It’s hard to admit when a good thing has finished. Which is probably why it’s been so difficult the last several months to comprehend that my time with the University of Wisconsin as an undergraduate is ending. So, pardon me while I lock myself in my room and refuse to… Read more »

Words are so simple. They are just letters and syllables threaded together, their message shaped entirely by the person behind them. They can convey our deepest sympathies in the face of tragedy, our biting scorn in response to perceived injustice, our laughter when we are most in need of comic… Read more »

Well, it’s certainly been a brief four years my friends. I’ve covered countless beats during that time. I toiled through rebuilding seasons with the soccer teams, a season with each tennis team respectively as they tried to find the right mix, two wonderful years with the women’s hockey team that… Read more »

On a lucky occasion, wandering into the Field House after hours can render a surreal exposure. With dimmed lights and a faint reflection from the hardwood floors, the old gym almost seems false, an apparition, a sight linked in limbo of a storied past and a still-used future. Maybe it’s… Read more »

Students are about to peace out for the summer. Of the 40,000-plus that currently call themselves Badgers, a healthy amount will graduate or go home or head overseas or mosey on back to the kitchen of their local pizza parlor. Of the group, nearly everyone has a summer destination. A… Read more »

It had been a long time since I had made my last trek to Goodman Diamond. Apparently so long that I missed the memo that everyone knows about what’s going on with Wisconsin softball. Call it a rebirth, call it an emerging powerhouse, call it whatever you want. But in… Read more »

With the help of Sports Illustrated, NBA free agent Jason Collins made public  that he is gay Monday morning. While attempting to focus on the topics of my Communication Arts lecture, I experienced — for the first time in awhile — a “Hell yeah!” moment. Finally, an active athlete playing a major… Read more »

It’s roughly 1,040 miles from Madison to Dallas, Texas, but come fall of 2015, I plan to be in a car with classmates en route to watching the Badgers take on — and defeat — the Crimson Tide of Alabama in what will be the fifth annual Cowboy Classic at… Read more »

Fear of the unknown. It’s something I’d like to believe that most human beings share. It’s why some of us were afraid of the dark at an early age. That primal fear that comes with being unable to understand or control your surroundings is very basic, and it’s at the… Read more »

Warm weather has officially arrived here in Madison and spring has truly begun — or at least it appears here to stay. But with the warmer weather, bright sunshine, tanning bodies on Bascom Hill and iconic chairs returning to the Terrace, there is still a slight feeling that something is… Read more »

From its humble beginnings in a New York City hotel conference room in 1980 to the now three-day spectacle held in Radio City Music Hall, the NFL draft has elevated to the status of an ultimate live in prime-time reality show as analysts, fans and players wait in desperate anticipation… Read more »

Instant replay. Two words that have generated a tremendous amount of controversy over the last few years in just about every sport you can imagine — becoming a buzzword of sorts and earning a mention in almost every sporting event that is played. And yet, when instant replay is consulted,… Read more »

“Legends” and “Leaders.” Not exactly what we might call Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany’s finest moment. The names became laughable monikers that seemed to mock the 12 teams of the Big Ten thrown into divisions in a grab bag manner. Would you consider Indiana a legendary football program? Or two… Read more »

While addressing the local media after his team’s 6 a.m. Friday morning practice, Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen was asked a question about the program being more open to the public this spring. For Wisconsin, more open really means open at all. Because how many times had a practice been… Read more »

Augusta National Golf Club — known around the world for hosting the most important golf tournament in early April each year — isn’t for everyone. Until just recently, it was a boys-only fraternity house of sorts that allowed only the most lucky and hallowed of guests onto its grounds. Women… Read more »

Growing up a Chicago Cubs’ fan in south central Wisconsin, I often had many disputes with my friends about which was the better team; the Cubs or the Milwaukee Brewers. Naturally, I was always outnumbered and I therefore received a great deal of ridicule for being a fan of a… Read more »

The hangover has faded, all but disappeared. Spring football and an intriguing quarterback battle has replaced the dark memories of a certain game in Kansas City that’s buried in the furthest reaches of every Wisconsin fan’s mind after less than three weeks. Like every college socialite who pledges to never… Read more »

When there’s a scandal involving college athletes receiving illegal payments or benefits we rarely, as a society, bat our eyes for a second. When it was reported last week that the Auburn football program allegedly paid members of their football team to keep them from going pro, no one nor… Read more »

Most people would do anything for a million dollars. If they were given a salary of $1 million a year and promised a reasonable position, the money would be many times too much to even bat an eye in deliberation. Yes, yes, please sir. A salary like that — actually… Read more »

What is the measure of a great coach in college basketball? For Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan, it’s all about consistency. But does that make him great? His resume speaks for itself: 12 years with the Badgers, 12 NCAA tournament berths. No finish lower than fourth in the conference standings. One of… Read more »

Slightly laden down with tryptophan and a little too much pumpkin pie from my delayed Thanksgiving celebration, I sat in the press conference room of the Kohl Center at about 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, 2012. I was tired. I had just spent the entire day conversing with aunts and… Read more »

March Madness. It’s a time for filling out brackets, decreased productivity in offices across the United States and enough college basketball to rot your brain into a gooey pulp. This year, unfortunately, the unofficial national holiday of the NCAA tournament’s opening round of games (because, let’s be honest, play-in games… Read more »

Only six days short of seven years ago, the memory is still as vivid in my mind as when it happened. The date was March 26, 2006. After a typical Wisconsin winter, it was finally springtime and, at about 50 degrees in the late afternoon, it was warm enough outside… Read more »

Imagine you have just painted a wall in your house or apartment. You are immediately disappointed because the color doesn’t look anything like what you expected. But, you already put it up there so you might as well sit and wait. Throughout time, the paint very slowly begins to dry… Read more »

The Wisconsin Badgers are just a team. Nothing more, nothing less. They seem to prove it just about every game: Wisconsin is made of a group of players, each of them playing their role within the Wisconsin system; a system so unsexy that it is only marginally recognized when run… Read more »

Before he grew to the size of a tree, before he was a Division I college basketball player, the Wisconsin Badgers’ Frank Kaminsky dreamed of playing one day at the United Center. Growing up as a fan of the Chicago Bulls in Lisle, Ill. — he even has an aunt… Read more »

In times of defeat, it is easy to look at everything that was working against you. Blame the opponent, or the coach or look back at previous performances and wonder. Fault the fans for being no-shows, or injuries or question the outside powers for putting you in a predicament in… Read more »

Statistics are the lifeblood of sports. They prompt the debates, the arguments, the lists and rankings. Sheer numbers define what is good, what is poor, what is great and extraordinary. They fuel the expectations by which they are eventually judged. Well, the expectations for Bobbie Kelsey’s women’s basketball team were… Read more »

There’s blood in the water. And the sharks are circling. The last three games for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team have been shocking to say the least. In a season of Big Ten play where nothing is guaranteed except surprise, the Badgers have still managed to surprise themselves and most… Read more »

The last Wisconsin men’s hockey game that I attended was Sunday, Feb. 24, when the Badgers took on first-year Division 1 program Penn State at a sparsely populated Kohl Center. Two out of the three things that I just stated sound completely and utterly wrong in the eyes of any… Read more »

When soccer icon David Beckham decided to take his talents elsewhere this past offseason — leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer for Paris Saint-Germain in France — many loyal MLS fans feared the worst. And this fear was certainly justified. In six seasons with the Galaxy, David… Read more »

Understanding the success of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team this year starts with one underlying principle: Bo Ryan doesn’t change. As the world surrounding him gets caught up in the Twitter-verse, as coaches toss out playbooks and start anew in search of the best system for today’s game, head coach… Read more »

With red faces either from a hot post-game shower or maybe a few too many frustrated tears, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team didn’t mince words about its 3-2 overtime loss to Penn State Monday night. Sure, Penn State was a first-year team Wisconsin thrashed 5-0 the night before. Sure, the… Read more »

I thought my classes were complicated — I know I’m a freshman, but I’m still getting used to college here. Then I tried to understand the National Collegiate Athletic Association. For those who haven’t heard about what happened at University of Miami a little over a year and a half… Read more »

Three-thirty in the afternoon is a time of the day that means plenty of things for the average human being. The work day is almost over, maybe it’s that time for the student from elementary school through college where they finally get home from a tough day of classes. Or… Read more »

The team was ranked No. 1 in every week of the season except one. The program that had won two of the previous three national titles in 2009 and 2011 — missing the 2010 tournament with its coach and two best returning players competing in the Olympics — boasted a… Read more »

Danica Patrick is NASCAR’s little dolly, pretty much regardless of what she thinks. Of the first 10 pictures that lead the Google search “Danica Patrick,” only two show Patrick sporting her popular NASCAR jumpsuit. The others include her in a much more revealing sense, erotically clad as an article accentuating… Read more »

When it comes to criticism, the National Basketball Association is never far from reach.This really isn’t a huge revelation — NBA players have 82 games during the year to boost their stats as much as they can to increase their salary, their fame and their SportsCenter highlight reels. It should… Read more »

In the world of athletic directors, the phrase “no news is good news” generally runs pretty true. If the head of the athletic department doesn’t have to set up a press conference and make an announcement, that usually means the department is sailing smoothly on open waters. The tides are… Read more »

If you glanced at any newsstand on campus Monday, Feb. 11, you didn’t see the names of the papers sitting there or any words for that matter. Staring back at you was a solitary red number “1” on the back of Ben Brust’s white jersey. The six-column photo — a… Read more »

The 2012 NFL season is now over and every team but the Baltimore Ravens is disappointed with the way its season ended, especially the Green Bay Packers, who have strong aspirations of winning the Super Bowl these days with Aaron Rodgers under center. With the offseason upon us, the Packers… Read more »

Everybody loves a fairytale ending. Don’t lie to me guys - you watched Disney growing up. You sat in your one-piece pajamas and watched “The Lion King.” You died a little inside when it didn’t work out between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries (THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER)… Read more »

As most baseball fans have undoubtedly heard by now, Milwaukee Brewers superstar and former-MVP Ryan Braun is being linked to performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in his six-year career. Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday night that Braun’s name appeared on the records of a clinic – Biogenesis of America LLC… Read more »

One of the finer points in being a student-journalist comes with understanding where to draw the line. First off, when you read this know the biographical facts that shape my identity as a person. I am a fifth-year student at the University of Wisconsin and I grew up a life-long… Read more »

This time, when I heard the news a new quarterback had transferred to Wisconsin, I didn’t even blink. In what has become the third annual announcing of a transfer quarterback at UW, it came as little surprise when new football head coach Gary Andersen added yet another quarterback — junior… Read more »

He took the ball down the floor, abruptly planted his feet from the right wing and tossed up a Hail Mary three-point attempt. The ball fell through the bottom of the net and a Wisconsin sports hero had stamped his legacy with his first signature moment on a national scale.… Read more »

I watch a lot of SportsCenter, but not nearly as much as I used to. Too many times on this campus, I have filled out a questionnaire on the first day of class and informed my teacher that yes, it is my favorite show on television. I think differently now,… Read more »

Last week one of our writers, Sean Zak, wrote a column about holding back optimism for the Wisconsin football team in 2013. My simple question in response is, why? I understand last year’s new assistant hires and all of the transition that followed led to bumps and bruises, but there… Read more »

It wasn’t long ago, on Nov. 27 to be exact, that I wrote a column concerning the dire situation that was Wisconsin men’s hockey. At the end of the first half of the season and heading into final exams here at the University of Wisconsin, the team sat at a… Read more »

Uncertainty is a frank description, but it ran through the veins of the Wisconsin football program throughout the 2012 season. That Bielema guy fired an assistant from the SEC. Then that Bielema guy grabbed what he could (in assistants) and left for the SEC. In leaving, he left the door… Read more »

Bo Ryan and Tom Crean exchanged a fly-by handshake with just a touch of bitterness, Mike Bruesewitz let out a primal howl as he walked into the victorious locker room and, just like that, the Wisconsin basketball team had reversed its fortunes. These marked the first moments after Wisconsin shocked… Read more »

PASADENA, Calif. — It was the ending of an era for Badger football in the 99th installation of the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Or rather, it was the bridging of one chapter to the next in a storybook that largely began in 1990. Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez… Read more »

Chances are, if you have an account on Twitter, you are now following @BeingBielema, the satirical account of what life must be like for the new head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. With the recent coach’s departure from Madison, the account has gained more 1,000 new followers in the last… Read more »

Last night, as I stared up at the ceiling from my bed around 3 a.m. with bloodshot eyes, there were a few thoughts that were rushing through my head. One was, “how did I drink that much coffee and not die?” The other, well, you have to go back more… Read more »

While I would never tab Bret Bielema as much of a speedster, he sure took off in a flash.As the news broke of him taking the head coaching position at Arkansas, the utter surprise filled Twitter to the brim, but I was as blind as a blind side could get;… Read more »

Bret, it didn’t have to be like this. For somebody who always harped about how much he loved his team and Wisconsin, how could you sneak around looking for another job while the season hadn’t even finished yet? That’s just classless. Other coaches have done the same, but for a… Read more »

Hype surrounding Wisconsin’s third consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl is taking center stage for Badger fans. Head coach Bret Bielema’s unexpected departure for Arkansas only makes this game more intriguing in Badger nation. But the rest of the college football world has its eyes on several bowl games that… Read more »

For long-time soccer icon David Beckham, it is now safe to say no expectations are too high. After announcing weeks ago that the 2012 Major League Soccer season would be his last one in a Los Angeles Galaxy uniform, Beckham finished his American career with a bang by winning the… Read more »

INDIANAPOLIS — Surely it was just one lucky run from the fuel-injected legs of redshirt freshman tailback Melvin Gordon.Then, a bobbled pass off the hands of the Cornhuskers’ Kenny Bell found the outstretched arms of the Badgers’ Marcus Cromartie. As the redshirt senior raced 29 yards to the end zone… Read more »

It’s a pretty simple diagnosis when it comes to prediciting the outcome of the 2012 Big Ten Championship game. It’s going to be close. If there’s anything Wisconsin and Nebraska have both shown consistently this season is the ability to make games painstakingly close. Both fan bases can attest to… Read more »

Nearly three months ago, The Badger Herald titled its season preview for the Wisconsin football season “On the Brink,” the bold, oversized lettering itself representative of the expectations surrounding this team. My own hands were among those that helped build the towering expectations for this team, fully convinced there would… Read more »

College football’s regular season is winding down with just one weekend left of play before the always-interesting final BCS rankings are revealed Sunday. We all love to hate the BCS. Normally, this is the time in the season when heated debate begins about who will be chosen to play for… Read more »

It’s all happening, right before our eyes. It started a few years ago and is heating up. We just have not realized it yet. The Big Ten and the SEC, each now boasting 14 nationally prominent college allegiances, are dead set on a collision course to dominate college athletics. The… Read more »

For the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, it’s quickly becoming do-or-die time. Once upon a time, Wisconsin hockey was the best in the business. As of 2006, it had won six national championships since 1973. It also made an appearance in the 2010 title game. That last run to the championship… Read more »

It felt pretty incredible to be present for Penn State’s final home game of the season Saturday. And that feeling had nothing to do with the Wisconsin football team I’ve been covering for The Badger Herald. For this Nittany Lion program, the past 12 months have been a whirlwind of… Read more »

Waking up Sunday morning, I was in shock. A much-needed postgame nap had turned into a 14-hour night of sleep, and what I was reading on my Twitter feed didn’t make sense. Notre Dame was No. 1? Only a few moments after, it hit me. No. 6 Kansas State and… Read more »

It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and so many students on the University of Wisconsin campus have departed in the direction of their respective hometowns or hunting grounds. But as the students travel to their family members awaiting with fat turkeys and begin to give thanks for everything they’re blessed with,… Read more »

Let’s play a game of word association. Ready? OK, here’s the word. Big Ten. So what’s the first word that comes to your mind? Maybe it’s one of the sports like football and basketball that the conference is renowned for. Then again, maybe it’s one of the schools that make… Read more »

Anything felt possible. Curt Phillips just orchestrated one of the best two-minute drills in recent Wisconsin history to force overtime Senior Day. Montee Ball had a renewed chance at breaking the NCAA career touchdown mark after earning the record-tying score in the second quarter. And the defense — which housed… Read more »

As a timid freshman more than three years ago, I walked into the McClain Facility to interview a freshman running back I knew nearly nothing about. He was a somewhat lauded four-star recruit who had just earned the first carries of his young college career, a player still buried beneath… Read more »

This past Friday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. — just like many other Fridays every fall — hundreds of thousands of people awoke from their work or school-induced slumber. Not because the workweek had finally ceased, not because a beautiful, sunny weekend was in its approach and certainly not because Sean Zak… Read more »

While the season may just be warming up for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team, expectations for what type of team this year’s squad will offer have already begun to surface at the proverbial office water coolers across the state. Unlike years past, when the Badgers’ success rested largely on the… Read more »

I’m a big intangibles guy. Talent matters, but when it comes down to it, what separates the good and the great in sports — and in life for that matter — is that little extra something you can’t touch or see physically on the field or court of play. If… Read more »

Earlier this week, Badger Herald Sports Content Editor and fellow Columnist Nick Korger wrote that any outcome from Saturday’s game with Indiana would come at no surprise. He is exactly right. A Wisconsin victory would reshape the crumbling confidence surrounding the program. An Indiana victory would all but take the… Read more »

The state of fandom may just be one of the hardest burdens to bear in the sports world. A fan — whether because they were born into their fandom, or developed it over time — is often a lifetime supporter through sickness and in health. A fan knows the ins… Read more »

In the strangest of seasons, one where the Badgers still have a clear shot at the Rose Bowl with three losses to their name, an unfamiliar unit has acted as the reparative glue for this team: the defense. It is a complete reversal of scripts from the 2011 season, when… Read more »

Week 10 took the top teams in college football by surprise. No. 1 Alabama was losing to SEC West rival LSU until a late touchdown with 51 seconds remaining in the game. USC kept No. 3 Oregon on its toes with 13 fourth quarter points. No. 4 Notre Dame needed… Read more »

After the public unveiling of the Wisconsin men’s 2012-13 basketball team Sunday during the annual Red/White Scrimmage, Badger basketball fans may have less to worry about this season than they originally thought. Call me crazy, but maybe expectations should even be raised. With the losses of Jordan Taylor, who graduated… Read more »

To say this season has been surprising would be an understatement. Every emotion the brain can produce — joy, anger, rage, hope, disappointment — it’s all been encapsulated within the already wobbly and extending frame of Wisconsin’s 2012 campaign. And boy, could it get even crazier Saturday. The Badgers haven’t… Read more »

At the moment, Wisconsin sports may seem tumultuous. The starting point guard goes down with a season-ending injury, quickly followed by the starting quarterback. The same thing happened to my high school in 2007, when an outstanding athlete — one who carried the torch of Sturgeon Bay High School sports… Read more »

The old Welsh poet George Herbert once wrote that, “Life is half spent before we know what it is.” Such is also true with football. Especially in the NFC North, where a few W’s and L’s springing up in unexpected places changed the way we initially thought about these four… Read more »

With a No. 4 BCS ranking, the Oregon Ducks should feel slighted. Winning the past two games by a total of 78 points should not equate to a drop. But that is exactly what has unfolded. After dominating Arizona State on the road last Saturday, the Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12)… Read more »

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column that overflowed with optimism at the rapidly growing scene that has been soccer in the U.S. over the last decade. But that was before American soccer star Landon Donovan had an interview with ESPN FC, ESPN’s soccer blog, revealing his reservations about… Read more »

If there’s something I’ve learned in my life as both a fan of sports and as a journalist, it’s that athletic prowess and success can be taken away at the drop of the hat. Or a single hit. Or an ACL tear. But that’s just the nature of sports. The… Read more »

There once was a time during the nonconference season when the very idea of the Wisconsin football team playing its Big Ten slate was enough to make one recoil in fear. After letting one too many wheel routes get past them against Northern Iowa, taking more than 58 minutes to… Read more »

Just like that, the memories came rushing back. There were the Wisconsin running backs, streaking through the Greyhound Bus-sized gaps along the offensive line and continuing to pound the ball down the field. Minnesota knew exactly what was coming next — James White or Montee Ball bull-rushing his way into… Read more »

You’ve heard coaches say something like this before, “Play every game like it’s the championship.” On Saturday, it’s less of a cliché, because that is exactly what Michigan and Nebraska will do when they meet in Lincoln, Neb. It has taken eight weeks of football for true front-runners to appear… Read more »

Growing up, like many other kids my age, I used to wear the emblematic yellow Livestrong bracelet wherever I went. It was a symbol of what hard work and determination could do in the face of adversity. While I stopped wearing it long ago, Lance Armstrong always remained a hero… Read more »

What took place on the field Saturday was football. What was held against the goalpost in celebratory tree-chopping symbolism was a trophy. However, what happened at Camp Randall this weekend was supposed to be a rivalry — but it wasn’t. Wisconsin winning the rights to hold Paul Bunyan’s Axe for… Read more »

Just when you think you’ve got things figured out, something crazy happens. This fall season of Wisconsin sports has taken just about every possible direction on about every playing field. Just when we thought the UW football team was primed for greatness (it still might be), a seemingly unimaginable road… Read more »

The place: the Metrodome. The date: Oct. 15, 2005. With the Gophers lining up for the punt, the Badgers, down 31-34 with just 38 seconds remaining in the game, send an all-out block. Minnesota’s punter, Justin Kucek, his back leg near the goal line, fumbles the snap and Wisconsin’s Jonathan… Read more »

Seven weeks of upsets, domination and struggle have already come and gone in the world of college football. With the midway point to the season now upon us, legitimate BCS talk begins. The first BCS rankings released Sunday put Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Kansas St. and Notre Dame at the top.… Read more »

When point guard Jordan Taylor took his final steps on the hardwood in a Wisconsin uniform in a heartbreaking one-point loss to Syracuse seven months ago, he left a power vacuum for the lead role of the Badgers’ offense. Who would fill in for his 14.8 points and 11.5 field… Read more »

While the Summer Olympics officially ended over two months ago, repercussions from one game in particular in the women’s soccer competition still haven’t faded away. The game, played between the U.S. women’s national soccer team and Canada’s women’s team in the semifinal of the Olympic competition, would not be decided… Read more »

Remember the guy that led Wisconsin to an 11-win season in his first year as head coach? That same man coached the Badgers to back-to-back Big Ten Championships, consecutive Rose Bowls, and has cemented Wisconsin as a top-notch program in the world of college football. On his record as head… Read more »

Raise your hand if you are on Twitter or Facebook. Yeah that’s what I thought. It’s ok folks, I’m constantly tuned in to both. But these days words like “make your profile private” and “don’t share any of your personal information online” are becoming everyday turns of phrase just like… Read more »

For just one week, for 60 minutes on the field, head coach Bret Bielema must toss aside his prized “1-0” mentality and realize the significance of this week’s matchup in West Lafayette, Ind. When asked about the importance of this game, Wisconsin’s head coach has continued the typical coachspeak —… Read more »

Glancing over college football rankings after Week 6, I saw the expected drop of LSU’s and Georgia’s positions after losing Saturday. Then an odd feeling struck me when I hit the USA Today Coaches Poll. Something is missing. Then I realized, it, where is a team from the Big Ten?… Read more »

If I were to tell you I watched a sporting event this weekend that had a crowd of 66,452 people in the stands, what sport would you guess I was watching? Your first guess would probably be a football game of some kind. Or maybe you would have guessed a… Read more »

And I thought “As the World Turns” was the best soap opera on TV. OK, I’ve never watched a soap opera, you caught me. The only time I’d be suckered into watching that sappy genre of a television show has been when I’m sick and stuck at home, too ill… Read more »

Fall is the king of all seasons. It’s not just the leaves on the trees becoming picturesque in their changing colors, the crisp smell of the cool autumn air that pierces your lungs or even the wafting smell of an early-afternoon barbeque. Fall is simply the best because it means… Read more »

Wisconsin fans are in a weird situation. For the first time since Allan Evridge was handing off snaps to P.J. Hill, things just don’t feel right about University of Wisconsin football. For some reason (actually many reasons, as pointed out by my fellow Herald columnists this week) the 2012 football team… Read more »

In the days since the Wisconsin football team muffed its chance at reversing the gloomy narrative its season has going for itself, several specific plays have refused to leave my mind alone. Up 14-3 with under five minutes left in the first quarter, Wisconsin lines up on 2nd and 9… Read more »

Déjà vu, anyone? No, you weren’t seeing a replay of last year’s Wisconsin team on the road this past Saturday, and yes, Nebraska scored 20 unanswered points to overcome a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to beat Wisconsin 30-27, the second biggest comeback in Huskers’ history. Once again, in… Read more »

Northwestern University is known for many things: its near-Ivy League admission standards, the small-town charm of Evanston, Ill., and a beautiful campus to name a few, but being a top 25 football program is not one of them. With a 5-0 start to the season after a recent 44-29 victory… Read more »

Since Saturday’s second half implosion in Lincoln, Neb., the quarterback controversy has certainly gained the most publicity over the last several days as being one of head coach Bret Bielema’s biggest mistakes so far this season. It was a fact that became glaringly obvious after a miscommunication between quarterback Danny… Read more »

Every Wisconsin fan watching the game Saturday did a double take when No. 6 entered the game on the game-deciding drive with just under three minutes left in a Memorial Stadium growing louder with each snap. No, there was no way Danny O’Brien, the transfer savior-turned backup quarterback and clipboard manager could… Read more »

The setting is perfect. For the game of golf, the Ryder Cup is as good as it gets, and I had the pleasure of witnessing it Thursday. The Ryder Cup, for those who may not know, is sort of like the Olympics for professional golfers. The event is played once… Read more »

I was sitting in my living room, enveloped in the large forest green cushions of my couch, when Antonio Freeman made “The Catch.” It was Nov. 6, 2000. I was only 9 years old — a wee little fourth-grader — yet I remember that catch as if I were a… Read more »

USC, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, Michigan State and our own Wisconsin Badgers. The list could go on and on of teams that have underperformed this season. Some have just not played well and others have had their road to a national title game decimated by upset losses. This story line of… Read more »

It’s amazing how expectations can change in a month. It seems like just yesterday the sky was the limit for a Wisconsin football team that many predicted would not only be a lock for the Rose Bowl, but also a national championship contender. The buzz surrounding this year’s team in… Read more »

After four games, it’s hard to find the words to describe how to feel after the first month of Badger football. Maybe it’s comparable to that relationship where things just seemingly don’t work right away, but optimism remains that it will come to fruition eventually. Or maybe it’s more along… Read more »

Would you hire Michael Vick as a dog sitter? No, because he went to jail for hosting dog fights. Would you let MC Hammer handle your finances? No, because he quickly found fame and found bankruptcy even quicker. These are easy decisions. The common thread is society has a hard… Read more »

Ever go through a frustrating time that perhaps forced you to behave in a somewhat harsh manner, to the point where you suspect you might be acting harsh and become self-conscious and worry if your colleagues are saying anything unflattering about you and your erratic behavior consequently worsens? (Exhale.) Some… Read more »

Rose • ŸBowl-itis (n.): a disorder leaving fans with excessive feelings of confidence or hope before the season starts; symptoms include booking flights to Los Angeles and hotels in Pasadena in August; most prevalent in the Midwest I, too, was a victim of the hype, my dreams driving deeper with… Read more »

As the saying goes, the bigger they come, the harder they fall. And nothing holds truer for this year’s preseason Heisman contenders. Three weeks ago, if you would have handed me a list with your Heisman predictions heading into Week 4 and not included Matt Barkley, Michigan’s Denard Robinson, and… Read more »

If adversity builds character, then this Wisconsin team has it in spades. After another nail-biting, come-from-behind win in week 3 against a solid Utah State team, the Badgers have made it clear that this year, it’s all about survival. Even with the offense looking more like a David than its… Read more »

Sometimes change is good, and sometimes change is bad. Sometimes change is inevitable, and sometimes change should have never occurred. Around college football the past year or so, everything is changing; this we already know. Universities are attempting to “stay ahead of the curve” by swapping conferences for competition, dishonoring… Read more »

When it comes to the sports I cover, I never like to make predictions. People will ask me my thoughts on how the team looks for the coming season, and while I readily give an answer, once they start asking where I think that team will finish, I immediately refuse… Read more »

While the UW men’s basketball season may still be nearly two months away from its regular season opener at the Kohl Center Nov. 11, it’s already that time of year again for UW students to reserve their spots in the Grateful Red student section for the 2012-2013 season. Since its… Read more »

Bret Bielema just launched a high-stakes experiment. When Wisconsin’s head coach decided to replace offensive line coach Mark Markuson after a rocky start, he showed unbridled confidence not only in himself, but also in new coach Bart Miller. A program swept by change over the last nine months, Bielema’s decision… Read more »

After losing multiple starters and coaches in the offseason, it was understandable to expect the Badgers to go through the typical bumps and bruises associated with breaking in a new team during the nonconference part of its schedule. But after just two games, it’s fair to say nobody expected this.… Read more »

Perfection is a feat we rarely witness. No team plays a perfect game. There is always something that could have been done just a little bit better or a little bit quicker. Perfect seasons are extraordinary but extremely uncommon. It may always be the goal, but it is rarely a… Read more »

There’s no doubt in anyone’s head who the go-to man for the Wisconsin football team is. No Badger fan would particularly want to daydream about what this UW team might be like without Montee Ball. But running back is a funny position. When a team’s — or, more specifically, an… Read more »

It’s hard to remember a time when football wasn’t America’s game. Sure, baseball is heralded as America’s pastime, but for decades football has grown to such an extent of popularity that it outstrips any other TV programming by a mile. But the rise of football has also gone hand-in-hand with… Read more »

The Badgers are on the brink of something great. After two consecutive trips to Pasadena and two consecutive Rose Bowl losses, there’s a feeling surrounding this football program that it’s on the brink. The brink of what you ask? It’s not just a win in a BCS bowl. True, the… Read more »

It’s about damn time. That was my first thought after checking out the Wisconsin men’s basketball nonconference season for the upcoming season. The cupcakes from the likes of the Southland Conference (Southeastern Louisiana, anyone?) are still present, but the Badgers’ pre-Big Ten schedule looks remarkably strong when compared to those… Read more »

When it comes to the typical UW student’s social life in the fall, an outward view presents just a single location on campus that seems to matter: Camp Randall. Back-to-back Rose Bowls and increasing hype nationwide offer what seems to be the perfect recipe for another great season spent at… Read more »

At the University of Wisconsin, it’s no surprise that football and basketball garner so much support. With a football team that has reached back-to-back Rose Bowls and a basketball team that has qualified for 14-straight NCAA tournaments, the programs deserve every bit of the attention they receive. But with the… Read more »

The past two years, the Wisconsin Badgers have made the trip to Pasadena. That’s a remarkable feat for any team. Two consecutive years of finding a way through the highs and lows, rebounding from last-second losses and finding a way to get to one of the premiere stages in college… Read more »

Well, damn. Another semester has passed by, except this time for so many other seniors and myself, it’s our last one. This is my final column for The Badger Herald, and as nostalgic and teary-eyed as I’d love to make you, I don’t think that’s what these spaces are for.… Read more »

For what now seems like an eternity, the New Orleans Saints have been rocked by scandal and suspensions for what can only be deemed as “Bountygate.” As an NFL investigation revealed, the New Orleans Saints implemented a bounty system under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from 2009 to 2011 in which… Read more »

Back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances go a long way in building a nationally recognized football brand. But in 2012, the Wisconsin football program has the chance to take a final, long-awaited step forward. After spending years adjacent to the circle that surrounds college football’s “elite” programs, Wisconsin has the opportunity next… Read more »

It’s become clear to me that big-time sports and higher education just do not go together. The debate of paying college players is not at all a new issue. For a while, the dispute aged like vinegar, and the dialogue barely ever changed. But recently there has been a fresh… Read more »

While it’s a topic somewhat removed now, I can’t help but shake off the nagging thoughts that came immediately after the Washington Capital’s right-winger Joel Ward ended the Boston Bruins season. Fans, not only loyal to Boston, but other NHL teams as well, took to Twitter expressing their disappointment in… Read more »

I never knew Junior Seau, nor did I know much about him as a person prior to this week. I was well aware he was an All-Pro linebacker who spent several seasons (13, to be exact) with the San Diego Chargers. There, he forged an identity as a talented, relentless… Read more »

There are a few things every crazy sports fan of Wisconsin athletics should do before graduating. Witnessing in person a historic upset, waking up early for College Gameday even when you felt like Frankenstein’s monster from going out Friday night — these are just a few things every Badger fan… Read more »

Summer is generally a time for Wisconsin athletes to rest up and prepare for the challenges of the looming season. Football players put in long hours in front of the empty Camp Randall bleachers, envisioning the fall gamedays when it will be packed with more than 80,000 fans. Cross country… Read more »

If you’re an unorthodox sports fan, you may very well rue the day when Mr. Irrelevant is called and the NFL draft ends. It’s a fantastically underrated sporting event. For me, a football fan, all I need to consider is the fact that there hasn’t been any football on television… Read more »

On Saturday, I covered just my second Wisconsin football spring game since being on campus. And let me tell you, like every other year, it was much ado about nothing. As great as it is to touch base with the team and see how it’s starting to develop in the… Read more »

Everywhere we look, the National Football League seems to be expanding. Perhaps a lingering characteristic of this post-lockout era, last night’s opening round of the NFL Draft capped a weeklong media binge that tested the mettle of even the most football-savvy minds. Imagine being a mock draft expert this week.… Read more »

The NFL Draft is every sports fan’s favorite lottery. Or it should be, at least. Like a day in the life of Charlie Sheen, the NFL Draft is one of those things in life you’re never sure of until it actually happens. You can take all the advice and predictions… Read more »

Bo Ryan is the anti-John Calipari, a coach whose teams usually feature veteran, overachieving shooters instead of the rotating carousel of Kentucky’s freakishly athletic one-and-done crews. As part of their contrasting mentalities, it’s rare a freshman earns a starting spot or even serves as a major offensive weapon for the… Read more »

Whether you’ve realized yet or not, professional football has entered a new era. Where there was once the dawn of the league, the AFL-NFL merger, the beginning of the modern age, there is now the concussion era. It’s beginning — marked by the tumultuous first few weeks of the 2010-11… Read more »

There’s no denying it; the Stanley Cup playoffs have been one intense affair this year — and we’re only in the first round. Last week I laid out a few reasons why sports fans should watch the playoffs. One of those reasons was the fighting and just how ridiculous the… Read more »

Less than a week before the NFL Draft, we already know how the top two picks will shake out. League sources have confirmed two of the worst kept secrets in recent memory, that Andrew Luck will be heading to Indianapolis and Robert Griffin III will be Washington-bound at No. 2.… Read more »

How long has it been since a player on the Wisconsin men’s basketball team transferred out of the program? Seriously, can anyone tell me? These were the questions I methodically repeated to every die-hard Badger fan I knew Tuesday. Every time, I received the same puzzled look, as various men… Read more »

As incoming transfer quarterback Danny O’Brien begins his career as a Badger this fall, his career will be forever linked to that of an accomplished predecessor. But, no matter how much Wisconsin fans dream of O’Brien recreating the magic Russell Wilson brought to Bret Bielema’s team in 2011, those expecting… Read more »

Back in January, when the fallout of another Rose Bowl loss still echoed throughout the fanbase of the Wisconsin football team, Montee Ball’s decision to remain in Madison for his senior season certainly made some (if not most) of the pain go away. But in the months that have passed… Read more »

In the middle of April, with deliciously warm days and baseball finally getting in full swing, hockey simply is not on the radar. But much to the contrary, the NHL playoffs are upon us. And oh boy, what a post season it has been so far. Between unbelievable upsets, buzzer-beaters… Read more »

It may finally be the year for one of the most futile franchises in baseball. And I’m not talking about the Cubs (that one’s hopeless). Although I may be the only fan in the Midwest who cares, the Washington Nationals are off to a surprisingly strong start in their first… Read more »

It’s been a while since the Wisconsin softball team has been able to claim the spotlight. Since the program’s creation in 1996, the team has only reached the NCAA tournament three times, with its last berth coming in 2005 under former head coach Karen Gallagher. In fact, Gallagher took the… Read more »

Since taking over as commissioner of Major League Baseball in 1992, Bud Selig has overseen baseball’s infamous Steroid Era, led multiple expansion campaigns and taken the game to new economic and social heights. Prior to running the sport, 77-year-old Selig owned the Milwaukee Brewers and played an integral role in… Read more »

Let’s say I was presented with a cache of tickets to various places and events, all within the United States. Some would be plane tickets and reservations to resorts in warm climates, like Miami or San Diego. Some would be tickets to music festivals, like Coachella or Bonnaroo. Tickets to… Read more »

In the week prior to the 2012 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, concerns over whether Tiger Woods would finally notch his 18th major or not stormed through sports media. Well, after finishing five over par, the clear answer is no. But through all the questions following Woods like a… Read more »

Wisconsin just played the role of thief once again. In what could become known as the “Russell Wilson Effect,” the Badgers pulled their latest robbery from the rest of college football this past Wednesday when former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien announced he will transfer to play in Madison. The wait… Read more »

It’s hard to push away the initial frustration — to come to terms with a down-to-the wire, heartbreaking loss. It seems impossible to shake the visions of what could have been, with the Elite Eight or even Final Four glory possible if not for that disastrous three-point heave to close… Read more »

The Final Four gives us two rematches from the regular season on Saturday: Ohio State vs. Kansas and Kentucky vs. Louisville. Should the pieces fall just right on April 2, it’s distinctly possible we could have a Kentucky-Kansas clash in the NCAA Championship game. So what can these early-season encounters… Read more »

As general manager of the Green Bay Packers, Ted Thompson wields the awesome power of assembling and designing Wisconsin’s beloved professional football team. The architect of Green Bay’s 2010-11 Super Bowl-winning team, Thompson is basically the supreme football being in the Dairy State. He is The Creator. And what is… Read more »

Between the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program, all the fallout that came with it and Peyton Manning’s short bout of free agency, it’s undoubtedly been a raucous offseason for the NFL. But once again, Tim Tebow steals the show. John Elway unsurprisingly pursued Manning and gave the clear impression that… Read more »

When Roger Goodell decided to keep Sean Payton off the sidelines in 2012, he did more than leave his mark on NFL history as the first commissioner to suspend a coach for an entire year. By dumping Payton — and suspending Gregg Williams indefinitely — Goodell made it clear that… Read more »

No time to waste! Wisconsin Badgers, Syracuse Orange. Let’s break down the keys for a Badger victory. Beating the Syracuse 2-3 zone We’ve heard about it the entire college basketball season, how Syracuse’s hyped 2-3 zone defense is one of the hardest to beat in the nation. There’s plenty of… Read more »

Although the Wisconsin Badgers have played two of their most impressive games of the season in the NCAA tournament, they’ll face arguably the year’s toughest competition in the Sweet 16. Thursday night, the No. 4 seed Badgers face the top-seed Syracuse Orange in Boston, where Wisconsin will be looking to… Read more »

At this point most of us, probably all of us, can admit that the next Nostradamus does not walk among us. Of course in reference to everyone’s brackets that have been busted by now, if somebody has picked an entirely correct bracket to this point, a line is probably filing… Read more »

For the second year in a row, Bo Ryan’s Badgers are back in the Sweet 16. This year, more than any other, I’ve pressured myself into asking how this man continues to pull out such results. Following the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s 60-57 win Saturday, I took a step back… Read more »

Friday night, millions of tiny voices screamed out in agony as brackets everywhere were torn asunder. Consistent and accountable No. 2-seeded Duke had lost to No. 15-seeded Lehigh 75-70. Up to that point, March was not quite so mad or chaotic like its nickname promises. But with the Missouri loss… Read more »

Looking strictly at seeding, Thursday transpired precisely according to plan for the Wisconsin Badgers. A 73-49 win over 13th-seeded Montana advanced fourth-seeded Wisconsin to the Round of 32, where the Badgers will meet the fifth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday. The sizable difference between Wisconsin and Montana was just as present… Read more »

No time for idle talk today. March is here, and so is Wisconsin’s game against Montana. Let’s break down the key player matchups in the Badgers’ first tournament game. Jordan Taylor vs. Will Cherry Wisconsin and Montana’s best players both happen to be point guards. While Jordan Taylor was a… Read more »

It wasn’t until the third period that I realized I wasn’t ready for the hockey season to be over. Listening to WIBA’s Brian Posick’s call the final game of a best-of-three series Sunday night against Denver was one of the very few times in my reporting career I felt the onset… Read more »

The following sentence may catch a few Wisconsin football fans off guard, but it’s more or less true. Since Scott Tolzien left the program at the end of the 2010 season, the quarterback position at UW has been unstable. That is in no way a comment on the performance of… Read more »

INDIANAPOLIS — It was a nice run, but most Badgers fans knew it was headed for a premature close. After taking down a dangerous Indiana team in front of a Bankers Life Fieldhouse crowd full of Hoosiers fans, a sense of cautious optimism developed around Bo Ryan’s squad. Maybe this… Read more »

Under Bo Ryan, the Wisconsin Badgers have never lost on Senior Day. The program defined most commonly by its consistency is 11-0 in home regular-season finales under its head coach, but last Sunday’s 70-56 Senior Day win over Illinois seemed a little more picturesque than usual. Jordan Taylor had a… Read more »

When the Big Ten released the names of its first team honorees on Monday, one thing in particular stuck out. Of the five spots on the all-Big Ten first team, four were unanimous between the media and the coaches of the conference. However, at the last guard spot, there was… Read more »

March Madness is here! Finally, the most exciting time in college basketball has arrived, and in just four days the NCAA selection committee will narrow down the 338 teams in NCAA Division I basketball to the 68 best and most-deserving teams in the country. Let the bracket pools begin and… Read more »

It was a tough opening campaign for first-year head coach Bobbie Kelsey, but fans can rest assured the best is yet to come for the Wisconsin women’s basketball team. As the Badgers’ season came to a premature close in an 81-49 loss to Minnesota Thursday in the first round of… Read more »

Football, giant as it is, has become a fault line in the landscape of America’s popular culture. And this past Friday, another shiver sent waves through the growing uneasiness that pervades the relationship between football (more specifically, the NFL) and the rest of the country that calls itself fans and… Read more »

The kid can play. And no, I’m not talking about Justin Schultz. As head coach Mike Eaves’ go-to centerman, sophomore forward Mark Zengerle showed everyone why he should be considered not only one of the WCHA’s best forwards, but also a viable candidate for the Hobey Baker. The Rochester, N.Y.,… Read more »

Something about Senior Day just doesn’t feel right. The notion of honoring players who are indeed playing their last games in front of the home crowd is honorable and perhaps even necessary, but what about those conference tournaments and that shindig the NCAA puts on each March? Depending who you… Read more »

When the Badgers graduated the dynamic post scoring duo of Keaton Nankivil (make sure you YouTube his game-winner for his team in Germany) and Jon Leuer (YouTube him blowing by and dunking on Dwight Howard), it looked like opposing teams would find it easier to focus on preseason All-American Jordan… Read more »

When Wisconsin running backs coach Thomas Hammock announced he would return to the Camp Randall sidelines next season, Bret Bielema & Co. avoided more than simply the hassle of interviewing and selecting yet another new coach. Hammock — widely considered one of the Badgers’ top recruiters and one of the… Read more »

Let’s play some NCAA men’s basketball trivia. Which coach has the most Division I NCAA Final Four appearances of all time? That’s easy: John Wooden. At one point, Wooden led UCLA to nine consecutive Final Fours and championships from 1967-75 and ended his career with 12 total appearances. Second question:… Read more »

Just when you think you’ve figured out the pecking order in Big Ten men’s basketball, a peasant rises up and convincingly buries an elite. If you watched the Badgers’ last two games, you witnessed two perfect examples. Thursday, fourth-place Wisconsin got dispatched by eighth-place Iowa for the second time this… Read more »

After a 3-0 shutout against Denver on Feb. 17, junior forward Ryan Little joked about setting up his brother — sophomore forward Sean Little — for his first collegiate goal. At one point against the Pioneers, Sean Little was waiting right in the slot as Ryan Little fed him the… Read more »

In a word, Wednesday night’s trip to Iowa City was a fiasco for Wisconsin. Yes, the atmosphere in Carver-Hawkeye Arena last night was raucous and disruptive — it must’ve been, given how the free pizza and bobbleheads for fans prompted a court-rushing following Iowa’s second win of the season against… Read more »

In this state, like many others, the major high school athletics are football and basketball. These sports have their own storied programs at the University of Wisconsin, making it fitting that many high school players focus their varsity careers on one goal: getting to Madison for a chance at a… Read more »

If you haven’t already heard about the bizarre heckling accusations and eventual ejection of former North Carolina State star players Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani courtesy of well-respected ACC official Karl Hess, it’s not too late to get caught up in the absurd series of events that made all three… Read more »

Something strange happened Sunday on the Kohl Center floor as Wisconsin brought down a pesky Penn State squad 52-46. The rare and recently absent occurrence was that the Badgers finally proved they hadn’t completely lost their stroke. They could still hit 15-footers from the floor and build a lasting rhythm… Read more »

It’s no secret to anyone who’s paid any attention to the Wisconsin men’s basketball team this season that the offense has had to undergo a somewhat bumpy transition in the frontcourt. Unsurprisingly, Ryan Evans, Mike Bruesewitz and Jared Berggren haven’t been able to replicate what Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil… Read more »

Friday night — as the Wisconsin men’s hockey team was blanked for the first time at home this season in a 3-0 decision against No. 10 Denver — I had the unsettling feeling I would soon have to eat my own words. Sitting next to former Heralder Ben Worgull in… Read more »

This year, the Badgers just haven’t fared well in the state of Michigan. Thanks to SportsCenter and whatnot, that Hail Marry Horror from Kirk Cousins to Keith Nichol is still fresh enough to allow us to forgo a reminder here. On the hardwood, anyway, is where most of Wisconsin’s tribulations… Read more »

Confidence isn’t hard to come after the three games that Florida State guard Michael Snaer helped put together over the course of a 10-day span in January. On Jan. 14, the Seminoles beat down then-No. 3 North Carolina in Tallahassee by 33 points, 90-57, in a game that had many… Read more »

Realignment has struck once again in the landscape of college athletics, with conferences losing and adding members like a grandmothers’ bridge club over the past few months. The winner of the past few months indisputably has been the Big 12. Like the Rocky of conferences, the Big 12 took knockout… Read more »

For loyal golf enthusiasts and even the casual observer, there are few things more exciting than a stellar, dominant round of golf from Tiger Woods. And as Woods entered Sunday’s final round at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, that excitement was once again apparent as ESPN’s Tiger Tracker (itself… Read more »

Come this Thursday, Wisconsin men’s basketball fans are going to witness a litmus test of sorts, with the results indicating whether or not UW is capable of a deep postseason run in either the NCAA or Big Ten tournaments. This year’s clan of Badgers are a rare breed — one… Read more »

In my short career as a sportswriter covering the Badgers, I’ve done some pretty amazing things that, to be honest, I’ve seriously taken for granted. As a junior I’ve already covered a national championship team — and spoke with a few Olympians who also called that team home. In the… Read more »

A large part of the issue appears to have been resolved, so why not think outside the box a little? The WIAA state high school boy’s basketball tournament, held annually in Madison for more than 90 years, had been jeopardized by the newly sanctioned Big Ten men’s hockey playoffs coming… Read more »

When it comes to picking a bracket come March Madness this year, many participants in office pools, school classrooms and social networks will probably be scratching their heads. Why? Once again, this season has not even remotely revealed a sure-fire pick to win it all. Usually when looking into the… Read more »

In one of the final scenes of “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,” Darth Vader’s spacecraft is shot by Han Solo and spins out of control into the bleakness of space. Ohio State football was largely in that same situation of an out-of-control ride this past year, quickly trying… Read more »

This weekend, I finally crossed off a glaring problem on my sports fan resume that I feel guilty for delaying so long. I attended a Wisconsin men’s hockey game. From the McClimon Complex to the Shell to the Kohl Center, I’ve covered quite a variety of sports in my time… Read more »

To a certain degree, opponents can count on the Wisconsin men’s basketball team to defeat itself this season. This past Saturday, Ohio State came to Madison and left it with wide smiles for the first time in 11 years. The Badgers catapulted three-pointer after three-pointer and watched 22 of 27… Read more »

I cannot deny that, currently, the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department irks me. I have no gripes about a particular sport; rather, I’m upset with the new renovations that recently started at Camp Randall. In Wisconsin athletics, a strong sense of tradition permeates every sport at every level. And, unfortunately,… Read more »

Consider it a symptom of Impending Graduationitis or whatever you want, but a stark reality faces University of Wisconsin seniors this weekend. With the men’s hockey team stuck in ninth place in the WCHA, the responsibility for those truly spectacular, intoxicating moments that power the Kohl Center falls to the… Read more »

For many sports fans in the Dairy State (happy cows come from Wisconsin, not California), this Super Bowl presents a vexing situation. Grumblings and moans have been echoing into space from the state, “This is the worst Super Bowl matchup ever.” Granted, there are some fair points to those grumblings.… Read more »

The comments rang out a week ago, and I still can’t quite get them out of my head. On Jan. 23, Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan sat down for his weekly press conference and fielded a question about the NCAA transfer rule for graduate student-athletes. The reporter sought Ryan’s… Read more »

Consistency is an idea that seems to have thwarted the Wisconsin men’s hockey team this season. Heading into this weekend’s series at North Dakota, the Badgers were on a 5-1 roll and could not have appeared more confident about their game. But as Wisconsin’s road woes continued, the team returned… Read more »

Rocky as Wisconsin’s offseason has been since its Rose Bowl loss less than a month ago, this weekend promises a solid pick-me-up for Badger fans. The annual Senior Bowl is slated to kick off Saturday afternoon, and five former Badgers will suit up for the North, most in the Big… Read more »

The Green Bay Packers have been lucky since September 20, 1992. When quarterback Don Majkowski went down with an ankle injury that same day against the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay entered a reign of quarterback continuity and security extremely rare in the NFL. Although the breakup was messy and many… Read more »

At Wisconsin, the five star recruits, big name coaches and national media usually aren’t lured to the bright lights of Camp Randall. So it’s no surprise that a hardworking, severely undervalued player like Badger wide receiver Jared Abbrederis somehow went two seasons without a full athletic scholarship. At Wisconsin, several… Read more »

The first time I ever sat down to interview Wisconsin women’s basketball head coach Bobbie Kelsey, one trait shined through our conversation. This woman is a winner and will accept nothing less than complete success on and off the court from her team. A quick glance at the record of… Read more »

Shortly after the Wisconsin football team lost its second consecutive Rose Bowl — this time to Oregon in a 45-38 blur of offensive prowess — one thing racked my patience more than anything else. It wasn’t that, for the second year in a row, I had driven more than 2,000… Read more »

Less than a month ago, the Wisconsin basketball team looked poised to make a run for a Big Ten title once again as it flirted with a top 10 ranking and turned heads with its stellar shooting. How quickly things can change. Ranked as high as No. 7 in the… Read more »

When considering college athletics, Wisconsin isn’t by any means immediately mentioned. But consider for a moment exactly what Wisconsin athletes have accomplished in the last several years: Football won the Big Ten title two years in a row, earned a Rose Bowl berth each year and produced two top-10 Heisman… Read more »

Two high-octane offenses, two Rose Bowl berths and two crushing losses. For the most part, the Wisconsin Badgers have triggered that trio of recent memories in the minds of college football pundits and fans throughout the nation. Within the friendly confines of Madison, the progress Bret Bielema & Co. have… Read more »

He’s making a list and he’s checking it twice, and he will find out if you have been naughty or nice. Well, readers, I hope most of you have been well behaved — as much as college students can possibly be — as the holidays quickly approach us. For myself,… Read more »

As the college football season comes to an end, Gridiron Nation finds itself in a position similar to the beginning of fall, when teams were in their final stages of preparation for four grinding months in hopes of winning conference titles and BCS bowl games. The 2011 season was supposed… Read more »

On a team with two top-10 Heisman Trophy finalists, who’s the leader? Montee Ball’s appearance in New York Saturday night for the presentation of college football’s greatest honor was Wisconsin’s first since Ron Dayne won it back in 1999. Ball finished fourth while Russell Wilson finished ninth, a nice inclusion… Read more »

If the opportunity presents itself, should an NFL team really gun for the sacred undefeated season? This is a cute little debate that seems to rear its head nearly every other year these days. In fact, it would be wonderful to know just how many hours ESPN has devoted to… Read more »

The 50 home run seasons are down, the moonshots into the upper deck are less common, but if the allegations against Ryan Braun are true, Major League Baseball may not be as clean as once thought. When ESPN reported Saturday afternoon that the Brewers star — one of the most… Read more »

Home has always been a gracious and caring place for the Badgers, as Madison has been exceptionally cruel to top-ranked teams. If you somehow forgot, here are a few reminders: The Wisconsin football team was undefeated at home for the second straight season. Men’s basketball did not lose a single… Read more »

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl and the Little Caesars Bowl are just a few of the un-prestigiously-named bowl games that combine to make up the 2011-12 college football bowl season. Offering 70 Division I-A football programs a postseason berth is enough to make anyone shake… Read more »

There is always talk about how Wisconsin basketball doesn’t get enough respect, and for good reason. It seems every season sports writers, analysts and talking heads pick the Badgers to finish somewhere in the middle or bottom half of the Big Ten. But somehow, Bo Ryan and his time-tested methods… Read more »

He has 1,759 rushing yards, an astounding 38 touchdowns and averages 6.4 yards per carry. He has carried the Badgers at times this season, and has firmly established himself as the top all-around back in the nation. Montee Ball clearly earned his spot in the Heisman Trophy presentation and has… Read more »

In a way, this will be sort of difficult to admit, but a large portion of my sports-watching career was spent struggling to consider that the idea of going to the Rose Bowl — or any BCS game that wasn’t the national championship — was as exciting of a thing… Read more »

INDIANAPOLIS — With his eyes misty and his battle-torn jersey yet to be removed, Montee Ball stood in the visitors’ locker room in the bellows of Lucas Oil Stadium, answering a third round of questions from a frenzy of reporters. Ball faced all the usual questions — about Wisconsin’s 42-39… Read more »

The Big Ten could not have asked for a better season under its new format with multiple upsets, primetime games and a budding rivalry between two revenge-minded teams who are set up for the rematch of the year. But before either Michigan State or Wisconsin even clinched their respective divisions,… Read more »

Few coaches in the history of the college football, even the legendary ones, have had the kind of success that Urban Meyer has had in his first year as head coach at all three of his previous coaching stops. Meyer’s early triumphs surprised media and fans alike as he was… Read more »

Play the western music. Come Saturday, it’s high noon in the Big Ten. Wisconsin has come back — like Clint Eastwood in “High Plains Drifter” — to paint the town red and settle the score with Michigan State once and for all. The Spartans will be looking to advance to… Read more »

You know you have a great game coming when 1) some sort of championship is on the line, 2) your opponent is the best possible team you could face and 3) there is no other team you would rather play against for that championship. Given all the on-field storylines this… Read more »

Remember those late-October nightmares, courtesy of Michigan State and Ohio State? For the Wisconsin Badgers, now Big Ten Leaders Division champions and one of the two participants in Saturday’s inaugural conference title game, the memories from that pair of last-minute losses never faded. As expected, they were the driving force… Read more »

In this world, there are few things as intricately and beautifully composed as a Thanksgiving meal. It gets down to the cornerstone of any real spread with the presence of meat and potatoes, which happen to be showered in yummy gravy. There is also a large, round and golden turkey,… Read more »

As much talent as the Wisconsin men’s hockey team has shown through 12 games, the Badgers have by no means won consistently. Last weekend, the Badgers gave their best performance to date, upsetting No. 1 Minnesota at home 3-1. Freshman goaltender Joel Rumpel turned away 24 shots on goal while… Read more »

They have not played a ranked team all season, and their 10 opponents have combined for a 1-15 record against top-25 teams. So why exactly do the Houston Cougars reside at No. 11 in the BCS Standings, ranked No. 13, 17, 13, 16, 19 and 12 by the six respective… Read more »

For years, the NFL has benefited from a Wisconsin program that cranks out terrific offensive linemen. We have all heard the stat thrown around by every announcer and sports commentator: The Badgers have the third largest starting offensive line of any team in college football or the NFL. Yes, the… Read more »

Young. Talented. Aggressive. Developing. These words have a single common denominator: Wisconsin men’s soccer. Despite missing the NCAA tournament (the bracket was released Monday night), the Badgers have a bright future to look forward to as the wounds of another season cut too short slowly begin to heal. A team… Read more »

If you had to ask me what my favorite position in the game of basketball is, I’d have to go outside the box a little and reply with the sixth man. Basketball’s sixth man is a patient and harmful weapon. He’s actually almost like a secret weapon, the way he’s… Read more »

By the time Wisconsin faces a ranked team — ironically enough, it will be No. 1 North Carolina — later this month, how much will we really know about the Badgers? The question is scary because the answer will almost assuredly be not much. UW heads to Chapel Hill Nov.… Read more »

It was a cold, rainy October morning. My expectations for the Badgers were high, and despite this being their first road game, Wisconsin boasted a perfect 4-0 record at home and was coming off a 38-30 win over Michigan State the week before. Of course, my naïve freshman self gloated… Read more »

Joe Paterno has been fired for obvious reasons, mere hours after saying he would finish out this season. It will not be spared much, but the full extent of the damage done to his reputation still remains undetermined. Would you have been one the people gathered on Joe Paterno’s front… Read more »

Tim Tebow. Does this column have your attention now? Chances are you are pulled in just by the headline. It is hard to utter the name without starting controversy and feelings of love and hate for the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. No matter what is said on television or… Read more »

In a matter of days, Joe Paterno went from being one of the most respected men in college football to one of the most criticized. As the most powerful figure in the Penn State football program, he is what the program stands for. He carries responsibility for everything that characterizes… Read more »

When the polls were released, I had to do a double take. Nope, I’m not talking about any injustice from the nefarious BCS system. Rather, I’m talking about the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team entering the 2011-12 season picked to finish second in the Big Ten by the media… Read more »

The sense of relief at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday afternoon was so blatantly obvious that it left many Wisconsin fans wondering, “Why can’t we play teams like Purdue on the road?” Scheduling gripes aside, the Badgers got back on track this weekend, cruising to a 62-17 win over the Purdue… Read more »

It’s a topic avoided like an ugly baby or awkward run-in with that one-night stand from a few weeks ago. I personally don’t like to talk about it because there are valid points to both sides and I can never make up my mind. But in this week’s issue of… Read more »

The average Wisconsin student sports fan is someone who loves football, basketball and hockey. He or she has been to Camp Randall and the Kohl Center. Two great venues, two great environments. There may be no college sports town as rowdy and rocking as Madison on any game day. Just… Read more »

An occasion has risen. For just the 25th time in regular season college football history, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the Associated Press poll will collide when LSU and Alabama face each other Saturday night as true titans of the SEC and the rest of college… Read more »

While two straight losses have certainly quieted the hype about Wisconsin developing into a premier football program, it’s clear the Badgers are still establishing a national reputation that has them attracting some of the best players in the nation. Bret Bielema and co. are often known for picking up the… Read more »

Luck is a funny and fickle thing. It makes a person’s day or it can ruin it — kind of like how in sports, it can send a team to the moon or toss it down a well. I’m not writing this column to make any kind of excuses for… Read more »

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wisconsin’s first trip to Ohio Stadium since 2009 was so cruel to the Badgers that you’d have to wonder if some sort of karmic revolt conspired to shatter the hearts of Bret Bielema & co. one more time. In the span of one week, the Badgers have… Read more »

Sometimes in sports, you find yourself on the wrong end of a play, cheated by chance or on the wrong end of amazing. Saturday night’s final play flashed me back to a similar scene I had witnessed years ago in my past, during my senior year of basketball in high… Read more »

The first eight weeks of the 2011 college football season had remained status quo for the most part. Teams that were supposed to win week after week were meeting expectations by dispatching opponents deemed weaker, according to media and coaches’ polls. The top 10 ranked teams in the country had… Read more »

A spotless locker room. It is just one change sophomore forward Cassie Rochel identified under new coach Bobbie Kelsey, but the lack of sweat-soaked practice jerseys on the locker room floor is indicative of the new attitude surrounding the Wisconsin women’s basketball program. Kelsey, hired last April after spending three… Read more »

Last year, in a column I wrote about how Ohio State had usurped Minnesota as Wisconsin’s biggest rival given the level of competition over the past few years; I mentioned how much it must annoy OSU that UW frequently gets in the way of its bigger and better plans. In… Read more »

It’s been said the Wisconsin men’s hockey team is young and inexperienced. So far this season the Badgers have won only one of their four games. The three losses were all a result of an overtime goal. So while we can sit here and say 1-3 is terrible, we have… Read more »

The Michigan State defense seems to be enjoying its new role as the “bad boys” of the Big Ten following last week’s smash mouth win against Michigan. Spartan defensive end William Gholston decided to take a few cheap shots on Michigan players. First it was an after-the-whistle sucker punch to… Read more »

In a true testament to Wisconsin’s dominance in the Big Ten over the past year and a half, only one conference foe in that span has beaten Bucky and sent him home huffing, shoulders sulking and his famously puffed-out chest deflated. On a lousy, cloudy afternoon last October, with a… Read more »

Each of the past three weekends, and probably much of the season, two Big Ten coaching icons have taken turns rolling over in their graves.Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes, once the proud patriarchs of the Big Ten Conference spanning the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, and two of the most… Read more »

As basketball season approaches, there’s one thing almost every fan in Madison can count on: Not much will be expected of Bo Ryan’s squad this season. Every year, it seems, the Badgers are expected to be outside the Big Ten title race. Yet somehow, Ryan’s magical swing offense continually guides… Read more »

This coming Saturday night is a big, big, big one for No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 16 Michigan State. And for the rest of the Big Ten, Saturday’s game in East Lansing might be just as big as well. The last shred of respect for the conference is hanging in… Read more »

Another Saturday, another Badgers blowout. What are we even supposed to say anymore? As expected, Wisconsin faced barely any challenge in dispatching Indiana. A once-again-efficient Russell Wilson (12-for-17, 166 yards, one touchdown) and a once-again-dominant rushing attack (332 yards, four touchdowns, 7.9 yards per carry) pushed the Badgers to 6-0… Read more »

“Keep it classy” is a phrase often used as a sincere hope that you have a good time. Wisconsin football fans are not, in the definitive sense of the phrase, keeping it classy. Thursday morning, football season ticket holders received an email on behalf of athletic director Barry Alvarez and… Read more »

Do you expect the Badgers to score every time they touch the ball? Do you expect Ohio State to always have suspended players? Do you expect Minnesota to lose the remainder of their schedule? The answer for all of these, most likely, is a resounding yes. But let’s examine the… Read more »

The savior of whichever NFL team is lucky enough to have the worst record: Andrew Luck. Everybody’s favorite Badger: Russell Wilson. The unforeseen force behind the Baylor Bear’s big-play offense: Robert Griffin III (RG3). And the electrifying and inefficient Michigan quarterback: Denard Robinson. The aforementioned stars of college football are… Read more »

Possibly the most criticized unit of recent Badgers teams, the Wisconsin secondary has been anything but spectacular in the past couple of seasons. However, despite facing injury issues, the 2011 unit finally looks like the shutdown secondary that Badger fans have dreamed about for years. Beginning the season with five… Read more »

For anyone who’s ever watched the weekly videos produced by Herald Sports about the upcoming football games (which can be found on the Badger Herald YouTube channel, among plenty of other goodies), I think we can all say that being on camera really brings out the awkwardness in me quite… Read more »

Ahh, the bye week. Always a time for gentle — if your team is winning — reflection and introspection, a time to assess the season collectively to that given point. Bye weeks usually foster a sort of banal conversation if a week off is welcome, or if said team would… Read more »

If you were worried about the Wisconsin men’s hockey team last year, then prepare for another season of questions. Mainly, who will play in goal? And who will score goals? Not to be too pessimistic, but there are possibly more questions about this team right now than answers. All head… Read more »

What’s the highest the University of Wisconsin Badgers have ever been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25? The answer is No. 1, in 1952. After last week’s merciless beating of Nebraska, Wisconsin has a legitimate reason to believe that it will be ranked as the top team in the… Read more »

Being one of the fortunate few (just ask Sports Illustrated’s Peter King) to be part of the student section at Saturday’s Nebraska-Wisconsin football game, it really made me think how lucky we are, as students, to be attending such a successful university. Everybody knows about Jump Around between the third… Read more »

It wasn’t too long ago that Wisconsin was a top destination for efficient game-manager snap-it-and-get-rid-of-it type quarterbacks. While the running backs carry a storied history at Wisconsin — including Heisman winners Ron Dayne and Alan Ameche — UW has never exactly been a top quarterback destination. The Badgers have never… Read more »

Fittingly, “House of Pain” is slowly becoming a fashionable nickname for Camp Randall Stadium. But for anyone clad in cardinal and red, 1440 Monroe St. is nothing but a “House of Joy.” While last year’s takedown of No. 1 Ohio State had more thrills and was electrically radiant, I don’t… Read more »

Before Russell Wilson, there was Scott Tolzien. Tolzien, in many ways, was the perfect quarterback for a 2010 Wisconsin Badgers team that stunned the nation versus then-undefeated, No. 1 Ohio State, trounced Big Ten opponents down the stretch and very nearly won the Rose Bowl. He was accurate, decisive and… Read more »

The day has finally arrived. As the Wisconsin football team validated its stature among the Big Ten’s elite last season — and through the beginning of this season — Badger Nation has been anxiously awaiting this weekend. Inaugurating the Cornhuskers into the conference in one of the toughest atmospheres to… Read more »

When Big Ten Commissioner James Delany sat outside his office one day in 2008, a voice whispered to him. “If you expand it, they will come.” “Who, who will come?” “Cornhuskers…” That bodiless voice probably didn’t happen like it did for Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams.” But come Saturday,… Read more »

Might Madison be growing into the spoiled child of college football? Two years, two proverbial Games Of The Year? Two visits from Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and the rest of ESPN’s College GameDay? Two chances to play Wisconsin Football on the biggest stage of the week, with the whole country… Read more »

While recent history may not indicate it, the Big Ten remains a superior conference to the Big 12 on multiple levels. Ohio State and Michigan State may not have helped the reputation of the oldest conference in Division I sports with disappointing losses this weekend, but the Big Ten remains… Read more »

Student athletes are expected to handle their responsibilities with grace and class. These are young adults who are supposed to decline a free meal, a ride across town or a new pair of sneakers. It may sound easy, but most of us would quickly accept any of those conveniences just… Read more »

In case you get lost in the mob and clutter Saturday, 1440 Monroe St. is what you’re looking for. That’s where one of the most anticipated games in Wisconsin football history will be kicking off, a perennial powerhouse in Nebraska being welcomed to the Big Ten by the ever-rising brand… Read more »

Sunday evening, shortly after yet another demolition of an inferior non-conference foe, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema sat in the McClain Center media room, talking about things like the Badgers’ strong week of practice, the brief — very brief — moment of “adversity” UW faced in the first quarter against… Read more »

Already boasting one of the strongest resumes a hockey coach could ask for, the Wisconsin women’s hockey team’s very own Mark Johnson can now add “Lester Patrick Award recipient” to his list of accolades. The award itself is one of hockey’s most distinguished. In 1966, it was presented to the… Read more »

Dear Freshmen, Another weekend approaches, and another Badger home game awaits you. As a senior at the University of Wisconsin, I have been fortunate enough to attend every home game and the Rose Bowl. I’ve seen the lows (when Wisconsin lost in 2008 at Camp Randall on national television, 48-7,… Read more »

As students awoke way too early Thursday to purchase their men’s basketball season ticket packages, they likely had visions of Jordan Taylor surprising critics and carrying the team through another great year. While a glance at the Badgers’ roster may leave skeptics questioning their NCAA Tournament chances again, they’re forgetting… Read more »

Maybe the Virginia earthquake re-aggravated it on August 23, or perhaps the rulebook on chivalry between conference members has been misplaced below the stack of improper benefit paperwork. No matter the real epicenter of chaos, the college football landscape is shifting quickly. Reports of schools either changing, thinking about changing… Read more »

I’ve been eating my words for the past three weeks now and my, my, my, I didn’t know they could be so delicious. The No. 6/7 Wisconsin football team is a bright and shiny 3-0. That’s “three-and-zero.” Three — for three blowout victories — and ‘O’, for oh-my-gosh-nobody’s-had-a-chance. I assumed… Read more »

CHICAGO — Russell Wilson threw his first interception Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field, and Badger Nation … was perfectly fine. This earth-shattering event occurred with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter of Wisconsin’s 49-7 dismantling of Northern Illinois, and it was noteworthy because it was Wilson’s first interception in 66… Read more »

Since about mid-June, Badger fans and media alike have been riding the Russell Wilson train and it’s certainly not about to slow down anytime soon. Through fall camp, it was rare if media sports outlets failed to mention Wilson at least once. Days before the Nevada-Las Vegas game, everyone was… Read more »

Badger Herald Gridiron Podcast: Northern Illinois by The Badger Herald If there was any doubt about whether the SEC was heading into the season with plans other than taking home another BCS Championship, the first two weeks of the season have erased that notion beyond a shadow of a… Read more »

When I wrote my open letter on conference expansion last week, I had no idea how widespread of a response I would receive. There were both positive and negative views on my assessment. My favorite comment in particular was, “It looks like a five-year-old wrote this.” But let’s pick up… Read more »

It may be early, but it looks like this could be the year the Wisconsin women’s basketball team is ready to return to the NCAA Tournament under new coach Bobbie Kelsey. While the Badgers lost their senior trio of Lin Zastrow, Alyssa Karel and Tara Steinbauer that powered last year’s… Read more »

With two games into the Wisconsin football season, there is hardly anything to gripe about. After defeating UNLV and Oregon State by a combined score of 86-17, Wisconsin arrived in 2011 as advertised, confidently looking like a team bound for a BCS bowl game. But that still won’t stop some… Read more »

35-0 sure looks pretty on the scoreboard, but who said it was easy? Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, the Wisconsin Badgers dispatched the Oregon State Beavers by that score, prolonging the frenzy that struck Madison in late June once a certain transfer quarterback announced his decision to play for UW.… Read more »

The Honey Badger may have been dubbed one of the fiercest animals on the planet, but its distant cousin, the Wisconsin Badger, has recently been getting some bad publicity. Earlier this week — Tuesday, to be exact — The Wall Street Journal ran an article titled “Why Beavers Are Braver… Read more »

Dear Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Come this time next year, Texas A&M will leave the Big 12, lawsuit or no lawsuit, and the SEC will add another team to its ranks on the march to become the first super-conference in college football. The Big 12 is… Read more »

Between the third and fourth quarters of Thursday night’s 51-17 butchery by Wisconsin unto Nevada-Las Vegas, when the obedient student section jumped around, turning the press box into a swing set, I sat there, enjoying the closest I’d ever come to an earthquake, thinking: “Tonight couldn’t get much better for… Read more »

Just as students across campus are breaking out their planners and organizers as the semester begins, Wisconsin athletic teams are circling their calendars with the biggest games of the fall. With as many successful programs as UW boasts, there are quite a large number of matchups that fans won’t want… Read more »

For a team that has won 12 (yes, you read that correctly) straight Big Ten titles, you would think that the Wisconsin men’s cross country team would carry a bigger name on campus. Football, basketball and hockey will undoubtedly remain the three staples of Wisconsin athletics, but it’s time to… Read more »

It’s never too early to talk hockey. After spending about a month-and-a-half in Canada this summer, I have never been more excited for the hockey season to start. From my personal observations, it is no exaggeration to say Canadians are obsessed with hockey. During my visit, their equivalent of ESPN… Read more »

The college football season, just under way, is probably a breath of fresh air to student athletes, coaches and fans all across the country. And it’s not just your everyday run-of-the-mill oxygen; it has the healing powers of the grade-A stuff found in hyperbaric chambers. The season will hopefully numb… Read more »

CHICAGO — Players and coaches sat at tables for one-on-one interviews in another eventful day at the Big Ten football media days. I caught up again with those representing Wisconsin. Let me fill you in on the good stuff from day two: Henry thankful for Bielema’s astuteness Aaron Henry, a… Read more »

CHICAGO — It may not be as popular of a nickname as “Windy City” or “Second City,” but Chicago is sometimes called the “City of the Big Shoulders.” And there are plenty of them walking around for the Big Ten football media days. After listening to the dozen of Big… Read more »

Right about now, new Badger quarterback Russell Wilson is pouring over playbooks, learning the language of UW’s offense and working out in anticipation of one of the most buzzed-about seasons in recent program history. One way or another, Wilson is making some sort of adjustment for this upcoming season. There’s… Read more »

On Monday, former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson announced his decision to join the University of Wisconsin football team. Never before has the motion ‘W’ had more momentum behind it. Fans and critics alike praised the matrimony between Wilson, a quarterback with three years of starting experience, and the… Read more »

What a year it has been. Between toppling No. 1 Ohio State twice, a return trip to the Rose Bowl and a national championship, Wisconsin athletics has had a remarkable year. But for several sports, it’s not quite over. As the campus rejoices with the final hours of class while… Read more »

Let me tell you a story. It’s more or less true, based on what I remember — I might have filled in some spots with other memories, but that’s how life goes; everything kind of blurs together after a while.My first Badger football game as a student was a win over… Read more »

Hall of Fame columnist, Badger alum and occasional University of Wisconsin professor Len Shapiro utilizes a rolodex of maxims when teaching his sports journalism course, and in my final column for the Badger Herald, one in particular comes to mind. “You will be rewarded for showing up.” Now, Shapiro was… Read more »

Wisconsin has three sports teams that are a source of revenue for the school — football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey. Thus, they are in the spotlight and have the most fans. Every year, the expectations for all three teams are relatively high, despite not being a popular brand on… Read more »

As one of the greatest sports years Wisconsin has ever seen winds down, the NFL Draft provided the state with one more reason to celebrate. Five former Wisconsin Badgers were selected in this weekend’s draft, the most since 2006, when five were also taken. They have all entered promising situations,… Read more »

Camp Randall Stadium and the Kohl Center — those were the two places I had to see during my first visit to Madison. The college sports town environment was something I wanted to experience. The massive tailgates on Saturdays, the band, the ridiculously long lines to get a front row… Read more »

Wisconsin women’s hockey head coach Mark Johnson is a legend on the ice and as a coach, but it seems things aren’t exactly going his way in the latter arena. Last fall Penn State received an $88 million private donation intended for a start-of-the-art hockey arena and to found a… Read more »

Today, on the most overrated day in all of sports, Gabe Carimi, Ryan Mallett and J.J. Watt will help us find out what character means in the NFL. The NFL draft is a circus. Something that should take place in a poorly-lit room full of cigar smoke and grumpy, disheveled… Read more »

Semester’s end is near, and while the living is easy in the summertime, there’s still no escaping the vacuum of sports that are the summer months. Sure, there’s still baseball and golf, but summer is without doubt a slower period in the world of sports than other times in the… Read more »

In a way, J.J. Watt is now everywhere and nowhere. He’s made appearances in Gatorade commercials, juggled private workouts and preparations for Thursday’s NFL Draft and still managed to make his way back to Wisconsin, manning the sidelines in Saturday’s spring game and spending the second half signing autographs. Typically… Read more »

By now, you’ve all probably heard. The Badger offense was painful to watch during Saturday’s spring game. In the one practice that fans get to see, UW failed to produce a touchdown. That’s unfortunate for everyone involved — except Chris Ash and his defense, which brought relentless pressure and recorded… Read more »

I’ve preached to you about women’s hockey. I’ve mentioned the 180 the softball team has taken. Now, it’s time to shed some light on a few of Wisconsin’s lesser-known athletes. If you like water, boats, oars and the ability to flex some insane muscle mass, rowing may very well be… Read more »

As one of the proud and shiny faces of Wisconsin athletics, football coach Bret Bielema needs to successfully juggle many roles. First and foremost, he is a football coach who seems to be maturing and improving, and has a Big Ten title under his belt. His recruiting classes have grown… Read more »

Before I get into anything, just keep one thing in mind you should already know: Don’t take the Wisconsin football team’s spring game on Saturday ultra-seriously — that is, if you plan on paying any attention to it. We are in the middle of April, and the 2011 college football… Read more »

As the doom and gloom clouds gather over the National Basketball Association — yes, it’s likely lockout-bound, as well — there still remains reason for optimism. In fact, there’s more than one. With free agency trending more and more toward superstar conglomeration — à la LeBron James and the Miami… Read more »

Quite often, NFL scouts are wrong. They have a challenging job. A job that requires them to predict the future success of collegiate athletes for teams prepared to spend millions. They attend everything from the scouting combine to pro days and private workout sessions, charting every move a prospect makes,… Read more »

Making new friends is always a great thing. New relationships are formed that could last forever — if the person is really that awesome. But trying to be friends with one of those people you just can’t stand — you know, that person that somehow has found a way to… Read more »

Turns out the kids are all right. Seven seniors and four underclassmen left the Wisconsin men’s hockey team in the 2010 offseason. Included in that group was UW’s first ever Hobey Baker Award winner in Blake Geoffrion and the team’s leading scorer, sophomore Derek Stepan. Three of those guys are… Read more »

This country of ours really, really likes NFL football. It’s got the biggest television contracts, ridiculously high ticket prices that still sell and sponsorships up the proverbial wazoo. When you call the Super Bowl an unofficial holiday, you almost begin to wander into the same territory of fanaticism as the… Read more »

New Jersey’s Bergen Record reporter Tara Sullivan covered the Masters this weekend. She was there because, well, it was her job. Sounds straightforward, doesn’t it? To the Augusta National Golf Club, it apparently didn’t. To Masters staffers, Sullivan must have been a woman out of place, following golfer Rory McIlroy… Read more »

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the immediate future of the Wisconsin football program. You know the obvious ones: The dynamic running back duo of Montee Ball and James White. The return of linebacker Chris Borland and several talented members of the defense. Three returning starters… Read more »

Everybody loves a good comeback. The Philadelphia Eagles’ 28 unanswered points in seven-and-a-half minutes to beat the New York Giants in Week 15 was one of the best moments in the 2010 NFL season. Lance Armstrong was given a less than 50 percent chance to live after being diagnosed with… Read more »

Being a sports columnist is easy. We get to make predictions no one holds us accountable for. Throw in a couple of pop culture references and you are considered witty. And our soapboxes are so high, only Charlie Sheen rises above opinion scribes when it comes to a storming, principled… Read more »

The NCAA Tournament is always great, but you know it’s been especially great and full of Madness when you find yourself asking people if they managed to get any of their Final Four teams correct. Every tournament is filled with highlights and great stories. Here’s the best-of-the-best from the 2011… Read more »

When J.J. Watt left Madison for the lockout-sullied National Football League, he took with him more than just 62 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Rather, as anyone with a Twitter account or access to Madison-area newspapers will tell you, Watt also took his remarkable leadership abilities. Everything… Read more »

For so many people, football is more than just a game. Madison teaches you that almost instantly. Around 90,000 people pour into Camp Randall Stadium on Saturdays to watch the team they love play a game they love. Drive anywhere in the state of Wisconsin, and you’ll see motion W’s… Read more »

What’s more exciting than watching baseball all day? Well, probably watching football, hockey or basketball all day. In today’s sports world filled with adrenaline pumping, full-contact, grinding-it-out-for-the-win excitement, baseball’s classy, leisurely style just doesn’t have quite the same effect on the general public. Sure, baseball is “America’s pastime,” but the… Read more »

Smell that? Of course you don’t, because it only remotely feels like spring, a trend that began yesterday and ends tonight as it begins to rain or snow, or both, according to the Weather Channel.But much like the girls going out on the weekend who dress according to what the… Read more »

It’s always interesting looking forward to next year when it comes to college sports. Change is almost certainly unavoidable, and when it happens on a minimal level, things are even more intriguing. For the Wisconsin men’s basketball team, last year the offseason question centered on UW’s backcourt since Trevon Hughes… Read more »

In the nature of the most extreme amusement park rides, the University of Wisconsin has had one of the more topsy-turvy athletic seasons in recent memory. There was football’s two-week binge of awesomeness with the stunning upset of previously No. 1, previously undefeated Ohio State, followed by a resounding, nail-biting,… Read more »

It was Badger fans’ greatest fear heading into the NCAA tournament. What if the Badgers go cold? What if the perimeter shots don’t fall? What if the open threes rim out and the mid-range jumpers clank off the iron? Well, like most teams, when that happens the Badgers almost assuredly… Read more »

Why? I find myself asking that on what seems like a daily basis. In the sports world, I have many whys: Scott Baker, why must you look so promising, but then put up less-than-impressive stats? (Probably the reason I’ve never been a big Baker fan.) Tiger Woods, why did you… Read more »

For the third straight year now at the Badger Herald, I have been fortunate enough to write a column for the Thursday that kicks off the Sweet 16. This means one of two things. One, I have had this column for three years? It is probably time to graduate. Two,… Read more »

If you’re like me, then whenever the prospect of dancing comes up, you envision yourself moving your body in such a way that your friends no longer want to be associated with you for the rest of the night and the opposite sex basically stands and watches in that middle… Read more »

Two weeks ago, the thought of the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team playing their way to a Sweet 16 berth was widely perceived as beyond laughable. The Badgers — in case you had the memories erased Men in Black-style or something — ended their regular season in Columbus, Ohio with… Read more »

After carrying the Badgers — singlehandedly at times — throughout the season, Jordan Taylor struggled for almost the entire 40 minutes against Kansas State Saturday in the third round of the NCAA tournament. The junior point guard and first-team All Big Ten selection was a miserable 2-for-16 from the field.… Read more »

Occam’s Razor is the principle that the simplest theory is often the preferred one.In real world applications, that means Barry Bonds probably did steroids, and it’s more likely that guy in New Mexico had a bad dream instead of being abducted by aliens.And in the case of the Wisconsin men’s… Read more »

It may be known as “the second season” where everyone still adopts an attitude of starting over with renewed hopes, but everyone knows tournament play isn’t a separate species from the regular season. When it comes to the postseason, momentum is everything and the special thing about it is that… Read more »

On the heels of a 93-65 beat down at the hands of their rapidly budding rivals at Ohio State, the Wisconsin Badgers faced some serious questions regarding their defense. Like, what is a Bo Ryan-coached team doing giving up nearly 100 points in a game? How does Ohio State make… Read more »

Watching Ohio State beat down Wisconsin on Senior Night in Columbus was like watching two kids play an outdated hoops video game. It seemed like only a matter of time before there was a tail of flames coming off the ball as it left the Buckeyes’ hands. And in this game,… Read more »

Yup, you guessed it, women’s hockey again. Early Thursday morning, the USA Hockey Foundation released this season’s Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalists. While three Badgers — forwards Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker — were all under consideration, Duggan and Knight made it into the top 10. Noora Räty… Read more »

Before Kevin Garnett led a revolution of early entrants into the NBA draft, the key to success in college basketball was developing your players over a four year span. This meant typical “freshman mistakes” — whatever that phrase actually means — often would earn a young-stud a seat on the… Read more »

For the NFL, the country’s most popular and most lucrative sport, there’s only one thing certain right now. There will be a draft on the days of April 28-30, collective bargaining agreement or no collective bargaining agreement. The deadline for the NFL and its players to come to an agreement… Read more »

You’d figure 11 wins, a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth would fare well for the seven Wisconsin Badgers invited to the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine. But alas, the weeklong preview/investigation/interrogation of the draft’s top prospects is where football — the most team-centric of American sports — boils… Read more »

For the six Wisconsin men’s basketball seniors and their fellow classmates standing in the student section, last night’s home finale was one especially hard goodbye. It’s hard to say goodbye to a building that’s housed so much success and so many memories. From the time I stepped on campus in… Read more »

An undefeated season is the ultimate dream. But when you have a 30-plus game season, not losing a single game isn’t the easiest feat. Playing a total of 34 games and losing only a couple certainly isn’t something to take for granted, though. So, when’s the last time a hockey… Read more »

I have seen the end.It ends with the clanging of the ball off the rim. It ends with air balls and desperation heaves.I have seen the death of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team.Simply put, this team will not survive past the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. Maybe not even… Read more »

Nov. 14 was a long time ago. Back then, when it came to the Wisconsin men’s basketball team, nobody was talking about how underrated Jordan Taylor was or how improved Keaton Nankivil’s shooting percentage is. Nobody spoke about potentially beating No. 1 Ohio State at home, nor was anyone talking… Read more »

Home, sweet home. It sounds silly to debate the origins of that phrase, and it sounds even sillier attempting to explain it. In sports, that surely rings true, perhaps more so than anywhere else. Teams are strong in their home arenas and weaker on the road. That’s about as “sky… Read more »

In the world of sports, being hated is generally a good thing. It often means you’re winning, and when you win, competitors tend to become envious of that success. UW’s growing rivalry with Ohio State has been a point of discussion recently with the Badgers’ wins over the top-ranked Buckeyes… Read more »

Earlier this week, my fellow associate editor here at the Herald, Elliot Hughes, made a very compelling argument for the growing intensity of the rivalry between Ohio State and Wisconsin. That was in place of the latter’s rivalry with Minnesota. Elliot’s argument was spot-on, but also a little eye-opening considering… Read more »

Well, this is just cute. After Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor was snubbed — no wait, that’s not strong enough. After the national media spat in the face of Jordan Taylor and exposed their crazy-extreme ignorance by selecting Demetri McCamey ahead of Taylor for the Bob Cousy Award Finalists list,… Read more »