First impressions, second thoughts and the third degree:

Eric Gagne never will be the worst free agent signee in Brewers' history — Teddy Higuera has that baby pretty much sewn up for all eternity — but Gagne is definitely giving it a serious run.

Higuera had an undiagnosed torn rotator cuff when Milwaukee general manager Harry Dalton gave the left-handed starter a four-year deal worth $13.1 million in 1990. Higuera made 26 starts, winning five, over the life of that contract.

Gagne can't possibly dig a hole that deep, but five blown saves, a demotion from the closer's role and now a stint on the 15-day disabled list — all in the first two months of the season — makes his one-year, $10-million deal a solid No. 2 until further notice. …

Admit it: You wanted Danica Patrick to break into a full sprint, elude security, find Ryan Briscoe and, you know, put down a patch of verbal rubber on the guy whose lack of decorum in pit row knocked her out of the Indianapolis 500. …

If you're a defender of embattled Brewers manager Ned Yost, then you need to know Milwaukee played 32 of its first 50 games against teams above .500, including 21 against clubs that began the week in first place. …

Instant replay for baseball? It should be discussed, but one reason to proceed with caution is that commissioner Bud Selig is not a proponent and his instincts on similar matters — interleague play and the wild card playoff berth — have been pretty good. …

If baseball is looking for an outside-the-box solution to its slow pace, how about a limit on the number of non-injury-related pitching changes? Tony La Russa and his deliberate ilk will throw a fit, but, hey, nothing kills the buzz of a good, crisp game like bringing in one pitcher to face one batter. …

There are a lot of words to describe the rationale by Bowl Championship Series advocates to flush a seeded, plus-one format, but none better than this one from Joe Paterno: "Bogus." …

If you take one thing from Spygate, it should be this thought from Matt Walsh, the videographer/whistleblower who was in the middle of the NFL scandal: If illicit videotaping of opponents wasn't working for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, then why did he keep doing it all these years? …

Yes, Arlen Specter has more important things to do than chase down the truth about Spygate, but the Pennsylvania senator is being more aggressive about it than the NFL and therein lies the problem. …

News: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced last week plans to hold franchises accountable for behavior in their stadiums. Views: Just a guess, but if there's a how-to video involved, Packers fans will be lauded, not loathed. …

Falling one place in the NBA draft lottery will be easier for Bucks fans to swallow if the No. 8 pick happens to be UCLA forward Kevin Love. …

It would be fun to see Brett Favre as a Fox analyst if for no other reason than to see if he can get away with T-shirts, baseball caps, stubble and whoopie cushions on the set.