Columnists - The Daily Cardinal

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‘Wet Hot American Summer’ trailer provides hope for TV

By Jake Smasal | Feb. 5, 2015

Last week, I may have mentioned that this time of year is where TV goes to die. however, what I dod not take into account is that it’s trailer season! Not one but two super-amazing, awesome trailers debuted over the past week: one for season five of “Game of Thrones” and the other for “Wet Hot American Summer.” We knew that a “Game of Thrones” trailer would be forthcoming, and rather than shoot my “GOT” wad this early in the semester, I’ll just say that it was awesome. Like, really awesome. But the real exciting (and kind of unexpected) news of the day belongs to the “Wet Hot American Summer” teaser.

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Conference disparities hurt integrity of NBA playoffs

By Rushad Machhi | Feb. 4, 2015

The Detroit Pistons, once owners of a 5-23 record midway through December, are now 2.5 games out of a playoff spot in the (L)Eastern conference. Did they go on an amazing run to approach a .500 record, a respectable and deserving win-loss total for a playoff team?

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Reality shot with an iPhone lens

By Andy Van Sistine and Austin Wellens | Feb. 3, 2015

So last week I wrote about the idea of “historical films” that use actual events as their material, and this week I’d like to look at what is sort of the flip side of that.

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When stars go solo after success in a group ensemble

By Jacob Witz | Feb. 3, 2015

The story of the pop-flop is all too common. A former member of a popular group ventures out into the world of solo careers, only to find that their talent and muse was entirely dependent on the group and image they used to associate themselves with. Soon after, we see desperate attempts at singles and maybe a full album, until the only potential money-gainer in their career is an email begging for a supergroup reunion.

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Column: Is ESPNW progressive or problematic?

By Sam Cusick and Grey Satterfield | Feb. 2, 2015

GS: This weekend saw the conclusion to the Australian Open tennis tournament. The hype of the tournament Down Under might have gotten swept away by the Super Bowl hype and the fact that it takes takes place in the dead of night on our side of the Pacific. Regardless, you missed out on a pretty exciting tournament, and a rather shocking Cinderella story on the women’s side.

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Column: Bucks' new stadium plan wastes needed money on a bad investment

By Jack Baer | Feb. 1, 2015

It takes some gall to announce that you’re giving a sports team $220 million the same day you announce future cuts for the University of Wisconsin System amounting to $300 million.

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Friends, even in books, can drift apart

By Maham Hasan and Emily Gerber and Tamar Myers | Feb. 1, 2015

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Netflix, Amazon battle for title of best online TV

By Jake Smasal | Jan. 28, 2015

Over the past year, one of the newest and best rivalries in TV history began and is now officially heating up. As Netflix continues to produce original content, Amazon has thrown its hat into the ring and now has come up with its first bona fide hit, “Transparent,” which stars Jeffrey Tambor as a father struggling to tell his children about his desire to be a woman, is garnering ridiculous amounts of praise. Amazon versus Netflix is a rivalry that would have been inconceivable even three years ago. Then, most of the world didn’t even know “House of Cards” was going to be a thing, and Amazon was just somewhere you went to compare prices with whatever you wanted at Target. If you had told me then that both of these companies would be serious players in the TV market, I would probably have laughed at you and made a joke about whatever was funny three years ago (Snuggies? Sarah Palin? I have to be close).

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Column: Bryant’s all-star selection shows flaws in voting system

By Rushad Machhi | Jan. 26, 2015

They say numbers never lie, but sometimes they couldn’t be further from the truth.

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Lost definition of art in society of Top 10 lists and awards

By Alex Lovendahl | Jan. 26, 2015

The current value of American art to its curators is to be ranked and categorized for "Best of the Year" consideration, to find its way into a gallery or museum or to "go viral." We have made art a competition. This is not true, though it is permitted. The last time I saw my roommate from my freshman year, we discussed 2014's Games of the Year, a tradition we've reduced in scope since 2010. We came to concordance upon Blizzard's collectible card game "Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft," a game we've each played for countless hours. Rather than discuss its nuances or celebrate our other favorites, he proceeded to list off the year's releases and determined whether or not we had enjoyed each before we parted.

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Expectations meet reality in films based on history

By Austin Wellens | Jan. 26, 2015

So as a film and history major, the issue of “historically accurate” films has been on my mind lately, what with “American Sniper,” “Selma,” “Foxcatcher” and “The Imitation Game” all being largely talked about movies. But it winds up being just part of a larger conversation I’ve had a few times recently, so to talk about this issue I’m going to talk about something else.

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Column: McCarthy's baffling decisions cost Packers Super Bowl

By Jim Dayton | Jan. 24, 2015

You can blame it on Brandon Bostick for botching the onside kick. Or A.J. Hawk for misreading the fake field goal. Or Ha Ha Clinton-Dix for not knocking down the two-point conversion. Or Aaron Rodgers for missing multiple throws. Or...

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Heisman Watch: 2015 Candidates

By Jim Dayton | Jan. 15, 2015

With the college football season finally complete, it’s time for the final installment of my Heisman Watch series—an early preview of 2015’s potential candidates.

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Column: Alvarez found his man

By Jack Baer and Amanda Salm | Dec. 18, 2014

It’s amazing what one week can do for a program.

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Heisman Watch: The Finalists

By Jim Dayton | Dec. 11, 2014

We have reached the end. The 80th annual Heisman Trophy will be awarded to one of three finalists Dec. 13—Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon or Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper.

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Column: Searching for reasons behind Andersen's departure

By Jack Baer and Scott Allen | Dec. 11, 2014

Say this for Bret Bielema: When he bolted from Wisconsin, it at least made a lick of sense. “Bert” was apparently unhappy with how much he was allowed to pay his assistants (which is fair, considering NC State pays its assistants more than Wisconsin) and had seen coaching staff after coaching staff lose key football minds to more aggressive schools. The sparkle and money of the SEC shone bright, so Bielema made a career move that was at the very least lateral and was understandable when you consider what the SEC was at the time: the only way to win a national championship.

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Heisman Watch: Week 15

By Jim Dayton | Dec. 4, 2014

This is the 12th edition of the Heisman Watch, a weekly feature tracking the candidates for college football’s most prestigious award. For last week’s rankings, click here.

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Though similar, BBC show peaks HBO’s Prohibition crime drama

By Jake Smasal | Dec. 2, 2014

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the BBC’s post-World War I crime drama “Peaky Blinders.” Two weeks ago, the second season was released onto networks mere weeks after its original BBC run, and I’m going to write about it again.

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Column: College football's chaos theory

By Molly Reppen and Grey Satterfield | Dec. 2, 2014

As we embark on the final weekend of the college football season, many debates seem to have been put to rest. But maybe, just maybe, 2007 will come and knock down the house of cards on the College Football Playoff committee’s table and they’ll be left to put together the pieces Sunday.

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Column: Don’t overlook importance of Stave in Badgers’ revival

By Rushad Machhi | Dec. 2, 2014

I’ll admit it, I was wrong about Tanner McEvoy being the right starting quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers. Yes, shockingly I am not infallible.