Allow me to vent.

        Much happened over the last few days, some of it global and some of it personal.    Permit me to share:

FEELIN' BUZZED:

       What I thought was going to be a pep rally turned into a fairly incredible experience Friday night on the Marquette Campus.   It's Family Weekend and my wife and I went to "Behind The Boards With Buzz": a session with basketball coach Buzz Williams.    There were mascots and cheerleaders who failed to generate reciprocal energy from the lethargic gaggle of moms and dads.     There was video, and player introductions, and then there was Buzz.    I settled in for what I thought would be a chalk talk and perhaps even a subtle season ticket pitch.

       We got nothing of the sort.

       Williams spoke of his upbringing--being raised by an illiterate grandfather who gave him quarters for each half-hour he spent reading aloud.     He talked of the Marquette mission: the school's, not the team's.       Williams said his players are no more important to MU than our children are.     And then, he gave us his cellphone number and e-mail address.      He told us to call anytime we had a question or a problem--not with getting seats to a big game, but instead if we needed a hand with our kids.

        Not a word about hoop.    No mention of "plenty of good seats still being available".

        Will I ever call the coach if my boy is bombing out in his theology class or has girl troubles?     No, but something tells me that if I did, Buzz Williams would be on the other end, or at least be able to put me in touch with someone who could help.

HEY BOSS--TURNS OUT I WON'T BE TAKING VACATION THE SUMMER OF 2016 AFTER ALL...

       Rare are the times when Wisconsin feels sorry for Chicago but the international embarrassment the Windy City absorbed Friday at the hands of the IOC is jaw-dropping.     It's first-round dismissal in the quest to secure the 2016 games came as a shock to even the most seasoned Olympic observer.   

      Predictable, though, was the speed with which some hung the blame on President Obama and First Lady Michelle.    The same folks probably would've ripped the two had Chicago won, claiming that they'd come to the effort late and only decided to join in to bask in the glory of the others who did the heavy lifting.    Or, had the First Couple NOT made the trip to Copenhagen, they would've been slammed for ignoring their hometown.     

      I'm no expert, but I know this: for all the talk of good, clean international competition and the spirit of sport, the IO is about money and merch.   South America is uncharted Olympic turf, while the US is soil that needs to lie fallow for a few go-arounds.     The continent on the other end the Panamanian isthmus never hosted the games.    Brazil tried before to secure an Olympics, and I think this was Rio's to lose, even before the President decided to take the red-eye.     Rio delivered.   

A NATION OF COWARDS

      Why am I not relieved to hear that an arrest has been made in the Erin Andrews case?     Probably because there are any other number of pervs out there, doing the same thing not just to her but to other celebrities.     Not only did a coward have the ambition to stalk the ESPN sideline reporter and catch her in unguarded moments before posting it on YouTube--millions went to the Internet to look.    Gutlessness abounds.   I

       Yes, Michael Phelps made questionable decisions out of the Olympic swimming pool.     But, as SNL's Seth Myers points out: you get a chance to party with Phelps and your first impulse is to whip out a cell camera and take a picture of him sucking a bong?   Really?    A young woman approaches Florida QB Tim Tebow, asking for a picture.     At the last moment, just before the shutter is to click, the woman pulls up the top of her blouse in an effort to put Tebow in a compromising position.    Even more amazing is the fact that the woman behind the camera was the girl's MOTHER.

       Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan finds himself in a world of self-inflicted hurt these days, but why is the coward who rolled tape on him in a local bar getting a pass?    

     Ryan shouldn't have said what he did about his sister in law that day at the corner tap, but the only people who should've heard it--and pass judgment on it--are the guys at the neighboring bar stool.       Instead, he's a Jay Leno punchline.   The Ryan sex harassment case is a legit concern and deserves an airing out.     The Tavern Tape is a lurid curiosity--a drunk guy being a boor and getting embarrassed on a global stage.    By who?    For what?

      Remember when we used to be so worried about Big Brother--the proliferation of government/police/private security cameras that would catch us in our worst, unguarded moments?     Who would've thought we'd be more of a threat to each other, via cell cameras and cowardliness,  than anything George Orwell could've possibly dreamed of?

SHUT UP AND PLAY, BRETT

      Brett Favre's best moment in recent days came when he led the Vikings to a win over the 49ers.

     He should've left it at that.

     Instead, he did a news conference with local reporters for the first time since Brad Childress became his personal driver, and the results were sadly predictable.     Favre sounded defensive at times, and certainly didn't do a good job of convincing anyone that Monday night's game against the Packers ISN'T about sticking it to Green Bay GM Ted Thompson.    Worse was the feeble way he tried to use surgery to justify the way in which he extracted himself from his Jets' obligation to end up in with the Vikings.   

     Favre choreographed his defection better than anyone on "Dancing With The Stars".     Even Packers Coach Mike McCarthy admits Favre had Minnesota on his itinerary the fateful night when they last talked at Lambeau.     And, Favre is already on record with his "stick it to Ted Thompson" comment.

     Wouldn't we all think more of him if he just would've said, "You bet this game is about revenge--I want to show those guys I still have gas in the tank and I want to beat them like rented mules.     From the day they let me go, I schemed my way to Minnesota and now I've got my chance"?

      Or, if he just would've shut up and let his game do the talking?