Category: Athletics

Ask Jeter if he’s ready to be a head coach if the opportunity arises and he smiles and simply says, “I have confidence in my ability, sure.”

His goal doesn’t have a timetable. (12/26/04 Sunday Sports section)

Susan Lampert Smith: It’s enough to turn an Optimist into a pessimist. And it raises the cosmic question: Just what is it worth to sell a bratwurst inside Camp Randall Stadium?

I’m talking about a lawsuit now making its way through Dane County Small Claims Court, titled Monona Grove Optimists versus the National W Club. (12/26/04 Local section)

University of Wisconsin football fans headed to Tampa, Fla., for Saturday’s Outback Bowl will be hoping for two things: warm weather (anything above 60 should shake the northern chill) and a Badger victory against Georgia.

While those things will be left to chance, there are certain to be plenty of activities and deals awaiting the red-clad UW faithful in the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater areas.

University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator Bret Bielema convinced linebacker Abdul Hodge to go to Iowa, when Bielema was the linebackers coach with the Hawkeyes.

They are college football’s version of the paparazzi.

They are almost everywhere, showing up at any function where football players might be present. They are cunning, aggressive, persuasive — and more than a little annoying.

University of Wisconsin senior left guard Dan Buenning loves watching old clips from NFL Films on television.

Ten years ago, many in the red-sweater crowd were eagerly anticipating the Badgers’ first trip to Tampa, Fla., for the UW’s bowl matchup with Duke…. it is fair to say times have changed for many Badger backers….

How else can one explain that the UW has sold fewer tickets for its lasts three bowl games combined – the 2002 Alamo (6,000), 2003 Music City (7,000) and 2005 Outback (10,000) – than it sold for the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl (24,000)?

University of Wisconsin volleyball coach Pete Waite’s holiday became very happy Sunday night even though the package came a day after Christmas and is almost two years away from a cardinal and white stocking…

But the tight ends coach says he won’t talk to new Irish coach Charlie Weis before UW’s bowl game.

TAMPA, Fla. – Sophomore John Stocco thought he had a pretty good idea going into the season about what life would be like as the starting quarterback for the University of Wisconsin.

As eager as 6-foot-11 Wisconsin Dells center J.P. Gavinski is to bring his basketball talents to the University of Wisconsin Field House this week, the future Badger knows he needs the same reminder as some fans:

Gavinski is still two years from calling the UW campus his home.

The junior center from Cross Plains gets to come home again, playing the game he loves against the team he watched growing up, while showing his friends and family just how far he has come as a basketball player at Western Carolina.

Just as mysteriously as he left the Wisconsin Badgers, Boo Wade reappeared Wednesday.

The Associated Press notified Bowl Championship Series officials Tuesday that it is pulling its Top 25 college football poll our of the controversial formula used to determine who plays in the national championship game. (Wisconsin State Journal)

NEW YORK – It looks as if the Bowl Championship Series is headed for another major overhaul. The Associated Press has told the BCS to stop using its college football poll to determine which teams play for the national title and in the most prestigious bowl games.

When the polls close on the ESPN-brokered election – the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year – there’s a good chance that University of Wisconsin cornerback Scott Starks will have received support from at least eight National Guard soldiers, loyal Cheeseheads who have been carrying the banner for the Badgers in the hellhole that is Gardez, Afghanistan, once a Taliban stronghold.

Columnist Dennis McCann gives Badger fans some pre-Outback Bowl tips for enjoying attractions in the Tampa area.

MADISON, Wis. – Christy Johnson, an assistant volleyball coach at the University of Wisconsin has been named the head womenââ?¬â?¢s volleyball coach at Iowa State, Cyclone athletics director Bruce Van De Velde announced today. (Athletic Communication)

If you are surprised at how well the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team played in the first half of the regular season, you are not alone.

Given the fact that Joseph “Roundy” Coughlin died in 1971, it is impressive that so many of those attending the Rounder’s Club Christmas Party Thursday have personal memories of the late Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist.

Connecticut is not known for producing large numbers of NCAA Division I football talent, but the state has been pretty good lately to the University of Wisconsin.

As long as they get permission in writing, coaches and administrators in the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department are free to use a variety of outside income sources to augment their salaries.

It was a arguably the biggest victory during Lisa Stone’s year-plus tenure as coach of the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team.

For more than nine months, Dwayne Smith maintained his innocence and his faith. ââ?¬Å?I said I was not guilty the whole time, and Iââ?¬â?¢m just glad itââ?¬â?¢s over with,ââ?¬Â the former UW tailback said Tuesday, minutes after a Dane County Circuit Court judge dismissed a charge of second-degree sexual assault against Smith. ââ?¬Å?(My faith) did not waver. There was no reason for it to.ââ?¬Â

Rape charges against former Badgers tailback Dwayne Smith and another man were dropped Tuesday after DNA evidence suggested there were problems with the story told by the alleged victim in the case.

The honors continued Monday for University of Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James, who was named to the Associated Press All-America football team. The Big Ten defensive player of the year, James previously had been named a first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation, the American Football Coaches Association, ESPN.com and the Football Writers Association of America.

The role junior guard Ashley Josephson plays this season is as foreign as the two weeks she spent in June with the Big Ten Conference touring team in Australia.

After returning to Madison, Josephson encountered a bit more culture shock. Coming off a season in which she started every game and led the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team in scoring and minutes played, she finds herself coming off the bench.

Whenever University of Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James started feeling sorry for himself last year, when a dislocated hip threatened to put a premature end to his football career, he would think about his sister.

Kiara Walters is 9 years old and suffers from sickle cell anemia. She has been in and out of hospitals more times than James cares to remember.

ASHWAUBENON – The members of the Hawaii women’s volleyball team were shocked 12 days ago when they learned their unbeaten season and No. 2 national ranking were not good enough to merit a home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament – similar to the one their opponent tonight, the University of Wisconsin, received.

Mike Eaves’ progress at UW is similar to past title seasons at North Dakota and Minnesota

Who better to squelch rumors that Barry Alvarez may be leaving UW-Madison to coach football at Notre Dame than the head coach himself?

In a Tuesday interview on Sporting News Radio’s “The Tim Brando Show,” Alvarez said while he would talk to Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White, he has no plans to leave UW-Madison for the golden domes of South Bend, Ind.

For the love of the game. That’s why Kjersten Bakke and Megan Rogers are where they are today.

When wide receiver and defensive back Braxton Amy, from Richmond, Texas, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Oct. 29, his prep football coach had two immediate concerns.

University of Wisconsin football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez said Tuesday that he has no interest in the vacant coaching position at Notre Dame.

…A South Bend (Ind.) television station reported Monday that a “very close friend of (Barry) Alvarez told NewsCenter 16 (WNDU-TV) that if he were offered the job, he believes Alvarez would take it.” That’s hard to believe. Really, really hard to believe.

The UW volleyball team moved into the national ranking as No. 22 in the USA Today-CSTV Top 25 coaches poll.

The speculation has followed junior center Donovan Raiola almost since he arrived at the University of Wisconsin.

OAK CREEK – The University of Wisconsin football team landed its top-ranked choice in recruiting on Monday when Oak Creek outside linebacker Travis Beckum gave an oral commitment to play for the Badgers.

Kohl Center basketball and hockey fans have been basking in the powerful glow of flashy new gadgetry this year.

The $1.6 million video- enhanced scoreboard that hangs from the ceiling and the intensely luminous message beam that rings the arena are big hits.

Call me old-fashioned if you want, but the new 360-degree ring beam of light which runs around the Kohl Center can be annoying. Maybe it wouldn’t feel that way if the ring beam seemed to do something other than constantly flash ads for everything from pickles (yes, pickles) to real estate companies.

Adam Mertz: Pick your reason as to why Madison has proved such a popular destination among the three visiting schools at this weekend’s NCAA volleyball tournament subregional.