Badgers Vs Ohio State

The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team was given a rare gift on the road Saturday night.
There were 14 minutes left in the first half when Evan Turner, Ohio State's best player and All-American candidate, went out for the rest of the half after picking up his second foul.
But Badgers did nothing with that gift, nor any other opportunities they were given, and the Buckeyes defeated No. 13 UW 60-51 at Value City Arena.
"That's life in the Big Ten, especially on the road," shrugged UW coach Bo Ryan after Ohio State outmuscled the Badgers for the win. "You have to have those nights when every opportunity you get you have to take advantage of, especially now."
Wisconsin (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten Conference), playing its second game without injured 6-10 forward Jon Leuer, was no match inside for the Buckeyes (13-5, 3-3), who have won three of their last four games.
I think this is just typical in the Big Ten. For some reason teams are able to dominate the court when they are at home. Let hope the Badgers soon return to the friendly confines of the Kohl Center. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Wisconsin Turns 100 years old

If Wisconsin's essence were distilled to one four-note riff, it would be this: D, C-sharp, E, D.
Whether played on trumpets or pianos, sung by sopranos or tenors, thumped from synthesizers or shouted by rappers, those four musical notes are encoded into Wisconsin's DNA.
The notes, as well as the rest of the ditty that would become not just the Badger fight song but Wisconsin's state song, were first performed 100 years ago Tuesday when a glee club warbled "On, Wisconsin!" for the first time in practice followed by the first known public performance at a pep rally the next day.
A few days later, on Nov. 13, 1909, the University of Wisconsin band played the tune during a football game at Camp Randall - a 34-6 drubbing by the University of Minnesota.
"One of the things that makes it so extremely popular - the first four notes are so recognizable it almost makes a statement from the first time you hear it. It says everything in the first four notes," said Mike Leckrone.
Leckrone should know. As director of the UW Marching Band since 1969, Leckrone has conducted the song many times in many different arrangements, including swing, funk, Latin and a James Brown-like version. When asked to hazard a guess of just how often, he said "it boggles my mind."

It is great to see the tradition continue in Madison. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Axe Stays Where It Belongs

Whether it is indoors or outdoors, in Minneapolis or Madison, in “The Bank” or the Dome, one thing remains the same: The rivalry between Wisconsin and Minnesota is as unpredictable as they come.
The Badgers and Gophers proved that once again Saturday in the 119th meeting between the two teams, as they battled for 60 minutes in a 31-28 victory for UW. It was a back-and-forth affair, which recently has become the norm in the rivalry.
“I thought it was supposed to be only in the Metrodome. I was hoping we were going to change that,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “I told Tim (Brewster) after the game ‘great environment.’ Every time we come up here it seems be one of these types of games.”
Much like the last few times the two teams have met, the game was decided on crucial turnovers and the outcome was not clear until Chris Borland’s fumble recovery in the final minute. Of course, there was a reason behind the close nature of the game Saturday, and it was not the newly-opened TCF Bank Stadium.

Paul Bunyan's ax should stay in Wisconsin

I was just checking out the Badger football schedule and they play their last regular season game of the year at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis on 11/17/07. It could be a pivotal game for their bowl status, can anyone say "ROSE BOWL".

And of course we have to remember the battle for Paul Bunyan's ax in the longest running rivalry in division 1 college football. When ever I go to the Metrodome I have found it essential that I sit in the lower level. A relative in the Twin Cities told me about a great website that they trust and use to purchase Gopher tickets. It is gopherfootballtickets.com, they told me they use is regularly to purchase the tickets they want to any Gopher game home or away. I hope to see a lot of Badger red in the Metrodome on 11/17/07. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!