The Wisconsin State Journal Andy Baggot column

April 29--First impressions, second thoughts and the third degree:

It made me feel uncomfortable to see Russell Wilson take a PR approach to something as personal as his divorce.

The end of a marriage is an intensely personal and painful matter between two people. It's something that should be kept as private as possible. It's none of our business.

To see it announced last week in a press release from the Seattle Seahawks' media relations department, to see the headline ticker under NFL news, left me wondering why that approach was taken.

From the moment Wilson came to Madison in 2011 and captured the imagination of the University of Wisconsin football community, it was clear he had an engaging personality, a gift for the scripted narrative and was hyper-aware of his image.

When Wilson left for the NFL, he did a series of advertising spots for locally based American Family Insurance. In them we're told to ask about his dreams and his inspirations. He also tells us to inquire about his personal life.

Maybe the divorce announcement -- this on the heels of Wilson leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title -- is simply his way of addressing those instincts and that sense of obligation he may feel to his many fans. So be it.

That doesn't change the fact it's none of our business and, yes, it's a questionable exercise.

STERLING REPUTATION: Before Herb Kohl signs off on the sale of the Bucks to a couple of billionaires, he should be asked to outline his dealings with the disgraced Donald Sterling.

To what degree was Kohl aware his fellow NBA owner was a racist?

That question should be asked of everyone who oversees a franchise in the league, but especially the six parties whose tenures most parallel that of Sterling, who has owned the Los Angeles Clippers since 1981. That list includes Kohl, who bought the Bucks in 1985 but announced earlier this month he was selling the club to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry for a cool $550 million.

That question also should be posed to former NBA commissioner David Stern, who left his successor, Adam Silver, looking for a pin to put back in the grenade.

SIGHTS UNSEEN: This is going to go down as perhaps the most extraordinary month in Brewers history, and it has little to do with them having one of the best records in baseball heading into May.

Just think of all the things we've seen from them that we've probably never seen before.

A ball seemingly hit so hard the cover came off of it, and it wasn't Robert Redford swinging the bat?

A 2-6-1 double play, two runs scoring on a strikeout and a bench-clearing brawl where the guy who started it got off scot-free?

Adding to the strangeness is that all of those moments came in games against Pittsburgh.

REMEMBERING WHEN: According to a report in the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier over the weekend, 12 of the 14 Big Ten schools are projected to receive $44.5 million in revenue when the league's new TV contract goes into effect in 2017-18.

Keep in mind negotiations for the deal between the league and the networks haven't even begun, but estimates are already being made and are being portrayed by Big Ten officials as "very accurate.''

For perspective, the UW Athletic Department had total expenditures of $43.297 million in 2001, and the average among Big Ten schools at that time was $37.144 million.

Contact Andy Baggot

at [email protected] or 608-252-6175.

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