Here\u2019s the worst thing about hiring Ken Macha (pronounced MAH-kuh). You\u2019re practically guaranteed to hear the Macarena<\/A> at Miller Park. It\u2019s a tragic development, one sure to encourage an epidemic of rhythmless gyration. Cue Herb Morrison.<\/A> Oh, the humanity.<\/A> And yet, the reward should be worth the suffering. Because Macha looks to be an excellent hire. The Milwaukee Brewers braintrust wanted three things from a new manager: big-league experience, a track record of success and an outsider\u2019s perspective. Macha succeeds on each of those fronts, plus a few more for good measure. He\u2019s not just a winner, but a winner in a small market. Oakland may seem<\/I> like a world away from Milwaukee, but from a baseball perspective, the two clubs share a lot more than being home to Miller Park.<\/A> Both franchises must rely on cultivating young talent and judicious payroll management. So it\u2019s a bonus that Macha, who guided the A\u2019s to two playoff appearances in four years, is already a proven commodity within small-market constraints. Moreover, Macha may be the cure for Milwaukee\u2019s second-half swoons. While the Brewers have that annoying habit of fading late in the season, Macha\u2019s teams have a reputation of finishing strong. And finally, Brewers fans who tired of Ned Yost\u2019s addiction to certain players (Rickie Weeks, anyone) will appreciate this quote from Macha\u2019s introductory press conference.<\/A> \u201cThe job of the manager is really not to be buddies with all the players,\u201d Macha said. \u201cYou have to make very difficult decisions over the course of a year.\u201d In other words, players under a Macha administration will be asked to perform. If they don\u2019t, they\u2019ll be asked to have a seat on the bench. If this bothers any of the Brewers, they weren\u2019t showing it.<\/A> <\/B>Reaction to the move has generally been positive. Well, except at this not-safe-for-work Web site,<\/A> which still exists from Macha’s days with Oakland. Apparently, seeing Macha fired wasn\u2019t enough. They\u2019re also stalking him to his new club. At least the FireNedYost<\/I><\/A> crew left their target alone after his departure. Makes you wonder what made them hate the man so much. Maybe the Macarena\u2019s more powerful than we think. In other news\u2026<\/B> Sveum Comes Home<\/B> Looks like time has healed Dale Sveum\u2019s chest wound,<\/A> and he\u2019s returning to the Brewers as the club\u2019s hitting coach.<\/A> Good for both sides. Sveum gets to stay with the team he loves, and the Brewers get some coaching continuity in the midst of change. That\u2019s even more important now that pitching coach Mike Maddux has bolted for a contract as big as Texas.<\/A> It also means that the Brewers keep the winningest manager in team history. Yep, Sveum\u2019s 7-5 managerial record, good for a .583 winning percentage, edges out Harvey Kuenn, who went 160-118 for a .576 mark. <\/B> Green and Gold<\/B> The surprising thing isn\u2019t that Green Bay locked up Aaron Rodgers<\/A> through 2014 for $65 million. It\u2019s that the move could surprise anyone at all. This was a done deal the moment Brett Favre rode off into that New York sunset. The only thing that could\u2019ve prevented it was Rodgers falling flatter than Kansas, and that certainly didn\u2019t happen. My friend Cliff Saunders, late of SportsRadio 1250, writes on his new Web site that Rodgers deserves the money.<\/A> And though I\u2019m not sure anyone can “deserve” $65 million on the strength of seven starts, when it comes to sports contracts, it\u2019s all relative. Remember, Dan Gadzuric is making $36 million over six years. Think Rodgers will be twice as valuable as him? RIP, Karl Kassulke<\/B> Milwaukee lost one of its football heroes last week with the passing of Karl Kassulke.<\/A> While Kassulke\u2019s exploits came well before my time, his story is timeless. Paralyzed by a bad motorcycle accident at the height of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, Kassulke remained ever the optimist. Former teammates Bob Lurtsema<\/A> and Carl Eller<\/A> were effusive in their praise for him. And he\u2019ll be remembered as one of the finest football players this city has produced. Off on the Right Hoof<\/STRONG> It\u2019s a fool\u2019s errand to judge an NBA team just four games into an 82-game season. But with 4.8 percent of the precincts reporting, the early returns look good for the Bucks. A season ago, Milwaukee won just seven of its 41 road games. This year\u2019s Bucks already have two such victories. (Which reminds me: The Bucks started their season on the road for the 24th straight year. Did Sen. Herb Kohl shoot the schedule-maker\u2019s dog? Steal his wife? Forget election-day fraud. The Justice Department should be investigating this.) Most promising is that at Saturday night\u2019s home-opener, a 91-87 loss to a stout Toronto team, there was an unfamiliar sight. Good team defense. Truthfully, the Bucks could\u2019ve won that game, too. Trailing by two late in the game, the Bucks needed to get off a good shot. Instead, they got a bad fall-away corner jumper by Michael Redd, who went to the Will Rogers school of shooting: He\u2019s never met one he hasn\u2019t liked. I asked coach Scott Skiles what was supposed to happen on the play, and his unhappy answer was succinct. \u201cNot that.\u201d Hmm… stay tuned. And finally\u2026<\/B> This just in. The Knicks are no longer the funniest thing in the NBA. That honor goes to a practical joke on Shaq.<\/A> Tune in every Tuesday morning during the 6 o\u2019clock hour when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM<\/A> <\/STRONG>for Tuesdays with Howie.<\/B> You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault.<\/A> I\u2019ll also chat with Mitch Teich on WUWM\u2019s Lake Effect Wednesday at 11 a.m. And don\u2019t forget to check out our new fitness column, Training with Tim.<\/A><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here\u2019s the worst thing about hiring Ken Macha (pronounced MAH-kuh). You\u2019re practically guaranteed to hear the Macarena at Miller Park. It\u2019s a tragic development, one sure to encourage an epidemic of rhythmless gyration. Cue Herb Morrison. Oh, the humanity. And yet, the reward should be worth the suffering. Because Macha looks to be an excellent hire. The Milwaukee Brewers braintrust wanted three things from a new manager: big-league experience, a track record of success and an outsider\u2019s perspective. Macha succeeds on each of those fronts, plus a few more for good measure. He\u2019s not just a winner, but a winner…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2760,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3196],"tags":[417],"class_list":["post-12629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sportsnut","tag-sportsnut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2760"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n