Category: Athletics

University of Wisconsin Badgers fans planning to travel with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to the Rose Bowl won?t have to choose a one-size-fits-all package this year.

The Badgers may be Rose Bowl bound for the first time in ten years, and that means ?buyer beware? when buying ticket packages, especially on-line. That from Randall Hoth, president-CEO of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. ?If you are buying tickets on-line, you?ve got to make certain that you do some independent research on that ticket broker,? says Hoth, who suggests checking out the BBB website.

In basketball, as in life, the rich just seem to get richer. That certainly is the case in college women?s basketball, in which the top teams continually scarf up the best high school players each year. The recently completed early signing period for the 2011 recruiting class follows that tradition, as the top 10 teams in recruiting success bear a striking resemblance to the top 10 teams in the rankings.

MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin Badgers fans planning to travel with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to the Rose Bowl won?t have to choose a one-size-fits-all package this year.

It won?t be official until Sunday, but University of Wisconsin football fans have high hopes for the Rose Bowl on New Year?s Day.It?s been 10 years since UW last went to Pasadena, but one thing hasn?t changed: If you?re planning to go, be mindful there are scam artists waiting to take your money.

Congratulations to the team and to coach Bret Bielema. Next stop: Pasadena.

While he waits to learn his team?s bowl destination and opponent, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema plans to address the potential makeup of the 2011 roster.That includes exploring the National Football League options for defensive end J.J. Watt, tailback John Clay and wide receiver Nick Toon, all fourth-year juniors.

The Madison City Council Tuesday approved a rezoning to allow an addition to UW-Madison?s Kohl Center and Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion with an ice hockey arena, locker room facilities and athletic offices at 601 W. Dayton St.

As Badger mania begins to boil, central Wisconsin fans have their sights set on the Rose Bowl.

One of the inevitable byproducts of a successful season for University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema is having to fend off other teams from trying to hire away his assistant coaches.

Left tackle Gabe Carimi and tight end Lance Kendricks have been named first-team All-Americans by the American Football Coaches Association, which announced the honors Monday morning on its website.The fifth-year seniors were two of six Big Ten Conference players honored by the AFCA, which announces just one All-America team.

?Tis the season to offer a little Rose Bowl prose, contributed by Lisa Abbrederis ? the aunt of University of Wisconsin receiver Jared Abbrederis of Wautoma. It?s a nice voyage through the Badgers? memorable season, which will likely wrap up Jan. 1 in Pasadena.

Wisconsin is on the verge of its first trip to the Rose Bowl since January 2000, after the Badgers remained ahead of Ohio State and Michigan State in the latest BCS standings, and fans are already making plans to attend the bowl game.

The University of Wisconsin maintained a sizable lead over Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series standings released Sunday night, all but ending the Buckeyes? dreams of stealing a Rose Bowl berth from the Badgers. UW moved up to No. 5 in the rankings with a rating of .8185, and carries a substantial edge over No. 6 Ohio State (.7632).

From where I?m sitting today, there are at least two certainties when it comes to the idea of the Big Ten Conference sponsoring men?s hockey.

 It?s not too late if you still want a seat for Saturday?s big game.The Badgers have a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten championship Saturday, but there could be hundreds of empty seats when they do it.

Wisconsin football lovers have their eyes and hearts set on the Badgers.They annihilated Northwestern 70-23 on Saturday. BCS standings were released Sunday night, and all signs point to the Badgers heading to the Rose Bowl.

After an impressive 11-1 season, the Badger football team appears poised to play in the Rose Bowl. And that means Badger fans are making plans to head west! Although it?s not a guarantee the Badgers will be playing in the Rose Bowl, many people are taking their chances.

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald has studied Wisconsin?s running game with junior tailback John Clay in the lineup and with Clay standing on the sideline, cheering on his younger replacements.

Neither the game plan nor the productivity has changed with sophomore Montee Ball and freshman James White sharing the workload.

With his football team one victory away from clinching at least a share of the Big Ten Conference football title, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is among eight finalists for the 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

I have been a loyal UW Badger football fan and ticket holder for over 20 years, attending games and cheering the team on through ups and downs. Until now, I?ve contributed what has been asked for ? and more. But I?m sick after reading last week?s article that some season ticket holders, including me, will be “asked” to pay an additional 60 percent ($150 more per ticket) to keep our seats.

Let?s talk about my least favorite oxymoron, what the UW Athletic Department likes to call it a “seat license fee.” Those of us who have to pay it call it what it really is ? a “forced donation.” The schoolyard bully is shaking me down again for a greater percentage of my lunch money.

The University of Wisconsin football team is playing for at least a share of the Big Ten Conference title on Saturday against Northwestern at Camp Randall Stadium and the game is not yet a sellout.

Wisconsin tailback James White continues to make his case to be named the Big Ten Conference freshman of the year.White on Monday was named the league?s freshman of the week for his performance in UW?s 48-28 victory at Michigan.

Nothing is guaranteed in the world of the Bowl Championship Series standings until the final numbers are released, which this season is set for Dec. 5.

However, with Wisconsin holding at No.?7 Sunday night and maintaining a comfortable lead over No. 8 Ohio State, it appears the Badgers are in the best position of the three Big Ten Conference contenders.

Upon being anointed as Barry Alvarez?s successor in 2005, Bret Bielema set the bar high for his goals as the University of Wisconsin?s football coach.

“I think college football today, yeah, there (are) a lot of different teams that rise up year-to-year, but Wisconsin has stayed on top for a long period of time and it?s doing the right things consistently that will be able to make this program continue,” Bielema said at the time. “I hope to take it to a higher level as well.”

For the first time in his five seasons in Madison, Bielema has the Badgers in position to achieve that subjective and lofty status, though national title hopes are remote at best.

If fifth-ranked Wisconsin remains in the running for a Big Ten Conference football title with a victory Saturday at Michigan, it will probably do so without junior tailback John Clay.

Skaters and swimmers at the University of Wisconsin will be getting a new state-of-the-art facility next to the Kohl Center in Madison that will give them a centralized location for all their events.

I am disappointed with the policies and treatment I received at the Badger men?s basketball game on Sunday. Upon arriving at the Kohl Center I was informed that, due to a new policy, I would not be allowed to bring my purse in.

Why was the University of Wisconsin men?s basketball team allowed to play North Dakota in a non-conference game Tuesday, an apparent violation of the school?s longstanding ban on playing non-traditional foes with American Indian nicknames?

Mike Eaves doesn?t know how many recruits he?s lost as University of Wisconsin men?s hockey coach due to the lack of an established on-campus practice facility.

Construction is scheduled to begin this coming spring on a new hockey and swimming arena on the UW campus.The La Bahn Arena got final approval Wednesday.  It?s named after Charles and Mary Ann La Bahn, the lead donors for the project.

University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema spent a little more time on Tuesday doing damage control after the 83 points put up by his team in the win over Indiana on

In an expensive effort to keep up with the Joneses, the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department is tapping into its most prominent group of financial backers.

When Wisconsin was preparing to face Indiana and it appeared junior tailback John Clay would be unavailable because of a knee injury, running backs coach John Settle joked that fans might be able to catch a glimpse of UW?s future backfield.

As Clay watched from the sideline last Saturday, sophomore Montee Ball and freshman James White combined to rush for 311 yards and five touchdowns in an 83-20 victory over the Hoosiers.With Clay questionable for UW?s critical Big Ten game Saturday at Michigan, the future might be now. Clay isn?t fully recovered from the sprained medial collateral ligament he suffered Nov. 6 at Purdue

Once again, in a blood bath, the Lions 88, the Romans 3. So long from the Coliseum.

Bret Bielema has a problem, but I?m not sure the University of Wisconsin football coach knows it or cares if he does.

The University of Wisconsin football team matched a modern-day Big Ten Conference record for points in a league game, beating Indiana 83-20 Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

Meghan Duggan scored two goals and University of Wisconsin teammate Brianna Decker added a goal and two assists as the United States women?s select hockey team thumped Finland 4-0 at Mile One Centre in St. John?s, Newfoundland, the Americans? second straight victory at the Four Nations Cup.

The growth spurt Jon Leuer enjoyed last summer can?t be quantified.

He didn?t sprout 10 inches, as he did during his time at Orono (Minn.) High School before coming to Wisconsin in 2007. The 6-foot-10, 228-pound senior instead honed his game by practicing against some of the best players in the world, NBA stars who went on to win the gold medal for the United States at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Somewhere around the 33rd kilometre Sunday, Simon Bairu?s body began to betray him.