Green Bay Packers players fell for the Thanksgiving Turkey prank again. 

The players received a note in their locker after practice on Wednesday that said “You can pick up your turkey” at a local supermarket just blocks from Lambeau Field between 3:30pm and 5pm.  Veterans then hand their memo over to the nearest rookie and tell them to go get their turkey for them. 

AUDIO: Bill Scott on Packer rookies falling for prank again 3:17

Rookies then walk into the supermarket with orders to pick up anywhere between 7 to 10 turkeys for themselves and their teammates. 

The players think they’re just picking up the turkey’s and not being hit with the bill.  So there’s a few surprising moments at the cash register and they’re all caught on camera and shown on the head coach’s television show.

The prank seems to get a little earlier every year but the organizers of it don’t want word of the deal to leak out to the players from fans and media.

2008 second round draft pick, QB Brian Brohm out of Louisville, was plucked off the Green Bay Packers practice squad and signed to a 2-year deal by the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday night.

The Packers had an open roster spot after waiving WR Jake Allen earlier.  They offered Brohm the same 2-year deal that Buffalo offered, but Brohm elected to go to the Bills, where he’ll actually have a better chance to compete for the top spot in Buffalo.  Brohm knows his chances of playing in Green Bay are slim with Aaron Rodgers locked in as the teams top player for several years to come.

The Green Bay Packers have released WR Jake Allen today.  No corresponding addition to the roster was announced.

Allen saw action in one game and was inactive for two others.  He spent the entire 2008 season and the first seven weeks of the 2009 season on the Packers’ practice squad.

The Milwaukee Brewers today declined the 2010 mutual option on right handed pitcher Braden Looper. 

Looper went 14-7 in 2009, but he had a rather robust 5.22 ERA in 34 starts.  He set a franchise record with 39 home runs allowed, which also led the majors.  Looper also led the league in runs allowed (123) and earned runs allowed (113).

In other Brewers news, infielder Craig Counsell and pitcher David Weathers both elected free agency.  The Brewers 40-man roster now stands at 35.

(UPI Photo / Bill Greenblatt)

Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings poured in 32 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter, to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 108-102 win over the Denver Nuggets at the Bradley Center.  Andrew Bogut added 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

AUDIO: Coach Scott Skiles on the win :16

It’s a small sample size, but the Bucks, who were supposed to be one of the NBA’s worst teams, are off to a 4-2 start and lead the NBA’s Central Division.

Denver cut a 10-point Bucks lead in the fourth quarter down to 1 (91-90) before Jennings answered with consecutive three-pointers to put the Bucks back up seven.  He then hit his final six free throws to seal the win. 

AUDIO: Brandon Jennings on the win :16

Jennings also dished out 9 assists for the Bucks, who are off until Saturday when they host Golden State.

As it turned out, the Green Bay Packers were just as upset about Sunday’s loss at Tampa Bay as their fans are.  After viewing film of that 10-point loss on Monday afternoon, members of the offense let off some steam.

Coaches were still in the meeting room with the players and veteran leaders on offense took turns addressing the remainder of the squad.  Every aspect of the teams game was up for critique and that’s exactly what happened.  The players said it needed to happen and feel better about the fact that it did.  After-all, the Packers are sitting at 4-4, literally out of the division race with 8-games to play, but not out of the wild card race.

Now the questions is, did the meeting do any good?  These things take place in pro sports all the time.  They almost always seem to be held too late and do little to correct the problems.  But that’s not always the case.  Sometimes it’s just what the doctor ordered. 

The Packers offense currently ranks 7th, but you’d never know it by all of the problems they have, including a league leading 37 sacks allowed. 

The Packers laid everything out on the table prior to their Sunday prime time match-up against the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys.  Dallas just happens to be one of the hottest teams in the NFL at the moment.  A win for the Packers would put momentum on their side and could catapult them into a strong second half.  But a loss could drive the Packers deeper into a hole that they won’t be able to dig themselves out of.

Coach Mike McCarthy is calling this a must win for the Packers and he’s right.  And the only way they’re going to win is for everybody to coach and play better, across the board. 

Guard Daryn Colledge called it a Come-to-Jesus meeting.  We’ll see if it actually did some good, or if it’s just another sign of an act by a desperate team.

The Green Bay Packers were supposed to go into Tampa and put the hurt on the Buccaneers.  Instead, rookie QB Josh Freeman made his first NFL start and led Tampa Bay to a 38-28 win over the Packers.  The win allowed the Bucs to become the last team in the NFL this season to win their first game.

Freeman passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns and despite an interception, looked almost in complete control.  

The Packers came into the game thinking they could confuse the rookie and do to the Buccaneers what they did to the Lions and the Cleveland Browns a few weeks ago.  But that wasn’t in Tampa Bay’s plans on the day.  Not only couldn’t the Packers protect their quarterback, they couldn’t get to Freeman either. 

Aaron Rodgers threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns for the Packers, but the league’s top rated passer also tossed three interceptions.  Rodgers was sacked six more times, increasing the Packers NFL-worst total to 37 in the first eight games of the season.  To make matters worse, Tampa Bay’s defense had just 11 sacks coming into the game.

The Buccaneers trailed the Packers 21-17 at the half, but Freeman found Kellen Winslow and Sammie Stroughter for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, then the Bucs returned a Rodgers interception for a touchdown to seal the win.

Green Bay running back Ahman Green did rush for 45 yards, giving him 8,208 yards for his career.  That surpasses Hall of Famer Jim Taylor (8,207) for the most rushing yards in franchise history.

Packers tackle Mark Tauscher returned to the starting lineup for the Packers but left the game with a knee injury and did not return.

The Packers fell to 4-4 with the loss and are now 3-full games behind the division leading Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North standings.  Minnesota also owns the division tie-breaker based on their two victories over the Packers earlier.  That means the Packers would practically need to run the table in the second half of the season and have the Vikings have a monumental collapse to have a shot at the division title.

The Green Bay Packers enter today’s game with a couple of simple goals in mind.  1) Run the football and 2) keep their quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) healthy going into next week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. 

The Packers are in one of those no-win situations.  Just like previous games against Detroit and Cleveland, today’s game at Tampa Bay should be a one-sided affair.  The 0-7 Buccaneers remain the only win-less team in the NFL and they may challenge the 2008 Detroit Lions as a potential 0-16 team.

The Packers should have an easy time today against the overmatched Bucs.  Tampa Bay can’t stop the run, so this is another good opportunity for Mike McCarthy to commit to the ground game and at the same time, keep their quarterback from getting hit.

The offense gets Chad Clifton back at left tackle and Mark Tauscher is expected to start at right tackle.  Together, they’ll try to improve pass protection unit that has allowed a league leading 31 quarterback sacks.

Scott Wells will start at center for the rest of the season after the Packers put Jason Spitz on season ending injured reserve on Saturday.  So the line looks like it’s set with Daryn Colledge at left guard and Josh Sitton at right guard.  Allan Barbre could split snaps with Tauscher today, but it appears that Tauscher will eventually take over on a full-time basis.

The Packers defense should be able to confuse new Buccaneers starter Josh Freeman at quarterback and dominate their side of the ball.  When the day is done, the Packers should be flying home with a 5-3 record at the midway point of the season, with a home game against the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd suffered a strained left patella tendon in Saturday’s home opening win against the Detroit Pistons and will miss at least two weeks.

Redd underwent an MRI on Sunday which revealed the injury and he’s expected to be re-evaluated in two weeks by Bucks doctors.

In two games this season, Redd has averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals in 31.0 minutes per game.

**The Bucks also announced today that the team will not exercise the third year team option on forward Joe Alexander.

Bucks general manager John Hammond said, “It was a difficult decision not to pick up Joe Alexander’s option.  Joe has missed valuable on court development opportunities due to injury during his first two training camps, and this year he will miss almost the first three months of the season with his hamstring injury.” 

“We believe Joe can be a good NBA player, but his latest injury had hampered our ability to further assess his progress.”

The Bucks announced on October 22 that Alexander aggravated his right hamstring injury during rehabilitation exercises and is expected to be sidelined for a period of 8 to 12 weeks.

Wisconsin true freshman linebacker chris Borland was named co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after recovering two fumbles, forcing another and recording four tackles in his first career start in the Badgers 37-0 win over Purdue.

Borland was also named co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week earlier this season after blocking a punt against Wofford.  He is the first Badger to earn defensive and special teams player of the week honors in the same season since Jim Leonard in 2003.

AUDIO: Bret Bielema on freshman Chris Borland :07

It’s also the fifth time this season that a UW player has been honored by the Big Ten.  John Clay, O’Brien Schofield and Scott Tolzien also earned conference honors.

 Borland has just one start under his belt, but he has a blocked punt, 5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks this season.

** The Big Ten Conference has announced the Wisconsin vs. Michigan, at Camp Randall Stadium on Nov. 14, will kickoff at 11am CT and be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Michigan leads the all-time series between the two teams 49-12-1, but the Badgers have won the last two meetings in Madison.