In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, college football season is finally here as the Badgers return to Camp Randall on Thursday night to take on the Miami RedHawks. It’s been a while since the Badgers last played on a Thursday night, but their last Thursday game was memorable. That was the game dubbed by Lucas as “The Shoebox Game,” when just a few hours before kickoff the team announced that over two dozen players had been suspended. They still beat Western Michigan that night, or at least survived. This Thursday, though, should feel a little better for the Badgers. Oates will be especially watching their defense, which while mostly new to the team is full of veterans and going up against a mostly new offensive line from Miami. The Badgers won’t have, however, Nyzier Forqurean, as he’s still tied up in the courts. Maybe if he had played at a junior college for a year, he’d be on the field Thursday night…

Speaking of college football, Fox’s College Game Day will look a little different this year without Lee Corso. Corso is retiring, and Lucas anticipates the tributes to him will be a little emotional. Corso’s been with the program for decades; for many people he IS the program. He’s something college football really needs: a character. He was a very good coach at various programs over the years, even with a career losing record. But he was equal parts goofy while wearing mascot heads and super sharp about the game of football. His presence will be missed.

Speaking of tributes, the Brewers held their celebration of life for Bob Uecker on Sunday. Even though Trevor McGill blew the game at the end, the entire broadcast was a great tribute to one of the only universally beloved figures in Wisconsin. Even Vince Lombardi was respected, but not loved. Uecker loved to make people laugh, and while everyone loved the bad games when he’d tell his stories he was still one of the best people you want in the booth calling a baseball game. Uecker was originally hired as a scout for the team after his on the field career ended, but he wasn’t suited for that. Everyone in Wisconsin can agree that his role was in the broadcast booth. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates are taking in a change of scenery at the Greenbush Bar! During this live show at our wonderful sponsor, it’s all about success for the Brewers, the Packers, and the Badgers. 

Recording on Tuesday evening before the second Brewers/Cubs game of the day, Milwaukee is no longer in their historic winning streak but that doesn’t mean they aren’t playing well. Maybe too well, says some pundits, who fear that they’re peaking too early and will fall apart in the offseason. Now, it’s a little too early to be talking about magic numbers, but Oates isn’t concerned. Teams have stretches of good and bad play, and if you can get on a hot streak you take it when you can. Nobody was expecting them to continue their lossless streak forever. But now with Jackson Chourio and Rhys Hoskins about to come back from injury, Lucas and Oates think they’re only going to get hotter. They play baseball the way it used to be played: very fast and with a lot of manufactured runs. Their offense is turning on in a major way, and they excel at putting the ball in play. Even when they don’t hit, they’re also excelling at taking a lot of pitches and wearing down a pitcher. 

What would be success for the Brewers? Oates says an appearance at the World Series is what should be expected. Like a lot of Wisconsin sports teams, they’ve been able to get to the playoffs, but then fall apart. They need to make it all the way to the end this year, whether they win or not.

Turning to the Packers now, Jordan Love is back on the field and throwing passes after his thumb surgery. What would a successful season for Green Bay look like? Some sort of playoff success, Oates says. They too have been able to reliably get into the playoffs, but they always seem to fall apart. They’ve had good teams with great quarterbacks, but they just haven’t been able to go that extra step. It’ll be a big year for both Love and Matt LaFleur as they both try to prove that they deserve to be there.

Finally, what would success look like for the Badgers football team? Well, we can’t really expect them to have playoff success like the Packers or Brewers. But they need to make it to a bowl game this year. If they can do that and end up with a 6-6 record, that should be looked at positively. It should be a rebuild year for Madison this year, hopefully one without an air raide offense…

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the Packers had their first preseason game over the weekend, it was a disappointment. Not only did they lose and look unready to play, but Jordan Love was hurt and will be missing the rest of the preseason. He had surgery earlier this week on his thumb, though he should be ready to go by the opener. While that’s about the best possible news you could get when you hear “starting quarterback” and “surgery” in the same sentence, it’s still some cause for concern. He had a few injuries last year, but none of them were recurring. When you have several separate injuries, it just means he’s getting hurt, Oates says. It’s when someone has recurring injuries when people should be concerned. 

Love isn’t the only injured player on the Packers roster. Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Romeo Doubs all also went down with various injuries. If Matthew Golden had any worries about playtime this year, those worries should be put to rest. Reed is the biggest worry of the bunch, Oates says. He might be the Packers best receiver, and not having him at the season opener will hurt a lot. 

Of course, the Brewers remain the talk of the town. They still hold the best league in all of baseball, and it’s starting to feel like they just can’t lose (though this podcast was recorded Tuesday evening before they took on Paul Skenes and the Pirates). Pat Murphy had a good way of describing the team: woodpeckers. They just keep going and going and driving you nuts. One of their biggest concerns at the beginning of the year was hitting, especially at the bottom of the lineup, and now they are scoring 4-5 runs a game reliably without a ton of power. They’re a team that’s really learned how to just put the ball in play, something that comes in handy when you can’t afford any of the league's big name sluggers. Al LaBouef is the team's head hitting coach, and has contributed greatly to turning the team into a persistent powerhouse. He coached most of the guys in the minors, so most of the team is already highly familiar with him. What he’s done is make a team that creates a ton of fun-to-watch at bats. Are Brewers fans getting maybe a little too excited? Maybe, but what you can’t say is that the team getting to where they are now is nothing but a fluke. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the 2025 College Football Coaches Poll is out, and it isn’t looking good for the Badgers. Not only did they not get any votes (which shouldn’t be much of a surprise after last season), but the list is full of their opponents this season. Ohio State and Penn State came in at number 2 and 3, and in total over half the teams they play this year are in the top 25. We knew it was going to be a tough schedule, and we can really only expect the Badgers to be favored in just a few games to begin the season. After that, every game will be a fight. But maybe don’t look at them as tough games, but opportunities!

Meanwhile in the NFL, Packers Cornerback Nate Hobbs will be out for a little bit after undergoing knee surgery. Some pundits are saying he might be back in time for the opener against Detroit in about a month, but Lucas is doubtful. Hobbs is a very physical guy, something the Packers will really be needing in those first few games. That leaves them with Keisean Nixon, who is not exactly a veteran player. Between him, Carrington Valentine, and a returning Corey Ballentine, they’ll certainly be missing Jaire this year… They’ll play their first preseason game this weekend, and LaFleur is still unsure if the starters will actually play. Oates hopes they do. As long as you use them lightly so they don’t get hurt, it’ll be a chance for them to get their feet wet and get back into the rhythm of play.

Finally, the Brewers remain the best team in Major League Baseball as of recording on Tuesday evening. Now, the Brewers have not had the best record in baseball at the end of the season since 1982 when they went to the World Series. It’s still a little ways away and it’s impossible to say what’ll happen, but they’ve been playing some great ball. They’re a quiet team that everyone had written off after losing Adames and Williams, Oates says, but they’re playing some great ball. Add in a guy like Andrew Vaughn, and Milwaukee has a real shot. If they can stay healthy. Both Jackson Churio and their ace The Miz are hurt, though Oates isn’t too concerned. At least with The Miz, he speculates that this is more of a “save the arm for October” type of break. No one will complain about that, especially with the depth the Brewers have in both their starting pitchers and their bullpen. Maybe the secret lies in the snacks that manager Pat Murphy has been hiding in his pants pockets…  

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates start by remembering Ryne Sandberg, who passed this week at the age of 65. A Hall of Famer with 10 All Star Team invites, 9 Golden Gloves, and hundreds of stolen bases, Oates calls him a quiet professional. He wasn’t particularly showy and not a loud mouth, he was a linchpin in a group of players who helped revive the Cubs. He even had a game named after him, the Sandberg Game back in 1984, when he famously helped the Cubs beat the Cardinals in extra innings. He was a player that everyone could respect, even Brewers and Cardinals fans. That’ll be on display Tuesday night, when the Brewers hold a moment of silence in his honor ahead of their game against the Cubs. 

Speaking of the Brewers, they made their first big move ahead of the trade deadline on Monday by acquiring catcher Danny Jansen. A Wisconsin native, Jansen attended Appleton West High School before being drafted to the Blue Jays in 2013. His addition means that means that Eric Haase is going to have to go. He caught lightning in a bottle last year, but this season just hasn’t been working out for him. Add in the fact that William Contreras is the type of guy who doesn’t like to sit out, he just doesn’t fit in with the team. 

The trade deadline is just days away now, and the one big question on everyone's mind is: will the Brewers get their power hitter. The big name being thrown around is Eugenio Suárez, but can they actually make that kind of move? Lucas says no way, but Oates thinks that they’ll be at least trying. They better try at the very least, if the team is truly serious about getting more than a few games into the postseason.

Finally, moving away from baseball, a former Badger Football player is getting a big payday: Jake Ferguson has signed a $52 million four-year extension with the Dallas Cowboys. He is now the highest paid tight end in Cowboys franchise history, and hey, he deserves it. He’s being rewarded for a great career. He has a big catch radius, he runs well, he’s smart and he’s competitive. Sure, tight ends might not be the most recognizable names on the roster, but they are beginning to be paid like they should be better recognized. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Oates is away on assignment, so former Wisconsin State Journal Sports Editor Bill Brophy joins Lucas to talk about what everyone is talking about these days: the Brewers. As of recording on Tuesday evening, the Brewers are on an 11 game winning streak and currently hold the best record in all of baseball. At 60-40, they have also overtaken the Cubs NL Central leaders after months of chasing. Brophy gives the credit to Pat Murphy, who he calls a true old school manager. He isn’t afraid to sit guys out when they aren’t doing too hot or have a conversation with them about changes that need to be made. Just look at Joey Ortiz, who before the All Star Break was struggling to hit the ball and is now starting to find contact after changing up his stance. 

The Brewers have a lot of great athletes top to bottom, even if they are still lacking a real power hitter. Even without that power hitter though, their starting rotation is strong enough that as long as they can get a few on the board they have a real chance at winning. Brophy was sent to Arizona during spring training this year, so he got a chance to see some of the relatively unknown names that now make up the lineup, including Jacob Misiorowski. Did Brophy think he would turn into The Miz, a star so big he gets recognized buying toilet paper? No way, he says. Even he was taken by surprise by his performance in the majors so far. Then you add in Brandon Woodruff, who seems to have gotten even better after his surgery, and the Brewers might have one of the best pitching rotations in baseball. 

Still, they need that big bat, and with the trade deadline just around the corner some names have been thrown around. But then who do you replace? Lucas thinks Caleb Durbin will have to be the one to go. He’s been a good asset at 3rd base, but if someone needs to go it’ll likely be him. Is there a lot of baseball yet to be played? Of course there is. As Pat Murphy put it, it’s still July. But for now, Brewers fans can celebrate a little bit at the very least. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the MLB Home Run Derby was Monday night to mixed reviews. Cal Raleigh won the event and remains one of the top hitters in all of baseball. It was a family affair for the Big Dumper, with both his father pitching to him and his brother catching behind him. Over 20 years ago, the event was held at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and none other than Tom Oates was there (he has the newspaper column the next day with his byline to prove it). In addition to almost getting nailed with a fly ball during batting practice, Oates made some prophetic statements after the 2002 on the state of steroid usage at the time. Thankfully, that part of the sport has mostly cleared up. 

Tuesday night was the All Star Game (taking place after the recording of this podcast), and Brewers pitcher Jacob Mizerowski is continuing to make headlines with his addition to the team. The problem is that this time, most of the headlines are negative, with people agree that a pitcher with only five starts under his belt made it to the All Star Game. Oates understands the anger a little bit, after all some players try their entire career to be asked to join the game. But at the end of the day, the All Star Game is a TV show, not a game that will decide who’s going to the playoffs. If the fans want to see the Miz (guess what, they do), then why not have him in the game! 

Meanwhile, the rest of the team in Milwaukee is staying red hot, putting the most wins on the board before the All Star Break in their entire franchise history. Both Lucas and Oates admit, they’re a little surprised. Go back a handful of episodes on this very podcast, and you’ll find them wondering whether or not the team did enough in the offseason. They didn’t make any big, splashy moves, but that doesn’t seem to matter. They have one of the best pitching teams in all of baseball right now, and even if their hitting isn’t on fire it’s still clearly doing enough. Oates gives the kudos to the front office, for everything from team culture to player acquisition and development. They’ll be just one game behind the Cubs coming out of the All Star Break, and hopefully they make some splashy moves then. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the Brewers stay hot as Jacob Misiorowski returns to the mound Tuesday evening to go head-to-head against the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw. The Miz had a small hiccup against the Mets, but it’ll still be exciting to see him take on an elite pitcher like Kershaw. Kershaw’s been around for a long time, recently passing 3,000 strikeouts, maybe one of the last to do it considering how starting pitchers are used today. But while the hype still hasn’t died down for The Miz, the next few games he pitches will be really telling. Now that he has a few starts under his belt in the majors, teams are starting to watch him and make a plan on how to deal with him. Whatever happens, his hype and the return of the great Brandon Woodruff makes for exciting baseball. 

The Brewers are playing great all around, and Woodruff’s big win over the weekend really gave the team the shot in the arm that they need. Everyone is starting to hit the ball really well, and putting some real power behind those hits. Add in Woodruff throwing 96 mph fastballs in his first return to the mound in nearly two years, and it’s hard not to get excited. Woodruff has had eight years in the majors, all of them with the Brewers, and he’s someone who’s well liked and respected in the locker room. The Brewers are a young team these days, and having veteran leaders like Woodruff and Christian Yelich around are important to building up the team. When you mix veteran leaders with competitive and winning young guys, like Turang and Frelick, you have a real recipe for success. 

Freddy Peralta, meanwhile, will be heading to Georgia after he was selected to play in the All-Star Game. In theory, at least. He also might be pitching for the Brewers this weekend, which would make it difficult for him to also throw in the All-Star Game, but that just means another pitcher would go in his stead. The Home Run Derby will also take place next week, and the lineup is not looking too impressive. Of course, the Home Run Derby is not the main focus of the year, and all the real top hitters are likely resting up so that they can focus on winning games. But speaking of Home Run Derbys, the Brewers will be hosting an alumni Home Run Derby later this month with Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez playing team captains. There are some… interesting names on the list of players that they can pick from, but it’ll still be fun to watch some of the older guys get out there and hit some home runs. But what will the fans think of Ryan Braun when he returns to Milwaukee? Have they forgiven him for his mistakes, and for covering up those mistakes? Or will he get the Brett Favre treatment? 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the Bucks made a series of moves in recent days, maybe most disappointingly releasing Dame Lillard. He was a 2024 All Star MVP and played 113 games with Milwaukee, an undeniable great player! But not a great fit for Milwaukee, Oates thinks. You can’t have two ball-dominant superstars on one team. Add in the fact that he will be out most of next season, is approaching 35, and would cost too much for the Bucks, and it’s no real surprise that he’s out. In his place is Myles Turner off the heels of an NBA Finals appearance. He has to be happy, as without Haliburton the Pacer will not be nearly as competitive next year. Turner was signed on a four year contract, and at 29 he’s exactly what the Bucks need: young and athletic. Unfortunately, the Bucks also had to lose a few more players, namely Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton. Lopez was great in his prime, but has slowed down in recent years. And Connaughton is a bit of a fan favorite, but doesn’t have the ability to keep up with the Doc Rivers Bucks. Will the team be good enough for Giannis to be happy? No, Oates says, they aren’t a winning team quite yet. Lucas says they need one more good player to really round things out and be competitive. 

In a whirlwind of other basketball news, Nigel Hayes-Davis is back playing in America after he signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns. Hayes improved in his time in Wisconsin, and seems to have improved more in Europe, so it’ll be great to see him play in the NBA. He’ll certainly have some play time, it’s not like the Suns are a particularly competitive team these days anyways. Over in Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has signed a massive $71 million contract with the team. Is it excessive? Yes, but will it actually help the Thunder next year (if they do in fact need help after winning a title)? Big money contracts can hamper a team, making it more difficult to find guys who can lift up those big money players. Just look at the Bucks! Finally, a handful of Badgers are NBA bound. John Tonje is going to Utah after he was picked in the second round, and Steven Crowl will play in their summer league this year. Do either have a chance to actually see some playtime? Maybe, but not right away. 

Finally, the Brewers offensive is heating up again, and so is their shiny new pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. Not only can The Miz throw good heat, but his throws have some movement to them too. It’s one thing to throw a 100 mph pitch right down the middle, it’s a lot harder to hit one that’s moving around on you. There were concerns about his pitch control when he first came up, and those concerns aren’t completely gone, but as long as he isn’t walking five guys every inning, we won’t complain. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the Wisconsin Badgers football team announced that they are suing the University of Miami. They’re accusing the school of tampering with the Badgers’ signing of Xavier Lucas, who supposedly already signed a contract with Wisconsin before being called away to Miami. What do those contracts look like? Who knows, the schools are all pretty secretive about the whole deal. But the NCAA and the Big 10 are certainly backing Wisconsin in this fight. A legal win for Wisconsin would give some validity to signed contracts and might even give the NCAA some teeth in fighting school hopping and poaching of student athletes from any college sport. But, it could also lead to issues down the road for the NCAA too, as pretty soon it would be hard to argue that the players aren’t employees, and employees can unionize, and we know the NCAA doesn’t want that. But while we don’t know how strong these contracts are exactly, they have to be strong enough for Wisconsin to think they have a chance here. The bottom line is this though: we’ll have to wait for the courts to do their thing and Lucas isn’t playing in Wisconsin no matter what. 

Meanwhile in the NBA, Oklahoma City beat the Pacers to take home the national championship after Tyrese Haliburton went out with a torn achilles. He’ll likely be out at least most of next season, which means another top NBA player is out with injuries. The best players in the league are out here suffering, Oates says, and the owners need to really think about toning down their schedule a bit. Just look at how many Bucks playoff runs have been derailed due to bad injuries, including just this year! Meanwhile, the “experts” sitting behind a broadcast booth on national TV were accusing Haliburton of faking it to get out of playing in the finals, because what competitor would want to sit out of a national championship game? 

But that’s the past, and in the near future of the NBA is the draft, taking place this week. The first two spots are likely already taken by Cooper Flag and Dylan Harper, but the rest of the spots are anyone’s guess. Where does that leave John Tonje? Oates thinks he’s a second round pick, and while that doesn’t guarantee any sort of future in the NBA he thinks he has a good chance. He’s a versatile player who can hit three’s, so hopefully someone can find a long-term home for him. 

Finally, there’s set to be a great matchup at American Family Field Wednesday night as two of the top young pitchers go head-to-head: Jacob Misiorowski and Paul Skenes. If you can catch the game, it will be a great one to watch. Misiorowski only has two games under his belt so far, but they’ve been more than impressive. Skenes, meanwhile, is more proven even with a not so great team. The matchup is great for the entire sport, Lucas says, but even more so for the Brewers as their hitting begins to wake up only a few games behind the Cubs. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.