The Capital Times from Madison, Wisconsin • 29

Sports editor Adam Mertz 252-6474 In best interest of baseball' Who could've imagined '07 with Favre, without Vick? Leading up to the NFC divisional playoff matchup between the surprising No. 6 seed Atlanta Falcons and the home-standing favorite Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 11, 2003, the focus was squarely on the quarterbacks: the untamed stallion Michael Vick, who was coming off a shocking upset of the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field; and the old warhorse Donovan McNabb, who was coming back from a broken ankle. Rhapsodizing about the Vick mystique in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles salty defensive coordinator Jim Johnson observed, This guy is different. This guy is a special, special player.

The thing I see is that pressure doesnt bother him. People have blitzed and hes stayed right in the pocket and hes thrown the ball. Thats when you say, This guy has arrived. Johnson wasnt alone in that opinion. Nonetheless, Vicks arrival didnt necessarily signal Brett Favres departure.

But there were signs that the NFL was undergoing a changing of the guard, or the alpha quarterback, as the case maybe. Despite posting Pro Bowl numbers diming I the 2002 season, includ- ing a 61.9 completion VC percentage, 3,658 passing yards and 27 touchdown passes, Favre was still answering questions about his timetable for retirement. On Jan. 4, 2003, there was rampant speculation about Favres intentions following that crushing 27-7 loss to the Falcons in an NFC first-round playoff game. Favre had every reason to be depressed about the outcome knowing that it was the Packers first postseason loss ever at Lambeau Field.

Favre didnt address the media afterward, marking only the third time in his 11 Green Bay Please see LUCAS, page D4 AL BEHRMANASSOCIATED PRESS Milwaukee rookie pitcher Yovani Gallardo delivers against Cincinnati on Tuesday. Gallardo improved to 3-1 3-0 as a starter. He pitched 6 effective innings in the Brewers' 5-3 victory over the Reds. aDQairdl ami conuSm! Rookie pitcher improves to 3-0 in five starts Selig plans to see Bonds break mark By MIKE DIGIOVANNA Los Angeles Times SAN FRANCISCO For weeks, Bud Selig seemed unwilling to make a commitment to Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger whose pursuit of baseballs all-time home run record has been shrouded in controversy. Tuesday, the baseball commissioner went all-in, traveling to Park to attend Bonds games through Friday, a gesture that seemed more a tribute to one of sports most hallowed records than the man who is on the verge of breaking it.

Out of respect for the tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty, I will attend Barry Bonds next games to observe his potential tying and breaking of the home run record, Selig said in a statement. On Friday, Selig will travel to Cooperstown, N.Y., for Sundays Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, missing the Giants weekend games against the Florida Marlins. But if Bonds hasnt broken the record by Sunday, Selig said he would probably rejoin the home run chase Tuesday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. While record-holder Hank Aaron, who hit 755 home runs, has distanced himself from Bonds, Selig had remained at arms length from the player who remained stuck at 753 home runs after singling and walking in six plate appearances in Tuesday nights game, a 13-inning, 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Seligs refusal to say if he would be on hand for Bonds landmark Please see SELIG, page D4 Sam Feldman, 8, holds up a sign to wish the Giants' Barry Bonds a happy 43rd birthday during Tuesday's game against the Braves in San Francisco.

in DirecTV, the largest satellite TV provider. One of those conditions was that a distributor could submit disputes with News Corp. over the terms and conditions of carrying one of its RSNs to commercial arbitration. EchoStar claimed that after three months of negotiations, it has been unable to strike a carriage deal with Big Ten Network due to its insistence on unreasonable terms, including rates that are far above market, and its demand for nationwide carriage on EchoStars basic tier. 1 Although the Big Ten Network has held itself out as a national network, its programming, pricing structure and other aspects of its business model are consistent with an RSN, not with a national network, EchoStar said in its filing, Multichannel.com reported.

Big Ten Network is seeking monthly, per-subscriber license Please see NETWORK, page D4 Leaving DNR Hassett's idea, or Gov. Doyle's? manager Ned Yost said. It shows you those kids can find ways to get it done. He made the big pitch when he needed it. He also had a run-scoring single off Matt Belisle (5-7), who failed to make it out of the fourth inning.

The single came in handy for a team that was batting only .222 since the All-Star break, worst in the NL. -Scott Hatteberg broke the shutout with a run-scoring double in the seventh, and the Reds made it close against the Brewers bullpen. Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Derrick Turnbow, his 27th overall. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 32nd save in 35 chances, getting a momentary scare when Ken Griffey Jr. hit a high fly to the warning track in right field for the second out.

Prince Fielder had a run-scoring triple in the fourth and an RBI single in the ninth, when the Brewers had several extended at-bats and forced left-hander Mike Stanton to throw Please see BREWERS, page D2 By JOE KAY Associated Press CINCINNATI Once he slowed down, rookie Yovani Gallardo gave the Milwaukee Brewers more than they could have expected. Gallardo took a shutout into the seventh inning and revived Mil- BREWERS 5 waukees slump-REDS 3 ing offense with a run-scoring single Tuesday night, setting up a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Gallardo (3-1) pitched out of a bases-loaded threat in the first inning, then shut down a free-swinging lineup that leads the majors in homers. The right-hander limited the Reds to one run and six hits in 62A innings by mixing his 92 mph fastball and sharp curve. And he did it even though he was antsy at the outset.

In the first three innings, I was in too much of a hurry, Gallardo said. I was just trying to do too much Inside Biggio's memorable day Houston's Craig Biggio announces this season will be his last, then hits a grand slam vs. Dodgers D2 Cubs keep pace Chicago defeats St Louis 4-3 to remain three games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central D3 out there. After that, I just got back into a rhythm and got them swinging the bats. Milwaukee needs more of the same from the 21-year-old Gallardo, who moved back into the rotation this month after Ben Sheets went on the disabled list with an injured finger on his pitching hand.

Gallardo is 3-0 in five starts overall this season, and has shown a knack for getting outs even when his control is off. He wasnt exceptionally sharp, Big bucks for Bucks point guard DISH Network at odds with Big Ten Network Three governors and four secretaries of the Department of Natural Resources that is the count from 2001 through today, and there is no telling how high it will go. Gov. Jim Doyle made a surprise announcement last Friday that DNR Mfc'WSgfl secretary Scott Hassett had "I I decided to leave his post and that Doyle appointed I 2 the secretary of the Department of Corrections, Matt Frank, to replace Hassett as of Sept. 1.

The question is: Did the governor pull the trigger on Hassett or did Hassett really want to go? This is a pretty fast pace job and nationally someone in this position lasts about three years in this job and I made it five years, Hassett told me on Friday night. It was a good long run with the first couple of years a really exciting roll in, the next couple you realize that you are in a marathon, and when it gets to the fifth it is a slog and maybe I should think about other opportunities that are out there, he added. Hassett, with a background in journalism and law, said he was interested in what other possibilities are out there. He would like to have some freedom and may look at corporate boards. When asked about his thoughts on having the DNR in the cabinet system, in which the governor appoints the secretary rather than the way it was from 1927 to 1995 with the citizen board selecting the head of the agency, he said that he was going to give that some thought and would give a report to the governor.

With the DNR in the cabinet there is never any way of knowing for sure whether a natural resources decision, which should be based on the long-term, is based on decisions by the secretary or whether it is coming from the governors office, where such decisions can influence the next election. The change whether it was by Doyle or by Hassett comes at a bad time as the state Please see HASSETT, page D5 The Capital Times The Big Ten Network is drawing fire on a new front. EchoStar Communications, parent of satellite TV provider DISH network, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to declare the Big Ten Network a regional sports network, which would allow it to seek arbitration so that it can secure carriage of the service on reasonable terms, reported. EchoStar filed a 19-page petition with the FCC last Friday seeking expedited treatment regarding Big Ten Network, a joint venture that is 51 percent-owned by the Big Ten Conference and 49 percent-owned by Fox Cable, a unit of News Corp. EchoStar wants the FCC to declare the network, which launches next month, an RSN under the terms of the so-called 2004 News order.

That order set forth a number of conditions that News Corp. had to adhere in order to gain approval to acquire a stake Free agent point guard Mo Williams (left) made it official Tuesday when he re-signed with Bucks, inking a six-year deal worth $51.5 million. Williams opted to stay in Milwaukee despite being courted by Pat Riley and the Heat. 1 More in Sports Insider, D2. tsm.