My Week that Was - November 30

Work on the Agility Park ended. 11/27/24 dwm

The Wisconsin Badgers played football twice this week. 

Game one was in Lincoln, Nebraska where they played the Cornhuskers. I wondered what Bucky's team would look like in the first game after the offensive coordinator was fired. The first time Wisconsin had the ball they marched downfield for a touchdown. The next time they scored was in the fourth quarter. 

Nebraska came in with the same 5 - 5 record and in the same situation of needing a win to qualify for a bowl game. The Cornhuskers outplayed the Badgers in all phases, beating Wisconsin 44 -25. Coming into the game, the Badgers had beat Nebraska ten straight times. 

The team didn't have long to get over it, as the Badgers had to prepare for Minnesota with a bowl game on the line on Black Friday.

There was a bit of a snag Monday with the final backup of our old customer relationship management system. It took an extra step to open the zip drive, and then I couldn't access the correct format. I tried working with experts from each database and our information technology people to find an answer.

Tuesday I finally connected with one of our technicians who downloaded the software I needed then walked me through the process. Eventually, the 4.16 gigabyte backup was on my computer and sent on to our new provider.

While I was working Tuesday, my car was getting new engine coolant and having its brakes checked. A few days earlier the brake warning lights lit up while  driving on the Beltline. The lights went off a few minutes later but I wanted to be sure the brakes were OK, thankfully, everything checked out.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday I spent two hours signing, stuffing, and sealing thank you letters. Because of the work on the database, these were the first letters we could print for two weeks, it was nice to catch up. 

Thanksgiving morning I stopped at the gym for a short workout before doing a 5K a couple hours later. You can read about the Birdie Derby in a rare Friday blog post.

In the afternoon we drove to the home of our son and daughter-in-law for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great meal and a great time. After dinner, we hustled home to watch the Packers play Miami in a cold weather game at Lambeau Field. 

Green Bay started poorly, punting after three plays, but when the Dolphins muffed the punt, the Packers recovered, scored a touchdown, then added two scores and a field goal by halftime. It was their best 30-minutes of football this season.

In the second half, Miami put their first touchdown on the board and were driving for a second score that would have pulled them within 9 points, when the Packer defense stopped them on fourth and goal at the Green Bay 7 with 9 minutes to play. Moments later, a short pass from Jordan Love to Josh Jacobs went 49 yards to the Miami 19. The drive finished with a field goal, putting the Packers up 19 with 5:02 to play. 

Green Bay held on, winning 30 - 17.  The Packers won twice in four days. They don't play again until next Thursday in Detroit.   

Wisconsin wrapped up their regular season Friday afternoon with a thud, losing 24 - 7 at the hands of their rival, the University of Minnesota. The loss ends a 22-year streak of winning seasons and invitations to a bowl. Yesterday's home game was as ugly as it gets, the Golden Gophers seemingly did whatever they wanted. 

Thankfully, there are several other Wisconsin teams carrying the Badger flag high - women's volleyball and hockey, and men's basketball will keep us cheering.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, and have a great week!