The Packer defense was taking some heat. After a subpar performance for much of last sason...they came out and laid a stinker on us last Sunday. They responded last night though with a dominating performance against the Bears. 4 interceptions & seven sacks...plus they took Brandon Marshall completely out of the game. DJ Smith had a big game and Clay Mathews looks like he's ready to be a beast again this season. Other notes:

The fake field goal was totally unexpected especially from that far out.

The NFL Network played up the "hatred" in this rivalry. I don't believe the players buy into to all this stuff. It's the fans and media that drive this "hatred" angle. I think most players want to perform well regardless of the opponent and stay healthy each week. I do think they buy into the importance of it being a division game but this whole "I hate the Bears" or "I hate the Packers" stuff is largely fan & media driven.

The replacement refs were awful again. The biggest problem is what they don't call and defenders will continue to hold and grab receivers as much as they can. But yes, you can challenge a penalty that wasnt called (the twelve men on the field rule) even though it seems weird to be able to do that. Bill Belicek did it in a Super Bowl once.

The Brewers return to action tonight against the Mets at Miller Park. Corey Hart hopes to be back in the lineup this weekend. The Brewers are 31/2 back of the Cardinals after St. Louis beat LA last night. The Phillies also lost.

High school football Friday night and both the DC Everest Evergreens and Wausau East Lumberjacks will look at winnable games tonight. You can hear both games on Foxsports1390...first up Appleton West at DC Everest and then Kaukauna at Wausau East.

Songs of The Day   (from my I-pod)

Keeper Of The Castle-Four Tops (1972) featuring the voice of the great Levi Stubbs...love that wah-wah guitar

Keeping My Eye On You-Michael Franks (1993) from a very under-rated album called 'Dragonfly Summer" Franks scores again with a mellow, jazzy collection of tunes including this duet with Dan Hicks