Category: Athletics

A dispute between a newly launched sports network and major cable providers has kept one-third of University of Wisconsin football games off cable TV.

The impasse will take an even bigger toll on Badgers basketball fans.

Fewer than half of the Wisconsin men’s basketball games will air on cable TV this basketball season, which kicks off Sunday.

Of the 30 regular season games, at least 18 will be shown exclusively on the Big Ten Network â?? but Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, the two major cable companies in Wisconsin, do not carry the channel.

When Ron Dayne steps out on the field Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, I hope he stops for a moment and takes a good look around at the fruits of his labors.

All those new luxury boxes and club seats, all that state-of-the-art technology and, most important, all those red-clad fannies looking out at him are due in great part to his blood, sweat and pain.

Local Charter Cable customers have been shutout of the Big Ten Network and its Badger game broadcasts, as Network and Charter officials haggle over money and the network’s placement in the cable tier.

But 27 News has discovered, a group of long-time Badger fans, with a satellite television subscription, still could not watch, a big game on Big Ten. These elderly Badger faithful are also worried about getting shutout of future games.

These fans live at Waunakee’s Creekwood Assisted Living Center.

The University of Wisconsin will now be able to schedule games against teams with American Indian symbols and names after the Faculty Senate approved a new policy regarding athletic competitions Monday.

Lisa Stone intended to put a couple of strong opponents on the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team’s nonconference slate for the 2007-08 season, and said last December that “people will have smiles on their faces when they see the schedule.”

As Wisconsin opens the nonconference portion of its schedule tonight at Cleveland State, there are relatively few major challenges ahead for the Badgers.

University of Wisconsin tailback P.J. Hill, who sat out the loss at Ohio State because of a bruised left leg, is not expected to play Saturday when UW faces No. 13 Michigan.

Long-snapper Steve Johnson, a fellow fifth-year senior who teamed with Ben Strickland at Brookfield Central High School before coming to UW in 2003, will remember his longtime friend for another contribution.

Strickland, a team captain, gave up his scholarship this year for Johnson.

Madison – When senior cornerback Ben Strickland plays his final home game for the University of Wisconsin Saturday against No. 13 Michigan, astute UW fans may recall some of his contributions to the program:

â?¢ Consistently solid play on special teams.

â?¢ Replacing injured starter Allen Langford last season at Iowa and playing well in a 24-21 victory.

â?¢ A critical third-down break-up in the victory over Michigan State earlier this season – after he had been beaten for a big gain.

Long-snapper Steve Johnson, a fellow fifth-year senior who teamed with Ben Strickland at Brookfield Central High School before coming to UW in 2003, will remember his longtime friend for another contribution.

Strickland, a team captain, gave up his scholarship this year for Johnson.

When Ron Dayne was first told his number would be retired by the University of Wisconsin this weekend, he thought it was some kind of joke.

“I kind of knew that my jersey was already retired,” Dayne said in a teleconference Wednesday. “So at first I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, whatever. It’s already retired. Don’t nobody wear it and it’s been up in the stadium.'”

Under a new faculty senate amendment passed Monday, the University of Wisconsin can now play against several teams that were previously off-limits for using Indian mascots and imagery. Brian Bull reportsâ?¦

JIM BAKKEN had to admit that he had never heard of Rob Bironas, the Tennessee Titan placekicker who last month broke an NFL record that Bakken had held for 40 years.

It was left to Bakken’s 11-year-old grandson to set him straight.

Jolene Anderson has played with some of the top women’s basketball players in the nation, and the University of Wisconsin senior guard is now being mentioned in the same breath as those standouts.

Anderson did not make The Associated Press’ preseason All-American team, which was released Tuesday afternoon, but was one of 15 players to receive votes.

Marcus Landry hears the cheers every night.

When the University of Wisconsin junior rides his moped to his patio door, 2-year-old Marcus Jr. drops whatever he is doing, runs to the window and excitedly pulls the blinds open as far as they go. Inside, 1-year-old Moriah waits and once she spots Landry starts yelling from sheer joy.

Daddy’s home!

It remains unclear whether tailback P.J. Hill, who sat out the loss to Ohio State last week because of a bruised left leg, will be healthy enough to play Saturday when UW (7-3, 3-3) tries to upset No. 13 Michigan (8-2, 6-0).

Barry Alvarez’s Sheboygan book signing was similar to a game at Camp Randall Stadium the last 15 years â?? a sellout.

Organizers ran out of books Monday for the overflow crowd at SkyBox Sports Bar & Grill, where the former University of Wisconsin football coach and current athletic director signed copies of “Don’t Flinch â?? Barry Alvarez: The Autobiography.”

Two days before his football team took the field against top-ranked Ohio State, University of Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema outlined his formula for victory.

In short, he believed the Badgers had to capitalize on every opportunity to make a play and avoid providing Ohio State with any extra scoring opportunities through turnovers.

UW failed in both areas and the result was a blown chance to stun the No. 1 team in the nation and remain in the Big Ten Conference title race.

When the Badgers’ game kicks off today against undefeated, top-ranked Ohio State, most fans will be forced to try to find a friend or a sports bar with a satellite dish.

Badgerland sports fans will run into the same problem when the Packers play the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 29. Both games will be televised on networks not carried by Charter Communications â?? the Big Ten Network and the NFL Network, respectively.

When Pat Richter hired Barry Alvarez to coach football at the University of Wisconsin, the athletic program was in shambles.

A game at Camp Randall Stadium was the easiest ticket in town, the men’s football and basketball programs were going nowhere, and the athletic department was swimming in debt.

How things have changed since 1990, when Alvarez’s first football team debuted with a 1-10 record.

MADISON â?? When it comes to Charter Communications, many Wisconsin fans are seeing Badger red.

The university’s athletics department is still seeing green.

Fans are steamed the state’s biggest cable company is refusing to carry the Big Ten Network. That means Wisconsin’s football game against No. 1 Ohio State today won’t be available in their homes.

The biggest item of interest in last weekend’s Wisconsin-Ohio State football game wasn’t P.J. Hill’s health (not good enough) or whether the Badgers could knock off the No. 1 Buckeyes (they couldn’t).

It was all about who has control off the field when it comes to television.

The University of Wisconsin has been feeling the heat, apparently, over the game airing on the Big Ten Network rather than network or national cable channels. Barry Alvarez’s athletic department issued three separate public statements within two days last week, lamenting that the corporate chiefs at Time Warner and Charter, Wisconsin’s two largest cable companies, weren’t doing right by the state’s Badgers fans.

For many Badger fans in the area Big Ten Network salvation came just in time. In fact, it came last Friday.

It’s the biggest game of the year, the Buckeyes and the Badgers, and its only on the Big Ten Network, which many people don’t get.

“I’ll listen probably on the radio,” said fan James Long of Mount Horeb.

The ongoing standoff between Charter Cable and the Big Ten Network left Badger fans scrambling to find a place to watch Saturday’s game against Ohio State.

While fans fumed, local businesses cashed in.

Badger faithful left in the dark over the inability of Charter and the BTN to agree on a distribution deal packed bars and restaurants in the Madison area on Saturday. Many owners said it was the busiest Saturday they’ve had in quite some time.

Even Barry Alvarez is asking the question:

What can the University of Wisconsin’s increasingly angry fans do so they can watch football games such as Saturday’s showdown between UW and No. 1 Ohio State that are televised on the fledgling Big Ten Network?

Alvarez, UW’s athletic director, asked the question directly of Kevin Weiberg, a Big Ten Network vice president, last month when Weiberg was updating the UW Athletic Board on the stalemated negotiations between the network and the four major national cable TV providers — including Charter in Madison.

The UW-Madison Athletic Departmentâ??s revenue for varsity team sports is up $4 million from last year, totaling $82.6 million, according to a report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education Tuesday.

Despite recent announcements of price increases and the failure to reach an agreement with the Big Ten Network, Charter Communications has not received a significant number of complaints from its customers.

With Charter still in conflict with the Big Ten Network, bars and restaurants across Madison will be televising this Saturdayâ??s game against Ohio State University for those who cannot watch it on regular cable television.

New NCAA data released Thursday indicate that 76% of the athletes at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin who began college as freshmen in 2000 graduated within six years.

Whatever you do, don’t get in the way of college football fanatics, arguably among the most ardent athletic supporters on the planet.

Three major cable companies and the Big Ten Network â?? a new channel dedicated to all things Big Ten â?? learned this the hard way, enraging Big Ten fans by failing to strike an agreement on how the network is distributed to consumers.

University of Wisconsin senior guard Michael Flowers has returned to the team after a leave of absence which the Badgers had said was being taken for medical reasons.

“He’s back on the floor,” UW coach Bo Ryan said Wednesday, nearly two weeks after the leave began Oct. 18.

Michael Flowers returned to the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team with as little fanfare as when he left it.

The Badgers’ senior guard was back at practice Wednesday afternoon at the Kohl Center two weeks after the team sent out a brief announcement that said Flowers was taking a temporary leave of absence for medical reasons.

Tyler Donovan appreciates both the magnitude of the task facing the University of Wisconsin offense this week in Ohio Stadium and the potential reward.

“It is going to be the ultimate challenge for us so far this season,” UW’s senior quarterback said.

Reporters didn’t see all of Michael Flowers’ first practice with the University of Wisconsin basketball team since he took a leave of absence two weeks ago, but in the part they did see it was business as usual for the senior guard.

Michael Flowers returned to the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team on Wednesday, ending a nearly two-week leave of absence.

Itâ??s third down and inches. Time to get in the trenches and grind it out.

Weâ??re referring to the clash between the Big Ten Network and several cable TV companies, which will prevent many Badger fans from seeing Saturdayâ??s critical showdown against top-ranked Ohio State. Without an agreement, cable companies â?? including local carrier Time Warner â?? cannot show BTN games.

This is sure to come up at least once more this season. University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez expects the teamâ??s Nov. 17 game against Minnesota to be shown on BTN, which gets the second or third pick among each weekâ??s games.

Another try by state lawmakers to make sure all Badgers’ games are on TV.

The latest effort comes from a group of lawmakers who want Badger games to be aired live on Wisconsin Public Television. The games were shown on delay, before the creation of the Big Ten Network.

Barring dramatic improvement in his bruised left leg during the next few days, tailback P.J. Hill probably wont be healthy enough to play Saturday when the University of Wisconsin faces top-ranked Ohio State.

When the Wisconsin Badger football team takes on the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, it may be just as tough for Badger fans to watch the game as it may be for the Badgers to beat the top-ranked team.

As the University of Wisconsin football team prepares to play the No. 1 ranked team in the nation this Saturday, most Badger fans will not be able to watch the drama from the comfort of their apartments or homes.

Lance Smith’s five-game, university-imposed suspension will not be modified, meaning the sophomore tailback will miss Wisconsin’s final two regular-season road games.

That was the message delivered Monday by University of Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema.

“I’ve been basically in discussions with different university personnel,” Bielema explained during his weekly news conference, “and I’ve been told to remain quiet about the issue so I’ll remain quiet.”