Musing the psychology of Senior Day

3/2/10 3:36 AM

 Posted by Scott Kellogg   Trevon Hughes available after practice today, but the only other senior, Jason Bohannon was. Bohannon said all the things his coaches probably told him to say, how he’s had a great time at Wisconsin, he has no regrets, Wednesday’s game against Iowa is just another contest and there’s still plenty of ball to be played this season.   The Senior Day angle is always a cliché one in college sports, but I still think it’s interesting. Most of the time, especially in high-revenue college sports such as football and basketball, these players are will never engage in anything even close to as competitive as their sports. They’ll never hear a crowd as loud or feel more intensity than they did at Wisconsin.   ...

Six reasons to watch Olympic hockey

2/22/10 12:35 AM

Posted by Scott Kellogg 1 – National pride I normally find nationalism at sporting events annoying (why does every sport play the national anthem and bring out the military before games, we know which country we're in). But you can't help feel the nationalism when its players of your country engaged in tense competition with players from other countries. It jacks up the intensity. 2 – Quality of play When teams like Canada, Russia, Sweden and Finland are playing, it really is the world's best. Even an NHL game between top-tier teams can't match the skill of these players. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Alenxander Semin and Ilya Kovalchuk all playing for Russia. Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson and the Sedin twins for Sweden, and of course with Canada...

Instant Take: Purdue 60, Wisconsin 57

1/28/10 9:29 PM

Posted by Scott Kellogg Wisconsin could not have asked for a better chance to win tonight. The nine-point underdogs had the ball with six seconds remaining under the Purdue basket down by one point. The inbound pass went outside to Hughes, who promptly attacked the basket, beat his defender and shot a runner close to the basket that ricocheted off the backboard, and just went off the rim to seal Wisconsin's fate and hand Purdue another home win against Wisconsin. It was a trying day for Hughes, who shot 3-for-11 from the field, and perhaps more importantly, 3-for-8 from the free-throw line. Four of those foul shot misses came down the stretch, making the misses even more frustrating. Sophomore guard Jordan Taylor also struggled tonight, shooting 4-for-12. It...

Men's hockey No. 2

1/26/10 9:38 AM

Posted by Parker Gabriel After taking three out of four points from the top-ranked Denver Pioneers this weekend, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team moved up one spot to No. 2 in this week’s USCHO (US College Hockey Online) National Rankings. Miami (Ohio) reclaimed the top spot and received 37 votes, while the Badgers collected eight votes. This is the first time this season that UW has received votes for the top spot.  The Badgers have a chance to claim the number one spot this weekend with a successful series. They will be on the road for another top-10 matchup, this time with No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth.  The Badgers and Bulldogs are just two of six WCHA squads ranked in the Top 11 this week. The others are:  #3 Denver Pioneers (5 votes) #4 North Dakota...

AP Poll reflecting women's basketball's rise

1/18/10 6:07 PM

Posted by Mark Bennett For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team has received votes in the Associated Press poll for consecutive weeks. The Badgers (5-3 Big Ten, 15-4 overall) are currently riding a four-game winning streaking after a convincing defeat of Illinois last night. They received 37 votes and are the first team in the “receiving votes” category. Essentially, Wisconsin is the No. 26 team in the nation, just 14 points behind No. 25 Virginia.  The Badgers, who were picked by some to finish 10th in the Big Ten this season, currently sit in 3rd place in the conference standings. The team plays just one game this week, Thursday night at the Kohl Center, against Penn State, the team that currently sits in second place....