Last night's game wasn't as much of a blood bath as I would have predicted, but a 19 point defeat is never a good thing.
It looks like young teams with a "just you wait" attitude are de rigeur around Wisconsin this year, as that's all the announcers could say about UWM last night. First the Packers, now the Panthers.
It will be interesting to see how the "new" UWM pans out. The team last year was still left over from Bruce Pearl. This new group are the guys that Rob Jeter recruited himself. It seems the next two years will really be setting the tone for his tenure and likely decide whether or not he has a tenure for very long.
I stopped paying complete attention to the game pretty early, so I'm not sure if the third and fourth stringers were in, but turnovers continued to be a big problem for UW. If they can't hold on to the ball against a 2-10 team, how are they going to fare this Saturday against #2 ranked Pitt?
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Drrrrty South Cute Sports
I've officially harkened back to my days living in the Deep South, as I now drive a pick-up truck similar to this one.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Marquette vs. Wisconsin
There's a lot I want to say about this and I don't have much time, so don't be surprised if there are more posts on this game.
In fact, today, let's just go with quick thoughts:
* Marquette's focus on stealing the ball and playing "playground" ball really gave UW fits. UW averages a high 9 turnovers a game - in Saturday's game, they had 9 turnovers at half.
*UW can pass the ball like no other team I've ever seen live. They were squeezing passes through tight spaces and created a bunch of points based purely on being able to get the ball to the guy on the post. I was extremely impressed.
*Neither team looked particularly good and they're both lucky that the other team played sub-par as well.
*In both the Marquette games I've been to, it has seemed like Marquette is getting good looks and the ball just refuses to fall. If this continues, I'll begin to wonder about the shots their taking, but for now, it just seems absolutely unlucky.
*The refs controlled entirely too much of the game. Fortunately for the teams, the players figured it out quickly and they took advantage and I don't think you can fault them for that. I applaud the refs for wanting to keep the players in check, but they took too much control. There were dives galore and bad calls all around.
In fact, today, let's just go with quick thoughts:
* Marquette's focus on stealing the ball and playing "playground" ball really gave UW fits. UW averages a high 9 turnovers a game - in Saturday's game, they had 9 turnovers at half.
*UW can pass the ball like no other team I've ever seen live. They were squeezing passes through tight spaces and created a bunch of points based purely on being able to get the ball to the guy on the post. I was extremely impressed.
*Neither team looked particularly good and they're both lucky that the other team played sub-par as well.
*In both the Marquette games I've been to, it has seemed like Marquette is getting good looks and the ball just refuses to fall. If this continues, I'll begin to wonder about the shots their taking, but for now, it just seems absolutely unlucky.
*The refs controlled entirely too much of the game. Fortunately for the teams, the players figured it out quickly and they took advantage and I don't think you can fault them for that. I applaud the refs for wanting to keep the players in check, but they took too much control. There were dives galore and bad calls all around.
Resurgent UW Men's Hockey team
This past weekend the Badgers swept the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 4-3, 4-2. The sweep marks the first time in program that the Badgers swept the Sioux in Grand Forks in consecutive years.
Jake Dowell and Ross Carlson really stepped up on Saturday, scoring two goals apiece. Carlson also assissted each of Dowell's goals, giving him a four point night.
The games give the Badgers a three game winning streak heading into the semester/holiday break. The boys usually perform well in the oft-padded schedule that comes with the Badger Hockey Showdown, so we could looking at a team with a legitimate winning streak heading into the new year.
Jake Dowell and Ross Carlson really stepped up on Saturday, scoring two goals apiece. Carlson also assissted each of Dowell's goals, giving him a four point night.
The games give the Badgers a three game winning streak heading into the semester/holiday break. The boys usually perform well in the oft-padded schedule that comes with the Badger Hockey Showdown, so we could looking at a team with a legitimate winning streak heading into the new year.
CuteSports MIA
Ok, so my computer finally gave up the ghost. I'm going to try to do some posting from work, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to that.
The most fabulous boyfriend(tm) has already let the cat out of the bag that he's getting me a computer for Christmas, so with all hope, this is a short term problem.
So never fear, you four readers, I haven't abandoned you. My computer abandoned me. But we'll get through this, I promise!
The most fabulous boyfriend(tm) has already let the cat out of the bag that he's getting me a computer for Christmas, so with all hope, this is a short term problem.
So never fear, you four readers, I haven't abandoned you. My computer abandoned me. But we'll get through this, I promise!
Monday, December 04, 2006
UW Men's Bball
Career Night From Flowers Lifts UW Past Winthrop
MADISON, Wis.-
Wisconsin guard Michael Flowers scored a career-high 21 points, including the field goal that forced overtime, as the 11th-ranked Badgers beat Winthrop 82-79 Monday at the Kohl Center.
Alando Tucker also scored 21 points for Wisconsin, who survived a Kohl Center-record 15 3-pointers from the Eagles and a 31-point performance by Torrell Martin.
The Badgers (8-1) have won four in a row and improved to 4-2 in overtime games under head coach Bo Ryan. They also became the first team to score more than 73 points against Winthrop this season. The Eagles (6-3) were only allowing 56 points per game heading into tonight’s contest.
Flowers hit two free throws with 6:52 remaining in the second half to give Wisconsin a 57-46 lead. But Winthrop hit five 3-pointers down the stretch to close the gap. Michael Jenkins hit three of his five 3-pointers in the final six minutes of regulation. His third gave Winthrop a 65-63 lead with 54 seconds remaining.
Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor missed a 3 with 33 seconds left, but the ball bounced off a Winthrop player and rolled out-of-bounds. Tucker had two open looks to tie the game, but missed. Flowers rebounded Tucker’s second attempt in the lane and scored high off the glass with his left hand to tie the game at 65-65.
Martin had a wide-open look from outside the three-point line as time expired, but his attempt bounced off the front of the rim.
Flowers hit a 3 on UW’s opening possession of overtime to give Wisconsin a two-point lead. Brian Butch hit a jumper and Tucker hit a 3 from the corner that extended the lead to 73-67 with two minutes left to play.
The Badgers led by nine with 45 seconds left and held on in the closing seconds to secure the win.
Winthrop finished 15-of-25 from 3-point range, but were outrebounded 40-18 in the contest. Wisconsin was 24-of-34 from the free-throw line to counter the Eagles’ long-range attack. Winthrop was only 6-of-10.
Martin scored the first 11 points scored by Winthrop and finished one point shy of his career high of 32 set against Liberty last season. He was 11-of-18 from the field, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Butch finished one rebound shy of his fifth career double-double. He had 17 points. Wisconsin made five of its six field goals in overtime and shot 64 percent from inside the arc. The Badgers were 6-of-25 from three-point range.
Post-Game Notes
•This was the first meeting between the two schools.
•Tonight’s attendance was 17,190 – the 59th consecutive sellout crowd at the Kohl Center.
•Winthrop is the first team to ever hit 15 3-pointers against Wisconsin. The Eagles set a new Kohl Center record and Torrell Martin tied the Kohl Center individual mark by hitting seven 3-pointers.
•Wisconsin is the first team to score more than 73 points against Winthrop this season.
•Wisconsin played overtime for the first time since Nov. 19, 2005, when UW beat Eastern Kentucky 95-89 in double overtime of the championship game of the Paradise Jam.
•Wisconsin is 4-2 in overtime under Bo Ryan
•Torrell Martin scored Winthrop’s first 11 points and had 18 in the first half. He finished with a season-high 31 points, one shy of his career high set against Liberty Feb. 20, 2006.
•UW led 34-31 at halftime, the eighth time Wisconsin has led at the half this season (nine games).
•Wisconsin scored on its first six possessions of the second half, outscoring Winthrop 12-2.
•Alando Tucker scored 10 or more points for the 31st time in his last 32 games. He’s scored 20 or more points 33 times in his career.
•Tucker recorded his 600th career field goal. He has 604 total, good for fifth all-time at Wisconsin.
•Brian Butch picked up his 300th career rebound. He has 307 for his career.
•Michael Flowers scored his 300th career point. He has 310 for his career.
•UW has won 10 consecutive games at home dating back to last season and is 79-5 at the Kohl Center since 2001.
•Wisconsin made more free throws (24) than its opponent attempted (10) for the fifth time this season.
•Wisconsin is 4-0 against teams currently in the Big South Conference.
•Winthrop has made six NCAA tournament appearances in eight seasons under head coach Gregg Marshall.
Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan Post-Game Quotes
On Michael Flowers’ shot with 10.6 seconds left in regulation: “It wasn’t just that one, in order for him to get that opportunity we had to fight for the other ones. They were scrapping, we were scrapping, we get a couple offensive rebounds, one ball goes off of them last, he gets the opportunity. He’s an opportunistic young man. Plays hard, plays smart, he’s improved every year and we think he’s got a lot more improvement coming.”
On overcoming a poor shooting percentage: “I tried to say this last year at the North Dakota State game for example. We shoot 20-some percent but we get hustle opportunities. What won that game tonight, was not field goal percentage but hustle opportunities. We touched the post, off of those offensive rebounds, how many foul shots did we get? And if you can get to the line that many times by hustle … What are you going to do if the shots aren’t going down? We had some pretty good looks against that zone, then we started missing, then it compounds itself but we continued to make them have to play defense so that they didn’t get away with playing the zone, not working and then having a lot of legs down at the other end. If we’d have been taking quick, bad shots, they would have beaten us by 20. But by us being patient, changing sides of the floor, they were packing it in, taking some passing lanes away and they were doing exactly what they needed to do. And we needed to hit some outside shots if they were going to stay that tight but we still touched the post. We still attacked and that’s the only way you get to the free-throw line. I coached at other places where people are always complaining about how many free throws we shot, and the other teams are taking more jump shots than us. We touch the paint, we try to. If you touch the paint, that’s how you can get to the free throw line. But they have such good three-point shooters, they can sting. They had a couple runs where we tried to give ourselves some space, but they come right back and get them. That’s 45 points on 25 shots. That’s pretty good points per possession.”
On his expectations of Winthrop: “You can tell by the way both teams were playing, there wasn’t any lack of respect for one another. That was a hard-fought, toe-to-toe, December game that hopefully for both of us, will help us in conference play.”
Winthrop Head Coach Gregg Marshall Post-Game Quotes
On whether the loss stings more knowing Torrell Martin and Michael Jenkins combined to score 58 points: “Oh it stings. It stings. Torrell Martin, I thought, was the best player on the floor tonight. He just was terrific. Michael Jenkins really shot it beautifully. Craig Bradshaw did not play well and he knows that. He can play much better, so I mean 10 points for him in 39 minutes in not that good. He can play better. But those three guys scoring the points is insignificant. It’s just the fact that I thought we played very well, and had every right to win the game.”
On the rebound disparity: “That’s the part that we’ve got to work on. That’s the part that disappoints me the most. I’m certainly not upset with my team, but if there was anything that I could go back to change and win the game going away, we’d rebound better. We didn’t rebound well for most of the night. And our bigs have to do better. Our guards in the zone have to find guys and rebound better. But still, we will pick that apart and will coach the crap out of them when we get back. The bottom line is I’m not going to in any way, right now, diminish the effort and the poise and just the overall game that we played. And that would be something that would lend itself to some criticism, and I will certainly get into that at the appropriate time.”
On the end of the game when Wisconsin got three shots off: “We just couldn’t get a rebound. We couldn’t get a rebound and the ball hit the floor a couple times and they kept coming up with it, so a credit to them. That was a big-time effort by them and they got the shot that they needed and finally put it in the basket.”
MADISON, Wis.-
Wisconsin guard Michael Flowers scored a career-high 21 points, including the field goal that forced overtime, as the 11th-ranked Badgers beat Winthrop 82-79 Monday at the Kohl Center.
Alando Tucker also scored 21 points for Wisconsin, who survived a Kohl Center-record 15 3-pointers from the Eagles and a 31-point performance by Torrell Martin.
The Badgers (8-1) have won four in a row and improved to 4-2 in overtime games under head coach Bo Ryan. They also became the first team to score more than 73 points against Winthrop this season. The Eagles (6-3) were only allowing 56 points per game heading into tonight’s contest.
Flowers hit two free throws with 6:52 remaining in the second half to give Wisconsin a 57-46 lead. But Winthrop hit five 3-pointers down the stretch to close the gap. Michael Jenkins hit three of his five 3-pointers in the final six minutes of regulation. His third gave Winthrop a 65-63 lead with 54 seconds remaining.
Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor missed a 3 with 33 seconds left, but the ball bounced off a Winthrop player and rolled out-of-bounds. Tucker had two open looks to tie the game, but missed. Flowers rebounded Tucker’s second attempt in the lane and scored high off the glass with his left hand to tie the game at 65-65.
Martin had a wide-open look from outside the three-point line as time expired, but his attempt bounced off the front of the rim.
Flowers hit a 3 on UW’s opening possession of overtime to give Wisconsin a two-point lead. Brian Butch hit a jumper and Tucker hit a 3 from the corner that extended the lead to 73-67 with two minutes left to play.
The Badgers led by nine with 45 seconds left and held on in the closing seconds to secure the win.
Winthrop finished 15-of-25 from 3-point range, but were outrebounded 40-18 in the contest. Wisconsin was 24-of-34 from the free-throw line to counter the Eagles’ long-range attack. Winthrop was only 6-of-10.
Martin scored the first 11 points scored by Winthrop and finished one point shy of his career high of 32 set against Liberty last season. He was 11-of-18 from the field, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Butch finished one rebound shy of his fifth career double-double. He had 17 points. Wisconsin made five of its six field goals in overtime and shot 64 percent from inside the arc. The Badgers were 6-of-25 from three-point range.
Post-Game Notes
•This was the first meeting between the two schools.
•Tonight’s attendance was 17,190 – the 59th consecutive sellout crowd at the Kohl Center.
•Winthrop is the first team to ever hit 15 3-pointers against Wisconsin. The Eagles set a new Kohl Center record and Torrell Martin tied the Kohl Center individual mark by hitting seven 3-pointers.
•Wisconsin is the first team to score more than 73 points against Winthrop this season.
•Wisconsin played overtime for the first time since Nov. 19, 2005, when UW beat Eastern Kentucky 95-89 in double overtime of the championship game of the Paradise Jam.
•Wisconsin is 4-2 in overtime under Bo Ryan
•Torrell Martin scored Winthrop’s first 11 points and had 18 in the first half. He finished with a season-high 31 points, one shy of his career high set against Liberty Feb. 20, 2006.
•UW led 34-31 at halftime, the eighth time Wisconsin has led at the half this season (nine games).
•Wisconsin scored on its first six possessions of the second half, outscoring Winthrop 12-2.
•Alando Tucker scored 10 or more points for the 31st time in his last 32 games. He’s scored 20 or more points 33 times in his career.
•Tucker recorded his 600th career field goal. He has 604 total, good for fifth all-time at Wisconsin.
•Brian Butch picked up his 300th career rebound. He has 307 for his career.
•Michael Flowers scored his 300th career point. He has 310 for his career.
•UW has won 10 consecutive games at home dating back to last season and is 79-5 at the Kohl Center since 2001.
•Wisconsin made more free throws (24) than its opponent attempted (10) for the fifth time this season.
•Wisconsin is 4-0 against teams currently in the Big South Conference.
•Winthrop has made six NCAA tournament appearances in eight seasons under head coach Gregg Marshall.
Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan Post-Game Quotes
On Michael Flowers’ shot with 10.6 seconds left in regulation: “It wasn’t just that one, in order for him to get that opportunity we had to fight for the other ones. They were scrapping, we were scrapping, we get a couple offensive rebounds, one ball goes off of them last, he gets the opportunity. He’s an opportunistic young man. Plays hard, plays smart, he’s improved every year and we think he’s got a lot more improvement coming.”
On overcoming a poor shooting percentage: “I tried to say this last year at the North Dakota State game for example. We shoot 20-some percent but we get hustle opportunities. What won that game tonight, was not field goal percentage but hustle opportunities. We touched the post, off of those offensive rebounds, how many foul shots did we get? And if you can get to the line that many times by hustle … What are you going to do if the shots aren’t going down? We had some pretty good looks against that zone, then we started missing, then it compounds itself but we continued to make them have to play defense so that they didn’t get away with playing the zone, not working and then having a lot of legs down at the other end. If we’d have been taking quick, bad shots, they would have beaten us by 20. But by us being patient, changing sides of the floor, they were packing it in, taking some passing lanes away and they were doing exactly what they needed to do. And we needed to hit some outside shots if they were going to stay that tight but we still touched the post. We still attacked and that’s the only way you get to the free-throw line. I coached at other places where people are always complaining about how many free throws we shot, and the other teams are taking more jump shots than us. We touch the paint, we try to. If you touch the paint, that’s how you can get to the free throw line. But they have such good three-point shooters, they can sting. They had a couple runs where we tried to give ourselves some space, but they come right back and get them. That’s 45 points on 25 shots. That’s pretty good points per possession.”
On his expectations of Winthrop: “You can tell by the way both teams were playing, there wasn’t any lack of respect for one another. That was a hard-fought, toe-to-toe, December game that hopefully for both of us, will help us in conference play.”
Winthrop Head Coach Gregg Marshall Post-Game Quotes
On whether the loss stings more knowing Torrell Martin and Michael Jenkins combined to score 58 points: “Oh it stings. It stings. Torrell Martin, I thought, was the best player on the floor tonight. He just was terrific. Michael Jenkins really shot it beautifully. Craig Bradshaw did not play well and he knows that. He can play much better, so I mean 10 points for him in 39 minutes in not that good. He can play better. But those three guys scoring the points is insignificant. It’s just the fact that I thought we played very well, and had every right to win the game.”
On the rebound disparity: “That’s the part that we’ve got to work on. That’s the part that disappoints me the most. I’m certainly not upset with my team, but if there was anything that I could go back to change and win the game going away, we’d rebound better. We didn’t rebound well for most of the night. And our bigs have to do better. Our guards in the zone have to find guys and rebound better. But still, we will pick that apart and will coach the crap out of them when we get back. The bottom line is I’m not going to in any way, right now, diminish the effort and the poise and just the overall game that we played. And that would be something that would lend itself to some criticism, and I will certainly get into that at the appropriate time.”
On the end of the game when Wisconsin got three shots off: “We just couldn’t get a rebound. We couldn’t get a rebound and the ball hit the floor a couple times and they kept coming up with it, so a credit to them. That was a big-time effort by them and they got the shot that they needed and finally put it in the basket.”
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Florida and LSU in BCS, so we get the Hogs...
Razorbacks, Badgers to meet for first time since 1912
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Arkansas received a bid to the Capital One Bowl on Sunday, a day after losing the Southeastern Conference championship game 38-28 to Florida.
The No. 12 Razorbacks will face No. 6 Wisconsin on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla.
The Capital One Bowl has first pick among SEC teams not in a BCS bowl. Arkansas (10-3) won the SEC West this year, but there was speculation the Razorbacks could fall to the Cotton Bowl.
Instead, they were picked to play in the Capital One Bowl. Arkansas last appeared in that game in 1999, when it was still called the Citrus Bowl. The Razorbacks lost to Tom Brady and Michigan 45-31.
Arkansas has played Wisconsin (11-1) once before. The Razorbacks lost 64-7 at Wisconsin in 1912.
Arkansas hasn't played in a bowl since beating Missouri in the Independence Bowl in December 2003. The Razorbacks haven't played in a New Year's Day bowl since losing to Oklahoma in the 2002 Cotton Bowl.
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Arkansas received a bid to the Capital One Bowl on Sunday, a day after losing the Southeastern Conference championship game 38-28 to Florida.
The No. 12 Razorbacks will face No. 6 Wisconsin on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla.
The Capital One Bowl has first pick among SEC teams not in a BCS bowl. Arkansas (10-3) won the SEC West this year, but there was speculation the Razorbacks could fall to the Cotton Bowl.
Instead, they were picked to play in the Capital One Bowl. Arkansas last appeared in that game in 1999, when it was still called the Citrus Bowl. The Razorbacks lost to Tom Brady and Michigan 45-31.
Arkansas has played Wisconsin (11-1) once before. The Razorbacks lost 64-7 at Wisconsin in 1912.
Arkansas hasn't played in a bowl since beating Missouri in the Independence Bowl in December 2003. The Razorbacks haven't played in a New Year's Day bowl since losing to Oklahoma in the 2002 Cotton Bowl.
Wisconsin shafted, as we all knew we would be
Ok, I've refrained from discussing Wisconsin's place in the polls and a lack of BCS bid, because, for the most part, I understand. And I'm actually not too bitter. We weren't expecting anything out of this season, so really, anything after 3 wins was a bonus.
But I do think that we got held back by a really punitive rule. I'm not sure what purpose the rule preventing more than 2 teams per conference is meant to accomplish in terms of making the BCS seem valid.
Yes, some years the SEC or the Big Ten or the Big 12 might be holding half the spots in the BCS, but if the BCS is touted as having the best teams in the land, I'm not sure how you can validate holding teams out.
How does it make sense to punish a team who's conference is exceptionally talented that year? I'm actually quite surprised that this rule hasn't become an issue before.
For that matter, if the BCS is as exhalted as they'd like us to believe, I'm unsure how there can ever be a question. Shouldn't we have 1 v. 2, 3 v. 4, 5 v. 6 and 7 v. 8? Done and done?
I'm sure this sounds like sour grapes, but really, I guess I just don't understand the point of all the voting, calculating, etc... if in the end, the final rankings do not matter.
Is Wisconsin a better team then Notre Dame? I honestly don't know. I know that they're a two loss team, including a big loss (20+ point) at home to Michigan and that near implosion at Michigan State (Michigan State!?!?)
I guess in the end I'm just disappointed because a final ranking of #7 isn't run-of-the-mill for Wisconsin. A final ranking that high should be reason to celebrate. Instead, we're heading to the ho-hum Capital One Bowl (again).
And I'm not the only one who thinks we got a little screwed on details. This Fox Sports columnist thinks so too, though he's not so articulate about it.
But I do think that we got held back by a really punitive rule. I'm not sure what purpose the rule preventing more than 2 teams per conference is meant to accomplish in terms of making the BCS seem valid.
Yes, some years the SEC or the Big Ten or the Big 12 might be holding half the spots in the BCS, but if the BCS is touted as having the best teams in the land, I'm not sure how you can validate holding teams out.
How does it make sense to punish a team who's conference is exceptionally talented that year? I'm actually quite surprised that this rule hasn't become an issue before.
For that matter, if the BCS is as exhalted as they'd like us to believe, I'm unsure how there can ever be a question. Shouldn't we have 1 v. 2, 3 v. 4, 5 v. 6 and 7 v. 8? Done and done?
I'm sure this sounds like sour grapes, but really, I guess I just don't understand the point of all the voting, calculating, etc... if in the end, the final rankings do not matter.
Is Wisconsin a better team then Notre Dame? I honestly don't know. I know that they're a two loss team, including a big loss (20+ point) at home to Michigan and that near implosion at Michigan State (Michigan State!?!?)
I guess in the end I'm just disappointed because a final ranking of #7 isn't run-of-the-mill for Wisconsin. A final ranking that high should be reason to celebrate. Instead, we're heading to the ho-hum Capital One Bowl (again).
And I'm not the only one who thinks we got a little screwed on details. This Fox Sports columnist thinks so too, though he's not so articulate about it.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Go bama?
So I'm driving home from work earlier this week and it's pouring rain. I'm heading right into downtown and get cut off by this monstrosity of a big white conversion van. An ugly, ugly vehicle. I'm about to beep at this guy when I realize there are big, sparkly gothic style letters in his back back window that say "ROLL TIDE"
Stay classy, Alabama
Stay classy, Alabama
Thursday, November 30, 2006
I hate winter!
By tomorrow night forecast's say that we'll have 15 inches of snow.
First snow of the season and we're getting over a foot!
First snow of the season and we're getting over a foot!
More UW football player stupidity
It appears that Jack Ikegwuonu decided to celebrate being named First Team All-Big Ten Conference by breaking into a house in DeKalb, Illinois to steal and XBox.
You know, as you do.
Details here.
You know, as you do.
Details here.
Some Brewers free agency shenanigans
Apparently GM Doug Melvin made an offer to Tony Graffanino to keep him in Milwaukee - but Graffanino's agent sat on the offer for a few weeks. In the meantime, Melvin was made nervous by the lack of response, so he started seeing what the other options were. It turns out one of those options was former Brewer and local boy Craig Counsell. So Melvin took some steps in that direction. Then Graffanino decided he would accept the offer to which Melvin said "too late."
In the end, it looks like Counsell's coming home and Graffy's going to San Diego. Full story here.
In the end, it looks like Counsell's coming home and Graffy's going to San Diego. Full story here.
Monday, November 27, 2006
UW, Marquette flip flop in Basketball polls
from jsonline.com
MU jumps to No. 8 in poll; UW drops to 12
Marquette (6-0) jumped to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball rankings today, while Wisconsin (5-1) dropped from No. 7 to No. 12.
The Golden Eagles' rise from No. 13 last week follows their 73-62 victory over Duke last Tuesday. The Badgers lost Friday to unranked Missouri State, 66-64. UCLA took over the No. 1 spot in the AP poll, followed by Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Florida and Kansas. Alabama and North Carolina were just ahead of Marquette at No. 6 and 7.
In the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, Marquette was ranked No. 9 and Wisconsin No. 13.
Marquette and Wisconsin play each other Dec. 9 at the Bradley Center.
MU jumps to No. 8 in poll; UW drops to 12
Marquette (6-0) jumped to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball rankings today, while Wisconsin (5-1) dropped from No. 7 to No. 12.
The Golden Eagles' rise from No. 13 last week follows their 73-62 victory over Duke last Tuesday. The Badgers lost Friday to unranked Missouri State, 66-64. UCLA took over the No. 1 spot in the AP poll, followed by Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Florida and Kansas. Alabama and North Carolina were just ahead of Marquette at No. 6 and 7.
In the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, Marquette was ranked No. 9 and Wisconsin No. 13.
Marquette and Wisconsin play each other Dec. 9 at the Bradley Center.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Capital One Bowl
I'm absolutely complacent about the Badgers receiving the Capital One Bowl, which is ridiculous because 6 years ago, we were lucky to make it to the Music City Bowl!
But we've been in the Capital One or Outback Bowl each of the last 3 years. Middle Florida isn't really appealing to anyone anymore.
I think it's a mistake for the Big Ten's #2 and #3 tie-ins to be an hour apart in Tampa and Orlando. Assuming that your team is fairly dominant for a number of years, this ensures that you're sending them to the same place over and over and ensures that your fans stop making the trip.
Since both bowls are a Big Ten-SEC matchup, the SEC fans are all within a reasonable drive to these games. Two years ago when I drove from New Orleans to Tampa, we were surrounded by Georgia plates in every direction.
It seems to me that since the bowls are all about revenue, this set up is counter productive. It seems like the bowls are working on the the one edict that Big Ten-ers are so cold in the winter, they'll jump at a chance to go to Florida, which I think is ridiculous.
Besides, there's only so many times a Wisconsinite can handle being in Mickeyland with all the holiday vacationers before they get a little mental, you know?
But we've been in the Capital One or Outback Bowl each of the last 3 years. Middle Florida isn't really appealing to anyone anymore.
I think it's a mistake for the Big Ten's #2 and #3 tie-ins to be an hour apart in Tampa and Orlando. Assuming that your team is fairly dominant for a number of years, this ensures that you're sending them to the same place over and over and ensures that your fans stop making the trip.
Since both bowls are a Big Ten-SEC matchup, the SEC fans are all within a reasonable drive to these games. Two years ago when I drove from New Orleans to Tampa, we were surrounded by Georgia plates in every direction.
It seems to me that since the bowls are all about revenue, this set up is counter productive. It seems like the bowls are working on the the one edict that Big Ten-ers are so cold in the winter, they'll jump at a chance to go to Florida, which I think is ridiculous.
Besides, there's only so many times a Wisconsinite can handle being in Mickeyland with all the holiday vacationers before they get a little mental, you know?
I hate USC
And I will be very, very upset if they make it to the National Championship game.
I know everyone is saying that yesterday's shakeups are pushing Michigan into the game, but USC has managed to stay in the top 5 all season based purely on last year's performance, so I'm not buying it.
And how about those Mountaineers? Amazing how every year we're force-fed information about how the Big East is underrated, etc, etc and yet every year they manage to self-destruct just when everyone is starting to give them some attention.
I saw a couple of South Florida games this season (hey, it's the only football on on Tuesday night!)
Look, I'm sure it's hard getting cred when you're not in a major conference. But I'm quite sick of how the Big East watch starts earlier and earlier every season. Let's talk about good teams, but let's not go overboard. Talking about how great a team is, any team, really, in week 6 is just asking for trouble.
Just to play devil's advocate, however, if this season has shown us anything, it's that the Big East deserves the cred a hell of a lot more than the Pac-10 does.
I cannot understand how we continually act as though the Pac-10 is a legitimately competitive conference. Is there any team "big name" in the country that wouldn't have done what USC has done with the kind of conference opponents they meet? How hard is it to run the table in the Pac-10? The competition there is just sub-par.
All season, the SEC-ers have been complaining about how tough their conference is and that they have beat themselves in terms of a National Championship bid because everybody has losses.
Couldn't the exact same argument be made in favor of the Big East? The top teams all beat each other, taking them out of NC consideration.
I know everyone is saying that yesterday's shakeups are pushing Michigan into the game, but USC has managed to stay in the top 5 all season based purely on last year's performance, so I'm not buying it.
And how about those Mountaineers? Amazing how every year we're force-fed information about how the Big East is underrated, etc, etc and yet every year they manage to self-destruct just when everyone is starting to give them some attention.
I saw a couple of South Florida games this season (hey, it's the only football on on Tuesday night!)
Look, I'm sure it's hard getting cred when you're not in a major conference. But I'm quite sick of how the Big East watch starts earlier and earlier every season. Let's talk about good teams, but let's not go overboard. Talking about how great a team is, any team, really, in week 6 is just asking for trouble.
Just to play devil's advocate, however, if this season has shown us anything, it's that the Big East deserves the cred a hell of a lot more than the Pac-10 does.
I cannot understand how we continually act as though the Pac-10 is a legitimately competitive conference. Is there any team "big name" in the country that wouldn't have done what USC has done with the kind of conference opponents they meet? How hard is it to run the table in the Pac-10? The competition there is just sub-par.
All season, the SEC-ers have been complaining about how tough their conference is and that they have beat themselves in terms of a National Championship bid because everybody has losses.
Couldn't the exact same argument be made in favor of the Big East? The top teams all beat each other, taking them out of NC consideration.
Wisconsin Hockey Heaven
Yesterday I traveled to Madison yet again, this time for a hockey doubleheader.
Since the men's team has sunk far below last year's status, the women's hockey team, which is still unbeaten, has taken a bit more attention. We decided we wanted to see what women's hockey was all about (but still end the night with a men's game, so that we wouldn't be completely lame.)
The women's game was definitely slower paced, but still fun to watch. Definitely not as bad as going to a women's basketball game.
The women's team passes well and utilizes every player. You don't really see any one girl standing out, though last year's national MVP Sara Bauer and Jinelle Zaugg, yesterday's goal scorer, do lead the country at #1 and #2 with most points and most goals.
The game was 1-0 and there wasn't much to report. It's clearly a family event and I was impressed that they even had girl mighty mites to play at the period break.
The men, however, snapped a six-game losing streak beating #6 Michigan State 2-0. Andrew Joudrey and Ben Street scored for the Badgers.
The Badgers have suffered mightily from the injury bug, especially when top goal-scoring prospect Jack Skille was out for 11 games. Friday night marked his return to the ice, where he scored against Michigan, but he was pretty quiet at last night's game.
This is the second game I've attended this year and there was a world of difference in the play on the ice. The Badgers looked much cleaner, with sharp passes and an actually visible attack.
The game actually featured a lot of fast-paced attack on both ends, with quick break-aways and lots of shots. UW outshot Sparty 27-19.
The first game we went to featured little, if any, attack of any kind. The team looked disorganized and as though they weren't quite sure how to handle the puck. Last night the Badgers looked much more cohesive.
By far the most entertaining parts of the evening were surrounding the student section's taunting of Michigan State's goalie Jeff Lerg, who is only 5'6". Standing in the net alone you didn't really grasp his minute stature, but any time the team surrounded him, he looked like one of the girls we saw playing earlier in the day.
Cheers of "Midget Goalie, clap clap clapclapclap" were spattered throughout the game, but by far the best was near the end of the third period, when cheers of "pull your sieve" normally break out. Instead, for 2 full minutes, we cheered "Pull your midget". It doesn't look as funny when I type it, but I promise it was more the entertaining while you're standing there, trying to figure out what they're saying.
Since the men's team has sunk far below last year's status, the women's hockey team, which is still unbeaten, has taken a bit more attention. We decided we wanted to see what women's hockey was all about (but still end the night with a men's game, so that we wouldn't be completely lame.)
The women's game was definitely slower paced, but still fun to watch. Definitely not as bad as going to a women's basketball game.
The women's team passes well and utilizes every player. You don't really see any one girl standing out, though last year's national MVP Sara Bauer and Jinelle Zaugg, yesterday's goal scorer, do lead the country at #1 and #2 with most points and most goals.
The game was 1-0 and there wasn't much to report. It's clearly a family event and I was impressed that they even had girl mighty mites to play at the period break.
The men, however, snapped a six-game losing streak beating #6 Michigan State 2-0. Andrew Joudrey and Ben Street scored for the Badgers.
The Badgers have suffered mightily from the injury bug, especially when top goal-scoring prospect Jack Skille was out for 11 games. Friday night marked his return to the ice, where he scored against Michigan, but he was pretty quiet at last night's game.
This is the second game I've attended this year and there was a world of difference in the play on the ice. The Badgers looked much cleaner, with sharp passes and an actually visible attack.
The game actually featured a lot of fast-paced attack on both ends, with quick break-aways and lots of shots. UW outshot Sparty 27-19.
The first game we went to featured little, if any, attack of any kind. The team looked disorganized and as though they weren't quite sure how to handle the puck. Last night the Badgers looked much more cohesive.
By far the most entertaining parts of the evening were surrounding the student section's taunting of Michigan State's goalie Jeff Lerg, who is only 5'6". Standing in the net alone you didn't really grasp his minute stature, but any time the team surrounded him, he looked like one of the girls we saw playing earlier in the day.
Cheers of "Midget Goalie, clap clap clapclapclap" were spattered throughout the game, but by far the best was near the end of the third period, when cheers of "pull your sieve" normally break out. Instead, for 2 full minutes, we cheered "Pull your midget". It doesn't look as funny when I type it, but I promise it was more the entertaining while you're standing there, trying to figure out what they're saying.
Friday, November 24, 2006
LSU upsets Arkansas
But I can't say that this game made me feel any better about the possible matchups for Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl.
Until today, LSU hadn't allowed any 100 yard rushers. Today they allowed two. Is that good or bad for P.J. Hill.
On that same vein, LSU is the top rated run offense and they couldn't particularly stop Arkansas, so how the hell would we?
Finally, unless Ken DeBauche is able to put every kickoff in the endzone for a touchback, our special teams will have a hard time covering Arkansas' return team.
Until today, LSU hadn't allowed any 100 yard rushers. Today they allowed two. Is that good or bad for P.J. Hill.
On that same vein, LSU is the top rated run offense and they couldn't particularly stop Arkansas, so how the hell would we?
Finally, unless Ken DeBauche is able to put every kickoff in the endzone for a touchback, our special teams will have a hard time covering Arkansas' return team.
A belated Happy Turkey Day
I never made it to the computer yesterday and I've been up since 4 this morning doing the shopping thing, but I did just want to drop a line to say thanks to all (5) of my readers.
So let's be thankful for bowl season and college basketball craziness so early in the year. For the Packers sucking less then I though they would and the Badger football team far surpassing anyone's expectations for this season.
I'm thankful for football on every day of the week and basketball to break it up. I'm thankful for college hockey and dancing at any Wisconsin game.
I'm thankful yesterday's Lions/Dolphins game was way more exciting to watch then I expected.
In addition, I'm thankful for good friends and good sports. I'm thankful for a fabulous boyfriend/copy editor who keeps me sane.!
I hope everyone's nice and relaxed from yesterday and is prepared for the football smorgasbord that is this weekend. I'll be napping to recover from this morning's shopping extravaganza so that I'll be wide awake to check out LSU/Arkansas.
But during the nap, I'll be dreaming of Notre Dame taking USC down!
Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!
So let's be thankful for bowl season and college basketball craziness so early in the year. For the Packers sucking less then I though they would and the Badger football team far surpassing anyone's expectations for this season.
I'm thankful for football on every day of the week and basketball to break it up. I'm thankful for college hockey and dancing at any Wisconsin game.
I'm thankful yesterday's Lions/Dolphins game was way more exciting to watch then I expected.
In addition, I'm thankful for good friends and good sports. I'm thankful for a fabulous boyfriend/copy editor who keeps me sane.!
I hope everyone's nice and relaxed from yesterday and is prepared for the football smorgasbord that is this weekend. I'll be napping to recover from this morning's shopping extravaganza so that I'll be wide awake to check out LSU/Arkansas.
But during the nap, I'll be dreaming of Notre Dame taking USC down!
Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
#17 Marquette upsets #8 Duke
(though I'm not sure from which poll those rankings come)
Marquette beat Duke last night in the finals of the CBE Classic Basketball tournament.
The Golden Eagles looked pretty good, causing a lot of steals and loose balls. They were aggressive and changed up the defense, from zone to man-to-man quickly and when necessary.
Jerel McNeal was all over the court and Dominque James, who's 5'11" made the guy who was guarding him, who was 6'6", look silly a few times.
Good job by the Golden Eagles by not getting intimidated and not letting their game get loss. Lots of points to Coach Tom Crean, who clearly had a game plan and didn't let his team deviate from it.
Marquette beat Duke last night in the finals of the CBE Classic Basketball tournament.
The Golden Eagles looked pretty good, causing a lot of steals and loose balls. They were aggressive and changed up the defense, from zone to man-to-man quickly and when necessary.
Jerel McNeal was all over the court and Dominque James, who's 5'11" made the guy who was guarding him, who was 6'6", look silly a few times.
Good job by the Golden Eagles by not getting intimidated and not letting their game get loss. Lots of points to Coach Tom Crean, who clearly had a game plan and didn't let his team deviate from it.
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