A lot of people might go into this year's spring game wondering what they will see on the field at Camp Randall Stadium—will it be a gritty battle for starting positions between teammates? Will it replicate the atmosphere of Camp Randall on a fall Saturday? Will it give us a preview of how the Badgers will perform in the Big Ten?
When I became a columnist last fall, I swore I would avoid blabbering about my hometown teams back in New York at all costs, knowing no one out here really cares about them. But with what the New York Jets have been doing this spring, ignoring them is becoming impossible. With the moves the Jets have made since losing to Indianapolis in the AFC title game last January paired with what they did before the season, it becomes apparent that this team could be changing the landscape of the NFL offseason.
Even after a rough 0-6 conference start, spirits remain high for the Wisconsin Badgers women's softball team as they head into another Big Ten doubleheader Wednesday against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
DETROIT—During Wisconsin's NCAA Tournament run, senior forward Blake Geoffrion several times responded to positive moments for his team by looking forward and saying, ""job's not done yet.""
The Wisconsin men's tennis team dominated Big Ten foe Purdue Saturday with a 5-2 victory, controlling the Boilermakers in all aspects of the game to advance to 4-2 in conference play and 15-6 overall.
DETROIT—Between bowl games against the SEC and basketball matchups with Michigan State, Wisconsin fans grow tired of the comparison and the notion that Badger sports are more ""grind"" than ""go."" But the men's hockey team has been an exception this year, combining a physical style of play with dynamic athletes and top-tier talent. In Saturday night's national championship contest, however, Boston College put a level of speed on display that UW just could not keep up with for a full 60 minutes.
The Wisconsin women's softball team continued to struggle through conference games, falling to the Penn State Nittany Lions 3-1 and 3-0 this weekend.
One period through Wisconsin's 5-0 loss in the national title game, I could only think one thing: We've seen this team before. After 20 minutes of hockey, with Boston College holding a not-insurmountable 1-0 lead, it was clear that if this version of the Badger hockey team stuck around, the program would not see its seventh national title this year.
DETROIT—On paper, Wisconsin looked a lot like the first two teams that Rochester Institute of Technology knocked out of this year's NCAA tournament, hailing from a power conference and possessing top talent, hockey tradition and championship aspirations.
They are being compared to the likes of the Jordan-era Bulls, the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins and even the UCLA basketball dynasty of the 70s. No, I'm not talking about the Patriots of the past decade, the late 90s Yankees, or any other great team—it's not even a men's squad. It just so happens that the latest reign of dominance in sports belongs to the UConn Huskies women's basketball team.
DETROIT—Just days before the Badgers played their first Frozen Four game a few players said that it would be natural to be a bit nervous in the opening moments on such a big stage.
It is a match up that simply begs for every clichéd underdog reference in the book.
Less than an hour after the Badgers' last game, senior forward Blake Geoffrion said something that set his team apart.
The Wisconsin softball team (0-4 Big Ten, 8-20 overall) will play their first home games of the season Wednesday in a doubleheader against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (9-22) at Goodman Diamond.
Wisconsin entered this year's NCAA Tournament having played six of the 15 other teams in the hunt for a national title. As the Badgers get ready for the Frozen Four this weekend in Detroit, however, the three teams standing between them an a national championship are unfamiliar to Wisconsin. Here is a look at the other three teams that will face off at Ford Field Thursday.
Now that Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils have cut down the nets, the 2009-'10 NCAA men's basketball season has finally come to an end. As a Badger fan already looking ahead to the 2010-'11 campaign, one of my favorite parts of discussing Wisconsin basketball in the off-season is speculating next year's starting lineup; who will replace the seniors from this season and how players may fare facing the potential of an expanded role. So here's an early look at the potential starting lineup for UW for next season.
For a season beginning play in the sunny states of Arizona, Florida and California, the Wisconsin softball team started with a dreary 8-20 record overall, earning them 10th place in the Big Ten conference.
It's the perfect Cinderella story: the small hockey program comes to the NCAA hockey tournament as an unheralded underdog from a weak conference, playing in a bracket that features the powerhouse many experts picked to win the national title. Despite those doubters and long odds, however, the team rallies to not only defeat that heavily-favored squad, but earns itself a trip to the Frozen Four. Just like that, the little school that could is two wins away from a national title.
ST. PAUL, Minn.—It didn't seem to matter whether they started fast or struggled at the start. Both times they took the ice, the games came down to tense, close final periods as playoff hockey often does. And at the end of the weekend, after dealing with a familiar foe and a team just lucky to be there, they finally reached a goal that was both aimed for at season's start and in some ways expected.
ST. PAUL, Minn.—In one game at the NCAA West Regional it was the power play, the next it was the penalty kill, but one of the key factors that punched Wisconsin's ticket to the Frozen Four was the Badgers' strength on special teams.
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