A New Field is a Must for Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Panthers have won the Horizon League regular season title, their first since 2001.  Even though their baseball team is on top, their baseball field is the complete opposite.  Henry Aaron Field was opened in 1957 and it only seats 500 fans.  There is no excuse for why the Panthers play in a glorified high school field and it is time for them to improve their facilities.

Although playing their entire home schedule at Miller Park would be the first and best option, it is unrealistic to think the Milwaukee Brewers would change their mind on allowing the Panthers to call Miller Park home.  Instead the Panthers need to build a state-of-the-art baseball facility similar to Kapco Park, which is home to Concordia University.  It should be built near campus and have a capacity of 1,500-2,000 people to allow students and local fans the opportunity to come and support the Black and Gold.  It would also be smart for the Panthers to have a synthetic turf field to allow for consistent play all season with less rainouts.

The Panthers are the only Division I baseball program in the state of Wisconsin and it is time for them to have facilities to show it.  Building a new baseball field is a must and it will improve recruiting and the overall look of Panther baseball.

NCAA Championship Game Prediction

Louisville and Michigan will battle for the chance to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship on Monday night, something both of these programs have not done for over 20 years.

This will be a fun and exciting game featuring Michigan's explosive offense versus Louisville's dominating defense.  Michigan has an explosive offense that does an excellent job of scoring inside and out.  The Wolverines rank first in offensive efficiency and take outstanding care of the ball.  While Louisville ranks first in defensive efficiency and they do a great job of defending the perimeter.  The Cardinals are also able to force turnovers with ease, ranking second in the nation.

This will be an outstanding game featuring the best offensive team versus the best defensive team in the country.  Trey Burke must show why he is the Player of the Year by being able to have a great shooting night, while getting his teammates involved, and do a solid job taking care of the ball if Michigan wants to win.  Louisville will not stop Michigan from scoring, but they do need to slow them down if they want to have a chance at winning.

Trey Burke and company will be to much for the Cardinals too handle, and they will be cutting down the nets at the end of the night.

The Klotsche Center is Hurting the Milwaukee Panthers

What are three things that describe the Milwaukee Panthers Men's Basketball program?  History of success, employing two of the best coaches to ever coach in the state of Wisconsin in Bo Ryan and Bruce Pearl, and the lack of facilities would be how I describe the basketball program.

Lack of facilities has always been an issue but it has grown and become a bigger problem over the past ten months.  On June 26th, 2012 Andy Geiger, Director of Athletics, announced the move back on campus to the Klotsche Center.  This move was designed to trigger greater student engagement in athletics and add to the campus life, culture and atmosphere while providing the Panthers with tremendous home court advantage.

This move did nothing but hurt Milwaukee Basketball.  Students attendance was still low, season ticket holders were upset, and most importantly this move did not provide any home court advantage with only a .500 winning percentage this past season.

Now with conferences above the Horizon League looking to add teams, you would think Milwaukee would be considered because of their proven success, being in bigger media market, and room for growth.  These three things make Milwaukee an attractive option, but the lack of a quality basketball arena is holding us back.

The Missouri Valley is currently looking for a new member to replace Creighton, who is moving to the new Big East, and three teams from the Horizon League, Valparaiso, Loyola and Illinois-Chicago are being considered.  Milwaukee is better than all three of these schools, and if the Panthers had a long-term lease with the U.S. Cellular Arena, none of these teams would be on the list, Milwaukee would be the list.

In 1977 the Klotsche Center was opened for student recreation, not to hold a Division One basketball program.  A D-1 program should never play in a high school size gym, and there is no excuse for why the Panthers are.  Without moving back to the U.S. Cellular Arena, the Panthers will be stuck in the Horizon League, and will have no chance of being a competitive basketball program.

All the blame should be put on Andy Geiger for this mess, and May 1st cannot come quick enough when new Director of Athletic, Amanda Braun, takes over.  Her first decision needs to be moving back to the Cell.  If we continue to play in the Klotsche, Milwaukee Basketball will be a joke because we will have no room for growth and will struggle to land talented recruits, which will lead to disappointing play on the court.

The College Football Four Team Playoff is Not Enough

Starting in 2014 college football will be using a four team playoff system to determine who will play for the National Championship instead of having computers pick two teams.  Using a playoff system is a step in the right direction for college football but it isn't enough.  College football should use an eight team playoff system, where the six main conferences champions get an automatic bid into the playoffs, and then have two wild card teams that are selected by a committee.  The two wild card teams and the seeding for the playoffs should be chosen based on their record, strength of schedule, and any head to head meetings between the teams.  College football has to reward the teams who win their conference championship games in the big six conference, and having them all make the playoffs is away to emphasize the importance of the championship games.  The playoff system will never satisfy everyone but an eight team playoff is the answer.  There will be less arguing on who deserves to get in if you have the six main conferences get an automatic bid and two other teams selected into the playoffs by a committee.

Please follow me on Twitter @DanTheMan4295

NCAA Championship Game

Monday April 2nd the Kentucky Wildcats will face the Kansas Jayhawks in the National Championship Game.  This will be their second meeting this year.  They met in mid November at Madison Square Garden and Kentucky was able to bet Kansas 75-65.  I think the National Championship Game will be a much better game, and I think it will come down to the wire.  I think both teams are capable of winning this game, even though many people think Kentucky should easily win because of their talent and athleticism.  I feel Kansas can and will beat Kentucky tomorrow.  Kansas will need to play great defense against Anthony Davis, and they will need Thomas Robinson to have a huge game.  Thomas Robinson will have a huge game against Anthony Davis because he is mad that Anthony Davis won the player of the year award over him, and because he will need to play well if Kansas wants to win.  Kansas will also need to make Kentucky's young players show their inexperience and force them to make mistakes with the ball.  I feel if Kansas can get Anthony Davis in foul trouble, play good defense, and score points in the paint with Thomas Robinson they should be able to beat Kentucky.