In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates start with a big announcement: next week they’ll be recording the podcast live at the Greenbush Bar and Italian Workman’s Club on Regent Street and you’re invited. They’ll be joined by Tony Granato for a special recording of the Wisconsin Sportscast on Tuesday, September 9 from 6-7 pm. You can find more information at https://captimesideafest.com/wisconsin-sportscast/.

Meanwhile on the rest of the show, Micah Parsons was traded by the Cowboys to Green Bay last week. He’ll be wearing a #1 jersey, which is a bit of a rarity in Green Bay as the last player to wear that number was Curly Lambeau nearly 100 years ago. Oates figures that Curly would have to approve of Parsons taking that number, as with that one trade the Packers have moved up the list to one of the biggest superbowl contenders of the year. Yes, there is a little worry about his back, but he’s supposedly played through his injury before. Parsons was one of the best football players in all of the Big 10 when he played for Penn State and has continued to grow from there. The Parsons trade is big enough to overhaul the entire defense, Oates thinks, and you’d be stupid not to build it around him. But that doesn’t mean that Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness will be cast aside. Lucas thinks this will only uplift them both as all the pressure will be put on stopping Parsons, giving them a chance to shine. 

The price to get Parsons was steep: two first round draft picks and Kenny Clark plus his historic salary. Clark will certainly be missed, as he has been turning into a team leader in recent years. But he’s also turning 30 soon and this year will be his 10th in the NFL. That takes a real toll on a player, and while he’s still a great player he isn’t the difference maker that Parsons is. The Packers take on the Lions this Sunday, and if Green Bay shows up to compete it’ll be an interesting game to watch. While they do have a habit of not showing up for the first game of the season, it’s do or die for a championship this year and everyone in that locker room knows it. 

Moving to Badgers Football, Madison beat Miami over the weekend in what was an encouraging game to watch. That is, except for Billy Edwards getting hurt with a noncontact injury that’ll leave him out against Middle Tennessee this weekend. But what we did see from Edwards was impressive. He looked like a real experienced college football quarterback, making nice throws and having some good movement. The Badgers were equally impressive on defense, Oates thought, with guys like Mason Reiger making some seriously aggressive and explosive moves. There is real promise throughout the entire team as they stay in Madison to play Middle Tennessee this Saturday afternoon. 

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.