Category: Athletics

This, University of Wisconsin football fans, is how you steal a victory from a determined Fresno State team led by a fiery coach and skill players whose talent would fit in just fine in the Big Ten Conference.

This is how you overcome a running game that was anemic except for about two plays, a depleted secondary that was beaten underneath and over the top from the first quarter to the fourth, and a series of penalties Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium that conjured memories of a forgettable 2008 season.

Before this summer, Peter Johnson was living his life exactly the way he wanted it: small-town atmosphere, coaching a WIAA hockey team and managing the Eagle’s Nest Ice Arena. And most importantly, being the consummate family man.

Now the Verona resident is going back to college, so to speak. He recently signed on for a temporary assistant coaching gig with the University of Wisconsin-Madison women’s hockey team and is in the midst of off-ice testing with players.

Last October 11th, 54-year-old Margaret Hiebing attended the Wisconsin Badgers football game at Camp Randall Stadium. Hiebing was accompanied by her 65-year-old husband, who suffers from dementia.

When Hiebing arrived at her row, she found it completely occupied. While the matter was being resolved, Hiebing sat in the aisle. Pursuant to policy, persons sitting in the aisle are subject to ejection. After seats opened up, several police officers approached Hiebing and demanded that she leave.

Tim Taggart always has been an early riser and a creature of habit, so today will begin like most any other.

He will get up before sunrise and report for work at Camp Randall Stadium. He then will tend to a lengthy checklist of details as food and beverage director for the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department.

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said he’ll either delay or halt plans to build a new on-campus hockey complex if the pace of fund-raising for the project doesn’t pick up soon.

“We flat-out have to do better,” Alvarez said. “It would be nice if some of our hockey guys would step up.”

The state will pay $50,000 to a woman who was shocked with a Taser by UW Police at a Badgers football game last year under a settlement reached on Tuesday, the womanâ??s attorney said.

Robert Gingras, the attorney for Margaret Hiebing, said the settlement was reached during a mediation session with retired Circuit Judge Angela Bartell, who brokered the deal between Gingras and state Department of Justice attorneys who represented UW Police Sgt. Tamara Kowalski and Detective Peter Grimyser.

University of Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad isnâ??t afraid to exercise his right to free speech. And more often than not, the words he chooses are as subtle as a pancake block. So donâ??t get him started on the holding call assessed to freshman center Travis Frederick in UWâ??s opener last week.

While itâ??s been nearly a year since Washburn University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison settled on an agreement dealing with the “W” logo, the Washburn athletic department is still feeling the after effects.”Well obviously the changes will be ongoing because we have the “W” on our field at Yager Stadium and we have it in Lee Arena and different places,” said Loren Ferre, Washburn athletic director. “And itâ??s on our uniforms so the change will be gradual and as those things wear out and need to be replaced, weâ??ll have the “W” with the Washburn across it that weâ??ll be using.”

Their battle with the flu isnâ??t over, but Brian Lucas, UW Director of Athletic Communications, says the number of players infected hasnâ??t gone up.”Obviously itâ??s something weâ??re cautious about,” said defensive lineman J.J. Watt. “Our trainers have been doing a great job of getting our hands sanitized, giving us everything we need to be safe.

The Madison woman who was tasered by UW police officers as they ejected her from a Badger football game at Camp Randall stadium will receive $50,000 in a settlement of a federal lawsuit.

When University of Wisconsin fans check in Saturday night for the radio broadcast of the UW-Northern Illinois football game, they will notice something missing from the show.

Thousands of fans will descend on Camp Randall Stadium Saturday for the Wisconsin Badgers home opener, but construction near the stadium might cause some roadblocks.

Bucking the trend in college athletics, University of Wisconsin-Madison officials took a stand that the bottom line isn’t everything. Too bad they’re staring at the wrong line.

The university canceled advertising deals with two major brewing companies because of concerns about binge drinking. The athletic department, as a vice chancellor put it, would have to “take one for the team” by forfeiting $425,000 annually. A sacrifice should have an equally large payout – not in dollars, but in curbing the campus’ infamous culture of drunkenness.

Police and security officials told 27 News they are ready to handle tomorrowâ??s season opening capacity football crowd at Camp Randall Stadium, after student section changes and last seasonâ??s tasering of a sober fan.

College football season kicks off Saturday in Madison, and so does the tailgating. But school officials have a warning for students: drink too much, and you could be added to the “Show and Blow” list.

The first Badger Bash of the 2009 UW-Madison football season kicks off Saturday at a new location.

The Badger Bash, known as “the largest tailgate in Madison,” will be held each Saturday at the engineering mall before every home football game.

Excited crowds packed Camp Randall Stadium for Saturdayâ??s University of Wisconsin Badgers football home opener against Northern Illinois University.

The last time I talked to Irv Goodman was shortly after I wrote a column questioning why some of the city alders were so insistent that the Goodman Pool had to “break even.”

Pressure? What pressure? If University of Wisconsin junior quarterback Scott Tolzien is beginning to feel any uneasiness with his first college start just a few days away, he is masking the jitters flawlessly.

Madison will never forget and will always be in debt to Irwin Goodman, the eldest of the two jewelry store brothers who helped make Madison the city it is today. Irwin passed away Sunday at the age of 94, bringing to an end a storied life that meant so much to Madison business, its sport scene, its schools, its clubs and its robust nonprofit community.

….Irwin was a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he lettered in track and field. His love for sports transferred to the University of Wisconsin, where he and his brother became fixtures in the stands at football and basketball games. Their generous donations to the athletic department included funded the conversion of the UW’s old baseball field near Picnic Point to a state-of-the-art women’s softball complex now known as Goodman Diamond, a clever takeoff on their years of advertising that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

The symbolism is no accident. More than 5,000 incoming University of Minnesota students will gather this week at the new football stadium and, with the help of the marching band, form a huge “M” that will be photographed from above.

Football is returning to the campus after a 28-year exile, and with it comes the hope that the stadium will bring much more than just the sport. Done right, it could get students more engaged, increase alumni contributions and instill a profound sense of pride in a new, grand tradition. Done wrong, it could bring more of the rowdiness that has rocked Big Ten campuses — and the U itself.

One of the things University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema likes to tell his players is â??scars are good.â?

Thatâ??s because of the experiences gained in accumulating those scars.

Last seasonâ??s disappointing 7-6 record left scars aplenty on the coaches and players alike. One of the hardest things for Bielema was watching tapes of games and not always recognizing the team in cardinal-and-white jerseys.

Union South might be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean the same is true for Badger Bash.

The popular tailgate party — which is held two hours before every Badger football home game — is typically located at Union South. But this year the UW Marching Band and Bucky Badger will be partying a block west in Engineering Mall. The event will also feature free Babcock Dairy ice cream for the first two games.

Union South might be a thing of the past, but that doesnâ??t mean the same is true for Badger Bash. The popular tailgate party — which is held two hours before every Badger football home game — is typically located at Union South. But this year the UW Marching Band and Bucky Badger will be partying a block west in Engineering Mall.

No matter who is named the University of Wisconsinâ??s No. 1 quarterback – either junior Scott Tolzien or redshirt freshman Curt Phillips – UW fans should expect to see both play in the Sept. 5 opener against visiting Northern Illinois.

Wisconsin football fans listening to games on the radio this fall will hear few, if any, beer ads for the first time in years.

The university has ended long-standing sponsorship agreements with MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch InBev for advertising during Badgers sports broadcasts. The deals, which brought the university about $425,000 per year, were not renewed after a campus committee recommended doing away with them as part of its fight against binge drinking.

Badgers-themed Bud Light is not off the shelves in Wisconsin yet, despite a promise from Anheuser-Busch to UW-Madison that it would end the promotion â??in the near future.â?

The red-and-white cans are still being sold at the Woodmanâ??s West Side store, On Campus confirmed Wednesday morning. Readers have also reported seeing the 24-packs at the Woodmanâ??s East Side store and in other parts of the state.

But if you want a pack, you may want to act quickly.