There were lots of memorable sports moments in 2002-'03, both on and off the field. The Daily Cardinal takes a look at some of the best (and worst).
The never-say-die Badgers, behind senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger's leadership and sophomore kicker Mike Allen's leg, stunned the No. 14 Colorado Buffaloes in overtime of the Alamo Bowl 31-28. Bollinger led the offense on a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the waning minutes of regulation, converting on two fourth downs through the air during the final drive. Bollinger capped it all with a 1-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime. Allen calmly hit a 37-yarder in the extra period to run Head Coach Barry Alvarez's career bowl record to 7-1 and give Bollinger his 30th career-win.
Punctuating a 16-2 run in the final four minutes of regulation, junior guard Freddie Owens buried a three to beat Tulsa 61-60. After forcing a shot-clock violation in the Golden Hurricane's final possession, the Badgers had 12 seconds to prevent a major upset. Sophomore point guard Devin Harris drove the lane and kicked the ball out to a wide-open Owens, whose shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net with :01 on the clock, propelling the Badgers into their first Sweet 16 since 2000.
After allowing the Illini to tie up the final conference home game at 59 in the last two minutes of regulation, Harris was fouled with .04 seconds remaining while attempting a last second drive. Harris uncharacteristically missed the first free throw, but came back to sink the second one and give the Badgers the 60-59 edge. The Illini's last-ditch shot attempt failed and the Badgers clinched their second consecutive Big Ten regular season championship under Head Coach Bo Ryan.
The Alamo Bowl would have never been had it not been for sophomore tailback Anthony Davis' 301 yards on 45 carries and school record-tying five touchdowns against Minnesota. Behind Davis' running and Bollinger's managing of the offense, the Badgers staged a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Gophers 49-31 to reclaim Paul Bunyan's Axe and become bowl eligible.
The No. 6 Badger women's hockey team swept perennial powerhouse and No. 10 Mercyhurst on the tails of three goals in a 6:31 time span early in the third period of the final game of the series to win 4-2. In the first game, senior defender Kerry Weiland's unassisted goal with 15:12 left in the third period propelled the Badgers to a 3-2 victory. Senior goalkeeper Jackie MacMillan recorded 39 saves over the two games.
More importantly then the two wins though, was the emotional victory. This series proved to college hockey that the Badger women were for real and indeed a threat for the national title
With an Alamo Bowl berth and the Paul Bunyan Axe on the line, sophomore running back Anthony Davis had the best game of his season against rival Minnesota Nov. 23. Getting the ball 45 carries, Davis ran for 301 yards and five touchdowns, and for the second year in a row, Minnesota had no answer the shifty runner. He tied a school record set by Billy Marek in 1974 against none other than the Golden Gophers.
Against the defending national champion, the Badgers' goalie stopped 24 shots to help hold on to a 2-1 victory against the University of Minnesota-Duluth Jan. 17. Though it was not the most saves in one game for her this past season, the fact that UW scored quickly and relied on MacMillan to win made this victory one of the best for the hockey squad this past season. In addition, MacMillan deserves mention for her illustrious career at UW.
Alando Tucker's first-ever start as a Badger on Dec. 7 was only a taste of what was to come for the rest of the season. Tucker shot nine-of-14 from the field as he had a team-high 24 points and 18 rebounds in a 91-74 rout of UNLV. Tucker ended his freshman campaign averaging 12 points and six rebounds a game, helping the Badgers secure their second Big Ten title in as many years.
In his final game as a Badger, Bollinger led Wisconsin to a 31-28 overtime victory over the No. 14 Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl. Bollinger completed 12 of 24 passes for 163 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. Bollinger also ran for 82 yards on 20 carries, including a touchdown late in the fourth quarter with less than one minute left to tie the game and send it into overtime.
In the first two games of the Big Ten Championship, Conway put up shutout perfor-mances against Michigan State and Illinois to put the Badgers in the title game against eventual Big Ten champ Ohio State Buckeyes. In both instances, Conway put up four saves in 1-0 wins for UW. Conway's heroic playoff efforts were only part of her great season and career at UW.
He has quite a few Badger hockey records. But one record was eluding him-a criminal record. But never count out Brad Winchester. Especially never count him out of a good fight. Especially when it's outside the Kollege Klub at 2 a.m. Especially when you ask him to stop, because he'll just begin punching violently at whoever is touching him ... even if it is a police officer ... even after Winchester broke his nose ... even after they pepper spray him. No my friends, never ever count out Brad Winchester.
Brown's first mistake was that he went to Club Amazon. You're a 5th year senior Byron, go to a real bar. But don't blame Mr. Brown. Blame Chris Stangl, who had the audacity to accidentally bump into Brown, apologize and try to walk away. For shame Chris! Byron is going to have none of that. Why, you just stay down there and get the bejeesus beaten out of you by Byron as three of his friends hold you down! That's what anyone deserves to get for touching a football player!
Rob Tucker is a graduate of the Tonya Harding school of Public Relations. When talent can't get you press, just get into a drunken brawl at the Kollege Klub. But don't stop there, my friend. First, you've got to hit an innocent waitress in the head with your tin o'chaw as you're exiting. No, you're not done Tuck, you've got to kick the window out of the back of the police car! Now you're worthy of an agent like Drew Rosenhaus!
This season's Bobby Knight award for forsaking all coach-athlete rules goes to Mike Eaves. Coach Eaves won this hands downs when he verbally and physically manhandled sophomore Alex Leavitt in a Grand Forks, N.D. Hotel room. Now we all know that staying overnight in North Dakota can make anyone unnecessarily violent, but Eaves admittedly crossed the line. But Eaves got his punishment UW Athletics style: a letter of reprimand. That oughta teach him!
You would think that when you've complied more yards in a two-year period than any back in the country, you would have a choice selection when it comes to jersey-chasing skanks. But oh no! A.D. has to pick the psycho who throws crap at him when angry. So he countered her point by punching her, which is always a respectable and logical retort in a reasonable argument. However, A.D. underestimated her rebuttal: a sharp object to his left leg. If football doesn't work out A.D., there is always rapping about the crazy women in your life. Hey, it worked for Eminem!
For those of you who missed Evans' junior season, way back in 2001, this is a bad, bad man when he steps on the field. With Evans' freakish talents on display, UW will feature the best receiving group in the nation, bar none.
Harris, Wilkinson and Owens showed amazing progress in the development of their games from the Badgers' first Big Ten title season, and everyone knows about Tucker's emergence. Just imagine what this fearsome foursome will have in store for us next year.
Change is good for everyone, and for a team that struggled over the past two years, like the UW women's basketball team, change is great. New Head Coach Lisa Stone, a Wisconsin native, has compiled an impressive 375-118 record and made a Sweet 16 appearance in 2002 with Drake University.
Forwards Nick Licari and Ryan MacMurchy especially proved their worth to the league in their opening campaign. On the defensive side, Tom Gilbert's performance ensured that the conference will know his name next year. Aside from scoring goals and making plays, these Badgers showed determination when times were tough and gave hockey fans a solid core to look forward next season. Look for at least a return to respectablity next year for the Badgers.
Brian Butch, a McDonald's all-American, is the gem of the Badgers' recruiting class [and wow does he have a sweet shooting stroke], but Juco transfer Zach Morley, Minnesota product Kammron Taylor and Sharif Chambliss-who needs to sit out a year after tranferring from Penn State-will help the Badgers remain at the top of the Big Ten conference.
