If you haven’t noticed, the Brewers have lost six of their last eight games – all at home. Their sudden swoon has kept the Cards mathematically viable in the wild-card race and allowed the Phillies to make a move.

So what’s up with Ned Yost’s team? Tipsheet figured the Brewers were home free after rolling to a 20-7 record in August.

For whatever reason, the Brewers couldn’t embrace prosperity.

“They’re fighting,” Yost assured the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “They’re doing everything they can do. They’re going through some tough times but they’re grinding. You just keep grinding until you catch some breaks and things go your way and you put a winning streak together.”

In their latest loss, the Brewers blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning. Salomon Torres pulled an Eric Gagne.

Afterward, Torres was preaching the power of positive thinking. “We cannot control what anybody else does,” he said. “They are in the rear-view mirror. If they were ahead, that’s a different story. But we’ve still got the lead so we cannot act like we are behind them.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while the Seattle Seahawks try to scrounge up some receivers:

• Has Aaron Rodgers come down from his Lambeau Leap yet?
• Is Randy Moss trying to talk Daunte Culpepper out of retirement?
• Will Mike Martz get Isaac Bruce a pass or two this week for the 49ers? Or is he pining for Mike Furrey?

A JOB FOR JOEL QUENNEVILLE

Few coaches can teach team defensive principles like old friend Joel Quenneville. He is sitting out the start of this NHL season  while awaiting another coaching opportunity, so he is on call for those needing help.

And here is a potential client: The Bulgarian women’s national team. In the European Olympic pre-qualifying tournament, these ladies lost to Croatia 30-1, Italy 41-0 and Slovakia 82-0.

The Bulgarians were outshot 139-0 in the game. Deadspin’s Rick Chandler scratches his head about that.

“I’m not up on my history in that part of the world; what did the Bulgarians do to (tick) off the Slovaks so badly?” he wrote. “It must have been terrible.”

DENNIS GREEN, MARKETING GENIUS

The former NFL coach has trademarked his famous phrase, “They are who we thought they were.” He uttered that during a postgame outburst after his Gridbirds blew a 20-point lead to the Bears in 2006.

He talked to CNBC about cashing in on that:  “Well, I thought if anyone was going to capitalize on it, it should be me. You can go on DennisGreen.com right now and buy the caps. I’m pretty good with coming up with phrases like ‘There’s no room for crybabies,’ which was the title of my book and I was one of the first guys to use the phrase ‘there’s a new sheriff in town’. So I called up my attorney and we got it approved pretty quickly. It was hard to dispute that anyone else came up with or used the phrase before I did. As far as making a lot of money off of it, I’ve have the Coors Light commercial, but I’m exploring how much more is out there. It’s not like I get money if someone says it in a movie. But I think it’s a good one and it’s not always negative. If a meeting was not what I thought it was – it could have been a terrible meeting or a good meeting.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “First David Eckstein, 5-foot-7 with his spikes on, is voted Most Valuable Player of the 2006 World Series. And now Dustin Pedroia, listed at 5-9 but said to be closer to Eckstein’s size, is making a serious run at the American League MVP Award. Welcome to post-BALCO baseball.”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “How bizarre to see Brett Favre in a Jets uniform, by the way. Packers fans haven’t been this nauseated since somebody put Ex-Lax in the cheddar.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “The last LPGA commissioner wanted players on tour to dress sexier. This one wants them to speak eighth-grade English. Why doesn’t the LPGA just kill two birdies with one stone and hire Las Vegas cocktail waitresses?”

David Thomas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, after Tatum Bell swiped Rudi Johnson’s luggage: “Lions officials weren’t too worried, however. If they thought Bell could carry something a long way, they wouldn’t have released him in the first place.”

Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoTribune: “Why would the NBA suspend reported Kansas doobie brothers Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur when having pot and women in their rooms during rookie orientation seems to indicate that they’ve oriented themselves quite well?”

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com: “The Bills would have been my 2008 sleeper except the whole ‘we’re playing six home games in Toronto over the next three years’ thing makes me nervous. If rooting for the Bills is a marriage, then the Toronto experiment (affair? dalliance?) is like having your wife announce, ‘Hey, I know we’ve been having problems, and I swear, this has nothing to do with that … but for the next three years, I’m going to spend 35 weekends per year flying to Toronto and sleeping with this rich millionaire who really wants to marry me. Don’t be alarmed, I just want to expand my presence in Canada.’ This will not end well.”

MEGAPHONE

“I’m a 36-year-old single guy who is completely open and honest with every woman in my life. As long as you’re honest, and no one’s getting played or let down, then you’re being fair.”

Lance Armstrong, on his life as a playboy.