So apparently forward Richard Jefferson isn’t happy with the trade that brought him to Milwaukee. Acquired on draft day for forwards Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian, Jefferson - or anyone else for that matter - hasn’t commented on the trade, that is until today. According to a report in the New York Post, Nets team president Rod Thorn received a text message from Jefferson which led him to believe Jefferson was not happy with the trade to Milwaukee. “He didn’t seem very happy,” said Thorn, who emphasized yesterday he had not yet spoken to Jefferson.

What remains to be seen is if Richard Jefferson is simply unhappy to be leaving the only team he’s called home during his NBA career or whether he’s unhappy to be a member of the Bucks, because the last thing the Bucks need is another player who doesn’t want to be a part of the organization. Here’s hoping that GM John Hammond and coach Scott Skiles can smooth things over with Jefferson, because I think he’d be a great addition to the roster.

Celtics versus Lakers in the NBA Finals….it doesn’t get any more old-school than that. As a lifelong Celtics fan, it’s great to see the boys in green back in the Finals, but putting aside my allegiance to the Celtics, these two teams meeting in the Finals has to be good for the NBA. Though the Celtics haven’t had much success in recent years, they still have to be considered one of the NBA’s flagship franchises, and this renewed Lakers-Celtics rivalry is undoubtedly a great thing for the league.

Most interesting to me are the subplots to this Finals. Sure, both teams want to win the championship, but you’ve got Kobe Bryant trying to a win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal, thus securing his place as the rightful heir to Michael Jordan. On the other hand, you’ve got three veterans trying to win the first championship of their long and illustrious careers, and this year may just be their best shot at winning it all. In parting, here’s a little footage of Larry Bird and the Celtics winning their 16th title in 1986:

Tonight I received an unexpected message on AOL Instant Messenger from T, who I haven’t spoken a word to in over four years. To make a very long story short, we had quite a nasty falling out that came about in large part because of rather boorish and immature behavior on my part, and we didn’t speak nary a word to each other after all was said and done. To be honest, it was hard to lose a friend I’d known for several years, and I’m glad we had a chance tonight to start mending our fences.

One can never have too many friends, especially if those friends are quality people.

I sure hope the Pack don’t let this game slip away, because that Favre interception (and the subsequent Bears touchdown) could come back to haunt this team. I’d also like to note the playcalling for the Packers in the second half has been absolutely atrocious; it’s almost as if the Packers are playing not to lose, as opposed to playing to win.

As I type this, the Packers have picked up yet another stupid penalty. You aren’t going to win many ballgames with 12 penalties for over 100 yards.

Oh, and have I mentioned I’m pretty sick of John Madden comparing Brett Favre to Tony Romo? After all, unless I’m mistaken, Favre’s been doing the whole quarterback thing since Romo was in middle school, so if anything Madden should be comparing Romo to Favre.

It’s official - Barry Bonds is baseball’s all-time home run king. With one swing of his bat, Barry Bonds crushed a pitch from Mike Bacsik of the Nationals 435 feet deep into the stands at AT&T Park to surpass Hank Aaron’s record of 755 career home runs. I’ll make no secret of the fact that I hate that Barry Bonds was the one to break the record, because there’s never been a player less deserving of breaking a record than Barry Bonds. His use of performance enhancing substances will forever cloud this record - at least until it’s broken by someone like Alex Rodriguez. Even without his use of performance enhancing substances, Barry Bonds would have been recognized as one of the best players of this generation - if not the best, which is why it’s so disappointing that he chose to raise his game through better chemistry. I know some Barry Bonds apologists will argue it’s never been proven Bonds has used performance enhancing substances, and while that’s true, I simply refuse to believe Bonds magically bulked up naturally, without the help of any illegal or illicit substances.

Bonds before and after steroids

What really pains me the most about Bonds breaking the record is that he broke Hank Aaron’s record. Hank Aaron has been an ambassador for baseball, both during his career and after, and he left a significant mark on Milwaukee, both as a baseball player and as a person. Hank Aaron really is one of the “good guys,” and so I think it’s a terrible shame that his record was broken by a recalcitrant, self-centered cheat.

I won’t be celebrating for Barry Bonds, and I can only hope he’ll finally retire after this season, so his record will be within the reach of someone like Alex Rodriguez.

I’d just like to say kudos to Bob McGinn of the MJS, for being recognized by Peter King of Sports Illustrated. Here’s what King wrote about McGinn:

I think few fan bases are better served by a beat writer than those in Packerdom by Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The other day, he told his readers how first-round pick Justin Harrell, the defensive tackle from Tennessee, was struggling mightily with his conditioning; how kicker David Rayner was 28 of 29 in kickoffs with competitor Mason Crosby so far in camp; how well players have adapted to camp, with no camp fights in the first nine practices; how free-agent defensive lineman Larry Birdline was embarrassingly fatigued in practice, so much so that McGinn wrote: “After that embarrassing episode, his career in Green Bay won’t last too long.” McGinn is an underrated giant in our business. I love reading him.

I’d have to agree with Peter King’s assessment of Bob McGinn. He’s one heck of a journalist, and I’ve always enjoyed reading his columns. It’s good to see one of our own from here in Milwaukee get recognized on the national level.

The MJS reported earlier today only a few tickets remained for tonight’s game against the Mets. If the Brewers sell out tonight’s game, that would be the 21st sellout of the season, setting a new club record - a record that’s sure to be broken as the season progresses.

And since I’m on the subject of the Brew Crew, I just want to say how proud I am of how the team has done this year. It’s been a heck of a long time since Brewers fans had anything to cheer about, and I’m glad to see our team doing so well. Even if the Brewers don’t end up winning the NL Central, I still consider this a successful year, because I think the team has far and away exceeded expectations.

So apparently the the Reuters report I cited earlier this week regarding Yi not playing in Milwaukee has been exposed as being bogus. According to a story on NBADraft.net, the story that cited Guangdong Tigers chief Chen Haitao as saying Yi would “definitely not” play in Milwaukee has been denied by Chen himself plus a Guangdong Tigers Vice President who responded with two words - “BS”. It still remains to be seen if Yi will in fact play in Milwaukee, but as I said in previous entries, I know Yi would find Milwaukee and Bucks fans to be as supportive as any fans in the NBA. Most folks I’ve talked to are downright excited about the possibility of Yi playing in Milwaukee, and as I’ve said before, I believe Yi could grow to really love Milwaukee.

I’ve read and heard that Yi’s reluctance to play in Milwaukee has a lot to do with his Nike contract, in that the contract likely paid considerably more in a bigger market. Now I understand that a lot of what happens in the NBA - and in any professional sports for that matter - is about dollars and cents, but from my perspective, Yi’s got a chance to come to a great basketball town and become a player that the team builds their marketing efforts around. If Yi’s as good as advertised, he won’t need to worry about less money from a Nike contract, because no matter what market he plays in he’s bound to have virtually limitless opportunities for endorsement deals - both on a local and national level - because he’s a player that has broad international appeal, and that’s something you can’t put a price tag on.

So according to a Reuters report out of Beijing, the chief of the Guangdong Tigers is quoted as saying Yi Jianlian would “definitely not” play for the Bucks this season, citing the fact that Yi probably wouldn’t get enough playing time to further his development. This is all sorts of rotten news for the Bucks, because unlike Yi’s agents - who didn’t really have much leverage over what the Bucks did, my understanding is that his team back in China does have the ability to withhold Yi from the Bucks. Now I could be mistaken about that, but logic would seem to dictate that if his team in China’s saying they won’t let him play for the Bucks, then I don’t expect we’ll see Yi here in Milwaukee any time soon. Now I know there’s been rumblings that NBA Commissioner David Stern has been working behind the scenes to resolve this situation, but ultimately (and unfortunately) I believe Yi’s rights will end up being traded to a team more acceptable to him and his handlers. I think it’s a real shame, because I think Yi would have liked Milwaukee and would have fit in well with the kind of team the Bucks are building.

But all’s not lost for the Bucks, because it looks like they’re on the verge of signing free agent forward Desmond Mason, a former Buck who was absolutely a fan favorite during his two and a half years here. Mason’s a lunchpail kind of player, and I’m sure he’ll grow to be a favorite of head coach Larry Krystkowiak.

As a fan of the Bucks, I’ve been keeping a close eye on their efforts to re-sign point guard Mo Williams, and I’m encouraged by a recent report in the MJS that indicates the Bucks are closer than ever to keeping Mo as a member of the Bucks for the foreseeable future. As I see it, re-signing Mo Williams is the key to this offseason for the Bucks, simply because he means so much to this team. Mo really helped carry the Bucks when Redd was injured last year, and losing him to the Heat would be a real blow, considering there’s not really anyone left in free agency who’d be a suitable replacement.

If we re-sign Mo Williams, our backcourt of Michael Redd and Mo Williams will be just about as good as any in basketball, and with a healthy Charlie Villanueva in the frontcourt to go along with Andrew Bogut and Yi, we’ve got the makings of a quality squad. Now obviously the Bucks need to convince Yi that Milwaukee really is the place he wants to be, but I’m confident once he visits the city he’ll realize it’s the place he wants to be.

Edit: According to the MSJ, the Bucks have re-signed Mo Williams to a 6 year, 51 million dollar deal. Roughly 9 million per season for a quality point guard in his prime isn’t a bad deal, at least by my estimation.