Honoring Harlan & How Many Championships Is Worth Lambeau Naming Rights?

It's time for the best 60 minutes of your life. This is the Homer Hour,

broadcasting live from the Gruber Law Office's One Call. That's all studio with the

Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Here's Emmy Award winner, Homer.

The best 60 minutes and busiest 60 minutes, as Tuesday, though I get things from

John Anderson. He is on assignment as the professor at Missouri. The Tuesdays is

now Jason Wilde and Tim Van Voren. After I get done talking about Matt

Leinert, his number 11 was retired when he played at USC and he was asked if he

would allow someone to wear it. I want to make it clear that it's not his

decision. He didn't retire his number. USC did. However, if they told him the

number is retired, nobody else can wear the number done. And he can't decide

that someone else is going to wear the number. They decided because they thought

he was that great a player. It's over. Now, as has occurring in various places,

including Marquette, they tell people that your number is not retired. Your

jersey is, which my suggestion is that then they shouldn't even put the number

up there because it's just confusing. Marquette and the rafters has two

22s and a 22s playing. How is that? They're not retiring the number. They don't put it

up there. It's confusing. But it's really easy. Whatever was decided with

Leinert, if they told him, no one else is wearing 11, it's over. You don't

decide if somebody else is wearing 11. We don't decide if anybody out what we do

because we're not letting anybody wear it. Doesn't matter five years later if

they said this, there's, there's no, if there's a shortage of numbers, then you tell

people that you're going to do it differently. But 11 is done. Based on what was

decided by the school. And they can't change their mind. I guess they could

because that's they're going to honor someone by retiring his number that say,

oh, we've changed their mind. We're going to let someone else wear it. Leinert

has said no. And somebody said what if they gave you a million dollars? I don't

know. Again, the only one that would have the right to do that would be the

school. And that would just be incredibly rude since you decided no one else is

going to well has changed. And then you could change it now. There could be

someone better than Leinert now and say, well, we're short of numbers or whatever

and we're not retiring the number anymore. I'm not even sure what schools do. The

way you resolve that if you wish is you just don't give that number out. You make

a decision as to how impressive it is. I will be I don't know what they told I

think they told Dwayne Wade nobody's going to wear three anymore. But even if

they didn't. And again, I think they did. Even if they didn't, I would think

that that would be a number where no one else would ever wear it again out of

respect for how great he was. So you could do that. But Matt Leinert doesn't get

this to decide. Unless the school says it's okay. Which I don't think they

should. They're the ones in charge. They made the decision. He didn't do it. He

could have said at the time, no, I don't want my number retired because I want

someone else to be able to wear it. And anybody who wears 11 in the future, that

may remind people of me. I wish he's to do it. So not his decision. School

decision. They made the initial one. And I guess if they want to be incredibly

rude, say we're someone can wear it now. How do you do that? We just did it

homer. Well, okay, then take all the heat that comes with it. We honor you, but

we've changed our mind. We don't we're not honoring when I'm doing it that way

anymore. Yeah, but how are you doing it when you told me or decided that this is

what we're going to do? Jason will be coming up. Feel free to comment if you

wish. 1 800 9 9 all 3776. If I had my number retired, I might let someone

else wear it, but then to me isn't my decision. The school's decision, they

decided what to do. And I would hope the school would say, when we retired, the

number, we retired the number. Nothing's ever going to change. I can't believe even

now. At some point, the worry was, I think Duke, difficult to go back to school, Duke

years ago decided they weren't going to retire numbers. They were going to retire

Jersey, but again, I wouldn't even say that. You everybody's Jersey is retired. You

can be the worst player in the history of any school. Your Jersey is retired. No kidding.

So you just put a ring of honor, just like the Packers do or whatever team then you put

the person's name up there, maybe the years they played or something like that. But it's

going to let you know, Homer, the Jersey is retired. Yes. As is the case of every person

who's ever participated in whatever the sport is. Yeah. Pebbles got it up. The Packers

doing enough to contend this off season. I don't know, I'm probably not the, but you

got the guy. He's the guy. He's going to pretty much do what he's done. He brought in

Michael Parsons and that was certainly a move to make the team better. And now we'll see.

I want to ask the discount, like a Twitter poll question. How many pack, how many championships,

would it be worth? Right. The point is like, would you be willing to change Lambo field or put

whatever if it created and helped the Packers win a championship? If naming rights were given

to Lambo field, how many championships are necessary for you to feel that it was the right

thing to do? One, but all right, Pebble, what should we use as numbers? One, three, five, or

there's, it's wrong, whatever the number. Yeah. One, three, five, and then don't change the name.

Yes. It's not worth it. Whatever the number. One, three, five, or it's not worth it, whatever the

number. One, eight hundred nine, nine, nine, oh, thirty seven, seventy six, Jason will be then Tim

Ben Vaughan, who was, I think at the Pfizer form, the Bucks are playing tonight. It's just really sad.

I know, just, yeah, let's get to play whenever you want and he's hurt and he gets hurt again.

There, I mean, I was wrong. I was excited after those 10 games, they're not making a playoff,

they're not making the play in. There's just a horrible team right now and you know,

you shouldn't play so that he stays healthy, but I don't know how you can tell him

not to play and it doesn't really matter. Yeah, we'll get the discount liquor, Twitter pull question up.

Pebbles writing it right now. Then we'll get to Jason Wolley. How many?

And to me, the answer is very simple. One, if it was going to get me, if it was going to get the

Packers, one more championship, yeah, and sell the naming, right? Nothing matters to me, but winning.

But I don't assume anybody that other people feel the same way.

The uniqueness of Green Bay is not Lambo Field. The uniqueness of Green Bay is the size of the

town, the environment. They're the little engine that could, and it's competing against all the

big engines. That's, and that would be the, that'll be the same, whatever they call the field.

They can't, they can't take away the uniqueness. And as I think Brian Boulogga said yesterday,

probably the closest thing is Buffalo, because that's a small kind of small time. You can't take away

the uniqueness of Lambo Field, whatever it's called. And you just ask anybody who goes there for

the first time, you just never forget it. How, how? Really? This is like, it's like going to a

Walmart. It's like just in a neighborhood. There's a store there, grocery store. No, it's not a grocery

store. You're looking at where the best football players in the world play in this town there. That's,

and of course, the history and the success magnifies it, but the more other stadiums you go to,

the more you just can't believe that town as an NFL team, how did that happen?

It happened. They've done a great job kept it there. And the said whether it's Lambo Field or

Culver's field, doesn't, it isn't going to change the way you feel or the atmosphere when you're

around that stadium. The discount liquor Twitter poll question, how many championships would it be

worth to you as a Packer fan to sell the naming rights to Lambo Field? One, three, five, or don't

change the name. Tune in the new season behind the Bucks podcast and the Bucks Plus audio network

presented by Gallagher, your trusted insurance broker, HR and benefits consultant, Bucks versus

the world, narrated by comedian Charlie Barons reveals the untold story of the 1987 McDonald's

Open when the Bucks became the first NBA team to take on the best national team in the world.

That certainly was the Soviet Union. Find behind the Bucks on Bucks.com slash plus the Bucks app,

the new ESPN Wisconsin app, and wherever you get your podcasts behind the Bucks is presented

by Gallagher. And yes, you must watch the baseball game tonight. Just watch it, experience it,

feel it and it's, it's just special and been that way if you've last watched the last few games.

Oh, badly the other countries want to win and just the nature of how important it is. I say,

I don't know the last, they'll ask Cheerio this, but it'd be a tough one to answer. But I believe

that the players on the Venezuelan team would rather, those are in the major leagues, would rather

win this game and win this championship classic rather than a world series. I don't know if they'll

take that poll. I was on the team. I'd probably ask that it be. I don't think I'd want my name,

just like let us all do the vote. I don't think there necessarily teammates or people would look

kindly on that, but I don't think there's any doubt whatsoever. What winning the title, the country

winning that title would mean. And it wouldn't not just Venezuela. I think it would have applied to

other countries where the players are primarily from Major League Baseball. Jason Wilde.

I think he's ready now. He's next. This is the Homer Hour on ESPN Wisconsin and the ESPN

Wisconsin app. It's time for Jason Wilde on the Homer Hour on 94-5 ESPN.

Jason Wilde. Three time Wisconsin sports right of the year. Jason Wilde is now the on the

yingling guest hotline. You can announce if you wish Jason what the Packers have decided to honor Bob

Harlan. Good afternoon, Homer. Yingling. Six generations family owned and operated

DJ yingling and son Potsville PA. Enjoy it responsibly. Yeah, it's just sitting down to write about this.

And not in any way surprising. And certainly, obviously, as we talked about all last week,

extremely well-deserved. I'm going to put his name on the facade of the stadium, just like they

did with Ted Thompson. Obviously, they only do a pro football hall of famers around the ring.

But they have another area, which is like one level lower in the north-east corner.

I think that's what they call it. Yes, the northeast facade. This is just so wrong.

What do you mean it's so wrong? That's not good enough.

Ted Thompson and Bob Harlan aren't at the same level and it's not even close.

He deserves a statue. Yeah, I agree.

Yeah, except for the fact that Bob Harlan would say, don't do that. I would agree.

I've got that I've got that solution resolved. Oh, you got a solution.

Yes, I love it when you have a solution.

We waited until a certain thing occurred before we decided to do it.

So we knew you wouldn't want us to do it. So once you died, then we did it.

Yep. I wouldn't go publicly with that, but our decision is more important than yours.

So you don't like it when I call you the goat of Wisconsin Sports Talk radio, right?

It irritates you. Not anymore. It doesn't irritate me anymore.

You just said it's correct. So which is it?

It doesn't irritate me anymore. I don't like it because it's incorrect, but that's

but irritates me. Who is ahead of you? Pat Sheridan?

Yes. No, we don't have to go there, but no, no, no, let me fit.

Let me finish.

I would have been happy if you would started doing that after I was dead.

That's my point. Like, I'm not that's ridiculous.

So it's not like, I mean, first of all, the whole reason I do it now,

first of all, because it's true. And I don't care that you refuse to accept that just like you

refuse to acknowledge how many do good or charitable things you do. I acknowledge that much better now too.

Because I gave you such a hard time about that is correct, sir. I'm proud of that's a win for

that is definitely when John Kerry and I, but if it's something like I do it in part because it's

true and in part because I do enjoy irritating you a little bit because you're way too,

like you could be obnoxious. Don't get me wrong, but you're way too humble to embrace how great

you have been. And that's why you're still doing this at age, what are you 83, 84 now?

70, thank you.

70 on your wall. No, if I was in charge, I would have told Bob that and he said, I don't want it.

I'd say, Bob, that's it's bigger than you. This is about the history of the Green Bay Packers.

You understand the greatness. And the only way we could ever not do it is if we say, well,

if Harlan hadn't done it, the next guy would have come along and turned things around.

No, no, I don't, and I obviously, I don't believe that to be true. And on top of that,

let's also look at it from the perspective of, and look, this is one of my favorite Bob Harlan stories,

you know, before I tell us, I just want to let you know, I don't care how nice he was.

I don't care if he was Mr. Rogers or the most mean person in the history of the world.

That is not why statue is yes, yes. But that's not why the statue is there. The statue is to

honor, but right. But I think it's important to honor people in the way that is befitting of who

they were. Right. And one of my favorite things that he has ever said, when they, when they

opened, they call the plaza outside of the atrium is Robert E. Harlan Plaza. Right. But for him,

and it was so pitch perfect. I mean, they nailed it that they named the plaza after him. And

there are these towering statues of Lombardi and Lambo. Right. I mean, they are, they're like four

stories tall. And for Bob, the imagery that that creates is, is right on brand. Like he was,

he was literally standing as he was being, as they were naming it in his honor in the shadow of

these two, you know, behemoths in the team's history. And you know, when I tell the story about

him right in the forward to the book that nobody bought, you know, he, him talking about how what

a testament the book is to Holmgren and Farve and Wolf. And I, I just think that for someone

who was like, ah, like there are, there are basically three people in my life that I wish I was

as good as Bob Harlan, John Kerry and Tim Van Boren. Like I think I'm a really good person,

but I am still well short of those three. And I try to be better choice nicely done.

I try to be as good, but I fall short, right. And so like I just feel like Harlan was so

authentic. Like you, like you know, and I'm not here to trash, you know, former Badger players who

went on to fame and fortune in the NFL. But you know, a lot of times you kind of felt like, like,

I was talking to, I was talking to John Kerry recently about Bruce Bremming, who had passed away.

And, and Bruce used to go to the children's hospital all the time and visit and he didn't bring

a camera crew and he didn't bring a reporter. He just did it all the time, right. And those types of,

like, again, I tease you about your charitable work. But like those people that do it and make sure

that there's always a camera there or that everybody knows about what they did. I don't appreciate

that as much. It doesn't matter to the kids, right. Because they're still getting the moment that they

need and deserve and God bless those guys for doing it. There's just something different about

doing it and making sure everyone knows about it. And so in Harland's case, what he did for this

franchise, we all know about it. But he doesn't ever, he never talked about it. He never said,

say what? If I hadn't gotten that resolution, the resolution passed or the referendum passed,

factors wouldn't be here. No, he talks about how if the referendum had not passed. And when

he talks about what Ron Wolfe did, it's not. If I hadn't hired Ron Wolfe, you know, this team

would be playing in Kimbuktu, like I just, I don't think he, I think his wishes should be honored.

And if, and that's why in the story, which I have finished writing, but like, that's why they

consulted the Harland family, right? Like if I was Kevin or Mike or Brian and they came to me and

said, Hey, we're going to put a statue of your dad. And it's going to be as tall as Lombardi

and Lambo, or it's going to be in that same area or whatever. You know what they would have said,

my, my dad wouldn't have wanted that. So I think what they're doing is good. But to your point,

you, as is off in the case with you, you're right. I would make the statue a little smaller. That's fine.

Like what, like, again, there are no other statues, right? The only other statue is the Lambo

Leap statue, which does not have Loroid Butler in it. Right. Like it's designed for you to be

the Lambo Leaper, right? And so, again, if those are the only two statues, people don't even know

of the historic importance of Bob Harland. And they can put on the plaque underneath the Bob

wouldn't have liked this or whatever. Bob Harland is that important to the history of the Green Bay

Packers. And it will be what I lost based on how he's respect, like Ted Thompson and Bob Harland,

no, no. No, what I would argue, what I would argue is that so Lombardi Avenue goes along one side

of the stadium. We've got like Valley View gets you into the parking lot. But the cross streets

that is at the light where Pidal Town is, is called Ridge Road. Instead of a statue,

I think that should be Harland Avenue. Yeah, that's not. Harland's got a road, right?

He does. That's not good enough then. Harland's not my home, not even close.

Yeah, again, I would rather have people, again, I don't plan on having a statue or a road in my

honor at any level. But if I was in that position, I think or say Bob Harland was my grandfather

or whatever, I would rather have everyone, everyone think of my dad or my grandpa or my, you know,

I would just call him my friend because that's what Bob became. I would rather have them think of

him all the time because they're driving down the street that has the name. Right. Because you know

what's going to happen? People will look up and go, I know Lambo, I know Vitzel Barty, who the hell

was Bob Harland? And then someone can say, as important as they were in bringing back the greatness

of Green Bay, unless, like I said, you just think, ah, well, Harland had done somebody else

would have done it. Well, yeah, I don't think, I don't think I believe. Right. So he's that

important. And that's why it's important to me because all that other stuff is nice, but it

doesn't give him the justice historically that he needs to hold in the history of the Green Bay

Packer. Yeah, but the street would be the, it's the street that intersects Lambo and Titletown.

You know, Holmgren is a couple of blocks away. So it's not, it is not adjacent to the stadium.

My favorite street naming story, by the way, was when they unfailed, ah, Rod Wolf's

past or whatever they, whatever Rod Wolf got. And I was like, you know, you know how much I love

Ron. And by the way, you know, I changed the street name in Madison. I did not know the crazy

lakes. Link. Yep. We were part of that. Wait, you, where is it? Right right next to that?

Right next to what is right in front of the field house? Or I'm not even, that's a little,

not a, but not Monroe street. It's a different. No, it's right runs. It's right in front of the

old field house, I think. Yeah, crazy lakes. Link. We, I was part of Peter B and I was on. Yeah,

well, great job. So when they, when they unfailed the side for Ron Wolf, I, you know, I was obviously

there and, and to write about it, but also just because I love the guy too. And, and I said,

you know, Ron, it is from, for everything you accomplished, it's kind of a short street, don't you think?

And if it's without missing a beat, he says, well, I sure as hell don't expect you to have a street,

so each your heart out will be. And, and I thought, okay, that's fair. But to your point about

streets, like, it's not, it is not adjacent to Lambo field either. It is tucked in behind,

behind, like, title town. So I do think that the, that Harlan road instead of bridge road,

I know there's a lot of businesses on it, but that, that's what I, I would like, I would prefer to see.

Well, I'll, as far as I would go, but I think anything moving in that direction is a, is a positive

thing. Well, we'll settle for the signage now on the facade. No, I will not settle for that.

Well, I, well, you better get to work on what you did for a crazy legs and start, you know,

coming up with better ideas. I got it. You just gave it to me. I'm stealing it from you.

Well, that's, that's where the best ideas come from.

Yeah, I was looking it up. We began the effort in the spring of 1987. Peter B gets,

the credit because he was the big. Wow. That's amazing. I'd see. And Elriers didn't like me. He

called me into his office once to complain about what I had said in a editorial and he goes,

we can't ever win. I go to me and he goes, this is a matter of what I do. You get the final word.

I said, you're kidding, of course. He goes, no, I'm not kidding. Whatever I do, whatever I say,

the media always gets the last word. I said, yeah, but you wake up every morning and you're

crazy legs. Well, they didn't have any influence. He just said, no, you can go. So, so as legendary as

he was, yes, in terms of his management of the actual athletic department, yes, it was horrible.

Right? Yeah, like kind of like Bart Stark coaching the team.

I would think that Bart Stark did better, but you know who you asked. That's a real indictment of

the old way. Yes. Yeah, it was, it was sad. That's why I wanted him to retire and suggest it

so because I didn't want people to remember this versus all the great things he had done.

The person to ask his time oats or Mike Lucas, they, they'll have a much better memory and they

were a part of it. They could, they can make a fair, much fair comment of hers versus Bart

Stark, but I would say Elroy was, but there's some similarity there.

Yes, that's the record back versus what they accomplished. Yeah, that's where it's there. So

anything else you want to add and given your, given your influence, I think

that if you pushed for a street name change, I think that would go a long way to getting it done

because the combo would be good too, right? That's true. Well, first I got to get a true lane

somewhere dedicated. They have Homer Street. It's right near where where my son lives and

I've been to Homer Alaska. So I think it's pretty well covered. I don't think you have to worry about

that. Okay. All right. No, I mean, it's, it is a weird leak where the dust settles from

free agency and I do have one quick question for you. Then we'll break. So the premise of Ed

policy talking about the situation with the Packers. It's odd to me because I think the Packers are

rich. I don't think they're close to or ever would be in a situation where whatever money they

have or that they've collected isn't enough to give them equality against any other team in the

league based on the ability to put a good team together. And so that's the part I don't get where

forget I bring another stuff. If if I'm wrong, then he needs to tell people that and then I think

people will be supportive in general just about anything they would do. But if the rich, you know,

Bill Gates says we I need some more money. You better give me some more info or I'm not going to

buy that you need to even talk about what you're talking about. Go ahead. So I, well, no, I think

that I think it's a fair point because I've been wrestling with this too because it does feel a

little bit like kind of bringing up the boogeyman type thing because the boogeyman for the NFL and

especially for the Packers is this private equity, which, you know, you've heard probably me talk

about this like, you know, the fact that Steven Ross, whose organization the Miami Dolphins

is valued at 12.5 billion is able to offer up to a private equity group, one percent ownership

in the franchise. Right. And suddenly they pay him $125 million. And that's and that's money that,

you know, either the franchise can use or as Brad Norton kind of pointed out to me yesterday at KBM,

he just pocketed it. It's his team. Sure. Right. Yes. And so what I would say is, and I've been

bringing this up because another person that I really respected and he passed away a number of

years ago. But the treasurer of the Packers during the Bob Harlan era was a guy named John

Underwood. Really smart, intelligent, interesting guy. He's one of those people like Dr. Kenzie and Andrew

Brandt, who I always have respect for people who can take something complicated and explain it in

a way that a simpleton like me can understand it. And he would always use, and I'm going to keep

telling people this. I think I've mentioned on every show. But when he talked about what the Packers

needed to survive in the NFL, he called it the three-legged stool. And one leg was revenue sharing.

And think about it now. Right. We're talking $430 some million to each of the 32 teams. I mean,

that no, no league has revenue sharing at that level. Okay. So that's one leg. Next leg is the

salary cap. So teams can't spend whatever they want. And that's why you don't have as much as

as great as it is that the brewers have been as competitive as they have been. The Dodgers have bought

two World Series titles, right? They got Shohei Otani. Now what's the third leg? What's the third leg,

Jason? What's the third leg? The third leg is local revenue. And that is where the Packers before

they redeveloped the stadium were in, they were in actual danger, right? That's why the Bob Harlan

discussion that we had for so much of this segment was so germane because he really did save the

franchise by getting the referendum passed. Now you've given us the three legs. I want to stop

there because I want to continue this in like for 10 or 11 minutes. And TVV's coming up. So the

three legs we will continue. Three legs at school tomorrow. Yeah. Got it. Thanks, Jason. All right.

All right. I'm going to take care. Be good. Next.

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The three most important letters in sports.

Even better than those TVV TVV TVV TVV. It's Fox six sports director Tim Van Boren on the

Homer hour on 94 five ESPN.

Tim Van Boren Fox six sports three time Wisconsin sports class to be. We always get to him too late.

But he makes up for it for having great comments. Very quick ones TVV. Good evening.

Homer, hi, how are you? I'm doing fine. I know you are as well. Or I hope you are.

You have baseball. You have the bugs. You have the packers. Where do you want to start?

What has your attention that you want to mention first of all that's going on?

Oh, yeah. Well, you and I haven't talked in a while. So of course, we can catch up on Packer.

Big picture stuff. But I'm kind of on the brewers and I'm kind of on this world baseball classic.

Add some brewers flavor to it. Oh, yeah. No, I can't remember the last time it was so much fun

to watch baseball because you see the importance that it is to the players. It's to play at any sport.

Man, there's nothing better than watching the people play and just get so excited.

Absolutely. I think that, you know, the crowds are really into it too. So that gives the players

a little extra energy and just watching the games. But high stakes baseball in March.

It's been fascinating to watch as far as I've concerned. And again, you know,

these brewers guys have represented very well for their respective countries.

And I said this. You can tell where I'm wrong. I didn't know Venezuela was that good.

I didn't know. To me, it was always Dominican Republic. They have all the short stops. But

I'm about 30 years late, I think.

No, I think, you know, obviously you'll look at those rosters.

Dominican Republic was very loaded the other night. But then Venezuela, you throw them out

there last night. I mean, it's been great stuff to watch. And, you know, this was kind of a

budsy look idea too. And here you go, making baseball matter in different ways.

And it's been here before and I just don't think it's ever been like this.

No, I would want to ask the players privately. But I think those on the Venezuelan team would

consider winning this tournament a bigger deal than winning the World Series.

I think that that's true. I know Mark DeRosa was asked yesterday. Is this now the biggest

stage in baseball? He's like, well, it's kind of you are where the moment is if you're in the World

Series, you're going to say that. But for a lot of guys who aren't going to get to the World Series,

this is that. And some of those other countries certainly have this opportunity on this stage

and are viewing it now. And their fans view it that way. I mean, I'm not sure American fans

view it that way. What the fans of these other countries do in many cases. And you have this

situation. It's why I'd like the NBA foreign versus US. You have people that play against each

other. I don't care if you're from the United States and they're from Venezuela. You know how good

they are, the Dominican Republic. So it's special if you get that line up out. I don't care what

country they're from. I completely agree with you. These are not, you know, nomadic guys or just

names you've read about on the internet. These are players you know football about. And now you're

unified, safer Venezuela. You'll go back to your majorly teams and you'll care about that. But

you're unified for your country. I think it should be fun tonight. And I'll tell you, I mean, Fox has

had a part of this too of the games on network TV tonight. I mean, people are dialing into this,

like you said, unprecedented fascists. No, I tell people I'd say this now. If you don't like

baseball, I don't care if you don't even know what baseball is. You need to watch and just observe.

What did you know about on hell's Zerpa? Okay. Brewers get them in an off-season trick. I mean,

and then suddenly you're watching and you're going, well, no matter what, that experience last night

of getting out who strikeouts with with a threat going in that situation for Venezuela,

that has to help the guy going forward. No matter what. And he's a brewer. Again, you can ask

them also the pressure they felt pitching or hitting in that situation versus, I mean, we know

Major League Baseball, Rayleigh, she's a game isn't close, but even the playoffs in Major League Baseball,

I, I don't know that I can understand how special and important and how nervous they all might

have been. Yeah, I agree with you. I don't think we can't appreciate that because of, you know,

Americans don't generally identify with these international competitions to the same degree.

You know, the four nations hockey stuff, that captured a lot of people's attention. I think there's

such a saturation point with all these college games and programs, whatever they else, these

international situations actually are more compelling for fans. Yeah, now we can go then to Wisconsin.

They got a good team. There's nothing they could do that would surprise me. They're clearly on

any night good enough to beat anybody in the tournament. And they're also bad enough at times

that they can have a disappointing loss. One of their worst games of the year was in the state of

Oregon and they're going back to the state of Oregon. You know, you, they lost, they scored 71

points and lost to a bad Oregon duck team and you thought, how's that even possible? Now they're

going back to Oregon, but by the same token homework, exactly as you said, they have looked extremely

good in certain games against elite level competitions. So they are an absolute wild card. You can,

you can understand why some of the pundits are saying, be very careful about Wisconsin,

and you can understand why skeptics are out there too. The, I'm assuming they'll both win. So the,

the Arkansas game is going to be spectacular. Arkansas is really good and has a player that might

be as good as anybody in the country. And as I've heard someone suggesting they're right, it'll give

a boy the chance to prove just how good he is. Be a great, great. And he's, and he's had the chip

on his shoulder for not getting the recognition that I think many thought he deserved myself included

for the big ten season. I guess he almost went to North Carolina. Wisconsin got him, you know,

outbid North Carolina for him at the last minute. The badgers, you know, kind of big time players

in this whole transfer portal NIL era. And they, they proved what people are now discovering as

not the case in Indiana, even if you have the money, you still have to pick the right people.

And absolutely. I mean, Indiana, I don't, I don't know how they're deciding where, but I think

schools are going to look at, we have a lot of money and we lose. We may have to change coaches

because that's the determining factor one year isn't enough. Not do you have the money, but can

you pick the right people? It wasn't just that they beat North Carolina, but there are other players,

they could have lost in North Carolina. And that player isn't as good as boy.

Yeah, absolutely right. You're right on it, Homer. The evaluation is going to be critical.

This is going to be an instant time for Marquette, which has not gone into the port. How do they do

with the evaluation? What, what amount of time and resource are they putting into the evaluation

process, not just landing the player? Because Indiana is head and shoulders above those other teams

in college basketball in terms of overall spending. It's not all NIL, but overall support program.

And yet they're not even in, not even in the field, Homer. I mean, that's, that's an absolute,

if you're one of the people contributing to that expenditure, you have to be beside yourself.

Yes, but yet we don't know how hard it is because we don't know our teams winning because they

have more money or, and I'd say it's, it's, it's really tough because you, you, you don't know

exactly that much about the player. You don't know if they're going to fit your system. You need

them to fit the system right away. It might be the end of the year before they figure it out.

I'm fascinated by it. I think it's tougher than any challenge coaches have ever had,

but that doesn't, that doesn't mean I'd want to do it. And, and coaches who've been successful

in the previous era, you know, some of them have really struggled adjusted to this. Other guys have

come in and, you know, that's their, that's their secret sauce. They're able to make it work. So

it's a major transition point and flexion point in college basketball, and you're seeing both

ends of it. And now you get a final comment if you wish about the Milwaukee Bucks.

Keep it short. They'll play tonight.

I can't think of any other word other than sad. Everything about it, everything,

pick any part of the Bucks that you want to mention and doesn't it all end with sad.

And irrelevant.

Yes, not mad.

Loss of interest. But watch the baseball game, right? Let's finish with that. Watch the baseball.

You don't have to like baseball. You don't have to know anything about baseball. Watch the game

and enjoy the energy. How about that, TVV? That's where we are with this March 2026,

over. Thanks, TVV.

ESPN National next join the ESPN Wisconsin Bracket Challenge with a $500 Cousins gift card.

And yes, how should Bob Harland be honored at Lambo Field? A statue or his name on the facade,

statue leading, but it's close. 55 to 45 and someone suggested, how about both? You can't do

enough to properly present the importance of Bob Harland on the history of the Green Bay Packers.