The View From Wisconsin

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, finally managed to win the NCAA Division III Football championship after losing twice to Mount Union College of Ohio. My one-time classmate Lance Leipold got the squad over the top in his first year as the head coach of the Warhawks. Great job, Lance and the rest of the team! And as for the NCAA Division III Player of the Year Justin Beaver: I hope your name gets called during the NFL draft, buddy.

On to other topics:

• It's official: the Nashville Predators haven't played this bad since the 2002-03 season. In hindsight, I think David Poile made a mistake in moving Tomas Vokoun for the usual "draft picks" after the announcement of the sale of the team; Vokoun was a bigger part of this team than even we, the Predator Nation, realized. TV is performing at roughly the same level as ever now in Florida (though he did get off to a horrendous start); Mase... *sigh* I don't think we're a playoff team right now, with the team we have on the ice. And I'm doubting that the return of Steve Sullivan (IF it happens) will have any serious effect on that reality.
  
• It is very appropriate that Sean Taylor was named a starter to the NFL's Pro Bowl - posthumously. It's interesting to see that only one other player in major pro sport history was ever named as a starter in an All-Star game - Pelle Lindbergh, the Philadelphia Flyers goaltender who was killed in a car accident in November of 1985.
  
• I've been getting a bit overboard in posting Mii's on my Nintendo Wii system. I've made a few and posted them, including my attempts at Prince Fielder (3168-7006-6460) and Brett Favre (1067-0689-3054). I've found a couple of interesting sites that show you how to make celebrity Mii's, which I will probably try out by day's end.