How did this happen? Is it really sunny and 75 degrees out? It is incredible how fast this year has flown by. Who would have ever thought that a newspaper would hand me a pencil and a pad of paper, so to speak, and let me ramble every week for a semester.
Yet as the semester concludes, there are still a few unresolved issues that need to be addressed before we all find ourselves back in Madison next September. No — not my lack of summer employment, that is a separate issue altogether.
Fact is that not everything in the sporting year happens under the Badger Herald’s spotlight during the school year, and I would feel as though I did a poor job without finally commenting on a few issues that will likely make waves nationally, internationally and lastly, at UW.
National Issue:
Mike Tyson is still an idiot and likely worse. Ordinarily, I’m not the type of guy that wants to puke when he hears someone talking, but in the case of Mike, I do. What planet is this guy from? He is more outlandish and ridiculous than Vince McMahon. The only difference being that the things that Tyson says and does aren’t just for show, they are the real thing. Tyson has been getting plenty of airtime as of late because he is slated to take on Champion Lennox Lewis next month. Here is a sample of some of his most recent ludicrous comments.
Tyson about the media: “Sometimes you guys have no pride, so no matter what I say, you guys … it doesn’t affect you because you don’t care about nothing but money. So every now and then I kick your f*cking ass and stomp on you and put some kind of pain and inflict some of the pain on you because you deserve to feel the pain that I feel. I wish that you guys had children so I could kick them in the f*cking head or stomp on their testicles so you could feel my pain, because that’s the pain I have waking up every day.”
Tyson to a female reporter recently: “It’s no doubt I am going to win this fight, and I feel confident about winning this fight. I normally don’t do interviews with women unless I fornicate with them. So you shouldn’t talk anymore … Unless you want to, you know.”
I believe that this man is a detriment to the entire human race. I won’t be buying the fight to support this loser. However, I do hope that Lewis “stomps on him,” provided that Lewis is a good enough guy not to attempt to stomp on Tyson’s children’s testicles, as Tyson has nicely stated that he would enjoy doing to my own children.
I hereby promise that I will never write another sentence in the Badger Herald about Mike Tyson — he no longer deserves the media attention.
International Issue:
On a lighter note, the World Cup is less than a month away. Apologies to every high school football player that is still biased against soccer because it is “a girl’s sport,” but this event will mark the meeting of what are certainly and without a doubt some of the world’s greatest athletes. Soccer is a truly beautiful game, particularly when played at the highest skill level in world. No other sport is as important or competitive throughout the world. Imagine what it would be like if every country had a “Dream Team” and they met at the Olympics. Well, this is the soccer version of that and only better.
UW Issue:
Although women’s basketball coach Jane Albright has two years left on her contract, her situation with the University of Wisconsin remains unclear. Albright has been the head coach of the program for the past eight seasons, and while her teams have finished an average of fourth in the Big Ten, they have never been able to get over the hump of mediocrity. This despite getting top recruits and having individual players talented enough to be drafted by the WNBA.
This season’s collapse may end up being the last straw. With a roster of good players, the Badgers got out to a great start, being ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation, before they lost 11 of their final 14 games.
Don’t get me wrong — Jane Albright has been good for Wisconsin. After all, the program certainly wasn’t great before she got here, but whatever momentum Wisconsin may have had just a few years ago has been lost. At this point it would be best for UW and Albright to part ways.
The athletic department showed that it had enough vision not to settle for mediocrity when it failed to retain Brad Soderberg last spring in favor of Bo Ryan. A year after that, critics have been stifled as Ryan provided Badger fans with a surprisingly successful first season. If the athletic department had the wisdom to let go of Soderberg, a much more popular coach than Albright, it should be expected to hold the women’s basketball program to the same high standard.
Why the university would ignore the situation any further is beyond me. Albright has had her chance, but it is time for a change. It may be unrealistic to believe that the athletic department is ready to make that move, but Badger fans can always hope for Christmas in July.
