certainly not afraid of SEC teams. Through the last decade, Wisconsin has done fairly well against SEC teams with a few losses sprinkled in. They beat Auburn and Arkansas teams who were probably high BCS quality teams at the time. South Carolina is a good team, but one who Wisconsin definitely could have beat yet a bad second half results in a Gamecocks win.

Usually in sports, we tend to remember the final quarter of the game, and not really point out some of the issues of previous quarters. If you want a spot where the Capital One Bowl changed it was middle of the third quarter. Wisconsin made a field goal to put them up 17-13 building on their halftime lead. They received the ball right away after Connor Shaw fumbled the first play from scrimmage after Badgers had a four-point lead. Wisconsin had the ability to put themselves up by double-digits and they could not capitalized whatsoever. Badgers went three and out including a holding call on tight end Sam Aronson causing to back up Wisconsin leading to a missed field goal for the Badgers. This has been a problem for Wisconsin all year and it continues during the bowl season. 

South Carolina would get a touchdown on the following drive including a fourth down conversion with Shaw finding Bruce Ellington down the field. This would be the last time South Carolina lost the lead, and much of the difference as to why they won this football game. Even if Wisconsin had a seven-point lead, it would have kept control for the Badgers even if the Gamecocks scored, the game is still tied rather than Wisconsin to try to come from behind. Although Wisconsin had a chance to reclaim the lead in the fourth quarter yet they could not do anything with South Carolina leaving the door open. 

Gamecocks took a 10 point lead after another touchdown involving Shaw throwing a short touchdown to Jerrell Adams. Wisconsin had a kickoff return from Kenzell Doe putting Wisconsin right back in this game only trailing by three points. But Badgers defense could not respond with a stop as South Carolina drove down the field leading to put the game back to a 10 point advantage at 34-24. Wisconsin had multiple opportunities to get the game back into single digits, but twice, Curt Phillips threw interceptions on short yardage downs. I have no idea what offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is thinking there with two of the best running backs in the nation plus a backup quarterback and the decision is to throw the ball on fourth and third and one. It makes virtually no sense especially when Melvin Gordon and James White were over 100 yards a piece. 

Wisconsin will move on into what could be a promising 2014 season. They start the year off heading to Houston for a major non-conference clash with LSU before coming home to an easier than usual Big Ten schedule missing Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan next year. The door is open for Wisconsin to be a major player in the Big Ten next year and honestly, I think most Badgers would want a win over an SEC opponent later on in 2014 despite needing to be better in January. 

Charlie. 

Don't Bet Against Rich Homie Quan

In the last couple of months, I really got behind Michigan State football. I will write a little bit more about this game later today, but let's start with the most important thing that happened, Michigan State had rapper Rich Homie Quan on the sideline. Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio invited him to the sideline as the players and the coach have gotten behind his song, 'Type Of Way' leading to Dantonio dancing after big Spartans win. It is truly great and today he got to break it down with the team.



I really hope this means we are seeing different hip-hop artists on the sidelines moving forward with different teams. It is something we can all dream of right now. It seems like the step forward. Hopefully Quan sticks with his pledge to be a 'Spartan for life' and not pull a Lil Wayne liking half of every professional and collegiate sports.  (H/T @cjzero, zerotolerance_ for the pictures)

Charlie.

Bucks Buzz: January 2nd - Young Core Emerging

Every week Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler talk about the Milwaukee Bucks. Charlie handles the weekend games while Mitch handles the games during the week.  We are both members of the tank.

Quick Recap: Tuesday at Los Angeles Lakers (W 94-79)

Let me preface this by saying that while I watched as much as I could, I don't necessarily remember any of it. Let's just say that I had consumed a few sodas by the time tip-off (9:30 PM Central) rolled around and it only got worse by the time the game ended. Shout out to Horny Goat Hideaway for NYE festivities.

As much as I want to give credit to the Bucks for playing arguably their best game of the season, we have to consider how bad the Lakers are. Granted, I'm not afraid to say that the Lakers may be better without the legendary Kobe Bryant in the lineup. At the very least, they have better chemistry without him in the lineup at this moment. The Lakers have done a good job of building a tank roster while Kobe is out but these guys are playing above their heads. Nick "Swaggy P" Young is scoring at a nice rate for his hometown team and guys like Xavier Henry and Kendall Marshall are getting pretty heavy minutes for Mike D'antoni. Those are the kinds of players you add if you're not looking to win. You take a flyer on young(er) guys who haven't panned out for their first team or two and see what they have. It's really a win-win situation.

Now, over to the Bucks. Brandon Knight had a great game scoring but continues to show that he's not a starting caliber point guard in the NBA. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing and I don't want him off the team or anything, it's just that he's possibly the biggest tank driver right now not named Caron Butler, Gary Neal or OJ Mayo. He's simply playing the wrong role if you plan on winning with him on your team. He's probably best suited in a Jamal Crawford/Jason Terry role. That is, he'd be best off to come in off the bench as a sixth or seventh man as a combo guard and put up some points for you. He has a little too much tunnel vision to be an effective NBA point guard.

Easily the most puzzling/concerning thing about this game is that Khris Middleton was removed from the starting lineup and only played 17 minutes. Sure, the Bucks won the game but that's not the main purpose for the Bucks this season. Middleton is a guy that's emerging as a key part of this young core that continues to show flashes. His playing time is pretty crucial. He's not a flashy player but fans really like how he lets the game come to him. Going forward, I'd love to see him as the sixth man/3 and D guy that holds the team together. Here's to hoping Middleton plays more tonight in Utah.

Appropriate YouTube video: Giannis with the putback

I couldn't not mention Giannis Antetokounmpo. He continues to impact games (at least a little) every night. He had 11 rebounds Tuesday night. Here's one of them. And it's actually not offensive interference, sir.

Links

Here's a link to an article on Bleacher Report on why the Bucks should take Jabari Parker if they land the #1 pick. Knock on wood but I totally agree.

This is a piece from HoopsRumors.com that cites Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico as a source saying the Bucks are open to trading defensive anchor Larry Sanders.While there might be some truth to this (I don't think he's untouchable for the right offer), Amico is not exactly Adrian Wojnarowski when it comes to credibility and mutual respect among his peers. Take what he "reports" with a grain of salt. I really don't want to see Sanders get traded but if the right offer came along, I'd at least listen if I were John Hammond.

What to watch

Luke Ridnour was inserted into the starting lineup against the Lakers and we'll see what happens with him going forward. I'm hoping his sudden increase in playing time is to showcase him for a potential trade. Again, playing the youth needs to be a priority at this point. Middleton needs to play more than 17 minutes.

Here's the young core I'd like to keep going foward:

Knight, Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Henson, and Sanders. Everyone else is expendable at this point.

What's next?

The Bucks are in Salt Lake City tonight to take on the Jazz as two of the largest tanks in the NBA will square off. The Bucks will be without John Henson yet again as he's expected to miss two weeks with a high ankle sprain. They then will be in the Valley of the Sun to take on Phoenix on Saturday night. The Suns are the surprise story of the year with their 19-11 record and are set up well for the future to boot.

2013: Another Year in the SnoTap Books

I probably should have done this on Tuesday or even on the first of the year, but I am writing sort of a wrap-up of 2013 for Sports News on Tap. I want to thank everybody for reading, listening and hanging out with us here, on Twitter, Facebook and anywhere else. Honestly and openly, it was an inconsistent year for us. We kicked ass a couple months and that delighted me but we also had some really shitty months. We improved our golf coverage with Bryan Reynolds and fantasy sports coverage with Adam Hatlak. Additionally, Andrew Kasmarek and Jacob Douglas added some great unique content to the site as well. To the other writes, they all know how much I appreciate them taking the time out of their day to write for us.

Obviously, I am always looking to improve and be better. If there is a corner of sports where you think we are missing content (Hint... Futbol.... Soccer...) and you want to write for us, just start sending me posts. That's how Andrew, Adam and Bryan all started writing for us regularly was consistently sending me blog posts. I would love to add more to the SnoTap family this year.

I am also going to try to clean up the page a bit. Some of stuff on there is very old, and I hope with some social time off given the damage I have done in the last couple days, we can make that happen. Additionally, I think we might do some different things with posting yet I have not yet figure that part out just yet so stay tuned.

Thanks again for all you do.

Want to write? email- snotap12@gmail.com and we can chat about thangs.

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Charlie.