Category: Athletics

There are sources of inspiration all over the place for Niles Brinkley.

Like when the sophomore cornerback on the University of Wisconsin football team opens his locker in the basement of the McClain Center and sees his late sister’s face smiling back at him.

Or when he flips open his cell phone and gazes at another smiling face, this one his 2-year-old daughter.

Or during a spare moment in practice, when he looks up at the empty seats at Camp Randall Stadium and imagines what it would be like to have 80,000-plus fans cheering for him after a big play.

If Jay Valai isn’t able to earn a paycheck on the football field, he plans to make a decent living in the broadcast booth.

Radio or TV, it doesnâ??t really matter.

â??Either or is fine,â? the University of Wisconsinâ??s No. 1 strong safety said recently. â??Just think about that. Sitting around and talking sports. Could you ask for anything better than that?

Beau Hoopman was going through freshman orientation at the University of Wisconsin, trying to figure out which end was up, when he noticed a man with a clipboard staring at him.

â??I thought, â??Uh-oh, whatâ??s this guy want?â?? â? Hoopman recalled. â??He said, â??You look like an athlete.â?? I said, â??Uh . . . yeah?â?? He said, â??Would you be interested in crew?â??

â??Iâ??m, like, â??Whatâ??s crew?â?? â?

And so began an improbable 10-year journey that took Hoopman from the rowing hotbed of Plymouth, Wis., to two Olympic medals in the sport.

Beijing – Beau Hoopman was going through freshman orientation at the University of Wisconsin, trying to figure out which end was up, when he noticed a man with a clipboard staring at him.

â??I thought, â??Uh-oh, whatâ??s this guy want?â?? â? Hoopman recalled. â??He said, â??You look like an athlete.â?? I said, â??Uh . . . yeah?â?? He said, â??Would you be interested in crew?â??

The Americans followed their gold medal in the Athens Games with a bronze medal. Beau Hoopman, Matt Schnobrich, Micah Boyd, Wyatt Allen, Daniel Walsh, Steven Coppola, Josh Inman, Bryan Volpenhein and coxswain Marcus McElhenney finished in 5:25.34.

Dear Editor:

Please allow me to respond to Daniel Golden’s ill-considered rant about banning the “intrusion of the military-industrial complex” into every aspect of our daily lives by banning flyovers of football games by military aircraft.

Former University of Wisconsin tailback Lance Smith was sentenced Thursday to 20 days in the Dane County Jail on charges of battery and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

Former University of Wisconsin running back Lance Smith was sentenced Thursday to 20 days in jail for the physical assault on his girlfriend last year which started in his apartment and continued to a nearby convenience store.

In handing down the sentence, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stuart Schwartz gave Smith credit for the four days he sat in jail after his arrest for the assault. Since Smith will earn good time when he serves his sentence, it will amount to about eight more days behind bars if he behaves.

Former Wisconsin running back Lance Smith was sentenced Thursday to 20 days in jail for assaulting his girlfriend last year. The 20-year-old pleaded guilty last year to charges of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct.

MADISON (WKOW) — Former UW running back Lance Smith was sentenced to 20 days in jail in Dane County Court Thursday afternoon for beating up his girlfriend.

Smith, 20, had been given the opportunity to avoid convictions on battery and disorderly conduct charges through a first offender program, but failed to follow program rules and was kicked out of the program.

After more than three years away from football, Jordan Hein didn’t forget how to put on his shoulder pads.Taking them off without a struggle was another matter for the University of Wisconsin rookie defensive tackle.

â??It is a funny question, but I donâ??t have the technique down to get them off right away,â? Hein, a member of the wrestling team his first three years at UW, said after football practice Wednesday. â??One time I had my one arm stuck taking them off and a couple guys were laughing at me.

Former University of Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter is set to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2008, USA Hockey announced Tuesday.

Troy Vincent, Rick Olson and Craig Norwich headline a nine-member class that will be inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame later this month.

UW also will honor several alumni of historical importance, including Sidney Williams, the first African-American starting quarterback in modern Big Ten Conference history; Megan Scott, UW’s only three-sport female letterwinner; former associate athletic director Otto Breitenbach; and prominent boosters Tom Wiesner and Palmer “Butch” Strickler.

Former University of Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter is part of a star-studded class of 2008 that will be enshrined into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Some see an obstacle that can’t be traversed, a chance to fail.

Badgers football player Dan Moore sees a hurdle to be cleared, an opportunity to grow.

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez earned more than $167,110 in outside income in 2007 by giving speeches, doing radio shows and appearing as an analyst on network television, newly released records show.

During the same time period, football coach Bret Bielema and menâ??s basketball coach Bo Ryan generated substantial income as well, earning $88,700 and $61,460, respectively.

Dear Editor: I gaze at my newly arrived Badger football season tickets with mixed emotions. Although the games themselves continue to charm, what is getting very unnerving is the rapidly growing corporate-military intrusion on a recreational activity.

As a military veteran, I’ve seen far too much military hardware. Is the dangerous flyover of inherently unstable combat aircraft an essential part of any college athletic event? Or are these recurring displays of weapons another example of what political thinkers from Plato to Eisenhower have warned us about — the intrusion of the military-industrial complex into every aspect of our national life?

As Niles Brinkley prepared to leave his parents’ home in St. Louis earlier this month and return to the University of Wisconsin campus for the opening of preseason football camp, he understood this goodbye would be more painful and final than any other.

â??I knew she was going to pass away,â? Brinkley, a third-year sophomore cornerback, said softly Sunday at UWâ??s media day. â??I was telling her I had to go back up.â?

His sister â?? 35-year-old Lanita Renee Eddins â?? ignored the cancer that was ravaging her body and said: â??I understand it is important. Go back and Iâ??ll be OK.â?

Before Brinkley could leave, his sister was gone. She died on Aug. 1.

As he relaxed inside the McClain Center early Thursday evening after football practice, Matt Shaughnessy spoke optimistically about the health of his brother, Jamie, who nearly died last year after doctors found several blood clots in his stomach.

His older brother was in the hospital for a previously scheduled surgery that was part of his lengthy recovery and was on the mend, the University of Wisconsin senior defensive end said proudly.

â??Heâ??s doing good,â? Matt Shaughnessy said at the time.

Less than 24 hours later, Jamie Shaughnessy died.

When Stewart MacDonald started what has become a tradition, legacy and selling point 40 years ago, he remembers being something of an oddity.

Having completed his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, he qualified for the 1968 U.S. Olympic rowing team as the coxswain in the pair boat. He came back to the UW rowing team as an Olympian who had never coxed a varsity race for the Badgers.

Four years later, he was back in the Olympics, joined by another UW rower. In 1976, two more men’s rowers added their names to the list, and the UW women’s program started a tally of its own with three Olympians.

….When Micah Boyd joins 2004 gold medalist and former UW teammate Beau Hoopman in the men’s eight in Beijing next week, he will become the 25th name on the list of rowers who competed for the Badgers and in the Olympics.

Allan Evridge looks in better shape than he did last August, when he finished second to Tyler Donovan in the race to be the University of Wisconsin’s No. 1 quarterback.

Evridge, a fifth-year senior who understands his days in college are dwindling, appears more comfortable and confident with his role on the team.

As Bret Bielema explained his reasons for dismissing troubled tailback Lance Smith from the University of Wisconsin football program, the coach was asked whether Smith’s case could be used as a cautionary tale for other players.

Bielema agreed that Smith’s wasted opportunity at UW should serve as a harsh lesson for the 105 players in camp.

It would have been easy for Barry Alvarez to doubt himself after going 1-10 in his first season as head football coach at the University of Wisconsin.

However, despite accepting the enormous task of rebuilding a dying program, only to have an auspicious start, Alvarez trusted his instincts and stuck to his plan.

He never wavered.

University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema has removed talented but troubled running back Lance Smith from the team.

Bielema made the announcement Monday night following the team’s first practice of the season. It appears Smith, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, will transfer to a Football Championship Subdivision program (formerly called Division I-AA) so he can be eligible to play immediately.

Bielema suspended Smith last month after Smith was terminated from the first-offenders program.

Lance Smith likely has played his last football game in a University of Wisconsin uniform.

Smith, a reserve tailback who was suspended from the team last month after being removed from Dane Countyâ??s first-offender program, has been dismissed by coach Bret Bielema.

For Joe Tiller’s first 10 seasons as Purdue’s football coach, the Boilermakers’ practices were open to the media. Reporters would sit on a hill overlooking the practice field, where Tiller and his staff and players went about their business. Then one of Tiller’s assistants began noticing detailed practice reports showing up on the Internet.

“We come off the practice field,” Tiller said, “and there’s stuff already posted.”

Tiller considers himself media-friendly, but he also felt the need to draw a line in the sand in order to protect his program’s best interests.

Badger football coaches are looking at ways to slow down the spread offense.

The high school coach of University of Wisconsin men’s basketball recruit Robert Wilson kept it simple when he explained why he thinks the Badgers have been so successful.

He gave a great deal of the credit to the recruiting prowess of assistant coach Greg Gard.

“Greg Gard spotted talent before the other teams had an idea. That shows you why Wisconsin wins,” said Garfield Heights (Ohio) coach Sonny Johnson when Wilson made his initial commitment to play for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema ranked a No. 3 prospect by a Sporting News columnist among those seen as likely replacements to the college football legend.

Greg Gard, a longtime Bo Ryan assistant and southwest Wisconsin native, has been named Ryan’s top assistant on the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team.

According to a UW press release issued Wednesday, Ryan promoted Gard to associate head coach, a title most recently held by Rob Jeter, now the head coach at UW-Milwaukee.

CHICAGO — They’ve helped the University of Wisconsin football program win 31 games over the last three seasons, the second-highest total in the Big Ten Conference behind Ohio State.

Their winning percentage is .795, better than any other class in the program’s modern era.

They’ve ended each of the last three seasons with a trip to a January bowl game.

So why aren’t the members of the Badgers’ senior class completely satisfied?

What Bruce Charlton remembers most about his first trip to Madison to look at the site where University Ridge Golf Course would be built was that he arrived the day after University of Wisconsin football coach Dave McClain died suddenly of a heart attack.

Nobody thought back in 1986 that the UW football team and the school’s golf course would become two of the athletic department’s biggest winners over the past two decades.

But Charlton, who was the lead designer of University Ridge for Palo Alto, Calif., architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., was as confident that the Ridge would become a champion as Barry Alvarez was that his UW football team would win Rose Bowls.

As a football coach, Bret Bielema is consistent and pragmatic.

So when the University of Wisconsinâ??s depth at tailback suffered a hit last week with the indefinite suspension of junior Lance Smith, Bielema responded as expected.

â??Any time we lose someone due to injury or in this case something off the field,â? he explained, â??it is the next man in.

Brian Butch hopes to have the next phase of his basketball career settled soon.

But whether that means receiving an invite to an NBA training camp or taking his game overseas remains a mystery.

The former University of Wisconsin and Appleton West High School standout recently was in Las Vegas to participate in the 2008 NBA Summer League with the Memphis Grizzlies but is now back in Appleton, working out and pondering his future.

The University of Wisconsin’s starting quarterback in 2008 won’t necessarily be the player who throws the prettiest ball, has the fastest 40-yard dash time or can keep up with the linemen in the bench press.

UWâ??s staff is looking for Mr. Consistency, and the contenders for the starting job know it.

Reserve tailback Lance Smith, whose future with the University of Wisconsin football program is in jeopardy because he was recently removed from Dane Countyâ??s first-offender program, has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Aug. 14, according to court records.

Former University of Wisconsin soccer player Amy Vermeulen has been named an alternate for the Canadian team for the Beijing Olympics.

The 24-year-old forward played for UW from 2001 to 2005 and holds the school record for assists in a career (27).

If Camp Randall Stadium hosts a college hockey game as one group has proposed, it won’t be a conference game and it won’t be in the coming season.

Representatives from the Herb Brooks Foundation approached the University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota about producing an outdoor game on Jan. 24, 2009, at the 80,321-seat football stadium in Madison, but those talks have stalled after the Western Collegiate Hockey Association balked at the proposal.

Lance Smith’s career with the University of Wisconsin football team may be over.

Wisconsin Badgers running back Lance Smith fumbled his second chance at being a law-abiding citizen and now faces the possibility of a jail sentence, heavy fine and the end of his college football career.

The University of Wisconsin football team has been picked for second in the league by media covering the Big Ten Conference.

OK, Wisconsin vs. Marquette in golf will never rival the Badgers vs. Golden Eagles on the basketball court.

The golf competition between the two schools may be a few more layers under the surface than the basketball rivalry, but itâ??s there. For years Wisconsin was the unquestioned â??Big Dogâ? in state golf, but Marquette has been moving on up, especially this spring when the Golden Eagles made it to the NCAA Division I Regional for the first time.

First for the expected: Reporters who cover Big Ten football have voted Ohio State the preseason favorite to win the 2008 league title.

Now for the unexpected: Wisconsin was picked to finish second. The Badgers could return as many as 17 starters from a team that finished 5-3 in the league last season before losing to Tennessee in the Outback Bowl.

Every Colts fan out there can tell you the name of the Colt’s primary quarterback. But when it comes to the guy who’s got Peyton’s back, some aren’t so sure. In our unscientific poll four of the seven fans we asked correctly named Jim Sorgi as the backup.

Jim Sorgi wears number 12 for the Colts. He has made a living as Peyton’s back-up for the past four years.

“It feels good to be back,” said former University of Wisconsin basketball star Devin Harris. “There’s no place like Madison. It will always have a special place in my heart.”

The 25-year-old New Jersey Nets point guard was back on his old stomping grounds, signing autographs at Copps on Madison’s west side July 13. Harris took a little time out of his session to talk with The Madison Times.

“I got up to Coach [Bo] Ryan’s event yesterday and got to see a lot of the old players, and it was great talking with them,” said Harris, who has kept in contact with old teammates and coaches through e-mail but rarely gets a chance to see them as much anymore. “We got to catch up and see what everybody was doing, where they are playing, wives, kids, and all that other good stuff.”