You know you're a Madison Mallards' intern when:

You know you’re a Madison Mallards’ intern when:

-You paint everything green, well, “Old Virginia Green” to be exact, and by the first week you’ve changed the words to an LL Cool J song, saying, “You down with OVG? Yeah, you know me.”

-You’ve done three complete circles around the ballpark’s perimeter in trying to find one of the team’s two drills for your project. When that fails you paint something green.

-You’ve named the team’s four-wheeler, “Tammy,” and often use walkie-talkies to sing out phrases like, “Has anyone seen Tammy?” and “I hope Tammy isn’t cheating on me.”

-You move so many kegs that you tweak muscles you never knew existed in the human body. But knowing that so many thousands of people depend on you, and your frothy beverages, you no longer feel pain. “Go on beer man, do your thing,” the people chant.

-You lock your keys in your car prior to donning the Maynard G. Mallard costume for eight hours to go business-to-business with a local radio station. Now that’s a predicament where having a mascot head nearby is handy. Moreover, it’s much less embarrassing when a human-sized duck locks his keys in his car.

-You’ve driven the rented mechanical lift so much that you fantasize about taking it through the Culver’s drive-through just down Northport Drive.

-You’ve had the opportunity to experience home openers for two different baseball organizations.

-You wake up in cold sweats after hearing someone whisper “Hex Head Bit” over and over again. Then you realize it was just you.

-You now love ballpark food, whether you like it or not. And you now know how to make a chicken sandwich 42 different ways. Ever try a Cuban Chicken Sammy?

-You’ve sprayed the ballpark’s pavement enough times that you A) could draw the park’s drainage patterns blind-folded, and B) probably have athlete’s foot. I’d probably be concerned about the former.

-You laugh at your so-called “9-5” friends and family members, as they don’t know that the fun really begins at 7:05 p.m.

-In your first month you bought a cape; went to a craft store; drove to Wisconsin Dells in a 1985 Dodge Minivan, aptly called “Big Blue”; taped a little league game; made an appearance as Maynard in a John Deere commercial; and drove to 170 miles to Wausau to catch a glimpse of the Mallards.

-You probably have bled on the job or have had near severe sunburn. Hey, you win some and you lose some.

Stay tuned Mallards fans...

Ahh, the off-season...that time of the year during which our beloved Mallards baseball season is ripped from us & we're left in a state of shock until we begin planning (already started) for the next round of fun in 2010.

Alas, we do have good news to report; the next round of blogs by the Mallards front office is set to return in a few weeks to provide a look into all of the happenings that are taking place at the "Duck Pond," including a German-themed Octoberfest dubbed "Ducktoberfest" that will take place at the ballpark on Saturday, October 3rd from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the ballpark. This special event will include a mix of live music, cold beer, soda, brats, and tons of kids activities in the outfield!

Also, the Mallards annual Fantasy Football Draft is just around the corner & we'll be glad to provide the occasional bantor & zings at each other as we trudge through the football season.

Be sure to stay tuned to Mallardsbaseball.com all off-season as well, as we recap the 2009 season and look ahead to all of the exciting projects in the works for next summer. Your input is always appreciated, so please shoot us a comment if you feel moved.

We'll be in touch soon!

Kelsey Van Ackeren - Merchandise Intern - Blog

So I guess it’s my turn to try and figure out what to write for my blog and I am little late past my deadline but today just seems like the perfect day for me to finish it and get it done and over with. We had a game last night and we ended up losing to Battle Creek 5-3. The guys are away playing in Duluth today and activities around the duck pond aren’t as busy as they normally would be as compared to game days so I have some time to do finish it. First off I will let you know a little bit about myself and who I am before I begin to ramble on about who knows what because I usually have a tendency to do that from time to time. My name is Kelsey Van Ackeren and I am from St. Cloud, Minnesota and I go to the University of Minnesota-Crookston and my major is Sport and Recreation Management. No one really knows where Crookston is except for Dogger because of course he has been there and he knows where everything is, but for those of you that do not know where it is it is way up in the northwestern corner of Minnesota. I map quested it just out of curiosity to see how far it was from Madison and it says its about 9 hours and 22 minutes from Madison, give or take. There is another Kelsey in the office who was an intern from last year so in the beginning of the summer we quickly figured out that one of us was going to need a nickname. We tried a few different ones until we settled with the perfect one for me which is K-deuce or K2. I decided that I wanted to venture out this summer and see what the Madison Mallards were all about and luckily got an internship as the souvenir/merchandise intern. I soon came to realize that the Mallards are way above and beyond anything that I had expected. The team and organization is on a totally different level then any other team in the Northwood’s league and it is probably one of the coolest experiences I have ever had or I think will ever have and I love being apart of it.

I was a little nervous come out to Madison all by myself not knowing anyone or knowing where anything was. And after getting lost about a million times, running out of gas on my way to work, using map quest I am starting to figure out where everything is and what streets are which, or I at least know how to get to and from my apartment and to the malls of course. As far as not knowing anyone, that is definitely not the case. Everyone that works at the ballpark and especially the Mallards staff have become kind of like a second family. This internship requires you to be at the ballpark a lot and when you have people that you can laugh with and love to be around it makes the time go by ten times faster. I know that I have met some pretty cool people and will continue my relationships with them when the summer comes to an end.

As far as the internship side of things, I work a lot on my own folding, and cleaning, and organizing, as well as taking inventory on all the merchandise and making sure everything is ready to go for game time. You can either find me in the main souvenir stand or the Duckwear Depot jamming out to the radio as loud as it can go on a country station which everyone loves so much, especially Nick. Nick is my supervisor and I definitely keep him on his toes and he keeps me in line. I can tell you pretty much everything and anything about the style, size, and color of any t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hat. I usually take care of online orders every morning which is one of my favorite parts of the day so that I can be around the people that are in the office and get my daily Mallard gossip in for the day.

I am so happy that I am in Madison for the summer. It’s been the best summer of my life. This internship has taught me so many things that I am going to be able to use in the future. I have learned a lot about what it takes to run a baseball team and seeing everything that goes into it, it’s pretty amazing.

Here are some highlights so far:
Driving the hot pink and lime green jeep around when I went to go run errands and try and find office depot and the vacuum store.
Going to Lacrosse on a road trip and then Ryan hitting Dan in the nose with the ball when he wasn’t looking or ready and breaking it.
Girls trip to Green Bay with John.
Listening and singing to country EVERYDAY, and everyone hating it which makes me do it even more.
Tarping is always a fun time.
Mallards TMZ
pressing numbers and names on the back of shirts…NOT
always trying to make Amie snort
answering is always a good time and trying to take ticket orders

J-Rod's 7th Post: A Quick Sneak-peak at the upcoming season (with a random head shot of Asst. Coach Jason Immekus)

It is hard to believe that Opening Day is less than one week away. I must say the Operations Interns & their respective managers have really done a nice job getting everything ready seemingly earlier than usual, even with the number of ballpark improvements increasing at a high-rate this year. We hope ballpark improvements have a positive correlation with our fans' overall satisfaction upon visiting the "Duck Pond" during the summer as they give you experiences you never thought you'd be able to enjoy while watching a baseball game.

I mean, we're installing a beach (yes, a beach) just outside of the left-field corner to serve as just another means of enjoyment for kids during games when they're not bouncing in "Big Maynard," trying to show up dad at the speed pitch, or hitting the "floating" baseball at the t-ball machine.

On top of that, if you can text (or parents; have your kids teach you) and find yourself hungry at the ballpark, you'll love another addition to 2009: the ability to text your orders to Maynard's from any location in the ballpark & only have to show up once your order is ready. Why should you have to miss any part of the game while waiting for your food? Simply text your order (according to codes posted in the ballpark) to 608.622.EATS (3287) and we'll respond back with an approximate wait time, which averages less than 15 min. Once you've paid for your food at the window, it's time to enjoy the freshest and biggest portions in all of the park. Eat up!

Moving to the Great Dane Duck Blind, the addition of 200 actual seats should put a smile on a lot of people's faces. The key three words we keep stressing is that "capacity is unaffected" because it's important to note that we're not just adding more seating to allow more people to experience the Duck Blind. This area is constantly evolving, and your suggestions are always helpful. If you're able to grab a spot in the field-level addition, you're going to want to bring a glove because it feels like you're standing behind the first baseman.

Switching gears, about 15 players reported today, which further means that the baseball season is upon us. It's always fun to see the guys' first reactions when they step onto this field for the first time. In talking to them year after year, the cool thing they're most excited about is usually playing in front of 6,000-plus fans and the electricity that surrounds Mallards baseball. To be honest, they could care less about the team's 2004 Northwoods League Championship, or how this team has been ultra-competitive the past 4 seasons. They want to experience minor league baseball in a major league playoff type atmosphere. And yet, we're neither of those things.

This Wednesday, the Mallards will host the Swedish National Baseball Team at 6:05 p.m. at the Duck Pond. It'll be interesting to see how their style and the American style of baseball are both alike and yet different. We hope to see you out there...and if not, remember, Opening Day is THIS Monday against the Rochester Honkers. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.! Great seats are still available too I'm hearing.

Here's to a great season! And by the way, beginning in mid-June, we're going to turn Maynard's Musings over to the interns to get their thoughts on working for the Mallards and share a story or two. Consider it to be a glimpse into a facet of the team that is certainly underrated at times.

Liz's Blog #15 ???

So it is my time to blog even though I feel like I have done 15 of these things and it is becoming my monthly English paper, which reminds me how much I do NOT miss homework, tests, or school projects. Although I have always enjoyed learning, the work that came with many classes was not something I enjoyed.

So I spent my last blog comparing softball greats to baseball legends and it appears that it was read by 10 people, 7 of the 10 who were in our office so I guess it was not that exciting of a topic for most people, or maybe, everyone is just waiting for more creative blogs. With that being said I will spend most of this blog updating you on what is going on in this office.

Today, we had three meetings at the office...the meetings were all at 1pm which made it very interesting since we only have 2 conference rooms. Jerrad toughed it out and made use of the copy room/back-up office and since I sit adjacent to that room I heard most of the meeting. I don’t get into too many corporate meetings but I have to say Jerrad is becoming quite the pro. He was thinking on his feet, coming up with new ideas specific to the company needs and was ready to wheel and deal. As the meeting wrapped up, nothing was set in stone but I think Jerrad did a nice job laying the ground work for future meetings.

Also today, Kevin, who is on his first full day back from vacation, had a jammed-pack schedule. He had two school appearances to discuss the reading program and Nick was filled with joy as he was able to wear the mascot custom twice in one day! Kevin also had to run to Madison Computer Works to get his computer; we seem to have bad computer luck in this office. I am personally on my third computer, John, Nick and Kevin are on their second (remember Kevin has only worked here one full year so that is pretty impressive) and Jerrad has gone through so many computers he is using his own personal computer!!! Mike is still on computer number one, but had to get it re-hauled this fall and at that time he had only worked here a week!

John is another one that took a March vacation, just like I did. John is on his second day back from vacation and has been pretty quiet. While he was on vacation to Las Vegas John got married, at least that is what the infamous Facebook has led me to believe. He hasn’t said much about it, but based on the pictures it was a very nice ceremony.

I was in Vegas as well; I met up with some college friends and enjoyed the warm weather, expensive drinks and unlucky tables at The Mirage. I did find some luck at New York New York and Binions so it saved the trip from being a total loss!

While I was on vacation Mike celebrated his 28th birthday... I have yet to ask him what he did, I guess that means I am probably not a very good co-worker. Well, I am going to end this blog so I can ask Mike how his birthday was and add a few more things to Steven’s To-Do-List.

Until next time….

My favorite time of the year - Part II - Nick

In my last entry I had went ahead and made some predictions about the NCAA Tournament. After an almost nauseating weekend of watching basketball (by the way I did take Friday off), it looks like the four teams I predicted to still be alive at this point include: North Carolina, Villanova, Oklahoma and UConn.

I have enjoyed watching most of the games so far but it is a bit disappointing to not have a Cinderella in it, I mean you could consider Arizona a Cinderella team, but I think they will get knocked out by Louisville this week. As for the Badgers, they made a great run at, but it seems they found their match against Xavier. They played a game we all became used to this year, as they could not hit a shot down the stretch. Oh well maybe next year; I am excited to actually have a big man in the post with Ian Markoff.

Another reason this is my favorite time of year is that I get to golf, well at least when I have time during the summer. The past couple summers the Corporate Sales guys have been able to set up deals with Bridges and The Oaks golf courses. This is a nice opportunity to go out after work on a non-game day, drink a few beers and be absolutely frustrated as hell, yet still have a great time.

I could never figure out why people continually go out and golf yet never really get better because they can not dedicate the time on the range and the course. Every once in a while you get in a zone and surprise yourself. I managed to shoot +1 on the front nine at the Bridges, sinking 3 birdie putts of over 30 ft., yet playing the back nine first I shot +10. How does someone manage to turn around their game in that short amount of time? It’s perplexing and I think it’s the challenge of trying to get better even though deep down you know you won’t get better.

I have actually only been golfing for 13 years. I was turned on to the game by my cousin. I rented a set of clubs and went out with him one summer day and was hooked from there. I proceeded to start to look for clubs. For all you avid golfers you know how expensive clubs can be. I skimmed the classifieds trying to find a decent set of used clubs. I finally came a across a set of clubs that included a cart, balls and tees for $50! I knew that they weren’t going to be anything fancy, but the “rents” and I decided to go look at them. It turned out to be an elderly couple selling them because they were getting too old to golf anymore. I thought this was perfect, all except for one thing... the set was actually a woman’s set! I was pretty short and had always heard that people who were shorter would actually fit better with a woman’s set. Well I did end up purchasing the set.

Going into my freshman year of high school I decided I wanted to go out for the golf team. I went to a pretty small school (Kewaskum, WI) and everyone made the team. I was just happy I got to golf for free and hang out with friends. Well in high school image is everything. I still had the women’s set of clubs and they distinctly said “Lady King” on the heads of all the clubs. I decided I would put black electrical tape on all the heads where it said “Lady King”. This worked for awhile until one day one of my friends said “What is the black tape for”? Well he decided to pull it off and saw the words “Lady King”. Well there went my image! My next birthday my parents bought me a brand new set of “Men’s” clubs. It was kind of embarrassing, but I managed to play golf all four years of high school.

During high school I was so infatuated with golf that I found jobs where I immersed myself into the sport. The summers of my freshman and sophomore years I actually worked at a golf course in the restaurant kitchen washing dishes. This was probably one of the worst jobs I had, but it had the perk of free golf. I can’t tell how many days I went out in the morning golfed 18 holes and came back in the afternoon and golfed another 18 holes…..Man those were the days!

The summer of my junior year I actually caddied at a swanky country club in West Bend, WI. Again I found any way to surround myself with golf. Most days at the club all the caddies ended up playing cards waiting to be called to go out. I learned a lot of new card games that summer! Since it was my first year I was on the bottom of the totem pole and only went out every 3 days or so. Overall it was a pretty decent summer. I made some great friends and decided that carrying someone else’s club was not for me.

So here we are years later I have moved past the women’s clubs and found a great set of Ping irons. I still can’t figure out why I love golf so much, I am probably one of the guys you would hate to play with because I get so upset with myself after bad shot, but I always find myself at the course on a day off trying to tinker with my swing or get over a case of the yips.

Only 68 Days until Opening Day!

Schmeltzer's 5th Post : Place your bets!

Greetings, I hope everyone had a safe and fun St. Patrick’s Day. There really is nothing like a big plate of corned beef and cabbage followed by an ice cold pint of green drink. If I had it my way, we would have St. Patty’s Day once a week. It also didn’t hurt the weather was terrific and Spring is right around the corner! I don’t want to jump the gun too early but I would say it’s time to start packing away the jeans and boots with fur and break out the shorts and flip-flops. Summer is going to be here before you know it! My blog is going to be dedicated to the bunnies we have in our backyard. I’m going to hop around from topic to topic with no real set motive or purpose. Let’s begin…

NCAA TOURNAMENT
OK, so for those of you who have been living in a hole, today is the start of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I have always been one for picking the upsets but this year I had a hard time trying to go out on a limb. I believe this year is extraordinary in that, there really is no clear cut favorite. Is this the year that a 16 seed takes out a one seed? I doubt it. The biggest upset I have in the tournament is Maryland over Memphis in the second round. It might be a stretch to even see Maryland beat Cal but to take out a red hot Memphis, I think that’s a stretch. As far as the home team, well, I have the Badgers one and done. They’ve let me down too often this year to give me any confidence in this team. My winner… I’ll take the Louisville Cardinals, although they have the overall top seed, they will be the underdogs in the final against UNC. I told you the creativity juices just weren’t flowing this year. I think everyone else and their mom probably has these two teams in their final four, but I just feel like they both have the easiest road to Detroit. No matter what, it’s just entertaining watching this tournament unravel.

SPRING TRAINING
Spring Training is officially in full-swing (no pun intended). I went down to Arizona last March and was able to catch my first ever Spring Training game. I thought the atmosphere was very dull compared to what you see at a Mallards game. The promotional giveaway was a plain white bandana. The margaritas were $10+ and the concessions were very limited. I’m telling you, there is nothing like the experience at a Mallards game. Although, I can say the weather was great and it was fun to see the A’s beat up on the Cubs. I love going to different sporting events. Not only because I enjoy just about every sport, but also because it’s a great opportunity to learn about what works and what doesn’t and then try to incorporate those things into what we do here. That’s just another great part of the sports business; it’s always evolving. One of our mottos around the office is, “we’ll try anything once”. Finally, the Atlanta Braves are 14-3 and in first place in the Grapefruit League. Too bad that doesn’t get you anything.

MLB/MALLARDS ALUMNI GAME
If you didn’t read Jerrad’s press release back on March 9th, you probably have no clue that former Milwaukee Brewer great Paul Molitor has agreed to headline and participate in the Fourth-Annual Mallards/MLB 2009 Alumni Game to be held on August 21 at the “Duck Pond.” For me, this is pretty exciting stuff. Even though I am not a die-hard Brewer fan, I would be crazy to say that I grew up in Madison and DIDN'T enjoy watching him play. I would have to say his number one fan is probably my mom. I still don’t get what the attraction is with Paul, but it seems that all the ladies love him. Anyway, get your tickets for this game people! They go on sale, along with single game tickets on Saturday, May 2nd.

That’s all I have for this blog. We now have less than 75 days until Opening Day here at the Duck Pond! Make sure to get Saturday, May 2nd on your calendar as single game tickets will go on sale. Mr. Staehler and Mr. Caloia are going to fight over who blogs next, so enjoy the good read. Until next time, keep your passion bucket full and red marks off the brackets.

Getting to know your 2009 Madison Mallards

Here's a more in-depth look at what exactly your 2009 Madison Mallards have to say about playing at the "Duck Pond" in front of 6,000 zany fans for the very first time:


Nick Chmielewski, So., RHP, Illinois

Said the funky-named flame thrower, “Brandon (Wikoff) and (former Mallard) Joe Bonadonna have nothing but good things to say about playing in Madison for coach Thieleke, so I’m just excited to get up there and start making a name for myself.”

Joe Panik, Fr., IF, St. John's.

"I have big shoes to fill but my main goal this summer is to improve upon every facet of my game while trying to win a Northwoods League Championship for the city of Madison. I just can't wait to get started, " said Panik.

Greg Bieker, Jr., OF, Fort Hays St.

“He (referring to his brother Jeff, a former Mallard) told me that there isn’t a more rewarding and fun place to play summer ball in the country so to say that I’m excited to make the trek up to Madison is the understatement of the year, " said Bieker.

Mark Ginther, So., IF, Oklahoma St.

“He (referring to former Mallard Neil Medchill) likes to talk about how the crowds for Mallards games are much, much bigger than any college venue we’ll experience this spring. That gets me really excited to experience that atmosphere first-hand.”

Jimmy Parque, Jr., OF, St. John's.

“Will (referring to former Mallard Will Vogel) said Madison was the ultimate place to play summer collegiate baseball and he really enjoyed learning from C.J. and his staff. I know when I get up there I’ll be soaking everything in and trying to learn as much as I can just like he did.”

*I would be remiss if I didn't put some sort of closure on the Mallards MSCR basketball experience in the Cypress Hill Division. After winning the second half, the team made it to the division championship game but lost 38-34 in an epic battle of two teams not wanting to give an inch (just ask John Schmeltzer). Alas, we awarded ourselves the imaginary "Most Improved" award after recovering from an abysmal 1-5 first half record. Big thanks to Ed Sloten for his support on Monday night as well.

Schmeltzer follows this post and will blog Thursday for your enjoyment.

Playoffs?! Playoffs?! You talking playoffs???

Well if you’re not talking about the playoffs you should be because that is exactly what the latest buzz in the Mallards office is all about. That’s right folks, your Madison Mallards MSCR League team was crowned as the Second Half Champions after a big win on Monday night. The Mallards now face South Bay Lounge, who handed the us our only loss in the second half, in a one-game, winner takes all contest on Monday, March 16, 2009. We are encouraging all fans to show off their Mallards pride and come help cheer us on to victory!

As a side note to those who have been following blog posts about our team, my 8-game streak of being on the receiving end of an offensive foul came to an end on Monday night. (We’re still trying to verify if that is a new league record or not.) But not to worry, I plan on getting right back on the horse and then knocked down again, (ha ha) in the championship game.

Now, onto baseball news. It’s sometimes tough to think that when you look outside and see grass and blue skies that it’s anything but baseball weather. However, lately all you need to do is take one foot out the door and quickly realize that idea is gone. I guess that is one of the joys of spring in the Midwest is to have mother nature flirt with you for one week with sun and temperatures nearing 50-60 degrees then to only have it drop to near zero degrees and a wind-chill factor that freezes you to the bone. As a die-hard Twins fans, its days like this that are the ultimate head scratcher as to why the new Target Field doesn’t have a retractable roof. What’s to say that this type of weather won’t happen again in early April of 2010 and leave Twins fans in the cold or even worse having to cancel a game due to snow. (That actually happened two years ago in Detroit). I guess either way, I know I will still be there, dressed like it were a mid-December game at Lambeau Field or in flip-flops and a T-shirt…I just hope that the rest of Twins fans are willing to do the same.

Speaking of the Twins, I think they once again have a legitimate shot of being the Central Division Champs and potentially more. This year the Twins have one of the younger starting rotations in the game, however it is one that is returning 5 of last year’s starters: Liriano, Baker, Slowey, Perkins and Blackburn. And don’t forget, they went out and acquired Luis Ayala as a great 8th inning setup man to hand the ball over to one of the most dominant closers in the game in Joe Nathan.

Offensively the Twins have five everyday outfielders to fill three spots and one DH position. Young, Span, Gomes, Cuddyer, and Kubel can all roam the outfield with the best of them and while Span and Gomes can all out fly on the basepaths, Young and Kubel can provide the long ball, Cuddyer has arm strength and veteran leadership that all make me believe in these guys. Then, look at the infield. American League Batting Champion Joe Mauer behind the plate, American League All-Star Justin Morneau at first, the speedy Alexi Casilla at second, Nick “Popeye Forearms” Punto at short, and a newly acquired 3B in Joe Crede, who if healthy could help the Twins offensive numbers.

Soon, the whole baseball world will know the words and be singing along to one of the greatest songs in the game.

“We’re gonna win Twins, we’re gonna score. We’re gonna win Twins, watch that baseball soar. Knock out a homerun, shout a hip hooray, cheer for your Minnesota Twins today!”

The Opening Day Countdown Continues: MN TWINS 25 Days, MALLARDS 81 Days! PLAY BALL

Liz's 4th post: The great baseball/softball debate

As I mentioned in my last blog I am a pretty big softball fan. I am also a big baseball fan, but when it comes down to knowing stats and players, I am better versed in softball than baseball. Good thing I have the guys in the office and my roommate Jake to keep me updated on all that is happening in Major League Baseball.

Nick mentioned in his last blog that one of his favorite times of the year is March Madness, and although there is always great basketball played during the tournament, one of MY favorite times of the year is the College Softball World Series. It is game after game of great softball being played by the top teams in the nation and you get to see the top players. Although there is the National Pro Fastpitch League, the College Softball World Series is still the most watched softball tournament of the year. Even if many of you may have little interest in softball, I'd like to continue to spend the rest of the blog comparing some of the top softball players to some of the top Major Leaguers.

To start, the obvious softball standout softball player is Jenny Finch. I would compare her to Nolan Ryan. Finch has played softball since she was 5 and has been pitching since she was 8. She was a 3 sport athlete in high school, but always had her focus on softball. She spent her college years playing for the University of Arizona, playing for one of the most successful coaches in softball history, Mike Candrea, and taking Arizona to a National Championship in 2001. Finch recorded 109 wins in her college career and suffered no losses as a junior. Finch also played first base when she wasn’t pitching. In her college career she struck out 1,028 batters and topped out at 71 mph. Now remember, college softball pitches from 43 feet, so a 71 mph "riseball" is equivalent to a 100 mph fastball in baseball, which is why Finch is the Nolan Ryan of softball. She has also thrown several no-hitters like Ryan and has had her number retired! The biggest difference between Finch and Ryan is that Finch has typically been on winning teams and Ryan has often played on mediocre teams. Finch is widely known as the most famous softball player of all time and is currently pitching for the Chicago Bandits and married to free agent pitcher Casey Daigle.

Next we have Crystl Bustos who is the Prince Fielder/David Ortiz of softball. Now I must say I am comparing her to Fielder and Ortiz because in my opinion they are two of the top hitters in baseball, which is due to the fact that I am a big Brewers fans and a big fan of Ortiz. Bustos is one of the top hitters in softball history and was named the 2008 USA Softball player of the year. She plays 3rd base, but is typically utilized as a designated player. Bustos is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one-time silver medalist. She holds the world record for home runs during a series with six. Bustos got her big shot in the 2004 Olympics when she replaced Dot Richardson at shortstop and was only 23 at the time. With Bustos at shortstop Team USA had one of the most solid infields of all time. She went on to hit .346 in the ’04 Olympics with 10 runs batted in and 6 home runs. As for her fielding, she had 9 starts with a perfect fielding percentage. Bustos on-base percentage is off the charts has she is often intentionally walked, much like Fielder or Ortiz when they are in a crucial at-bat. Like Fielder and Ortiz, Bustos is known as one of the biggest power hitters in all of softball. Bustos is currently playing for the Akron Racers out of Ohio and has retired from international play.

I know I only covered two players; however, they are two of the top players in softball. Stay tuned to future blogs as I continue to compare softball greats to baseball legends.

Oh I almost forgot, feel free to write in to the Olympics commission and tell them to bring softball back as an Olympic sport!

Thanks for reading!

Nick's Fourth Installment - My favorite time of the year!

So just to retouch on my last blog entry my prediction that the Steelers would win came right, but it was a lot closer game than I anticipated. What a way to finish the game!

So we are still working at a feverish pace in the Mallards office securing sponsorship deals, selling tickets, ordering merchandise and other such goods that will be utilized during the summer. With all these activities going it makes it really hard and almost depressing to realize the season is still over 3 months away, but before you know it will be May 28th and Mallards Baseball will be back in full swing. Coach usually provides some comedic relief to make the days go by as well (You have to see his imitation of an official at a hockey game dropping the puck in a face-off).

So it’s about that time of year again...no NOT tax season, but time for March Madness! I think this is my favorite time of year, next to the start of our season. I miss the good ol’ days of being in college and skipping classes on the Thursday and Friday of the opening round and doing nothing but sitting around in sweats, throwing back some beers and then hitting up the KFC dinner buffet during the 5:00 news break to re-energize for the night cap. Vern runs a tight ship around here so I don’t think I could justify taking off two days of work.

Another favorite part of watching the tournament is CBS broadcaster Gus Johnson. I mean I have never heard a routine call in the game called so emphatically or with so much energy. Listen to my favorite Gus Johnson call by clicking Here

I am obviously a huge Badger fan and this year has not been such a great year as we have been spoiled with such great teams the past few years. I am glad to see that Bo rallied the troops after the six game loosing streak to put together a five game winning streak. I really thought we had Michigan State on Sunday. They played our type of game the first half, but in the second half we played their game and couldn’t get a good look at the basket while they weaved through screen after screen and got good looks at the basket. I really would have liked to see Tom Izzo whine and complain after the game. I can’t decide if I hate him or Ohio State head coach Thad Matta (aka Gonzo, pictured) more.

I think we have a chance to make the tournament but we need to win out to even have that chance. The trip to Minnesota worries me a little bit, as the “Barn” is always a tough place to win and you have to deal with the whole elevated floor thing. Tubby Smith has turned that program around and they will be a force to reckon with in the coming years. I think we should be able to take care of business in the friendly confines of the Kohl Center against Michigan and Indiana. I mean Indiana….I think they have a few guys from intramural teams playing for them. I think if they can make a push and win two games in the Big Ten tournament they should pretty much secure a spot in the “Big Dance”.

I am going to say the Badgers secure an 11 seed in the tournament and make it to the Sweet 16.

Here are a few teams that I like heading into tournament season:

Marquette Golden Eagles- I like in-state rival Marquette to do some damage. They probably have played one of the toughest schedules in the country and with the depth and experience of having these four guys, Dominic James, Lazar Haywood, Jerel McNeal and Madison native Wesley Matthews, watch out for them to make some noise in tournament.

North Carolina- I think the ACC is a bit watered down from previous years, but as expected Carolina should have a good run in the tournament. With Player of the Year from last season Tyler Hansbrough and a bench of young stars they should have no problem pushing their way into the Final Four.

Oklahoma- Two words. Blake Griffin. He is a freakin' man-child. I think this will be your 2009 National Champ.

Here is my Final Four: North Carolina, Oklahoma, Villanova, and UConn

Well I can’t wait for a few weekends from now when I can spend my whole weekend in a recliner laying in my own filth (I plan on not showering all weekend!), drinking beer and listening to the mellow sounds of Gus Johnson watching NCAA March Madness coverage……nothing better…OK, except for Mallards Opening Day!

Schmeltzer's 4th Post

Alright folks, so by this time next week we will be right around 100 days until Opening Day here at the "Duck Pond”. It’s unbelievable how quick that day will sneak up us. Every year it seems like we prepare ourselves better, but no matter what we do there are always things we wish we could have done better. After all, he ballpark is old and needs a lot of "TLC." In order to make things “shine” the way they do each and every year we lean heavily on the group of new interns we hire each summer.

The internship position is by no means glamorous, but we look forward to giving each kid a summer experience they will never forget. One fun fact here is that most of us here know what it’s like to be an intern. In fact, five out of current eight full-time employees working in our office had an internship in the Northwoods League at one point in their career. The other three have worked as a part-time employee with the Mallards before they were brought as a full-timer.

The interns are expected to report immediately at the end of their spring semester of school, which is normally the middle of May. This gives us approximately two weeks to educate them on our organization and basically all the “ins and outs” of the ballpark. During this time they will spend the majority of their 9 AM to 5 PM day working in their respective area of concentration. After 5 o’clock everyone pitches in where they can and we work into the wee hours of the night. No one has ever been excused from painting duties. We go through a lot of Old Virginia green paint.

We hire interns in the following areas; marketing, ballpark operations, public relations (PR) and tickets/hospitality. Each spot is an extension of the front office and extremely important in helping to run and maintain a successful team during the summer. The hours we generally work during the summer can range from 60-90 hours on a given week. Although, if you make the most of this opportunity and can have some fun with it, the time really flies.

For me, I will never forget the summer of 2004. I was brought on as a Marketing/Operations Intern. During the day, I spent a lot of time moving beer and taking care of random maintenance tasks around the ballpark. When it was game- time, I was running the on-field promotions. I had a great superior/manager by the name of Eric Bjorling. He taught me all there was to know about the organization and for that, I am forever grateful. Good looking out Phil!

I ate ballpark food for just about every meal, although those meals were few and far between. One is just so busy that you are either to tired, stressed or busy to eat. Did I mention this was probably the best summer I ever had? Honestly, the friendships you make and the people you meet really do make this an unforgettable “career”. I do want to stress that this is a career and not a job. One final note, that I’m sure every intern (male, at least) can relate to is the interaction you have with the owner of the team. Steve is such a popular guy and knows so many people, that the first few times he meets you (or in my case, a month later), there is a good chance he will refer to you as being a “tough guy”. At this time I want to give you a little taste of what the internship experience was like through the eyes of a few former Mallard interns:

Vinnie Cholewa, PR Intern ’04 & PR Manager ’05: The summer internship with the Mallards was amazing, to say the least. There is one night that will forever stick out in my mind. It was the morning (2 AM) of Opening Day and we were trying to put the final touches on what was an 18 hour work day (mind you, we needed to be up and function less than six hours later). There was a load of bark that we had picked up earlier in the day that was sitting in the bed of my truck and we needed to dump it and spread it before the night was done. You can only imagine how thrilled everyone was to start this task at that time. I do know, however, that the mosquitoes loved every minute of it. These things were vicious to say the very least and almost put me over the edge. Following that daunting task was this humungous rolling Pepsi cooler that was at the bottom of a ramp by “needed” to be moved before we went home. There were probably five of us still left at the park at this time and we couldn’t budge the thing. This was the moment in my internship that sparked something in me that gave me a whole new perspective on life. I was so tired, frustrated, irritated that I took it into my own hands and just bust through this rolling cooler with all I had. I single-handedly moved it up the ramp and out of the fire lane. The look on everyone’s faces was priceless. This just proved to me that one can accomplish anything that is set in front of them. The internship in general taught me to overcome adversity and face challenges head on. I truly have the upmost respect for Vern and the organization as a whole.

Vinnie was probably the only intern ever to have a summer internship and not only one, but two jobs! He spent time working for State Street Brats & Verizon that summer as well. Not to mention, he was known to sleep at the ballpark. On more occasion than once, we would get into the office around 8 AM and sure enough Vinnie would be plugging away at his computer. He once a claimed that he had been there since 5 AM dumping garbage and on his fifth Redbull of the morning. If that doesn’t say dedication (or BS) I’m not sure what does! Anyway, Vinnie is currently living down in Arizona working for Careerbuilder.com and going to school for his MBA at ASU. Good luck pal!

Brian Dodge, Operations Intern ’05: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Being a die-hard baseball fan, nothing made me happier than getting to go to the ballpark every day for work. The long hours and other minor factors made the position incredibly draining mentally and physically, but in the end you tend to remember all the good things and very few of the bad things. I loved the guys that we worked with that summer and I always felt like we put a good product forward for our consumers.

Aaron Reinen, Tickets/Hospitality Intern ’08: To try and wrap the entire summer into 3-4 sentences is going to be difficult. It was such a great and enjoyable experience, that I really wouldn't know where to start. However, if there is one key skill that I learned and mastered this past summer was the ability to count. You wouldn't think that a skill learned so early in life would leave you, but after many years of using a calculator to do all your math you really do lose some of those skills. For this very reason I will always be in debit to the Mallards, it was this organization that allowed me to find my math self again through counting wristbands!

On a serious note, I do believe the internship is a great starting tool to find out if a job in sports is for you. If you are able to work 938 hours from May to Aug, and still be able to go into work with a smile on your face then you may have found the career path for you. I know it certainly was great for me as I pretty much did a 180 career wise and this past summer really allowed me to get on the right track. I still would like to find a position much like mine last summer, taking care of hospitality/suites and sales. Where and when I'll find something like this is up in the air. Retired (for now) Tarp Crew Member Out!

OK, I am going to wrap up this fairly lengthy blog. I would love to go on and on, because I could write a book with all the things that go on at this ballpark. In fact, I have always wanted to do a reality television series on the Mallards organization.

To be continued…

Jerrad IV Post: Mallards win MSCR basketball barn-burner, 29-22

Madison (Sherman Middle School) – In a battle for first place in the MSCR Basketball Cypress Division Monday night, the Madison Mallards upended Birrenkott Appliance 29-22 in a very-physical game in front of three people.

The game had a nightmare beginning for both squads as neither team was able to hit a shot until five minutes into the contest. Once the teams started getting lucky and were able to put the “sphere”-shaped ball through the “cylinder,” (Geometry 101) the crowd erupted with a loud roar (or cell-phone ring) and the three-person wave broke out.

A back-and-forth affair this was not. Often one team would score, followed by at least 11 or 12 empty possessions by both squads, until again; one individual would have his “stars aligned” and hit a shot. With the absence of Mallards star Nick Staehler, film crews for the taping of the “And 1” series were nowhere near Madison. However, on this night, even minus the television coverage, both teams had a lot to play for—I mean, this was for first place after all.

And just because the halftime score was only 15-13 (Mallards on top), that didn’t mean the first 20 minutes (continuous clock) were played in a laid-back “lah-dee-dah” fashion. This was hardly the case.

When it was apparent early on that the officials were going to call a very-loose game, the force of the physical punishment seemed to increase with every offensive-charge. I haven’t heard that many slaps since I fell asleep to the World Sumo Wrestling Championships on ESPN Classic a week ago. To be fair however, the referees called the game fairly for both sides (None of this Tim Donaghy stuff) and were able to exit the gym afterwards in world-record time.

No question the Mallards lunch-hour office meeting in preparation for tonight’s ballgame paid off. Manager C.J. Thieleke (aka “The Point”) drew some great circles on the erase board followed by arrows to other circles, and squiggly lines to other arrows, and so on and so forth.

Said Duck Blind Manager Kevin Caloia, “Yeah, I thought coach’s lunchtime artwork was just a mish-mash of unguided Dry Erase marker strokes, but really when you think about it, if you were to draw each person’s motion during a typical game, the ending result would be pretty close to what he scribbled.”

“Think about it,” he whispered, no doubt inspired by phone conversations with The “Dude” from the motion-picture ‘The Big Lebowski’ (set to visit the Duck Pond this summer!).

The Mallards, 2-0, 3-4 overall) had great team scoring numbers with nearly everyone scoring a point. But because exact numbers aren’t reported due to an incident last season involving a scorekeeper who hurt himself while laughing, this story can only be told through randomly placed player biographies.

General Manager Vern (“Charging Bull”) Stenman was his usual self tonight. With a head of steam, he bulldozed his way from the top of the key all the way to the basket--two points every time. Ninety percent of the time Vern is fouled hard; 12 percent of the time Vern goes to the free throw line. He matches the playing style of Mark Madsen of the Minnesota Timberwolves, fitting that if Vern indeed cared about the NBA, he’d be a T’Wolves fan.

John (“The Ove Glove”) Schmeltzer is about as tenacious a defender as you’re going to find in MSCR basketball. At least in the Cypress Division. Think Gary Payton, minus the trash talking. John is always “up in his opponents’ business” and looks more like he’s trying out for a spot on Texas Tech’s roster in Bobby Knight’s first try at reality television, “Knight School,” than he is playing time in the league. His breakaway steal and late layup tonight were huge and actually might’ve been a turning point in the victory.

Mike (“O-Charge”) Then has to be considered for the team’s 1B Defender Award to Schmeltzer. With orange shoes that scream customization, Mike is another in-your-face ball-hawker who just so happens to be involved with the two-hardest fouls in the past two weeks. For that Mike, your teammates say “whew!” Tonight, he popped a few three-pointers and picked up a key offensive charge on his opponent late in the game. Indiana Pacer-great Reggie Miller was a very underrated ball defender, and Mike is too.

Nick (“Franchisor”) Staehler received his nickname from receiving royalties from opponents who’d rather throw their money and run than play the Mallards No.1 option. His game belongs in the motion offense where he has room to flash from the top of the lane and into the paint. His next move has opponents perplexed beyond no-end. Sometimes it’s the straight glide to the rim with a guide from the backboard; sometimes it’s a pull-up jumper with an Austin Croshere-like run back downcourt; or, this is the best, sometimes it’s a circus-style scoop shot that amazingly, seems to go in more times than not.

Kevin (“Spin City”) Caloia definitely exudes an old school approach to the game of basketball. The nimble-footed forward would rather spin around you than jump over. And it’s frustrating to stop because you cannot. Although again, statistics are not official, it is believed that at this point Kevin leads the team in banked-in free throws, but Stenman is close behind. Those in MSCR basketball circles have compared Caloia’s game to that of former Sacramento King center Vlade Divac…minus the flopping, sometimes.

C.J. (“The Point”) Thieleke is of course, the quarterback of the team. He’s barking out plays upon plays, formations upon formations, numbers upon numbers, and let it be known—he sure knows when to call a timeout. Maybe he just likes calling one because his summer gig (baseball) doesn’t allow him to, who knows? Like a true leader, he demands a lot of himself and oftentimes makes self-substitutions if he thinks someone else can contribute in his place. He’s that old-school type; think of a back-in-the-day Vancouver Grizzly Damon Stoudamire and Indiana Pacer Jalen Rose combination. CJ had a quick five points tonight and later made a sweet breakaway layup to put the Mallards ahead for good.

Steven (Slippery Salmon”) Stewart, now there’s one hard to catch fish. You better keep your eye on him, or you’ll lose sight of him fast. The comparisons can be made to former Chicago Bulls star role-player Toni Kukoc. Both change the game when they’re on the court and they do the little things necessary to win ballgames. In a real-time comparison, think of Steven as being today’s most unsung NBA player, Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier.

In the end, the Mallards outscored their opponent 14-9 in the second half to close out a 29-22 win. The victory pushes the team to 2-0 in the second half, with a date with the “Comets” lurking next week.

Time of Game: Under an hour, we know for sure

Attendance: 3 (Thanks Mary!)

Injuries: Thieleke (sprained right knee, day-to-day); Staehler (flu-like symptoms, day-to-day)

Mike's 4th post: All baseball, all the time!

Since my last blog entry I think I have found one of the single greatest television channels ever created…THE MLB NETWORK! For those of you who haven’t tuned in yet, it is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and it is ALL baseball. For a baseball junkie like me, it is almost like there is no off-season. Everyday they replay some of the best games of seasons past. They have a studio where they try and re-create the greatest plays and go as far as breaking them down to show you how one little misstep or an extra pause by the pitcher would have completely changed the outcome of the play. There is a scrolling marquee at the bottom of the screen giving updates on all the trades, free agent signings and players still on the open market. One of my favorite programs is “Cathedrals of the Game” where they go in-depth for 30 minutes about historic stadiums or new-age technology taking over in the new stadiums. It’s AWESOME!

As I was flipping through the channels the other day, I noticed that the MLB Network was playing great pitching performances of the last century. Did you know that only 4 times in MLB history has a pitcher struck out 20 batters in a 9-inning game? Of the eight 19-strikeout performances, Randy Johnson did it twice in the same year (1997). Watching these games gives you an unbelievable appreciation of how incredible those feats really are. The stamina and control of the pitchers as they dominate opposing hitters blows your mind. I was mesmerized and couldn’t change the channel.

Another great segment I am addicted to is “Prime 9”. A panel of judges compile what they believe are the top 9 plays, games, or players in a certain category. It is definitely open to opinion of the judges but seeing the footage, listening to the players talk about their experiences and sometimes getting chills down your spine as you listen to how the game was originally called, makes me tune in every chance I get.

Now with spring training only days away and the first game of the spring season fast approaching MLB Network will help serve another purpose in my passion for the game of baseball: Fantasy Baseball. Last year, I played in 4 different leagues, all which required daily roster changes and were very competitive leagues. I try and do as much research as possible prior to draft days and having a resource like this channel will be great. (However, I do know just about all of the other members of those leagues are listening and watching as well). Here’s to another great year!

Switching gears a little bit, I need to give an update on Mallards Basketball 2009. After a fast start which saw the Mallards (wearing green jersey’s) win the opening game of the season, we haven’t been such “Lucky Ducks” and had dropped 4 consecutive games (all in which we wore white jersey’s). However, on Monday night, the slate was wiped clean and the second half started. Once again, we decided to break out the green jerseys and low and behold, WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! The Mallards are now back in the win column and looking to keep the streak alive. We actually even had our very first fan attend a game the other night, so if there are more of you out there, let us know!

Well that’s it for now but not to worry, our very own season will be here in just over 100 days and your Madison Mallards will be back on the field making great plays of their own. Hope to see everyone at the yard.

VERN BLOG IV

Today everything seems right in the world. The Mallards Basketball team got our first win since week one of the season last night, the band I’m singing in (The Kites…more details in a later post) is starting to really sound great, there are strong signs that my daughter is a Bob Dylan fan, our staff are all doing a great job &, oh yeah, the Mallards promo schedule is really starting to come together as well.

So, those of you who follow Mallards Basketball team closely know that the last several weeks have provided a series of heart breaking defeats. Every loss (5) was within a few points & we had a chance almost every game to pull out a “W” well, until the game last week at least. Last week we got beat by 12 or so & it didn’t really even seem that close. To make it worse we actually seemed to play pretty well, but the other team just appeared that much better than us. Well it would be great to say that we learned from that loss & realized what we had to do to win last night…but that would be a bit misleading. The other team had four guys. Well for the first 5 minutes or so, after that they added a fifth guy. Best part was that our nine-man team only had a four point lead 5 minutes in! Anyway, we put it together pretty quick after the first five minutes & ended up winning by 16. Still it might be unfair to say we played great…the other guys might have been a bit tired…but hey, we’ll take any momentum we can get. Seriously though, we’ve got some good signs. Jerrad is lights out from 3-point land, C.J. is providing inspiration & game planning skills, Nick is solid as ever & we haven’t had to bring in Maynard yet to completely confuse our opposition.

So if you know me well, you know I’m kind of a Bob Dylan aficionado. The Dylan/Willie Nelson show we got to host in 2004 is definitely among my personal & career highlights (we’ve actually got an autographed Dylan Mallards uniform in the office). So when Christmas time came last December I was excited to find an illustrated version of the classic Dylan song “Forever Young” for kids. So of course I got it…technically I gave it to Kallie & Chloe, but it may have been (well it was) more for me. Chloe didn’t really appear to care too much about the book until the last week or so. She has started grabbing the book & bringing it over to me & insist that I sing it to her. Can’t beat that.

Oh yeah, Mallards promotions. Here is a quick list of some of the things we’ve been working on lately (nothing is final yet, but hopefully a lot of these will happen):
• Classic Bobble Boy Bobblehead
• Adam West at the Duck Pond – yeah!
• Original Star Trek character?
• Organic T-Shirts for on Summer Time St. Patty’s Night
• Big Lebowski Night – looking more & more like a lock!
• Swedish National team vs. Mallards (pre-season)
• Laser Light Show
So, it looks like the only bad thing is that Opening Day is still 110 days away. The good news is that pitchers & catchers will report in less than a week to MLB Spring Training. Which reminds me…Kallie & I will be throwing a big Twins Opening Day party at our house on the night of Monday, April 6th. We just won a big Weber Smoker last weekend at “Grill N’ 4 Peace” & I plan on putting it to good use for the celebration of the Twins returning to the field. If you are a Twins fan, or a Mallards fan looking for the inside scoop, or just like good food & would like to come over, just send me an email sometime & I’ll send you the specifics.

Liz's 3rd Blog: "February!"

Here we are on the 3^rd day of February. We have survived one month of 2009, the NFL season is over with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the Super Bowl for the sixth time, and Jimmy the groundhog has seen his shadow so we can expect another six weeks of winter! Although I am always excited for spring, I am particularly excited this year. I am excited for warmer weather, Brewers baseball, and of course the best Mallards season yet.

However, I am also excited for spring as I have started coaching softball again. I am the assistant coach for the 12 U Xplozion Softball team. We practice every Sunday for 2.5 hours. Each week the girls are improving and learning more about the game. This past weekend we played in an indoor tournament at the Wisconsin Center in Wisconsin Dells. The tournament was great! It showed us what we need to work on, things we haven’t covered yet and gave the girls the chance to see live pitching, which is always helpful. Although I will not be able to coach all the tournaments this summer, it has been great working with the girls and being around softball again.

As for the Super Bowl, I was really hoping to see the Arizona Cardinals pull it off, but I must say it was one of the most exciting Super Bowls I have ever seen. The game was back and forth the entire time, Larry Fitzgerald had an amazing game, and Santonio Holmes was UNBELIEVABLE. The catch he had to put the Steelers ahead was spectacular. I also enjoyed the halftime show and thought Jennifer Hudson’s National Anthem was phenomenal. What a venue to make your first appearance after the tragedy of losing her mother, brother and nephew this fall. I don’t know I would have been able to do what she did, but I thought it was great!

I was also pleased with the commercials; my favorites were the Budweiser ones. The first Bud Light commercial with the guy getting thrown out the window for suggesting the company stopped purchasing Bud Light for all their staff meetings was the best in my opinion. And I also really enjoyed the one second High Life commercial. I wasn’t very impressed with the Coca Cola commercials; they were too plain and boring. I spent the Super Bowl with the guys from the office, which has become a bit of a tradition it seems. We enjoyed a nice spread of food, highlighted with homemade salsa and guacamole by Mike and John respectively. The salsa Mike made defiantly had some kick which I liked and John’s "guac" was good as usual. I made BBQ meatballs which seemed to go over pretty good; it is always a good thing when the dish you take to a pass is gone by the time you leave!

As far as the Mallards go, we are doing our best to get information out to companies, fans, players, host families and the Madison area. We are all busy making calls, setting up meetings and emailing. One new package we have put together is the Victory Plan Package. The Victory Plan includes one box or bleacher seat to the June 2^nd, June 11^th, July 7^th and July 10^th game. Each of these games that the Mallards win you will receive a FREE ticket to a future Mallards game! That means you can get up to 8 games in this package. The package is only $36 and is available now! Call the Mallards office for more information.

Thanks for tuning in for my third blog and congrats to the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Kevin's 3rd Blog - In the Year 2000...

The office has a new life this month as we are re-energized from our Holiday vacations and have a game schedule to finally share with everyone. People are walking with an extra hop in their steps, maybe because of the freezing temperatures and snow outside, but I like to think it is because they are on a mission. "Yes a mission from God, we are getting the band back together." The sales band that is, everyone is excited to be making phone calls to new clients and reconnecting with friends and old clients. Things are in full swing for us around here; people are in and out of the office regularly, phone’s ringing dude ("Big Lebowski" quote), there is a new life in the New Year for the Mallards sales band.

The office moral has also been higher lately as “Coach” is back in the office for a couple of hours a day and he brings endless hours of entertainment, arguments/discussions, and crazy ideas. Right now we are really struggling as the Badgers basketball team is on a five game losing streak and I don’t know if it is going to end anytime soon (Coach is a HUGE, HUGE Badger fan in case you didn’t know). However, it is his creative and off- the-wall ideas which usually get everyone talking. You might think he is just a former baseball player, coach and focused only on sports, but he is always thinking of companies we could work with and creative ways which we can work with them. His thoughts often get the wheels turning in everyone's heads and we hit the ground running.

Take a look, it’s in a book, its Maynard’s Lil’ Ducks Reading Rainbow! Yep, that’s right kids, Maynard G. Mallard has started his first ever reading program for area kids. Hoping to encourage area kids to increase their reading skills and time spent reading, the Mallards have teamed up with area schools to allow kids to earn free Mallards tickets with completion of the program. We all know how important reading is to the future leaders of our communities and hopefully the Mallards can help to improve those leaders.

On a completely random note, yesterday in the office we somehow got started talking about Conan O’Brien and his “In the Year 2000” skits which he has on his show. If you have not seen Conan or are not a fan of his comedy then you will probably not like the following but I wanted to try and add some humor to my blog. (The skit is comprised of totally random and weird predictions which are going to happen in the year 2000, the big the millennium scare, yet they continue to do them way after the year 2000.)

In the Year 2000. . . . Mallards Manager CJ Thieleke will have a tirade and throw all of the bats, gloves and back-up catcher’s equipment onto the field to protest a called ball by the umpire to load the bases for the River Bats in a 1 run game…he is immediately ejected leaving the mess for Coach Kus to clean up. . .

In the Year 2000. . . . A certain man, let’s call him N. Staehler…no that is too obvious, Nick S. will propose to his special lady friend underneath the “Duck Pond’s” stadium lights right before the human cannonball performs. . .

In the Year 2000. . . . The Mallards will win the Northwoods League Championship after playing with an all pitcher infield due to an abundance of players returning to school, and winning by 14 straight bunts. . .

In the Year 2000. . . . The original “Dude” from the hit film “The Big Lebowski” will attend a Mallards game opening a whole new relaxed atmosphere around the ballpark and attitude by players and Coach Thieleke . . .

Last Tidbits: Mallards front office teams continue to spiral out of control, as curling has now lost 8 straight matches, and basketball is on a 3 week skid. I guess sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes, well… the bar eats you. . .